In both cases be sure to analyze the reasons and advantages of personalized marketing or customization.

Marketing

(1) Marketing plays a key role in the company’s strategic planning process in several ways. First, marketing provides a guiding philosophy - the marketing concept - that suggests company strategy should revolve around building profitable customer relationships with important consumer groups. Second, marketing provides input to strategic planners by helping to identify attractive market opportunities and by assessing the firm’s potential of strategies for reaching the unit’s objectives. Once the unit’s objectives are set, marketing’s task is to carry them out to mutual advantage.

(2) Modern marketing suggests that consumers should be the focal point of all business activity. The goal is to build strong profitable relationships with customers. As a first step, through market segmentation, targeting, and positioning the company decides which customers it will serve and how. It identifies the total market, then divides it into smaller segments, selects the most promising segments and focuses on serving and satisfying these segments. Next, the company designs a marketing mix made up of the factors under its control - product, price, place, and promotion (the 4 P’s). To find the best marketing mix and put it into action, the company engages in marketing analysis, planning, and control. Through these activities, the company monitors and adapts to the factors and forces in the marketing environment.

(3) One component of a firm’s marketing strategy is the marketing mix which has been described as the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the market place with its intended target market. The marketing mix consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product. The various possibilities can be collected into four groups of variables - product, place, price and promotion.

The 4 P’s take the seller’s view of the market, not the buyer’s view. From this buyer’s viewpoint, in this age of customer relationship marketing, the 4 P’s might better be described as the 4 C’s, according to Robert Lauterborn. The relationship can be described by the following chart:

Thus while marketers see themselves as selling products, customers see themselves as buying value or solutions to their problems. And customers are interested in more than just price; they are interested in the total costs of obtaining, using, and disposing of a product. Customers want the product and service to be as conveniently available as possible. Finally, they want two-way communication. Modern marketers would do well to think through the 4 C’s first and then build the 4 P’s on that platform.

(4) Customer relationship management is the overall process of building and maintaining profitable customer relationships by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction. Said another way, it is about developing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. Modern marketers are going beyond designing strategies to attract new customers and create transactions with them. They are using customer relationship management to retain current customers and build long-term relationships with them. This new view is that marketing is the science and art of finding, growing and retaining profitable customers. The key to building lasting customer relationships is to create superior customer value and satisfaction. Customer perceived value is the difference between total customer value and total customer cost; whereas customer satisfaction is the extent to which a product’s perceived performance matches a buyer’s expectations.

(5) As marketers find themselves in the first decade of the twenty-first century, dramatic changes are occurring. These major developments can be summed up in a single theme: connecting. Now more than ever before, we are all connected to each other and to things near and far in the world around us. Moreover, we are connecting in new and different ways. The major force behind the new connectedness would be tremendous advances in computer, telecommunications, information, transportation and other connecting technologies. The Internet is perhaps the most dramatic new technology driving the connected age. These new connecting technologies are allowing marketers to connect more effectively with customers, with marketing partners and with the world. When connecting with customers, marketers are able to interact with potential and actual customers directly and with greater selectivity to build and maintain a mutually beneficial relationship - for life. In addition to customer relationship management, marketers must also be good at partner relationship management. Partner relationship marketing involves working closely with partners in other company departments and outside the company to jointly bring greater value to customers. When connecting with marketing partners, marketers are more able to develop strategic alliances with suppliers and distributors as well as within the organization itself. Finally, as marketers are redefining their relationship with customers and partners, marketers are also looking at new ways in which to connect with the broader world around them. This involves developing broadened connections with global partners with recognition of the importance of social values and responsibility.

►Question/Answer session:

1. What are the key roles that marketing should play in an organization's strategic planning process?
2. What are the principal activities of the marketing process?
3. Explain how the elements of the marketing mix (the 4 P’s) should be viewed from the buyer’s standpoint as the 4 C’s.
4. What is the concept of customer relationship management?
5. What are the major trends and forces that are changing the marketing landscape and challenging marketing strategy in this millennium?

‘SUMMARY’ POINT

►Translate the phrases below into Russian and make them stick in your mind:

1. the strategic planning process
2. to provide input to strategic planners
3. to identify attractive market opportunities
4. to assess the firm’s potential
5. to reach the unit’s objectives
6. to be the focal point of all business activity
7. to identify the total market
8. to divide into smaller segments
9. to select the most promising segments
10. to focus on serving and satisfying the segments
11. to put into action
12. marketing analysis, planning, and control
13. to monitor and adapt to the factors and forces in the marketing environment
14. the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools
15. the target market
16. the solution to a problem
17. to dispose of a product
18. to deliver superior customer value and satisfaction
19. to attract new customers
20. to retain current customers
21. to build/develop/maintain lasting and profitable customer relationships (long-term, mutually beneficial relationships)
22. market segmentation, targeting, and positioning
23. the extent to which a product’s perceived performance matches a buyer’s expectations

‘PUZZLE-1’ POINT

►Fill in the blanks with the expressions from ‘Summary’ Point:

1. The Marketing Department has recently __________ the new plan devised by the Marketing Director and aimed to not only __________ but also __________ thus maintaining the present customer base and even increasing it.
2. __________ involves a thorough analysis of a company’s performance over a certain period of time and __________.

3. GMM decided that it needed to change its __________ from the over 35s to the 25-35s.

1. The highly competitive environment requires that businesses be sure in customer satisfaction that is __________.
2. __________, a focal point of marketing mix, is a combination of marketing activities used to promote a particular product or service.

6. The best __________ is to __________ and launch another one which will cater more for the elderly.

‘TRANSLATION-1’ POINT

(1) Marketing communications have their own ‘promotions mix.’ Think of it like a cake mix: the basic ingredients are always the same. However, if you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different. It is the same with promotions. You can ‘integrate’ different aspects of the promotions mix to deliver a unique campaign. Some of the elements of the promotions mix are:

1. Personal Selling
2. Sales Promotion
3. Public Relations
4. Publicity
5. Direct Mail
6. Trade Fairs and Exhibitions
7. Sponsorship
8. Advertising

(2) Companies must do more than deliver good products and services - they have to inform customers about product benefits and carefully position these in customers’ minds. They do this by skillfully employing mass promotions to target specific buyers. The three mass-promotion tools are advertising, sales promotion and public relations.

(3) Advertising is the use of paid media by a seller to inform, persuade and remind target audiences about its products or organization. It is a powerful promotion tool. Advertisements take many forms and have many uses.

(4) Advertising decision making is a five-step process consisting of decisions about the objectives, the budget, the message, the media and, finally, the evaluation of results. Advertisers should set clear objectives as to whether the advertising is supposed to inform, persuade or remind buyers. The advertising budget can be based on what is affordable, on a percentage of sales, on competitors’ spending, or on the objectives and tasks to be accomplished. Message decisions involve planning the message strategy - designing messages, evaluating and selecting them - and executing them effectively. The media decision calls for a definition of reach, frequency and impact goals; choosing chief media types; selecting media vehicles; and deciding on media timing. Finally, evaluation calls for evaluating the communication and sales effects of advertising before, during and after the advertising is placed. Companies that advertise their products in different country markets can apply the basic principles relating to domestic advertising, but they must take into account the complexities involved in international advertising. They must address the similarities and differences in customer needs and buying behavior, as well as cultural, socioeconomic, political and regulatory environments across country markets, which will affect the decision to standardize or differentiate advertising strategies and executions.

(5) Sales promotion covers a wide variety of purchasing incentives - coupons, premiums, contests, buying allowances - designed to stimulate consumers, the trade and the company’s own sales force. In general, sales promotions should be about consumer relationship building. In many countries, sales promotion spending has been growing faster than advertising spending in recent years. Sales promotion calls for setting sales promotion objectives, selecting tools, developing, pre-testing and implementing the sales promotion program, and evaluating the results.

(6) Organizations use public relations to obtain favorable publicity, to build up a good ‘corporate image’ and to handle or head off unfavorable rumors, stories and events. Public relations involves setting PR objectives, choosing PR messages and vehicles, implementing the PR plan and evaluating PR results. To accomplish these goals, PR professionals use a variety of tools, such as news, speeches and special events. Or they communicate with various publics through written, audiovisual and corporate identity materials, and contribute money and time to public relations activities.

►Question/Answer session:

1. What is promotions mix?
2. Why do companies have to do more than simply deliver good products and services?
3. What is the essence of advertising decision making?
4. Are advertising principles the same for local and international markets? If not, explain the differences using real examples.
5. What is the essence of sales promotion?
6. What is the essence of public relations?

►Translate into Russian.

►Classify the expressions below under the common communication platforms given in boldface:

‘SHOW-1’ POINT

Benetton is a global unmarked clothing brand, based in Travis, Italy. Benetton is known in the United States for producing a long-running series of controversial, sometimes offensive, advertisements that have caused a number of media critics to accuse the company of deliberately creating controversy in order to sell its products.

This publicity campaign originated when photographer Oliviero Toscani was given carte blanche by the Benetton management. The ads entitled ‘United Colors of Benetton’, have included images that are apparently unrelated to the clothes sold by the company, including scenes of people dying of AIDS, panicking crowds jumping off of a sinking ship, a bloody, unwashed newborn baby, and a death row inmate. The only caption included in these pictures is the Benetton logo.

►Make a PowerPoint presentation on Benetton Controversy. Visualize your presentation in minds of your listeners. The use of initiative is highly praised.

‘SHOW-2’ POINT

►Take center stage and with the help of different advertising techniques convince your audience to buy a particular service or product. Let your imagination run wild!

MAKE YOUR POINT

Flori Footwear is a small manufacturing company situated near the Lake District in Landria. It is launching a new quality walking boot to add to their product range.

►As their marketing manager, what two promotional activities might you use? Explain your reasons.

‘PROS & CONS’ POINT

The media planner has to know the reach, frequency and impact of each of the major media types. The major media types are newspapers, television, telephone, direct mail, radio, magazines, outdoor and the Internet.

►Each medium has advantages and limitations. What are they? What factors do media planners consider when making their media choices? Fill in the table:

WWW POINT

Personalized marketing is getting more and more popular nowadays. Sometimes it is referred to as an extreme form of product differentiation, which tries to differentiate a product from competing ones. In contrast, personalization or customization makes a unique product offering for each customer. For instance, car customization is becoming increasingly popular. It first became big with the release of the movie “The Fast and the Furious,” which was about the underground street racing world. After that, it was no longer unusual to see a car driving down the street with a huge spoiler and an engine you could hear from 500 feet away. Car customization suddenly had become a new fad.

►Go to www.scion.com and prepare a short talk on Build your personalized car!

In both cases be sure to analyze the reasons and advantages of personalized marketing or customization.

‘SHOW-3’ POINT

►Team up with your classmate, go to www.amazon.com and prepare a PowerPoint presentation on How Amazon broke new marketing ground! Be sure to analyze how customization works at Amazon. The use of initiative is highly praised.

‘THEORY-2’ POINT

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 1582