Marketing Management


 


Topic No. 3


Discuss which brands do you feel successfully target the group “Generation Y”. Which brands do not? What could they do better?


            Generation Y also known as the echo boomers or the millennium generation are considered to be the new type of clients that 21st century companies should be given attention. With the growth of the Generation Y composed of teens and college students of this generation.  They are defined as the linear extension of the market trends noted for the Generation X (Krotz, 2008). It has been noted that Generation Y are known to be highly marketing-savvy group which understands how various industries actively covert their business operations. The brands that targeted Generation Y include cell phone or mobile phone brands such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, I-Phone and other mobile phone brands, computer brands including laptops such as Mac, Dell, Apple, IBM and others, automobile brands like Toyota and sports brands like Nike and Adidas and other high technology brands and gadgets. These brands have been able to effectively target generation Y groups. On one hand, the brands that do not successfully meet the needs of this generation Y include banking industries or financial industries. In order to do better in the marketing arena, these brands should be able to establish their brands well and innovate their products and services to meet the needs of this generation Y market. In the competitive market environment, connecting with the target market is getting more complicated for different industries (McCombs, 2003).  Accordingly, it takes an effective management and approaches to win over the skeptical target market which suggest that it is the moment to forget everything that has been learned regarding marketing and branding (Yalstrow, 2003). It is mentioned that it is the target market that is in control of improving the power of branding. In this regard, it is not the company who brand their target market, but the clients are the one which brands the company and their products and services offered.


 


Reference


Krotz, J (2008). Tough Customers: how to reach Gen y. http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/market-research/tough-customers-how-to-reach-gen-y.aspx#ToughcustomershowtoreachGenY. Retrieve October 22, 2008


 


McCombs, M. (2003) Everything you know about branding is wrong, expert advises: Guess who’s really in charge? Available at [brandharmony.com].  Retrieve October 22, 2008


 


Yastrow, S. (2003) Brand Harmony: Achieving Dynamic Results by Orchestrating Your Customer’s Total Experience. Indiana: Tom Peters Company.


 


 


 


Topic No. 5


Discuss what is meant by the lifetime value of the customer and customer relationship management (CRM). Using examples, what changes do organisations need to make if they totally embraced the concept of lifetime value of customers.


            Good customer relationship is among the top priorities of current marketing approaches of businesses and organizations. Within the marketing, organizations must consider how individual customer needs can be provided so as to provide high levels of customer satisfaction to gain good customer relationship. Furthermore, organizations must be able to identify their specific customer groups clearly. The marketing concept has been able to produce different terms and contexts and this include customer lifetime value. Customer lifetime value is a measurement used to determine how a company can provide greater attention on customer services and long-term customer satisfaction, than giving attention on short-term sales.


Customer relationship management, better known as CRM, is a set of strategic practices that purports finding, marketing to, selling to and servicing customers. CRM is a broadly used term that covers different functions and concepts of organisations in aspects of operational, collaborative and analytical frameworks. There are many benefits the company could derive upon implementation of CRM systems. These benefits are: customers, suppliers and co-suppliers linkage, access, hassle-free communication, and reduction of implementation cycles, centralised and regularised systems upgrade, centralisation of maintenance and enhancement expertise and homogenisation of CRM technology (Zoltners 2001).    


            In order to totally embrace the context of customer lifetime value, the company should consider an organizational change of having a new customer relationship management approach and the management should also establish a new department who will be responsible for computing the customer lifetime value. For instance, being in a saturated market, Nokia should be able to achieve the level of customer satisfaction through having CRM and also by considering the measurement of customer lifetime value.


            Nokia has been able to have a new CRM system which would enable them to know customer needs and satisfy them through their immediate responses. In addition, the company is in need of CRM cycle that would enable the company to easily determine the positive and negative feedbacks of the customers for them to improve their services. In addition, the company is also in need of a CRM cycle that would enable to toe ensure customer satisfaction. In relation to the satisfaction of the customers, Nokia understand the importance of a customer relationship management program.  


 


Reference


 


Zoltners, AA 2001, The Complete Guide to Accelerating Sales Force Performance, AMACOM Division: American Management Association.


 


 


Topic No. 7


When it comes to buying decision process, what are the differences between consumer buying behaviour and that of business-to-business? Why is it important for a marketing manager to know the difference? Discuss using examples.


Customers are said to be loyal when their buying behavior remains consistent to one type of item and completely ignore the pleas of competitors. Indeed, it is a known fact that customer loyalty is beneficial to businesses (Bailey and Schultz, 2000). Customer buying behavior is yet another factor that affects consumer choices and trends. Recognizing consumer behavior’s essentiality to business, marketers attempt to develop means on assessing or measuring how a customer behaves (Bailey and Schultz, 2000). Consumer buying behaviour is said to be different in business-to-business context in a way that consumer buying behaviour tends to have varying attitudes regarding the needs and purpose of buying while the business-to-business approach is an approach which is more on supplier-company relationship.


Business to business is one of the categories of e-commerce that has been characterized as profit-oriented whose aims is to obtain information and retain information that uses different type of motivation in which it has a shorter route of channel in terms of distribution.  In B2B it seeks to realize transactions that necessitate performed financial and commercial activities via the internet while in consumer buying behaviour in tends to follow their desires based on customer self-need. For instance, in buying new sports shores, the individual customer tends to follow their personal attributions than the business attributions.


Accordingly, consumer buying behavior is concerned with the buying of products and services by households and individuals for personal consumptions. For instance, when the individual buyer purchase their daily needs or commodities like foods, clothing and others.  Herein, the main influence of consumer behaviour includes personal aspect, social, cultural and psychological factors.  On one hand, business to business buying behavior is a type which is referred to as industrial buyer behaviour or organizational behavior. Accordingly, business-to-business buying behavior engage in a decision making process in which a company establish the need for purchase goods and services and determine, assess and select among alternative brands as well as suppliers. For instance, if the company would want to acquire small businesses that have good reputation in the market, they will buy all the rights of the products.  Herein, unlike in consumer buying, business to business buyers and sellers tends to negotiate and impact each other in identifying the form of the final business transaction and other elements of the interaction.


 


 


Reference


 


S., & Schultz, D. (2000). Customer/Brand Loyalty in an Interactive Marketplace. Journal of Advertising Research, 40(3), 41.


 


Topic No. 8


“The notion of market segmentation is very important and is in fact marketing’s contribution to business management”.


            I agree with the statement that market segmentation is very essential and has marketing contribution to business management. Accordingly, market segmentation is one of the aspects of marketing; through this an institution will be able to determine the most suitable services to be offered to each of the segment established. Apparently, Baker (1995) believes that market segmentation refers to marketing efforts to group potential buyers by demographic characteristics, geographical region, lifestyle, usage patterns and behavioural factors. Thus, submarkets are frequently established on the basis of income, age, sex, occupation, and complex behavioural dimensions. The successful application of the strategy of product differentiation should result in an increased horizontal share of a generalized market.


Accordingly, the segmentation approach is unique from targeting and positioning. Targeting refers to the selection of which segments or audience to address and the other is the process of designing an accurate marketing mix for each segment (Steenkamp & Hofstede, 2002). The entire intent is to determine the groups of similar market and potential market, to give priority to the groups to address, to give value to customer behaviour and to respond with effective marketing approach which satisfy different needs and demands of each chosen segment.


            Wensley and Weitz (2002) argued that product differentiation refers to the marketing efforts that distinguish a basically homogeneous product from competitors’ products. Methods used to accomplish this include altering the product’s physical characteristics, or branding, advertising, and packaging that is targeted to the stimulation of the individual’s five senses. These promotional appeals can be especially successful in an affluent society. A strategy of market segmentation can aid in developing particular market segments in contrast to a strategy of product differentiation that distinguishes a product among many similar products.


 


Reference


 


Baker, M. (1995) ‘Marketing: Theory & Practice’ 3rd Edition. Macmillan Business,             London


 


Brassington, F & Pettitt, S. (2002) Principles of Marketing 3rd Edition. Prentice Hall London.


 


Steenkamp and Ter Hofstede (2002) “International market segmentation: issues and perspectives”, Intern. J. of Market Research, vol 19, 185-213


 


 


Wensley. R & Weitz. B (2002) Handbook of Marketing. Sage Publications. London.


 


Topic No. 10


Using the Product Life Cycle concept, do you feel brands have finite lives?


Discuss some of special categories of product life cycles.


Product life cycle is a marketing context that deals on how products are being developed until it reaches the target market. With its context, I believe that through PLC, brands have no finite lives.  Since market trends are always changing, the products which are available today may not be available in the market, if the demands have declined. Products have this so-called maturity rate and there are products which are easily decline. Unlike living things, there is no measurement approach to measure the average life of specific brands or products, generally or categorically. Given the vast majority of innovative products and services do not usually make it on the succeeding years; there are products which can stay in the market for 13 years and above. In this regard, in order to sustain the cycle of the products, brand management or proper management is needed. Furthermore, it can be said that the key component of a strong brand is based on the initiation of an integrated approach in which industries are able to convey what they can offer relative to the competition, do what they are offering to the market and confirm it through consistent practice.


Accordingly, having a strong and effective brand and image to attain competitive advantage in the global market and to sustain its strengths and effectiveness, the management of the company must be able to give value to the capabilities of the brand In an organisation, having a strong brand is attributed to having quality products or services. In this regard, the company must be able to provide a pleasant experience for target market to establish a strong and competitive brand image which may lead to their competitive advantage. It is said that the strength of the brand can be established once the company is able to consistently provide the target market quality products and services.


 


Reference


 


Topic No. 12


Discuss the different means of differentiating products and services.


Which ones do you think have the greatest impact on consumer choices?


In your answer, use examples of certain brands that rate highly on a number of these different means of differentiation.


            One of the strategies that a company used to meet the needs of the target market is differentiation strategy.         Product differentiation is known to be the competitive business approach in which companies attempt to gain a competitive position by increasing the perceived value of the products and services relative to the perceived value of other company’s products and services. Products sold by two various companies may be exactly the same, but if clients believe the first is more valuable than the second, then the first product which have a differentiation advantage. The existence of product differentiation is base on the perception of the customer but company’s can take different actions to impact these perceptions.


            Accordingly, differentiation by product means that the company is using their product features as their competitive edge. Herein, the marketed tends to let their customers know that they can deliver what the customer want or need.  On one hand, service differentiation is a good way to establish additional benefit when the offering of the company are very similar to their rival companies’ products or services. For example, in a company like a wholesale electronics company, the competitors tend to sell the same brands and with the same price ranges. In this regard, the company has little or no competitive advantage at all, the process of differentiating in terms of services permits the company to enhance their market appeal by adding valuable services in which the competitor may not offer like free installation of delivery.  Herein, it can be said that in this kind of business, service differentiation is more important.


 


Topic No. 13


Is service marketing different from product marketing. Discuss using examples.


Each industry is subject to marketing elements which influences the company’s function and performance as a whole. Accordingly, such elements are the one’s attributed in determining whether the company has met their organisation objective and if they are able to satisfy their clients (Oliver, 1997). In this regard, there are several approaches which can be considered so as to sustain competitive advantage within the marketing environment. It can be said that most of the marketing service stands out due to its difference from manufactured products. Products are basically the items that industries create, design, produce, and distribute to the consumers. These products may be based from current trends or from more objective marketing researches. In product development, several factors are to be considered. These include the nature, content, material, processes, packaging, and distribution means that will be used for its efficient marketing (Jobber & Fahy, 2006). Products come in various forms like food, drink, appliance, and accommodation. Thus, products are generally regarded as tangible items. In the past, the marketing efforts of most companies are concentrated mainly on the selling of these manufactured items.


            However, at present, businesses and industries have learned to prioritize various economic goods other than those produced by the manufacturing sector. This is also known as services. Unlike products, services are generally intangible. Service involves performance, action, or effort that a customer cannot obtain physically. While both products and services are different in terms of tangibility aspects, these business terms also have similarities. For instance, both require effective marketing (Jobber & Fahy, 2006).


            The only difference between the application of marketing to both products and service is that in service marketing, physical handling is not involved. Services must also be planned and created with care so as to meet consumers’ needs and demands (Lovelock, & Wright, 2002). The degree of marketing needs for products and services can be stressed through an example. Within temporary personnel field for instance, studies are conducted in order to identify the types of skills employees must have or possess. This is because appropriate skills must fit in to various fields and geographical locations of the business. This makes services difficult to sell in comparison to manufactured products. Thus, promotional campaigns to sell services should be more aggressive than when promoting physical goods (Palmer, 2005).


 


Reference


Jobber, D. and Fahy, J. (2006). Foundations of Marketing. (2nd ed).


 


Johnston, R. & Clark, G. (2001). Service Operation Management. 1st Edition. London: Prentice Hall.


Johnston, R. And Clarke, G (2005) Service Operations Management. Chapters 1, 2,3


 


Knod, E. & Schonberger, R. (2001). Operations Management: Meeting Customers’ Demands. 7th Edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin.


 


Lovelock, C. and Wright, L. (2002) Service Marketing and Management.


 


Palmer, A. (2005). Principles of Services Marketing. Chapter 12.


 


Topic No. 15 & 16


A job description of a Marketing Director is shown below:


“A cornerstone position with Disney Land Merchandise, as Marketing Director you will be responsible for the development and implementation of publicity, advertising campaigns and distribution of Disney Toys. With full responsibility for the strategic positioning, public relations, advertising campaign and distribution, the role is critical to the successful launch and profitability of Disney Toys in Hong Kong”.


            As a marketing director, one of my role is to be able to create a marketing and promotional approach to introduce the products to the market. It is an essential aspect in marketing since the company would be able to distribute the information about the new products, product lines as well as the brand and especially the company. Through promotion of the products, the Disney Land in Hong Kong is able to determine their target audience and promotion of the products have a large effect on the sales and revenues of the products, an inefficient promotion approach will generate unpleasant results, hence, the promotional strategy of the company can be considered as their strength or weakness. In addition, the company should also offer doors for opportunities to enhance products through consumer feedback. In case of Disney Toys products so as to increase its sales they must employ aggressive advertising since young children are affected on what they can see on print, media and internet and if the latest Disney toys products are advertised on print and media, the children will most likely to be interested in buying the products. Integrated marketing communication can also be used Communication strategy focuses on the entire relationship aspects of Disney toys towards the target market. This can be done by different communication strategies that will mainly focus on communicating and relating with the target market. It will be done by series of different communication method such as press, advertisement, website, seminars and other events that are related to the said aspects.


 


 


Topic No. 17


What are some of the Public and Ethical issues in Direct Marketing?


Using examples, how are marketing databases used by consumer products marketers?


            There are many communication approaches to market the product or services and this include direct marketing.   Direct marketing is the use of mail, telephone, fax, e-mail, or Internet to communicate directly with or solicit a direct response from business conference market. This tool will be useful to promote Hong Kong for the identification of the preferences of their target market and through this the company may even ask some feedbacks or comments directly from their target market.


            The internet has been a valuable source of information in creating the direct marketing communication approach. It has provided data on marketing mix and IMC and strategies employed by other companies.  Moreover, the internet is also a very good avenue for advertising because many individuals surf the web and many transactions are done through the web.  In addition customers can also subscribe the products or services through its web site (Duncan & Moriarty, 1998).


Perhaps, the most common personalized or direct marketing approach method used by most of the organisation is the internet. In order to communicate with their target market (business conference market) directly, companies like Hong Kong Tourism Industry are developing certain web sites, complete with vital information that will help enhance customer relations or attract potential consumers.  However, direct marketing has some ethical issues to be considered which include the confidentiality and the privacy of their target market. Once the company has been able to know your telephone numbers or even your email address and home address, marketers tend to call, email or send you different mails to market their products. Such approach can be considered as not respecting the privacy of the clients who trust the marketers. In addition, the use of e-mails as part of dissemination of knowledge among business units and staffs may also creates a problem regarding the issue of spam emails. These spam mails are said to threaten security and confidentiality of the clients and customers. This business issue should be considered as an ethical issue which should be given attention by the marketing managers.  


Another issue of direct marketing is transaction security. It is said that transaction security has kept many customers from purchasing products on the Internet. Much resistance has come from privacy issues such as giving credit card number and personal information. There are continual reminders of how unsafe these practices can be, even though secure software programs have been developed and continue to become more protective.


 


Reference


 


Duncan, T & Moriarty, SE 1998. A Communication-Based Marketing Model for Managing Relationships. Journal of Marketing, vol 62, pp. 1-13.


 


 Topic No. 19


a. Discuss some of the key issues facing retailers in Hong Kong.


b. Discuss the opportunities and risks of major brand Manufacturers providing and selling private label products.


            One of the key issues facing retailers in Hong Kong nowadays include the saturation of the market and existence of different manufacturing industries which are adhering to become private label products.   Furthermore, among other key issues of the retailing industries in Hong Kong includes the relevance of market information and industry cost structure information to the competitiveness’ of the market, the role of different stakeholders and the sharing of information.  These issues are able to provide challenges to Hong Kong retailers aiming on gaining competitive advantage. One of the opportunities of the existence of major Brands of manufacturing industries in Hong Kong is it enables the company to gain more loyal customers. However, this brands has a risk of not meeting all the demands and expectations of different customers.  Accordingly, retailing in Hong Kong is likely to continue its competitive advantage with favorable condition to sustain their demands in the future. This includes the low employment wage, rising disposable income, tourism strength which contributed to the manufacturing and retailing industry.


 


 


 Topic No. 18


Discuss the key retail e-commerce lessons for businesses in the Asia-Pacific region.


What are the main differences between pure-click companies and Brick-and-click companies?


            Retail e-commerce lessons for businesses in the Asia-Pacific region, has been considered to focus on how they can be able to market their businesses in the internet or World Wide Web.  Accordingly, the emergence of the internet has paved the way for different types of companies. In the net, there exist, pure-click and brick-and-click companies. Pure click are those industries which have launched a website without any previous existence as an industry while the other one is a kind of business which is an existing firm that create website for ecommerce of e-business purposes.  With the advent of the information technology, specifically the internet, it is said that more and more companies are existing in the online world. The changes in the business market also allows customers to change and become more dependent on online stores and online shopping than go and find something in shopping malls or retail store.  Companies which belong to brick-and click companies include Toyota, Honda while companies like pure-click include Nuffnang and other industries that exist only in the internet.


 


 



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