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 for make a profit and there wasn’t much competition so adverting 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 is 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:
1) primary research
is done directly by the consumer with online or telephone surveys and interviews
there are 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
2) secondary research
there are data already collected by other companies from websites called “secondary data”
it analyse 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:
1) quantitative data
the information is easy to count and expressed in numbers
the data is collected with surveys
the result is general

2) 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 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 have differente 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 cancelled 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
eeciprocal linking
email marketing
Online markets always looking 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 practises of internet marketing but the use of internet it’s not necessary
because there are other channels to meet people
There are 2 different forms:
PULL= the user searches and selects the content directly, example web sites, 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 speed
companies can find potential customers
companies use information to make personalised offers

Disavantages

there are competition
it’s not safe because there are virus
there are some spam
social media and trends change
customers can give negative feedback and ruin company’s reputation

Bussiness 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 attached other documents for example articles on the company or the CV