Advertising helps in spreading information about the advertising firm, its products, qualities and place of availability of its products, and so on. It helps to create a non-personal link between the advertiser and the receiver of the message. The significance of advertising has increased in the modern era of large scale production and tough competition in the market. Advertising is needed not only by the manufacturers and traders but also for the customers and the society. The benefits of advertising to different parties are discussed in the following paragraphs. Read More: Introduction to Advertising Benefits to Manufacturers and Traders It pays to advertise. Advertising has become indispensable for the manufacturers and distributors because of the following advantages: Advertising helps in introducing new products. A business enterprise can introduce itself and its products to the public through advertising. It can create new taste among the public and stimulate them to purchase Continue reading
Marketing Management Basics
Major Benefits of Branding
Branding is undertaken to help support sales and revenue generation; stimulating initial sales and then retain sales. By creating a strong brand name with the associations identified above in terms of brand identity, the consumers perceptions may be influenced which potential to impact on the purchase decision. When a consumer makes a purchase, they will traverse the purchase process model, usually defined as occurring in five stages; need/desire recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post purchase behavior. Branding has the potential to impact across all of these stages, potentially influencing the process in favor of that particular brand. Strong brands have the potential to stimulate the perception of a need or a desire; as seen with Coca-Cola and the sound of the bottle opening included in the advertisements, often accompanied by images of an apparently refreshing drink, seeking to stimulate thirst. Apple have also been good at Continue reading
Campaign Management Process
The very concept of a campaign in marketing is focused on a time bound effort to design a strategy for various objectives as per the client requirements. The business objectives which can be the drivers for a campaign are considering an effective launch for a range of products, follow-up and may be increase market share sometimes. The process of campaign management involves an understanding of what are the expected benefits of the campaign, budgeting and costing of the campaign while ensuring that all needful resources are met and finally evaluating the effect of the campaign on the target market. There could be various kinds of campaigns and depending on the objectives of the campaign the basic principle can vary while some core processes remain the same. Some campaigns perform more than one of the functions which may include product launch in the first stage and then go on to brand Continue reading
Methods of Pricing a New Product
We will address the following questions after new product development: How should a company price a new good or service? How should the price be adapted to meet varying circumstances and opportunities? When should the company initiate a price change, and how should it respond to competitive price changes? In the entire marketing mix, price is the one element that produces revenue; the others produce costs. Price is also one of the most flexible elements: It can be changed quickly, unlike product features and channel commitments. Although price competition is a major problem facing companies, many do not handle pricing well. The most common mistakes are these: Pricing is too cost-oriented; price is not revised often enough to capitalize on market changes; price is set independent of the rest of the marketing mix rather than as an intrinsic element of market-positioning strategy; and price is not varied enough for different Continue reading
Concept of Distribution Channels in Marketing
The Importance of Distribution Most producers use intermediaries to bring their products to market. They try to develop a distribution channel (marketing channel) to do this. A distribution channel is a set of interdependent organizations that help make a product available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user. Channel intermediaries are firms or individuals such as wholesalers, agents, brokers, or retailers who help move a product from the producer to the consumer or business user. A company’s channel decisions directly affect every other marketing decision. Place decisions, for example, affect pricing. Marketers that distribute products through mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart will have different pricing objectives and strategies than will those that sell to specialty stores. Distribution decisions can sometimes give a product a distinct position in the market. The choice of retailers and other intermediaries is strongly tied to the product itself. Manufacturers select mass merchandisers Continue reading
Power Equations of Distribution Channels
The use of power by individual channel member to affect the decision making or the behavior of other is the mechanism by which congruent and effective roles become specified, roles become realigned, when necessary and appropriate role performance is enforced. There are a number of power equations that may be available to one channel member in his attempt to influence the other and vice versa. 1. Reward power 2. Coercive power 3. Legitimate power 4. Referent power 5. Expert power Let us discuss these power equations one by one; 1. Reward power: This refers to the capacity of one channel member to reward other if the latter conforms the influence of the former. This power base is present in virtually all channel system. The rewards are usually manifest in the perceived or actual financial gains, which channel member’s experience as the results of conforming to Continue reading