Marketing consists of the strategies and tactics used to identify, create and maintain satisfying relationships with customers that result in value for both the customer and the marketer. Marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. The marketing management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers’ requirements profitably. 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 Continue reading
Marketing Principles
Difference Between Commercial Marketing and Social marketing
Man is a social animal dwelling within the confines of a social set up and interacting with the other members of the very same social set-up in order to fulfill his needs be it basic or otherwise. Every activity carried out in society serves a certain need in exchange of a benefit in kind or monetary terms which is the universally accepted mode of exchange thus creating trade and marketing activities. With progress and advancement the comprehension of market and marketing has assumed new dimension and character. Marketing activities and several strategies related to it could be very well bifurcated into Commercial Marketing and Social Marketing. Commercial Marketing has been in existence since time immemorial. The process was initially strictly understood as offering a product or service with intent to generate and maximize profit. Earlier, the commercial world lacked intense competition and hence the market being a sellers’ market ended Continue reading
Marketing Planning – Strategic Planning in Marketing
Businesses that succeed do so by creating and keeping customers. They do this by providing better value for the customer than the competition. Marketing management constantly have to assess which customers they are trying to reach and how they can design products and services that provide better value (“competitive advantage”). The main problem with this process is that the “environment” in which businesses operate is constantly changing. So a business must adapt to reflect changes in the environment and make decisions about how to change the marketing mix in order to succeed. This process of adapting and decision making is known as marketing planning. So, marketing planning is a plan involves designing activities relating to marketing objectives and attach with the capability of changing marketing environment. It contains with the issues of product lines, distribution channels, marketing communications and pricing. Marketing planning process is a fundamental part of Marketing Audit. Continue reading
Publicity – Meaning, Areas and Vehicles
Public relations are often confused with publicity, which in simple terms mean making things public or bringing things to the public notice. Many tools including word of mouth to the mass media to advertising to the Internet are used for publicizing information. However, publicity is only one part of public relations. Many marketing experts put public relations under publicity. Thus, publicity is an important part of public relation. Many tools are used for publicizing information and facts. The major and most effective ones are the mass media. Publicity coverage could be in the form of news stories, news analyses, interviews, features, articles, and editorials in printed media and in news bulletins, interviews, discussions or special programmes on radio and television. Another form of publicity is the paid variety. This basically involves advertising for which the organization has to pay to the media for the amount of space and time. Yet Continue reading
Improve, Adapt, Buy or Drop a Product – Strategic Marketing Decisions
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
The Cultural Framework of International Marketing
Culture defines the people’s “way of life”, meaning the way they do things. Culture could be related to a specific country, a section of community or within an organization. A people’s culture includes their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art, technology, styles of clothing, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, and political and economic systems. Culture is not inherited genetically; it must be learned and acquired. Socialization occurs when a person absorbs or learns the culture in which he or she is raised. Marketing research should take into account the local culture of the country in which you wish to market. How marketing efforts interact with a culture determines the success or failure of a product. Advertising and promotion require special attention because they play a key role in communicating product concepts and benefits to the target customer. Terpstra & Sarathy (2000) stated that Understanding the cultural environment Continue reading