Vital Marketing Concepts

Marketing is nowadays a vital aspect of every business. The price of an item increases on account of marketing, but reliance on it has attained an inevitable aspect of buying/selling behavior of consumers/producers due to multiple reasons such as competitive market structures (e.g., monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and niche markets), economical communication technology, information revolution, MNCs, globalization, battle for competitive edge, and Brand Identity phenomenon. Marketing is the managerial effort through which goods/services move from producer to the consumer. The Effective Marketing is “The right product/service with right way, in the right place, at the right time, at the right price and making a profit in the process”. The American Marketing Association offers the following formal definition: “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Encyclopedia Britannica defines, “Marketing is the sum of activities involved in directing the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers.” According to Kotler, the shortest definition of marketing is “meeting needs profitably”.Marketing is required for increasing sales and achieving a sustainable market segment for product or service. Customer gets satisfaction from the product or service, entrepreneur gets profit on sale, and business achieves reputation or goodwill. Effective Marketing materializes reputed business, profitable sale, and satisfied customer. The investigation of demand behavior is focal area of marketing. Consequently, marketing has two parents, economics and psychology. Economic considerations of demand behavior are pull or visible factors while psychological leanings are push/invisible factors behind any demand behavior. A marketing effort concentrates on customers’ propensities for psychological satisfaction and designs multiple incentives of economic benefits for customers. An effective marketing approach accommodates economic rules of selling/buying and psychological tendencies of sellers/buyers. There are seven major reasons of marketing:

To inform about new product/service or product awareness

To introduce a new business or business awareness

To motivate/persuade someone for buying or demand creation

To create stable customer account or achieving customer loyalty

To attain Sustainable Competitive Advantage

To achieve reputation or Goodwill,

To realize Brand Equity

Marketing vs. Selling: – The aforesaid concept of effective marketing covers the full experience of a business deal between seller and buyer; however, there are two distinct aspects of effective marketing, i.e., selling and marketing. Perceptually, Sellers and Marketers are two different groups in a marketing activity. They have distinct views towards the customers. Harvard’s Theodore Levitt drew a perceptive contrast between the selling and marketing concepts: “Selling focuses on the needs of the seller; marketing on the needs of the buyer. Selling is preoccupied with the seller’s need to convert his product into cash; marketing with the idea of satisfying the needs of the customer by means of the product and the whole cluster of things associated with creating, delivering, and finally consuming it.” The strategic alignment between marketing and selling is vital for better results. “A study from App Data Room and Marketo found that sales and marketing alignment can make an organization 67% better at closing deals, reduce friction by 108%, and generate 209% more value from marketing.”Marketing vs. Branding:-Branding is the marketing process by which a marketer or brand manager reduces a company’s reputation to a single word or phrase or design. The American Marketing Association defines a brand as “a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.” There is a well-known rule in marketing: “Sell what people are buying.” Similarly, the well-performing rule in branding: “Brand the attributes that people love.” An established brand creates consumer trust and emotional attachments; as a result, brands foster relationships among consumers, products and business that lead to the valuable benefits to a producer such as premium pricing, low promotion cost, loyal customer and constantly growing market share. In a nutshell, a branding effort enhances Brand Equity for sellers. Brand Equity is the brand’s power derived from the goodwill and name recognition that it has earned over time, which translates into higher sales volume and better profit margins against competing brands in the market. The vital strategic aspect of Brand Equity creation is internal branding. “Internal branding consists of managerial activities and processes that help, inform and inspire employees about brands.” In a branding effort, a marketer or an entrepreneur adopts four perspectives for an effective branding – Consumer Perspective (to ascertain desirability of product/service by multiple consumers), Company Perspective (to improve, technically and aesthetically, presentation and delivery process of product/service), Competitive Perspective (to understand and exploit differentiability/parity content of products/services with respect to competitors), and Brand Perspective (to work on creation of possible brand equity). It is noteworthy that, in branding, you create a perception of product/business while, during marketing, you motivate or persuade someone for actual buying. Branding is who you are while marketing is how you affect consumers’ decision process. More specifically, “Branding or Brand Management is a communication function in marketing that includes analysis and planning on how that brand is positioned in the market, which target public the brand is targeted at, and maintaining a desired reputation of the brand.”Marketing vs. Advertising: – Marketing deals with multiple business efforts to realize ‘Profitable Sale’ such as market research, pricing & distribution of product/service, branding, selling and public relations. Advertising is just one component of marketing. In advertising, an entrepreneur or business communicates to the potential buyers about his/her products or services. Advertising is defined as:”Any form of communication in the paid media”. The prominent advertising mediums are, print media, electronic media and social media. Conceptually, marketing is the way or strategy to convince potential buyers that you have the right product/service for them, while, advertising is conversion of marketing strategy into specific communication media. In advertising, you tell the potential customers about the existence and availability of right product/service for them. The greatest issue of present-day advertising is Cluttering. “An Advertising Clutter refers to the excessive amount of ad messages consumers are exposed to on a daily basis.” It is vital responsibility of a marketer to manage the clutter. The clutter management means to find the right time and place to connect with target customers and to send impeccable messages to them about your business or offerings.Marketing vs. Networking: – Networking is a systematic human interaction with fellow human beings to exchange information and opportunities. Business Networking is dynamically linked with effective marketing. Business networking is an outcome of socio-economic interactions of an entrepreneur. The networking efforts shape a business circle. It is noteworthy; a business circle is a sub-circle of a big socio-economic circle of an entrepreneur. A business cannot survive or flourish, at least with full potential, without proper interaction among all economic agents/stakeholders. Executives’ presence in a big socio-economic circle and related associations is vital to develop an effective business networking. The business networking, BtoB and BtoC, is the crucial aspect of effective marketing.Concisely speaking, the effective marketing is combination of networking, branding, marketing, advertising and selling. The networking earmarks areas of targeted customers, branding prepares ground through shaping/reshaping of perceptions/emotions of prospective customers, advertising informs them about product/service through multiple media, marketing motivates them for buying, and selling materializes the actual profitable sale.

Developing A Contract For Ecommerce Software – Concluding The Order Form

In the ecommerce regulations, the formation of the contract is one of the top priorities that every online business must pay attention too. The major concerns are how, when and where the contract is formed. In this article we will look over the process to finalize the order form and incorporate the right information into the terms and conditions of your ecommerce solutions.The order form, or web page which the order form is displayed, is where the customer is taken to conclude the order. The order form has to include the product, a selection for quantities and the customer’s delivery information. In the ecommerce regulations it declares that the customer requires a means to correct any errors on the order form. Most ecommerce software solutions incorporate this condition by adding three buttons to the order form. The buttons are commonly labelled ‘Submit’, ‘Clear’ and ‘Cancel’, these present the customer with options that the regulations expect for an online store such as an eBay store, Facebook store or other ecommerce solutions.Incorporating the correct information into the terms and conditions of your ecommerce solutions is a critical part of making sure your online business is legal. At the bottom of the terms and conditions page the customer has to be required to ‘tick a box’ to identify that they have understood and accepted before they click on the ‘Submit’ button. The ‘Submit’ button has to be only available when the terms and conditions have been ticked and accepted. The ecommerce software that a company operates has to load the whole web page before the customer is capable to accept the terms and conditions. By the ecommerce solutions doing this, the company is in a position of power in the event that customer claims there was no chance to read the terms and conditions.Although there is no accountability on the retailer to confirm that the customer has in verity read the terms and conditions, following these behaviours will demonstrate that proper efforts have been made to bring them to the customers notice. The terms and conditions for your eBay store, Facebook store or ecommerce solutions has to be arranged so that the customer can print and save the web page. The correct design has to include no pop-up windows and make sure that they fit inside the width of the page and be presented in a way that they print correctly.An expression such as ‘By clicking the Accept button you agree to these terms and conditions’. When finishing and submitting the online order form the customer is making a proposal to buy, which, if accepted by the retailer, will result in a binding contract. By integrating the expression ‘accepted by the retailer’ the retailer has guarded themselves according to ecommerce regulations.This above process is recommended as the ‘best practice’ method for displaying terms and conditions but there is another procedure that ecommerce software can utilize and is more user-friendly. This method is not as legally safe but is approved on a lot of ecommerce websites. This method is to include a link to the terms and conditions on the order form, and make the customer tick a box to confirm they have read and accepted, before they click on the ‘Submit’ button. This method takes away a huge quantity of information from the order page and incorporates a link to another page which displays all the relevant information. An eBay store, Facebook store or regular ecommerce store can utilize this method to improve the customers experience and not to divert the customer from their buying experience.

How to Get Free Radio Advertisement

The greatest expense you’re going to incur in conducting a successful business is advertising.You have to advertise. Your business cannot grow and flourish unless you advertise. Advertising is the “life-blood” of any profitable business. And regardless of where or how your advertise, it’s going to cost you in some form or another. Every successful business is built upon, and continues to thrive, primarily, on good advertising. The top companies in the world allocate millions of dollars annually to their advertising budget. Of course, when starting from a garage, basement or kitchen table, you can’t quite match their advertising efforts—at least not in the beginning. But there is a way you can approximate their maneuvers without actually spending their kind of money. And that’s through “P.I” Advertising.”P.I.” stands for per inquiry. These kinds of advertising most generally associated with broadcasting, where you pay only for the responses you get to your advertising message. It’s very popular–somewhat akin to bartering–and is used by many more advertisers than most people realize. The advantages of PI Advertising are all in favor of the advertiser because with this kind of an advertising arrangement, you can pay only for the results the advertising produces.To get in on this “free” advertising, start with a loose leaf notebook, and about 100 sheets of filler paper. Next, either visits your public library and start poring through the Broadcast Yearbook on radio stations in the U.S., or Standard Rate and Data Services Directory on Spot Radio. Both these publications will give you just about all the information you could ever want about licensed stations.An easier way might be to call or visit one of your local radio stations, and ask to borrow (and take home with you) their current copy of either of these volumes. To purchase them outright will cost $50 to $75.Once you have a copy of either of these publications, select the state or states you want to work first. It’s generally best to begin in your own state and work outward from there. If you have a moneymaking manual, you might want to start first with those states reporting the most unemployment.Use some old fashioned common sense. Who are the people most likely to be interested in your offer, and where are the largest concentrations of these people? You wouldn’t attempt to sell windshield de-ice canisters in Florida, or suntan lotion in Minnesota during the winter months, would you?At any rate, once you’ve got your beginning “target” area decided upon, go through the radio listings for the cities and towns in that area, and jot down in your notebook the names of general mangers, the station call letters, and addresses. Be sure to list the telephone numbers as well.On the first try, list only one radio station per city. Pick out the station people most interested in your product would be listening to. This can be determined by the programming description contained within the date block about the station in the Broadcasting Yearbook or the SRDS Directory.The first contact should be in the way of introducing yourself, and inquiring if they would consider a PI Advertising campaign. You tell the station manger that you have a product you feel will sell very well in his market, and would like to test it before going ahead with a paid advertising program. You must quickly point out that your product sells for, say $5, and that during this test, you would allow him 50% of that for each response his station pulls for you. Explain that you handle everything for him: the writing of the commercials, all accounting and bookkeeping, plus any refunds or complaints that come in. In other words all he has to do is schedule your commercials on his log, and give them his “best shot.” When the responses come in, he counts them, and forwards them on to you for fulfillment. You make out a check for payment to him, and everybody is happy.If you’ve contacted him by phone, and he agrees to look over your material, tell him thank you and promise to get a complete “package” in the mail to him immediately. Then do just that. Write a short cover letter, place it on top of your “ready-to-go” PI Advertising Package, and get it in the mail to him without delay.If you’re turned down, and he is not interested in “taking on” any PI Advertising, just tell him thanks, make a notation in your notebook by his name, and go to your next call. Contacting these people by phone is by far the quickest, least expensive and most productive method of “exploring” for those stations willing to consider your PI proposal. In some cases though, circumstances will deem it to be less expensive to make this initial contact by letter or postcard.In that case, simply address you card or letter to the person you are trying to contact. Your letter should be positive in tone, straight forward and complete. Present all the details in logical order on one page, perfectly typed on letterhead paper, and sent in a letterhead envelope. (Rubber-stamped letterheads just won’t get past a first glance.) Ideally, you should include a self-addressed and stamped postcard with spaces for positive or negative check marks in answer to your questions: Will you or won’t you over my material and consider a mutually profitable “Per Inquiry” advertising campaign on your station?Once you have an agreement from your contact at the radio station that they will look over your materials and give serious consideration for a PI program, move quickly, getting your cover letter and package off by First Class mail, perhaps even Special Delivery.What this means is at the same time you organize your “radio station notebook,” you’ll also want to organize your advertising package. Have it all put together and ready to mail just as soon as you have a positive response. Don’t allow time for that interest in your program to cool down.You’ll need a follow-up letter. Write one to fit all situations; have 250 copies printed, and then when you’re ready to send out a package, all you’ll Have to do is fill in the business salutation and sign it. If you spoke of different arrangements or a specific matter was discussed in your initial contact, however, type a different letter incorporating comments or answers to the points discussed. This personal touch won’t take long, and could pay dividends!You’ll also need at least to thirty-second commercials and two sixty-second commercials. You could write these up, and have 250 copies printed and organized as a part of your PI Advertising Package.You should also have some sort of advertising contract written up, detailing everything about your program, and how everything is to be handled; how and when payment to the radio station is to be made, plus special paragraphs relative to refunds, complaints, and liabilities. All this can be very quickly written up and printed in lots of 250 or more on carbonless multi-part snap-out business forms.Finally, you should include a self-addressed and stamped postcard the radio station can use to let you know that they are going to use your PI Advertising program, when they will start running your commercials on the air, and how often, during which time periods. Again, you simply type out the wording in the form you want to use on these “reply postcards, and have copies printed for your use in these mailings.To review this program: Your first step is the initial contact after searching through the SRDS or Broadcasting Yearbook. Actual contact with the stations is by phone or mail. When turned down, simply say thanks, and go to the nest station on the list. For those who want to know more about your proposal, you immediately get a PI Advertising Package off to them via the fastest way possible. Don’t let the interest wane.Your Advertising Package should contain the following: 1. Cover letter 2. Sample brochure, product literature 3. Thirty-second and sixty-second commercials 4. PI Advertising Contract 5. Self-addressed, stamped postcard for station acknowledgment and acceptance of your program.Before you ask why you need an acknowledgment postcard when you have already given them a contact, remember that everything about business changes from day to day—conditions change, people get busy, and other things come up. The station manager may sign a contract with your advertising to begin the 1st of March. The contract is signed on the 1st of January, but when March 1 rolls around, he may have forgotten, been replaced, or even decided against running your program. A lot of paper seemingly “covering all the minute details” can be very impressive to many radio station managers, and convince them that your company is a good one to do business with.Let’s say that right now you’re impatient to get started with your own PI Advertising campaign. Before you “jump off the deep end,” remember this: Radio station people are just as professional and dedicated as anyone else in business—even more so in some instances–so be sure you have a product or service that lends itself well to selling via radio inquiry system.Anything can be sold, and sold easily with any method you decide upon, providing you present it from the right angle. “Hello out there! Who wants to buy a mailing list for 10 cents a thousand names?” Wouldn’t even be allowed on the air. However, if you have the addresses of the top 100 movie stars, and you put together an idea enabling the people to write to them direct, you might have a winner, and sell a lot of mailing lists of the stars.At the bottom line, a lot is riding on the content of your commercial—the benefits you suggest to the listener, and how easy it is for him to enjoy those benefits. For instance, if you have a new book on how to find jobs when there aren’t any jobs: You want to talk to people who are desperately searching for employment. You have to appeal to them in words that not only “perk up” their ears, but cause them to feel that whatever it is that you’re offering will solve their problems. It’s the product, and in writing of the advertising message about that product is going to bring in those responses.Radio station managers are sales people, and sales people the world over will be sold on your idea if you put your selling package together properly. And if the responses come in your first offer, you have set yourself up for an entire series of successes. Success has a “ripple effect,” but you have to start on that first one. We wish you success!