Marketing

Marketing is identifying customer wants and satisfying them profitably

A customer
customer is a person, business or other organisation which buys goods or services from
a business.
Large businesses will have different sections within their marketing departments:
The Sales team, The Market Research section, The Promotion section, Distribution
section
The Sales team
The Sales team is responsible for the sales of the product. It will usually have separate
sections for each region to which the product is distributed. If the product is exported,
there may also be an Export team.
The Market Research section
The Market Research Section is responsible for finding out customers' needs, market
changes and the impact of competitors actions. It will report on these to the Marketing
Director and this information will be used to help make decisions about research and
development of new products, pricing levels, sales strategies and promotion strategies.
The Promotion section
The Promotion section deals with organising the advertising for products. It arranges for
advertisements to be produced. For example, adverts are filmed if they are to be on
television, or designed if they are to be in newspapers. The department also decides on
the types of promotion that will be included in campaigns. It will have a marketing
budget - a fixed amount of money to spend. It has to decide which types of advertising
media will be the most effective to use because there will only be a certain amount to
spend.
Distribution Section
Distribution Section is responble for the transportation of products to the market.
The role of marketing involves
Identify customer needs, Satisfy customer needs, Maintain customer loyalty, Build
customer relationships, Anticipate changes in customer needs
Identify customer needs
finding out what kind of products or services customers want, the prices they are willing
to pay, where and how they want to buy these goods or services, and what after-sales
services they might want
Satisfy customer needs
so that goods and services can be sold profitably. Customers want the right product, in
the right place and at the right price. Failure to meet these needs, or doing it less well
than competitors, will lead to the business facing the risk of closure.
Maintain customer loyalty
by building customer relationships. Keeping close links with customers and finding out if
products or services are continuing to meet their needs will help to ensure the success
of the business. If customers change their expectations of what they want from a good
or service then the business should respond to meet these new needs. This will be
identified by maintaining close customer relationships. It is very important to keep
existing customers (customer loyalty) and not just concentrate on attracting new ones. It
is much cheaper for a business to try to keep existing customers (for example, with
loyalty cards) than trying to gain new customers.
Build customer relationships
to gain information about customers. by building a long-term relationship with them so
that their changing needs can be understood. This is one of the most important roles of
the Marketing department in today's globally competitive world. Building a relationship
with customers means that market research information can be used to understand why
customers buy products and how they use them. This makes for more effective
marketing.
Anticipate changes in customer needs
by identifying new trends in customer demand or gaps in the market so that businesses
can produce goods or services which are not currently available.
If the Marketing department is successful it should enable the business to
raise customer awareness of a product or service of the business, increase revenue
and profitability, increase or maintain market share, maintain or improve the image of
products or a business, target a new market or market segment, enter new markets at
home or abroad, develop new products or improve existing products.
Why customer/consumer spending patterns change
Consumer tastes and fashions change, Changes in technology, Change in incomes,
Ageing populations
Consumer tastes and fashions change
fashions may change for clothes and so consumers may want different styles of clothes
to those they wore last year.
Changes in technology
with new products being developed, such as iPads, tablets and smartwatches, sales of
desk computer/standalone computers have fallen in many countries. New products
mean old versions/alternatives do not have high sales anymore.
Change in incomes
if an economy has high unemployment then many consumers will buy cheaper
products. If the economy then grows and unemployment falls, the sales of more
expensive products will increase.
Ageing populations
the age structure of the population in many countries is changing to a greater
percentage of older people. This has changed the type of products which are increasing
in demand, such as anti-ageing face creams for women.
Why have some markets become more competitive?
Globalisation, Transportation improvements, Internet/e-commerce
Globalisation
of markets has meant that products are increasingly sold all over the world
Transportation improvements
have meant that it is easier and cheaper to transport products from one part of the world
to another.
Internet/e.commerce
Internet/e.commerce- has meant that consumers can search for products and buy from
overseas markets. Even some services such as insurance can be bought from
businesses based in another country. Increased consumer information about products
and the different international businesses that produce them makes a market much
more competitive.