Marketing mix entails a combination of marketing activities such as production; distribution, promotion, and pricing that are controlled by firms to enable it meet the needs of customers being targeted. Goods and services are conveniently availed at favorable prices to customers who are well informed about the firm and the product itself. Generally, marketing mix facilitates satisfying exchange relationship between the producing firm and the purchasers of the firm’s products (Belohlavek 13)
Target market may include large or small groups of customers in the local or global market that seeks a single or multiple products to satisfy their needs. Marketing mix is to some extent the same as marketing strategy although marketing mix does not put into consideration external factors such as economic, technological, legal and statutory, socio-cultural, competition and political forces in the environment.
Approaches of Preparing a Case Study
Preparing a marketing case study of a new product may at times be challenging and demanding thus the need to follow systematic steps to achieve positive results for the product market. New products are marketed using desirable approaches to establish a strong consumer base and generate revenue for the product in the targeted market. In marketing a new product, the following sections are important for successful penetration into the market:
The first step is researching extensively for information about competitors and the kind of products, customers, and strategies they have in the market. Irrespective of whether the new product is unique or similar to those of competitors, extensive research about competitors and their product is vital for successful marketing strategy implementation.
The firm may compare its products with those of the competitors to improve its approach for marketing its new product. Comparison can be done by impersonating the consumers of the products of competitors in questioning and comparing products as customers will do when making their purchases.
The second step is researching for information concerning the target markets of the new product. Information about consumer target groups is vital for the understanding of consumer patterns and behaviors with respect to existing and new products in the market. When new products are being launched into the market, firms should be in a position to establishing the characteristics individuals believed to have the likelihood of purchasing the new products.
The characteristics of consumer groups that purchase similar items enable the firm to capitalize on additional features of the new product. Additional features of the new products play a very important role in attracting consumer groups who have interest in similar products.
Third, diversifying approaches used to marketing new products is essential. Marketing strategies implemented should have a variety of options to be implemented incase one the first option fails due to trial and error nature of marketing.
Diversification of marketing approaches facilitates successful penetration of viable markets for the new products with the advantage of understanding different outcomes. A variety of marketing options enables marketers to follow up on results of an approach and apply different approaches consistent with market trends
Fourth, initially launching the product in a manner to captivate the audience follows. Initial moments of new products are vital for building a base for a journey to successful market penetration of a new product. Firms need to generate a first impression that will capture the interest of target customer groups.
Application of captivating approaches such as the media and special events with good public relations strategies can go a long way in creating a captivating first impression. However, the approaches can also incorporate the use of affordable entertaining companies to launch new products and create an effective first impression.
The fifth step is following up on the approaches and implementing alternative option in case of failure or poor results. After the initial implementation of marketing strategies, firms need to monitor the progress of the approaches and put in place corrective measures incase of deviation from expectation. Approaches should also be revised to periodically keep the advertisement and marketing strategies attractive to target groups. More so, revising the strategies continually may help in capturing untapped market.
Marketing Management
Marketing management is a process through which firms undertake to enable effective and efficient exchanges by planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling marketing activities in the right direction. The firm seeks to achieve an optimum level of exchanges with utilization of minimal resource.
Marketing management is important to assess opportunities and resources, determine marketing objectives, and develop a marketing strategy to implement. The marketing structure puts in place aspects such as functions, products, regions, and customers. Effective internal communications systems are developed to coordinate marketing activities and motivate the marketing personnel.
After implementation of marketing strategies, the managements help in controlling the marketing processes to establish level of actual performance and compare the results realized with established standards and expectation. The marketing manager has the responsibility to direct and supervise the marketing personnel on day-to-day basis. The manager ensures that every day activities are undertaken as planned and put in place corrective measures in case results are not positive.
Applied Marketing
Applied Marketing combines a set of ideas that enables firms to undertake effective marketing and customer relation to foster business growth and make extra profits. Applied marketing entails a combination of ideas in planning, marketing, motivating marketing personnel, selling firm products, and advertising in a simplified way that helps organizations achieve positive results.
Applied marketing deals with real issue of marketing on the ground and provides the ideas to companies marketing there products the whole year. The application has a variety of principles that can help firms to make adjustments where necessary with respect to new trends and concepts in the highly competitive business environment. The most effective and successful side of applied marketing is coaching of individuals for what is clearly known to them.
It enables firms achieve their goals by providing realistic solutions to specific issues being undergone by firms. Applied marketing considers strengths of firms and capitalizes on the capabilities to encourage and guide firms to realize there full potential by critically analyzing information concerning the firm. This kind of marketing helps firms achieve positive results using there past experiences and knowledge about other firms that had faced similar challenges (Blythe 215).
Difference between a marketing Strategy and Plan
A marketing strategy is a plan of action for identifying and analyzing a target market and developing a marketing mix to meet the needs of that market while a marketing plan is a written document that specifies the activities to be performed and implemented. The written document also specifies the means of controlling the marketing activities of an organization.
Marketing strategies act as a control measure to marketing plans designed to satisfy market needs and enable market penetration. The strategies test the plans laid down with respect to capability of achieving desirable results. More so, the strategies are developed to be applicable over plans of multiple years with a specific measure directed at goals and objectives to be accomplished within that specific year.
However, time span of the strategies and plans vary with respect to the rate at which environmental changes are experienced. Strategies are partly planned and partly unplanned due to the uncontrollable factors in the environment. Planed strategies are laid down with respect to controllable factors within the reach of the organization.
Best Corporate Citizens
Home capital group Inc, Shoppers drug mart and Toyota Canada are examples of companies that portray a good example of good corporate citizens.
Companies that have characteristics of good corporate citizens contribute resources to the community and generally help in improving quality of life among the people. Corporate citizens are those who engage in activities and operations that do not harm the society by practicing what is right, just, and fair before all. More over, the corporate citizens operate within the rules of the game with respect to law.
Above all aspects of maintaining a positive relationship with citizens, they need to make profits and generate revenue for the benefit of the society in general. Companies that are ranked as best corporate citizens have good image in the society and therefore can easily market themselves and their products as they reap the benefits of goodwill.
Social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility entails an obligation of organizations to minimize their negative impacts and maximize there positive impacts on the society. Corporate social responsibility is used in marketing through creating positive relationship with the society in which the target market exists.
The society have the desire of knowing what marketers would do to help the people to solve their problems with respect to functions, importance of products being marketed. The society strongly approves of organizations that contribute to their wellbeing given the fact that products of there organization in the same way the products satisfy their needs.
Marketing to Business versus Marketing to Consumers
Marketing to business includes marketing to individuals or groups that purchase specific goods for resale, use in daily operations and for production of other products while consumer marketing includes groups or individuals who purchase the products for the purpose of consumption. Business markets differ from consumer markets in that business market orders are huge and more costly with several individuals being involved in the purchase process.
Frequency of purchase in business markets is higher than purchases by consumers. Marketing cannot be effectively done to both markets as business markets are better informed about products and demand more detailed information due to desire to achieve personal and organizational goals.
There has been an increase in international trade and marketing due to introduction of trade alliances, markets, and agreements that promote free trade, economic and technological transfer globally. The future of international trade and marketing is likely to be based on technological advancement with transactions, agreements, and markets being technologically oriented.
Market segmentation is the process through which the overall market is divided into groups with same product needs to enable marketing mixes to be designed to match those needs. An example of market segmentation is geo-demographic segmentation, which divides the target group based on their lifestyles and demographic information.
Customer Relationship management is a system with internet capabilities that is used by enterprises to help their marketing departments to manage their relationship with customer in an orderly and systematic manner. Customer relationship management is on the increase as the need for effective relations with customers becomes necessary due to the increasingly competitive environment.
Services and not for profit businesses should be marketed to enable people who are interested in an organization, product, or social services get information to access them. Marketing of services and non-profit making businesses should consider developing a distribution channel to control the flow of non-profit products and means of communication to the clients.
The internet has changed and simplified marketing from the past where consumers responded to conventional advertising and trade shows. The internet brought in a new and simpler ways of getting and advertising information about products over the web.
Past methods are less effective than the internet and more environmentally harmful with excess consumption of energy and pollution from toxic wastes. Internet is more efficient with the use of search engines and social networking sites. Internet marketing uses a combination of creative and technical factors such as the application of design in advertising, and selling out.
The use of the internet to market products of an organization may also entail the use of the media in engaging customers in the target groups. Internet marketing has been simplified by a number of applications such as the banner advertising, email marketing, and search engines.
Controllable factors of marketing are those considered in the marketing mix of a company. The factors refer to aspects of production, pricing, distribution, and promotion of the products. On the other hand, uncontrollable factors are the environmental aspects that cannot be controlled by the organization. The uncontrollable factors include politics, economics, social, technology, competition, and government regulation factors (Fisk, Grove & Joby 204)
Works Cited
Fisk, Raymond P., Grove, Stephen J., Joby, John. Interactive Service Marketing. OH: Cengage Learning, 2007. Web.
Blythe, Jim. Principles and practice of Marketing OH: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2006. Web.
Belohlavek, Peter. Unicist Marketing mix. NY: Blue Eagle Group, 2008. Web.