MARKETING MANAGEMENT

"Marketing management is 'the art and science of choosing target markets and getting,
keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating
superior customer value' (Kotler and Keller, 2008: 5)."

The concept reviews the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers and
the strategy to use for marketing mix. It also explores the process of understanding, creating and delivering value
to targeted business markets and customers.
Marketing Management Definition
marketing management. Marketing management is defined as the process of overseeing and
planning new product development, advertising, promotions and sales. An example of
marketing management is creating an advertising plan and implementing that plan.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. "Marketing management.". YourDictionary.

1, 10 Fundamental Differences Between

Consumer & Business Marketing
Published on January 20, 2016

Ron BraunerFollow
Driving Bottom-line Marketing Results Through Innovation, Team Building, and Flawless Execution
 Like140
 Comment16
 Share

It’s true. Business buyers are people, too. They seek personal benefits and make emotional
buying decisions just as in their consumer lives. Gone are the days of stodgy, feature-driven
industrial marketing campaigns. Business marketers now rival their consumer counterparts with
increasingly engaging and entertaining creative strategies.

Still, there remain intrinsic differences between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-
consumer marketing (B2C). The source of these differences is the complex and interdependent
relationships between business buyers and sellers and their relative positions in the supply chain.
Consumer marketing sells products to individual consumers and households who purchase for
their own consumption. The B2B market; however, is composed of a succession of companies
acquiring goods and services for the production of other products and services that are sold,
rented or supplied to other companies. This creates a highly complex and continuous sequence of
businesses buying from other businesses.

Keeping these critical differences in mind may help B2B marketers in planning strategies and
crafting offers.

1. Business Needs vs. Consumer Wants

Most consumer goods are discretionary products people may want but don’t necessarily need, for
example entertainment services, consumer electronics or vacation travel. Consumer buying
behavior is based on perceived characteristics such as style, fashion or peer acceptance.
Emotional factors play a big part in consumers’ purchase decisions. So consumer marketing
focuses on stimulating discretionary buying behavior through persuasive messaging and media
investments to generate demand.

In contrast, businesses usually come prepared to buy a solution to a need – products that are
required for daily operations, or to solve a specific business problem. Their need pre-exists.
Product performance characteristics are far more important than the image of the product.
Business buyers are less emotional and more task oriented.  It’s simply a matter of finding the
supplier who can best fulfill that need.

2. Smaller & Highly Specialized Markets

Business marketers generally sell to narrower vertical markets substantially smaller than most
consumer markets. B2B marketers may target only a few hundred prospects but consumer
markets can number in the millions. Due to the smaller size it’s often possible to identify and
profile all the prospects within a particular business market and approach each with customized
marketing communications and in-person sales contact.

3. Individual Business Buyers Represent Higher Value

Business marketers focus on fewer, more intimate and longer-term customer relationships. Sales
involve significantly higher average dollar amounts to smaller groups of customers with
exponentially greater lifetime values. A few large customers can easily account for the majority
of a B2B company’s revenue. Due to the significantly higher transaction amounts and lifetime
values, B2B tactics can accommodate a higher marketing investment per contact.

4. Closer Proximity & Higher Degree of Independence

In consumer marketing, the relationship often ends with a remote transaction made through a
retailer. The manufacturer rarely makes personal contact with the consumer. In business
marketing, the buyer-seller proximity is reversed. In most cases the supplier visits the customer
in person and establishes a true one-to-one relationship with the customer over an extended
period of time.

5. Product Importance

The physical product is of greatest importance in consumer markets. In B2B markets, the
purchase extends beyond the product and includes an array of economic, technical and personal
relationships between buyer and seller.

While the product quality is important, this must be matched by quality and reliability of the
relationship. The buyer depends on the supplier for many things beyond the product itself,
including an assured supply of materials, service, efficient order handling, delivery, and often
extension of credit. These factors can have more influence than having the perfect product, since
supply chain complications cost the customer in terms of stock, downtime, lost orders, etc.

6. More Complex Products Requiring Customization

Many business products are specialized and require a high degree of technical customization for
specific applications. Even everyday products tend to be more complicated because of their use
and application in specialized business processes. The widely varying needs of business
customers dictates highly personalized marketing, including customized products, services and
prices. Even meeting buyers’ basic operational buying needs typically requires some level of
customization to logistics quantities, delivery and invoicing.

7. Stronger Customer-Centric Focus

B2B marketing requires that all parts of the business be customer-oriented and that all marketing
decisions are based on a complete and accurate understanding of customers’ needs. B2B
companies are usually closer to their customers and more knowledgeable about their needs than
the typical consumer company.

8. Expert Buyers & Multiple Decision Makers

Consumer purchases typically involve an individual decision maker in a single-step transaction.

Compared with consumer decision making, business buying behavior is characterized by a
formal multi-step process conducted professionally over a period of time, involving many people
interacting within a formal organization.

9. Customers’ Product Knowledge

Consumer marketing is aimed at a mass market and doesn’t require deep knowledge of the
product or supplier to make a purchase decision. Business buyers are comparatively more
sophisticated and educated than consumers. The business customer has years of training in his or
her field and often knows more about the product and its application than the B2B marketer.
The expertise of business buyers falls into two categories: buying process or technical expertise.
Procurement managers are buying experts whose sole function is to procure products and
services on behalf of the company. Technical experts and users possess a strong understanding
and interest in the problem to be solved and the product being marketed as the solution. And
throughout the sales process business buyers continue to learn about a supplier’s cost structures,
production methods, development expertise and financial viability.

10. Longer & More Formal Buying Process

Every business organization has formal purchasing policies, procedures and levels of purchasing
authority that don’t exist for consumers. Business buying processes are complex and highly
structured requiring multiple steps drawn out over a period of time and involving a wide range of
individuals representing various areas of expertise or interest from within the organization.

Marketers must recognize when it’s time to stop nurturing leads through marketing channels and
hand those prospects off to the sales team. Conversely, sales must recognize when to recycle
dormant leads back to marketing for further nurturing.

1.2Similarly there are practices in business markets like systems selling,

which can be effectively employed in consumer markets.

Business Markets in Comparison to Consumer Markets:

Sl. Market Marketing Consumer
No. Structure Perspective Behaviour

I Fewer sellers and Segmented on basis Business suppliers

buyers of industry, end have closer
market, served, relationships with
level of technology, customers
ownership and
characteristics of
the buying unit

II Business demand Higher investments Small numbers, large

derived in capital order sizes
 equipments and
R&D

III Business demand Focus on improving Main purchase motive

fluctuates more profits is furthering
organizational terms

IV Business market Innovation via Strong

larger in size technological push interdependence
and radical- between business
breakthroughs buyer and supplier

V Buying process Suppliers more High risk purcahse

more complex and sensitive to
involves group DM customer
requirements

VI Geographic Key accounts High involvement

concentration of critical
demand

Market Structure:
There are fewer numbers of buyers and sellers in business markets. The
business market is larger than consumers markets because it includes the
business of various intermediaries.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

i. Business markets have fewer sellers and buyers in any market segment
than do consumer markets.
ii. Customers in consumer markets initiate a direct demand with their
purchases. The demand for business products or services depends on the
level of activity that the buying organization can create in its own markets.
Thus business demand is derived. This derived demand would not exist if
the buyer organization could not find customers for its own products or
services.

iii. The business buyer may buy an equipment to produce five hundred
units a day. A second equipment will be required only if sales are expected
to exceed five hundred units. But as soon as the business buyer’s sale
exceeds five hundred units, he will buy another equipment, increasing the
sale of business marketer’s product by hundred per cent.

As a result, there is no direct one-to-one relationship between the business

buyer’s sales fluctuations and the business marketer’s sales. This makes the
sales to business buyers more volatile than changes of demand experienced
in consumer markets by a retailer.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

iv. When business buyers see prices starting to decline, they may postpone
buying in the expectation of obtaining an even lower price later. The
opposite happens if the business buyer anticipates continuing price
increases.

In this case, when prices began to rise, more volume than is immediately
needed is purchased to avoid paying even higher prices later. Such reverse
price elasticity of demand is rare in consumer markets.

v. Business markets include the various early, value-adding stages of

manufacturing and distributing consumer goods, and also the sales of
business goods and services to manufacturing, processing, commercial,
institutional and government organizations. The business market is
significantly larger than the consumer market.

vi. The organizational buying unit called decision-making unit involves

several individuals because various departments of an organization are
affected by the purchase. The purchase of an equipment may affect the
quality control department, the plant manager’s budget, the operator’s
productivity and the purchase department.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

The members of the group are influential people of the buying organization.
Each individual imposes different perspectives, expectations and
requirements on the purchase.

The group membership removes the decision-making responsibility from

any single individual. This can be useful if the decision turns out to be poor.
In consumer markets purchase usually involves an individual or at most,
one or two of his family members.

vii. Businesses tend to concentrate geographically because of the

availability of natural resources or of skilled work force, the distribution
advantages, or the desire to be close to customers. Thus, business markets
tend to be geographically concentrated and business marketers have to
travel long distances from one cluster of customers to another. Consumer
markets are more diffuse.

Marketing Perspective:
Business marketers are required to have in-depth knowledge of their
customers’ requirements. Business markets are global in nature because
only technical requirements govern the acceptability of the product in
various country markets.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

i. Consumer marketers use demographic variables like age, income,

location and socio-psychological variables like attitudes, preferences,
personality and lifestyle to segment their markets. Business marketers are
segmented on the basis of industry, end market served, level of technology,
ownership and characteristics of the buying unit.

ii. Business markets have higher investments in capital equipment’s and

R&D. Consumer marketers’ investments are directed more toward
marketing activities like researching their huge customer base and
promoting to mass markets.

iii. Consumer marketers seek regional or national markets because their

products are created to appeal to local tastes. Business goods are less
dependent on regional tastes and preferences. Also, their specialized
technologies and limited applications require that customers be sought
outside home markets to achieve economic production volumes and to
justify high R&D costs and capital investments.

Therefore business marketers must have more global perspectives of

markets, in terms of both customers and competitors.

iv. Most consumer marketers seek market share and sales volumes.
Business marketers are more likely to have a sizeable share of highly
segmented, smaller, specialized markets, resulting in more restricted sales
volumes. Thus business marketers focus on improving profits in the short
run.
v. In consumer markets, innovation involves greater emphasis on style and
incremental changes to products that can justify model changes. Innovation
tends to be more of demand-pull type, i.e., new products are developed as a
result of research of customer needs.

Innovation in business markets is characterized by R&D inspired

technological push and radical-breakthroughs that may revolutionize the
entire industry. Such innovations would not come by trying to identify with
unsatisfied customer needs.

vi. Business marketers deal with smaller number of customers, frequently

on a face-to-face basis. They are more sensitive and responsive to their
customers’ requirements. Thus business marketers are far more customer
oriented than consumer marketers.

Consumer marketers’ relations are distanced by long, indirect channels of

distribution and are reduced to a mass of indifferent transactions. Business
buyers and sellers usually enter stable, long-term relationships in which
each party depends on the other for continuing business success.

Thus strong loyalty is developed between buyer and seller in business

markets. Consumer marketers are desperately trying to engender loyalty
among their customers.

They have not been much successful. Loyalty in business markets is the
result of dependence that buyers and sellers have on each other. Unless the
state of such dependence is replicated in consumer markets, customers of
consumer products will remain fickle-minded.

vii. In business markets, two organizations can be buyers of each other’s

products. An automobile manufacturer may require computers for its
employees and the computer manufacturer may require automobiles for its
employees.

In such situations reciprocity may be practiced i.e., they decide to buy from
each other. Reciprocity is rarely possible in consumer markets.

viii. Among the customers of business marketers there are some customers
whose business is so important that its loss would seriously erode the
marketer’s sales volume and profitability. These important customers are
called key accounts.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

The marketer must maintain close contact with these important customers
to retain its business with them. A similar situation is absent in consumer
markets. A small set of customers will not be able to affect the sales of a
consumer product severely because the number of customers is very large.

ix. For many business marketers educating their customers is an important

task. Business marketers send their technical and other staff to the facility
of the buyer for long periods. Employees of the buyer and seller
organizations work together to solve problems. Business goods like
equipment’s have more complete instruction manuals, specification sheets
and maintenance books than consumer equipment’s.

Customer Behaviour:
Business buyers focus on rational benefits of the seller’s offer. Many people
of the buyer’s organization are involved in any purchase decision.
i. Because their number of customers is small and there is frequent face-to-
face contact, business marketers are closer to customers and more in tune
with customers’ buying behaviour.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

ii. The number of customers in business markets are small, but their per
order size is normally high. They buy to keep in inventory so that the item
can be used in future. They buy in bulk because they want to minimize
transportation cost and the cost incurred in placing an order.

They also buy in bulk and keep inventory to minimize chances of disruption
in their work if a supplier failed to supply on time. Business buyers may
have contracts to purchase items for a year with a supplier.

Long-term contracts lasting for the life-time of the component are

becoming common in business markets. Buyers and sellers become
interested in each other’s operations in many ways. Such intrusive
relationships are not very frequent in consumer markets.

iii. The purchasing motives of business buying are maintaining and

furthering organizational goals. These motives are rational, economic,
objective and profit or efficiency oriented. Business buyers are technically
qualified purchasing specialists. They may have taken specialized training.
In large companies they may be specializing in certain type of products. A
purchaser may be responsible for buying paints only. Emotions and self-
gratifying motives underlie most consumer purchases.

iv. Business buyers may impose substantial penalties for non-performance

by suppliers. Such penalties may be built in the contracts with the
suppliers. A contract may specify that a supplier pay a certain amount for
every day’s delay in delivery of an order or in the completion of equipment
installation in a plant. Such penalties have not yet become part of consumer
markets.

v. If a business marketer’s plant is running under capacity, or a customer’s

order today has the potential of significant follow-on business in the future,
or if the order represents a sizeable portion of the marketer’s business, the
customer can exert a strong influence on the business marketer’s price,
product design, delivery and other dimensions of the supplier’s operations.

The aggressive use of buying power by a buyer organization to persuade a

supplier to make a product that more closely meets the buyer’s requirement
is called reverse marketing. Such buying power does not exist in consumer
markets.

vi. Business buyers show strong loyalty to their current supplier. Such
supplier loyalty is an outcome of the strong interdependence between
business buyers and their suppliers.

The business buyers who change suppliers face high switching costs, such
as the costs of training a new supplier in the intricacies of the buyer’s
business, the possible loss of confidential trade secrets if the supplier is
abandoned, and the high cost of identifying an alternative supplier.

In consumer markets, customer loyalty to retailers or brands is weak and

the consequence of supplier or brand switching is not severe to customers.

vii. The business buyer’s involvement in a purchase is much greater than

that of a customer in consumer market. The business buyer must plan his
requirements and specify technical and delivery requirements of the
purchase, often with the assistance of the supplier.
The business buyer may help the supplier to develop the capability needed
to supply the item. Negotiations may go on for a long time about
specifications, quality and price. The buyer monitors supplier performance
over the life of contract.

viii. The business buying decision process is complex and involves several
functional areas of the buying organization. Each function may have a
different point of view and interest in the purchase. Committees discuss a
purchase using documented data, proposals, specifications and supplier
analysis.

Business buyers often have the option of making the product themselves
instead of buying it. The business decision making process is observable
and moves through distinctive stages. The decision making process for
major supplies may take a long time.

In the consumer markets the customer decision making process is

comparatively simple and short. It takes place in the buyer’s mind and
cannot be observed. The option of making the product himself is generally
not available with the customer.

ix. The business buyer’s risk can be very high. It is greatest in the new-task
situation, in which the buyer has not encountered such a buying situation.
Risk is least in the straight-rebuy situation, in which the item just has to be
reordered.

But even in straight rebuy there are risks such as the item not being
delivered on time. Performance risk is reduced by purchasing from large,
well-known and reputable suppliers and by continuing to buy from the
same supplier. In consumer markets the risks to customers are less.
Five Types of Business Markets

By: Lisa McQuerrey

Reviewed by: Jayne Thompson, LLB, LLM

Updated November 21, 2018

shapecharge/E+/GettyImages

RELATED

CONSUMER VS. BUSINESS MARKETS

LEARN MORE →

All businesses sell something, whether that means offering products to help other businesses
run more smoothly or a service that lets people watch movies from home. What the business
sells and who they sell it to defines the type of business market they participate in. It is critical
for every business owner to be able to identify their business market so they know how to best
identify their target audience and promote their products efficiently.
Business-to-Consumer Market

A business-to-consumer or "B2C" market is one in which a business advertises and sells its
products directly to individual consumers. This is the largest type of business market because
of its mass market of customers. Examples include grocery stores, clothing stores and car
dealerships. Franchises, or businesses that sell the rights to operate branches of their
company to others, also fall under the consumer market category as long as the final buyers
are individual consumers. A well-known consumer market franchise is the chain restaurant.

Business-to-Business Market

The business-to-business or "B2B" market has a focus on products, goods and services that
are typically sold to other businesses rather than direct to consumers. Examples include office
furniture, corporate accounting services and conference and exhibit supplies. Many business-
to-business markets have some overlap with consumer markets, for example, a cleaning
company may provide both residential and commercial services.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Services Market

In a service market, a business sells services rather than products. The business might deal
exclusively with consumers, for example, providing telephone services, plumbing and
electrical work to the consumer market. Or, it could be a B2B services firm, selling business
accounting or consultancy services, for example. In some instances a consumer product may
be sold in conjunction with the service. An example is a hair salon that provides the service of
cutting hair, but also sells shampoo and other personal care products.

Industrial Market

Industrial markets sell industrial or production products, good and services to other business
industries. These are often goods that are not marketed to consumers, such as raw materials
like steel, glass and wood or large-scale goods such as multi-network computer systems.
Industrial markets have a much smaller target audience than other markets because the
products and services it supplies are not focused on a mass market.

Professional Services Market

Professional services are those categorized as specialized areas of business that typically
come with a degree of accountability in terms of licensing and certification. Examples include
legal and medical services. As with the business-to-business market, there is sometimes
overlap between markets. For example, a law firm may represent both individuals as well as
corporations.
2. CONSUMER AND BUSINESS
PRODUCTS
The classification of products and services is essential to business because it provides one of
the factors for determining the strategies needed to move them through the marketing
system. The two major classes are consumer products and business products.

CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Consumer products are products purchased for personal, family, or household use. They are
often grouped into four subcategories on the basis of consumer buying habits: convenience
products, shopping products, specialty products and unsought products.

Consumer products can also be differentiated on the basis of durability. Durable products are
products that have a long life, such as furniture and garden tools. Non-durable products are
those that are quickly used up or worn out, or that become outdated, such as food, school
supplies, and disposable cameras.

Convenience Products

Convenience products are items that buyers want to purchase with the least amount of effort,
that is, as conveniently as possible. Most are non-durable products of low value that are
frequently purchased in small quantities. These products can be further divided into three
subcategories: staple, impulse, and emergency items.

Staple convenience products are basic items that buyers plan to buy before they enter a store,
and include milk, bread, and toilet paper. Impulse items are other convenience products that
are purchased without prior planning, such as candy bars, soft drinks, and tabloid
newspapers. Emergency products are those that are purchased in response to an immediate,
unexpected need such as ambulance service or a fuel pump for the car.

Since convenience products are not actually sought out by consumers, producers attempt to
get as wide a distribution as possible through various marketing channels—which may
include different types of wholesale and retail vendors. Convenience stores, vending
machines, and fast food are examples of retailer focus on convenience products. Within
stores, they are placed at checkout stands and other high-traffic areas.

Shopping Products

Shopping products are purchased only after the buyer compares the various products and
brands available through different retailers before making a deliberate buying decision.
These products are usually of higher value than convenience goods, bought less frequently,
and are durable. Price, quality, style, and color are typically factors in the buying decision.
Televisions, computers, lawn mowers, bedding, and appliances are all examples of shopping
products.

Because customers are going to shop for these products, a fundamental strategy in
establishing stores that specialize in shopping products is to locate near similar stores in
active shopping areas. Promotion for shopping products is often done cooperatively with the
manufacturers and frequently includes the heavy use of advertising in local media, including
newspapers, radio, and television.

Specialty Products

Specialty products are items that consumers seek out because of their unique characteristics
or brand identification. Buyers know exactly what they want and are willing to exert
considerable effort to obtain it. These products are usually, but not necessarily, of high value.
This category includes both durable and non-durable products. Specialty products differ from
shopping products primarily because price is not the chief consideration. Often the attributes
that make them unique are brand preference (e.g., a certain make of automobile) or personal
preference (e.g., a food dish prepared in a specific way). Other items that fall into this
category are wedding dresses, antiques, fine jewelry, and golf clubs.

Producers and distributors of specialty products prefer to place their products only in selected
retail outlets. These outlets are chosen on the basis of their willingness and ability to provide
an image of status, targeted advertising, and personal selling for the product. Consistency of
image between the product and the store is also important.

Unsought Products

Unsought products are those products that consumers are either unaware of or have little
interest in actively pursuing. Examples are new innovations, life insurance, and preplanned
funeral services. Because of the lack of awareness of these products or the need for them,
heavy promotion is often required.

The distinction among convenience, shopping, specialty, and unsought products is not
always clear. As noted earlier, these classifications are based on consumers' buying habits.
Consequently, a given item may be a convenience good for one person, a shopping good for
another, and a specialty good for a third, depending on the situation and the demographics
and attitudes of the consumer.

BUSINESS PRODUCTS
Business products are products and services that companies purchase to produce their own
products or to operate their business. Unlike consumer products, business products are
classified on the basis of their use rather than customer buying habits. These products are
divided into six subcategories: installations; accessory equipment; raw materials; component
parts and processed materials; maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; and business
services.

Business products also carry designations related to their durability. Durable business
products that cost large sums of money are referred to as capital items. Nondurable products
that are used up within a year are called expense items.

Installations

Installations are major capital items that are typically used directly in the production process
of products. Some installations, such as conveyor systems, robotics equipment, and machine
tools, are designed and built for specialized situations. Other installations, such as stamping
machines, large commercial ovens, and computerized axial tomography scan machines, are
built to a standard design but can be modified to meet individual requirements.

The purchase of installations requires extensive research and careful decision making on the
part of the buyer. Manufacturers of installations can make their availability known through
advertising. Actual sale of installations, however, requires the technical knowledge and
assistance that can best be provided by personal selling.

Accessory Equipment

Products that fall into the subcategory of accessory equipment are less expensive and have
shorter lives than installations. Examples include hand tools, computers, desk calculators,
and forklifts. While some types of accessory equipment, such as hand tools, are involved
directly in the production process, most are only indirectly involved.

The relatively low unit value of accessory equipment, combined with a market made up of
buyers from several different types of businesses, dictates a broad marketing strategy. Sellers
rely heavily on advertisements in trade publications and mailings to purchasing agents and
other business buyers. When personal selling is needed, it is usually done by intermediaries,
such as wholesalers.

Raw Materials

Raw materials are products that are purchased in their raw state for the purpose of processing
them into consumer or business products. Examples are iron ore, crude oil, diamonds,
copper, timber, wheat, and leather. Some (e.g., wheat) may be converted directly into another
consumer product (cereal). Others (e.g., timber) may be converted into an intermediate
product (lumber) to be resold for use in another industry (construction).

Most raw materials are graded according to quality so that there is some assurance of
consistency within each grade. There is, however, little difference between offerings within a
grade. Consequently, sales negotiations focus on price, delivery, and credit terms. This
negotiation, and because raw materials are ordinarily sold in large quantities, makes personal
selling the principal marketing approach for these goods.

3. Classification of Industrial products –

Industrial products classification
May 2, 2018 By Hitesh Bhasin Tagged With: Marketing management articles

Classification of Industrial products is necessary as it helps decision making for the

organization. Industrial goods are classified on the basis of their relative cost and
where they enter the production process.

There are 5 major classes of Industrial products

1. Natural Materials & Parts

2. Manufactured materials and parts
3. Capital items
4. Supplies &
5. Business services

Overall, there are many sub parts of the major classes, and each of them has a
separate role in the classification of Industrial products. Let us delve deeper into the
classification.
Page Contents
1) Material & Parts

The goods that enter the manufacturers products completely are classified as
Materials and parts. In this, there are two types of materials commonly used for
Industrial goods classification.

a) Farm products – Farm products are products which can be re produced or

recycled easily. They are present in ample amount. However, due to their nature,
they are perishable and have to be handled accordingly. But because they are
commonly used, there is hardly any marketing applied to them. Some common
products include cheese, eggs, fruits and vegetables, cotton, wheat etc.

b) Natural products – Natural products are products occuring naturally in the earth
and hence they cannot be recycled or re produced. Petrol or Diesel or oil (commonly
used) are products which occur naturally and can be classified as an
Industrial product. These products are found in bulk and the rarer they are, the
higher the value. Price is totally dependent on reliability of supply and keeps
changing. Government intervention for these products is high too.

Ad by Valueimpression

2) Manufactured Materials and parts

Raw material which has to be manufactured is classified as manufactured materials.

And Many a times, small manufacturers manufacture smaller parts which are used
in larger machines like an Automobile. These are manufactured parts, and they are
the 2nd type in classification of industrial products.

a) Manufactured Materials – If we use the iron supplied to us to make a final

product then, we have manufactured a material and that is the industrial product that
we supply. Similarly, Yarn is woven into cloth to make the final material – dresses
and clothes. Any process which requires raw material to be processed to give final
products is a part of manufactured materials classification. The pricing and
marketing of the product in this case depends on the raw material being used. So if
the yarn which is used to make the cloth is very high quality, the pricing of the end
product will be high and the marketing will also be premium marketing.

b) Manufactured Parts – Using the same example above, if we are making smaller
units which play their role in larger products, then we are manufacturing parts as an
industrial product. Ball bearings are the perfect example of Manufactured parts.
Now, there are so many ball bearings manufacturers out there, that their marketing
has become tedious as there is no or very less differentiation possible. Hence,
pricing and availibility of manufactured parts becomes a major issue instead of
advertising, branding or marketing.

3) Capital items

To make any manufacturing business or large scale industry possible, capital items
are used. They are important in the classification of industrial products. Capital items
generally fall under the Assets column of the balance sheet. These are items
necessary for the functioning of the organization, and very useful to be invested in
for the long term. Due to their very nature, these capital items have a residual value
to the company. And hence a company which has large capital, has to ensure that it
has large revenue, otherwise Capital (which is a fixed cost) will bring the company
down. There are two types of capital items

a) Installations – Large installations such as factories, warehouses and other

buildings are capital items which require long time installation and are used for an
even longer time. There are very few people in between when an installation is
bought by a company. Design is critical to such installations and there is absolute
absence of Marketing in installations. The only thing installations can be used for is
to reinforce the reputation of the company (Example – ACC has 17 manufacturing
plants).

b) Equipments – Equipments are both – heavy machineries as well as a utility to

the organization using them. Equipments in case of factories will be caterpillars,
trucks, cranes and what not. Equipment in case of industrial services will be
computers, hardware and design equipment, printers, copiers etc. All these are
equipments which are assets. They have a short span of life when compared to
installations, but as compared to the life span of normal operating supplies (paper,
pen) they have a longer life span. These equipments are sold mainly through
intermediaries, though larger the equipment, more is the involvement of
the brand directly. In the sale of equipments, personal selling plays a major role as
compared to marketing and advertising.

4) Supplies

Any short term goods or material which is necessary for the day to day operations or
a company or businesses is termed as supplies. A simple exam is A4 sized paper.
Can you imagine the amount of paper it takes to make a company
like Accenture work? A single office might need 1000’s of papers a day for print
outs.

Supplies are marketed via intermediaries and not directly through companies. The
reach of the supplies manufacturers needs to be far and wide and regular supply of
the product is more important then marketing. Supplies are divided in 2 formats

a) Maintenance and repair supplies – Paints are a form of maintenance supplies

and Asian paints is the leader in that. Cleaning services are another form of
maintenance.

b) Operating supplies – Pen and paper, notepads, lubricants for automobiles are
part of the operating supplies needed on a day to day basis. Kangaro is an excellent
brand which comes to mind when it comes to staplers and staple pins.

5) Business services

A major product and a growing industry in the classification of industrial products is

Business services. Business services are generally third party services given to
businesses and they are in form right now because businesses do not want to spend
the time or the energy on getting regular things running. Hence they either use
Business advisory services or business maintenance services.
a) Business advisory services – Any business out there requires a Chartered
accountant. This accountant can be hired or it can be a firm which handles the
business. Similarly legal, consulting, advertising, marketing are all business
agencies within themselves which provide services to industries. These advisory
services are on the rise because of the growing economy of developing nations.

b) Maintenance and repair services – There is a difference between repair goods

and repair services. Where paint is a repair good, a repair service is window
cleaning or printer and copier repairing, something which is best left to the
professionals. And there are many professionals out there who pick industrial
contracts for an annual year towards repair and maintenance of day to day products
and equipments within an organization.

The above was 5 of the major classification of Industrial products and the numerous
sub classes within them. Depending on the abilities of the small business or the
large business, they can contribute to one sub class or another. You can be a bulk
seller to one company (automobile OEM), or you can sell small items in bulk to large
companies (Paper distributor).

4. Difference Between Selling Concept

and Marketing Concept
May 11, 2015 Posted by Admin
3

Selling Concept vs Marketing Concept

 
The difference between selling concept and marketing concept is a very interesting subject that has
elements of history and product attributes. Marketing has been an evolving and ever changing
aspect of organizational environment. This evolution has resulted in different concepts in different
time periods. The popular concepts were product concept, selling concept, marketing concept and
societal marketing concept. The product concept was the earliest which can be traced to late 19th
century and the last of the concepts to emerge was the societal marketing concept.

What is Selling Concept?

After the industrial revolution, innovation became common, and engineering skills grew immensely.
This led to making of machines that were able to produce large quantities that were unseen at that
period. So, mass production became a habit of industries. Because of this, supply outpaced demand
in many industries. Businesses had to find ways to dispose the excess quantities that were not sold
by their own. Firms decided to promote their products extensively and persuade customers for
purchase. Selling concept emerged as a result of this.
Selling concept can be classified as ‘persuading and convincing customers to purchase goods
of the firm by extensive promotional modes.’ The promotion tools used were advertising and
personal selling. Selling concept believes that customers will not buy enough unless they are pushed
to buy. Still, for certain products, selling concept is being used. Examples are life insurance,
retirement plans, and firefighting equipment.

The selling concept has its drawbacks. This concept only advocates seller’s side.
The customer’s side has been neglected. Here, the goal is to sell what they produce than what
customer really wants. So, whether customer wants the product is questionable. With
continuous persuading, customer might purchase the product, but it will be one-time business for the
company as it’s a burden for the customer. Customer has more options and is aware of such options
nowadays due to over capacity and constant advertising. Therefore, this approach is not suitable for
most products at the current time.

Selling concept focuses on the seller’s side

What is Marketing Concept?

The drawbacks of the selling concept lead to new thinking in the business world. With more options
and higher disposable income customer had the luxury to choose what they wanted. Also, their
demand power increased. Therefore, a question arose in the business community that is – what do
customers want. These changes of mindset led to the rise of the marketing concept. Marketing
concept can be classified as the collective activity of satisfying customer wants and
needs while meeting the organization objectives. Simply, it’s the process of satisfying the
customers while making a profit . Marketing concept treats the customer as the king.

Though it seems simple, practicing this concept is highly complex. This complex process starts from
product preconception till the after sales service. Also, the commitment of the whole organization is a
mandatory requirement for complete success. Customer desires should be incorporated into all
aspects. In order to understand customer needs and wants, continuous marketing research is vital.
A smaller organization can collect such data by simply talking with their customers. But, for large
organizations, methods such as marketing surveys and focus group studies would be useful.
Through marketing research, the firm will be able to perform segmentation based on size and needs
of customers.

The main benefits of marketing concept for an organization are customer loyalty and customer
retention. An increase in customer retention by 5% can result in an increase of 40 – 50% in profit as
per a study by Reichheld and Sasser. Effective implementation of marketing concept can be of high
benefit if practiced well. So, marketing concept provides a firm with the ability to satisfy customers
while making profits.

Marketing concept focuses on both customer and seller

What is the difference between Selling Concept and Marketing Concept?

The evolution of marketing has lead to various theories and concepts for business success. Out of
which, selling concept and marketing concept are widely evaluated. We can find some significant
differences between them.

• Focus:

• The selling concept focuses on mass production, and persuading customer to purchase, enabling
the firm to make profits.
• The marketing concept’s objective is to have happy customers while making reasonable profits.

• Profits:

• In the selling concept, profits arise from sales volumes. More sales mean more the profit.

• With marketing concept, the profit is attained through customer retention and loyalty. Customer
retention is achieved via customer satisfaction.

• Competition:

• Selling concept will not provide a competitive edge and will be less favorable in a competitive
environment.

• Marketing concept develops mutual relationship between seller and customer. Therefore, it is more
favorable in a competitive environment.

• Definition of Business:

• With selling concept, businesses are defined by the goods and service they sell.

• In marketing concept, businesses are defined by the benefit customers derive from the activity of
the organization.

The difference between selling concept and marketing concept has been detailed above. The era of
selling concept has ended and more businesses concentrate on the marketing concept. New
thinking in future can lead to further advancement of business theories for success.

References:

1. Kotler, T and Keller K. (2012). Marketing Management. 14e Global ed., Pearson Education.
2. Reichheld, F. E. and Sasser Jr, W. E. (1990). Zero Defections: Quality Comes to
Services.Harvard Business Review. September-October, pg. 105 – 111.

Images Courtesy:

1. A Liberty Mutual booth by  Whoisjohngalt  (CC BY-SA 3.0)

2. Steve Job and iPad by matt buchanan (CC BY 2.0)

5. What is a product line? Definition and examples

A product line is a group of products that a company creates under a single brand. The
products are similar and focus on the same market sector. Maybe their function or channel
distribution are the same or similar. Perhaps their physical attributes, prices, quality, or type of
customers are the same. We call the activity product lining.

A company can have more than one product line. The number of product lines it has reflects its
resources, i.e., how powerful it is.

Product line numbers might also show the other players in the marketplace how competitive the
company is. In this context, the term ‘marketplace’ means the same as ‘market’ in its abstract
sense.

5.1 A company can expand its product line in two ways: Line Filling and Line Stretching. Both

of these product line decisions involve adding items to the line. Line filling means adding more
items within the present range of the line. Reasons for doing so include the goals to reach extra
profits, to satisfy dealers, to use excess capacity etc

What is an Attribute and 11 types with

6

Examples
June 16, 2016 by Sumit Thakur

What is an Attribute and types with Examples: Generally attribute explains the

characteristics of an entity. In database management system (DBMS) it assigns
a database component or database field. Attribute stores or saves only a piece of
data. For example, in an invoice the attribute may be the price or date. In this article,
we will discuss the various types of attributes with examples.
Also See: What is Database Management System
What is an Attribute and types with Examples
Lets discuss various types of attributes with their notation and examples 
Types of Attributes with Examples
1. Single valued attributes
2. Multi valued attributes
3. Compound /Composite attributes
4. Simple / Atomic attributes
5. Stored attributes
6. Derived attributes
7. Complex attributes
8. Key attributes
9. Non key attributes
10. Required attributes
11. Optional/ null value attributes
6.1 An attribute is defined as a quality or characteristic of a person, place, or thing. Real life
individuals and fictional characters possess various attributes. For example, someone might be
labeled beautiful, charming, funny, or intelligent.

6.2Examples of Attributes
An attribute is defined as a quality or characteristic of a person, place, or thing. Real life
individuals and fictional characters possess various attributes. For example, someone might be
labeled beautiful, charming, funny, or intelligent. These are all attributes, but don't those labels
seem to ring true as traits too?

There is a difference between attributes and traits, but it is slight and some characteristics could
be considered either an attribute or a trait. Let's consider the difference between the two, and
throw in skills too, before we take a look at some examples of attributes.

Difference Between Attributes, Skills, and

Traits
We know an attribute is a quality or characteristic of a person, place, or thing. It's
an identifying label that alludes to something inherent about them, like charm or cruelty.

A skill, on the other hand, is generally something that is taught. A person will undergo training to
learn or improve a particular skill. These might include calligraphy, computer coding, or car
repair.
Meanwhile, a trait is an ingrained characteristic or habit that is difficult to learn or unlearn, like
shyness or confidence.
To explore the topic of traits more, take a look at some character trait examples.
Positive Attributes
As you look at people around you or develop a character study for your latest short story or
novel, how would you label them? What are their attributes? Will these labels denote positive
qualities or characteristics? If so, try one of these attributes on for size:

Negative Attributes
Every story needs conflict or a villain. Although one of these attributes may
not be their identifying characteristic, or trait, it might be one of the markers
you'll use to describe them. Let's take a look:
Arrogant Cynical Inflexible Pessimistic Thoughtless
Belligerent Deceitful Intolerant Pompous Truculent
Irresponsibl
Boastful Detached Possessive Unkind
e
Quarrelsom
Boring Dishonest Jealous Unpredictable
e
Bossy Domineering Lazy Resentful Unreliable
Callous Foolish Mean Rude Untrustworthy
Careless Greedy Moody Sarcastic Vague
Compulsiv
Gullible Nasty Selfish Vain
e
Cowardly Impolite Nervous Stupid Vengeful
Inconsiderat
Cruel Patronizing Tactless Vulgar
e

Professional Attributes
Finally, some attributes aren't quite so personal. Especially in the workplace,
certain attributes are simply matter-of-fact. Maybe one of the characters in
your book will meet his enterprising lawyer or efficient book editor. If so, you
might want to consider honing in on one of these attributes:
Accountable Dependabl Focused Motivated Respectful
 e
Adaptable Determined Forgiving Objective Scheduled
Authentic Diligent Generous Organized Scrupulous
Broadminde Hardworkin
Disciplined Passionate Selfless
d g
Caring Effective Humble Patient Sincere
Perseveran
Collaborative Efficient Innovative Studious
t
Consistent Empathetic Kind Planner Thinker
Courteous Engaging Listens well Precise Transparent
Credible EnthusiasticLoyal Proactive Trustworthy
Decisive Evolving Methodical Realistic Truthful

Attributes Abound
Most of us have more than one attribute. We can be clever and funny, or
beautiful and honest. While it's true traits are more singular and identifying, it's
interesting to see people's attributes unfold. Whether real-life or fictional,
attributes abound for many of us.

If you'd like to dive deeper into aspects of personality types and traits, enjoy
these Examples of Personality Traits. There, you'll learn more about the
famous Myers-Briggs indicators and it may help you develop your new
character with wonderful depth. Happy labeling!
 How to choose Branding Elements to build Brand
7.
Equity
There are 6 integral criteria for choosing your brand elements:

1)      Memorability

2)      Meaningfulness                             

3)      Likability

4)      Transferability

5)      Adaptability                        

6)      Protectability

1. Memorability: Brand elements that help achieve a high level of brand awareness or attention to the
brand, in turn facilitate the recognition and recall of a brand during purchase or consumption.

2. Meaningfulness: Here a marketer needs to ensure that brand elements are descriptive and
suggesting something about the product category of the brand. This is important to develop
awareness and recognition for the brand in a particular product category.

Secondly, the brand elements also need to have a persuasive meaning and suggest something about
the particular benefits and attributes of the brand. This is necessary for defining the positioning of
the brand in a particular category.

3. Likability: Brand Elements need to be inherently fun, interesting, colourful and not necessarily
always directly related to the product.

A memorable, meaningful and likable brand element makes it easier to build brand recognition and
brand equity, thus reducing the burden on the marketer and thereby reducing the cost of marketing
communications.

The above 3 criteria constitute the "Offensive Strategy" towards building brand equity

4. Transferability: is the extent to which brand elements can add brand equity to new products of the
brand in the line extensions.  Another point, a marketer needs to keep in mind is that the brand
element should be able to add brand equity across geographical boundaries and market segments.
For example, brand names like “Apple”, “Blackberry” represent fruits the world over, thus as a brand
name it doesn't restrict brands and product extensions.

5. Adaptability: Consumer opinions, values and views keep changing over a period of time. The more
adaptable and flexible brand elements are the easier it is to keep up changing and up to date from
time to time to suit the consumers liking and views. For example, Coca -Cola has been updating it's
logo over the years to keep up with the latest trends, fashions and opinions.

6. Protectability: the final criteria in choosing a brand element is that it should be protectable legally
and competitively. Brand elements need to be chosen in such a way, that they can be internationally
protected legally, legally registered with legal bodies. Marketers need to voraciously defend their
trademarks from unauthorized competitive infringements.

The above 3 criteria constitute the "Defensive strategy" towards leveraging and maintaining brand
equity

The most ideal brand elements would be those which satisfy all the criteria. But it is not possible
have a brand element which would satisfy all the above criteria. For example, if we choose a brand
name which is most meaningful in a country or culture or a market segment, it would be very
difficult to make it transferable to other brand extensions and to other cultures and market
segments.

8. Important factors that influence consumer behaviour

You for sure might be wondering as to what is it that influences these consumers,

how do we analyzes when is their purchase pattern going to change. Of course only

the influencing factors will confirm what will change the consumers buying pattern.

We have four main factors that affect consumer behaviour they are;

1. Consumer Behaviour – Cultural factors

Culture plays a very vital role in the determining consumer behaviour it is sub

divided in

 Culture

Culture is a very complex belief of human behaviour it includes the human society,

the roles that the society plays, the behaviour of the society, its values customs and

traditions. Culture needs to be examined as it is a very important factor that

influences consumer behaviour.

 Sub-Culture

Sub-culture is the group of people who share the same values, customs and

traditions. You can define them as the nation, the religion, racial groups and also

groups of people sharing the same geographic location

 Social Class

Society possesses social class; in fact every society possesses one. It is important to

know what social class is being targeted as normally the buying behaviour of a social

class is quite similar. Remember not just the income but even other factors describe

social class of a group of consumers.

 2. Consumer  Behaviour – Social Factors
Social factors are also subdivided into the following

 Reference groups

Under social factors reference groups have a great potential of influencing consumer

behaviour. Of course its impact varies across products and brands. This group often

includes an opinion leader.

 Family 

The behaviour of a consumer is not only influenced by their motivations and

personalities but also their families and family members who can two or more

people living together either because of blood relationship or marriage.

 Role and status

People who belong to different organizations, groups or club members, families play

roles and have a status to maintain. These roles and status that they have to

maintain also influences consumer behaviour as they decide to spend accordingly.

3. Consumer  Behaviour – Personal factors

A number of personal factors also influence the consumer behaviour. In fact this is

one major factor that influences consumer behaviour. The sub factors under

personal factor are listed below.

 Age and life cycle stage

Age of a consumer and his life cycle are two most important sub factors under

personal factors. With the age and the life cycle the consumers purchase options and

the motive of purchase changes, with his decisions of buying products change.

Hence this stage does affect consumer behaviour.

 Occupation

Occupation of a consumer is affects the goods and services a consumer buys. The

occupations group has above average interest in buying different products and

services offered by organizations. In fact organizations produce separate products

for different occupational groups.

 Financial or economic situations

Everything can be bought and sold with the help of money. If the economic

situation of a consumer is not good or stable it will affect his purchase power, in fact
if the consumers or the economy of a nation is suffering a loss it defiantly affects the

consumers purchase or spending decisions.

 Life style

People originating from different cultures, sub cultures, occupations and even social

class have different styles of living. Life style can confirm the interest, opinions and

activities of people. Different life styles affect the purchase pattern of consumers.

 Self concept and personality

Every individual is different and have different and distinct personalities. Their

distinct personalities and distinct physiology effects their buying decisions. Hence

purchase of products and services defers from person to person.

4. Consumer Behaviour –  Psychological factors

4 psychological factors affect consumer behaviour very strongly. Let’s look at them

in detail.

 Motivation

Motivation is activating the internal needs and requirements of the consumer. It can

also be described as goals and needs of the consumers. Motivation arouses and

directs the consumers towards certain goals. These needs can be psychological

needs, needs of security, social needs, esteem needs and also self actualizing needs.

Psychological Factors Influencing Consumer

9.

Behavior
Definition: The Psychological Factors are the factors that talk about the psychology of an
individual that drive his actions to seek satisfaction. Some of the important Psychological Factors
are:

 Motivation: The level of motivation influences the buying behavior of the consumers. It

is very well explained by Maslow through his need hierarchy theory comprising of basic
needs, security needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Usually, the
basic needs and the security needs are more pressing needs than the other and hence, these
needs become a motive that directs the consumer behavior to seek satisfaction.
 Perception: The consumer perception towards a particular product and the brand also
influences his buying decision. The perception is the process through which the individual
selects, organize and interpret the information to draw a meaningful conclusion. Such as,
Apple iPhone is perceived as a premium brand and consumers are motivated to buy it to get
associated with the elite class of the society.
 The marketers lay emphasis on managing the perceptual processes, Viz. Selective Attention,
Selective Distortion, and Selective Retention. In selective attention, the marketer tries to
gain the attention of the customer towards his offerings. Different people have different
perceptions about the same product depending on their individual beliefs and attitudes which
give rise to selective distortion. Thus, the marketer should try to understand the attitudes and
beliefs of individuals and design the marketing campaigns to retain the consumers.

 Learning: The individual’s learning depends on the skills, knowledge and intention. The
skills are developed through practice while the knowledge and intention are acquired with the
experience. There could be a conditional learning or a cognitive learning.
In the conditional learning, the consumer derives learning from being conditioned to
particular stimuli, i.e. when he is exposed to the similar situation, again and again, he
develops a particular response towards it. While in the cognitive learning the individual
applies all his knowledge, skill, attitudes, values and beliefs to find the solution of a problem
and derive satisfaction out of it.

 Attitudes and Beliefs: The individuals have certain beliefs and attitudes towards
products on which their purchase decisions rests. These attitudes and beliefs are the tendency
to respond to a given product in a particular way, and these make up the brand image that
influences the consumer buying behavior. Thus, the marketers try to understand the attitudes
and beliefs of the individuals and modify these through several marketing campaigns.
Thus, these are some of the psychological factors that the marketer must take into the
consideration before undertaking the strategic marketing decision.

Is perception more important than

10.

reality?
By Sandro Calvani, Senior Adviser and President of the Scientific
Committee of the Social Change School 
Perception is more important than reality. If someone perceives something to be true, it is more
important than if it is in fact true. This doesn’t mean you should be duplicitous or deceitful, but
don’t go out of your way to correct a false assumption if it plays to your advantage. (Ivanka
Trump) [1].
This is a quote from Ivanka Trump. When I read it, I was astonished by its clarity
in declaring the acceptability of what is false.
This is how a young Ivanka Trump, daughter of the future President of the United
States, described her relation with truth and false perception, her own and
others’, in 2009. This statement is taken from a book-interview, authorized by
Ivanka Trump; so not just an impromptu line, out of context, or just a joke that
came out with her friends in the girls’ locker room. It was October 2009, and
Ivanka had just turned 28, got married and converted from Presbyterian
Christianity to Orthodox Judaism since 2 months.
We do not know if this quote, that has become extremely famous, had something to
do with her personal life. Indeed, we all agree that when we are in love, we think
our beloved is the best person in the world and we are often blind to their
flaws. When in love, we prefer to believe in our own perception of reality, instead
that in reality itself. And every religion has some “truth of Faith”, some facts
that can’t be recognized as real with scientific or historical proofs, and
therefore people of faith believe in them in the name of faith, even when a scientific
analysis of those realities would suggest that they are in fact falsities. Even the
second part of Ivanka Trump’s quote matches with many lovers or people of faith,
that indeed do not try to correct a false perception because it plays to their
advantage.
These behaviours regarding truth and false perceptions are now
completely rejected by societies that are evolved in their relations with common
good, management of public affairs, professionality that impact the lives and the
quality of the lives of everybody. Therefore, as an example, no judge would ever
allow a public prosecutor that accuses a suspect based on their own impressions
and with no proof to speak in a courtroom. In the field of health, the same goes for
a surgeon that thinks that lung cancer can be cured with lemon and bicarbonate:
obviously he is immediately expelled from the profession. Even in situations that
are much more trivial, like for example a Neapolitan pizza, the person who
expresses their perspective that it’s better to put cream and strawberries on a
pizza rather than mozzarella and tomato, is believed to be a jester by everyone. A
person who expresses such an opinion would have zero opportunity to become a
pizzaiolo.  
Are these very common ostracisms against somebody else’s false perceptions a
limitation of freedom of expression? Freedom of expression is a right that has
been voiced from the very first experiments of democracy by Athenians and
is established in many modern national constitutions, including the First
Amendment of the American Constitution. However, the principles of law that
stipulate limitations to the right of opinion are equally severe, and are all part
of the concept that freedom of expression is not admissible when is provoking
severe damage to others. This is why defamation, falsification of documents,
incitement to hatred and rebellion, dissemination of false information that
create panic, like those who start yelling “fire!” in a crowded place, are never
permitted. Likewise, those who are in public administration and create or use false
information to facilitate a decision to the detriment of other people, are
punishable as forgers of public deeds in all modern judicial systems, everywhere in
the world.
Yet taking advantage of false information when it plays to your own advantage,
like Ivanka Trump is suggesting, on the contrary seems to be largely tolerated and
certainly doesn’t seem prosecutable during political campaigns for democratic
elections, and even after these same campaigns for political propaganda.  
The main claims of Brexit supporters were fake, as was the accusation by Donald
Trump’s supporters of Hillary Clinton trafficking children, or the belief
that climate change is not real and just a machination of the Chinese government,
or that the raise in immigrants raises crime rates, or to define terrorism as a major
menace of our times. About terrorism, is sufficient to see that, between 2000 and
2015, terroristic attacks caused 90 deaths in UK (the most affected European
country), with an average of 6 people every year. In the same country though, 120
people die every year in bicycle accidents. During the previous 15 years, 1094 people
died because of terrorism in the United Kingdom, more than 10 times more, and even
2211 between 1970 and 1985. All these false statements and perceptions, that are
allowed in politics and during electoral campaign because they give the
advantage to a party, have become so much more than a simple advantage. In an age
that is seeing political ideologies disappear, false perceptions are more and more
indispensable to keep a political group united or to build an electoral win.
Freedom of opinion (or the freedom of hyperbole and exaggeration) is also the core
of marketing, where advertisements stating lies are often left unpunished.
Nevertheless, if for example a car manufacturer rigs the data about the emission
of damaging gases, it is punished with very heavy fines. If a characteristic of a food
product is false, consumers react boycotting it. Those who realize – thanks to
social network – that false statements are now “environmental”, omnipresent like
the air we breathe, shouldn’t be shocked by the fact that it is now a weapon used
in political fights as well. And the fact that public opinion doesn’t care about
politics anymore shouldn’t surprise us either, since politics are seen as a profession
of falsity and corruption. Moreover, how can you trust in solutions that are
proposed and voted to fix false problems?
Those who hope and aspire to politics as a noble art of public service, should first
of all worry about getting laws that won’t allow and will prosecute false in
electoral campaigns, at least as much as it is already forbidden in other public
services, like health and justice. And a tiny little point of coherence and
transparency should be recognized to Ivanka Trump, for revealing her ethical
criteria, showing false perception as important and tolerable if it plays to her
advantage. Thinking about it, if those who insist on making vaccinations a decision
of free opinion, or those who tolerate the definition of the gravity of terrorism
did the same, maybe everything would be easier to agree on. Imagine a political
leader or President of Region stating: “I know perfectly well that what I am
about to say is not true, but I am saying it because it plays to my advantage”.