Marketing Environment - Essay Example

Running Head: Marketing Environment Marketing Environment s Marketing Environment Introduction: Marketing is the practice of preparation and implementing the pricing, advertising, and supply of goods, ideas, and services to generate trades that satisfy individual and organizational goals. Marketing has two key concepts, customer/clients acquisitions and maintenance of customers/clients.In the context of marketing, learning is a result of information received through advertising or other publicity or through some reference group or other. In order to have an effect on motives or attitudes, marketing effort should associate the product with positive drives and reinforcing messages.       A fundamental aim of marketers is to bring about satisfaction for their customers, and this is cardinal to the concept of marketing. Having looked at some of the issues that make up consumer behaviour, we can now look at the consumers central goal. Because they are continually occupied in the quest for satisfaction, competitive offerings will always have potential appeal. Firms must seek continuous improvement to the products or services and the levels of support they provide. This is a matter of balancing costs and potential profit with customer demands, as total satisfaction, except in a minority of cases, is an unrealistically expensive goal. There are four models of consumer behaviors:       An individual needs a particular product. Information will be sought from a variety of sources including family and friends (called word of mouth) from advertising, from catalogues, from visits to retail establishments, and from many other sources. The more complex the product, the greater will tend to be this information search. The task of marketing is to ensure that the companys products receive high exposure during this information search period and that the best points of the product are emphasised during the evaluation of alternatives phase. This will put the companys product in the best light prior to the purchase decision, because even then the consumer is still susceptible to further influences in relating to making the correct choice. Marketers must also be aware of post-purchase behaviour because this can affect repeat business and forward looking companies attach as much importance to after-sales service as they do to making the initial sale. This reduces the degree of dissatisfaction (or dissonance) in the case of genuine complaints. One method that is now practiced for sales of major items like new motor cars is where companies follow up a sale by some form of communication by letter or telephone with their customers (Bowers et al, 1990). This builds confidence in the mind of the customer in having made the correct purchasing decision. The terminology that has been attached to this kind of after-sales follow-up is customer care. An excellent example of a very successful brand is ‘mother care’. This specific brand by the name of ‘mother care’ is a unique collection of all the items of children wear, as well as furniture, stationary, toy and much more. This brand has got a very good collection of everything that a child basically requires and in reasonable price. Analysis of Marketing Strategies Despite the economic and technological conditions that make it possible now to promote products and services in a larger consumer market, there are other factors that still need to be considered for a business organization to reach out easier to their target market. Looking into the characteristics and thought processes of the people still holds as the most significant factor to be looked into by the individuals in the field of sales and marketing. The large scope of market can pose a hindrance to a successful marketing strategy in terms of over generalized definition of the target or niche market. Hessan & Whitely (1996) emphasized the idea to take advantage of the competitive situation not just by being better in how that product gets sold, serviced, and marketed at the customer interface (Lovelock and Young, 1979). It requires that companies create breakthroughs in how they interact with customers, and design a way of interacting that makes an indelible impression on customers, one that so utterly distinguishes them from others that it becomes a brand in itself Attraction in the product is without any doubt one of the most essential elements that have to be taken into consideration (Lowenstein, 1990). A specific brand should most certainly have something extra-ordinary that should encourage the customers or the buyers to buy the product willingly. All this have to be seen by the brand manager to make a certain product into a brand. Quality of product is again one of the most essential elements that should be taken into consideration. Like all the products of “mother care” are nice to look an especially its furniture and all the cloths are very comfortable, nice to touch and easy to wear.” Mother Care” toys are very colorful un-harmful and nice to play. So the mother’s really like this brand for there kid’s. Durability of any product is no doubt of one of most crucial element in any brand. We could take “Akai” the furniture of Akai is beautiful, elegant and durable. This furniture maybe placed any where, may it be in office or may it be in at home. It will certainly look good. It is true that one has got to face a lot of challenges and have to cross unlimited problem in order to be successful. (DiMaggio, n.p, 2001) Reliability in a product is equally important. As it is that if a person, using a certain brand is satisfied with its quality then that person would certainly tell other people about it. This way there will be word-of-mouth advertising. At the same time maintenance of that particular brand quality is of course very essential element that have to be considered, and cannot be over looked at any cost. As it is , if the quality of the brand will decrease then this would eventually decrease in the sale of that product. Which would not be good for the organization that is producing or making that particular brand? We could say that “A brand is a product from a know source (Organization). The names of the organization can also serve as a brand. The brand value reflects how a product’s name or company name is perceived by the market place”. (DiMaggio, n.p, 2001) While taking-care of the customer’s choice a lot other factors have also to be considered. Those factors are the social, legal, economic, political and technological factor. Without any doubt, the above mentioned factors hold a lot of value in the marketing of a product or a brand let us first discuss the social factor. PESTLE Analysis SOCIO-CULTURAL Changing consumer needs and expectations Increasing time cautious society Communication barriers between staff and customers Social responsibility Increase in health and safety The social factor basically means which classes of people are being targeted by the organization that is making that particular brand - whether it is the upper-class or the upper-middle class, middle-class or the lower class. We could say that the brand Akai is basically for the middle-class people. Thus the price is also reasonable as well as the furniture is of great-class and has got on elegance touch. LEGAL Health and safety legislation Employment law Product safety Consumer rights Building controls Mutual recognition of rules between, Mother Care and the government should be at all times observed in order to avoid legal confrontations and eventual failure of the marketing strategy. Gaining the trust of the local government and reviewing the economic policies and legal matters that govern the country in which the product or service will be made available will be a strong ground from which the advertisers can make as a take off point in pursuing the any further business venture. ECONOMIC Economic booms and slumps High interest rates and inflation Disposable incomes and unemployment levels Weak consumer expenditure The growth of production system by developing and utilizing the potential of local resources especially its people through the investment of private companies like Mother Care and holdings as well as of the government itself through national economic policies. The investment methods and decision making of the companies doing business in the current industry resulted to the economic growth and structural change of the country. POLITICAL Changes in government law Increased legislation on food hygiene Regulations and political changes Increased environment pressure Major events Mother Care was attracted to put up their company because of its resources, people and economy. Mother Care find this country very promising because its ability to make a stand in the global community (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). New forms of coordination--"relational contracting"--have emerged that entail much less commitment and control than bureaucracy, but more binding ties than simple market exchange. Moreover, business alliances--groups of legally independent companies knit together by such factors as ownership by one extended family, mutual shareholding, or strong, enduring collaborations--achieved new visibility when the economies they dominate entered the worlds center stage (as in the cases of Japan, and then in Taiwan and Korea), or emerged anew in response to institutional volatility in the wake of regime change (as in Russia and Hungary)” - as it is that brand names usually have their names all around the world. If there will be problem politically then many of organizations producing a certain kind of brand will have to force problem. (DiMaggio, n.p, 2001) TECHNOLOGICAL Electronic point of scale Advanced tractors equipment More complex market research tools Marketing (website and video displays) Wider circle and future developments The tremendous growth of technological advancement has become the driving force of contemporary industries. The diffusion of the internet has revolutionized the business arena. The use of the Internet is changing high-tech marketing overnight while different industries have been trying to use it as part of their marketing strategy. It has not only reconfigured the way different firms do business and the way the consumers buy goods and services, but it has also become an effective instrument in transforming the value chain from manufacturers to retailers to consumers, creating a new retail distribution channel Conclusion Now, we could simply conclude by saying that marketing of a brand by its producing organization is not an easy job. A lot achieve and huddles have to be faced to achieve the goals. Then after a certain period of time a product simply gets a name and identity. Of all the components of marketing, the most essential of all these elements but most often, the most overlooked is the definition of the target market. And yet, no one can proceed to a communication plan without answering the question of who do the company have to convince to buy the product or service. Business firms invest on researches that will define their target customer groups that they believed they could serve best. Every business person is determined to know what kind of work they would and would not do for their customers and, in turn, they carefully learn how to fulfill the needs of each kind of customer in their target markets. References Bowers, M. R., Martin, C. L. & Luker, A. (1990). Trading places: Employees as Customers, Customers as Employees. Journal of Services Marketing, 4 (Spring), 55-69. Hessan D. and Whiteley R. (1996). Customer Centered Growth: Five Proven Strategies for Building Competitive Advantage. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. Lowenstein, M.W. (1997). The Customer Loyalty Pyramid. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Lovelock, C. H. & Young, R. F. (1979). Look to Consumers to Increase Productivity. Harvard Business Review, 57 (May-June), 168-178. Reichheld, F. F. & Sasser, W. E, Jr. (1990). Zero Defections: Quality Comes to Services. Harvard Business Review, 68 (September-October), 105-111. Brand Definition. Define Brand. What is Brand? http://www.learnthat.com/define/view.asp?id=279 Accessed October 29, 2007 Sample Chapter for DiMaggio, P., ed.: The Twenty-First-Century Firm: Changing Economic Organization in International Perspective. http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s7205.html Accessed October 29, 2007 Read More