MARKETING STRATEGIES

What Is Marketing?

Marketing refers to the activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of its products
or services. Marketing includes advertising and allows businesses to sell products and services to
consumers, other businesses, and organizations.

Sales/Selling is the transfer of ownership and possession of goods to the purchasers/

Application areas of marketing:

- Profit making enterprises – banks, hotels,

- Government institutions - services
- Non-profit making organizations –

Elements/Entities being marketed

- Goods – phones, shoes, soap

- Services – hotel, communication, banking, hairdressing,
- Events – trade shows, world cup, valentines
- Ideas
- Experiences – tours and travel
- Information/knowledge and skills – learning institutions
- Properties – e.g real estate

THE MARKETING PROCESS

1. Understanding the market place and customer needs: wants and demands, market offerings,
customer value and satisfaction, exchange relationships and the market.
2. Designing a customer driven marketing strategy: A marketing strategy is a long-term plan for
achieving a company's goals by understanding the needs of customers and creating a distinct
and sustainable competitive advantage. It encompasses everything from determining who your
customers are to deciding what channels you use to reach those customers.

Marketing Strategies

Before technology and the Internet, traditional marketing was the primary way companies would
market their goods to customers. The main types of traditional marketing strategies include:

Outdoor Marketing: This entails public displays of advertising external to a consumer's house. This
includes billboards, printed advertisements on benches, sticker wraps on vehicles, or advertisements on
public transit.

Print Marketing: This entails small, easily printed content that is easy to replicate. Traditionally,
companies often mass-produced printed materials, as the printed content was the same for all
customers. Today, more flexibility in printing processes means that materials can be differentiated.
Direct Marketing: This entails specific content delivered to potential customers. Some print marketing
content could be mailed. Otherwise, direct marketing mediums could include coupons, vouchers for free
goods, or pamphlets.

Electronic Marketing: This entails the use of TV and radio for advertising. Through short bursts of digital
content, a company can convey information to a customer through visual or auditory media that may
grab a viewer's attention better than a printed form.

Event Marketing: This entails attempting to gather potential customers at a specific location for the
opportunity to speak with them about products or demonstrate products. This includes conferences,
trade shows, seminars, roadshows, or private events.

Digital Marketing: The marketing industry has been forever changed with the introduction of digital
marketing. From the early days of pop-up ads to targeted placements based on viewing history, there
are now innovative ways companies can reach customers through digital marketing.

Search Engine Marketing: This entails companies attempting to increase search traffic through two
ways. First, companies can pay search engines for placement on result pages. Second, companies can
emphasize search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to organically place high on search results.

E-mail Marketing: This entails companies obtaining customer or potential customer e-mail addresses
and distributing messages or newsletters. These messages can include coupons, discount opportunities,
or advance notice of upcoming sales.

Social Media Marketing: This entails building an online presence on specific social media platforms. Like
search engine marketing, companies can place paid advertisements to bypass algorithms and obtain a
higher chance of being seen by viewers. Otherwise, a company can attempt to organically grow by
posting content, interacting with followers, or uploading media like photos and videos.

Affiliate Marketing: This entails using third-party advertising to drive customer interest. Often, an
affiliate that will get a commission from a sale will do affiliate marketing as the third party is incentivized
to drive a sale for a good that is not their own original product.

Content Marketing: This entails creating content, whether eBooks, infographics, video seminars, or
other downloadable content. The goal is to create a product (often free) to share information about a
product, obtain customer information, and encourage customers to continue with the company beyond
the content.

3. Preparing an integrated marketing plan and programme – this is where the marketer will outline the
consumers and the company that will be served and create value to consumers, and develop an
integrated marketing mix ( 8 Ps of marketing) ranging from Product, Price, Place, People, Promotion,
Process and Probe.

Marketing makes use of the "marketing mix," also known as the four Ps—product, price, place, and
promotion.

P1 – Product

Successful companies find out what customers need or want and then develop the right product with
the right level of quality to meet their expectations, both now and in the future.
 A product does not have to be tangible – an insurance policy can be a product.

 The perfect product provides value for the customer. This value is in the eye of the beholder —
we must give our customers what they want, not what we think they want.
 Ask yourself whether you have a system in place to regularly check what your customers think
of your product and your supporting services.
 Find out what their needs are now and whether they believe these will change in future.
 Beware the product quality trap – don’t take it too far by trying to sell a Rolls-Royce when the
customer really wants a Nissan
P2 – Price

A product is only worth what customers are prepared to pay for it. The price needs to be competitive,
but this doesn’t mean you have to be the cheapest in your market – small businesses can compete with
larger rivals by offering a more personal service, value-adds or better value for money. You also need to
make a profit. Pricing is the only element of the marketing mix that generates revenue — everything
else represents a cost to you. When considering the price of your product, it’s important to look at it
from the customer’s perspective:

 Price positions you in the marketplace — it tells customers where to place you in relation to
your competitors.
 The more you charge, the more value or quality your customers will expect for their money.
 This is a relative measure. If you are the most expensive provider in your market, customers will
expect you to provide a better service.
 Everything that the customer sees must be consistent with these higher quality expectations —
packaging, environment, promotional materials, website, letterheads, invoices, etc.
 Existing customers are generally less sensitive about price than new customers — a good reason
to look after them well.
P3 - Place

The product must be available in the right place, at the right time and in the right quantity, while
keeping storage, inventory and distribution costs at an acceptable level. The place where customers buy
a product, and the means of distributing your product to that place, must be appropriate and
convenient for the customer. This applies to brick-and-mortar operations, but is even more important in
e-commerce.

 Customer surveys show that delivery performance is one of the most important criteria when
choosing a supplier.
 Place also means ways of displaying your product to customer groups. This could be in a shop
window, but it could also be online.
 E-commerce operations that sell exclusively on the internet must place even more emphasis on
the company website and other online activities, as there are fewer points where the customer
will interact with the company.
 For the same reason, all firms that sell online should consider how the product will be delivered
to the consumer – even if this is handled by a third party.
 Mobile is an increasingly important purchasing channel for consumers, so it may be a good time
to optimise your website. Does yours conform to the latest standards? For example, Google
search now penalizes websites that are not optimized for mobile, potentially making it more
difficult for consumers to find you.

P4 - Promotion

Promotion is the way a company communicates what it does and what it can offer customers. It includes
branding, advertising, PR, corporate identity, social media outreach, sales management, special offers
and exhibitions. Promotion must gain attention, be appealing, send a consistent message and - above all
- give the customer a reason to choose your product rather than someone else’s.

 Good promotion is not one-way communication — it paves the way for a dialogue with
customers, whether in person or online.

 Promotion should communicate the benefits that a customer receives from a product, not just
its features.

 Your website is often the customer’s first experience of your company – you only have one
chance to make a good first impression, so make sure that information on the site is always kept
up to date and the design is updated to keep it fresh.

 Explore new channels – from traditional print ads to the latest social media trends, there is now
a world of possibilities to explore. The important principle is to always advertise where your
target consumer goes.

 Printed promotional material must grab the attention of your customers. It should be easy to
read and enable the customer to identify why they should buy your product – A brochure isn’t
necessarily the best way of promoting your business. Unlike your website, the information is
fixed once a brochure has been printed. A more cost-effective and flexible option might be a
folder with a professionally designed sheet inside, over a series of your own information sheets
produced in-house. These sheets can be customised by varying them to suit the target
customers and/or changing them as required

 Promotion does not just mean communicating with your customers. It is just as important to
communicate with staff/fellow employees about the value and attributes of your products. They
can then pass on the knowledge to their customers.

P5 - People

Everyone who comes into contact with your customers will make an impression. Many customers
cannot separate the product or service from the staff member who provides it, so your people will have
a profound effect — positive or negative — on customer satisfaction.

 The reputation of your brand rests in the hands of your staff. They must be appropriately
trained, well-motivated and have the right attitude.

 All employees who have contact with customers should be well-suited to the role.

 In the age of social media, every employee can potentially reach a mass audience. Formulate a
policy for online interaction and make sure everyone stays on message.
 Likewise, happy customers are excellent advocates for your business. Curate good opinion on
review sites.

 Superior after-sales support and advice adds value to your offering, and can give you a
competitive edge. These services will probably become more important than price for many
customers over time.

 Look regularly at the products that account for the highest percentage of your sales. Do these
products have adequate after-sales support, or are you being complacent with them? Could you
enhance your support without too much additional cost?

P6 - Process

Many customers no longer simply buy a product or service - they invest in an entire experience that
starts from the moment they discover your company and lasts through to purchase and beyond.

 That means the process of delivering the product or service, and the behaviour of those who
deliver it, are crucial to customer satisfaction. A user-friendly internet experience, waiting times,
the information given to customers and the helpfulness of staff are vital to keep customers
happy.

 Customers are not interested in the detail of how your business runs, just that the system
works. However, they may want reassurance they are buying from a reputable or ‘authentic’
supplier.

 Remember the value of a good first impression. Identify where most customers initially come
into contact with your company - whether online or offline - and ensure the process there, from
encounter to purchase, is seamless.

 Ensure that your systems are designed for the customer’s benefit, not the company’s
convenience.

o Do customers have to wait?

o Are they kept informed?

o Is your website fast enough and available on the right devices?

o Are your people helpful?

o Is your service efficiently carried out?

o Do your staff interact in a manner appropriate to your pricing?

Customers trying to reach your company by phone are a vital source of income and returning value, but
all too often they're left on hold. Many will give up, go elsewhere and tell their friends not to use your
company - just because of the poor process.

P7 - Physical evidence
Choosing an unfamiliar product or service is risky for the consumer, because they don’t know how good
it will be until after purchase. You can reduce this uncertainty by helping potential customers ‘see’ what
they are buying.

 A clean, tidy and well-decorated reception area – or homepage - is reassuring. If your digital or
physical premises aren’t up to scratch, why would the customer think your service is?

 The physical evidence demonstrated by an organisation must confirm the assumptions of the
customer — a financial services product will need to be delivered in a formal setting, while a
children’s birthday entertainment company should adopt a more relaxed approach.

 Some companies engage customers and ask for their feedback, so that they can develop
reference materials. New customers can then see these testimonials and are more likely to
purchase with confidence.

 Although the customer cannot experience the service before purchase, he or she can talk to
other people with experience of the service. Their testimony is credible, because their views do
not come from the company. Alternatively, well-shot video testimonials and reviews on
independent websites will add authenticity.

Each of the ‘ingredients’ of the marketing mix is key to success. No element can be considered in
isolation — you cannot, for example, develop a product without considering a price, or how it will reach
the customer.

What Are the Benefits of Marketing?

Well-defined marketing strategies can benefit a company in several ways. It may be challenging to
develop the right strategy or execute the plan; when done well, marketing can yield the following
results:

 Audience Generation. Marketing allows a company to target specific people it believes will
benefit from its product or service. Sometimes, people know they have the need. Other times,
they don't realize it. Marketing enables a company to connect with a cohort of people that fit
the demographic of whom the company aims to serve.

 Inward Education. Marketing is useful for collecting information to be processed internally to

drive success. For example, consider market research that finds a certain product is primarily
purchased by women aged 18 to 34 years old. By collecting this information, a company can
better understand how to cater to this type of customer, drive sales, and be more efficient with
resources.

 Outward Education. Marketing can also be used to communicate with the world what your
company does, what products you sell, and how your company can enrich the lives of others.
Campaigns can be educational, informing those outside of your company why they need your
product. In addition, marketing campaigns let a company introduce itself, its history, its owners,
and its motivation for being the company it is.

 Brand Creation. Marketing allows for a company to take an offensive approach to creating a
brand. Instead of a customer shaping their opinion of a company based on their interactions, a
company can preemptively engage a customer with specific content or media to drive certain
emotions or reactions. This allows a company to shape its image before the customer has ever
interacted with its products.

 Long-lasting. Marketing campaigns done right can have a long-lasting impact on customers.

 Financial Performance. The ultimate goal and benefit of marketing are to drive sales. When
relationships with customers are stronger, well-defined, and positive, customers are more likely
to engage in sales. When marketing is done right, customers turn to your company, and you gain
a competitive advantage over your competitors. Even if both products are exactly the same,
marketing can create that competitive advantage for why a client picks you over someone else.