Consumer buying bhavior

If a marketer can identify consumer buyer behaviour, he or she will be in a better position to
target products and services at them. Buyer behaviour is focused upon the needs of individuals,
groups and organisations.

It is important to understand the relevance of human needs to buyer behaviour (remember,

marketing is about satisfying needs).

Let's look at human motivations as introduced by Abraham Maslow by his hierarchy of needs:
The hierarchy is triangular. This is because as you move up it, fewer and fewer people satisfy
higher level needs. We begin at the bottom level.

Physiological needs such as food, air, water, heat, and the basic necessities of survival need to be
satisfied. At the level of safety, man has a place to live that protects him from the elements and
predators. At the third level we meet our social and belongingness needs i.e. we marry, or join
groups of friends, etc.

The final two levels are esteem and self-actualisation. Fewer people satisfy the higher level
needs. Esteem means that you achieve something that makes you recognised and gives personal
satisfaction, for example writing a book. Self-actualisation is achieved by few. Here a person is
one of a small number to actually do something. For example, Neil Armstrong self-actualised as
the first person to reach the Moon.

The model is a little simplistic but introduces the concept a differing consumer needs quite well.

To understand consumer buyer behaviour is to understand how the person interacts with the
marketing mix. As described by Cohen (1991), the marketing mix inputs (or the four P's of price,
place, promotion, and product) are adapted and focused upon the consumer.
The psychology of each individual considers the product or service on offer in relation to their
own culture, attitude, previous learning, and personal perception. The consumer then decides
whether or not to purchase, where to purchase, the brand that he or she prefers, and other
choices.

Describe the Buying Decision Process for a mobile/cell phone. Fit your description around the
five stages that follow:

 Recognition of a need.
 Choice of level of involvement (i.e. justifying you time and effort e.g. low for bubble
gum, high for a holiday).
 Identification of alternatives.
 Make decision.
 Action.
 Post-purchase behaviour i.e. did it meet your expectations? Did you use it? Was it
reliable? Etc.

Describe the Buying Decision Process for a mobile/cell telephone. Fit your description around
the five stages that follow:

The Buyer Decision Process.

 Recognition of a need - to communicate with friends, as a fashion item.
 Choice of level of involvement (i.e. justifying you time and effort e.g. low for bubble
gum, high for a holiday). Medium level of involvement to justify cost and coverage of
telephone.
 Identification of alternatives. Which companies are offering the most suitable packages?
ABC inc. or XYZ inc.?
 Make decision. Go with service XYZ inc.
 Action - Buy phone from store.
 Post-purchase behaviour i.e. Did it work? What was the telephone bill? Did you friends
like it?

Promotion
Another one of the 4P's is 'promotion'. This includes all of the tools available to the marketer for
'marketing communication'. As with Neil H.Borden's marketing mix, marketing communications has its
own 'promotions mix.' Think of it like a cake mix, the basic ingredients are always the same. However if
you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different. It is the same with
promotions. You can 'integrate' different aspects of the promotions mix to deliver a unique campaign.
Promotional mix

The elements of the promotions mix are:

 Personal Selling.
 Sales Promotion.
 Public Relations.
 Direct Mail.
 Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.
 Advertising.
 Sponsorship.

The elements of the promotions mix are integrated to form a coherent campaign. As with all
forms of communication. The message from the marketer follows the 'communications process'
as illustrated above. For example, a radio advert is made for a car manufacturer. The car
manufacturer (sender) pays for a specific advert with contains a message specific to a target
audience (encoding). It is transmitted during a set of commercials from a radio station (Message /
media).

The message is decoded by a car radio (decoding) and the target consumer interprets the message
(receiver). He or she might visit a dealership or seek further information from a web site
(Response). The consumer might buy a car or express an interest or dislike (feedback). This
information will inform future elements of an integrated promotional campaign. Perhaps a direct
mail campaign would push the consumer to the point of purchase. Noise represent the thousand
of marketing communications that a consumer is exposed to everyday, all competing for
attention.
The Promotions Mix.
Let us look at the individual components of the promotions mix in more detail. Remember all of
the elements are 'integrated' to form a specific communications campaign.

1. Personal Selling.
Personal Selling is an effective way to manage personal customer relationships. The sales person
acts on behalf of the organization. They tend to be well trained in the approaches and techniques
of personal selling. However sales people are very expensive and should only be used where
there is a genuine return on investment. For example salesmen are often used to sell cars or home
improvements where the margin is high.

2. Sales Promotion.
Sales promotion tend to be thought of as being all promotions apart from advertising, personal
selling, and public relations. For example the BOGOF promotion, or Buy One Get One Free.
Others include couponing, money-off promotions, competitions, free accessories (such as free
blades with a new razor), introductory offers (such as buy digital TV and get free installation),
and so on. Each sales promotion should be carefully costed and compared with the next best
alternative.

3. Public Relations (PR).

Public Relations is defined as 'the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and
maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics' (Institute of Public
Relations). It is relatively cheap, but certainly not cheap. Successful strategies tend to be long-
term and plan for all eventualities. All airlines exploit PR; just watch what happens when there is
a disaster. The pre-planned PR machine clicks in very quickly with a very effective rehearsed
plan.

4. Direct Mail.
Direct mail is very highly focussed upon targeting consumers based upon a database. As with all
marketing, the potential consumer is 'defined' based upon a series of attributes and similarities.
Creative agencies work with marketers to design a highly focussed communication in the form of
a mailing. The mail is sent out to the potential consumers and responses are carefully monitored.
For example, if you are marketing medical text books, you would use a database of doctors'
surgeries as the basis of your mail shot.

5. Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.

Such approaches are very good for making new contacts and renewing old ones. Companies will
seldom sell much at such events. The purpose is to increase awareness and to encourage trial.
They offer the opportunity for companies to meet with both the trade and the consumer. Expo
has recently finish in Germany with the next one planned for Japan in 2005, despite a recent
decline in interest in such events.

6. Advertising.
Advertising is a 'paid for' communication. It is used to develop attitudes, create awareness, and
transmit information in order to gain a response from the target market. There are many
advertising 'media' such as newspapers (local, national, free, trade), magazines and journals,
television (local, national, terrestrial, satellite) cinema, outdoor advertising (such as posters, bus
sides).

7. Sponsorship.
Sponsorship is where an organization pays to be associated with a particular event, cause or
image. Companies will sponsor sports events such as the Olympics or Formula One. The
attributes of the event are then associated with the sponsoring organization.

The elements of the promotional mix are then integrated to form a unique, but coherent
campaign.

Exercise

Clarissa Drive-Terrior is one of the new breed of entrepreneurs that have taken advantage of the
massive opportunities open to e-businesses. Her idea was to sell travel and flights, theatre tickets,
and similar products and services, to consumers that need them at very short notice; hence the
name cutting it short. www.cuttingitshort.com became extremely popular almost immediately. It
was so popular that Clarissa decided to float the business. This was also a huge success, with
stocks/shares exchanging hands for more than $20.00 each.

Now that the business was a success, it needed a campaign to reinforce its brand attributes in the
mind of existing consumers, and the generate new ones.

Your task is to integrate the promotions mix to form a campaign for www.cuttingitshort.com.

Use the different elements of the mix which were:

 Personal Selling.
 Sales Promotion.
 Public Relations.
 Direct Mail.
 Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.
 Advertising.
  Sponsorship.

Answer

Personal Selling.
It was decided very early on that personal selling did not suit the nature of the business. The
other elements of the promotions mix were far better suited to the mass market.

Sales Promotion.
A promotion was organized with a national daily newspaper that share the same target consumer.
Coupons were put in seven separate issues. Once collected, the consumer would post them to
www.cuttingitshort.com for a free mountain bike spanner (a product that was very slow moving
anyway).

Public Relations.
The company invested around $100,000 in a first rate public relations agent.

Direct Mail.
Direct mail was passed up in favour of an e-mail campaign to existing users promoting the recent
additions to the site.

Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.

The company invested $50,000 in a special stand that used Internet technology to explain the
virtues of buying www.cuttingitshort.com's products using the Web.

Advertising.
A huge $2,000,000 was spent on an international campaign which used TV, Radio and poster
media.

Sponsorship
A decision was made to invest $1,000,000 on sponsoring a round-the-world yacht race.

As with all case studies, there could be many realistic answers. How did you get on.
A Five Stage Personal Selling Process.
Stage One - Prospecting.
Prospecting is all about finding prospects, or potential new customers. Prospects should be
'qualified,' which means that they need to be assessed to see if there is business potential,
otherwise you could be wasting your time. In order to qualify your prospects, one needs to:

 Plan a sales approach focused upon the needs of the customer.

 Determine which products or services best meet their needs.
 In order to save time, rank the prospects and leave out those that are least likely to buy.

Stage Two - Making First Contact.

This is the preparation that a salesperson goes through before they meet with the client, for
example via e-mail, telephone or letter. Preparation will make a call more focused.

 Make sure that you are on time.

 Before meeting with the client, set some objectives for the sales call. What is the purpose
of the call? What outcome is desirable before you leave?
 Make sure that you've done some homework before meeting your prospect. This will
show that you are committed in the eyes of your customer.
 To save time, send some information before you visit. This will wet the prospect's
appetite.
 Keep a set of samples at hand, and make sure that they are in very good condition.
 Within the first minute or two, state the purpose of your call so that time with the client is
maximised, and also to demonstrate to the client that your are not wasting his or her time.
 Humour is fine, but try to be sincere and friendly.

Stage Three - The Sales Call (or Sales Presentation).

It is best to be enthusiastic about your product or service. If you are not excited about it, don't
expect your prospect to be excited.

Focus on the real benefits of the product or service to the specific needs of your client, rather
than listing endless lists of features.

Try to be relaxed during the call, and put your client at ease.
Let the client do at least 80% of the talking. This will give you invaluable information on your
client's needs.

Remember to ask plenty of questions. Use open questions, e.g. TED's, and closed questions i.e.
questions that will only give the answer 'yes' or the answer 'no.' This way you can dictate the
direction of the conversation.

Never be too afraid to ask for the business straight off.

Stage Four - Objection Handling.

Objection handling is the way in which salespeople tackle obstacles put in their way by clients.
Some objections may prove too difficult to handle, and sometimes the client may just take a
dislike to you (aka the hidden objection). Here are some approaches for overcoming objections:

 Firstly, try to anticipate them before they arise.

 'Yes but' technique allows you to accept the objection and then to divert it. For example,
a client may say that they do not like a particular colour, to which the salesperson
counters 'Yes but X is also available in many other colours.'
 Ask 'why' the client feels the way that they do.
 'Restate' the objection, and put it back into the client's lap. For example, the client may
say, 'I don't like the taste of X,' to which the salesperson responds, 'You don't like the
taste of X,' generating the response 'since I do not like garlic' from the client. The
salesperson could suggest that X is no longer made with garlic to meet the client's needs.
 The sales person could also tactfully and respectfully contradict the client.

Stage Five - Closing the Sale.

This is a very important stage. Often salespeople will leave without ever successfully closing a
deal. Therefore it is vital to learn the skills of closing.

 Just ask for the business! - 'Please may I take an order?' This really works well.
 Look for buying signals (i.e. body language or comments made by the client that they
want to place an order). For example, asking about availability, asking for details such as
discounts, or asking for you to go over something again to clarify.
 Just stop talking, and let the client say 'yes.' Again, this really works.
 The 'summary close' allows the salesperson to summarise everything that the client needs,
based upon the discussions during the call. For example, 'You need product X in blue, by
Friday, packaged accordingly, and delivered to your wife's office.' Then ask for the order.
 The 'alternative close' does not give the client the opportunity to say no, but forces them
towards a yes. For example 'Do you want product X in blue or red?' Cheeky, but
effective.

So this is the Five Stage Personal Selling Process. Now have a go at it yourself by completing
the lesson.
Introduction to Marketing Communications

What are marketing communications?

Marketing communications is a subset of the overall subject area known as marketing. Marketing
has a marketing mix that is made of price, place, promotion, product (know as the four P's), that
includes people, processes and physical evidence, when marketing services (known as the seven
P's).

How does marketing communications fit in? Marketing communications is 'promotion' from the
marketing mix.

Why are marketing communications 'integrated?' Integrated means combine or amalgamate, or

put simply the jigsaw pieces that together make a complete picture. This is so that a single
message is conveyed by all marketing communications. Different messages confuse your
customers and damage brands. So if a TV advert carries a particular logo, images and message,
then all newspaper adverts and point-of-sale materials should carry the same logo, images or
message, or one that fits the same theme. Coca-Cola uses its familiar red and white logos and
retains themes of togetherness and enjoyment throughout its marketing communications.

Marketing communications has a mix. Elements of the mix are blended in different quantities in
a campaign. The marketing communications mix includes many different elements, and the
following list is by no means conclusive. It is recognised that there is some cross over between
individual elements (e.g. Is donating computers to schools, by asking shoppers to collect
vouchers, public relations or sales promotion?) Here are the key of the marketing
communications mix.

The Marketing Communications Mix.

 Personal Selling.
 Sales Promotion.
 Public Relations (and publicity).
 Direct Marketing.
 Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.
 Advertising (above and below the line).
 Sponsorship.
 Packaging.
 Merchandising (and point-of-sale).
 EMarketing (and Internet promotions).
  Brands.

Integrated marketing communications see the elements of the communications mix 'integrated'
into a coherent whole. This is known as the marketing communications mix, and forms the basis
of a marketing communications campaign.

Personal selling
Personal selling occurs where an individual salesperson sells a product, service or solution to a client.
Salespeople match the benefits of their offering to the specific needs of a client. Today, personal selling
involves the development of longstanding client relationships.

In comparison to other marketing communications tools such as advertising, personal selling

tends to:

 Use fewer resources, pricing is often negotiated.

 Products tend to be fairly complex (e.g. financial services or new cars).
 There is some contact between buyer and seller after the sale so that an ongoing
relationship is built.
 Client/prospects need specific information.
 The purchase tends to involve large sums of money.

There are exceptions of course, but most personal selling takes place in this way. Personal selling
involves a selling process that is summarised in the following Five Stage Personal Selling
Process. The five stages are:

1. Prospecting.
2. Making first contact.
3. The sales call.
4. Objection handling.
5. Closing the sale.
A Five Stage Personal Selling Process.
Stage One - Prospecting.
Prospecting is all about finding prospects, or potential new customers. Prospects should be
'qualified,' which means that they need to be assessed to see if there is business potential,
otherwise you could be wasting your time. In order to qualify your prospects, one needs to:

 Plan a sales approach focused upon the needs of the customer.

 Determine which products or services best meet their needs.
 In order to save time, rank the prospects and leave out those that are least likely to buy.
Stage Two - Making First Contact.
This is the preparation that a salesperson goes through before they meet with the client, for
example via e-mail, telephone or letter. Preparation will make a call more focused.

 Make sure that you are on time.

 Before meeting with the client, set some objectives for the sales call. What is the purpose
of the call? What outcome is desirable before you leave?
 Make sure that you've done some homework before meeting your prospect. This will
show that you are committed in the eyes of your customer.
 To save time, send some information before you visit. This will wet the prospect's
appetite.
 Keep a set of samples at hand, and make sure that they are in very good condition.
 Within the first minute or two, state the purpose of your call so that time with the client is
maximised, and also to demonstrate to the client that your are not wasting his or her time.
 Humour is fine, but try to be sincere and friendly.

Stage Three - The Sales Call (or Sales Presentation).

It is best to be enthusiastic about your product or service. If you are not excited about it, don't
expect your prospect to be excited.

Focus on the real benefits of the product or service to the specific needs of your client, rather
than listing endless lists of features.

Try to be relaxed during the call, and put your client at ease.

Let the client do at least 80% of the talking. This will give you invaluable information on your
client's needs.

Remember to ask plenty of questions. Use open questions, e.g. TED's, and closed questions i.e.
questions that will only give the answer 'yes' or the answer 'no.' This way you can dictate the
direction of the conversation.

Never be too afraid to ask for the business straight off.

Stage Four - Objection Handling.

Objection handling is the way in which salespeople tackle obstacles put in their way by clients.
Some objections may prove too difficult to handle, and sometimes the client may just take a
dislike to you (aka the hidden objection). Here are some approaches for overcoming objections:

 Firstly, try to anticipate them before they arise.

  'Yes but' technique allows you to accept the objection and then to divert it. For example,
a client may say that they do not like a particular colour, to which the salesperson
counters 'Yes but X is also available in many other colours.'
 Ask 'why' the client feels the way that they do.
 'Restate' the objection, and put it back into the client's lap. For example, the client may
say, 'I don't like the taste of X,' to which the salesperson responds, 'You don't like the
taste of X,' generating the response 'since I do not like garlic' from the client. The
salesperson could suggest that X is no longer made with garlic to meet the client's needs.
 The sales person could also tactfully and respectfully contradict the client.

Stage Five - Closing the Sale.

This is a very important stage. Often salespeople will leave without ever successfully closing a
deal. Therefore it is vital to learn the skills of closing.

 Just ask for the business! - 'Please may I take an order?' This really works well.
 Look for buying signals (i.e. body language or comments made by the client that they
want to place an order). For example, asking about availability, asking for details such as
discounts, or asking for you to go over something again to clarify.
 Just stop talking, and let the client say 'yes.' Again, this really works.
 The 'summary close' allows the salesperson to summarise everything that the client needs,
based upon the discussions during the call. For example, 'You need product X in blue, by
Friday, packaged accordingly, and delivered to your wife's office.' Then ask for the order.
 The 'alternative close' does not give the client the opportunity to say no, but forces them
towards a yes. For example 'Do you want product X in blue or red?' Cheeky, but
effective.

So this is the Five Stage Personal Selling Process. Now have a go at it yourself by completing
the lesson.

Sales Promotion. What is sales promotion?

Sales promotion is any initiative undertaken by an organisation to promote an increase in sales,

usage or trial of a product or service (i.e. initiatives that are not covered by the other elements of
the marketing communications or promotions mix). Sales promotions are varied.

Often they are original and creative, and hence a comprehensive list of all available techniques is
virtually impossible (since original sales promotions are launched daily!). Here are some
examples of popular sales promotions activities:

(a) Buy-One-Get-One-Free (BOGOF) - which is an example of a self-liquidating promotion.

For example if a loaf of bread is priced at $1, and cost 10 cents to manufacture, if you sell two
for $1, you are still in profit - especially if there is a corresponding increase in sales. This is
known as a PREMIUM sales promotion tactic.
(b) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) incentives such as bonus points or money off
coupons. There are many examples of CRM, from banks to supermarkets.

(c) New media - Websites and mobile phones that support a sales promotion. For example, in the
United Kingdom, Nestle printed individual codes on KIT-KAT packaging, whereby a consumer
would enter the code into a dynamic website to see if they had won a prize. Consumers could
also text codes via their mobile phones to the same effect.

(d) Merchandising additions such as dump bins, point-of-sale materials and product
demonstrations.

(e) Free gifts e.g. Subway gave away a card with six spaces for stickers with each sandwich
purchase. Once the card was full the consumer was given a free sandwich.

(f) Discounted prices e.g. Budget airline such as EasyJet and Ryanair, e-mail their customers
with the latest low-price deals once new flights are released, or additional destinations are
announced.

(g) Joint promotions between brands owned by a company, or with another company's brands.
For example fast food restaurants often run sales promotions where toys, relating to a specific
movie release, are given away with promoted meals.

(h)  Free samples (aka. sampling) e.g. tasting of food and drink at sampling points in
supermarkets. For example Red Bull (a caffeinated fizzy drink) was given away to potential
consumers at supermarkets, in high streets and at petrol stations (by a promotions team).

(i) Vouchers and coupons, often seen in newspapers and magazines, on packs.

(j) Competitions and prize draws, in newspapers, magazines, on the TV and radio, on The
Internet, and on packs.

(k) Cause-related and fair-trade products that raise money for charities, and the less well off
farmers and producers, are becoming more popular.

(l) Finance deals - for example, 0% finance over 3 years on selected vehicles.

Many of the examples above are focused upon consumers. Don't forget that promotions can be
aimed at wholesales and distributors as well. These are known as Trade Sales Promotions.
Examples here might include joint promotions between a manufacturer and a distributor, sales
promotion leaflets and other materials (such as T-shirts), and incentives for distributor sales
people and their retail clients.

Public relations as part of the marketing communications

mix
Public Relations (PR) is a single, broad concept. It is broad since it contains so many elements,
many of which will be outlined in this lesson. Public Relations (PR) are any purposeful
communications between an organisation and its publics that aim to generate goodwill. Publics,
put simply, are its stakeholders. PR is proactive and future orientated, and has the goal of
building and maintaining a positive perception of an organisation in the mind of its publics. This
is often referred to as goodwill.

Yes it is difficult to see the difference between marketing communications and PR since there is
a lot of crossover. This makes it a tricky concept to learn. Added to this is the fact that PR is
often expensive, and not free, as some definitions would have you believe. PR agencies are not
cheap. Below are some of the approaches that are often considered under the PR banner.

Interviews and photo-calls.

It is important that company executives are available to generate goodwill for their organisation.
Many undertake training in how to deal with the media, and how to behave in front of a camera.
There are many key industrial figures that proactively deal with the media in a positive way for
example Bill Gates (Microsoft) or Richard Branson (Virgin). Interviews with the business or
mass media often allow a company to put its own perspective on matters that could be
misleading if simply left to dwell untended the public domain.

Speeches, presentations and speech writing.

Key figures from within an organisation will write speeches to be delivered at corporate events,
public awards and industry gatherings. PR company officials in liaison with company managers
often write speeches and design corporate presentations. They are part of the planned and
coherent strategy to build goodwill with publics. Presentations can be designed and pre-prepared
by PR companies, ultimately to be delivered by company executives.

Corporate literature e.g. financial reports.

Corporate literature includes financial reports, in-house magazines, brochures, catalogues, price
lists and any other piece of corporate derived literature. They communicate with a variety of
publics. For example, financial reports will be of great interest to investors and the stock market,
since they give all sorts of indicators of the health of a business. A company Chief Executive
Officer CEO will often write the forward to an annual financial report where he or she has the
opportunity to put a business case to the reader. This is all part of Public Relations.

Organising events.
Corporate events are used to woo publics in both a formal and an informal manner. A formal
corporate event could include a manufacturer inviting employees from all of its many
distributors to visit its manufacturing plant for a training day. This has a direct business payoff.
A more informal event could include a day at the races or a short-break abroad, where clients are
wined and dined at the cost of a company, in order to generate goodwill. This has an indirect
business payoff.

Facility visits.
Visits to a factory, such as a chocolate factory, or a facility, such as a nuclear power plant also
generate a positive perception of an organisation. In the case of a factory visit, loyal customers or
other interested parties can experience for themselves what is behind a well-known product. In
the case of a nuclear power plant, concerned or misinformed publics have the chance to see for
themselves what really occurs behind locked doors. Here the organisation has the chance to deal
with a delicate topic in a planned proactive manner. Public buildings such as parliament
buildings or churches would be included under facility visits.

Publicity events and 'stunts.'

Publicity events fall under the banner of guerrilla marketing. Here an organisation will take the
opportunity to seize upon a particular moment to hijack public attention. Publicity events and
stunts are practiced by both companies and private bodies (including pressure and political
groups). A famous example of a publicity stunt was one conducted by Fathers For Justice (a
British pressure group for divorced fathers), whereby individuals, dressed as Superheroes,
invaded Buckingham Palace in London.

Sponsorship and charitable donations.

Sponsorship is where an organisation pays for their product or service to be associated with an
activity or event. Organisations commonly sponsor sporting events and such as The Olympics,
sporting stars and other celebrities, or medium, for example television programmes. The
sponsors gain exposure, and also align their product or service with the attributes of the sport,
celebrity or medium.

Many companies (often those in profit!) make donations to charities and good causes. When
donations are publicised, again the benefits generate goodwill for the organisation. It should be
noted here that Microsoft's Bill Gates donates substantial amounts to good causes that are often
not reported. This is true corporate philanthropy.

Product placement in media.

This is an interesting and original use of PR. There are very many examples in movies and TV
programmes that 'place' products. For example, a car manufacturer places a car in a movie and
the hero drives it, or wears a watch that is looked at by the villain displaying the time,
underscored by the manufacturer's logo. Today, computer games include banners and posters
during game-play as the action unfolds. Examples of product placement in games would include
field sports with adverts placed alongside a pitch, or car racing games where you pass billboards
displayed in a city.

Lobbying government bodies.

Lobbying is named after the 'lobby' area of the British Houses of Parliament where traditionally
'lobbying' would have occurred. Lobby in the past would have meant catching the eye of a
Member of Parliament, in order to persuade him or her to take up a particular cause or argument.
Today, lobbying firms are hired by organisations or individuals with a specific cause to promote.
For example, a charity could lobby for a change in laws regarding pharmaceuticals or
armaments. The charity would hire a lobbying firm to promote their cause with elected
politicians.

Press or media releases, conferences, contact and

entertainment.
Press or media releases, conferences, contact and entertainment are pivotal Public Relations
strategies. In the past, the press were the original target (e.g. newspapers and magazines) but
today the whole media industry forms the target (i.e. radio, websites, TV, New Media and so on).
Media releases are drafted by a PR company, for example, to report financial information prior
to the release of company reports.

Media conferences are called often at short notice to inform the media directly on a current event
that has just happened, or that is about to happen. Media contact includes interviews with key
personnel, and could include speeches, presentations and speech writing by the PR company.
Finally entertaining the press, or media, is undertaken when trying to gain as much media space
as possible. This could be for a product launch or to promote an acquisition.

Advertorials in newspapers, magazines or on websites.

Advertorials are paid for advertisements that are designed to appear like copy (i.e. normal
reported text). Many countries insist that advertorials do contain a line of text to explain that they
are sponsored or placed by an advertiser. Advertorials are often used to imply that some ground
breaking treatment or solution has been uncovered.

Corporate promotional materials, websites, in-house

magazines and customer magazines.
The market for promotional materials is large. Promotional materials include items such as pens,
balloons, mouse mats, and so on. They tend to carry a company's logo and contact details, and
are another way to promote goodwill between and organisation and its publics. Websites are a
vital marketing communications and public relations tool that can convey information to publics
on how to contact an organisation, key personnel, products and services, corporate history, and
financial reports, as well as any other targeted and planned information.

In-house magazines are used for internal marketing, communication and change management
from within the organisation. In-house magazines are targeted at internal publics. Conversely,
customer magazines help organisations to communicate with external publics (mainly customers)
on all sorts of topics such as good news stories, product launches, customer clubs and many other
subjects.

Direct Marketing
What is Direct Marketing?
Direct marketing is a channel free approach to distribution and/or marketing communications. So
a company may have a strategy of dealing with its customers 'directly,' for example banks (such
as CityBank) or computer manufacturers (such as Dell). There are no channel intermediaries i.e.
distributors, retailers or wholesalers. Therefore - 'direct' in the sense that the deal is done directly
between the manufacturer and the customer.

As mentioned above, 'direct' also in the sense that marketing communications are targeted at
consumers by the manufacturers. For example, a brand that uses channels of distribution would
target marketing communications at wholesalers/distributors, retailers, and consumers, or a blend
of all three. On the other hand, a direct marketing company could focus upon communicating
directly with its customers. Direct marketing and direct mail are often confused - although direct
mail is a direct marketing tool.

There are a number of direct marketing media other than direct mail. These include (and are by
no means limited to):
  Inserts in newspapers and magazines.
 Customer care lines.
 Catalogues.
 Coupons.
 Door drops.
 TV and radio adverts with free phone numbers or per-minute-charging.
 ...and finally - and most importantly - The Internet and New Media.

The Internet and New Media (e.g. mobile phones or PDA's) are perfect for direct marketing.
Consumers have never had so many sources of supply, and suppliers have never had access to so
many markets. There is even room for niche marketers - for example Scottish salmon could
ordered online, packed and chilled, and sent to customers in any part of the world by courier.

Many companies use direct marketing, and a current example of its use, as part of a business
model, is the way in which it is used by low-cost airlines. There is no intermediary or agent,
customers book tickets directly with the airlines over The Internet. Airlines capture data that can
be used for marketing research or a loyalty scheme. Information can be processed quickly, and
then categorised into complex relational databases.

Then, for example, special offers or new flights destinations can be communicated directly to
customers using e-mail campaigns. Data is not only collected on markets and segments, but also
on individuals and their individual buyer behaviour. Companies such as Amazon are wholesalers
of books (i.e. they do not write or publish them) - so they use Customer Relationship
Management and marketing communications targeted directly at individual customers - which is
another, slightly different example of direct marketing.

PERSONAL SELLING

Personal selling occurs where an individual salesperson sells a product, service or solution to a client.
Salespeople match the benefits of their offering to the specific needs of a client. Today, personal selling
involves the development of longstanding client relationships.

In comparison to other marketing communications tools such as advertising, personal selling

tends to:

 Use fewer resources, pricing is often negotiated.

 Products tend to be fairly complex (e.g. financial services or new cars).
 There is some contact between buyer and seller after the sale so that an ongoing
relationship is built.
 Client/prospects need specific information.
 The purchase tends to involve large sums of money.

There are exceptions of course, but most personal selling takes place in this way. Personal selling
involves a selling process that is summarised in the following Five Stage Personal Selling
Process. The five stages are:
1. Prospecting.
2. Making first contact.
3. The sales call.
4. Objection handling.
5. Closing the sale.

Advertising
Advertising is an important element of the marketing communications mix. Put simply, advertising
directs a message at large numbers of people with a single communication. It is a mass medium.

Advertising has a number of benefits for the advertiser. The advertiser has control over the
message. The advert and its message, to an extent, would be designed to the specifications of the
advertiser. So the advertiser can focus its message at a huge number of potential consumers in a
single hit, at a relatively low cost per head. Advertising is quick relative to other elements of the
marketing communications mix (for example personal selling, where an entire sales force would
need to be briefed - or even recruited). Therefore an advertiser has the opportunity to
communicate with all (or many of) its target audience simultaneously.

Advertising Media
Outdoor (Posters or New Media - Mobile New Media Internet - websites and search
transport) devices engines
Newspapers (Local and
Television Magazines
National)
Radio Cinema Others...

Planning for advertising

Advertising agencies and their clients plan for advertising. Any plan should address the
following stages:

 Who is the potential TARGET AUDIENCE of the advert?

 WHAT do I wish to communicate to this target audience?
 Why is this message so IMPORTANT to them?
 What is the BEST MEDIUM for this message to take (see some of the possible media above)?
 What would be the most appropriate TIMING?
 What RESOURCES will the advertising campaign need?
 How do we CONTROL our advertising and monitor success?

There are two key categories of advertising, namely 'above-the-line' and 'below-the-line.' The
definitions owe a lot to the historical development of advertising agencies and how they charge
for their services. In a nutshell, 'above-the-line' is any work done involving media where a
commission is taken by an advertising agency, and 'below-the-line' is work done for a client
where a standard charge replaces commission. So TV advertising is 'above-the-line' since an
agency would book commercial time on behalf of a client, but placing an advert in a series of
local newspapers is 'below-the-line,' because newspapers tend to apply their own costing
approach where no commission is taken by the agency i.e. instead the agency charges the client a
transparent fee. There are many facets and elements to advertising - too many to be covered in
this short lesson. Try some of the other lessons to build your knowledge.

Why did the adverts catch your attention? For example:

Humour Testimonials Music
Facts Cartoons Before and after
Personalities Free phone numbers Others

Introduction to Brands

Brands and Branding

Branding is a strategy that is used by marketers. Pickton and Broderick (2001) describe
branding as Strategy to differentiate products and companies, and to build economic value for
both the consumer and the brand owner. Brand occupies space in the perception of the
consumer, and is what results from the totality of what the consumer takes into consideration
before making a purchase decision (Pickton and Broderick 2001).

So branding is a strategy, and brand is what has meaning to the consumer.

There are some other terms used in branding. Brand Equity is the addition of the brand's
attributes including reputation, symbols, associations and names. Then the financial expression
of the elements of brand equity is called Brand Value.

There are a number of interpretations of the term brand (De Chernatony 2003). They are
summarized as follows:

 A brand is simply a logo e.g. McDonald's Golden Arches.

 A brand is a legal instrument, existing in a similar way to a patent or copyright.
 A brand is a company e.g. Coca-Cola.
 A brand is shorthand - not as straightforward. Here a brand that is perceived as having
benefits in the mind of the consumer is recognised and acts as a shortcut to circumvent
large chunks of information. So when searching for a product or service in less familiar
surroundings you will conduct an information search. A recognised brand will help you
reach a decision more conveniently.
 A brand is a risk reducer. The brand reassures you when in unfamiliar territory.
 A brand is positioning. It is situated in relation to other brands in the mind of the
consumer as better, worse, quicker, slower, etc.
 A brand is a personality, beyond function e.g. Apple's iPod versus just any MP3 player.
  A brand is a cluster of values e.g. Google is reliable, ethical, invaluable, innovative and
so on.
 A brand is a vision. Here managers aspire to see a brand with a cluster of values. In this
context vision is similar to goal or mission.
 A brand is added value, where the consumer sees value in a brand over and above its
competition e.g. Audi over Volkswagen, and Volkswagen over Skoda - despite
similarities.
 A brand is an identity that includes all sorts of components; depending on the brand e.g.
Body Shop International encapsulates ethics, environmentalism and political beliefs.
 A brand is an image where the consumer perceives a brand as representing a particular
reality e.g. Stella Artois Reassuring Expensive.
 A brand is a relationship where the consumer reflects upon him or herself through the
experience of consuming a product or service.

Consumer Behavior

Value and Relationship Quality

Dr. Jill Novak, University of Phoenix, Texas A&M University

Consumers choose goods and services based on the assumption that they will be rewarded with
value and satisfaction. Consumption is the process by which goods and services are used and
assigned a level of value by the consumer. That level could be positive, if the customer was
satisfied, or it could be negative if they did not find any value in their purchase. Marketers have
to provide the right combination of quality, price and customer service in order to give customers
positive value and satisfaction. That will in turn create happy, loyal customers. The formula
looks like this:

Quality + Price + Customer Service = Value and Satisfaction

If a product/service is provided that has low quality, and a high price, that does not create a
happy, satisfied customer. At the same time, having a great product at the best possible price
means nothing if the customer is treated badly, or not provided with the opportunity to return
unwanted items.
So what is meant by 'Quality?'
Quality is a product or service's ability to meet the customers' need or want. Quality is difficult
to define, and varies with each consumer, however we can take a look at some of the components
of quality for products and services:

Products

 Performance-The product does what it is supposed to do.

 Features-The product includes all the specifications that it says it has or that are required, this
includes safety measures.
 Reliability-The product performs consistently.
 Durability-When the product is being used it has to last under the conditions of normal use.
 Serviceability-The product is easy to maintain or repair either by the consumer or by providing a
warranty which says the company will provide repairs.
 Aesthetics-This is important to consumers, products have to look good, and this contributes to a
brand equity and identity.
 Perception-Even if the product has good quality, if the customer does not think so, then it won't
sell. The customer has to have positive feelings about the product, the company, the brand
name and the employees.

Services

 Responsiveness-Services are performed in a prompt manner.

 Reliability-The service is performed right, the first time, and all subsequent times.
 Assurance-Knowledgeable and friendly employees are essential as customers will equate
employees behavior with the entire company. If a customer has a bad experience with an
employee, they will be less likely to purchase from the entire company's offerings. Customers
expect technical competence and professionalism from salespeople.
  Empathy-Providing individualized attention to customers will make them feel special and keep
them coming back.
 Tangibles-Some services provide physical evidence that they occurred, for example a restaurant
cooks (service) and provides the food (product).

What is an advertising agency?

The Client Agency Relationship.

An advertising agency handles part or all marketing communications activities on behalf of a
client organization. The agencies themselves tend to vary in size from small, perhaps a handful
of people, to vast - where many thousands of employees make up the company. A commission is
generally taken by the agency which tends to be taken from the media purchases of the client
organisation.

This is done rather like a theatrical agent would take a percentage of the income of an actor for
whom employment had been found. The agency may also take payment from the media owners
(i.e. sometimes take a discount and do not pass it on to the client). More transparent means of
payment are becoming more popular, with some agencies being paid-by-results.

There are many types of agency, but it is generally accepted that the main ones are include full-
service agency, a la carte agency, or specialist agency. A full-service agency will take on the
whole project or campaign. An a la carte agency will offer some aspects of a campaign such as
media buying, rather like buying items from a menu. A specialist agency tends to be small and
more focused on a specific aspect of marketing communications and/or a specific market such as
Internet Marketing.

A Full-Service Agency will offer:

 Account management.
 Creative.
 Media.
 Traffic and production.
 Account planning.
 Account management.

Account managers work for an agency with the client (an agency's customers are called 'clients').
Very often they will spend a lot of time with the client working as part of their marketing team.
This is one way in which an agency works closely with its client and why the 'chemistry'
between a client and its agency needs to be right. The account manager makes sure that the
correct information is passed from the client to the other members of the agency. He or she is a
co-ordinator and time manager. The account planner will work on a brief that is fed back to the
agency team.

Creative Team
The first internal agency team members to see the brief tend to be the creatives and the media
planners. The brief contains a 'proposition' that the client wishes to communicate to the target
audience. The creative team will transform the proposition into something exciting and attractive
to the target audience. The creative team decide upon the 'creative concept.' This will be a
motivational idea. The words used to express the creative concept are called 'copy.' The images,
pictures and diagrams are created i.e. the 'design' or 'layout.' This is done by 'designers' and
'copywriters.' Beware some creatives! Creatives tend to be artistic and innovative. Hence their
advice should be highly regarded and any criticism should be constructive.

Traffic and Production Team.

The traffic and media team are in charge of the production of the physical and artistic output, i.e.
the marketing communication. In the case of a TV advert, they would commission scripts, recruit
a ctors (mainly via agents), film crews and supporting activities (such as costumes and catering).
All ads are different and so the specifics will vary. In the case of print advertising, the traffic and
production team would commission and sign-off all printed advertising material such as direct
marketing materials, magazine ads or posters.

Account Planning Team.

The account planning team work on the 'customer's' perspective, and take an outward look at the
world. They support the creative teams by supplying data and opinion on what I actually
occurring in the marketing in which advertising is to be placed. They tend to use secondary data
to support decisions, and would rarely commission original research. However, with material
supplied my organisations such as Mori, Datamonitor, ACORN, and other - the account planning
team can build an image of segments to help the creatives.

Media Team.
The media team will organise the timing and scheduling of the marketing communications
campaign. They will look at the range of media to be exploited, and then look at the best slots in
which to run advertising. They will help a client to decide upon the duration of and individual
slot, and how many of them to run. Here the expense and return to the client are key factors that
influence decision-making. The two main skills of the media team are media planning and media
buying. Today there is a wealth of data on which media buying can be based. There is software
for planning and simulation.