Basically advertising is an economic institution. Advertising performs important economic function for the advertiser, affects economic decisions of audience and is an integral part of the entire national and international economic system. Information. One cannot debate the importance of information for consumers about various products, services and organizations to make advantageous economic decisions. The decisions made in the absence or with insufficient information may produce negative and undesirable consequences. Because of ignorance the consumer may purchase inferior product or pay higher prices and may not even know that the product exists. Through ads the information reaches a large number of audience in the shortest possible time. Brand image building. There is hardly any disagreement on this issue. Advertising plays an important role in building the brand image. Consumers develop mental images of brands that may appeal to different market segments. These images may have their root in real or assumed 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.
Positioning and Differentiation of Services
Services firms are not identifying their key market segments and then determining how they wish consumers to perceive both their company and its products and services. Positioning is of particular significant in the services sector as it places an intangible service within a more tangible frame of reference. Thus the concept of positioning stems from a consideration of how an organization wishes its target customer to view its products and services in relationship to those of its competitors and their actual, or perceived, needs. “Positioning is concerned with the identification, development and communication of a differentiated advantage which makes the organization’s products and services perceived as superior and distinctive to those of its competitors in the mind of its target customers.” Positioning offers the opportunity to differentiate any service. Each service firm and its goods and services has a position or image in the consumer’s mind and this influences purchase Continue reading
Communication Effects of Advertising
The management should attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the advertising campaign if the firm’s advertising goals are to be achieved and the ad effectiveness is to be increased. By regular evaluation of the advertising effectiveness, the short comings and the plus points would be revealed and the management would be able to improve the campaign by negating the shortcomings and retaining the favorable point. For this purpose, it is very necessary to know how advertising affects the buyer’s behaviors. But this is very difficult task because measurements are imperfect and imprecise. The effectiveness of advertising can be measured by the extent, it to which it achieves the objectives set for it. If it succeeds in attaining the objectives. Advertising can be said to be effective otherwise it will be a waste of money and time. In this sense, advertising can be recognized as a business activity like other activities. Continue reading
Social CRM – Integration of Social Media into Customer Relationship Management
The modern corporate world has experienced gradual changes over time resulting from different business environments. These environmental changes both internally and externally have in one way or the other affected the growth of business organizations as well as the organizational performance. One of the best ways or improving organizational or business performance is through improving the organizational customer relationships. Business customers act as the greatest assets of the business and therefore their relationship with the business determines the overall performance of the business. A satisfied customer will always end up being a loyal customer of the business and also becomes an ambassador of the company to other prospective customers. Many businesses or organizations have embraced the use of information technology in perceiving different organizational changes and developing effective strategies to counter these environmental changes. On the other hand some other companies have not yet shifted to the use of information Continue reading
Marketing Research – Definition, Importance and Process
Definition of Marketing Research Marketing research is a key to the evolution of successful marketing strategies and programmes. It is an important tool to study buyer behavior, changes in consumer lifestyles and consumption patterns, brand loyalty and forecast market changes. Research is also used to study competition and analyze the competitor product’s positioning and how to gain competitive advantage. Recently, marketing research is being used to help create and enhance brand equity. According to Philip Kotler, Marketing research is systematic problem analysis, model building and fact finding for the purposes of important decision making and control in the marketing of goods and services. The important decision making related to market strategy and other tasks related to marketing depends on findings or marketing research. Marketing research process reduces the chances of errors, miss conceptions and uncertainty from decision making process. It is therefore very important to conduct marketing research to identify Continue reading
Steps Involved in Advertisement Planning
Advertisers and advertising agencies believe that customers have needs and desires, which can be fulfilled through the purchase and use of products and services. Advertising works largely through appeal of emotions of envy, fear, anxiety, about one’s appearance and lack of status. It is widely assumed that advertising works if the AIDCA formulas are followed. The formula sums up the principles of advertising. The name of the formula is derived from the initial letters of the words: Attention, Interest, Desire, Conviction and Action. The formula suggests that the attention and interests of the customers must be gained first before the process of stimulating desire, imparting conviction and urging action in advertisements can bring about a change in the buying behaviors. Steps Involved in Advertisement Planning The Attention part is the banner or headline that makes an impressive benefit promise. Interest builds information in an interesting way, usually meaning that this Continue reading