Marketing Guide

Prepared by:
Disclaimer
We are now entering what usually is one of the most testing phases of life at a B-School; the
summer placements. But don’t worry, we’ve got your back! To help you prepare for your
interviews, we have put together the marketing concepts that we feel are relevant and
important.

We strongly encourage you to refer as many sources as possible to make sure that you put your
best foot forward and come out all guns blazing for the summers. An attempt to include a few
key online resources, tools and material has been made in the Appendix, and may be used as a
starting point to enhance your marketing knowledge base.

However, it must be noted that this guide is by no means a replacement of your course
material and should not be used for your academic purposes.

Cheers!

Team Not just Marketing 2016-17

 Understanding Marketing and Selling

In the words of Peter Drucker, “The aim of Marketing is to make Selling superfluous”.

The typical goal of marketing is to generate interest in the product and create leads or
prospects.
Marketing activities include:
• Consumer research to identify the needs of the customers
• Product development – designing innovative products to meet existing or
latent needs
• Advertising the products to raise awareness and build the brand.
• Pricing products and services to maximize long-term revenue.

On the other hand, sales activities are focused on converting prospects to actual paying
customers. Sales involves directly interacting with the prospects to persuade them to
purchase the product.
Marketing thus tends to focus on the general population (or, in any case, a large set of
people) whereas sales tends to focus on individuals or a small group of prospects.

How do they differ?

The selling concept takes an inside-out perspective. It starts with the factory, focuses on
the company‘s existing products, and calls for heavy selling and promoting to produce
profitable sales.

The marketing concept takes an outside-in perspective. It starts with a well-defined

market, focuses on customer needs, coordinates all the activities that will affect
customers, and produces profits through creating customer satisfaction.

Marketing Selling
Customer focused Product focused
Profit through customer satisfaction Profit through sales volume maximization
Emphasis on product planning and Emphasis on selling the product already
development produced
 Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Not everyone likes the same cereal, restaurant, college, or movie. Therefore, marketers
start by dividing the market into segments. They identify and profile distinct groups of
buyers who might prefer or require varying product and service mixes.

After identifying market segments, the marketer decides which present the greatest
opportunities—what are its target markets.

For each, the firm develops a market offering that it positions in the minds of the target
buyers as delivering some central benefit(s). Volvo develops its cars for buyers to whom
safety is a major concern; positioning its vehicles as the safest a customer can buy.

Segmentation
The process of defining and subdividing a large homogenous market into clearly
identifiable segments having similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics. Its
objective is to design a marketing mix that precisely matches the expectations of
customers in the targeted segment. Few companies are big enough to supply the needs
of an entire market; most must breakdown the total demand into segments and choose
those that the company is best equipped to handle

Four basic factors that affect market segmentation are

• Clear identification of the segment,

• Measurability of its effective size,
• Its accessibility through promotional efforts, and
• Its appropriateness to the policies and resources of the company.

Segmentation may be done on several bases, these include:

• Geography

• Demographics
 • Psychographics
• Behavioristics

Example:
The Adventure Travel Company is an online travel agency that organizes worldwide
adventure vacations. It has split its customers into three segments, because it's too costly
to create different packages for more groups than this.
Segment A is made up of young married couples, who are primarily interested in affordable,
ecofriendly vacations in exotic locations. Segment B consists of middle-class families, who
want safe, family-friendly vacation packages that make it easy and fun to travel with
children. Segment C comprises upscale retirees, who are looking for stylish and luxurious
vacations in well-known locations such as Paris and Rome.

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.

Bases for Targeting:

o Market size – Sustainability
 o Expected growth - Future potential
o Competitive position - Attractiveness
o Cost of reaching the segment - Accessibility
o Compatibility with the organization‘s objectives & resources

Example:
The Adventure Travel Company analyzes the profits, revenue and market size of each of its
segments. Segment A has profits of $8,220,000, Segment B has profits of $4,360,000, and
Segment C has profits of $3,430,000. So, it decides to focus on Segment A, after confirming that
the segment size is big enough (it's estimated to be worth $220,000,000/year.)

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. The business can positively influence the perceptions of its
chosen customer base through strategic promotional activities and by carefully defining your
business' marketing mix. 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.

Example:
The Adventure Travel Company markets itself as the "best eco-vacation service for young
married couples" (Segment A).
It hosts a competition on Instagram® and Pinterest® to reach its desired market, because these
are the channels that these people favor. It asks customers to send in interesting pictures of
past eco-vacations, and the best one wins an all-inclusive trip.
The campaign goes viral and thousands of people send in their photos, which helps build the
Adventure Travel Company mailing list. The company then creates a monthly e-newsletter full
of eco-vacation destination profiles.

- Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Model Increasing Revenue by "Going Niche" By James Manktelow
Marketing Mix (7 P’s of Marketing)
Once a marketing strategy is developed, there is a "Seven P Formula" the business activities
should be continually evaluated and re-evaluated. These seven are: product, price, promotion,
place, packaging, positioning and people. As products, markets, customers and needs change
rapidly, these seven Ps must be continually revisited to make sure the business is on track and
achieving the maximum results possible in today's marketplace.

Product
A product is any tangible object or an intangible service. Intangible products are often service
based like the tourism industry & the hotel industry or codes-based products like cellphone top
ups, services like that of a carpenter, hair dresser etc. Typical examples of tangible objects are
cars, cell phones.

There are three levels of product:

• Core Product: The need that it satisfies. Ex: BMW satisfies the need for transportation.
• Actual product: It is the product that you have or want to have. Ex: A blue BMW with a
sunroof
 • Augmented Product: It is the non-physical part of the product. It can also be said as the
excess that you get beyond the tangible product. Ex: Warranty of 3 years with your car,
customer service when you call their number, delivery at your doorstep, etc.
Price
The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is determined by a number of factors
including market share, competition, material costs, product identity and the customer's
perceived value of the product. The business may increase or decrease the price of product if
other stores have the same product.

Place
Place is the location or kind of outlet a product is sold at and it also includes the
channel/distribution. Channel is the mechanism through which goods and/or services are
moved from the manufacturer/ service provider to the user or consumer.

There are six basic 'channel' decisions:

• Direct or indirect channels (e.g. 'direct' to consumer, 'indirect' via a wholesaler)
• Single or multiple channels
• Cumulative length of the multiple channels
• Types of intermediary
• Number of intermediaries at each level (e.g. how many retailers in Southern India)
• Which companies as intermediaries to avoid 'intra-channel conflict'
(I.e. in-fighting between local distributors)

Distribution Strategies
Depending on the type of product being distributed there are three common distribution
strategies available:
 Intensive distribution: Used commonly to distribute low priced or impulse purchase
products eg chocolates, soft drinks.
 Exclusive distribution: Involves limiting distribution to a single outlet. The product is
usually highly priced, and requires the intermediary to place much detail in its sell. An
example of would be the sale of vehicles through exclusive dealers.
 Selective Distribution: A small number of retail outlets are chosen to distribute the
product. Selective distribution is common with products such as computers, televisions
household appliances, where consumers are willing to shop around and where
manufacturers want a large geographical spread.
 Distribution models

There are two types of distribution models used in the B2C (Business to Consumer) industry.
They are:
 Direct
 Indirect

In an indirect model there might be any number of intermediaries. Some of the intermediaries
are
1. C&FA- Carrying and Forwarding Agents
A CFA normally undertakes the following activities:
(a)Receiving the goods from the factories or premises of the manufacturer / firm
(b)Warehousing these goods
(c)Receiving dispatch orders from the manufacturer / firm
(d)Arranging dispatch of goods as per the directions of the manufacturer / firm by
engaging transport on his own or through the authorized transporters of the
manufacturer / firm
(e)Maintaining records of the receipt and dispatch of goods and the stock available at the
warehouse

2. Distributor
An entity that buys noncompeting products or product lines, warehouses them, and
resells them to retailers or direct to the end users or customers. Most distributors provide
strong manpower and cash support to the supplier or manufacturer's promotional efforts.
They usually also provide a range of services (such as product information, estimates,
technical support, after- sales services, credit) to their customers
 3. Whole seller
Person or firm that buys large quantity of goods from various
producers or vendors, warehouses them, and resells to retailers.
4. Retailer / Dealer
The retailer is end customer. This person will stock many competing goods and sells the
products to the end consumer.

Promotion
Promotions are methods of communicating the product benefits to the customer. Promotion
includes all of the tools available to the marketer for 'marketing communication'.

The elements of the promotions are:

• Personal Selling
• Sales Promotion
• Public Relations
• Direct Mail
• Trade Fairs and Exhibitions
• Sponsorship
In the 1980s Booms and Bitner included three additional 'Ps' to accommodate trends towards a
service or knowledge based economy:

• People
• Process
• Physical Evidence

People

People are the most important element of any service or experience. Services tend to be produced
and consumed at the same moment, and aspects of the customer experience are altered to meet
the 'individual needs' of the person consuming it. Most of us can think of a situation where the
personal service offered by individuals has made or tainted a tour, vacation or restaurant meal.
Remember, people buy from people that they like, so the attitude, skills and appearance of all staff
need to be first class. Some ways in which people add value to an experience, as a part of the
marketing mix, is - training, personal selling and customer service.

Process

For the purposes of the marketing mix, process is an element of service that sees the customer
experiencing an organization‘s offering. It's best viewed as something that your customer
participates in at different points in time. Here are some examples to help your build a picture of
marketing process, from the customer's point of view.

Example - Going on a cruise - from the moment that you arrive at the dockside, you are greeted;
your baggage is taken to your room. You have two weeks of services from restaurants and evening
entertainment, to casinos and shopping. Finally, you arrive at your destination, and your baggage
is delivered to you. This is a highly focused marketing process.

Physical Evidence

Physical evidence is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are no physical
attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on material cues. There are many examples of
physical evidence, including some of the following:

• Packaging
• Internet/web pages
• Paperwork (such as invoices, tickets and dispatch notes) Uniforms
• Business cards
Some organizations depend heavily upon physical evidence as a means of marketing
communications, for example tourism attractions and resorts (e.g. Disney World), parcel and mail
services (e.g. UPS trucks), and large banks and insurance companies (e.g. Lloyds of London)

Need, Want, Demand

Need

Human needs are the basic requirements and include food, clothing and shelter. Without these
humans cannot survive. An extended part of needs today has become education and healthcare.
Generally, the products which fall under the needs category of products do not require a push.
Instead the customer buys it themselves. But in today‘s tough and competitive world, many
brands have come up with the same offering satisfying the needs of the customer that even the
―needs category product has to be pushed in the customers mind.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Types of need include:

1. Stated needs (The customer wants an inexpensive car.)

2. Real needs (The customer wants a car whose operating cost, not initial price is low.)

3. Unstated needs (The customer expects good service from the dealer.)
4. Delight needs (The customer would like the dealer to include an on board GPS navigation
system.)

5. Secret needs (The customer wants friends to see him or her as a savvy consumer.)

Example of needs category products / sectors: Agriculture sector, Real Estate, FMCG, etc.

Want

The form taken by a human need as shaped by culture and individual personality.

Wants are a step ahead of needs and are largely dependent on the needs of humans
themselves. For example, you are thirsty and hence you need water to quench that thirst. But
you will drink only Bisleri bottled water - is a need.

Example of wants category products / sectors: Hospitality industry, Electronics,

Consumer Durables, FMCG, etc

Demand

People want to choose products that provide the most value and satisfaction for their money.
When backed by buying power, wants become demands.

The basic difference between wants and demands is desire. A customer may desire something
but he may not be able to fulfil his desire. Example of demands: Cruises, BMW, 5 star hotels
etc.

Needs, wants and demands are a very important component of marketing because they help
the marketer decide the products which he needs to offer in the market.

These distinctions shed light on the frequent criticism that ―marketers create needs or
―marketers get people to buy things they don‘t want.

Marketers do not create needs: Needs pre-exist marketers. Marketers, along with other
societal factors, influence wants. They might promote the idea that a Mercedes would satisfy
a person‘s need for social status. They do not, however, create the need for social status.
Consumer vs. Customer

The terms "consumer" and "customer" are often used interchangeably, but a consumer and
customer are not always the same entity. In essence, consumers use products while customers
buy them. In general, your marketing efforts should be geared toward the consumer, rather
than the customer.

For example, suppose you own a small business that manufactures and distributes children's
games or toys. While the children are the actual users, or consumers, of your product, they are
not your customers. Instead, the customers are the parents of the children who actually
purchase your products for them.

Consumers are just one sub group of customers. Consider this example with a Philips mixer. If
a restaurant buys a Philips mixer grinder (blender) for making juice to serve its patrons, then
the restaurant is just a customer and NOT a consumer. But if you go and buy a Philips mixer
grinder to make juice for your children at home, you are a consumer.

What does this example mean? It means that if you buy a product for any commercial purposes
you are not a consumer. If you buy a product purely for your own consumption, you are a
consumer.

A typical FMCG firm will refer to the retailer or the dealer as the customer and the end user as
a consumer.

Customers and consumers are considered to be important targets for the marketers to
generate sales and revenue. It is the customer who makes the purchase but more often
influenced by the consumer.
 Branding

Brands are different from products in a way that brands are what the consumers buy, while
products are what companies make.

Brand is an accumulation of emotional and functional associations. Associations are nothing

but the images and symbols associated with the brand or brand benefits, such as, The Nike
Swoosh, The Nokia sound, etc.
Brand is a promise that the product will perform as per consumer’s expectations.
To a consumer, a brand means and signifies:

• Source of product
• Delegating responsibility to the manufacturer of product
• Lower risk
• Low search cost
• Quality symbol
• Deal or pact with the product manufacturer
• Symbolic device

A brand simplifies a consumer’s purchase decisions. Over a period of time, consumers discover
the brands that satisfy their wants. If the consumers recognize a particular brand and have
knowledge about it, they make quick purchase decision and save lot of time. Also, they save
search costs for product. Consumers remain committed and loyal to a brand as long as they
believe and have an implicit understanding that the brand will continue meeting their
expectations and perform in the desired manner consistently. As long as the consumers get
benefits and satisfaction from consumption of the product, they will more likely continue to
buy that brand.

To a seller, a brand means and signifies:

• Basis of competitive advantage
• Way of bestowing products with unique associations
• Way of identification to easy handling
• Way of legal protection of products‘ unique traits/features
• Sign of quality to satisfied customer
• Means of financial returns

A brand connects the four crucial elements of an enterprise- customers, employees,

management and shareholders.
Brand Equity

A brand's power derived from the goodwill and name recognition that it has earned over time,
which translates into higher sales volume and higher profit margins against competing brands.

5 Stages of Brand Experience

Brand equity is typically the result of brand loyalty, and with brand loyalty comes increased
market share. In fact, there are 5 stages of brand experience that lead to positive brand equity:

Brand awareness: Consumers are aware of the brand.

Brand recognition: Consumers recognize the brand and know what it offers versus
competitors.
Brand trial: Consumers have tried the brand.
Brand preference: Consumers like the brand and become repeat purchasers. They begin to
develop emotional connections to the brand.
Brand loyalty: Consumers demand the brand and will travel distances to find it. As loyalty
increases so do emotional connections until there is no adequate substitute for the brand in
the consumer’s mind.

Perceived Quality

Refers to the customer‘s perception about the total quality of the brand. While evaluating
quality the customer takes into account the brands performance on factors that are significant
to him and makes a relative analysis about the brand‘s quality by evaluating the competitor‘s
brands.

Other Proprietary Brand Assets

Patents, Trademarks and Channel Inter-relations are proprietary assets. These assets prevent
competitors attack on the organization. They also help in maintaining customer loyalty as well
as organization‘s competitive advantage.

Brand Positioning
Brand positioning refers to ―target consumer‘s reason to buy your brand in preference to
others. It is ensures that all brand activity has a common aim; is guided, directed and delivered
by the brand‘s benefits/reasons to buy. It focuses at all points of contact with the consumer.

Brand positioning must make answer the following questions:

• Is it unique/distinctive vs. competitors?

• Is it significant and encouraging to the niche market?
 • Is it appropriate to all major geographic markets and businesses?
• Is the proposition validated with unique, appropriate and original products?
• Is it sustainable - can it be delivered constantly across all points of contact with the
consumer?
• Is it helpful for organization to achieve its financial goals?
• Is it able to support and boost up the organization?

In order to create a distinctive place in the market, a niche market has to be carefully chosen
and a differential advantage must be created in their mind. Brand positioning is a medium
through which an organization can portray its customers what it wants to achieve for them and
what it wants to mean to them. Brand positioning forms customer‘s views and opinions.
It is the single feature that sets your service apart from your competitors. For instance,
Kingfisher stands for youth and excitement. It represents brand in full flight.

Brand Extension

Brand extension refers to the expansion of the brand itself into new territories or markets. For
instance, if a soft drink manufacturer unveils a line of juices or bottled water products under
its company name, this would constitute an example of brand extension. The brand, or
company, is an established name, and so the name alone can serve to drive customers to try
new products completely unrelated to the older product lines.

Line Extension

Line extension refers to the expansion of an existing product line. For instance, a soft drink
manufacturer might introduce a "Diet" or "Cherry" variety to its cola line, while a toy
manufacturer might introduce new characters or accessories in its line of action figures. In
short, line extension adds variety to its existing product for the sake of reaching a more
diverse customer base and enticing existing customers with new options.
Benefits
A line extension can reinvigorate a product line, bringing it back into the public awareness by
drawing new customers and higher profits. A brand extension can increase profits by allowing
manufacturers to tap into new markets and offer increased diversity in their inventory. Line
extensions and brand extensions both allow companies to promote new products with
reduced promotional costs because the new lines or brands benefit from being part of an
established name.

Risks
Any time a company introduces a new brand or line, the company name could become
tarnished if the product proves to be an immense failure. Consumers might feel less inclined
to support the company's new products in the future. So each new extension, in some way,
carries the reputation of the entire company, and that can backfire. Extensions can also cause
intrafirm competition, wherein conflict arises among different divisions of a company.

Product Life Cycle

The Product Life Cycle (PLC) describes the stages of a product from launch to being
discontinued. As we will see in the example, the product lifecycle can be reviewed across an
entire category, or in the context of an individual company product. It is a strategic tool that
helps companies plan for new product development and refine existing products

There are 4 stages shown in the table below to the lifecycle process, although decline can be
avoided by reinventing elements of the product. It is also recognized that some products never
move beyond the introduction phase whilst others move through the life cycle much faster
than others.
The stages of PLC

• Introduction
Introducing a new product where it's unknown and is a fresh face in the market. The price is
often higher as distribution is limited, and promotion is personalized.

• Growth
Here, the product is being bought and with volume, the price declines. Distribution increases
and promotion focuses on product benefits

• Maturity
Here, the product competes with alternatives and pricing drops. Distribution becomes intense
(it’s available everywhere) and promotion focuses on the differences to competitors’ products.
 • Decline
The product is reaching the end of its life and faces fewer competitors. The price may rise and
distribution has become selective as some distributors have dropped the product. Promotion
aims to remind customers of its existence.

How can I use this model?

When reviewing your business you need to understand which stage your products or services
have reached across your portfolio of all products which can be assessed in terms of market
share and growth using the BCG Matrix model. Reviewing the product of portfolio enables
marketers to plan for new products, reinvent existing products or discontinue products that are
in serious decline.

An example of the Product Lifecycle model

This example shows how the yoghurt product category has moved through the product life
cycle by remixing elements of the marketing mix. Examples of stages and how PLC evolved:
Introduction

 Yoghurt available in health food stores

 Functional and plain packaging
 Promoted as a health food.

Growth

 Yoghurt now available in supermarket chiller cabinets

 Packaging gets a makeover
 New flavors introduced; Strawberry and Vanilla.

Maturity
Product re-invented with added fruit, added muesli, added chocolate!

 Packaging changes into different shapes and sizes

 Promoted as a fun snack and a luxury treat
Decline
 Ad campaign evoking brand association through remembrance and fondness
 Brand available at select retail megastores only
A tip is to review customer feedback continuously, to ensure your products don’t reach the end of
their shelf life, carry out regular customer surveys. Get feedback and find out what works, what
doesn’t and why.
 Important Strategic Models

SWOT

A SWOT analysis (alternatively SWOT matrix) is a structured planning method used to evaluate
the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in a project or in a business
venture. A SWOT analysis can be carried out for a product, place, industry or person. It involves
specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and
external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective

Strengths: characteristics of the business

or project that give it an advantage over
others.

Weaknesses: characteristics that place the

business or project at a disadvantage
relative to others

Opportunities: elements that the project

could exploit to its advantage

Threats: elements in the environment that

could cause trouble for the business or
project

Porters five forces model

What is this model and why is it used?

• Model used to study the attractiveness (profit potential) of different industries

• Helps in identifying the sources of competition in an industry or sector
What are the five forces?

• Intensity of competitive rivalry

• Bargaining power of buyers
• Bargaining power of suppliers
• Threat of new entrants
• Threat of substitutes

On what parameters can we interpret each of these forces?

Each of these forces can be interpreted based on the parameters given below
Things to be kept in mind while using this model:

• Used only at the level of individual business units(Strategic business units or SBUs) and
not at the level of the whole organization
• These five forces are not independent of each other
• Understanding the connections between these forces is very important

PESTEL framework

Why do we need this model?

• To show some of the macro-environmental factors that affect organizations

• These factors can affect strategies and some of the ways in which organizations seek to
handle aspects of their environment

How are the factors categorized?

Based on 6 types:

• Political
• Economic
• Social
• Technological
• Environmental
• Legal

On what parameters do we analyze the above factors?

We can analyze the PESTEL framework of any organization based on the parameters
listed below:
BCG Matrix

What is the BCG matrix?

• A tool that allows an organization to classify and evaluate products and services of its
business
• It is a decision making tool in order to balance the activities of a company among those
which make profits, those who ensure growth, those which constitute the future of the
firm or those who are its heritage
• It positions products or services of the company based on market growth and market
share of the product/service
``

Question marks

They do not generate profits unless the company decides to invest resources to maintain and
even increase the market share (become potential stars). They have a high demand for liquidity
and the company must ask the question: Invest or give up the product?

Stars

These are promising products for the company, they even can be considered as leaders of the
industry. The strategy is to boost these products by appropriate investments to monitor the
growth and maintain a position of strength. These products require a large amount of cash but
also contribute to the company's profitability. They are becoming progressively cash cows with
market saturation.

Cash Cows

These are products or services which are mature and which generate interesting profits and
cash, but need to be replaced because the future growth will be lower. They must therefore be
profitable because they can finance other activities in progress (including stars and question
marks)

Dogs

These products are positioned in a declining market and highly competitive and that the
company wants to get rid of soon as they become too expensive to maintain. The company
must minimize the dogs. The company must decide whether it still injects liquidity, otherwise
it will eliminate the dogs in the near future.

Example of BCG Matrix for ITC

Question Marks: Sunfeast Yippee Noodles

Stars: Aashirwaad Aata/Classmates

Cash cows: Wills cigarettes

Dogs: John players

Different types of Marketing

Business to consumer marketing (B2C)

Business to consumer marketing is when a business markets products to a consumer market.
A consumer is a buyer of products that are not business related. B2C products include goods
and services such as food, clothes, cars, houses, phone services, credit repair services, etc.

A B2C sale is to an individual. That individual may be influenced by other factors such as
family members or friends, but ultimately it‘s a single person that pulls out their wallet. B2C
features a large target market, single step buying process and shorter sales cycle.

B2C marketing strategy helps the business house in directly targeting the customers. Different
marketing channels used:

 BTL (Below the line) campaigns: Address consumers in malls or other public places by
conducting events
  Door-to-door marketing
 Newspaper, television and radio
 Online advertising like Podcasts

Business to business marketing (B2B)

Practice of commercial businesses, governments and institutions facilitating the sale of their
products or services to other companies or organizations that in turn resell them, use them as
components in products or services they offer, or use them to support their operations. A
typical B2B customer can be:

 Companies that consume products or services ex. Automakers who buy gauges to put in
their cars
 Government agencies - this includes center, state and local governments
 Institutions - schools, hospitals and nursing homes, churches and charities
 Resellers - wholesalers, brokers and industrial distributors

Different marketing channels used:

 Specific trade shows

 Publications of industry related to that products

Business marketing and Consumer marketing: In B2C, B2B and B2G marketing situations, the
marketer must always:
• Successfully match the product/service strengths with the needs of a definable target
market;
• Position and price to align the product/service with its market, often an intricate
balance
• Communicate and sell it in the fashion that demonstrates its value effectively to the
target market.
 Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)

IMC is the development of marketing strategies and creative campaigns that weave together
multiple marketing disciplines (paid advertising, public relations, promotion, owned assets, and
social media) that are selected and then executed to suit the particular goals of the brand.

Instead of simply utilizing various media to help tell a brand's overall story, with IMC, marketing
leverages each communication channel's intrinsic strengths to achieve a greater impact
together than each channel could achieve individually. It requires the marketer to understand
each medium's limitation, including the audience's ability/willingness to absorb messaging
from that medium.

Why is IMC required over Traditional Advertising?

• Decreasing message impact and credibility: The growing number of commercial

messaging made it increasingly more difficult for a single message to have a noteworthy
effect.
• Decreasing costs of databases: The cost of storing and retrieving names, addresses and
information from databases significantly declined. This decline allowed marketers to
reach consumers more effectively.
• Increasing client expertise: Clients of marketing and public relations firms became more
educated regarding advertising policies, procedures and tactics. Clients began to realize
that television advertising was not the only way to reach consumers.
• Increasing mergers and acquisitions of agencies: Many top public relations firms and
advertising agencies became partners or partnered with other communication firms.
These mergers allowed for more creativity, and the expansion of communication from
only advertising, to other disciplines such as event planning and promotion.
 • Increasing global marketing: There was a rapid influx in advertising competition from
foreign countries. Companies quickly realized that even if they did not conduct business
outside their own country, they were now competing in global marketing.
• Increasing media and audience fragmentation: With the exception of the decline of
newspapers, media outlets, such as magazines and television stations, increased
dramatically from 1980 to 1990. Additionally, companies could use new technologies
and computers to target specialized audiences based on factors such as ethnic
background or place of residence.
• Increasing number of overall products: Manufacturers flooded retailers with a plethora
of new products, many of which were identical to products that already existed.
Therefore, a unique marketing and branding approach was crucial to attract customer
attention and increase sales.

What are the components of IMC?

Thus, IMC is nothing but ONE VOICE, ONE MESSAGE, and ONE STRATEGY

Example: Vodafone‘s ZooZoo Campaign: This Campaign was showcased on all the different
channels: YouTube, Television, Websites, Journal Blogs, and Billboards.

Other Examples Include: Airtel’s ‘Har Ek Friend zaroori Hota hain‘, ICICI bank’s ‘Bande Acche
Hain‘, Cadbury‘s ‘Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye‘, Tata Tea‘s Jaago Re‘; Seagram Imperial Blue‘s ‘Men
Will be Men‘
 Appendix: Miscellaneous Concepts

Difference between BTL and ATL advertising

Above-the-line (ATL) Below-the-line (BTL)
Tailored to reach the mass market Targeted at individual customers based on their
needs and preferences
May or may not drive customers response Drives individual‘s responses
Difficult to measure accuracy Easily measurable
Establish brand identity or reinforce emotional Issue a ―call-to-action‖ inspiring specific
concept surrounding a product or brand customer
activity or tailored message about a product or a

Customer Relationship Management

It is a process or methodology used to learn more about customers' needs and behaviors in
order to develop stronger relationships with them. CRM helps businesses use technology and
human resources to gain insight into the behavior of customers and the value of those
customers.

According to industry view, CRM consists of:

• Helping an enterprise to enable its marketing departments to identify and target their best
customers, manage marketing campaigns and generate quality leads for the sales team
• Assisting the organization to improve telesales, account, and sales management by
optimizing information shared by multiple employees, and streamlining existing processes
(for example, taking orders using mobile devices)
• Allowing the formation of individualized relationships with customers, with the aim of
improving customer satisfaction and maximizing profits; identifying the most profitable
customers and providing them the highest level of service
• Providing employees with the information and processes necessary to know their
customers understand and identify customer needs and effectively build relationships
between the company, its customer base, and distribution partners
Marketing Myopia
Marketing Myopia is the failure to define an organization's purpose in terms of its function from
the consumers' point of view. For example, railway companies that define their markets in
terms of trains, rather than transportation, fail to recognize the challenge of competition from
cars, airlines, and buses. It is therefore necessary to define the needs of the consumer in more
general terms rather than product specific terms.
Marketing Myopia is the short sighted look of the managers in wrongly identifying the category
and goals of the company, not looking at the whole industry of the product neglecting the fields
of opportunities in their area of industry, not listening to the customer's real needs.

4 P’s of B2B

Many practitioners argue that the 4Ps don’t work for B2B marketers, largely because of the focus
on product. Instead, B2B marketers need to focus on solutions that solve more complex customer
problems than how to clean their teeth every day! For B2B marketers, a framework that is rapidly
replacing the 4Ps is SAVE:
 Solutions, instead of products
 Access, instead of placement
 Value, instead of pricing
 Education, instead of promotion

Market Solutions

Instead of marketing products, marketers need to focus on solutions. Solution selling is not new
– for years marketers have been stressing selling benefits, not just features.

• Provide Access to Your Solutions - Today there is less focus on a physical or

geographic place to sell a product (such as in what media do we advertise, at which
trade shows, etc.) than there is on access – do you have your product well-positioned
online so that when someone wants or needs it, they can find you?
• Market the Value of Your Solution - Value-based pricing has been used for years
because B2B marketers realize that their ability to differentiate from the competition
drives pricing. Selling on price, for example with a cost-plus pricing approach, is not as
profitable.
• Educate Prospects about Your Solution - It is important to address the problem while
marketing the solution. Just like it is important to create a story around your brand, it
is critical to educate potential clients about how you are solving their problem and
making life easier for them.
Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing is the practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution
channels to reach consumers in a personal and cost-effective manner.

Key components to master Digital Marketing

 Brand Identification and Consistency: It is important to identify what your brand stands
for; that’s the story you will be telling to your customers. This story will help you decide
the words , phrases and concepts you’ll use in Search Engine Optimization
 Search Engine Marketing: Over 85% of consumers use a search engine (No prizes for
guessing which one) before buying, according to a report from Felishman-Hillard. Search
Engine marketing is the low hanging fruit of digital marketing. Because you only pay for
the advertising when someone clicks on the link, it has one of the healthiest ROI ratios.
 Content Optimization: It is important to provide valuable and original content on all your
digital platforms. Marketers today need to ensure that websites are optimized to be
responsive enough to adapt to any device and browser.
 Social Media Outreach: The interactive nature of social media is of paramount importance
to brands. Through it, marketers are able to initiate discussions about their industry,
products or brands. Facebook obviously, is the king – the medium with the largest impact
and presence. For businesses based on visual representation, Pinterest works better. For
those based on information, Twitter or Medium may be good choices. Google + is one
network that must never be ignored, since it aggregates features from all other social
media
 Sales leads and conversion: One of the key objectives of digital marketing must be to
gather customer information. Building a customer base across many mediums is vital to
build relations with the consumer in the long term. Analytics software such as google
analytics has opened up a whole new world of demographic targeting.
 A snapshot of the google analytics interface

Key tools for any digital marketing professional:

Name Type Description Competitor
Hootsuite Social Media Lets you integrate Buffer
Scheduling and schedule your
social media content
Canva Design Create images for Pable, Gimp, Pic
social media, blog Monkey
posts and any other
use you can imagine
Google Analytics Real time analytics Track and analyze all Chartbeat, Go
traffic to your Squared, Mix Panel
website
Hotjar Website Optimization Analyze what visitors InspectLet, KISS
do in your website Metrics, Sumo Me
Simply Measured Social Media Reports Enterprise level Individual Social
analytics for big media tools like
brands Twitter Analytics
Open Site Explorer SEO Get high level stats SEO Book, Keyword
and figures here tool
 Charlie CRM Futuristic address Salesforce, Norbert
book, keeps you
connected to your
customers
Sidekick Email Inbox insights Track your outgoing Banana Tag, Signals
mail
WordPress Landing Pages Fastest, easiest way Unbounce free plan
to set up a website
Crowdfire Twitter Management Manage your twitter Tweepi, Manage
account through bulk Filter
sorting and filtering
Medium Blogging Cheapest way to start WordPress, Blogger
a new Blog
Google AdWords Online Advertising Enables advertisers Yahoo! Search
Service to compete to display Marketing, Bing Ads
brief
Google Trends Search Analysis Shows how many NA, Specific to
times a particular Google.
search item is
entered relative to
the total search
volume across
regions

Online resources and tools:

 www.udacity.com – Online learning platform where you can get certified courses and
nanodegrees on everything from how to build a startup to Android Basics. Try it out!
 www.coursera.com – You must have heard of this one before, make sure you give this a
try for courses spanning across disciplines!
 https://goo.gl/aectCk - An “Introduction to marketing” course starting soon, offered by
the University of British Columbia on edx.org!
 https://goo.gl/c0gmZn - A website for those who want to learn to code; building great
websites and Applications all begin with the first line of code! The best part here is that it
allows students to select their objective and select a course accordingly
 http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/ - A platform with great tutorials on making
impactful videos
 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ - A large repository of free books
 https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo - SEO for dummies
 https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-social-media - Good for newbies as well as
seasoned veterans looking for a refresher on Social media
  http://www.contentmarketingstack.co/ - A repository of Content Marketing resources
and tutorials
 http://marketingstack.io/ - A repository of all things marketing
 https://goo.gl/c4DSBz - A great article to find additional tools, can be used as a good
starting point
 www.ibef.com – Latest Updates on various business sectors and domains
 https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn - Powerful mental tools that help
you learn things better
 http://www.afaqs.com/ - Advertising, media and marketing portal that provides agency
news in digital, media, television, ads, brand, etc.

Digital Marketing Glossary

 Click-Thru Rate (CTR) – The percentage of people who actually click on a link (e.g., in an
email message or sponsored ad) after seeing it.
 Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA) – Represents the ratio of the total cost of a pay-per-click (PPC)
campaign to the total number of leads or customers, often called “CPA” or “conversion
cost.”
 Cost-Per-Click (CPC) – A method of paying for targeted traffic. For a fee, sites like Google or
Facebook direct traffic to your site. You agree to pay a set amount for every click.
 CPM – This is the “cost-per-thousand” views of an advertisement. Often, advertisers agree
to pay a certain amount for every 1,000 customers who see their ad, regardless of
conversion rates or click-thrus. The “M” in “CPM” is derived from the Latin word for 1,000
(mille
 Inbound Link – A link from another website directed to yours, also known as a “backlink.”
Related marketing areas that focus on inbound links include link popularity, social
media and online PR, all of which explore ways to collect quality links from other websites
 Landing Page – A stand-alone Web page that a user “lands” on, commonly after visiting a paid
search-engine listing or following a link in an email newsletter. This kind of page often is
designed with a very specific purpose (i.e. conversion goals) for visitors
 Open-Source Software – Computer software with a special license that allows users in the
general public to edit and improve the source code. Famously exemplified in the Firefox Web
browser and Wikipedia encyclopedia, it is an example of the kind of collaboration that is
encouraged under the Web 2.0 ethos. Contrast with closed, propriety software that does not
share its codebase beyond an exclusive group of authorized developers.
 Pay-Per-Click – Also known as “PPC,” this type of paid search marketing involves placing
advertisements that run above or besides (and occasionally below) the free search-engine
listings on Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. Typically, to get the highest position among these ads,
website owners place a per-click bid. It’s not uncommon to participate in a bidding war for
 coveted top spots. For example, if a website’s listing is among the top 3 advertisements on a
page, the same ad appears in the same location on partner websites. Some marketing firms,
including Fathom, provide bid management services to get the most value for each search
term
 RSS – “Really simple syndication” is the process by which content such as blog posts or
podcasts can be updated regularly and syndicated to subscribers in feeds. RSS feeds enable
users to access content updates from various outlets—e.g. their favorite blogs, news sites,
and digital audio/video providers—all in one central location.
 Search-Engine Marketing (SEM) – A phrase sometimes used in contrast with “SEO” to
describe paid search activities, SEM may also more generally refer to the broad range of
search-marketing activities, either paid or organic.
 Search-Engine Optimization (SEO) – The process of using website analysis and
copy/design/structural adjustments to ensure both the highest possible positioning on
desired search-engine results pages and the best experience for a given site’s users
 User-Generated Content – Commonly abbreviated as “UGC,” it is any piece of content created
by a member of a given website’s audience for use on that website and sometimes to be freely
distributed on the Web. Wikis (and Wikipedia) are examples of UGC (see below).
 VOIP – An acronym for “Voice over Internet Protocol.” This technology allows a user to make
phone calls (with potential video) via a computer with an Internet connection or a wireless-
enabled mobile device. The most famous example of a VOIP provider is Skype.
 Web 2.0 – This complex term covers many dimensions of the contemporary Web, including
quick user access to streaming video, audio, images and other popular content. It can be
generally used to describe interactive, community-driven content, namely blogs, file-hosting,
UGC, and social-networking sites.
Web 2.0 is also a philosophy that the Internet should be used more as a public-access platform
and less as a vehicle for traditional, one-way publishing. Related concepts include
collaboration, crowdsourcing and the use of open-source software.
Digital Marketing Trends 2016

Trends in Marketing Mix