Marketing home work - Essay Example

Answer Levitt’s assertion that the main purpose of firm is to ‘create and keep a broadly conforms to fundamental goals of business whichis to make profit (Levitt, 2006. Businesses do so by producing goods and services that meet the requirements of people or the customers. Thus, customers or consumers become the mainstay of business. Creative input in new product development and advertising become critical part of creating new customers whose requirements and preferences are anticipated and fulfilled through new products.

The advertisements create needs in the customers which are satisfied by the product advertised. In a highly competitive environment of cut throat business, creating and keeping customers therefore becomes vital ingredient of the market strategy of the firms.Answer 2 Saxonville Sausages is a prime example of how brand strategies were used to position their product in the market. They had targeted family and homemakers who relished home cooked food. The advertisements showed women using Saxonville sausages to make different dishes and enjoying it with family.

Thus it was able to create a niche market position. Through right positioning, it was able to revive its declining profits (Mullins & Walker, 2009). Mountain Man brewery case, on the other hand emphasizes the need for new product to meet the challenges of time. Mountain Man is established brand of lager with regional specialty that primarily caters to the niche market of coal miners. Its brand equity is associated with long history of coal mining and has a loyal customer base which now is elderly populace.

The new light beer would meet the tastes of young generation but fears that it could threaten its brand equity. But this is a risk which the firm must take to maintain its competitive advantage in the industry.Answer 3 Market research is intrinsic part of business strategy that is used to identify and analyze changing customers’ requirements which the firms meet through new product development or value addition (Vandermerwe, 2004; McKenna, 1991). The buying behavior and surveys are important tools for qualitative and quantitative analysis that help deintify the changing trend of the consumers.

For example, qualitative study would show that coke is a favorite drink but diet coke is preferred more because of its low calorie. On the other hand, quantitative research would indicate that coke is more popular than Pepsi. Various firms like Redbull, Reebok, Nike have used market research to identify their requirement that was used for new product development. The advertisements become powerful tools to influence the buying decisions of the consumers.Answer 4 Segmentation refers to demography of the consumer vis-à-vis age, gender, income group etc.

Targeting is defined by marketing products to specific segment of the market (Yankelovich & Meer, 2006). Market position clearly indicates association of product with certain predefined situation or segment. Red Bull has judiciously exploited market mix to address the needs of their customers which is youngsters who are love sports and are health conscious. It has been major sponsors of college events and uses popular sportsmen to advertise its products. Indeed, STP or segmentation, target and positioning help firms to evolve effective strategic market plans to influence the buying decisions of the target market.

(words 519)ReferenceLevitt, T. (2006). What business are you in? Harvard Business Review, 84(10), 126-137.McKenna, Rogis. (1991). Marketing is Everything. Harvard Business Review. Mullins, John W., & Walker, Orville C. (2009). Marketing Management (7th ed.) NY: McGraw Hills.Vandermerwe, Sandra. (2004). Achieving Deep Customer Focus. MIT Sloan Management Review, 1 April 2004. http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2004-spring/45307/achieving-deep-customer-focus/ 16 October 2012.Yankelovich, Daniel & Meer, David. (2006). Rediscovering market segmentation.

Harvard Business Review, February, 1-10.