Introductions:

Unconsciously, every person has created a relationship with the brands, products and services that he/she has come in contact with. The relationship you have with a brand/product/service varies, depending on the importance of a need you have & the way a brand/product/service satisfies that need. How that relationship begins and flourishes has a lot to do with marketing. Marketing is not It isnt making commercials, slogans or logos that have a high cool factor. It isnt deciding who would be a good endorser for your product It isnt identifying all the product features & relying on those for sale. It isnt just about setting target sales and achieving it. MARKETING Marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging value with others (Philip Kotler). In a simpler sense: marketing is managing profitable customer relationships. - MANAGING means that marketing is a continuous process of responding to all the dimensions of the relationship between the consumer & your product/service/brand. - PROFITABLE means that marketing is a business function which means that you gain rewards through profits. This is something you dont do for fun, you cant do marketing without business attached to it. - CUSTOMER means that the customer/consumer is the ultimate point in marketing (the origin and goal!). - RELATIONSHIP specifies that the goal of marketing is to have a long-term and consistent transaction with the consumer. Marketing has the main responsibility of achieving profitable growth for the company. Profitable growth translates to: Increased revenues Multiple revenue sources Improved image leading to better value Improved product/service leading to an expansion of markets with new consumers Marketing must identify, evaluate, and select market opportunities and lay down strategies for capturing them. Companies need growth if they are to compete more effectively, satisfy stakeholders, and attract more investors. One useful device for identifying growth opportunities is the PRODUCT/MARKET EXPANSION GRID.

MARKET PENETRATION. The strategy for company growth by increasing sales of current products to current market segments without changing the product. MARKET DEVELOPMENT. A strategy for company growth by identifying and developing new market segments for current company products. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. A strategy for company growth by offering modified or new products to current market segments. DIVERSIFICATION. A strategy for company growth by starting up or acquiring business outside the companys current products and markets. THE CONCEPT OF DOWNSIZING. Reducing the business portfolio by eliminating the products or business units that are not profitable or that no longer fit the companys over-all strategy.

The Marketing Environment - The actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing managements ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target customers. - Offers both opportunities and threats, and successful companies know the vital importance of constantly watching and adapting to the changing environment. - Made up of the MICROENVIRONMENT and MACROENVIRONMENT. - MICROENVIRONMENT. The actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers namely: o The company. Marketing managers need to take into account other company groups when designing marketing plans such as, top management, finance, research & development, purchasing, operations, & accounting. o Suppliers. Providers of resources needed by the company to produce its goods & services. Marketing managers need to closely monitor supply availability supply shortages or delay can cost sales in the short-run & damage customer satisfaction. Marketing managers also monitor price trends of supplies; rising supply costs may increase price of products, therefore affecting the sales volumes. o Marketing intermediaries. Firms that help the company to promote, sell & distribute its goods to final buyers. Resellers. Distribution channel firms that help the company find customers or make sales to them. Physical Distribution Firms. Helps the company to stock or move goods from their points of origin. Marketing Services Agencies. Helps promote the products to the right markets. Financial Intermediaries. Helps fund the company & insure it against risks. o Customers. The end-user or buyer of your product or service. [5 Types of Consumers: consumer markets, business markets, reseller markets, government markets, international markets] o Competitors. Other companies offering the same products or services (DIRECT COMPETITORS) or offering products or services under the same category (INDIRECT COMPETITORS). Marketing managers work to gain strategic advantage by positioning their offerings strongly against competitors offerings in the minds of consumers. o Publics. A public is a group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an organizations ability to achieve its objectives. [7 Types of Publics: financial publics, media publics, government publics, citizen-action publics, local publics, general publics, internal publics] - MACROENVIRONMENT. The larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment. o Demographics. Demography as the study of human population in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, race, occupation & other statistics. o Economic forces. Factors that affect consumer buying power & spending patterns. o Natural. Natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities. o Technological. Forces that create new technologies creating new products and market opportunities. o Political. Laws, government agencies, & pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals in a given society. o Cultural. Institutions and other forces that affect societys basic values, perceptions, preferences & behavior.

The Concept of a Marketing Strategy

- Marketing Segmentation. The process of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers with different needs, characteristics or behavior who might require separate products or marketing programs. - Target Marketing. Involves evaluating each market segments attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter. - Market Positioning. Arranging for a product/service to occupy a clear, distinctive, and desirable place relative to competing products in the mind of target consumers. o Effective positioning begins with actually differentiating the companys marketing offer so that it gives customers more value. o Once a company has chosen a desired position, it must take strong steps to deliver and communicate that position to target consumers.

The Marketing Mix - The Marketing Mix. The set of controllable marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. It consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product. All the possibilities can be collected into 4 groups, also known as the 4Ps: o PRODUCT. The goods-and-services combination the company offers to the target market. It includes: variety, quality, design, features, brand name, packaging, services that complement the product. o PRICE. The amount of money customers have to pay to obtain the product. It includes: list price, discounts, allowances, payment period, credit terms. o PLACE. The strategic sites, spaces, visual points, along with activities that make the product/service available to target consumers. It includes channels, coverage, locations, transportation, logistics, etc. o PROMOTION. The planned activities and efforts that communicate the value and benefit of a product/service, thereby persuading customers to buy it. It includes advertising messages, direct marketing, sales promotion, public relations, etc. In the age of customer relationships, the 4Ps have been replaced by 4Cs: * PRODUCT CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS * PRICE CUSTOMER COSTS * PLACE CONVENIENCE * PROMOTION COMMUNICATION

***Something to remember: An effective marketing program blends all the marketing mix elements into a coordinated program designed to deliver value to consumers, as well as achieves a companys objectives. - MARKET ANALYSIS. Managing the marketing function begins with a complete study of the industrys/companys/products business situation. o Includes scrutinizing strengths & weaknesses of the product/service/company o Carefully considering all attractive opportunities, as well as learn about potential threats. o Reviewing best practices and efforts that worked, as well as worst efforts that shouldnt be repeated. - MARKETING PLANNING. The formation of a detailed marketing plan for a product/brand that assesses current marketing situation, then: 1. Outlines the marketing objectives to be achieved. 2. Conceptualizes the marketing strategy that will bring value. 3. Identifying the action programs that will engage the consumers. 4. Preparing the budget that will reflect costs and revenues. MARKET SEGMENTATION + TARGET MARKETING (Wherein you identify your consumers)

MARKETING MIX (Wherein you identify the elements that you have to control/manage in order to persuade your consumers to purchase)

MARKET ANALYSIS (Wherein you identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats [SWOT])

MARKET PLANNING Managing Marketing Information - One of marketings basic principles is understanding consumer wants and needs. There is a need for an abundance of information on consumers, competition, business partners, and other bigger actors/forces in the marketplace. - Competitors can copy each others equipment, products or procedures, but they cannot duplicate the companys information and intellectual capital. - Rapidly changing environments need up-to-date information to make timely, high-quality decisions. - However, the need isnt always MORE information, but rather BETTER information. - The Concept of Marketing Information Systems o Marketing Information Systems (MIS). People, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision-makers. This is done continuously and regularly. Includes internal databases extracted from sales transactions, movement of goods over time and space, inventory reports, etc. Includes researchers who juxtapose data from two sources, and evaluate correlations of variables. If companies cannot manage to establish their MIS, they employ research firms to their monitoring information (e.g. AC Nielsens Brand Tracking Studies). - Marketers can obtain needed information from: INTERNAL DATABASES, MARKETING INTELLIGENCE, and MARKET RESEARCH. o Internal Databases. Electronic collections of information obtained from data sources within the company. o Market Intelligence. The collection and analysis of publicly available information about competitors and developments in the marketing environment

o Market Research. The systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization. Market Research Process: 1. Describing the problem and the research objectives. 2. Developing the research plan. 3. Implementing the research plan. 4. Interpreting and reporting the findings. *** A specific marketing situation calls for customized methods of finding a solution. Types of Market Research: 1. Exploratory Research. To gather preliminary information that will help define the problem and suggest a hypothesis. 2. Descriptive Research. To explain better the rationale or illustrate a clear picture of a marketing situation or a specific target market. 3. Causal Research. To test a hypothesis about cause-and-effect relationships. ***Research objectives must be translated into specific information needs. - A RESEARCH PLAN is necessary to identify sources of existing data and spells out specific research approaches, contact methods, sampling methods, and instruments the researcher will use to gather new data. - Types of Data: o Primary Data. Information collected for a specific purpose at hand. Approaches to obtain Primary Data: Observational Research. The gathering of primary data through the use of ones senses in taking note of people, actions and situations. Survey Research. The gathering of primary data from consumers by asking people questions about their knowledge, attitudes, preference and buying behavior. o Secondary Data. Information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose. ***Remember: Interpretation of data gathered must still be guided by the research objective. To avoid information overload, mine through the date and sort which ones have the most relevance to your research problem. Consumers (Consumers are not created equal) - The aim of marketing is to affect how consumers think about and behave towards a brand or a companys product/service offerings. - The Buyer Decision Process:

- NEED RECOGNITION. The buyer recognizes a problem or need triggered by internal or external stimuli. - INFORMATION SEARCH. An interested consumer may or may not search for more information. If the consumers drive is strong and satisfying product is near at hand, the consumer is likely to buy it. If not, the consumer may store the need in memory, or undertake an information search. o Information can be obtained from personal sources, commercial sources, public sources, and experiential sources. o As more information is absorbed, the consumers awareness and knowledge of the available brands and features increases. o The marketer must design its marketing mix to make prospects aware of, and knowledgeable about its brand in various ways. - EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES. How consumers go about evaluating purchase alternatives depends on individual consumer and buying situation. - PURCHASE DECISION. The act of committing to your preference by way of monetary exchange. o Two factors can come between PURCHASE INTENTION and PURCHASE DECISION: Attitude of others Unexpected situational factors - POST-PURCHASE BEHAVIOR. o The CONSUMERS EXPECTATIONS and the PRODUCTS PERCEIVED PERFORMANCE determines whether the buyer is satisfied, dissatisfied or disappointed with a purchase. o A companys sales come from 2 basic groups: NEW CUSTOMERS and RETAINED CUSTOMERS. o Customer satisfaction is a key in building profitable relationships o Satisfied customers buy a product again, talk favorably to other about the product, pay less attention to competing brands and hardly buy other products. o Dissatisfied consumers respond differently. Bad word-of-mouth travels farther and faster than good word-of-mouth. o Companies should then set-up systems to measure and respond to encourage consumers to express their dissatisfaction (or lack of), in order to know how to satisfy its consumers. - The Buyer Decision Process for New Products

- The Buyer Decision Process & Consumer Buying Behavior. For the most part, marketers cannot control external forces that affect consumers. As such, the right action is to take them into account when getting to know the consumers. o CULTURAL FACTORS. [Cultural/Sub-culture/Social Class] Culture is defined to be the set of basic values, perceptions, wants, and behaviors learned by a member of society from family and other important institutions. Failure to adjust to cultural differences can result in ineffective marketing. Sub-culture refers to a group of people with shared value system based on common life experiences and situations.

 Social class is the relatively permanent and ordered divisions in society whose members share similar values, interests and behaviors. This is measured by income, occupation, education, wealth, etc. o SOCIAL FACTORS. Factors born out of the deliberate or non-deliberate interpersonal relationships an individual has in his/her life. The social influences can come form family, groups, opinion leaders, etc. Also, belonging to a group/relationship yields a role or a status. o PERSONAL FACTORS Age and Life-cycle Stage Occupation Economic Situation Personality and Self-concept Lifestyle - pertains to a persons pattern of living as expressed by his psychographics -activities, interests, and opinions. More than income, social class or personality -it profiles a persons whole pattern of acting and interacting in the world. o PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS. Psychology is the study of behavior born out of the interplay of the mind and the emotions. Motivation - a motive is a need that is sufficiently pressing to direct that person to seek satisfaction. Perception Learning Beliefs and Attitudes