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
Modern Marketing Concepts
Co-Creation of Value in Marketing
Back in 1953, Neil Borden introduced the concept of Marketing Mix. In 1960, it was classified into 4Ps – product; price; place; and promotion – in 1960 by Professor McCarthy. Product can be either physical or service; Price is dependent on its value; Place refers to distribution of; and Promotion refers to communication related to marketing of the product. The concept of ‘4Ps’ was mainly used in the past when physical product was dominant in the market. There are two main limitations of the marketing mix – common in all examined domains: (i) a model’s internal orientation; and (ii) lack of personalization. Consequently, the model of exchange was introduced having logic based on exchange of manufactured “goods”. This logic focused on tangible resources, embedded value, and transactions. Over the past several decades, however, new perspectives have emerged having a logic focused on intangible resources: the co-creation of value and relationships. Continue reading
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
Concepts of Luxury and Masstige
The word ‘luxury’ derives from the Latin word ‘luxus’ , which according to the Latin Oxford dictionary signifies ‘soft or extravagant living, indulgence’ and ‘sumptuousness, luxuriousness, opulence’ . There are two aspects to consider when defining luxury, the psychological value and the value of the product/service itself. The psychological value of luxury comes from its function as a status symbol and from a highly involved consumption experience that is strongly congruent to a person’s self-concept. From a product perspective, luxury brands are frequently defined in terms of their excellent quality, high transaction value, distinctiveness, exclusivity and craftsmanship. In his paper on International Retail Marketing, T.B. Jackson proposes the following as the core characteristics of a luxury product: ‘… exclusivity, premium prices, image and status which combine to make them more desirable for reasons other than function’. Dimitri Mortelmans, in his paper ‘The concept of luxury’, says there are three main characteristics Continue reading
4 C’s of Contemporary Marketing Mix
The contemporary market has developed with the approach of more prominent customer-centric marketing conditions. Companies’ main focus is to work with consumers, identify their needs, and design products according to their needs. We can see a shift towards personalization, interactivity, and genuine, direct discourse with the client. These changes have made way for innovation, customization, and networking. These new methodologies permit marketers not only to build a relationship with the target group but also to recognize the constantly changing consumer behavior. Moreover, it has also enabled the markets to react quickly to their competitors and anticipate future market trends. Hence, all these developments have provoked the advancements of new theoretical approaches that deal with specific rather than general marketing issues and situations. It’s further feasible for companies to interact with and administer the consumer better with the help of digital platforms. Contemporary marketing incorporates the following marketing mix in the Continue reading