Marketing Value

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

The analysis of marketing would be based on Pentax Optio T10 by using the Value exchange model to show the activities of facilitate the exchange of value, which, focusing on “understanding value” and “configuring value”.

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Marketing is basically identifying and meeting people’s needs, demands. Marketing landscape is one of the major influences due to the fact that economic circumstances, social and technical infrastructure may have impact upon types of marketing activities that the organization would make. Pentax would focus on the product orientation as the major purpose of company is the cameras. Gabbott (2004, P.10) “A product orientation focuses an organization’s activities on the design, manufacture and delivery of products.” However, to prevent marketing myopia, Pentax should not be too heavily focused on the technology of the digital camera. Nowadays, consumers do not always buy the cheapest camera available; they tend to give different positions to different brand of cameras. Therefore, we should take action against the branding of Pentax Optio T10.

For Pentax, restricted exchange is mostly applies, where it is the simplest of the exchange forms and is associated with situations where there are two parties involved and the exchange is reciprocal. Kotlelr, Brown, Adam and Armstrong(2004, P.10) has stated that “Exchange is the act of obtaining a desired object form someone by offering something in return”. Pentax have to sacrifice the customers, which includes the buyer, user and payer. An individual may buy T10 and pay for it, however, this individual may not be the only one who use the T10. Pentax also have exchange with partners and stakeholders. The exchange with partners can be exchange with retailers, such as selling T10 to JB Hi Fi, Myer etc. The other exchange party is stakeholders, this individual has an investment in Pentax, and they can be the director, employees in Pentax. The desire of Pentax to exchange not only for its profit, also have desire on its goodwill and reputation.

The Value Exchange Model

Based on Gabbott, 2004 Figure 2-2

In this model, a customer makes investments in order to achieve a number of desired benefits and outcomes. Similarly, Pentax also make investments in order to achieve a series of designed benefits and outcomes. The value facilitation exchange is a customer and Pentax come together with a set of desired and designed outcomes at a point in time.

Customer Investment

Firstly, we will investigate customer investment; the three main categories are acquisition, consumption and disposal. Customers base on information of the camera market to get their suitable camera, then, they will consume it after comparisons between different cameras. At the end, customers may wish to dispose the cameras by reselling them. Therefore, Pentax Optio T10 would be more preferable, if it can have a high market value for a longer period.

Customers desired benefits and outcomes

Customer desired benefits and outcomes are important for costumer value in the value exchange model. Optio T10 contains intrinsic value, which ...

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Customer Investment

Customers desired benefits and outcomes

Customer desired benefits and outcomes are important for costumer value in the value exchange model. Optio T10 contains intrinsic value, which it has the ability of providing excellent quality of pictures to the users. Moreover, extrinsic value also applies on T10, it consist of a 2.5 inch LCD screen and the model name of T10 with a T meaning touch, which refers to touch screen, a very convenience using camera. Customer would normally have their self-oriented value, which they may have experience over Pentax’s Optio series of camera or they have other-oriented value, which they rely on the other’s opinion on Pentax’s cameras. Active value would apply on T10 because cameras require a relatively high level of interaction in order to extract its full value; customers may need skills to perform the camera perfectly.

Provider Value- Provider Investment

Now, we explore the provider’s value, Pentax must also weights up its investments in providing T10 against the benefits or outcomes that they may receive. Pentax has made investment on T10 in order to service the market demands. Manufacture should have purchased the materials that can comprise the product. We may also invest on employees by training them or some employment benefits. The most important investment is updates and maintains the manufactory regularly. It would have a better management in the manufactory, if it consists of an appropriate system. The final sectors of investments are internal communications and external communications. Internal communications indicates between employees, partners and Pentax itself, which helps to provide better result of profit. External communications refers marketing activities that use to inform the market and build up the value around T10, this could be branding and positioning.

Designed benefit and outcome propositions

Pentax has its designed benefit and outcome propositions. The most important and obvious benefits and outcome is revenue generated from customers who purchased T10. To build up the value of T10 in the camera market is not only done by Pentax, it is mostly done by the customer’s viewpoint due to the fact that there is some other camera manufactories already exciting in the market. This refers to combining the value; multiple organizations are often involved in the design of the total value proposition. Designing communication for T10 acts as an important rule, communication contains a wide range of aspects upon the product.

Value facilitating exchange

Both of the customers and Pentax has their expectation upon the product. The realized benefits and outcomes closer to the expectations, the more likely that the exchange is less trouble. Kotler and Keller (2006, P. 25-26) said that “Satisfaction reflects a person’s comparative judgments resulting from a product’s perceived performance in relation to his or her expectations.”

Organizational facilitating activity

People is one of the category associated to facilitating activities, this could be the front line staffs interact with the customers with their specific skills on cameras. Process analysis are very important to the camera market, as there is lots of products exciting in the camera market, confusion may cause the customers to conflict, therefore, it is important for us to look at the opportunities to solve the customer problems. Moreover, we have the responsibility to ensure the customers have enough information to use T10 perfectly to achieve their desired outcomes.

Customer facilitating activity

Camera buyer may require information to fully specify alternate solutions. To enhanced interaction between customer and Pentax, we need to specify desired outcomes or other benefits that they are seeking for. T.S. (2006 ) has commenced on what outcomes and benefits that customer is seeking for, “How big does your LCD need to be? Many D-SLRs now have 2.5-inch screens. Do you care if your D-SLR is powered by a rechargeable proprietary lithium ion battery, or do you want to use double-A batteries? How fast a shutter speed do you need? Are there any special features you're looking for?” Customers may needs to put contribution such as taking camera lesson or researching information about camera to operate the product, this call co-production.

Realized Benefits and Outcomes

Pentax would realize its outcomes after every transactions, it’s called the transaction outcomes, where receiving monies from customers. Relational outcomes can apply to both customer and organization as there maybe good relationship between them. Plus, a social outcome also is a very important benefit to the organization due to social environment could affect the outcome of T10. “Organization continues to learn from their interactions with customers and this knowledge and experience can be used to drive innovation and change which will in turn lead to better service for their customers”. It is very important to Pentax to realized this organization outcome to make improvement on T10, there is some user feed back complaining that “poorly designed port covers are weak feeling, with hinges that will easily snap”.

Understanding Value

Buyer Behavior

Some internal influences affect the buyer’s behavior on a particular product. This can refer to as internal motivators. Rix and Stanton (2000, P. 148) has stated that “All behavior starts wit motivation. A motive is a stimulated need that an individual seeks to satisfy.” Every customer has their own value on cameras, this value is mostly based on their own characteristics or learning, sometimes habit could be effective. The external factors can be provider influences, communication could be important, Pentax can inform customer the releasing of T10 by television or some other advertisement. Economic resources maybe one of the main factor that give the customer ability to purchase cameras. Temporal resources also consider to be one of the major resource, consumer needs time to do competitive on cameras before they are actually buying the product. Cognitive resources is the buyer’s knowledge, it could be from their experience of previous purchase of camera.

The internal influences to the organization could be the industry itself, employees or locations. External factors could be market environment, suppliers or competitors.

Marketing information system

Marketing information system helps the organization to acquire new customers such as finding potential customers. It could also improve the value of existing offer, there maybe problems or dislike on the camera. Based on this information, they could be able to establish a new product, which can satisfy the customer’s demands. That information helps the manager to make decision. Internal records enables marketers to detect performance related strengths and weaknesses. Marketing intelligence is collection information from customers, market or competitive. Armstrong Larry (2006) has point out what information a organization should have to improve their camera, “In fact, the biggest complaint that amateur shutterbugs have about digital point-and-shoot cameras is fuzzy photos, and camera makers are starting to listen. Now, virtually every major company has or shortly will have at least one compact outfitted with what's generically called image stabilization, a feature that somehow reduces blur.” Information analysis are very important process in the marketing information system, it turns all relevance dada into useful information which help fro decision making.

Marketing Research

Marketing research identifies as primary research or second research. Primary research could be qualitative such as group discussions and observation or quantitative such as survey and experiment. Secondary research could be internal or external, information within the organization from the previous or data from outside of the organization. Kotler (2002, P. 131) has stated that “The researcher can gather secondary data, primary data, or both. Secondary data are data that were collected for another purpose and already exist somewhere. Primary data are data freshly gathered for a specific purpose or for a specific research project”.

Segmentation, targeting and positioning

Pentax should do segmentation on buyers who have similar and likely to respond in a similar way to given offer of value. Segmentation can be identified based on customers’ behavioral, psychographic, demographic and geo-demographic.

Industries should then target the segmentation by target each segment with different products. The released of T10 will then be position in the market under a muti-dimensional map.

Configure Value

What is an offer?

T10 is an offer in the market which satisfies consumers’ need or want on cameras. Customers have the right to select the offers from manufactories. Core value is the central reasons for the purchasing, packaged value could be the quality of T10 and extended value on T10 is the warranty of T10 that give by Pentax. Digital cameras have a high tangibility.

Developing and adjusting the offer

To develop a new offer in the market, Pentax have to follows the “New offering development process”. The steps of offer development are idea generation, idea screening, concept development, business case, prototype, market test and commercialize. A product’s life cycle reflects the sales life cycle. Diffusion of innovation is the rate at which new offers are adopted by different customer groups. “Pentax takes a different approach, moving the image sensor itself. Bringing up the rear: Digital image sensing that counters shake by mathematical computation rather than physical movement.” Manes (2006) has mentioned that Pentax is using a different approach compare to the other companies for its new offer.

Branding the offer

Brand refers to a name, term, sign, symbol, design or combination, which intended to identify the products from those competitors. A brand is a perception formed from experiences, plus, it could be a promise of value to the customer and an asset of value to the organization Customers may see brand as risk reducer, symbolic device and signal of quality. MaCarthy, Perreault and Quester (1998, P. 292) has stated that “Brand promotion has advantages for branders as well as customers. A good brand speeds up shopping for the customer and thus reduces the marketer’s selling time and effort. In addition, when customers repeatedly purchase by brand, the brander is protected against competition from other companies.”

Pricing the offer

Pentax needs to ensure the price of T10 set up appropriately. Cameras market could be identify as in-elastic demand and price skimming apply to cameras market, which has a high price for new products to maximize the profit. Kotlelr, Brown, Adam and Armstrong(2004, P.505) “Many companies that invent new products set high prices initially to ‘skim’ revenues layer by layer from the market.”

By explaining the “understanding value” and “configuring value”, the organizational activities based on those would facilitate the exchange of value. By using Pentax Optio T10, we could establish the camera marketing based on our Value Exchange Model to distinguish the organizational activities.

Reference

Professor Mark Gabbott(editor), M (2004), Introduction to Marketing,Pearson, Prentice Hall, NSW
Philip, K., Linden, B., Stewart, A., and Gary, A. (2004), Marketing, 6th edn, Pearson, Prentice Hall, NSW
Philip, K. and Kevin Lane, K. (2006), Marketing Management, 12th edn, Pearson, Prentice Hall, NSW
Peter, R. and William J., S. (2000), Marketing: A Practical Approach, 3rd edn, McGraw, NSW
Philip, K. (2002), Marketing Management, 11th edn, Prentice Hall, NSW
E. Jerome, M., William D., P and Pascale G., Q. (1998), Basic Marketing A Managerial Approach, 2nd edn, IRWIN, McGraw, NSW
Manes Stephen (2006), ‘Snap Judgment’, Journal of Digital Camera, Vol. 177 Issue 10, p66-72, 4p, 11c, viewed 5 May. 2006, available from HOST
T.S. (2006), ‘Digital SLRs’. PC Magazine, Vol. 25 Issue 7, p36-37, 2p, viewed 5 May. 2006, available from HOST
Armstrong, Larry (2006), ‘Getting Rid of the Shakes’, Business Week, Issue 3977, p98-100, 2p, 9c, viewed 5 May. 2006, available from HOST
viewed on 1 May. 2006, <www.dpreview.com>