Principles of Marketing
Marketing can be approached in two ways, one as a philosophy, a perspective, an altitude, or a management direction that addresses customer satisfaction, and second as a set of organizational processes and functions utilized to implement this philosophy (Lamb et al., 2019). The first part of this essay presents various key learning points presented in the book Principles of Marketing MKTG 13th edition. The second part presents how each is important in a traditional marketing environment.
Key New Learning Points
Understanding consumer behaviors- the marketing team and managers within an organization should know consumers' preferences for its products and services. This knowledge is critical to the marketing concept adapted and the marketing mix defined for various target segments (Maison, 2018). Consumers always follow the consumer decision-making process while purchasing, especially for new or expensive products. The process involves information search, need recognition, assessing alternatives, purchase and post-purchase behavior (Lamb et al., 2019). Additionally, the marketing team should work to raise consumer involvement as high consumer involvement derives that the consumers care about the product; it is important and relevant to satisfying the consumer needs (Maison, 2018). Also, the team should understand the various cultural, social, individual, and psychological factors influencing the decision process of consumers of its products to develop an effective marketing strategy
Business Marketing- an organization should distinguish whether its products are either consumer products or business products or can offer a combination of both to develop an effective marketing strategy that addresses the right consumers. Additionally, the marketing team should identify B-2-B marketing or consumer marketing trends and adapt to technological and environmental changes. A tool that can greatly aid a company in achieving this is a marketing plan document that helps the business realize increased brand value and sales (Lamb et al., 2019). A marketing plan enables an organization to list all activities that enable employees and managers to work towards the common goal. The document acts as a reference and reflects possibilities and problems available in the market. Elements of a marketing plan include business mission and objectives, target market, budget, required market research effort, elements of advanced strategic planning, among others.
Target market strategy- a firm's marketing team, should identify the target segments addressed by its services and products and choose a targeting strategy that best reaches them. The adapted strategy should enable an organization to customize the delivered message to the target group(S) of customers in a focused manner (Lamb et al., 2019). Various marketing strategies adaptable by an organization include mass marketing, niche marketing, micro and differentiated marketing (Ferrell et al., 2021). Additionally, the marketing team headed by the marketing manager should develop an effective marketing mix addressing the needs of each segment being targeted. A marketing mix involves a unique product, price, promotion, and place to fit the targeted market's needs.
Importance of each Key Point in a Typical Traditional Marketing Environment
In a typical traditional marketing environment understanding how consumers think, interact with the product, and make their purchase decisions can aid the business in developing effective marketing practices for its products and services and realize new opportunities ahead of competitors (Lamb et al., 2019). Another benefit of studying consumer behavior is that the marketing team can influence the way consumers interact with its products and services, which increases consumer-product interaction.
A business should ensure that the form of marketing it adapts targets the right customers, whether they buy the product for personal consumption or as a solution for their businesses (Ferrell et al., 2021). An organization can decide to employ both if the product is utilizable in a business setting, for instance, personal computers. Targeting the right customers enables the marketing team to solely focus on potential customers, which realizes a good budget and high-profit return.
Lastly, adopting an effective marketing strategy that best fits the organization and the consumers of its products enables the organization to be a step ahead of its competitors. Also, the strategy enables the business to realize optimal prices for its products and services based on market research data (Lamb et al., 2019). Additionally, the strategy aids in fixing the marketing budget while defining its scope and returns realized by the marketing plan.
References
Lamb, C., Hair, J., & McDaniel, C. (2019). MKTG Principles of Marketing (13th ed., pp. 313 – 502). Cengage Learning, Inc.
Maison, D. (2018). Qualitative marketing research: Understanding consumer behavior. Routledge.
Ferrell, O. C., Hartline, M., & Hochstein, B. W. (2021). Marketing strategy. Cengage Learning.