Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Monday, 30 December 2013
Marketing Environment
The marketing environment consists of the task environment and the broad environment. The task
environmentincludes the actors engaged in producing, distributing, and promoting the offering.
These are the company, suppliers, distributors, dealers, and target customers. In the supplier group
are material suppliers and service suppliers, such as marketing research agencies, advertising agencies, banking and insurance companies, transportation companies, and telecommunications companies. Distributors and dealers include agents, brokers, manufacturer representatives, and others
who facilitate finding and selling to customers.
Thebroad environmentconsists of six components: demographic environment, economic environment, social-cultural environment, natural environment, technological environment, and political-legal environment. Marketers must pay close attention to the trends and developments in
these and adjust their marketing strategies as needed. New opportunities are constantly emerging
that await the right marketing savvy and ingenuity.
environmentincludes the actors engaged in producing, distributing, and promoting the offering.
These are the company, suppliers, distributors, dealers, and target customers. In the supplier group
are material suppliers and service suppliers, such as marketing research agencies, advertising agencies, banking and insurance companies, transportation companies, and telecommunications companies. Distributors and dealers include agents, brokers, manufacturer representatives, and others
who facilitate finding and selling to customers.
Thebroad environmentconsists of six components: demographic environment, economic environment, social-cultural environment, natural environment, technological environment, and political-legal environment. Marketers must pay close attention to the trends and developments in
these and adjust their marketing strategies as needed. New opportunities are constantly emerging
that await the right marketing savvy and ingenuity.
Competition
Competition includes all the actual and potential rival offerings and substitutes a buyer might consider. An auto mobile manufacturer can buy steel from U.S. Steel in the United States, from a foreign
firm in Japan or Korea, or from a mini mill such as Nucor at a cost savings, or it can buy aluminium
for certain parts from Alcoa to reduce the car’s weight, or engineered plastics from Saudi Basic
Industries Corporation (SABIC) instead of steel. Clearly, U.S. Steel would be thinking too narrowly
about its competition if it thought only of other integrated steel companies. In the long run, U.S.
Steel is more likely to be hurt by substitute products than by other steel companies.
firm in Japan or Korea, or from a mini mill such as Nucor at a cost savings, or it can buy aluminium
for certain parts from Alcoa to reduce the car’s weight, or engineered plastics from Saudi Basic
Industries Corporation (SABIC) instead of steel. Clearly, U.S. Steel would be thinking too narrowly
about its competition if it thought only of other integrated steel companies. In the long run, U.S.
Steel is more likely to be hurt by substitute products than by other steel companies.
Supply Chain
The supply chain is a longer channel stretching from raw materials to components to finished
products carried to final buyers. The supply chain for coffee may start with Ethiopian farmers who
plant, tend, and pick the coffee beans, selling their harvest to wholesalers or perhaps a Fair Trade
cooperative. If sold through the cooperative, the coffee is washed, dried, and packaged for shipment
by an Alternative Trading Organization (ATO) that pays a minimum of $1.26 a pound. The ATO
transports the coffee to the developing world where it can sell it directly or via retail channels. Each
company captures only a certain percentage of the total value generated by the supply chain’s value
delivery system. When a company acquires competitors or expands upstream or downstream, its
aim is to capture a higher percentage of supply chain value.
products carried to final buyers. The supply chain for coffee may start with Ethiopian farmers who
plant, tend, and pick the coffee beans, selling their harvest to wholesalers or perhaps a Fair Trade
cooperative. If sold through the cooperative, the coffee is washed, dried, and packaged for shipment
by an Alternative Trading Organization (ATO) that pays a minimum of $1.26 a pound. The ATO
transports the coffee to the developing world where it can sell it directly or via retail channels. Each
company captures only a certain percentage of the total value generated by the supply chain’s value
delivery system. When a company acquires competitors or expands upstream or downstream, its
aim is to capture a higher percentage of supply chain value.
Marketing Channels
To reach a target market, the marketer uses three kinds of marketing channels.Communication
channels deliver and receive messages from target buyers and include newspapers, magazines, radio,
television, mail, telephone, billboards, posters, fliers, CDs, audiotapes, and the Internet. Beyond
these, firms communicate through the look of their retail stores and Web sites and other media.
Marketers are increasingly adding dialogue channels such as e-mail, blogs, and toll-free numbers to
familiar monologue channels such as ads.
The marketer uses distribution channels to display, sell, or deliver the physical product or
service(s) to the buyer or user. These channels may be direct via the Internet, mail, or mobile phone
or telephone, or indirect with distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and agents as intermediaries.
To carry out transactions with potential buyers, the marketer also uses service channels that include warehouses, transportation companies, banks, and insurance companies. Marketers clearly
face a design challenge in choosing the best mix of communication, distribution, and service channels for their offerings.
channels deliver and receive messages from target buyers and include newspapers, magazines, radio,
television, mail, telephone, billboards, posters, fliers, CDs, audiotapes, and the Internet. Beyond
these, firms communicate through the look of their retail stores and Web sites and other media.
Marketers are increasingly adding dialogue channels such as e-mail, blogs, and toll-free numbers to
familiar monologue channels such as ads.
The marketer uses distribution channels to display, sell, or deliver the physical product or
service(s) to the buyer or user. These channels may be direct via the Internet, mail, or mobile phone
or telephone, or indirect with distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and agents as intermediaries.
To carry out transactions with potential buyers, the marketer also uses service channels that include warehouses, transportation companies, banks, and insurance companies. Marketers clearly
face a design challenge in choosing the best mix of communication, distribution, and service channels for their offerings.
Value and Satisfaction
The buyer chooses the offerings he or she perceives to deliver the most value,the sum of the
tangible and intangible benefits and costs to her. Value, a central marketing concept, is primarily a
combination of quality, service, and price (qsp), called the customer value triad. Value perceptions
increase with quality and service but decrease with price.
We can think of marketing as the identification, creation, communication, delivery, and
monitoring of customer value. Satisfaction reflects a person’s judgement of a product’s perceived
performance in relationship to expectations. If the performance falls short of expectations, the customer is disappointed. If it matches expectations, the customer is satisfied. If it exceeds them, the
customer is delighted.
tangible and intangible benefits and costs to her. Value, a central marketing concept, is primarily a
combination of quality, service, and price (qsp), called the customer value triad. Value perceptions
increase with quality and service but decrease with price.
We can think of marketing as the identification, creation, communication, delivery, and
monitoring of customer value. Satisfaction reflects a person’s judgement of a product’s perceived
performance in relationship to expectations. If the performance falls short of expectations, the customer is disappointed. If it matches expectations, the customer is satisfied. If it exceeds them, the
customer is delighted.
Offerings and Brands
Companies address customer needs by putting forth a value proposition, a set of benefits that satisfy those needs. The intangible value proposition is made physical by an offering,which can be a
combination of products, services, information, and experiences.
A brand is an offering from a known source. A brand name such as McDonald’s carries many
associations in people’s minds that make up its image: hamburgers, cleanliness, convenience, courteous service, and golden arches. All companies strive to build a brand image with as many strong,
favourable, and unique brand associations as possible.
combination of products, services, information, and experiences.
A brand is an offering from a known source. A brand name such as McDonald’s carries many
associations in people’s minds that make up its image: hamburgers, cleanliness, convenience, courteous service, and golden arches. All companies strive to build a brand image with as many strong,
favourable, and unique brand associations as possible.
Target Markets, Positioning, and Segmentation
Not everyone likes the same cereal, restaurant, college, or movie. Therefore, marketers start by dividing the market into segments. They identify and profile distinct groups of buyers who might
prefer or require varying product and service mixes by examining demographic, psycho-graphic,
and behavioural differences among buyers.
After identifying market segments, the marketer decides which present the greatest opportunities—
which are its target markets.For each, the firm develops a market offeringthat it positionsin the minds
of the target buyers as delivering some central benefit(s). Volvo develops its cars for buyers to whom
safety is a major concern, positioning its vehicles as the safest a customer can buy.
prefer or require varying product and service mixes by examining demographic, psycho-graphic,
and behavioural differences among buyers.
After identifying market segments, the marketer decides which present the greatest opportunities—
which are its target markets.For each, the firm develops a market offeringthat it positionsin the minds
of the target buyers as delivering some central benefit(s). Volvo develops its cars for buyers to whom
safety is a major concern, positioning its vehicles as the safest a customer can buy.
Core Marketing Concepts
Needs, Wants, and Demands
Needs are the basic human requirements such as for air, food, water, clothing, and shelter. Humans
also have strong needs for recreation, education, and entertainment. These needs become wants when they are directed to specific objects that might satisfy the need. A U.S. consumer needs food
but may want a P hilly cheese steak and an iced tea. A person in Afghanistan needs food but may
want rice, lamb, and carrots. Wants are shaped by our society.
Demands are wants for specific products backed by an ability to pay. Many people want a
Mercedes; only a few are able to buy one. Companies must measure not only how many people
want their product, but also how many are willing and able to buy it.
These distinctions shed light on the frequent criticism that “marketers create needs” or “marketers get people to buy things they don’t want.” Marketers do not create needs: Needs pre-exist
marketers. Marketers, along with other societal factors, influence wants. They might promote the
idea that a Mercedes would satisfy a person’s need for social status. They do not, however, create the
need for social status.
Some customers have needs of which they are not fully conscious or that they cannot articulate.
What does it mean when the customer asks for a “powerful” lawn mower or a “peaceful” hotel? The
marketer must probe further. We can distinguish five types of needs:
1. Stated needs (The customer wants an inexpensive car.)
2. Real needs (The customer wants a car whose operating cost, not initial price, is low.)
3. Unstated needs (The customer expects good service from the dealer.)
4. Delight needs (The customer would like the dealer to include an on-board GPS navigation system.)
5. Secret needs (The customer wants friends to see him or her as a savoy consumer.)
Responding only to the stated need may short change the customer. Consumers did not know
much about cellular phones when they were first introduced, and Nokia and Ericsson fought to
shape consumer perceptions of them. To gain an edge, companies must help customers learn what
they want.
Needs are the basic human requirements such as for air, food, water, clothing, and shelter. Humans
also have strong needs for recreation, education, and entertainment. These needs become wants when they are directed to specific objects that might satisfy the need. A U.S. consumer needs food
but may want a P hilly cheese steak and an iced tea. A person in Afghanistan needs food but may
want rice, lamb, and carrots. Wants are shaped by our society.
Demands are wants for specific products backed by an ability to pay. Many people want a
Mercedes; only a few are able to buy one. Companies must measure not only how many people
want their product, but also how many are willing and able to buy it.
These distinctions shed light on the frequent criticism that “marketers create needs” or “marketers get people to buy things they don’t want.” Marketers do not create needs: Needs pre-exist
marketers. Marketers, along with other societal factors, influence wants. They might promote the
idea that a Mercedes would satisfy a person’s need for social status. They do not, however, create the
need for social status.
Some customers have needs of which they are not fully conscious or that they cannot articulate.
What does it mean when the customer asks for a “powerful” lawn mower or a “peaceful” hotel? The
marketer must probe further. We can distinguish five types of needs:
1. Stated needs (The customer wants an inexpensive car.)
2. Real needs (The customer wants a car whose operating cost, not initial price, is low.)
3. Unstated needs (The customer expects good service from the dealer.)
4. Delight needs (The customer would like the dealer to include an on-board GPS navigation system.)
5. Secret needs (The customer wants friends to see him or her as a savoy consumer.)
Responding only to the stated need may short change the customer. Consumers did not know
much about cellular phones when they were first introduced, and Nokia and Ericsson fought to
shape consumer perceptions of them. To gain an edge, companies must help customers learn what
they want.
Sunday, 29 December 2013
Saturday, 28 December 2013
Friday, 27 December 2013
Who Markets?
MARKETERS AND PROSPECTS
Amarketeris someone who seeks a response—attention, a
purchase, a vote, a donation—from another party, called the prospect. If two parties are seeking to
sell something to each other, we call them both marketers.
Marketers are skilled at stimulating demand for their products, but that’s a limited view of what
they do. Just as production and logistics professionals are responsible for supply management, marketers are responsible for demand management. They seek to influence the level, timing, and composition of demand to meet the organization’s objectives. Eight demand states are possible:
1. Negative demand—Consumers dislike the product and may even pay to avoid it.
2. Nonexistent demand—Consumers may be unaware of or uninterested in the product.
3. Latent demand—Consumers may share a strong need that cannot be satisfied by an existing
product.
4. Declining demand—Consumers begin to buy the product less frequently or not at all.
5. Irregular demand—Consumer purchases vary on a seasonal, monthly, weekly, daily, or even
hourly basis.
6. Full demand—Consumers are adequately buying all products put into the marketplace.
7. Overfull demand—More consumers would like to buy the product than can be satisfied.
8. Unwholesome demand—Consumers may be attracted to products that have undesirable social consequences.
Amarketeris someone who seeks a response—attention, a
purchase, a vote, a donation—from another party, called the prospect. If two parties are seeking to
sell something to each other, we call them both marketers.
Marketers are skilled at stimulating demand for their products, but that’s a limited view of what
they do. Just as production and logistics professionals are responsible for supply management, marketers are responsible for demand management. They seek to influence the level, timing, and composition of demand to meet the organization’s objectives. Eight demand states are possible:
1. Negative demand—Consumers dislike the product and may even pay to avoid it.
2. Nonexistent demand—Consumers may be unaware of or uninterested in the product.
3. Latent demand—Consumers may share a strong need that cannot be satisfied by an existing
product.
4. Declining demand—Consumers begin to buy the product less frequently or not at all.
5. Irregular demand—Consumer purchases vary on a seasonal, monthly, weekly, daily, or even
hourly basis.
6. Full demand—Consumers are adequately buying all products put into the marketplace.
7. Overfull demand—More consumers would like to buy the product than can be satisfied.
8. Unwholesome demand—Consumers may be attracted to products that have undesirable social consequences.
What Is Marketed?
Marketers market 10 main types of entities: goods, services, events, experiences, persons, places,
properties, organizations, information, and ideas. Let’s take a quick look at these categories.
GOODS
Physical goods constitute the bulk of most countries’ production and marketing efforts.
Each year, U.S. companies market billions of fresh, canned, bagged, and frozen food products and
millions of cars, refrigerators, televisions, machines, and other mainstays of a modern economy.
SERVICES
As economies advance, a growing proportion of their activities focuses on the
production of services. The U.S. economy today produces a 70–30 services-to-goods mix.
Services include the work of airlines, hotels, car rental firms, barbers and beauticians,
maintenance and repair people, and accountants, bankers, lawyers, engineers, doctors, software
programmers, and management consultants. Many market offerings mix goods and services,
such as a fast-food meal.
EVENTS
Marketers promote time-based events, such as major trade shows, artistic
performances, and company anniversaries. Global sporting events such as the Olympics and the
World Cup are promoted aggressively to both companies and fans.
EXPERIENCES
By orchestrating several services and goods, a firm can create, stage, and market
experiences. Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom allows customers to visit a fairy kingdom, a
pirate ship, or a haunted house. There is also a market for customized experiences, such as a week
at a baseball camp with retired baseball greats, a four-day rock and roll fantasy camp, or a climb up
Mount Everest.9
PERSONS
Artists, musicians, CEOs, physicians, high-profile lawyers and financiers, and
other professionals all get help from celebrity marketers.
Some people have done a masterful job
of marketing themselves—David Beckham, Oprah Winfrey, and the Rolling Stones. Management
consultant Tom Peters, a master at self-branding, has advised each person to become a “brand.”
PLACES
Cities, states, regions, and whole nations compete to attract tourists, residents, factories, and
company headquarters.
Place marketers include economic development specialists, real estate agents,
commercial banks, local business associations, and advertising and public relations agencies. The Las
Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority succeeded with its provocative ad campaign, “What Happens
Here, Stays Here,” portraying Las Vegas as “an adult playground.” In the recession of 2008, however,
convention attendance declined. Concerned about its potentially out-of-step racy reputation, the
Authority took out a full-page BusinessWeekad to defend its ability to host serious business meetings.
Unfortunately, the 2009 summer box office blockbuster The Hangover, set in a debauched Las Vegas,
likely did not help the city position itself as a choice business and tourist destination.
PROPERTIES
Properties are intangible rights of ownership to either real property (real estate) or
financial property (stocks and bonds). They are bought and sold, and these exchanges require
marketing. Real estate agents work for property owners or sellers, or they buy and sell residential or
commercial real estate. Investment companies and banks market securities to both institutional
and individual investors.
ORGANIZATIONS
Organizations work to build a strong, favorable, and unique image in the
minds of their target publics. In the United Kingdom, Tesco’s “Every Little Helps” marketing
program reflects the food marketer’s attention to detail in everything it does, within the store and in
the community and environment. The campaign has vaulted Tesco to the top of the UK
supermarket chain industry. Universities, museums, performing arts organizations, corporations,
and nonprofits all use marketing to boost their public images and compete for audiences and funds.
INFORMATION
The production, packaging, and distribution of information are major
industries.
Information is essentially what books, schools, and universities produce, market, and
distribute at a price to parents, students, and communities. The former CEO of Siemens Medical
The Rolling Stones have done a
masterful job of marketing their
rebellious form of rock and roll to
audiences of all ages.Solutions USA, Tom McCausland, says, “[our product] is not necessarily an X-ray or an MRI, but
information. Our business is really health care information technology, and our end product is really
an electronic patient record: information on lab tests, pathology, and drugs as well as voice dictation.”
IDEAS
Every market offering includes a basic idea. Charles Revson of Revlon once observed: “In
the factory we make cosmetics; in the drugstore we sell hope.” Products and services are platforms
for delivering some idea or benefit. Social marketers are busy promoting such ideas as “Friends
Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” and “A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste.”
properties, organizations, information, and ideas. Let’s take a quick look at these categories.
GOODS
Physical goods constitute the bulk of most countries’ production and marketing efforts.
Each year, U.S. companies market billions of fresh, canned, bagged, and frozen food products and
millions of cars, refrigerators, televisions, machines, and other mainstays of a modern economy.
SERVICES
As economies advance, a growing proportion of their activities focuses on the
production of services. The U.S. economy today produces a 70–30 services-to-goods mix.
Services include the work of airlines, hotels, car rental firms, barbers and beauticians,
maintenance and repair people, and accountants, bankers, lawyers, engineers, doctors, software
programmers, and management consultants. Many market offerings mix goods and services,
such as a fast-food meal.
EVENTS
Marketers promote time-based events, such as major trade shows, artistic
performances, and company anniversaries. Global sporting events such as the Olympics and the
World Cup are promoted aggressively to both companies and fans.
EXPERIENCES
By orchestrating several services and goods, a firm can create, stage, and market
experiences. Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom allows customers to visit a fairy kingdom, a
pirate ship, or a haunted house. There is also a market for customized experiences, such as a week
at a baseball camp with retired baseball greats, a four-day rock and roll fantasy camp, or a climb up
Mount Everest.9
PERSONS
Artists, musicians, CEOs, physicians, high-profile lawyers and financiers, and
other professionals all get help from celebrity marketers.
Some people have done a masterful job
of marketing themselves—David Beckham, Oprah Winfrey, and the Rolling Stones. Management
consultant Tom Peters, a master at self-branding, has advised each person to become a “brand.”
PLACES
Cities, states, regions, and whole nations compete to attract tourists, residents, factories, and
company headquarters.
Place marketers include economic development specialists, real estate agents,
commercial banks, local business associations, and advertising and public relations agencies. The Las
Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority succeeded with its provocative ad campaign, “What Happens
Here, Stays Here,” portraying Las Vegas as “an adult playground.” In the recession of 2008, however,
convention attendance declined. Concerned about its potentially out-of-step racy reputation, the
Authority took out a full-page BusinessWeekad to defend its ability to host serious business meetings.
Unfortunately, the 2009 summer box office blockbuster The Hangover, set in a debauched Las Vegas,
likely did not help the city position itself as a choice business and tourist destination.
PROPERTIES
Properties are intangible rights of ownership to either real property (real estate) or
financial property (stocks and bonds). They are bought and sold, and these exchanges require
marketing. Real estate agents work for property owners or sellers, or they buy and sell residential or
commercial real estate. Investment companies and banks market securities to both institutional
and individual investors.
ORGANIZATIONS
Organizations work to build a strong, favorable, and unique image in the
minds of their target publics. In the United Kingdom, Tesco’s “Every Little Helps” marketing
program reflects the food marketer’s attention to detail in everything it does, within the store and in
the community and environment. The campaign has vaulted Tesco to the top of the UK
supermarket chain industry. Universities, museums, performing arts organizations, corporations,
and nonprofits all use marketing to boost their public images and compete for audiences and funds.
INFORMATION
The production, packaging, and distribution of information are major
industries.
Information is essentially what books, schools, and universities produce, market, and
distribute at a price to parents, students, and communities. The former CEO of Siemens Medical
The Rolling Stones have done a
masterful job of marketing their
rebellious form of rock and roll to
audiences of all ages.Solutions USA, Tom McCausland, says, “[our product] is not necessarily an X-ray or an MRI, but
information. Our business is really health care information technology, and our end product is really
an electronic patient record: information on lab tests, pathology, and drugs as well as voice dictation.”
IDEAS
Every market offering includes a basic idea. Charles Revson of Revlon once observed: “In
the factory we make cosmetics; in the drugstore we sell hope.” Products and services are platforms
for delivering some idea or benefit. Social marketers are busy promoting such ideas as “Friends
Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” and “A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste.”
What Is Marketing?
Marketingis about identifying and meeting human and social needs. One of the shortest good
definitions of marketing is “meeting needs profitably.” When eBay recognized that people were
unable to locate some of the items they desired most, it created an online auction clearinghouse.
When IKEA noticed that people wanted good furnishings at substantially lower prices, it created
knockdown furniture. These two firms demonstrated marketing savvy and turned a private or
social need into a profitable business opportunity.
The American Marketing Association offers the following formal definition:Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that
have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
Coping with these exchange processes
calls for a considerable amount of work and skill.Marketing managementtakes place when at least one
party to a potential exchange thinks about the means of achieving desired responses from other parties.
Thus we see marketing managementasthe art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value.
We can distinguish between a social and a managerial definition of marketing. A social definition shows the role marketing plays in society; for example, one marketer has said that marketing’s
role is to “deliver a higher standard of living.” Here is a social definition that serves our purpose:
Marketing is a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want
through creating, offering, and freely exchanging products and services of value with others.
Managers sometimes think of marketing as “the art of selling products,” but many people are
surprised when they hear that selling is notthe most important part of marketing! Selling is only
the tip of the marketing iceberg. Peter Drucker, a leading management theorist, puts it this way:
There will always, one can assume, be need for some selling. But the aim of marketing is
to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should
result in a customer who is ready to buy. All that should be needed then is to make the
product or service available.
8
When Nintendo designed its Wii game system, when Canon launched its ELPH digital camera line, and when Toyota introduced its Prius hybrid automobile, these manufacturers
were swamped with orders because they had designed the right product, based on doing careful
marketing homework.
definitions of marketing is “meeting needs profitably.” When eBay recognized that people were
unable to locate some of the items they desired most, it created an online auction clearinghouse.
When IKEA noticed that people wanted good furnishings at substantially lower prices, it created
knockdown furniture. These two firms demonstrated marketing savvy and turned a private or
social need into a profitable business opportunity.
The American Marketing Association offers the following formal definition:Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that
have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
Coping with these exchange processes
calls for a considerable amount of work and skill.Marketing managementtakes place when at least one
party to a potential exchange thinks about the means of achieving desired responses from other parties.
Thus we see marketing managementasthe art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value.
We can distinguish between a social and a managerial definition of marketing. A social definition shows the role marketing plays in society; for example, one marketer has said that marketing’s
role is to “deliver a higher standard of living.” Here is a social definition that serves our purpose:
Marketing is a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want
through creating, offering, and freely exchanging products and services of value with others.
Managers sometimes think of marketing as “the art of selling products,” but many people are
surprised when they hear that selling is notthe most important part of marketing! Selling is only
the tip of the marketing iceberg. Peter Drucker, a leading management theorist, puts it this way:
There will always, one can assume, be need for some selling. But the aim of marketing is
to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should
result in a customer who is ready to buy. All that should be needed then is to make the
product or service available.
8
When Nintendo designed its Wii game system, when Canon launched its ELPH digital camera line, and when Toyota introduced its Prius hybrid automobile, these manufacturers
were swamped with orders because they had designed the right product, based on doing careful
marketing homework.
Thursday, 26 December 2013
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