Marketing is the process of promoting and selling products or services. It involves a range of activities, including market research and advertising.
In-depth market research helps a company understand what its customers want and need. This information informs product development, sales and marketing teams.
A well-conceived marketing campaign can have a long-lasting impact on a company’s brand image. For example, the Pillsbury Doughboy has become synonymous with the brand’s warm and friendly image. Check out more at Meta Marketing Pros.
Price
Price is the amount of money paid or offered for a product. It signals essential information on both the buyer and supplier levels, allowing them to make decisions that change market dynamics. It is a vital component of any business strategy and one of the most difficult marketing challenges.
There are many pricing methods, and each one has its advantages and disadvantages. Market pricing, for example, looks at prices charged by competitors to help determine a product’s value in the market. This method is used by companies that have a competitive advantage and a clear understanding of customers’ needs and preferences.
Another pricing model is cost-plus pricing, which calculates the total amount a product costs to produce and sell. This includes materials, labor, and overhead. It is commonly used by manufacturers and retailers, but it can be more challenging for service businesses. It also relies on assumptions and requires a significant amount of time to implement.
Promotion
Promotion is the process of enlightening customers about products and services that are being sold or offered for sale. During the planning process, companies must choose which products to promote that will have a positive impact on their potential sales and that will not cannibalize other products with lower margins. It is also important to select products that are competitively priced, so that the promotion does not increase prices and hurt sales.
The promotion mix consists of personal selling, advertising, sales promotion and public relations. Each of these tools has different merits and demerits and a company must carefully select the tool after considering certain factors like nature of product, market, type of buying decision and availability of funds. Different models developed by management thinkers show that consumers respond to marketing messages in a cognitive (learn), affective (feel) and connative (do) sequence. Marketing executives must attune themselves to these responses and act accordingly. The effectiveness of the promotional strategy depends on this response and the results may be measured in terms of actual sales and customer loyalty.