Key Marketing Concepts and Strategies for Businesses
1. The Importance of Shape, Color, and Design
The physical aspect of a product is crucial. It has two main objectives:
- Individualization: Satisfying the diverse desires of consumers.
- Rationalization: Streamlining manufacturing, use, and sales.
Color is closely associated with form and serves to attract consumers’ attention. Design is an intrinsic characteristic that enhances usability and aesthetics. Examples: Apple products are known for their sleek design and vibrant colors, while IKEA focuses on functional and minimalist design.
2. Quality and Warranty Explained
Product quality refers to the aspects and features of a good or service that determine its ability to meet needs. Example: Sony is often associated with high-quality electronics.
A warranty is a manufacturer’s promise that their products will function as intended.
3. Understanding Packaging
Packaging is the container that holds and presents a product. Its main functions include:
- Protection: Ensuring the product reaches the consumer in good condition.
- Maintenance: Preserving the product’s quality.
- Presentation and Promotion: Enhancing the product’s appeal and facilitating sales.
- Economy: Optimizing costs.
- Meeting Intermediary Needs: Satisfying the requirements of distributors and retailers.
4. Defining the Brand
A brand is a graphic representation that distinguishes a company’s products or services in the market. It creates a sense of value, quality, and trust for consumers.
5. Stages of New Product Development
- Stage 1: Idea Generation: Generating innovative and viable product ideas.
- Stage 2: Idea Screening: Selecting the most promising ideas from the previous stage.
- Stage 3: Concept Development and Testing: Creating a detailed product description in consumer-relevant terms.
- Stage 4: Marketing Strategy and Market Analysis: Developing a marketing plan and estimating economic performance.
- Stage 5: Product Development and Testing: Creating prototypes while considering quality, safety, and cost.
- Stage 6: Test Marketing: Launching the product on a limited scale.
- Stage 7: Product Commercialization: Implementing a full-scale product launch plan.
6. Internal and External Factors Affecting Pricing
Pricing is influenced by various factors, which can be internal or external.
- Internal Factors: Marketing objectives (e.g., product positioning), marketing mix strategy (e.g., high-quality products command higher prices), and costs (e.g., the cost of production sets the minimum selling price).
- External Factors: Market demand, competitive market structure (e.g., rivalry level), product life cycle, stakeholder behavior (e.g., shareholders, suppliers), and legal framework.
7. Distribution Channels: Direct vs. Indirect
A direct channel involves no intermediaries. Examples: Avon and Tupperware sell directly to consumers through home parties.
An indirect channel involves one or more distributors. Example: Seat uses car dealerships to reach the market.
8. Wholesalers, Retailers, and Agents
A wholesaler buys products from manufacturers or other intermediaries for resale, typically not to end consumers.
A retailer sells products directly to final consumers. Example: A neighborhood supermarket.
Agents facilitate sales without taking ownership of the product. Example: A real estate agent.
9. Personal Selling: Advantages and Disadvantages
Personal selling is a direct, interactive form of communication between a seller and a buyer.
Advantages:
- Flexibility: Immediate reaction to consumer responses.
- Adaptability: Tailoring to specific situations.
- Completeness: Full business cycle completion.
- Selectivity: Targeting specific audiences.
- Interactivity: Two-way information flow.
Disadvantages:
- High cost: Training and compensation of sales personnel.
- Slow reach: Time-consuming to reach a large audience.
10. Sales Promotion
Sales promotion involves short-term incentives to modify the target audience’s behavior and boost sales. Key features:
- Incentive-driven: Aimed at changing behavior to increase short-term sales.
- Value-added: Offering something extra beyond the standard product.
- Short-term focus: Prolonged promotions become part of the regular marketing strategy.
11. Public Relations
Public relations activities aim to maintain and protect a company’s or product’s image and foster positive relationships with stakeholders. The main objective is to influence public opinion. Activities include publicity, sponsorships, and press conferences.
- Internal Public Relations (Internal Marketing): Targeting individuals within the organization (employees, managers). Reflected in the “corporate culture.”
- External Public Relations: Targeting individuals outside the organization (shareholders, suppliers, customers).
12. Advertising
Advertising is a paid, impersonal form of communication using mass media to convey a message controlled by the advertiser. Key features:
- Unidentified Public: Information reaches an anonymous audience.
- One-way Communication: A monologue rather than a dialogue.
- Paid by Advertiser: The advertiser pays for space and time.
- Impersonal: Mass media are used to transmit messages.
- Message Controlled by Advertiser: Control over advertising objectives, budget, message design, media channels, and effectiveness.
13. Below-the-Line Marketing and Barter
Below-the-line marketing encompasses communication methods other than traditional mass media advertising. One such method is barter.
Barter involves using space or time in TV programs for advertisements. The advertiser produces the ad, and the program provides free advertising space in exchange.
14. Product Placement
Product placement involves including, displaying, or referencing a product, service, or trademark within a program (series, movies, etc.). It is legal, except for tobacco and medication. Types of product placement:
- Passive: Showing a product in the background (e.g., a milk carton on a table).
- Active: Someone interacting with the product (e.g., someone drinking from the milk carton).
- Active with Details: Someone mentioning the product’s name (e.g., “I will drink Pascual milk.”).
- Active with Allusion: Someone praising the product (e.g., “This Pascual milk is delicious!”).
15. Viral Marketing or Buzz Marketing
Viral marketing aims to turn customers into product advocates. It relies on word-of-mouth through electronic media, social networks, and mobile devices. Advantages include low cost and increased trust compared to traditional advertising. The main drawback is that it can be slow to start and difficult to control.
16. Guerrilla Marketing
Guerrilla marketing involves surprising a small audience with unconventional advertising in their daily activities. Success is achieved when the action generates buzz and amplifies the desired effect through viral marketing.
17. Advergaming and In-Game Advertising
Advergaming uses interactive games to provide continuous exposure to a brand. The game is created specifically for the brand. Example: A racing game that highlights a vehicle’s speed and performance.
In-game advertising involves placing ads within existing games.
Advantages of advergaming include better targeting and measurable results. It is more effective because the player is focused solely on the game.
18. Tryvertising
Tryvertising is an evolution of sampling and product placement. It allows presenting a product or service through testing in a relevant context, directly impacting the target audience’s interest.