Evolution of Marketing

• Marketing fundamentally understands and addresses customer needs.
• Marketing is the sole business aspect entirely focused on customer needs.
• It shapes products and services via customer conversation, aligning with customer desires.
• Marketing guides the delivery of need-satisfying solutions.

Evolution of Marketing

• Marketing has progressed through distinct phases, each with novel approaches to meeting customer needs.

• Production Era focused on manufacturing volume.

• Customers chose products by availability, not wide selection.

• Sales Era utilized aggressive selling due to growing competition.

• Customers had increased choice, and sales tactics became key.

• The Marketing Company Era shifted to understanding customer needs with a comprehensive approach.

• The Societal Marketing Era included social responsibility, considering societal impacts.

• Beyond customers, suppliers, and competition, broader impacts were considered.

• The Relationship Marketing Era prioritized long-term relationships and customer retention over acquisition.

Key Marketing Terms

• Exchange involves trading something for something of greater value.
• Customer Value balances benefits gained against the cost or effort to obtain them.
• Market Segments are groups with similar needs targeted by marketing strategies.
• Relationship Building grows market share via attracting, increasing business with, and retaining customers.
• The Marketing Mix consists of the 4 Ps.
• Product refers to the goods or services offered.
• Price defines the consumer cost.
• Place indicates distribution channels.
• Promotion is used to raise awareness and encourage demand.

Why Marketing Matters

• Marketing spans the entire business process, not just sales/advertising.
• Marketing careers are competitive and rewarding beyond traditional business roles.
• Marketing requires analytical and communication skills, useful for business careers.
• Understanding marketing empowers consumers to demand better products and services.

External Environment of Marketing

• The external marketing environment has uncontrollable factors impacting marketing strategies.
• Competitive Factors include direct competitors with similar offerings.
• Substitutes fulfill similar needs differently.
• New Entrants are emerging companies.
• Suppliers provide production products and may charge a premium.
• Buyers seek the best value when making their purchases.
• Regulatory Factors require marketers to understand laws, which present opportunities or threats.
• The Competition Bureau oversees marketplace laws federally.
• Self-regulation is voluntary programs used by groups to regulate activities.
• Economic Factors include inflation and recessions that affect marketing strategies.
• Purchasing Power is the ability for consumers to buy goods.
• Discretionary Income is the income left after basic necessities.
• Inflation is the decline in money value over time.
• A Recession is an economic decline decreasing demand.
• Social Factors include trends like demographics that influence marketing strategies.
• Component Lifestyles select products meeting diverse needs, not traditional choices.
• Demographic Trends include Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers, with different values and consumption patterns.
• Technological Factors advance competition, requiring adaptation to stay relevant.
• Basic Research enhances pure understanding.
• Applied Research improves products or services practically.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics in Business

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a company’s commitment to societal and environmental contributions, balancing profit with concerns.
• Triple Bottom Line focuses on profit while benefiting people and the planet.
• Ethics are moral principles that guide business conduct and are shaped by societal values.
• A code of ethics helps employees navigate ethical decisions.
• Ethical decision-making considers the consequences of actions.
• Rules/Laws also guide behavior.
• Moral Development places individuals at different stages of moral reasoning.
• Green Marketing focuses on developing eco-friendly products.
• Social Acceleration is rapid innovation from consumer demand, increasing living standards but also presents socio-environmental challenges.

Importance of Strategic Planning and a Business Mission Statement

• Strategic marketing planning guides marketing strategies, helping marketers anticipate objectives and actions needed.
• It serves as a roadmap for evaluating performance.
• A mission statement defines market focus, customer benefits, and how the business will address needs.
• It sets boundaries for decisions, focusing on the market over the product.

Conducting a Business Portfolio Analysis

• SWOT Analysis identifies internal strengths and weaknesses along with external opportunities and threats.
• Environmental scanning identifies factors affecting the business.
• Market strategies like market penetration, development, product development, and diversification guide growth.

Types of Competitive Advantages

• Cost Competitive Advantage involves low-cost strategies.
• Efficient labor, economies of scale, or product designs are a few such strategies.
• Product/Service Differentiation offers unique value beyond just price.
• Niche Competitive Advantage focuses on serving a defined market segment.
• Sustainable Competitive Advantage is a long-lasting edge others cannot replicate.

Business Planning for Competitive Advantage

• Developing advantage involves assessing unique features appealing to the target market.
• Sources can be cost, differentiation, or niche strategies.
• The goal is a sustainable advantage hard for competitors to copy.

Marketing Planning, Target Market, and the Marketing Mix

• Target market strategy focuses on specific market segments.
• The marketing mix (4 Ps) creates strategies meeting market needs.
• Marketing objectives describe what marketing activities aim to achieve.
• Market Opportunity Analysis (MOA) evaluates the size, potential, and competition in market segments.

Importance of Implementation, Evaluation, and Control

• Implementation ensures the marketing plan is effectively carried out.
• Evaluation assesses whether marketing objectives have been achieved.
• Control ensures corrective measures are taken when necessary.

Techniques for Effective Strategic Planning

• Strategic planning is ongoing and requires creativity to adapt.
• Top management support and cooperation are essential for the success of plans.

Marketing Research vs. Marketing Analytics

• Marketing Research plans, collects, and analyzes data to solve marketing problems.
• Marketing research roles include descriptive, diagnostic, and predictive practices.
• Marketing Analytics uses data to optimize marketing decisions.

Steps in the Marketing Research Process

• Identify the problem.
• Choose the research design.
• Decide on secondary and primary data collection methods.
• Collect the data.
• Analyze the data.
• Present the report and follow up on how the data influences decisions.

Research Design Types

• Exploratory Research aims to understand a problem.
• Descriptive Research describes characteristics.
• Causal Research focuses on cause-and-effect relationships.

Data Types

• Secondary Data is pre-collected for another purpose.
• Primary Data is newly collected to solve the specific problem.

Research Methods

• Surveys, depth interviews, focus groups, observational research are primary.
• Ethnographic Research observes people in their natural environment.

Technology's Impact

• Online surveys and social media data have made data collection easier.
• Big Data refers to masses of data analyzed for trends.

Using Marketing Analytics for Strategy

• Analytics helps in understanding customers and developing strategies.
• Data Mining and Sentiment Analysis are key tools.

Concerns about Data Use

• Intrusiveness and data sharing without awareness are common concerns.

When to Use Marketing Research or Analytics

• Prior to conducting research, assesses costs vs benefits.

Importance of Understanding Consumer Behavior

• Understanding consumer behavior helps marketers design a targeted approach and predict buying behaviors.

Consumer Decision-Making Process

• Need Recognition precedes Information Search.
• Information Search can be internal or external.
• Evaluation of Alternatives follows.
• A Purchase Decision is then made before Post-Purchase Evaluation.

Types of Consumer Buying Decisions

• Routine Response Behavior involves little effort, like frequent purchases.
• Limited Decision Making occurs for occasional purchases.
• Extensive Decision Making involves complex decisions like buying high-cost items.

Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Decisions

• Cultural: culture, subculture, and social class
• Social: reference groups, opinion leaders, and family
• Individual: gender, age, family life cycle, personality, and lifestyle
• Psychological: perception, motivation, learning, beliefs, and attitudes

Cultural Influences

• Culture and subcultures influence consumer choices.
• Social class and reference groups also shape behavior.

Individual Factors

• Age, family stage, personality, and lifestyle impact decisions.
• Self-Concept is the act of consumers purchasing products that reflect their ideal image.

Psychological Factors

• Perception and motivation guide consumer actions.
• Learning influences behavior over time.
• This chapter highlights the complex factors that drive consumer behavior.
• This understanding helps marketers understand how consumers make purchase decisions and how they use products after purchasing.