Shanto-Mariam University of

Creative Technology

Module Title: Principle of Marketing

Module Code: MKT-1201

Assignment Title:

Marketing Concept Helps a Fashion Analyst/Researcher to Become

More Efficient in Their Profession

Page | 1
Marketing Concept Helps a Fashion Analyst/Researcher to Become
More Efficient in Their Profession

1. Who is a fashion analyst/researcher?

Fashion is a popular aesthetic expression at a particular time, place and in a specific context,
especially in clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body proportions.
On the other hand, an analyst is a person who analysis a particular thing.

So, a fashion analyst or researcher is an individual who deals with different fashion sectors to
come up with an analysis that can predict future trends in the ever-changing fashion marketplace.

2. How Marketing influences fashion analysist /researcher job?

We have already discussed what fashion is. Now let’s talk about marketing. Generally
marketing is satisfying the customer needs profitably and creating a long term relationship.

Now let’s remember the job of a fashion analyst/ researcher. a fashion analyst or researcher has
to understand demand of a customer and predicts future trends in the ever-changing fashion
marketplace.

Marketing immensely helps a fashion analyst to understand the customer and the fast pace of the
fashion industry which makes a fashion analyst to do his/her job more accurately.

3. Self-opinion on the above Statement.

There is no option to disagree with it. Marketing significantly influences a fashion analysist
/researcher job. Before digging deep let’s talk about a profession which is fashion marketing.

Fashion marketing is the strategic art of pushing product. Marketing research and media
planning as well as branding, product display, ad creative and photography all fall within the
purview of fashion marketing. Fashion marketers must be able to perform qualitative and
quantitative research into fashion trends and the lives and behaviors of the people who may
purchase fashion products.

Page | 2
If we go through the terms like fashion analyst, fashion marketing and marketing, we will see
some major similarities.

That is why I’m completely agree with my above statement

4. Briefly Explanation of the Point.

 Marketing

Marketing is the process by which companies engage customers, build strong customer
relationships, and create customer value in order to capture value from customers in return.

Marketing is the set of activity or processes that creating, communicating, delivering and
exchanging offers that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at a large.

Marketing is the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want
through creating and exchanging products and value with others.

The aim of marketing is to create value for customers in order to capture value from customers in
return.

 Market Segmentation

Market Segmentation is dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who have different
needs, characteristics, or behaviors and who might require separate marketing strategies or
mixes.

A market segment consists of a group of customers who share a similar set of needs. Major
segmentation variables are:

 Geographic
 Demographic
 Psychographic
 Behavioral
 Market Targeting

After having distinguished between the separate segments in a market, the company can select
one or more of these segments to enter. Before doing this blindly, each segment should be
assessed. Therefore, targeting is concerned with evaluating each segment’s attractiveness for the

Page | 3
company and selecting one or more segments to enter. The evaluation of segments is based on
the question which segment the company can serve best. In other words, we should concentrate
on and enter those segments in which we can generate the greatest customer value over time.

 Market Positioning

Market Positioning refers to the ability to influence consumer perception regarding a brand or
product relative to competitors. The objective of market positioning is to establish the image or
identity of a brand or product so that consumers perceive it in a certain way.

 Product Classification

Product classification is a type of economic taxonomy which organizes products for a variety of
purposes.

On the very first stage, products can be classified into two major classifications as: -

a) Consumer Products
b) Industrial Products.
a) Consumer Products: Consumer products are those products that are bought by the final
customer for consumption.

Consumer products are of four types:

i. Convenience products
ii. Shopping product
iii. Specialty products
iv. Unsought products
i. Convenience products

Convenience Products are usually low priced, easily available products that customer buys
frequently, without any planning or search effort and with minimum comparison and buying
effort. This category includes fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) like soap, toothpaste,
detergents, food items like rice, wheat flour, salt, sugar, milk and so on.

ii. Shopping Products:

Page | 4
Shopping products are high priced (compared to the convenience product), less frequently
purchased consumer products and services. While buying such products or services, consumer
spends much time and effort in gathering information about the product and purchases the
product after a careful consideration of price, quality, features, style and suitability. Such
products are distributed through few selected distribution outlet. Examples include television, air
conditioners, cars, furniture, hotel and airline services, tourism services.

iii. Specialty Products:

Specialty Products are high priced branded product and services with unique features and the
customers are convinced that this product is superior to all other competing brands with regard to
its features, quality and hence are willing to pay a high price for the product. These goods are not
purchased frequently may be once or twice in lifetime and are distributed through one or few
exclusive distribution outlets. The buyers do not compare specialty products. Examples include
Ferraris, Go Pro cameras, and iPhones.

iv. Unsought Products:

Unsought product is consumer products that the consumer either does not know about or knows
about but does not normally think of buying. In such a situation the marketer undertakes
aggressive advertising, personal selling and other marketing effort. The product remains
unsought until the consumer becomes aware of them through advertising. The price of such
product varies. Examples of unsought product are cemetery plots, blood donation to Red Cross,
umbilical cord stem cell banking services

b) Industrial Products:

Industrial Products are purchased by business firms for further processing or for use in
conducting a business .The distinction between consumer product and industrial is based on the
purpose for which the product is bought. Like a kitchen chimney purchased by a consumer is a
consumer product but a kitchen chimney purchased by a hotel is an industrial product.

Business products include:

i. Material and parts

ii. Capital item

Page | 5
 iii. Supplies
iv. Services

i. Material and parts

Material and parts include raw material like agricultural products, crude petroleum, iron ore,
manufactured materials include iron, yarn, cement, wires and component parts include small
motors, tires, and castings.

ii. Capital items

Capital items help in production or operation and include installations like factories, offices,
fixed equipment’s like generators, computer systems, elevators and accessory equipment’s like
tools office equipment’s.

iii. Supplies

Supplies include lubricants, coal, paper, pencils and repair maintenance like paint, nails brooms.

iv. Services

Services include maintenance and repair services like computer repair services, legal services,
consultancy services, and advertising services.

 Product life cycle

Product life cycle (PLC) is the cycle through which every product goes through from
introduction to withdrawal or eventual demise.

The Product life cycle concept is the explanation of the product from its birth to death as a
product exists in different stages & in different competitive environments.

The product life cycle is broken into four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.

Page | 6
 Figure: Stages of Product Life Cycle

i. Product Development:

The product development stage is the first part of product life cycle. This stage is not only about
building the product; it includes carrying out research and testing too. There is no sales, no profit
but have a high cost in this stage.

ii. Introduction:

Introduction is the stage when the product is brought into the market. In this stage, there's heavy
marketing activity, product promotion and the product is put into limited outlets in a few
channels for distribution. Sales take off slowly in this stage. The need is to create awareness, not
profits.

iii. Growth

In this stage, sales take off, the market knows of the product; other companies are attracted,
profits begin to come in and market shares stabilize.

iv. Maturity

Where sales grow at slowing rates and finally stabilize. In this stage, products get differentiated,
price wars and sales promotion become common and a few weaker players exit.

Page | 7
 v. Decline

Here, sales drop, as consumers may have changed; the product is no longer relevant or useful.
Price wars continue, several products are withdrawn and cost control becomes the way out for
most products in this stage.

Conceptual Short Notes

 Marketing Promotion

Promotions refer to the entire set of activities, which communicate the product, brand or service
to the user. The idea is to make people aware, attract and induce to buy the product, in preference
over others.

There are several types of promotions. Above the line promotions include advertising, press
releases, consumer promotions (schemes, discounts, contests), while below the line include trade
discounts, freebies, incentive trips, awards and so on. Sales promotion is a part of the overall
promotion effort.

The Promotion Mix refers to the blend of several promotional tools used by the business to
create, maintain and increase the demand for goods and services.

The Promotion Mix is the integration of Advertising, Personal Selling, Sales Promotion, Public
Relations and Direct Marketing. The companies can use any tool of the promotion mix
depending on the nature of a product as well as the overall objective of the firm.

 Make Your Own Brand

i. Select a product

As a business student, it is always exciting to choose a brand or product. Because there are
plenty of products out there and I can choose any of these on my own interest. Let’s talk about
my area of interest, which is clothing industry. Clothing Industry .Love it or loathe it, it’s
something you just can’t ignore.

Page | 8
Whether you are flicking through the channels on your TV, strolling down the high street, or
standing in line at the bus stop, you’ll likely be facing a constant visual bombardment of ads for
the latest designer cloths, from brands that you may or may not have an interest in..

So my brand will be a clothing brand and the name will be “Expressso”. Its tagline will be
“Express Yourself with Expresso”

ii. Describing the brand marketing process of “Expresso”

Branding, by definition, is a marketing practice in which a company creates a name, symbol or

design that is easily identifiable as belonging to the company. This helps to identify a product
and distinguish it from other products and services.

Successful brand building process outshines competition and plays an important role to create
customer’s loyalty. I need to establish a strong connect with your customer in order to make your
company successful.

A successful branding process creates brand value and increases sales. A successful brand has to
be consistent in communication and experience across

 Environment
 Print & packaging
 Website & online advertising
 Content marketing
 Social Media Marketing
 Sales & customer service

As a new product I will make it a brand by following 8 steps. Those steps are describing below:

Step 1: Discovering the purpose behind my brand.

Every successful brand has a powerful purpose behind it. Leadership expert Simon Sinek
developed an impactful model called The Golden Circle.

The Golden Circle concept can help in identifying the purpose behind anything in business or
life.

The 3 Parts to the Golden Circle:

Page | 9
  What – the products or services you offer to your customers
 How – the things that differentiate you from the competition
 Why – the reason you are passionate and why you exist

Applying the Golden Circle rule on my brand (Expresso- Express Yourself with Expresso)

 What- I am offering clothes to my customer

 How- “Expresso” will provide high quality and well-designed cloths to its customer
 Why-I am passionate on this industry because this industry is so much sustainable as
cloth has no alternative

Step 2: Determining Target Audience

While thinking on how to build a brand, I will always keep in mind to which I am targeting and
communicating with. My very first step will be to identify my target audience and tailoring my
mission to meet their requirement in the best possible manner. Identifying the right target
audience for my products is an exercise that will affect and benefit all areas of my brand building
process.

Step 3: Understanding Brand Buyer Persona

Brand creation relies on truly understanding the buyer persona. Here are a few of the things to
document when describing my brand’s ideal customer:

 Age
 Gender
 Location
 Income
 Education Level

To get even more definition for my brand’s buyer persona, lets dive into these details:

 Motivations
 Goals
 Pain points
 Influencers
 Brand affinities

Page | 10
Identifying the right target audience for my products is an exercise that will affect and benefit all
areas of my brand building process,

Step 4: Defining Brand Mission

Defining the values i want to incorporate with my audience base. My vision and mission
statement basically depicts the purpose of my existence. It will guide my branding process across
channels. I need to present an authentic image of what my company strives for.

So in step 2 i need to articulate my company’s mission across channels so that it sets path of my
communication. Everything from logo to my tagline, my communication should reflect your
mission.

Step 5: Researching Competition

I am not the only one whose brain is thinking like this. Truly there are many people with more or
less the same idea. So there will be competition from the existing brand and from the upcoming
brands. Analyzing my competition and find out what they are offering to their customers at the
some tie offering something different and exceptional will be my work in step 3. This process
will be focused on that difference what makes your product better than the rest.

Step 6: Creating Value Propositions

A brand’s value proposition is the set of benefits or values it promises to deliver to consumers to
satisfy their needs. In the step 4 I will focus on what makes my brand unique and valuable.

I will include the value preposition in every marketing communication I’m driving across
channels. It is one of the most important step to create a successful brand.

Step 7: Determining Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines define my brand’s tonality and sets specific rules on how to create a successful
brand. It will help me to maintain consistency across channels and will make my business more
recognizable.

So, step 5 will be for developing my brand guide as it sets a definite pattern for my visual
elements (logo, templates etc.) and structures my brand tone.
Page | 11
Step 8: Marketing My Brand

In the step 6 I will prepare a definite marketing strategy to market Expresso. Apply my branding
in every piece of communication, from packaging to stationary, website to marketing collateral.
Display my brand in as many places as possible.

I will identify new channels such as email, web and affiliates to promote my brand. I will also
advertise my brand in unexpected locations such as employee t-shirts, my social media pages and
office goodies.

Brand building is an ongoing process and following above steps will definitely stand me apart
from my competitors.

Page | 12