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MARKETING RESEARCH AND MARKETING MANAGEMENT (22B402)

Department: CSBS

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Batch/Year: II YEAR / IV SEM

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Created by:

Dr.S.D. Uma Mageswari

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Date: 17.01.2024

Revised on: 21.12.2024

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1. CONTENTS

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2. COURSE OBJECTIVES

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• The Course will enable learners to:
• Understand basic marketing concepts
• Comprehend the dynamics of marketing.
• Leverage marketing concepts for effective decision making
• Understand basic concepts and application of statistical tools in Marketing research
• Apply Internet marketing strategies.

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UNIT I INTRODUCTION 9

Marketing Concepts and Applications: Introduction to Marketing & Core Concepts, Marketing of Services, Importance of marketing in service sector. Marketing Planning & Environment: Elements of Marketing Mix, analyzing needs & trends in Environment

- Macro, Economic, Political, Technical & Social Understanding the consumer: Determinants of consumer behavior, Factors influencing consumer behavior

UNIT II MARKET SEGMENTATION AND PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT 9

Market Segmentation: Meaning & Concept, Basis of segmentation, selection of segments, Market Segmentation strategies, Target Marketing, Product Positioning Product Management: Product Life cycle concept, New Product development & strategy, Stages in New Product development, Product decision and strategies, Branding & packaging

 UNIT III PRICING, PROMOTION AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY 9

Pricing, Promotion and Distribution Strategy: Policies & Practices – Pricing Methods & Price determination Policies. Marketing Communication – The promotion mix, Advertising & Publicity, 5 M’s of Advertising Management. Marketing Channels, Retailing, Marketing Communication, Advertising.

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UNIT IV MARKETING RESEARCH 9

Marketing Research: Introduction, Type of Market Research, Scope, Objectives & Limitations Marketing Research Techniques, Survey Questionnaire design & drafting, Pricing Research, Media Research, Qualitative Research Data Analysis: Use of various statistical tools – Descriptive & Inference Statistics, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Multivariate Analysis Discriminant Analysis, Cluster Analysis, Segmenting

and Positioning, Factor Analysis

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UNIT V INTERNET MARKETING 9

Internet Marketing: Introduction to Internet Marketing. Mapping fundamental concepts of Marketing (7Ps, STP); Strategy and Planning for Internet Marketing Business to Business Marketing: Fundamental of business markets. Organizational buying process. Business buyer needs. Market and sales potential. Product in business markets. Price in business markets. Place in business markets. Promotion in business markets. Relationship, networks and customer relationship management. Business to Business marketing strategy.

TOTAL: 45 PERIODS

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MAPPING OF THE SUBJECT

MARKETING RESEARCH AND MARKETING MANAGEMENT (22CB402)

22CB302

FUNDAMENTALS OF ECONOMICS

22CB501

FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT

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DIGITAL MARKETING

ELECTIVE IV

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COURSE OUTCOMES

Upon completion of the course, the students will be able to:

CO1: Understand the marketing concepts and its evolution

CO2: Analyze the market based on segmentation, targeting and positioning

CO3: Leverage marketing concepts for decision making on product, price, promotion mix and distribution

CO4: Apply the concepts of market research and analyse data using statistical tools

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CO5: Apply internet marketing strategies for businesses

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6. CO - PO / PSO MAPPING

• Correlation Level - 1. Slight (Low) 2. Moderate (Medium)

3. Substantial (High) , If there is no correlation, put “-“.

Activity based learning

UNIT 1

Marketing Concepts and Applications: Introduction to Marketing & Core

Concepts, Marketing of Services, Importance of marketing in service sector.

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INTRODUCTION

Myriad factors contribute to making a business successful - strategy, dedicated employees, good information systems, excellent implementation. In addition, the secret ingradient to their success is their focus on sensing and serving customers to their utmost satisfaction through delivering high quality and superior value.

In simple words, Marketing is the delivery of customer satisfaction at a profit. The goal of marketing is to attract new customers by promising superior value, and to keep current customers by delivering satisfaction.

MARKETING Marketing is not selling. It actually refers to satisfying the needs of a customer.

Marketing is defined as as: a nodal and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others:''

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Definition of Marketing Management

Marketing management: the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior Customer value.

According to Philip Kotler, "Marketing Management is the analysis, planning, implementation and control of programmes designed to bring about desired exchanges with target audiences for the purpose of personal and of mutual gain. It relies heavily on the adoption and coordination of product, price, promotion and place for achieving responses.".

Marketing Management is a Business Process

Marketing management is a business process, to manage marketing activities in profit seeking and non profit organisations at different levels of management, i.e. supervisory, middle- management, and executive levels. Marketing management decisions are based on strong knowledge of marketing functions and clear understanding and application of supervisory and managerial techniques.

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Marketing Management is Both Science and Art

“Marketing management is art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer value.” (Kotler, 2006). Marketing management is a science because it follows general principles that guides the marketing managers in decision making. The Art of Marketing management consists in tackling every situation in an creative and effective manner. Marketing Management is thus a science as well as an art.

Importance of Marketing Management:

Marketing management has gained importance to meet increasing competition and the need for improved methods of distribution to reduce cost and to increase profits. Marketing management today is the most important function in a commercial and business enterprise.

What is marketed?

Marketing is pervasive in nature as it applies to all organizations. It is applicable not only to business organizations, but also to organizations such as educational, medical, government, non-social, religious and cultural organizations. All organisations market their products and services to accomplish their goals and ensure their survival and growth.

For instance, educational institutions are marketing knowledge packed courses, character building and all round development, hospitals are selling total health care, family welfare, child welfare, etc. and social organisations are selling their programs like child education, upliftment of rural masses, spread of literacy, and health care of people living in slums and so on.

Marketing people are involved in marketing 10 types of entities: goods, services, experiences, events, persons, places, properties, organizations, information, and ideas.

Goods. Physical goods constitute the bulk of most countries’ production and marketing effort. In developing nations, goods— particularly food, commodities, clothing, and housing—are the mainstay of the economy.

Services. As economies advance, a growing proportion of their activities are focused on the production of services. The services sector is not only the dominant sector in India's GDP, but has also attracted significant foreign investment, has contributed significantly to export and has provided large-scale employment. Services include airlines, hotels, and maintenance and repair people, as well as professionals such as accountants, lawyers, engineers, and doctors. Many market offerings consist of a variable mix of goods and services.

Experiences. By orchestrating several services and goods, one can create, stage,and market experiences. Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is an experience;so is the Hard Rock Cafe.

Events. Marketers promote time-based events, such as the Olympics, trade shows, sports events, and artistic performances.

Persons. Celebrity marketing has become a major business. Artists, musicians,CEOs, physicians, high-profile lawyers and financiers, and other professionals draw help from celebrity marketers

factories, economic business

Places. Cities, states, regions, and nations compete to attract tourists, company headquarters, and new residents.5 Place marketers include development specialists, real estate agents, commercial banks, local associations, and advertising and public relations agencies.

Properties. Properties are intangible rights of ownership of either real property (real estate) or financial property (stocks and bonds). Properties are bought and sold, and this occasions a marketing effort by real estate agents (for real estate) and investment companies and banks (for securities).

Organizations. Organizations actively work to build a strong, favorable image in the mind of their publics. Philips, the Dutch electronics company, advertises with the tag line, “Let’s Make Things Better.” The Body Shop and Ben & Jerry’s also gain attention by promoting social causes. Universities, museums, and performing arts organizations boost their public images to compete more successfully for audiences and funds.

Information. The production, packaging, and distribution of information is one of society’s major industries.6 Among the marketers of information are schools and universities; publishers of encyclopedias, nonfiction books, and specialized magazines; makers of CDs; and Internet Web sites.

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Ideas. Every market offering has a basic idea at its core. In essence, products and

services are platforms for delivering some idea or benefit to satisfy a core need.

Examples: Certain ideas such as ‘no smoking’, protection of railways property, pulse polio, etc. Target people are persuaded through advertisements, street plays and other techniques to follow such ideas.

Marketing Philosophies/ Evolution of marketing concepts:

There are five marketing concepts. A company should choose the right one according to their and their customers’ needs.

• Production concept
• Product concept
• Selling concept
• Marketing concept
• Social marketing concept

Production Concept

This concept works on an assumption that consumers prefer a product which is inexpensive and widely available. This viewpoint was encapsulated in Says Law which states ‘Supply creates its own demand’. Hence companies focus on producing more of the product and making sure that it is available to the customer everywhere easily.

Increase in the production of the product makes the companies get the advantage of economies of scale. This decreased production cost makes the product inexpensive and more attractive to the customer.

A low price may attract new customers, but the focus is just on production and not on product quality. This may result in a decrease in sales if the product is not up to the standards.

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This philosophy only works when the demand is more than the supply. Moreover, a customer not always prefers an inexpensive product over others. There are many other factors which influence his purchase decision.

Examples of Production Concept

Companies whose product market is spread all over the world may use this approach.

Companies having an advantage of monopoly.

Any other company whose product’s demand is more than its supply.

Product Concept

This concept works on the assumption that customers prefer products of ‘greater quality’ and ‘price and availability’ doesn’t influence their purchase decision.

Hence the company devotes most of its time in developing a product of greater

quality which usually turns out to be expensive.

Since the main focus of the marketers is the product quality, they often lose or fail to appeal to customers whose demands are driven by other factors like price, availability, usability, etc.

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Examples of Product Concept

• Companies in the technology industry. Companies having an advantage of monopoly.

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Selling Concept

Production and product concept both focus on production but selling concept focuses on making an actual sale of the product. Selling Concept focuses on making every possible sale of the product, regardless of the quality of the product or the need of the customer. The main focus is to make money. This philosophy doesn’t include building relations with customers. Hence repeated sales are very less. Companies following this concept may even try to deceive the customers to make them buy their product.

Companies which follow this philosophy have a short-sighted approach as they ‘try to sell what they make rather than what market wants’.

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Examples of Selling Concept: Companies with short-sighted profit goals. This often leads to marketing myopia.

Marketing Concept

Selling Concept cannot let a company last long in the market. It’s a consumers market after all. To succeed in the 21st century, one has to produce a product to fulfil the needs of their customers. Hence, emerged the marketing concept. This concept works on an assumption that consumers buy products which fulfil their needs. Businesses following the marketing concept conduct researches to know about customers’ needs and wants and come out with products to fulfil the same better than the competitors. By doing so, the business establishes a relationship with the customer and generate profits in the long run.

However, this isn’t the only philosophy that should be followed by all the businesses. Many businesses still follow other concepts and make profits. It totally depends on the demand and supply and the needs of the parties involved.

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Examples of Marketing Concept:

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Companies in perfect competition.

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Companies who want to stay in the market for a long time.

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Societal Marketing Concept

Adding to the marketing concept, this philosophy focuses on society’s well-being as well. The business focuses on how to fulfil the needs of the customer without affecting the environment, natural resources and focusing on society’s well-being. This philosophy believes that the business is a part of the society and hence should take part in social services like the elimination of poverty, illiteracy, and controlling explosive population growth etc. Many of the big companies have included corporate social responsibility as a part of their marketing activities.

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Holistic Marketing Concept

Holistic marketing is a new addition to the business marketing management philosophies which considers business and all its parts as one single entity and gives a shared purpose to every activity and person related to that business. A business, like a human body, has different parts, but it’s only able to function properly when all those parts work together towards the same objective. Holistic marketing concept enforces this interrelatedness and believes that a broad and integrated perspective is essential to attain the best results.

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Holistic marketing is a marketing strategy that connects all the different marketing channels and departments of a company. It emphasizes a unified and consistent approach to marketing, which can improve customer relationships and increase efficiency. If you want to streamline your marketing process and make your company more efficient, then holistic marketing might be the right approach for you. In this article, we discuss what holistic marketing is, including its principles and benefits, and an example of holistic marketing.

Holistic Marketing Examples - APPLE

An excellent illustration of a company that has successfully implemented holistic marketing is Apple Inc. Known for its innovative products and distinctive marketing strategies, Apple exemplifies the power of a comprehensive and integrated approach to marketing.

Apple takes a holistic marketing approach by seamlessly integrating various elements of its marketing mix. Every part of the brand experience is meticulously managed, from product design and development through price, distribution, and advertising. Apple’s dedication to simplicity, beauty, and use is obvious in all of its products and marketing activities.

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Apple’s marketing efforts are well-known for their emotional appeal, compelling storytelling, and aspirational language. The company creates a sense of belonging and exclusivity through its branding, fostering strong connections with its customers. Moreover, Apple ensures a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints, from its visually appealing product packaging and sleek retail stores to its user-friendly interfaces and intuitive customer support.

By focusing on the entire customer journey, Apple has built a loyal and devoted customer base. Their emphasis on customer satisfaction is reflected in their after-sales service, warranty programs, and regular software updates. Apple’s customers often become brand advocates, spreading positive word-of-mouth and driving further brand growth.

Apple’s holistic marketing approach has yielded numerous benefits. By prioritizing the customer experience, Apple has achieved a strong emotional connection with its customers, fostering loyalty and repeat purchases. The consistency in its branding and messaging has resulted in a highly recognizable and iconic brand, distinguishing Apple from its competitors. Additionally, Apple’s focus on long-term relationships has led to a community of loyal customers who eagerly anticipate and embrace new product releases.

This example of Apple demonstrates how holistic marketing can be a game-changer in achieving business success. By integrating various marketing elements, maintaining consistency, and prioritizing the customer journey, companies can create a powerful brand image, foster customer loyalty, and drive sustained growth.

Marketing system

“Market" was a physical place where buyers and sellersgathered to exchange goods. Now marketers view thesellers as the industry and the buyers as the market (Fig.1). The sellers send goods and services andcommunications (ads, direct mail, e-mail messages) tothe market; in return they receive money andinformation (attitudes, sales data) (Kotler, 2002).

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Simple marketing system comprises of  different actors and factors as product/service, producer/seller something valuable to the exchange in return of the product/service (money), consumer/customer, communication procedure to have two way communication like to provide information regarding or service or product to or consumer or customer and to have feedback in same regard from the customer. Given fig presents an instance of a very simple marketing system. Marketing system contain following basic activities:

Sellers have to search for buyers, recognize their needs, design good products and services, fix prices for them, promote them, and store and deliver them.

A modern marketing system includes all elements essential to bring buyers and sellers together. This may include such activities as research, product development communication, pricing, distribution & service.

Each of major actors in the marketing system adds value for next level of the system.

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SCOPE OF MARKETING:

Marketing has a very wide scope it covers all the activities from conception of ideas to realization of profits. Marketing is pervasive in scope; any type of entity which is of value to a market segment can be marketed. The scope of marketing is determined by the marketing offering of an organization. Market offering, as discussed above, is a combination of goods, services, ideas, persons, places, information, etc. offered to a market to satisfy specific needs and wants of people.

Marketing is highly dynamic and complex in nature. The rapid changes in various sectors have brought great changes in the concept of marketing. Traditionally, marketing was concerned with buying and selling of goods and services only but now its scope has widened and it encompasses a range of activities from consumer satisfaction to consumer delight and management of customer relationship.

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The scope (subject matter) of marketing is as follows:

Marketing Research: Though products and services were the starting point under traditional marketing, modern marketing starts with an analysis of the various aspects of market and related areas. It includes an analysis of nature and types of customers, size of market, customer attitude, buyer behaviour etc. An in- depth analysis of customers and markets is a prerequisite for every marketer to have a successful marketing.

Products and Services: Products and Service are the basic element of marketing. If there is no product there is no marketing. It is concerned with the nature and type of products, product quality and design, product planning and development, product decisions relating to branding, labelling, packaging, trademarks etc.

Channel of Distribution: The pathway through which the goods move from producer to consumer is the channel of distribution. It includes a number of intermediaries like wholesaler, retailers, jobbers etc. Channels by moving the goods help in transferring the ownership of goods from seller to buyer.

Physical Distribution: The physical movement of the goods from producer to consumer is physical distribution. It includes transportation, warehousing, inventory control and management, order processing etc.

Promotional Decisions: Howsoever good a product is, it has no value if it is not properly promoted. Promotion has the basic objective of informing the market about product availability and creating a demand for it. Different promotional tools are there like advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, publicity, public relations etc.

Pricing Decisions: This is the only element of marketing which generates revenue for the firm. Pricing is concerned with pricing policies and strategies, price determination, discounts, commissions etc.

Environmental Analysis: An analysis of the environment in which the business is to be carried out is the first step for any organisation. The various macro and micro factors should be studied beforehand only to develop an understanding of the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, for an organisation.

This will help not only in the formulation of the corporate strategy but marketing strategy as well. It includes the study of economic environment, geographical environment, political and legal environment, social and cultural environment, natural and technological environment etc. in the country and outside.

Feedback from Customers: For successful marketing of goods it is essential that the marketer obtains the required feedback from customers. A proper feedback mechanism should be developed so that reasons for failure or less satisfaction may be identified and improvements in the products be made.

Responsibility towards the Society:Business and society are interrelated and interdependent. A business cannot exist in vacuum. It derives its much needed inputs from society and therefore owes a responsibility towards the society. These social activities are a part of marketing as the units have to protect and pro0.mote the interest of the society. A marketer to be socially responsive owes responsibility towards employees, consumer, shareholder etc.

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CORE CONCEPTS OF MARKETING:

Core concepts are basic elements their combination makes up the complete marketing system. Every marketing is a combination of these key concepts.

Kotler presented five key concepts of marketing. They are;

• Need, Want, and Demand
• Product, Service, Experience
• Market
• Exchange, Transaction, and Relationship
• Customer Value and Satisfaction

According to Philip Kotler, every marketing begins with the need point and ends with customer satisfaction, and its success determines the satisfaction of customers.

After identifying customers’ needs, the marketing strategies help to get the endpoint i.e. customer satisfaction, and this determines whether or not the marketing strategy succeeds. These key marketing concepts define when the marketing starts when it ends, what includes in between, and how it works.

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i) 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 Philly cheesesteak and an iced tea.

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Demands are wants for specific products backed by an ability to pay.

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 preexist 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.

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Five types of needs:

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• Stated needs (The customer wants an inexpensive car.)
• Real needs (The customer wants a car whose operating cost, not initial price, is low.)

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• Unstated needs (The customer expects good service from the dealer.)
• Delight needs (The customer would like the dealer to include an onboard GPS navigation system.)
• Secret needs (The customer wants friends to see him or her as a savvy consumer.)

Responding only to the stated need may shortchange 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.

DEMAND:

Marketers are skilled at stimulating demand for their products and they are responsible for demand management. They 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.

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ii) Product or Offering

People satisfy their needs and wants with products. 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 product is any offering that can satisfy a need or want, such as one of the 10 basic offerings of goods, services, experiences, events, persons, places, properties, organizations, information, and ideas. A brand is an offering from a known source. A brand name such as McDonald’s carries many associations in the minds of people: hamburgers, fun, children, fast food, golden arches. These associations make up the brand image. All companies strive to build a strong, favorable brand image.

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iii) MARKETS

A market is a collection of buyers and sellers who transact over a particular product or product class (such as the housing market or the grain market). A variety of market structures will characterize an economy. Such market structures essentially refer to the degree of competition in a market.

There are other determinants of market structures such as the nature of the goods and products, the number of sellers, number of consumers, the nature of the product or service, economies of scale etc. 

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• Five basic markets and their connecting flows are shown in Figure.
• Manufacturers go to resource markets (raw material markets, labor markets, money markets), buy resources and turn them into goods and services, and sell finished products to intermediaries, who sell them to consumers.
• Consumers sell their labor and receive money with which they pay for goods and services.

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The government collects tax revenues to buy goods from resource,manufacturer, and intermediary markets and uses these goods and services to provide public services. Each nation’s economy, and the global economy, consists of interacting sets of markets linked through exchange processes.

Marketers use the term market to cover various groupings of customers. They view sellers as constituting the industry and buyers as constituting the market. They talk about need markets (the diet-seeking market), product markets (the shoe market), demographic markets (the youth market), and geographic markets (the Chinese market); or they extend the concept to cover voter markets, labor markets, and donor markets, for instance.

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KEY CUSTOMER MARKETS

There are four types of customers and their markets may be classified as:

Consumer Markets Companies selling mass consumer goods and services such as juices, cosmetics, athletic shoes, and air travel spend a great deal of time establishing a strong brand image by developing a superior product and packaging, ensuring its availability, and backing it with engaging communications and reliable service.

Business Markets Companies selling business goods and services often face well-informed professional buyers skilled at evaluating competitive offerings. Business buyers buy goods to make or resell a product to others at a profit. Business marketers must demonstrate how their products will help achieve higher revenue or lower costs.

Advertising can play a role, but the sales force, the price, and the company’s reputation may play a greater one.

Global Markets Companies in the global marketplace must decide which countries to enter;how to enter each (as an exporter, licenser, joint venture partner, contract manufacturer, or solo manufacturer); how to adapt product and service features to each country; how to price products in different countries; and how to design communications for different cultures. They face different requirements for buying and disposing of property; cultural, language, legal and political differences; and currency fluctuations. Yet, the payoff can be huge.

Nonprofit and Governmental Markets Companies selling to nonprofit organizations with limited purchasing power such as churches, universities, charitable organizations, and government agencies need to price carefully. Lower selling prices affect the features and quality the seller can build into the offering. Much government purchasing calls for bids, and buyers often focus on practical solutions and favor the lowest bid in the absence of extenuating factors.

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Four basic types of market structures

1] Perfect Competiton

In a perfect competition market structure, there are a large number of buyers and sellers. All the sellers of the market are small sellers in competition with each other. There is no one big seller with any significant influence on the market. So all the firms in such a market are price takers.

There are certain assumptions when discussing the perfect competition. This is the reason a perfect competition market is pretty much a theoretical concept. These assumptions are as follows,

• The products on the market are homogeneous, i.e. they are completely identical
• All firms only have the motive of profit maximization
• There is free entry and exit from the market, i.e. there are no barriers
• And there is no concept of consumer preference

2] Monopolistic Competition

This is a more realistic scenario that actually occurs in the real world. In monopolistic competition, there are still a large number of buyers as well as sellers. But they all do not sell homogeneous products. The products are similar but all sellers sell slightly differentiated products.

OTHER TYPES OF MARKETS

Now the consumers have the preference of choosing one product over another. The sellers can also charge a marginally higher price since they may enjoy some market power. So the sellers become the price setters to a certain extent.

For example, the market for cereals is a monopolistic competition. The products are all similar but slightly differentiated in terms of taste and flavours. Another such example is toothpaste.

3] Oligopoly

In an oligopoly, there are only a few firms in the market. While there is no clarity about the number of firms, 3-5 dominant firms are considered the norm. So in the case of an oligopoly, the buyers are far greater than the sellers.

The firms in this case either compete with another to collaborate together, They use their market influence to set the prices and in turn maximize their profits. So the consumers become the price takers. In an oligopoly, there are various barriers to entry in the market, and new firms find it difficult to establish themselves.

4] Monopoly

In a monopoly type of market structure, there is only one seller, so a single firm will control the entire market. It can set any price it wishes since it has all the market power. Consumers do not have any alternative and must pay the price set by the seller.

Monopolies are extremely undesirable. Here the consumer loose all their power and market forces become irrelevant. However, a pure monopoly is very rare in reality.

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iv) Value and Satisfaction

In terms of marketing, the product or offering will be successful if it delivers value and satisfaction to the target buyer. The buyer chooses between different offerings on the basis of which is perceived to deliver the most value. We define value as a ratio between what the customer gets and what he gives. The customer gets benefits and assumes costs, as shown in this equation:

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The marketer can increase the value of the customer offering by (1) raising benefits, (2) reducing costs, (3) raising benefits and reducing costs, (4) raising benefits by more than the raise in costs, or (5) lowering benefits by less than the reduction in costs.

V) Exchange and Transactions

Exchange, the core of marketing, involves obtaining a desired product from someone by offering something in return. For exchange potential to exist, five conditions must be satisfied:

• There are at least two parties.
• Each party has something that might be of value to the other party. Each party is capable of communication and delivery.
• Each party is free to accept or reject the exchange offer.
• Each party believes it is appropriate or desirable to deal with the other party
• Whether exchange actually takes place depends upon whether the two parties can agree on terms that will leave them both better off (or at least not worse off) than before.
• Exchange is a value-creating process because it normally leaves both parties better off.

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Note that exchange is a process rather than an event. Two parties are engaged in

exchange if they are negotiating—trying to arrive at mutually agreeable terms. When an agreement is reached, we say that a transaction takes place. A transaction involves at least two things of value, agreed-upon conditions, a time of agreement, and a place of agreement, to include the study of transfer behavior as well as transaction behavior.

Marketing consists of actions undertaken to elicit desired responses from a target audience. To effect successful exchanges, marketers analyze what each party expects from the transaction.

History of the 4 P’s of Marketing

The individual who conceptualized the 4 P’s of Marketing was a Harvard University professor named Neil Borden. In 1964, Borden introduced

the idea in one of his published articles called “The Concept of the Marketing Mix.” he mentioned that many companies could use the

framework to increase the likelihood of their success when advertising their products.

Marketing Mix:

Marketers use numerous tools to elicit the desired responses from their target markets. These tools constitute a marketing mix: The marketing mix refers to the set of actions, or tactics, that a company uses to promote its brand or product in the market. The 4Ps make up a typical marketing mix - Price, Product, Promotion and Place.

Marketing-mix decisions must be made to influence the trade channels as well as the final consumers. Typically, the firm can change its price, sales-force size, and advertising expenditures in the short run. However, it can develop new products and modify its distribution channels only in the long run. Thus, the firm typically makes fewer period-to-period marketing-mix changes in the short run than the number of marketing- mix decision variables might suggest.

Product: A product is any good or service that fulfills consumer needs or desires. It can also be defined as a bundle of utilities that comes with physical aspects such as design, volume, brand name, etc. The type of product impacts its perceived value, which allows companies to price it profitably. It also affects other aspects such as product placement and advertisements.

Price: The price of a product directly influences sales volume and, consequently, business profits. Demand, cost, pricing trends among competitors, and government regulations are crucial factors that determine pricing. Price usually reflects the product’s perceived value rather than its real value. This means that pricing can be increased to promote exclusivity or reduced to create access.

Promotion: Promotion involves decisions related to advertising, sales force, direct marketing, public relations, advertising budgets, etc. The primary aim of promotion is to spread awareness about the product and services. A product is a tangible item that is put on the market for acquisition, attention, or consumption while a service is an intangible item, which arises from the offered by a company. It helps in persuading consumers to choose a particular product over others in the market. Promotional efforts include the following:

Advertising: A means of selling a product, service, or idea through communicating a

sponsored, non-personal message about the product.

Public relations: Involves management and control of the flow and matter of information from one’s organization to the general public or other institutions.

Marketing strategy: Involves identifying the right target market and using tools such as advertising to penetrate the said market. Promotion also includes online factors such as determining the class of search functions on Google that may trigger corresponding or targeted ads for the product, the design and layout of a company’s webpage, or the content posted on social media handles such as Twitter and Instagram.

Place (or Distribution): Place involves choosing the place where products are to be made available for sale. The primary motive of managing trade channels is to ensure that the product is readily available to the customer at the right time and place. It also involves decisions regarding the placing and pricing of wholesale and retail outlets.

Distribution channels such as outsourcing or company transport fleets are decided upon after cost-benefit analysis. Small details such as shelf space committed to the product by department stores are also included.

Marketing Myopia:

Marketing myopia is a situation when a company has a narrow-minded marketing approach and it focuses mainly on only one aspect out of many possible marketing attributes.

A brand focusing on the development of high-quality products for customers who disregard quality and only focus on the price is a classic example of marketing myopia.

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When Does Marketing Myopia Strike In?

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Marketing myopia strikes in when the short term marketing goals are given more

importance than the long term goals. Some examples are:

More focus on selling rather than building relationships with the customers. Predicting growth without conducting proper research.

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Mass production without knowing the demand.

Giving importance to just one aspect of the marketing attributes without focusing on what customer actually wants.

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Not changing with the dynamic consumer environment.

Examples Of Marketing Myopia

Here are some companies that are suffering from or have suffered from marketing myopia

Kodak lost much of its share to Sony cameras when digital cameras boomed and Kodak didn’t plan for it.

Nokia losing its marketing share to android and IOS.

Hollywood didn’t even tap the television market as it was focused just on movies.

Yahoo! (worth $100 billion dollars in 2000) lost to Google and was bought by Verizon at approx. $5 billion (2016).

Marketing Myopia in future

Dry cleaners – New types of fiber and chemicals will result in less demand for dry

cleaners.

Grocery stores – A shift to the digital lifestyle will make grocery stores to disappear.

Facebook: With the new GDPR and data privacy rules, Facebook will either need to change its business model or it will have to close its business.

The Marketing Planning Process

“The marketing planning process is a systematic and methodological approach for planning, forecasting and coordinating all marketing needs and objectives. It is a structured and systematic approach for developing, implementing, executing and evaluating marketing strategies.”

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The marketing planning process

The marketing planning process starts by defining the company’s business environment and competitive positioning. From there, it moves on to identifying what is needed in terms of market research, target markets, and marketing objectives. This is followed by a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Finally, a strategy is developed based on the findings from the SWOT analysis with a plan for implementation.

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“A marketing plan is a systematic process that includes an assessment of marketing opportunities and resources, the determination of marketing objectives, and the development of a plan for implementation and control.”

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Objectives of marketing plan:

♦ An organization can follow this pathway to reach its ultimate destination.

♦ High levels of performance can be achieved by allocating resources efficiently and effectively.

♦ Besides identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, it also suggests ways to address, exploit and improve these factors.

♦ To achieve corporate objectives and marketing objectives, the organization structure may be shaped.

The marketing strategy is implemented and controlled by it.

Planning is crucial to the successful implementation of strategy and achievement of objectives.

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MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS:

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1. Establish strategic goals

2. Perform a marketing audit

Marketing audit helps in analysis and understanding of the environment in which it operates. Both internal and external audits are conducted.

In addition to evaluating the business and economic environment, the market, and the competition, external audits should also look for important trends that will affect the market and industry in the future.

As part of an internal audit, organizations should look at the operational efficiency, service effectiveness, key skills and competencies of their employees, the resources they access, their products and services, and their ‘core business.

3. Prepare a SWOT analysis

The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats section summarizes the audit and should be included in the final written plan. Strengths and weaknesses relate to the company and its internal environment, while opportunities and threats are external factors that are beyond a company’s control, but which it must anticipate, evaluate, and take advantage of. Include only the most pertinent information. 

4. Define marketing objectives

In order to set realistic and achievable objectives, a marketing audit is essential, and determining how to reach these objectives must be based on the objectives themselves. 

Which products should be sold in which markets depends on market objectives. Marketing objectives (what you want to accomplish) must not be confused with strategy (how you will accomplish it). Your written plan should outline your marketing objectives.

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5. Formulate marketing strategies

In this section, they describe how the marketing objectives will be met within the time frame required. Customer centricity – who are the company’s customers? What do they want?

Competitive capability – how fast and efficiently can the company bring products to market?

Collaboration within a company – how effective and productive is it? How does the company identify and relate to external companies that can contribute to its success?

A cyclical connection – how does the success or failure of strategic programme implementation affect ongoing strategy formulation practices?

6. Determine the resources required

The plan must specify the resources that will be required for the proposed activities, emphasizing the ones that are not currently available but will be needed to achieve market penetration objectives. Take into account technology, systems, human expertise, procedures, training needs, and distribution channels. 

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7. Monitor and evaluate progress 

Metrics and milestones should be used to track the progress of the plan. The measures you use should be clearly related to the success of the planned activities. 

When circumstances change, plans should be revised to take advantage of opportunities or to counter threats. 

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Conclusion

The marketing planning process is an effective way to plan your marketing strategy.

Features of Marketing Environment

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The marketing environment surrounding a business possesses the following five features:

Specific and general forces: The marketing environment is made up of both specific and general forces. Specific forces such as customers and investors directly affect the business’s working, while general forces like social, legal, technological, or political factors indirectly affect the business’s working.

Complex: The marketing environment is a complex interaction of several elements, factors, conditions, and forces that affect the business’s ability to establish a relationship and serve its customers.

Dynamic: The environment surrounding a business is very dynamic as its constituents do not remain stable and change over time. Moreover, while marketers can control some of the marketing environment elements, several elements are out of the marketer’s control.

Uncertain: Forces that rule the marketing environment are highly uncertain, and it becomes tough for a marketer to predict market forces to develop marketing startegies and plans.

Relative: Marketing environments are also relative in nature. A specific product might have a good demand in the USA but not in India because of the different marketing environments in the two countries.

Importance of Marketing Environment

Every business, no matter how big or small, operates within the marketing environment. Its present and future existence, profits, image, and positioning depend on its internal and external environment. The business environment is one of the most dynamic aspects of the business. In order to operate and stay in the market for long, one has to understand and analyse the marketing environment and its components properly.

Essential for planning: An understanding of the external and internal environment is essential for planning for the future. A marketer needs to be fully aware of the current scenario, dynamism, and future predictions of the marketing environment if he wants his plans to succeed.

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Understanding Customers: Thorough knowledge of the marketing environment helps marketers acknowledge and predict what the customer actually wants. In-depth analysis of the marketing environment reduces (and even removes) the noise between the marketer and customers and helps the marketer to understand consumer behaviour better.

Tapping Trends: Breaking into new markets and capitalising on new trends requires a lot of insight into the marketing environment. The marketer needs to research about every aspect of the environment to create a foolproof plan.

Threats and Opportunities: Sound knowledge of the market environment often gives a first-mover advantage to the marketer as he makes sure that his business is safe from future threats and taps the future opportunities.

Understanding the Competitors: Every niche has different players fighting for the same spot. A better understanding of the marketing environment allows the marketer to understand more about the competitions and about what advantages do the competitors have over his business and vice versa.

Marketing Controls

A) Selection of target market

2. Marketing objectives
3. Marketing

Organisation

4. Performance Assessment
5. Marekting Mix

Management

Controls

1. Line of business
2. Overall objectives
3. Corporate

culture

4. Role of marketing
5. Role of other business

functions

CONTROLLABLE FACTORS

CONSUMERS

COMPETITORS

SUPPLIERS

Political

Economic

Social

Technological

Legal

Marketing Environment

Factors influencing Marketing Decisions

The marketing environment is made up of the internal and external environment of the business. While the internal environment can be controlled, the business has less or no control over the external environment.

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Internal Environment

The internal environment of the business includes all the forces and factors inside the organisation which affect its marketing operations. These components can be grouped under the Five Ms of the business, which are:

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Men: The people of the organisation including both skilled and unskilled workers.

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Minutes: Time taken for the processes of the business to complete.

Machinery: Equipment required by the business to facilitate or complete the processes.

Materials: The factors of production or supplies required by the business to complete the processes or production.

Money: Money is the financial resource used to purchase machinery, materials, , and pay the employees.

The internal environment is under the control of the marketer and can be changed with the changing external environment. Nevertheless, the internal marketing environment is as important for the business as the external marketing environment. This environment includes the sales department, the marketing department, the manufacturing unit, the human resource department, etc.

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External Environment

The external environment constitutes factors and forces which are external to the business and on which the marketer has little or no control. The external environment is of two types:

Micro marketing environment Macro marketing environment

Micro Environment

The micro-component of the external environment is also known as the task environment. It comprises external forces and factors that are directly related to the business. These include suppliers, market intermediaries, customers, partners, competitors and the public

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Suppliers include all the parties which provide resources needed by the

organisation.

Market intermediaries include parties involved in distributing the product or service of the organisation.

Partners are all the separate entities like advertising agencies, market research organisations, banking and insurance companies, transportation companies, brokers, etc. which conduct business with the organisation.

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Customers comprise of the target group of the organisation.

Competitors are the players in the same market who targets similar customers as that of the organisation.

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Public is made up of any other group that has an actual or potential interest or

affects the company’s ability to serve its customers.

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Macro Environment

The macro component of the marketing environment is also known as the broad environment. It constitutes the external factors and forces which affect the industry as a whole but don’t have a direct effect on the business. The macro- environment can be divided into 6 parts.

Demographic Environment: The demographic environment is made up of the people who constitute the market. It is characterised as the factual investigation and segregation of the population according to their size, density, location, age, gender, race, and occupation.

Economic Environment:

The economic environment constitutes factors that influence customers’ purchasing power and spending patterns. These factors include the GDP, GNP, interest rates, inflation, income distribution, government funding and subsidies, and other major economic variables.

Physical Environment: The physical environment includes the natural environment in which the business operates. This includes the climatic conditions, environmental change, accessibility to water and raw materials, natural disasters, pollution etc.

Technological Environment: The technological environment constitutes innovation, research and development in technology, technological alternatives, innovation inducements also technological barriers to smooth operation. Technology is one of the biggest sources of threats and opportunities for the organisation and it is very dynamic.

Political-Legal Environment: The political & Legal environment includes laws and government’s policies prevailing in the country. It also includes other pressure groups and agencies which influence or limit the working of the industry and/or the business in the society.

Social-Cultural Environment: The social-cultural aspect of the macro-environment is made up of the lifestyle, values, culture, prejudice and beliefs of the people. This differs in different regions.

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Services marketing

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Services marketing is a form of marketing businesses that provide a service to their customers use to increase brand awareness and sales. Unlike product marketing, services marketing focuses on advertising intangible transactions that provide value to customers.

Advertisers use effective services marketing strategies to build trust with their customers and show them how their service can benefit them. Businesses may base their services marketing strategies on the promotion of ideas, benefits and promises to help them sell their services.

For example, a company that provides wellness coaching may promote the benefits of adopting a healthier lifestyle, the promise that they can help their customers achieve their fitness goals and the idea that incorporating an effective wellness routine is easier with the help of a certified coach.

The 7 P’s of Services Marketing

The first four elements in the services marketing mix are the same as those in the traditional marketing mix. However, given the unique nature of services, the implications of these are slightly different in case of services.

Product: In case of services, the ‘product’ is intangible, heterogeneous and perishable. Moreover, its production and consumption are inseparable. Hence, there is scope for customizing the offering as per customer requirements and the actual customer encounter therefore assumes particular significance. However, too much customization would compromise the standard delivery of the service and adversely affect its quality. Hence particular care has to be taken in designing the service offering.

Pricing: Pricing of services is tougher than pricing of goods. While the latter can be priced easily by taking into account the raw material costs, in case of services attendant costs - such as labor and overhead costs - also need to be factored in. Thus a restaurant not only has to charge for the cost of the food served but also has to calculate a price for the ambience provided. The final price for the service is then arrived at by including a mark up for an adequate profit margin.

Place: Since service delivery is concurrent with its production and cannot be stored or transported, the location of the service product assumes importance. Service providers have to give special thought to where the service would be provided. Thus, a fine dine restaurant is better located in a busy, upscale market as against on the outskirts of a city. Similarly, a holiday resort is better situated in the countryside away from the rush and noise of a city.

Promotion: Since a service offering can be easily replicated promotion becomes crucial in differentiating a service offering in the mind of the consumer. Thus, service providers offering identical services such as airlines or banks and insurance companies invest heavily in advertising their services. This is crucial in attracting customers in a segment where the services providers have nearly identical offerings.

People: People are a defining factor in a service delivery process, since a service is inseparable from the person providing it. Thus, a restaurant is known as much for its food as for the service provided by its staff. The same is true of banks and department stores. Consequently, customer service training for staff has become a top priority for many organizations today.

Process: The process of service delivery is crucial since it ensures that the same standard of service is repeatedly delivered to the customers. Therefore, most companies have a service blue print which provides the details of the service delivery process, often going down to even defining the service script and the greeting phrases to be used by the service staff.

Physical Evidence: Since services are intangible in nature most service providers strive to incorporate certain tangible elements into their offering to enhance customer experience. Thus, there are hair salons that have well designed waiting areas often with magazines and plush sofas for patrons to read and relax while they await their turn. Similarly, restaurants invest heavily in their interior design and decorations to offer a tangible and unique experience to their guests.

Marketing of services is a relatively new phenomenon in the domain of marketing, having gained in importance as a discipline only towards the end of the 20th century.

Services marketing first came to the fore in the 1980’s when the debate started on whether marketing of services was significantly different from that of products so as to be classified as a separate discipline. Prior to this, services were considered just an aid to the production and marketing of goods and hence were not deemed as having separate relevance of their own.

Importance of Services

Development of Secondary and Primary Sector: The smooth running of primary and secondary sectors depends on different services. Thus, the service industry, as a whole plays an important role in the efficient working of these sectors.

Rise in employment: Aviation, brokerages, tourism, hospitality, software, entertainment, retail, BPO’s are some of the sectors that get employments from the service industry. The entire country gets benefited as a result.

Upturn in National Income: If the service sector is expanding and growing, this will help in National Income. There would be the same amount of development and growth in the country as any other sector.

Assistance to basic services: Basic services of the country like post offices, insurance, courts, transport, banks, telecommunications, educational institute, hospitality get assistance from the service sector. These services are vital for a common man in their daily lives

Boost a nation’s image: Services like ITES, BPO will enhance a country’s image in front of the world. This portrays a bright future for the nation in front of the world.

Upturn in exports: Quality service sectors will bring in more demand from countries outside the international borders. These, in turn, boost the exports and helps to rake in foreign currency that adds to the economic stability of a country.

Opportunities for more women: There is a rise in demand for working women in the service sector. This has opened up new avenues for women to work and be equal to men at work.

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Characteristics of services

Service, marketing academics and practitioners argued that services required special treatment as a result of their distinctive characteristic; intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity and perishability. These characteristics were outlined during the “crawling out” stage.

Intangibility refers to the fact that a large component of many service offers is immaterial or intangible and cannot be presented in a concrete manner to consumers prior to purchase. For example, a customer cannot touch the aerobics class prior to attending the class neither can assess the quality without attending the class.

Inseparability refers to the notion that, in much service operation the production and consumption cannot be separated, that is, a service is to great extent consumed at the same time as it is produced. For example, a hairdresser may prepare in advance to carry out the service, but most of the hairdressing service is produced simultaneously as the customer consumes the service.

Heterogeneity is closely related inseparability as it is very difficult to apply quality standards to services to ensure an identical service output, when so much depends on the cooperation and participation of individual customers.

Perishability refers to the fact that unlike physical goods, services cannot be stored. An appointment with the dentist, in contrast, at a given time on a given day, cannot be stored and offered again to the customer.

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Importance of Marketing of Services

Given the intangibility of services, marketing them becomes a particularly challenging and yet extremely important task.

A Key Differentiator: Due to the increasing homogeneity in product offerings, the attendant services provided are emerging as a key differentiator in the mind of the consumers. For Example – In case of two fast food chains serving a similar product (Pizza Hut and Domino’s), more than the product it is the service quality that distinguishes the two brands from each other. Hence, marketers can leverage on the service offering to differentiate themselves from the competition and attract consumers.

2. Importance of Relationships: Relationships are a key factor when it comes to the marketing of services. Since the product is intangible, a large part of the customers buying decision will depend on the degree to which he trusts the seller. Hence, the need to listen to the needs of the customer and fulfil them through the appropriate service offering and build a long lasting relationship which would lead to repeat sales and positive word of mouth.
3. Customer Retention: Given today’s highly competitive scenario where multiple providers are vying for a limited pool of customers, retaining customers is even more important than attracting new ones. Since services are usually generated and consumed at the same time, they actually involve the customer in service delivery process by taking into consideration his requirements and feedback. Thus they offer greater scope for customization according to customer requirements thus offering increased satisfaction leading to higher customer retention.
5. Multiple Touchpoints: Service marketing involves many touchpoints for the consumer. Interactions with multiple people and experiences that are less tangible than when buying an actual product all impact the consumer’s perspective of the purchase process. These touchpoints work together to establish a perception in

the consumer’s mind.

6. Services Proliferate: Consumers have many service options to choose from, and because the product is intangible, the challenge for the service marketer is to somehow make her services stand out from the crowd. Because service marketing is so prolific, marketers must think of ways to communicate the benefits of the service they offer in language that reflects consumer need and value.
7. Feedback Improves Service: Unlike the marketing process for a tangible product, service marketing actually involves the consumer in the marketing process. He is engaged in the process and contributes to a positive outcome. For this reason, it is important to seek consumer feedback and to use that feedback to improve service marketing effectiveness.

Technology Impacts: Technology is having a major impact on the service economy. You can use technology to streamline service activities and provide do-it-yourself options for consumers. Internet- based services, for instance, allow consumers to participate actively in the service marketing process, often never involving contact with another human being. Having a website is important, because people like to get information about service providers before deciding which one to use.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

In earlier times, marketers could understand consumers well through the daily experience of selling to them. But as firms and markets have grown in size, many marketing decision makers have lost direct contact with their customers and must now turn to consumer research. They spend more money than ever to study consumers, trying to learn more about consumer behaviour. The central question for marketers is; how do consumers respond to various marketing stimuli that the company might use?

Consumer buying behavior may be defined as “the buying behavior of final consumers - individuals and households "who buy goods and services for personal consumption.

Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour

The Various factors influencing Consumer Behaviour can be classified into 4 categories:

• Economic Factors
• Personal Factors
• Cultural and Social Factors
• Psychological Factors

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I) Economic Factors influencing consumer behaviour:

Personal Income –Total Income of the consumer

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Discretionary Income –Income available to a consumer after deducting taxes

and basic cost of living.

Disposable Income –Income available with consumer to spend according to his wishes

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Family Income –Income of the family. Lower income families have less demand

than prosperous families

.Consumer Expectations Regarding Future Income

Availability of Liquid Assets with the consumer

Consumer Credit –Availability of consumer credit, Credit policies

Level of Standard of Living

A consumer demands more and spends more with increase in his income or expectations of future profits or availability of liquid cash or availability of credit but saves and demands less in its absence. The nature of consumptionand buying pattern of a consumer is also affected by the income of the family and the level of standard of living.

II) Personal Factors influencing Consumer Behaviour:

have

different

♣Age –People of different ages have different needs.

♣Occupation –Professionals, businessman, salaried-workers demands.

♣Life Cycle Stage –Newly born, Teenager, Bachelor, Married, Parent, Grand Parent

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♣Lifestyle–Achievers, Strugglers, Strivers, Makers

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♣Personality –Aggressive, Shy, Introvert, Extrovert, Conservative, Experimental

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♣Self-Concept–One`s perceptions towards themselves.

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III) Cultural Factors affecting Consumer Behaviour

Culture – Culture is basically the way of living and thinking pattern that is followed from generation to generation in a society. It includes knowledge, belief, traditions, morals, values, customs and other such habits that are acquired by people as members of a society.

​

Eg. Indian culture is entirely different from cultures of other Asian, Arabic and

Western countries.

Sub-culture – Sub-culture is a segment of culture which helps a marketer to know another person's culture either psychologically, socially or through mass identification.

Sub-culture consists of a group of people within a culture who exhibit similar buying behaviour and have similar believes.

Social class – Social class segments the market on the basis income criteria and standard of living. It refers to divisions of members of a society on the basis of education, occupation, income etc. Usually people belonging to the same social class have similar preferences in case of choice of residence, entertainment, luxary products etc.

E.g. Buying behaviour of the upper class can be easily differentiated from the middle and lower class.

IV) Social Factors influencing Consumer Behaviour

Social Group – A group is any collection of individuals with similar interests, opinions and activities. An individual draws cues regarding consumption and disposal of products from various social groups he belongs to. The various social groups an individual forms a part of are:

Reference Group – It refers to all those people which directly affect the purchase pattern and decision of a consumer as they serve as a point of reference or comparison for the consumer while making a purchase decision.

Contractual Group – It includes friends, family, peers who have a direct and daily face to face interaction with an individual. They are the most important source of influence on consumer behaviour.

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Avoidance Group – A group of people that have a negative impact on a consumer. A

consumer disassociates himself from such a group and avoid using products and services used, recommended or promoted by the avoidance group.

Aspirational Group – It includes film stars, TV celebrities, Sport stars etc. whom a consumer aspires to be. A consumer wants to associate himself with people he aspires and uses products and services used, recommended and promoted by them.

Opinion Leaders – It refers to a key individual in a group which influences the behaviour of members of the group by providing them relevant information about new trends and products in the market.

Role and Status – Every person plays many roles in the society i.e. employee to his boss, parent to his children, referrer for young ones, advisor to peers etc. and their buying pattern depends upon the role they play in the society. People also select and buy products according to their status in the society. Social status of a person refers to his/her position in the society depending upon his income, occupation, education etc.

E.g. CEO of a company would prefer to buy branded products from big stores, while a worker in the same company may prefer value for money products from nearby stores.

VI) Psychological Factors affecting Consumer Behaviour:

Customers behave differently towards the same marketing mix (product) due to their respective psychological makeup. The psychological factors that affect consumer behavior are:

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Motivation – A motive is an internal force that drives a person to do something

i.e. fulfill a need, achieve a goal, solve a problem. Different motives of a

consumer can be understood through Maslow Hierarchy of needs. All consumers react differently towards a product depending upon their position in the hierarchy.

i.e. an individual will first satisfy his basic needs and then move upward in the hierarchy with satisfaction of each want.

Involvement – It refers to the amount of interest or importance a consumers shows towards a product. A consumer may have high or low involvement in a product.

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For e.g. a cricketer will give very high importance and will be highly involved while

purchasing a cricket bat while he may have very low involvement and interest when purchasing luggage bags.

Perception – It is a process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information from our internal and external environment to form a meaningful picture. All consumers perceive the same product differently according to their own perceptions.

For e.g. Wrestling is perceived differently by different people, some perceive it a meaning less fighting while some consider it a sport.

Learning – It is a process which brings a permanent change in the behaviour of a person. People generally learn through past experiences and develop a certain behaviour towards a product or service.

Personality – It refers to the total of all physical, mental and moral characteristics of a person. Customers buy products that suit their personality, for example some people prefer wearing formal clothes some like to wear casual clothes depending upon what suits their personality.

Lifestyle – A person`s lifestyle is made up of his activities, opinions and interests.

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Lifestyle of a person also depends upon his position in the life cycle stage i.e.

Teenager, Bachelor, Married etc.

E.g. while teenagers or children are care free and majorly spend on recreation activities and Parents are more money conscious and majorly spend on consumer durables.

Attitude – Attitude is a person`s predisposition to act favourably or unfavourably towards a product, service, event, people etc. It is the way a person thinks or feels about an object. Consumers develop a positive or negetive attitude towards a product or service due to a marketing stimuli, situational variables, experience or advertising and then decide upon an intended action for that product or service.

For E.g. entrepreneurs attitude towards risk, some are risk takers some like to play it safe.

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CONSUMER DECISION MAKING PROCESS

The consumer decision making process is the process by which consumers become aware of and identify their needs; collect information on how to best solve these needs; evaluate alternative available options; make a purchasing decision; and evaluate their purchase.

Need recognition (awareness): The first and most important stage of the buying process, because every sale begins when a customer becomes aware that they have a need for a product or service. The need recognition stage of the consumer decision making process starts when a consumer realizes a need. Needs come about because of two reasons:

Internal stimuli, normally a physiological or emotional needs, such as hunger, thirst, sickness, sleepiness, sadness, jealousy, etc.

External stimuli, like an advertisement, the smell of yummy food, etc.

Search for information (research): The second stage of the buying process is information gathering. In the past, consumers relied heavily on physical sources for information that would help them to make their buying decision. This may have been in the form of:

Flyers

Magazine adverts Newspaper articles

Word of mouth Billboards

TV and radio ads

Today, Online media has become increasingly popular among marketers and retailers as businesses turn to the internet to find product information that can help them to make a final purchasing decision. The channels now being used include:

Pay Per Click advertising Sponsored ads

SEO strategies

Social media marketing strategies Authoritative blog posts

High-quality websites Testimonials on review sites

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Evaluation of alternatives (consideration): This is the stage when a

customer is comparing options to make the best choice.

Purchasing decision (conversion): During this stage, buying behavior turns into action – it’s time for the consumer to buy!

Post-purchase evaluation (re-purchase): After making a purchase, consumers consider whether it was worth it, whether they will recommend the product/service/brand to others, whether they would buy again, and what feedback they would give.

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9. ASSIGNMENT : UNIT – I

�1. Case Analysis on consumer behaviour

1. Identify the 4 P’s
2. Identify the factors influencing the purhcase

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10. PART A : UNIT – I

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11. PART B & C : UNIT – I

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11. PART B & C : UNIT – I

12. Supportive online Certification courses

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NPTEL: https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc22_mg57/preview

Swayam:https://swayam.gov.in/explorer?searchText=marketing%20management

coursera : https://www.coursera.org/specializations/marketing-strategy

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13. REAL TIME APPLICATIONS – CASE STUDY :

UNIT – I

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Case study in Marketing

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What is a marketing case study?

In marketing, a case study is an in-depth study of the effectiveness of a certain tool, tactic, or strategy. It focuses on measurable outcomes, like an increase in sales, visitors, or production hours. Typically, it includes a few key elements:Introduction to the customer/client

The problem the client needed to solve (should align with problems prospective clients also need to solve)

The solution (and context of why your company/software was the right fit)

Data from before and after implementing the solution

In a sense, a case study documents the journey of working with your company. And it gives potential future customers a reason to trust your company.What are the different types of case studies in marketing?

In marketing, there are three main types of case studies that are commonly used:1. Third-person or client case studies:These highlight the experience of a specific client working with your company or using your product.2. Explanatory case studies:These case studies explore the impact of a phenomenon or tactic, such as the company’s marketing strategy and how it impacted their growth. In this case, it’s not based on first-hand experience, but rather observation and inference.3. Implementation case studies:An implementation case study takes the average client case study a bit further, focusing on the actual implementation and covering it in detail. You can also divide the case studies further by the type of medium they use — video or text. And in 2021, video case studies are becoming more and more popular. Many companies even use them as remarketing ads to address potential objections.

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13. REAL TIME APPLICATIONS : UNIT – I

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Why should you use case studies?

Case studies are a powerful way to prove that your products or services work, showcase your expertise, and build trust with potential customers. It’s a way to transition away from just “telling” your customer and instead start “showing” them through examples. There’s a reason the old copywriting maxim goes, “Show, don’t tell.” Consumers’ trust in companies to tell the truth in advertising materials is lower than ever. In 2020, only14%of consumers said they trust advertising to be honest about a product or service. But that doesn’t mean you can’t generate trust with your company’s website. Consumers trust third-party reviews, testimonials, and data. In fact,91%of 18–34-year-olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. So you need social proof. And client case studies — especially those that interview the current clients — are the best of both worlds. You get to highlight data while getting powerful social proof that shows that your product works. When just adding a simple customer testimonial to your website can increase conversion rates by up to 34%, imagine what a detailed, compelling case study can do.1. Email marketing case study: Your Therapy Source

If you think that email is a medium of the past, think again. At ActiveCampaign, we have hundreds of recent case studies that prove the opposite. For example,Your Therapy Source receives a 2000% return on investment (ROI) from our campaigns simply by taking advantage of basic marketing automation

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14. CONTENT BEYOND SYLLABUS : UNIT – I

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According to the stats Nokia the multinational company itself was the best cell phone developer and seller in the market in the early 21st century and was recognized worldwide. Even after they fail in the smartphone era, Nokia keeps prevailing with new technologies in the market. They proved that they won’t give up and will get their name back in the technology world with other new technologies.

This blog highlights the business model of Nokia, Segments of the business, e-business strategy, target market, and other features. See also our other blog that describes Nokia’s, Marketing Mix.

Let’s start with additional corporate knowledge.

About Nokia

Founded in 1865, Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational firm providing telecoms, IT, and consumer electronics. The headquarters of Nokia are in the Espoo, Finland, metropolitan Helsinki region, although the original origins of the corporation are in the Pirkanmaa region near Tampere. In 2020 Nokia employed roughly 92,000 employees in more than 100 countries, operating in more than 130 countries, and generated a yearly income of approximately €23 billion. Nokia is a Helsinki Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange public limited business. The Fortune Global 500 is the world’s 415th largest corporation measured its sales by 2016 and its peak in 2009 was 85th. Over the last 150 years, the corporation has been active in several industries. It has been created and linked with rubber and cables for a considerable period, although since the 1990s it has been focusing on large-scale telecommunication infrastructure, development of technologies, and licensing. In the mobile telephony business, Nokia made substantial contributions, helping to design the GSM, 3G, and LTE standards. Nokia was the world’s largest mobile and smartphone provider for a decade starting in 1998.

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Business Model of Nokia

A business model is a plan that identifies income streams, customer base and finance items, and specifics for the successful operation of a business. In essence, there are nine components for any business model, two of which are customers and value proposals. The segments of customers focus on which market part a business chooses to cater to, whereas value proposals are described as solutions for customer issues and the customer wants, providing value.

Let’s dive deeper into Nokia’s infra and core…

1. Business Segments

Nokia Networks: This generates revenues from its portfolio of goods and services which include the infrastructure of access to mobile and fixed networks, IP and optical routing, mobile and convergent core networks, as well as platforms and applications.

Nokia Licensing: This sector focuses on Nokia Intellectual Property Licensing, including Nokia Brand patents, technology.

2. Value Chain 

It is crucial to consider the value chain of the industry to better comprehend Nokia’s position in the mobile phone market. Total phone users do not buy from Nokia directly – instead, they regularly enrol with the service providers’ cellular call plans. After constructing each handset with several components supplied by other suppliers, Nokia sells its handset to the mobile service provider and/or distributor.

3. Operations and Resources

Managers in NokiaMobile87 were faced with challenges of component defects, product shortcomings, inefficient production, and the ensuing complaints from intelligent consumers and cost overflow in the proceedings to guarantee product quality and supply chain efficacy. These procedures have been developed and improved via investments..

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Furthermore, in particular, following the dispute with Motorola on the subject of patent matters in the U.S. at the end of the 1980s, processes in the management of intellectual property rights were underway. For NokiaCorp87’s leaders, these procedures – for any company unit – had not yet been of major concern; nevertheless, NokiaCorp95 was important to product design and quality and the effectiveness of the supply chain. NokiaCorp95 also inherited and further enhanced the importance placed on these processes from NokiaMobile87. The development of products and operations, much as it was in NokiaMobile87, became a fundamental part of the entire company. This was reflected in reducing product development lead times and increasing corporate R&D spending and university collaboration both in Finland and abroad, together with enhancing product quality and operational performance.

 4. Connecting People

Nokia seeks to connect more people online by creating convincing, cheap, and localized mobile experiences. By developing assets like platforms, software, and applications Nokia will realize future investments, bringing their consumers a more advanced, more modern mobile experience and offer developers revenue opportunities. As well as looking for new ideas, Nokia wants to keep the company, customers, developers, and consumers in line with its traditional, respected, and beloved services such as touch screen, type, dual sim maps, maps, and browsers. Market research has shown that 200 million people are using Symbian worldwide and Nokia is modernizing the platform, including investments with new features and hardware advancements such as GHz+ processing capabilities.

5. The Partnership

They are planning to combine strength with Microsoft to recover supremacy in the smartphone market to achieve our objectives. The company aims to build a global ecosystem like no other by uniting forces. This ecosystem provides a unique and creative product portfolio with exceptional assets from both organizations. Nokia will assist drive and define the platform’s future with expertise in hardware optimization, software adaptation, and language support through Windows’s use as its principal platform..

They combine service assets to facilitate applications for developers to impact Nokia’s worldwide scale; Nokia Maps will be integrated into Microsoft Marketplace as the core of important Microsoft assets, such as AdCenter, Bing, and the Nokia Application and content store. The advantage of Nokia’s partnering with Microsoft is that Nokia will have first access and an exclusive deal with Microsoft, allowing them to bring the new operating system to their competitors in Microsoft Windows.

6. Channels

Online Market

Social Network

Different web pages

Links from partners

7. Target Market of Nokia

The target segment for Nokia comprises a specific consumer group, which concentrates its marketing efforts like several ages of individuals. Two key factors may be the Nokia objective: firstly, profits, and secondly, consumers who need communication. Nokia aims at consumers. It is mostly targeted at consumers aged 19-39 looking for fun, for example. It is intended to attract them and promote themselves in the market by using this particular logo.

8. eBusiness Strategy of Nokia

For Nokia’s e-business, the presence of web users is not merely for quick sales. Nokia uses the Internet and IT’s collective power to vitally transform its strategic business and procedures. Nokia is one of the world’s most successful initiatives to develop a successful relationship with the target market through its e-commerce and e-business solutions. Nokia e-business was established in 2001 under the name Nokia Payment Solution (Nokia, 2010). The Nokia Payment solution is a unique program that allows payment services providers, including financial institutions, distributors, and consumers, to mediate the payments of three parts. This platform allows Nokia through a wide range of payment mechanisms including debit cards, credit cards, operators’ prepaid and post-payment systems to collect, manage and clear payments initiated through mobiles and other Web-enabled terminals. Nokia provides the Nokia Signet Server, which uses digital signatures to authenticate and pay non-repudiation transactions. Client and server connection verification and digital signature are complied with utilizing public key (PKI) wireless technology.

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9. Organizational Structure at Nokia

The organizational structure of Nokia is horizontal and offers increased flexibility and rapid lines of communication across departments. The device unit monitors the development and management of the range of mobile devices for all main customer sectors. The solutions department continuously develops solutions ensuring that the integrated content and personalized services of a particular mobile device and the output of these three components contribute to a leading mobile phone for the end-user. The unit of solutions works closely with other departments to offer these solutions.

Conclusion

Overall, Nokia won the majority of the world with its tremendous technological expertise and return to society. It truly sets a precedent for paving this world’s new technology period, as well as for the future. It certainly revolutionized the organisational structure of Nokia, and split the organization into 4 business units, thanks to its fantastic business model and its great digital marketing strategy. The mobile telephone market has undergone great changes over the last two decades, with unforgettable products and quick market expansion. The market growth remains ongoing. Nokia employs creative marketing approaches to battle competition and maintains its market share through strong positioning and competitive strategies. In recent years, the company’s sales performance has risen considerably, however, they have lost some of their market share to new competitors. The company will further boost the possibilities of success in the market if the company continues to adjust its marketing policies according to the market’s needs and wishes

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15. ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE

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• Tentative schedule for the Assessment

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TEXT BOOKS:

Marketing Management (Analysis, Planning, Implementation & Control) – Philip Kotler

Fundamentals of Marketing – William J. Stanton & Others Marketing Management – V.S. Ramaswamy and S. Namakumari

Marketing Research – Rajendra Nargundkar Market Research – G.C. Beri

Market Research, Concepts, & Cases – Cooper Schindler

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REFERENCES:

Marketing Management – Rajan Saxena Marketing Management – S.A. Sherlekar

Service Marketing – S.M. Zha

Journals – The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, Harvard Business Review

Research for Marketing Decisions by Paul Green, Donald, Tull

Business Statistics, A First Course, David M Levine at al, Pearson Publication

16. PRESCRIBED TEXT BOOKS & REFERENCE BOOKS

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17. MINI PROJECT SUGGESTION

Project Idea :

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1. Choose a product and perform analysis using AI techniques and show the result of the prediction of that product comparing with any other product.

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Thank you

Disclaimer:

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