How and Why Marketing Is Changing in Modern Times - Essay Example

Marketing Process

As defined by (Jobber,2010), marketing process is the procedure(s) created or adopted by a firm in an effort to make sure that customers have a positive experience when buying a commodity. Marketing process is, therefore, critical to successful sale of products or services. This process entails planning, developing, executing, documenting, and reviewing systems meant to make sure that the primary marketing objectives set by a company are met. These goals fall within a broad range and could include suitability of product type, product quantity, commodity quality, the right target market, and projected profitability. Given the importance of this marketing concept, a company should strive to establish gaps that exist in the market in terms of customer needs or unexplored locations. With these considerations in mind, marketing process constitutes strategic marketing that aids a firm in establishing a clear path and comprehensive purpose for every marketing effort. There are four key stages in strategic marketing including: identification of the overall marketing mission, analysing the existing situation, creating marketing goals and establishing a marketing approach, and finally implementing/evaluating the executed strategy.

The first step, that is, identification of the marketing mission requires a company to determine the primary reason for its existence and the manner in which it can provide value to prospective customers in the long-run. The mission serves to guide the direction toward which a company will channel its marketing efforts in future. A mission would further serve as the foundation upon which a firm can continue improving its products/ services in an effort to meet market needs. For instance, the mission for a multinational company (MNC) would be to meet particular customer needs at the global level (Jobber, 2010). An excellent example of a MNC mission is Coca Cola’s, which is to provide the world with body, mind, and spirit refreshment, while inspiring joy and optimism through its actions and brands. The latter statement provides an overall definition of the soft drink company’s intentions for its target market. The statement further acts as a guide not just for overall business purposes, but for specific marketing intentions as well.

The second step in the marketing process, as mentioned, is situation analysis (Jobber,2010). Firms carry out analyses of prevailing conditions, in order to determine their exact position in terms of finances, operations efficiency, as well as, in comparison to other companies in the same industry. Establishing the company’s standing at the time of evaluation is important so as to determine possible weaknesses and strengths and make necessary adjustments. Situation analysis also makes it possible for a firm’s executive staff to establish the challenges that a company faces and possible mitigation measures, as well as, resources upon which it can capitalise to improve the firm’s stature. From a marketing perspective, situation analysis is vital in determining the company’s current market reach; unexploited products/services or geographical locations into which it has not ventured. As a result, situation analysis calls for evaluation of not only the market, but also a company’s capacity as determined from its internal environment, as well as, the external environment in which it operates. For this reason, a situation analysis must be comprehensive enough to examine the internal and external environs of a firm. There are several tools used in examining a company’s current situation including SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis, and the 5Cs analysis. The 5Cs model represents the company, its customers, competitors, current collaborators, and its climate. The company in this analytical model refers to a firm’s internal environment, whereas the remaining four elements are meant to provide insight into the firm’s external environment. The SWOT analytical framework, on the other hand, is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths are internal features of a company that place it at an advantage. Examples of strengths include strong financial standing, an efficient operations system, and a comprehensive value chain, all of which make a firm better equipped to execute an efficient marketing strategy. In contrast, weaknesses are company attributes likely to impede its efficacy in implementing marketing strategies and achieving predetermined objectives. Further, opportunities are chances that a company can exploit to better its position in the market. Excellent examples of opportunities from a marketing outlook include unexploited geographical locations and gaps in product or service provision (Jobber, 2010). Finally, the PESTEL examination model can be used to evaluate a company’s external environment. This is also an acronym which represents the political, economic, societal, technological, environmental, and legal considerations, within which a company must operate. For example, the political environment of a given area could be too volatile for it to serve as a viable market for a company. Alternatively, if such an environment is stable and free of turmoil, a firm can establish itself and build a potent customer base. The same applies for other factors within this model of analysis.

• The third component of the marketing process involves formulating the marketing strategy (Jobber, 2010). This step occurs after successfully identifying market opportunities and determining the respective company’s capabilities. Market information, collected in the previous situation analysis phase, provides the necessary basis to formulate an appropriate approach to marketing products or services. Marketing strategy is a function of several actions since it entails formulating marketing objectives and developing the marketing approach. Regarding establishment of objectives, a company should strive to create clear goals, whose outcome can be measured thus giving decision makers the foundation necessary to make marketing decisions and evaluate progress. Examples of these measurable goals could be attaining a specific sales target, accruing a certain level of sales revenue, and gaining a specific proportion of the market. These objectives should also be attainable within a realistic time period. For instance, gaining a 2% share in a market with other similar companies within one year would be realistic, unlike expecting to gain the same within a three-month period. The other component of the market strategy phase involves actual development of the marketing approach. This entails choosing the target market or the specific group of customers that are most likely to purchase the company’s products or services. In addition to determining the people to whom the company can sell its products, the firm must establish the kind of products it will sell, the pricing of its commodities to ensure that the target market can afford to make purchases, as well as, the promotion methods it will apply. These can be summed up as marketing mix decisions, which are represented by the 4Ps or place, price, product, and promotion. Overall, the marketing strategy constitutes segmentation or division of prospective markets in order to determine which to serve best, followed by selection of the target market, placement of the commodities in chosen market, and eventually, formulation of measures for continued addition of value to products/services availed to the market.
• The final step in the marketing process is strategy execution, monitoring, and control (Jobber, 2010). This phase takes place after comprehensive development of the marketing approach and subsequent launch of product/service. In addition to implementing the plan, a company must strive to closely follow up on its performance, in order to identify possible weaknesses and implement corrective measures in a timely manner. Constant monitoring is crucial so that relevant parties can determine areas that would require additional or lesser resources than others. It is these adjustments that amount to consistent regulation and reworking of the plan, in order to suit changing market conditions. These alterations are important since modern markets are highly volatile. Failure to adapt to changes may also increase the chances of failure not just from the marketing front, but also for other company operations. The subsequent section explores some of the possible changes to which a company must adapt its marketing strategy, as demonstrated by transformation to marketing in the modern business environment.

How and why marketing is changing in modern times

It is with doubt that marketing has evolved tremendously in the new convectional world. This change has been brought about by change in technology as well as the way individuals receive, deduce and react to all kinds of information given t them. Due to the proliferation of the internet in the modern world, there is a rapid evolution of gadgets which assist in quick as well as easy access to information (Palmer, 2012). Therefore, consumers are able to find new information on products by interacting with the company marketing personnel as well as other consumers. It is therefore; fit to conclude that with these new forms of interactions, numerous consumers as well as professionals have embraced the ever evolving technology and the new marketing aspects. One of the best examples is the “share a coke” initiative which has not only been rolled out on television but also on all Coca-Cola social media channels.

The internet has created a platform where people can interact and fill in ht vacuum that has been there for a long time. Businesses, as well as, marketing aspects have changed due to presence internet burst that was not there before. Virtual digital encounters have been embraced in organizations in order to enhance transparency. The modern time have therefore, embraced marketing as a way of providing people with knowledge while at the same time shifting from the known dialogue that was embraced in the past generations (Palmer, 2012).

In the new marketing world, different aspects have changed. This has been brought about by improvement in all aspects like usage of social media platforms for marketing purposes. For instance, huge organizations like Coca-cola are using social media for advertising and marketing purposes. The use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media channels have made it easy for the company to reach millions of people around the world (Palmer, 2012).

Since the main purpose of any organization is creation and retention of clients, marketing also assists in enhancing innovation. Additionally, marketing attracts and retains clients when done the right way. Therefore, marketers are focusing on creating the right kind of relationships with the consumers by utilizing technology. Nevertheless, the role played by marketing in many firms has not fully changed, but the marketing power dynamic in consumer-seller affiliation has changed greatly. Therefore marketing approaches and functions have been inextricably changed by the rise in technology. Marketing is by far changing and it is imperative to comprehend the reasons behind the change as well as the catalysts enhancing the change.

Proliferation of the internet has been one of the most crucial catalysts of change in marketing all over the world. Through the use internet, consumers are not only able to interact but also gain access to numerous data on different products. With numerous organizations embracing the internet as a way of communicating to their consumers and potential clients, meaningful insight is provided which enhances the new marketing dynamics in the current world. This is because clients are able to find reviews, prices and even compare products thus simplifying decision making. Nowadays, digital devices are available to many consumers thus giving them access to information and most sought after desires. Social media is also not only providing content, but also creates a platform for sharing and creating own information. This has allowed unprecedented information transfer of knowledge and information. There is ease in accessing both good and bad feedback on products via social media platforms. This enhances company response because organizations do not need negative ratings thus affect their productivity and reputation. According to (Palmer, 2012), more than 70% of buyers visit the internet to find information about products they are interested in. on the other hand 40% of consumers have been influenced to buy a certain brand through social media platforms. Marketing has changed immensely because, unlike the past where marketers used to approach potential clients physically and convince them to buy, consumers are now more focused on believing their communities.

It is imperative to note that the change is influencing people to learn more on technology use and making money online. Online stores have become rampant and people are advertising, marketing and selling their products to virtue consumers. This way, they have been able to optimize content so that information is readily available to all customers. This way online selling has become easier since clients can access their products just by typing a few words or phrases of what they need. Therefore, marketing is much easier with the use of internet since search engine optimization makes it easier to find needed products (Palmer, 2012).

Marketing has been made easier and mobile by use of smartphones. There is intense marketing in using mobile gadgets which has not only made information available but also reached many people since they have phones. Mobile marketing has introduced applications that assist organizations in marketing. When a client downloads a particular application, one is able to view different products that are advertised by different sellers. Additionally, ratings and reviews of different products are available thus decision making is easier.

Marketing has changed greatly in the modern world because it has increased advertising levels even for organizations are not known for marketing. This is because adverts can be used to generate revenue. For instance, organizations simply publish content online that assist in increasing traffic as well as make money by advertising on their blogs (Palmer, 2012).

Marketing functions have been integrated as one. This is due to the fact that consumers are not only getting access to information, but also market products and the company as well. When a client shares information about a particular product, one is still marketing for the company. Organizations that have adopted technology in reaching out to clients in order to better provide them with the most appropriate information. For instance, Starbucks has embraced new marketing concept of integrating different departments in their marketing docket. This way they have successfully created a transparent marketing arena thus reaching out to more people and thus enhancing more sales.

Due to the drastic changed of marketing in the new times, marketers have come to embrace the fact that contest is crucial and therefore, they need to adjust and adopt new marketing ways in order to survive. Every marketing department must be multi-channel published. Since consumers are constantly looking for information, the biggest challenge for organizations is continuously feed information on new products and at the same time make it relevant to new clients of different generations. Phrasing the information in the right format, tone as well as scope is a strategy that will assist very many organizations that have decided to venture modern marketing plans. For easy marketing in this modern times, companies should strive to develop open source content which, as well as, finding new methods that will ensure that information is integrated and syndicated with other blogs, sites and links. Most blogs are used by consumers to post their contention or dislike of a particular product. Customers’ concerns are also made available and this enables the companies involved to better their products in order to make them more appealing to their potential clients. It is also imperative for organizations to make sure that the new approach in marketing reaches the necessary information to all clients. The new marketing options will enhance customer relationship thus force functions to positively connect with the changing consumer behavior. Whether driven by habits’ or behaviors, marketing in the modern times has changed due to technology and other trends. It is therefore, wise for organizations to continuously embrace incessant change of the marketing functions.