Lecture 11 - Marketing

Question 1

What is marketing

Answer 1

• Marketing refers to activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service.
• Marketing includes advertising, selling, pricing and delivering products to consumers or other businesses.
• Some marketing is done by affiliates on behalf of a company.
• Marketing is importantbecause it helps businesses sell their products or services.
• The bottom line of any business is to make money and marketing is an essential channel to reach that end goal.

Question 2

What are the 4 Ps of marketing

Answer 2

• Place
• Price
• Product
• Promotion

Question 3

Product

Answer 3

• Product is one of the most crucial principles of marketing. The product can either be a service provided or goods.
• To sell a product that is going to be profitable then need to do thorough research and understand the customer and what is likely to appeal to them.
• Businesses need to consider the quality of their product, how safe the product is, and what its selling point is.
• Get the product wrong and the remaining marketing mix is useless.
• Customers are not stupid, they may try something once attracted by a slick marketing campaign or cheap price but if it’s a bad product or service they wont try it again.

Question 4

Price

Answer 4

• This needs thorough market research, known as market-orientated pricing.
• It is important to understand what customers are willing to pay and the price of the same type of product offered by competitors.
• Businesses need to determine the market value before setting a price. This is done through market research.

Question 5

Pricing strategies

Answer 5

• Premium pricing
  high price is used as a defining criterion. Such pricing strategies work in segments and industries where a strong competitive advantage exists for the company.
• Penetration pricing
  price is set artificially low to gain market share quickly. This is done when a new product is being launched. It is understood that prices will be raised once the promotion period is over and market share objectives are achieved.
• Economy pricing
  no-frills price. Margins are wafer thin; overheads like marketing and advertising costs are very low.
• Skimming Pricing
  high price is charged for a product till such time as competitors allow after which prices can be dropped.

Question 6

Place

Answer 6

• This is where products or services are available to the customer, whether this is a shop, app or an online website, or all.
• What is convenient for the customers in terms of location and how to connect to potential customers from the selected location.
• As more people use the internet and apps to source products and services, a digital presence is now key to commercial success.
• The traditional shop face to face customers is receding fast.

Question 7

Promotion

Answer 7

• This involves raising awareness about of company, brand, products or services offered.
• Companies should be giving information about their products and reasons to use them.
• It involves communicating with target audience and making your product appeal to them.
• Effectively promoting of product or services is crucial for the success of any business.

Question 8

Ways to promote

Answer 8

• Advertisement –This may include social media, television or magazine advertisements.
• Email marketing –This involves communicating or advertising through emails.
• Sales promotions –This may include short-term promotions, or deals for customers or prospective customers.
• Search marketing –Search marketing is generating leads from search engines in order to drive website traffic to your website or product.
• Direct marketing –This is when you directly reach out to your target audience.
• Public relations –This involves presenting a favourable image of your brand.
• Social Media, Celebrity Influencers, endorsements, sponsorship, guerrilla marketing

Question 9

What are the 3 extra Ps of the marketing mix

Answer 9

• Physical evidence
• Positioning
• People

Question 10

Physical evidence

Answer 10

• People form their first impression within the first 30 seconds of seeing some element of your company.
• Small improvements in the packaging or external appearance of a product or service can often lead to completely different reactions from customers.
• This could involve a rebranding: Facebook to Meta. Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC.

Question 11

Positioning

Answer 11

• Companies should develop the habit of thinking continually about how they are positioned in the hearts and minds of your customers.
• How do people think and talk about your company? What positioning do you have in your market, in terms of the specific words people use when they describe you and your offerings to others?
• Surveys and customer data are used to determine this.

Question 12

People

Answer 12

• Businesses need to think in terms of the people inside and outside of their business who are responsible for every element of their sales,marketing strategies, and activities.
• To be successful in business, they must develop the habit of thinking in terms of exactly who is going to carry out each task and responsibility.
• In many cases, it’s not possible to move forward until a business can attract and put the right person into the right position.
• Many of the best business plans ever developed sit on shelves today because the people who created them could not find the key people who could execute those plans.

Question 13

Barriers to marketing opportunities

Answer 13

• Lack of funds
• Organisational barriers
• Lack of in-depth analysis
• Confusion between process and output
• Lack of knowledge skills
• Lack of systematic approach to marketing planning
• Failure to prioritise objectives
• Hostile corporate cultures to changing the marketing approach

Question 14

What is socially responsible marketing (SRM)

Answer 14

sometimes referred to as ethical corporate marketing or green marketing, refers to the practices that some companies adopt to acknowledge the larger social and environmental impacts of their products and services.
process by which companies market their goods and services by focusing not only on how their products benefit customers, but also how they benefit socially responsible or environmental causes.
These practices fall under the remit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Question 15

What is socially irresponsible marketing (SIM)

Answer 15

more commonly referred to as greenwashing, the practice of masking poor social/environmental records with deceptive campaigns that falsely tout responsible behaviours or commitments.

Question 16

Advantages of SRM

Answer 16

• Ethical marketing helps increase retention because employees feel eager and willing to help sell the product or service.
• A transparent company that promotes responsible marketing can provide a sense of purpose to workers and worth to society.
• Social responsibility in marketing involves focusing efforts on attracting consumers who want to make a positive difference with their purchases.
• Many companies have adopted socially responsible elements in their marketing strategies as a means to help a community via beneficial services and products.