Lim Sei cK
If your business is to succeed, you have to be able to sell your product. Businesses that succeed do so by creating and keeping customers. They do this by providing better value for the customer than the competition.
The main problem with this process is that the “environment” in which businesses operate is constantly changing. SO? A business must adapt to reflect changes in the environment and make decisions about how to change the marketing mix in order to succeed.
A marketing plan is a business document written for the purpose of describing the current market position of a business and its marketing strategy for the period covered by the marketing plan - include researching the market, through to the preparation of sales forecasts.
Step 1 - market research Step 2 - marketing mix Step 3 - marketing strategy
Looking at the market - how big is the market? What type of consumers are we aiming to attract? What is the spending pattern of the target consumers? Competitors - who are the key competitors? How can we differentiate our product from theirs? What prices do they charge? Price - we may need to test how sensitive consumers are to price changes (how elastic is the price?). Promotions - if you are proposing any promotions or other advertising then it may be worth research to see what the reaction of consumers
Two main types: desk research (or secondary research) and field research (primary research).
Research using secondary data. This is data that has already been found by someone and published. This may mean: Using government published statistics Using existing market research information Using sales figures from competitors, together with pricing and product information Trade associations Internet
Research that collects primary data. This is data or information that does not already exist. It can be collected through: Customer questionnaires Focus group Direct mail surveys Web-based surveys Customer interviews
The marketing mix is the balance of marketing techniques required for selling the product. Its components are often known as the four Ps: Price Product Promotion Place
Price - the price of the product - particularly the price compared to your competitors. There are two possible pricing techniques: ◦ Market skimming - pricing high but selling fewer ◦ Market penetration - pricing lower to secure a higher volume of sales Product - targeting the market and making the product appropriate to the market segment you are trying to sell into Promotion - this may take the form of point of sale promotion, advertising, sponsorship or other promotions. Place - this part of the marketing mix is all about how the product is distributed. Current trends are towards shortening the chain of distribution.
There are two main types of promotion and these are: Above the line promotion - above the line promotion is promotion that is carried out through independent media that enable a firm to reach a wide audience easily. These might include newspapers and television. Below the line promotion - below the line promotion is promotion over which the firm has direct control. It includes methods of direct promotion like direct mailing, exhibitions and trade fairs and sales promotions.
Choosing the appropriate medium for your promotion is important. The firm will want the maximum exposure to the most appropriate audience to ensure people are as aware as possible about the product, service or brand.
Trade journals Newspapers & magazines Cinema Radio Direct mail Television Sales promotions / discount schemes Exhibitions/trade fairs Personal selling
The choice of which medium you use is likely to be down to a number of factors, and these might include: Cost How well the method reaches the target market The behaviour of competitors Legal restrictions How well the medium enables you to reach your desired marketing mix The effectiveness of the medium and the impact it has
A) Are you doing any market research? Why or why not? B) What is your marketing mix? C) What is your marketing strategy?