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can actually outsource a lot of the marketing tasks and projects that seem to cross your desk every day.
Winning Markets: Market Oriented Strategic Planning, Corporate and Division Strategic Planning, Business
Strategic Planning, Market Process
Analyzing Consumer Markets and Buyer Behaviour: Major Factors influencing Buyer behaviour; cultural, social,
personal, psychological; Buying Decision Process; Stages of Buying Decision Process
Analyzing Business Markets and Business Buying Behaviour: What is organizational buying, Participants in Business
Buying Process, Purchasing-Procurement Process, Institutional and Government Markets
Dealing with Competition: Identifying Competitors, Analyzing Competitors, Designing Competitive Intelligence
System, Designing Competitive Strategies
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Index:
Module 1:
Marketing Tasks 5
Market Process 30
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A recent book, Radical Marketing, praises companies such as Harley-Davidson for
succeeding by breaking all of the rules of marketing. Instead of commissioning
expensive marketing research, spending huge sums on advertising, and operating
large marketing departments, these companies stretch their limited resources, live
close to their customers, and create more satisfying solutions to customers‘ needs.
They form buyers clubs, use creative public relations, and focus on delivering
quality products to win long-term customer loyalty. It seems that not all marketing
must follow the P&G model.
In fact, we can distinguish three stages through which marketing practice might
pass:
Marketing Tasks
Whether you‘re a small business owner just starting out or you‘ve been an
entrepreneur for a long time, you can actually outsource a lot of the marketing
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tasks and projects that seem to cross your desk every day. While you may want to
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keep a close eye on your overall plan, marketing is made up of a whole list of
small steps that can be done efficiently and effectively by someone other than
yourself.
1. Tracking Your Name: Whether you‘re working under your own name or
using a company name, you can track mentions of both online by setting up
alerts through Google Alerts, as well as sites that offer more specific
tracking, like Twilert for Twitter.
2. Customer Relations: When your name pops up on a blog or someone
leaves a comment about your website, you may want to respond to it. You
can bring in a community manager or customer relations specialist (or a
virtual assistant able to take on those roles) to handle such responses.
3. Website Design: Every business — and even most individuals — need a
website these days. Bringing in a web designer to handle setting up and
maintaining the site can free up some time.
4. Blogging: You may find that blogging guarantees constant visitors to your
website and improves your sales, but takes up a lot of time. Many freelance
writers will create content for your blog, either under their own names or as
ghostwriters.
5. Distributing Press Releases: There are several websites that will distribute
press releases for you automatically, such as PRWeb. If you have specific
media contacts that you want to send your release to, a virtual assistant can
handle emailing out releases along with personalized messages.
6. Finding Media Contacts: There are beat reporters, bloggers, and members
of the media that cover every niche — the key is finding the ones in your
niche. Generating a list can be a time-consuming project, but a virtual
assistant with research skills can get it off your plate.
7. Social Networking: Filling out profiles (and keeping them up to date) on all
those social networking sites is time consuming. But there are actually
virtual assistants, as well as PR specialists, who have made social
networking a major part of their services. Some are even willing to Twitter
for you on a daily basis.
8. Placing Advertisements: Whether you advertise online, in print, or on the
radio, comparing prices, sizes, and reach of potential advertising slots can be
tedious. However, it‘s a task that a virtual assistant can easily handle: just
ask for a report of the findings.
9. Writing Press Releases: Many companies hand their press releases off to
professional PR writers. You can hire such a writer yourself, as well as
putting your press release project up for bid on sites such as Elance.
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The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the
product or service fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should result in a
customer who is ready to buy.‖ The American Marketing Association offers this
managerial definition:
Now there are more core concepts, which one has to understand, irrespective of
their background, to operate in any market. Not everyone likes the same things in
the same way. That is why marketers segment the market. They will offer different
quality and quantity of the same product in different markets at different prices in
different way.
Like I said before, for each target market, the firm develops market offering. The
offering is positioned in the minds of the target buyers as delivering some central
benefit(s).
For example, Volvo develops its cars for the target market of buyers for whom
automobile safety is a major concern. Volvo, therefore, positions its car as the
safest a customer can buy.
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Another core concept is the distinction between marketers and prospects. A
marketer is someone who is seeking an answer (attention, a purchase, a vote, a
donation) from another party, called the prospect. If two parties are seeking to sell
something to each other, both are marketers.
A need is something that is necessary for organisms to live a healthy life. Needs
are distinguished from wants because a deficiency would cause a clear negative
outcome, such as dysfunction or death. Needs can be objective and physical, such
as food and water, or they can be subjective and psychological, such as the need
for self-esteem. On a societal level, needs are sometimes controversial.
Understanding needs and wants is an issue in the fields of politics, social science,
and philosophy. Demand is the desire to own anything and the ability to pay for it
and willingness to pay.
Demands are wants for specific products backed by an ability to pay. Many people
want a Mercedes; only a few are able and willing to buy one. Companies must
measure not only how many people want their product, but also how many would
actually be willing and able to buy it.
The value of a product is the mental estimation a consumer makes of it. Formally it
may be conceptualized as the relationship between the consumer's perceived
benefits in relation to the perceived costs of receiving these benefits.
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For an individual to deliver value, one has to grow his / her knowledge and skill
sets to showcase benefits delivered in a transaction (e.g., getting paid for a job).
2. Each party has something that might be of value to the other party.
5. Each party believes it is appropriate or desirable to deal with the other party.
With the growth of the internet and mobile platforms, Relationship Marketing has
continued to evolve and move forward as technology opens more collaborative and
social communication channels. This includes tools for managing relationships
with customers that goes beyond simple demographic and customer service data.
Relationship Marketing extends to include Inbound Marketing efforts (a
combination of search optimization and Strategic Content), PR, Social Media and
Application Development.
The Marketing Mix model (also known as the 4 P's) can be used by
marketers as a tool to assist in defining the marketing strategy. Marketing
managers use this method to attempt to generate the optimal response in
the target market by blending 4 (or 5, or 7) variables in an optimal way. It is
important to understand that the Marketing Mix principles are controllable
variables. The Marketing Mix can be adjusted on a frequent basis to meet
the changing needs of the target group and the other dynamics of the
marketing environment.
What relative weights should be given to the often conflicting interests of the
organization, customers, and society?
For example, one of Dexter Corporation‘s most popular products was a profitable
grade of paper used in tea bags. Unfortunately, the materials in this paper
accounted for 98 percent of Dexter‘s hazardous wastes. So while Dexter‘s product
was popular with customers, it was also detrimental to the environment. Dexter
assigned an employee task force to tackle this problem. The task force succeeded,
and the company increased its market share while virtually eliminating hazardous
waste.
concept was the idea that a firm should focus on those products that it could
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produce most efficiently and that the creation of a supply of low-cost products
would in and of itself creates the demand for the products. The key questions that a
firm would ask before producing a product were:
At the time, the production concept worked fairly well because the goods that were
produced were largely those of basic necessity and there was a relatively high level
of unfulfilled demand. Virtually everything that could be produced was sold easily
by a sales team whose job it was simply to execute transactions at a price
determined by the cost of production. The production concept prevailed into the
late 1920's.
This is a business philosophy that challenges the above three business orientations.
Its central tenets crystallized in the 1950s. It holds that the key to achieving its
organizational goals (goals of the selling company) consists of the company being
more effective than competitors in creating, delivering, and communicating
customer value to its selected target customers. The marketing concept rests on
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four pillars: target market, customer needs, integrated marketing and profitability.
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When firms first began to adopt the marketing concept, they typically set up
separate marketing departments whose objective it was to satisfy customer needs.
Often these departments were sales departments with expanded responsibilities.
While this expanded sales department structure can be found in some companies
today, many firms have structured themselves into marketing organizations having
a company-wide customer focus. Since the entire organization exists to satisfy
customer needs, nobody can neglect a customer issue by declaring it a "marketing
problem" - everybody must be concerned with customer satisfaction.
The marketing concept relies upon marketing research to define market segments,
their size, and their needs. To satisfy those needs, the marketing team makes
decisions about the controllable parameters of the marketing mix.
1. The Sales Concept focuses on the needs of the seller. The Marketing
Concept focuses on the needs of the buyer.
2. The Sales Concept is preoccupied with the seller‘s need to convert his/her
product into cash. The Marketing Concept is preoccupied with the idea of
satisfying the needs of the customer by means of the product as a solution to the
customer‘s problem (needs).
The Marketing Concept has evolved into a fifth and more refined company
orientation: The Societal Marketing Concept. This concept is more theoretical and
will undoubtedly influence future forms of marketing and selling approaches.
and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfactions more
effectively and efficiently than competitors (this is the original Marketing
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Concept). Additionally, it holds that this all must be done in a way that preserves
or enhances the consumer‘s and the society‘s well-being.
Yet some firms and industries are criticized for satisfying consumer wants at
society‘s expense. Such situations call for a new term that enlarges the marketing
concept.
We propose calling it the societal marketing concept, which holds that the
organization‘s task is to determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets
and to deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than
competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer‘s and the society‘s
well-being.
The fast-food hamburger industry offers tasty buty unhealthy food. The
hamburgers have a high fat content, and the restaurants promote fries and pies,
two products high in starch and fat. The products are wrapped in convenient
packaging, which leads to much waste. In satisfying consumer wants, these
restaurants may be hurting consumer health and causing environmental problems.
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Integrated marketing (IM) is a management strategy and meta-discipline
focused on the organization-wide optimization of unique value for stakeholders.
Although closely linked to integrated marketing communications (IMC), it should
not be confused with it.
The logic of integrated marketing has been described as the management of three
interconnected business drivers.
2. Mobilization of all employees behind this identity and value, with lean, value-
focused processes and appropriate resources. This is basically a challenge of
implementation and performance management, achieving integration, coherence
and high levels of performance throughout the organization. In marketing circles,
this has sometimes been described as "living the brand" (ref), but success draws on
that subtly modifies such well-established disciplines as lean, balanced
scorecard/performance management, service management and internal marketing.
It therefore draws on the assistance of HR, operations, organization development,
finance and other groups.
1. Take no action.
2. Or may take some form of public action:
a. Take legal action to obtain redress.
b. Complain to business, public, or governmental agencies.
3. Take some form of private action:
a. Stop buying product/ brand or boycott seller.
b. Warn friends about the product and or seller.
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Now, the next question arises is how does a firm tracks or measure customer
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One reason for this scarcity stems from the way companies address the challenge
of growing customer value—their effectiveness at helping customers achieve their
goals or desires. In our experience, most companies build customer value through a
number of disparate activities such as value-added services and customer
satisfaction measurement programs. The problem, however, is that because these
activities are conducted independently of each other, they do not ensure the
consistent delivery of superior value that‘s needed to beat the competition.
How do top companies consistently grow customer value? Our research shows that
companies like Virgin, Cisco, and Toyota treat the various activities that support
value creation as a portfolio with three different approaches (Figure 1). They do
the right things better to keep advancing the competitiveness of their current value
proposition. At the same time, they expand the value proposition at the boundaries
by changing the rules of engagement. Third, they create entirely new and
sustainable sources of value to buttress their long-term superior position with
customers.
All too often we‘ve seen companies that developed popular products and services
grow complacent and rest on their laurels—and all too often we‘ve seen their
customers migrate to the competition. But companies that persistently focus on
continuously improving the existing value proposition will grow their customer
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satisfaction—and reap substantial financial rewards.
Claes Fornell illustrated how higher customer satisfaction can translate into
financial success. A stock portfolio of companies whose customer satisfaction
levels grew faster than the competition performed significantly better than major
U.S. indices during the period 1997 to 2003. Its returns were nearly double those of
the Dow Jones Industrial Average, triple those of the S&P 500, and more than
quadruple the returns of NASDAQ (Claes Fornell, Sunil Mithas, Forrest V.
Morgeson III, M.S. Krishnan, ―Customer Satisfaction and Stock Prices: High
Returns, Low Risk,‖ Journal of Marketing, January 2006, pp. 3-14).
Companies that excel at delivering value to the customer tend to have some things
in common. They are able to identify and communicate the value of their basic
product or service to the customer. At the same time, these companies have a keen
understanding of the ―total customer experience,‖ the many ways they interact with
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the customer to add value. And they know how these interactions vary across
different customer segments. How do companies acquire this understanding? By
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mapping the customer experience for all customer interfaces—that is, the points
where a customer comes into contact with the company—along the value stream.
Try taking an outside-in view by ―walking‖ through all interfaces of the customer
experience with your company along the internal value stream. Work inward to
identify which departments and business processes play a role in customer
interaction. Include the departments that interact directly with the customer, and
those that provide support. How effective is each? Your findings may be
surprising, but will definitely enhance your understanding of the total customer
experience and inform your ability to improve customer value.
Take Richard Branson, CEO of the Virgin Group and a master at improving
existing products and services to optimize the customer experience and enhance
customer value. ―At Virgin,‖ he once said, ―we have a strategy of using the
credibility of our brand to challenge the dominant players in a range of industries
where we believe the consumer is not getting value for the money‖ (Des Dearlove,
Business the Richard Branson Way, 1999).
Virgin was certainly not the first to move into air travel, mobile telephony, retail,
and a host of other market spaces. But time and time again, it was first to launch
features that improved the customer experience in very tangible ways. For
example, Virgin Atlantic, which focuses on high quality and value, won new fans
by providing individual TVs for business-class passengers, premium economy
service, and the Upper Class Suite first-class service. Consisting of over 200
branded companies, the Virgin Group today boasts revenues of more than $20
billion.
Although all companies need to focus on ways to improve the existing value
proposition, in today‘s marketplace that approach is insufficient. As products and
services become commoditized, sustainable advantage depends on expanding the
value proposition. The most successful players do more than offer brand
extensions. They grow their customer relationships by moving considerably
beyond the original core offerings.
Connections: New Strategies for Growth, Harvard Business School Press, 1997).
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Companies that wish to expand their customer relationships can do so along four
distinct dimensions:
Value proposition design reflects the scope of the offerings the company uses to
deliver value to the customer. Near the center of the compass, value is provided
through a discrete product or service. Moving out along this dimension, the
company expands the offering, and its relationship with customers, to provide
complete solutions.
Value-added role refers to the extent of engagement between the company and the
customer‘s operations. Near the center of the compass, the firm is the product
manager, in charge of ensuring that the basic offerings deliver on their promise. At
the farthest point on the compass, the company becomes the network manager,
coordinating how other providers deliver value to the customer.
Reward and risk sharing address the economic relationship between customers and
companies—and how that relationship connects to customer value delivery.
Traditionally, near the center of the compass, a discrete transaction takes place
between the company ―selling‖ a product or service and the customer. At this
point, the risk is neutral for both sides. As the relationship expands, the company
takes on the responsibility for delivering greater value for each transaction. As the
company‘s risk increases, so does its financial reward.
Applying the value compass approach to the high-technology industry, we‘ve seen
how Cisco, Sun, and HP have each expanded their compass in a unique way for
sustainable advantage. According to our analysis, service revenue represents a
larger percent of total revenues for Sun, HP, and Cisco than for other competitors
that have not strategically differentiated their services positions.
Cisco‘s strategy has been to focus on the value proposition design axis. While
addressing customers‘ immediate needs with maintenance services, Cisco has
begun offering advanced proactive services where the business margins have the
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potential to be larger. With a focus on total lifecycle support, the company is also
developing new subscription-based services that focus on optimal network
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Over the past decade or two, few companies have succeeded in developing
innovations that generated entirely new sources of value for the customer and
company alike. One that stands out is Toyota, with the Prius, its hybrid electric
automobile. Toyota was already improving automotive performance in the
traditional sense, but by investing in hybrid technology it went one step further and
redefined the customer value proposition in its industry. Taking center stage was
the relationship of the Prius owners to their ―green‖ cars and the environment—
and, by extension, to Toyota for making it all happen. By changing the
fundamental measures of value, Toyota transformed its customer relationships and
created a strong source of growth in the face of market decline.
Support the vision with strong technology innovation and marketing. Some may
perceive that Toyota got lucky with such events as Al Gore‘s movie, ―An
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Inconvenient Truth,‖ or the recent run up in oil prices. In reality, however, Toyota
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likely made its investments based on the belief that some events as well as
government regulations would ultimately drive greater interest in green cars. This
type of bold vision, combined with strong technology innovation and marketing,
enables companies like Toyota to play a whole new customer value game—and
beat its competitors in the process.
Making It Happen
Measure customer value effectively and tie it to the motivational systems of the
enterprise. Though many companies try to use customer satisfaction or other value
metrics as a way to manage business priorities, few really succeed in using these
metrics to improve business performance. The key is to design measurement
systems so that internal operational metrics such as service effectiveness and new
product performance are directly linked to customer satisfaction and customer
referral scores. Equally important, include customer-value metrics in the
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Retaining Customer
Everybody would have understood for the need of retention now. Then also just to
recapitalize
Offensive marketing typically costs more than defensive marketing.
It requires much effort and cost to induce satisfied customers to switch away from
their current suppliers. This is how we can define a Customer Development
Process.
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Winning Markets
Finally, the managers of each product line and brand within a business unit
develop a marketing plan for achieving their objectives. However, the
development of a marketing plan is not the end of the marketing process. High-
performance firms must hone their expertise in organizing, implementing, and
controlling marketing activities as they follow marketing results closely, diagnose
problems, and take corrective action when necessary. In today‘s fast-paced
business world, the ability to effectively manage the marketing process—
beginning to end—has become an extremely important competitive advantage.
maintaining a viable fit among the organization‘s objectives, skills, and resources
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and its changing market opportunities. The aim of strategic planning is to shape the
company‘s businesses and products so that they yield target profits and growth and
keep the company healthy despite any unexpected threats that may arise.
Strategic planning calls for action in three key areas. The first area is managing a
company‘s businesses as an investment portfolio. The second area involves
assessing each business‘s strength by considering the market‘s growth rate and the
company‘s position and fit in that market. And the third area is the development of
strategy, a game plan for achieving long-term objectives.
Companies that subscribe to this traditional view have the best chance of
succeeding in economies marked by goods shortages in which consumers are not
fussy about quality, features, or style. But the traditional view of the business
process will not work in more competitive economies in which people face
abundant choices. The ―mass market‖ is actually splintering into numerous micro
markets, each with its own wants, perceptions, preferences, and buying criteria.
The smart competitor therefore must design the offer for well-defined target
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markets.
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Steps in the Marketing Process
3 Which of the following is not a tool for tracking and measuring customer
. satisfaction?
Complaint and suggestion systems
Customer satisfaction surveys
Ghost shopping
All of the above
8 The primary activities that represent creating value for customers as part of the
. value chain tool include all of the following except:
technology
inbound logistics
marketing and sales
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9. Some of the ways that a company can seek to increase their profits and sales by
searching for new customers include all of the following except:
phone calls
direct mail
ads
reading the obituaries
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Module II
Analyzing Market
Opportunities
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Modern Marketing Information System
Set of procedures and sources used by marketing management on a regular and
continuing basis to obtain information relevant to marketing planning and strategy.
But the question lies what does a marketer needs to know. So everyone will ask
these questions to themselves:
Everybody must have read a case study of McDonalds. When they entered decades
ago in India with there brand and business concept, they failed to a very high
extent. The reason was just simple. They did not do research on the market they
were selling. India has there reluctance to beef because of religion and they
launched beef products. The products might be their hottest selling in America, but
in India, this is not the case.
This was just a simple case of no market research, but learning through experience
curve, which any company would not like to do.
All five components and arranged and interrelated to perform input, process,
output, feedback and control that converts data resources into information. The
figure shows interrelation between these components
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From the figure it can be concluded that:
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CASE STUDY
Modern Market Information System boosts incomes of Ukraine’s small
& medium sized growers
Author’s name:
Mr. Andriy Yarmak, Sr. Market Information Specialist and Deputy Chief of Party
Institution:
USAID-funded Ukraine Agricultural Marketing Project implemented by Land O’Lakes,
Inc.
Abstract:
The Market Information System (MIS) created by the Agricultural Marketing
Project
(AMP) jointly with its Ukrainian subcontractor APK-Inform helped boost sales
and profits of small and medium sized growers, and attracted significant
investments. It resulted in about $20 in additional benefits to farmers for each $
spent and became selfsufficient in 3 years from its launch.
Although 95% of farmers did not have access to the Internet, thanks to AMP
experts they managed to sale most of their produce with higher profits through
publications and web-portal created by AMP. The portal itself quickly became the
largest virtual wholesale market in the Eastern Europe, significantly (by 100-200
times) reducing transaction costs for all market players: growers, traders,
processors, input suppliers and supermarkets.
Based on the market information received through the numerous contacts with
market players as well as official statistics, AMP analysts have created a flow of
analytical information, making horticultural market of the country more
transparent and predictable. It, in turn, has lead to the increased amount of
investments into the industry, helped create additional production, trade and
processing opportunities, create new jobs and increase incomes of rural
population.
Problem statement
When the AMP team started working in Ukraine in 2003, it determined that further
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The AMP team only had 3 years to resolve this problem and the quickest way to do
it, according to AMP professionals‘ was to develop a system, which would allow
all market players to receive easy and fast access, to information about market
prices in various regions of Ukraine; buyers and sellers of key products and their
offers & bids, market news, market reports and market forecasts. Lack of widely
recognized standards for the fruits & vegetables was another significant challenge
as the fruits & vegetables have a great variability of sizes, colors, shapes, varieties,
etc. Yes another problem we faced was a large number of different types of fruits
& vegetables, which we had to monitor, as this sector of agribusiness has a
significant number of products, all of which are very important.
As we proceeded with our idea, we discovered several other problems on our way.
To understand the markets our analysts had to consider the interests of many
market participants, including different types of growers, processors, wholesale
traders, input and equipment suppliers, retail chains, etc. On the other hand we
realized that if we succeed in helping this industry become more efficient, we
would be able to help create many new job and improve incomes of people
involved in these industries as well as living standards of rural population overall.
One of the major challenges for us was in trying to get the information flowing, as
most farmers (more than 95%) did not have Internet connection and a major part of
them did not have cell phones, while landlines were of poor quality and one could
only reach them trough the landline very early in the morning or late in the
evening. Creation of a web-site in this situation sounded as a completely useless
exercise at first but only if the web-site was created for farmers. Instead, we
created a web-portal for buyers, to support farmers and it worked.
From the very first steps of creating our own MIS, we thought about its
sustainability.
This was a great tool by itself as it guided us in our decisions, helping choose only
options that would generate a real interest of our clients. If we created something
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people were ready to pay money for, it meant that this was a really useful thing for
them.
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Creating MIS step by step
We started creating the MIS from several brainstorming sessions, where we
discussed what‘s really essential to know about the markets to be successful based
on the opinion of various market players. Pooling it all together, we have
discovered that most market players had many things in common. Therefore, we
decided to focus our first efforts at the most important things.
It was also a very simple decision to determine where to start implementing the
MIS, as successful information system is impossible without a good database.
Since we had 8 offices and we planned to create a web-portal, we needed a modern
on-line database that would allow many people to access it at the same time. Thus,
we chose Oracle to create the database and our subcontractors‘ programmers did
all of the work based on our vision of what this system should be able to do. The
database allowed us to track the markets and also monitor overall Project‘s
activities. It is also true that we have been improving the database ever since we
created it. As I type, we are trying to implement some more improvements.
Still, the structure of the database itself is not enough to make it successful, the
next step was to fill it our with industry contacts. We trained the Project Staff to
use it and explained why it is important to keep all of the contacts in this common
database. The first few months our people spent in meetings with clients, searching
for industry contacts and entering them into the database. Since we had all the
database statistics online, it was easy to see the progress of contacts collection and
determine who of the employees needed additional help with this process.
In the meanwhile we have polled many clients to determine their problems and this
information helped us develop efficient ways to resolve them. First of all, complete
lack of information about market prices and trends motivated us to start market
monitoring. We started monitoring retail markets in most regions of Ukraine by
sending our enumerators there or collecting price information from the markets‘
administrations over the phone.
During the numerous meetings with farmers we explained them our intentions and
convinced them to purchase cell phones. We explained that otherwise they would
not be able to improve sales of their produce because buyers will have no way of
reaching them.
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After the wave of the seminars most farmers did buy mobile phones as they were
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At this point in time we have received many phone calls from potential buyers
(processors, traders and supermarket chains) who wanted to find suppliers of fruits
& vegetables. They shared their market information with us and we, in exchange,
provided them with the free advertisement as well and provided contacts of
farmers who had products of their interest for sale. Farmers who previously had
very few opportunities to sell suddenly started getting several phone calls per day,
were able to look evaluate various options, had a possibility to call and consult
with us and thus, have been able to sell their produce quickly and the highest price
offered. After many years of receiving no attention from the government or
anybody else, farmers really appreciated the support they were getting from us.
When our MI specialists talked to a client, they entered information directly into
the on-line database linked directly to a web-portal. Many clients received phone
calls from potential buyers or suppliers few minutes after their conversations with
the MIS specialists, as offers & bids appeared on-line on the web-portal as they
spoke.
From the very beginning of the project we kept telling farmers to grow what‘s in
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the demand instead of trying to sell what they have grown. We did a lot of work
explaining all market participants the importance of contract growing for further
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Share of contract farming in this sector has started growing but most of the
production was still sold on spot market. Processing slowly was becoming a major
market for fruits & vegetables and we decided to create a system that allows
farmers to offer their produce to processors. We collected, processed, structured
and shared information about what key processors are ready on a weekly basis,
which helped both: processors and growers.
At this point we were getting more than 5,000 hits on our web-site every day and
many market players said that a weekly price is not enough as they would like to
be able to track prices on a daily basis. To do this we identified the key wholesale
markets in Ukraine, which were used as a price reference among market
participants and started collecting daily information from these markets. We
explained farmers that they now needed to think about Internet access if they
wanted to access daily prices and many farmers did get computers and Internet.
Others, whenever approached by potential buyers, called us on the phone and we
told them what was the price at certain market today and explained them price
trends.
To make sure farmers are able to grow what‘s demanded by the markets, we have
held many field days and demonstrated modern production, post harvest handling,
storage and packing technologies. We published this information in various
manuals, in our publications and on the web site. Thus, our MIS was more than
just market information system; it became a system for collection, processing and
distribution of technological, legal, market and other useful information for
farmers.
It is very difficult to create a good system without letting users of this system
impact it. At one point when we needed to grow the system further we decided to
let users do part of our job. We allowed companies to place offers & bids by
themselves as well as register in our database. We have trained them to do this and
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this allowed us to expend the system and improve the quality of our information.
Our role was limited to moderation. This made our web-portal the largest virtual
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marketplace in the region as every week we had registered around 1,500 entries for
around $10mn and this helped attract even more users to the system.
Three other donor projects, which had to create their own MIS, decided to join
ours instead. We have trained their specialists and granted them access to the
system, which increased its value significantly. One of the projects that joined
forces with us was from the country Georgia. Our cooperation has boosted the
horticultural trade between the two countries.
Although we did a lot of trainings and seminars, there was a need for a nationwide
or international meeting of all key industry participants to discuss the strategic
industry perspectives and opportunities. AMP jointly with APK-Inform has
initiated, organized and held the First International Conference: ―Fruits &
Vegetables of Ukraine 2004: Market of New Opportunities‖, which has later
grown into a large international event. It now includes a specialized international
exhibition and is the largest industry meeting in the Eastern Europe. Moreover,
past year we were asked to help organize the first such event in Russia and we did
with a success.
Our MIS has played a very significant role in promoting investments into the
industry. This was in large achieved through our PR activities. Since we generate a
lot of interesting information and made it publicly available through our web portal
and other sources, we have attracted many journalists who talked to us and wrote
news and stories about the sector. We never paid a penny to publish such articles
but they got re-printed and re-quoted a lot and our specialists gave many interviews
to press. Every three months there have tracked at least 1mn copies of newspapers
and magazines that have published or re-printed our information or interviews. We
estimated that we only captured only around 20% of the quotations. And this does
not include Internet outreach.
During the years of MIS operation we had many potential investors that came to
our office through the information they found in the press and on the web-portal.
Several of them are now among the largest and most important industry players
doing really well.
Although our Project is nearly closed now, we have plans to further development
of the MIS for the next two years. Among the planned products we would like to
establish a weekly report on Russian and Ukrainian horticultural markets in
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A farmer, who was very pessimistic about MIS and did not want to get any offers
placed in our system, came to one of our regional offices to complain about lack of
interest for his cabbage. He had around 100 tons in stock and the wholesaler who
told him he would buy it from him has disappeared. We recommended placing an
offer in our system, which he reluctantly did. We also gave him one of our latest
magazines with a list of buyers interested in cabbage and he started calling this list
from our office. 20 minutes later he had identified two buyers interested in
purchasing most of his cabbage and just when he was about the leave the office he
received a phone call from another potential buyer who found his offer on the
Internet. As a result the farmer has sold all of his cabbage during 2-3 weeks for
$10,000.
One of the top processing companies was searching for a large amount of good
quality carrots but in the area where it usually procured carrots a serous shortage of
this vegetable was observed. Managers have found our web portal through the
Internet and discovered around 30 farmers offering carrots during this week. They
were not sure this was true and called us on the phone. When we confirmed this
information and told them that in the western part of Ukraine there was a
significant over-production of carrots, they started calling the farmers. In one week
they have reportedly included contracts to supply enough carrots to satisfy their
processing plans. Farmers were very happy with the price and processors were
very happy to be able to fulfill their contracts.
One of our farmers decided to expend planting area under onions motivated by
high prices for this crop in the past season. When he was about to buy the seeds, he
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read our production and price forecast, which suggested a high probability of very
low prices for onions. He consulted with us and changed his mind. We also
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suggested that prices for eggplants, cucumbers and early cabbage may be higher
and told him that it would be better to focus on early onions if he wanted to plant
any. He made the planting decisions based on our recommendations and got very
high prices for the products he planted (including early onions) while these who
did plant late onions had serious difficulties selling it.
Another example continues the previous story. Since onion prices were really low
due to over-production, we have started searching for way to effectively help our
growers. Ukraine has never exported onions but we found out that during this very
year there was a significant shortage of this production in Poland, Holland and
several other EU countries. We published several articles providing information
about this opportunity to all market players along with export requirements. We
received several phone calls from wholesalers who got interested and four weeks
later several farmers reported improving demand for the onions. It turned out that
wholesalers have started shipping onions to Poland and other countries, which
supported prices and helped farmers avoid losses.
Three months later the number of counties buying onions from Ukraine has
increased to around 15 and Ukraine became one of the largest exporters of onions
on the region. Many farmers have used the information we provided in our
publications about new crops, niche products and new technologies to their
advantage. One of the examples could be lettuce. While not popular or almost
unknown in Ukraine just 5 years ago, lettuce has become a significant cash crop
for many farmers in various regions Ukraine as we helped one of our clients
establish a pre-processing, packing and distribution of various types of salads. Our
farmers supplied salads to McDonalds in Ukraine and Russia as well as to
hundreds of supermarkets in many regions of Ukraine through the client company.
It was also interesting to learn that most nationwide supermarket chains fresh
produce managers start their day from checking our daily wholesale prices.
Moreover, most key supermarkets, wholesalers and processors assign specialists to
check offers & bids, catalogue, analytics, prices and other parts of our web-portal
on a regular basis.
Impact
Presently we estimate that our system has resulted in about $20 in additional
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benefits to farmers for each $ spent. We also expect it to be fully self-sufficient and
profitable to all market participants in the future. The web-portal presently attracts
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around 30,000 unique visitors every month and a significant share of Ukraine‘s
fruits & vegetables gets sold through our portal. We are now trying to include
Russia in our monitoring and presently around 30% of the MIS users are from this
country. We also have visitors from all of the countries in the region, including:
Poland, Holland, Hungary, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, UK and many others.
The MIS helped lower the transaction costs to farmers. If an average farmer had to
take a trip to the closest large wholesale market, he or she would spend from $0.02
to $0.10/kg of produce brought to the market, excluding costs of his or her time.
The same transaction through AMP‘s MIS would be equal to the cost of the phone
call, which frequently, was initiated by AMP. Thus, transaction costs for farmers
were reduced by 100-200 times.
Farmers were also provided with a weekly magazine, which included key market
news, market prices (wholesale and retail) in all major regions of Ukraine, offers &
bids, produce production, PHH, packing, storage and marketing recommendations
and many other useful features. This allowed farmers to improve their technologies
and develop a stronger negotiating position when talking to buyers. Thanks to the
bids published in the weekly magazine farmers could use several alternative
marketing channels, making their sales more profitable. Price information from
various regions within the country helped them improve their marketing decisions
and sell products to regions where highest margins were observed.
By having information about alternative input suppliers farmers saved money and
managed to lower production costs, while boosting yields and quality of the final
product produced. Price and production forecasts provided each spring and updated
2 times per year helped farmers plan production of crops that were in strong
demand on the market and thus, for higher prices and greater revenues.
The farmers, who used AMP‘s MIS, have more than doubled the area under fruit &
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vegetable production and many millions of dollars have been invested into
production, storage and, PHH. At the same time that growers‘ incomes at least
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doubled, consumers received lower prices for higher quality fresh produce. Also,
thousands of on-farm and off-farm seasonal and permanent jobs were created.
Ukraine, which prior to AMP‘s interventions imported fruits & vegetables from
Poland and other neighboring countries, in 2006 became a net exporter of many of
these products.
Thus, we learned that even if farmers do not have access to the Internet, it is
enough for them to have access to a phone to have the benefits of modern market
technologies work for them. Yes, we had to train farmers but they learned quickly
realizing that these technologies can create a major difference in their lives and
those of their families.
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THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
2. Political Risk
3. Taxes
affiliates rather than using direct investment to finance U.S. activities. The
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U.S. subsidiary can deduct the interest it pays on such loans, thereby
reducing tax burdens.
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SIDESTEPPING LEGAL PROBLEMS: IMPORTANT BUSINESS
ISSUES
1) Establishment
To transact business, citizens of one country must be assured that they will
be treated fairly in another country.
In Western Europe, e.g., the creation of the Single Market now assures that
citizens from member nations get fair treatment with regard to business and
economic activities carried out within the Common Market. The formulation
of governance rules for trade, business and economic activities in the EU
will provide additional substance to international law.
The US signed the treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation with more
than 40 countries. These agreements provide US citizens right to
nondiscriminatory treatment in trade, the reciprocal right to establish a
business and particularly to invest.
Commercial treaties provide one with privilege, not the right to, to engage
in business activities in other than one‘s own country. US citizens for
example are forbidden by the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act to give bribes to
an official of a foreign government or political party, even if bribes are
customary for conducting business in that country.
2)Jurisdiction
Patents and trademarks that are protected in one country are not necessarily
protected in another, so global marketers must ensure that patents and
trademarks are registered in each country where business is conducted.
In the US states, where patents, trademarks and copyrights are registered
with the Federal Patent Office, the patent holder retains all rights for the life
of the patent even if the product is not produced or sold.
In France, designer Yves Saint Laurent was barred from marketing a new
luxury perfume called Champagne because French laws allow the name to
be applied only to sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region. Saint
Laurent proceeded to launch Champagne in the U.S., England, Germany and
Belgium, ‖Champagne‖ and other geographic names are protected
trademarks in the U.S. In France, the perfume is sold without a name.
Trademark and copyright infringement is a critical problem in global
marketing and one that can take a variety of forms. Counterfeiting is the
unauthorized copying and production of a product. An associative
counterfeit, or imitation, uses a product name that differs slightly from a
well known brand but is close enough that consumers will associate it with
the genuine product. A third type of counterfeiting is piracy, the
unauthorized publication or reproduction of copyrighted work.
Piracy is particularly damaging to the entertainment and software industries;
computer programs, videotapes, cassettes and compact discs are particularly
easy to duplicate illegally.
There are two treaties made for the patent agreement:
The Patent Cooperation Treaty(PCT) has 39 signatories, including
Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, the Democratic Peoples
Republic(North Korea), the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands,
Switzerland, the former Soviet Union and the United States. The members
constitute a union that provides certain technical services and cooperates in
the filing, searching and examining of patent applications in all member
countries. An applicant can file a single patent application covering all of the
convention states; the advantage is that the application will be subject to
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only one procedure of grant. Whereas national patent laws remain effective
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under this system, approved patents are effective in all member countries for
a period of 20 years from the filing date.
4)Antitrust
Economic Risks
1. Exchange Controls
2. Local-Content Laws
3. Import Restrictions
4. Tax Controls
5. Price Controls
6. Labor Problems
Violence & Terrorism: - Although not usually initiated, violence is another related
risk for multinational companies to consider in assessing the political vulnerability of their
activities. Terrorism has many different goals. Multinational corporations are targeted to
embarrass a govt. & its relationship with firms; to generate funds by kidnapping executives
to finance terrorism goals, & to use as pawns in political or social disputes not related to
them; & to inflict terror within a country, such as the terrorist attacks on September 11 did.
International Law
The basis for common law is traditional, past practices, & legal precedents set by
the courts through interpretations of statutes, legal legislation, past rulings. Common
law seeks ―interpretation through the past decisions of higher courts which interpret
the same statutes or apply established & customary principles of law to a similar set
of facts.‖
Code law, on the other hand, is based on an all-inclusive system of written rules
(codes) of law. Under code law, the legal system is generally divided into three
separate codes: commercial, civil, & criminal. Common law is recognized as not
being all-inclusive, whereas code law is considered complete.
Laws governing intellectual property offer the most striking differences between
common law & code law systems. Under common law, ownership is established by
use; under code law, ownership is determined by registration. In some code-law
countries, certain agreements may not be enforceable unless properly notarized or
registered; in a common-law country, the same agreement may be binding so long
as proof of the agreement can be established.
Under common law in the United States, it is fairly clear that impossibility of
performance does not necessarily excuse compliance with the provisions of a
contract unless it is impossible to comply for reasons of an act of god, such as some
extraordinary happenings of nature not reasonably anticipated by either party of a
contract. Hence, floods, lightning, earthquakes, & similar occurrences are generally
considered acts of God. Under code law, acts of god are not limited solely to acts of
nature but are extended to include ―unavoidable interference with performance,
whether resulting from forces of nature or unforeseeable human acts,‖ including
such things as labor strikes & riots.
Consider the following situations: A contract was entered into deliver a specific
quantity of cloth. In one case, before the seller could make delivery an earthquake
caused the destruction of the cloth & compliance was then impossible. In the second
case, pipes in the sprinkler system where the material was stored froze & broke,
spilling water on the cloth & destroying it. In each case, loss of the merchandise was
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sustained & delivery could not be made. Were the parties In these cases absolved of
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their obligations under the contract b‘coz of the impossibility of delivery? The
answer depends on the system of law invoked.
In the first situation, the earthquake would be considered an act of God
under both common & code law, & impossibility of performance would excuse
compliance under the contract.
In the second situation, courts in common law countries would probably rule
the bursting of the water pipes did not constitute an act of God if it happened in a
climate where freezing could be expected.
ISLAMIC LAW
The basis for the Shari‟ah (Islamic law) is interpretation of the Koran.
It encompasses religious duties & obligations as well as the secular aspect of law
regulating human acts. Broadly speaking Islamic law defines a complete system that
prescribes specific patterns of social & economic behavior for all individuals. It
includes issues such as property rights, economic decision making, & types of
economic freedom. The over-riding objective of the Islamic system is social justice.
Among the unique aspects of Islamic law is the prohibition against the payment of
interest. The Islamic law of contracts states that any given transaction should be
devoid of riba, which is defined as unlawful advantage by way of excess of
deferment, that is, interest or usury. Prohibiting the receipt & payment of interest is
the nucleus of the Islamic system. However, other principles of Islamic doctrine
advocate risk sharing, individuals‘ rights & duties, property rights, & the sanctity of
contracts. The Islamic system places emphasis on the ethical, moral, social, &
religious dimensions to enhance equality & fairness for the good of society.
Another principle of the Islamic legal system is the prohibition against investment in
those activities that violate the shari‟ah. For example, any investment in a business
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1. CONCILIATION
Most disputes that arise in commercial transactions are settled informally. When
resolution is not forthcoming, however, conciliation can be an important first step in
settling a dispute.
Conciliation (also known as mediation) is a nonbinding agreement between parties
to resolve disputes by asking a third party to mediate differences. The function of
the mediator is to carefully listen to each party & to explore, clarify, & discuss the
various practical options & possibilities for a solution with the intent that the parties
will agree on a solution. Unlike arbitration & litigation, conciliation sessions are
private & all conferences between parties & the mediator are confidential; the
statements made by the parties may not be disclosed or used as evidence in any
subsequent litigation or arbitration. The track record for the conciliation process is
excellent, with a majority of disputes reaching settlement & leading to the
resumption of business between the disputants.
Conciliation is considered to be especially effective when resolving disputes with
Chinese business partners b‘coz they feel threatened by conciliation than arbitration.
The Chinese believe that when a dispute occurs, informal, friendly negotiations
should be used first to solve the problem; if that fails, conciliation should be tried. In
fact, some Chinese companies may avoid doing business with companies that resort
first to arbitration.
Conciliation can be either formal or informal. Both sides agreeing on a third
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2. ARBITRATION
3.Litigation
Lawsuits in public courts are avoided for many reasons. Most observers of lawsuits
between citizens of different countries believe that amount all victories are spurious
b‘coz the cost, frustrating delays, & extended aggravation that these cases produce
are by far more oppressive than any matter of comparable size. In India, for
instance, there is backlog of more than three million cases, & litigating is breach of
contract between private parties can take a decade or more. The best advice is to
seek a settlement, if possible, rather than sue. Other deterrents to litigation are the
following:
Fear of creating a poor image & damaging public relations.
Fear of unfair treatment in a foreign court.
Difficulty in collecting a judgment that may otherwise have been
collected in a mutually agreed settlement through arbitration.
The relatively high cost & time required when bringing legal action.
The Rheem Manufacturing Company, a billion-dollar manufacturer of
heating & air-conditioning systems, estimates that by using arbitration
over litigation, it has reduced the time & cost of commercial-dispute
resolution by half.
Loss of confidentiality. Unlike arbitration & conciliation proceedings
that are confidential, litigation is public.
One authority suggests that the settlement of every dispute should follow four steps:
first, try to placate the injured party; if this does not work, conciliate, arbitrate, &
finally, litigate. The final step is typically taken only when all other methods fail.
Actually, this advice is probably wise whether one is involved in an international
dispute or a domestic one.
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FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTISES ACT
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) makes it illegal for companies to pay bribes to
foreign officials, candidates, or political parties. Stiff penalties can be assessed against
company officials, directors, employees, or agents found guilty of paying a bribe or of
knowingly participating in or authorizing the payment of a bribe. However, also recall
that bribery, which can range lubricating to extortion, is a common business custom in
many countries.
ANTIBOYCOTT LAW
The most important thing is to forecast where customers are moving , and be in
front of them.
CULTURAL Factors
Cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest influence on consumer behavior.
The roles played by the buyer‘s culture, subculture and social class are particularly
important.
Culture is the most fundamental determinant of a person‘s wants and behavior. The
growing child acquires a set of values, perceptions, preferences and behaviors
through his or her family or other key institutions.
Each culture consists of smaller subcultures that provide specific identification and
socialization for its members. Subcultures include nationalities, religions, racial
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The following table describes the seven social classes identified by social scientists
in the US.
Upper Uppers The social elite who live on inherited wealth and have well-
(less than 1%) known families. While small as a group, they serve as a reference
group for others to the extent that their consumption decisions
trickle down and are imitated by the other social classes.
Lower Uppers Persons who have earned high income or wealth through
(about 2%) exceptional ability in the profession or business. The ambition of
these is to be accepted in the upper-upper stratum, a status that is
more likely to be achieved by their children than themselves.
Upper Middles Possess neither family status nor unusual wealth. Are primarily
(12%) concerned with career. They are the quality market for good
homes, clothes, furniture and appliances. They are home oriented
and enjoy entertaining friends and clients.
Middle Average-pay white- and blue-collar workers who live on the
Class(32%) better side of town and try to do the proper things. Often they buy
products that are popular to keep up with trends. The middle class
believes in spending more money on worthwhile experiences for
their children and aiming them toward a college education.
Working Class Average-pay blue collar workers and those who lead a working-
(38%) class lifestyle, whatever their income school background or job.
Depends heavily on relatives for economic and emotional support,
for tips on job opportunities, for advice on purchases and for
assistance in times of trouble.
Upper Lowers Upper lowers are working, not on welfare, although their living
(9%) standard is just above poverty. Very poorly paid or they are
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SOCIAL Factors
Social classes are relatively homogeneous and enduring divisions in a society,
which are hierarchically ordered and whose members share similar values, interests
and behavior. Social classes do not reflect income alone but also other indicators
such as occupation, education, and area of residence. Social classes differ in their
dress, speech patterns, recreational preferences and many other characteristics.
Social classes have different characteristics. First, persons within each social class
tend to behave more alike than persons from two different social classes. Second,
persons are perceived as occupying inferior or superior positions according to their
social class. Third, a person‘s social class is indicated by a cluster of variables for
example, occupation, income, wealth, education, and value orientation, rather than
by any single variable. Fourth individuals can move from one social class to
another, up or down during their lifetime. The extent of this movability varies
according to the rigidity of social stratification in a given society. Social classes
show distinct product and brand preferences in many areas including clothing,
home furnishings, leisure activities and cars.
A person‘s Reference groups consist of all the groups that have a direct or indirect
influence on the person‘s attitudes or behavior. Groups having a direct influence on
a person are called Membership groups. Some membership groups areprimary
groups, such as family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers with whom the person
interacts fairly continuously and informally. People also belong to secondary
groups such as religious, professional and trade-union groups which tend to be
more formal and require less continuous interaction. People are significantly
influenced by their reference groups in at least three ways.
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People are also influenced by groups in which they are not members : aspirational
groups. A dissociative group is one whose values or behavior an individual rejects.
Marketers try to identify their target customers‘ reference groups. However, the
influence level varies among products and brands. They appear to strongly
influence both product and brand choice only in the case of cars, and color TV s,
mainly brand choice in furniture and clothing, and product choice in beer and
cigarettes.
Roles and statuses. The person‘s position in each group can be defined in terms of
role and status. A role consists of the activities that a person is expected to
perform. Each role contains a status. People choose products that communicate
their role and status in society. Marketers are aware aware of the status
symbol potential of products and brands.
PERSONAL Factors
A buyer‘s decisions are also influenced by personal characteristics. These include
the buyer‘s age and stage in the life cycle, occupation, economic circumstances,
lifestyle and personality and self-concept.
Age and stage in the life cycle. People buy different goods and services over their
lifetime. Consumption is also shaped by the family life cycle. Marketers often
choose life-cycle groups as their target market. But it should be added that target
households are not always family based. Marketers also target single households,
gay households, and cohabitor households. The following table lists 9 stages of the
family life cycle.
married couples with dependent jobs. Hard to influence with advertising. High
children average purchase of durables.
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6. Empty Nest I : older Home ownership at peak. Most satisfied with
married couples, no children financial position and money saved. Interested in
living with them, head of travel, recreation and self-educaation. Make gifts
household in labor force and contributions. Not interested in new products.
7. Empty Nest II : older Drastic cut in income. Keep home.
married. No children living at
home, head of household retired
8. Solitary survivor in labor Income still good but likely to sell home.
force
9. Solitary survivor retired Same medical and product needs as other retired
group; drastic cut in income.
Some recent work has identified psychological life-cycle stages. Adults experience
certain ―passages‖ or ―transformations‖ as they go through life. Marketers pay
close attention to changing life circumstances – divorce, widowhood, remarriage –
and their effect on consumption behavior.
framework.
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The AIO Framework. In this approach, respondents are presented with long
questionnaires designed to measure their activities, interests and opinions. (AIO).
Many of the questions are in the form of agreeing or disagreeing with such
statements. Once collected, the data are analyzed to find distinctive lifestyle
groups. When developing an advertising campaign, the marketers state the target
lifestyle group, and the ad people develop an ad appealing to the AIO
characteristics of the group(s).
The major tendencies of the four groups with fewer resources are :
o Strivers – Favor stylish products that emulate the purchases of those with
greater material wealth.
The system identifies persons‘ VALS 2 types by scoring responses to the VALS 2
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PSYCHOLOGICAL factors
A person‘s buying choices are influenced by four major psychological factors ;
motivation, perception, learning, and beliefs and attitudes.
Motivation
A person has many needs at any given time. Some needs are biogenic; they arise
from physiological states of tension such as hunger, thirst, discomfort. Other needs
are psychogenic; they arise from psychological states of tension such as the need
for recognition, esteem or belonging. A need becomes a motive when it is aroused
to a sufficient level of intensity. A motive is a need that is sufficiently pressing to
drive the person to act. Psychologists have developed theories of human
motivation. Three of the best known – the theories of Sigmund Freud, Abraham
Maslow, and Frederick Herzberg – carry quite different implications for consumer
analysis and marketing strategy.
Freud‟s Theory of Motivation. Freud assumed that the real psychological forces
shaping people‘s behavior are largely unconscious. Thus a person cannot fully
understand his or her motivations. Motivation researchers collect ―in-depth
interviews‖ with a few dozen consumers to uncover deeper motives triggered by a
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product. They use various ―projective techniques‖ to throw the ego off guard.
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More recent practicing motivational researchers hold that each product is capable
of arousing a unique set of motives in consumers.
Selective Attention. Because a person cannot possibly attend to all stimuli, most
stimuli will be screened out – a process called selective attention. The real
challenge is to explain which stimuli people will notice. Here are some findings :
o People are more likely to notice stimuli that relate to a current need.
o People are more likely to notice stimuli whose deviations are large in
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Selective Retention. People will forget much that they learn but will tend to retain
information that supports their attitudes and beliefs. Selective retention explains
why marketers use drama and repetition in sending messages to their target market.
Beliefs and Attitudes. A belief is a descriptive thought that a person holds about
something. These beliefs make up product and brand images, and people act on
their images. If some beliefs are wrong and inhibit purchase, the manufacturer will
want to launch a campaign to correct these beliefs. A company has several options
when its products are competitively priced but their place of origin turns off
consumers. An attitude is a person‘s enduring favorable or unfavorable
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evaluations, emotional feelings, and action tendencies toward some object or idea.
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People have attitudes toward almost everything : religion, politics, clothes, music,
food and so on. Attitudes put them into a frame of mind of liking or disliking an
object, moving toward or away from it. Attitudes lead people to behave in a fairly
consistent way toward similar objects. A person‘s attitudes settle into a consistent
pattern, and to change a single attitude may require major adjustments in other
attitudes.
Buying Roles
It is easy to identify the buyer for many products. But marketers must be careful in
making targeting decisions because buying roles change. We can distinguish 5
roles people might play in a buying decision:
o Initiator : A person who first suggests the idea of buying the product or
service;
Buying Behavior
Consumer decision making varies with the type of buying decision. Assael
distinguished 4 types of consumer buying behavior based on the degree of buyer
involvement and the degree of differences among brands.
Significant Differences
Between Brands Complex buying behavior Variety seeking buying
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behavior
Consumers engage in complex buying behavior when they are highly involved in a
purchase and aware of significant differences among brands. This is usually the
case when the product is expensive, bought infrequently, risky and highly self-
expressive. Typically, the consumer does not know much about the product
category and has much to learn. This involves a 3-step process.
Sometimes, the consumer is highly involved in a purchase but sees little difference
in the brands. The high involvement is based on the fact the purchase is expensive,
infrequent and risky. In this case, the buyer will shop around to learn what is
available but will buy fairly quickly, perhaps responding primarily to a good price
or to purchase convenience. After the purchase, the consumer might experience
dissonance that stems from noticing certain disquieting features of the carpet or
hearing favorable things about other carpets. The consumer will be alert to
information that justifies his or her decision. Thus marketing communications
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should aim at supplying beliefs and evaluations that help the consumer feel good
about his or her brand choice.
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Habitual Buying Behavior.
Many products are bought under conditions of low consumer involvement and the
abscence of significant brand differences. There is good evidence that consumers
have low involvement with most low-cost, frequently purchased products. With
low-involvement products, consumer behavior does not pass through the normal
belief/attitude/behavior sequence. Consumers do not search extensively for
information about the brands, evaluate their characteristics and make a weighty
decision on which brand to buy. Ad repetition creates brand familiarity rather
than brand conviction. Consumers do not form a strong attitude toward a brand;
rather, they select it because it is familiar. Thus, for low involvement products the
buying process begins with brand beliefs formed by passive learning and is
followed by purchase behavior, which may be followed by evaluation. Marketers
find it effective to use price and sales promotions to stimulate product trial, since
buyers are not highly committed to any brand. Marketers use 4 techniques to try to
convert low-involvement product into one of higher involvement.
Problem Recognition
The buying process starts when the buyer recognizes a problem or need. The buyer
senses a difference between his or her actual state and a desired state. The need can
be triggered by internal or external stimuli. Marketers need to identify the
circumstances that trigger a particular need. By gathering information from a
number of consumers, marketers can identify the most frequent stimuli that spark
an interest in a product category. The marketer can then develop marketing
strategies that trigger consumer interest.
Information Search
groups :
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Generally speaking, the consumer receives the most information about a product
from commercial sources – that is market dominated sources. But the most
effective sources comes from personal sources. Through gathering information, the
consumer learns about competing sets of brands and their features. At first we
have total set of brands available to the consumer. The consumer will come to
know only a subset of these brands (awareness set). Some brands will meet the
consumer‘s initial criteria (consideration set). As the consumer gathers more
information, only a few will remain as strong contenders (choice set). The brands
in the choice set might all be acceptable. The consumer makes the final choice
from this set. A company must strategize to get its brand into the prospect‘s
awareness set, consideration set, and choice set. The company must also identify
the other brands in the consumer‘s choice set so that it can plan its competitive
appeals. In addition, the company should identify the consumer‘s information
sources and evaluate their relative importance. Consumers should be asked how
they first heard about the brand, what information came in later, and the relative
importance of the different information sources. The answers will help the
company prepare effective communications for the target market.
Evaluation of Alternatives.
There is no simple and single evaluation process used by all consumers or by one
consumer in all buying situations. There are several decision evaluation processes,
the most current models of which see the consumer evaluation process as
cognitively oriented. That is, they see the consumer as forming product judgments
largely on a conscious and rational basis. Consumers differ as to which product
attributes they see as most relevant as well as on the importance of weights they
attach to each attribute. They will pay the most attention to the attributes that
deliver the sought benefits. The consumer develops a set of brand beliefs about
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where each brand stands on each attribute. The set of beliefs about a brand make
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up the brand image. The consumer‘s brand image will vary with his or her
experiences as filtered by the effects of selective perception, selective distortion
and selective retention. The consumer arrives at preferences towards the various
brands through an attribute evaluation process.
Purchase decision.
In the evaluation stage, the consumer forms preferences among the brands in the
choice set. The consumer may also form an intention to buy the most preferred
brand. However, two factors can intervene between the purchase intention and the
purchase decision. The first factor is the attitudes of others. A buyer‘s preference
for a brand will increase if someone he or she likes favors the same brand strongly.
The influence of others become complex when several people close to the buyer
hold contradictory opinions and the buyer would like to please them all. The
second factor isunanticipated situational factors. These may erupt to change the
purchase intention. Thus preferences and even purchase intentions are not
completely reliable predictors of purchase behavior. A consumer‘s decision to
modify, postpone or avoid a purchase decision is heavily influenced by perceived
risk. Consumers develop routines for reducing risk, such as decision avoidance,
information gathering from friends, and prefernce for national brand names and
warranties. In executing a purchase intention, the consumer may make up to five
purchase subdecisions.
1. Brand decision
2. Vendor decision
3. Quantity decision
4. Timing decision
Postpurchase Behavior.
After purchasing a product, a consumer may detect a flaw. Some buyers will no
longer want the flawed product, others will be indifferent to the flaw, and some
may even see the flaw as enhacing the product‘s value. The buyer‘s satisfaction is
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a function of the closeness between the buyer‘s product expectations and the
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product‘s perceived performance. The larger the gap between expectations and
performance, the greater the consumer‘s dissatisfaction. The importance of
postpurchase satisfaction suggests that sellers must make product claims that
truthfully represent the produt‘s likely performance. The consumer‘s satisfaction or
dissatisfaction wit the product will influence subsequent behavior. if the consumer
is satisfied, he or she will exhibit a higher probability of purchasing the product
again. The satisfied customer will also tend to say good things about the brand to
others. Dissatisfied consumers respond differently. They may abandon or return
the product. They may seek information that confirms its high value. They may
take public action such as by complaining to the company, going to the lawyer or
complaining to other groups. Private actions include making a decision to stop
buying the product (exit option) or warning friends (voice option). Marketers can
and should take steps to minimize the amount of consumer postpurchase
dissatisfaction.
Marketers should also monitor how the buyers use and dispose of the product. If
consumers store the product, in their closet, the product is probably not very
satisfying, and word-of-mouth will not be strong. If they sell or trade the product,
new product sales will be depressed. If consumers find new uses for the product,
marketers should advertise these uses. If consumers throw the product away, the
marketer needs to know how they dispose of it, especially if it can hurt the
environment.
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ANALYZING BUSINESS MARKETS AND
BUSINESS BUYING BEHAVIOR
What is Organizational Buying?
Organizational buying is the decision-making process by which formal
organizations establish the need for purchased products and services and identify,
evaluate and choose among alternative brands and suppliers.
The business market consists of all the organizations that acquire goods and
services used in the production of other products or services that are sold, rented or
supplied to others.
Business markets have several characteristics that constrast sharply with consumer
markets.
o Fewer buyers. The business marketer normally deals with far fewer buyers
than the consumer marketer does.
producers helps to reduce selling costs. At the same time, business marketers
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o Inelastic demand. The total demand for many business goods and services is
inelastic, that is not much affected by price changes. Demand is especially
inelastic in the short run because producers cannot make quick changes in
their production methods. Demand is also inelastic for business goods that
represent a small percentage of the item‘s total cost. However, producers
may switch their eyelets supplier in response to price differences.
o Fluctuating demand. The demand for business goods and services tends to
be more volatile than the demand for consumer goods and services. This is
especially true of the demand for new plant and equipment. A given
percentage increase in consumer demand can lead to a much larger
percentage increase in the demand for plant and equipment necessary to
produce the additional output. Economists refer to this effect as
the acceleration effect. This sales volatility has led many business marketers
to diversify their products and markets to achieve more balanced sales over
the business cycle.
o Reciprocity. Business buyers often select suppliers who also buy from them.
o Leasing. Many industrial buyers lease their equipment instead of buying it.
The lessee gains a number of advantages : conserving capital, getting the
seller‘s latest products, receiving better service, and gaining some tax
advantages. The lessor often ends up with a larger net income and the
chance to sell to customers who could not afford ouright purchase.
Buying Situations
The business buyer faces many decisions in making a purchase. The number of
decisions depends on the type of buying situation. Robinson and others distinguish
three types of buying situations :
The business buyer makes the fewest decisions in the straight-rebuy situation and
the most in the new-task situation. In the latter, the buyer has to determine product
specs, price limits, delivery terms and times, service terms, payment terms, order
quantities, acceptable suppliers and the selected supplier.
Sellers have increasingly recognized that buyers like to purchase in this way and
many have adopted systems selling as a marketing tool. A variant on systems
selling is systems contracting, where a single supply source provides the buyer
with his or her entire requirement of MRO (maintenance, repair, operating)
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supplies. The customer benefits from reduced costs because the seller maintains
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the inventory. Savings also result from reduced time spent on supplier selection
and from price protection over the term of the contract. The seller benefits from
lower operating costs because of a steady demand and reduced paperwork.
2. Users. Those who will use the product or service. In many cases, the users
initiate the buying proposal and help define the product requirements.
3. Influencers. People who influence the buying decision. They often help
define specifications and also provide information for evaluating
alternatives.
6. Buyers. People who have formal authority to select the supplier and arrange
the purchase terms. Buyers may help shape product specifications, but they
play their major role in selecting vendors and negotiating. In more complex
purchases, the buyers might include high-level managers participating in the
negotiations.
To target their efforts properly, business marketers have to figure out : Who are the
major decision participants ? What decisions do they influence ? What is their level
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o Decentralized purchasing of small ticket items. At the same time that many
companies are centralizing their purchasing processes, they are also
decentralizing some purchasing operations by empowering employees to
purchase small-ticket items such as duplicate keys, coffee makers or
Christmas trees. This revolution has come about through the availability of
corporate purchasing cards issued by credit-card organizations. The
additional benefit, for both buyers and suppliers, is that with less time to
spend on paperwork, purchasing departments have more time for building
partnerships.
BUY CLASSES
This model is called the buygrid framework. The eight steps for the typical new-
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o The company decides to develop a new product and needs new equipment
and materials to produce this product.
Externally, the buyer may get new ideas at a trade show, see an ad, or receive a call
from a sales representative who offers a better product or a lower price. Business
marketers can stimulate problem recognition by direct mail, telemarketing, and
calling on prospects.
Product Specification. After general needs are identified, the buying organization
must develop the item‘s technical specifications. Often the company will assign a
product-value-analysis (PVA) engineering team to the project. PVA is an approach
to cost reduction in which components are carefully studied to determine if they
can be redesigned or standardized or made by cheaper methods of production.
Suppliers, too can use PVA as a tool for positioning themselves to win an account.
By getting in early and influencing buyer specifications, the supplier increases its
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Proposal Solicitation. The buyer will now invite qualified suppliers to submit
proposals. Where the item is complex or expensive, the buyer will require a
detailed written proposal from each qualified supplier. After evaluating the
proposals, the buyer will eliminate some suppliers and invite the remaining
suppliers to make formal presentations. Business marketers must thus be skilled in
researching, writing and presenting proposals. Their written proposals should be
marketing documents, not just technical documents. Their oral presentations
should inspire confidence, positioning their company‘s capabilities and resources
so that they stand out from the competition. An important part of any presentation
involves not only giving information but also asking questions.
Supplier Selection. Before selecting a supplier, the buying center will specify
desired supplier attributes and indicate their relative importance. It will then rate
suppliers on these attributes and identify the most attractive suppliers. The choice
and importance of different attributes varies with the type of buying situation.
Delivery reliability, price, and supplier reputation are highly important for routine-
order products. For procedural-problem products, such as a copying machine, the
three most important attributes are technical service, supplier flexibility and
product reliability. For political-problem products that stir rivalries in the
organization the most important attributes are price, supplier reputation, product
reliability, service reliability and supplier flexibility.
The buying center may attempt to negotiate with its preferred suppliers for better
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prices and terms before making the final selection. Marketers can counter the
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request for a lower price in a number of ways. They may be able to show evidence
that the ―life-cycle cost‖ of using its product is lower than that of competitors‘
products. They can also cite the value of the services the buyer now receives,
especially where those services are superior to those offered by competitors.
Order routine specification. After the suppliers have been selected, the buyer
negotiates the final order, listing the technical specifications; the quantity needed,
the expected time of delivery, return policies, warranties, and so on. In the case of
maintenance, repair and operating items, buyers are increasingly moving toward
blanket contracts rather than periodic purchase orders. Writing a new purchase
order, each time stock is needed is expensive and time consuming. Nor does the
buyer want to write fewer and larger purchase orders because that means carrying
more inventory.
Performance review. When all is said and done, the buyer reviews the performance
of the chosen supplier(s). Three methods are commonly used. The buyer may
contact the end users and ask for their evaluations. Or the buyer may rate the
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supplier on several criteria using a weighted score method. Or the buyer might
aggregate the cost of poor supplier performance to come up with adjusted costs of
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purchase, including price. The performance review may lead the buyer to continue,
modify or drop his relationship with the supplier. The supplier should monitor the
same variables that are monitored by the product‘s buyers and end users.
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Module End Quizes
pure monopoly
oligopoly
monopolistic competition
pure competition
industry
pure monopoly
oligopoly
monopolistic competition
pure competition
industry
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Firms often face _____ such as legal or moral obligations to
customers.
entry barriers
mobility barriers
exit barriers
ethical barriers
conscience barriers
The firm with the largest market share in the relevant product
market is called the _____.
market challenger
market follower
market nicher
market king
market leader
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In a pure _____ attack, the attacker matches its opponent's
product, advertising, price, and distribution.
flank
frontal
encirclement
bypass
guerrilla warfare
Education
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Occupation
All of the above
9. Which of the following types of reference groups is described as the group with
whom the person interacts fairly continuously and informally?
Aspiration group
Primary group
Secondary group
Dissociative group
10 The social class that is described as the social elite who live on inherited wealth
. are said to be in what level of social class?
Upper Upper
Lower Upper
Upper Middle
Upper Lower
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Module III
Developing Marketing
Strategies
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The Product Life Cycle
This model can help to analyze maturity stages of products and industries.
A product's life cycle (PLC) can be divided into several stages characterized by
the revenue generated by the product. If a curve is skectched showing product
revenue over time, it may take one of many different shapes.
The term was used for the first time by Theodore Levitt in 1965 in an Harvard
Business Review article: "Exploit the Product Life Cycle" (Vol 43, November-
December 1965, pp 81-94). Any company is constantly seeking ways to grow
future cash flows by maximizing revenue from the sale of products and services.
Cash Flow allows a company to maintain its viability, invest in new product
development and improve its workforce. All this in an effort to acquire additional
market share and become a leader in its respective industry.
The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is based upon the biological life cycle. For
example, a seed is planted (introduction); it begins to sprout (growth); it shoots out
leaves and puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity); after a long period as
an adult the plant begins to shrink and die out (decline).
In theory it's the same for a product. After a period of development it is introduced
or launched into the market; it gains more and more customers as it grows;
eventually the market stabilises and the product becomes mature; then after a
period of time the product is overtaken by development and the introduction of
superior competitors, it goes into decline and is eventually withdrawn.
A constant and sustainable cash flow (revenue) stream from product sales is key to
any long-term investment, and the best way to attain a stable revenue stream is to
have one or more Cash Cows. Cash Cows are strong products that have achieved a
large market share in mature markets.
Also, the modern Product Life Cycle is becoming shorter and shorter. Many
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revenues, because the time available to sell a product and recover the investment
shrinks.
Although the product life cycle shrinks, the operating life of many products is
lengthening. For example, the operating life of some durable goods, such as
automobiles and appliances, has increased substantially. As a result, the companies
that produce these products must take their market life and service life into account
when they are planning. Increasingly, companies are attempting to optimize
revenue and profits over the entire life cycle. They do this through the
consideration of product warranties, spare parts, and the ability to upgrade existing
products.
It is clear that the Product Life Cycle concept has significant impact upon business
strategy and corporate performance. The Product Life Cycle method identifies the
distinct stages affecting sales of a product. From the product's inception until its
retirement.
The life cycle concept may apply to a brand or to a category of product. Its
duration may be as short as a few months for a fad item or a century or more for
product categories such as the gasoline-powered automobile.
Product development is the incubation stage of the product life cycle. There are no
sales and the firm prepares to introduce the product. As the product progresses
through its life cycle, changes in the marketing mix usually are required in order to
adjust to the evolving challenges and opportunities.
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The stages in the Product Life Cycle
When the product is introduced, sales will be low until customers become aware of
the product and its benefits. Some firms may announce their product before it is
introduced, but such announcements also alert competitors and remove the element
of surprise. Advertising costs typically are high during this stage in order to rapidly
increase customer awareness of the product and to target the early adopters. During
the introductory stage the firm is likely to incur additional costs associated with the
initial distribution of the product. These higher costs coupled with a low sales
volume usually make the introduction stage a period of negative profits.
During the introduction stage, the primary goal is to establish a market and build
primary demand for the product class. The following are some of the marketing
mix implications of the introduction stage:
The growth stage is a period of rapid revenue growth. Sales increase as more
customers become aware of the product and its benefits and additional market
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segments are targeted. Once the product has been proven a success and customers
begin asking for it, sales will increase further as more retailers become interested
in carrying it. The marketing team may expand the distribution at this point. When
competitors enter the market, often during the later part of the growth stage, there
may be price competition and/or increased promotional costs in order to convince
consumers that the firm's product is better than that of the competition.
During the growth stage, the goal is to gain consumer preference and increase
sales. The marketing mix may be modified as follows:
The maturity stage is the most profitable. While sales continue to increase into this
stage, they do so at a slower pace. Because brand awareness is strong, advertising
expenditures will be reduced. Competition may result in decreased market share
and/or prices. The competing products may be very similar at this point, increasing
the difficulty of differentiating the product. The firm places effort into encouraging
competitors' customers to switch, increasing usage per customer, and converting
non-users into customers. Sales promotions may be offered to encourage retailers
to give the product more shelf space over competing products.
During the maturity stage, the primary goal is to maintain market share and extend
the product life cycle. Marketing mix decisions may include:
differentiate the product from competing products that may have been
introduced.
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Price - Possible price reductions in response to competition while avoiding a
price war.
Distribution - New distribution channels and incentives to resellers in order
to avoid losing shelf space.
Promotion - Emphasis on differentiation and building of brand loyalty.
Incentives to get competitors' customers to switch.
Eventually sales begin to decline as the market becomes saturated, the product
becomes technologically obsolete, or customer tastes change. If the product has
developed brand loyalty, the profitability may be maintained longer. Unit costs
may increase with the declining production volumes and eventually no more profit
can be made.
During the decline phase, the firm generally has three options:
Maintain the product in hopes that competitors will exit. Reduce costs and
find new uses for the product.
Harvest it, reducing marketing support and coasting along until no more
profit can be made.
Discontinue the product when no more profit can be made or there is a
successor product.
The term "life cycle" implies a well-defined life cycle as observed in living
organisms, but products do not have such a predictable life and the specific life
cycle curves followed by different products vary substantially. Consequently, the
life cycle concept is not well-suited for the forecasting of product sales.
Furthermore, critics have argued that the product life cycle may become self-
fulfilling. For example, if sales peak and then decline, managers may conclude that
the product is in the decline phase and therefore cut the advertising budget, thus
precipitating a further decline.
Nonetheless, the product life cycle concept helps marketing managers to plan
alternate marketing strategies to address the challenges that their products are
likely to face. It also is useful for monitoring sales results over time and comparing
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For many a product is simply the tangible, phsysical entity that they may be
buying or selling. You buy a new car and that's the product - simple! Or maybe
not. When you buy a car, is the product more complex than you first thought? In
order to actively explore the nature of a product further, lets consider it as three
different products - the COREproduct, the ACTUAL product, and finally
the AUGMENTED product.
These are known as the 'Three Levels of a Product.' So what is the difference
between the three products, or more precisely 'levels?'
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The CORE product is NOT the tangible, physical product. You can't touch it.
That's because the core product is the BENEFIT of the product that makes it
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valuable to you. So with the car example, the benefit is convenience i.e. the ease at
which you can go where you like, when you want to. Another core benefit is speed
since you can travel around relatively quickly.
The ACTUAL product is the tangible, physical product. You can get some use out
of it. Again with the car example, it is the vehicle that you test drive, buy and then
collect.
Feature: Black color with contain Aspartame (Nutra Sweet), Sucarlose (Splenda),
Acesulfame Potassium (Sunnett)
Positioning is what the customer believes and not what the provider wants them
to believe. Positioning can change due the counter measures taken at the
competition. Managing your product positioning requires that you know your
customer and that you understand your competition; generally, this is the job of
market research not just what the enterpreneur thinks is true.
Product features
Benefits, needs, or solutions
Use categories
Usage occasions
Placing and comparing it relative to another product
Dissociation of the product class
Three bases of positioning can be distinguished
1. By attribute or benefit- This is the most frequently used positioning strategy. For
a light beer, it might be that it tastes great or that it is less filling. For toothpaste, it
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6. By price or quality- Tiffany and Costco both sell diamonds. Tiffany wants us to
believe that their diamonds are of the highest quality, while Costco tells us that
diamonds are diamonds and that only a chump will pay Tiffany prices.
After the organisation has selected its target market, the next stage is to decide how
it wants to position itself within that chosen segment. Positioning refers to „how
organisations want their consumers to see their product‟. What message about the
product or service is the company trying to put across? Car manufacturer Daewoo
in the UK, has successfully positioned themselves as the family value model. The
UK car Skoda brand which has been taken over by Volkswagen has been re-
positioned as a vehicle which had negative brand associations, to one which
regularly wins car of the year awards. The positive comments from the industry
and attributes of this vehicle is has changed the perception of consumers about the
Skoda brand.
Competitive Positioning
What sets your product, service and company apart from your competitors? What
value do you provide and how is it different than the alternatives?
When your market clearly sees how your offering is different than that of your
competition, it‘s easier to generate new prospects and guide them to buy. Without
differentiation, it takes more time and money to show prospects why they should
choose you; as a result, you often end up competing on price – a tough position to
sustain over the long term.
One of the key elements of your positioning strategy is your value proposition.
There are three essential types of value: operational excellence, product leadership
and customer intimacy.
These companies are totally focused on delivering their value propositions. They
don’t just say it — they do it, and that makes it easier to win in their respective
markets.
Rather than leaving your positioning and value proposition to chance, establish a
strategy. Think impartially about the wants and needs of your customers and
what your competition offers. You may find an unmet need in the market, or you
may realize that you need to find a way to differentiate from your competitors.
Either way, you’ll strengthen your business in both the short and long term.
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Best Case Neutral Case Worst Case
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Key concepts & steps
Before you begin
Document the size of your market, major competitors and how they’re
positioned.
Determine whether your market is in the introductory, growth, mature, or
declining stage of its life. This “lifecycle stage” affects your entire marketing
strategy.
Understand the problems that your market faces. Talk with prospects and
customers, or conduct research if you have the time, budget and
opportunity. Uncover their true wants and needs – you’ll learn a great deal
about what you can deliver to solve their problems and beat your
competitors.
Group your prospects into “segments” that have similar problems and can
use your product in similar ways. By grouping them into segments, you can
efficiently market to each group.
List your competitors. Include any competitors that can solve your
customers’ problems, even if their solutions are much different than yours
– they’re still your competition.
Rate your own company and your direct competitors on operational
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There are three core types of value that a company can deliver: operational
efficiency (the lowest price), product leadership (the best product), or
customer intimacy (the best solution & service). Determine which one
you’re best equipped to deliver; your decision is your “value proposition.”
Now, Once you have a competitive positioning strategy, develop a brand strategy
to help you communicate your positioning and value proposition every time you
touch your market. Together, these strategies are the essential building blocks for
your business.
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Marketing Strategy:
One used the following techniques to device the Marketing Strategy for the
product/service:
Segmentation
Targeting
Positioning
http://www.utdallas.edu/~tskim/Lecture%20Note%206.pdf
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Segmentaion:
Everyone within the Marketing world knows and speaks of segmentation yet not
many truly understand its underlying mechanics, thus failure is just around the
corner. What causes this? It has been documented that most marketers fail the
segmentation exam and start with a narrow mind and a bunch of misconceptions
such as "all teenagers are rebels", "all elderly women buy the same cosmetics
brands" and so on. There are many dimensions to be considered, and uncovering
them is certainly an exercise of creativity.
options are available for a new business but resources would normally be a little
limited.
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The biggest challenge is to find the right balance for your business: use your
experience, knowledge and common sense to estimate if the market you have just
identified earlier is not too narrow or too broad for you.
What you have to figure out is what needs the consumers from the broad market
identified earlier might have. The more possible needs you can come up with, the
better.
Got yourself stuck in this stage of segmentation? Try to put yourself into the shoes
of your potential customers: why would they buy your product, what could
possibly trigger a buying decision? Answering these questions can help you list
most needs of potential customers on a given product market.
There is no exact formula on how to form narrow markets: use your best
judgement and experience. Do not avoid asking opinions even from non-Marketing
professionals, as different people can have different opinions and you can usually
count on at least those items most people agree on.
Identify the determining dimensions Carefully review the list resulted form the
previous step. You should have by now a list of need dimensions for each market
segment: try to identify those that carry a determining power.
Reviewing the needs and attitudes of those you included within each market
segment can help you figure out the determining dimensions.
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Name possible segment markets You have identified the determining
dimensions of your market segments, now review them one by one and give them
an appropriate name.
A good way of naming these markets is to rely on the most important determining
dimension.
Lecture on Segmentation:
http://www.intelliquest.com/resources/technical/MarketSegmentationOverview_M
BIQ_June24.pdf
Positioning
Simply, positioning is how your target market defines you in relation to your
competitors.
Both of these conditions are necessary for a good positioning. So what if you are
the only red-haired singer who only knows how to play a G minor chord? Does
your target market consider this a good thing?
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Positioning is important because you are competing with all the noise out there
competing for your potential fans attention. If you can stand out with a unique
benefit, you have a chance at getting their attention.
Environment
How is the market now satisfying the need your software satisfies?
What are the switching costs for potential users for your market?
What are the positions of the competition?
The competitive advantage is an internal question. What do you have that gives
you advantage over your competitors. Some things to consider:
Positioning Strategies
Targeting:
The beauty of target marketing is that it makes the promotion, pricing and
distribution of your products and/or services easier and more cost-effective. Target
marketing provides a focus to all of your marketing activities.
So if, for instance, I open a catering business offering catering services in the
client‘s home, instead of advertising with a newspaper insert that goes out to
everyone, I could target my market with a direct mail campaign that went only to
particular residents.
While market segmentation can be done in many ways, depending on how you
want to slice up the pie, three of the most common types are:
In late 1989, Barco N.V.'s projection systems division was faced with Sony's
surprise introduction of a better graphics projector. Barco had been perceived as a
leader, introducing high quality products first and targeting a niche market that was
willing to pay a higher price. Being a smaller company, Barco could not compete
on price, so it traditionally pursued a skimming strategy in the graphics projector
market, where it had a 55% market share of the small market. Barco's overall
market share for all types of projectors was only 4%.
Even though Barco's market was mainly in graphics projectors, the company had
not introduced a new graphics projector in over two years. Instead, it was spending
a large portion of its R&D budget on video projector products. However, video
projectors were not Barco's market.
Barco's engineers had been working long hours on their new projector that would
not be as good as Sony's. Some people thought they should not stop work on that
product since the engineers' morale would suffer after being told how important it
was to work hard to get the product out. However, even considering the morale of
the product team, it would not have been a good idea to introduce a product that
was inferior to that of Sony. Barco wisely stopped working on the inferior product
and put a major effort in developing a projector that outperformed Sony's.
it. It makes as much profit as possible, then moves on when the competition
arrives. The price is likely to fall over time as competition is encountered.
Such a skimming strategy contrasts with a penetrating strategy, which seeks
to gain market share by sacrificing short-term profits, and increasing the
price over time as market share is gained.
Competitors have certain strengths and abilities. To succeed, a firm must
leverage its own unique abilities.
A firm should prepare defensive strategies before potential threats arrive. If
the competition surprises a firm with the introduction of a vastly superior
product, the firm should resist the temptation to proceed with its mediocre
product. A firm never should introduce a product that is obsolete when it hits
the market.
The competition's probable response to a firm's actions should be considered
carefully.
The two most common uses of marketing research are for diagnostic analysis to
understand the market and the firm's current performance, and opportunity analysis
to define any unexploited opportunities for growth. Marketing research studies
include consumer studies, distribution studies, semantic scaling, multidimensional
scaling, intelligence studies, projections, and conjoint analysis. A few of these are
outlined below.
Percentage of sales
Executive judgement
All-you-can-afford
Match competitors
Last year based
Another method is called decision calculus. Managers are asked four questions:
1. no sales force
2. half the current effort
3. 50% greater effort
4. a saturation level of effort.
From these answers, one can determine the parameters of the S-curve response
function and use linear programming techniques to determine resource allocations.
Decision algorithms that result in extreme solutions, such as allocating most of the
sales force to one product while neglecting another product often do not yield
practical solutions.
Portfolio models may be used to allocate resources among major product lines or
business units. The BCG growth-share matrix is one such model.
121
Order of market entry is very important. In fact, the forecasted market share
relative to the pioneering brand is the pioneering brand's share divided by the
square root of the order of entry. For example, the brand that entered third is
forecasted to have 1/√3 times the market share of the first entrant (Marketing
Science, Vol. 14, No. 3, Part 2 of 2, 1995.) This rule was determined empirically.
The pioneering advantage is obtained from both the supply and demand side. From
the supply side, there are raw material advantages, better experience effects to
provide a cost advantage, and channel preemption. On the demand side, there is the
advantage of familiarity, the chance to set a standard, and the choice of perceptual
position.
There also are disadvantages to being the pioneer. Being first allows a competitor
to leapfrog the early technology. The incumbent develops inertia in its R&D and
may not be a flexible as newcomers. Developing an industry has costs that the
pioneer must bear alone, and the way the industry develops and its potential size
are not deterministic.
Increasing the breadth of the product line as several advantages. A firm can better
serve multiple segments, it can occupy more of the distributors' shelf space, it
offers customers a more complete selection, and it preempts competition. While a
wider range of products will cause a firm to cannibalize some of its own sales, it is
better to do so oneself rather than let the competition do so.
The drawbacks of broad product lines are reduced volume for each brand
(cannibalization), greater manufacturing complexity, increased inventory, more
management resources required, more advertising (or less per brand), clutter and
confusion in advertising for both customers and distributors.
To increase profits from existing brands, a firm can improve its production
123
efficiency, increase the demand through more users, more uses, and more usage. A
firm also can defend its existing base through line extensions (expand on a current
Page
brand), flanker brands (new brands in an existing product area), and brand
extensions.
1
The sales and profits of an individual product may not follow the life cycle pattern.
True
A)
False
B)
2
During the sales decline stage of the product life cycle, no firm can earn a profit.
True
A)
False
B)
3
A new product is one that is new in any way for the company concerned.
True
A)
False
B)
4
If an individual is injured by a defective or unsafely designed product, the seller's legal obligation to
pay damages is called product liability.
True
A)
124
False
B)
Page
5
Category managers have exactly the same role as brand managers.
True
A)
False
B)
6
During the introduction stage of the product life cycle:
"me too" products quickly take market share away from the innovator.
B)
7
During the introduction stage, what would hinder acceptance of a new product?
consumers may not see the new product as offering a superior alternative to whatever
A) they are currently using.
the new product may not be compatible with the buyer's values.
B)
9
What is the most important reason why industry sales level off in the market maturity stage of the
product life cycle?
price cutting.
B)
persuasive promotion.
E)
10
Rallo Company has seen most of its competitors drop out of its product market due to declining sales
and profits. However Rallo still has much demand for its products from a small group of loyal
126
customers. In which stage of the product life cycle is this product market?
market introduction.
Page
A)
market growth.
B)
market development.
C)
market maturity.
D)
sales decline.
E)
127
Page
Refer Books
Book: Jack Trout and Al Ries - Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind -
Video resources
Academicearth.org
as an Entrepreneur
Focus as an Entrepreneur
References
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Salutogenesis, a concept developed by Aaron Antonovsky that is concerned with the conditions for
human coherence, motivation, morale and energy, is a useful approach
128
Jenkinson, A., Sain, B. (2004) ‘Implementing Integrated Marketing: The SEEBOARD Energy case’,
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