Introduction to marketing

Marketing is dynamic and impactful. The details differ between industries, but at its most
basic marketing is how businesses reach prospective customers and communicate the unique
benefits of a product or service. It encompasses all the activities that companies undertake to
promote, sell, and distribute that product or service. The goal is to generate sales and build a
loyal customer base by informing prospective and existing buyers about the offering.
Your target audience must first be aware that your product or service exists before you can
hope to inspire a purchase. An essential function in any business, marketing supports efforts
to acquire, keep, and grow customers.
But marketing does not end there — ongoing engagement also helps build loyalty and
establish a long-term relationship. Effective programs and campaigns reach and engage
audiences, differentiate the company from competitors, and support larger business
objectives, such as increasing sales or expanding to a new market.
Marketing concepts
Marketing is the process of “creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings
that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large,” according to
the American Marketing Association. This process is done in a number of different ways;
marketing professionals use one or more of the five concepts of marketing in order to earn
consumer confidence and create profitable, long-term relationships with consumers. But not
all the concepts are equally effective.

Robert Katai, an experienced marketing strategist, provides the definition of a marketing

concept: “A strategy that companies and marketing agencies design and implement in order
to satisfy customers’ needs, maximize profits, satisfy customer needs, and beat the
competitors or outperform them.” The main five include the production, product, selling,
marketing, and societal concepts, and they have been evolving for decades. Not every
concept is beneficial to every business, so here is a timely and convenient opportunity to
learn more about each one.

The Production Concept

The production concept is focused on operations and is based on the assumption that
customers will be more attracted to products that are readily available and can be purchased
for less than competing products of the same kind. This concept came about as a result of the
rise of early capitalism in the 1950s, at which time, companies were focused on efficiency in
manufacturing to ensure maximum profits and scalability.

This philosophy can be useful when a company markets in an industry experiencing

tremendous growth, but it also carries a risk. Businesses that are overly focused on cheap
production can easily lose touch with the needs of the customer and ultimately lose business
despite its cheap and accessible goods.

The Product Concept

The product concept is the opposite of the production concept in that it assumes that
availability and price don’t have a role in customer buying habits and that people generally
prefer quality, innovation, and performance over low cost. Thus, this marketing strategy
focuses on continuous product improvement and innovation.

Apple Inc. is a prime example of this concept in action. Its target audience always eagerly
anticipates the company’s new releases. Even though there are off-brand products that
perform many of the same functions for a lower price, many folks will not compromise just
to save money.

Working on this principle alone, however, a marketer could fail to attract those who are also
motivated by availability and price.

The Selling Concept

Marketing on the selling concept entails a focus on getting the consumer to the actual
transaction without regard for the customer’s needs or the product quality — a costly tactic.
This concept frequently excludes customer satisfaction efforts and doesn’t usually lead to
repeat purchases.

The selling concept is centered on the belief that you must convince a customer to buy a
product through aggressive marketing of the benefits of the product or service because it isn’t
a necessity. An example is soda pop. Ever wonder why you continue to see ads for Coca Cola
despite the prevalence of the brand? Everyone knows what Coke has to offer, but it’s widely
known that soda lacks nutrients and is bad for your health. Coca Cola knows this, and that’s
why they spend astonishing amounts of money pushing their product.

The Marketing Concept

The marketing concept is based on increasing a company’s ability to compete and achieve
maximum profits by marketing the ways in which it offers better value to customers than its
competitors. It’s all about knowing the target market, sensing its needs, and meeting them
most effectively. Many refer to this as the “customer-first approach.”

Glossier is a recognizable example of this marketing concept. The company understands that
many women are unhappy with the way that makeup affects the health of their skin. They
also noticed that women are fed up with being told what makeup products to use. With this in
mind, Glossier introduced a line of skincare and makeup products that not only nourish the
skin but are also easy to use and promote individualism and personal expression with
makeup.

The Societal Concept

The societal marketing concept is an emerging one that emphasizes the welfare of society.
It’s based on the idea that marketers have a moral responsibility to market conscientiously to
promote what’s good for people over what people may want, regardless of a company’s sales
goals. Employees of a company live in the societies they market to, and they should advertise
with the best interests of their local community in mind.

The fast-food industry is an example of what the societal concept aims to address. There’s a
high societal demand for fast food, but this food is high in fat and sugar and contributes to
excess waste. Even though the industry is answering the desires of the modern consumer, it’s
hurting our health and detracting from our society’s goal of environmental sustainability.
Marketing Challenges:
Challenge #1: Getting New Clients
According to the report, 51% of agencies rely on customer referrals as their main source of
new clients. That hasn’t changed much over the years, which makes creating a referral
program a no-brainer for getting new clients. However, now more than ever, agencies are
also relying heavily on content and digital marketing to grow their client base.
Generating leads with content marketing is totally doable, but you’ve got to ace your content
creation and digital marketing approach. In terms of content, start publishing articles on noted
online marketing publications that you know your audience reads. This will help you broaden
your reach, further establish your authority and credibility in your space, and tap into a
broader audience. Another tactic is to incorporate co-branded marketing webinars into your
content strategy. Just make sure you partner with a brand that has a similar audience as yours
so you can both benefit from the other’s network.
Another suggestion is to use a CRM and marketing automation software. Doing so allows
you to more fully understand where your prospects are in their journey so you can send them
personalized offers and content that educates them and leads them down the funnel.
Challenge #2: Retaining Current Clients
The average client lifespan is just 0-12 months for 30% of agencies. And that’s a big issue,
considering that existing clients spend more and cost less than new ones.
So how do you keep your clients on board for longer? Once again, it starts with content. Send
your existing clients resources that can help them get the most use out of your products and
services. Send personalized perks, gifts, and/or exclusive promos too, and use milestones like
birthdays and customer anniversaries as excuses to send offers and messages.
Don’t be afraid to change your approach to individual clients over time. Get creative with
your customer retention strategies, and know that as their plans change, so should yours. If
you notice that a client is on a package that no longer suits them, adjust it — even if it costs
them less. It’s better to keep a client around on a lower-tier plan than to lose them entirely.
Challenge #3: Keeping Up With Ad Platform Changes
Nearly half of agencies don’t have any full-time staff members dedicated to paid search,
which means it’s easy for ad platform changes to fall through the cracks. But your paid
search strategy is at the mercy of the ad platforms you’re using, and if you’re not keeping up,
you’ll fall behind.
Make a plan for staying up to speed with platform changes, whether that means adding this
type of research to an existing team member’s role or setting up an RSS feed so you’re
notified right away and can do research on your own. Publications, like Search Engine Land,
can be a great source for staying up-to-date on new tools and current trends. Better yet,
schedule routine check-ins with your team to discuss what’s working and what’s not with
your paid search strategies. Not only will this hold more people accountable for tracking any
changes, but it also makes it more likely you’ll notice changes earlier rather than later.

Challenge #4: Time Management

After generating new clients, managing time is the most common challenge agencies face.
And it makes sense: there’s a lot to juggle when it comes to digital marketing, and while the
workload is getting bigger and more complex, the teams and spending don’t always keep up.
Our first piece of advice for making better use of time is to get a project management tool.
Platforms like Toggle or Basecamp can help you organize your to-dos and stay on track, no
matter how busy you get.
Some other tips for managing time:
Give yourself a limit on the amount of time you work on something. When you hit it, stop
and move to the next thing on your list, then revisit it later on. This way, everything moves
along, and you avoid sitting on one task for too long.
Divide projects into three categories: this week, next week, and this month. Then prioritize
accordingly.
Ask for help! After all, teamwork makes the dream work, right?
Challenge #5: Hiring and Training New Employees
Onboarding is crucial, but it often gets pushed aside for more pressing matters. With all but
11% of agencies anticipating growth this year, hiring and onboarding are still going to
become more important than ever.
The best way to manage this is to make sure you have a job description already created for
the various roles within your department (that you update as-needed), as well as an effective
and specific hiring and training process. Having these things created ahead of time helps
reduce any scrambling when it comes time to hire someone and speeds up the process of
getting everyone on the same page.
No challenge is too big if you know what you’re up against. Embrace this year with a new
plan for tackling some of the biggest digital marketing challenges.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing
CRM leverages and amplifies customer base of an organization through efficacious and
efficient marketing. In fact CRM has brought up new dimensions in the field of marketing by
significantly improving marketing functioning and execution. Intuitive CRM associated
marketing strategies like direct marketing, web marketing, e-mail marketing etc. have been
matured during the recent past. These marketing strategies are more promising as compared
to the traditional ways on marketing as they help delivering higher-up performance and
walloping business. They also help meliorating response rates in marketing campaigns, cut
cost on promotions due to low asset values and provide higher scrutiny on organizational
investments.

The various aspects of CRM oriented marketing are discussed below.

1. Web Marketing- With the growing popularity of web, customers are tending towards
web marketing or web shopping. This helps both customers and suppliers to transact
in a real time environment irrespective of their locations. Some of the major
advantages of Web Marketing are listed below:
 It is relatively very inexpensive as it reduces the cost for physically reaching
to the target customers for interaction.
 Suppliers can reach to more number of customers in lesser amount of time.
 The online marketing campaigns can be easily tracked, traced, calculated and
tested.
 The selection process of any product or brand is simplified due to proven
online research and analysis techniques.
 Online marketing campaigns are more promotional as compared to manual
campaigns.
2. Email Marketing- Email marketing has turned out to be more efficacious and
inexpensive as compared to mail or phone based marketing strategies. Email
marketing is direct marketing which is data driven and leads to more accurate
customer response and effective fulfillment of customer needs. More attractive
features include newsletters, sending of eCoupons, eCards, provision of saving events
into calendars etc.
3. Analyzing customers buying behavior online- A CRM system provides a platform
to analyze the customers buying behavior online. This interactive strategy provides
great accuracy with high speed which includes profiling services furnishing
elaborated bits of information regarding customers purchasing habits or behavior.
Individualized analysis of this behavior also helps to identify to which product or
brand the customers are more tended. For example an online selling website
www.xyz.com can analyze the customers buying behavior by installing an in-house
service with the help of a full-fledged CRM that checks what all products are being
purchased by a particular customer and under which specific group they fall. This is
achieved by personalized analyzing the buying history of customers in the past which
predicts the future business with those customers also. This accomplishes to build a
long-term relationship with customers by properly canvassing customer needs and
resulting in customer satisfaction. Analyzing this particular buying behavior of
customers online also helps to fix or change of marketing techniques or strategies to
mould the system according to the future perspectives.
4. Forecasting future marketing strategies- Down the line marketing strategies keeps
on changing according to the emotional behavioral change of customers. CRM market
forecasting techniques help to understand this change through regression and
statistical analysis of customer behavior online. These are some complex but more
accurate analysis techniques provided by CRM system which are proved to be one of
best marketing strategies. This innovative approach is carried out with greater risks
but is believed to outturn astonishing rewards.
5. Building business impact models- It is important for an organization to have check
on marketing performance regularly so that the techniques never deteriorate and
always match to yield greater results. These CRM oriented models help in delivering
 accurate measurement of marketing performance throughout the organization and to
do better every time.

These synergistic marketing strategies make a part of CRM system to develop high-end
marketing business. Hence it is very important for an organization to incorporate them by
carefully anticipating change, testing their performance and assembling the best possible
combination of these strategies to meet the needs of the customers and maximize its
marketing growth.

What are the Importance of Demand Analysis in Business Decision Making?

Importance of Demand Analysis

1. Sales Forecasting

2. Pricing Decisions

3. Marketing Decisions

4. Production Decisions

5. Financial Decisions

1. Sales Forecasting
The demand is a basis of the sales of the product of a firm Hence, sales forecasting can be
made on the basis of demand.

For example, if demand is high, sales will be high and if demand is low sales will be low.
The firms can make different arrangements to increase or reduce production or push up sales
on the basis of sale forecast.

2. Pricing Decisions
The analysis of demand is the basis of pricing decisions of a firm. If the demand for the
product is high, the firm can charge high price, other things remaining the same. On the
contrary, if the demand is low, the firm cannot charge high price.

The demand analysis also helps the firm in profit budgeting. If demand is high price can be
charged high and profit will be high. Hence, the profit or sales, in part, depend on the demand
for a commodity.

3. Marketing Decisions
The analysis of demand helps a firm to formulate marketing decisions. The demand analysis
analyses and measures the forces determine demand.

The demand can be influenced by manipulating the factors on which consumers base their
demands, example, consumers may base their demand on attractiveness. So good packaging
may lead to an increase in demand.
4. Production Decisions
How much a firm can produce depends on its capacity, but ho could produce depends on
demand. Production is not re is no demand. But continuous production schedule salary if the
necessary if the de s than the quantity of production, new y means of promotional activities
such as demand is less demand for the product is relatively stable.

If the demand is expected to be high in future, the firm should hold more inventories.
Similarly, the personnel manager must set up recruitment and training programs to ensure
availability of different work force to produce and sell the products.

5. Financial Decisions
The demand condition in the market for firm's product affects the financial decisions as well.
If the demand for firm's product is strong and growing, the need for additional finance will be
greater.

Hence, the financial manager should make necessary arrangement to finance the growing
need of the capital.

Channels of Distribution

What Is a Distribution Channel?

A distribution channel is a chain of businesses or intermediaries through which a good or

service passes until it reaches the final buyer or the end consumer. Distribution channels can
include wholesalers, retailers, distributors, and even the internet.

Distribution channels are part of the downstream process, answering the question "How do
we get our product to the consumer?" This is in contrast to the upstream process, also known
as the supply chain, which answers the question "Who are our suppliers?"

Understanding Distribution Channels

A distribution channel is a path by which all goods and services must travel to arrive at the
intended consumer. Conversely, it also describes the pathway payments make from the end
consumer to the original vendor. Distribution channels can be short or long, and depend on
the number of intermediaries required to deliver a product or service.

Goods and services sometimes make their way to consumers through multiple channels—a
combination of short and long. Increasing the number of ways a consumer is able to find a
good can increase sales. But it can also create a complex system that sometimes
makes distribution management difficult. Longer distribution channels can also mean less
profit each intermediary charges a manufacturer for its service.

Direct and Indirect Channels

Channels are broken into two different forms—direct and indirect. A direct channel allows
the consumer to make purchases from the manufacturer while an indirect channel allows the
consumer to buy the goods from a wholesaler or retailer. Indirect channels are typical for
goods that are sold in traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
Generally, if there are more intermediaries involved in the distribution channel, the price for
a good may increase. Conversely, a direct or short channel may mean lower costs for
consumers because they are buying directly from the manufacturer.

Types of Distribution Channels

While a distribution channel may seem endless at times, there are three main types of
channels, all of which include the combination of a producer, wholesaler, retailer, and end
consumer.

The first channel is the longest because it includes all four: producer, wholesaler, retailer,
and consumer. The wine and adult beverage industry is a perfect example of this long
distribution channel. In this industry—thanks to laws born out of prohibition—a winery
cannot sell directly to a retailer. It operates in the three-tier system, meaning the law requires
the winery to first sell its product to a wholesaler who then sells to a retailer. The retailer
then sells the product to the end consumer.

The second channel cuts out the wholesaler—where the producer sells directly to a retailer
who sells the product to the end consumer. This means the second channel contains only one
intermediary. Dell, for example, is large enough to sell its products directly to reputable
retailers such as Best Buy.

The third and final channel is a direct-to-consumer model where the producer sells its
product directly to the end consumer. Amazon, which uses its own platform to sell Kindles
to its customers, is an example of a direct model. This is the shortest distribution channel
possible, cutting out both the wholesaler and the retailer.

Tele Marketing:

Definition:

Telemarketing is the act of selling, soliciting, or promoting a product or service over the

telephone; the telephone is the most cost-efficient, flexible, and statistically accountable

medium available. At the same time, the telephone is still very intimate and personal. It is

individual to individual.

Meaning:

Telemarketing is the process of using the telephone to generate leads, make sales, or gather

marketing information. Telemarketing can be a particularly valuable tool for small

businesses, in that it saves time and money as compared with personal selling, but offers

many of the same benefits in terms of direct contact with the customers.
Telemarketing is especially useful when the customers for a small business products or

services are located in hard-to-reach places, or when many prospects must be contacted in

order to find one interested in making a purchase.

Although some small businesses operate exclusively by telephone, telemarketing is most

often used as part of an overall marketing programme to tie together advertising and personal

selling efforts. For example, a company might send introductory information through the

mail, then follow-up with a telemarketing call to assess the prospect’s interest, and finally

send a salesperson to visit.

Types of Telemarketing

Telemarketing can be either inbound or outbound in scope.

Inbound Telemarketing:

It consists of handling incoming telephone calls—often generated by broadcast advertising,

direct mail, or catalogues—and taking orders for a wide range of products. The

representatives working in this type of telemarketing programme normally do not need as

much training as the outbound representatives.

Outbound Telemarketing:

It can be aimed directly at the end consumer; for example, a home repair business may call

people to search for prospects and customers. Representatives working on this side of the

industry generally require more training and product knowledge, as more actual selling is

involved in comparison to the inbound operations.

Advantages of Telemarketing:

1. Human interaction:

One of the advantages telemarketing has over other direct marketing methods is that it

involves human interaction.

2. Small businesses:
Telemarketing can be a particularly valuable tool for small businesses, in that it saves time

and money as compared to personal selling, but offers many of the same benefits in terms of

direct contact with customers.

3. Customer service:

Building a loyal client base is a fundamental factor in establishing a long- term business

success and increasing the value of the company. Telemarketing customer services can gain

repeat orders and increase the penetration of the customer base. Telemarketing has the

advantages of delivering excellent customer service.

4. Reduces cost:

As the costs of field sales continue to escalate, businesses are using telemarketing as a way to

reduce the cost of selling. It is also easier to communicate with customers. Most of the

marketing efforts are directed towards select markets, so the cost per person contacted is less.

5. Flexibility:

It is the most flexible form of direct marketing. It helps in knowing and understanding what

customers want, and are prepared to buy. Survey can be conducted with the advantages of

telemarketing, knowing what customers are looking for, the product or service, the brand,

etc.; one can constantly update the client data base.

6. Response measurement:

Response measurement is possible by knowing the effectiveness of advertising. The results

can be compared with the ones previously established, and the future plans can be based on

such results.

Disadvantages of Telemarketing:

1. An increasing number of people have become averse to telemarketing.

2. No visual contact with the customer is possible.

3. More people are using technology to screen out unwanted callers, particularly

telemarketers.

4. Government is implementing tougher measures to curb unscrupulous telemarketers.

5. If hiring an outside firm to do telemarketing, there is lesser control in the process, given

that the people doing the calls are not your employees.

6. A telephone conversation has very short memory.

7. Pre-purchase inspection of goods not possible.

8. It can be extremely expensive, particularly if telemarketing is outsourced to an outside

firm.

Direct Marketing:

What is Direct Marketing?

Direct marketing – is a type of promotion that offers the transfer of
information about а product, service, or company directly to the client.
Thus, the target audience receives all advertising information without
intermediaries and third parties.

Direct marketing is directed through advertising right to the consumers in

order to obtain from them a direct response to the appeal of advertising:
it is often viewed as one of the tools of marketing communications.

The methods of direct marketing may be aimed at two purposes in mind:

the development of a strong relationship with buyers and actually selling.

Types of direct marketing

Let’s take look at some of the most popular direct marketing methods:

1. Emails notifications
Email marketing is a simple, affordable, and measurable way to
communicate with customers. Here are some examples of effective
strategies:

 promotional emails;
  newsletters;

 trigger emails.

2. Mobile Marketing
This type of direct marketing is considered to be 4-5 times more effective
than any other form of online advertising. It is based on sending out
promotional materials to your mobile devices. With the help of mobile
marketing, marketers for instance talk about current offers, sales, or
inform buyers about the status of their orders.

3. Push notifications
Push notifications are messages sent to users via a browser, which appear
in the corner of a mobile screen or computer. Push notifications allow
marketers to interact with potential customers person-to-person. There is
no need to collect email addresses or other personal data because
subscribers are identified by information stored in the used browser.

However, don’t forget to remember the possible risks while sending push
notifications, for instance, they can become intrusive or even be
considered spammy, which will scare users away. Intrusive notifications
will only force users to unsubscribe. Also, push notifications have setted
character limit, where the title can’t exceed 64 characters and the text –
240 characters. Therefore, take care of the relevance and usefulness of
your content to raise interest. What is more, keep in mind that these
notifications are displayed only once and it will be difficult to find them
again.

4. Messenger marketing
With this type of direct marketing, you can create a chatbot for popular
messengers such as Telegram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp. Chatbots
help brands automate answers to frequently asked questions from
customers, allow them to place orders, and book a table in chat, as well as
to learn more about the company.
There are some more types of direct marketing like social media where
brands promote and expand their audience through social media,
telemarketing where you call the potential customers to sell specific
services or products, direct sales where you send the company
promotional materials that are aimed at promoting the brand, products,
and services and so on. The list doesn’t end here though, there are
several other types of direct marketing that companies use.

Why go for direct marketing?

In the past, direct marketing was considered to be a lottery: you shot and
hoped to hit someone. Currently, direct marketing strategies become a lot
more integrated and reliable. Here come the reasons why you should
implement them:

 Boost the process of attracting leads: Direct marketing campaigns

allow you to quickly connect with your target audience and make the right
offer at the right time.

Using direct marketing enables you to reach certain customer segments

with personalized messages. What is more, you can optimize your
marketing efforts by devoting your time to study and determining the
clients who are most likely to need or wаnt your goods and services.

А well-targeted direct marketing strategy would also give you a clear view
of how your clients respond to your offerings.

 Allows you to send personalized content: Marketers collect

information such as age, income, behavioral factors in order to send
personalized messages. Thus, with relatively small effort, brands show
interest in every customer.

By using direct marketing correctly, you can build long, trusting

relationships with the target audience. You communicate directly with the
customer, who will gladly tell you what you like and what you don’t like.
Try to make a personal promotional offer and there is no way for the client
to refuse.

 Promotes effective marketing of services and products: Unlike

other strategies, direct marketing allows you to create targeted
campaigns to attract highly motivated potential customers. This ensures
maximum efficiency when sending promotional emails to a segmented
audience.

For instance, to identify the demand for a certain product you have an
opportunity to communicate directly, find out the attitude towards a
product or service, adjust the commercial offer and the messages on the
site – to make the potential buyer feel like you foresee his desires.

 Easy to measure the performance: Brands track the success of their

campaigns based on metrics such as customer response rates, revenue
 generated, and ROI. What’s more, direct marketing lets you know how
much customers are willing to spend on certain products or services.

It is measured by an increase or decrease in audience activity: reviews,

comments on social networks, actual purchases.

Direct marketing opens up great opportunities for planning your budget,

by analyzing the performance of the previous campaigns.

4 key components of successful direct marketing

1. Contact database
So, what is a contact database? It is the key component without which
direct marketing is literally impossible; the collection of records containing
information about customers, both potential and existing (btw, just for the
record, the process of creating, maintaining, and using databases is called
database marketing).

With a quality contact database, the company has a chance to interact

with thousands of clients simultaneously and at the same time, with each
consumer individually.

2. Unique offer
A lot of people are convinced that offers are actually goods and services,
which are introduced or could be introduced by a company on the market.
This may be so, but not in direct marketing!

An offer is basically a deal you make, usually including a specially low

price, an exclusive bonus, or maybe an opportunity to try a product for
free during a certain period. Your proposal is the essence (core task) of
every interaction with your target audience. Therefore, you must make
the offer as unique and attractive as possible.

For example, take a look at how Deezer, which is an online music

streaming service, gives you an opportunity to use their Premium account
services for free for 3 months. They included minimum text emphasizing
their unique deal, put visible CTA (call-to-action) on the email, and added
an extra bonus for people who want something different (in this case it is
a family package that allows connecting more than one account for a
smaller price). In addition, they even made links that will lead you right to
downloading their applications, depending on the type of device you use.

3. Creative
The aim of the creative part is to make offers as tempting as possible, to
evoke emotions in the consumer, which will lead to a wanted response.
Let’s take a look at some great creative visual support introduced by
famous brands:

Even though creativity in direct marketing does not rank as highly as a

database or offer, it cannot be neglected. With a high-quality database
and worthwhile offer, a great creative will significantly increase the
response rates.

The creative is basically the content of the text and design (layout) of an
offer.

4. Communication method
The means of communication are actually the media component of direct
marketing, namely, they are responsible for how the key idea of the
proposal will be conveyed to the target segment.

There are a lot of ways to transfer your message to the client: orally(real-
life or online meetings), in writing(emails, social media, and texting
campaigns), or visually(by making sure that there is strong visual support
to your offer).