WHAT IS MARKETING? Too often, a marketing function is misunderstood, because many people do not understand what is meant by ‘Marketing’. As shown in Figure 1 there are many different definitions for Marketing. The key is that they all share a common theme, marketing is: “Meeting the needs and wants and providing benefits for customers.” But before being able to meet the needs and wants of customers as well as providing them with benefits. We need to work out: • who our customers are • which customer to target • how to reach and win new customers • how to keep existing customers happy. Figure 1: Definitions of Marketing Source: www.learnmarketing.net And most importantly we need to keep reviewing and improving everything we do to stay ahead of the competition. Marketing should be a long-term investment in your business, and not just something that is switched on and off as required. WHAT IS MARKETING PLANNING? Having an effective marketing plan is invaluable to all businesses. Even so it is amazing the number of companies that think they can operate and succeed without formal plans! A marketing plan helps to focus your company on the vital activity of growing the business. It provides the framework on which to build new “What is a marketing plan? The written document that describes your advertising and marketing efforts for the coming year; it includes a statement of the marketing situation, a discussion of target markets and company positioning and a description of the marketing mix you intend to use to reach your marketing goals.” (Source: www.entreprenaur.com) relationships and cement old ones. But the most important part of the marketing plan is not the document itself, but the process of putting it together. By taking the time to think deeply about your company's commitment to marketing, by the process of self-examination that is necessary, and by uncovering the true feelings of your customers, you will have a much clearer vision of the future. Where do we start? There are many different approaches to the marketing planning process. The one most widely recognised is the SOSTAC model developed in the 1990’s by PR Smith. The model is straightforward and goes through the process of building a marketing plan, ensuring that all relevant factors are considered, without excessive and expensive detail. Finally looking at the practical issues of putting the plan into practice. STAGES OF THE MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS: THE SOSTAC MODEL S Situation Where are we now? O Objectives Where do we want to go?
Our original marketing plan was not a plan at all. We wanted to see success and focused on revenues, net sales, and stock price to gauge whether we were doing what was best for the company. We made sure to locate a target market and base our promotional tactics on what young and mature families want and need. We ensured that we did the right thing in the face of adversity, especially when concerning intercompany issues and product tampering. We wanted to make sure that we were selling great products that did their intended job at a fair price, and made sure our products were easily accessible to consumers.
(Yoder-Wise, 2015) During the process of planning you need to assess your internal and external environment, identify any opportunities and threats. Then you want to create your plan and identify your goals and objectives, implement the plan and lastly you evaluate and make any necessary changes. In strategic marketing, you want to identify your target market and research it. When planning you identify your strategies and objectives you identify what services you will provide and at what cost an how you’re going to market your plan. You can evaluate by getting feedback from consumers through different
Marketing is the process of searching for options for accumulating profits by identifying the demands of the people and satisfying their needs with appropriate products. In today’s globalized business world, marketing can play a vital role in establishing trade blocks all over the globe with competitive and cutting edge market, research, policies, strategies and activities.
Generally marketing is defined by ‘Marketing is a business term referring to the promotion of products, advertising, pricing, distribution channels, and branding. The term developed from the original meaning which referred literally to going to market, as in shopping, or going to a market to sell goods or services.’ This is a definition everyone can easily found on Wikipedia, but is it sufficient?
Marketing In this day and age is vital for a company to perform at its possible best. Marketing’s main focus is to give great satisfaction to a customer. There are many aspect of marketing, these aspects give marketer’s the tools to help strive for the best possible success they can achieve. They hope that they can create exposure for their brand, product or service.
The plans must be realistic and durable to achieve. When there are plans in place it helps the organization to achieve their goals. When the manager has a clear plan or idea, the organization is able to move forward toward their goals. A good effective plan saves time and money for the organization. Most organizations are not sure what their current status is.
Marketing is very important to the success of a business. Before people can buy a product or service they have to know about it. However, marketing entails more than just letting people know what your company has to offer. Throughout this paper, I will define marketing, offering my personal definition as well as more formal definitions from other sources. Furthermore, I will explain to the reader the importance of marketing to organizational success giving real world examples in support of this explanation. The field of marketing can include many things. I believe, however, the most important thing which it should include is communication with customers as to the value and benefits of using that particular company's products and services. It should help to establish the business's niche in the industry and distinguish it from other such businesses.
In order for my product to be successful, I strategize a marketing plan. Market Research is one of the main steps taken in the initial process of strategizing a marketing plan, The primary function of market research is to identify the customers needs and views. During the market research of my product, I discovered that because of the competition, (Herbal Essence Shampoo brand) my product would really need to stand out on the market. Also, during that research I discovered that Herbal Essence?s sales had dropped 6% over the last 2 years, because of their marked up prices. These were great pieces of information, as they will serve helpful during the marketing mix portion of my marketing strategy. The marketing mix is one of the first steps taken in applying an overall marketing strategy for your product. A Marketing Mix is the combination of product offerings used to reach a target market for the organization. (Armstrong & Kotler 2007) The marketing mix includes product, price, promotion and place (also known as distribution)
Marketing is not a static construct, but it grows and develops over time to become what is known as marketing today. “The marketing revolution divides neatly into four separate eras’, eras’ which parallel rather closely the classic pattern of development in the marketing revolution.” (Keith, 1960). The first of these 4 eras was until the 1930’s and was production and profit orientated, and are considered to be outdated. During this era “the new product decision was product oriented not marketing orientated.” (Keith, 1960). “The second era was a sales oriented era, whereby marketing was seen as a series of activities designed to produce profit through ascertaining, creating, stimulating, and satisfying the needs/wants of a selected segment of the market.” (Eldridge, 1970, p. 4). The 3rd and 4th eras are a representation of what
“Marketing plan designs specific action programs that implement the desired strategy” (Walter & Dana, 2007,pp. 50). This marketing plan will look after the company’s vision, mission and values. Then, it will go on to the situation analysis where in it will discuss the competitiveness of the company among the others using the SWOT, PESTEL and Porter’s analysis. Next, it will move on to the objective of the company that will be presented and it will go on to the marketing mix strategies that need to be applied by the company in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Finally, it will present the budget to complete the effectiveness
Marketing Concept is the idea that an organization should strive to satisfy the needs of consumer while also trying to achieve a profit as well as the organization’s goals. An organization should satisfy the stated and unstated needs better than the competition. Marketing is the organizational function and set of processes which creates, communicates
A successful business is made up of different factors. Making a business plan is one vital factor which contributes to a successfully ran business. Figure 2 and 3 show what needs to be included in order to be a successful plan. In businesses, a plan needs to be conducted which allows the owner, employees and others to communicate the visions and goals of the business. This includes market research and thorough information about advertising strategies, the targeted audience, staff, hurdles and obj...
Marketing is a vital component in the success of businesses. Smaller businesses rely on business advertising, expenses, knowing if the business is networking with the right people, or joining the best organisations that lead to success (EStartup business blog, 2010). Marketing concentrates on customers and what the customers want. Customers are the source of sales and profits. Many small businesses are faced with remarkable hardships due to not developing the right marketing plan (EStartup business blog, 2010).
Before taking this course, marketing was all about product and the promotion of that product. I took a marketing course during my undergrad about 7 years ago that emphasized the 4 P’s. Building a strategy around promoting a product and/or service seemed to be the most fundamental concept of marketing to me. My narrow thinking soon changed after going into the workforce and after taking this course. Marketing is more than just telling potential and current consumers about your products and why they should buy it. Marketing truly encompasses all areas of business. A great marketing strategy needs to focus on all the new strategic marketing elements of positioning, product, logistics, price, integrated marketing communications, and service. It’s
In order to know is the market plan is it successful; we can look at the profit. If the profit is rising then it is a well strategy. First we have to set the budget for the business then have to choose your marketing strategies to communicate with the customers.