Keeping ahead of competition
Competition is a good thing for the public at large, as they always participate in the benefits resulting from a price war, between competing dealers in the same line of goods.
Dealers are never satisfied by the outcome and the strategy that they have to take out in order to survive the price war, because they see their profits drop down to a small point, through the cutting-down profit influences which competition brings.
There are several strategies that companies can use to stay ahead of competition for example obtaining a new product before competitors, a recent example would be (O2 obtaining iphone handsets before other networks in the UK), this strategy draws the attention of many people that are in the market for such a product and therefore brings in a large amount of customers to the company.
Spotting trends in the market at an early stage could be a major benefit for companies because they can take action on selling or promoting their services or products before competitors.
Building and maintaining a good reputation is a another way of keeping ahead of competition because of the branding of the companies products as well as the customers who will recognise the company and become loyal in terms of buying and using the companies services.
Communicating effectively with consumers
Customers are more likely to choose a company that has a reputation and a history of treating consumers fairly and meeting demand. Companies that offer after sales care;long warranties or any other extra services that ensure the quality of the products are more likely to have a good rate of returning customers. Meeting customer demand and having a satisfactory service is a great way of showing the relationship between consumer and producer.
Utilising New Technology
With the advances in new technology, it has become much easier for small or large companies to advertise online. Technologies such as podcasting, Twitter and blogs offer huge potential for marketing purposes. However, technology can also be harmful to a company’s image if it is not applied in the proper manner. The key is to understand the company’s target market. Identifying who they are, what type of technology they use on a daily basis, and what motivates them could help a company in successfully advertising online.
Marketing Functions
Marketing functions act as a step-by-step guide to achieving the marketing principles. The first step of marketing functions would be to establish a distinctive identity for a product or organisation. Nowadays competition is fierce there are millions of products on the market and the majority of products contain the same features and functions, therefore it has become more and more important for companies to find new ways to make their products more distinctive then products produced by rival companies. Companies can do so by producing new distinctive product designs, new logo’s, creating an interesting advertising campaign etc. Some companies try to create a new corporate image. There are several different ways of creating a distinctive image, for example a company focusing on becoming ECO friendly or a company supporting local farmers etc.
The second step would be to plan, coordinate and monitor the marketing mix. Organisations have to distribute their resources between the different stages of the marketing mix. For example putting time, money and effort in the product produced, in which case if a company were set to release a new product they’d have to figure out ways of selling a vast amount of the previous product that’s already available for sale in order to release the new one. Companies can do so by dropping the price of the previous product or making special limited time offers that would appeal to customers and encourage them to buy the old product.
The third step is to coordinate marketing activities effectively. Companies will have to make sure that the product set to be released is well designed and produced, and is appealing to the target market. When a company decides to launch a new product the marketing department has to make sure that all products will be ready on time, the distribution department is fully aware of the nature of the product in order to store it and deliver the product successfully, the sales team needs to be well informed of the products price, features, benefits and launch promotions etc. All marketing activities have to be well setup and executed, for example making sure that there are enough products to meet customer demand etc.
The final step in the marketing function would be to manage changes in technology, competition and consumer taste. Marketers have a variety of analytic techniques that they use in order to determine changes in the market. All the techniques put together are called situational analysis, this includes the products lifecycle and portfolio analysis, pestle analysis, competitors and competition analysis etc.
Marketing Activities
Marketing activities are the actions taken by the marketing team to achieve the set objectives. Day-to-day jobs such as conducting market research for new products and promotional ideas, creating promotional campaigns by producing TV commercials, booking airtime, networking, doing PR work etc. are all part of the different activities that the marketing team do in order to achieve the set objectives. A plan is written to support any marketing objectives; a typical plan would include all the activities that the marketing team will have to do. Also the plan can be used as a guideline to judge the performance of the marketing team and their achievements.
The Marketing Mix
Product
Finding out how to make the product, setting up the production line, providing the finance and the product are not the responsibility of the . However, it is concerned with what the product means to the customer. Marketing therefore plays a key role in determining such aspects as:
- the appearance of the product - in line with the requirements of the market
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the function of the product - products must address the needs of as identified through
The and how it is used is a function of the marketing mix. The range may be broadened or a may be extended for reasons, such as matching competition or catering for seasonal fluctuations. Alternatively, a product may be repositioned to make it more acceptable for a new group of consumers as part of a long-term plan.
Price
The price of an item is clearly an important determinant of the value of sales made. In theory, price is really determined by the discovery of what customers perceive is the value of the item on sale. Researching consumers' opinions about pricing is important as it indicates how they value what they are looking for as well as what they want to pay. An pricing will vary according to time and circumstances.
Place
Although figures vary widely from product to product, roughly a fifth of the goes on getting it to the customer. 'Place' is concerned with various methods of transporting and storing goods, and then making them available for the customer. Getting the right product to the right place at the right time involves the distribution system. The choice of distribution method will depend on a variety of circumstances. It will be more convenient for some to sell to wholesalers who then sell to retailers, while others will prefer to sell directly to retailers or customers.
Promotion
Promotion is the business of . It will provide information that will assist them in making a decision to purchase a product or service. The razzmatazz, pace and creativity of some promotional activities are almost alien to normal business activities.
The cost associated with promotion or advertising goods and services often represents a sizeable proportion of the overall cost of producing an item. However, successful promotion increases sales so that advertising and other costs are spread over a larger output. Though increased promotional activity is often a sign of a response to a problem such as activity, it enables an organisation to develop and build up a succession of messages and can be extremely cost-effective.
The Limitations and Constraints of Marketing
Accurate, up-to-date information obtained by marketing research can be of enormous value to an organisation in gaining and/or maintaining its competitive edge. However, there are a number of reasons why these potential benefits may not be realised:
Budgetary constraints – gathering and processing data can be very expensive. Many organisations may lack the expertise to conduct extensive surveys to gather primary data, whatever the potential benefits, and also lack the funds to pay specialist market research agencies to gather such data for them. In these cases, organisations may be forced to rely on data that is less than ‘perfect’ but that can be accessed more cheaply, e.g., from secondary sources
Time constraints – organisations are often forced to balance the need to build up as detailed a picture as possible regarding customer needs etc. against the desire to make decisions as quickly as possible, in order to maintain or improve their position in the market
Reliability of the data – the valueof any research findings depend critically on the accuracy of the data collected. Data quality can be compromised by a number of potential routes, e.g., leading questions, unrepresentative samples, biased interviewers etc. Efforts to ensure that data is accurate, samples are representative and interviewers are objective will all add to the costs of the research but such costs are necessary if poor decisions and expensive mistakes are to be avoided.
Legal & ethical constraints – the Data Protection Act (1998) is a good example of a law that has a number of implications for market researchers collecting and holding personal data. For instance, researchers must ensure that the data they obtain is kept secure, is only used for lawful purposes and is only kept for as long as it is necessary. It must be made clear as to why data is being collected and the consent of participants must be obtained. In addition to this, there are a number of guidelines, laid down by such organisations as the Market Research Society, that, although not legally binding, encourage organisations to behave ethically when dealing with members of the public.
