Marketing unit IV essay

MBA 5501, Advanced Marketing 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit IV Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

3. Compare new product development and competitive product strategies. 3.1 Investigate competitors of a company based upon customer-preferred characteristics.

4. Analyze consumer relationships and buying processes by outlining the development and cultivation of

customer relationships considering value, satisfaction, and loyalty. 4.1 Determine the value proposition leading to satisfaction and loyalty within a company.

5. Distinguish between market segmentation, market targeting, and brand equity in the market planning

process. 5.1 Apply the four criteria of segmentation. 5.2 Describe several target markets for a company. 5.3 Examine the level of brand equity within a company.

Reading Assignment Chapter 10: Crafting the Brand Positioning Chapter 11: Creating Brand Equity

Unit Lesson The video above demonstrates how Coca-Cola is using the demographic criteria to reach and resonate with a certain demographic. Who is this segment? Why do you think this commercial effectively reaches that demographic? The final segmentation criteria is geographic, which suggests that the population is divided based upon a region of the country, neighborhood, or even the size of the city. Think about preferences of people in different countries or even differences within the United States. Compare the South vs. the Midwest and the East Coast vs. the West Coast. Segmentation allows a marketer to completely understand the population and, specifically, the consumers who are truly interested in the product/service. This strategic grouping of consumers will provide the company’s marketing team with a clear understanding of exactly what their customer and the customer’s respective needs look like. The idea of understanding the target market’s value proposition ties into solid segmentation practices. Once a marketer has segmented the market based upon these four criteria, the marketer is now able to more clearly identify the target market(s) of a company. Kotler and Keller (2016) define the target market as a fairly homogeneous or similar group of customers to whom the company wishes to appeal. The fact of the matter is that marketing departments do not have an unlimited marketing budget, thus it makes economic sense to focus the marketing efforts on those who are the most interested in the product/service. Many companies have multiple target markets and will choose to focus certain advertising campaigns toward certain groups during select times of the year.

UNIT IV STUDY GUIDE

Identifying the Customer

MBA 5501, Advanced Marketing 2

Differentiation, Competitive Advantage, and Positioning Differentiation is the process by which a marketer compares the offerings of their company with that of their competitors. This can be in the form of product or service quality, pricing strategies, distribution methods, communication, marketing strategies, level of brand equity, or a host of other offerings as determined by the value proposition of the target market. Marketers look to differentiate or demonstrate how the product/service offering is different than that of the competitors. Click the link below to view a video that shows how a marketer for Double A Paper attempted to differentiate something as simple as paper. Marketing Magazine. (2010, January 28). Value added branding – Double A Paper [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://youtu.be/8j0fq74ACFI Click here for a transcript of the video. When viewing the video above, think about this from the standpoint of a business that needs to buy large quantities of paper in order to run their business. The video clearly demonstrates how Double A Paper looks to differentiate their product offerings in the market. The marketer in this video states that if the company does not differentiate based upon product or quality, it becomes a low-pricing battle (Marketing Magazine, 2010). Another important area of concern for a marketer is that of the competitive advantage, which suggests that a company is better than its competitors in certain areas. For instance, Walmart has a competitive advantage with respect to pricing as it offers some of the lowest price offerings relative to its competitors. On the other hand, Nordstrom does not have a competitive advantage with respect to pricing as it has a high-pricing strategy. It does, however, have a competitive advantage with respect to its product/service offerings as it provides the consumer with high-quality products and a high service level. Another example is Apple who certainly has a competitive advantage with products/services but does not have a competitive advantage with its pricing strategies. The popular theme park, Disney, has a competitive advantage with its unique product/service offerings at its parks, but it also does not have a competitive advantage with respect to its pricing model. Through this discussion, we realize that a company can have a competitive advantage in one area and not in another and still be a highly successful company. Positioning is yet another important concept involved with effectively reaching the target market. According to Kotler and Keller (2016), positioning is how the consumers think about the brand. Marketers use market research to understand how their brand is currently perceived and follow that up with marketing to reach those consumers and/or modify the perception of the brand. Click the link below to see Air New Zealand used positioning to its advantage. The Telegraph. (2011, March 28). Airline launches disco inspired safety video [Video file]. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWhHpjZfTik Click here for a transcript of the video. This airline clearly had an idea of how they wanted their airline to be perceived by customers flying on their planes. What is your perception of this airline? Maybe words such as fun, exciting, creative, or innovative come to mind. While this was the intent of this in-flight instructional video, this was eventually removed because consumers thought this airline was not necessarily taking flying safety seriously. At the end of the day, marketers are always looking to create a high level of brand equity. In Unit III, we discussed the advantages of creating long-term loyalty relationships through the brand. Kotler and Keller (2016) define brand equity as the preference of a brand over another by the customer. This brand loyalty can be as simple as a buying preference to as complex as an advocate that actually helps market the brand to other consumers. Advantages of a company maintaining this high level of brand equity are detailed below:

 greater perception of the company,

 more favorable financials,

 less vulnerability to the actions of competitors,

 consumer engagement due to marketing efforts, and

 the increased ability of the company to recruit highly qualified talent.

MBA 5501, Advanced Marketing 3

Think about how a company should look to differentiate its product/service offering in order to maintain a competitive advantage that leads to this brand equity. International Consumers As the world continues to become more global in nature, the need arises for companies to not only understand the consumer within their country but also the consumers within other countries. This involves developing an understanding of the differences in buying practices amongst these foreign consumers. Several factors that influence these buying decisions within each country are culture and religious beliefs, the political arena, laws enforced, technological advancements, educational levels, and economic stature of the country. While marketers cannot control these external factors, understanding and working with them will enable companies to remain competitive within a continuously changing global marketplace. Click the link below to view a video on how our popular fast-food restaurants change their food offerings in different countries in order to adapt to different palates Vsauce2. (2014, May 1). What fast food is like around the world [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYSJ32sqPEw Click here for a transcript of the video. While each of these fast-food restaurants are looking to maintain a certain brand identity, understanding and adhering to customer preferences in each country is of the utmost importance. This can be the difference between a profitable global expansion and a complete failure. Disney is a great example of an organization that initially attempted to bring westernized ideas to foreign countries. The company brought an alcohol-free policy to France, not understanding that French citizens have a deep-rooted cultural practice to drink a glass of wine with their meals. With this realization, Disney quickly changed its way of doing things in their park in France. Click the link below to see how McDonald’s revises its advertising themes and techniques in specific countries. Lee, L. [Lawrence Lee]. (2012, July 4). McDonald’s TV advertisements in different countries [Video file].

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d3SXLxzP3E Click here for a transcript of the video. This speaks well to each of the cultural differences and the great lengths that McDonald’s takes in order to accommodate them. Another company that understands the importance of cultural differences is Kraft/Heinz. Take a look at the philosophy of Kraft in marketing its well-known Oreos in different countries by clicking the link below. Dowtsx. (2013, April 30). Global marketing - Oreos (Kraft) [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i29EQtnPG8U&t=3s Click here for a transcript of the video. This company understands that the people in each of these countries have different taste preferences, and the company has modified the actual product offering to reflect this. They address not only taste preferences but also packaging and storage needs in different countries. For instance, in the United States, consumers shop in large stores and are comfortable purchasing larger, 18-ounce packages of cookies. Alternatively, smaller packaging formats are made available in some countries to include kiosks in Brazil, self-service convenience stores in China, and street vendors in Venezuela. Stores in these countries do not have the shelf space, and consumers do not have the pantry space in their homes to accommodate the larger package sizes. These companies understand the variance of customer needs in different countries and work hard to fulfill these needs. Ultimately, this should lead to a higher level of brand equity reaching toward a competitive advantage in more areas that are important to the consumer.

MBA 5501, Advanced Marketing 4

Marketing Plan: Part II In this unit, you will construct Part II of your marketing plan for a fictional company. As mentioned previously, this will be a comprehensive marketing plan that you will compile in Units II, IV, and VII. While this is a cumulative plan, each part should be submitted separately as described in the assignment instructions.

References Kotler, P. T., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Marketing Magazine. (2010, January 28). Value added branding – Double A Paper [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://youtu.be/8j0fq74ACFI

Suggested Reading The following chapter will provide you with a good understanding of how the segmentation process enables the marketer with the ability to clearly identify the target market(s). Marketers need to completely understand who their target market is and focus these limited marketing dollars on this segment of the population. Chapter 9: Identifying Market Segments and Targets The following chapter will enable you to connect with the marketer who needs to understand the competition and how the level of growth or decline in an industry will impact an organization. Chapter 12: Addressing Competition and Driving Growth