How Can Successful Marketing Strategies Boost Business - Research Paper Example

How Can Successful Marketing Strategies Boost Business? Abstract A marketing strategy is designed to achieve goals in marketing. It involves a target market and a plan on how to conduct marketing activities. Marketing plays a number of roles in meeting the overall goal of a business. This is by determining future trends and opportunities in a market where the business operates and making appropriate recommendations, determining new market opportunities and making recommendations, making budget and staff decisions, and establishing and enforcing marketing strategies that are appropriate for the general strategic direction of a business in the global market. Products and services can be promoted in a number of ways such as through advertising, good customer care, and pricing in order to boost business. However, each marketing strategy involves a number of factors that need to be considered for business to be successful. Keywords: Marketing, Marketing Strategies, Products, Services, Business, Organization, Company, Pricing, Advertising, Customer Care Marketing is very important in businesses. Through marketing businesses are able to create value for their customers. “A strategy is a long-term plan to achieve certain objectives” (“Marketing Theory,” 2012). A marketing strategy is designed to achieve goals in marketing. Successful marketing strategies can boost business dramatically in many ways; three of which are advertising, customer care and pricing. According to Silk (2006), there are two primary activities involved in a marketing strategy, these include “selecting a target market and determining the desired positioning of the product in target customers mind’s” (p.3), and planning marketing activities effectively in order to achieve the marketing gioal. Marketing fulfills a number of roles in the general comprehensive strategy of a business namely (Stonehouse, Campbell, Hamill, and Purdie, 2004): 1. Determining future trends and opportunities in a market where the business operates and making appropriate recommendations. 2. Determining new market opportunities and making recommendations. 3. Making budget and staff decisions. This is done by “providing estimates of the marketing resources needed to exploit these opportunities” (Stonehouse, Campbell, Hamill, and Purdie, 2004, p.299). 4. Establishing and enforcing marketing strategies that are appropriate for the general strategic direction of a business in the global market. There is so much competition in the business world and everyone owning a business has the desire to be on top, and the business to grow. When a product has already been developed to meet a market demand, establishment of a contact with the target market is needed in order to sell the product. In order for the marketer to reach a large number of potential buyers, mass contact is required. According to Bootwala, Mali, and Lawrence (2007), “Advertising is a means of mass communication and has made mass selling possible” (p.1.1). It is a paid form of communication about an organization and its products that can be transmitted to atarget audience through broadcast media. To have the message conveyed to potential customers, businessmen pay the media. Examples of mass media involved in advertising include television, radio, billboards, and newspapers. Advertising may be the best way to promote the business; advertising gives the markets confidence to face any competition successfully (Trehan, M. and Trehan, R., 2009). Through competitive advertising, marketers are able to boast about a product better than other competitive products. Advertising is very important because it boosts the company`s image. It also helps in product marketing by attracting dealers and investors. Advertising has several benefits. The main benefit is the fact that it is a low cost promotional method, as it covers a large number of people at a low cost (Trehan, M. and Trehan, R., 2009). An advertiser can repeat an advert for a particular product for quite a number of times; this increases the number of people that get to know about the product. Through this, a brand is made familiar and popular to everyone. Nevertheless, advertising has its limitation, since it does not provide rapid feedback, and measuring its effect on sales it is difficult. But even with its limitation, advertising is still the best promotional tool in the market. A customer is a constant focus in an organization. Rao (2011) points out that “customer care of a company is, definitely, enhancing a positive attitude of the customers towards the products of the company and towards the company itself” (p.114). Good customer care service comes with the culture of an organization, because it covers the values of that organization; this is because this shows the values of the organization, “including how customers and employees should be treated. Motivated and valued staff is the basis of good customer care” (Curtis, 2003, p.271). Employees can have a positive or negative impact on the customers. For a business to be successful, an organization should minimize customer complaints by responding to them effectively (Bulter, 2001).A good business should be able to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Good customer care can boost a business in various ways. This is because profits are boosted when customer defections are reduced. A company should also pay attention to the advantages and disadvantages pointed out by a customer concerning its staff, as well as its products. Pricing strategy is about determining how to price a product or service, in such a way that the organization remains competitive, and still manages to make reasonable profits. Pricing is a crucial part of business marketing strategies. Highest delivered value products are preferred by industrial buyers and customers better than low price and low value products. Before pricing decisions are made, all factors that influence pricing decisions should be considered. Such factors include “pricing objectives, demand analysis, cost analysis, competitive analysis, and government regulations” (Havaldar, 2005, p.253). In conclusion, marketing strategies are crucial for every business. This is because they play a very important role in boosting of a business. Competition is very important for any kind of business, and most businesses want to be on top and lead in the business world. However, there are factors to consider so as achieving these goals. These factors include pricing, customer care and advertising, which play a significant role in boosting businesses. Reference List Bootwala, S., Mali, S. R., and Lawrence, M.D. (2007). Advertising and Sales Promotion. Pune: Nirali Prakashan. Butler, D. (2001). Business Development: A Guide to Small Business Strategy.Woburn: Butterworth-Heinemann. Curtis, T. (2003). CIM Coursebook 03/04 Marketing Management in Practice. Burlington: Elsevier Ltd. Havaldar, Krishna K. (2005). Business Marketing: Text & Cases. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. “Marketing Theory.” (2012). businesscasestudies.co.uk. Retrieved December 19, 2012, from http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/marketing/marketing-strategy.html#axzz2FRJQqSPb Rao, Reddina M. (2011). Financial Statement Analysis and Reporting. New Delhi: PHI learning Private Ltd. Silk, Alvin J. (2006). What is marketing? Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Stonehouse, G., Campbell, D., Hamill, J. and Purdie, T. (2004).Global and Transnational Business: Strategy and Management. England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Trehan, M. and Trehan, R. (2009). Advertising and Sales Management. New Delhi: V.K. (India) Enterprises. Read More