If a product is not showing profitable performance, the company may consider one of the alternatives, viz., improve, adapt, buy or drop the product. Improve If the firm continues to make the product, it may be required to make improvement in its production or distribution so as to yield adequate return. Improvement may mean re-designing the product or producing it at a lower cost. Product improvement is particularly necessary when the existing product has become apparently obsolete or out of fashion. Indian companies need to continuously upgrade their products and technology to withstand the pace of change in their business environment and to meet the challenges thrown up by the emergence of a buyer’ market. Product improvement is very important in durable goods, for example, automobiles, refrigerators, etc. This explains the development of a camera with a built-in coupled exposure meter, which proved to be a Continue reading
Marketing Management
Marketing management combines the fields of marketing and management. Marketing consists of discovering consumer needs and wants, creating the goods and services that meet those needs and wants; and pricing, promoting, and delivering those goods and services. Doing so requires attention to six major areas – markets, products, prices, places, promotion, and people. Management is getting things done through other people. Managers engage in five key activities – planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Marketing management implies the integration of these concepts.
Brand Building through Events Marketing
To truly build a brand that leaves an indelible imprint on the hearts and minds of audiences, event marketers must adopt a more strategic, holistic approach. When it comes to building brands, events and meetings have become powerful tools in the arsenals of marketers and event professionals. Event marketing can tie a brand to a valuable experience; and the event itself allows brands to engage in a high-touch environment where deeper connections between brands, customers, prospects, vendors, and partners can be forged. A well-executed event can build market share, grow profits, and increase brand equity by creating a stronger and more meaningful connection between a brand and its audience. A poorly executed event can cause brand damage. Events and meetings present a great opportunity for marketers and event professionals to build brand value together. Events marketing help in brand building by: Creating awareness about the launch of new products/brand: Creating Continue reading
Competitive Intelligent System in Marketing
Today, information has become an integral part of every organization. However, there is need to effectively manage this information and gain benefit from information systems. Businesses must leverage the vast quantities of collected information in order to make effective decisions, achieve a strategic competitive advantage and achieve increased employee productivity. Competitive intelligence embodies a systematic and ethical program for gathering, analyzing and managing external information that can affect an organization’s plan and decisions. Competitive intelligent system can be used to monitor competitor’s activities, national and internal market trends, customer needs, existing and emerging technologies and regulatory trends. Competitive intelligence is the ongoing process of monitoring environment in order to identify the opportunities to act on or threats to avoid. Many companies use readily available software tools to implement competitive intelligent system. There are four main steps involved in designing and implementing competitive intelligent system. Very first step is setting up Continue reading
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and the Code of the Advertising Standards
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) The Role and Functioning of the ASCI & its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) in dealing with Complaints received from Consumers and Industry, against Ads which are considered as False, Misleading, Indecent, Illegal, leading to Unsafe practices, or Unfair to competition, and consequently in contravention of the ASCI Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising. The ASCI is not a Government body,but it is a voluntary self-regulatory council, registered as a not-for-profit Company under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act. The sponsors of the ASCI, who are its principal members, are firms of considerable repute within Industry in India, and comprise Advertisers, Media, and Ad Agencies and other Professional /Ancillary services connected with advertising practice. The ASCI was set up; To ensure the truthfulness and honesty of representations and claims made by advertisements and to safeguard against misleading advertisements. To ensure that advertisements are not offensive Continue reading
Sales Promotion Strategies and Practices
The sales promotion strategy is an important element in overall marketing strategy. Sales promotion strategy involves identification of objectives, effective communication for attracting attention, allocation of budget, determining the correct promotional mix, introduction of strategic approach and finally evaluation. Each one of them are briefly explained here. 1. Sales Promotion Objectives The marketer should determine his sales promotion objectives. He should determine what is to be accomplished and what kind of buyer responses are desired. Sales promotion tasks should be objective oriented. These tasks are informing, persuading and reminding the customers about the products. The sales manager should inform consumers about his product and should highlight its special features. He has not only to inform the customers but persuade them to buy it. 2. Communication Sales promotion should attract the attention of the target audience. If the prices, discounts, off season facilities etc, are not adequately and effectively communicated, the Continue reading
Levels of Products or Product Hierarchy
In planning market offering, the marketer needs to think through five levels of the product, each level adds more customer value, and the five levels constitute a customer value hierarchy. Each product is related to certain other products. The product hierarchy stretches from basic needs to particular items that satisfy those needs. Core Product – The most fundamental level is the core benefit. It is the fundamental benefit or service the customer is really buying. Marketers see themselves as benefit providers. E.g. A hotel guest is buying rest and sleep. Generic/Basic Product – At the second level the, marketer has to turn the core benefit into basic product. In this the hotel room includes a bed, bathroom, towel desk, dresser and closet. Expected Product – At the third level the marketer prepares an expected product a set of attributes and conditions that buyers normally expect and agree to when they Continue reading