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First 50 Marketing Questions & ANSWERs

1. 360 degree branding Marketing activities which take into consideration brand identity and take an inclusive approach so that the brand is presented at all points of consumer contact.

2.

3Cs model

Only by integrating the three C's (Customer, Competitor, and Company) in a strategic triangle, sustained competitive advantage can exist. Kenichi Ohmae refers to these key factors as the three C's or the strategic triangle. 3C's model: Customer-based strategies are the basis of all strategy. "There is no doubt that a corporation's foremost concern ought to be the interest of its customers rather than that of its stockholders and other parties. In the long run, the corporation that is genuinely interested in its customers is the one that will be interesting to investors".

3.

4 Ps of Marketing

The 4 Ps of marketing mix are price, product, place, promotion. ( PRODUCT)

4.

7Ps of Marketing

The seven Ps of marketing mix are price, product, place, promotion, physical presence, people, and processes. This refers to the requirements of successfully marketing a product. It also serves as a means to encourage brand loyalty in consumers. (SERVICE)

5.

ABC Analysis

An analysis of a range of items that have different levels of significance and should be handled or controlled differently. It is a form of Pareto analysis in which the items (such as activities, customers, documents, inventory items, sales territories) are grouped into three categories (A, B, and C) in order of

their estimated importance. 'A' items are very important, 'B' items are important, 'C' items are marginally important. For example, the best customers who yield highest revenue are given the 'A' rating, are usually serviced by the sales manager, and receive most attention. 'B' and 'C' customers warrant progressively less attention and are serviced accordingly.

Definition of 'Guerrilla Marketing'

A marketing tactic in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a product or service. Guerrilla marketing is different than traditional marketing in that it often relies on personal interaction and has a smaller budget, and it focuses on smaller groups of promoters that are responsible for getting the word out in a particular location rather than on wide-spread media campaigns.
Guerrilla marketing originally was a concept aimed towards small businesses with a small budget, but this didnt stop big businesses from adopting the same ideology. Larger companies have been using unconventional marketing to compliment their advertising campaigns. Some marketers argue that when big businesses utilize guerrilla marketing tactics, it isnt true guerrilla. Bigger companies have much larger budgets and their brands are usually already well established. It can also be far more risky for a big business to do guerrilla marketing tactics. In some instances, their guerrilla stunts can flop and ultimately become a PR nightmare. Smaller businesses dont run as much risk as most people will just write it off as another failed stunt. - See more at: http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/what-is-guerrilla-marketing/#sthash.y7icvVkL.dpuf Example :MTV Bakra

6.

Adaptive Marketing

It refers to changing or reforming (adapting) a firms marketing mix to suit to the particular geography in which the firm is operating. The customers preferences are different in different geographical segments or different segments in the same geography in terms of cultural backgrounds, spending power and type of product required. Thus, the company needs to change its products, prices, channels, and promotion strategies to suit the consumers requirement in each country or area. Example - Tata Group has launched Nano in India with the proposition of an economic car worth $ 2500 directed towards the middle segment. But they are planning to launch a similar version of the same vehicle in the name of Nano Pixel worth $4500 in European market for the youth.

7. Advertising Objective An advertising objective is a goal of an advertising campaign, selected at the start of the campaign to keep it focused on a specific end product. Companies use objectives to set goals for their advertising and may use assessments to determine whether goals are being met. These can allow companies to adjust their advertising, consider new advertising ideas, and set new goals for long term sales, growth, and development

8.

Advertorial

An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of an editorial. The term "advertorial" is a portmanteau of "advertisement" and "editorial. In television, the advertisement is similar to a short infomercial presentation of products or services. In radio, these can take the form of a radio commercial or a discussion between the announcer and representative.

9.

Ambush Marketing

Ambush marketing is a name given to marketing campaigns that are also done around the event, but where no money is paid for the event.[1] There are many very important events where one company will pay money to become the exclusive sponsor of the event (or in a category of the event). This creates a problem for other brands or companies. These other brands then find ways to promote themselves in connection with the same event. They do not pay the sponsorship fee. Even if they wanted to, they could not, because one brand is the exclusive sponsor. They also do not break any laws. IPL, WORLD CUP, EDEN GROUND B/W PEPSI & COKE ... ANY COKE SYMBOL WASNTALLOWED IN THE STADIUM.

10.

B2B (Business to Business)

B2B is short for business to business. It indicates sales made to other businesses, rather than sales to individuals. The latter is referred to as business to consumer sales. B2B sales often take the form of one company selling supplies or components to another. For example, a tire manufacturer might sell to a car manufacturer. Wholesalers often sell their products to retailers, who then turn around and sell them to consumers. Supermarkets are a classic example: they buy food from wholesalers and then sell it at a slightly higher price to individuals.

11.

Barter

A barter (or bartering) is an exchange between two parties using goods and services for payment instead of currency. The barter system enables two parties to exchange goods or services based on mutually perceived value. These transactions do not involve any exchange of currency, however, each party benefits from the transaction. To illustrate, a plumber can fix a bakers sink, for which the baker would normally have paid $100 for the service. Instead, the baker gives the plumber $100 worth of his baked goods. Another example would be a photographer agreeing to photograph a dentist's

wedding

pictures

in

return

for

some

dental

work

of

equal

value.

12.

BCG Matrix

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm with 78 offices in 43 countries.[1] It is one of the largest private companies in the United States.[3] The firm serves as an advisor to clients in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors across the globe A BCG Matrix refers to a tool plan model used in determining a business products' priorities portfolio. The model places products into stars, cash cows, dogs and question marks categories. Each category of a BCG Matrix model implies a concept. 13. Behavioural Segmentation

Behavioural Segmentation is market segmentation based on certain consumer behavior characteristics, such as benefits sought by the consumer, the extent to which the product is consumed, brand loyalty, price sensitivity, and the ways in which the product is used. For example: If a customer has been using the same brand of toothpaste for 12 years and has had no cavities in that time period, a small price increase will most likely mot be an issue to that customer.

14.

Benchmarking

A benchmark is a feasible alternative to a portfolio against which performance is measured. A good benchmark should appropriately reflect the portfolio's investment style and strategy as well as the investor's return expectations.

For example, the Russell 2000 may be an appropriate benchmark for a portfolio investing exclusively in small-cap domestic stocks,

15.

Benefit Segmentation

A form of market segmentation based on the differences in specific benefits that different groups of consumers look for in a product. One of the five common segmentation strategies, its objective is to define specific niches that require custom-tailored promotion. Method of determining a target audience for a particular product in terms of those people who want the benefits the product offers. By segmenting the audience according to these benefits through the copywriting, the advertiser can position the product in three different markets to achieve maximum advertising effectiveness. If the product is a fast sports car, for example, the target audience will be the segment of the population that wants the benefits of a fast sports car.

16.

Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy suggests that an organization should create new demand in an uncontested market space, or a "Blue Ocean", rather than compete headto-head with other suppliers in an existing industry. Denote all the industries not in existence today the unknown market space, untainted by competition. In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. Shampoo sachet of south Indian entrepreneur.

17.

Brand

Brands simplify consumers purchase decision. Brand is the "name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's product distinct from those of other sellers"[1] Initially, branding was adopted to differentiate one person's cattle from another's by means of a distinctive symbol burned into the animal's skin with a hot iron stamp and was subsequently used in business,marketing, and advertising. A modern example of a brand is Coca Cola which belongs to the Coca-Cola Company.

18. Brand Equity The purpose of brand equity metrics is to measure the value of a brand. A brand encompasses the name, logo, image, and perceptions that identify a product, service, or provider in the minds of customers. It takes shape in advertising, packaging, and other marketing communications, and becomes a focus of the relationship with consumers. In time, a brand comes to embody a promise about the goods it identifiesa promise about quality, performance, or other dimensions of value, which can influence consumers' choices among competing products. When consumers trust a brand and find it relevant, they may select the offerings associated with that brand over those of competitors,

even at a premium price. When a brand's promise extends beyond a particular product, its owner may leverage it to enter new markets. For all these reasons, a brand can hold tremendous value, which is known as brand equity Brand equity is a phrase used in the marketing industry which describes the value of having a well-known brand name, based on the idea that the owner of a well-known brand name can generate more money from products with that brand name than from products with a less well known name, as consumers believe that a product with a well-known name is better than products with less well known names. 19. Brand Extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this strategy to increase and leverage brand equity (definition: the net worth and long-term sustainability just from the renowned name). An example of a brand extension is Jello-gelatin creating Jello pudding pops. It increases awareness of the brand name and increases profitability from offerings in more than one product category. Another example is Virgin Group, which was initially a record label that has extended its brand successfully many times; from transportation (aeroplanes, trains) to games stores and video stores such a Virgin Megastores

20.

Brand Identity

Brand identity is different than brand image, which is what consumers actually think. It is constructed by the business itself. A negative gap between brand identity and brand image means a company is out of touch with market sentiment, which will make selling its products more difficult. The brand image held by consumers can reach a point at which a business or product has to rebrand itself or risk not bringing in sales. Brand identity includes following elements - Brand vision, brand culture, positioning, personality, relationships, and presentations. Brand identity is the aggregation of what all you (i.e. an organization) do. It is an organizations mission, personality, promise to the consumers and competitive advantages. It includes the thinking, feelings and expectations of the target market/consumers. It is a means of identifying and distinguishing an organization from another. EXAMPLE - Britannia ting-ting-ta-ding), trademark colours (for example Blue colour with Pepsi), logo (for example - Nike), tagline (for example - Apples tagline is Think different),etc.

21.

Brand Value

"Brand Value" is considered to be the net present value of the estimated future cash flows attributable to the Brand.

Brand Value is also referred to has Brand Equity. A brand can be an intangible asset, used by consultants like Brand Finance to rationalise the variation between a company's "book value" and market value. EXAMPLES where Brands have made the right (Intel Inside marketing activity).

22.

Break Even Pricing

Number of units that must be sold in order to produce a profit of zero (but will recover all associated costs). In other words, the break-even point is the point at which your product stops costing you money to produce and sell, and starts to generate a profit for your company. Break even pricing is the practice of setting a price point at which a business will earn zero profits on a sale. The intention behind the use of break even pricing is to gain market share and drive competitors from the marketplace. By doing so, a company may be able to increase its production volumes to such an extent that it can reduce costs and then earn a profit at what had been the break even price. Alternatively, once it has driven out competitors, the company can raise its prices sufficiently to earn a profit, but not so high that the increased price is tempting for new market entrants. = (Total fixed cost / Production unit volume) + Variable cost per unit

23.

Break-Even Analysis

An analysis to determine the point at which revenue received equals the costs associated with receiving the revenue. Break-even analysis calculates what is known as a margin of safety, the amount that revenues exceed the break-even point. This is the amount that revenues can fall while still staying above the break-even point. Break-even analysis is a supply-side analysis; that is, it only analyzes the costs of the sales. It does not analyze how demand may be affected at different price levels. For example, if a business sells fewer than 200 tables each month, it will make a loss, if it sells more, it will be a profit. With this information, the business managers will then need to see if they expect to be able to make and sell 200 tables per month.

24.

Business Plan

A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals. Business plans may also target changes in perception and branding by the customer, client, taxpayer, or larger community. When the existing business is to assume a major change or when planning a new venture, a 3 to 5 year business plan is required, since investors will look for their annual return in that timeframe.

Banks are quite concerned about defaults, so a business plan for a bank loan will build a convincing case for the organizations ability to repay the loan

25.

Business Portfolio

The process of assessing a company's competitive position and business performance relative to its market. Used in strategic planning to optimize investment activities and effectively allocate resources towards the right business opportunities. The collection of products and services provided by a company. Many businesses will engage in business portfolio analysis as part of their strategic planning efforts by categorizing the products they offer by relative competitive position and rate of sales growth. A business portfolio can come in many formats such as a photo album, presentation binder, CD-ROM, or web format. In fact, I would suggest having it available in many formats so that you can tailor the presentation of your portfolio to your audience.

26.

Business Process Re-engineering

Business process re-engineering is a business management strategy, originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and processes within an organization. BPR aimed to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become worldclass competitors. BPR seeks to help companies radically restructure their organizations by focusing on the ground-up design of their business processes Business process re-engineering is also known as business process redesign, business transformation, or business process change management. EXAMPLE~ Taco Bell created the K-Minus program (Kitchenless restaurant) - Currently they are redefining how to deliver their food services, by taking their food service to places where people gather such as dining centers, schools, universities, airport, and stadiums. Taco Bell has progressed from a $500 million regional company in 1982 to a $3 billion national company. U. S. Sprint is the third largest U.S. telecommunication company facing fierce competition. Their business issues included a customer service and billing processes that was not keeping pace with their expanding business and the need to increase customer retention and satisfaction. Using BPR they instituted an invoice-processing system in which Service Agents review customer accounts every six months to ensure customers are sign-up for the services that meet their calling needs and save them money. This effort has helped to decrease U.S. Sprint's customer turnover rate.

27.

Buzz Marketing

Buzz marketing is a viral marketing technique that attempts to make each encounter with a consumer appear to be a unique, spontaneous personal exchange of information instead of a calculated marketing pitch choreographed by a professional advertiser. Historically, buzz marketing campaigns have been designed to be very theatrical in nature. The advertiser reveals information about the product or service to only a few "knowing" people in the target audience. By purposely seeking out one-on-one conversations with those who heavily influence their peers, buzz marketers create a sophisticated word-of-mouth campaign where consumers are flattered to be included in the elite group of those "in the know" and willingly spread the word to their friends and colleagues. Word-ofMouth Marketing Instant messaging (IM) applications are also being looked at as a vehicle for carrying out buzz marketing campaigns

28.

Click and Mortar companies

A click and mortar company is a company that has a traditional physical presence but has added e-marketing to their marketing strategy. An example of a click and mortar company includes JC Penny's, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc. Basically it is any company with a website at which a buyer can make purchases either online or in the "brick and mortar" store. For example, if consumers prefer to purchase a book from Amazon.com whose cost plus overnight delivery charge is essentially the same as an over-the-counter book from Barnes & Noble what does that say about the B&N transaction 'experience'? Apparently, not much. 'Clicks and mortar' improves that experience by converting inventory to an advantage by harnessing it with online catalog access from which the retail customer can obtain both comparative and product information and streamlined delivery. That strategy is clearly relevant to providers of financial services.

29.

Click Only Companies

Click-only companies are those companies who have a website/online presence without a physical store. They sell their products through their website only. They differ from click-and-mortar companies who have a physical presence in addition to their e-commerce business. Ebay and Amazon are few click only companies who provide only online offerings.

30.

Co-branding

Co-branding refers to several different marketing arrangements:

Co-branding, also called brand partnership,[1] is when two companies form an alliance to work together, creating marketing synergy. As described in CoBranding: The Science of Alliance:[2] "the term 'co-branding' is relatively new to the business vocabulary and is used to encompass a wide range of marketing activity involving the use of two (and sometimes more) brands. Thus co-branding could be considered to include sponsorships, where Marlboro lends it name to Ferrari or accountants Ernst and Young support the Monet exhibition."

Co-branding is an arrangement that associates a single product or service with more than one brand name, or otherwise associates a product with someone other than the principal producer. The typical co-branding agreement involves two or more companies acting in cooperation to associate any of various logos, color schemes, or brand identifiers to a specific product that is contractually designated for this purpose. The object for this is to combine the strength of two brands, in order to increase the premium consumers are willing to pay, make the product or service more resistant to copying by private label manufacturers, or to combine the different perceived properties associated with these brands with a single product. Example: British Airways and Citibank formed a partnership offering a credit card where the card owner will automatically become a member of the British Airways Executive club Other examples include the marketing of Gillette M3 Power shaving equipment (which require batteries) with Duracell batteries (both brands owned by Procter & Gamble).

31.

Commercialization

Commercialization is the process or cycle of introducing a new product or production method into the market. The actual launch of a new product is the final stage of new product development and the one where the most money will have to be spent for advertising, sales promotion, and other marketing efforts. Commercialization is often confused with sales, marketing development. The commercialization process has three key aspects: or business

1. The funnel. It is essential to look at many ideas to get one or two products or businesses that can be sustained long-term. 2. It is a stage-wise process, and each stage has its own key goals and milestones. 3. It is vital to involve key stakeholders early, including customers. Xerox chose a competitive strategy because their product was good enough to succeed on its own.

32.

Communication Channel

Generally, a communication channel is the medium that is used in the transmission of a message from one party to another; for example the print media or the broadcast media. In electronic media, channels of communications refer to

the physical medium such as a wire used to convey information signals from one point to the other. A medium through which a message is transmitted to its intended audience, such as print media or broadcast (electronic) media. EXAMPLE - Brochures, letters, email messages video email messages, telephone conversation, videoconferencing, and face to face meetings.

33.

Communication Research

Communication Research is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of communication studies. Theeditors-in-chief are Pamela Shoemaker (Syracuse University) and Michael E. Roloff (Northwestern University). It was established 1974 and is currently published by SAGE Publications.

34.

Competition-based Pricing

Competition based pricing is used by a business that wants to price their products at or lower than their competition's price. This is done a lot with different retailers that are in the same area. It makes sure the customer gets the lowest price possible. A pricing method in which a seller uses prices of competing products as a benchmark instead of considering own costs or the customer demand. Example ~ Apple's MAC laptops vs. Windows Coke vs. Pepsi

35.

Competitive Advantage

An advantage that a firm has over its competitors, allowing it to generate greater sales or margins and/or retain more customers than its competition. There can be many types of competitive advantages including the firm's cost structure, product offerings, distribution network and customer support. Competitive advantages give a company an edge over its rivals and an ability to generate greater value for the firm and its shareholders. The more sustainable the competitive advantage, the more difficult it is for competitors to neutralize the advantage. Pershing General Hospital is a 125-bed, primary-care facility located in a rural area with no other hospitals within 50 miles. Because the organization operates with almost zero competition, it doesnt need to focus on how to beat out other hospitals. However, it does need to decide what services to offer with its limited governmental funding.

36.

Consumer Oriented Marketing

Consumer orientated marketing is when a product or service is marketed at the consumer, with the consumer needs at the front of the marketing. This is seen as an alternative to traditional product orientated marketing which is where the product that is being promoted or advertised is the focus for the marketing

collateral. There are three main focuses to consumer orientated marketing that are said to have the biggest influence on what the customer purchases. These are: Size, Congestion, Purchasing power When a product is marketed in a consumer orientated way there must be a lot of research done to find out about the consumer. Although this can be costly, the benefits of most consumer marketing campaigns do outweigh the initial research cost. 37. Consumerism

The term "consumerism" has also been used to refer to something quite different called the consumerists movement, consumer protection or consumer activism, which seeks to protect and inform consumers by requiring such practices as honest packaging and advertising, product guarantees, and improved safety standards. In this sense it is a movement or a set of policies aimed at regulating the products, services, methods, and standards of manufacturers, sellers, and advertisers in the interests of the buyer. Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever-greater amounts

38.

Corporate Identity

A corporate identity is the overall image of a corporation or firm or business in the minds of diverse publics, such as customers and investors and employees. It is a primary task of the corporate communications department to maintain and build this identity to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives. It is usually visibly manifested by way of branding and the use of trademarks. In general, this amounts to a corporate title, logo (logotype and/or logogram) and supporting devices commonly assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines govern how the identity is applied and confirm approved colour palettes, typefaces, page layouts and other such. Corporate identity is often viewed as being composed of three parts: Corporate design (logos, uniforms, corporate colours etc.) Corporate communication (advertising, public relations, information, etc.) Corporate behavior (internal values, norms, etc.)

Red for Coca-Cola Blue for IBM, nicknamed "Big Blue" Brown for UPS, "What can Brown do for you" Light Teal for Korean Air

39.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a model for managing a companys interactions with current and future customers. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support.

It simply takes capturing your clients mobile numbers systematically and paying for a service which automatically sends out the messages. The investment is absolutely worth it ~ When a salesperson helps his customer overcome a difficult problem, it's much more likely that she'll get in touch with him for future purchases. And there's also a good chance that she'll send her friends and family to him as well. And this is exactly what a customer relationship management system is trying to accomplish. 40. Customer Perceived Value

Perceived customer value is a marketing and branding related concept that points out that success of a product is largely based on whether customers believe it can satisfy their needs. This phrase emphasizes that when a company develops its brand and markets its products, customers ultimately determine how to interpret and react to marketing messages. Companies spend significant time researching the market to get a sense of how customers think and feel. Value Proposition, RESEARCH MESSAGE. EXAMPLE - NIKE, a well-known brand of today, endorsed in professional NBA player Michael Jordan and created a special line of shoes called the Air Jordan(s). Nike seems to understand all too well the need to develop strong customerperceived value.

41.

Demographic Segmentation

Demographic segmentation occurs when the market is divided into groups on the basis of variables such as age, family size, family life cycle, gender, income, religion, race, social class, nationality, generation, education, and occupation. Demographic variables are the most popular way to distinguish customer segments. One of the reasons that demographic segmentation is so popular is that consumer desires, preferences, and usage rates are often associated with demographic variables that are relatively easy to quantify. GENDER, AGE, OCCUPATION, INCOME LEVEL & Martial Status 42. Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and nonprofits organizations to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques that can include Cell Phone Text messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional letters, and outdoor advertising. Direct marketing messages emphasize a focus on the customer, data, and accountability. Print materials that are distributed by hand to potential clients are a relatively low cost, low tech and effective example of direct marketing.

43.

Discount Store

A discount store is a type of department store, which sells products at prices lower than those asked by traditional retail outlets. Most discount

department stores offer a wide assortment of goods; others specialize in such merchandise as jewelry, electronic equipment, or electrical appliances. Discount stores are not variety stores, which sell goods at a single price-point or multiples thereof (1, $2, etc.). Discount stores differ from variety stores in that they sell many name-brand products, and because of the wide price range of the items offered. Following World War II, a number of retail establishments in the U.S. began to pursue a high-volume, low-profit-margin strategy designed to attract priceconscious consumers Discount stores also offer a huge range of products to the end-users but at a discounted rate. The discount stores generally offer a limited range and the quality in certain cases might be a little inferior as compared to the department stores. Wal-Mart currently operates more than 1300 discount stores in United States. In India Vishal Mega Mart comes under discount store

44.

Discrimination Pricing

A pricing strategy that charges customers different prices for the same product or service. In pure price discrimination, the seller will charge each customer the maximum price that he or she is willing to pay. In more common forms of price discrimination, the seller places customers in groups based on certain attributes and charges each group a different price. Examples of price discrimination can be found in the travel and entertainment industries, among others. Trains will often price differentiate by offering discounts to frequent travelers, seniors, and other select groups. Many movie theaters, amusement parks, tourist attractions, and other places have different admission prices per market segment because different groups have very different demand curves based on their income and time constraints.

45.

E-Marketing

E-marketing means using digital technologies to help sell your goods or services. These technologies are a valuable complement to traditional marketing methods whatever the size of your company or your business model. E-marketing gives businesses of any size access to the mass market at an affordable price and, unlike TV or print advertising, it allows truly personalized marketing. Global reach, Lower cost Track able, measurable results 24-hour marketing Personalization Better conversion rate

46.

Factory Outlet

An outlet store or factory outlet is a brick and mortar or online retail store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public. Traditionally, a factory outlet was a store attached to a factory or warehouse, sometimes allowing customers to watch the production process like in the original L.L. Bean store. In modern usage, outlet stores are typically manufacturer-branded stores

likeGap or Bon Worth grouped together in outlet malls. The invention of the factory outlet store is often credited to Harold Alfond, founder of the Dexter Shoe Company. Example sentences for factory outlet But this minuscule factory outlet is worth your attention if you're looking for a casual leather jacket. The lodging is within walking distance of factory outlet stores. Its economic base is a mix of retail trade, factory outlet shopping, manufacturing and agriculture. Adjacent factory outlet stores, fast food restaurants, and motels round out the border area. One would rezone eight acres to commercial in order to expand the existing factory outlet center.

47.

Forecasting Sales

Sales Forecasting is the process of estimating what your businesss sales are going to be in the future. Sales forecasting is an integral part of business management. Without a solid idea of what your future sales are going to be, you cant manage your inventory or your cash flow or plan for growth. The purpose of sales forecasting is to provide information that you can use to make intelligent business decisions. Examples: Sales forecasting done on a month by month basis will give you a much more realistic prediction of how your business will perform than one lump sales forecast for the year.

48.

Generation X

Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western PostWorld War II baby boom. Demographers, historians and commentators use beginning birth dates from the early 1960s to the early 1980s. The term was popularized by Douglas Coupland's 1991 novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. Before that, it had been used for various subcultures or counter cultures after the 1950s.[1] "Generation X refers to adults born between 1961 and 1981" Professor Christine Henseler summarizes it as "a generation whose worldview is based on change, on the need to combat corruption, dictatorships, abuse, AIDS, a generation in search of human dignity and individual freedom, the need for stability, love, tolerance, and human rights for all."

49.

Generation Y

Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation,[1] is the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when Generation Y starts and ends. Commentators use beginning birth dates from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.

50.

Gross Sales

A measure of overall sales that isn't adjusted for customer discounts or returns, calculated simply by adding all sales invoices, and not including operating expenses, cost of goods sold, payment of taxes, or any other charge. Gross sales is usually an important measure for those companies in the consumer retail industry. It measures the amount of product that a company sells relative to its competitors, and can also reflect consumer spending habits.

2nd ~ 50 Marketing Questions & ANSWERs 51. Guerilla Warfare

Guerilla warfare marketing is a marketing strategy that emphasizes on low-cost non-traditional marketing techniques to generate substantial amount of buzz by taking the customer by surprise without making large expenditures towards advertising. As the name (coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Advertising)suggests, Guerilla marketing uses small tactics similar to those used in guerilla warfare. This kind of marketing is believed to make a relatively bigger impact than traditional marketing techniques as it aims to strike the customer at a more personal level. It is especially useful for small organizations looking to make a mark for them without investing heavily in marketing. However, like any other strategy, Guerilla marketing also comes with its own share of risk. Because of its nature, it is generally not very specific and runs the risk of misrepresentation wherein the product is brand image (perceived by the customers) turns out to be a lot different than the intended identity the organization wanted to create for itself. A successful example of Guerilla marketing has been Coca Colas Happiness machine video which went viral and gave tremendous ROI for the company.

52.

Idea Generation

It is the process involving various steps like generation, development and finally communication of the idea. Here idea can be defined as thought in any form like visual, on paper etc. Idea generation is not a single step process but has step like innovation of idea and then developing to get the desired output and finally actualization of the idea to get the desired result. It is also called ideation and it is the first step of any design process.

53.

Inbound Enquiry

Inbound Enquiry is a preliminary response from prospective customers following an advertisement or a sales promotion campaign. Number of enquiries (and their conversion into sales revenue) made is a measure of the effectiveness of a firm's marketing efforts.

Inbound enquiries that come through various live inbound channels are important as most of the prospective customers reach out to you since they have a need for the offerings or want to know more about the offerings. Its a direct output of the firms marketing activities. Its also critical to handle these enquiries on a real time basis or have a very quick response time.

54.

Indirect Marketing

In the context of marketing there are two types of marketing, direct and indirect. The channel in which there is no direct communication to customers by the companies is called indirect marketing. Basically it is treated as the next stage for brand recognition and awareness. When customers are aware of the product and only require to be reminded about the product than indirect marketing will be used. Indirect marketing is generic in nature and no segmentation and targeting is required. The retention to customers is made by presenting them in symbolic representation without discriminating within the customers. In indirect marketing we cannot record the immediate response of the customers but questionnare can be used to take response in future.

55.

Industry Life Cycle

The industry undergoes various stages throughout its life span. The industry life cycle is divided into five stages which are as follows: Development stage: In this stage the boundaries and range are set and the product development and designing are into inclining phase

56.

Innovative Marketing

It is a process where a product is marketed and communicated to the target group by the help of ideas and process which were not used earlier. It can be done through changes in the product design, launching the product in unique place, promoting through unconventional method, uniquely pricing the product etc. Example: Pricing a new product at a rate which is slightly away from the usual trend like launching flavoured soda glass at Rupee 4 will generate the attention of the customer.

57.

Interactive Marketing

Earlier marketing used to a transaction based process where the ultimate goal was to pitch to the potential customer and offer them the product without knowing their needs and ultimately converting them into the consumer. There was no direct interaction with the target customer to generate and gather their need. Interactive marketing is the solution for this problem where there is a direct communication to the customer to collect and gather their response. This communication help in understanding their need and helps the company to better serve their customer and help them to develop product and services as per the desire of the customer. In a way it helps both, the companies and customers as the company are able to serve the customer better by understanding their needs and generating brand loyalty and profit and customer gets the desired service and increases the satisfaction level among them.

58.

Internal marketing

It is a process to induce the positive change in the employee behavior by motivating the employees to provide the best possible service to its customers. This process involves providing regular training to employees to increase their skills. The employees are also motivated by providing them with rewards and recognition. Apart from them good management practice also helps in shaping the employees behaviour towards providing value to its customer.

59.

Lead

The lead is defined as the potential customer i.e. someone who has shown interest in buying product or service of an organization. The leads are identified through a lead generation process which utilizes various channels like referrals of existing customers, trade shows, direct advertising/publicity, emails etc. As per the recent trend, lead generators are extensively using information available on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc. to identify a potential consumers and appropriate channel of addressing them. Sometimes an organization takes help of another organization specialized in indentifying leads. Some software tools which can present detail analysis of the leads are also available in the market. There are mainly two types of leads: 1. Sales Lead: It is a generic type of lead in which a potential customer expresses his/her interest in a particular type of offer instead of specific company or brand associated with that offer. e.g.) A person willing to opt for a life insurance policy but needs information on various policies before finalizing one policy is a sales lead for all insurance companies. 2. Marketing Lead: Here the customer specifically mentions the name of the company or brand in which he/she is interested. e.g.) A person looking for Reebok retail outlet to buy shoes is a marketing lead for Reebok company and cannot be taken away by Adidas or Nike.

60.

Logo

Logos are graphical symbols or icons used by public enterprises, organizations or individuals to aid public recognition of their business or venture. Logos represent company brands and identities and logos on products enable instant customer recognition of the company/brand.

Logos can be plain graphical symbols (car logos) or wordmarks composed of the organizations name (IBM).

Logos involving ideograms and symbols facilitate cross-language marketing and hence are more effective compared to logos having alphabets in the native countrys language. An effective logo must have both an icon or symbol and a logotype (company name) to emphasize the companys name over the graphic. Some large corporations like MTV, Google etc have adopted dynamic logos which change their settings over time. Logos and their design can be protected by copyrights. In case anyone tries to copy an existing logo, it is an offence called Copyright infringement punishable under the Copyright Law. Same colours can be used by different companies for their logos but the design or symbols cannot be reproduced.

61.

Macro Environment

Factors affecting a decision are called its environment. Macro environment refers to the external environment- the conditions that exist in the overall economy. It is not bound by geography and has direct bearing on the operations of a company. The degree to which the company would be affected by the macro environment is determined by the extent to which the company is dependent on the health of the economy and its resources. Some of the macroeconomic factors affecting a companys performance are:

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Inflation Weather conditions Monetary Policy Fiscal Policy Employment Etc. Example: An increase in inflation would cause the prices of goods to rise and hence, the consumption will fall. Similarly, a rise in per capita income would increase the willingness to spend and people would start consuming more.

62.

Mark-up

Mark-up refers to the percentage increase or simply increase OVER the cost incurred in a product. It is in contrast to Mark-Down which is a discount offered on the selling price.

Eg. Rs 8 is the cost of a CHIPS PACKET, and the producer wants a 25 % mark up, the mark-up price would be Rs8 + 25% of Rs 8 i.e, Rs 8 + Rs 2=Rs 10 Hence the chips would reach the retailer at Rs 10 Mark-up.

63.

Markdown

Markdown refers to the reduction in the prices of the articles from the MRP or cost when the same are being sold to the Distributors and the dealers. Eg. A chips packets MRP is ` 10 then a mark down of 20% will result in the dealer getting the same for `8 . Hence it would be`8 at 20 % mark down. Please note that in this case a 20% mark down is equal to a 25% mark up.

64.

Market Challenger

A firm that is just a notch below the market leader and is a leadership contender in its own rights, when comes up with strategies to uproot the dominance of the leader, can be termed as a market challenger. A market challenger can try the established tricks of the trade such as price reduction, product differentiation or altogether a new strategy by launching a new product to change the entire playing field.

65.

Market Positioning

The process of creating an image or establishing a utility of a product amongst the target consumers is known as Market positioning. The product may have many uses or difference in quality, but it is the positioning that determines the demand that it will generate from the customers. Eg. All 100-150 motorbikes work on a similar design and have the same utility of transportation but the positioning is done in a different manner. In case of Hero Moto corp.,CBZ was positioned as stylish and glamourous with speed performance , while CD DAWN was positioned as high mileage bikes. Passion fetches a decent mileage but it was not positioned as fuel efficient, rather it was an urban bike.

66.

Market-penetration Pricing

As the name suggests, Market Penetration Pricing, is the mechanism in which the prices of the product are kept low at the start so that large sales volumes can be achieved. This is manly done keeping the price-sensitive customer in mind, who are higher in numbers and play an important part in the sales volume. The Market-penetration price guarantees- higher sales, shifting of customer base and most importantly the Break-in in the market. So, later when the product establishes, a premium could be charged.

67.

Market-skimming Pricing

Market skimming price is a high price of a particular product that exist for a period of time depending on the nature of product, its substitute and the demand. The prices is charged with an intention of making the most of the market. The following conditions are a prerequisite for market skimming pricing

Exclusivity ( Apple Ipod, Iphone) Very High Demand of the product Absence of a substitute or a competitor

68.

Marketing Audit

Marketing Auditing is a tool used to know about the progress in the particular marketing job undertaken. It is conducted at various stages of the marketing. It involves the internal as well as the external parameters. Internal Processes-Internal parameters constitute of the marketing mix (Product, Place, Price Promotion), Labours, investment, machines, marketing team etc. External Processes-External processes consist of positioning, segmentation, consumer beliefs, buying behaviour, customer relationships etc

69.

Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing and by marketing professionals. The marketing mix is often crucial when determining a product or brand's offering, and is often synonymous with the four Ps: price, product, promotion, and place; in service marketing, however, the four Ps have been expanded to the Seven Ps or eight Ps to address the different nature of services.

An example of a marketing mix restaurant is McDonald's Restaurant. Marketing mix is a strategy that is used by firm to penetrate the market and an example of the marketing mix is the product.

70.

Marketing Strategy

Marketing strategy is defined by David Aaker as a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its resources on the optimal opportunities with the goals of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable competitive [1] advantage. Marketing strategy includes all basic and long-term activities in the field of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation of a company and the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and therefore contribute to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives Example = If you are a florist, you can lend decorative plants to a function attended by your target market in exchange for signage. If you own a restaurant, you could set up a concession stand at high school sports events, donating the profits to the school in exchange for product sampling. If you are a car dealer, you can lend cars for parade use.

71.

Maximum Retail Price

Maximum retail price is the price that can be charged from the consumer. It includes all the taxes levied on the product. The consumer however, can purchase the products at lower price. In fact, a consumer can even bargain on the MRP.

72.

Pay-Per-Click

Pay-per-click is an online marketing technique used by companies to reach its target audience effectively but at a cheaper cost. To achieve this, a company creates an advertisement and creates keywords related to the organisation. These keywords appear in the search results of an online search engine viz. Google, Bing, etc. and are thus visible to all. Companies bid to appear at higher positions in the search results. If the individual clicks the link, (s)he is redirected to the companys website. For this advertising, the company is charged a nominal amount only when its link is clicked upon by the user.

Recently, this process is being successfully employed by many companies in their recruitment process as far as the arena of human resources is concerned. Typically a company opens up this process for a specific time interval, say two months, during recruitment. The interested applicants click and are navigated to the companys website. This method has several advantages over traditional recruitment advertisement. Advantages 1. Cheaper, yet focussed recruitment strategy. Appropriate use of keywords increase the conversion ratio, i.e. fraction of applicants among all the visitors. 2. This method has been reported to bring in higher quality applications also.

73.

Personal Selling

It is when an individual salesperson sells a product, service or solution to a client. Here the salesperson uses his skills and techniques to sell a product and thus both attain value in this transaction. Kotler describes 6 roles for the sales force for personal selling

Prospecting Communicating Selling Servicing Information gathering Allocating Example: The selling which occurs face to face or door to door or it can be over the phone is called personal selling.

74.

PLC Product Life Cycle

PLC stands for Product Life Cycle and deals with the various stages that a product goes through in the market and the business it does. From the above graph, it is clear that sales vary with time and hence the strategies used in each of these stages should be different. Introduction stage In this stage, sales maybe low and hence the profit would be low. The firm has to engage in heavy promotion to create awareness about the

product in the market. Cost plus formula is generally used for determining the price of the product. Growth stage Sales in this period are rapidly rising and so are the profits. Promotion is not that aggressive. However, firms do offer warranties and other offers to promote the product. The main aim is to increase the market share. Maturity stage In this stage, sales have reached a peak and even the profits have reached the peak. Here the strategy is to maximize profits and also retain the market share. The firm also tries to price the product in the same range as that of the competitor. The firm tries to diversify and bring in variations by creating newer models. Thus, strong distribution networks are built and the promotion is increased to create awareness about the new brands. Decline stage Here, both sales and profits are declining. The strategy is to incur minimal or no expenditure on this product and milk it as much as possible before it declines completely. Hence prices are cut. Promotion is minimized.

75.

Poison Pill

A poison pill is an anti-takeover strategy used to prevent hostile takeovers or corporate raiding and aims at making the transaction being pursued by a hostile bidder extremely unattractive from an economic perspective. It derives its name from the cyanide pill that secret government agents are said to be instructed to swallow if capture is imminent. The Poison pill provision entrusts existing shareholders (except the hostile suitor) to purchase the targeted stocks at a price significantly lower than the market price resulting in the dilution of the economic interests of the suitor by making the target economically unattractive and impractical. To pursue this provision, it is essential that the same is incorporated in the companys charter and is triggered by events specified therein such as the announcement of a cash tender offer or the acquisition by an outsider of a specified percentage of the target's shares. Currently, the most widely used poison pills are "call plans" that combine the features of Flip in (right to purchase additional shares of the company) and Flip over(right to acquire shares of the acquirer).

76.

Porter Five Forces Model

It is a strategy model proposed by Porter which provides a framework for assessing and analysing the competitive strength and position based on 5 parameters of an organization. The Porter 5 forces are Existing competitive rivalry between suppliers

Threat of new market entrants Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining Power of suppliers Threat of substitute products (including technology change)

77.

POS (Point Of Sale)

POS is a point where final payment or transaction is completed for purchased goods and services. It is sometime referred to as Point of Purchase also. A customer initially decides upon the product to purchase which is brought to POS to complete its transaction. All these data is stored as Point of Sale data in a database. Example: Intel sells its Chip products to its national distributor where the transaction is captured in the database. Further this distributor sells it to its resellers spread across the globe and all this is captured in a POS database. It helps to keep record of all the transactions that have taken place and also enables to study its customers buying pattern as well. Also POS systems have helped retail malls to revolutionize industry. It uses various state-of-art technologies to capture and store data into its database system. The same data is used to improve customers next purchase by studying its purchase habits and requirements.

78.

Premium Pricing

Premium Pricing is the practice of keeping high prices for the products compared to its competitors one in order to maintain exclusivity of the products. Generally, a perception of customer is that product will be exceptionally of high quality and thus is highly priced. Taking advantage of this, many manufacturers practice premium pricing for their products where some are not upto the quality expected by a customer. Premium pricing can be practiced when a companys brand value is high or when product produced have unique features or when competition is low. Like, Sony, while introducing its Walkman, practiced premium pricing and gained the control of market. Generally, companies choose markets where consumers are ready to pay more and hence take advantage of it by practicing premium pricing. Example Consider a PQR company. Company manufactures sports shoes which have unique features like metal lining, rubber sole, mesh body, cushion feel, water proof cover, lightweight, durable etc. Then, company may price it at Rs.5000 whereas competitors shoes can be obtained at Rs.1000 to Rs.2500. Here we can see that company PQR practices Premium Pricing due to unique features of its product.

79.

Pricing Strategies

Pricing Strategies determine the pricing model that is compatible with the target market and is consistent with the pricing objectives. Pricing objectives can either be to obtain a target return on investment or to grab a target market share a) Cost Based Pricing b) Demand Based Pricing c) Competition Based Pricing

80.

Primary Data

In primary data collection, you collect the data yourself using methods such as interviews and questionnaires. The key point here is that the data you collect is unique to you. The research should only be accessible to you or the people you want to. The data generated may be qualitative (usually in the form of words) or quantitative (usually in the form of numbers).this is the data observed or collected directly from first-hand experience

Methods of collecting primary data are: Questionnaires Interviews Focus group interviews Observation Case-studies Diaries

Critical incidents Portfolios.

81.

Primary Demand

Primary demand is when a potential buyer or prospect or client is showing interest or planning to buy your product or service for the first time. So it is very important to educate and give all the information to the customer of what you are selling before he shows interest in a competitors product. Example: When you tell someone about any new product and he shows interest in it.

82.

Product Lifecycle

Any new product undergoes different stages from introduction to growth, then maturity and finally decline. This is due to the changing marketing situation and thus impacts the product marketing strategy and marketing mix.

Different stages for product life cycle are: Market introduction stage: - company builds product awareness and tries to develop a new product for the market Growth Stage: -firm tries to increase the market share and brand preference Maturity stage: -firm tries to defend the market share as there is competition and there is reduction in sales Decline stage: -here the sales decline drastically. Example: - Product life stages and the respective strategies

83.

Product Mix

It is the total number of product lines the company offers to its customers. That is all the products sold by the company. They are generally marketed together as they earn more revenues as compared to individual selling of the products. Product mix is measured based on: Depth Length Consistency Width Product market mix strategy Example: - Electrical distributors product mix

84.

Promotion Mix

Incorporation of all the fundamentals of promotion mix is essential to meet the information requirements of all objective customers. This basically means that the endorsement/promotion mix is not considered to please only the potential buyer or only the habitual buyer. There are six main rudiments in a promotional mix: 1. Advertising 2. Personal Selling 3. Publicity & Sales promotion 4. Corporate image 5. Exhibitions 6. Direct Marketing

85.

Psychological Pricing

It is a concept which states that certain prices have impact on buying power. These prices catch the eye of the customer and results into buying of the product. These are also referred as magic prices or charm prices. Customers buy with certain prices or price levels.

Advantages: Overall improvement Emotional based pricing Dis-advantages: Calculation complication Example: - Rs.99 instead of Rs.100 creates a psychological impact. The difference is just 1 rupee but it looks less than hundred. In the end you might end up paying 100 in both the cases Bata uses this psychological pricing in all its products. All products are priced like 999.99, 399.95 etc

86.

Public Relations

It is the flow of information from an individual or a company or an organization with the public. It helps the company to build its brand image as well as put a distinct view in the minds of the customers and its stakeholders. It helps the company to build its reputation.

Examples: Public events Talk shows Social media Writing books about the company or organization

87.

Pull Strategy

A pull selling strategy is one that requires high spending on advertising and consumer promotion to build up consumer demand for a product. In this you motivate your customers to seek your brand in an active process.

Different Types of pull tactics are:Advertising and mass media promotion Word of mouth referrals Sales promotions and discounts Mostly all the marketing campaigns by a company are considered as Pull strategy and sales promotions as Push Strategy.

88.

Push Strategy

A push promotional strategy makes use of companys sales force and trade promotion activities to create consumer demand for a product. Different Types of push tactics are:Trade show promotions to encourage retailer demand Direct selling to customers in showrooms or face to face Packaging design to encourage purchase Example: - McDonalds uses push strategy to sell its products. Even retail stores like Big Bazaar make use of Push strategy by offering sales promotions like buy 1 get 1 or buy 3 get X% discounts.

89.

Referral

referral n. 1. an act or instance of referring. 2. the state of being referred. 3. a person referred or recommended to someone or for something. a person whose case has been referred to a specialist or professional group; "the patient is a referral from Dr. Bones" case - a person requiring professional services; "a typical case was the suburban housewife described by a marriage counselor"

a recommendation to consult the (professional) person or group to whom one has been referred; "the insurance company says that you need a written referral from your physician before seeing a specialist" recommendation - something (as a course of action) that is recommended as advisable the act of referring (as forwarding an applicant for employment or referring a matter to an appropriate agency) forwarding - the act of sending on to another destination; "the forwarding of mail to a new address is done automatically"; "the forwarding of resumes to the personnel department" remit, remittent, remission - (law) the act of remitting (especially the referral of a law case to another court)

90.

Reverse Psychology

Reverse Psychology is a technique adopted by making a person do something by suggesting to do the opposite of what is desired. It works because people are self-defiant & reactive and will always try to work in a contrary manner. This technique is especially used by parents upon their children threatening them not to do something whereas when they actually want them to do it. It is one of the increasingly used techniques by Marketers around the world these days. In traditionally used marketing techniques, Push Strategy is employed where the marketer promotes the brand through various promotions & advertising and tries to convince the consumer to buy a product. But in Reverse Psychology marketing, the opposite approach - Pull strategy is employed where the brand draws in the consumer. There are many ways in which marketers adopt this technique of marketing.

One way is where brands are promoted as exclusively for one group by explicit mention (For eg: This product is for Men Only/ Youth only / Not for Women) One more way is where the brand is shown as being used by popular personalities in the society This invokes interest in consumers minds and influences them to try the product. After they try the product and become satisfied, they spread the awareness by word of mouth.

91.

Secondary Data

Secondary data is essentially information that is already available and which had been previously collected for some other purpose. The major advantage of Secondary data in any research is that it is:

Cost effective Time saving Helps identify gaps in the primary data and streamlines research Provides a basis for comparison to arrive at a research finding Sources of Secondary data can be either published or unpublished sources. Published sources include published reports of the Government, publications of foreign Government, Journals, magazines, periodicals, reports of economists, scholars, bureaus etc. Unpublished sources include research work of teachers, scholars and professionals, records of private firms and government departments etc.

92.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Service Level Agreement or SLA is a contract between a service provider and its customer. The contract specifies the level of service the customer is buying or the service provider is providing. More generally, internet service providers (ISP) these days provide service level agreements to the customers explaining in simple language the levels of service being bought by the customer. Recently, IS departments in organizations have introduced the concept of SLAs in the system so that their customers i.e. personnel from other departments have a fair understanding of the service in a measurable, justifiable and a comparable manner. Apart from description of the services being provided, the SLA should also include metrics to measure performance. Some of the popular metrics found in SLAs are:

Percentage of time service will be unavailable Service rate Response time No. of users who can be served simultaneously Example: Common examples of SLAs would include all agreements you as an individual accept each time you install an application on your computers, laptops, PCs, smart phones, etc. A specific one would be something like the agreement Microsoft makes you accept before installing its products.

93.

Simulation Modelling

Simulation Modelling helps to operate the model in different ways. Usually the model is operated in a single way for what it is formed but with the help of simulation various experiments can be performed to reconfigure the model according to the changes in the industry. For example: The simulation model, MarkStrat helps you act virtually like a real market in which different factors including products, production, expenses, sales force etc. can be altered for the company according to the changes in the industry and the results from this simulation model can be used to interpret the results in the real world in the industry.

94.

Strategic Groups

Strategic Groups refers to a group of companies who follow the same strategy within a particular industry. A company which operates in an industry can have different business segments catering to different markets. For each of these segments, there will be a unique market characteristic, operating environment, threats and opportunities. So companies that operate under this segment will all have same strategies and therefore are called strategic groups. The term was coined by Michael S. Hunt, a Harvard Professor in his 1972 Doctoral Thesis report. He was studying the appliances industry and discovered sub-groups within the industry that showed high competition. Let us take the example of aviation industry. There are different segments within the industry like luxury class, economy class, business class etc. The characteristic of luxury class segment will be different from that of an economy class segment. Companies that operate under luxury class segment face the same kind of competition in the market. Hence their strategic behaviour and performance will be similar.

95.

Target Costing

Target costing is a process of determining the actual cost price of any product or service after considering the desired profit margin behind the same. It helps in completing the product within the set price by changing the process for the same or by making the existing process more efficient. Formula ~ Target Cost = Expected selling price Desired profit

96.

Telemarketing

Telemarketing is a marketing method in which the salesperson promotes his products or services to the customers through tele services such as phone or web conferencing. It can either be live marketing by a salesperson or marketing through some recorded voice. It is considered as the most interactive method of marketing. It is an adaptive form of marketing which allows a salesperson to adapt his marketing strategy based on the customer he is talking to over the phone. This method is considered annoying by many customers. Also, many scams have been reported against this. Eg We all are familiar with the banking agents calling us for promoting their loan schemes or their credit cards. And most of us get annoyed on receiving such calls. This is an example of live telemarketing. Another familiar example could be the robo-call or recorded call that we get from mobile service providers telling us about their ringtones, hellotunes, etc.

97.

Test Marketing

Test marketing is done before launching a new product or before launching a modified product. This is done to gauge the response of the consumers and is compared with the expected response and the required changes are made then. Sometimes it so happens that because of the poor response the product as a whole is also scratched. Test marketing is a part of pilot testing of the product.

98.

Third Party Endorsement

Solicited or unsolicited recommendation or testimonial from an entity (usually a customer or user) other than the manufacturer and seller of a product or service. Third party endorsement is defined as solicited or unsolicited recommendation from an entity or individual who is neither manufacturer nor seller of the product/service. This recommendation maybe from loyal customer or from a business associate who are well known to the customers. Third Party Endorsement is a powerful tool as it persuades or convinces consumer to buy a certain product/service and consumer goes ahead with it as he/ she trusts the endorser Examples (Expert Endorsement) :Mike Goulian, famous American aviator, endorses brand Castrol. (Media Endorsement) :Newspaper The Hindu is endorser of management college, IIPM. (Celebrity Endorsement): Shahrukh Khan is endorser of brand Pepsi in India.

99.

Viral Marketing

Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networking services and other technologies to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through selfreplicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses or computer viruses (cf. Internet memes and memetics). It can be delivered by word of mouth or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet and mobile networks.[1] Viral marketing may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, text messages, email messages, or web pages. The most common utilized transmission vehicles for viral messages include: pass-along based, incentive based, trendy based, and undercover based. However, the creative nature of viral marketing enables an "endless amount of potential forms and vehicles the messages can utilize for transmission", including mobile devices. Example = Hotmail

When Hotmail launched, much of its early success was due to the virality of the sigline that it attached to every outgoing email inviting the recipient to join. One of the earliest examples of viral marketing on the internet.

100. Wheel of Retailing Concept A process observed in retail marketing when what is originally a discount store improves its services and products in order to boost prices once it has become established. As it cycles through the wheel of retailing, a discount retail business might develop into a higher end department store, leaving its former niche to be filled by newer discount businesses. Example A restaurant started in a temporary location would be offering a limited number of items at low price. It looks to develop its client base but as soon as the construction is completed or final, it starts providing a lot more variety and introduces a number of new services (free home delivery, boarding, and lodging ) it also starts increasing its prices on its earlier items. This is done to recover its fixed cost quickly and have an early breakeven so that it can start generating some profit since it is operating in a virgin market it will look to increase its market share. However with passage of time when a new restaurant comes up in its vicinity and starts offering the same items at a lower price in order to retain its customers it will bring down its prices back to where its earlier ones.