Gathering Information in Marketing - Term Paper Example

?Gathering Information in Marketing Understanding potential markets, demand and growth A market represents a specific population within a big population that may be interested in buying or using a product or service. Understanding the potential market requires an understanding of the needs of the people, the buying behavior and the buying motivations. People buy products because they want to satisfy a certain need. Understanding the market requires an examination of the macro and micro trends in the market. The macro trend analysis involves an understanding of the market environment in six areas and these include the demographic environment, socio-cultural, technological, natural, economic and regulatory. Information from this analysis will show the big picture of the market and what to expect when moving in such a market (BPP, 2010, p. 55). After a careful analysis of the market it is important to consider the industry in which the organization is located and this is important in order to know its attractiveness. Porters five forces model is one of the most used models in examining an industry attractiveness. It begins with an analysis of rivalry among the present competitors, and then examines the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of buyers and the threat of substitute products. All this provide relevant information concerning the industry an organization is thinking of venturing into. After understanding the market and the industry it is important to estimate the market demand and market growth (BPP, 2010, pp. 55-60). Market demand therefore represents what all of the buyers within a market are willing and able to buy at alternative prices during a given time period, holding all demand determinants constant. This is affected by many factors which include: individual preferences and tastes, buyer expectations, income, complementary goods and substitute goods (Mullins & Walker, 2010, p.70). Three techniques have been put forward for estimating market demand and these include consumer surveys, consumer focus groups and market experiments. Market growth on the other hand can be estimated by examining historical records and extrapolating the results into the future (McGuigan, Moyer, & Harris, 2011). Memorandum Sanitex has continued with its presence in west London commanding a big proportion of the market. With its continued presence in the market it is continuing to expand and may just cover the whole of London. The estimated market size of Sanitex can be seen as small because of the limited number of potential customers that use pest control products. The diversification of the company’s product portfolio into other areas such as carpet cleaning and distribution of sanitary products should increase the market size. It is difficult to estimate the size of the company’s market but the following sources could be used by Sanitex to find out the approximate size of its market. These sources include: customer surveys, government data such as census data and trade associations. The current demand for Sanitex products is still low and this is because of the following reasons: first is because Sanitex is still not known and therefore the existence of strong competitors reduces the demand of Sanitex products. Secondly is the one product that has been on their portfolio. The company has tried to publicise itself making it known to the greater London and therefore the demand of their products is likely to increase because of the increased market size. The improved product portfolio will also work to their advantage as it will increase demand because of the uniqueness of their services. Customer Satisfaction Organizations find it difficult to manage customer’s satisfaction efficiently. There are many tools that are employed in measuring customer satisfaction and each method has to be defined appropriately in order to meet desired norms. There are two primary ways of measuring customer satisfaction and these may be affected by the size of the organization market and the kind of feedback that is required. Large organizations have a big market size and therefore some techniques may only get little feedback that may not be representative of the entire population (BPP, 2010, pp. 125-130). The first technique is the direct methods and these include a variety of techniques that used to contact the customers directly and getting their feedback. These include: interviews or face to face conversations, use of questionnaires, calling customers, surprise market visit, letters of appreciation or complaints and agencies that provide feedback to the company. The second method is the indirect method which may be costly and require careful pre-planning to implement. The two most common techniques include: customer complaints recorded by different people in different departments and customer loyalty indexes (BPP, 2010, pp. 125-130). Competitor Analysis Competitor analysis represents an assessment of the potential competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and this provides an offensive and defensive context to recognize opportunities and threats. Various tools have been developed for analyzing competitors, some of these include: PESTEL, porters five forces model, value chain analysis, SWOT analysis, 7 P’s among others. I would recommend that Sanitex uses the SWOT analysis and the PESTEL analysis (BPP, 2010, pp. 215-238). PESTEL analysis would be very useful in understanding the entire pest control industry and thus would give the company a lot of information concerning the current business environment in the country. The SWOT analysis will be important as it will provide both an internal and external analysis of Sanitex and its competitors and therefore giving the company a starting point to improve their performance (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2008, pp. 100-120). SWOT Sanitex strength variables can be seen from skills that the CEO has in accounting and his passion, a good name/ reputation that has been accepted in west London and Sizeable capital. Weaknesses can be seen in management as the CEO has no skills in marketing and limited understanding of customer behavior. Threats can be seen from the hard economic times, the tough competitive environment and seasonal fluctuations in pest control business, difficulty in attracting new customers due to the non-branded business. The variables indicating opportunities include a chance to venture into new areas and diversify product portfolios. The consumer DMP process The consumer decision making process (DMP) is a problem solving process that occurs in the minds of both individual and organizational buyers in order to decide which products and brands to buy. Though the process is similar, the outcomes are usually different and this is affected by personal characteristics and social influences. Sanitex and its customers will go through the following five stages: first is problem identification where a customer identifies unsatisfied needs or wants and is motivated to solve the current state to a more balanced or ideal state. The second stage is information search where the customer admits there is a problem and refers to information from past experience or stored in memory to find out what product or service is best to address their needs or wants (BPP, 2010, pp. 3-20). The third stage is evaluation of alternatives and here consumers assess just a few brands with the ability to satisfy their needs. They also consider product attributes together with the minimum acceptable performance for each (BPP, 2010, pp. 3-20). The fourth stage is purchase where the customer identifies the source of the products and this could be from a retail store or mail order. The last stage is post-purchase evaluation where the person may either feel rewarded by using the product or not and this is dependent on his expectations and his evaluation of how the product performed. This advice the next purchase (Mullins & Walker, 2010, pp. 102-108). Various factors affect the buying behavior of both individuals and organizations. For Sanitex customers the following factors affect buying behavior: perception and memory and this refer to how well the company is known and remembered by the customers. Second are needs and attitudes such that needs present the problem that must be addressed while the attitudes are the feelings towards products or services. If there is a need but attitudes do not favor the product then it will not be purchased (BPP, 2010, pp. 20-45). Third, are demographics, personality and lifestyle, these three impact differently on the type of product bought. People in the low class are likely to consume products of lower prices than the upper classes. Fourth is social needs and these may include, culture, personal characteristics and psychological characteristics. For Sanitex as a company, the following factors will impact their buying behavior: Raw materials, installations, accessory equipment’s, operating supplies and business services (Mullins & Walker, 2010, pp. 122-130). Relationship between Brand loyalty, corporate image and Repeat Purchase report Brand loyalty is what makes customers want a given product and this is because of its perceived benefits that the customers get from using the product. It combines psychological factors, attitudes and perceptions towards a given product or service. Corporate image is the sum total of what the companies publics-customers and other stakeholders – think about the company. Repeat purchase refers to the process of customers coming back to buy the product after previous use. The three terms are interrelated and very essential for the proper functioning of the organization. The corporate image dictates what the customers think of the company’s products and services and a general impression of the company’s activities some of which may not be related to their products or services. A good corporate image makes an organization favorable in the eyes of the customer. If this is coupled with products and services that satisfy the needs and wants of customers, it will increase the chances of these customers having a preference for the organization’s product and services. Once this preference has been made, customers slowly become loyal consumers of a company’s products and or services. Once the brand loyalty has been established and this happens after a long period of time, customers are inclined to continue buying the company’s products thus the aspect of repeat purchase is established. For Sanitex to have a good corporate image, it must work on its products and services and make sure they perform to the expectations of the customers. Secondly it has to engage in other activities such as community social responsibilities so as to earn a good reputation. Once this positive impression is created customers will start associating themselves with its products and services. This will lead to brand loyalty depending on the perceived benefits that the consumers get apart from their use of the company’s products. A good brand name is what brings about brand loyalty and this is automatically followed by repeat purchase. Customer satisfaction questionnaire for Sanitex Our company would be grateful if you took a few minutes of your time to complete this Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire. This is aimed at ensuring that the standards of customer service exceed expectations and in order that we may serve you better in future. Kindly tick the appropriate box indicating your degree of satisfaction under each category. Where: 1= Excellent, 2= Good, 3= Satisfactory, 4= Poor Category 1 2 3 4 Comments or suggestions Responsiveness: how would you rate our responsiveness in dealing with you? Technical Support: In case of need for technical support, how would you rate our customer care in terms of competence and response time? Product Quality: How would you rate our products and services and did they meet your needs/wants and performance expectations? Delivery: How would you rate our delivery of products and services in terms of duration after ordering and our commitment? Competitiveness: How would you rate the competitiveness of our products and do they represent value for your money? Quality: How would you rate our approach to quality management to ensure complete customer satisfaction? Overall: How would you rate Sanitex Do you have any other comments that would help us improve our quality of customer service? List of references BPP. (2010). business essentials, supporting hnd/hnc foundation degress. marketing and promotion. London: Bpp Learning Media. Fleisher, C. S., & Bensoussan, B. E. (2008). Business and Competitive Analysis: Effective Application of New and Classic Methods. London: FT Press. McGuigan, J. R., Moyer, R. c., & Harris, F. H. (2011). Managerial economics: Applications, Strategy and tactics. mason, OH: Cengage learning. Mullins, J. W., & Walker, O. C. (2010). Marketing Management: Astrategic Decisin Making Approach (7th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin Publishers Inc. Read More