Sales and Marketing Management - Essay Example

?Sales and Marketing Management Introduction The most effective way for companies to market is to know a market particularly well. After gathering information concerning buyers, companies have to know how much their potential customers are willing to pay for the products offered. This applies also to those who engage in cause related marketing. Another objective of marketers is to collect information concerning where their customers prefers to purchase their products. The other objective is to collect information concerning the place that customers are expecting to hear about or learn about their products. Gathering of information using primary method is the best way because there is interaction with a client (Baker 2008). Primary methods to be used can be observation, networking, interviewing and focus groups. This paper will put forward an in-depth assessment of cause related marketing, its benefits to involved partners and application of various theories Cause Related Marketing Does Cause Related Marketing aim to Generate Resources for Specific Concerns? Starbucks and Nike are one of the few companies that engage in cause related marketing. Companies partner with non-profit making organizations with various purposes. Apart from marketing their products, they raise awareness and offer support and some give donations to hunger stricken people. Other purposes include enhancing a company reputation, to gain financially and to enhance a customer loyalty. This proves that Cause Related Marketing has an aim of generating resources for specific needs (Dibb 2000). Yoplait Yogurt is another good company that did Cause Related Marketing in 1997. This company formed a partnership with Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to promote their yogurt and at the same benefit the cancer foundation. The partnership had been successful because the Cancer Foundation used to receive 10 cents for a cup of yoghurt bought. The brand image of Yoplait was promoted and this led to increment of their sales. It also created a public awareness concerning breast cancer which is a killer disease. Differences between Cause Related Marketing and Social Marketing Cause related marketing has its main focus on benefiting partners involved. It is used to generate resources, create awareness of a situation and improve the image of a company. There is marketing involved. Products of a company are marketed while trying to raise awareness of a social situation. The organization involved get financial help while companies increase their product sales. Social marketing is taking advantage of social media tools to do marketing (Keller 2008). It enables customers to be informed, make better decisions and view products in a wider perspective. Through this way, a company is able to increase its sales and revenue. It is an old strategy of marketing. Benefits of CRM for Both Parties The primary goal for companies that engage in cause related marketing is to increase their revenue and promote their image. This type of marketing enhances brand building. Customers prefer companies or brands that associate themselves with donations. Companies that engage in charitable activities are preferred more than those that do not. Organizations benefit when they are funded by companies. Non-profit making organizations have more sources of funding when they partner with companies that engage in Cause Related Marketing. Companies known to donate to non-profit making organizations include Coca Cola and McDonalds among others (Kotler 2009). Cause-related Marketing generates goodwill for a company and creates organization awareness. Conclusion Cause-related marketing benefits all the parties involved. There is increase of sales because customers like to be associated with companies that engage in charitable activities. Both the images of businesses and organization are enhanced. There is awareness of a social phenomenon and organizations benefit financially. Brand Development Introduction Branding is always in a form of a logo which is designed to convey a certain message to buyers. This paper will put forward an in-depth assessment of branding as a marketing strategy employed by many companies. It will also discuss the roles played by branding and explanation of positioning among others. The Role of Brand and the Development of Brand Equity In order to understand the role played by branding, I am going to use Costa Coffee. Costa Coffee is the brand name. This differentiates it from other type of coffee. The name Costa means luxury, perfection, sophistication. The image of the Brand logo is designed to show luxury. These are letters that are beautifully designed in maroon colours. The theme on the logo and the colour itself exhibits luxury that is brought by taking Costa Coffee. Branding is important in any business because it improves the image of the company. The brand logo identifies the product to its customers. It is distinct from the other logos because it is has a unique theme which is conveyed to its customers (Keller 2008). The logo is a constant reminder to lovers of Costa coffee that the coffee offered has a unique taste because it is blend differently from other types of coffee. It is a sign of luxury offered by drinking Costa coffee. In order to succeed in branding, the owners of Costa coffee have understood the wants of their customers. Customers always like coffee that has a distinct aroma, flavour and finely ground. They have a bad experience of buying coffee that has a bad aroma and not well blend. Why has Brand Development become Important for Organizations? The image of a Brand logo is always designed to convey a certain message. The theme on the logo and the colour itself contributes to evoke certain feelings of consumers. Branding is crucial in any organization because it improves the image of a company. The brand logo identifies the product to its customers. Every brand logo is distinct from other logos because each has a unique theme to convey to its customers. Therefore, the brand logo delivers a message to customers that their needs will be met. Explanation of Positioning and why Sometimes Re-positioning is Necessary Positioning is a marketing strategy employed by companies to make their brand logo stand out among other brands of their competitors (Keller 2008). It is used to influence customers that their brand logos are better than others. Re-positioning is necessary if there is a market change or a certain brand is not meeting objectives of a company. Conclusion Branding is another form of marketing where brand logos improve the image of a company. Therefore, a brand logo delivers a message to customers that their needs will be met. A brand logo motivates a customer to buy the products offered because it improves the image of a company. References Baker, M. (2008) Marketing-the marketing book, Macmillan, London. Dibb, S. (2000) Marketing concepts and strategy, Houghton Mifflin, New York. Keller, K. (2008) Strategic brand management, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey. Kotler, P. (2009) Marketing management, Pearson Education Limited, New Jersey. Read More