MARKETING

The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the
customer. It includes the coordination of four elements, called the 4 Ps of marketing:

1. identification, selection and development of a product,

2. determination of its price,

3. selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer's place, and

4. development and implementation of a promotional strategy.

For example, new Apple products are developed to include improved applications and
systems, are set at different prices depending on how much capability the customer desires,
and are sold in places where other Apple products are sold.

According to AMA, “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,
communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients,
partners, and society at large.”

Difference between sales and marketing?

Marketing and sales are closely interlinked and often used interchangeably by people. People
often fail to realize that they are two different concepts, one encompassing the other.
Below is a crisp difference between marketing and sales:

Marketing Sales

Marketing is the systematic planning, implementation and An agreement between a

control of business activities to bring together buyers and buyer and seller on the price
sellers of a security.
Overall picture to promote, distribute, price Fulfil sales volume
products/services; fulfil customer's wants and needs objectives
through products and/or services the company can offer.

Analysis of market, distribution channels, competitive Usually one to one

products and services; Pricing strategies; Sales tracking and
market share analysis; Budget

Longer term Shorter term

Pull Push

Confused by all of the above given differences? To give an example, sales involve; activities
that would sell 20,000 units of a car. Some of these activities involve, how many distributors
to target, how much margin is to be given to distributors, how much discount is to be given,
collection of payments from distributors, among others. Marketing involves a set of activities
so that a person normally interested in buying just a two-wheeler would instead buy a car.
Some of the activities involve deciding whom to sell to (Called Segmentation and Targeting in
marketing terminology), designing the product according to the requirements, deciding the
price of the product, deciding where to sell the product, among others. So, What is more
important, sales or marketing? Neither. Both are equally important for an organization to
achieve its short and long-term targets.
Yes, marketing and sales go hand in hand, but the essence of one without the other is
difficult to digest.

Different between goods and services?

A product sold in a market can be a Good, or a Service, or a bundle of both. A Good is a

tangible item. Examples of Goods include books, pens, shoes, etc. A service is an activity that
is performed by another person. Activities performed by doctors, teachers, consultants, etc.
fall under this category. They are non-physical products, which usually involve performance.
Goods and Services both add utility to the consumer purchasing them.

The differences between Goods and Services can be broadly listed as follows:

Goods Services

Tangible – has physical dimensions, can see or hold Intangible – cannot be weighed or
measured
Storable – can be stored and used Perishable – cannot be stored, must be
consumed immediately

Separable – production and consumption are Inseparable – production and

separable consumption are inseparable

Ownership possible – transfer of ownership from Ownership impossible – access to service,

manufacturer to dealer to customer but no ownership

Homogenous – standardization possible Heterogeneous – variability in quality

Core value produced in factory Core value produced in buyer-seller

interaction

Can be returned Cannot be returned

While designing the marketing of a Good, the 4Ps are considered: Product, Place, Promotion,
and Price. While designing the marketing of a service, three additional Ps (3Ps of Service
Marketing) are also considered: Physical Evidence, People, and Process.

Service-Good Continuum

Almost every product is a bundle of goods and services. For example, a customer who
purchases a car is actually purchasing a warranty along with the car. Hence, the
categorization of products as Goods and Services is done by using a continuum, called
Service-Good Continuum.
Pure Goods such as pens and shoes, with no associated services, are positioned at one end of
the continuum, whereas Pure Services such as teaching and consulting, with no associated
goods, are positioned at the other end. Products such as a restaurant dinner are positioned in
between these two extremes. The dinner would not only involve a physical good (the dinner
itself), but also services such as the ambience of the restaurant, the setting and clearing of
the tables, etc.
 7 P’s of marketing (Marketing Mix)

1. Product: A product is an offering that is produced to satisfy the needs of a certain group
of people. It is important that one has a clear knowledge of exactly what the product is,
what need it is going to fulfill and what makes it unique before marketing it.

2. Price: It is the cost that a customer has to pay for the product or service that he
consumed.

3. Promotion: Promotional tools and strategies are used by marketers to increase brand
awareness or sales.

4. Place: Place is a physical area where your product is sold also includes the way it is
distributed. It is decided based on where your target customer will look for this product.
Distribution is of 3 types:
 Intensive: Mass distribution to large number of locations
 Selective: Distribution through select number of stores
 Exclusive: Extreme form of Selective distribution where there's only one
retailer in specific geographical area

5. People: These are the employees of a company, which is also important in the service
industry, as they will be interacting directly with the customer. It is important to hire and
train the right people to deliver superior service to the clients.
6. Physical Evidence: The location where service is being delivered also is important which
includes building, interiors, music, televisions etc. The level of attractiveness and comfort
of a location may make a lot of difference to the user experience.

7. Process: How a service is delivered, have a huge impact on customer experience. So, you
have to make sure that you have an efficient and consistent process in place to provide
better service quality.

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning together comprise a three-stage process. We first

(1) determine which kinds of customers that exist, then (2) select the ones we're better off
trying to serve and, finally, (3) implement our segmentation by optimizing our
products/services for that segment and communicating that we have made the choice to
distinguish ourselves that way.
 5 C’s of Marketing

They are used to analyze the five key areas that are involved in marketing decisions for a
company and includes: Company, Customers, Competitors, Collaborators, and Climate.

Customer Company Competition Collaborators Context

Determine what Determine Determine if

are the needs who competes there are any
Determine if Determine if limitations due
and from which with your
your company there is any to
clients that company in
is in a position outside source
you’re trying to meeting the • Political
to meet those or third party
satisfy A few customer’s issues
customer help that can
areas of needs. Is the
needs. For help the
research can be competitor an • Economic
example, company such
market active issues
whether your as distributors,
segments, competitor or
company has suppliers etc. • Social
frequency of is it a potential
the right impacts
purchases, threat? What
product line
quantity of are their • Technological
and technical
purchases, retail products developments
expertise.
channel, and exactly? What
customer needs are their
depending on strengths and
trends over weaknesses?
time.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT acronym stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

An organization does SWOT analysis to determine its internal strengths and weaknesses and
external opportunities it may grab and the threats it faces, so that an organization may plan
accordingly about its future strategy.
1. Strengths- Features such as projects that give it advantages over others
2. Weaknesses- Businesses or projects that keep it in lower position as compared to others
3. Opportunities- Opportunities that an organization can exploit to its advantage
4. Threats- Entry of new company or product on similar or dissimilar lines
 Consumer Behavior
Consumer Decision Making Process:

1. Need Recognition: Consumer develops a need to satisfy one’s demands. He feels a

missing element and needs to be addressed to get normal. Marketers need to determine
when their target audience generates their needs so that they can advertise a product.
2. Information Search: Consumer research for the product to get some recommendation
required to buy best products. Information can be primary – when consumer generates it by
his own from his friends or family, or secondary – which is already available in internet or
records.
3. Evaluating Alternatives: Once consumer is determined on the needs and product, he
begins to seek out best deal in terms of price, availability, quality or other factors which are
important to him.
4. Purchase decision: After finalizing the criteria, consumer decides on what to purchase
and from where.
Post Purchase Evaluation: After purchase, does the product performs as per expectations.
Marketer wants to provide a good experience to consumer, as they are not one-time
consumers.

Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is a technique to advertise using digital channels such as social media,
email, search engines, websites and mobile apps. Since marketing is all about connecting with
the audience, thus today the digital space seems to be the right place as digitization is
happening at a rapid pace. Some of the commonly used assets and tactics used in digital
media marketing are:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): It is technique of making your website appear on the top of
the search engine results for a specific set of keywords or terms. It helps to increase the
amount of organic traffic that a website receives.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC): It typically refers to sponsored pages, which appears at the top or the
side of the search engine result page. The payment is only done once a person clicks for
those ads. This technique also involves contextual add placement in which ads appears when
a person is searching for a particular keyword or term.
Social Media Marketing: It is marketing your product and brand on various social media
channels like Facebook, Twitter etc. to increase brand awareness and generate leads for your
business.
Content Marketing: It is the creation and promotion of content for a product, for the purpose
of brand or customer awareness, lead generation and traffic growth for the website.
Marketing Automation: It is an integral platform, which helps to bring all the digital marketing
together at once place. The marketing automation tools helps to streamline and automate
marketing tasks and workflows.
Email Marketing: Emails are the best way to promote content, communicate about discount
and events as well as redirect customers to the business website.
Mobile Marketing: Since mobile has become an integral part of our lives, thus it is vital for us
to understand how to effectively communicate to our customers through this extremely
personal channel. From SMS to In App marketing there are many ways in which we can
market on our mobile devices.
Inbound Marketing: It refers to a complete funnel approach in which we attract, convert,
close and delight the customers using online content.

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