The New Rules of Green Marketing - Essay Example

MARKETING MANAGEMENT MARKETING MANAGEMENT What does the phrase "exchange relationship" mean in relation to marketing? Exchange relationship refers to the relationships that exist between a business and its customers. These relationships are aimed at ensuring that a business attracts and retains the customers that it desires. Exchange relationships are created in marketing through continuously keeping contact with the business clients and developing trust between the business and customers. The relations are maintained through a series of service initiatives to customers, commonly aimed at gaining their trust. These have fundamental effects, which include creation of mutual respect, which results in collective benefits to both parties. Exchange relationships are commonly utilised as marketing strategies with the aim of ensuring that a business establishes viable links and contacts with customers, rather than focusing on making on-the-spot sale. The use of this form of relations in marketing commonly results in relationship marketing as a business strategy, whose success is based on the fulfilment of the promises made to customers. A business must maintain commitment to the promises made to customers as a way of satisfying their needs, while still keeping their promises. The role of customer service representatives in this marketing strategy is critical to its successful application. A business must maintain a continuous relationship with the client as a way of retaining the customers by gaining their trust. Organisations commonly focus on delivering value to customers as a way of nurturing the existing relationship between them and the business. This approach of marketing is basically focused on attracting retaining and extending good and services to the desired customers. 2. A sales manager at ABC Services Inc. was required to track important marketing metrics each quarter. Give two examples of the marketing metrics this sales manager might report. Marketing metrics refer to elements that can be used to measure the effectiveness of the marketing strategies employed by an organization in achieving desired marketing objectives. A sales manager might consider reporting the following two metrics to ABC Services; Customer Acquisition Cost This can be defined as the cost incurred in convincing a customer to purchase services and products from a company. The costs considered include the product costs and the various costs involved in research and marketing before reaching the customer. This metric could be relevant to the company as it can be able to determine the markets in which to venture. While the market analysis might be critical, other factors like the value of customers to the company can also be established. This is essential in determining the amount of resources that a business can use to gain customers. Marketing Originated Customers This is a metric that can be used to assess the number of customers who began business relationships with a company as a result of the marketing efforts undertaken. It could be essential in determining the effects of marketing efforts undertaken by the organization in acquiring new business. The evaluation gained can be able to aid in decision making on the way forward, and with regard to marketing. Through it, ABC Services Inc. can either consider increasing marketing efforts or adopt different strategies, which could enable it to attract more customers as desired. The metric directly measures the effectiveness of the marketing approaches as adopted in the target market. 3. Tupperware uses a business model that relies on women running their own businesses as agents of Tupperware. Tupperware successfully exports to China and India. Explain why these countries provide attractive markets for Tupperware. The strategy to focus on Chinese and Indian markets present a significant advantage to Tupperware as there is a ready market for the products within these countries. The large population of people within these countries is a significant element that will ensure that the company’s products have a wide reach. These countries are the world’s two most populous and there is an increasing demand for products with the large number of target clients residing within these nations. The countries continue to experience a growing population of the middle class income earners; hence, there is a ready market for the products of Tupperware. This is a significant advantage of targeting the countries as the major markets for the company’s goods as they provide an ever increasing opportunity for gaining new customers. The business risk for Tupperware has become sufficiently spread by targeting these populous Asian countries. The risk presented by adverse events affecting a country, for example, political instability, are averted since the nations provide a large enough market to sustain many of the company’s operations. The emerging global economies like India present a surmountable level of political risk, but they have a multitude of opportunities. Focusing on these economies enables the company to maximize on the potential benefits presented by the large number of business opportunities existing within the economies. The prevailing political risks in such economies can be considered worthwhile because of the existing opportunities within the two countries. 4. How does a Marketing Decision Support System (MDSS) differ from a Marketing Information System (MIS)? Why might a marketer want to use an MDSS in addition to an MIS? MDSS can be defined as a system that is utilized to manipulate marketing data through the creation of different business scenarios in order to develop the best approach for conducting a business. These systems are commonly used by businesses in seeking to gain competitive edge over their rivals in a highly competitive market. MIS, on the other hand, refers to a computer system in which marketing information is stored and can be retrieved to produce different forms of market statistical data. These systems are continuously involved in the presentation of analyzed data collected from sources within and outside a business entity. The fundamental difference between MDSS and MIS is that the former stores information and is a complex system that performs different functions while the latter is just a part of the MIS and only aids in the decision making process. As a marketer, the utilization of these systems is essential in making major marketing decisions. The two present the involved individuals with an opportunity for making marketing decisions using a projection of analysis retrieved from the system. The application of MDSS only presents relevant information to the marketing situations that are ideal. The decisions made using this system are based on assumptions of future market situations that might not occur. The application of MIS, on the other hand, presents a marketer with details of the market situations from the past. Such information can aid a market to make comparison with the analysis presented by MDSS. Combining the two systems can be advantageous as a market can be able to check historical data and make projections of future market trends. 5. What is the difference between green marketing and green-washing? Green marketing can be defined as the selling of services and products that could be presumed to be environmentally preferred over other products within the same market. This process involves numerous activities like modification of the products and packaging to ensure compliance with the environmental concerns. Within the context of green marketing, all the processes involved include, distribution and packaging as well as others aimed at enhancing environmental sustainability. The element of green washing can be defined as the utilization of green marketing techniques in a deceptive manner with an aim of making customers perceive products as environmentally friendly. This could involve actions like changing the packaging, while still maintaining the same product quality in an effort to deceive customers into purchasing a product. The fundamental difference between green washing and green marketing is the element of deception in green washing. The green washing approach is based on presentation of false information to customers regarding particular products, while green marketing presents factual information. While green marketing has been adopted in seeking to ensure that goods are environmentally friendly, there have been numerous concerns about green washing. Within many countries, provision of misleading information regarding eco-friendliness of products has been illegalized and could result in penalties being imposed on an organization. Green marketing is used in the promotion of eco-friendly products, while the other seeks to deceive customers into purchasing products that might not be environmentally fit, but which a company presents false information depicting them to be so. 6. How might a company in the B2B market use a private exchange? The private exchange concept has been extensively used by business and businesses to provide care for their employees. The concept has mainly been employed by companies that are dealing directly with their customers to provide healthcare insurance, aimed at reducing the cost of healthcare services. The concept has been popularized by the new regulations and requirements which continue to be presented to the market. Many companies have been forced to consider different options of providing these services as a result of the intense competition existing within that market. The consumers are provided with several options from which to choose from through the private exchange concept. The limitations of the state exchanges have been overcome by the introduction of private exchange, which is both cost effective and comprehensive in the services provided. Despite products being utilized by the various firms operating directly with their customers, companies in the B2B market can also consider this upcoming insurance option. As employer-sponsored healthcare services continue to gain popularity and become necessary, different organization must invest in providing such services to their employees. The employer contribution in the healthcare schemes for employees remains higher than that of the employees. The private exchange has become an option that has proved to be able to assist companies to manage costs while simultaneously providing viable healthcare options to their employees. The concept continues to provide approaches for shielding firms from economic downturns that have a negative effect upon the firm’s profitability. 7. A large chain amusement park sells tickets at its main gate for guests who are visiting the park for just that one day. The park also sells seasonal passes that can only be used on weekdays. What market segmentation is being implemented by the amusement park? The park is implementing psychographic segmentation methods of its market. This format of segmentations is commonly used in seeking to understand why the consumers behave in a particular manner. The consumers purchasing behavior becomes the element of consideration when implementing this form of market segmentations. The lifestyles of consumers are the basic considerations which are used in determining how the segmentation can be implemented by an organization. Since many individuals come to visit the amusement park on weekends, there is a need for the park to try and increase sales during the weekdays for sustainability of the operations. The implementation of this strategy in premised on the assumption that the lifestyle of people has a direct impact on their interests in leisure products and services. Psychographic segmentation is commonly implemented through studying how people spend their leisure time. This approach to market segmentation targets personal activities that the individuals in the target market are involved in and seeks to create a selling opportunity out of the lifestyle of the consumers. The psychographic segmentation best works in products that could be considered as luxury products, and those whose consumption is highly dependent on the consumer lifestyles. This form of segmentation remains advantageous as it can enable the park to create consumer profiles that can be utilized in conducting promotional activities for the park. The approach is however based on an assumption and does not capture the actual usage of the products. 8. Why is reselling the customer an important part of the confirmation after the adoption of an innovation? Reselling the customer can be defined as a business approach through which customers of organizations are utilized as a marketing tool for the company products. In the reselling concept, the customer becomes the individuals who entice others towards purchasing the products. This not only serves to increase the sales of a company but also ensure the customers remains supportive of the company. This commonly leads to loyalty of the customer to the company developing out of the relationship that is created between the organization and the customer. The rate at which the innovation reaches the market is increased through reselling the customers, hence adoption of the innovation into the market becomes relatively simplified. When organizations create innovative products there is a need to ensure that they, have a strong customer base upon which to sell their products. The element of reselling the customer seeks to ensure that there is a constant number of customers. The availability of customers becomes critical when launching a new product, especially technological products that might not have been tested before. Reselling enables organizations to develop a market through brand loyalty, consequently ensuring innovations are accepted within the target market. Through such approaches, the reach of this invention is extended as the firm moves towards successful implementation of an innovation. The approach focuses on growing the business rather than sales, although the sales also grow, with increased business opportunities. References Alvarado, A. et al., 2014. Examining Private Exchanges in the Employer-Sponsored Insurance Market. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Available at: http://kff.org/private-insurance/report/examining-private-exchanges-in-the-employer-sponsored-insurance-market/ [Accessed November 3, 2013]. Cateora, P., Gilly, M. & Graham, J., 2010. International Marketing 15th ed., New York: McGraw-Hill International. Ferrell, O.C. et al., 2012. Marketing Principles, New York: Cengage Learning. Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G., 2013. Principles of Marketing 15th ed., New York: Pearson Education Ltd. Kotler, P. & Keller, K., 2011. Marketing Management 14th ed., New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Lent, R. & Tour, G., 2009. Selling Luxury: Connect with Affluent Customers, Create Unique Experiences Through Impeccable Service, and Close the Sale, New York: John Wiley & Sons. McDonald, M. & Mouncey, P., 2011. Marketing Accountability: A New Metrics Model to Measure Marketing Effectiveness, London: Kogan Page Publishers. Ottman, J., 2011. The new rules of green marketing: Strategies, tools, and inspiration for sustainable branding, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.  Read More