Marketing Theories

Marketing Theories

If I had asked customers what they wanted, they would have said ‘a faster horse’ – Henry Ford

Almost any introductory level marketing course will start with the explanation of the marketing mix, or the 4Ps, mainly place, promotion, product and price. However, besides this core aspect of the social discipline, professional marketers look at many aspects to promote a business or a non-profit organization, goods and services, or even an idea.

As Crane et al. (2011) explain, the most important questions a producer must answer to be successful is what does the customer want. As a brief reminder, for marketing purposes, need are defined as deprivations of basic necessities, while wants are the form those needs take according to one’s culture and past experiences. Thus, the goal of the marketer is to find out what they are, and then shape the customer’s wants. Typically, a marketing plan must be developed, implementation of which facilitates commercial growth. Also, there are four lines of growth: product development, market penetration, market development and diversification. Diversification, in turn, could be related or unrelated to the industry the organization is currently in. Competitive advantage and points of differences must also be kept in mind. Additionally, Eliaz & Spiegler (2011) write that in modern, given the quasi-infinite number of available alternative, positioning (differentiating a product from those of competitors and influencing how it is perceived by consumers) became even more significant for success. The authors also point out an amazing fact: marketing cannot change consumer preferences, as they are set. One assumes that the statement is not to be understood simplistically, but as related to truths such as impossible need creation (no matter how amazing an advertisement, a bald person will refrain from buying hair conditioner).

Naturally, it is impossible for a company to satisfy everybody. Therefore, the focus should be on the target market or target audience, those customers most likely to be interested by the product offered.

I don’t know the rules of grammar… If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular. David Ogilvy(1911–1999), British advertising executive. Image: © Elena.

Interestingly, Crane et al. (2011) note that companies have undergone major changes in this century and the last. For example, in the beginning of the 20th century the focus was on production, then it turned to sales, and finally centered more on the market and the customer. The latest development, and the most important of these is believed by many, to be the transition the social media marketing era. Today, most organizations try to develop an online presence of some sorts. Further, popularity of social networking platforms such as Facebook, twitter and MySpace have resulted in a sort of customer based marketing. On these sites, as well as on YouTube, blogs, wikis, podcasts and other resources, individuals can act as remote promoters (or demoters) of brands they like (or dislike). Of course, this new ability at mass broadcast by the public has also created problems for some companies who have less control on commentaries published about them. But there is also a positive side. To illustrate, most software publishers offer tutorials on their websites which both facilitates use of their programs (increasing customer satisfaction) and enhances customer experience (a key point in the new marketing era). Logically, product placement on popular television shown or brand endorsements by celebrities represent additional means corporations possess to advance their offerings.

Given increased emphasis on customers and customer relationships building and management, information became even more important. Countless psychologists and marketers engage in trend research everyday. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software to keep databases organized has gained prominence, while KM (Knowledge Management) is now a business and management field in its own right. Nonetheless, relationships differ, and purchasing behavior may vary according to state (Kumar et al., 2011).

Regardless of theories, to succeed a product must appeal to customers. For instance, the textbook authors give examples of failed products (such as Coca-Cola’s C2 or Pepsi’s Blue), which went away despite good marketing campaigns because people simply failed to enjoy it.

Obviously, advertising and related activities must be socially responsible. Also, social marketer refers to marketing that is done to promote something that benefits society at large, or at least someone else than the marketer. To illustrate, McKenzie-Mohr (2000) describes how community based social marketing could bring about more ecologically sound behavior, thusly in time, helping the environment. A similar idea was voiced by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill Senator on the Daily Show with John Stewart, who proposed resolving national postal service troubles by a campaign glamourizing the written letter. Potentially, one could argue that such a stance likewise constitutes social marketing.

SWOT analysis is widely used in marketing projects. Image: Copyright © Megan Jorgensen. (Elena). The SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threaths) analysis is a strategic planning technique. According to Wikipedia, it was developed by Albert Humphrey. The first two components represent factors internal to the business, while the last two are external to the firm.

References:

    Crane, F. G., Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W. and Rudelius, W. (2011). Marketing, 8th Can. Ed. McGraw-Hill Ryerson: United States of America.

    Eliaz, K. & Spiegler, R. (2011). Consideration sets and competitive marketing. Review of Economic Studies, 78: 235-62.

    Kumar, V., Sriram, S., Luo, A. M. and Chintagunta, P. K. (2011). Assessing the effect of marketing investments in a business marketing context. Marketing Science, [forthcoming]: 1-48.

    McKenzie-Mohr, D. (2000). Promoting sustainable behavior: An introduction to community-based social marketing. Journal of Social Issues, 56 (3): 543-54.

Copyright © 2011 Megan Jorgensen. All rights reserved.