Objectives:
- Define the role of Marketing,
- Define how marketers create value for a product or service,
- Understand why Marketing is important.
"To build and maintain a strong customer base, each brand must distinguish itself from its competitors by offering products, services, and ambiance that are so appealing that customers shun competitors."
This sums up the role of marketing and the concepts required by those whom develop the brands/products/ambiance to offer to customers.
"Each company succeeds because it provides good value to it's customers."
Marketing: An organizational function and a set of processes for creating, CAPTURING, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.
Marketing Plan: A written document composed of an analysis of the current marketing situation, opportunities and threats for the firm, marketing objectives and strategy specified in terms of the four Ps, action programs, and projected or pro forma income (and other financial) statements.
Good marketing is not a random activity; it requires thoughtful planning regarding ethical implications those decisions may have on society. Marketing plans develop a strategy to engage consumers over a specified period of time. Cost, design, promotion, and delivery must be considered. This transaction should result in mutual satisfaction.
Aspects of Marketing:
- Helps create value,
- About satisfying consumer needs and wants,
- Entails an exchange,
- Requires PRODUCT, PRICE, PLACE, and PROMOTION decisions,
- Can be performed by both individuals and organizations,
- Occurs in many settings.
Exchange: The trade of things of value between the buyer and the seller so that each is better off as a result.
Marketing Mix: Product, price, place, and promotion - the controllable set of activities that a firm uses to respond to the wants of its target market.
The exchange process:
Goods and services are produced ----> Communicated then delivered ----> Customers take in communication and accept certain deliveries ----> Provide money and information back to producers.
Good marketing observes the entire marketplace (world of trade) to define their potential customers. Since marketing costs money, good marketing plans target consumers who are most likely to have an interest in the product already and are able to purchase the product.
Product ---> Creates value.
Price ---> Captures value.
Place ---> Delivers value.
Promotion ---> Communicates value.
Products are goods, that require some service to the customer, in conjunction with ideas the consumer may have such as being a healthy alternative or community supportive. Goods are tangible, services are intangible experiences, and ideas are concepts, opinions, and philosophies.
Price is what the buyer gives up in exchange for the product or service. Marketers must gauge the value seen by the potential buyer in order to determine the best price. Marketers must define what customers are willing to pay so that they are satisfied and the sellers achieves a profit.
Place defines the activities to get products to the most appropriate customers when the customer wants it. Involves supply chain management (Marketing channel management). It is the system to effectively integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, stores, transportation systems into a seamless "value chain" so merchandise is produced in the right quantities, distributed to the right places at the right times and in the right quantities, at the right time to minimize costs of productions and distribution while enhancing the experience with the consumers.
Promotion communicates value. Promotion informs, persuades, reminds potential buyers to influence their decisions and most likely elicit a response. Promotion can enhance the perceived value of a product of service.
B2C ---> Business to Consumer (Most products and services)
B2B ---> Business to business (Cleaning services, IT support, Credit institutions)
C2C ---> Consumer to Consumer (Ebay, amazon, craigslist, garage/yard sales)
***C2B ---> Consumer to Buyer (Linked-In; Consumer sells self to business)***
*** My own thoughts based on the readings and my experience.
Marketing Evolution:
Pre-1920 -> Production based
1920-1950 -> Sales
1950 - 1990 -> Standard Marketing
1990 - Present -> Value-Based Marketing
Production Oriented: Good product will sell itself.
Sales Oriented: requiring heavy personal selling and advertising techniques.
Market Oriented: Prompted by a buyers market, the consumers needs and wants in quality, convenience, and price drove design and promotion among retailers and manufactures.
Value-Based: Must provide larger values to customers.
Value: Reflects the relationship of benefits to costs, or what the consumer gets for what he/she gives.
Value Cocreation: Consumers act as collaborators with a manufacturer or retailer to create the product or service.
In order to become more value driven, an entity must first share information about customers and competitors within their own organization and other firms who are part of the process of distribution, communication, delivery. Must strive to balance customer benefit and cost. They must build relationships with customers. And finally, they must take advantage of newer technologies to connect with their growing customer base.
"Sharing and coordinating information represents a critical success factor for any firm."
Relational Orientation: The method of building a relationship with customers based on the philosophy that buyers and sellers should develop a long-term relationship.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): A business philosophy and set of strategies, programs, and systems that focus on identifying and building loyalty among the firm's most valued customers.
Facts: 3/4 U.S. Companies use social media tools for marketing services.
46% of internet users use social media systems daily.
77% of the world's population subscribe to mobile services.
10% of the world uses Facebook.
Marketing advices production of how much to produce, then informs logistics of when and where to ship it. It identifies elements that local consumers value, and makes it possible to have a global reach.
Supply Chain: The group of firms that make and deliver a given set of goods and services.
Marketing Channel: The set of institutions that transfer the ownership of an move goods from the point of production to the point of consumption; consists of all the institutions and marketing activities in the marketing process.
Entrepreneurs: A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk of a new business venture.
The more interconnected supply chains become into marketing channels, the more opportunities become available for marketing career professionals. The ability to control the channels and the supply chain can directly impact a firm's ability to satisfy a consumer.
Supply chain example:
Raw materials -> Manufacturer -> Retailer -> Consumer
"Socially responsible firms recognize that including a strong social orientation in business is a sound strategy that is in both its own and its customers' best interest."
Why is Marketing important? It can expand global presence. It is pervasive across marketing channel members. It enriches society and can be entrepreneurial.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deliverables:
For the second class, our assignment was to bring in an article that correlates with the material discussed within the chapter as well as pick at least two products that my team would be interested in marketing. Click the link below to view the articles I selected and scroll down for a brief summary of the articles which must accompany each article submission.
Summary: This article covered a study done by VU University Amsterdam with partnership to KLM Royal Dutch Airline. They found in the study that the more the business engaged in their customers social media interactions, the more favorable they were viewed by those individuals who use it. Likewise, more avid social media users are more likely to connect and communicate through social media which can help to foster a more favorable relationship between a company and its consumers. And, the more information readily available, the more likely non-customer viewers may find interest in using the service.
This correlates with the connection and relationship building that is part of the value-based marketing. By giving your customers more ways to interact with the company and also share those interactions with their friends, family, and followers, the more likely a firm may generate a stronger loyalty with that customer, generate renewed interest with a possibly disgruntled connection of that user, and even open up opportunities to consumers who may never have considered that firm and option, whether loyalties to another firm existed prior or no loyalties established given new consumer just entered market.
Summary: This article speaks on the point of the marketing channels and the relationships between consumers and retailers and consumers and producers/manufacturers. The information collected and shared between the consumers events are allowing great dividends in purchasing powers. But the security issues witnessed by the consumers makes a difficult conversation to be had when analyzing the relationship firms have with their customers. If your customers do not trust that you are securing their information that is being collected, they may change their loyalties to better suit their ideals. Plus, not all the information collected is pertinent in defining better ways to service the customer or products best suited for the customer.
This article suggests using analytic sources to not just grab all the data, but to grab the data that is directly relevant to where the target customer is in their life. A target item may be great for one customer and in line with trends, but to another, that item has no value so the marketing to them would be practically irrelevant. This supply chain and marketing channel is becoming the newest source for determining market distribution and penetration in order to better serve the customer and give them more value for their dollar and time. In regards to this article, it seems by offering new ways the customer can interact with the collection and storage of data is becoming a tool to build relationships with customer that last.
Summary:This article examines the generous ways in which companies give back to their customers and society at large in a diverse, more competitive infrastructure. Many have taken to social media to do just that given the new "big data" business acting behind the scenes. Many brands are offering contests, and interaction benefits for taking part in their social media feeds. Some brands offer immediate rewards for purchases made through certain exchange formats, like shopping online or through a specific retailer. These programs are designed to do one thing, create and sustain a loyal connection with the customer.
Loyalty can be created by being active on these social systems and with the customers on these systems, or by being charitably generous to social causes your target audience will most likely find almost as valuable as the product the charity is generated through. These social commitments and tailor made advertising that come from the social networking arenas are ways in which marketing reaches so many spheres of human interaction without having to discuss any actual product or service delivered by the firms or producers.
Items:
- Microsoft Surface Computer - represents a unique niche between tablet and laptops.
- Google Glass - Given virtual reality entertainment is right around the corner.
- Coin: The electric Credit card - Because this is awesome!
- Solar Roadway - I believe the research on this will be interesting and worth the time.
.JPG)
