Lecture 1 Process of creating, communicating, identifying and delivering value in a manner that benefits an organisation and its stakeholders.

Social and managerial process by which individuals can satisfy needs and wants through creating and exchanging value with others. Operational marketing is the process in which marketing opportunities are identified, selected and developed to form a marketing mix and managing the marketing effort

Lecture 2 Five core concepts of marketing, must understand: Customers needs, wants and demands Market offerings Satisfying customer satisfaction and value Maintain relationships with customers Customers in different markets

Need is defined as a state of felt deprivation. Physical, social, individual. Marketers do NOT create needs as they are the basic part of the human make up. Wants are needs that are shaped by culture and individual personality Demands are wants that are backed by buying power There is a demand on products that provide the highest benefit Products a physical good, services, information or experience that satisfies a need/want. Customer value difference between benefits and the costs of obtaining a product. Market Actual or potential market Marking philosophies: Production philosophy products available and highly affordable Product philosophy products that are high quality with performance and features. Emphasis on continuous product improvements Selling philosophy Emphasis on selling and promotion of the product Marketing philosophy Achieve goals but satisfying needs and wants of target markets to meet desires of clients. Aim is to deliver what customers want. Societal Aims at delivering values to customers in a way that improves not only customers wellbeing but that of society. Schemes that are socially and environmentally responsible are good.

Lecture 3 Marketing environment is the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing managements ability to develop and maintain transactions with target market. There are two major components, the microenvironment which are actors close to the company such as:

The company senior management Suppliers resources needed to produce the goods and services Marketing intermediaries firms that assist the company in finding customers or making sales such as physical distribution firms, marketing services and financial intermediaries ( banks that provide customers with credit to purchase goods) Competitors Alterative provider that offers a similar product to the market Publics Financial, media, government, citizen-action, local, general and internal groups that can influence the company performance and jobs Customers Consumer markets, business markets, government markets, resellers and international markets.

The second of which is the macro environment which encompasses the forces that affect the whole microenvironment such as demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces.

Lecture 4 Macroenvironment: Demographic the study of population in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, race etc. Critical for marketers to understand as they make up different market segments. Economic factors that affect the buying power of customers. For example exchange rates. Natural Resources that are non-renewable etc etc Technological Technologies that create new products and market opportunities Political laws and legislation that limit organisations and pressures them to be ethically and socially responsible. Cultural Values and perceptions as well as preferences and behaviours

Lecture 5 Marketing Information Systems

Customer insights provide the basic grounds to create customer values and relationships by allowing companies to make better marketing decisions. Marketing information systems provide companies with a means to gather timely and accurate information to create value for customers and strengthen relationships. Marketing information systems include people, equipment and procedures that gather, sort, analyse, evaluate and distribute the needed timely and accurate information to decision makers. MIS must balance the information needs of managers as well as the costs to maintain the system. Marketing information can be collected from internal data, marketing intelligence and marketing research. Internal data is electronic collections of consumer and market information within the company network. Internal data is quick to access and cheap to acquire however the information is often incomplete and requires refinement as it is generated for other reasons. Additionally the data is quick to age and requires sophisticated systems to manage. Marketing intelligence is derived from publicly available information such as competitor websites. Often allows for the tracking and assessment of competitors to make marketing decisions. Marketing research Formal studies for specific situations to generate data that allows for the identification and definition of marketing opportunities and problems.

Lecture 6 Marketing research

Marketing research links the consumer, customer and public to the marketer. This information is gathered to aid the decision making, the marketing research doesnt make the decision. Steps in marketing research: 1. Definite the problem and objectives critical as research will be wasted if the scope is incorrect. 2. Developing the research plan. Aimed at identifying the type of data needed and the specific research approaches required to gather data. a. Secondary data Data that already exists somewhere and has been collected for another purpose. May be internal or external of the organisation in question. This is the recommended starting point. b. Primary data data that is specifically collected for the current research purpose. Data needs to be relevant, accurate, current and impartial to be of use. Research approaches Observational research (Qualitative) gathering primary data by observing people, actions and situations. Ethnographic research observational research which involves observation and interaction with customers in natural environments. Webnolography research observational research observing customers in a natural context on the internet. Survey research (quantitative) Gathering primary data by asking people questions. This is low cost and highly flexible is best suited for collecting descriptive information at the risk of a low response rate. Experimental research (quantitative) gathering primary data by selecting groups and treating them differently to observe the different responses. Best suited for collecting causal information. Personal interviews Focus groups Very common research technique that brings people together to discuss a particular issue facilitated by a moderator. Individual interview Intensive one-on-one discussion that is typically structured and used to discuss with hard to access respondents. 3. Implementing the research plan collection, processing and analysing the information. This can occur both internally and externally 4. Interpreting and reporting findings Drawing conclusions and reporting findings to management

Lecture 7 Buyer behaviour

Consumer buyer behaviour - the behaviour that buyers engage before and after the purpose. This includes the process of finding out about products, searching for information, choosing products, buying using and recommending products.

The factors that influence consumer behaviour consist of external factors such as cultural (culture, subculture, social class) and social factors (groups and social networks, family and households, roles and status) or internal factors such as personal (age and life cycle, occupation, economic situation) and psychological factors (motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes). Consumer buying roles Initiator suggests an idea Influencer advises about buying decisions Decider decider makes the buying decision, what where when Buyer makes the purchase User consumers

Consumer lifestyle lifestyle is a persons pattern of living expressed as activities, interests and opinions Buying behaviour First two are high involving whilst the second two are low involvement Complex greatly differs for a variety of products and has lots of information gathering to consider alternatives Dissonance reducing few differences between different brands, tries to buy a new/better product to avoid disappointing. Variety seeking brand switching for the sake of variety Habitual buying buying a familiar brand out of habit

Lecture 8 Buyer behaviour

1. Problem recognition Consumers recognise a need and sense a difference between actual and desired state. Can be trigger by various things 2. Information search Various reasons behind how much consumers search. Strength of drive, prior knowledge, ease, value obtained and satisfaction. The search can be internal or external. External personal sources are more likely to be trusted. 3. Evaluation of alternatives Consumer processes information to arrive at choices 4. Purchase decision Consumer buys more preferred brand/alternative. This is influenced by the attitude of others or situations 5. Post-purchase behaviour Consumer takes further action based on satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Cognitive dissonance might occur when buyers feel discomfort as a result of post-purchase conflict. A business market involves the organisations that buy products in the production of other products for resale or rent. All members of an organisation participate in the buying process, from users, influences, buyers, deciders and gatekeepers, those of whom control the flow of information.

Lecture 9 Market Segmentation

Market segmentation the process of dividing markets into groups of buyers with the aim of separating them into groups that have separate needs, characteristics or behaviour. Importance lies in the fact that efficiency will be increased as you wont be wasting money on segments that will never be customers. Likelihood of increasing satisfied customers with fewer offers Demographic segmentation is dividing market groups based on demographic variables. Difficulty arises in dividing the segment based on this. Demographic variable is better at describing these groups. Geographic segmentation straight forward. Psychographic segmentation arises from market research to identify activities, interests and opinions. Used in geo-demographic segmentation as this can vary within other segments. Behavioural segmentation not necessarily dividing behaviour response to a product. For example benefits sought is a behaviour but doesnt exactly correspond to a response. Dividing market into groups of customers based on knowledge, attitudes and uses for a product. Hybrid segmentation just combines each segmentation Requirements for effective segmentation Measurability To what extent can the segments be measured Accessibility Are the consumers to the segment going to be responding the same manner. Do they have a common mode of communication Substantiality Segments should be profitable enough to serve Differentiability To what extent are the segments different in behaviour. Need people in one group to respond the same to be effective Actionability Does the segmentation do anything useful?

Lecture 10 Targeting and Positioning

Market targeting is evaluation each market segments attractiveness and seeking one or more of these segments to enter. The evaluation of market segments considers the size and growth, segment structural attractiveness as well as the company objectives and resources. A target market is a set of buyers sharing a common need or characteristic that the company can serve. Companies can target markets through numerous strategies: 1. Undifferentiated marketing: A company ignores market segment differences and aims at marketing towards the whole market through mass advertising and distribution to attract a large number of customers. This is an economical approach. 2. Differentiated marketing: Targets several markets based on how they respond and designs separate offers for each, increasing the effectiveness of marketing 3. Concentrated marketing: (niche marketing): Company decides to go after a large share of one or a few sub-markets. The concentrated approach is appealing for companies

with limited resources that want to have a stronger market position due to greater knowledge of the segment. 4. Micromarketing: Tailoring products and marketing to needs and wants of specific individuals or local customer segments. Individual marketing allows for mass customisation whilst local marketing allows for local consumer groups to be targeted. In choosing a market strategy the factors to consider are: Company resources limited resources may require a more specialised and specific approach Product variability high variability might mean that a differentiated or concentrated strategy might be more appropriate Product life-cycle new products and mature products require different respective strategies Marketing variability undifferentiated more appropriate for markets where most buyers have the same tastes and quantity needs. Thus the same stimuli cane used Competitors

Companies differentiate themselves by the value that they propose to supply a consumer. Thy do this by the way that they position their product in the market (premium, quality, reliability) Differentiation and positioning requires the following steps: 1. Identifying possible competitive advantages: competitive advantages are characteristics that make the particular firm differ from competitors. These may include product/service/personnel/image differentiation. 2. Choosing the right competitive advantages: there may be many points of differentiation but its important that the right one is chosen otherwise time and resources will be wasted with no value added. The choosing process is based on how important it is, distinctive, superior, communicable, pre-emptive, affordable and profitable it is 3. Selecting an overall positioning strategy: Choosing the best value proposition. The five possible propositions are: more for more, more for the same, more for less, the same for less, less for much less.

Lecture 11
Products are anything that can be offered to market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a need or want. Service is a product that is intangible, varies depending on who provides them and how, inseparability and perishability. Traditional marketing mix, first 4 ps refer to products: Product the offering Levels of products and services, there are three level, product augmentation, actual product and core customer value. Core customer value is the ultimate need that is being satisfied; actual products deliver the benefits or value thing such as brand name, quality, design, features and packaging; product augmentation talks about the after care of a product. Price the cost

Place the avenues to accept the offering Promotion making consumers aware For services there are an additional 3 ps: People how your staff act Processes method of delivery Physical evidence Products classified based on the use, there are two broad categories. Consumer products and industrial products. Characterises consumer behaviour about what they will be engaged in. Consumer products are tend to be bought by final customers for personal consumption. Four types of consumer products Convenience product: frequently purchased with minimum buying effort, usually low price and easily available (staples, impulse emergency) Shopping products: les frequently purchased and requires customers to spend time searching and evaluating options Specialty products products with unique characteristics which make a significant group of buyers willing to go the extra mile to purchase the product. Unsought products Products that customers either do not know about or even consider buying. Awareness is developed through marketing Industrial products Products that are bought by individuals or customers for further processing such as raw materials and parts, capital items, supplies and services

Lecture 13 Product Decisions

Careful consideration is required in planning the product attributes, branding, packaging, and labelling and support services Product quality is the ability of the product to perform its functions to satisfy consumer needs such as durability, reliability, precision, ease of operation. The quality of the product also depends on its performance relative to the position that it is portrayed at as well as conformance quality which describes the consistency in delivering a targeted level of performance. The design and features of a product also play a role. Branding is also important and can be a name, term, sign, symbol, or design that makes the product easily recognisable from competitors. Packaging The container that contains and protects the product which has now become an important marketing tool because it attracts consumer attention and influences the sale. Labelling Aids in identification of the brand Product support services part of the augmented product that is the source of competitive advantage.

A product line is a group of products that are similar in function or marketed to similar market groups. Product lines decisions are important because it is dictated by company objectives and resources. Product mix is the assortment of products that a seller offers for sale to buyers. There are four important dimensions of product mixes that define a companys product strategy: Breadth the number of different product lines that a company carries Depth the number of versions offered for each product in the line Length the total number of items a company carries within its product lines Consistence how closely the various product lines are related.

Lecture 14- Product Branding

A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, design or combination of these that makes the product recognisable from competitors. Brand equity is the term used to describe a brands ability to computer customer preference and loyalty. Brands that are managed well are assets of high value to the firm and provide competitive advantages. Brand positioning is how a brand is positioned in the minds of customers. Characteristics such as product attributes, benefits and beliefs and values can be attached to a brand.

Line extensions are the introduction of additional items in a given product category such as new flavours, colours or ingredients. This strategy is used to respond to customer needs and match competitors line extension. There is a risk that this strategy may cause the company to divulge from its original objectives. Additionally the extension may not be successful and incur heavy losses. Brand extension is the introduction of a new or modified product that is launched under an already successful brand.