Marketing Notes

Marketing Notes

Marketing

It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves

The adoption of marketing strategies requires businesses to shift their focus from production to the perceived needs and wants of their customers as the means of staying profitable

AMA Definition of Marketing(American Marketing Association) - the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

Value Based Marketing definition: The management process that seeks to maximize returns to shareholders by developing relationships with valued customers and creating a competitive advantage

Steps in Marketing:

1. Do Market Research – to gauge customer desire

2. Use R&D, to develop the product attuned to revealed information

3. Use Promotion techniques, to ensure that customer knows that product exists

Customer base marketing: SIVA model contains the 4Ps of marketing renamed as SIVA

1. Solution – Product

2. Information – Promotion

3. Value – Price

4. Access – Placement

Market Segmentation

To be done on the attitude and benefit sort by the customer (Profile each customer, Select the target, position it)

A market segment is a sub-set of a market made up of people or organizations sharing with one or more characteristics that cause them to demand similar product and/or services based on qualities of those products such as price or function.

A true market segment meets all of the following criteria:

1. It is distinct from other segments (different segments have different needs),

2. It is homogeneous within the segment (exhibits common needs); it responds similarly to a market stimulus, and it can be reached by a market intervention.

The term is also used when consumers with identical product and/or service needs are divided up into groups so they can be charged different amounts. These can broadly be viewed as 'positive' and 'negative' applications of the same idea, splitting up the market into smaller groups.

Examples:

§ Age

§ Gender

§ Price

§ Interests

Product Differentiation

It is the process of distinguishing a product or offering from others, to make it more attractive to a particular target market. This involves differentiating it from competitors' products as well as a firm's own product offerings.

Purpose of PD: It is done in order to demonstrate the unique aspects of a firm's product and create a sense of value among buyers. The term unique selling preposition refers to advertising to communicate a product's differentiation

Major sources of Product differentiation is as follows:

§ Differences in quality which are usually accompanied by differences in price

§ Differences in functional features or design

§ Ignorance of buyers regarding the essential characteristics and qualities of goods they are purchasing

§ Sales promotion activities of sellers and, in particular, advertising

§ Differences in availability (e.g. timing and location)

Positioning: Once the product is segmented (identified) and targeted, then positioning is carried out.

Positioning involves how the product / company is perceived in the minds of the customer

Marketing to B-B and B-C

B-B Selling to business entity (organization to organization). The organization is not consuming it but processing it further (not the end in the chain)

B-C – Customer in the end consumes the product