Marketing

MARKETING MACRO ENVIRONMENT

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:31:00 -0700

The Company’s Macro environment
The company and all of the other actors operate in a larger macro environment of forces that
shape opportunities and pose threats to the company. There are six major forces (outlined below)
in the company’s macro environment. There are six major forces (outlined below) in the
company’s macro environment.

a. Demographic.
b. Economic.
c. Natural.
d. Technological.
e. Political.
f. Cultural.

a. Demographic
Environment
Demography is the study of human populations in
terms of size, density, location, age, sex, race,
occupation, and other statistics. It is of major
interest to marketers because it involves people and people make up markets. Demographic trends
are constantly changing. Some more interesting ones are.
1). The world’s population (though not all countries) rate is growing at an explosive rate
that will soon exceed food supply and ability to adequately service the population. The greatest
danger is in the poorest countries where poverty contributes to the difficulties. Emerging markets
such as China are receiving increased attention from global marketers.
2). The most important trend is the changing age structure of the population. The
population is aging because of a slowdown in the birth rate (in this country) and life expectancy is
increasing. The baby boomers following World War II have produced a huge “bulge” in our
population’s age distribution. The new prime market is the middle age group (in the future it will
be the senior citizen group). There are many subdivisions of this group.
a). Generation X--this group lies in the shadow of the boomers and lack obvious
distinguishing characteristics. They are a very cynical group because of all the difficulties that have
surrounded and impacted their group.
b). Echo boomers (baby boomlets) are the large growing kid and teen market. This group
is used to affluence on the part of their parents (as different from the Gen Xers). One
distinguishing characteristic is their utter fluency and comfort with computer, digital, and Internet
technology (sometimes called Net-Gens).
Natural
Technological
Intermediaries

b. Economic Environment
The economic environment includes those factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending
patterns. Major economic trends in the United States include:
1). Personal consumption (along with personal debt) has gone up (1980s) and the early
1990s brought recession that has caused adjustments both personally and corporately in this
country. Today, consumers are more careful shoppers.
2). Value marketing (trying to offer the consumer greater value for their dollar) is a very
serious strategy in the 1990s. Real income is on the rise again but is being carefully guarded by a
value-conscious consumer.
3). Income distribution is still very skewed in the U. S. and all classes have not shared in
prosperity. In addition, spending patterns show that food, housing, and transportation still
account for the majority of consumer dollars. It is also of note that distribution of income has
created a “two-tiered market” where there are those that are affluent and less affluent. Marketers
must carefully monitor economic changes so they will be able to prosper with the trend, not suffer
from it.
c. Natural Environment
The natural environment involves natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are
affected by marketing activities. During the past two decades environmental concerns have
steadily grown. Some trend analysts labeled the specific areas of concern were:
1). Shortages of raw materials. Staples such as air, water, and wood products have been
seriously damaged and non-renewable such as oil, coal, and various minerals have been seriously
depleted during industrial expansion.
2). Increased pollution is a worldwide problem. Industrial damage to the environment is
very serious. Far-sighted companies are becoming “environmentally friendly” and are producing
environmentally safe and recyclable or biodegradable goods. The public response to these
companies is encouraging. However, lack of adequate funding, especially in third world
countries, is a major barrier.

3). Government intervention in natural resource management has caused environmental
concerns to be more practical and necessary in business and industry. Leadership, not
punishment, seems to be the best policy for long-term results. Instead of opposing regulation,
marketers should help develop solutions to the material and energy problems facing the world.
4). Environmentally sustainable strategies. The so-called green movement has
encouraged or even demanded that firms produce strategies that are not only environmentally
friendly but are also environmentally proactive. Firms are beginning to recognize the link between
a healthy economy and a healthy environment.

MARKETING ENVIRONMENT

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:30:00 -0700

In order to correctly identify opportunities and monitor threats, the company must begin with a
thorough understanding of the marketing environment in which the firm operates. The marketing
environment consists of all the actors and forces outside marketing that affect the marketing
management’s ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its target customers.
Though these factors and forces may vary depending on the specific company and industrial
group, they can generally be divided into broad micro environmental and macro environmental
components. For most companies, the micro environmental components are: the company,
suppliers, marketing channel firms (intermediaries), customer markets, competitors, and publics
which combine to make up the company’s value delivery system. The macro environmental
components are thought to be: demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and
cultural forces. The wise marketing manager knows that he or she cannot always affect
environmental forces. However, smart managers can take a proactive, rather than reactive,
approach to the marketing environment.
As marketing management collects and processes data on these environments, they must be ever
vigilant in their efforts to apply what they learn to developing opportunities and dealing with
threats. Studies have shown that excellent companies not only have a keen sense of customer but
an appreciation of the environmental forces swirling around them. By constantly looking at the
dynamic changes that are occurring in the aforementioned environments, companies are better
prepared to adapt to change, prepare long-range strategy, meet the needs of today’s and
tomorrow’s customers, and compete with the intense competition present in the global
marketplace. All firms are encouraged to adopt an environmental management perspective in the
new millennium.
A company’s marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing that affect
marketing management’s ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its target
customers.
1). Being successful means being able to adapt the marketing mix to trends and changes this
environment.
2). Changes in the marketing environment are often quick and unpredictable.
3). The marketing environment offers both opportunities and threats.
4). The company must use its marketing research and marketing intelligence systems to
monitor the changing environment.
5). Systematic environmental scanning helps marketers to revise and adapt marketing
strategies to meet new challenges and opportunities in the marketplace.
The marketing environment is made up of a:
1. Micro environmental
2. Macro-environment.
1. Micro environmental
The microenvironment consists of five components. The first is the organization’s internal
environment—its several departments and management levels—as it affects marketing
management's decision making. The second component includes the marketing channel firms that
cooperate to create value: the suppliers and marketing intermediaries (middlemen, physical
distribution firms, marketing-service agencies, financial intermediaries). The third component
consists of the five types of markets in which the organization can sell: the consumer, producer,
reseller, government, and international markets. The fourth component consists of the competitors
facing the organization. The fifth component consists of all the publics that have an actual or
potential interest in or impact on the organization’s ability to achieve its objectives: financial,
media, government, citizen action, and local, general, and internal publics. So the
microenvironment consists of six forces close to the company that affect its ability to serve its
customers:
a. The company itself (including departments).
b. Suppliers.
c. Marketing channel firms (intermediaries).
d. Customer markets.
e. Competitors.
f. Publics.

MARKETING PROCESS

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:19:00 -0700

The Marketing Process
Once the strategic plan has defined the company’s overall mission and objectives, marketing plays
a role in carrying out these objectives.
The marketing process is the process of analyzing market opportunities, selecting target markets,
developing the marketing mix, and managing the marketing effort. Target customers stand at the
center of the marketing process. There are following steps in Marketing Process:
5. Analyzing marketing opportunities
6. Selecting target markets
7. Developing the marketing Mix
8. Managing the marketing effort

a. Analyzing marketing opportunities
First step of the marketing process is analyzing market opportunities and availing these
opportunities to satisfy the customer’s requirements to have competitive advantage. The marketing
function of analyzing market opportunities is important in the marketing planning process. Any
marketing manager must analyses the long-run opportunities in the market to improve the business
unit's performance. To evaluate its opportunities firms needs to operate a reliable marketing
information system.
Marketing research is an indispensable marketing tool for this purpose. Researching the market
allows the company to gather information about their customers, competitors and any
environmental changes to determine the market opportunities. Once the market opportunities
have been analyzed then modern marketing practice calls for dividing the market into major
market segments, evaluating each segment, and selecting and targeting those market segments that
the company can best serve

b. Selecting the target Market:
To succeed in today’s competitive marketplace, companies must be customer centered. They must
win customers from competitors and keep them by delivering greater value.
• Sound marketing requires a careful, deliberate analysis of consumers.
• Since companies cannot satisfy all consumers in a given market, they must divide up the
total market (market segmentation), choose the best segments (market targeting), and
design strategies for profitably serving chosen segments better than the competition
(market positioning).

Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers with different
needs, characteristics, or behavior who might require separate products or marketing mixes.
Market targeting is the process of evaluating each market segment’s attractiveness and selecting one
or more segments to enter. A company should target segments in which it can generate the greatest

customer value and sustain it over time. A company may decide to serve only one or a few special
segments, or perhaps it might decide to offer a complete range of products to serve all market
segments. Special segments may be called “market niches.” Most companies enter a new market
by serving a single segment, and if this proves successful, they add segments.
Market positioning is arranging for a product to occupy a clear distinctive and desirable place relative
to competing products in the minds of target consumers. In positioning a product, a company
first needs to identify possible competitive advantages upon which to build the position. To gain
competitive advantage, the company must offer greater competitive advantage to the target
segment. The company’s entire marketing program should support the chosen positioning strategy.
Effective positioning begins with actually differentiating the company’s marketing offer so that it
gives consumers more value than they are offered by the competition.

PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:18:00 -0700

Analyzing the Current Business Portfolio
We have discussed in last Lesson that in order to analyze the current business portfolio, the
company must conduct portfolio analysis (a tool by which management identifies and evaluates
the various businesses that make up the company). Two steps are important in this analysis:
1). The first step is to identify the key businesses (SBUs). The strategic business unit
(SBU) is a unit of the company that has a separate mission and objectives and which can be
planned independently from other company businesses.
2). The SBU can be a company division, a product line within a division, or even a single
product or brand.
3). The second step is to assess the attractiveness of its various SBUs and decide how much
support each deserves.
d. The best-known portfolio planning method is the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix:
1). Using the BCG approach, where a company classifies all its SBUs according to the
growth-share matrix.
a). The vertical axis, market growth rate, provides a measure of market attractiveness.
b). The horizontal axis, relative market share, serves as a measure of company strength
in the market.
2). Using the matrix, four types of SBUs can be identified (Discussed in detail in last
Lesson)

a). Stars
b). Cash Cows
c). Question Marks
d). Dogs
Once it has classified its SBUs, a company must determine what role each will play in the future.
The four strategies that can be pursued for each SBU are:
1). The company can invest more in the business unit in order to build its share.
2). The company can invest enough just to hold at the current level.
3). The company can harvest the SBU.
4). The company can divest the SBU.
As time passes, SBUs change their positions in the growth-share matrix. Each has its own life
cycle. The growth-share matrix has done much to help strategic planning study; however, there are
problems and limitations with the method.
1). They can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly to implement.

2). Management may find it difficult to define SBUs and measure market share and growth.
3). They focus on classifying current businesses but provide little advice for future planning.
4). They can lead the company to place too much emphasis on market-share growth or
growth through entry into attractive new markets. This can cause unwise expansion into hot, new,
risky ventures or giving up on established units too quickly. In spite of the drawbacks, most firms
are still committed to strategic planning. Based upon this analysis company designs the growth
strategies:

STRATEGIC PLANNING AND MARKETING PROCESS

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:18:00 -0700

1. Strategic planning

The process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organization’s goals and
capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities is called Strategic planning. Planning is
basically concerned with what are we going to do and how are we going to do it? Organizations,
which are not able to perform the effective planning, are actually planning for failures. To meet
changing conditions in their industries, companies need to be farsighted and visionary, and must
develop long-term strategies. Strategic planning involves developing a strategy to meet competition
and ensure long-term survival and growth. The marketing function plays an important role in this
process in that it provides information and other inputs to help in the preparation of the
organization’s strategic plan. Planning is performed to:
• Address changing environment and consumers
• Develop shared goals within organization
• Address competitive threat
• To anticipate the future
• Determine actions that are needed to achieve objectives
Strategic planning is mainly of three types:

. Characteristics of a Strategic Plan

Strategic planning consists of developing a company mission (to give it direction), objectives and
goals (to give it means and methods for accomplishing its mission), business portfolio (to allow
management to utilize all facets of the organization), and functional plans (plans to carry out daily
operations from the different functional disciplines). Since most companies are interested in
growth, this chapter explores several growth alternatives within the context of strategic planning
and portfolio analysis. The product/market expansion grid shows four avenues for growth: market
penetration, market development, product development, and diversification. Many companies
operate without formal plans. However, formal planning can provide many benefits:
1). It encourages management to think ahead systematically.
2). It forces managers to clarify objectives and policies.
3). It leads to better coordination of company efforts.
4). It provides clearer performance standards for control.
5). It is useful for a fast-changing environment since sound planning helps the company
anticipate and respond quickly to environmental changes and sudden developments.

Strategic planning Process:
It is defined as the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organization’s
goals and capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities.
1). Strategic planning sets the stage for the rest of the planning in the firm.
2). There are four steps to the strategic planning process:
a). stating a clear company mission.
b). Setting supporting

Defining the Company’s Business and Mission
An organization exists to accomplish something. When management senses that the organization is
drifting, it is time to renew its search for purpose by asking:
1). What is our business?
2). Who is our customer?
3). What do customers value?
4). What should our business be?
The first step in the strategic planning process is defining the company mission.

Setting Company Objectives and Goals
The company’s mission needs to be turned into detailed supporting objectives for each level of
management. This second step in the strategic planning process requires the manager to set
company goals and objectives and be responsible for achieving them.

1). The mission leads to a hierarchy of objectives including business and marketing
objectives.
2). Objectives should be as specific as possible.

Rapid Globalisation

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:16:00 -0700

Technological and economic developments continue to shrink the distances between countries.
World is becoming global village due to advancement in the connecting technologies. The world is
shrinking rapidly with the advent of faster communication, and transportation, and financial flows.
In the Twenty-First century, firms can no longer afford to pay attention only to their domestic
market, no matter how large it is. Many industries are global industries, and those firms that
operate globally achieve lower costs and higher brand awareness. At the same time, global
marketing is risky because of variable exchange rates, unstable governments, protectionist tariffs
and trade barriers, and other prohibitive factors
Global Marketing into the Twenty-First Century:

a. The world is shrinking rapidly with advent of faster communication, transportation, and
financial flows.
c. Domestic companies never thought about foreign competitors until they suddenly found
them in their backyard. The firm that stays at home to play it safe might not only lose its chance to
enter other markets but also risks losing its home market.

d. Although some companies would like to stem the tide of foreign imports through
protectionism, this response would be only a temporary solution and, in the long run, would raise
the cost of living and protect inefficient firms.
e. The longer that companies delay taking steps toward internationalizing; the more they risk
being shut out of growing global markets.

MARKETING CHALLENGES IN THE 21 st CENTURY

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:15:00 -0700

The marketing concept has changed dramatically over the last several decades, and recently the
focus has increasingly moved to customers (versus products and selling) marketing globally and the
various technology issues that impact the market. In addition, there is renewed emphasis in
marketing on creating and innovating with new and better products and services rather than just
competing against other firms and following the marketing patterns established by competitors.

A. Porter’s 5 Forces Model of Competition:
Marketing is facing different challenges in the 21st
century to meet these Before entering the
business Porter model can be used to analyze the environment both for new and existing business
and can be used to overcome and meet the challenges.

A. The information technology revolution
The information age, particularly the advent of the Internet is having a major impact on the
direction of marketing science and practice.
Digitalization and Connectivity: The flow of digital information requires connectivity Intranets,
Extranets, and the Internet are key drivers of the “new economy
Technologies for Connecting
b. The major force behind the new connectedness is technology.

c. The boom in computer, telecommunications, and information technology, as well as the
merging of these technologies, has had a major impact on the way businesses bring value to their
customers.
1). Using today’s powerful computers, marketers create detailed databases and use them to
target individual customers with offers designed to meet their specific needs and buying patterns.
2). Cell phones; fax machines, and CD-ROM to interactive TV are just a few of the tools
being used to make connections.
a). Electronic commerce allows consumers to shop and buy without ever leaving home.
b). Virtual reality displays, virtual shopping, and virtual salespeople are just a few of the
changes that consumers seem to be embracing. The Information Superhighway (and its backbone--
the Internet) will link customers to companies in ways that were unimagined only a few years ago.
The Internet is a vast and burgeoning global web of computer networks, with no central
management or ownership. The user-friendly World Wide Web has changed us all.
1). The Internet has been hailed as the technology behind a new model for doing business.
2). New applications include:
a). Internet--connecting with customers.
b). Intranets--connecting with others in the company.
c). Extranets--connecting with strategic partners, suppliers, and dealers.
3). Marketplaces have now become market spaces.
2). However, new opportunities abound.
• Connections with Customers
Today, most marketers are realizing that they don’t want to connect with just any customers.
Instead, most are targeting fewer, potentially more profitable customers.
1). Greater diversity and new consumer connections have meant greater market
fragmentation.
a). Marketers have responded by moving to more segmented marketing where they
target carefully chosen sub markets or even individual buyers.
2). At the same time, companies are analyzing the value of the customer to the firm. What
value does the customer bring to the organization? Are they worth pursuing?
a). Connect with those that will be bring in profits.
h. Connect for a customer’s lifetime.
1). Rather than always looking for new customers, the focus has now shifted to keeping
current customers and building lasting relationships based on superior satisfaction and value.
2). Long-term profits have superseded short-term gain.
3). Companies are spending more time considering “share of customer” and less time
worrying about “share of market.”
a). Employees are being trained in cross-selling.
b). Up-selling is now a common practice.
Today, beyond connecting more deeply, many companies are also taking advantage of new
technologies that let them connect more directly with their customers.
1). Products are now available via telephone, mail-order catalogs, kiosks, and electronic
commerce.
2). Business-to-business purchasing over the Internet has increased even faster than online
consumer buying.

The basic goals of the CRM

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:14:00 -0700

Customer relationship marketing provides the key to retaining customers and involves providing
financial and social benefits as well as structural ties to the customers. Companies must decide how
much relationship marketing to invest in different market segments and individual customers, from
such levels as basic, reactive, accountable, proactive, and full partnership. Much depends on
estimating customer lifetime value against the cost stream required to attract and retain these
customers.
Total quality marketing is seen today as a major approach to providing customer satisfaction and
company profitability. Companies must understand how their customers perceive quality and how
much quality they expect. Companies must then strive to offer relatively higher quality than their
competitors. This involves total management and employee commitment as well as measurement
and reward systems. Marketers play an especially critical role in their company’s drive toward
higher quality. The basic goals of CRM are:

• The idea of CRM is that it helps businesses use technology to gain insight into the behavior
of customers and the value of those customers. If it works as hoped, a business can:
• Provide better customer service
• Make call centers more efficient
• Help sales staff close deals faster
• Simplify marketing and sales processes
• Discover new customers Enable companies to provide excellent real-time customer service
by developing a relationship with each valued customer through the effective use of
individual account information
• Based on customer attributes, companies can customize market offerings, services,
programs, messages, and media

Marketing Management

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:13:00 -0700

Marketing management is “the art and science of choosing target markets and building profitable
relationships with them.” Creating, delivering and communicating superior customer value is key.
Marketing management is the conscious effort to achieve desired exchange outcomes with target
markets. The marketer’s basic skill lies in influencing the level, timing, and composition of demand
for a product, service, organization, place, person, idea, or some form of information.
Marketing Management is defined as the analysis, planning, implementation, and control of
programs designed to create, build, and maintain beneficial exchanges with target buyers for the
purpose of achieving organisational objectives. Which are:

Demand Management - marketing management is concerned with increasing demand, as well as
changing or even reducing demand. Marketing management is concerned not only with finding and
increasing demand, but also with changing or even reducing it.
1). Demarketing: Marketing to reduce demand temporarily or permanently; the aim is not to
destroy demand but only to reduce or shift it. Demarketing’s aim is to reduce demand temporarily
or permanently (move traffic away from a popular tourist attraction during peak demand times).
2). In reality, marketing management is really demand management.

Building Profitable Customer Relationships - Beyond designing strategies to attract new
customers, marketing organizations also go all out to retain current customers and build lasting
customer relationships. (This is our second topic to be discussed today).

Customer Relationship Management

Before going in the detail of customer relationship marketing first we should know that what is
relationship marketing? It is basically Establishing a long-term continuous relationship with the
customer, initiated and managed by the firm. This relationship must provide value to both parties.
If a customer is lost, not only is that particular transaction lost, but perhaps all future transactions
throughout the life of that customer.

Understanding Marketing and Marketing Process

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:12:00 -0700

Process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and
exchanging products and value with others is termed as marketing process. The marketing process
consists of four steps: analyzing market opportunities; developing marketing strategies; planning
marketing programs, which entails choosing the marketing mix (the four Ps of product, price,
place, and promotion); and organizing, implementing, and controlling the marketing effort.
Marketing is the organizational function charged with defining customer targets and the best way
to satisfy needs and wants competitively and profitably. Since consumers and business buyers face
an abundance of suppliers seeking to satisfy their every need, companies and nonprofit
organizations cannot survive today by simply doing a good job. They must do an excellent job if
they are to remain in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. Many studies have
demonstrated that the key to profitable performance is to know and satisfy target customers with
competitively superior offers. This process takes place today in an increasingly global, technical,
and competitive environment.

Marketing Intermediaries - include various middlemen and distribution firms as well as
marketing service agencies and financial institutions.

Customers -usually consist of consumer, industrial, reseller, government, and international
markets.

Competitors - are usually considered those companies also serving a target market with similar
products and services, although broader definitions may apply.

Publics - may consist of any group that perceives itself having an interest in the actions of the
firm. Publics can have positive as well as negative influences on the company's objectives.
Other than factors above there are certain macro environmental factors that can have impact or
that can affect the marketing process. These forces and environmental factors will be discussed in
more detail in coming Lessons. As described in a fig: important connections with customers,
connections with marketing partners, and connections with the World around us are to be made in
order to perform the marketing process. The main connections required in this regard are
connecting with marketing partners: (These connections occur by (a) connecting with other
marketing departments, (b) connecting with suppliers and distributors, and (c) connecting through
strategic alliances). Marketing companies do not operate in a vacuum. They have to be interacting
with intermediaries that have information to share, ideas to explore, and experiences that are
invaluable. New technologies can bring this information to the decision maker in new rapid ways.
Finally companies need to have information about the competitors and other environmental
factors and are need to have updated knowledge because for success, change adoption with change
occurrence is required otherwise company will not able to stay in this completive era.

ƒ Product
Marketers identify a consumer need and then provide the product or service to fill that need. The
marketer’s job is to pinpoint and understand existing needs, expand upon them, and identify new
ones. For example, because there are more singles and small families these days than in years past,
marketers might see a need for products to be sold in smaller quantities and offered in smaller
packages.

How can this impact other professionals in the business/marketing process? Let’s say your
company has developed a new product that generates enormous consumer demand. Your
marketing department may ask you to find a way to speed up the workflow in order to crank out
more products faster. A year after the product is introduced, however, the market might be
flooded with cheap imitations. Since one marketing strategy is to keep products price-competitive,
a marketer may then ask you to find a way to make the product less expensively.
This relationship works both ways. There may be production and industrial engineers who may see
a way to change the work process that would create additional options for consumers. Those
engineers will also be instrumental in design and development of products for which human
factors and ergonomics are important considerations. Maybe there’s room to add another product
line. For instance, that product X is still blue but new product Y is red. You can suggest this to
your marketing department; it, in turn, would do research to gauge potential consumer demand for
the new line.

ƒ Price
Ideally, a marketer wants to be proactive in setting price rather than simply react to the
marketplace. To that end, the marketer researches the market and competition and plots possible
price points, looking for gaps that indicate opportunities. When introducing a new product, the
marketer needs to be sure that the price is competitive with that of similar products or, if the price
is higher, that the consumers perceive they’re getting more value for their money.
Various other technical professionals can have an important impact on marketers’ pricing
decisions. Again, you may be asked to determine if productivity can be enhanced so that the
product can be manufactured and then sold—for a lower price.

ƒ Place or distribution
What good is a product if you can’t get it to people who want to purchase it? When marketers
tackle this issue, they try to figure out what the optimum distribution channels would be. For
example, should the company sell the product to distributors who then wholesale it to retailers or
should the company have its own direct sales force?
Marketers also look at where the product is placed geographically. Is it sold regionally, nationally,
and internationally? Will the product be sold only in high-end stores or strictly to discounters? The
answers to all of these questions also help shape how a product can be distributed in the best way.

ƒ Promotion
Promotion encompasses the various ways marketers get the word out about a product—most
notably through sales promotions, advertising, and public relations.

Sales promotions are special offers designed to entice people to purchase a product. These can
include coupons, rebate offers, two-for-one deals, free samples, and contests.

Advertising encompasses paid messages that are intended to get people to notice a product. This
can include magazine ads, billboards, TV and radio commercials, Web site ads, and so forth.
Perhaps the most important factor in advertising success is repetition. We’re all bombarded with
an enormous number of media messages every day, so the first few times a prospective customer
sees an ad, it usually barely makes a dent. Seeing the ad over and over is what burns the message
into people’s minds. That’s why it’s good to run ads as frequently as possible.

Public relations refer to any non-paid communication designed to plant a positive image of a
company or product in consumers’ minds. One way to accomplish this is by getting the company
or product name in the news. This is known as media relations, and it’s an important aspect of
public relations.
As with price, changes in demand created by promotions can have a direct impact on the work of
many other professionals.

ƒ Positioning
By employing market research techniques and competitive analysis, the marketer identifies how the
product should be positioned in the consumer’s mind. As a luxury, high-end item? A bargain item
that clearly provides value? A fun product? Is there a strong brand name that supports how the
image is fixed in the consumer’s mind? Once the marketer answers these kinds of questions, he or
she develops, through a host of vehicles, the right image to establish the desired position.
This, too, can affect the work you do. If an upscale image is wanted, the materials used in the
product and packaging are likely to be different from those used in a bargain product—a fact that
could make the workflow significantly more complex. On the other hand, with your engineering
knowledge, you may be able to suggest alternative materials that would preserve the desired image
but be easier or less expensive to use.

ƒ Personal Relationships
In recent years, personal relationships have come to the forefront of marketing programs. Now
even the largest companies want their customers to feel that they have a personal relationship with
the company. Companies do this in two ways: They tailor their products as much as possible to
individual specifications, and they measure customer satisfaction.
The firm’s contribution can significantly impact the area of personal relationships. If the work
processes the firm creates cannot meet the customer time frames, the relationship will be damaged.
If the firm develops manufacturing lines that cannot be tailored to fit individual customer needs, it
will be difficult for the company to give consumers the perception of personal commitment. If
salespeople promise delivery by a certain date, but the product cannot be produced on schedule,
consumers will not be happy.

What do Marketers think about?

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:10:00 -0700

To have clearer concept in this regard lets consider an example of Opening a Book Shop on
campus. To do so we have to answer different questions like:

1. Is there a need? (Of having book shop)
2. What is my target market? (Who will be buying products from your book shop)
3. What is my product?(Basic items to be sold)
4. How can I produce and deliver a “product” better than my competitors?
5. How shall I promote my product?
6. How can I insure customer loyalty?
Mostly before starting any activity of above-mentioned type marketer performs an analysis termed
as SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat). Marketing is a process of getting the
right products to the right people at the right price and at the right place and time with the right
promotion. But this requires solution to certain simple question: like
Simple Questions, Hard Answers
1. Who are our customers? (Target Market)
2. What important & unique benefits do we provide? (Product/service)
3. Are these benefits sustainable? (Long-term competitive advantage)
These questions are apparently very simple but are very difficult to be answered theses questions
like it is really difficult to define basic characteristics to be produced in product and services as per
demands and requirements pf the customers; and then to precisely define your target market and
to have long-term competitive advantage through customer satisfaction.

Introduction of Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:10:00 -0700

What image comes to mind when you hear the word “marketing”? Some people think of
advertisements or brochures, while others think of public relations (for instance, arranging for
clients to appear on TV talk shows). The truth is, all of these—and many more things—make up
the field of marketing. The Knowledge Exchange Business Encyclopedia defines marketing as
“planning and executing the strategy involved in moving a good or service from producer to
consumer.”
With this definition in mind, it’s apparent that marketing and many other business activities are
related in some ways. In simplified terms, marketers and others help move goods and services
through the creation and production process; at that point, marketers help move the goods and
services to consumers. But the connection goes even further: Marketing can have a significant
impact on all areas of the business and vice versa.

Understanding Marketing:

Marketing: It is the process of creating consumer value in the form of goods, services, or ideas
that can improve the consumer’s life.
Marketing is the organizational function charged with defining customer targets and the best way
to satisfy needs and wants competitively and profitably. Since consumers and business buyers face
an abundance of suppliers seeking to satisfy their everyday need, companies and nonprofit
organizations cannot survive today by simply doing a good job. They must do an excellent job if
they are to remain in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. This is what we say that
survival of the fittest. Many studies have demonstrated that the key to profitable performance is to
know and satisfy target customers with competitively superior offers. This process takes place
today in an increasingly global, technical, and competitive environment.

PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING

noreply@blogger.com (Forex) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:09:00 -0700

Marketing is part of all of our lives and touches us in some way every day. To be successful each

company that deals with customers on a daily basis must not only be customer-driven, but

customer-obsessed. The best way to achieve this objective is to develop a sound marketing

function within the organization. To be understandable and lively means that we need to

communicate you. We start every chapter with learning objectives. The most important thing you

will get out of this course is the basic skills required to succeed in today’s competitive environment.

Marketing is defined as a social and managerial process by which, individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. Marketing is a key factor to

business success. The marketing function not only deals with the production and distribution of

products and services, but it also is concerned with the ethical and social responsibility functions

found in the domestic and global environment.