Larger organisations will most likely have their own separate marketing department that will take the whole workload for marketing. No matter how a marketing department is organised, it must be well co-ordinated and managed, so that people know what is going on and who is doing what. There must also be well-defined lines of communication with other departments throughout the company.
As Kellogg’s is a large organisation, they have a separate marketing department. It will co-ordinate activities with the other departments of the business so that each marketing task will be met. For example, the marketing department will have to work with the Finance function to organise the funds available, and the funds needed to carry out any marketing activities. They will also need to work with the Human Resources department to provide the correct number of properly trained staff necessary to complete the different tasks required.
ADOPTING A MARKETING APPROACH - There are two main marketing approaches that businesses use; Product Oriented and Customer Oriented. The product-oriented approach focuses on the product and not the market. It does not take into consideration the views/opinions of the customers. The company may believe that their product is the best on the market, seeing no need for further changes or improvements. However, following the product-oriented approach can lead to the downfall of a company, particularly if they are functioning in a highly competitive and rapidly changing market. The customer-oriented approach involves a company being in a constant state of development; assessing and responding to all changes in the market, in order for them to stay ahead of their competitors. This type of company will have a greatly developed marketing strategy, acknowledging customers' needs and expectations. The main aim of this approach is to find out what customers want; what causes them to buy different products; and what the product or service means to them as a consumer. All decisions are market-led and realising that the profitability of a product relies on meeting all the needs of the consumers.
I think that our marketing strategy for fruit winders would be mainly customer oriented, looking at how we can improve the product in order to meet customer requirements and boost sales. When we have carried out our market research, we can look at what the customers think of the products and then adopt and adapt our marketing approach to help meet their many different needs and expectations.
EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS -In marketing, there needs to be effective lines of communication between both the company and its customers. This will begin firstly with the company listening to what customers need and what they think about the products/services. The business will then communicate to the customer through advertising, sales promotions etc, aiming at a specific target market. The information that the consumers will need to know before buying a product will include:
- That the product exists.
- Where it can be bought
- Details about the product/service itself, as well as its price and features
- Information to evaluate whether it meets the prospective customers needs.
There can sometimes be a problem with making sure effective communication takes place, for example other consumers opinions, and critics and reviewers etc. Kellogg’s must also be aware that any impartial advice given to customers by the media or other agencies can support or damage its own marketing communications
In my marketing strategy for Fruit winders, I think we will include a type of promotional campaign. We will consider all different areas of the media for promoting the products, for example, television, radio, newspapers and magazines etc. we will also take very much into consideration what consumers think, to make sure we provide sufficient information in a variety of different ways.
CONSTRAINTS - Businesses will find that there are constraints on all aspects of marketing activities because customers often want what is out of reach for the company. Below is a list of different requirements that customers have:
- High quality goods and services
- Low prices.
- Choice.
- Efficient and convenient distribution.
- Imaginatively presented, detailed information about the products.
- The latest technology.
It is often too expensive for companies to meet all of these needs, which may require frequent changes in production methods and the standard of service etc. All of these things will affect the company's ability to maintain its productivity and ultimately its profitability.
I will have to strongly consider what the customers want in our products, before we design our marketing plan. We will also have to consider the fact that we may not be able to meet all of their expectations due to factors such as cost and resources etc.
