D077 Marketing
Marketing research is a systematic process for identifying marketing opportunities and solving marketing problems, using customer insights derived from the collection and analysis of marketing information. Marketing research puts marketers close to their customers to help them understand who they customers are, what they want, and what competitors are doing.
Lesson 10: The Purpose of Marketing Research Identify the purpose of marketing research.
The function of marketing in business is to bring value to customers. Marketing creates this value through activities that create, communicate, deliver, and exchange offerings. Marketing centers on the customer, helping design product offerings that meet needs and deliver value. Marketing is responsible for communication with customers, both explaining product benefits and listening to customer feedback. Marketing identifies customer needs, satisfies those needs through products or services, and works to retain customers by driving customer loyalty.
Lesson 1: The Role of Marketing Define marketing and its role in a firm's business strategy.
The customer life cycle describes the different steps in a company's relationship with the customer. The steps include reach, acquisition, conversion, retention, and loyalty. Marketing must create a relationship with the customer throughout the life cycle. Reminding current customers why they should continue purchasing a brand's products is just as important as promoting to potential customers. Reach—getting a prospective customer's attention Acquisition—bringing a prospective customer into a sphere of influence Conversion—turning a prospect into a paying customer Retention—engaging an existing customer to keep them Loyalty and Advocacy—turning a customer into an advocate for the company
Lesson 20: Customer Life Cycle Describe the customer life cycle.
Customer satisfaction is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. High customer satisfaction, which is driven by a products and services consistently meeting or exceeding expectations, is a key indicator of retention.
Lesson 23: Customer Satisfaction Identify drivers that maximize total customer satisfaction.
Marketers should consider the type and frequency of contact desired by their customers to ensure their communications are appropriate and do not violate legal or ethical limits. Companies that collect data on their customers should be aware of consumer concerns for privacy and data security. Marketers can build trust with target customers by setting standards that are higher than the legal requirements. Which U.S. federal act establishes standards for commercial email? Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM)
Lesson 24: Ethical Considerations of CRM Describe ethical considerations of CRM
Consumer behavior examines how purchase decisions are made and how products or services are consumed or experienced. Marketers use data on consumer behavior to shape a market offering.
Lesson 32: Consumer Behavior Define consumer behavior
When making a purchase, consumers go through a sequence of steps in their decision-making process. The process begins when consumers become aware of either a problem that needs to be solved or an opportunity to be addressed by a potential purchase of a product or service. Then, after searching for information about available options, the consumer evaluates the possibilities and makes a decision. If the decision is to buy, the consumer completes the purchase. Post-purchase, the consumer evaluates the decision and the purchase experience. Marketers should understand this process and consider how to support and influence consumers through each step. 1 Problem and opportunity- Consumer recognizes a need 2 Search- Consumer searches for information about options 3 Evaluation- Consumer evaluates, considers, and ranks the available options 4 Decision- Consumer makes a decision whether or not to purchase a product or service 5 Buy -Consumer completes the purchase 6 Post purchase -Consumer assesses the decision and the buying experience
Lesson 33: Steps in the Consumer Decision-Making Process
Consumers may make ethical considerations part of their decision-making process, either by boycotting brands and products or through positive buying. Labor conditions, fair trade, and environmental concerns may all factor in consumer decisions. A company's commitment to CSR may be an asset in marketing to ethical consumers. Ethical consumerism is a type of consumer activism based on the concept of dollar voting practiced through positive buying. The consumer's willingness to purchase the higher-cost product illustrates this concept. Supply chain transparency is when a company discloses how products are sourced and where they are made. Corporate social responsibility is a way of conducting business with commitment to the values, norms, and expectations of society for social responsibility.
Lesson 37: Ethical Considerations in Decision-Making Describe the consumer's ethical considerations in decision-making
B2C sales are made to individuals who are the final decision makers, while B2B sales are made to a business or organization. While consumer marketing is aimed at large groups through mass media and retailers, the negotiation process between the buyer and seller is often more personal in business marketing. B2B sales are more concentrated and may be characterized by derived demand. One of the hallmarks of B2B marketing is the personalized nature of the marketing process. A number of factors may influence organizational (B2B) decision makers who are involved in the buying process. Interpersonal: B2B decisions are influenced by characteristics of the individuals involved in the selection process Organizational: Purchasing decisions, especially large expenditures, may be influenced by the organization's strategies, priorities, and performance. Environmental: B2B purchasing is also influenced by factors in the external business environment. Government and the regulatory environment can also influence purchasing decisions.
Lesson 43: Consumer and Organizational Buyers Differentiate between consumer and organizational buyers.
Three common B2B buying situations: The straight rebuy occurs when an organization reorders or renews a good or service without any modifications. With a modified rebuy, the buyer wants to reorder a product, but with some modification to the order. A new task is when an organization considers buying a product for the first time.
Lesson 44: B2B Buying Situations Differentiate between three major B2B buying situations.
The challenges of creating appropriate controls in personal sales, particularly B2B sales, place special pressure on individual sales representatives to make good judgement calls. Salespeople and marketers have a responsibility to act ethically by providing fair value to the customer through accurate communications and clear pricing structures.
Lesson 48: Ethical Considerations Describe ethical considerations in negotiations.
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a combination of policies, processes, and strategies implemented by a company that allow it to track customer information and create a unified relationship with the customer throughout the customer life cycle. The customer life cycle describes the different steps in a company's relationship with the customer from initial contact to loyalty. Customer lifetime value is the total profit associated with customers throughout their lifetime relationship with a company. Customer equity is the total combined customer lifetime values of all of their customers. Customer satisfaction is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. High customer satisfaction is a key indicator of retention. Ethical concerns with CRM involve ensuring appropriate contact with customers (frequency and method of contact) as well as maintaining data privacy and security.
Module 5: Customer Relationship Management Summary
you have learned about the ways companies take a strategic approach to marketing their products and services. You have learned how businesses identify and implement a growth strategy. You have explored how effective customer relationship management communicates the marketing message with the customer throughout the customer life cycle to maximize customer value to the company. Segmentation, targeting, and positioning ensure that marketers are strategically communicating with the right customers in a way that clearly articulates what a product or service means for them. You have also learned how marketers seek to understand consumer behavior to develop the right marketing mix for each step in the decision-making process and identify key influences on the purchase decision.
Unit 3: Strategic Marketing Summary
Marketing research helps companies answer key questions about their product and helps the market better address the needs of their current and target customers. Marketers may be able to answer key questions by evaluating already existing information, or secondary data, that has been collected for other purposes. For example, marketers could learn the average household size and age range for a given geographic area from census data. For questions that are tailored to a specific problem or challenge, marketers may need to collect new data through primary research methods. As an example, a company might send an email survey to all potential customers who sign up for an account on a parenting website.
Lesson 11: Primary and Secondary Data in Marketing Research Describe the difference between primary and secondary data.
Primary data directly address the problems or challenges of interest. However, it can be costly, time-consuming, and can require expertise to collect. Secondary data is more cost-effective and may even be freely available. However, it may be older information or may not directly address the specific problems or challenges that interest you.
Lesson 12: Benefits and Limitations Describe the benefits and limitations of primary and secondary data.
Primary marketing research techniques include behavioral observation, in-depth interviews, focus groups, social listening, survey research, and experimental research. Secondary data techniques involve identifying relevant sources of information that already exist. This could include data internal to the company or organization; government or NGO data; data from industry associations, professional journals, and media; commercial marketing research data; and search engine results.
Lesson 13: Primary and Secondary Research Techniques Identify primary and secondary research techniques.
Marketers should take into account ethical considerations when gathering, analyzing, and storing primary data. Data should be kept secure, gathered transparently, and used for the purposes stated to participants. When using secondary data, marketers should consider the credibility and reliability of sources and use clear citations. Marketers have ethical responsibilities to their respondents, clients, vendors, and profession when engaging in marketing research.
Lesson 14: Ethical Considerations Describe ethical considerations of marketing research.
Companies pursue growth strategies to increase market share and profitability. Growth strategies can be focused on new or existing products for either new or existing markets
Lesson 15: Purpose of Growth Strategies Identify the purpose of growth strategies.
Companies have four growth strategies to choose from: market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification. Companies select a growth strategy based on the type of market they wish to pursue and the type of product they wish to use. Market penetration: This growth strategy uses current products and current markets with the goal to increase market share. Market development: This growth strategy uses existing products to capture new markets. Product development: This growth strategy uses new products in the existing market. Diversification: This strategy creates completely new opportunities for the company by creating new products and new markets.
Lesson 16: Four Growth Strategies Identify the four types of growth strategies.
Market penetration uses current products and current markets with the goal of increasing market share. This strategy has lower risk than some others but requires gaining customers of your competitors or convincing existing customers to use more of your product. Market development uses existing products to capture new markets. This may be a good strategy if you believe in the strength of your product and its ability to attract new customer segments. New product development relies on identifying a strong need for a new product among existing customers. Diversification seeks to increase sales through expanding into new products and new markets. It can involve higher risk and may require new or additional resources to execute.
Lesson 17: Characteristics of the Four Growth Strategies Identify characteristics of each growth strategy.
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a combination of policies, processes, and strategies implemented by a company that allow it to track customer information and unify customer interactions. The purpose of customer relationship management is to cultivate a lasting relationship with the customer.
Lesson 18: Customer Relationship Management Define customer relationship management (CRM).
A key benefit of CRM is enabling companies to be more responsive to (and retain) customers. The customer experiences more unified, relevant communication with the company. Marketing and sales can analyze the data collected to better fit their target customer needs. One challenge is ensuring consumer privacy and security given the increased collection of data. It may also be a challenge for organizations to integrate a CRM system into all relevant departments and workflows. Operational- Ensure customer satisfaction by integrating sales, marketing, and customer support Analytical-Use data to understand who the company's core customers are, how they behave, what they are looking for, and how satisfied they are Collaborative- Work across teams and departments more effectively, including with suppliers and vendors
Lesson 19: Benefits and Challenges of CRM Identify benefits and challenges of customer relationship management (CRM).
Customer lifetime value is the total profit associated with customers throughout their lifetime relationship with a company. This concept can also include less tangible benefits associated with customer loyalty, such as brand engagement and customer referrals. CLV can help marketers assess the effectiveness of marketing efforts and the value of specific customer segments.
Lesson 21: Customer Lifetime Value Define customer lifetime value (CLV).
Customer equity is the total combined customer lifetime values of all of a company's customers. Customer equity takes into account customer loyalty and extrapolates it over the lifetime of the customers. The three drivers to customer equity are value equity, brand equity, and retention equity. value equity—how the customer assesses the value of the product or service provided by the company brand equity—how the customer assesses the value of the brand, above its objective value retention equity—the tendency of the customer to stick with the brand, even when it is priced higher than an otherwise equal product.
Lesson 22: Customer Equity Define customer equity.
Marketers distinguish between B2B and B2C markets. B2B marketers target other businesses that consume the product or use it as part of a final product offering that they provide consumers. B2C marketers target individual consumers of the finished product.
Lesson 25: Market Types Identify the types of markets.
Most organizations cannot target the total market for a specific product, so the purpose of market segmentation is to help marketers focus their efforts on specific customer groups. Market segmentation is the process of separating, identifying, and evaluating the layers of a market.
Lesson 26: Market Segmentation Identify the purpose of market segmentation.
Demographic segmentation groups customers based on categories such as age, education, gender, income, and household size. Geographic segmentation groups customers by location as well as regional and climate characteristics. Psychographic segmentation groups customers based on personality, lifestyle, affinities, activities, and opinions. Product-related segmentation groups markets based on the benefits provided by the product.
Lesson 27: Segmentation Strategies Identify segmentation variables used to segment the market.
A target market is a specific group of customers toward which a company could direct its marketing efforts. Identifying target markets helps a company use its resources effectively by tailoring its marketing efforts to appeal to those potential customers most likely to buy its product.
Lesson 28: Target Marketing Identify the purpose of target marketing.
Differentiated marketing targets specific market segments differently according to the benefits that the company offers each one. Undifferentiated marketing involves marketing to the entire market and to all segments the same way. Concentrated marketing focuses on appeal to a very narrowly defined target segment. Micromarketing focuses on individual consumer preferences (individual marketing) and on marketing to companies and individuals within a small localized area (local marketing).
Lesson 29: Targeting Strategies Identify targeting strategies.
The marketing mix represents the controllable elements in the marketing environment. It includes product, price, promotion, and place. Product refers to the goods, services, or ideas that a company offers to the market. Marketers consider the phases of the product life cycle, the product mix, positioning, and branding as they put together a product strategy. Price refers to something given in exchange for a product. Pricing strategy is based on demand for the product, customer's perceived value of the product, and the cost of producing that product. Pricing strategies include skimming, penetration pricing, leader pricing, bundling, and prestige pricing. Promotion refers to methods for informing and influencing customers to buy the product. Each company creates a unique promotional mix for each product. The promotional mix may include traditional advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and digital marketing (including social media, online advertising, and content marketing). Integrated marketing communications is an approach that carefully coordinates all promotional activities to produce a consistent, customer-focused message. Place involves how the product gets from the producer to the customer, including supply chain and inventory management. Companies may use direct or indirect distribution models. They may use corporate, contractual, or administered vertical marketing systems for their distribution channels. Omnichannel retailing means having a uniform customer experience around all the ways a customer can engage with the company.
Lesson 2: The Marketing Mix Identify the elements of the marketing mix.
Marketers use positioning as a strategic process to determine the place or niche an offering should occupy in a given market relative to other customer alternatives. The end result of positioning is the successful creation of a market-focused value proposition that describes why the target segment should buy the product.
Lesson 30: Product Positioning Identify the purpose of product positioning.
Marketers can use a positioning map as a tool to understand where their product fits in the market with respect to the competition. This helps marketers select the most effective positioning strategy. Positioning strategies can be based on product attributes, price, quality, competition, application, user groups, or category. Product attributes-Positioning based on a characteristic that defines a product and will influence the customer's decision to purchase The price-positioning strategy positions the product as the lowest cost or best value. The quality- positioning strategy positions the product as the highest quality in its category. The competition- positioning strategy positions the product against a competitor Product application-Positioning a product based off of how it is used as the best option for that specific task and use Product user-Positioning a product for a specific user group Product category-Positioning a product within a product category where there is strong recognition for the category and brand
Lesson 31: Positioning Strategies Identify the strategies used to position products.
There are a number of influences on consumer decision-making, which can be broadly categorized into personal and interpersonal influences. Personal influences are unique to each consumer in the way they affect decision-making. These influences include needs and motivation, perceptions, learning, and attitudes. Interpersonal influences come from a consumer's relationships with other people and groups. These influences come from a consumer's participation in family, culture (including subcultural groups), and society (including reference groups). nonexperiential learning includes testimonials, case studies, blogger postings, Experiential is based on something the consumer knows or has experience with already.
Lesson 34: Influences on Consumer Decision-Making Identify the influences within the consumer decision-making process.
Consumer involvement in a purchase decision can vary widely and affects the decision-making process. High-involvement decisions are important to the buyer, so the buyer invests more energy in the decision process. They are typically purchases that involve some risk (financial, social, or psychological) to the consumer. Low-involvement decisions are more straightforward, involve less risk to the consumer, and are often routine. Consumers invest less time and energy in these decisions. Market strategy- This helps consumers come to their purchasing decision faster and easier, based on the product positioning. consumer involvement- The level of information search and product evaluation a customer conducts for a product purchase. Understanding a consumer's level of involvement in a decision-making process helps marketers put together the right marketing mix to impact each type of consumer.
Lesson 35: Types of Decisions Describe high- versus low-involved decisions.
A consumer's level of involvement in a purchase decision affects the type of problem-solving process used to make a decision. Consumers engage in routine problem-solving when they make a low-involvement purchase, such as grocery shopping. Marketing efforts should help consumers make a quick decision. For larger, high-involved purchases, consumers engage in extended problem-solving processes. Marketers should provide more information and resources for consumers to consider. Limited problem-solving falls in between routine and extended problem-solving. Consumers engage in some research before making a purchase decision, but do not invest as much time as with extended problem-solving.
Lesson 36: Problem-Solving Process Types Identify different types of problem-solving processes.
Personal selling uses personal relationships to sell products and services. The interaction is based on fulfilling a need or desire with the product or service that is offered and paid for. Effective personal selling addresses the buyer's needs to create a trusting relationship between the buyer and seller. Marketing and sales work together to move prospective customers through the purchasing process. Marketing builds relationships between customers and the brand, while the salesperson extends the relationship to make the sale.
Lesson 38: Personal Selling in the Marketing Context Identify the purpose of personal selling.
A seller's relationship with the customer is the framework for consultative selling. Consultative selling is about partnering with the customer with a true focus on problem-solving. Team selling involves a dedicated team working together to represent the company and meet customer needs. Telemarketing is a method of direct marketing. Digital approaches have shifted power from the seller to the buyer, as customers can learn about products and engage with the brand over the internet.
Lesson 39: Sales Approaches Identify various sales approaches.
The product is the solution the customer wants and needs, such as athleisure clothing provided by Lululemon. Price refers to the cost to the customer, such as the cost of a mocha latte at Starbucks. Promotion refers to communications between the company and customer, such as the Sydney Opera House's Instagram campaign. Place refers to the distribution of the product and how it reaches the customer, such as an omnichannel experience delivered by REI.
Lesson 3: Examples of the Marketing Mix Identify examples of each element of the marketing mix.
Technological advances and the internet are providing additional means for customers and salespeople to interact. Adaptive selling is a trend in personal selling that focuses on understanding the customer's social style and adapting your approach to it. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) supports sales by immersing customers in communications with the brand using different touchpoints. Artificial intelligence is allowing sales to reach a new level of customized messaging. social styles matrix map Amiables -low assertiveness and high responsiveness. Drivers- low responsiveness and high assertiveness. Expressives -high responsiveness and high assertiveness Analyticals- low assertiveness and low responsiveness. IMC targets specific customers based on their interests and habits
Lesson 40: Trends in Personal Selling Identify trends in personal selling.
Prospecting and qualifying identifies people and companies that might be interested and able to buy a product. After identifying a prospect, the salesperson approaches the customer to build interest in meeting. The salesperson presents and demonstrates the product. This may take the form of a casual conversation rather than a structured presentation. Almost every sales presentation involves handling a customer objection. After all objections have been dealt with, it is time to close the sale. Following up by correctly processing the order and maintaining the customer relationship is a critical part of repeat sales. 1.Prospecting and qualifying 2.Approaching customers 3.Presenting and demonstrating 4.Handling objections 5.Closing the sale 6.Following up
Lesson 41: The Sales Process Describe the steps of the sales process.
Salespeople are a particularly visible role for ethical concerns because they come in contact directly with the customer. What the salesperson does and says is a reflection of the organization and its ethics. It is unethical for salespeople to deceive customers through lying or omission. Anticompetitive practices—such as bait and switch, planned obsolescence, and pyramid schemes—are another form of unethical behavior in sales.
Lesson 42: Ethical Behaviors in Personal Selling Describe ethical behaviors in personal selling.
A buying center is a group of employees responsible for making a purchase decision at an organization. The economic buyer controls the budget for the purchase or project. Influencers, or infrastructure buyers, affect the buying decision at the execution level. They are often technical specialists. User buyers influence the buying decision with feedback at end user level. Gatekeepers control the flow of information to and among others within the buying center. 1. Initiator-who suggest purchasing a product or service 2.Influencer- who try to affect the outcome decision with their opinions 3.Decider- who have the final decision 4.Buyer-who are responsible for the contract 5.End User- of the item being purchased 6.Gate Keeper-who control the flow of information
Lesson 45: Organizational Buyers Describe various organizational buying participants.
Negotiation consists of five phases: investigation, determining the desired outcome, presentation, bargaining, and closure. The distributive view of negotiation assumes a win-lose scenario where negotiators see the situation as a pie they have to divide between them. The integrative approach to negotiation looks for ways to expand the pie so each party receives value in a win-win scenario. Negotiation Approach: Distributive- Divide the pie (win-lose) Integrative- Collaborate to expand the pie (win-win) Inductive- Start with details Deductive- Start with the big picture Mixed- Focus on key details and big picture items
Lesson 46: Negotiation Strategies Identify negotiation strategies.
In this lesson, you learned about how an approach to handling conflict involves balancing concern for others (empathy or cooperation) and concern for self (self-interest or assertiveness). Some styles tend to favor one over the other. The dual concern model describes five common styles of handling conflict by mapping them according to the varying degrees of cooperation and assertiveness they exhibit: The avoiding style seeks to deny conflict. The accommodating style gives in to what the other side wants, even at the expense of one's personal goals. "give-in" style of negotiation. The compromising style is a middle ground, where individuals express their own concerns, but still respect the other person's goals. The competing style wants to reach a goal regardless of what others say or how they feel. winner takes all at all costs. The collaborating style seeks a win-win solution to the problem in which both parties get what they want.
Lesson 47: Conflict Management Describe conflict management using the Dual Concern Model.
The marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place) represents the controllable elements in the marketing environment. These are areas a company can directly impact. Other elements in the marketing environment may be influenced by a company, but cannot be controlled. These include competitive, natural/ecological, political-legal, socio-cultural, demographic, technological, and economic elements.
Lesson 4: Elements in the Marketing Environment Identify various controllable and uncontrollable elements in the marketing environment.
Federal, state, and local regulations may limit certain types of marketing activities or place restrictions on the language that can be used. Economic variables such as inflation, unemployment, exchange rates, and consumer confidence affect how a company markets its products. In addition to the domestic market, marketers should be aware of changes in global economic conditions. Social and cultural factors heavily influence marketing, such as shifts in values, attitudes, the makeup of the workforce, and demographics. Technological advances can render some products (and companies) obsolete, while generating new business models and products for others. Marketing decisions are also influenced by a company's use of environmental resources. Companies with sustainable practices will leverage that in their marketing activities. Marketing decisions take into account the activity of direct competitors as well as companies which create substitute products.
Lesson 5: Uncontrollable Elements and Decision-Making Identify the influence of uncontrollable elements on a firm's marketing decisions.
Marketers should take ethical considerations into account when developing each element of the marketing mix. Products should provide the quality and value customers expect. Marketers may also consider the ethical implications of how products are created and their impact on communities and the environment. Pricing should be fair and transparent. Particularly in situations where consumers have few or no alternatives, companies should consider whether their pricing models are ethical. Promotion should avoid deception, respect customer contact, and consider the appropriateness of a message for the audience. For place, marketers should consider the entire distribution channel and whether it delivers value to customers. Companies may also consider how the production and distribution of their products affects the environment and society.
Lesson 6: Ethical Considerations Within the Marketing Mix Describe ethical considerations within each of the marketing mix elements.
The marketing planning process allows marketers to create a plan for how to execute a strategy aligned to key objectives. A marketing plan helps give direction to a company's marketing efforts. The steps in the marketing planning process include identifying a mission statement, conducting a situational analysis, defining objectives, developing a marketing strategy, and implementing processes for marketing and control. The marketing mission statement addresses what customers need and want from the company's products and services. Situational analysis helps marketers understand the controllable and uncontrollable forces that affect the company, including its competition. Various tools can support situational analysis. Marketing objectives align to organizational objectives and describe the specific results the marketing plan hopes to achieve. The next step involves developing a marketing strategy for the target market using the four Ps. In the final step, marketers determine what indicators will help monitor progress on the plan, and they make adjustments if necessary.
Lesson 7: Steps of the Marketing Planning Process Describe steps of the marketing planning process.
SWOT analysis looks at controllable factors (an organization's strengths and weaknesses) and uncontrollable factors (threats and opportunities in the business environment). It helps companies gain a realistic picture of the current state. The BCG matrix maps market share and market-growth potential onto a grid with four quadrants. It helps companies estimate the future potential and value of a market to determine where to invest in marketing. Porter's Five Forces model helps companies understand the competitive forces in the market and the potential for profitability.
Lesson 8: Planning Tools Define planning tool used in the marketing planning process.
Strategic planning and tactical planning serve different purposes in the marketing planning process. The marketing strategy aligns to objectives and considers the outputs of the situation analysis and focuses on the needs of the target customer. Tactical planning addresses how an organization will execute the strategic plan. In the marketing planning process, it is the key actions marketers will take to follow the strategy for a product, market, or organization.
Lesson 9: Strategic versus Tactical Planning Differentiate between strategic and tactical planning.
The function of marketing in business is to create value for customers. Marketing centers on the customer by identifying customer needs, designing product offerings that meet those needs, and retaining customers by driving loyalty. The controllable elements in the market environment are represented by the marketing mix: product, price, promotion, and place. A product refers to a good, service, or idea that a company offers to the market. Price is based on the cost of producing a product, demand for the product, and the perceived value of the product to the customer. Promotion refers to communication with the customer about the product and can include a mix of traditional advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and digital marketing. Integrated marketing communications coordinates all promotion activities to create a unified message. Place involves how the product gets from the producer to the customer, including distribution channels. Omnichannel retailing means having a consistent customer experience through all the ways a customer can engage with the company. Marketers also consider the uncontrollable elements in the marketing environment when making decisions. This includes competition from other companies as well as natural/ecological, political-legal, socio-cultural, demographic, technological, and economic elements. Marketers need to take into account ethical considerations when developing the marketing mix. Products should meet customers' expectations for quality and value. Companies may also consider whether products are produced in an environmentally and socially sustainable way, and whether they truly benefit consumers. Pricing models should be fair and transparent. Promotion should avoid deception and communicate with customers in a respectful way. Companies should pay particular attention to engaging ethically and responsibly with children and teenagers. Companies should also consider how products get to customers and maintain fair labor conditions and environmentally-friendly transport throughout the supply chain.
Module 1: The Marketing Mix and the Market Environment Summary
The marketing plan describes the objectives the marketing efforts will focus on and how they will achieve them. It provides marketers with direction. The marketing planning process involves the mission statement, situational analysis, objectives, strategy development, monitoring, and control. The marketing mission and objectives should align the marketing department to the larger organizational mission and objectives. Conducting a situational analysis helps marketers understand the controllable and uncontrollable factors that impact the organization to address them in the marketing plan. SWOT analysis looks at an organization's strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats in the business environment in which it operates. The BCG matrix maps companies and products on a grid based on their market share and potential market growth. It helps identify where an organization should invest in marketing to be profitable. Porter's Five Forces model addresses the competitive landscape in a market and the potential for profitability. The model looks at competitive factors in terms of industry rivalry, substitute products, new entrants to the market, and the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers. Strategic planning outlines the vision or direction for how the marketing department will achieve its objectives. Tactical planning identifies the key actions marketers will implement to affect controllable elements of the strategy (e.g., offering a specific promotion on free shipping to increase the average transaction value on a company's website).
Module 2: The Marketing Planning Process Summary
You have just reviewed the purpose of marketing research and its key characteristics. Marketing research helps companies make better business decisions and gain advantages against the competition by better understanding their current and target customers. Marketing research can include primary and secondary data. Primary data are conducted specifically with regard to the problem or challenge you want to address. Primary marketing research techniques include behavioral observation, in-depth interviews, focus groups, social listening, survey research, and experimental research. Secondary data leverage already existing data sets. They may be faster and more cost-effective but not as specific to the problem or challenge you want to address. This could include data internal to the company or organization; government or NGO data; data from industry associations, professional journals, and media; commercial marketing research data; and search engine results. There are important ethical considerations with marketing research, especially with regard to transparency, data accuracy, and privacy. Marketing researchers should follow best practices to ensure respect for respondents and integrity of the data they collect.
Module 3: Marketing Research Summary
Growth strategies enable a company to increase sales and profitability. There are four different strategies to drive growth. Companies may focus on increasing sales of an existing product within an existing target segment through market penetration. Market development targets new customers to expand the potential market for an existing product. Product development identifies the need for a new product within an existing market segment. Diversification is the riskiest strategy. It involves creating new products for a new market segments.
Module 4: Growth Strategies Summary
Marketers distinguish between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) markets based on the consumer and the customer for a product. Segmentation helps marketers identify and group potential customers. Segmentation strategies may be based on geography, demographics, psychographic segmentation, or product-related segmentation. Targeting allows marketers to determine which segments of the market represent the best use of marketing resources. Targeting strategies include differentiated marketing, undifferentiated marketing, concentrated marketing, and micromarketing. Positioning is a strategic activity in which marketers work to create a desired position for a product or service in the market. Marketers may use a positioning maps to help determine a positioning strategy for a product. Common strategies include positioning based on product attributes, price, quality, competitors, application, users, or category.
Module 6: Market Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning Summary
Marketers study consumer behavior to understand how individuals, groups, or organizations purchase, use, and dispose of products and services. Marketing research helps marketers recognize the influences on a consumer's buying decision to design a market offering. Consumers go through a decision-making process about purchases. The steps of this process include recognition of a problem or opportunity, information searching, identification and evaluation of alternatives, a purchase decision, taking action to buy a product or service, and a postpurchase reflection on the product and the buying process. A consumer's decision-making process is influenced by a number of personal factors, including needs and level of motivation to act, perceptions, attitudes, and experiential and nonexperiential learning. Interpersonal influences on the consumers' decision-making process come from the family, culture, and society to which they belong. This may include subcultures or reference groups. A consumer's level of involvement also influences the decision-making process. For a consumer who wants little involvement, the marketing mix should simplify the buying process. For a consumer who is highly involved, marketing should provide additional information and validation to support a decision. The problem-solving processes a consumer uses to make a purchase decision depend on their level of involvement. The processes may be routine, limited, or extended in scope. Consumer decision-making may also be influenced by ethical considerations, including labor conditions, environmental sustainability, and fair trade. Consumers may boycott companies with unethical practices or positively buy from brands whose ideals align with their own.
Module 7: The Consumer Decision-Making Process Summary
B2B represents businesses selling to businesses; B2C represents businesses selling to consumers that consume products for personal use. The B2B buying process includes multiple decision makers. Three key buying situations are straight rebuy, modified rebuy, and new task. B2B selling often involves high personal contact and negotiated pricing. It is particularly important for salespeople and marketers to behave ethically and deliver value to the customer. You have just reviewed the key components of negotiation within the personal selling context. An integrative approach to negotiation focuses on finding a win-win solution that delivers value to both parties. Handling conflict with a collaborative style also focuses on a win-win outcome. Salespeople and marketers have a responsibility to act ethically and make good judgment calls that provide fair value to the customer in negotiations.
Module 9: Negotiation Summary
you have learned about the role of marketing in creating value for customers. The controllable elements in the marketing environment are represented by the 4 Ps of the marketing mix: product, price, promotion, and place. Marketers ensure that the product offering, pricing structure, communication with the customer, and distribution of the product align to create the marketing mix. From an ethical standpoint, marketers should ensure the product delivers the value customers expect for the price in a way that supports an organization's goals for environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Additionally, marketers consider the uncontrollable elements in the marketing environment. Marketing decisions are influenced by not only the competition, but also the political and legal, economic, sociocultural, technological, and environmental elements in the environment. Marketers use this analysis of the environment as one input to the marketing plan. You have also learned how the marketing planning process provides direction and focus for marketing efforts. The steps involve the mission statement, situational analysis, objectives, strategy development, and monitoring and control. Planning tools help organizations understand the factors that influence the organization. SWOT analysis looks at an organization's strengths and weaknesses alongside the opportunities and threats in the business environment. The BCG matrix helps identify where an organization should invest in marketing to be profitable, and Porter's Five Forces model addresses the competitive landscape in the market and the potential for profitability. With this situational understanding, marketers develop a strategic plan and identify the tactics they will implement.
Unit 2: Marketing Planning Summary
