Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix
The marketing mix is generally accepted as the use and specification of the four Ps
describing the strategic position of a product in the marketplace. Although some
marketers have added other Ps, such as personnel and packaging, the fundamental of
marketing typically identifies the four Ps of the marketing mix as referring to:
Q. No.2. Why should a firm select a target market before developing a specific
marketing mix?
Ans. Targeting
Identification of market segments and tailoring the marketing mix to meet segment needs
Target marketing is the identification of attractive market segments and tailoring the
marketing mix to match the needs of target customers. This contrasts with mass
marketing, whereby the marketing mix is vaguely aimed at all customers. A specific
target market is a homogeneous group of customers to whom an organization wishes to
appeal; it must be large enough to be profitable, and its members must have sufficient
disposable income to spend on the goods, services, or ideas.
What position does your product hold in the minds of your current and potential
customers?
Positioning is the concept of defining what role the brand will play in enhancing
customers' lives and then highlighting specific brand attributes to best match consumer
needs.
• Ways to position:
o Understand how customers perceive key dimensions of your brand, both
tangible and intangible, relative to competitors' brands.
Price, Taste, Design and look of product are tangible benefits.
Whereas feelings such as trust and confidence are intangible
benefits products can have.
o Understand which needs your target audience wishes to satisfy with your
brand.
o Position or reposition your brand to meet various target markets' needs,
and manipulate the Four P's accordingly.
Ans. It would seem to be a given that no strategic plan – nor any marketing plan – can be
developed without a clear view of objectives. After all, if you don't know where you're
going, how do you know how to get there?
The problem is that too many objectives are flawed by being unrealistic, unachievable,
or just plain wishful thinking. Too often, the programs that stem from the stated
objectives bear no relationship to the objectives themselves. And strategic and marketing
plans, remember, are really the same thing, simply because you can’t have a strategic
plan except in terms of the market you serve.
In setting objectives, the primary consideration is your vision of the nature of your
practice. What kind of firm do you want to be? How do you mean the firm to serve the
personal and professional needs of you and your partners (and not to be overlooked, your
staff)? How do you mean to be perceived by your clientele? And most significantly, how
do you mean to serve the needs of your marketplace?
• Firm Environment. Nothing -- not even profitability -- is more important than the
kind of firm you are or want to be. Without a firm environment that's satisfying
and fulfilling to its partners and staff, there will be no growth or profitability.
• Market. There are three aspects of a market that must be considered -- its
needs, its size, and its location -- and all three must be viewed carefully in
formulating objectives. What are the parameters of the market's needs – and
opportunities -- that you're prepared to serve effectively? Where is the market
going, and are you in tune with it? How large a market can you realistically serve?
What geographical limitations are realistic?
• Skills and staffing. The decision to add or develop staff and skills is a function
of both the firm’s partners’ own vision, and the needs of the marketplace. The
decision should be a specific element of defining objectives. There's always
the danger, too, of successfully achieving marketing objectives too soon, and
thereby outrunning your ability to serve a new or growing clientele. It makes
little sense to do a successful job of increasing your tax or audit business if
you can't find a sufficient number of tax or audit specialists to serve your new
clientele.
Consider, as well, those elements that are beyond individual control. One can't
control, for example, the national economy, which can throw the best formulated
objectives awry. An accounting or legal practice can be enhanced or diminished by a new
law or regulation, or a new FASB change. Opportunities for professionals are generated
or obliterated regularly. This is why objectives are never more than guidelines that serve
to define a course of action, whether in marketing or otherwise.
One of the primary arguments to promote New Media Marketing is the premise that
traditional advertising is losing its influence on consumers. Backed by statistical evidence
demonstrating a growing trend of consumers making purchasing decisions off Internet
research and referrals. These advocates strongly adhere to the notion that consumers are
more inclined to believe feedback from like-minded peers than corporate marketing
verbiage dispersed through traditional television, radio, direct mail, or newspaper
advertising.
• An inability to transmit tacit knowledge (or perhaps it can only transfer bad tacit).
Corporate propaganda.
• The manipulation of large groups of people through media outlets, for the benefit
of a particular political party and/or group of people.
• One of the biggest critics in media's history, brought up the idea that "the medium
is the message."
• Bias, political or otherwise, towards favoring a certain individual, outcome or
resolution of an event
This view of central media can be contrasted with lateral media, such as email
networks, where messages are all slightly different and spread by a process of lateral
diffusion.
Q.No.5. How does a firm’s corporate culture influence the performance of its
personnel?
Senior management may try to determine a corporate culture. They may wish to impose
corporate values and standards of behavior that specifically reflect the objectives of the
organization. In addition, there will also be an extant internal culture within the
workforce. Work-groups within the organization have their own behavioral quirks and
interactions which, to an extent, affect the whole system. Task culture can be imported.
For example, computer technicians will have expertise, language and behaviors gained
independently of the organization, but their presence can influence the culture of the
organization as a whole
When one wants to change an aspect of the culture of an organization one has to keep in
consideration that this is a long term project. Corporate culture is something that is very
hard to change and employees need time to get used to the new way of organizing. For
companies with a very strong and specific culture it will be even harder to change.
The following six guidelines for cultural change, these changes are in line with the eight
distinct stages mentioned.
In order to make a cultural change effective a clear vision of the firm’s new strategy,
shared values and behaviors is needed. This vision provides the intention and direction
for the culture change.
It is very important to keep in mind that culture change must be managed from the top of
the organization, as willingness to change of the senior management is an important
indicator. The top of the organization should be very much in favor of the change in order
to actually implement the change in the rest of the organization. Provide a framework
with five different ways of thinking about change.
In order to show that the management team is in favor of the change, the change has to be
notable at first at this level. The behavior of the management needs to symbolize the
kinds of values and behaviors that should be realized in the rest of the company. It is
important that the management shows the strengths of the current culture as well; it must
be made clear that the current organizational does not need radical changes, but just a few
adjustments.
Q. No.6. What are the differential advantages for each of these? Explain your
answer.
Ans. Differential advantages can be based on a distinctive image new product or features
product quality, Customer service, low price availability and other factors.
The differential advantage of my university is that I want to realize that how much my
university is beneficial for me. It is very affordable near to my home the quality of
education is superior to others
I like dawn magazine because it provides latest information about fashion, current affairs,
gossips its price with in range.
A local printing service is better than other services because it safe time and use better
quality papers have low price, availability of all other kinds of stationary.