Assignment 01 What is marketing? How marketing is different from selling?

"Marketing is the set of human activities directed at facilitating and consummating exchanges." - Philip Kotler ("Marketing Management") DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SELLING AND MARKETING In general we use marketing and selling as synonyms but there is a substantial difference between both the concepts. It is necessary to understand the differences between them for a successful marketing manager. Selling has a product focus and mostly producer driven. It is the action part of marketing only and has short term goal of achieving market share. The emphasis is on price variation for closing the sale where the objective can be stated, as I must somehow sell the product. Marketing as a concept and approach is much wider than selling and is also dynamic as the focus is on the customer rather than the product. While selling revolves around the needs and interest of the manufacturer or marketer, marketing revolves around that of consumer. It is the whole process of meeting and satisfying the needs of the consumer. According to Prof. Theodore Levitt The difference between selling and marketing is more than semantic. A truly marketing minded firm tries to create value satisfying goods and services which the consumers will want to buy. What is offers for sale is determined not by the seller but by the buyers. The seller takes his cues from the buyer and the product becomes the consequence of the marketing effort, not vice versa. Selling merely concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting the customers to exchange their cash for the companys products, it does not bother about the value satisfaction that the exchange is all about. On the contrary, marketing views the entire business as consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover, create, arouse ad satisfy customer needs. SELLING 1 Emphasis is on the product 2 Company Manufactures the product first 3 Management is sales volume oriented 4 Planning is short-run-oriented in terms of todays products and markets 5 Stresses needs of seller 6 Views business as a good producing process 7 Emphasis on staying with existing technology and reducing costs 8 Different departments work as in a highly separate water tight compartments 9 Cost determines Price 10 Selling views customer as a last link in business

MARKETING

1 Emphasis on consumer needs wants 2 Company first determines customers needs and wants and then decides out how to deliver a product to satisfy these wants 3 Management is profit oriented 4 Planning is long-run-oriented in todays products and terms of new products, tomorrows markets and future growth 5 Stresses needs and wants of buyers 6 Views business as consumer producing process satisfying process 7 Emphasis on innovation on every existing technology and reducing every sphere, on providing better costs value to the customer by adopting a superior technology 8 All departments of the business integrated manner, the sole purpose being generation of consumer satisfaction 9. Consumer determine price, price determines cost 10. Marketing views the customer last link in business as the very purpose of the business

Assignment 02 Marketing mix Companies need to create a successful mix of: 1) The right product 2) Sold at the right price 3) In the right place 4) Using the most suitable promotion. Product: The product has to have the right features - for example, it must look good and work well. The price must be right. Consumer will need to buy in large numbers to produce a healthy profit. The goods must be in the right place at the right time. Making sure that the goods arrive when and where they are wanted is an important operation The appearance of the product - in line with the requirements of the market The function of the product - products must address the needs of customers as identified through market research.

The product range and how it is used is a function of the marketing mix. The range may be broadened or a brand may be extended for tactical reasons, such as matching competition or catering for seasonal fluctuations. Alternatively, a product may be repositioned to make it more acceptable for a new group of consumers as part of a long-term plan. Price Of all the aspects of the marketing mix, price is the one, which creates sales revenue - all the others are costs. The price of an item is clearly an important determinant of the value of sales made. In theory, price is really determined by the discovery of what customers perceive is the value of the item on sale. Researching consumers' opinions about pricing is important as it indicates how they value what they are looking for as well as what they want to pay. An organization's pricing policy will vary according to time and circumstances. Crudely speaking, the value of water in the Lake District will be considerably different from the value of water in the desert.

Place Although figures vary widely from product to product, roughly a fifth of the cost of a product goes on getting it to the customer. 'Place' is concerned with various methods of transporting and storing goods, and then making them available for the customer. Getting the right product to the right place at the right time involves the distribution system. The choice of distribution method will depend on a variety of circumstances. It will be more convenient for some manufacturers to sell to wholesalers who then sell to retailers, while others will prefer to sell directly to retailers or customers. The promotion Promotion is the business of communicating with customers. It will provide information that will assist them in making a decision to purchase a product or service. The razzmatazz, pace and creativity of some promotional activities are almost alien to normal business activities. The cost associated with promotion or advertising goods and services often represents a sizeable proportion of the overall cost of producing an item. However, successful promotion increases sales so that advertising and other costs are spread over a larger output. Though increased promotional activity is often a sign of a response to a problem such as competitive activity, it enables an organization to develop and build up a succession of messages and can be extremely cost-effective.

Example of Nokia Nokia is one of the leading cellular phone providers across India. Have a look at its marketing mix in this article. 1. PRODUCT

Variety: In every series of Nokia there are large numbers of sets thus large variety Quality: Nokia gain brand personality and market shares of 35% because of its quality. Design: Nokia sets are of various designs such as flip sets, Flat sets, Slide sets, Sets with rotating Camera etc. Features: Each set of Nokia has its own features. 2. Price Prices start from mere Rs.1200 to more than Rs.50, 000 to suit all class of people.

Nokia also offer cash allowances. It uses skimming price strategy. 3. Promotion Advertising Through TV, Sign boards, Bill boards, Radio and Newspaper, Broachers, Posters Dummies and display stands. Personal selling By product training to Distributer (what is product). Sale promotion Gift like Yamaha bike, Philips TV, Mitsubishi split AC, watches and digital diary, With C7 mobile offer 2500Rs original Blue tooth free .

4. Place Nokia products are available at Nokia gallery. Established mobile phone dealership..

Assignment 03 Branding and brand development strategies Speaking of brands one of the Indian brands Ive been following carefully since last few years is Fastrack. Let me just inform readers my liking for Fastrack in not because I am fond of fancy, youthful and peppy products, its because I believe it gave Indian youth, fed up of wearing cheap, duplicate copies of western products, an affordable designer brand. Multibrands: Creating brands within same product category. Launched in 1998 as a sub-brand of Titan (A Tata Company), Fastrack targeted the urban youth watch market, leveraging the brand equity of Titan to enter a new category. I believe Tatas did this because Titan was a sophisticated brand and they didnt want to confuse the customers by introducing peppy, youthful products under same brand. A new brand (Fastrack) was created within same product category (watches). Brand Extension: Extending an existing brand name to new product categories. Realizing the potential of the Urban Youth market Fastrack was spun off as an independent brand in 2005. Indian youth responded well to the refreshingly different and affordable products. Fastrack diversified into eye gear (hired John Abraham as brand ambassador) and currently is the largest sunglass brand in the country. Further exploiting the target segment, Fastrack has now ventured into new categories of bags, accessories, belts, wallets and adventure gear. Existing brand (Fastrack) was extended to newer (sun glasses, bags, belts) product categories.

Line Extension: Extending an existing brand name to new forms, colors, sizes or flavors of an existing product category. Huge collection of watch and eye gear under various categories introduced by Fastrack over the years, for example in watch segment army collection, sports collection, bikers collection etc. Latest line extension in both eye gear and watch segment is the new Hip-hop line (visit www.fastrack.in) New Brands: Creating a new brand name when entering a new product category. No example in Fastracks context, but if tomorrow Fastrack decides to sell apparels as well it may create a new brand to enter this product category.

Assignment 04: Market segmentation Market segmentation involves grouping your various customers into segments that have common needs or will respond similarly to a marketing action. Each segment will respond to a different marketing mix strategy, with each offering alternate growth and profit opportunities. Some ways you can segment your market include the following;

Demographics which focuses on the characteristics of the customer. For example age, gender, income bracket, education, job and cultural background. Psychographics which refers to the customer group's lifestyle. For example, their social class, lifestyle, personality, opinions, and attitudes. Behaviour which is based on customer behaviour. For example, online shoppers, shopping centre customers, brand preference and prior purchases. Geographical location such as continent, country, state, province, city or rural that the customer group resides. Example: Fast Track does segmentation on basis of Demographic (Gender) that is male and female and also fashion obsessed youngsters that is psychographics and behavioural segmentation.

Targeting After segmenting the market based on the different groups and classes, you will need to choose your targets. No one strategy will suit all consumer groups, so being able to develop specific strategies for your target markets is very important. There are three general strategies for selecting your target markets:

Undifferentiated Targeting: This approach views the market as one group with no individual segments, therefore using a single marketing strategy. This strategy may be useful for a business or product with little competition where you may not need to tailor strategies for different preferences. Concentrated Targeting: This approach focuses on selecting a particular market niche on which marketing efforts are targeted. Your firm is focusing on a single segment so you can concentrate on understanding the needs and wants of that particular market intimately. Small firms often

benefit from this strategy as focusing on one segment enables them to compete effectively against larger firms.

Multi-Segment Targeting: This approach is used if you need to focus on two or more well defined market segments and want to develop different strategies for them. Multi segment targeting offers many benefits but can be costly as it involves greater input from management, increased market research and increased promotional strategies.

For example: Fast Track targets youngster between age group of 18-30. But now-a-days fast track is also targeting children under the age group of 11-20 who accounts for 42% of watch buying in India. Positioning Positioning is developing a product and brand image in the minds of consumers. It can also include improving a customer's perception about the experience they will have if they choose to purchase your product or service. Effective positioning involves a good understanding of competing products and the benefits that are sought by your target market. It also requires you to identify a differential advantage with which it will deliver the required benefits to the market effectively against the competition. Business should aim to define themselves in the eyes of their customers in regards to their competition. For example: Fast track has positioned itself in the mind of customers by bringing variety at an affordable price. Now-a-days its advertisement says How many you have?

Differentiation Product differentiation is distinguishing one product or service from another that you offer or from the products of the competing business down the street. Differentiation is merely creating the perception of a difference, even if there really is none. You are simply trying to make your product more desirable to a niche market by listing the differences between your product and another. When using product differentiation to reach your target audience, compile a list of what makes your product better than the rest. This list should be tailored to the consumers you are trying to reach. Some examples are differences in quality, price, features, or design. You may also want to reveal the limits of the competing product. Remember that the purpose of product differentiation is to make your product appear different even if it is very similar to competitors products. Your job is to take a stance in advertising that influences customers perceptions of your product. For successful product differentiation, you must make consumers believe that your item is the best out there. For example: Fast Track has come out with cool mesh straps which no other Indian company has company has come out with and also wrist hugging cases which are also an innovation in Indian market. Recently Fast Track launched oversized displays which are a huge success in Indian market.