Tag: marketing strategy

Segmenting a market?

See everybody has their own likes and dislikes right? It is always possible that my need and your need can be different or even similar also. Market segmentation is just the most useful aspect in which a marketer can divide the whole market into subgroups of people having the same needs and wants. Must be wondering why it is done? So by this concept marketer gets the clear idea of the group demanding the same products and can easily satisfy their demand on that basis. Suppose if their is a group of teenagers than obviously their demand and needs about a product will be different from that of old age group. Likewise we have many different basis for market segmentation let us just understand them one by one:

  • Geographic Segmentation: This is the most simple method of market segmentation as in this the people living in one region of the country have different buying behaviours from that of the people living in some other region and thus this becomes the base for dividing the market .
  • Demographic Segmentation: Demographic elements such as age(teenagers/adults/retired), occupation, education, sex and income are used here for Segmentation.
  • Psycho-graphic Segmentation: Under this basis the consumers are divided into subgroups on the basis of their psychological attitude and also includes their personality and lifestyle.
  • Behavioral Segmentation: Consumers are here divided on the basis of the knowledge , attitude and use of actual products.
  • Volume Segmentation: It is assumed that most of the product is sold to a certain percentage of people. There are light , medium and heavy users of products. It is important for the business to give due consideration to the heavy users so that they must not switch to some other brand and also along with that they are required to adopt various techniques to convert light , medium and non users into the heavy one.
Easy explaination of its benefits.

THE BUYING DECISIONS

Buying and shopping is something, which if preferred my everyone, belonging to all age groups. The buying decisions of men and woman depend on their habit and lifestyle. Habits and lifestyle drive most decisions and it is important for companies to study these habits for understanding the buying decisions of the purchasers. Companies try to focus and study the initial buying decision to gain advantage of them before their decision is overruled by their habit. This ensures that their products and things that they are selling is the beneficiary of the habits of the consumers.

Consumer Buying Process

There is particular buying process through which a customer has to go before purchasing anything. This process is called as Customer Buying Process (also called a buying decision process). This process shows the journey of a customer before buying anything. And it is important to understand this journey to align the products and strategize the entire process of product advertising selling accordingly.

Following things are focused while understanding a buyers mind:

  • Initial Stimulation of a Need : Companies spend millions of dollars each year to motivate the buyers for purchasing their products and for motivating them to buy the products which are healthier, wealthier, attractive and safer. That’s why, coupons, discounts and sales are also provided. These mainly attract the purchasers. Many purchasers tend to change their habits and lifestyles which further change and shift their shopping habits.
  • Influence of Third Parties: Third parties are mainly friends, peers or authority who have influence on the habits and lifestyles of people. This further affect the selection of products. Word of mouth marketing is considered more because it provides honest reviews about different products. It is considered to be more trustworthy than individual advertising. That’s why companies try to seek and attract customer endorsements and enlist celebrities as product spokespeople to help gain the attraction and purchasers.
  • Personal Evaluation : Decisions for buying one product as compared to other similar products is influenced by a number of factors and it includes packaging appeal and the convenience of payment. This process of choosing one product over another helps in making better decisions and better choices.

Hence, consumers should be aware of their habits which are the major deciding factors while purchasing anything. Evaluating and objectively determining every purchase is considered to be impractical and not preferable. Sometimes the outcomes are more critical and there can be significant differences in their price, quantity, quality, durability and utility etc. And for a successful result it is important to make rational purchasing decision.

Shopping always makes us feel good. Even after buying something, the excitement of trying them immediately after getting home excites a lot and in my case, I always have a feeling of achievement after buying a product that I like. We all know that sense of pleasure and joy when be go through different stores and buy something that we want…. It can be a new shade of lipstick, or a hardware or furniture or electronic item or pair shoes or anything else. This is called a retail therapy and it has also been studies scientifically. Scientific studies of retail therapy have shown the effectiveness of buying and shopping something which we need or want.

Service Marketing

Must have heard this term often right? But do you really know what is service marketing all about? Keep reading to understand properly.

The term can be easily understood separately as the service refers to an act of performing something for someone in exchange for adequate consideration on the other hand marketing is a broader term but in simple word it means promotion. Collectively we can say that when a person or entity promotes services it offers to the various clients it can be known as service marketing which aims at providing the solutions to the problems faced by the clients. Both the B2B (business-to-business) and B2C ( business-to-consumer) marketing is included in it.

Service Marketing have occupied a significant role in the market because service is something which can’t be seen or touched it can only be availed and experienced. The decision of the buyers in case of products is highly influenced by its quality but it is something different in case of services because the quality of service can be determined after it is availed by the customers. So it is required by the marketers to adopt those strategies that are highly attractive for the customers to induce them for availing a particular service.

Also these services can’t be resold or returned that means they are one time action and the manner it is availed at that time affects its future sale because if the goodwill of a particular service is not maintained then it will not be able to attract another more customers.

Examples: marketing of medical services, beauty parlours and spa, coaching centres , telecommunication etc

Service marketing is often confused with the term product marketing but it is important to know that both of them are different product marketing is the marketing of a tangible item that can be seen and touched whereas services are intangible.

If the proper service marketing strategies are adopted then it can leads to huge profit potential for a business and promote it to get more customers also.

Services marketing are dominated by the 7 Ps of marketing namely Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical evidence. All these are the factors or elements that are mixed by the marketer in order to deal with the customers much better.

Explanation of service marketing elements.

Is Digital a future ?

As a student of marketing we all believe that we are goanna be placed well and we are opportunistic but is that real ? . if u ask me its a big no things will not be standard untill we graduate. we all are being lied that we are gonna be placed in a good company but the truth is.

How do we prepare ourselves for the better future ?

Its simple for us to say work hard but that will be so funny when you cant find rightful resources when this internet is full of ads and paid E – Commerce sites to take our attention away.now let me say how you can prepare yourself best way to learn something is to learn yourself . set a proper goal and try to learn each and everything related to those thing not only learning will help us we have to implement practically.

How to learn digital marketing ?

Digital marketing is nothing new without knowing we are already in digital marketing for example YouTube , Twitter , Instagram , Facebook and so on are the important platform of digital marketing . So , try to create your own website lets a gaming channel or whatever you like and try to find a way to attract people with your contents and make sure you do learn something from it . Don’t make a large investment before you get something in return and try to monetize yourself.

Digital marketing a future

In 90’s people bought products based on what they say on advertisement but now people dont have time watch tv’s and most of them have changed to smart TV so marketing needed a change then came the digital marketing i wont say that advertisement will be total failure that’s for a different conversation . Now its about DM a survey says that Internet users across India spend nearly six and half hours online daily in the third quarter of 2020. by another 5 years it will be doubled so DM is the only way to make people see our product . so people who are planning to take marketing as a career should concentrate on his/her skills on digital marketing ( e- mail , YouTube , twitter , Facebook marketing )

Marketing Mix

In every business it is important to have an efficient marketing plan or strategy to promote their product, to engage more customers or to understand consumer behaviour, to upgrade their pricing strategy. For this in 1960s, an academic and marketer E. Jerome McCarthy proposed the idea of ‘marketing mix’.

Marketing mix is basically a mixture of 4Ps to enhance business model with Price, Product, Place and Promotion. These 4Ps can be used as marketing tools by any business for achieving their market goals and targets.

Components of Marketing Mix

  1. Product

Product means anything which is for sale any physical product or any service rendered to customer.  Product should the meet expectations and demand of customers in the market.Some of the marketing decision which every seller should think of  such as branding, packaging, product range, product design, packaging and labelling, guarantees and warranties.

2. Place

In marketing mix, place refers that where seller choose to sell his product whether it is warehouse, street market, online platforms, supermarkets, etc. It depends upon the nature of the product i.e. if product is perishable, shops are preferable to sell that product and if product is non-perishable both shops and online platforms are suitable.Marketing decisions related to place includes: market coverage, inventory, transportation, location, distributors, warehousing and franchising.

3. Price

Price is the main aspect for the business and customer. Each and every customer gets affected from price of the product which consumer is selling. Price reflects the cost or value of the product. Seller should set the price as per the demand of customer and the actual cost of the product. Accurate price can change the customer’s preference form one product to another. Other important aspect of pricing is what price has been set by your competitors? This can help any business in setting their pricing strategy. Pricing strategy can make profits for the business or can cause loss to the business if it is not accurate.Price market decisions includes: payment method (card or cash), credit payment, pricing strategy, allowances for distributors and discounts for customers.

4. Promotion

Promotion means to tell or convey about the product to customers through advertising, marketing and sales promotion. It can be through offline mode such as T.V. magazines, newspapers, radio etc. and online mode like websites, ads on social media, etc. It depends upon the seller of the product which way or method he chooses to communicate about his product to customers and according to response from his customers, he should continue with that particular promotion method.Marketing decisions for promotion involves: advertising, sales promotion, public relation, direct marketing, what and how to communicate to customers.

In 1980s Booms and Bitner proposed a model of marketing mix which consist of 7Ps, generally he added 3 more Ps to marketing mix i.e. Process, People and Physical Evidence which is beneficial for Service Marketing.

5. Process

Process describes the chain of delivering the goods or services to the customer. Process examination involves the evaluation of each and every step like procedure of distribution, payment system and relationships with customer. Evaluating, modifying and improving different steps of process will help business to maintain their efforts and to check that methods are new and as per recent trend. Process related marketing decisions involves: blueprint service, process design, checking system failures, monitoring service performance, allocation of resources required.

6. People

In marketing mix, ‘people’ refer to those who all are involved in the process of delivering of goods; managing the process; handle customer relationship, etc. Employees, staff, workers or labour all are included in ‘people’, basically all those who are a part of business. For any business it is necessary to employ right people to manage all the business related process. Marketing decisions related to people includes: staff recruitment and training, attending customers, handling complaints and failures, handling social interactions.

7. Physical Evidence

 Physical evidence means evidence of the product which has been purchased by the customer. It can be receipt, brochures, tracking information, invoices, etc. It is beneficial for both customer and seller to have a record or any document of transaction. It also relates to validation of the product, authenticity of the product check by the customer through their websites, logo etc. Here, marketing decisions includes: interior design like furniture and scheme, facilities like equipment access, brochures, stationery, surrounding conditions, and signage.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_mix

https://blog.hurree.co/blog/marketing-mix-7ps