One of the easiest forms of online marketing is affiliate marketing. It is a marketing strategy where a merchant or a business house pays an affiliate for making a sale of their products and services. In short affiliate marketing means redirecting or referring a customer to a product or service that the affiliate marketer recommends with the intention of converting him into a client. The affiliate marketer is paid on the basis of the sales he or she generates for the company or the business house. The four main people involved in affiliate marketing are the seller/company/business house/brand, the affiliate or the network which promotes the product, the publisher and the customer. There are also secondary players involved in this game of affiliate marketing. They are the affiliate management agencies, the super affiliates and the specialized third party vendors or sellers. Affiliate marketing and internet marketing do overlap at times Continue reading
Marketing Concepts
Brand Extension – Meaning, Advantages, and Disadvantages
In over two decades, the business strategy of introducing new products as extensions has become popular. Similarly, brand extension is considered as a key to developing a brand. In detail, it is widely used as eight out of ten new products are introduced as a brand extension in the market. Brand extension strategies are broadly applied in order to reduce marketing expense in launching new products, enhance the well-known and quality of core brands, and lessen the risk for companies. Brand extension is defined as a product whose nature and function differ from those of products currently commercialized under the brand name. In other words, brand extension is defined as using an established brand name so-called parent brand or core brand to introduce a new product. The Advantages of Brand Extension As an efficient strategy, brand extension has become a usual occurrence over the last fifteen years. There is a Continue reading
The Role of Group Influence in Consumer Behavior
So is its true that individualism is dead and that consumer behavior is dominated by the influence of groups? There is no doubt consumer behavior is heavily influenced by groups. Individuals are always striving to conform to group behavior and to please others and this influences the purchase choices that they make. The influence of groups also helps to establish trends in lifestyle, fashion, and the assimilation of new products, into the lives of consumers. The notion of ‘virtual communities’ has been around ever since the inception of the internet. Whereas people used to meet and form communities geographically, the internet allows groups of like-minded people to meet virtually through communities based on, for example, online chat rooms and forums. Here individuals, who share common interests, can make contact with each other without any geographic restrictions. The interaction between members of such groups tends to be more uninhibited that it Continue reading
Case Study of Onida: Brand Analysis and Revival Strategies
Story so far….. Household name in television Onida was founded in 1981 and by1982 the company had started assembling television sets at its own factory. Superior products backed up by distinctive design, cutting-edge advertising and purposeful marketing made Onida a household name in India. In addition to televisions, the company has recently made a foray into other household appliances, including air-conditioners, washing machines, DVDs and home theatre systems. For business and industry, Onida has introduced state-of-the-art multimedia presentation products. Onida, is still well known for its brand mascot ‘The Onida Devil’ and its punch line “Neighbor’s Envy Owner’s Pride”. In the 1980s when owning a television set was considered a luxury, Onida launched its advertising campaign on the platform of envy, to promote its television range. A green-horned devil with a long pointed tail was the spokesperson in all its ad campaigns till the 1990s. The ‘Devil’ helped Onida gain Continue reading
Introduction to Marketing Research
Marketing research is the intelligence service of a business enterprise. American Marketing Association defined marketing research as “the gathering, recording and analyzing of all data about problems relating to the transfer and sale of goods and services from producer to consumer.” Objectives of Marketing Research To know the demographics and psychographics of customers:- Marketing research tries to reveal the number of persons who buy, why they buy, when they buy, the frequency of their buying, and the sources of their buying. It also includes the social status and the regional location of the customers. To find out the impact of promotional efforts. To know customer response to a new product. To prove ‘what went wrong’. Nature of Marketing Research Marketing research is systematic and objective collection of data, its analysis and evaluation, and decision making in respect of specific aspects of a marketing problem. Marketing Research and Market Research:- Continue reading
Are Market Research and Marketing Research the Same?
Market research is about understanding the broader marketplace in which we intend to compete. Marketing research, on the other hand, is about understanding what ‘package’ of marketing elements (i.e. the product, price, promotion and distribution factors) the country will need to put together in order to meet customer needs and to succeed in the marketplace. Market research is the more encompassing/broader concept of understanding the market environment in which you will be competing, while marketing research is the more specific/focused view of consumer needs and behavior. In its role as the foundation of marketing, marketing research is arguably marketing’s most important task. Today marketers not only view research as a key ingredient in making marketing decisions they also consider information to be a critical factor in gaining advantage over competitors. Because organizations recognize the power information has in helping create and maintain products that offer value, there is Continue reading