Marketing Principles, Strategise - Essay Example

College Marketing Principles Marketing is a vital business plan for the short and long term accomplishment. Be it a profit or non-profit business as long as the customers are relying on it for proceeds. Marketing is an extensive business process that incorporates different tools of communication (Pride 12). The company management should remember the key aspects that are: to attract customers, engaging the customers and retention of the customers, with these aspects in mind, it is the duty of the company’s management to ensure that there is implementation of theses principles In marketing, there are principles that could be used to help the company be a successful business. They termed to be basic, broad and underlying. They are inclusive of having a need for identification, distribution, having a target market, positioning and message development. There are challenges that have been experienced in marketing like, i) It is hard to reach potential clients. The people supposed to make the decisions will not neither answer their phones nor respond to emails. ii) When it comes to marketing nowadays, it has become more technical and has more complications than the traditional one. The challenge of using the traditional one is that, it is considered inefficient and expensive. iii) A new product in the market that will receive more attention when marketed properly. It becomes necessary to keep up with the market (Pride 56). The business will have to keep in mind the following principles; Strategise, knowing the kind of business one wants to venture in. Setting of goals is a convenient way of gauging where the business will be in a number of years. They should be measurable, specific, relevant to the business, attainable, and should have a limit of time. It is also vital to define the market that one will be targeting. For example, in this company, we made a goal to having the products distributed regionally in a year’s time. Executing a variety of marketing strategies, when the company focuses to dwell on using a specific strategy, it is bound to fail. The use of a variety will expose the business to a wide range of opportunities. Using social media, e-marketing, use of direct mail, the referral strategy, networking and giving of coupons is another way of marketing. The company came up with giving of coupons for consumers that purchased goods of a certain amount (Pride 17). It is advisable to measure and test, once there is analysis it is easy to determine and eliminate what does not work as opposed to doing things without checking the progress. The company did an analysis and discovered that one of the products that are cooking oil; that which moved fast was the one that contained no cholesterol. Persistence and consistency, it is convenient for consumers to be assured that they would be in a position to get the product in the market. Marketing is said to be a process, not an event. The company has continued to have their products available in the market for a couple of years. Building on trust and value, it is very vital for customers to be aware of appreciation and they are getting something that is valuable for their money. In this case, once the customer has a complaint about the product it is taken seriously this is made easier by indicating a hotline on the products (Pride 57). For the business to be successful, there were certain principle that had to be put in place, There was the development of an entrepreneurial attitude, there is the need to develop a state of mind that you are getting into the business to be successful. The determination of how the business turns out is intertwined on the persons’ initial thought. The entrepreneur should be willing to fail but in due course, to gain success. The key thing is to focus on positive thinking and shun negativity. Emphasis on fiscal discipline that is strict, It should be a norm for a business man to use a sales projection that is practical and a budget. Knowing how the business did in the previous month at a particular date. There are no impulse events or travels, hiring of staff when the business is able to pay. The use of credit for long-term financing while cash is used for the short term requirements (Pride 17). Incorporation of experienced advisors, in this case, business had failed, and it was particularly wise to get advice from people that had been in the business for some time and their businesses were flourishing. It is also reliable to have a client that will be in a position to enlighten the entrepreneur on the cycles of budget and they could introduce you to other customers (Pride 27). Brand definition, the brand that you choose will help others define the company, services offered and the product. The company has a logo that will help customers identify the product, trademarks and packaging. The brand will help to develop innovation, performance, and transparency and it builds on developing a responsibility outside the company. Niche market, for people in small businesses, they fathom that only a number of people will buy their services or products, they will therefore, tend to concentrate on the people they view as their customers. This in most business has been seen to work, because they have put emphasis on their target customers (Pride 23). Exceptional customer service, tremendous service from the customer care agents will help in retention of customers. If the customers are not appreciated, then, the business is likely to fail. The business could incorporate training of staff on respect, professionalism and how to enhance relationships with the customer. The use of software called customer relationship management could be incorporated to follow up on the customer’s value for business and for their contacts. Develop a reliable banking system, for a business to be successful it is necessary to keep a record of money received and money spent. It is also beneficial for an entrepreneur to have a connection with the head teller and the manager. The use of more than one bank will ensure that business assets and those that are personal are not monitored in the same bank. Event marketing is another strategy that a company could use in order to achieve maximum results. It is remarkably effective when targeting the young people. In this marketing, there is an activity that involves an occasion or exhibition to promote the product. The creation of an event that consumers are interested in will boost the potential of buying. There are principles that will ensure that such marketing is reliable; Experience: Companies should come up with a way of informing their consumers on new products. This approach will make the consumers know that they are acknowledged and appreciated. When the customers get a fantastic experience they are most likely to associate that product with a good time. Audience: Collaborating with a spokesperson, coming up with a venue, an activity and the product being marketed. The more people attend the event, the more the product gains exposure. Accessibility: It is essential to lay out factor that could lead to the event not being attended. Is the location easily accessible and safe? When is the most convenient time? Convenience will give a higher probability of more people turning up. Interaction: Those that stay longer for events are likely to interact with the company’s representative and could even buy the product. There should be an emphasis by the company to ensure that the people that will represent them will offer reliable information. Feedback: When the event is over, the consumers could be given that opportunity to give feedback on the product. Once the consumers are shown their opinion matters they feel like they are considered and are likely to be loyal customers. Once these principles are not followed there could be problems that could be experienced. Lack of enough money- a small budget could mean that the person who wants to start a small business will be hindered because they lack sufficient funds. In this case, the person needs to be innovative and result to marketing their products using a cheaper and cost friendly means. Be a favourite to all-There is a phrase that is commonly used stating “You can not be all things to all people”. No business will be able to establish a target market that involves everyone, it is therefore, to identify who to target, what they would expect and why. However, there is also a phrase that states “All things to all people” this relies on the concept of 80/20 rule. In this phrase, the success of the company will be determined by the relationships that have been established with the loyal consumers (Pride 62). Order fulfilment-in this time and era the companies have to determine how the product will reach the consumers. This will be considered mostly by businesses that will carry out their businesses on line; they have to deliver despite marketing solutions. There is a challenge in delivering products that are digital in a world where distribution is still done physically. Internet marketing is taking the world by storm. It has become the most preferable method of marketing. There are many options at the entrepreneur disposal like the use of websites-newsletter and advertising online has become cheaper. It is crucial to use fewer banners because most people tend to avoid them, links will be a preferable way to access more information. This approach is likely to charm more people. Blogging is another way to inform people of products being offered, and it will help increase links in the website. Content should be original, and one could expand the site so that they include loads of products. The audience will be attracted to your site if it is organised and they have a variety of products to choose from (Pride 34). When using this advertising, one should include FAQs list. The use of tags to create viral videos is a fun way to make people gain interest. There should be a link that leads to your site in the description of a video. One can use CRM database to recognize the loyal consumers and their purchasing ability. Even when using this king of marketing the company should have a logo and a motto. The company has continued to exercise transparency that way the company has been in a position to achieve trust from the consumers. Many companies have taken to advertising a product, but when it comes to delivery they give sub-standard goods or services (Pride 57). There is another marketing that is called press marketing which is believed to be hard. This is because it involves advertising and calls and there is a lot of income that is required when using this kind marketing. We could look at another marketing that is referred to as draw advertising in this case, it is considered to be immensely enjoyable. It requires that the company builds connections and creates relationships. The take marketing captures those customers that are into the services. The consumers believe that the person who they know to be involved in the business is the best. However, these two and press marketing are suitable for small businesses. There is the need to use a different strategy when marketing products that could have a certain age limit. Despite the fact the products are made by the same company. For example, the company that we are looking at, has products that are specifically meant for children like, crisps called “wows” are mostly meant for kids and another product that is meant for adults like sanitary towels they will use different packaging and different content. For both products, the company will use different methods to market the products (Pride 14). Despite following the market principles, there is a need to know how to execute the principles. Developing a calendar for marketing-it is critical to notify the milestones that the company has gone into. There should be research carried out, distribution and development of materials. Allocate tasks to an individual and create a schedule to ensure that everyone in the marketing department is conscious of the general plan. In the company, there is a team leader that monitors targets of other employees. Having a target audience- carry out a research that will help to get information on the consumers’ shopping habits, personal preferences, hobbies and if possible their personal lives. The company will have forms that consumers will fill in especially when there is the introduction of a new product (Pride 49). Analyse the medium used in marketing-It is particularly crucial to know the medium that the target audience uses to get information. There is the element of costs and effectiveness. For example in Uchumi, the use of newspaper, radio and television have been extensively used to notify people that the company has risen to its feet again. Designing marketing data to work with target media- the use of grabbing headlines and the use of appealing literature. Choosing metaphors that will be of help when communicating to consumers as well as benefitting company offers. Targeting when the audience is receptive in order to distribute materials-One can use the audience, to determine when is the right time for a customer to receive a message on marketing. For example, the brewery companies will give offers in bars on the weekends. It is possible for companies to carry out the principles, and though they do not work at first it is advisable to have a plan b by looking for another alternative. It has become a norm to analyse and carry out researches to be aware of new techniques that could make the business sore higher. The company has concentrated on delivering quality services and goods as time goes it is seen to do better (Pride 49). Work cited Pride, William M, and O C. Ferrell. Marketing. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Read More