Marketing


 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketing Essentials

Key component of International Business
Marketing is = branding + advertising + promotion + a whole lot more...
 
When you are marketing a product / service...you should always focus on creating a "value proposition" for your client.... a sense of value (more benefits in relation to costs as compared to your competitors).
 
4 P's = product, promotion, positioning, price
4 C's = customers, channel, competition, cost
 
Segmentation + differentiation = positioning
Pricing = psychology + economics
Always start with pshychology...how much will the customer pay, and dont think like an accountant (and target a certain % return on money)
 

 ·  Steps to position:     

o   Pick a target Market,

o   Identify relevant attributes,

o   Pick one/two attributes and plot your company and competitors

o   Does your company has a “Different”, “Unique” position? If not repeat.

o   Create new attributes!!

 

 

Table of Contents:


 

see also:  advertising consumer trends, and List of strategy and management concepts

 

 

 

 

Marketing

 

Business:   Marketing is an exchange process (products and services for money).  It is not just about producing and selling, its also about branding.   Also, the exchange process of information, services, both to and from an consumer is key. 

 

Marketing is a "mind game", as you influece peoples idea of "satisfaction".

 

Essentially, marketing is the process of creating or reorganizing an organization to be successful in selling a product or service that people not only desire, but are willing to buy.

 

creating a value proposition : a set of benefits for the consumer that delivers value through products of services. This value will be made up of benefit/cost.  It is based on relationship and value.

 

 

Marketing has to do with Strategy and strategy has to do with Sales, Positioning, Product design, Price. An exchange process

 

 Engineering talks about features, but marketing talks about benefits

 

 

 

 

Branding

 

is influenced by the marketing mix (the 4 P's:  promotion, price, place, product).  All of these elements effect the branding.

 

Why brand?   to sell your product /service at a premium  (see our discussion on value proposition)

 

Because people are willing to pay more for branded goods.  Why?

 

 

Example:  The Trump brand on real estate can charge a premium (its not just a building, its a "Trump" building).

 

see more in our discussion on: branding

 

 

 

 

 

 #1 Marketing                                   #2 Selling                              #3 followup

 

* the promise                                                * the delivery                                         * the service, follow up

* make them want                                        * make them pay                                   * make them come back

 

branding

*  relationship building with Brand                *   interact with brand                            * remember brand 

 

Create the:

*  the value proposition                                * create the sale                                     * recommend friend

*  the customer perceived value                   * deliver, get money

 

Personal Level 

* targeting people                                        *   talking to people                                * save website in "favorites"

                                                                                                                                     * bookmark, Digg, delicios, trailfire

 

 

Marketing is what people do to get us interested in the “branding“ of their product. Marketing is what causes us to dream and imagine and wish. When someone markets a product or service to us, they are helping us to get more familiar with it. They are asking us to be really comfortable with hearing the brand, saying the brand, asking about the brand and eventually, leading us to a place where we find a NEED for just that brand.

 

Selling usually comes in right about here...the point of purchase. This is where we are helped to find the best solution for us. Selling is fine tuning the brand / product / service to fit our needs exclusively, and this is where some people start to shy away. Selling isn’t always up close, but it IS personal. Selling, if done correctly, can create a lifetime of loyal product / service users, and should always be done with the utmost respect, trust and honor. Selling is what helps a consumer to decide if this product that has been marketed to them is really what they need AND if the pain they have is strong enough to get rid of, or if the pleasure is great enough to invest.

 

Our job when we market our product or service is to create for our client a reason to want to begin a relationship with us. They need to know. just by the sound of our brand, that we are worth pursuing. Not only do they need to be comfortable with what we are sharing, they also need to know that over and over again until they believe it for themselves.

So, as we look at the way we are creating relationships with our future clients, look at the process in having them trust us. If we are skipping step one in relationship building (the marketing) then step two (selling), will be much more difficult - and step three (referrals & word of mouth) is then almost impossible.

 

 

 

 

Marketing Mix

 

the 4 Ps  are the paramaters (mix) that the marketer can control (subject to external environment).  

They are used to describe the strategic positioning of a product in the marketplace. 

 

 

 

 

 

optimizing the marketing mix is the primary responsibility of marketing.

By offering the product with the right combination of the four Ps marketers can improve their results and marketing effectiveness.

 

Making small changes in the marketing mix is typically considered to be a tactical change. Making large changes in any of the four Ps can be considered strategic. For example, a large change in the price, say from $129.00 to $39.00 would be considered a strategic change in the position of the product. However a change of $131 to $129.00 would be considered a tactical change, potentially related to a promotional offer.

 

read more about the marketing mix

 

 

 

 

 

Product vs Service Marketing

 

....obviously we are selling a product to thirsty people.  But, as the professor said, all products eventually are just commodities, and people dont pay a premium for a commodity....so, the question is....what sort of service can we ALSO sell along with our cachaca?  Is there any?  brainstorm here..... (what if we consider selling services to bars?   maybe lessons about how to mix "the perfect drink", or maybe ....what else?)
 
 

Services marketing

 

In common parlance it is the distribution and sale of goods and services. Marketing can be differentiated as:

 

Marketing includes the services of all those indulged may it be then the wholesaler retailer, Warehouse keeper, transport etc. In this modern age of competition marketing of a product or service plays a key role. It is estimated that almost 50% of the price paid for a commodity goes to the marketing of the product in US. Marketing is now said to be a term which has no particular definition as the definitions change everyday.

 

 

 

 
  

Tangible vs Intangible marketing

 

see our discussion on tangible v intangible marketing

 

 

 

 

Pricing issues

pricing  is extremely important because it sets the image for the company, establishes the "perceived value", and determines the positioning of the product / service/  company.   Pricing is the one factor of the marketing mix that is the most strategic, as well as tactical.   Pricing is psychological in that a good marketer finds out what a customer is willing to pay, and not what the accountants think he should charge for his product.   

  

 
 
 
 

Breakeven analysis

You absolutely can NOT make a marketing plan that does not include a breakeven analysis!!!  
 
In high fixed costs businesses, you need to expand market share at all costs.  There is an Optimal point that you need to consider.  
 
Capacity utilization and operating profit are related….you need both.  Need capacity utilization to drive down cost per unit…fixed costs must be covered to get operation profits.
 
For example, when shipping cachaca from Brazil, what are our fixed costs we need to cover?  The key to exporting is in your ability to cover your fixed costs of the sea container.  Lets say it costs $5,000 for each container that gets sent from Brazil to Spain ....thats your fixed cost.... how can we use this info to make breakeven analysis.  
 
 

 

 

5 drivers analysis of business models

 
There are 5 divers…market share, profit per customer, capacity acquisition, operating profit, customer retention = key to business.  You can break any business model into these things.   Look at 5 drivers…and decide which to go after first….compare with competitors, benchmarking..and see what of the 5 they are valuing.
 

 

 

Market Segmentation

 

Market segmentation is about dividing potential customers into distinct subsets, and identifying different needs / benefits / qualities of those subgroups.

 

Because each segment is fairly homogeneous in their needs and attitudes, they are likely to respond similarly to a given marketing strategy. That is, they are likely to have similar feelings and ideas about a marketing mix comprised of a given product or service, sold at a given price, distributed in a certain way and promoted in a certain way.

 

1.  Ability to buy (demographic)

2.  Willingness to buy (psycho-graphic, life style, beliefs, etc)

 

You want to be very, very specific about exactly the (a) location of our customer, (b) typical age of our customer (c) lifestyle of our customers...married, single, etc...(d) wealth of our customer, etc....  You need to get into the habit of considering that not all users are the same ….you need to think "is he worth talking to?".

 

see more in our discussion about market segmentation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Differentiation

 

Finding/Establishing superiority over competitors on some benefits/ attributes relevant to the customerFinding/Establishing superiority over competitors on some benefits/ attributes relevant to the customer.  What unique benefit does the product has?  How am I better vs. competitors on something the customer cares about

 

o   Features (Tangibles –engineering, technology-)

o   Benefits (Intangible)

 

see our discussion on differentiation

 

 

 

 

 

 

Positioning

 

Benefits, It’s about defining the story, what wants will the product satisfy?

 

If you start with Segmentation +  Differentiation = positioning. 

 

Positioning – is a "mind game" – that says "I'm the best product" .  In essense, you use positioning to establish superiority. 

 

see more discussion about positioning

 

 

 

Strategic Models for marketing

 

Marketing participants often employ strategic models and tools to analyze marketing decisions. When beginning a strategic analysis, the 3Cs can be employed to get a broad understanding of the strategic environment. An Ansoff Matrix is also often used to convey an organization's strategic positioning of their marketing mix. The 4Ps can then be utilized to form a marketing plan to pursue a defined strategy.

 

Porter generic strategies - strategy on the dimensions of strategic scope and strategic strength. Strategic scope refers to the market penetration while strategic strength refers to the firm’s sustainable competitive advantage.

see more in our discussion on strategy

 

 

 

 

 

Account Management (Relationship vs. Transaction Marketing)

 
 

creating relationships

 type of customer.  relationship vs transactional.... is there any way to move cachaca buyers away from "transactional" and toward "relationship" with our company?  how do we create brand loyalty?  how do we create a following of loyal customers that seek out our brand?  How do we "retain" customers....once they have tried our brand...how do we "keep them as customers"..... remember that customer retention is cheaper and easier than obtaining new customers.  How will we define our 80:20 rule...where 80% of our business comes from 20% of our customers.... what if we think of bars as our customers....?  does this marketing challenge change (rather than if we thought of the end users)?    Professor said: "Problem with transaction…they only care about cost…but in relationship, they will forgive you the price, if you can show them commitment.  Its very difficult to move them from transaction to commitment. but its very easy to move them back.  Transaction game means low cost all of the time.  The whole game in marketing is to move your key customers from transaction to relationship. "
 

 

Needs vs Wants marketing

In reality, who really "needs" half of the stuff we buy?  In the needs category might be food, shelter, etc.   But, as societies develop, there is growth in spending on the "wants" category.  When marketing products and services to people with extra money to spend....the main goal of marketing is to move people from a sense of just "wanting the product" to "needing the product"....or "cant live without the product".   Ifyou can do this, then my friend...you are a marketer!    For example, how many of us could live without our cell phone?  without Microsoft office?  without your iPod?.... well, maybe the iPod is still in the "wants" section...but its moving....

 

Once you identify (a) who your customers are, (b) what their need are....then the next step is to apply the marketing mix to meet those needs (price, promotion, product, place)

 

 

Flanking strategy

In business terms, a flanking attack involves competing in a market segment that the target does not consider mission critical. The target competitor will not be as concerned about your activities if they occur in market niches that it considers peripheral.

 

see more in our discussion:  flanking strategy 

 

 

Fighting Brands

 

: when you position your brand in the same position than the competence.

 
 
 
 

PEST analysis (marketing environment)

  see our discussion on PEST analysis  

Market research - looking outside the company to get a feel for the marketing environment

·  Economical, Competition, Infrastructure, Geographic,.

·  Social/Cultural

·  Technology

·  Political/Legal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketing ideas:

 

1. Host an event:

 

One clever way to get attention to your service, is to host an event.  Ive seen this done with high-fashion products such as Gucci that might sponsor a traveling art show, for example.  Or, a business publishing company such as "WorldCity" might sponsor meetings and conferences locally to attract subscribers.

 

One nice software for selling tickets online:  http://www.eventbrite.com/home

 

2. Create an online presense:

 

see our tips for making websites, and  Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

 

 

Going International

 

Creating an International marketing plan

 

  1. First look to see if anyother companies from your regio have tried marketing in that country?   what have they done well? badly? 
  2. Segment the market:   Find data about the market and look for demographic trends...ie. how big is the population 18-35?  how much spending power do they have?  Do they marry early?  singles or married people are our market?  What is the income distribution?  mostly of the money is with older people? Do younger people have money to spend?....this kind of stuff...
    • How much money people in that country spend on luxury products?  how much on other luxury products? 
    • How do people in that country feel about foreign brands?  Do they see foreign brands as a status symbol?  If so, then maybe there is a status-symbol play that we can make by going up-scale in our marketing?   Maybe we can target the rich through social websites
  3. Product positioning:  Once you segment the market, and have a clear understanding of who you are marketing to (ie. single males vs. older, family coulples, etc), then you should think about what marketing image would appeal best to them? 

 

  
 
 
 
 
 

Domestic vs. International Marketing

 

Only the surrounding (external) environment changes.   The product, company are the same. 

 

What matters is how you will adjust the product / package & marketing mix to meet the new environment.

 

Can you identify the changes? Do you have enough cultural IQ to even notice the changes?  This is really not easy to do.   How much localization of your product should you make?  If you are marketing a truely global brand, then maybe you dont want to change very much.  But, maybe local requirements mean that you could sell more if you would modify your product.  Each time you make modifications, you loose efficiency (which raises costs), but you might gain a local feel, and become more attractive to different markets.  How much tradeoff should you make in efficiency loss for market share gain?  This is the real trick of international marketing!

 

 

see our discussion on international marketing

 

 

 

Email marketing campaigns

 

GloboTrends Recommends:

others: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Careers in Marketing

The marketer must: Communicate (write, speak), be Creative (relate to customer), Crunch numbers

 

 

 

 

 

Links from Globotrends: