2. • Marketing Mix Strategy
• Product Characteristics and Classification
• Product Mix and Product Line Decisions
• Branding and Brand Management
• Packaging and Labeling
• New Product Development Process
Contents – Unit 1
3. Marketing Mix Strategy
What is Marketing ?
Marketing is identifying and meeting human and social needs, Profitably.
Acc. to American Marketing Association (AMA), Marketing is the activity,
set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering
and exchanging offerings and services that have value for customers,
clients, partners and Society at large.
As per Peter Drucker;
The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that
the product/service fits him and sells itself. Ideally Marketing should result
in a customer who is ready to buy.
4. What is Marketed ?
• Goods
• Services
• Events
• Experiences
• Persons
• Places
• Properties
• Organizations
• Information
• Ideas
Marketers are skilled in stimulating demand for their products and are
responsible for the Demand Management. They seek to influence the
LEVEL, TIMING and COMPOSITION of demand to meet the organization’s
objective. The people who are targeted are known as Prospects.
5. The Demand Stages
1. Negative Demand : consumers dislike the product and may even pay a
price to avoid it
2. Non-existent Demand : consumers may be unaware of or uninterested
in the product.
3. Latent Demand : Consumer may share a strong need that can not be
satisfied by an existed product.
4. Declining Demand : consumer begin to buy less frequently
5. Irregular Demand: consumer purchases are seasonal or irregular
6. Full Demand : consumers buy all products put into the market
7. Overfull Demand : More consumers than can be satisfied want to buy
the product.
8. Unwholesome Demand : consumer may be attracted to products that
may have undesirable social consequences.
6. Core Marketing Concepts : Need, Wants & Demands
• Need : these consist of basic human requirements such as food, water,
clothes, shelter etc. Humans also have a strong need for recreation, education
and entertainment.
• Wants : needs become wants when they are directed towards specific objects
that might satisfy the need.
• Demands : demands are the wants for basic product supported by an ability
to pay. Needs pre-exist, marketers along with other societal factors, influence
wants. They do not create a need.
Five types of Needs:
a) Stated Needs : The customer wants an expensive car
b) Real Needs : The customer wants a car whose operational cost is low.
c) Unstated Needs : The customer expects good service from the dealer
d) Delight Needs : The customer would like the dealer to include a GPS system.
e) Secret Needs : The customer wants friends to see him as a savvy customer
8. • There are four distinct segmentation approaches:
– Mass Marketing : Here all consumers are treated as one group and almost
all commodities are sold on mass basis.
– Segment Marketing: Approaching buyers on the basis of their choice of
needs, wants, demands, behavior and paying capacities.
Developing and customizing suitable marketing strategies to gain
competitive edge. In this case, consumers are identified as different groups
and then few groups are chosen for marketing the produce.
– Niche Marketing: It is specialized marketing to serve a small group.
– Micro Marketing: Making tailor made products, It includes local marketing
and individual marketing.
Segmentation Approach
9. • To be effective, Segmentation should meet the following requirements:
– Measurable : To get proper and measurable data however is difficult in
Rural India
– Accessible: Physical reach is important to serve the rural segment.
– Differentiable: As compared to the urban requirements, the product
should have distinguished features for the rural consumer.
– Substantial: The segment should be a group of similar type of perceptions
or attitudes, The group should be large. A segment is made only when it
gives profits.
Effective Segmentation
10. Criteria for Rural Market Segmentation
Geographic
• Regions
• Districts
• Density
• Climate
Demographic
• Gender
• Age
• Income
• Occupation
• Religion
• Literacy
• Marital Status
• Family size
Psychographic
• Social Class
• Customs
• Culture & Values
• Personality
• Lifestyle
Behavioral
• Occasions
• Benefits Sought
• User Status
• Loyalty Status
• Place
• Product Possession
11. • Targeting is basically dividing into GROUPS. Selecting a group target price to be
established.
• For evaluation of the segments, certain pertinent evaluation criteria
have to be identified. The possible criteria should possibly lead to
sales volumes and profitability.
a) Sales Volume and Profitability: for this the organization has to collect data based
on the following factors;
• Likely Sales Volume
• Promotion Cost
• Distribution Cost
• Sales Volume, and
• Profit Margin
Targeting
12. b) Market Trend: The growth in near and distant future is also to be seen. The
growth is more directly related to the growth of population in an area, Other
reasons can be increasing buying power, and market share of the product.
c) Attracting: Some segments easily get attracted with certain promotional
programs like (gift schemes, installment options, offers)
d) Organizational Objectives: Organization’s own short term and long term
goals.
e) Constraints: Constraints and limitations of any segment depends on local
socio-cultural values, government rules, established brands, any other
environmental problem.
Targeting
13. After targeting, the next step is positioning the product in the minds of
the consumers. This needs to;
– Find our the differences in OFFER of product with respect to the
competitor’s offer.
– Find our the differences that have competitive edge
– Communicate and highlight the advantages to prospective consumers.
The main emphasis in on;
- PRODUCT differences
- SERVICE differences
- MARKETING People (The sales and service people of the
organization can make an impact)
- IMAGE
Positioning
14. 1. The company segments the market, chooses the best segment, and
develops a strong position in each chosen segment.
2. The company maps its customer’s needs, perceptions, preferences and
behavior and motivates its stakeholders to obsess about serving and
satisfying the customers.
3. The company knows its major competitors and their strengths and
weaknesses.
4. The company builds partners out if its stakeholders and generously
rewards them.
5. The company develops system for identifying opportunities, ranking them
and choosing the best ones.
The Ten Commandments of Marketing
15. 6. The company manages a marketing planning system that leads to insightful
long-term and short term plans.
7. The company exercises strong control over its product and service mix.
8. The company builds strong brands by using the most cost-effective
communication and promotion tools.
9. The company builds marketing leadership and a team spirit among its
various departments.
10. The company constantly adds technology that gives it a competitive
advantage in the marketplace.
The Ten Commandments of Marketing (…)
