Role of IMC in the Marketing Process www

Role of IMC in the Marketing Process www. assignmentpoint. com

THE MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS PROCESS MODEL www. assignmentpoint. com

THE ROLE OF IMC IN THE MARKETING PROCESS Marketing Strategy and Analysis A strategic marketing plan is used to guide the allocation of its resources. A strategic marketing plan usually evolves from an organizations overall corporate strategy and serves as a guide for specific marketing programs and policies. Opportunity Analysis Market opportunities areas where there are favorable demand trends, where the company believes customer needs and opportunities are not being satisfied, and where it can compete effectively. Competitive Analysis Competitive advantage, something special a firm does or has that gives it an edge over www. assignmentpoint. competitors. Ways to achieve a competitive advantage include having quality products that command a premium price, providing superior customer service, having the lowest

The Target Marketing Process Identifying Markets with Unfulfilled needs Determining Market segmentation Selecting a Market To target Positioning Through marketing strategies The process (mentioned above) is referred to as target marketing And involves four basic steps; identifying markets with unfulfilled needs, segmenting the market, Targeting specific segments, and positioning one’s product or service through marketing strategies. www. assignmentpoint. com

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Market Segmentation Market segmentation is dividing up a market into distinct groups that (1) have common needs and (2) will respond similarly to a marketing action. The segmentation process involves five distinct steps as follows: – Fining ways to group consumers according to their needs – Finding was to group the marketing actions usually the products offered – available to the organization – Developing a market product grid to relate the market segments to the firms products or actions. – Selecting the target segments toward which the firm directs its marketing actions. www. assignmentpoint. com – Taking marketing actions to reach target segments.

Benefit Segmentation The grouping of consumers on the basis of attributed sought in a product is known as benefit segmentation and is widely used. Selecting a Target marketing process involves two steps: (1) determining how many segments to enter and (2) determining which segments offer the most potential. Undifferentiated marketing involves dividing the market on the basis of ignoring segment differences and offering just one product or service to the entire market. Differentiated marketing involves marketing in a number of segments, developing separate marketing strategies for each. The Viagra ads in Exhibit 2 -10 reflect this strategy. Notice how the two ads differ given alternate target markets and media. www. assignmentpoint. com Concentrated marketing is used when the firm selects one segment and

Market Positioning has been defined as “the art and science of fitting the product of fittingtheproductorservicetooneormoresegmentsofthe broad market in such way aas set meaningfully toit apart from competition. Approaches to Positioning strategies generally focus on either the consumer or the competition. Developing a Positioning strategy: According to Trout and ager’s oduct resk a position for Riesacreate to themselves six basic questions. What position, if any, do we already have in the prospects mind What position do we want to won What companies must be outgunned if we are to establish that www. assignmentpoint. com position. Do we have enough marketing money to occupy and hold the

Positioning platform can be broken into a six step process 1. 2. 3. 4. Identifying competitors: This process requires broad thinking Competitors may not be just those products and/or brands that fall into our product class or with which we compete directly. Assessing consumers perceptions of competitors. Once we define the competition, we must determine how they are perceived by consumers. Which attributes are important to consumers in evaluating a product and/or brand? Determining competitors positions. After identifying the relevant attributes and their relative importance to consumers. We must determine how each competitor is positioned with respect to each attribute. www. assignmentpoint. com Analyzing the consumers preferences. Our discussion of segmentation note various factors that may

Positioning platform can be broken into a six step process/Cont… 5. Making the positioning decision. Going through the first four steps should let us decide which position to assume in the marketplace. Such a decision is not always clear and well defined, however and research may provide only limited input. – Is the segmentation strategy appropriate? – Are there sufficient resources available to communicate the position effectively? – How strong is the competition. – Is the current positioning strategy working? 6. Monitoring thewww. assignmentpoint. com position. Once a position has been established we want to monitor how well it is being maintained in the marketplace.

DEVELOPING THE MARKETING PLAN PROGRAM Product symbolism refers to what a product or brand means to consumers and what they experience in purchasing and using it. For many products, strong symbolic features and social and psychological meaning may be more important than functional utility. Brand Equity, which can be thought of as an intangible asset of added value or goodwill that results from the favorable image, impressions of differentiation, and/or the strength of consumer attachment to a company name, brand name, or trademark. Brand equity allows a brand to earn greater sales volume and/or higher margins than it could without the name, providing the company with a competitive advantage. . Packaging is another aspect of product strategy that has become increasingly important. The package is often the consumers first exposure to the product, so it must make a favorable first impression. www. assignmentpoint. com Price Decisions The price variable refers to what the consumer must give up to

Relating Price to Advertising and Promotion Several interesting findings concerning the interaction of all Relating Price to Advertising and Promotion – Brand with high relative advertising budgets were able to charge premium prices. – Companies with high quality products charged high relative prices for the extra quality. – The positive relationship between high relative advertising and price levels was stronger for products in the late stage of the product life cycle for market leaders and for low cost products. – Companies with relatively high prices and high advertising expenditures showed a higher return on investment than companies with relatively low prices and high advertising budgets. – Companies with high quality products were hurt the www. assignmentpoint. com most, in terms of return on investment, by inconsistent advertising and pricing strategies.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL DECISIONS Marketing channels The place element of the marketing mix, are sets of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use of consumption. Resellers, are critical to the success of a companies marketing program. Direct channels This type of channel arrangement is sometimes used in the consumer market by firms using direct-selling programs such as Avon. Indirect Channels, usually using a network of wholesalers (institutions that sell to other resellers) and/or retailers (which sell primarily to the final consumer) www. Assignment. Point. co m

DEVELOPING PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES: PUSH OR PULL Programs designed to persuade the trade to stock, merchandise, and promote a manufacturers products are part of a Promotional push strategy. the company may use trade advertising to interest whole sellers and retailers and motivate them to purchase its products for resale to their customers. Promotional pull strategy, spending money on advertising and sales promotion efforts directed toward the ultimate consumer. www. Assignment. Point. co m