MKTG 495

Products fall into two general categories

-consumer products (used for personal use and enjoyment) -business products (purchased for resale, to make other products, or for use in a firm's operations).

customers look for products that are high in one or more of five types of utility:

-form utility -place utility -time utility -possession utility -psychological utility

Criteria for Successful Segmentation

1. Identifiable and Measurable—The characteristics of the segment's members must be easily identifiable. 2. Substantial—The segment must be large and profitable enough to make it worthwhile for the firm. 3. Accessible—The segment must be accessible in terms of communication and distribution. 4. Responsive—The segment must respond to the firm's marketing efforts, including changes to the marketing program over time. 5. Viable and Sustainable—The segment must meet the basic criteria for exchange, including being ready, willing, and able to conduct business with the firm.

What Do Customers Do with Our Products?

1. The "what" question entails an assessment of how customers consume and dispose of the firm's products. 2. In the case of derived demand—where the demand for one product depends on (is derived from) the demand of another product—the marketer must also examine the consumption and usage of the complementary product.

Five Stages of the Consumer Buying Process

1. need recognition 2. information search 3. evaluation of alternatives 4. purchase decision 5. post purchase evaluation

vision/vision statement

1. seeks to answer the question "What do we want to become?" An organization's vision tends to be future oriented, in that it represents where the organization is headed and where it wants to go.

Who Are Our Current and Potential Customers?

1.Answering the "who" question requires an examination of the relevant characteristics that define target markets, such as demographic geographic, and psychographic characteristics. 2.The analysis must also assess the viability of potential customers or markets that may be acquired in the future.

elements of mission statement

A well-devised mission statement for any organization, unit within an organization, or single-owner business should answer the same five basic questions: 1. Who are we? 2. Who are our customers? 3. What is our operating philosophy (basic beliefs, values, ethics, and so on)? 4. What are our core competencies or competitive advantages? 5. What are our responsibilities with respect to being a good steward of our human, financial, and environmental resources?

Decision-Making Complexity

A. the primary reason why the buying process will vary across consumers and with the same consumer in different situations. a) Level of risk and complexity will often determine whether a consumer spends a long time deciding to purchase a product (e.g., house, car) or only a small amount of time (e.g., groceries). b) It is important for marketers to manage decision-making complexity. For instance, with complex products entailing much risk, marketers should provide access to high-quality and useful information.

Availability of Resources

This review includes an analysis of financial, human, and experience resources, as well as any resources the firm might hold in key relationships with supply chain partners, strategic alliance partners, or customer groups

Audience and media fragmentation

despite the challenge of reaching mass audiences today, media fragmentation does have a big advantage; it is easier to reach small, highly targeted audiences who are more receptive to specific marketing messages

shifting demand patterns

in some cases, changes in technology have shifted customers demand for certain product categories. the challenges faced by the movie rental industry bear this out

competitive intelligence

involves analyzing the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and intentions of competing businesses.

product positioning

involves establishing a mental image, or position, of the product offering relative to competing offerings in the minds of target buyers. The goal of positioning is to distinguish or differentiate the firm's product offering from those of competitors by making the offering stand out among the crowd.

strategy

outlines the organizations game plan for success

possession utility

possession utility deals with the transfer of ownership or title from marketer to customer

form utility

products high in form have attributes or features that set them apart from the condition

place utility

products high in place utility are available where customers want them which is typically wherever the customers happens to be or where the product needs to be at that moment

The marketing plan

provides a detailed formulation of the actions necessary to carry out the marketing program. Think of the marketing plan as the handbook for marketing implementation, evaluation, and control 1. A marketing plan is not the same as a business plan. 2. A good marketing plan requires a great deal of information from many different sources. This requires looking at the marketing plan holistically rather than as a collection of related elements.

marketing plan

provides the outline for how the organization will combine product, pricing, distribution, and promo decisions to create an offering that customers will find attractive

internal analysis

the objective review of internal information pertaining to the firm's current strategy and performance, as well as the current and future availability of resources.

marketing ethics

the principles and standards that define acceptable conduct in marketing activities

Marketing Implementation

the process of executing the marketing strategy, the "how" of marketing

changing value propositions

the speed and efficiency of commerce today has changed the way customers view value. in situations where customers see goods and services as commodities, customers will turn to the most convenient, least expensive alternative

target markets

they identify one or more segments of individuals, businesses, or institutions toward which the firm's marketing efforts will be directed.

goal of : transactional marketing

to complete a large number of discrete exchanges with individual customers

unclear legal jurisdiction

a final issue concerns the conflicting perspectives over legal jurisdiction when a company does business in more than one country

metamediaries

a single access point where buyers can locate and contact many different sellers in the metamarket

Executive Summary

a synopsis of the overall marketing plan, with an outline that conveys the main thrust of the marketing strategy and its execution

marketing plan

a written document that provides the blueprint or outline of the organization's marketing activities, including the implementation, evaluation, and control of those activities

Marketing Plan Structure A good marketing plan outline is:

) comprehensive: to ensure that there are no omissions of important information. b) flexible: to ensure the plan will fit the unique needs of your situation. c) consistent: to ensure that the marketing plan and the planning process will be understood by executives and employees outside of marketing. d) logical: to ensure that the plan can be sold to top managers

Developing Marketing Goals

. Goals are statements of broad, desired accomplishments and do not contain specific information about where the organization presently stands or where it hopes to be in the future. 2. Goals indicate the direction in which the firm attempts to move, as well as the set of priorities it will use in evaluating alternatives and making decisions. 3. All marketing goals should have these characteristics: a) Attainability—goals should be realistic and capable of being achieved b) Consistency—goals must be consistent with each other and with the goals of other functional areas c) Comprehensiveness—marketing goals should relate to the organization's goals and help to clarify the roles of all parties in the organization d) Intangibility—marketing goals should be somewhat ambiguous and open-ended to motivate employees by promoting comparisons with rival firms

Review of Current Objectives, Strategy, and Performance

1. A periodic assessment of marketing objectives is necessary to ensure that they remain consistent with the firm's mission and the changing customer and external environments. 2. The marketing manager should also evaluate the performance of the current marketing strategy with respect to sales volume, market share, profitability, and other relevant measures. 3. Poor or declining performance may be the result of: a) holding on to marketing goals or objectives that are inconsistent with the current realities of the customer or external environments. b) a flawed marketing strategy. c) poor implementation. d) changes in the customer or external environments beyond the control of the firm.

Economic Growth and Stability

1. A thorough examination of economic factors requires marketing managers to gauge and anticipate the general economic conditions of the nation, region, state, and local area in which they operate. 2. General economic conditions include inflation, employment and income levels, interest rates, taxes, trade restrictions, tariffs, and the current and future stages of the business cycle (prosperity, stagnation, recession, depression, and recovery).

Data Is Not the Same as Information

1. Good, useful information is not the same as data. Data are easy to collect and store, but good information is not. 2. Data do not become informative until a person or process transforms or combines them with other data in a manner that makes them useful.

marketing plan purposes

1. It clearly explains how the organization will achieve its goals and objectives. 2. It serves as the "road map" for implementing the marketing strategy. 3. It instructs employees as to their roles and functions in fulfilling the plan. 4. It provides specifics regarding the allocation of resources and includes the specific marketing tasks, responsibilities of individuals, and the timing of all marketing activities.

Political Trends

1. Most organizations should track political trends and attempt to maintain good relations with elected officials. 2. Elected officials who have negative attitudes toward a firm or its industry are more likely to create or enforce regulations unfavorable for the firm. 3. Many organizations view political factors as beyond their control and do little more than adjust the firm's strategies to accommodate changes in those factors, but others take a more proactive stance by seeking to influence elected officials.

Opportunities and Threats

1. Opportunities and threats exist outside the firm, independently of internal strengths, weaknesses, or marketing options. Opportunities and threats typically occur within the firm's customer or external environments. 2. The marketing manager must develop strategies to take advantage of opportunities and minimize or overcome the firm's threats.

Sociocultural Trends

1. Sociocultural factors are those social and cultural influences that cause changes in attitudes, beliefs, norms, customs, and lifestyles. 2. One of the most important sociocultural changes taking place today is the shifting demographic makeup of the U.S. population. [Exhibit 3.8] 3. Changes in cultural values—the guiding principles of everyday life—can also create opportunities and challenges for marketers. 4. Beyond the Pages 3.3 provides an overview of the corporate affairs function in many different firms.

Technological Advancements

1. Technology refers to the way we accomplish specific tasks or the processes we use to create the "things" we consider as new. 2. Some technologies assume a frontstage presence (advances that are most noticeable to customers) in creating new marketing opportunities. 3. Other technological changes can also assume a backstage presence when their advantages are not necessarily apparent to customers. 4. In some cases technology can have both a frontstage and a backstage presence. RFID is an example of one of these breakthrough technologies.

When Do Customers Purchase Our Products?

1. The "when" question refers to any situational influences that may cause customer purchasing activity to vary over time.

Where Do Customers Purchase Our Products?

1. The "where" question is mainly one of distribution and customer convenience. 2. The fastest growing form of distribution today is nonstore retailing—which includes vending machines; direct marketing through catalogs, home sales, or infomercials; and electronic merchandising through the Internet, interactive television, and video kiosks.

Why (and How) Do Customers Select Our Products?

1. The "why" question involves identifying the basic need-satisfying benefits provided by the firm's products. a) The potential benefits provided by the features of competing products should also be analyzed. b) The answer to the "why" question can also aid in identifying unsatisfied or undersatisfied customer needs. c) During the analysis, it is also important to identify potential changes in customers' current and future needs. 2. The "how" part of this question refers to the means of payment that customers use when making a purchase. The availability of credit makes it possible for customers to take possession of high-priced products. 3. Barter—an exchange of goods and services for other goods and services—has reemerged in business markets.

The Consumer Buying Process

1. The buying process depicts the possible range of activities that may occur in making purchase decisions. Consumers, however, do not always follow these stages in sequence and may even skip stages en route to making a purchase. 2. The buying process often involves a parallel sequence of activities associated with finding the most suitable merchant of the product in question. 3. The choice of a suitable merchant may actually take precedence over the choice of a specific product. In some cases, consumers are so loyal to a particular merchant that they will not consider looking elsewhere.

Legal and Regulatory Issues

1. The simple existence of laws and regulations causes many firms to accept their influence as a predetermined aspect of market planning. 2. In reality, most laws and regulations are fairly vague, which often forces firms to test the limits of certain laws by operating in a legally questionable manner. 3. Managers should also examine recent court rulings, as well as the decisions of federal, state, local, and self-regulatory trade agencies to determine their effects on marketing activities.

A. Primary Data Collection

1. The situation analysis should always begin with an examination of secondary data sources due to their availability and low cost. 2. Since each secondary data source has its advantages and disadvantages, the best approach is one that blends data and information from a variety of sources. 3. Primary marketing research has the major advantages of being relevant to the specific problem, as well as trustworthy due to the control the manager has over data collection. 4. There are four major types of primary data collection: a) Direct observation, where the researcher records the overt behaviors of customers, competitors, or suppliers in natural settings. b) Focus groups, where the researcher moderates a panel discussion among a gathering of 6-10 people who openly discuss a specific subject. c) Surveys, where the researcher asks respondents to answer a series of questions on a particular topic. d) Experiments, where the researcher selects matched subjects and exposes them to different treatments while controlling for extraneous variables. 5. As with secondary data, often the best approach to primary data collection is to use a combination of data sources.

The SWOT Matrix

1. To utilize SWOT analysis successfully, the marketing manager must be cognizant of four issues: a) The assessment of strengths and weaknesses must look beyond the firm's resources and product offering(s) to examine processes that are key to meeting customers' needs. b) The achievement of the firm's goals and objectives depends on its ability to create capabilities by matching its strengths with market opportunities. c) Firms can often convert weaknesses into strengths, or even capabilities, by investing strategically in key areas. d) Weaknesses that cannot be converted into strengths become the firm's limitations.

Competition

1. When a firm defines the target markets it will serve, it simultaneously selects a set of competing firms. 2. Most firms face four basic types of competition: a) Brand competitors, which market products with similar features and benefits to the same customers at similar prices. b) Product competitors, which compete in the same product class, but with products that are different in features, benefits, and price. c) Generic competitors, which market very different products that solve the same problem or satisfy the same basic customer need. d) Total budget competitors, which compete for the limited financial resources of the same customers. 3. Brand competitors rightfully receive the greatest attention because customers see different brands as direct substitutes for each other. For this reason, strategies aimed at getting customers to switch brands are a major focus in any effort to beat brand competitors. 4. Competitive analysis has received greater attention recently for several reasons: a) more intense competition from sophisticated competitors b) increased competition from foreign firms c) shorter product life cycles d) dynamic environments, particularly in the area of technological innovation

Purposes and Significance of the Marketing Plan

A good marketing plan will fulfill five purposes in detail: a) It explains both the present and future situations of the organization. This includes the situation and SWOT analyses and the firm's past performance. b) It specifies the expected outcomes (goals and objectives) so that the organization can anticipate its situation at the end of the planning period. c) It describes the specific actions that are to take place so that the responsibility for each action can be assigned and implemented. d) It identifies the resources that will be needed to carry out the planned actions. e) It permits the monitoring of each action and its results so that controls may be implemented. Feedback from monitoring and control provides information to start the planning cycle again in the next time frame

Analysis Alone Is Not a Solution

While a comprehensive situation analysis can lead to better planning and decision making, analysis itself is not enough. 2. Situation analysis is a necessary, but insufficient, prerequisite for effective strategic planning. 3. A thorough situation analysis empowers the marketing manager because it encourages both analysis and synthesis of information.

ch. 6

A product line consists of a group of closely related product items. A product mix or portfolio is the total group of products offered by a company. 3. The number of product lines to offer (the width or variety of the product mix) is an important strategic decision. 4. The depth of each product line (the assortment) is an important marketing tool. Firms attract a wide range of customers and market segments by offering a deep assortment of products in a specific line. 5. Benefits of offering a large portfolio of products: a) Economies of Scale—in production, bulk buying, and promotion. b) Package Uniformity—all packages in a product line have the same look and feel. c) Standardization—product lines can use the same component parts. d) Sales and Distribution Efficiency—sales personnel can offer a full range of choices and options to customers. e) Equivalent Quality Beliefs—customers expect and believe that all products in a line are equal in terms of quality and performance.

Market Segmentation

A. Market segmentation is the process of dividing the total market for a particular product or product category into relatively homogeneous segments or groups. B. The goal of segmentation is to create groups where the members within the group have similar likes, tastes, needs, wants, or preferences but where the groups themselves are dissimilar from each other.

SWOT-Driven Strategic Planning

A. The role of SWOT analysis is to help the marketing manager make the transition from a broad understanding of the marketing environment to the development of a strategic focus for the firm's marketing efforts. B. The issues that can be considered in a SWOT analysis are numerous and will vary depending on the particular firm or industry being examined. [Exhibit 4.4] C. Strengths and Weaknesses 1. Strengths and weaknesses exist either because of resources possessed (or not possessed) by the firm, or in the nature of the relationships between the firm and its customers, its employees, or outside organizations. 2. A strength is meaningful only when it serves to satisfy a customer need. When this is the case, that strength becomes a capability. 3. The marketing manager must also develop strategies to overcome the firm's weaknesses, or find ways to minimize their negative effects.

marketing views

Another way to think about marketing relates to meeting human and social needs. This broad view links marketing with our standard of living, not only in terms of enhanced consumption and prosperity, but also in terms of society's well being.

what is a market

At its most basic level, a market is a collection of buyers and sellers. We tend to think of a market as a group of individuals or institutions that have similar needs that can be met by a particular product or product category

Behavioral Segmentation

Behavioral segmentation is the most powerful approach because it uses actual consumer behavior or product usage to make distinctions among market segments.

competitive, or differential, advantage.

Competitive advantages cannot be fully realized unless customers see them as valuable. The key issue is the organization's ability to convince customers that its advantages are superior to those of the competition.

Geographic Segmentation

Geographic characteristics often play a large part in developing market segments, especially when retailers use geography to develop trade areas.

implementation

Implementation involves activities that actually execute the functional area strategy

different views of marketing

In 2005, the American Marketing Association changed the definition of marketing to better reflect the realities of competing in today's marketplace: "Marketing is an organizational function and a set of business processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders."

customer-focused mission statements

In recent years, mission statements have become much more customer oriented. People's live and businesses should be enriched because they have dealt with the organization. A focus on profit in the mission statement means that something positive happens for the owners and managers of the organization, not necessarily for the customers or other stakeholders

Individual Influences

Many individual influences (age, life cycle, occupation, and socioeconomic status) are fairly easy to understand and incorporate into the marketing strategy. Other factors (perceptions, motives, interests, attitudes, opinions, or lifestyles) are much harder to understand because they do not clearly coincide with demographic characteristics.

integrated marketing communication (IMC)

Modern marketing has replaced the term promotion with the concept of integrated marketing communication (IMC), or the coordination of all promotional activities (media advertising, direct mail, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, packaging, store displays, website design, personnel) to produce a unified, customer-focused message.

Developing Marketing Objectives

Objectives provide specific and quantitative benchmarks that can be used to gauge progress toward the achievement of the marketing goals. 2. A particular goal may require several objectives for its progress to be adequately monitored, usually across multiple business functions. 3. Goals without objectives are essentially meaningless because progress is impossible to measure. 4. All marketing objectives should have these characteristics: a) Attainability—marketing objectives should be realistic given the internal and external environments of the firm b) Continuity—objectives should be consistent with those set in previous periods (continuous objectives), or should be set to elevate the level of performance significantly (discontinuous objectives) c) Time frame—objectives should have an appropriate time frame to allow for accomplishment with reasonable levels of effort d) Assignment of responsibility—an objective must identify the person, team, or unit responsible for achieving it

Organizational Culture and Structure

One of the most important issues in this review involves the internal culture of the firm

functional strategy

Organizations design functional strategies to provide a total integration of efforts that focus on achieving the area's stated objectives. In marketing strategy, the process focuses on selecting one or more target markets and developing a marketing program that satisfies the needs and wants of members of that target market

evaluation and control

Organizations design the evaluation and control phase of strategic planning to keep planned activities on target with goals and objectives. The critical issue in this phase is coordination among functional areas

metamarkets

a cluster of closely related goods and services that center around a specific consumption activity

Collecting Marketing Data and Information

Secondary Information Sources 1. Internal Data Sources—The firm's own records are the best source of data on current objectives, strategy, performance, and available resources. a) One of the biggest problems with internal data is that it is often not in a readily accessible form for planning purposes. 2. Government Sources—The sheer volume of available information on the economy, population, and business activities is the major strength of most government data sources. Government sources are also easily accessible and low in cost. 3. Book and Periodical Sources—The articles and research reports available in books and periodicals provide a gamut of information about many organizations, industries, and nations. 4. Commercial Sources—These sources are almost always relevant to a specific issue because they deal with the actual behaviors of customers in the marketplace.

Social Influences

Social influences such as culture, subculture, social class, reference groups, and family have a profound impact on what, why, and how consumers buy. a) Reference groups and opinion leaders have an important impact on consumers' buying processes.

Chapter 6: The Marketing Program

Strategic Issues in the Product Portfolio

Marketing Implementation

The implementation section of the marketing plan describes how the marketing program will be executed. This section also answers several questions: 1)What specific marketing activities will be undertaken?2)How will these activities be performed? 3) When will these activities be performed? 4) Who is responsible for the completion of these activities? 5) How will the completion of planned activities be monitored? 6) How much will these activities cost?

Why Do Potential Customers Not Purchase Our Products?

There are many potential reasons why customers might not purchase a firm's products: a) Noncustomers have a basic need that the firm's product does not fulfill. b) Noncustomers perceive that they have better or lower-priced alternatives, such as competing substitute products. c) Competing products actually have better features or benefits than the firm's product. d) The firm's product does not match noncustomers' budgets or lifestyles. e) Noncustomers have high switching costs. f) Noncustomers do not know that the firm's product exists. g) Noncustomers have misconceptions about the firm's product (weak or poor image). h) Poor distribution makes the firm's product difficult to find.

Evaluation and Control

This final section of the marketing plan details how the results of the marketing program will be evaluated and controlled. b) Marketing control involves establishing performance standards, assessing actual performance by comparing it with these standards, and taking corrective action if necessary to reduce discrepancies between desired and actual performance.

marketing revised definition

This revised definition stresses two critical success factors in marketing today: value and customer relationships. The AMA changed the definition of marketing again in 2007. The definition now reads: Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large."

Buyer Behavior in Consumer Markets

Understanding consumers is valuable because it can provide needed insight on how to design products and marketing programs that better meet consumer needs and wants.

situational analysis

Whether at the corporate, business unit, or functional level, the planning process begins with an in-depth analysis of the organization's internal and external environments

Demographic Segmentation

a) Demographic segmentation divides markets into segments using demographic factors such as gender, age, income, and education. b) Demographic segmentation tends to be the most widely used basis for segmenting consumer markets because demographic information is widely available and relatively easy to measure. c) Demographic segmentation becomes less useful when the firm has a strong interest in understanding the motives or values that drive buying behavior.

Marketing Goals and Objectives

a) Goals are broad, simple statements of what will be accomplished through the marketing strategy. b) Marketing objectives are more specific and are essential to planning

Mass Customization

a) Mass customization refers to providing unique products and solutions to individual customers on a mass scale. b) Along with the Internet, advances in supply chain management have allowed companies to customize products in ways that are both cost effective and practical.

Mass Marketing

a) Mass marketing, which involves no segmentation whatsoever, occurs when companies aim marketing campaigns at the total (whole) market for a particular product. b) Companies that adopt mass marketing take an undifferentiated approach that assumes that all customers in the market have similar needs and wants that can be reasonably satisfied with a single marketing program. c) Mass marketing works best when the needs of an entire market are relatively homogeneous. d) Mass marketing is advantageous in terms of production efficiency and lower marketing costs; however, it is inherently risky. 1) By offering a standard product to all customers, the organization becomes vulnerable to competitors that offer specialized products that better match customers' needs.

Differentiated Marketing

a) Most firms use some form of market segmentation by: 1) dividing the total market into groups of customers having relatively common or homogeneous needs, and 2) attempting to develop a marketing program that appeals to one or more of these groups. b) Within the differentiated approach there are two options: 1) Firms using the multisegment approach seek to attract buyers in more than one market segment by offering a variety of products that appeal to different needs. 2) Firms using the market concentration approach focus on a single market segment and attempt to gain maximum share in that segment.

Individualized Segmentation Approaches

a) Occurs when a company creates an entirely unique product or marketing program for each customer in the target segment. b) Historically, one-to-one marketing has been used less often in consumer markets. However, it is common in luxury and custom-made products, as well as in services. c) One-to-one marketing has grown rapidly in electronic commerce where customers can be targeted very precisely.

Permission Marketing

a) Permission marketing occurs when customers choose to become part of a firm's market segment by giving companies permission to specifically target them in their marketing efforts. b) The most common tool used in permission marketing is the opt-in e-mail list, where customers permit a firm—or a third-party partner of the firm—to send periodic e-mail about goods and services. c) Permission marketing has a major advantage: Customers who opt-in have already shown interest in the products offered by the firm.

Psychographic Segmentation

a) Psychographic segmentation deals with state-of-mind issues such as motives, attitudes, opinions, values, lifestyles, interests, and personality. b) Psychographic profiles are usually combined with demographic, geographic, or behavioral segmentation to create fully developed consumer profiles.

Niche Marketing

a) Some companies focus their efforts on one small, well-defined market segment or niche that has a unique, specific set of needs. b) Customers in niche markets will typically pay higher prices for products that match their specialized needs. c) The key to niche marketing is to understand and meet the needs of target customers so completely that the firm's substantial share makes the segment highly profitable.

Situation Analysis

a) The situation analysis summarizes all pertinent information obtained about three key environments: the internal environment, the customer environment, and the firm's external environment. b) SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis

Marketing Strategy

a) The strategy section of the marketing plan outlines how the firm will achieve its marketing objectives. b) In its broadest sense, marketing strategy refers to how the firm will manage its relationships with customers in a manner that gives it an advantage over the competition

five conditions for an exchange to occur

a) There must be at least two parties to the exchange. b) Each party has something of value to the other party. c) Each party must be capable of communication and delivery. d) Each party must be free to accept or reject the exchange. e) Each party believes that it is desirable to exchange with the other party.

One-to-one marketing, mass customization, and permission marketing will become even more important in the future because their focus on individual customers makes them critical to the development and maintenance of long-term relationships.

a) Today, personalization means much more than simply calling customers by name. We use the term to describe the idea of giving customers choices—not only in terms of product configuration.

functional strategy decisions must:

a) fit the needs and purposes of the functional area with respect to meeting its goals and objectives. b) be realistic given the organization's available resources and environment. c) be consistent with the organization's mission, goals, and objectives.

privacy, security, and ethical concerns

changes in technology have made our society much more open than in the past. as a result, these changes have forced marketers to address real concerns about security and privacy, both online and offline.

tactical planning

concerns itself with the specific markets or market segments and the development of marketing programs that will fulfill the needs of customers in those markets

environmental scanning

involves the analysis of economic, political, legal, technological, and cultural events and trends that may affect the future of the organization and its marketing efforts.

competitive advantage

is something that the firm does better than its competitors that gives it an edge in serving customers' needs and/or maintaining mutually satisfying relationships with important stakeholders.

marketing strategy decisions

marketing strategy can be composed of one or more marketing programs; each program consists of two elements—a target market or markets and a marketing mix (sometimes known as the four Ps of product, price, place, and promotion).

psychological utility

products high in psychological utility deliver positive experiential or psychological attributes that customers find satisfying

time utility

products high in time utility are available when customers want them

Social Responsibility

refers to an organization's obligation to maximize its positive impact on society, while minimizing its negative impact.

mission/mission statement

seeks to answer the question "What business are we in?" It is a clear and concise statement (a paragraph or two at most) that explains the organization's reason for existence.

what is a product

something that can be acquired via exchange to satisfy a need or a want. This definition permits us to classify a broad number of "things" as products: goods, services, ideas, information, digital products, people, places, experiences and events, real or financial property, and organizations.

Power shift to customers

the astounding growth of the internet has shifted power to customers, not marketers a. the vast amounts of information available online has changed the way we communicate, read the news, and entertain ourselves b. this radical increase in product selection and availability has exposed marketers to inroads by competitors from every corner of the globe

corporate strategy

the central scheme or means for utilizing and integrating resources in the areas of production, finance, research and development, human resources, and marketing, to carry out the organization's mission and achieve the desired goals and objectives.

goal of relationship marketing

the goal is to develop and maintain long-term, mutually satisfying arrangements where both buyer and seller focus on the value obtained from the relationship

goal of distribution and supply chain management

to get the product to the right place, at the right time, in the right quantities, at the lowest possible cost. Supply chain decisions involve a long line of activities—from the sourcing of raw materials, through the production of finished products, to ultimate delivery to final customers.

what is exchange

traditionally defined as the process of obtaining something of value from someone by offering something in return; this usually entails obtaining products for money

Situational Influences

typically affect the amount of time and effort that consumers devote to the purchase task, or they affect specific product choices.

market segmentation

when they divide the total market into smaller, relatively homogeneous groups or segments that share similar needs, wants, or characteristics.