Marketing is the process of planning, executing, and analyzing strategies to promote products, services, or ideas to specific audiences. It involves understanding customer behavior, market trends, and competition to create effective plans.
Marketing encompasses activities like research, product development, branding, advertising, sales, and customer relations. Its aim is to generate awareness, interest, desire, and action, leading to customer acquisition, retention, and loyalty. In the digital age, marketing has evolved to use platforms like social media, email, search engines, and content to reach and engage audiences more effectively.
Organizations with high market share inevitably become market leaders. Increasing market share and becoming a market leader can be an important aim, but it comes with problems. Being a market leader may attract the interest of governments and regulatory bodies determined to stop organizations from abusing their power.
Market segmentation is the process of classifying customers with similar needs and wants within a whole market.
Customers may be classified based on their age, gender, location, lifestyle, and occupation. Once this classification has taken place, a business can determine a target market.
Niche markets target specific segments, while a mass market aims broadly. Organizations may transition from niche to mass markets.
Niche markets rely on smaller sales volumes with higher prices, while mass marketing requires larger budgets.Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) differentiate products, influencing consumer perception and pricing strategies.
Quality
Customer Loyalty programmes(CLPs)
Price
Line extension
Appearing to be environmentally friendly or socially responsible
The focus is on introducing simple linear regression analysis as a tool for creating sales forecasts.
This method involves collecting market research data, typically done by specialized outside companies skilled in data mining and analytics.
Once market research data has been collected and presented on a scatter diagram, the organization will want a line of best fit.
The line of best fit indicates the trend of the data.
It is possible to create a range of extrapolations leading to a range of forecasts.
Also note that some organizations operate in markets which are seasonal.
Over a much longer period, other variations in camping equipment sales may be experienced. This is called cyclical variations.
Economies have recessions and recoveries.
The internet has provided a range of opportunities to find research from organizations. The real problem is finding accurate market analysis surveys that are suited to an organizations needs.
Media and newspaper articles provide another starting point for secondary research. It is important for a market researcher conducting secondary research into a range of topics, markets, opinions and trends.
Qualitative research can be obtained from consumers taking part in group discussions such as focus groups, or in-depth interviews.
Quantitative research is conducted mostly through pre-prepared questions.
Sampling is a process where an organization will investigate a group of segment of customers to learn both qualitative and quantitative information.
The increasing awareness of environmental concerns has led to the development of a new economic system called circular economy which has in turn led to the creation of a circular business model.