Marketing Definition

Definition of Marketing

• Marketing goes beyond sales tactics and strategically focuses on creating, delivering, and communicating value to customers.
• Kotler & Armstrong define marketing as creating value for customers and building strong relationships in order to capture value in return.
• Value creation should benefit both the customer and the firm.
• Marketing adapts to market conditions, tech, and consumer behavior. It is not static.
• Modern marketing encompasses market research, product development, pricing, distribution, promotion, advertising and CRM.
• The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings with value for customers, clients, partners, and society.
• Marketing impacts direct customers and the broader ecosystem.
• Historically it evolved from a product-centric approach during the production era
• There was a focus on efficiency and mass production.
• The focus shifted to sales and promotion in the sales era.
• It led to the marketing concept, which emphasizes customer satisfaction for achieving organizational goals.
• Digital technologies and customer relationships have recently transformed the marketing scene.
• The digital marketing era introduced new channels and tools including social media, SEO, email, and mobile marketing.
• There has been a rise in the building of long-term customer relationships which can be done through personalised experiences, loyalty programs, and proactive customer service, is rising.
• Customer relationship management (CRM) acknowledges that retaining existing customers is often more economical than acquiring new ones.
• The 4Ps of Marketing (Product, Price, Place, Promotion), or the Marketing Mix, is a foundational framework.
• It has been criticized as being too product-centric and failing to capture all aspects of modern marketing.
• Value is co-created through interactions with customers, according to the Service-Dominant Logic (SDL) framework.
• Understanding the customer is important along with involving them in the product/service design and delivery.
• The importance of ethical and socially responsible marketing is emphasized by marketing ethics.
• Deceptive advertising should be avoided, customer privacy should be protected, and sustainable practices should be promoted.
• Ethical marketing practices build company reputation and customer trust.

The Marketing Process

• The marketing process is structured and iterative for planning, implementing, and controlling marketing activities.
• Aims at achieving specific marketing objectives and contributing to organization's success.
• The process requires consistent adaption based on data and feedback.
• The marketing process can be divided into key stages with its own set of activities and considerations.
• Situation Analysis: Comprehensive analysis of the current market environment.
• SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analyzes' internal and external factors.
• It is important to conduct research at this stage for understanding customer preferences, needs and behaviors.
• Primary research methods include experiments, focus groups and surveys.
• Secondary research methods include analyzing competitor data and industry reports.
• The goal is to identify potential opportunities and threats in the marketplace.
• Analysis must involve competitor's strategies, market share, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Tools like Porter's Five Forces model assesses the intensity of the competitive industry.
• Target Market Selection and Positioning: Select the target market for the organization to focus on.
• Involves segmenting the market based on behavioral, psychographic, and demographic factors.
• Evaluate each segment based on attractiveness, growth potential, and size.
• Select the best segment for the organization to serve.
• Develop a positioning strategy once selected.
• Create something unique for the product/service for the target customers.
• The positioning strategy must highlight the key benefits and differentiate it from its competition.
• Effective positioning relies on a strong value proposition.
• Marketing Mix Development (4Ps/7Ps): Develop the marketing mix with the target market/positioning strategy defined.
• Marketing Mix includes the tactical tools the organization uses for implementing strategies.
• Traditional mix includes Product, Price, Place (Distribution), and Promotion.
• A 7Ps model which includes People, Process, and Physical Evidence is often used for service-based businesses.
• Product decisions involve defining benefits, features, quality, of the product/service.
• Price decisions include determining the optimal price point.
• Place decisions involve selecting the appropriate distributions.
• Promotion decisions communicating the value proposition.
• People refers to the staff/personnel involved in delivering the service.
• Process refers to the activities flow and procedures, by which the service is delivered.
• Physical evidence refers to any tangible good that facilitates performance/communication of the service.
• Marketing Plan Development: Develop a written document for outlining the organization's marketing objectives and tactics.
• A detailed description involves a description of the target market, budget, the timeline for implementation, and positioning strategy.
• It measures performance through framework, and serves as roadmap for team.
• Activities must align with organizations main goals.
• The marketing plan must be realistic, measurable, and flexible.
• Implementation and Control: Final stage is putting the marketing plan into action while monitoring.
• Monitor key metrics, customer satisfaction, sales, and brand awareness.
• Evaluation must be regular in order to identify aspects of the plan that need changing.
• Take necessary actions to ensure all marketing objectives are fulfilled.
• Continously adapt the marketing plan with new conditions and opportunities.
• Automation marketing tools streamline the implementation and control process.
• Marketing process is ultimately a iterative/dynamic approach which required a continuous evaluation.
• Organizations can plan effectively, implement, implement, and control marketing activities in order to increase customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, ultimately gaining profitability.
• For success in today's marketplace, a strong digital marketing techniques and customer relationship management are crucial.

Understanding the Marketplace and Customer Needs

• Essential for crafting and executing successful market strategies.
• Marketplace is where buyers and sellers exchange information, services, goods and ideas.
• Diverse areas ranging from online marketplaces, physical retail, social media platforms, and pop-up shops.
• Factors include prevailing market trends, overall market size, regulatory landscape, growth rate, tech disruptions and socio-cultural influences.
• Customer Needs: Needs satisfy the goods through acquisition/consumption of products and services.
• Psychological needs are self-actualization, emotional needs are safety, social needs are belonging, functional needs are efficient communication
• Hierarchy of needs are based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
• It varies on acceptance and status.
• Maslow suggests human needs varies food, water, shelter and self-esteem
• Alderfer's ERG theory offer a optional on needs categorization.
• Market research initiatives help organizations to gain a actionable understanding.
• Research methodologies consists of quantitative/qualitative surveys.
• Focus groups and observational studies help the prevalence and relationships.
• Research's objective would be understand customer pain points, track evolving preferences, identify unmet needs and uncover latent opportunities.
• Distinguish wants, demands and needs.
• Demands = wants + purchasing power
• Needs = human requirements.
• Wants = specific food.
• Marketers need to tailor create value/effectively tailor offerings.
• Building customer relationships/achieving a advantage consists of marketers building relationships and specific value in order to meet demands.

Marketing Management

• Kotler and Armstrong defines management as an art/science which involves a analyzing, formulating and implementing.
• It uses it to cultivate relationships for those markets and selection of target markets.
• Effective marketing management needs a customer-centric approach with a singular focus.
• It is not simply about a building relationship which benefits those markets.
• Key decisions includes selecting target markets and positioning product/services.
• Target market must server the overall market that they can serve with their resources.
• Includes a wide variety of factors in which can service most effectively and profitably.
• Identify attractive factors based on profitability, accessibility, size, growth rate.
• Position a distinct image of product of service with target customers for competitive offerings.
• Identifying a unique selling proposition (USP) must communicate effectively to target market for effective marketing.
• Consistent positioning reinforced through marketing communications.
• Marketing Mix also states the 4Ps of Marketing.
• All tools must be controllable, set and produce a response.
• Tools includes distribution, product, place and promotion.
• Decisions influence the benefits, design features of the product/services.
• Pricing influences the customers based on factors.

Marketing Management Concepts

• They guide organizations in their marketing endeavors.
• concepts have evolved according to technological advancements, market dynamics and understanding of consumers
• They are essential for creating strategies which resonate with target audiences.
• Production Concept Availability and affordability are prioritized by consumer.
• Focus on reducing costs/maximizing efficiency.
• It is particularly relevant with high costs/demand in developing nations.
• Blindly neglecting services affect quality.
• A historical example would be Henry Ford's standardization where demands eventually became unsuccessful.
• The product emphasizes its quality which leads to marketing myopia.
• Management should use resources to for research.
• Company focus should revolve a around whats intended.
• A example would be megapixels improvement in the camera industry with growing smartphones.
• The selling takes a approach with those who don't purchase the products
• Companies should do something when organizations undertake efforts in sale/promotion.
• Heavily relying on techniques with short term incentives.
• It effective in generating immediate goals but is often negative and neglects long-term goals.
• The marketing goal represents a emphasis on organizational goals.
• Depend on understanding needs and wants of more customers.
• Companies prioritize for long term trust between people.
• Classic example is procter and gamble since their heavily invested with what people need.
• Social marketing has a broader consideration of society.
• Delivering value customer way that maintains both consumer/society.
• sustainable marketing emphasizes the business.

Customer Relationship Management

• CRM focuses on managing and optimizing interactions/relationships a company has with prospects/customers.
• It encompasses functions for enhancing customer satisfaction.
• CRM represents a fundamental shift in business philosophy for prioritizing customers as its central focus.
• The core objective for understanding behaviour/desires.
• Helps enable companies to deliver personalized experiences.
• Effective CRM involved a various collecting/analysing of data.
• Data would then helps to segment customers.
• Systems has a range of functionalities of automating.
• Management allows companies to track interactions.
• Streamlines their automation enables to manage accounts.
• Resolves services with representatives.
• A customers first implementation requires a providing a customer service.
• Employees empower it for continuous skills with ongoing training.
• Establish a clear process of innovation.
• Zappos are well known for their commitment to having customer service.
• Loyalty increased with value a enhanced of benefits
• More loyalty and repeat business.
• Understanding the needs for building strong needs.
• CRM aligns with relationship marketing theory.
• Challenges includes privacy and integration issues.
• AI technologies and machine will provide a greater accuracy.

Partner Relationship Management

• It is a strategy for optimizing and collaborating.
• Extends the benefits from relationships.
• A business philosophy which recognizes the role.
• Goal to equip partner with necessary tools.
• Key Elements*
• Partner should quickly integrate with skills.
• Comprehensive is essential.
• Marketing strategies should be covered.
• Clear and communication should be available.
• Helps keep partners information and news company.
• Partner portals is helpful with support.
• Providing sales/access can significantly enhance effectiveness.
• Customizes with research data.
• Tracking incentives increases.
• Automate several reports through several relations.
• Includes partnership.