How to make your marketing work (II)
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- Category: SME toolkit
- Written by Bridget Olotu
- Hits: 1218
Your understanding of what marketing is all about will prepare you well so you can rightly employ your resources and time to market your products/services well. What is marketing?
1. Marketing is the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others (Kotler).
2. Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably – The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).
3. The CIM definition looks not only at identifying customer needs, but also satisfying them (short-term) and anticipating them in the future (long-term retention).
4. The right product, in the right place, at the right time, at the right price – (Adcock).
5. This is a snappy and realistic definition that uses McCarthy’s Four Ps. “Marketing is essentially about marshalling the resources of an organisation so that they meet the changing needs of the customer on whom the organisation depends” (Palmer).
The Philosophy of Marketing and the Marketing Concept
• The marketing concept is a philosophy. It makes the customer, and the satisfaction of his or her needs, the focal point of all business activities. It is driven by senior managers, passionate about delighting their customers.
• Marketing is not only much broader than selling, it is not a specialised activity at all as it encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of the final result, that is, from the customer’s point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise (Peter Drucker).
• This customer-focused philosophy is known as the “marketing concept.” The marketing concept is a philosophy, not a system of marketing or an organisational structure. It is founded on the belief that profitable sales and satisfactory returns on investment can only be achieved by identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs and desires (Barwell).
• Marketing is the achievement of corporate goals through meeting and exceeding customer needs better than the competition (Jobber).
Now that you have been introduced to some definitions of marketing and the marketing concept, remember the important elements contained above are as follows:
• Marketing focuses on the satisfaction of customer needs, wants and requirements.
The philosophy of marketing needs to be owned by everyone from within the organisation, not just the Marketers or the Marketing Manager.
• Future needs have to be identified and anticipated.
• There is normally a focus upon profitability, especially in the corporate sector. However, as public sector organisations and not-for-profit organisations adopt the concept of marketing, this need not always be the case.
Now, in discussing the impact of marketing on the operations of an organisation, we need to consider the influence of the 4 P’s: Product, Price, Promotion and Place.
The 4 P’s are a combination of product offerings used to reach a target market for an organisation. The Product refers to the actual offering, i.e. your product or service. The price is the value you intend to exchange for that offering. Promotion is concerned with the means of communicating that offering to the target audience, i.e. promotional mix. In other words, how do you reach your target audience with your product? Is it through print or electronic media or word of mouth? Place (distribution) talks about the means of having the product offering available to the target audience. Where are your customers going to find your product/service? This is very important. This is because no matter how good your product is, if your customers find it difficult to buy it because it is neither available or it is not stated where it can be found, they will not only be frustrated, but will also start looking for an alternative product that offers the same value and that can reached anytime. Understanding the 4 P’s, which is called “Marketing Mix” will help you as an entrepreneur to know what product to package for your customers, at what price, through what promotional methods and where to locate these products.
There are relevant questions that can help you correctly use the marketing mix to promote your business. As you answer these questions, you will develop a strong marketing philosophy for your business.
1. Products
• What are you selling?
• What are your products all about?
• What are the strengths/advantages that your products have, that competitors don’t have?
• Do your products solve the problems of your target audience and meet their needs?
• Do your products fulfil the promises made to clients when used?
2. Price
• What is your price like?
• Is it mass market or premium pricing?
• Are you competitive in terms of pricing?
• Is our price right for your market?
• Are you offering prices that are below or above your target market?
3. Place.
• Do you have adequate distribution channels to reach your customers?
• Do your prospects or customers find it easy to reach you?
• How do you take the market to the customer’s terrain?
4. Promotion.
• Are you promoting your products/service enough?
• Are your marketing efforts effective?
• Which is more effective and why?
• Do you have promotional materials to support your marketing campaigns?
• How can you improve your promotional efforts with regards to advertising and attracting paying customers?
A point to bear in mind:
Your marketing/promotional efforts should convert your SUSPECTS to PROSPECTS to CUSTOMERS to CLIENT/PARTNERS.
Suspects - are likely targets that can pay for your products/services.
Prospects - are interested in your services but are not yet convinced to buy or do business with you.
Customers - are interested and willing to pay for your services.
Clients - are interested, have become your customers and make repeat calls/sales.
By understanding the 4 P’s, you will achieve the following:
• Have the ability to define what your product is all about, what it can offer and how it can help consumers meet their needs.
• Have the ability to develop the right pricing for your market segments and evaluate the different forms of pricing mechanisms to adopt and for which market. This knowledge will help you know whether to use premium, mass, discriminatory pricing, etc, to sell your product/service.
• Have the ability to know how to reach your target markets through the relevant distribution channels.
• Have the ability to develop the right promotional plan for your business that would be cost-effective and result-oriented at the same time.
The knowledge of marketing and the 4 P’s will help you build a stronger, more profitable and competitive business with a good customer base.
Continued next week
Articles
How to make your marketing work (II)
Category: SME toolkit Written by Bridget Olotu Hits: 1218
Your understanding of what marketing is all about will prepare you well so you can rightly employ your resources and time to market your products/services well. What is marketing?
1. Marketing is the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others (Kotler).
2. Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably – The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).
3. The CIM definition looks not only at identifying customer needs, but also satisfying them (short-term) and anticipating them in the future (long-term retention).
4. The right product, in the right place, at the right time, at the right price – (Adcock).
5. This is a snappy and realistic definition that uses McCarthy’s Four Ps. “Marketing is essentially about marshalling the resources of an organisation so that they meet the changing needs of the customer on whom the organisation depends” (Palmer).
The Philosophy of Marketing and the Marketing Concept
• The marketing concept is a philosophy. It makes the customer, and the satisfaction of his or her needs, the focal point of all business activities. It is driven by senior managers, passionate about delighting their customers.
• Marketing is not only much broader than selling, it is not a specialised activity at all as it encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of the final result, that is, from the customer’s point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise (Peter Drucker).
• This customer-focused philosophy is known as the “marketing concept.” The marketing concept is a philosophy, not a system of marketing or an organisational structure. It is founded on the belief that profitable sales and satisfactory returns on investment can only be achieved by identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs and desires (Barwell).
• Marketing is the achievement of corporate goals through meeting and exceeding customer needs better than the competition (Jobber).
Now that you have been introduced to some definitions of marketing and the marketing concept, remember the important elements contained above are as follows:
• Marketing focuses on the satisfaction of customer needs, wants and requirements.
The philosophy of marketing needs to be owned by everyone from within the organisation, not just the Marketers or the Marketing Manager.
• Future needs have to be identified and anticipated.
• There is normally a focus upon profitability, especially in the corporate sector. However, as public sector organisations and not-for-profit organisations adopt the concept of marketing, this need not always be the case.
Now, in discussing the impact of marketing on the operations of an organisation, we need to consider the influence of the 4 P’s: Product, Price, Promotion and Place.
The 4 P’s are a combination of product offerings used to reach a target market for an organisation. The Product refers to the actual offering, i.e. your product or service. The price is the value you intend to exchange for that offering. Promotion is concerned with the means of communicating that offering to the target audience, i.e. promotional mix. In other words, how do you reach your target audience with your product? Is it through print or electronic media or word of mouth? Place (distribution) talks about the means of having the product offering available to the target audience. Where are your customers going to find your product/service? This is very important. This is because no matter how good your product is, if your customers find it difficult to buy it because it is neither available or it is not stated where it can be found, they will not only be frustrated, but will also start looking for an alternative product that offers the same value and that can reached anytime. Understanding the 4 P’s, which is called “Marketing Mix” will help you as an entrepreneur to know what product to package for your customers, at what price, through what promotional methods and where to locate these products.
There are relevant questions that can help you correctly use the marketing mix to promote your business. As you answer these questions, you will develop a strong marketing philosophy for your business.
1. Products
• What are you selling?
• What are your products all about?
• What are the strengths/advantages that your products have, that competitors don’t have?
• Do your products solve the problems of your target audience and meet their needs?
• Do your products fulfil the promises made to clients when used?
2. Price
• What is your price like?
• Is it mass market or premium pricing?
• Are you competitive in terms of pricing?
• Is our price right for your market?
• Are you offering prices that are below or above your target market?
3. Place.
• Do you have adequate distribution channels to reach your customers?
• Do your prospects or customers find it easy to reach you?
• How do you take the market to the customer’s terrain?
4. Promotion.
• Are you promoting your products/service enough?
• Are your marketing efforts effective?
• Which is more effective and why?
• Do you have promotional materials to support your marketing campaigns?
• How can you improve your promotional efforts with regards to advertising and attracting paying customers?
A point to bear in mind:
Your marketing/promotional efforts should convert your SUSPECTS to PROSPECTS to CUSTOMERS to CLIENT/PARTNERS.
Suspects - are likely targets that can pay for your products/services.
Prospects - are interested in your services but are not yet convinced to buy or do business with you.
Customers - are interested and willing to pay for your services.
Clients - are interested, have become your customers and make repeat calls/sales.
By understanding the 4 P’s, you will achieve the following:
• Have the ability to define what your product is all about, what it can offer and how it can help consumers meet their needs.
• Have the ability to develop the right pricing for your market segments and evaluate the different forms of pricing mechanisms to adopt and for which market. This knowledge will help you know whether to use premium, mass, discriminatory pricing, etc, to sell your product/service.
• Have the ability to know how to reach your target markets through the relevant distribution channels.
• Have the ability to develop the right promotional plan for your business that would be cost-effective and result-oriented at the same time.
The knowledge of marketing and the 4 P’s will help you build a stronger, more profitable and competitive business with a good customer base.
Continued next week