Research consultancy
- Marketing concepts for expanding market
Production concept of marketing
This is the oldest concept of marketing. It emphasizes that consumers will favour those products that are available and highly affordable and therefore management should focus on improving production and distribution activities. This holds good when the demand for a products exceeds the supply and the product cost is high. To overcome the problem of cost, production should take place in large scale to meet the demand. At the same time, price should also be addressed so that by making available large quantity, buyer who wants to buy the product would be able to buy. But there are occasions when the product is not attractive, even at low price, the buyers may not buy the product.
Product concept of marketing;
This concept believed that the consumers will favour those products that offer the best quality, performance and features and therefore the organization should devote its energy to making continuous product improvements. This concept implies that there is no effort required for marketing a product, as long as the product is good and its price is reasonable. This concept remained as an important guideline for the manufacturers for quite a long time. But when considering the reality, it could easily be proved that this concept is not true. A producer may feel that he should come up with a good quality product, while the consumers may look for better solution to a problem, for example LG electronics may feel like it is making good quality products when the consumers actually prefer cheap products.
Selling concept;
In this concept the importance of sales efforts to be undertaken to make the consumers buy the products which otherwise will remain unsold. So every organization has to make substantial selling and promotional effort to push the sales of its product. Even the best product cannot have desired sales without the help of sales promotion and aggressive salesmanship. This concept points out that goods are not bought but they have to be sold through organized advertisement and sales promotion efforts.
Profit concept of marketing;
According to profit concept of marketing, there is a necessity for the marketing function to generate profit for the organization. But it is the production activities which would determine the cost of manufacturing and so profit generation becomes the ultimate responsibility of the marketing function. For this purpose, the marketing personnel have to identify the right product and take it to the right people at the right time at right price through the right channel and with right promotion. This would indicate the extent to which the marketing function has to ensure profit realization for a firm. This in turn will force the production function to minimize its cost of production so that marketing function can try to optimize its activities by maximizing profit at minimum cost. On its part, the production department has to protect its own interest. So now a days, the production department would sell the product to marketing at a price befitting its cost of production and a market quantum of profit. In turn, the marketing would determine a price with which it would be able to generate profit and also meet its promotional expenses. Hence this concept of marketing underscores the need to minimize cost at every level, so that at every level every function can earn profit.
Modern marketing concept
The modern marketing concept revolves around customer. It focuses on the ultimate customer and undertakes to meet his requirements in full. For this the organization has to correctly understand the customer requirement and deliver the desired products more effectively and efficiently than the competitors. Hence a major shift took place in emphasis from product to customer. This has led to the manufacturers accept the philosophy, manufacturer is following the old approach, [manufacturing what he can], then be would be out of business in no time. The modern concept is build in recognition of consumers’ sovereignty and so it helps every organization to maximize customer satisfaction and profit. It is this realization of the need to study customer want that very detailed research efforts are made to study and analyze consumer behavior. Similarly marketing information system has become a significant method of receiving valuable inputs about consumers’ wants and needs. Based on this approach, every manufacturer has to redefine his production decision from design to delivery. A constant study of the change in consumer’s behavior has become a necessity to remain in business. The unique selling proposition is developed on the basis of customer’s reaction to various product features. Further, every manufacturer and marketing personnel tries to exceed customer expectations so as to win the customer from the competition. Customer complaints are given utmost respect and importance and the business consider the customer complaints as the best input for product improvement
Social marketing concept
This philosophy of marketing underlines the importance of marketing activities to support and ensure social well-being. Marketing should determine the needs, wants and interests of target markets and deliver the desired satisfaction effectively. Only through this marketing can keep the competitors at bay. This broadened role of marketing is prescribed for marketing as in modern days, a number of products and services hasten environmental pollution, scarcity and inflation.
- b) Develop a suitable new promotional mix for the proposed expansion using an appropriate marketing mix model for this business.
Promotion Mix refers to the Combination of promotion tools used to reach the target market and fulfill the organization’s overall goals.
Advertising; this is the use of a communication channel like television or radios to covey post information about the company so as to attract the people to buy company products using advertising channels like television is essential in making clients have information regarding the company because people are able to view the products on the television and make their judgment regarding its purchase.
Use of newspaper adverts on the company’s products is also essential in ensuring that company’s products are popular and the organization is able to ensure that the products are known to the people this will attract sales and therefore enable the organization to overcome the effects of COVID-19.
However the down side of this type of communication in Uganda is that very few people own television therefore the information may not be able to reach the rural parts of the country. Radio advertisement; this type of advertisement covers wide are and therefore it can enable many people to have information regarding the company’s products.
Use of sales promotion; The organization can offer some products on sales promotion, this will enable the people to understand the products that LG electronics deals and therefore it will ensure that the people are aware of the products that the organization is offering.
Personal selling; this is essential to enable the company’s products be popular and this includes the fact that the organization will be sell the products to clients directly and therefore this will enhance sells of the company and therefore increase sales.
Use of flyers; this will involves giving potential clients all the products that the company owns to enable them have information regarding the company. Flyers are given to people in markets, churches , walking on the roads, and also people in bus parks all these are potential areas the company can use to attract new clients in order to increase sales.
Sponsoring foot events; when the company sponsors football events it is able to attract new clients and this will build a positive image of the company. Since football events attracts many people and of all generations it will enable them be in position to improve on their sales.
Engaging on Corporate Social Responsibility; From marketing studies which were conducted, ceteris paribus, a company’s practices of CSR can actually attract customers. In a national survey done by Smith and Alcorn (2009) found that 45.6% of the participants indicated that they were likely to shift brands in favour of those who donates to charitable events. This implies that CSR investment can positively affect market share of any entity leading ultimately leading to increases in revenue. Revenue increases can be reached indirectly through improvement in brand image or directly through market development. Before making any purchase decision, customers consider a company’s CSR activities (Bhattacharya and Sen 2004, Penn Schoen Berland 2010). Their research suggests that customers are willing to spend an extra amount for products of those firms with high CSR engagement and practices. Work from other authors in the same discipline argue that although consumers are not prepared to pay a higher price, they are more likely to purchase goods from organizations which are into corporate social responsibility.
Engaging into philanthropic activities,; Charitable contributions by U.S. companies fell 14.5 % in real dollars last year, and over the last 15 years, corporate giving as a percentage of profits has dropped by 50 %. The reasons are not hard to understand. Executives increasingly see themselves in a no-win situation, caught between critics demanding ever higher levels of “corporate social responsibility” and investors applying relentless pressure to maximize short-term profits. Giving more does not satisfy the critics the more companies donate, the more is expected of them. And executives find it hard, if not impossible, to justify charitable expenditures in terms of bottom-line benefit, this dilemma has led many companies to seek to be more strategic in their philanthropy. But what passes for “strategic philanthropy” today is almost never truly strategic, and often it isn’t even particularly effective as philanthropy. Increasingly, philanthropy is used as a form of public relations or advertising, promoting a company’s image or brand through cause-related marketing or other high-profile sponsorships.
Initiating environmental campaigns so as to show to the public that the company cares about the environment; Consumers not only want good and safe products, but would also like to know that what they buy was produced in a socially and environmentally friendly way, and are sometimes willing to pay more for products that are produced in a socially and environmentally friendly manner. Loyalty is a combination of product or service quality, price and intellectual or emotional bonding. More and more customers are considering the environmental and social impacts of companies’ activities when they are making purchasing decisions.
Ensuring consistency in the quality of the products so as to create Customer loyalty. This can be created through cause promotions, cause related marketing. The companies need to identify and implement the initiative. Brand visibility, recognition and awareness among the stakeholders can be achieved by putting a good CSR plan in place. Cause branding is intended to reinforce or improve a company’s image by demonstrating the company’s support for a particular cause
Digital marketing
is the marketing of products and services over the internet. Internet marketing is considered to be broad in scope because it not only refers to marketing on the internet, but also includes marketing done via e mail and wireless media. Digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) systems are also often grouped together under internet marketing.
Internet
Curtis 2007, the internet is a robust communication system originally devised for military applications. Once people have subscribed to broad band, it provides access to almost unlimited information and international communication. Access in this context has zero marginal cost to the user. As the internet extends progressively to mobile phones and hand held devices (PDA‟s-personal digital assistants), the opportunity and necessity to make use of online and web related marketing methods becomes increasingly irresistible. The internet and email provide unprecedented opportunity for radically new methods of promotion and advertising, such as viral marketing and RSS ( Really Simple Syndication) of educational or informative articles, newsgroups, forums, affiliations and partnering arrangements, email newsletters and campaigns and many other new ideas which appear more quickly than most of us can absorb. Modern and emerging digital and web related advertising marketing methods offer audience „reach‟, precision of targeting, level of fine tuning and control, measurement and analysis and cost effectiveness that conventional advertising media simply cannot match. Conventional printed sales and marketing materials of all types (from newspapers and magazines, to brochures and business cards) are becoming obsolete as customers look to the internet (via phones, pc‟s, laptops, PDA‟s and in the future TV too) for quick up-to- the-minute information about products, services and suppliers of all sorts.
Websites
Kotler and Armstrong 2010, websites vary greatly in purpose and content. The most basic type is a corporate (or brand) website. These sites are designed to build customer goodwill, collect company feedback and supplement other sales channels rather than to sell the company‟s products directly. They typically offer a variety of information and other features in an effort to answer customer questions and build relationships with them. Other companies create a marketing website. These sites engage consumers in an interaction that will move them closer to a direct purchase or other marketing outcome.
Email marketing
Monarief and Shipp 1997, email has become an even more flexible method of communicating. Email allows the person to stay in contact with the customer base through an online computer network interface such as the internet. It also encourages more communication and information sharing among sales people and their managers, suppliers and peers who in turn help build more team camaraderie.
Social networks
Kotler and Armstrong 2010, over the past few years, a new type of social interaction has exploded onto the scene- online social networking. Online social networks are online 10
communities where people socialize or exchange information and opinions. Social networking media range from blogs to social networking websites such as facebook, you tube and twitter. Marketers are working to harness the power of these new social networks to promote their products and build customer relationships.
Mobile phone marketing
The pitch, Richard Mukoma Daily Nation July 13th 2010, mobile phone marketing refers to direct marketing to consumers via cell phones. Technologies such as sms, mms, Bluetooth and infrared are used to distribute commercial content to mobile phones. Mukoma suggested that with the growing popularity of mobile phones, mobile phone marketing has the potential to be the fastest growing and most targetable method of brand marketing.
- c) The following are the ways of creating demand for new product
Paying attention to market research; the company should pay attention to what customers want through surveys, test group and feedback from customers and website. This will enable the company to be in position to supply the product as the people want it.
Produce stellar content; if the company is just starting out should promote its new product and prove that is solving a problem currently plaguing customers through informative and educational content. The content should aim to entertain and inform customers of the value of the products. The company can release a video of the product that explains to the clients on the products that they are offering in the market and also the problem it is solving.
Feature customer reviews; on the customer website it is essential to feature customer reviews, the content should aim to entertain and also inform the customers of the value of the product. By producing quality content the organization will begin to build trust with the people.
Educate the customers, educating the consumers will help in enabling the clients to know the features of the new products and its functions. Ensure that the customers are aware of the functions of thee new product that the company is offering and how it will solve their problems.
The company must focus on the biggest pain point. The demand of the product can be created if the company can solve the biggest challenge that the consumers are facing this will therefore make the people embrace the new product that the organization is offering in the market.
Create scarcity. Scarcity tips the demand scale on the consumers side, when company is new it is imperative for the company to be in position to create scarcity so that the consumers feel a sense of urgency to buy the product this will enable the people to be in position to buy the product feeling that they are going to miss this new product which is solving their problem.
Offer free content; the organization should be able to offer free content to a small section of the consumers this will enable them in have a better understanding on the importance of the new product to their life and therefore they will be able to solve this challenge.
Being close to the audience; this is imperative for the company to be able to have a better understanding of the tastes and the expectation of the new product that they are trying to offer to the people. Being close to the audience will also help the company inform the clients of the changes in the product design and the key features it has from others in case there are close competitors.
Leveraging customer feedback; the clients’ feedback is important because this helps the company to have better understanding on how the clients are viewing the product and the changes that the company needs to do in order to be in position make the necessary both in terms of changing the product specification and the way the advertisement is done.
Partnering with complementary products; if the good works hand in hand with others then a partnership will provide the necessary synergies that will enhance the demand of the product because purchase will have better knowledge on the importance of the products that the organization is offering.
Promotion
Communication by marketers that informs, persuades, and reminds potential buyers of a product in order to influence an opinion or elicit a response.
