What is Marketing?Marketing — incudes all the activities that it takes to create an offer, communicate and deliver it to make an exchange possible.Four Eras of US MarketingProduction EraProducing in bulk and there was plenty of demandConcerned about where to store the inventory, and how to distribute those goods.Selling EraMarketing Concept EraCustomer OrientationService OrientationProfit OrientationCustomer Relationship EraWill look after existing and new customers.Service with a smileThe cost of acquiring a new customer is 5x the cost of retaining one. Here’s how to keep them:Build trustEmphasize the long termListenTreat your customers like starsShow appreciationRemember employees are customers too!NonProfit MarketingNon profit marketing tactics include:FundraisingPublic RelationsSpecial CampaignsEcological practicesChanging public opinions and attitudesIncreasing organizational membership.The Four P’s-ProcuHow they distribute the items and how the customers receive it.-PromotionDeveloping a ProductProductConcept TestingGoing to the target market and describing about the product in details and learning about potential customer’s view.Test MarketingWhen marketers take some prototypes and go back to the same group of potential customers that they had visited during concept testing to get feedback.Brand NameA word or a symbol that distinguishes one seller from the other.CommercializationProducing the item in bulk and set up contracts with the dealers and retailers.Pricing and Placing a ProductPricing products depends on many factors:Competitor’s pricesProduction CostsDistributionHigh or low price strategiesMiddlemen are important in place strategies because getting a product to consumers is critical.Promoting the ProductPromotion— includes all the tactics that marketers use to inform and motivate people to buy the productPromotion Includes:AdvertisingPersonal SellingPublic RelationsWord of mouthSales promotions.Perfecting PromotionGet customers emotional about your productBe a likeable salespersonTangled web of promotionMarket Research ProcessMarketing Research— helps marketers in analyzing the market to find challenges, opportunities, and information that can be used in making decisions.Defining the problem or opportunity and determining the present situationCollecting research dataAnalyzing the dataChoosing the best solution and implementing it.Defining the problem or opportunityWhat’s the present situation?What are the alternatives?What information is needed?How should the information be gatheredCollecting Secondary Research DataSecondary Data— information that is collected by the government that is published in journals, magazines, or other publicationsPrimary Data— survey, phone call, or focus groups.Focus GroupAnalyzing the data and implementing the decision.Scanning the Market EnvironmentEnvironmental Scanning— the process of identifying factors that affect marketing success.Factors involved in the environmental scan include:Global FactorsTechnological factorsSociocultural factorsCompetitive factorsEconomic factors.The ABC’s Of MarketingAlways be customer-focusedBenchmark against the best firmsContinuously improve performanceDevelop the best value packageEmpower your employeesFocus on relationship buildingGoal achievement is the reward.The consumer and B2B MarketConsumer MarketBusiness-to-Business (B2B)Marketing to consumersMarket Segmentation— dividing the market into different segments (groups) based on similar characteristics.Target Marketing— choosing one or more market segments and then focusing on those groups of customers.Segmenting the Consumer MarketGeographic SegmentationDemographic Segmentation— characteristics of the population such as age, gender, ethnicity, hobbies, etc.Psychographic SegmentationBenefit SegmentationVolume (Usage) Segmentation— targets people who make bulk purchasesMarketing to Small SegmentsNiche Marketing— finding a small segment of the market that is still profitable for the business.One-to-One Marketing— when marketers or a business focuses on individual customers in trying to meet their needs.Mass MarketingRelationship Marketing— they also try to learn as much as possible about individual customers and provide customized products or services.Steps in the consumer decision-making processProblem recognitionSearch for informationEvaluating alternativesPurchase decisionPost-purchase evaluationBusiness-to-Business Market (B2B)B2B marketers include:ManufacturersWholesalers and retailersHospitals, schools and charitiesGovernmentB2B Market DifferencesThere are relatively few customersCustomers tend to be large buyersMarkets are geographically concentratedBuyers are more rational than emotionalSales are directProduct DevelopmentValue — a good quality product at a fair priceTotal Product OfferNot all products are recession proofDistributed Product DevelopmentDistributed Product DevelopmentOutsourcingUnderstanding Product LinesProduct Line — when a business offers a variety of products that are intended for similar market.Product Mix — when a business offers a variety of products that may not be related and may not be intended for a similar market.Offers diversification.Product DifferentiationClassifying consumer goods and servicesConvenience goods and services— the goods and services that people by more frequently and at their convenience.Shopping goods and services — people do comparison and try to see an overall value when they purchase the goods or services.Specialty goods and services — unique products or services. There is no substitute.Unsought goods and services — people don’t look for these products or services until they need them.Identifying consumer goods classificationsHow would you classify these consumer products?Beautyrest mattress— shopping goodHonda accord — shopping goodMcDonald’s Big Mac — convenienceRolls Royce automobiles — specialtyOreo cookies — convenienceStandford University Degree — specialtyPet RocksGarbage Pail KidsMood RingsChia PetsClassifying industrial goods and servicesIndustrial goodsIndustrial goods include:InstallationsCapital itemsAccessory equipmentSuppliesServiceUses of packagingPackaging changes the productKey functions of packagingBundling — when they combine one or more items to give certain value.Fair Label and Packaging act— all food and drug items must provide the list of ingredients, any side effects, etc.Understanding