Business communication

Business Communication: communication used to promote a product, service, or organisation; relay information within the business; or deal with legal and similar issues. Business Communication encompasses a variety of topics, including Marketing, Branding, Customer relations, Consumer behaviour, Advertising, ublic relations, Corporate communication, Community engagement, !esearch " Measurement, !eputation management, #nterpersonal communication, $mployee engagement, %nline communication, and $vent management. #t is closely related to the fields of professional communication and technical communication. Business is conducted through various channels of communication, including the #nternet, rint & ublications', !adio, (elevision, Ambient media, %utdoor, and )ord of mouth. Business Communication can also refer to internal communication. A communications director will typically manage internal communication and craft messages sent to employees. #t is vital that internal communications are managed properly because a poorly crafted or managed message could foster distrust or hostility from employees.*+, Business Communication is a common topic included in the curricula of Masters of Business Administration &MBA' programs of many universities. (here are several methods of business communication, including:

)eb-based communication - for better and improved communication, anytime anywhere ... e-mails, which provide an instantaneous medium of written communication worldwide; !eports - important in documenting the activities of any department; resentations - very popular method of communication in all types of organi.ations, usually involving audiovisual material, like copies of reports, or material prepared in Microsoft ower oint or Adobe /lash; telephoned meetings, which allow for long distance speech; forum boards, which allow people to instantly post information at a centrali.ed location; and face to face meetings, which are personal and should be succeeded by a written followup.

Marketing

Marketing is an ongoing process of planning and e0ecuting the marketing mi0 & roduct, rice, lace, romotion often referred to as the 1 s' for products, services or ideas to create e0change between individuals and organi.ations. Marketing tends to be seen as a creative industry, which includes advertising, distribution and selling. #t is also concerned with anticipating the customers2 future needs and wants, which are often discovered through market research.

Introduction
A market-focused, or customer-focused, organi.ation first determines what its potential customers desire, and then builds the product or service. Marketing theory and practice is 3ustified in the belief that customers use a product or service because they have a need, or because it provides a perceived benefit. (wo ma3or factors of marketing are the recruitment of new customers &ac4uisition' and the retention and e0pansion of relationships with e0isting customers &base management'. %nce a marketer has converted the prospective buyer, base management marketing takes over. (he process for base management shifts the marketer to building a relationship, nurturing the links, enhancing the benefits that sold the buyer in the first place, and improving the product5service continuously to protect the business from competitive encroachments. /or a marketing plan to be successful, the mi0 of the four 6 s6 must reflect the wants and desires of the consumers or 7hoppers in the target market. (rying to convince a market segment to buy something they don2t want is e0tremely e0pensive and seldom successful. Marketers depend on insights from marketing research, both formal and informal, to determine what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for. Marketers hope that this process will give them a sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing management is the practical application of this process. (he offer is also an important addition to the 1 2s theory. (he American Marketing Association &AMA' states, 6Marketing is an organi.ational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organi.ation and its stakeholders. Marketing methods are informed by many of the social sciences, particularly psychology, sociology, and economics. Anthropology is also a small, but growing influence. Market research underpins these activities. (hrough advertising, it is also related to many of the creative arts. Marketing is a wide and heavily interconnected sub3ect with e0tensive publications. #t is also an area of activity infamous for re-inventing itself and its vocabulary according to the times and the culture.

Concept of Marketing
6Marketing6 is an instructive business domain that serves to inform and educate target markets about the value and competitive advantage of a company and its products. 89alue: is worth derived by the customer from owning and using the product. 8Competitive Advantage:

is a depiction that the company or its products are each doing something better than their competition in a way that could benefit the customer. Marketing is focused on the task of conveying pertinent company and product related information to specific customers, and there are a multitude of decisions &strategies' to be made within the marketing domain regarding what information to deliver, how much information to deliver, to whom to deliver, how to deliver, when to deliver, and where to deliver. %nce the decisions are made, there are numerous ways &tactics' and processes that could be employed in support of the selected strategies. As Marketing is often misinterpreted as 3ust advertising or sales, Chris ;ewton, in What is marketing? &Marketing <elp %nline, =>>?', defined marketing as every strategy and decision made in the following twelve areas:

Identifying and quantifying the need in the marketplace Identifying and quantifying the target markets Identifying the optimum cost effective media online and offline - to reach the target markets Reviewing the priorities of the product offering in your overall product mix matrix Identifying and developing the most effective distribution channels be they wholesaler networks partnering alliances franchising or any number of conduits to the market! "esting different ways of packaging the concepts or products to find their most #easyto-sell# form "esting to find the optimum pricing strategies $eveloping effective promotional strategies and effective advertising and supporting collateral offers and launch strategies $eveloping and documenting the sales process %inding the optimum execution of the sales process through testing of selling scripts people selection supporting collateral skills and attitudinal training tracking measuring and refining &nsuring that sales pro'ections reflect realistic production capacities $eveloping nurture programs to optimise the lifetime value of the customer

(he goal of marketing is to build and maintain a preference for a company and its products within the target markets. (he goal of any business is to build mutually profitable and sustainable relationships with its customers. )hile all business domains are responsible for accomplishing this goal, the marketing domain bears a significant share of the responsibility. )ithin the larger scope of its definition, marketing is performed through the actions of three coordinated disciplines named: 8 roduct Marketing:, 8Corporate Marketing:, and 8Marketing Communications:.

Two levels of marketing

7trategic marketing: attempts to determine how an organi.ation competes against its competitors in a market place. #n particular, it aims at generating a competitive advantage relative to its competitors. %perational marketing: e0ecutes marketing functions to attract and keep customers and to ma0imi.e the value derived for them, as well as to satisfy the customer with prompt services and meeting the customer e0pectations. %perational Marketing includes the determination of the porter2s five forces

Four Ps
#n the early +@A>s, rofessor ;eil Borden at <arvard Business 7chool identified a number of company performance actions that can influence the consumer decision to purchase goods or services. Borden suggested that all those actions of the company represented a 8Marketing Mi0:. rofessor $. Berome McCarthy, also at the <arvard Business 7chool in the early +@A>s, suggested that the Marketing Mi0 contained 1 elements: product, price, place and promotion. #n popular usage, 6marketing6 is the promotion of products, especially advertising and branding. <owever, in professional usage the term has a wider meaning which recogni.es that marketing is customer-centered. roducts are often developed to meet the desires of groups of customers or even, in some cases, for specific customers. $. Berome McCarthy divided marketing into four general sets of activities. <is typology has become so universally recogni.ed that his four activity sets, the /our s, have passed into the language. (he four s are:

Product( "he product aspects of marketing deal with the specifications of the actual goods or services and how it relates to the end-user#s needs and wants! "he scope of a product generally includes supporting elements such as warranties guarantees and support! Pricing( "his refers to the process of setting a price for a product including discounts! "he price need not be monetary - it can simply be what is exchanged for the product or services e!g! time energy psychology or attention! Promotion( "his includes advertising sales promotion publicity and personal selling branding and refers to the various methods of promoting the product brand or company! Placement )or distribution*( refers to how the product gets to the customer+ for example point of sale placement or retailing! "his fourth , has also sometimes been called Place referring to the channel by which a product or services is sold )e!g! online vs! retail* which geographic region or industry to which segment )young adults families business people* etc! also referring to how the environment in which the product is sold in can affect sales!

(hese four elements are often referred to as the marketing mi0,*=, which a marketer can use to craft a marketing plan. (he four s model is most useful when marketing low value consumer products. #ndustrial products, services, high value consumer products re4uire ad3ustments to this model. 7ervices marketing must account for the uni4ue nature of services. #ndustrial or

B=B marketing must account for the long term contractual agreements that are typical in supply chain transactions. !elationship marketing attempts to do this by looking at marketing from a long term relationship perspective rather than individual transactions. As a counter to this, Morgan, in Riding the Waves of Change &Bossey-Bass, +@??', suggests that one of the greatest limitations of the 1 s approach 6is that it unconsciously emphasi.es the insideCout view &looking from the company outwards', whereas the essence of marketing should be the outsideCin approach6. ;evertheless, the 1 s offer a memorable and workable guide to the ma3or categories of marketing activity, as well as a framework within which these can be used.

Seven Ps
As well as the standard four 2s & roduct, ricing, romotion and lace', services marketing calls upon an e0tra three, totaling seven and known together as the e0tended marketing mi0. (hese are:

People( -ny person coming into contact with customers can have an impact on overall satisfaction! .hether as part of a supporting service to a product or involved in a total service people are particularly important because in the customer#s eyes they are generally inseparable from the total service ! -s a result of this they must be appropriately trained well motivated and the right type of person! %ellow customers are also sometimes referred to under #people# as they too can affect the customer#s service experience )e!g! at a sporting event*! Process( "his is the process)es* involved in providing a service and the behaviour of people which can be crucial to customer satisfaction! Physical evidence( /nlike a product a service cannot be experienced before it is delivered which makes it intangible! "his therefore means that potential customers could perceive greater risk when deciding whether to use a service! "o reduce the feeling of risk thus improving the chance for success it is often vital to offer potential customers the chance to see what a service would be like! "his is done by providing physical evidence such as case studies testimonials or demonstrations!

Four New Ps

Personalization: It is here referred customi0ation of products and services through the use of the Internet! &arly examples include $ell on-line and -ma0on!com but this concept is further extended with emerging social media and advanced algorithms! &merging technologies will continue to push this idea forward! Participation: "his is to allow the customer to participate in what the brand should stand for+ what should be the product directions and even which ads to run! "his concept is laying the foundation for disruptive change through democrati0ation of information! Peer-to-Peer: "his refers to customer networks and communities where advocacy happens! "he historical problem with marketing is that it is 1interruptive2 in nature trying to impose a brand on the customer! "his is most apparent in "3 advertising! "hese 1passive customer bases2 will ultimately be replaced by the 1active customer communities2! 4rand engagement happens within those conversations! ,5, is now being referred as 6ocial 7omputing and is likely to be the most disruptive force in the future of marketing!

Predictive modeling: "his refers to algorithms that are being successfully applied in marketing problems )both a regression as well as a classification problem*!

Product

Scope

4readth -- number of product lines in a range! $epth -- number of product items in a product line!

Steps in product design

$esign and development of product ideas! 6election of and sifting through product ideas! $esign and testing of product concept! -nalysis of business instead of product concept! $esign and testing of emotional product!

Packaging

Requirements of good packaging

%unctional - effectively contain and protect the contents ,rovide convenience during distribution sale opening use reuse etc! 4e environmentally responsible 4e cost effective -ppropriately designed for target market &ye-catching )particularly for retail8consumer sales* 7ommunicate attributes and recommended use of the product and package 7ompliant with retailers# requirements ,romotes image of enterprise $istinguishable from competitors# products 9eet legal requirements for product and packaging ,oint of difference in service and supply of product! %or a perfect product perfect colour!

Forms of packaging

Specialty packaging : emphasi0es the elegant character of the product Packaging for double-use

Combination packaging two or more products packaged in the same container Kaleidoscopic packaging : packaging changes continually to reflect a series or particular theme Packaging for immediate consumption : to be thrown away after use Packaging for resale : packed into appropriate quantities for the retailer or wholesaler

Trademarks

Significance of a trademark

$istinguishes one company#s goods from those of another 6erves as advertisement for quality ,rotects both consumers and manufacturers /sed in displays and advertising campaigns /sed to market new products

Brands
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that distinguishes products and services from competitive offerings. A brand represents the consumers2 e0perience with an organi.ation, product, or service. A brand has also been defined as an identifiable entity that makes a specific promise of value. Co-branding involves marketing activity involving two or more products.

Pricing
ricing refers to the amount of money e0changed for a product. (his value is determined by utility to the consumer in terms of money and5or sacrifice that the consumer is prepared to give for it.

Objectives

Increase sales volume Increase revenue -chieve or increase profits Increase or maintain market share &liminate competition -chieve advantages of mass production

Factors influencing price-determination

,roduction and distribution costs 6ubstitute goods available ;ormal trade practices %ixed prices Reaction of distributors Reaction of consumers ;ature of demand(
o

elastic8inelastic

%orm of market(
o o o o

,erfect competition 9onopolistic competition 9onopoly <ligopoly

Steps to determine price

$etermine market share to be captured 6et up price strategy &stimate demand &valuate competitors# reactions

Distribution (Place

C annels

9anufacturer to consumer )most direct* 9anufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer )traditional* 9anufacturer to agent to retailer to consumer )current* 9anufacturer to agent to wholesaler to retailer to consumer 9anufacturer to agent to customer ) ex ( $7= -9.-> *

Manufacturers
Reasons for direct selling met ods

9anufacturer wants to demonstrate goods! .holesalers retailers and agents not actively selling!

9anufacturer unable to convince wholesalers or retailers to stock product! ?igh profit margin added to goods by wholesalers and retailers! 9iddlemen unable to transport!

Reasons for indirect selling met ods

9anufacturer does not have the financial resources to distribute goods! $istribution channels already established! 9anufacturer has no knowledge of efficient distribution! 9anufacturer wishes to use capital for further production! "oo many consumers in a large area+ difficult to reach! 9anufacturer does not have a wide assortment of goods to enable efficient marketing! $irect on-selling advantages!

! olesalers
Reasons for using " olesalers

4ear risk of selling goods to retailer or consumer 6torage space $ecrease transport costs @rant credit to retailers -ble to sell for the manufacturers @ive advice to manufacturers 4reak down products into smaller quantities

Reasons for b#passing " olesalers

=imited storage facilities Retailers# preferences .holesaler cannot promote products successfully $evelopment of wholesalers# own brands $esire for closer market contact ,osition of power 7ost of wholesalers# services ,rice stabilisation

;eed for rapid distribution 9ake more money

!a#s of b#passing " olesalers

6ales offices or branches 9ail orders $irect sales to retailers "ravelling agents $irect <rders

$gents

Commission agents work for anyone who needs their services! "hey do not acquire ownership of goods but receive del credere commission! Selling agents act on an extended contractual basis selling all of the products of the manufacturer! "hey have full authority regarding price and terms of sale! Buying agents buy goods on behalf of producers and retailers! "hey have an expert knowledge of the purchasing function! Brokers speciali0e in the sale of one specific product! "hey receive a brokerage! Factory representatives represent more than one manufacturer! "hey operate within a specific area and sell related lines of goods but have limited authority regarding price and sales terms!

Marketing communications
Marketing communications breaks down the strategies involved with marketing messages into categories based on the goals of each message. (here are distinct stages in converting strangers to customers that govern the communication medium that should be used.

$dvertising
Functions and advantages of successful advertising

"ask of the salesman made easier %orces manufacturer to live up to conveyed image ,rotects and warns customers against false claims and inferior products &nables manufacturer to mass-produce product 7ontinuous reminder /ninterrupted production a possibility Increases goodwill

Raises standards of living )or perceptions thereof* ,rices decrease with increased popularity &ducates manufacturer and wholesaler about competitors# offerings as well as shortcomings in their own!

Objectives

9aintain demand for well-known goods Introduce new and unknown goods Increase demand for well-known goods8products8services

Requirements of a good advertisement

-ttract attention )awareness* 6timulate interest 7reate a desire 4ring about action

%ig t steps in an advertising campaign

9arket research 6etting out aims 4udgeting 7hoice of media )television newspaper radio* 7hoice of actors );ew "rend* $esign and wording 7o-ordination "est results

Personal sales
%ral presentation given by a salesman who approaches individuals or a group of potential customers:

=ive interactive relationship ,ersonal interest -ttention and response Interesting presentation

Sales promotion

7hort-term incentives to encourage buying of products:

Instant appeal -nxiety to sell

An e0ample of this is coupons or a sale. eople are given an incentive to buy, but it does not build customer loyalty, nor encourage repeat buys in the future. A ma3or drawback of sales promotion is that it is easily copied by competition. #t cannot be used as a sustainable source of differentiation.

Marketing Public Relations &MPR'

6timulation of demand through press release giving a favourable report to a product ?igher degree of credibility &ffectively news 4oosts enterprise#s image

Customer focus
Many companies today have a customer focus &or customer orientation'. (his implies that the company focuses its activities and products on consumer demands. Denerally there are three ways of doing this: the customer-driven approach, the sense of identifying market changes and the product innovation approach. #n the consumer-driven approach, consumer wants are the drivers of all strategic marketing decisions. ;o strategy is pursued until it passes the test of consumer research. $very aspect of a market offering, including the nature of the product itself, is driven by the needs of potential consumers. (he starting point is always the consumer. (he rationale for this approach is that there is no point spending !"E funds developing products that people will not buy. <istory attests to many products that were commercial failures in spite of being technological breakthroughs. A formal approach to this customer-focused marketing is known as 7#9A &7olution, #nformation, 9alue, Access'. (his system is basically the four s renamed and reworded to provide a customer focus. (he 7#9A Model provides a demand5customer centric version alternative to the well-known 1 s supply side model &product, price, place, promotion' of marketing management.

,roduct -A 6olution ,romotion -A Information ,rice -A 3alue ,lace -A-ccess

(he four elements of the 7#9A model are:

B! 6olution( ?ow appropriate is the solution to the customer#s problem8needC 5! Information( $oes the customer know about the solutionC If so how and from whom do they know enough to let them make a buying decisionC D! 3alue( $oes the customer know the value of the transaction what it will cost what are the benefits what might they have to sacrifice what will be their rewardC E! -ccess( .here can the customer find the solutionC ?ow easily8locally8remotely can they buy it and take deliveryC

(his model was proposed by Chekitan Eev and Eon 7chult. in the Marketing Management Bournal of the American Marketing Association, and presented by them in Market Feader the 3ournal of the Marketing 7ociety in the GH. (he model focuses heavily on the customer and how they view the transaction.

Product focus
#n a product innovation approach, the company pursues product innovation, then tries to develop a market for the product. roduct innovation drives the process and marketing research is conducted primarily to ensure that a profitable market segment&s' e0ists for the innovation. (he rationale is that customers may not know what options will be available to them in the future so we should not e0pect them to tell us what they will buy in the future. <owever, marketers can aggressively over-pursue product innovation and try to overcapitali.e on a niche. )hen pursuing a product innovation approach, marketers must ensure that they have a varied and multi-tiered approach to product innovation. #t is claimed that if (homas $dison depended on marketing research he would have produced larger candles rather than inventing light bulbs. Many firms, such as research and development focused companies, successfully focus on product innovation &7uch as ;intendo who constantly change the way 9ideo games are played'. Many purists doubt whether this is really a form of marketing orientation at all, because of the e0 post status of consumer research. 7ome even 4uestion whether it is marketing.

-n emerging area of study and practice concerns internal marketing or how employees are trained and managed to deliver the brand in a way that positively impacts the acquisition and retention of customers )employer branding*! $iffusion of innovations research explores how and why people adopt new products services and ideas! - relatively new form of marketing uses the Internet and is called Internet marketing or more generally e-marketing affiliate marketing desktop advertising or online marketing! It typically tries to perfect the segmentation strategy used in traditional marketing! It targets its audience more precisely and is sometimes called personali0ed marketing or one-to-one marketing! .ith consumers# eroding attention span and willingness to give time to advertising messages marketers are turning to forms of permission marketing such as branded content custom media and reality marketing!

"he use of herd behavior in marketing! The Economist reported a recent conference in Rome on the sub'ect of the simulation of adaptive human behavior!FGH 9echanisms to increase impulse buying and get people Ito buy more by playing on the herd instinctI were shared! "he basic idea is that people will buy more of products that are seen to be popular and several feedback mechanisms to get product popularity information to consumers are mentioned including smart-cart technology and the use of Radio %requency Identification "ag technology! - Iswarm-movesI model was introduced by a ,rinceton researcher which is appealing to supermarkets because it can Iincrease sales without the need to give people discounts!I =arge retailers .al-9art in the /nited 6tates and "esco in 4ritain plan to test the technology in spring 5JJK ! <ther recent studies on the Ipower of social influenceI include an Iartificial music market in which some BE JJJ people downloaded previously unknown songsI )7olumbia /niversity ;ew >ork*+ a Lapanese chain of convenience stores which orders its products based on Isales data from department stores and research companies+I a 9assachusetts company exploiting knowledge of social networking to improve sales+ and online retailers who are increasingly informing consumers about Iwhich products are popular with like-minded consumersI )e!g! -ma0on e4ay*!

!reas of marketing speciali"ation

advertising and branding communications database marketing professional selling direct marketing event organi0ation experiential marketing field marketing global marketing international marketing internet marketing industrial marketing market research marketing strategy marketing plan proximity marketing public relations

retailing search engine marketing strategic management