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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE REPORT
1.1 Background of study
The study is about the general functions and role of marketing in todays business. Every
student of M.Com at The Muslim College of Commerce and Management Sciences
Abbottabad has to make a project report relevant to the study to get exposure to the real time
business environment and to know what sort of changes Information Technology brings in
business activities. The real purpose of this project report is to provide an opportunity to the
students to see the practical applications of their background professional studies

1.2 Purpose of the Study
A partial fulfillment as a requirement for the completion of M.Com from Hazara
University

To get acquaintance to the Marketing operations.

To know what sort of changes IT brings in marketing activities in Todays Business.

To see the application of our Professional studies especially.

1.3 Nature of the Study
The study is critical in nature. It was conducted to investigate critically into the functions of
marketing in different business sectors.

1.4 Limitations
The Study was subject to the following limitations, the absence of which could have made
this report more accurate, systematic and factual:

Lake of Secondary and Primary data.

Lack of Information
2

Access to data.

The non-cooperative behavior of some respondents and staff members of some
companies.

My weak financial position.



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CHAPTER 2
INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING
2.1 Introduction
Marketing involves having the right product available in the right place at the right time and
making sure that the customer is aware of the product. Marketing is part of all of our lives
and touches us in some way every day. To be successful each company that deals with
customers on a daily basis must not only be customer-driven, but customer obsessed. The
best way to achieve this objective is to develop a sound marketing function within the
organization. Marketing is defined as a social and managerial process by which individuals
and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and
value with others. Marketing is a key factor in business success. The marketing function not
only deals with the production and distribution of products and services, but it also is
concerned with the ethical and social responsibility functions found in the domestic and
global Environment. Marketers must also be aware of customer value and customer
satisfaction and make these concepts a central part of the firms strategic plan. Marketing
must also be aware of and respond to change. Four of the greatest changes that have had an
impact on the way companies bring value to their customers are the explosive growth of the
computer, the Internet, telecommunications, and information technology. Marketing and its
core concepts, the exchange relationship, the major philosophies of marketing thought and
practice, customer relationship management.
2.1.1 What is marketing?
a. Creating customer value and satisfaction are at the very heart of modern
Marketing thinking and practice.
b. A very simple definition of marketing is managing profitable customer relationships.
1). The twofold goal of marketing is to attract new customers by promising
superior value and to keep and grow current customers by delivering satisfaction.
2). Sound marketing is critical to the success of every organization.
c. You already know a lot about marketingits all around you.



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2.1.2Simple Marketing System

1. Producer/ seller
2. Consumer
3. Communication
4. Product/ service
5. Money
6. Feedback


2.1.3 Core Marketing Concepts:
1. Needs, wants, and demands
2. Products and Services
3. Value, satisfaction, and quality
4. Exchange, transactions, and relationships
5. Markets
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Needs, wants, and demands
Needs: Human needs are the most basic concept underlying marketing. A human need is a
state of felt deprivation.
1). Humans have many complex needs.
a). Basic, physical needs for food, clothing, warmth, and safety.
b). Social needs for belonging and affection.
c). Individual needs for knowledge and self-expression.
2). these needs are part of the basic human makeup.
Demands: Another concept in marketing is human wants. A human want is the form that a
Human need takes as shaped by culture and individual personality.
Demands: are human wants that are backed by buying power.
Consumers view products as bundles of benefits and choose products that give them the best
Bundle for their money. Outstanding marketing companies go to great lengths to learn about
and understand their customers needs, wants, and demands.

Products and Services
Marketing OffersProducts, Services, and Experiences
Companies address needs by putting forth a value proposition, a set of benefits that they
promise to consumers to satisfy their needs.

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a. The value proposition is fulfilled through a marketing offersome combination of
products, services, information, or experiences offered to a market to satisfy a need or want.
b. The concept of product is not limited to physical objects and can include experiences,
persons, places, organizations, information, and ideas.
c. Be careful of paying attention to the product and not the benefit being satisfied.
d. Marketing myopia is caused by shortsightedness or losing sight of underlying customer
needs by only focusing on existing wants.
e. Smart marketers create brand meaning and brand experiences for Consumers.

Value, satisfaction
Customer value: is the difference between the values that the customer gains from owning
and using a product and the costs of obtaining the product. Customers form expectations
about the value of various marketing offers and buy accordingly.
Customer satisfaction: depends on a products perceived performance in delivering value
relative
To a buyers expectations. Customer satisfaction is a key influence on future buying
behavior.
1). Marketers must be careful to set the right level of expectations.
2). Customer value and customer satisfaction are key building blocks for
developing and
Managing customer relationships.
Exchange, transactions, and relationships
Marketing occurs when people decide to satisfy needs and wants through exchange.
Exchange is the act of obtaining a desired object from someone by offering something in
return.
Whereas exchange is a core concept of marketing, a transaction (a trade of values between
two parties) is marketings unit of measurement. Most involve money, a response, and action.
Marketing consists of actions taken to build and maintain desirable exchange relationships
with target audiences involving a product, service, idea, or other object.
Markets
The concepts of exchange and relationships lead to the concept of a market. A market is the
set of actual and potential buyers of a product.
1). originally a market was a place where buyers and sellers gathered to exchange goods
(such as a village square).
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2). Economists use the term to designate a collection of buyers and sellers who transact in a
particular product class (as in the grain or housing market).
3). Marketers see buyers as constituting a market and sellers constituting an industry.
4). Marketers are keenly interested in markets.

Marketing is the process by which companies create customer interest in goods or services. It
generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business
developments. It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer
relationships and creates value for their customers and for themselves.
The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing
the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions. It proposes that
in order to satisfy its organizational objectives, an organization should anticipate the needs
and wants of consumers and satisfy these more effectively than competitors. Marketing is
defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA) as:
"The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,
communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have
value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large."
The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as
"The management process responsible for identifying,
anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably."
2.2 Evolution of marketing
An orientation, in the marketing context, related to a perception or attitude a firm holds
towards its product or service, essentially concerning consumers and end-users. Throughout
history marketing has changed considerably as consumer tastes are changing faster.
2.2.1 Earlier approaches
The marketing orientation evolved from earlier orientations namely the production
orientation, the product orientation and the selling orientation.
Orientation
Profit
driver
Western
European
Description
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timeframe
Production
Production
methods
until the
1950s
A firm focusing on a production orientation specializes in
producing as much as possible of a given product or
service. Thus, this signifies a firm exploiting economies
of scale, until the minimum efficient scale is reached. A
production orientation may be deployed when a high
demand for a product or service exists, coupled with a
good certainty that consumer tastes do not rapidly alter
(similar to the sales orientation).
Product
Quality of
the
product
until the
1960s
A firm employing a product orientation is chiefly
concerned with the quality of its own product. A firm
would also assume that as long as its product was of a
high standard, people would buy and consume the
product.
Selling
Selling
methods
1950s and
1960s
A firm using a sales orientation focuses primarily on the
selling/promotion of a particular product, and not
determining new consumer desires as such. Consequently,
this entails simply selling an already existing product, and
using promotion techniques to attain the highest sales
possible.
Such an orientation may suit scenarios in which a firm
holds dead stock, or otherwise sells a product that is in
high demand, with little likelihood of changes in
consumer tastes diminishing demand.
Marketing
Needs and
wants of
customers
1970 to
present
day
The 'marketing orientation' is perhaps the most common
orientation used in contemporary marketing. It involves a
firm essentially basing its marketing plans around the
marketing concept, and thus supplying products to suit
new consumer tastes. As an example, a firm would
employ market research to gauge consumer desires, use
R&D to develop a product attuned to the revealed
information, and then utilize promotion techniques to
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ensure persons know the product exists.
2.2.2Contemporary approaches
Recent approaches in marketing is the relationship marketing with focus on the customer, the
business marketing or industrial marketing with focus on an organization or institution and
the social marketing with focus on benefits to the society.
[9]
New forms of marketing also use
the internet and are therefore called internet marketing or more generally e-marketing, online
marketing, search engine marketing, desktop advertising or affiliate marketing. It tries to
perfect the segmentation strategy used in traditional marketing. It targets its audience more
precisely, and is sometimes called personalized marketing or one-to-one marketing. Internet
marketing is sometimes considered to be broad in scope, because it not only refers to
marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless media.
Orientation Profit driver
Western
European
timeframe
Description
Relationship
marketing /
Relationship
management
]

Building and
keeping
good
customer
relations
1960s to
present
day
Emphasis is placed on the whole relationship
between suppliers and customers. The aim is to give
the best possible attention, customer services and
therefore build customer loyalty.
Business
marketing /
Industrial
marketing
Building and
keeping
relationships
between
organizations
1980s to
present
day
In this context marketing takes place between
businesses or organizations. The product focus lies
on industrial goods or capital goods than consumer
products or end products. A different form of
marketing activities like promotion, advertising and
communication to the customer is used.
Social
marketing
Benefit to
society
1990s to
present
day
Similar characteristics as marketing orientation but
with the added proviso that there will be a
curtailment on any harmful activities to society, in
either product, production, or selling methods.
Branding Brand value 2000s to In this context, "branding" is main company
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present
day
philosophy and marketing is considered an
instrument of branding philosophy.


A formal approach to this customer-focused marketing is known as SI VA (Solution,
Information, Value, Access). This system is basically the four Ps renamed and reworded to
provide a customer focus. The SIVA Model provides a demand/customer centric version
alternative to the well-known 4Ps supply side model (product, price, placement, promotion)
of marketing management.
Product Solution
Price Value
Place Access
Promotion Information
If any of the 4Ps had a problem or were not there in the marketing factor of the business, the
business could be in trouble and so other companies may appear in the surroundings of the
company, so the consumer demand on its products will become less.
2.3 Marketing mix C&C
This concept of marketing mix shows relations between Company and Customers: 5P&5C
model
Product Consumer desire
Price Cost
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Place Convenience
Promotion Communication
People Customer approach
The human factor is becoming a key competitive advantage and therefore the model 5C&5P
is becoming significant in the 21st Century
Buying behavior
A marketing firm must ascertain the nature of the customers buying behavior, if it is to
market its product properly. In order to entice and persuade a consumer to buy a product,
marketers try to determine the behavioral process of how a given product is purchased.
Buying behavior is usually split in two prime strands, whether selling to the consumer,
known as business-to-consumer (B2C) or another business, similarly known as business-to-
business (B2B).
B2C buying behavior
This mode of behavior concerns consumers, in the purchase of a given product. As an
example, if one pictures a pair of sneakers, the desire for a pair of sneakers would be
followed by an information search on available types/brands. This may include perusing
media outlets, but most commonly consists of information gathered from family and friends.
If the information search is insufficient, the consumer may search for alternative means to
satisfy the need/want. In this case, t`his may be buying leather shoes, sandals, etc. The
purchase decision is then made, in which the consumer actually buys the product. Following
this stage, a post-purchase evaluation is often conducted, comprising an appraisal of the
value/utility brought by the purchase of the sneakers. If the value/utility is high, then a repeat
purchase may be bought. This could then develop into consumer loyalty, for the firm
producing the pair of sneakers.

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B2B buying behavior
Relates to organizational / industrial buying behavior. The term "B2B" stands for Business to
Business. B2B marketing in its most simple definition is when one business markets a
product or service to another business. B2C and B2B behavior are not exact, as similarities
and differences exist. Some of the key differences are listed below:
In a straight re-buy, the fourth, fifth and sixth stages are omitted. In a modified re-buy
scenario, the fifth and sixth stages are precluded. In a new buy, all aforementioned stages are
conducted.


The four main fields of the Marketing mix.
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The term "marketing mix" was first used in 1953 when Neil Borden, in his American
Marketing Association presidential address, took the recipe idea one step further and coined
the term "marketing-mix". A prominent marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed a 4 P
classification in 1960, which has seen wide use. The four Ps concept is explained in most
marketing textbooks and classes.
2.3.1 Four P's
Elements of the marketing mix are often referred to as 'the four Ps':
Product - A tangible object or an intangible service that is mass produced or
manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible products are
service based like the tourism industry & the hotel industry or codes-based products
like cell phone load and credits. Typical examples of a mass produced tangible object
are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass
produced service is a computer operating system. Packaging also needs to be taken
into consideration. Every product is subject to a life-cycle including a growth phase
followed by an eventual period of decline as the product approaches market
saturation. To retain its competitiveness in the market, product differentiation is
required and is one of the strategy to differentiate from its competitors.
Price The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is determined by a
number of factors including market share, competition, material costs, product
identity and the customer's perceived value of the product. The business may increase
or decrease the price of product if other stores have the same product.
Place Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often
referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as
virtual stores on the Internet.
Promotion - represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the
marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations,
personal selling and sales promotion. A certain amount of crossover occurs when
promotion uses the four principal elements together, which is common in film
promotion. Advertising covers any communication that is paid for, from cinema
commercials, radio and Internet adverts through print media and billboards. Public
relations are where the communication is not directly paid for and includes press
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releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and
events. Word of mouth is any apparently informal communication about the product
by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people specifically engaged to create
word of mouth momentum. Sales staff often plays an important role in word of mouth
and Public Relations (see Product above).
Any organization, before introducing its products or services into the market; conducts a
market survey. The sequence of all 'P's as above is very much important in every stage of
product life cycle Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline.
2.3.2Extended Marketing Mix (3 Ps)
More recently, three more Ps have been added to the marketing mix namely People, Process
and Physical Evidence. This marketing mix is known as Extended Marketing Mix.
People: All people involved with consumption of a service are important. For
example workers, management, consumers etc. It also defines the market
segmentation, mainly demographic segmentation. It addresses particular class of
people for whom the product or service is made available.
Process: Procedure, mechanism and flow of activities by which services are used.
Also the 'Procedure' how the product will reach the end user.
Physical Evidence: The marketing strategy should include effectively communicating
their satisfaction to potential customers. Satisfied customers can be the best
advertisement, with either tangible products or services.
2.3.3Four Cs1in 7Cs compass model
A formal approach to this customer-focused marketing mix is known as Four Cs
(Commodity, Cost, Channel, Communication) in 7Cs compass model. Koichi Shimizu
proposed a four Cs classification in 1973.
[1]

[2]

This system is basically the four Ps
[3]
renamed and reworded to provide a customer focus.
The four Cs Model provides a demand/customer centric version alternative to the well-known
four Ps supply side model (product, price, place, promotion) of marketing management.The
Four Cs model is more consumer-oriented and attempts to better fit the movement from mass
marketing to symbiotic marketing.
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1. Commodity: (Original meaning of Latin: Commodus=convenient)the product for the
consumers or citizens. A commodity can also be described as an raw material such as;
oil, metal ores and wheat, the price of these tend to change on a daily basis, due to the
demand and supply of these commodities.
2. Cost: (Original meaning of Latin: Constrate = It makes sacrifices)producing cost,
selling cost, purchasing cost and social cost.
3. Channel: (Original meaning is a Canal)Flow of commodity : marketing channels.
4. Communication: (Original meaning of Latin: Communio = sharing of meaning)
marketing communication : It doesn't promote the sales.
(Framework of Cs compass model)
(C1): Corporation and competitor : The core of 4Cs is corporation and organization,
while the core of 4Ps is customers who are the targets for attacks or defenses.
(C2) : Commodity, (C3) : Cost, (C4) : Channel, (C5) : Communication
(C6) : Consumer (Needle of compass to Consumer)
The factors related to customers can be explained by the first character of four directions
marked on the compass model: N = Needs, W = Wants, S = Security and E = Education
(consumer education).
(C7) : Circumstances (Needle of compass to Circumstances )
In addition to the customer, there are various uncontrollable external environmental factors
encircling the companies. Here it can also be explained by the first character of the four
directions marked on the compass model --- N = National and International C, W=Weather, S
= Social and Cultural C, E = Economic (Circumstances).
2.3.4Four Cs2
Robert F. Lauterborn proposed a four Cs(2) classification in 1993. The Four Cs model is
more consumer-oriented and attempts to better fit the movement from mass marketing to
niche marketing. The Product part of the Four Ps model is replaced by Consumer or
Consumer Models, shifting the focus to satisfying the consumer needs. Another C
replacement for Product is Capable. By defining offerings as individual capabilities that when
combined and focused to a specific industry, creates a custom solution rather than pigeon-
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holing a customer into a product. Pricing is replaced by Cost reflecting the total cost of
ownership. Many factors affect Cost, including but not limited to the customer's cost to
change or implement the new product or service and the customer's cost for not selecting a
competitor's product or service. Placement is replaced by Convenience. With the rise of
internet and hybrid models of purchasing, Place is becoming less relevant. Convenience takes
into account the ease of buying the product, finding the product, finding information about
the product, and several other factors. Finally, the Promotions feature is replaced by
Communication which represents a broader focus than simply Promotions. Communications
can include advertising, public relations, personal selling, viral advertising, and any form of
communication between the firm and the consumer. the four Ps are (product, promotion,
price, place)
Most people have a tendency to lump Sales and Marketing together, thinking of them as
synonymous. This is not the case, however. Marketing is a completely separate function that
helps position products and services correctly so that Sales can be more effective. At the core
of Marketing are the four Ps Price, Product, Promotion, and Place. Marketers adjust each
of these components to arrive at a mix that the customer will prefer over competitors.
Product. The product is the full bundle of goods and services offered to the customer. This
includes the appearance, functionality, and support or non-tangibles the customer will
receive. The physical product itself is part of product as well as any packaging it arrives
in.
Place. This is where and how your product is distributed and sold. Will you sell it yourself,
through a broker, or a distributor? Will you run a retail store or sell only to retailers? If a
service, do you deliver in person or through the internet or telephone? These questions all
involve place.
Promotion. This is the advertising and selling part of Marketing. Often, promotions are
categorized into push versus pull. Advertising pulls by making the consumer aware of and
ask for your product or service. Incentives, such as premiums or price reductions, push your
product out the door by encouraging your customers to purchase in volume, more, or more
often than he would otherwise purchase.

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Price. This is how much you charge for your product or service. Considerations include
whether you will charge the same amount all of the time or vary it in some way. Varied
pricing could occur according to geography, time frame, or volume. Additionally, with a
service, price can be varied according to level of service.
These are the bare bones basics price, promotion, place, and product. Obviously volumes
can be written on each. For a more in-depth look at Marketing in practice, have a look at the
American Marketing Association website www.ama.org.
2.4 The Marketing Mix and 4 Ps
Understanding how to position your market offering
What is marketing? The definition that many marketers learn as they start out in the industry
is:
Putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time.
It's simple! You just need to create a product that a particularly group of people want, put it
on sale some place that those same people visit regularly, and price it at a level which
matches the value they feel they get out of it; and do all that at a time they want to buy. Then
you've got it made!
There's a lot of truth in this idea. However, a lot of hard work needs to go into finding out
what customers want, and identifying where they do their shopping. Then you need to figure
out how to produce the item at a price that represents value to them, and get it all to come
together at the critical time.
But if you get just one element wrong, it can spell disaster. You could be left promoting a car
with amazing fuel-economy in a country where fuel is very cheap; or publishing a textbook
after the start of the new school year, or selling an item at a price that's too high or too low
to attract the people you're targeting.
The marketing mix is a good place to start when you are thinking through your plans for a
product or service, and it helps you avoid these kinds of mistake.
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Understanding the Tool
The marketing mix and the 4 Ps of marketing are often used as synonyms for each other. In
fact, they are not necessarily the same thing.
"Marketing mix" is a general phrase used to describe the different kinds of choices
organizations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or service to market.
The 4 Ps is one way - probably the best-known way - of defining the marketing mix, and was
first expressed in 1960 by E J McCarthy.
The 4Ps are:
Product (or Service)
Place
Price
Promotion
A good way to understand the 4 Ps is by the questions that you need to ask to define you
marketing mix. Here are some questions that will help you understand and define each of the
four elements:
Product/Service
What does the customer want from the product/service? What needs does it satisfy?
What features does it have to meet these needs?
Are there any features you've missed out?
Are you including costly features that the customer won't actually use?
How and where will the customer use it?
What does it look like? How will customers experience it?
What size(s), color(s), and so on, should it be?
What is it to be called?
How is it branded?
How is it differentiated versus your competitors?
What is the most it can cost to provide, and still be sold sufficiently profitably? (See
also Price, below).
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Place
Where do buyers look for your product or service?
If they look in a store, what kind? A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both?
Or online? Or direct, via a catalogue?
How can you access the right distribution channels?
Do you need to use a sales force? Or attend trade fairs? Or make online submissions?
Or send samples to catalogue companies?
What do you competitors do, and how can you learn from that and/or differentiate?
Price
What is the value of the product or service to the buyer?
Are there established price points for products or services in this area?
Is the customer price sensitive? Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market
share? Or will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin?
What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of
your market?
How will your price compare with your competitors?
Promotion
Where and when can you get across your marketing messages to your target market?
Will you reach your audience by advertising in the press, or on TV, or radio, or on
billboards? By using direct marketing mailshot? Through PR? On the Internet?
When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market? Are there any
wider environmental issues that suggest or dictate the timing of your market launch,
or the timing of subsequent promotions?
How do your competitors do their promotions? And how does that influence your
choice of promotional activity?
The 4Ps model is just one of many marketing mix lists that have been developed over the
years. And, whilst the questions we have listed above are key, they are just a subset of the
detailed probing that may be required to optimize your marketing mix.
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Amongst the other marketing mix models have been developed over the years is Boom and
Bitner's 7Ps, sometimes called the extended marketing mix, which include the first 4 Ps, plus
people, processes and physical layout decisions.
Another marketing mix approach is Lauterborn's 4Cs, which presents the elements of the
marketing mix from the buyer's, rather than the seller's, perspective. It is made up of
Customer needs and wants (the equivalent of product), Cost (price), Convenience (place) and
Communication (promotion). In this article, we focus on the 4Ps model as it is the most well-
recognized, and contains the core elements of a good marketing mix.

2.5 Using the 4Ps Marketing Mix Model
The marketing mix model can be used to help you decide how to take a new offer to market.
It can also be used to test your existing marketing strategy. Whether you are considering a
new or existing offer, follow the steps below help you define and improve your marketing
mix.
1. Start by identifying the product or service that you want to analyze.
2. Now go through and answers the 4Ps questions - as defined in detail above.
3. Try asking "why" and "what if" questions too, to challenge your offer. For example,
ask why your target audience needs a particular feature. What if you drop your price
by 5%? What if you offer more colors? Why sell through wholesalers rather than
direct channels? What if you improve PR rather than rely on TV advertising?
Planning=an act of formulating a program for a definite course of action.

Organizing=To arrange in a desired pattern or structure.

Leading=indicating the most important performer or role.

Controlling=To exercise authoritative or dominating influence over.
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2.5 TYPES OF MARKETING
2.5.1 OFF-LINE MARKETING:
Radio Talk Shows
There are practically an unlimited number of radio stations that bring experts in various fields
into their studios. I'm sure you have heard some of these shows on your local radio stations.
The guest expert answers calls from listeners who phone into the radio station. You can be
that expert! During the show, you have ample opportunities to announce your Web address so
listeners can visit your site. You don't pay anything to be a guest. It's a win-win situation. The
radio station needs qualified guests to fill its airtime and you need the exposure. Everyone
benefits.








Local Television
Pay particular attention to the content offered on your local television stations. Do you notice
shows, or segments of shows, where guests speak about various topics? If so, contact that
station and offer to be a guest on their segment.
Local Business Magazines
TYPES OF
MARKETING
ON-LINE
MARKETING
OFF-LINE
MARKETING
WORD OF
MOUTH
ADVERTISEMENT
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Many towns have locally published business-oriented magazines. These deal with local
interests as well as more broad topics relative to all businesses. Contact your local magazine
and offer to write a monthly or weekly guest column for them. Your credits will be provided
with your article including your domain name.
Newspapers
The same idea used above for local magazines can be used to approach your local newspaper.
While papers do have staff writers, they are also looking for experts who can provide
excellent insight into specific areas. You might consider contacting the Business Editor to get
more information. Of course, include your Web address with your bio.
Association Newsletters
Most local chapters of associations offer printed newsletters that are mailed to their
membership. Open your telephone book and look through the listings to find associations that
fit with your target audience. Approach these publications about contributing an article on a
regular basis, provided your credits (with domain name) are included.

2.5.2 ON-LINE MARKETING
The term online marketing refers to using the power of Internet advertising to
generate a response from your audience. Also known as Internet marketing or web marketing,
online marketing is used by companies selling goods and services directly to consumers as
well as those who operate on a business-to-business model.
Common areas of interest within the field of online marketing include:
Affiliate Marketing: In affiliate marketing, a business recruits associates to promote
the company's products or services. The associates receive a commission or other
similar rewards for every sale, visitor, subscriber, or customer they bring to the
company. Amazon.com Associates Central is an example of an affiliate marketing
program that Amazon.com uses to encourage private website owners to bring traffic
to its site.
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Display Advertising: Display advertising involves the use of web banners or banner
ads placed on a third-party website to drive traffic to a company's own website and
increase product awareness.
Email Marketing: Companies that use email marketing send promotional emails
directly to customers. However, it can often be hard to distinguish between spam and
legitimate email marketing messages.
Interactive Advertising: Interactive advertising involves the use of animations and
other graphic techniques to create ads that engage the viewer and invite participation.
Search Engine Marketing: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), paid placement, and
paid inclusion are search engine marketing techniques that companies can use to
increase their visibility in the search engine page results from Google and its
competitors.
Viral Marketing: Viral marketing is a technique in which companies encourage
customers to pass along information about their products or services. Company
websites that let visitors email interactive games or funny video clips to their friends
are an example of a viral marketing effort

WORD OF MOUTH ADVERTISEMENT
Word of mouth is a reference to the passing of information from person to person.
Originally the term referred specifically to oral communication but now includes any
type of human communication, such as face-to-face, telephone, e-mail, and text
messaging.
24











2.5.3 Direct marketing
Direct marketing is a form of advertising that reaches its audience without using traditional
formal channels of advertising, such as TV, newspapers or radio. Businesses communicate
straight to the consumer with advertising techniques such as fliers, catalogue distribution,
promotional letters, and street advertising. This aspect of direct marketing involves an
emphasis on traceable, measurable, positive responses from consumers regardless of medium
Two features
It sends its message directly to consumers, without the use of intervening commercial
communication media
CHANNEL OF
MARKETING
DIRECT
MARKETING
DIRECT MAIL
TELE-
MARKETING
E-MAIL
DOOR TO DOOR
MARKETING
VOICE MAIL
MARKETING
INDIRECT
MARKETING
Whole-seller Retailer
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. The second characteristic is the core principle of successful Advertising driving a
specific "call-to-action.
Direct mail
Probably the most commonly used medium for direct marketing is mail, in which
marketing communications are sent to customers using the postal service. The term direct
mail is used in the direct marketing industry to refer to communication deliveries by the Post
Office.
Telemarketing
The second most common form of direct marketing is telemarketing, in which
marketers contact consumers by phone.
E-mail Marketing
E-mail Marketing may have passed telemarketing in frequency at this point and is a
third type of direct marketing. A major concern is spam, which actually predates
legitimate email marketing.
Marketing Door-to-Door
Leaflet distribution services are used extensively by the fast food industries, and many
other business focusing on a local catchments Business to consumer business model,
similar to direct mail marketing, this method is targeted purely by area, and costs a
fraction of the amount of a mail shot due to not having to purchase stamps, envelopes or
having to buy address lists and the names of home occupants.
Voicemail Marketing
A fifth type of direct marketing has emerged out of the market prevalence of personal voice
mailboxes, and business voicemail systems. Due to the ubiquity of email marketing, and the
expense of direct mail and telemarketing, voicemail marketing presented a cost effective
means by which to reach people directly, by voice.
26
Direct response television marketing
Direct marketing on TV has two basic forms: long form (half-hour or hour-long segments
that explain a product in detail and are commonly referred to as infomercials) and short form
which refers to typical 0:30 second or 0:60 second commercials that ask viewers for an
immediate response (to call a phone number on screen or go to a website).TV-response
marketing can be considered a form of direct marketing, since responses are in the form of
calls to telephone numbers given on-air.
Direct selling
Direct selling is the sale of products by face-to-face contact with the customer, either
by having salespeople approach potential customers in person, or through indirect means
such as Tupperware parties.
Referral Marketing
Referral marketing is a method of Internet marketing that relies on gaining new customers
by referrals, usually through word of mouth. Word of mouth is generally spontaneous and is
achieved by businesses without any form of structured strategy

Selling and distribution of products to customers through intermediaries such as
wholesalers, distributors, agents, dealers, or retailers.
Types
1. Wholesaler
A person or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other
professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services. In
general, it is the sale of goods to anyone other than a standard consumer.
2. Reseller
27
A reseller is an individual that purchases goods or services with the intention of
reselling them rather than consuming or using them. This is usually done for profit (but could
be resold at a loss).
AI DA MARKETI NG MODEL













A - Attention (Awareness): attract the attention of the customer.
I - Interest: raise customer interest by focusing on and demonstrating advantages
and benefits.
D - Desire: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service
and that it will satisfy their needs.
A - Action: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing.






2.6 7 Strategies for Using Market engineering Products
MODEL OF
MARKETING
ATTENTION INTEREST DESIRE ACTION
28
1. Parametric part number search - Build a parametric search application. This is
particularly helpful if you are a components manufacturer and have a large inventory of parts.
Help the design engineer select the exact part number by selecting critical parameters he
needs. Once they find the correct part number, offer datasheets with performance
characteristics, applications and tolerance information, include a way for the visitor to send a
quick question to your engineering department.
2. AUTO CAD drawings - you probably already have an extensive library of CAD
drawings. Why not create a downloadable library on your website? This feature is very useful
if you are serving the architectural and builder communities. Offer the drawings in PDF and
JPEGs.
3. Valve sizing programs - these are great and easy to use tools for any manufacturer of
valves for chemical, hydrocarbon and industrial process, power, water and wastewater
industries. Customize them to suit your particular product line, which makes it much easier to
specify and buy your valves.
4. Online color selector - build an interactive tool for your website for visitors to mix
and match different colors and components in real-time. This application used very
effectively by metal building manufacturers to help their customers to choose the right color
combination for roof, wall and trims.
5. Customer forums - forums have been around a lot longer than social media and have
proven to very effective for engaging the engineering community. The primary ways
industrial companies participate in social media today are through community/discussion
sites for customers as well as similar internal sites for employees whereas adoption of newer
social media tools.
6. Expertise blogs - starting your own company blogs to showcase your internal experts is
a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Your own engineers, technical and
R & D team members are great resources for generating fresh content that is more customer-
focused.
29
7. Tell a story - most industrial marketing content tend to be cut-and-dried with lists of
features and benefits. The focus is squarely on you, your company and its products and
services. Instead, weave a story around your marketing copy to make it more engaging for
your site visitors and prospects.
Most probable marketing channel used by engineering company for light engineering
product

Direct marketing
Direct selling
Response television marketing Direct
Marketing Door-to-Door
Email Marketing

Indirect marketing
Wholesaler
Retailer
Marketing model for heavy engineering product






developed
marketing plan
Website
Graphic/Web
designer
Press release

Brochures/reliable
printer
Business cards
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Step 1
Develop the basis of your business marketing plan by listing details about the
product and customer. What types of machines will you are selling? Will they be used
machines, brand new machines or both? Since this is business-to-business (B2B)
sales, who are the business owners who you will be targeting? Are you trying to sell
to larger companies like Coca Cola or smaller boutique companies who place a few
machines in various locations?
Step 2
Do research on other machine businesses in your area and online. How do they get
the word out about their vending products?
Step 3
Based on your research and the prospective customer, decide what type of advertising
placements you believe would reach potential customers the most effectively for the
least possible investment.
Step 4
Take plenty of pictures of your stock of machines or get pictures of the products
you intend to sell from the manufacturers.
1. Step 5
Hire a print layout designer to develop a brochure that describes and touts your
business. Add plenty of pictures.
2. Step 6
Hire a web designer to set up a basic Website for your vending machine business.
3. Step 7
Have your graphics designer produce business card printed related to your business.
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4. Step 8
Place advertisements based on your marketing plan. Be sure this includes
advertisements in industry publications that machinery business owners receive on a
regular basis and online text ads targeted for the highly specific keywords that
vending machine owners would look up (e.g. discount machines or used machinery
equipment).
5. Step 9
Attend machinery business networking events. Pass out your business cards and
brochures.
6. Step 10
Write a press release concerning your machinery business with news worthy twist that
will attract the attention of potential customers without being overly promotional.
7. Step 11
When you receive inquiries from customers, ask for their address so that you can send
them a brochure and business card. They need something in hand to keep your
business in mind.


32
CHAPTER 3
ROLE OF MARKETING IN BUSINESS SECTORS TODAY

Marketing and employment relations are equally important aspects to the successful
operation of all businesses, through correct marketing businesses can expect to grow and
expand, both in size and profitability; Qantas has employed a range of strategies to
accomplish its aims and become a more competitive player within the aviation industry. With
the development of new domestic airline JetStar by Qantas, individual strategies will need to
be used to help the business succeed. Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) is an Australian non-alcoholic
beverage producer, successful employment relations has seen the company become a leader
within the hospitality and production industry.

3.1 Role of Marketing
The role of marketing is to connect the business with its target market. Marketing is the major
link between the business and its customers. As the market changes and becomes more
competitive, the business needs to know and understand its target market so it can provide
better service to its customers. Successful marketing will identify customer needs, and then,
plan price, promote and distribute the products and services that will satisfy these needs. This
way the business goals of increased profit and a greater share of the market can be achieved.
But continually researching customers and monitoring the business environment, marketing
provides the information the business needs in order to change direction on adjust its tactics
by providing new product or changing existing products. The objectives and strategies of the
marketing plan are used to determine the plans of the other functions such as operations,
employment relations, and accounting and finance. CEO Geoff Dixon has recognized the role
of marketing in business success and so continually researches its market and modifies its
marketing strategies to meet customer needs and wants.


3.1.1 Marketing planning process
Planning is essential for successful marketing. In order to carry out the marketing program, a
business needs a plan that will help it to achieve its objectives. For each business the
marketing plan is going to different depending on the size and nature of the business. The
marketing plan involves 5 stages these include:
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3.1.2 Situational analysis
The situational analysis looks at the market n terms of size and growth, needs of the target
market and trends in buyer behaviour. The performance of the products or service in terms of
sales, profit margins and stage in the product lifecycle are examined. Major competitors are
identified and analysed in terms of marketing strategies. A major part of the situation analysis
is the prediction of market opportunities. Strengths and weaknesses are defined by measures
such as market share, loyal customers, level of customer satisfaction and product quality.

Many businesses use their general marketing department to gather the information and
produce a report. Qantass only real competitor on its domestic services is Virgin Blue.
Currently Virgin Blue employs about 3000 staff, claims about 30% of the domestic market
share. Qantas is expecting to report $150 million net profit for the year ending March 28,
2004, compared to $108 million to the previous year. Qantass domestic services are currently
in the maturity stage of the business cycle after a period of growth following the collapse of
Ansett. Internationally both Qantas and its subsidiary Australian Airlines are in the renewal
stage recovering from September 11 and SARs. JetStar is its domestic, low cost carrier is in
the establishment phase of the business cycle.

3.1.3 Establishing marketing objectives
The next step in the marketing planning process it to establish the marketing objectives. The
objectives established in the business plan will be the guide for the marketing objectives.
Qantass main marketing objective is to make a profit, both in the current and long terms .The
overall goal is to provide a satisfactory return to shareholders and to generate enough profit in
reserve to fund growth and the acquisition of new aircraft. Qantass main objective is to sell
its capacity at prices that will ensure enough demand to sustain its profit objectives.
Other marketing objectives include:

Increase sales
Maintain 70% market share
Increased internet sales
Increased customer service
Decrease operating costs
Grow and develop non-flying businesses
34

3.1.4 Marketing Strategies
A business can use a number of different strategies to reach the same objective, and a
combination of different strategies can be used. Whichever strategies are used, they should
meet a number of basic points.
Strategies should:

satisfy the needs of the target markets
meet the objectives of the business and marketing plans
work together in achieving overall marketing objectives

Qantas uses market segmentation to better meet the needs of all its customers, to compete
more effectively, and to attain financial goals more readily. Qantas is launching a new low
cost domestic airline called JetStar in May 2004 which will initially target travelers on
yielding leisure routes. Positioning is the image that Qantas projects in relation to its
competitors. Qantas brings attention to its service by using a variety of positioning strategies.

3.1.5Formulating the marketing mix
As the airline industry has become more competitive, airlines like Qantas have focused on
product planning. Qantas designs products to be attractive and hold customers from a
particular market segment and to do so profitably. This means using its detailed
understanding of the needs and requirements of its different market segments. Such
understanding is acquired through market research.

On the passenger side the product is enhanced by:
scheduling basic features
comfort based features
Qantas Frequent Flyer Scheme (FFS)
Price is a crucial element in any marketing plan. Promotional strategies employed by Qantas
include:
advertising
sales promotion
personal selling
image of Qantas
35
3.2 Role of Marketing in Business
Marketing is an essential part of business, whether big or small. It plays a significant role in
promoting the well-being of all businesses. The concept of markets brings us full circle to the
idea of marketing. Marketing is perhaps the most complicated and thought-provoking
function carried out by every business house.
Marketing has a direct impact on business sales as well as profitability. Marketing starts well
before production commences and ends only after rendering sale services to the consumers. It
is the ability of picking out and satisfying customer desires in such a way that a dosage of
money put in brings around highest return.
The American Marketing Association has defined marketing as the execution of business
actions, which direct the flow of good and services from manufacturer to final user.
Marketing offers up high employment potential; about 25 to 30% of the total labor force in
the United States of America is directly or indirectly engaged in marketing. Marketing finds
out and transforms customer requirements and wants into good and service specifications and
generates demand for these goods and services.
The importance of marketing can be further highlighted from its different benefits listed
below:
Marketing expands the market place.
It offers up lucrative employment opportunities.
It lifts up the living standard.
It offers maximum satisfaction of human requirements.
It stabilizes the financial conditions.
It facilitates exchange in the ownership and possession of goods and services.
It helps in best possible utilization of resources.
Marketing is perhaps the most important activity in a business because it has a direct effect
on profitability and sales. Larger businesses will dedicate specific staff and departments for
the purpose of marketing.
36
It is important to realise that marketing cannot be carried out in isolation from the rest of the
business. For example:
The marketing section of a business needs to work closely with operations, research and
development, finance and human resources to check their plans are possible.
Operations will need to use sales forecasts produced by the marketing department to plan
their production schedules.
Sales forecasts will also be an important part of the budgets produced by the finance
department, as well as the deployment of labour for the human resources department.
A research and development department will need to work very closely with the marketing
department to understand the needs of the customers and to test outputs of the R&D section.
3.3 Role in the Banking Sector
Before starting our discussion it is necessary that we should know that what is the definition
of the bank and the marketing than we can easily understand that role the marketing in the
banking sector.

BANK, ACCORDING TO THE HARBURT HURT
A banker is one who in the ordinary course of business honors cheques drawn upon him by
persons for whom he receives money on current account

BANK, ACCORDING TO THE HARTLEY WITHERS
A manufacturer of credit and a machine for facilitating exchanges

Banks play a vital role in every countrys economy. Because they daily involve in accruing
funds and providing loan to the individual persons, industry, corporate sector etc. Banks
provide several types of services to their clients.

We all know well that now the era has changed and know people want innovation in every
thing so that is why mostly banks are using the marketing approach for providing better
services to their clients.
37

MARKETING DEFINED
The anticipation, management, and satisfaction of demand through the exchange process

The marketing management philosophy that holds achieving organizational goals depends on
knowing the needs and wants of target market and delivering the desired satisfactions better
than competitors.
Now it is very crystal and clear that banking and marketing are two different terminologies.

Because banks provide the services so that is why
bank use the service-marketing tool in the banking
industry. Like this large numbers of business
organizations offer services airlines, hotels,
insurance, consulting firms, medical and law
practices, entertainment companies, real estate
firms, retailers & others so they also use service
marketing.




The banking industry faces some exceptional challenges when it comes to marketing. The
public tends to view banks and other financial institutions with suspicion, or they take them
for granted. In either case the ability to positively impact the public's perceptions of banks
requires creative and forthright marketing.
38

Show me a successful business and I'll show you a marketing success story. Those companies
who had the foresight to dominate their industries from the start enjoy the greatest perk
afforded to any marketing campaign, said perk being "Name-branding". To this day we make
"Xerox" copies, not "photo" copies. We reach for a "Kleenex" as opposed to a tissue.
Regardless of what brand of pop we have in our refrigerator we offer up a "Coke". When our
drains are clogged we discuss "Roto-rooting" them. Once your product or service becomes
synonymous with a concept you are on your way to guaranteed growth! It is worth noting that
the companies I've mentioned continue to market, but they are in the luxury position of only
having to purchase "maintenance" marketing. While costing considerably less than their
previous dominant posture, it keeps them in the public mind. Does anyone with young
children not have McDonald's menu committed to memory? Yet McDonald's continues to run
periodic campaigns for one reason - the competition is aggressively inviting you into their
driveway. McDonald's is also a great example of specific target marketing. Whenever they
attempted to reach a more mature demographic through the introduction of "adult" fare, the
campaigns fell flat. So they continue to market to there proven demographic, namely kids.

Hold on. We're talking about marketing banks. To
be certain we are not selling hamburgers. Banks
must focus on several things when marketing. They
need to instill confidence. They need to image
themselves in a memorable way. They need to
provide specific reasons for the public to move
from their present provider to their institution. This
can only be accomplished when you reach beyond
the obvious and focus on the criteria that
distinguish you from the competition. We all know
that banks provide checking accounts, make loans,
provide safety deposit boxes, etc. But at some point in time there was a banking group who
decided to open on Saturdays. Someone initiated the concept of free checking, 24 hour
banking, and adding services such as financial planning. And these trends were eventually
mirrored by the competition out of necessity.

What are your strengths? What sets you apart from the competition? Your people? Your
39
services? Your location(s)? All the above? I worked with a pharmacy several years ago that
was located in a town saturated with pharmacies. My advice to them was to ignore the
obvious, prescription filling, and focus their marketing on their unique features. They were
the only pharmacy in town with a certain brand of vitamins and herbals, with a 5-minute
cholesterol/blood sugar test, and with prescription flagging to notify their clients of renewal
dates. By focusing their marketing on these unique services they gave
the public specific reasons to shop with them. Prescription refills followed naturally. Take the
time to determine what your unique features are. Brainstorm with ALL of your employees.
Who knows? There might be an innovative marketing mind sitting behind one of your drive-
thru windows. Once you have complied a list of reasons to choose you over your
competition, get the word out!

The challenge now becomes how best to
communicate your strengths to the public. To
accomplish this in the most cost effective way you
need to determine what demographic will most
benefit from the service(s), then purchase those
mediums that are more inclined to reach them.
While marketing is not an exact science, there are
general rules of thumb that are time tested. For
example, the 50 + demographic have habitually
read a newspaper over a morning cup of coffee,
while the younger demographics tend to rely on
electronic mediums for their news. Radio and
television formats appeal to specific groups of consumers, and proper selection is very
important. Billboards provide a conscious and subconscious imprint of your name. My
advice it to pick as many appropriate target mediums as you can afford and stick with them
for no less than a year. Success is not instantaneous, but it can be lasting.

3.3.1 Bank Marketing, Financial Services Marketing
Bank executives and marketers faced with ongoing challenges can make better business
decisions with the help of software, data and analytic services from Mapping Analytics:

40
1. Who are my best customers and how can I keep them?
2. Where is the greatest market potential to find new customers?
3. What locations should I choose to expand our branch network?
4. Is our network of bank branches optimized for maximum performance?

The answer to each of these questions depends in large part on geography and location. That
means working with Mapping Analytics - experts in mapping and analysis since 1989 -
makes sense. Many banks, both large and small, use our services to improve marketing and
branch network decisions.

We can help you in the following analytic areas:

BANK CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS
Gain a clear understanding of your customers. Mapping
Analytics combines data from your customer information file
with demographic and lifestyle data that describes and predicts
consumer behavior and buying patterns. For banks with
commercial customers, we segment by SIC codes and business
demographics.
By segmenting your customers into groups based on their type
and behavior, you will have a foundation for successful marketing, including targeted
promotions, market expansion and branch network optimization.
Learn more about customer profiling.

3.3.2 BRANCH TRADE AREA AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
Using customer, product mix and transaction data, Mapping Analytics can help you construct
accurate trade areas for existing branches and estimate trade areas when evaluating new
branches.
Accurate trade areas based on actual customer behavior, rather than approximations based on
mile rings or drive times, are essential to understanding bank branch performance.
Mapping Analytics determines branch performance by comparing your bank's product mix
within its trade area to market penetration and share of wallet. We use commercially
41
available market data in our analysis to score penetration, potential and share of wallet. You
will be able to see the level of demand for your products and services in any area.
Analyzing branches according to their performance helps you make better decisions
regarding product offerings and marketing campaigns. This analysis also serves as the
foundation for optimizing your branch network and evaluating potential new branch
locations.

3.3.3 BRANCH NETWORK OPTIMIZATION & NEW BRANCH
EVALUATION
Based on results of branch trade area and branch
performance analysis, Mapping Analytics will
develop a model you can use to evaluate any
existing or potential bank branch location - or
your entire network of branches.
An analysis of your branch network also includes
your candidate sites and competitor sites. It will
help you determine which locations generate the
greatest positive impact on your overall network. A
branch network analysis will help you answer the
following questions:

Which areas within the current network offer the most potential for opening new
branches?
How many branches could/should be added to the current network?
Which branches should be closed?

And, when opportunity arises for opening a new branch, you will be able to quickly
determine how a potential site compares with existing sites and the impact on your overall
branch network.
3.4 The importance of marketing in todays global economy
Today, businesses around the world, both large and small, cannot ignore the impact that the
global economy is having on their performance. Globalisation, the internet, and information
42
transparency have led to an increasingly mobile workforce, ever more fickle customers, and
rapidly changing technologies and business models. One result of this seemingly inexorable
trend is that companies are less able to predict - let alone control - the short-term shape of
their own markets.
As a result, more and more organisations are choosing to adopt a marketing-led philosophy to
enable them to win market share and capture and retain the hearts and minds of current and
prospective customers. Marketing is becoming more important as organisations around the
world strive to develop products and services that appeal to their customers and aim to
differentiate their offering in the increasingly-crowded global marketplace.
These complex issues heighten the need for effective marketing whilst expanding its scope
beyond the marketing function. Put simply, marketing is no longer the sole prerogative of a
single function, even if the leadership on marketing comes from that function, together with
the framework within which marketing strategies are conceived, developed, planned,
executed, reviewed and improved.
It used to be that a company could rise to the top of its industry and deliver superior
shareholder returns by doing one thing well. Not anymore. Marketings perceived ability to
orchestrate collaboration across an organisation (and its role in driving demand in markets
that suffer from low rates of consumption) indicates that marketing is becoming increasingly
important, even in organisations and sectors where it has, perhaps, traditionally taken a back
seat.
Import & Export Services
Global Business Professionals provides a wide variety of import and export services.

Import Services
Global Business Professionals can help in all facets of the import process. From the
overseas factory to the final destination, we will make sure importing to the United
States is a straightforward and seamless process. Our services are customized to fit our
clients needs and can include assistance with U.S. Customs/TSA documentation,
arranging inbound air and ocean freight, warehousing services and U.S. Customs
clearance.


43
Export Services
Global Business Professionals can also assist in exporting from the United States to the
world. We can help find markets for your products and then make sure that these
products arrive at their destination in a manner specified. As with our import services,
this could include but is not limited to export documentation, drayage to the port,
containerization, outbound air and ocean freight and final delivery.

Financial Intermediary
Doing business internationally can come with some financial uncertainty arising from a
variety of factors including foreign financial institutions, foreign exchange rates, as well
as other countries judicial and political system. Global Business Professionals can take
the risk out of these transactions by acting as an intermediary between our client and
their business counterpart.


Inspection Services
While most overseas suppliers operate in good faith, there is often uncertainty that the
contracted products will actually be the products received. Discrepancies can arise
from miscommunication in emails and faxes, the language barrier, and simply cultural
differences. Since Global Business Professionals people are actually on the ground at
the overseas location, we can physically inspect goods before they are shipped to make
sure they comply with what you ordered. Some of the areas for which Global Business
Professionals can inspect are:

Quantity making sure your shipment is complete
Quality verifying that the goods conform to your specifications
Packing making sure your shipment is packaged as ordered,

to prevent loss or breakage, and with the proper markings to ensure smooth passage
through inbound customs

Global Business Professionals can also provide more in-depth services such as
involvement in the manufacturing process, raw material inspection and production
processes.
44
3.5 Role of Marketing in the Modern Economy

Marketing is no longer about how a firm takes a product to market. Simply focusing on
awareness of your product, in the belief that interest and sales would follow automatically,
have gone in a fog of choice, over-supply and fragmentation of media.

In todays ultra competitive markets firms have to organize themselves around the needs of
the customer, not the needs of the firm. Buying behavior has changed from focusing on
product features to personal value. The task of marketing today is not to interrupt and
persuade but to engage, motivate and satisfy
.
Firms need to make people aware of how they understand and can meet their requirements.
Relevance to the individual customer is now the key to generating interest, not awareness. If
customers do not find the experience of using the product or service to their tastes they will
switch to one of the other providers keen for their business very quickly.

In the Production era marketing was geared around the requirements of the production
process, to help promote an affordable product. The planning models based on the 4Ps were
internally orientated.

In the Consumer era we now find ourselves in, with the huge explosion in competition and
over-supply in most markets, firms need a new approach to marketing. One that goes beyond
the initial purchase, and takes account of the whole customer journey. It is why
differentiation and customer value is at the heart of modern business planning and marketing
has extended beyond adverts and brochures to include people and processes.

To survive and thrive today firms need to recognize that the role of marketing, is not just in
setting expectations to win customers, but ensuring the experience matches up to it to retain
and develop those relationships.

Marketing planning has switched from looking inwards to looking out at what customers
want and finding production and distribution methods that meet those wants. With this
change has come a change in planning, replacing the 4Ps with a more customer-centric
planning model, to help shape and meet the needs of todays more demanding customers.
45
Firms who take no notice of customers needs risk having customers take no notice of them.

Instead of making it harder for firms to prosper, the changes in the market have actually
enabled those companies that have embraced the changes to become more profitable and
more dominant. Even in the face of greater competition.

Spending more no longer guarantees greater impact. Consumers have become much better at
filtering out messages they regard as not relevant to them individually. Interruption marketing
is no longer productive. Firms who think smarter, instead of bigger, with an effective
engagement marketing strategy can make budgets work much harder and stretch further,
generating more customers and maximizing customer lifetime value.

Price and competitive edge is linked to desirability and not production costs and profitability
is linked to maximizing lifetime customer value not individual purchases.

In a time of almost limitless choice and more standard production quality, product features
have been superseded by brand value as the key differentiator. What sets a 2 and 200 pair
of jeans apart in the 21st Century is not the production costs, but the perceived value to the
purchaser. Choice has changed consumer behavior. People are happy to pay more if they
believe they are getting more personal value. The price now represents the cost to access the
desired benefits.

The value an individual gets is linked to the result gained from the purchase. The result
includes satisfying emotional wants, in terms of how they see themselves and want others to
see them, as well as the physical needs. Hence the badge on the jeans counts for more than
needing a tough pair of trousers. It is like wanting to be friends and associated with the most
popular kid at school only now you can buy into that friendship.

Brand personality or image has emerged as the key differentiator as products themselves have
become more commoditized. As product differences have shrunk, non product differences,
such as the image and personality of the brand or added value aspects that make the product
or service more relevant, have replaced them as people have demonstrated their willingness
to measure price based on personal worth to them rather than cost (display an affinity for, pay
a premium, to be associated with values and an image they aspire to).
46
They are also a much easier and quicker method for individuals, with limited technical
knowledge, to judge on than pouring over complex product specifications. No doubt the 200
jeans used better materials, were better stitched and had nicer detailing. But these elements
have no real sway compared to personal value aspects in the buying process. They may help
justify the purchase, but would not be a consideration in the motivation for the purchase.
Buying behavior now involves two stages. Cultural fit for individuals is based on the brands
they have an affinity with. From this shortlist the final product choice is determined by the
best individual fit.

A simple example of this is car buying. People will have a group of manufacturers they
regard as acceptable and will not look outside these manufacturers, even though identical
style cars will be made by many others, and will often be cheaper. From this group they will
then make their final selection based on the test drive, the offers, the specification etc.

Whilst branding plays a less significant part in professional buying behavior, i.e. B2B
markets, it is still a significant factor in achieving standout in over-crowded and building a
cultural fit with the target market. Personal value needs will also be less emotional than in
B2C purchase decisions, involving elements over and above the product functionality, such
as service, communication and guarantees. Even though more based in logic they will still
have a major impact in the final buying decision.

Some of the questions you should be able to answer to compete effectively in the modern
economy are;

How well are you geared up to take advantage of the changes in how people buy?
Do you have relevant value propositions to differentiate you on the elements that really
matter to potential customers?
Do you understand what your customers are looking for when deciding what to buy and who
to buy it from?
Do have the relevant sales skills within the organization to create value in the eyes of the
prospect to make you the best choice for them?
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3.6 THE ROLE OF MARKETING IN SMES

Entrepreneurial ventures are always about identifying market opportunities and successfully
delivering goods or services to customers willing to pay for this. This orientation of the
product on the customer's needs is the source for innovation, and consequently also for
entrepreneurial behaviour, and in consequence crucial for the discipline of Marketing.
Marketing is considered one of the major keys to success, development and survival of SMEs
and young enterprises (Gruber, 2004; Carson et al., 1995). The enterprise's ability to solve
customer problems forms the centre of the marketing concept. Marketing thus always means
a systematic market and customer orientation. The discipline of Marketing as a whole has
undergone a paradigm shift, away from the pure sales view with short-term competition
towards a relational view of exchange partners with long-term profitable relationships (Vargo
and Lusch, 2004).

In his investigation of 160 small US firms, Pelham (2000) found marketing orientation to
have a strong relationship with performance in SMEs. Nevertheless, he assumes that
marketing orientation is only one of several important ingredients of small firm success, and
suggests that it should be complemented by entrepreneurial values (such as tolerance for risk,
proactiveness, and receptivity to innovation) in order to receive best results. Besides, the
author presumes that especially growth/differentiation strategies positively affect
performance in small firms. Since entrepreneurial enterprises usually have a sense for
customer needs, wants and demands, i.e. orientate their activities around the customer and
market place (Collinson and Shaw, 2001), it could even be argued that entrepreneurial
enterprises are characterized by their marketing orientation. If 'marketing orientation' is
accordingly regarded as the enterprise's underlying business philosophy, including customer
orientation and satisfaction, integrated marketing strategies, and a focus on profitability
(Miles and Arnold, 1991), and not only a departmental function, there are several points of
intersection with entrepreneurship, especially when it comes to uncertainty and changing
environments. The major problem is that due to their smallness, many SMEs and new
ventures often do not even possess a formal marketing department yet. Mostly only one
person (in many cases even the entrepreneur himself) draws responsible for marketing
decisions (Stokes, 1995). The entrepreneurial influence above all shapes all the activities of
the SME, especially in its first years of existence (Hill and Wright, 2000). It could thus be
deducted that marketing and entrepreneurship do not only interact, but marketing does even
48
more is the underlying concept for entrepreneurial behaviour within organizations. It seems
therefore to be extraordinarily important for marketing managers to understand the concepts
of entrepreneurship as well.

SMEs usually have a lower level of resources as well as lower access to human and financial
capital. As a result, particularly up to a certain 'critical size', the application of sophisticated
marketing planning is often missing. Small firms are furthermore said to have a distinctive
marketing style, being rather simplistic and haphazard with little or no formal structures and
frameworks and limited resources, therefore being restricted by scope and activity of their
marketing efforts (Hill and Wright, 2000). SMEs have specific marketing problems, e.g. a
rather narrow customer base, limited scope and impact of marketing activities, variable and
over-reliance on the entrepreneur's marketing skills (Stokes, 2000). Compared to larger
companies, SMEs tend to offer a more limited range of products on a more limited number of
markets and rather use market penetration and product development strategies instead of
market development or diversification strategies. Moreover, since SMEs mainly operate in a
single or a limited number of markets with a limited number of products or services--often
even in a market niche--they usually cannot afford central service departments that are able to
conduct complex market analyses and studies. On the level of the product attributes, it is
increasingly important to understand quality and customer satisfaction as central of elements
of the marketing strategy since a positive connection with financial success can be supposed.

It is often said that the smallness of SMEs is negatively correlated with survival rates. This
liability of smallness (incl. resource limitations in terms of finances and personnel as well as
often lacks of critical skills), its newness (incl. its internal structures and processes and the
lack of experience), as well as uncertainty and turbulence are regarded as the key challenges
for marketing in SMEs. Could it even be that the standard marketing planning approaches are
far beyond the scope of expertise and resources of the average SMEs? If so, the
comprehensiveness and complexity of the concept will have to be minimized to better suit the
respective unique abilities and circumstances of each single enterprise. Nevertheless, small
firms also have some advantages over large enterprises, especially in terms of flexibility and
innovativeness (Gruber, 2004).

Although conventional/traditional marketing approaches seem to be of little relevance to
small firms at first sight, it seems to be possible to adjust or alter standard marketing to their
49
respective needs in order to beneficial for small enterprises (Reynolds, 2002). Marketing in
small firms is thus not less valuable or effective than in the more structured contexts of bigger
companies. It is just different, being more appropriate to the entrepreneurial contexts (Carson
and Cromie, 1990). Entrepreneurial marketing relies heavily on word-to-mouth
communications in order to develop a customer base through recommendations (Stokes,
2000). Particularly in the early stages of development, small firms and their marketing are
mostly product-oriented.

Higher levels of entrepreneurial activity seem to affect enterprise performance, and thus also
the movement of an enterprise through its organizational life cycle, accompanied by changes
in the marketing functions from one stage to another (Morris and Lewis, 1995). According to
Carson and Gilmore (2001), young SMEs act in a 'stage model' when it comes to marketing
behaviour: at the start-up stage, business activity will focus mostly on the product and its
customer acceptance. Marketing is thus likely to be dominated by reactions to customer
enquiries and market changes. Marketing in SMEs seems to be more 'ad hoc' like in the initial
phases of enterprise existence. As the business develops, more experimenting will take place.
Over the years, the enterprise will develop its own marketing style and practice. This all more
or less means a movement from uncontrollable to relatively controllable marketing
circumstances when growing within the organizational life cycle.

Against the background of the entrepreneur's dominant role in SMEs his management
orientation and especially his attitude towards concepts of entrepreneurial marketing are
critical for implementation. Regarding to marketing decisions, the entrepreneur's
predominance weakens as the firm grows in size because it can be expected that the number
of individuals involved in marketing decision-making will increase when a company grows
(Bjerke and Hultman, 2002).

Entrepreneurs are often said to have negative attitudes towards marketing, regarding it as a
cost. Additionally, they are often not in a position to employ qualified personnel. In an
investigation of 68 small Irish firms, none of the interviewed entrepreneurs classified himself
as a sophisticated marketer, whereas 60% even regarded themselves as non-marketers, and
the remaining 40 % only as implicit marketers (Carson and Cromie, 1990). Stokes (2000)
indicates that even when entrepreneur's comment to not have the time or resources for
marketing, they at the same time devote much of their time to build relationships with
50
customers, rather than undertaking formal marketing research. The ability to build interactive
conversational relationships thus seems to be the unique selling proposition of many small
firms.

Turning to marketing as a strategy, one can say that marketing planning mainly focuses on
achieving competitive advantage on a long-term basis (advantage-seeking), whereas
entrepreneurship seeks to exploit opportunities (opportunity-seeking). Strategic actions
therefore provide the context within which entrepreneurial actions are pursued.
Entrepreneurial marketing can be the bridgehead to the creation of new advantages within
current and new markets, which might become the enterprise's core competencies faster and
at lower cost compared to competitors (Morris et al., 2002).

In these times, companies must operate in an environment consisting of increased risk,
uncertainty, and change. Markets are shifting, overlapping, and fragmenting, and customers
are becoming more demanding. In this context, marketing can be used as a process to act
(more) entrepreneurially. Particularly in SMEs, customer-oriented approaches, systematic
planning in connection with flexibility, intuition and creativity as well as the ability to
continuously question existing solutions are considered as elementarily necessarily for
enterprise success, especially when market requirements are changing. That is why we call
for a more experimental form of marketing management, including the potential benefits of
entrepreneurial orientation, like creativity being a potential answer to overcoming the
resource constraints and the apparent ineffectiveness of small firm marketing (Fillis, 2002).
Stokes (2000) has developed an overview of entrepreneurial compared to traditional
marketing:
51
CHAPTER 4
SOME EXAMPLES OF SUCESSFUL MARKETING IN
PAKISTAN

4.1 Habib Oil Mills
Habib Oil Mills (Pvt.) Ltd. "HOM" is the largest FMCG Company exclusively in the
vegetable oil & fats sector in Pakistan. The company produces premium brand cooking oils
and Hydrogenated cooking mediums, and markets the products through its own distribution
network, which covers almost all commercially viable markets nationwide.
The company has strong financial background and has sizable infrastructure managed by
professional staff. It has proven track record in this business and has plans for targeted
prosperous growth in future.
The marketing policy of the company envisages development of brand loyalties among the
customers and consumers through their continued involvement and participation in series of
several promotional activities run by professional staffs and consultants.
The monthly national cookery contest being the most popular marketing activity of the
company which brings valuable prizes to the winning recipes every month started 10 years
ago and has celebrated its 120
th
diamond jubilee contest in Feb. 1999.
4.1.1 HISTORY OF GROWTH
Incorporated in 1954-55, Habib Oil Mills (Pvt.) Limited was initially established as an oil
expelling unit. The present management took over the unit in 1978 when it was producing
only 5000 metric tons of cooking oil annually.
The new management carried over major expansion and modernization of the unit over the
years, and converted it into an integrated unit for edible oil refining, cooking oil blending and
production of hydrogenated cooking medium. The unit after subsequent expansion and
modernization has now an installed production capacity of 58,000 metric tons of cooking oil
and Banaspati per annum.
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The products enjoy vast popularity and brand loyalties, and stands first in terms of market
share in this sector nationwide.
The company has achieved a growth of 500% in a ten-year span, which is primarily attributed
to its consistent quality care, and driving successes from application of needed market
strategies.
4.1.2 Marketing situation:
Habib oil/ghee is imported stuff that is why it cannot be calculated in terms of Rupees. Total
market size of oil/ghee is 1.5 million tons annually. Total market size is not growing as it
should be, but total market size /growing rate of Habib oil is 5% per year.
The total market size of the Habib oil/ghee in previous years:
Years Growth rate
2009 35 Thousands tons
2010 40 Thousands tons
2011 50 Thousands tons
2012 53 Thousands tons
2013 58 Thousands tons
So the total sale is about 60 thsd. Tons per year. Habib oil is blended oil. The buyers of this
product belong to upper-upper, upper, and middle classes. Who want good taste in their
foods.

4.1.3 Consumption pattern of Habib oil/ghee in country:
Area Banaspati Oil
Punjab 60% 40%
Sindh/Balo. 40% 60%
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NWFP 70% 30%
The reason of this consumption pattern which is different from one another is, literacy rate of
sindh/balochistan is higher than other provinces, people belong to these area know which is
better for health oil or ghee. But case is opposite in Punjab and NWFP. Fat consumption in
NWFP is very high but it is fat from animal (mutton, beef).

4.1.4 Major competitors of Habib oil mills are:
The main and strong competitor of HOM is Dalda. There is also an Indirect effect on
competition apart from the people, who use to make Ghee at home or the people who uses
Desi Ghee
Dalda Uni-lever.
Tallo Wazir ali industry.
Seasons Wali oil mills.
Sufi Hamza vegetable.
Kisan Madina enterprises.








54
5 SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS
The company has a well-defined quality policy and has successfully obtained the ISO-
9002 quality system certification in the year 1997. "HOM" is the first company to
receive such certification in Pakistan in the vegetable oil & fats sector.

The company has good market repute, due its good and consistent quality products.
The logo of the company is Quality Products at Moderate Price.

Another major strength of HOM is its market share. At the present time they are the
market leaders in edible oil industry with avery good market share of 42%.

Another major strength of HOM is that, it is the only edible oil producing company,
which has that much wide range of products in the market.

It is HOMs policy to provide good quality products to customers at reasonable prices.
It makes all efforts to involve every employee of the company in the achievement of
this objective.

The company has 350 plus distributors all over Pakistan and a fleet of delivery
vehicles consisting of Hino Trucks and Mazda Trucks to cover its entire supplies. The
distribution staffing is designed to have a strong link between the senior sales staff
and the end consumers. This staffing is further reinforced with CSF (customer sales
force) to enhance the contact with the customers and the market.

A team of Professional Managers with the following leadership practices performs the
day to day administration of the company. Find opportunities for constantly
challenging and improving personal performance. Reward and celebrate significant
and creative achievement.Develop and appoint high performing and high potential
people to key positions.Communicate with all constituents openly, honestly,
interactively, and on a timely basis.


55
WEAKNESSES
The major weakness of the HOM is that it deals with only one kind product, which is
edible oil so it cannot diversify from its present business to some other business.
Another weakness of HOM is that they are not be able to fulfill the demand of the
customers, the reason being that they dont have more capacity for production.

THREATS.
The Threat of Indirect Competition.
There is a threat and a chance for the Indirect competition that may grow in future.
For example that the companies already producing items can come in Ghee business.
The main competitors are Dalda & Sundrop. There is main Threat is from this side.
Due to Price factor and Quality standared these company are giving high task to
Habib Oil Mills.
Due to Overdemand the company is not in position to meet the consumer demand
properly. That is a main weakness for the company.

4.1.6 Target Market of HOM
HOM focuses on all types of market that is why they offer different packages for different
markets. The company has introduced recently a new product in the market named Handi
(oil). The reason for introducing this product is cater the needs of the lower income group.

Basis for segmentation
The bases of segmentation for HOM are:
Geographic Segmentation
HOM divides the country in to two major regions i.e. north and south. North region includes
two provinces Punjab and N.W.F.P and south region includes Sindh and Balochistan. With
the help of the segmentation they came to know the demand of the oil and ghee. They have
more demand of Ghee in the northern region and oil in southern region.
Income Groups
The other basis of segmentation is income groups, for example they have introduced pet
bottle for high-income group as well as Handi (oil) for low-income group. They have also
56
introduced different sizes of the products from one-liter pouch to ten liters tin pack. This
product range carries the needs of all income groups.
Market Strategies
As far as the market strategies are concerned HOM uses two types of strategies, such as Push
and Pull Strategies. HOM uses the combination of these two strategies. Push strategy is
concerned with the short-term period and it is usually less expensive and in this strategy the
company emphasizes on customer, while the Pull Strategy is used for long term period and in
this strategy company emphasizes on trade rather than customer.
Market Share
As HOM is the market leader in the oil industry, its market share is 42%. The market share
for other companies is: Dalda 39%, Soya Supreme 12%, Tullo 10% and for others 7%.
Objectives of Habib Oil Mills
The basic objectives of HOM is profitability, market share and to fulfill the needs of their
customers. Although they have achieved the desired market share and profits but they are
making efforts to fulfill the demands of the customers.

4.1.7 Marketing Strategic Tools
Game Theory Concept of HOM
According to the Game Theory Concept HOM always have a check on its major competitor
Dalda regarding its promotional and pricing strategies for example, when for the month of
ramzan HOM reduced its prices by Rs.10, Dalda also responded and reduced its prices by
Rs.15.
Marketing Strategies
Total Market Strategy
To serve the market HOM follows Total Market Strategy and serves an entire spectrum of the
market by selling different sizes of the product to different segments. The proof is that the
company has five oil products in the market and every product has minimum three sizes.
Early Entry Strategy
HOM was the early entrants in the edible oil market. It entered in the market in1975; the
other early entrants were GCP and Kohinoor. The first company to enter in this market was
Dalda, which is to complete its 50 years of serving the market. Due to the first to enter in the
market Dalda enjoyed high profits with a production of 150,000 tons and due to the entrance
of other companies the production is now reduced to only 60,000 tons.
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Strong Commitment
HOM is doing its business in a good manner and it has a very strong commitment with the
market and its other business operations. If the company looses its commitment than it will
also loose its market share that is why HOM gives trade discounts to its dealers and focuses
on every step of the competitors.
Market Dilution Strategy
The company sometimes uses the pruning strategy when it is not getting the desired results
from its products. In the past the company had used this strategy many times, once it was
used for Nayab Banspati, which was not very successful product that is why it was eliminated
in the market. The other products that were eliminated are American corn oil and Habib
Punch pack.
Product Strategies
Positioning Strategies
Multiple Brands
Company has one product in the market, which is related to edible oil, but in this segment
company has multiple brands, which covers the complete market of edible oil.
Design strategies
Standardized products
Company has standardized products but these products are available in different sizes for the
convenience of its customers, such as 1 liter, 2.5liters, 5 liters, and 10 liters.
New product strategies
Product improvement strategies
Company also follows this strategy and introduces improvement with the passage of time,
such as different flavors, new grate taste and vitamin A, E & D.
Product imitation strategy
Company some times follow other companies and does not take initiative, such as HOM
introduce corn oil after introducing this product by other companies.
Value marketing strategy
Quality strategy
Companys basic philosophy is to provide quality products to its customers and the evidence
is the ISO 9002 certification.
Customer service strategy
Company never ignores its customer and always gives importance and value to them.
Company has its own in house research department, which gathers information related to the
58
customers preferences and sometimes the company also hires the services of other research
firms such as, Aftab Associates. HOM also provides door-to-door service occasionally and
use to give free samples.

Establishing the products price strategy
Company always tries to maintain its products prices but sometimes gives discounts in
response to the different moves of its competitors and also to attract more customers. Most of
the times company makes changes in terms of discounts and does not change its tag prices. In
other words we can say that the company has a flexible pricing strategy.

Product-Line Pricing Strategy
HOM focuses on its customers while setting the prices of its product line. When company
introduced its pouch pack in the market it followed the market penetration strategy and set
low prices according to its target markets. On the other hand when the company introduced
the Soya Bean Oil in pet bottles it followed market skimming strategy and set high price with
high promotion according to the targeted customers.

Distribution Strategy

Single Channel Strategy
For distribution purposes HOM uses single channel strategy. The process of distribution
consists of different steps, such as factory to warehouse, warehouse to distributors,
distributors to retailers, and finally the product reaches to the final consumer through
retailers. So we can say the products of the HOM reach to its ultimate customers through
single channel (retailer). At the present time there are nine distributors in Lahore, which
covers 5000 shops.

Distribution Rights
As such there is no formal procedure for giving the distribution rights. What HOM require is
a good reputation and strong financial position. HOM asks for an advance payment for the
ordered goods from the distributors.

Promotion strategies
Way of promotion
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HOM actively participate in all the promotional activities. The annual cost of the promotion
is Rs.50 million, right about it also arranges different cookery competeion in different women
colleges for promotion purposes. HOM also arranges sports week in different women
colleges


60
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION

While working on this project report, I again realized the confusion that sometimes surrounds
the distinction between marketing and advertising. Understanding the difference between the
two may save you some wasted resources of time and money.
Marketing is a big-picture perspective. It is the systematic planning, implementation and
control of a mix of business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for the
exchange or transfer of products. Advertising is part of the overall promotion efforts of the
company.
Advertising is the paid, public announcement of a persuasive message by an identified
sponsor. It is the no personal presentation by a firm of its products to its existing and potential
customers.
The best way to distinguish between advertising and marketing is to think of marketing as a
large gumball machine. Inside that jar you have large gumballs representing the "4 P's of
Marketing:" Product, price, place and promotion.
Promotion then includes several smaller gumballs: Advertising, personal selling, public
relations, sales promotions and merchandising.
Advertising is one piece of promotion in the overall marketing strategy. If potential
customers do not know about your business, they cannot buy your products (services).
Selecting the right advertising and promotion message is a key factor in managing your
marketing mix.
Marketing is everything that an organization does to facilitate the exchange between
company and consumer with advertising being one small piece of the overall marketing
strategy. Developing the right marketing strategy will give you an edge on your competition;
however, even the most sophisticated strategy is nothing more than good theory until it is
implemented successfully. The essence of marketing is to understand your customers' needs.
You then develop a plan that meets those needs.
So, in essence, you can pay for any amount of advertising (space, time) but without the focus
of an overall marketing plan which clearly profiles your customer's needs, it is difficult to
know if you are getting a true and good return on investment.

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The role of marketing is to connect the business with its target market. Marketing is the major
link between the business and its customers. As the market changes and becomes more
competitive, the business needs to know and understand its target market so it can provide
better service to its customers. Successful marketing will identify customer needs, and then,
plan price, promote and distribute the products and services that will satisfy these needs. This
way the business goals of increased profit and a greater share of the market can be achieved.
But continually researching customers and monitoring the business environment, marketing
provides the information the business needs in order to change direction on adjust its tactics
by providing new product or changing existing products. The objectives and strategies of the
marketing plan are used to determine the plans of the other functions such as operations,
employment relations, and accounting and finance.
The situational analysis looks at the market n terms of size and growth, needs of the target
market and trends in buyer behavior. The performance of the products or service in terms of
sales, profit margins and stage in the product lifecycle are examined. Major competitors are
identified and analyzed in terms of marketing strategies. A major part of the situation analysis
is the prediction of market opportunities. Strengths and weaknesses are defined by measures
such as market share, loyal customers, level of customer satisfaction and product quality.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
nsoff, H.I., Corporate strategy--An analytical approach to business policy for growth
and expansion, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1965.
Bjerke, Bjorn and Hultman, C.M., Entrepreneurial marketing--the growth of small
firms in the new economic era, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham/Northampton, MA, 2002.
Brock, W.A. and Evans, D.S.,"Small business economics", Small Business
Economics, Vol. 1 (1), 1989, 7-20.
Carree, M.A. and Thurik, A.R., "The impact of entrepreneurship on economic
growth", in: Audretsch, D.B. and Acs, Z.J. (eds.), Handbook of Entrepreneurship,
Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, 2000, 437-471.

Web
www.wikipedia.com
www.Marketingplus.com
www.HOM.com.pk
News Papers and research Journals












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Phone #. 0992-383897-8 0992-511115