What is meant by marketing channels?

Once goods are manufactured, they must be transferred from their place of
manufacturing(factory) to the end consumer otherwise the goods would remain idle. Marketing
channels give movement to such goods and help them in reaching the right consumer at the right
time and place.They can also be called the media or vehicle through which goods reach the target
market and to the end consumer. These comprise of the various intermediaries like wholesalers,
retailers, agents etc. Eg. Big Bazaar , has huge retail stores all over the nation selling household
goods, garments etc for various brands.

Do all companies use marketing channels?

Not necessarily all companies use marketing channels.There are some that directly market their
products to consumers. Eg. Dell computers ask its customers to directly login to their website ,
get their product configured and order the same on the internet. We also see that in case of
industrial goods like raw materials, metal pieces, rods, bricks etc, goods are sold directly to the
consumer which in this case is the industry itself, so there are no specific channels involved.
Even in case of perishable goods like fruits, vegetables etc which are like to expire within a short
span of time , they are directly brought in to the local markets from village farms without any
channels of distribution as such.

What role does the marketing channel really play?

a.Promotes communication : Information regarding the products is disseminated to the customers

via the marketing intermediaries.
b.Information provider: cutomers can provide their feedback on the product to the wholesalers
and retailers who in turn provide the same to the manufacturers.
c.Physical distribution: Goods are transported and stored in the respective warehouses or
godowns
d.Fosters relationship management: The intermediaries can identify the requirements of the
customers and try to match the same with what he is supplying to them, thus enabling customer
satisfaction.

What is Supply chain Management? Give an example.

Supply chain management related to the flow of goods, information and fund from the supplier
to consumer. Basically it is the way in which the goods pass on from the factory to the
indtermediaries and then to the ultimate consumer.Eg. Bharti Airtels supply chain management
has a central core team comprising of supply chain subject matter experts as well as execution
teams which operate under different business divisions nationwide. Bharti Airtel realised the
importance of having competent partners for its better business prospects due to which its supply
chain function enabled maximisation of mutual growth opportunities .

What does the wholesaler do?

The functions of the wholesaler include:

a.Selling: via their large network of retailers.
b.Bulk Breaking : Buying the product in large quantities and selling them to retailers in smaller
quantitites.
c.Warehousing: Looking after the storage of the goods.
d.Transportation: The wholesaler may enter into agreements with the company to transport their
goods to the retailers.
e.Credit and risk taking: They undertake the risk of providing credit to retailers.

What are the different types of pricing strategies for a firm?

i)Predatory pricing : this is followed to eliminate any other competitors in the market.
ii)Premium pricing: where the price is kept high as in case of designer items so as it increase the
reputation of the product and retain its goodwill
iii)Cost plus pricing : here the firm simply adds its estimated profit to the cost to fix its selling
price.

iv)Skimming : Skimming is a pricing strategy adopted by firms under which goods are sold at
high prices to capture their market value.
v)Price discrimination: this is practiced according to different classes of people which maybe as
per their age,sex,occupation etc. Eg.higher price maybe charged for higher income group for the
same product which maybe charged at a lower price for lower income group.

Are the pricing strategies of a firm long term or short term

based? Explain.
Depending upon the volume of profits that a company has targeted,its pricing strategy maybe
short or long term based. Where a company has invested heavily on research and development of
the product and its promotion, short term pricing strategy may be followed initially in order to
recover the cost of investment speedily, thereafter it may convert its pricing strategy to a long
term one to sustain its business operations. For example a product may be sold at premium price
initially and gradually its price maybe lowered once it has captured sufficient market demand.

What is monopoly? Explain with an example.

A monopolistic market is one which is characterised by the presence of only a single seller which
may happen on account of certain market barriers like regulatory, technical or economic barriers.
The monopolist can fix the price rate at his discretion as there are no other competitors. Eg. The
Indian Railways in India has been exercising monopoly over the railway industry.This type of
market is generally seen to be controlled by the government and is a prominent feature of the
socialist economy which prevailed a while ago in USSR and the Middle-East.

What is Oligopoly? Give some examples of oligopolistic

markets.
In an oligopolistic market, a few suppliers control the market by not allowing any new entrants
to the market. A change in price by one supplier in the market will generate instant response by
the other supplier who will also tend to change his price. So in this market, there is a high level
of dependency amongst suppliers on one another. Examples of such markets maybe the
automobile manufacturers or pharmaceutical industry which are generally price sensitive by
nature.

What is promotion (in marketing) according to you?

There is an Indian saying , Jo dikhta hai, wo bikta hai. (What is seen is what sells). In todays
fast moving world of glitz and glamour, products have become the face of the company. The
brand image of a company that it carries with it depends largely upon the kind of product or
service the company is dealing with. A good enough product with the best distribution channels
and affordable prices may still fail to capture the market if it has not been well or clearly
communicated to the target customers. Promotion is communicating about our products or
service to the masses. It is one of the essential elements of the marketing mix without which
gives that face or impression to the people at large about that company brand.

What does the promotion mix comprise of?

The promotion mix is a combination of advertising, sales promotion,public relation, personal
selling and direct marketing which a company uses to promote its products. So it becomes an
important task for the marketer to properly list out the promotion mix strategies and its benefits.
It is like the ingredients that go into the making of any particular dish. The quality of the dish
depends upon the way in which the ingredients have been used and mixed. Similarly, an
organization must have an ideal promotion mix by which it should be able to promote its
products to the masses.

What are the objectives of promotion?

a. Awareness: particularly when a product is new to the market, it must be known to the
consumers that such a product exists in the market. Promotion helps there.
b.Knowledge: one gets to know the advantages of the product via promotion.
c.Liking and desire: even those who may not have a desire for the product, promotion helps to
create that desire and liking for the product by using strategies like celebrity endorsements etc.
d.Purchase: by promoting affordably priced products, the marketer can easily attract a large
number of customers who would prefer such products over high priced ones.

What is publicity?What is the difference between promotion

and publicity?

Publicity is about getting others to know more about your organization and its business. Its
objective is to gain more name and fame in the public.
Promotion is much more vast in scope as compared to publicity which is just one aspect of
promotion. There are other areas in promotion apart from publicity, which includes advertising,
sales promotion,public relation, personal selling and direct marketing as well.
Eg. If a film is to be promoted, film producers would use all of these tools both before and after
its release and for publicizing it, it would use publicity stunts much before the film gets released.

Do you know about IMC in promotions?

Yes. IMC or integrated marketing communication is the buzzword these days. Under this
concept, all the elements of marketing communication are made to work together in order to
achieve sales maximization as well as cost effectiveness of a product. All the elements including
advertising, sales promotion,public relation, personal selling and direct marketing are integrated
in such a way that they do not work at all in isolation, thereby contributing to a common goal.
With the advent of specialized media vehicles, internet marketing and retailer dominated market,
IMC has gained immense popularity among the corporate.

How would you promote our companys product (say X) if

given a chance?
First of all I would identify the target market for the product. If at all the target market exists then
identify if any other prospective target market could be there apart from the existing one. I would
approach a celebrity to endorse it (Mention name of celebrity like mr so and so depending upon
the product like if it is a health drink then a sportsperson, if it is a cosmetic ,then filmstar, reason
for selecting the celebrity maybe mentioned). I would also organize roadshows to publicize the
product and approach the media as well. As they say Charity begins at Home , so I would
spread the word about the company product(name the product) to my family and friends and
recommend them to use it. That would be a simple word of mouth promotion.(this line can be
answered with a slight smiling expression).

Hmm. but what about the budget? We want our

promotional campaigns to be cost effective enough. I dont
think we can afford celebrity endorsements as of now!

No problem. We can use network marketing as an alternative. The company already has its
strong network of customers who can spread the word about its products. They can encourage
referral rewards for say every three customers who will buy our product or avail our service.
We can also announce a contest for the customers to buy the product and win a chance to get
himself broadcasted for the product advertisement. We can ask them to send in their photo along
with the contest application form which they get alongwith the product they buy. So we dont
have to pay them as we would otherwise have to pay to a celebrity.

What is the difference between a marketing mix and a

promotional mix?
A marketing mix and a promotional mix does have some differences, both being highly crucial
for the success of a business. Marketing is very essential for the growth and continuity of
business operations. It helps in creating new customers and retaining the existing ones to keep
the business ongoing. Marketing focuses on all the elements of the marketing mix viz product,
price, place and promotion while promotion focuses more on the customer- how to reach a
product to its customers and how to sell it to them ultimately.

What is direct marketing? Give some examples.

In direct marketing, there is a direct interaction of the customers with the seller without any
intermediaries. Here, the role of the intermediaries is nil. The medium used is more direct using
telephone, mail, internet where the seller can directly reach out to the consumer. Examples of
such marketing include telemarketing, email, voicemail marketing, door-to-door selling etc. This
kind of marketing is more time saving as the problem of distance which may otherwise exist
between the buyer and seller is eliminated and is also cost effective as it minimizes commuting
costs.

What is public relations?

Public relations or PR is basically about managing the communication- both internal and external
to an organisation, in order to create and retain the goodwill or reputation of the company and its
business that it is into. It entails highlighting the achievements of the company, keeping the
public informed or updating them regarding any changes or new things happening with the
company, maintaining relationships with the investors , participating in charitable causes etc.
Business is a part and parcel of the society within which it functions, hence arises the role of
public relations.

What role does PR play in marketing communications?

PR establishes the rapport between the organisation and the local community and also the
organisation's investors. A company which has a strong image among social groups can easily
advertise through word of mouth. Any issues or misconcepts regarding the company and its
products can be minimised via PR. PR also publicizes a company's products . Example, when
Cadbury was confronted with the chocolate worm controversy, or during the pesticide issue
faced by the MNC giant Coca Cola, it was the the PR of the company helped it to sail through.

Why is logistics management important for an organisation?

For a business, being able to provide the right product at the right place and in the right time
could be a challenging task. Better storage and transportation facilities are being developed or
outsourced by marketing managers to make goods available to the customers or rather ensure
timely delivery of the goods and services to customers. To achieve this, it becomes increasingly
important to keep track of the goods starting from its journey from the factory right upto the
hands of the consumer. Thus, in the modern marketing era, the study of movement of goods or
logistic management becomes an important subject in question.

What is marketing?
Marketing can be referred to as a form of communication with your customers, with the help of
marketing tools such as advertising, promotion, publicity, design aspects related to the look of
the product etc. All these are aimed at getting the target audience (customer) to first get
interested in your product or service and then ultimately buy them.

Explain its core concepts.

Needs ,wants and demands are the core concepts of marketing. These are basically inter related
to each other which means needs which could be individualistic, social or physical arise due to a
state of deprivation and have to be fulfilled for a basic human survival. Some human needs
shaped by cultural and individual experiences and lifestyles take the form of wants. Ultimately
demands are those sets of wants which are backed by the power to buy and could be related to
many needs & wants. Other related concepts of marketing may include the Marketplace with
exchange and the actual transaction as its base.
Basic marketing
Basic marketing is the set of activities used to get your potential customer's attention. After this
one has to formulate the communication in a manner so as to motivate them to buy. Thereafter
the efforts are directed towards getting the customers to actually purchase. And then the ultimate
goal that is to get them to buy the product again and again .This process on the whole is referred
to as basic marketing.
Reactive marketing
Reactive marketing is the most widely used approach in marketing. Reactive marketing is based
on the concept of react ,which mean for example if a competitor company is following certain
marketing practices with good resultant output we do the same by slight change in design or
price and adopting the same marketing policies. The ease of approach in reactive marketing is
the very reason for its popularity. At times due to stiff competition in the market a firm might
have no choice but to follow it so as to survive in the marketplace and make profits.
Accountable marketing
Accountable marketing works on the concept that all the targeted marketing communications
should be accounted for in terms of the result or output they generate. In other words every act of
communication should concentrate on a unique selling or a benefit driven point related to the
product which ultimately results in motivating the customer and adding on to the brand image of
a brand or the product on a whole.
Proactive marketing
Proactive marketing basically is an innovative form of marketing which is based on new ideas in
terms of the creative content used as well as the creativity involved in the formation of marketing
strategies. It definitely involves a lot more work but the end result might be much better than
other forms of marketing. Doing something new and different in the market place to attract the
attention of the consumer is the core aspect of proactive marketing.

Partnership marketing
The customer is always looking for something more than what the actual benefits of a product
might be. Thus partnership marketing plays ball on the very fact to create marketing
communication and propositions for the customer which include value addition of benefits to
customer ,sourced and negotiated with a third partner. The benefit in this form of enhanced
propositions is that not only is it beneficial for the consumer and the brand but also for the third
partner by reducing costs of marketing communications. Partnership marketing basically aims at
adding more and more value to the benefits derived by a customer.