Marketing Demand States and the Marketing Strategies Deployed

1. Negative Demand : Under this demand state either all or some segments of customers
dislike the product and would rather pay not to have that product . For example, vegetarians
may dislike non-veg food items or that tea totallers may dislike alcohol.
The marketing technique used here is called conversional marketing .Under this scheme ,
the marketer tries to change the thoughts of the customer about the product or try to
communicate the misconceptions that they may have in mind. For ex , he might try to
promote eggs to vegetarians on the basis of the protein content and its long term benefits
for health.

2. No Demand: In this demand state , there is no demand for the product as the product may
be new or the customers do not have knowledge about the product. The customers may
think that the product is of no value to them. The task of marketing here is called
stimulational marketing. Here , the marketer tries to connect the product with some need of
the customers . They may try to advertise the product and distribute information about it.
But the basic premise here is that the marketer does not create the need for the product. It
just satisfies some inherent need of the customers which they did not know about . For ex,
promoting immunization shots in certain remote areas.

3. Latent Demand: This state arises from the demand from the customer due to a basic need
but there might not be a product to satisfy their needs. For ex , the customers may want a
new car model that does not cause pollution , or need for video chat through the phone. The
marketing scheme used here is called developmental marketing. The marketer must
understand the need of the customer , develop a suitable product for it and create a market
for the same.

4. Faltering Demand: In this state , the demand for the product is lesser than before and may
be reducing further in case no remedial action is taken. For ex, the railway travel may go
down due to rise in air travel , or fur clothing may go down due to efforts of ecologists etc.
The marketing task involved here is called remarketing. The marketer tries to sell the
product with a new idea or new offerings. It may call for a product redesign or even new
promotional offers. For ex the marketer may try to improve railway services or simply offer
discounts on tickets or both.

5. Irregular Demand: In this state , the organization may face high demand in some seasons
and very low demand in others. The demand is very volatile and fluctuating. For ex. Hotels in
goa may face low occupancy in june and higher occupancy during new year. The
organization may lower the supply in off season to match the demand. The task of the
marketer is called sychromarketing . His job is to synchronize the supply with the demand of
the product. For ex, certain discounts may be offered during off seasons to promote tourism
or on clothings.
 6. Full demand: Under this state , there exists a very high demand of the product throughout
the financial period . The demand by the segment is same as that expected by the
organization. The capacity of the organization may fully utilized. This state may also lead to
high competition due to more players eager to enter the market. The job of the marketer is
that of mantainence marketing. His prime job is to see that the costs are under control ,the
price is right and the supply matches the demand.

7. Overfull Demand : Under this state , the demand exceeds the expectations of the
organization . The suppliers may not be able to meet the full demand due to over utilization
of capacity. The task of the marketer is to reduce thye demand , it is called demarketing.
There are two types of demarketing
a) General Demarketing: The organization may want to reduce the demand as their might
be a temporary shortage of raw materials. The product may also suffer from
overpopularity and the organization may want to reduce the demand rather than
increase capacity
b) Selective Demarketing : The organization may want to reduce the demand from a certain
segment of customers rather than from everyone.

8. Unwholesome demand: Under this state any demand is considerable bad as the product
may have certain negative qualities associated with it. For ex , demand for cigarettes or
drugs. The task of the marketer is called countermarketing where he tries to discourage the
customers from using a product.

Q-2) What is the difference between marketing and selling?

In selling the emphasis is on the product. The focus of selling is to meet targets and generate
cash for the organization . It views the customer as the last link and is not concerned about their
needs and satisfactions. While for marketing , the prime focus is on the customer needs and value. It
aims to build a long standing relationship with the customer. Customer satisfaction is very important
in marketing.

Transportation and storage are seen as mere extension to the production activities. While marketing
views these activities as very important and a part of the value offerings of the customer.

In selling , packaging is seen as just a container for the product. While in marketing , packaging is
seen as a part of the product which aims to make the customer feel good about the product.

As an example , consider the telecom industry . A marketing guy would decide how to connect with
customers , how to promote the product or service, how many hoardings should be there , how the
advertisements should be designed and when the ads should be aired.

But the sales guy would be responsible for actually selling the product to customers and meeting the
specified targets that have been set for the period. He would be responsible for call centre
operations.