Marketing definition

By Wikipedia Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as 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. [1] The term developed from the original meaning which referred literally to going to market, as in shopping, or going to a market to sell goods or services. Marketing practice tends to be seen as a creative industry, which includes advertising, distribution and selling. It is also concerned with anticipating the customers' future needs and wants, which are often discovered through market research. Marketing is influenced by many of the social sciences, particularly psychology, sociology, and economics. Anthropology is also a small, but growing influence. Market research underpins these activities. Through advertising, it is also related to many of the creative arts. The marketing literature is also infamous for re-inventing itself and its vocabulary according to the times and the culture.

Marketing Innovation: How to Improve Marketing ROI

There are a number of basic marketing fundamentals that everyone needs to know in order to generate attention, interest, desire and action among prospects. But to be successful in today’s competitive environment, you need more than a basic understanding of a traditional AIDA model and the 4 P’s (product, place, price, promotion). A number of years ago, I discovered a marketing methodology made popular by Michael Gerber. For those of you who have never heard of him, you can still find his books on Amazon or your local bookstore. Mr. Gerber referred to this marketing methodology as the E-myth which was comprised of: innovation, quantification, orchestration, and documentation.This methodology is the key behind major marketing successes like McDonalds, the Four Seasons, and many other well-known brands. Let me explain his methodology and illustrate how it can be applied to your business to deliver significant ROI.InnovationIf you do what everyone else is doing, you’ll get the same results – if you’re lucky. Most often, those who excel in any market are the innovators, those who are continually trying new things, creating new methods of doing business, or standing for something unique.Whether you’re Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Apple computer, or Tommy Hilfiger, innovation is baked into the sale, marketing, and product development process. To illustrate, let’s take a look at your run-of-the-mill retail clothing store. When you enter the store, what’s the first thing the sales rep says to you? You guessed it, “How can I help you”?An example of applying innovation would be to have that same sales representative open with a new greeting, something like, “Hello, is it your first time visiting our store?”. If yes, there’s a perfect opportunity to discuss what makes you unique, how to navigate the store, and so on. If no, the same holds true… “Welcome back. Were you successful in finding what you needed upon your last visit? What can I help you with today?” Regardless of the actual questions used, the example of innovation in a sales/marketing sense gives you the ability to try something new. This ‘something’ can take a variety of different formats, but most importantly it iis something that can move you towards a greater ROI. Especially if you understand the next step which is quantification.QuantificationWith each innovation, an action is taken – a product sampled, research conducted, a new sales pitch or value proposition delivered. To be truly effective with your marketing you must measure your results.The most successful marketing programs are always working to improve their return on investment (ROI). The key is to measure each independent element that could possibly influence your result.Using our example of the retail establishment, you wouldn’t want to ask all of your sales reps to start using a new pitch AND change their dress code. Doing so might dilute your ability to measure the effectiveness of a new sales script. Additionally, you wouldn’t want to change other store elements like the music or store layout at the same time – doing so would make accurate measurement next to impossible.Now that you’ve tried something new and measured its effectiveness, you’re ready for the third component, orchestration.OrchestrationAfter trying something innovative, and measuring the result, you now know what works and what doesn’t. The key is to keep innovating in small ways, continually testing and evaluating the results. Once you have your successes identified, you need to roll them out in a systemic fashion.All sales and marketing personnel should be utilizing and implementing the latest innovation in all they do. This methodology now becomes your control. Your next innovation is only effective if it produces better results than your control.Improving your process of orchestration is also extremely important. The faster you implement your innovation across the business – in a consistent fashion, the better your results become. Walmart is a master of this. If there is an innovation in one store, it is quickly shared and implemented with all store managers across the U.S. The result is innovation on a massive scale which has a direct and positive influence on ROI.DocumentationThe top innovators do this last step extremely well. Documentation doesn’t mean creating reams of manuals that are esoteric or difficult to navigate. Rather, documentation is the development of a guide, procedure, or system that allows consistent implementation of the innovations you develop.As new personnel come into your business, you want to make sure that the innovations and enhancements you’ve made to your sales and marketing practices are fully implemented. The best way to do this is to not expect an employee to memorize a 700 page employee instruction manual. Rather, they should become familiar with your way of doing business - which needs to be documented in a simple, easily understandable format.You know you’re at a company that does this well when you hear things like, that’s “the Walmart way” or “This is how we do it here”. It’s those companies that create living documentation that is easily understood and implemented that excel. ConclusionIf you’re trying to enhance your marketing program, or create one from scratch, keep this methodology in mind: innovation, quantification, orchestration, documentation. This process will ensure constant growth and improvement in your marketing results.Don’t just take my word for it, look at most major brands or category leaders. Under the hood, you’ll find systems for innovation, ways of testing, measuring, implementing, and documenting in a seemingly effortless fashion. By:mfleischner@marketingscoop.com Source: FreeBlogArticle.com

Principles of Marketing Part 6

Principles of Marketing Preparing a Market Study Tutorial Contents Preparing a Market Study General Format - Parts 1-3 General Format - Parts 4-5 Competitive Analysis Guidelines Presenting the Market Study Other Points Page 6 of 6 Other Points The information provided in a market study should be based on research collected AND NOT on one’s own perceptions, guesstimates or other unsupported statements. The only exception to this may be within the SWOT analysis, however, even most of this should be supported with some evidence. If you are unable to find certain information it is probably a good idea to make this known so the person reading the report would know of this potential limitation of the market study. Obviously you need to collect good research so you do not end up having too many of these statements. It is generally a good idea to define important terms and concepts when you first introduce them. This will benefit those reading the report who may not possess knowledge in this area. Alternatively, you can create a glossary or definition section in the Endnotes area of the report. Where necessary explain how the research was conducted or how data was collected (e.g., explaining how survey was done). Make note of any limitations of secondary research (research you obtained from other sources) that you used. Unless there are very significant limitations you can generally include this as an endnote. If you are investigating a new/different way of doing something with present customers, then you will need to provide a discussion of the cost/benefit of alternative options. That is, what will customer give up to use something new versus what they will get from using the new product. Remember to reference as much as is needed. We recommend using endnotes instead of footnotes. Endnotes appear next to the sentence, word, quote, number, etc. but usually not as a superscript and usually in parenthesis like this (1). The full reference would appear at the back of the report in an Endnotes section. <Previous

Principles of Marketing Part 5

Principles of Marketing Preparing a Market Study Tutorial Contents Preparing a Market Study General Format - Parts 1-3 General Format - Parts 4-5 Competitive Analysis Guidelines Presenting the Market Study Other Points Page 5 of 6 Presenting the Market Study When a formal marketing study is to be presented in a written form we suggest the following guidelines. The formal document is preferably in a double-spaced format but that is not a requirement. The plan is recommended to be delivered in a large binder and should include the following: Section One - contains written report with Title Page, Table of Contents, Executive Summary, Body of Report and Endnotes that contains full citations. Include charts or graphs in body of document, however, if there is a page count limit it is generally suggested only small graphics go in the main body and the rest be placed in an Appendix section. Make sure all pages in the body are numbered. Preferably this section can itself be bound (e.g., spiral) and inserted in the large binder. This way just this section can be removed. Section Two - if needed include an Appendix for larger graphics and other important materials such as a survey, tabulations, etc. Section Three - (optional) all referenced documents, websites, etc. (printed out if possible) are included here. Try to section off these documents using tabs. For large documents, such a large research reports, place in a folder that has holes for the binder. For things that can’t be included, such as books, it is suggested that a photocopy of the book’s title page, copyright page and then the page(s) from which material is referenced. All Files - (optional) A storage device of some kind (e.g., floppy disk, CD, DVD) containing the files used (e.g., word processing, spreadsheet, slides, downloaded articles, etc.). <Next >> Source Code: KnowThis.com

Principles of Marketing Part 4

Principles of Marketing Preparing a Market Study Tutorial Contents Preparing a Market Study General Format - Parts 1-3 General Format - Parts 4-5 Competitive Analysis Guidelines Presenting the Market Study Other Points Page 4 of 6 Guidelines for Doing a Competitive Analysis The competitive analysis section can follow a format that is shown below. In practice we recommend this section be a single-spaced, two-column report that is limited to a single sheet of paper (both sides used). Consequently, font size is generally 10 point or less. This report would be made for each of the major competitors. While most of this report focuses on the overall analysis of the competitor, you should recognize that you are primarily interested in how this information may impact your company and, specifically, a product or product line. Thus, you should make sure, where possible, to focus your information on how it impacts the markets in which your product competes. Note each sub-section within a section will contain 1-5 sentences that explain the sub-section. General Company Information - includes name, location (headquarters, other locations of importance), website address Summary of Business – includes sections that summarize the company, business units and nature of business Business Overview – includes sections on history, ownership structure, types of businesses, mission, strategy/objectives, key executives Recent News/Developments – important company developments within last 6-12 months (e.g., reports from news sources, press releases, financial statements) Financial and Market Share Analysis – includes sections on corporate performance, trends, market share for product Marketing – includes sections on products and services offered, target markets, positioning, customers/users, pricing model, promotional efforts, sales force, and distribution Other Issues – includes sections on technology capability, partnership arrangements, intangible issues Competitors – list key competitors facing this company SWOT – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats Next >> Source: KnowThis.com

Principles of Marketing Part 3

General Format – Parts 4-5 4. Competitive Analysis Summary of Current Competitors Listing by market share ranking (by each target market if possible) Current Competitors - full analysis of top competitors including: Products & Services (e.g., description, uniqueness, pricing, etc.) Market share Current customers Positioning and promotion strategies Partnerships/Alliances/Distributors Recent news SWOT Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats It is extremely important to focus attention on the SWOT section of this report. While most other information in this report can be gleaned from company and secondary materials, much of what appears in the SWOT section is based on the researcher’s own perceptions of the competitor based on the information collected. Consequently, this is often one of the hardest areas of the report to write. And other information as shown in the examples in the next section Potential Competitors Explanation (though not as detailed as Current Competitors) on who they are or maybe and why they are seen as potential competitors 5. Additional Extraneous Variables Discuss factors that may affect this market (e.g., technological, social, governmental, competitive, etc.) Market Trends What is expected to happen Next >> Source: KnowThis.com

Principles of Marketing Part 2

Principles of Marketing Preparing a Market Study Tutorial Contents Preparing a Market Study General Format - Parts 1-3 General Format - Parts 4-5 Competitive Analysis Guidelines Presenting the Market Study Other Points Page 2 of 6 General Format – Parts 1-3 1. Objective of the Research one paragraph explanation of why the research is being done, what you hope to learn and for what purpose the information may be used

2. Description of the Market - General Description - one paragraph - Target Market(s) - Why this particular market(s) was chosen - Who are they - complete profile (e.g., demographics, psychographics, behaviors) - What benefits do they seek (i.e., what points-of-pain or problems are being solved) - What factors can affect their purchase or use decision - What attitudes do they have about the products/services currently or not currently offered - How is the product used - Products and Services that appeal to the target market - In general terms (not particular brands) what is currently appealing to this market - If there are no current providers, what types of products/services may appeal to this market (i.e., what is used now to solve the problem).

3. Market Metrics - Size estimates (current and future) for: - Overall market - Current size - Potential size - Actual penetration of current products/service within the total market - Individual market segments - Current size - Potential size - Actual penetration of current products/service within the total market - Usage rates - Frequency of product purchases - Growth estimates (current and future) for: - Overall market - Individual market segments Next >> Source: KnowThis.com

Principles of Marketing Part 1

Principles of Marketing Preparing a Market Study Tutorial Contents Preparing a Market Study General Format - Parts 1-3 General Format - Parts 4-5 Competitive Analysis Guidelines Presenting the Market Study Other Points Page 1 of 6 This part of the Principles of Marketing Tutorials provides information and guidelines that professionals and students should consider when presented with the task of researching a market. What follows is NOT a marketing plan. Rather what follows is a market study, a component within the larger marketing plan. (For more information on developing a marketing plan see the How to Write a Marketing Plan Tutorial.) Thus, the information provided should not focus so much on what is being planned but on what has been learned about the market. However, you can allude to what you plan to do in order to set the stage for why you are collecting certain types of data. For example, you can say "Product X is planned to target a specific segment of the XYZ market, consequently, we have investigated certain aspects of this market." Those interested in following these guidelines should not limit themselves to what is shown. Feel free to include more if it is appropriate. The guidelines apply to almost all products and services. Additionally, these guidelines can be adjusted in order to be used as a study of a company as a whole and not just products/services. Please note this is an ever evolving set of guidelines so you may want to check back on a regular basis for any updates. Next >> Source: KnowThis.com

Business Plans and Marketing Strategy

Business plans and marketing strategy free business planning and marketing tips, samples, examples and tools - how to write a business plan, techniques for writing a marketing strategy, strategic business plans and sales plans Writing business plans and marketing strategy can be simple. See the free business plan and marketing plan sample/template. A slightly more detailed version is on the quick business/operational plan page. Business planning might appear very complex but in essence it's common sense, and begins with some very simple business start-up principles.Planning a new business or business project must at some stage address a few financial details, and challenges and opportunities relating to modern technology, the internet, websites, etc. However the techniques of how to write strategic business plans (or a strategic marketing plan) remain basically straight-forward. Business planning and marketing strategy are mostly common-sense and logic, based on cause and effect. Here are tips, examples, techniques, tools and a process for writing a marketing strategy, business and sales plans, to produce effective results. This free online guide explains how to put together a marketing strategy, basic business plan, and a sales plan, including free templates and examples, such as the Ansoff and Boston matrix tools. New pages are being added soon on advertising, sales promotion, PR (public relations) and press releases, sales enquiry lead generation, advertising copy-writing, internet and website marketing, in the meanwhile see the marketing tips page for free marketing and advertising techniques and advice. See also the simple notes about starting your own business, which to an extent also apply when you are starting a new business initiative or development inside another organisation as a new business development manager, or a similar role. Here's a free MSExcel profit and loss account template tool for incorporating these factors and financials into a more formal phased business trading plan, which also serves as a business forecasting and reporting tool too. Adapt it to suit your purposes. This plan example is also available as a PDF, see the Profit and Loss Account (P&L) Small Enterprise Business Plan Example (PDF). The numbers could be anything: ten times less, ten times more, a hundred times more - the principle is the same. Towards the end of this article there is also a simple template/framework for a feasibility study or justification report, such as might be required to win funding, authorisation or approval for starting a project, or the continuation of a project or group, in a commercial or voluntary situation. Source: Businessballs.com

Marketing without Spam

Marketing Without Spam

Email marketing can be an effective marketing tool or an incredible annoyance. Here's how to do it right. Spam is any message that you send electronically to lots of people who have not specifically requested mail from you -- in other words, junk email. Like a telemarketing call during dinner, spam almost always annoys, and sometimes offends, those who receive it. While sending spam may result in a sale or two in the short run, it will almost surely damage your reputation, so it's good advice to stay clear of it. There are many better ways to use email to keep in touch with current and potential customers. Here are a few of them: - Invite people to subscribe to an email newsletter instead of sending unsolicited emails. Have a sign-up form on your website and explain that you'll send only timely, informative email to subscribers. - Include late-breaking, useful information in the email you send to subscribers. Because it can be delivered so quickly, email is a perfect vehicle for alerting people who are already part of your community to new and interesting developments. Even a modestly self-serving message will go over well if you package it with enough truly unique and valuable content. - Make it easy to quit receiving email. Every message should include brief, friendly instructions for getting off your mailing list. Even people who keep subscribing will appreciate knowing that you've made it easy for them to say, "Enough already!" when the time comes. Here are a couple of good email newsletter examples. Both are basically promotional, but their content is so interesting that each has collected tens of thousands of volunteer subscribers. And of course, that's what we all want to do! To see these emails, go to the authors' websites and subscribe.

Source: Nolo

A New Brand of Marketing

A New Brand of Marketing By Steve Kimball Steve Kimball is General Manager of Interwoven’s Marketing Solutions Business. 6391 Marketing used to be a lot simpler. In the mid-1960s, the three major television networks could still be counted on to deliver messages to the vast majority of consumers on a regular basis. Media strategy was as elemental as advertising Tide in the daytime and Pepto-Bismol during the evening news. Years before the invention of remote control (not to mention TiVo), people sat, watched and listened to each message. When they weren’t watching TV, consumers turned to a handful of broadly-targeted magazines that boasted huge circulations and delivered eyeballs in bulk to their advertisers. A largely uniform American population with limited media choices meant that a single campaign could serve a national brand from coast to coast. This steady, homogeneous media environment made it relatively easy for a product to gain attention, especially with a limited number of competing consumer brands. Product launches had long lead times, reflecting painstaking mechanical production processes; in the pre-digital era, the race to market was a marathon, not a sprint. Those days are long gone. In recent decades, the American market has undergone a profound transformation on several levels. Rising ethnic diversity and non-traditional households have fueled a proliferation of demographic profiles, each with distinct viewpoints, interests and priorities. The media channels that serve this population have proliferated as well: broad-based television and print models are giving way to an explosion of narrowcast cable channels and niche magazines, even as both of these media lose ground to newer forms of content and entertainment. Consumers now spend more hours online than reading print media, while the video game industry rivals Hollywood in economic activity. This hotly competitive, short-attention-span marketplace calls for increasingly sophisticated marketing strategies and methods. No longer can marketers expect a single medium to deliver the vast majority of consumers; no longer can they expect a single message to resonate across a broad population. In the words of Larry Light, Global CMO of McDonald’s, “The days of mass media marketing are over.” As companies strive to reach and address each of the constituencies they target, new priorities emerge. To get the right message to the right person at the right time, marketing organizations must achieve new levels of flexibility and responsiveness. Launches must be executed more quickly to hit fast-moving windows of opportunity. The cost of each campaign must be reduced to stretch marketing budgets across a greater number of activities. Above all, brand control, always a key concern, has never been more important. With so many new companies and products coming to market every day, consumers turn instinctively to strong brands they know and trust. For established brands, this makes it essential to maintain consistency across an ever-widening spectrum of marketing activities worldwide—a damaged or fragmented brand can compromise the company’s most important competitive asset. For new entrants, the challenge is even greater: to speak with a single, clearly identifiable voice, even in addressing a diverse range of audiences, in hopes of building the next great brand. ............................................................................................................... Source: MarketingPower.com