Answering 8 questions on Marketing 301 - Essay Example

The basis for market segmentation is a factor that is consistent to a particular market segment. Consumer market segmentation is done on Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic, and Behavioural basis. On the other hand, Business market segmentation is done on Location, customer type and Buyer Behaviour. Q2/Ans. Production differentiation is simply an effort by firms to differentiate their products from competitors' products or their own product line. It is done to attract particular segment of market.

It is a mean to highlight the differentiated aspect of your product to create its value in the eyes of customers. It is a source of competitive advantage to firms and thus helps them generate higher revenues. It works in close connection to market segmentation since with segmentation, firms identify the market segment, which they want to cater with their products, and then with product differentiation, they attract that particular market segment to the offer they have developed for them. Q3/Ans.

Consumer goods are goods that are utilized directly by consumers to satisfy their needs while business goods are those goods, which are used by manufacturing, or service-providing firms to use in their value chain to produce final goods or services to the consumers. One of the many examples of consumer goods can be potato chips that are consumed directly by consumers. . Q4/Ans. New product process is the process of offering a new product to the market. The whole starts of with Idea generation.

A new product idea can be obtained from consumers, competitors, sales people, company's R&D and many other sources. Then comes the idea screening process in which unsound concepts are screened out to cater only the ideas that are feasible. Three questions are answered during the process. Will the consumer benefit from the idea Will it be profitable Will be feasible technically to work on that idea Then the process of concept developing and testing comes where the whole product mix shapes up. Then business variables are decided.

For example, what will be the selling price What will be the volume of production and what will be the breakeven point Then a prototype is made and is test marketed. The technical implementation is carried out on the idea with further commercialization to promote the resulting product or service among the target market.Q5/Ans. The retailing mix constitutes of 6 Ps as compared to 4 Ps of marketing mix and they are: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, personnel and presentation. Product means what benefit firm wants to give its consumers from the product or what will be the functionality of the product.

Price tells at what price the product will be sold. Place tells what will be the mode and geography of distribution of product. Promotion tells what will be the technique (advertising, public relation, sales promotion) used to promote the product. Personnel plays the key role in promotion and the presentation describes what will be the aesthetics of promotion to attract customers.Q6/Ans. A Retail life cycle