Please note that marketing creates the opportunity to exchange information between businesses and customers. To do this, companies use various marketing tools to convey important information, stimulate customer interest and motivate subsequent actions. To attract the target audience and build a successful business, you will need to use several tactics at once.
The key to success lies in understanding what marketing tools you will need to achieve your goals.
Why are marketing tools so important?
The answer to the question is extremely simple and obvious - increase your sales and increase the popularity of the brand. But in order to choose the optimal toolkit, you will need to take into account current business goals, the company’s marketing strategy, the behavior of the target market and advertising budget limitations.
Practical tasks faced at the stage of choosing marketing tools:
- Traditional media: such as billboards, banners, newspapers, magazines, television, radio and directories, and the associated processes for creating print advertising, commercials and press releases. The main focus is to reach a large number of people to ensure success. The advertising message should prompt people to think about the need to buy. It is an expensive marketing tool, but traditional media remains the most reliable source of information.
- Digital media. Modern computer technologies and software make it possible to target potential clients in a targeted manner. And what is very important, this type of communication is measurable and provides you with the opportunity to quickly receive data for analysis. Digital marketing tools include: mobile marketing, interactive banner advertising, email campaigns, and so on. One of the key components of success is the presence of web analytics, the tools of which provide information about the online activity and interests of your visitors, the geography of potential consumers and lists of queries (keywords). This is the most effective tool if you have the appropriate experience.
- Social media. , forums and blogs are a separate subset of digital media. At the same time, the main goal of social media is to establish trusting relationships with the target audience, which allows increasing the involvement of potential clients and identifying their preferences and interests. This type of communication offers low-cost tools with potentially high profits.
- Promotional elements: Promotional items such as brochures, business cards, press kits, business card websites. They are also equally important tools for a marketer. Some of these elements include a lot of detailed information and highlight what makes your business different. This way you provide consumers with contact information about yourself. Promotional elements contribute to brand recognition, but when using them, the first thing to consider is cost.
Conclusion
The proposed classification can be easily expanded using other criteria. For example, on the direction in which information should flow - to the outside world or within the company itself. Internal marketing is also an important aspect of the marketing strategy. You may need to send various messages or detailed information to employees, shareholders and partners. The goals vary, but generally, internal marketing is an attempt to provide incentive within the company to market new products to the outside world.
Marketing functions and tools. Everyone talks about them, but few people understand what is hidden under these words. Let's try to figure it out in more detail and finally find out what these guys are made of.
Marketing function— organize and implement the exchange process between manufacturer and consumer. In other words, this is a set of main directions, rules of operation of the enterprise, depicting the content of the marketing approach to organizing a business.
Analytical— research and analysis of the external and internal market environment. The analytical function of marketing is a study of the market itself, a study of customers, a study of the structure of the company, a study of products, and an assessment of the internal environment of the company.
Production— organizing the release of new products, organizing support, monitoring production quality. The essence of this function lies in the development of new products that would best meet the needs of customers. Marketing activities directly influence production, trying to present this process as sufficiently flexible, capable of producing competitive products in accordance with technical and economic requirements and at relatively lower costs.
Sales— organization of the process of product distribution, service, organization of the order of demand formation and active influence on sales, formation of product and pricing policy. This function concentrates everything that can happen to a product in the period of time after its release and before the start of its consumption. The order of product distribution provides the manufacturer (and the buyer) with conditions under which the product is located exactly in the place where it is needed, and in the volume in which it is in demand, and of the quality that the buyer expects.
Control and monitoring function is an organization of planning and control purposes, information management and communication. This function involves adopting the most possible orderliness and proportionality in the functioning of the company, mainly in the process of long-term strategic goals.
What conclusions can be drawn about the marketing functions?
All of the above marketing functions can quite possibly be displayed as a cyclical process. These are the sequential activities carried out in marketing analysis, production process, sales and evaluation of results.
As you know, the goal of marketing is to study and satisfy the needs of customers and society as a whole with the profit of a particular company. In most cases, people start thinking about marketing only when a basic advertising campaign is required to increase sales of a certain product. Let’s be clear right away: this is a wrong tactic. In fact, in the case of correct and timely use and application of various marketing tools to promote a company to the market, it becomes possible to achieve the desired result.
If marketing functions are properly organized, they should penetrate the entire management structure of the company. All marketers are guided in their work by the most common and simple scheme of the 4P marketing mix and affect product, pricing, sales and promotion policies.
Product policy. It is based on the principle that it is necessary to produce only those goods that are extremely in demand on the modern market, and not to promote what has already been produced. This category includes the following marketing tools:
- products;
- product range;
- trademark;
- package;
- auxiliary services or comfort during the sale;
- warranty and service.
Price policy. The pricing process depends on several factors. The cost of goods should include not only production costs, but also costs associated with the sale of goods. Here marketers use the following tools:
- pricing;
- system of discounts, promotional prices, bonuses;
- pricing strategy.
Sales policy. Currently, in marketing, “sales” is viewed in a somewhat broad sense, namely as “distribution,” which implies the delivery of products to the point of sale, while organizing a variety of events to support sales and various service activities.
Communication Policy. She is able to solve problems related to the choice of method and method of promoting products to the market and through whom to promote it. Promotion is a set of various actions that a company uses to inform customers, persuade them to make a purchase and remind them about its products.
Summary of marketing tools
As you can see, any enterprise can use any marketing tools, and there are a great many of them in modern marketing. This figure has already reached 5 thousand. As a result, selecting a particularly appropriate combination of existing tools in order to implement the company's marketing plan is the most important task for marketers.
Well, as a final touch, we invite you to watch a really very useful video. I hope you get through it and say thank you :)
To Grow, Take Off, and Reboot Your Business, My 119 Favorite Marketing Tools. Finally! To say that it was useful is to say nothing. I can’t tell you everything (you can’t fit 8 hours into one article), so I chose one of the interesting topics - non-standard marketing tools.
You haven't even heard of many of them. But it will be all the more interesting to read and apply. As Igor Mann himself says: “Few people know about new and revolutionary marketing tools. Few people dare to try them first. But in vain." Knowing and doing is the most important thing.
Mann's Periodic Table of Marketing Elements
What is immediately surprising is Igor Mann’s own system of elements, which he developed for 15 years. Almost like Mendeleev :) Only about marketing. The table contains blocks (for example, osnoids, competoids, attractoids) and the actual elements with funny names - celium, brandium, dunno, plusium, upory, behind which there is useful and serious content and years of work.
Non-standard marketing tools are exactly element No. 46 of Bolshium.
10 creative marketing tools
Let's move on to the most interesting part - unusual marketing tools. Check yourself at the same time. Let this be a mini-test: mark which of the names you have heard at least once.
1. Ambient media
2. Product sitting
3. Crazy PR
4. Storytelling
5. Trivertising
6. Sensitive Marketing
7. Identity marketing
8. Dead marketing
9. Inbound marketing
10. Shockvertising
Well, how much did it turn out to be? Even if it's not much, don't be discouraged. Now you will find out what is hidden behind each name.
1. Ambient media
Non-standard advertising that penetrates the environment of the target audience. Simply put, it integrates into our daily lives. And it surprises. Of course, the brand message also conveys. Such advertising is placed on the walls and roofs of houses, on sidewalks and transport, in shopping centers and cinemas, on benches in parks and stairs. In general, anywhere.
Have you guessed why the escalator works? Elementary, Watson: it's the Duracell batteries.
Ambient media in Malaysia, -
And here are some more cool examples of Ambient media (scroll through the photos with the arrows).
2. Product sitting
Before introducing a product to the market, the manufacturer sends samples to consumers (but always to opinion leaders) to get their opinion and then distribute it through other channels. Only the end consumer will give fair feedback and point out all the shortcomings.
3. Crazy PR
The name speaks for itself. Light (and sometimes very heavy) crazy is only good. Take any extravagant idea and go ahead and bring it to life. The main thing is not to cross the boundaries of reason (and decency too) and make sure that Crazy PR fits organically into the positioning of the product, service or brand itself.
A striking example is the 3M company, a manufacturer of heavy-duty glass. On the streets of Vancouver, structures were installed that aroused the keen interest of passersby: $1 million lay quietly behind the glass. Anyone could break the glass (haha) and take the money.
Only repeat this if you are 100% confident in your product - .
But not a single attempt was successful. Surely 3M got a lot of new clients :)
4. Storytelling
Long before the first business existed, the six most powerful words in all languages were: “Let me tell you a story.” Storytelling, or storytelling, is a tool that inspires, motivates and, naturally, sells.
If you can turn an ordinary story into a grand one, make your audience laugh, wonder and be inspired, you will have no equal.
5. Trivertising
You yourself can easily guess what kind of instrument this is when you see the word in the original - tryvertising. Divide it into two parts - and voila, the meaning will appear on the surface. One of the meanings of the verb try is “to try.” That's the whole point.
Before buying something, a potential client can get to know the product better - leaf through a book, take the car for a test drive, apply a drop of perfume to the skin and feel how the aroma unfolds. People no longer want to buy a pig in a poke. In addition, such a marketing tool will increase loyalty significantly.
Trivertising is not only an offline tool. Do you recognize the book? 😉 - .
Plus, it's honest. If a person does not need a product, he will not buy it and will not waste his money. And trust in the company will remain.
6. Sensitive Marketing
Influence all five senses - and get the result you need. We see this tool everywhere. Unobtrusive music in coffee shops (fast or slow - depending on how the owners want to control the behavior of customers), the smell of fresh baked goods in a supermarket, which increases sales by almost ⅓, the elegant sound of a BMW door slamming - all these are examples of sensitive marketing.
Color matters. You can recognize the BMW M series from afar - .
Igor Mann said: “Once at one of the conferences I got into a conversation with the author of a book on sensitive marketing, Martin Lindstrom. I admitted to him that two years before he wrote that marketing should influence 6 senses. He was surprised: “What is the sixth?” “It’s a sense of humor,” I answered. “When a person laughs, it’s easier to part with money.”
7. Identity marketing
It happens that brands with similar target audiences build marketing in such a way that they themselves become similar to each other. This is where identity marketing comes to the rescue - marketing based on the distinctive features of the brand. You need to show clients what you really are. You may recall the word “uniqueness,” which is already boring to the point of gnashing of teeth, but here it is appropriate.
Each company has its own identity. Think about how you are different from others. And convey this idea to your clients.
8. Dead marketing
A completely atypical instrument for our country. The company takes care of the graves at its own expense - there is both social responsibility and marketing in its purest form: many people go to the cemetery, and they all see what kind of company takes care of the departed.
9. Inbound marketing
Inbound marketing (or inbound) is the promotion of a company’s website or product in search engines using a blog and email newsletters through content that is interesting and useful for the target audience. The user, using search engines, is looking for a solution to his problem - and, interested in materials on this topic published on your blog, he contacts you.
This is where the name inbound comes from (sometimes called engaging marketing).
Want an example? Read our blog and subscribe to the MYTH newsletter on self-development :) -
Inbound marketing works well:
- for companies with a long sales cycle (6+ months) - when customers need significant time to understand the essence and benefits of the product;
- for companies that are introducing a new product to the market, want to create demand for it, and establish themselves as experts;
- for companies in highly competitive markets where the cost of contextual advertising is very high. In this case, inbound marketing makes it possible to get targeted traffic from search engines at a lower cost.
Creating high-quality content according to all the rules of inbound marketing is a long, labor-intensive and painstaking process. But the result is worth it.
10. Shockvertising
For those who are fluent in English, it is again easier for others. The term is formed from two words - shock (I think no translation is required) and advertising (advertising). Everything that is most atypical, indecent, shocking, terrifying, causing negativity (though not always) and indignation - this is shocking advertising.
Social advertising warning that emoticons are not necessarily a sign of friendliness, and that people who do not have the best intentions can communicate with children on the Internet -
A tool for the brave. You need to use it very carefully, calculate the possible reaction of the audience and be prepared for the fact that some people will refuse your products or services.
Ambiguous associations, surprise in a cube, attracting attention - all this is shockvertising.
Where can I get something new?
If you want to experiment and are looking for new marketing tools, Igor Mann advises choosing one of three options: find, “steal” (like an artist, of course) or invent.
Find
The most accessible channel for finding new tools is the Internet. Look for information using the phrases “new marketing tool”, “new communication channel” and similar words.
If you know English, then your chances of catching a new tool online before your competitors increase significantly.
A good channel is books. You can’t read everything yourself, so you can start a “Book Club”, the participants of which will read one new book a week
and present to others its summary and the “tricks” gleaned from it. Another great channel is events: conferences, forums, trainings, seminars and master classes. You can find a lot of interesting things on them.
Reading is the first line of defense against a vacuum in the head, -
Steal
Monitoring market leaders (not only national ones) - or benchmarking - is an excellent opportunity to see in time what the companies that set the tone in the market are doing. If they started doing something, perhaps you should take a closer look at it too.
A reminder from Austin Kleon to those who want to steal wisely -.
Come up with
Sometimes a new marketing tool is born within the company. True, managers are often too conservative and cautious - not everyone decides to take risks.
Albert Einstein once said: “It is foolish to expect a different result by continuing to do the same thing.” And indeed. Upgrade your marketing. Surprise your clients. Surprise your competitors. Surprise the industry. Surprise the results yourself!
P.S. For the main photo we thank the organizers of the master class Igor Mann in Orel.
The main tools for marketing activities can be combined into the 4P complex (“four P’s”)
Marketing mix is a set of marketing tools and methods that are used by an enterprise to achieve its market goals.
This set is very often referred to as 4P (“four pi”) - after the first letters of the following English words: product - product, price - price, place - place, promotion - promotion.
Managers use the product, price, place and system of sales (distribution) of the product, communications and incentives for purchasing the product as tools to influence target consumers and achieve the market goals of the enterprise. Target consumers, or target market, is a set of those consumers who are of interest to a given enterprise, taking into account its market orientation, who are identified by the enterprise as potential buyers of its products.
In foreign theory and practice, special attention is paid to the marketing complex, called marketing-mix, and it is most often considered in the form of the “four pi” principle, which is a combination of the following four components:
PRODUKT is a product, that is, a set of “products and services” of an appropriate level of quality that the company offers to the target market. The actual quality of the product may vary. Its image can also be changed through variations in advertising and marketing. The idea of a product and how it is perceived can be changed through the use of different packaging.
PRICE - price, the amount of money that consumers must pay to receive a product. The price can be changed in the direction of either stimulating or reducing demand, which is clearly manifested in the action of the price mechanism.
PLACE - here: distribution channels (methods), that is, organizing the structure of product distribution, thanks to which the product becomes more accessible to potential buyers. Availability of a product (and, therefore, the effort that a buyer has to make to purchase the product) can be changed by more or less widespread placement of the product or by changing the distribution channels used.
PROMOTION - promotion (stimulation) is a possible activity of a company to introduce its product to the target market, disseminate information about its advantages and persuade target consumers to buy it. The number and location of sales representatives can be changed. Advertising costs can be reduced, and the content of advertising can also be changed. The audience targeted by the advertisement can also be changed.
The marketing mix is developed based on the results of marketing research, which provides the necessary information about the macro- and microenvironment, the market and its own capabilities.
The components of the marketing mix are: product policy, communication policy (promotion of goods to the market), sales (distribution) policy, pricing policy and personnel policy Golubkov E.P. Fundamentals of Marketing: Textbook. - M.: Publishing house "Finpress", 2008.- 656 p.
A useful property of the marketing mix is the controllability of its elements. A marketer can manage each element to achieve the required impact on demand and select the most promising combinations of elements. The success of the marketing mix is explained in part by the fact that it combines four types of marketing strategies.
The main goal of developing a marketing mix is to ensure sustainable competitive advantages of the company and gain strong market positions. The marketing complex is an operational activity, each component of which is the result of in-depth economic analysis and commercial calculations, often based on economic and mathematical methods. To this we add the important role of honey mushrooms and marketing intuition, which in some situations is decisive. It is difficult to rank the components of the marketing mix according to their importance for the successful commercial activities of the company, since achieving the goals is possible provided that each of the four “p”s is effective. However, the product and product policy almost always influence the nature and characteristics of the remaining components of the marketing mix.
When developing a product policy, the main problems are:
Innovation (creating new products or updating existing ones),
Ensuring the quality and competitiveness of goods,
Creation and optimization of product range,
Solving trademark issues,
Creation of effective packaging (for relevant types of products),
Life cycle analysis and management.
Communication policy is a set of ways to promote a product to the market: Public relations (PR) - public relations, advertising, sales promotion, personal sales, specialized exhibitions. PR is a commercial communications firm, a planned effort over an extended period of time with the goal of creating and maintaining goodwill and understanding between a firm and its public. Advertising, in contrast to PR, is a commercial activity, any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services of a specific customer Khrutsky V.E., Korneeva I.V. Modern marketing: a handbook on market research: Textbook. - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - M.: Finance and statistics.-528p.
Sales policy - the main task in developing a sales policy is the choice of a product distribution channel (sales channel) and decision-making on a sales strategy. The choice of a sales channel is associated with the question of the sales method - through intermediaries (indirect sales), without intermediaries (direct sales). A distribution channel is, in essence, the path of movement of goods from producer to consumer. During this journey, sales organizations or individuals take (or transfer) ownership of the product before it is sold to the consumer.
There are three types of strategies:
Intensive distribution is a strategy for marketing everyday consumer goods intended for a wide range of buyers.
Exclusive sales - organized as the distribution of new products that are positioned as exclusive, expensive models.
Selective marketing involves optimizing the number of resellers in such a way as to ensure the required market coverage and at the same time monitor the work of the wholesaler or retailer.
Pricing policy as a component of the marketing mix is developed taking into account the company's goals, external and internal factors influencing pricing, the nature of demand, production costs, distribution and sale of goods, perceived and real cost of goods, competitors' policies, etc. The development of a pricing policy includes setting the initial price for a product and timely changing prices by bringing them in accordance with changing market conditions, the company’s capabilities, its strategic goals and objectives.
Among the external environmental factors influencing the company's pricing policy, the main ones are: actions of the government, participants in distribution channels, consumer reaction, and competitors' policies.
With a high degree of competition, prices are regulated by the market, and price wars force weak firms out of the market. If competition is limited, the firm's degree of control over prices increases and market power decreases. Consumers exert influence both in terms of price elasticity of demand and behavioral characteristics, which is very important for targeted marketing.
Among internal factors, costs prevail, and not all of their components are controllable by the company. When costs increase, price policy can be helped by other components of the marketing mix: narrowing the range due to unprofitable goods or their individual modifications, modernizing goods, repositioning them, reducing the degree of differentiation.
Reducing costs does not always have a favorable effect on pricing policy.
Let's consider methods of marketing activities. Specific methods include:
1) segmentation;
2) forecasting;
3) planning;
4) positioning;
5) method of situational analysis.
Market segmentation is one of the functions in the system of marketing activities and is associated with the implementation of work to classify buyers or consumers of goods located on the market or introduced to it. After dividing the market into consumer groups and identifying the opportunities for each of them, the company must assess their attractiveness and select one or more segments to develop. When evaluating market segments, two factors must be considered: the overall attractiveness of the segment and the company's goals and resources. When choosing target segments, company managers decide whether it will concentrate its efforts on one segment or several, on a specific product or a specific market, or on an entire market at once. Offering one product to one segment - concentrated segmentation - is more often used by small firms that seek to achieve advantages over competitors. Expansion of market segments, i.e. Offering one product to multiple segments allows a firm to expand the market for the product. By offering multiple products to one segment, e.g. When resorting to assortment segmentation, related products are usually used. In differentiated segmentation, several different products are offered to several segments.
To gain a competitive advantage, each company must find its own ways of differentiating its products.
Differentiation is the process of developing a number of significant features of a product designed to distinguish it from competing products. The market offer can be differentiated in five areas: product, services, personnel, distribution channels, image.
Forecasting serves as one of the effective tools for the overall improvement of planning and management. A forecast is always a pre-planned stage of work and, moreover, the basis of one of the options for a marketing program and plan, since its goal is to provide the most likely alternative paths for the development of the event under study given the level of knowledge and prerequisites included in the forecast. Making a decision in this regard is nothing more than an informed choice of one of the most likely forecast options.
Obviously, there can be no opposition between a plan and a forecast. Forecasting is an integral scientific and analytical stage that precedes planning and making an informed planning decision.
The commodity market forecast must meet the following requirements:
1) reliability, scientific validity, consistency, taking into account factors that may have an impact in the future;
2) reproducibility and evidence, i.e. obtaining the same result when re-developing the forecast, including based on other methods, including subjectivity;
3) the alternative nature of the forecast with a clear formulation of all the hypotheses and premises underlying it;
4) verifiability of the forecast, i.e. the presence of a reliable methodology for assessing the reliability and accuracy of the forecast in order to organize its adjustment;
5) clear and concise language that is understandable to those directly making decisions and does not give rise to conflicting interpretations;
6) the planned nature of the forecast. The forecast must be timely and serve the purpose of improving management.
When developing a business plan within the framework of marketing, a special role is played by sales analysis and sales volume management, which underlies the management of production and sales of products. The following sales market research methods are used here.
Heuristic methods forecasting based on averaging information obtained by interviewing specialists.
Trend forecasting on piece goods or groups of related goods Dikhtl E., Hershgen H. Practical marketing: Textbook / Transl. with him. A.M. Makarova; Edited by I.S. Minko. - M.: Higher school, 2007. - 255 p.:
N=N current *t, (1)
where t is the growth rate, which is found from the expression:
t=N current /N prev, (2)
where N current is the value of the indicator for the current year, N pre is the value of the indicator of the previous period.
Test marketing, when a small batch of goods is produced, the sale of which is studied for possible demand.
An important task of forecasting is to determine the pace and moment of transition to the next phase of the cycle development. To solve it, the entire system of conjunctural symptoms is needed, which will make it possible to give a quantitative description of the dynamics of the transition from one phase of the cycle to another. This is the most difficult part of the forecast.
Marketing planning is carried out differently in different organizations. This concerns the content of the plan, the duration of the planning horizon, the sequence of development, and the organization of planning. Thus, the range of content of the marketing plan for different companies is different: sometimes it is only slightly wider than the plan for the activities of the sales department. Some organizations may not have a marketing plan at all as a complete document. The only planning document for such organizations may be a business plan, drawn up either for the organization as a whole or for individual areas of its development. In general, we can talk about the development of strategic, usually long-term, plans and tactical (current), usually annual and more detailed marketing plans.
A strategic (long-term) marketing plan, developed for 3-5 or more years, characterizes the current marketing situation, describes strategies for achieving goals and those activities, the implementation of which leads to their achievement.
A marketing plan is developed for each strategic business unit of an organization and, in terms of formal structure, usually consists of the following sections: management brief, current marketing situation, threats and opportunities, marketing objectives, marketing strategy, program of action, marketing budget and control.
Executive Summary - The initial section of a marketing plan that provides a brief summary of the major objectives and recommendations included in the plan.
The current marketing situation is the section of the marketing plan that describes the target market and the organization's position in it.
Threats and Opportunities - A section of the marketing plan that identifies the major threats that a product may face in the market. The potential harm of each hazard is assessed, i.e. a complication arising from unfavorable trends and events that, in the absence of targeted marketing efforts, can lead to the undermining of the survivability of the product or even its death.
Marketing goals characterize the target orientation of the plan and initially formulate the desired results of activity in specific markets. Usually they try to express goals quantitatively. However, not all of them can be defined in this way.
Marketing strategy includes specific strategies for operating in target markets, the marketing mix used, and marketing costs. Strategies developed for each market segment should address new and launched products, pricing, product promotion, product delivery, and how the strategy responds to market threats and opportunities.
A program of action, sometimes simply called a program, is a detailed program that shows what must be done, who should fulfill accepted orders and when, how much it will cost, and what decisions and actions must be coordinated in order to carry out the marketing plan.
There are three types of marketing programs:
· a program for transferring the enterprise as a whole to work in a marketing environment;
· a program in certain areas of the marketing mix, and, above all, a program for developing certain markets with the help of certain products;
· program for mastering individual elements of marketing activities.
In the opinion of domestic marketers, the greatest interest for enterprise managers is in programs to enter the market with certain products.
Typically, the program also briefly describes the goals towards which the program's activities are aimed. In other words, a program is a set of activities that must be carried out by marketing and other functions of the organization so that, with the help of the selected strategies, the goals of the marketing plan can be achieved.
Marketing budget is a section of the marketing plan that reflects the projected amounts of income, costs and profits. Costs are defined as the sum of the costs of production, distribution and marketing, the latter are described in detail in this budget.
In practice, various methods are used to determine the marketing budget; Let's look at the most common ones:
1) “Financing from opportunities.” This method is used by firms focused on production rather than marketing.
2) The “fixed percentage” method is based on the deduction of a certain share of the previous or expected sales volume. This method is quite simple and is often used in practice Bagiev G.L., Tarasevich V.M., Ann H. Marketing: Textbook for universities; Under the general editorship. Bagieva G.L.-M.: Publishing house "Economy", 2007.-703p..
3) The maximum expenditure method assumes that as much money as possible must be spent on marketing. Despite all the apparent “progressiveness” of this approach, its weakness lies in the neglect of ways to optimize costs.
4) The method of accounting for a marketing program involves careful consideration of the costs of achieving specific goals, but not in themselves, but in comparison with the costs of other possible combinations of marketing means.
Section - control - characterizes the procedures and methods of control that must be carried out to assess the level of success of the plan. Measuring the success of the plan can be carried out for an annual time interval, quarterly, and for each month or week.
All of the above sections characterize both strategic and tactical plans, but the main difference between them is the degree of detail in the elaboration of individual sections of the marketing plan.
Marketing planning is increasingly used by many companies in the Russian Federation, although it encounters many opponents. There are cases when enterprises, having adopted this powerful tool of market economy, subsequently abandoned it. There is a completely logical explanation for these facts. The fact is that the planning system in general and strategic in particular cannot be blindly copied, which was observed in most cases. Any enterprise has individual characteristics related to organizational structure, values, technology, personnel, scientific potential, etc. Thus, in order to achieve maximum economic impact, an organization needs to adapt its existing marketing planning system to the environment in which it operates.
After determining the target market segment, the enterprise must study the properties and image of competitors' products and assess the position of its product in the market. Having studied the positions of competitors, the company decides on the positioning of its product. Product positioning is the way in which consumers identify a product based on its most important characteristics.
In practice, product positions are determined using positioning maps, which are a two-dimensional matrix of different pairs of characteristics.
In order to form and consolidate certain perceptions in the minds of consumers, a number of positioning strategies are used, for example, positioning based on certain product advantages, positioning by competitor, positioning by product category, etc.
Positioning is based on associative connections between a product and product characteristics or other positioning factors. Successful companies tend to maintain clear differentiating advantages and avoid abrupt changes in their market position.
Naturally, positioning cannot be associated with consumer deception and misinformation; it may work once, after which the manufacturer will face failures and losses.
Correctly organized market positioning is a prerequisite for effective development of the marketing mix.
The so-called situational analysis can provide significant benefits for marketing management and monitoring the results of an enterprise’s economic activities. Its goal is to present to the management and heads of individual departments a “photo portrait” of the situation in which the enterprise is at the time of the analysis. Situational analysis comprehensively covers the entire activity of the enterprise and should ultimately lead to the formulation of new goals, assessment of ways to achieve them, decision-making, development of appropriate strategies, etc.
Situational analysis is an extremely effective method of monitoring the position of an enterprise in a competitive market (Appendix 1). Well tested, it will allow management to get rid of illusions and take a sober look at the true state of affairs at the enterprise, to outline new, promising directions for the development of core economic activities, including in foreign markets Yasheva G.A. Marketing effectiveness: methodology, assessments and results // Practical marketing. - 2001. - No. 5. - P. 9. . If an enterprise has branches, representative offices or an agent commercial network, including abroad, then a situational analysis according to a full or slightly modified program should also be carried out by the managers of the sales network.
To conduct a situational analysis, the enterprise accumulates information from:
Government sources;
Industry and regional information centers;
International information centers;
Periodicals, materials of exhibitions, conferences;
Contact audience surveys;
Other sources.
Situational analysis at an enterprise is carried out through a direct examination of the enterprise, assessing the technical and economic level of departments and workplaces, and preparing materials to identify the goals of the strategic development of the company. Situational analysis questions should be formulated in the following areas: markets; goods; “mirror” of a new product (general characteristics, market characteristics, production characteristics, market test of the product); buyers; internal and external environments; competition and competitors; marketing goals; marketing program; marketing organization; prices; product distribution; organization of trade; demand formation and sales promotion; package; service.
The main objectives of the marketing synthesis stage are:
Determining the goals of the company’s strategic development, resulting from the results of the situational analysis;
Assessing the strategic development goals of the company from the point of view of market conditions and ensuring the survival of the company;
Decision making for strategic planning. This or that strategic decision can take place on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the most significant goals. It is necessary to involve the most qualified employees of the company in the development of strategic decisions. Their work can be organized according to the principle of “brainstorming”, which makes it possible to obtain more reliable forecasts of the possible consequences of upcoming decisions of a strategic nature. The main objectives of strategic marketing planning are:
1) putting forward marketing strategies to achieve the chosen goals;
2) choosing a preferred strategy;
3) making decisions on the development of long-term development tactics.
So, for the effective functioning of an enterprise and achieving its commercial success, a coherent system of economic actions is necessary, which is called marketing, the study of high-quality organization and implementation of marketing functions. The enterprise is obliged to produce competitive, consumer-oriented goods and services and sell them in the shortest possible time with good service and at low costs.
But even in the production of competitive goods, rationalization of product sales is necessary in order to create a favorable image of the enterprise, faster sales of goods, reduction and optimization of distribution costs, which make up the majority of the company’s expenses. The most important criterion for a company's success is the size of its profit. Without making a profit, the further functioning of the enterprise is impossible. A significant role in increasing the profit of an enterprise is played by the reduction of distribution costs, which are reduced by rationalizing the entire work of the company through various marketing activities. Therefore, the system of actions within the framework of marketing, along with strengthening market positions and increasing the competitiveness of goods, is aimed at improving circulation, reducing its costs and rationalizing product sales.
To use at the operational level measures aimed at creating advantages for the enterprise in competition, marketing tools are used; which consists of pricing, communication, product policies, and distribution policies. The price of products in market conditions is determined by various factors and is calculated on the basis of internal calculations or is set by the enterprise by the market situation (supply and demand). Price calculation is based on unit cost and profit. However, sale at this price is possible only if it is acceptable to the consumer. Therefore, before the start of production, it is necessary to determine demand trends in a specific market (segments) and set prices that consumers will agree with. The decisive factor for setting the offer price is the structure of the market. It is determined by the competitive situation in the market. Therefore, it is especially important to take into account the reaction of competitors when setting or changing prices. Analysis of the critical sales volume allows us to answer the question of what minimum quantity of products the enterprise must sell in order for the turnover to cover expenses and the enterprise not to incur losses. The analysis is based on the ratio of production costs and constant variables. Diverse consumer groups in the market place different demands on products. For example, consumers with low profits give preference to products that combine high quality with low prices; consumers with high profits pay more attention to product quality. The decisive factor for the success of a product on the market is the subjective perception by consumers of the objective advantages of the product. Drawing the attention of a potential buyer to a product, informing him about the advantages of the product and encouraging him to buy is the task that advertising solves. Advertising costs are increasing every year. Advertising is becoming a dominant tool for influencing demand increase, especially in markets where there is no longer price competition. In order to purposefully use advertising as a communication tool between an enterprise and a potential buyer, it is necessary to determine the consumer groups to which advertising will be directed. The content of advertising and its design must be in such a form that the buyer understands that he can satisfy his individual needs with this particular product. The main advertising means are: television and radio advertising; advertising events (exhibitions, fairs); advertisements in newspapers and magazines; prospectuses; advertising posters; illuminated advertising. Advertising media can reach the target group of consumers only through the advertising medium. The choice of advertising product and medium can be made by analyzing the media taking into account the advertising budget. Enterprises also use additional communication tools: - public relations, which are aimed at improving the image of the enterprise not only among consumers, but also among the environment (suppliers, authorities, media) - for this purpose, press conferences are held, visits to the enterprise, etc. d.; - sponsorship, that is, activities of an enterprise that improve its image by encouraging certain individuals or organizations in the cultural, sports or social sphere. - product development; - entering the market (the need for significant investments); - slow growth in sales volume (no or insignificant profits); - growth (increase in sales volume due to the high degree of popularity of the product; income growth due to reduced costs per unit of product); - market saturation (stabilization or reduction in demand due to exhausted market potential; change in primary demand for demand associated with the replacement of goods; transition of some consumers to more modern products of competitors; investment of profits in the development of new products); - recession (increased decline in sales volume, displacement of products from the market). Industrial products have varied life cycles: products that are not at all related to everyday demand, and everyday products have very long life cycles; and prestige goods are short. To determine the timing of new product development, it is necessary to know life cycles and inherit them. Failure to develop a new product in a timely manner may result in loss of the market. A new product that has appeared on the market must have significant differences compared to competing products and satisfy the consumer as much as possible. Decisive in this case is the subjective perception of the properties of the product by the consumer. Therefore, when introducing products to the market, it is necessary to establish criteria for evaluation by consumers (from a subjective point of view) of products that are already being sold. By comparing the assessment of competitors' products with buyers' ideas about the ideal product, it is possible to obtain information about the necessary objective and subjective properties of the product that will be needed and introduced into the market. A significant role, in addition to the consumer value of products, is played by its evaluation in the social context. The product promotion policy resolves the issue of the route of promotion to the consumer of products manufactured by the enterprise. It contains all the activities necessary to provide the consumer with products in the right quantity and quality at the right time and in the right place. When deciding on a particular distribution route, the long-term use of that channel is in mind. This decision can only be made in coordination with other marketing tools. Decision-making in the field of product promotion policy involves choosing a system, form and distribution channel.
The sales system can be: own (sale by the manufacturer of his own products through sales branches of the enterprise); related to the enterprise (trade system under contracts, franchise system, that is, sales are carried out by other enterprises that are legally independent, but economically dependent on a particular enterprise); and not related to the enterprise (economically and legally independent sales companies). The sales form shows whether sales are carried out through trade organizations that are related to the enterprise, or through third-party organizations. Sales can be carried out through direct deliveries to end consumers or through indirect deliveries (through wholesale or retail trade). Optimal use of marketing tools is only possible with constant market research. As a result, information about demand should be obtained (market potential, market volume, purchasing power in different regions, identification of consumer groups, seasonal fluctuations in demand); about the offer (presence of competitors, market segmentation, competing products and their properties, competitors’ offers, image); about the possibility of using marketing tools and their effectiveness (elasticity of sales prices, advertising and its cost in the media, knowledge of the press). Sources of information for market research can be information obtained in primary research and information as a result of repeated research. In the first case, consumer surveys, observation of consumer behavior, and experiments (product tests, price tests, advertising tests) are used to collect information. In the other, information is taken from materials (internal and external sources) that already exist. These include a variety of statistical data, reports, materials from chambers of commerce and industry, research institutes, industry institutes, foreign trade banks, consulting services, foreign trade information bureaus, etc. In addition to traditional sources of information, interactive data banks are becoming increasingly important. The most well-known data sellers are DIALOG, DATA-STAR, GENIOS, STN and FIZ-Technik. To present data and increase their information content, a number of analytical statistical methods have been developed (regression analysis, discriminant analysis, determination of statistical parameters). Marketing is an intermediate link on the path of information between the enterprise and the consumer. If marketing, through appropriate methods and tools, correctly interprets the signs that characterize market processes, products oriented to consumer needs will enter the market.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF MARKETING ACTIVITIES
Marketing orientation requires that proposals for the release of new products, bringing these products to customers and influencing customers through the quality of the product should be concentrated in one hand - the marketing director and his staff. The main activities of the marketing director and his staff are: - conducting market research (analysis of market situations, developing recommendations for choosing the most profitable market, obtaining information about real buyers in the enterprise market, studying trends in market prospects and forecasting sales volumes, recommendations for developing market strategies); - development of recommendations from the image of the enterprise; - conducting and coordinating marketing activities of enterprise managers regarding product design, production, sales and prices; - constant analysis of the effectiveness of decisions, orders and technologies; - determining the influence of consumer characteristics of new products on buyers’ decisions to purchase them; - determination of the stages of the product life cycle and timely development of recommendations regarding the withdrawal of goods from production and export; - coordination of the work of subsections of the demand service and sales network; - control over the activities of the enterprise, which influences the decisions of buyers to purchase its products; - review of budgets and personnel policies of all departments of the marketing service.
In enterprises with a centralized management structure, marketing activities are carried out by the marketing service. It can be organized in different ways: - organization “by function” is most appropriate when there are few goods and markets in the enterprise. Foreign markets and manufactured goods are considered to have a certain homogeneity. To work with them, it is enough to have specialized departments: market research, production planning and marketing, sales and service management, demand services; - organization “by type of goods” is advisable when an enterprise has a diverse range of goods that requires specific conditions of production, sales, and service. With such an organization, groups are formed in departments that deal only with “their own product.” And already in relation to this product a functional organization is established. The main disadvantage of such an organization is the duplication of research and sales networks due to the desire of management groups for independence. At the same time, the marketing director must ensure more effective communication between group leaders and ordinary employees; - organization "by territory" is beneficial if there is a wide range of goods in each of the selected regions and minor differences between their consumers. This organization makes it possible to take into account the specifics of consumption of goods in each region. The Marketing Service coordinates the activities of departments in studying markets, advertising, planning, and providing production with the necessary raw materials. The marketing service is headed by a marketing manager. He provides general management of marketing activities and is responsible for the following areas of the enterprise’s activities: market research; development of a product marketing program; determining the price of products; implementation of advertising; sales organization; transportation of goods; development of new types of products and modernization of traditional products. At an enterprise that carries out foreign economic activity, a specialized department is created, which is subordinate to the marketing service. He coordinates the activities of departments related to the implementation of foreign economic activity. Marketing management means creating services for collecting information, conducting market research, organizing advertising, sales operations and services in such a way as to ensure maximum effect (profitability, sales volume, etc.) with optimal marketing costs. The most common such structures are: functional orientation, product orientation, regional orientation, segment orientation. The functional orientation of the structure is appropriate when there is a small variety of goods sold by the enterprise and a small number of markets. Managers (usually there are five of them) are subordinate to the director, marketing director (deputy head of the enterprise from marketing), separated in functions and responsibilities (see Fig. 3).
The flows of initial and control information are clearly defined, the relationships are clear and do not provide grounds for competition between managers.
As the range of goods expands and the geography of markets becomes more complex (up to seven per person), there is a real danger of insufficient attention to some goods and markets. The functional structure will be turned into a commodity structure. The product orientation of the structure is that a special marketing manager is appointed for each product or group of similar products (see Fig. 4). In this kind of marketing organization, workers specialize and are able to coordinate efforts well in terms of the overall goals and objectives of the company. The disadvantage of this orientation is the presence of functionally overlapping subsections.
Regional orientation is similar to the structure of product orientation, however, the division is based not on goods, but on markets. This orientation is appropriate when there are a large number of markets and a small range of products. It allows you to study in depth the specific needs of customers in each region; take into account regional characteristics in advertising, sales, appearance development, etc. it has disadvantages similar to those of product orientation (see Fig. 5). The desire to minimize disadvantages and take advantage of the advantages of product and regional orientation leads to a segmented (purchasing) organization of the marketing service.
The segmental orientation of the structure (aimed at the buyer) is that each marketing manager is responsible for working with a certain segment of potential buyers, regardless of the geographic location of the segment (Fig. 6). But with this orientation, the specialization of employees for individual goods is complicated; they are required to universalize. An integrated approach to marketing management consists of a comprehensive consideration of three problems - production, needs and sales. Possible options for decisions made on this basis are compared with each other at the maximum of the criterion “efficiency/cost” or “profit/profit” based on the analysis of four indicators: the contribution of the marketing service to the total profit of the enterprise, the profit received on investment in the area of enterprise management, the ratio sales expenses to the profit received and the part of the market that belongs to the enterprise.
