SUSTAGRI4.0 E-Course – M4 T2 L1 – The Marketing Mix
Welcome to Module 4, Storytelling. Today, we begin with topic two, which is
about storytelling as a marketing tool. In the lesson one,
delves into the marketing mix. In this lesson, we will explore
marketing and marketing strategy. You will have a deeper insight
in marketing mix with new skips leading to increased customer trust,
loyalty and sales. The American Marketing Association's perspective on marketing
zeroes on its core essence. Marketing entails a range of actions involving institutions and processes
dedicated to crafting, conveying, delivering and trading products or
services that hold significance for customers, clients,
partners and the broader society. In a broader context, marketing can be viewed from two distinct
angles, serving as both a fundamental technique
and a managerial approach that places a strong emphasis on ensuring
customer satisfaction. The marketing process is centered around providing value to customers in return
for their loyalty to the business. When companies prioritize their products or profits over their customers,
they often face challenges such as a decrease in repeat customers
and negative word of mouth.
This concept, often referred to as marketing myopia
by Theodor Levitt, in 1975, highlights the error of giving more
attention to a company specific products rather than addressing
the desires of the customers. In the business world, marketing stands out as a process
that places a stronger emphasis on customers compared to any
other business function. Now, let's take a look
at the marketing process steps. The five steps of the marketing process include understanding
customers and the market. The first step of the strategist marketing process includes understanding
customers and markets. The foundations of this step include
understanding customer wants and needs. Customer wants and needs
are what creates demand in the market. The market is where customers and businesses can engage in exchange
relationships, and in turn, demand is fulfilled by the
market, specifically market offerings. Market offerings are the different types of goods and services businesses
create to satisfy customer demand. The second step is creating
a customer driven marketing strategy. The following step involves creating
a customer driven marketing strategy. Now that we
understand the basics of markets and customers, we must decide
which customers and markets to serve.
Creating a marketing strategy involves market segmentation,
targeting and positioning, STP. The STP model helps marketeers decide
which customers to target and how. The third step is,
once a marketing strategy has been established, it is time
to create a marketing plan. The marketing plan outlines how the organization or brand will generate
customer value through different mediums. The marketing plan broadly relates to the four P's of marketing:
product, price, promotion, and place. The brand can deliver value to its target customers through the different
elements of the marketing mix. The fourth process type is fostering long
term sustainable customer relationships. Once marketers have established an integrated marketing plan, they must
focus on building customer relationships. Every brand aims to foster long term customer relationships to sustain
brand preference and customer loyalty. The primary goals of customer relationship management are to increase customer value
perception by highlighting the benefits and futures of products and services,
to increase customer satisfaction and mitigate customer dissatisfaction,
to engage customers through brand management and marketing communications
on various channels, and to promote customer
generated marketing.
For example, a user generated content on social media, customer reviews,
competitions, etc. After the initial marketing steps, it is time for a company to capture
value from its customers. This involves creating customer loyalty and brand preference,
known as customer equity. By doing so, the brand can increase its market share, revenue and profits
ensuring long term financial success. In summary, the marketing process enables a mutual beneficial relationship where
both customers and brands gain volume. In addition to short term transactions,
marketing managers should build lasting relationships with customers,
distributors, agents and suppliers by pledging
and consistently delivering top quality products combined with exceptional
service and competitive pricing. This entails researching marketing
demands, creating compelling offers, determining pricing strategies,
promoting products effectively and ensuring products are positioned
and distributed appropriately. The marketing strategy is
like a detailed roadmap. It involves choosing target markets,
setting marketing goals and crafting a marketing mix for successful
interaction with those markets.
The four P's: product, price, promotion, and place represent the core
elements of this strategy. Let's see the first P, product. The type of product a company offers is influenced by its core
strengths and business nature. When launching a marketing campaign,
it commences with understanding the product itself,
grasping the needs and desires of the target audience, and exploring
the underlying reasons for these needs. To advance the strategy, we focus on the product's distinct futures
that set it apart from competitors. Its novel concepts, captivating design or functionality, all designed
to win over the customer. When we talk about place in marketing, it means figuring out where and how
customers can find our product. This includes deciding whether to sell it in physical stores or online and planning
how it's presented and displayed. Placement also involves advertising
the product in the right places to catch the eye of the people
we are trying to reach. Price. Price signifies the amount of money customers are willing
to pay for a product. Marketeers create a link between price
and the real and perceived value of the product,
considering factors like production cost, seasonal promotions, competitor
pricing and retail markups.
Additionally, they assess when and how to apply their tools
to their product's reach. The process comes, weighing the process of attracting more customers against the
cons of potential diminished durability. The marketing communications process,
often called marketing communications, is the most visible part
of the marketing mix. It covers all the actions a company or organization takes to interact with its
intended audience and stakeholders with the aim of promoting
its products or services. The mix of the communication process consists of branding,
sponsorship, public relations, advertisement,
direct marketing, and exhibitions. In conclusion, the versatility of the four P's model allows for its application
in various scenarios, be devising a strategy for a new product
launch, evaluating an existing product, or aiming to boost the sales
performance of a current product. By conducting a comprehensive analysis of the four essential components: product,
price, place, and promotion, marketing professionals can craft
a strategy that effectively introduces or reintroduces
a product to its intended audience.
This strategic framework proves invaluable
in navigating the dynamic landscape of product marketing and ensuring
success in the ever evolving market. Thank you for your time and attention..
