Marketing - Nozioni

Definizione di marketing

Marketing is a process and companies use it to produce goods and services for customers, so it’s a strategy to use in sales, communication and business.

Concetto di marketing (passato e oggi)

In the past companies were product-oriented, so they sold a product at a price to cover production costs to make a profit, and there wasn’t much competition, so advertising and marketing costs were low.

Today companies are market-oriented, so they study it to understand consumer’s preferences, and there is a lot of competition and many products, so companies have to meet the needs of customers.

Marketing process

The marketing process is used to satisfy the needs of customers and there are 4 steps:

• Analysis of the situation = company identify and meet the needs of customers.
• Marketing strategy = the company identifies a market segment with the research.
• Marketing mix and decisions.
• Implementation and control = the products are launched and monitored on the market.

Market research

The marketing strategy is very important because the company wants to have information on potential customers.

There are 2 methods:

• Primary research

Is done directly by the consumer with online or telephone surveys and interviews.

There is new information called “primary data”.

The data is up-to-date and specific for the company, but it takes a long time and they are expensive to collect.

• Secondary research

There are data already collected by other companies from websites called “secondary data”.

It analyzes the market and trends.

It’s cheaper, but the data are not always up-to-date and specific for the company.

There are 2 types of data:

• Quantitative data

The information is easy to count and expressed in numbers.

The data is collected with surveys.

The result is general.

• Qualitative data

Information is difficult to count and not expressed in numbers.

The data are collected with the discussion with focus groups.

The result is specific, but the data are expensive.

The marketing strategy

There is the STP process:

• S = segmentation.
• T = targeting.
• P = positioning.

Companies use it to analyse the market and decide where operate and the position, and the goal is to develop the best marketing mix.

Segmentation (S) and targeting (T)

Divide the market in small groups with similar aspects called “market segment”, and they can be:

• Demographic: age, gender, job and religion.
• Geographic: country and nationality.
• Psychographic: personality and lifestyle.
• Behavioural: how much to spend and interests.

Positioning (P)

Position the product according to the competition with a market map where there is the product’s position in the market based on price, quality, technology and type of person, young or old.

4 Ps e marketing mix

Companies need to create the best mix called “4 Ps” of:

• The right product.
• Sold at the right price.
• In the right place.
• Using the most suitable promotion.

To do this, companies have to meet some conditions:

• The product with right features.
• The right price.
• The goods in the right place and at the right time.
• The target group needs to know products existence and availability thanks to the promotion.

Price

In a free market economy, price is decided by supply and demand.

There are some strategies:

• Penetration pricing = new products in the first weeks are sold at lower prices to sell it, but revenues are lower.
• Price skimming = new products are sold at higher prices because they are new.
• Competitive pricing = prices are set based on those of competitors with similar products.
• Captive product pricing = when the consumer is forced to use complementary products, are apply high prices; for example, printers are cheap but cartridges cost a lot, so if the complementary product costs too much, the sales of the main fall.
• Promotional pricing = there are special offers, sales and discounts to eliminate unsold products.
• Psychological pricing = the price is, for example, 9.99€ and not 10€; in fact, it’s perceived as 9, while 10 is too expensive.

Distribution

Place: the place is about the methods of transporting the goods to the customer.

There are 2 distribution channels:

• Indirect distribution = there is an intermediary who gives the goods, for example, the wholesaler.
• Direct distribution = the producer distributes directly to the consumer.

Promotion

The promotion gives information to customers to purchase a product or a service or not.

There are 2 types of promotion:

• Over the line = for example, radio, television, magazines and billboards.
• Below the line = for example, sales promotion, personal selling and direct marketing.

The cost of production is high, but it makes the product famous.

Product life cycle

A product life cycle has different stages:

• Introduction on the market = after development, the product is launched on the market, so the costs are very high and the sales are low.
• Growth = the product grows, but on the market there are similar products, so competition increases and the costs of promotion and advertising are very high.
• Maturity = sales are high and competition too; in fact, companies defend their market and differentiate their products.
• Decline = new products are introduced and consumer tastes change, so the sales fall; there are many solutions, for example, reducing costs, modifying the product or cancelling it from the market.

Internet marketing

Internet marketing refers to the strategies used to market a product or service online and includes:

• SEO search engine optimization.
• Web design strategies.
• Online promotions.
• Reciprocal linking.
• Email marketing.

Online markets always look for new strategies to make their websites famous and sales increase; in fact, the use of blogs and marketing tools is very important.

Digital marketing

Digital marketing is the promoting of brands using digital advertising channels, for example, radio, television, internet and social media.

It includes practices of internet marketing, but the use of internet isn’t necessary because there are other channels to meet people.

There are 2 different forms:

• PULL = the user searches and selects the content directly, example websites, blogs and streaming media.
• PUSH = the marketer sends messages to users subscribers who accept the message, example email, SMS and RSS.

Advantages:

• It’s cheaper.
• It’s speedy.
• Companies can find potential customers.
• Companies use information to make personalised offers.

Disadvantages

• There is competition.
• It’s not safe because there are viruses.
• There is some spam.
• Social media and trends change.
• Customers can give negative feedback and ruin company’s reputation.

Business plan

The business plan includes some steps:

• Name, address and contact details of the business.
• The executive summary = there are the key points of the business.
• Business overview, like the history and the type of business.
• Market analysis.
• Products and services sold and offered.
• Prices and sales.
• SWOT analysis = there are S strength, W weakness, O opportunities and T threats.
• Financial plan.

At the end of the business plan you can attach other documents, for example, articles on the company or the CV.