1.1 & 1.2) Compare alternative definitions of marketing Marketing is a general term used to describe all the steps that lead to final sales. It is the process of planning and executing pricing, promotion and distribution to satisfy individual and organizational needs. As a philosophy, marketing is based on thinking about the business in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction. Marketing differs from selling because (in the words of Harvard Business School's emeritus professor of marketing Theodore C. Levitt) "Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people to exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the values that the exchange is all about. And it does not, as marketing invariably does, view the entire business process as consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover, create, arouse, and satisfy customer needs." The Chartered Institute of Marketing define marketing as 'The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably' Marketing is therefore a very vital organ for any companies or organizations. Such a company is Brac Bank which is one of the largest local banks in Bangladesh. The company have a corporate vision for building profitable and socially responsible financial institution focused on Market and Business with Growth potential, thereby assisting BRAC and stakeholders to build a just, enlightened, healthy democratic and poverty free Bangladesh. The main sales in this regard are the number of clients opening & maintaining bank accounts with the bank for a service charge in addition in having loan taking customers. With stiff competition amongst the increasing number of local banks currently at Bangladesh, Brac Banks considers marketing as an integral and essential part of their organization. There can be different versions of marketing definitions and there are mainly five Marketing philosophies: 1. Production concept : this concept suggest to do mass production, in order to make the product cheap and easily available in the market. Base of this concept is that if the product is cheap and easily available then people will buy it. 2. Product concept: It suggests making the product best in quality. Logic is that if your product is superior in quality then people will buy it without considering the price. 3. Selling concept: this concept says that if let alone, people will not buy in sufficient amount. So, you should do aggressive selling effort to promote and sell your product. 4. Marketing concept: the most famous and popular concept. It is different from mere selling because in selling you focus on selling whatever you have produced. but in marketing concept, before doing production, you assess the need and desire of customer and then make product accordingly, then sell and finally take customer feedbacks, in order to assess the level of customer satisfaction. 5. Societal concept: it is broader than marketing concept because it says to consider all the three parties involved in the transaction i.e. seller, buyer and the society also which gets affected from that transaction, may be directly or indirectly.

As for Brac Bank the marketing philosophies pertaining to the Societal and marketing concept are more appropriate as it is not a manufacturing company with physical products. For manufacturing companies, production or product concepts would have been more suitable. Besides the corporate vision of Brac bank perfectly suits to the societal concept. Market oriented business: A business that is market oriented business is one which continually identifies, reviews and analyses consumers needs. It is led by the market. A market oriented business is much more likely to be engaged in effective marketing if it is market oriented. The major feature of the marketing oriented organization is that they are aimed to stay closer to the customers and ahead of their competitors. The reason is that the basic aim of these organizations is to attract the customers. There are four major characteristics which define the marketing oriented organizations including shared values, organization, strategy and stakeholders. Those are as follows: Firstly, all decisions of these companies consider the customers first and they share the common value of superior quality of products. Secondly, their organizational structure has very few layers and their policies are not very difficult. Thirdly, the strategy of a market oriented organization is long term, flexible and participative. Finally, they consider the expectations of the stakeholders before making any important decision.

1.3) Explain the various elements of the marketing concept

A marketing concept typically evaluates firstly: the 5Cs. Company - What the company is and its purpose, objectives or visions for the future. Customer - Who is the target customer of the company? Collaborators - Who are the allies of the company and what strength or relationship with the Suppliers? Are there people who can complement the selling of goods or services? Competitors - Who are the competitors? Evaluate them and their position on the market in comparison to own company. Context - What is the business environment for the upcoming year? Industry reports can be analyzed for this matter.

After considering the 5Cs, then the next thing evaluated is the 4Ps of marketing and they are: 1. Product - Describe the product you are selling. What need are you meeting? What problem are you solving? Describe the services (after sales support) that supplement your products. 2. Promotion - How do you intend to promote your product? It can be through newsletters, TV advertisements, Radio advertisements and etc. 3. Price - What price do you sell your product at? What are the prices of similar products in the market? 4. Place - How do you intend to distribute the products? Is it through mass supermarkets, Concept stores, etc?

Evolution of Marketing: The concept of marketing is at its essence one of the simplest ideas not to mention one of the most important marketing philosophies. The very core of this concept is customer satisfaction which states that the organization (the business) should always look to satisfying the customer's wants, the customer's needs while at the same time meeting the company's goal which is to create a profit. The major credo for this concept is "The Customer Rules". As simple as this is sounding, it helps to have an understanding how marketing has evolved through the centuries and how we can correlate this to marketing on the net. There have been three basic philosophies/concepts over the centuries and they are "product", "selling" and "marketing". Each of these philosophies has had a particular time in its history when it was dominant, but the concepts did not die out, they instead evolved and merged with the other philosophies and are still actively used today by companies large and small. The Production Concept The production concept prevailed from the time of the industrial revolution until the early 1950's. The production concept was the idea that a firm should focus on those products that it could produce most efficiently and that the creation of a supply of low-cost products would in and of itself create the demand for the products. The key questions that a firm would ask before producing a product were:y y

Can we produce the product? Can we produce enough of it?

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. The Sales Concept By the early 1960's however, mass production had become commonplace, competition had increased, and there was little unfulfilled demand. Around this time, firms began to practice the sales concept (or selling concept), under which companies not only would produce the products, but also would try to convince

customers to buy them through advertising and personal selling. Before producing a product, the key questions were:y y

Can we sell the product? Can we charge enough for it?

The sales concept paid little attention to whether the product actually was needed; the goal simply was to beat the competition to the sale with little regard to customer satisfaction. Marketing was a function that was performed after the product was developed and produced, and many people came to associate marketing with hard selling. Even today, many people use the word "marketing" when they really mean sales. The Product (orientation) concept 1970s till 1980s focus was the product and the effectiveness the development and research was at the forth front because of changed needs it was important to produce the right things and to be innovative that means that the best product wins, which means getting the most sales. The Marketing Concept After World War II, the variety of products increased and hard selling no longer could be relied upon to generate sales. With increased discretionary income, customers could afford to be selective and buy only those products that precisely met their changing needs, and these needs were not immediately obvious. The key questions became:y What do customers want? Can we develop it while they still want it? How can we keep our customers satisfied?

y y

In response to these discerning customers, firms began to adopt the marketing concept, which involves:y y y

Focusing on customer needs before developing the product Aligning all functions of the company to focus on those needs Realizing a profit by successfully satisfying customer needs over the long-term 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

Customer & Competitor Orientation:

Customer orientation helps firms with a clear in-depth understanding of consumer which results in a focused marketing effort. Research has confirmed that customer orientation helps firms to increase performance and enhance customer satisfaction. Too much customer orientation also can be dangerous. There is a chance of marketers becoming blinded by their current focus thus oblivious of the changes brought about by the competitors. There are critics who argue that customers may stifle innovation in companies because customers may not be able to explicitly state their expectations or anticipate future needs. Customers are often resistant to change and this forces the highly customer focused firms to maintain the status quo thus refraining from game changing innovations. The firms who are skewed towards competitor orientation are blamed for launching me-too products in an effort to fight competition. Too much focus on competitor often forces firms to invest in understanding customers or anticipate their needs better. Too many resources will be spent on competitive activities which may restrict investment on breakthrough innovations. Competitor oriented firms are more open to the changing trend in the market. Since their actions are more directed by the actions of the competitor, there is less chance of lethargy in marketing activities. Firms must understand that there is a trade-off between these two orientations. Firms will have to lose something if they chose either of the two orientations. The ideal option is to balance both the orientation. It is easy to advocate that firms should have both customer and competitor orientation but with a limited resources in-terms of men and money, firms will find tough to have best of both worlds. Companies must realize that the choice of customer / competitor orientation is dependent on the environment in which firms operate. There are external and internal factors that will decide the orientation of the company. For example, there are organizations like Zappos.com which is totally customer oriented. The customer orientation run deep within the organizations DNA and the entire firm is structured around the customer. Competitor orientation is more preferable in markets which are growing very fast. In fast growing markets, firms should invest in gathering more data about competitors which will enable them to develop innovations at lower costs. Customer orientation is preferable in more uncertain markets. When the markets are changing very fast, firms can focus on customers which will enable them to change their marketing strategies quickly in accordance with changing customer needs. Also firms that deal with complex markets need to focus on investing in customers rather than competitors. The choice of customer vs. competitor orientation is ultimately depended on the top managements world view. The choice is important because there are only limited resources available with the managers to spend on either of these orientations. Firms can strike a balance between these orientations if they can focus on the following guidelines.y

Invest in a robust market intelligence mechanism in the marketing department. The mechanism can be internal or outsourced, but the emphasis will be on information gathering and

y

dissemination. When a mechanism exists, depending on the market environment, organization can decide on the type of information that should be gathered. Encourage free flow of information within the organization. Market orientation tends to be ineffective if the organization is bureaucratic. Hence firms should ensure that important market information is passed to various levels quickly.

1.4) Identify and assess the benefits and costs of a marketing approach Cost of Marketing: The cost of marketing reflects on how regular marketing research we are conducting, how we are setting marketing focus structure. More frequent we conduct researches, our cost will rise. Below are the identification of various costs:

y y y y y y

regular marketing research setting marketing focus structure initial product development building excellent services attracting attentions of customers building long-time relationships with customers

Benefits of Marketing : The primary and most important benefit of marketing is brand recognition. Marketing strategies help to imprint a brand in the minds of customers. This ensures that customers seek a particular brand of a product, rather than the brand seeking out its customers. The various kinds of benefits include:

y y y y y y

Profit customer loyalty and trust long term goal reputation Provide Information Gain & retain customers

Benefits of Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction, a term frequently used in marketing, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds specified satisfaction goals." y The advantages of customer satisfaction: repeat business word of mouth advertising positive company image

Customer satisfaction provides a leading indicator of consumer purchase intentions and loyalty. Customer satisfaction data are among the most frequently collected indicators of market perceptions. Their principal use is twofold. 1. Within organizations, the collection, analysis and dissemination of these data send a message about the importance of tending to customers and ensuring that they have a positive experience with the companys goods and services. 2. Although sales or market share can indicate how well a firm is performing currently, satisfaction is an indicator of how likely it is that the firms customers will make further purchases in the future. Much research has focused on the relationship between customer satisfaction and retention.

The results and feedback generated from a customer satisfaction survey attunes a company towards more focused customer service, and develops better relationships with customers to achieve brand success. Feedbacko

Customer feedback in the form of answers, comments and suggestions about a company's products, business practices and customer service is one of the major benefits of a customer satisfaction survey. Desired Improvements

o

If feedback is critical or negative on any aspect, quick measures can be taken to bring about the desired improvements or address grievances and placate relevant customers. Better Innovation

o

Analysis of customer feedback surveys and the information collected becomes the basis for customer intelligence. Used strategically, such intelligence can be used to drive innovation efforts and initiatives at the company. Greater Customization

o

A customer satisfaction survey also shows critical insights about different customer segments and products so that services and marketing approaches can be tailored accordingly. Long-Term Relationship

o

Customer satisfaction surveys enable companies to consistently and better address customer needs and expectations, maintain brand reputation and facilitate long-term relationships with customers.

Total Quality marketing: Total Quality Marketing, is a market-driven concept. It is different from the production-oriented Total Quality Management (TQM) concept. Perfect products do not sell themselves without proper marketing effort. Unless customers "perceive" quality, improving the product quality alone is not enough. Product quality by itself does not sell products, and improving it without regard to the marketability of the product is inconsequential. Therefore, firms should manufacture and market products that consumers perceive as good quality and value. The term quality means different things to different people. It has many meanings depending on whose perspective are used -- the manufacturer's or the consumer's. For a manufacturer, quality means the most effective way of producing a product -- saving time and money. For a consumer, it means that the product is "the best value" that money could buy. Not all firms respond equally to foreign competition. This is how BMW, Cummins, and Motorola have responded to their competitors. By combining Total Quality Marketing and Total Quality Management together, these firms retained their market shares and thwarted further attacks on their shares of the market by other firms. There are lessons for others from the experiences of these firms.

2.1) Identify and explain macro and micro environmental factors which influence decisions

marketing

Marketing Environment is that which is external to the marketing management function, largely uncontrollable, potentially relevant to marketing decision making, & changing & / or constraining in nature. The marketing environment is more important to management today than ever before, this is both because the rate of environmental change has increased & because there are more types of important environmental changes MACRO ENVIRONMENT POLITICAL: The Political & Legal Forces on marketing can be grouped into the following 4 categories:y y y y

Monetary and fiscal policies Social legislation and regulations Governmental relationships with industries Legislation related specifically to marketing

ECONOMICAL: A marketing program is affected especially by economic factors as the current and anticipated stage of the business cycle, as well as inflation and interest rates. SOCIAL: The social environment is made up of institutions and other forces that affect societys basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors

TECHONOLGICAL: The technological environment includes forces that create new technologies, creating new products and market opportunities ENVIRONMENTAL: The natural environment involves natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities.

MICRO ENVIRONMENT SUPPLIERS: A business cannot sell a product without being able to make or buy it. INTERMEDIARIES: Marketing intermediaries are of 2 types: Middlemen (wholesalers & retailers) and Facilitating organizations (transportation, warehousing, & financing that are needed to complete exchanges between buyers & sellers COMPETITORS: The name of the game in marketing is differentiation. What benefit can the organization offer which is better than their competitors? Can they sustain this differentiation over a period of time from their competitors? Competitor analysis and monitoring is crucial if an organization is to maintain its position within the market. PUBLIC: As organization requires greater inward investment for growth they face increasing pressure to move from private ownership to public. However this movement unleashes the forces of shareholder pressure on the strategy of organizations. Satisfying shareholder needs may result in a change in tactics employed by an organization.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT): SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors. In SWOT, strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. For example: A strength could be: Your specialist marketing expertise. A new, innovative product or service. Location of your business.

y y y

y y

Quality processes and procedures. Any other aspect of your business that adds value to your product or service. A weakness could be: Lack of marketing expertise. Undifferentiated products or services (i.e. in relation to your competitors). Location of your business. Poor quality goods or services. Damaged reputation.

y y y y y

In SWOT, opportunities and threats are external factors. For example: An opportunity could be: A developing market such as the Internet. Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances. Moving into new market segments that offer improved profits. A new international market. A market vacated by an ineffective competitor. A threat could be: A new competitor in your home market. Price wars with competitors. A competitor has a new, innovative product or service. Competitors have superior access to channels of distribution. Taxation is introduced on your product or service. Simple rules for successful SWOT analysis:y y y y y y

y y y y y y y y y y

Be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of your organization when conducting SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis should distinguish between where your organization is today, and where it could be in the future. SWOT should always be specific. Avoid grey areas. Always apply SWOT in relation to your competition i.e. better than or worse than your competition. Keep your SWOT short and simple. Avoid complexity and over analysis SWOT is subjective.

Once key issues have been identified with your SWOT analysis, they feed into marketing objectives. SWOT can be used in conjunction with other tools for audit and analysis, such as PEST analysis and Porter's Five-Force analysis.

Internal Analysis: The Internal Analysis of strengths and weaknesses focuses on internal factors that give an organization certain advantages and disadvantages in meeting the needs of its target market. Strengths refer to core competencies that give the firm an advantage in meeting the needs of its target markets. Any analysis of company strengths should be market oriented/customer focused because strengths are only meaningful when they assist the firm in meeting customer needs. Weaknesses refer to any limitations a company faces in developing or implementing a strategy. Weaknesses should also be examined from a customer perspective because customers often perceive weaknesses that a company cannot see. Being market focused when analyzing strengths and weaknesses does not mean that non-market oriented strengths and weaknesses should be forgotten. Rather, it suggests that all firms should tie their strengths and weaknesses to customer requirements. Only those strengths that relate to satisfying a customer need should be considered true core competencies. The following area analyses are used to look at all internal factors effecting a company:y y

Resources: Profitability, sales, product quality brand associations, existing overall brand, relative cost of this new product, employee capability, product portfolio analysis Capabilities: Goal: To identify internal strategic strengths, weaknesses, problems, constraints and uncertainties

2.2) Propose segmentation criteria to be used for two products in different markets

A market segment is a sub-set of a market made up of people or organizations with one or more characteristics that cause them to demand similar product and/or services based on qualities of those products such as price or function. The people in a given segment are supposed to be similar in terms of criteria by which they are segmented and different from other segments in terms of these criteria. These can broadly be viewed as 'positive' and 'negative' applications of the same idea, splitting up the market into smaller groups. Examples:

Gender Price Interests

Let's say that the primary market is local or regional, in a particular community with a population of 25,000 people. The first thing that is needed to do is research the 'demographics' of the community, and divide it into market segments:y y y y y y y

Age: children, teens, young, middle, elderly Gender: male, female Education: high school, college, university Income: low, medium, high Marital status: single, married, divorced Ethnic and/or religious background Family life cycle: newly married, married for 10 20 years, with or without children. This information should be available through your local town , hall, library, or Chamber of Commerce. Next, needed is to segment the market as much as possible using 'psychographics' as the guide:

y y y y y

Lifestyle: conservative, exciting, trendy, economical Social class: lower, middle, upper Opinion: easily led or opinionated Activities and interests: sports, physical fitness, shopping, books Attitudes and beliefs: environmentalist, security conscious.

Demographic Segmentation As people age their needs and wants change. Some organizations develop specific products aimed at particular age groups for example nappies for babies, toys for children, clothes for teenagers and so on. Brac bank has two recently launched a special type of service by allowing and targeting students to maintain bank accounts with them. The special type of account is called Ezee account which requires a customer to have a valid student card and the special feature is that they can open this account without any form of deposit. Besides they can also pay directly their tuition fees from the account. The market segment for this Ezee account service is for the young students ageing between 19 to 25 years old. Another Product is the Long term savings account with higher interest rates which targets the aged people over 40 years. The features attract stability and security that is sought by this particular market segment for ensuring their retired life.

Another organization, named Creative Solutions Ltd, is a company that pioneers in designing websites for various other organizations. They also have readymade website templates which customer may purchase as per their suitability and use to upload their respective contents. Their website templates vary from wide range to target different audiences and to meet their needs. Below are details of number of their products range, target markets and examples of buyers of those products: y Website template type: Home-made, unprofessional, done on the cheap.

graphic designer can produce something like this if thats what it takes to reach the audience. Language can be casual and prices are often included. Mistakes and rough or cluttered layout are more tolerable, but should be avoided if possible. Sometimes it also carries compulsory advertisement banners.

Target Market in terms of Income Group: Lower socio-economic, average Joes wanting a bargain, older people, single people and housewives wanting a service with a personal touch, people who do not want to feel like a customer of a big corporation or franchise. Business examples: Services. May work well for hair dressing salons, family-owned businesses, alternative medicine, network marketing and direct selling etc.

y

Website template type: Basic, clean, simple & Sophisticated with good internet traffic. Characterised by lots of wide open spaces, light coloured backgrounds (especially white and silver), unobtrusive text colours and design (eg. black or dark blue, sans serif fonts). Few images. Language should be formal and accurate.

Target Market in terms of social Class: All ages, but especially corporate clients who are looking for sophisticated or professional business and want it represented in their website.

y

Website template type: Characterized by vector graphics (with perfectly smooth edges), complicated backgrounds, nice colours, borders, image-heavy, text-light. Language should be upbeat and maybe use youth-speak.

Target Market in terms of Age: Young people (eg. 1030)

This look can be seen all over the place, especially for acne skin treatments, Pentecostal church brochures, youth events and websites etc.

y

Website template type: Nature. Lots of natural imagery, plants, animals, green and autumn colours, backgrounds may be clean and clear, or with faint patterns. Use photos, especially of open, natural landscapes with no humanity visible. Language should be positive and informative.

Target Market in terms of Lifestyle: Nature-lovers, greens and people interested in alternative health. Also people with pets or who love animals, but may not otherwise be into nature or alternative health. Creative Solutions Ltd combines this with the Basic, clean, simple approach, using the family appeal of animals in its Optus Zoo marketing theme.

y

Website template type: Website templates with no human images, calligraphic design and Arabic font.

Target market in terms of Demographic: Customers are usually from the Arab region where this is booming IT sector and emphasis on website representation of different organizations. As per Arab culture, Arabic font is very essential as English is not often widely understood with ease. Besides, the culture demands clean & conservative website with preferably no human images or any type of content deemed immodest in their society. Calligraphic designs are very popular and are part of their heritage.

2.3) Outline the factors which influence the choice of targeting strategy Targeting strategy decisions are influenced by: market maturity diversity of buyers' needs and preferences strength of the competition the volume of sales required for profitability

y y y y

Target marketing tailors a marketing mix for one or more segments identified by market segmentation. Target marketing contrasts with mass marketing, which offers a single product to the entire market. Two important factors to consider when selecting a target market segment are the attractiveness of the segment and the fit between the segment and the firm's objectives, resources & capabilities.

PROCESS OF CHOOSING THE TARGET MARKET y y The process of choosing the target Market are:Choosing the target market is related to, but not synonymous with, market segmentation.

y y y y y y y

Segmentation is the means or the tool; choosing the target market is thepurpose. Segmentation can also be viewed as the prelude to target market selection. Choosing the target market usually follows multi-level segmentation using different bases. Choosing the target market involves several other tasks in addition to segmentation. Looking at each segment as a distinct marketing opportunity. Evaluating the worth of each segment (sales/profit potential). Evaluating whether the segment is: Distinguishable. Measurable. Sizable. Accessible. Growing. Profitable. Compatible with the firms resources.

y

Examining whether it is better to choose the whole market, or the only a few segment, and deciding which ones should be chosen. few segment, and deciding which ones should be chosen. Looking for segments, which are relatively less satisfied by the current offers in the market from competing brands. offers in the market from competing brands. Checking out if the firm has the differential advantage / distinctive Capability for serving the selected segments. Finally selecting those segments that are most appropriate for the firm.

y

y y y y

TARGET MARKET STRATEGIES There are several different target-market strategies that may be followed. Targeting strategies usually can be categorized as one of the following:

Single-segment strategy- Also known as a concentrated strategy. One market segment (not the entire market) is served with one marketing mix. A single-segment approach often is the strategy of choice for smaller companies with limited resources. Selective specialization- This is a multiple-segment strategy, also known as a differentiated strategy. Different marketing mixes are offered to different segments. The product itself may or may not be different - in many cases only the promotional message or distribution channels vary. Product specialization- The firm specializes in a particular product and tailors it to different market segments. Market specialization- The firm specializes in serving a particular market segment and offers that segment an array of different products. Full market coverage - The firm attempts to serve the entire market. This coverage can be achieved by means of either a mass market strategy in which a single undifferentiated marketing mix is offered to the entire market, or by a differentiated strategy in which a separate marketing mix is offered to each segment

DECISIONS INVOLVED IN TARGETING STRATEGY INCLUDE:y y y which segments to targeting. how many products to offer.. which products to offer in which segments.

DECIDING THE SIZE OF TARGET MARKET After selecting the target market it is important for marketers to decide the size of the target market. Is the target market large enough to sustain a business which will provide products or services to them? A target market has to be of at least a minimum size to be viable. Suppose a firm chooses food processing and food packaging as its target market. In fact, they might be too large, and it might be wise to find a niche within those target markets. Therefore, the firm must then focus on a particular type of food market, such as a food production firm who wants to package its products for selling. Thus by targeting its product for its targeted market, the firm can decide its size on the basis of it.

2.4) explain how buyer behavior affects marketing activities in two different buying situations

Buyer/consumer buying behavior: Consumer behavior affects marketing activities so rapidly. Research suggests that customers go through a five-stage decision-making process in any purchase. This is summarized in the diagram below: Consumer buying behavior is influenced by the major three factors: y y y Social factors Psychological factors Personal factors

Source:http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.illuminas-g Example related to personal factors: Personal factors include the aspects that are unique to a person and influence purchase behavior. It includes factors like lifestyle, demographic factors, and situational factors. The CEO of certain company would prefer to buy expensive line suits or elegant pants rather than ordinary line jeans. This actually reflects to the personality of the buyer and the position he leads in the society as a whole. So according to their lifestyle & profession, the buying behavior of people differ from one another Example related to Psychological factors: Integral to an individual, psychological factor generates forces that influence his/her purchase behavior. The major forces include motives, perception, learning, and attitude. Consumer forms attitude towards a brand on the basis of their beliefs & perception on that particular brand. For instance traditional people or naturalist may opt for herbal medicines which they might believe will be beneficial for them in the long term. This makes them buyers of herbal medicine thus avoiding modern day medicines. The branding of herbal items as low side effects may suit to their perception.

How they Buy ?: High involvement products: y y y y High price Complex features Significant differences between alternatives High perceived risk Reflect self concept of buyer E.g. Selection of a Car

Low involvement products y Alternatives within the same product class are similar y y y Does not reflect buyers self concept Frequent brand switching behavior E.g. buying a bathing bar (Toilet Soap)

Purchase Decision In low involvement Products:

Purchase Decision in High Involvement Products:

Buyer lifestyle: Survivors: Price conscious , not very knowledgeable , depressed. Sustainers: Strugglers , swayed by brand guarantee , impulse buyers. Belongers: Conventional conservative ,nostalgic , unexperimental. Emulators : Ambitious , upwardly mobile ,status conscious , buy to impress others. Achievers : Leaders , work in hi tech top line products. I-am-me: Young , Self engrossed , impulsive. Experimental : Pursue a rich inner life , High sense of social resp.

3.1) Describe how products are developed to sustain competitive advantage Competitive advantage is when a firm sustains profits that exceed the average for its industry, the firm is said to possess a competitive advantage over its rivals. The goal of much of business strategy is to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. New products are developed in 8 (eight) stages to sustain competitive advantage. Stage 1: Idea generation New product ideas have to come from somewhere. Some sources could be, 1. Within the company i.e. employees 2. Competitors. 3. Customers 4. Distributors, Supplies and others. Stage 2: Idea Screening This process involves shifting through the ideas generated above and selecting ones which are feasible and workable to develop. Pursing non feasible ideas can clearly be costly for the company. Stage 3: Concept Development and Testing The organization may have come across what they believe to be a feasible idea, however, the idea needs to be taken to the target audience. Stage 4: Marketing Strategy and Development A proposed marketing strategy will be written laying out the marketing mix strategy of the product, the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy sales and profits that are expected. Stage 5: Business Analysis The business analysis stage looks more deeply into the cash flow the product could generate, what the cost will be, how much market shares the product may achieve and the expected life of the product.

Stage 6: Product Development Finally it is at this stage that a prototype is finally produced. The prototype will clearly run through all the desired tests, and be presented to the target audience to see if changes need to be made. Stage 7: Test Marketing Test marketing means testing the product within a specific area. The product will be launched within a particular region so the marketing mix strategy can be monitored and if needed, be modified before national launch.

Stage 8: Commercialization If the test marketing stage has been successful then the product will go for national launch. There are certain factors that need to be taken into. These are timing, how the product will be launched, where the product will be launched etc.

3.2) Explain how distribution is arranged to provide customer convenience

Distribution really plays a very important role in enhancing the convenience of the customers therefore; distribution system of a company can appear as a major competency for the company. There are four elements of marketing mix including product, price, promotion and place. The distribution comes under the place category and the companies develop proper distribution system because accessibility of the customers enhances the potential sales for a company. For example, if Coca Cola Company does not outsource its distribution services and Coca Cola bottles would have been available only from the factories then customers might not have been willing to get them. It is more convenient for the customers to get Coca Cola drinks from a nearby retailer as compared to getting it from a wholesaler. Therefore, distribution can become a major strength or a weakness for a company. The below tables illustrates the considerations to provide customer convenience:

3.3)Explain how prices are set to reflect an organizations objectives and market condition

Price: The pricing policy that a business chooses is often a reflection of the market at which it is aiming. Price will not always be set at the level which will maximize sales or short-run profits. For example, a business may charge a high price because it is aiming to sell to consumers who regard the product as exclusive rather than because production costs are high. Pricing should take into account the following factors: Fixed and variable costs. Competition Company objectives Proposed positioning strategies. Target group and willingness to pay.

An organization can adopt a number of pricing strategies. The pricing strategies are based much on what objectives the company has set itself to achieve: Penetration pricing: Where the organization sets a low price to increase sales and market share. Skimming pricing: The organization sets an initial high price and then slowly lowers the price to make the product available to a wider market. The objective is to skim profits of the market layer by layer. Competition pricing: Setting a price in comparison with competitors.

3.4) Illustrate how promotional activity is integrated to achieve marketing objectives There are a number of promotional activity is integrated to achieve marketing objectives, such as TV advertising and personal selling. A business will choose a promotion method it feels is likely to be most effective in the market in which it operates Marketer initiated techniques used to set up channels of information and persuasion with targeted audiences to influence attitudes and behavior. The main focus: Promotion Message and Media

ELEMENTS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX:

Approaches to Determining the Promotional Budget: Percentage of sales A fixed amount of money per past or projected sales Probably the most widely used as it is simple

All available funds/All you can afford Budget what is left over for promotional expenditures New companies often put all available funds into promotion to penetrate the market But, you can miss opportunities or overspend

Competitive parity/Follow the competition Adopt the average ratio for promotional expenses to sales for the industry or main competitor; or the same absolute amount as a competitor But, what if they do not know what they are doing and/or strategies and tactics are different?

3.5) Analyze the additional elements of the extended marketing mix

Additional element of this extended marketing mix are as follows: People- An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate staff and people. Recruiting the right staff and training them appropriately in the delivery of their service is essential if the organization wants to obtain a form of competitive advantage.

Process- Refers to the systems used to assist the organization in delivering the service.

Physical evidence- Physical Evidence is the element of the service mix which allows the consumer again to make judgments on the organization. For example, if you walk into a restaurant your expectations are of a clean, friendly environment. 4.1) Recommend marketing mixes for two different segments in consumer markets

Consumer Markets should have fast moving consumer goods which are high in quality and has high durability. The market is represented by all the individuals and households that purchase products, goods and services for their own consumption. There is an increase in the consumer market each year. Marketing mixes for two different segments (consumer market): IT industry: Norton Anti Virus Norton Anti Virus Company specializes on producing the most efficient of Antivirus software targeting to minimize threats of any viruses that may affect a customers pc. To achieve this, the business ensures that it balances the four elements (the four Ps) of the marketing mix. A product or service will have its own different mix of the four Ps. The right mix will achieve marketing objectives and result in customer satisfaction: Product it has to be effective against any latest virus and user friendly for users. Price - the price has to be attractive to ensure enough sales to generate a profit. Place - the place and position of the product in the market is important to compete for market share with other antivirus companies competing in the market Promotion - this has to fit the companys objectives for the product & educate people about the features of protecting ones computer against any virus threats. Online adverts may also be done.

Retail Shop Industry (Marks & Spencer): Marks & Spencer is famous for its clothing & accessories mainly in Europe. The company also has many international operations. The retail company focuses on low prices, and has been committed to upholding their basic value of customer service. Marketing mix for Marks & Spencer would be: Product - is the most important aspect. High quality and neatly done clothing lines for customers of all ages including kids. It should be in line with latest fashion. Price - always low prices to allow greater consumer capacity. Placement - again - general merchandising and one-stop shopping is part of their placement issues. Promotion - Media and print ads and word of mouth.

4.2) Differences in marketing products and services to organizations rather than consumers Organizational market adds value through services and could be non-profit making as well. Marketing products and services to an organization is different due to the fact that those within an organization are usually employees of their assigned departments. This changes the atmosphere to where you will be using more facts and hard data to present in your advertisement. While a visual element will still be used, the photography and artwork usually will want to relate to the reward an organization will receive for doing business with the advertiser. In an organization value and necessity are core concepts you want to implement. When marketing to an organization your segment will go into department channels as well as will need to target and address the proper decision makers. Consumer products and services have a greater focus on creating desires and needs in a more social and less formal fashion. Hard facts may be good to present to the consumer but a focus more on simple functions and social status become core concepts in the consumer market. Demographics and key market channels can be less complex in the consumer market. This in part is due to technology in today's media environment allowing better statistics on segmented marketing channels.

Business-to-business (B2B): describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. Contrasting terms are businessto-consumer (B2C) and business-to-government (B2G). The volume of B2B (Business-to-Business) transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions. The primary reason for this is that in a typical supply chain there will be many B2B transactions involving sub components or raw materials, and only one B2C transaction, specifically sale of the finished product to the end customer. For example, an automobile manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windscreens, and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the consumer, is a single (B2C) transaction. B2B is also used in the context of communication and collaboration. Many businesses are now using social media to connect with their consumers (B2C); however, they are now using similar tools within the business so employees can connect with one another. When communication is taking place amongst employees, this can be referred to as "B2B" communication. Business-to-consumer (B2C, sometimes also called Business-to-Customer) describes activities of businesses serving end consumers with products and/or services. An example of a B2C transaction would be a person buying a pair of shoes from a retailer. The transactions that led to the shoes being available for purchase that is the purchase of the leather, laces, rubber, etc. However, the sale of the shoe from the shoemaker to the retailer would be considered a (B2B) transaction. While the term e-commerce refers to all online transactions, B2C stands for "business-to-consumer" and applies to any business or organization that sells its products or services to consumers over the Internet for its own use. When most people think of B2C e-commerce, they think of Amazon, the online

bookseller that launched its site in 1995 and quickly took on the nation's major retailers. In addition to online retailers, B2C has grown to include services such as online banking, travel services, online auctions, health information and real estate sites. Peer-to-peer sites such as Craigslist also fall under the B2C category. Industrial organizations marketing differs from that of consumers because they have additional needs, for example, the making of profits and legal obligations to their customers.

Different decision-making procedures When a consumer wants to buy a product, he buy whichever he wants but when in organization there are also more people involved in purchasing decisions, and within the organization there may be formal policies and procedures that must be followed. There is also administrative paperwork associated with the purchasing activity, such as order forms and purchase contracts. Derived demand In industrial markets, demand for goods is ultimately derived, in that it depends on the demand for what the buyers are producing. This means that marketers need to pay attention to the markets served by their customers. Marketers of industrial products can play a proactive role in stimulating derived demand by advertising their product directly to final consumers. For example Intel markets its computer chips direct to consumers in the hope that, due to consumer demand, computer manufacturers will buy Intel chips rather than Motorola or non-branded chips. Since demand depends on the health of the customers business, it is liable to fluctuate more than is the case in consumer markets.

Professional buyers In organizations purchasing activity is undertaken by professionals who have access to more information than do consumers. This means that marketing to businesses may be more reliant on technical specifications and the salespeople themselves may need to be more technically aware. In contrast, such elements of the marketing mix as packaging may play less of a role. Marketing products and services to an orginization is different due to the fact that those within an orginization are usually employees of their assigned departments. This changes the atmosphere to where you will be using more facts and hard data to present in your advertisement. While a visual element will still be used, the photography and artwork usually will want to relate to the reward a orginization will receive for doing business with the advertiser. In an orginization value and necessity are core concepts you want to implement. When marketing to an orginization your segment will go into department channels as well as will need to target and address the proper decision makers. Consumer products and services have a greater focus on creating desires and needs in a more social and less formal fashion. Hard facts may be good to present to the consumer but a focus more on simple functions and social status become core concepts in the consumer market. Demographics and key market channels can be less complex in the consumer market. This in part is due to technology in today's media environment allowing better statistics on segmented marketing channels.

The differences between industrial and consumer marketing are as shown in the table below:

Market Characteristics Basically, the significant differences exist between industrial and consumer market characteristics that affect the nature of industrial marketing. These differences are: size of market; geographic concentration; and competitive nature of the markets. Size of the Market: Compared to the great number of households that constitute the mass market for consumer goods and services, In the case of industrial markets, it is common to find less than 20 companies to represent the total market for an industrial product or service. In fact, only three or four customers may comprise the major portion of a total market. For example, for a consumer product like toothpaste or soap, a mass market, consisting of all the households in India, exist. While there are relatively few industrial customers, they are larger in size, purchase larger quantities, and engage in this volume purchasing on a repeat basis. 4.3)Explain how and why international marketing differs from domestic marketing

International marketing refers to globalization & uses international marketing mix strategies. It studies "how" and "why" a product succeeds or fails abroad and how marketing efforts affect the outcome. Multinational, global, and world marketing is all the same thing. Multinational marketing treats all countries as the world market without designating a particular country as domestic or foreign. As such, a company engaging in multinational marketing is a corporate citizen of the world, whereas international marketing implies the presence of a home base. However, the subtle difference between international marketing and multinational marketing is probably insignificant in terms of strategic implications. Domestic marketing is the marketing practices within a marketer's home country. Foreign marketing is the domestic operations within a foreign country. Comparative marketing analytically compares two or more countries' marketing systems to identify similarities and differences. Gyan Kosh Book Publishers (Domestic marketing): Gyan Kosh is a well-known book publishing company in Bangladesh. They print and publish variety genre of books in Bangladesh in the local language Bengali. All their books are in the Bengali language, suited specially for the local population. If they want to export their books to international customers then they must translate all their books to English or other language applicable to the targeted customers. They give their adverts in local news papers. Telenor (International Marketing): Telenor is a multinational telecom company. It has its operations in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Norway. It has almost similar structure in terms of operations in all the countries. Generally all their operations are standardized but there is slight adaptation in terms of phone packages which is designed to meet the local demands. For instance, in Bangladesh they introduced very cheap cellular phones with packages as the country has high poverty rates.

Standardization vs. Adaptation: International marketers and advertisers can approach the market in different ways when advertising a product or service internationally. They can either take a standardized approach,an adapted approach or a mixture of the two approaches. While an international standardized advertisising campaign is used for all markets, an adapted campaign considers the use of different advertisements that are adapted for different markets because of local conditions. However, many different opinions exist about the best way to achieve success in advertising campaigns, and even though research has shown that advertisements of certain products can be standardized worldwide, both of the approaches provide their own unique benefits and weaknesses (Barnes et al. 2004).A primary motivation for a company to standardize its advertising is the desire to create a more homogenous image of the firm and its brand in multiple markets, as a uniformed brand image across markets can lead to enhanced global brand equity. Other advantages of standardization include, economic benefits related to cost savings, the abilities to implement a coordinated strategy and to appeal to cross-markets segments (Taylor, 2006). Moreover, if an international brand is well known, it is more likely to be successful with a standardized approach, as advertisements of these brands are made more to remind and strengthen than to communicate product benefits (Paeet al.2002). However, many scholars point out difficulties in using a standardized approach, and therefore support market tailoring and adaptation to fit the unique dimensions of different international markets. Moreover, it has been argued that different countries and regions differ when it comes to factors such as: culture, consumer tastes, race, disposable income, law, nationalism, technology, society, and occupations. As a result, advocates of the adaptation approach insist that multinational companies must find out how to adjust their advertisement in accordance to these factors (Barneset al.2004). However, both strategies are rejected by various researchers whom emphasize the difficulty in applying them in practice (Vrontis, 2005). Instead, a mixed approach, also known as ac contingency approach, can be used as it offers the potential for variance, depending on the situation (Barneset al. 2004)

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