TRAINING REPORT

ON
MARKETING STRATEAGY
Submitted to

MAHARISHI DAYANAND
UNIVERSITY
In partial fulfillment of the
requirements For the award of the
degree of

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
(INDUSTRY INTEGRATED)

Submitted by
NAME: DINESH VISHWAKARMA
REGN NO. BBA/10/363Use the G00 series
ROLL NO.
Guru Gram Business School
Front of CCA School Dhanwapur road laxman Vihar
Gurgaon Haryana 122001
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify Dinesh Vishwakarma, a

student of the Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak,
has prepared his training report entitled “Marketing
Strategy” at Continental Manufacturing Co. , under the
guidance . He has fulfilled the requirement leading to
award of the degree of BBA (Industrial Integrated). This
report is the record of bonafide training undertaken by
him and no part of it has been submitted to any other
University or Educational Institution for award of any
other degree /diploma/fellowship or similar titled or
prizes.
I wish him all success in life.

SIGN OF FACALITY GUID

NAME OF FACALITY GUID
DESIGNATION
QUALIFICATION
SEAL OF ELC
 STUDENT DECLARATION
I hereby declare that Training Report
conducted at

CONTINEANTAL MANUFACTURING CO.

353, MEHRALI ROAD, OPP. GOVT. COLLAGE,
GUEGAON-122001(HARYANA)

Under the guidance of

Mrs. Bhavana
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
degree of

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
(INDUSTRY INTEGRATED)
To

MAHARISHI DYNAND
UNIVERSITY, ROHTAK
Is my original work and the same has not been submitted
for the award of any other degree/diploma/fellowship or
other similar titled or prizes.
DATE:

PLACE:
 STUDEN
T
SIGNATU
RE
NAME

Comp
any
certifi
cate
 ACKNOWNLEDGEMENT

I wish to acknowledge my sincere gratitude to

Mr. Pravin Kumar (Marketing manager)
for giving me an opportunity to carry out
my Training at CONTINENTAL
MANUFACTURING CO. Rewari.

I am immensely thanks to Mrs. Bhvana for

this guidance and valuable information. It
would not have been possible for me for the
successful completion of my project on
Marketing Strategy without her help.

Above all I offer my heartiest thanks to god

almighty for his fullest support and wonderful
guidance
CONTENT OF THE REPORT
1) General introduction about the sector.
2) Industry profile
i. Origin and development of industry.
ii. Growth present status of the industry.
iii. Future of the company.
3) – Origin of organization.
4) – Growth development and present status of the
organization.
5) – Product and service profile of the company.
6)- profile of the company.
7) – Discussion on training.
8) – Study of selected research problem
i. (Problem, objective, methodology)
9) - Summary and conclusion
10) Appendices
11) Bibliography
 12)
1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION ABOUT SECTOR
2 - INDUSTRY PROFILE

I. Origin and development of the

industry
CONTINENTAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY establised in
1990 with the aim to manufacture Precision and High
Quality Plastic and Steel metal component. At CMC, we
have been serving OEM’s in Gurgaon Fom very bigning
and have made good cutomer on base due to our
industrial background sonce 1958. We have specialization
in manufacturing of deep draw components in seat metal
and injection molded plastic part with critical shape and
size . A brief count of our achievement and appritiation
given by company’s customer is given below

II. GROWTH AND PRESENT

STATUS OF THE INDUSTRY
There is two axis one shows series 1 in which targets
achieved is given in crores. Second axis shows the year I
which targets achieved.
III. FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY
3. ORIGIN OF ORGANIZATION
CONTINENTAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY establised in
1990 with the aim to manufacture Precision and High
Quality Plastic and Steel metal component. At CMC, we
have been serving OEM’s in Gurgaon Fom very bigning
and have made good cutomer on base due to our
industrial background sonce 1958. We have specialization
in manufacturing of deep draw components in seat metal
and injection molded plastic part with critical shape and
size . We have two uit & offices they are given below:-
4. GROWTH DEVELOPMENT AND
PRESENT STATUS OF THE
ORGANIZATION.
EXTERNAL REJECTION PPM
5. PRODUCT AND SERVICE PROFILE OF
THE COMPANY
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6. PROFILE OF ORGNIZATION
Organizational structure

cEO
7. DISCUSSION ON TRAINING
Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an
organization to concentrate its limited resources on the
greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a
sustainable competitive advantage

Developing a marketing strategy

Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning
of marketing plans designed to fill market needs and reach
marketing objectives. Plans and objectives are generally tested
for measurable results. Commonly, marketing strategies are
developed as multi-year plans, with a tactical plan detailing
specific actions to be accomplished in the current year. Time
horizons covered by the marketing plan vary by company, by
industry, and by nation, however, time horizons are becoming
shorter as the speed of change in the environment
increases. Marketing strategies are dynamic and interactive. They
are partially planned and partially unplanned. See strategy
dynamics.
Marketing strategy involves careful scanning of the
internal and external environments which are
summarized in a SWOT analysis. Internal environmental
factors include the marketing mix, plus performance
analysis and strategic constraints. External environmental
factors include customer analysis, competitor
analysis, target market analysis, as well as evaluation of
any elements of the technological, economic, cultural or
political/legal environment likely toimpact success. A key
component of marketing strategy is often to keep
marketing in line with a company's overarching mission
statement.

Types of strategies

Marketing strategies may differ depending on the unique

situation of the individual business. However there are a
number of ways of categorizing some generic strategies.
A brief description of the most common categorizing
schemes is presented below:
Strategies based on market dominance - In this scheme,
firms are classified based on their market share or
dominance of an industry. Typically there are four types
of market dominance strategies:
Leader
Challenger
Follower
Nicher

Porter generic strategies - strategy on the dimensions of

strategic scope and strategic strength. Strategic scope
refers to the market penetration while strategic strength
refers to the firm’s sustainable competitive advantage.
The generic strategy framework (porter 1984) comprises
two alternatives each with two alternative scopes. These
are Differentiation and low-cost leadership each with a
dimension of Focus-broad or narrow.
Product differentiation (broad)
Cost leadership (broad)
Market segmentation (narrow)

Innovation strategies - This deals with the firm's

rate of the new product development and business model
innovation. It asks whether the company is on the cutting
edge of technology and business innovation. There are
three types:

Pioneers
Close followers
Late followers

Growth strategies - In this scheme we ask the question,

“How should the firm grow?”. There are a number of
different ways of answering that question, but the most
common gives four answers:
Horizontal integration
Vertical integration
Diversification
Intensification

A more detailed scheme uses the categories[10]:

Prospector
Analyzer
Defender
Reactor
Marketing warfare strategies - This scheme draws
parallels between marketing strategies and military
strategies.

M any architects make the mistake of thinking that

marketing has only a peripheral relationship to what their
firm does. In fact, marketing works best when it is totally
integrated into the operations of your firm, when it’s a
part of everything you do. You can’t create a plan for how
to improve your marketing and increase your business
without first considering your long-term goals—not just in
terms of fee revenue or winning work, but in terms of
who you want to be and where you want to go, both as a
firm and as a professional. There are a number of ways
strategic planning
can help your firm:

 _ Build a shared vision for the firm’s future.

 _ Articulate your vision so that it can be

communicated to others.

 _ Get approval and support for the vision from senior

leadership and, ultimately, your entire staff.

 _ Create a framework for all future decision making.

 _ Figure out (and agree on) how much you’re going

to spend on marketing and other initiatives
to make it happen.
The discussion of strategic planning and marketing
planning are divided into the following five areas

Strategic Planning
Getting to the Starting Line

Strategic planning is the process of developing a vision of

who you are as a firm and what your longterm goals are.
It’s about more than just marketing; it can influence
everything: human resources, finance, information
technology, operations, hiring, promotions strategy,
design process, client relationships, the design of your
office, and absolutely anything else that affects your firm
and its performance. Firms typically engage in strategic
planning at defining moments in their practice, when the
firm’s leadership changes or when the practice undergoes
some kind of profound transformation. The strategic
planning process enables the firm’s leadership to build a
shared vision for the firm’s future, articulate the vision so
that it can be communicated, and create a framework for
all future decision making. When you’re ready to engage
in strategic planning, it’s important to open your mind as
much as possible. Get ready to think big.

Because strategic planning is a process, not a document

or a report, it isn’t effective for a small group of leaders
to issue a fat document as the strategic plan for the firm.
It will probably go unread. It will certainly not achieve
approval and support from the people who need to
understand it and act on it. Strategic planning is best
conducted as an open process, one that involves all your
firm’s key leaders. To begin the process, set up a
strategic planning meeting, either as a retreat outside the
office or as an extended in-house meeting. (You may
want to bring in a marketing consultant to help you with
this.) Figure out who should be there to give input to the
vision for your firm’s future. Keep the group as small as
possible, but don’t leave anyone out. Ask everyone to
commit half a day for the meeting (two hours just isn’t
enough), and to come relaxed and prepared to focus on
the firm’s strategic direction. Give everyone an agenda in
advance and ask each person to bring historical data
based on his or her area of expertise or interest (financial
data, hiring or retention info, win/loss reports, client
feedback, etc.). Gather any existing documents that
attempt to define the firm or its vision, such as mission
statements, a firm description, marketing materials,
articles that have been written about the firm, and so on.
Plan to spend about half the meeting talking about where
you are now (your firm, your markets, your competitors,
etc.) and the other half talking about where you’d like to
go (your mission, your vision, the action plan).

MARKETS FOR INDUSTRIAL GOODS

The market is the place where supply meets demand.

Suppliers and customers meet, discuss and evaluate the
conditions for exchange of goods and services, and
exchanges take place. The conditions under which these
exchanges occur, especially that of price, are influenced
by the characteristics and structure of the market, for
example, the number and market power of suppliers and
customers. Traditional economic analysis of markets
presupposes that they are characterized by certain basic
features;' firstly, there is an assumption of free
movement in the market, and thus a customer will always
buy where he obtains the best terms of exchange at that
moment; similarly, the assumption is that suppliers will
move to and from the market freely.' Thus, the market is
portrayed as atomistic. Each unit in the market is free
and independent to do as it wishes. Also, as a result of
this free movement, the market is characterized by
change, and stability is an exception. Underlying these
two assumptions is the further assumption that there is
little or no cost of transaction. In other words, it is
assumed that there are no costs in obtaining accurate
information, or in negotiations, etc. One effect of this
assumption is that production costs are considered
central and that sellers can be simply represented by a
production function.

The traditional economic theory of the market has of

course been subject to challenge and modification.
However, it has influenced the models and principles
used in marketing management. The basic model that
most of the literature in marketing is built on is the
marketing mix model. The key problems in marketing,
according to that model, are:

(a) to allocate resources to different

competitive means or mix elements,
(b) to design each mean as well as possible within
the firm's resource limitations.

The market is often described in terms of response

curves, each defined in relation to a certain 'marketing
decision variable' or to the whole mix of a company. The
assumption is of course that the market consists of many
individual customers that are affected by the marketer's
variables in accordance with a certain statistical
distribution. The same kind of influence can also be
identified in the purchasing management literature. The
focus here is largely on the management of a single
purchase. This does not give full consideration to the
factors which have contributed to the way this purchase
takes place, or to the effects of this purchase on the
subsequent dealings with the supplying company.'
Marketing Management

As we mentioned in the first section of this chapter, the

models and principles for industrial marketing
management that are given by the literature are normally
related to the marketing mix model. The problems
identified in these are the allocation of resources and the
designing of competitive means. However, marketers in
for example, a highly concentrated industry may find
different problems. The issues associated with the
handling of ten very large customers are of totally
different character from those of handling 1,000 small
customers. Thus, marketers in firms in concentrated
markets have a lack of accurate models for analyzing
their marketing problems. They have also a lack of
relevant data expressed in a systematic way about the
behaviour of other firms in the same situation.
MARKETING ORGANIZATION
Overall Organization

Belter's sales operations are split into three areas as

follows;
(i) Sales Manger — UK responsible for 60—70 per cent
of total sales. Four area offices handling all accounts,
except two major ones which are managed from the
Company's main office.

(ii) Sales Manager — Middle East, Africa, Eastern

Europe, accounting for approximately 20 per cent of total
sales. One manager plus two sales engineers. The
Company is currently building up an agency—distributor
network for this territory.

(iii) Sales Manager — Western Europe, responsible for

the remaining 20 per cent of total sales. The sales
manager is located in Brussels, with additional sales
offices in Germany, France, and Italy. The Brussels sales
office is owned by Belter's parent group. All major
commercial transactions are carried out by Belter's Head
Office, although the Brussels. Company does have some
price discretion. This European sales company takes 85
per cent of its products for sale in Europe from Belter.
The remaining 15 per cent of products are sourced from
the North-American parent company. Apart from the
European operation, all agents and distributors overseas
are handled from the UK.

Evolution of Marketing Organization

Belter has often faced problems in the distribution of its

products; in France, for example, the Company had a
combined agent and distributor operating until 1963.
Belter provided applications engineering but had no
commercial involvement in sales. The company found
that it had no influence on pricing in the market and this
led to a rather artificial pricing structure and to a
decreased market share. This problem was not solved by
the appointment of a second distributor. Mergers
amongst French suppliers have led to more competition
in the market. The second distributor did little to
stimulate the first one or to improve the Company's
overall penetration.
In 1966 Belter separated out a number of products and
major customers which were not to be handled via
distributors. These customers and products were to be
controlled by the UK sales operation. Also, from 1970, the
Brussels office ceased to have overall responsibility for
sales to France and a Paris office was established. The
overall market situation faced in France (and in other
European countries) is as follows:

There are many actual and potential users for some

products, which are not known by the Company. Heavy
competition exists especially on price, for large
customers who are often buying what they view as a
commodity product. Belter's emerging strategy has been
to handle these large customers through its own sales
offices. The Paris office actively seek sales of large
volume products as well as acting as a `post office' for
products specially developed for individual customers,
which are then handled from the Company's main office.
Small customers and small volume products are handled
by the two French distributors. The development process
in Italy has been similar to that in France. Sales in
Scandinavia do not justify a local sales office; sales here
are handled through a distributor from the Brussels office.
A small number of major accounts are, however, handled
directly from the UK.

BUYER—SELLER RELATIONSHIPS

A Customer Relationship in the United Kingdom

The three aspects of the relationship which are studied
are competition, technical development, and personal
contacts.

This customer is Belter's largest and is responsible for 20

per cent of its total business. The Company operates in
the aerospace industry at the limit of current technology.
The relationship involves considerable development
liaison on wholly new products.
Competition

Competition for this customer comes primarily from

American suppliers. The competition is on price and
reflects the spare capacity in the American industry.
Competition from UK companies is also on price and
comes from companies having a wider production spread
than Belter.

Development
This customer has always relied on Belter alone for
development work in this product area. However, they
have looked to other sources of supply when
development has taken place. The development process
for a new product can be started either by a government
development contract or by an order from the customer.
Belter acknowledged that it has to stand the costs of this
development in the latter case. The customer has
intimate knowledge of all of Belter's procedures. Methods
of manufacture are agreed in detail and even the
particular production machinery to be used is specified.
The closeness of the relationship between the two
companies is indicated by the fact that the customer has
approved Belter's quality procedure and accepts their
testing.

Contact Pattern
Interpersonal contacts between Belter and its UK
customer are summarized as
follows:
(1) Formal Contacts
Every six months Technical policy liaison meeting, jointly
chaired by Belter's Technical Director and the customer's
Chief Materials Manager. Every six—nine months
Commercial meeting, Belter's Managing and Marketing
Directors and Sales Manager and the customer's
Purchasing Director and Senior Purchasing Staff.

Monthly UK Sales Manager visits customer's purchasing

staff to discuss delivery and order positions.
(2) Other Contacts
These can be studied according to the formally assigned
responsibility. Personnel who have full-time responsibility
One sales office man has daily contact with the customer.
Additionally, one applications engineer is engaged on
work for this customer. Finally, one man determines
market trends, and is in contact with the customer's
marketing personnel and customer's clients. Personnel
with `half-time' responsibility Four applications engineers
also spend some of their time on the customer's
problems and are in personal contact with customer staff.

PURPOSE OF A MARKETING PLAN

The purpose of a Marketing Plan is to:-

▪ Define the Market

▪ Refine the Production Plan to market requirements

▪ Develop a marketing strategy

▪ Minimize risk
Each FFT group should have a Marketing Plan covering
each commodity based on their own study of the local
market.
Defining the Market and Commodities-

▪ Market demand and prices -An assessment based

on published market information , discussions with local
extension staff, farmers, dealers and buyers of the
commodity of the likely demand and prices on offer
during the year and during any period of seasonal
shortfall

▪ Market Requirement- Varieties, size, grading,

packaging, maturity demanded by the buyers in the
particular market.

▪ Yield /Price Assumptions- How much commodity

will be available? How much premium grade? Second
grade? Losses? If the commodity /crop is aimed to be
produced for a particular period e.g. for a low supply
period, while the price assumptions (expectation) may be
higher some reassessment of yield and cost of
production assumptions in the gross margin analysis or
partial budgets is usually necessary. Marketing
Returns and Costs Calculate expected income and
costs in marketing

The Most Important Elements of Marketing

There are four important elements in the marketing
process:
 ▪ Prioritising the customer: Marketing begins with the
customer, not the product. Knowing what the customer
needs or wants is essential.
▪ Process of selection: The farmer needs to know who to
sell the product to. This will determine how and where the
produce is marketed.
▪ Promotion: The farmer is selling something that other
people want to buy. Naturally, it is helpful to let them know
that the product is available and of good quality.

The Marketing Training Manual 23 Marketing Module 3: Markets

and Marketing
▪ Trust: Good marketing occurs when the customers trust
the farmer. The customer should feel they are not being
cheated and they are getting value for their money.
In thinking about these elements, farmers need to ask themselves
about the six Ps:
• Ppeople: Who are the customers? What do they want
or need? Who is actually going to market the product?
• Pplan: How is the product going to reach the
selected customers? What are the steps?
• product: What product is going to be marketed? Is the
family producing what the customer wants? What services
(for example, a cooked product), if any, are requested by
the customer?
• place: Where is the product going to be marketed?
• price: What price will the product be offered on the
market for?
• promotion: How are people going to be informed that
the product is available?

Supply, Demand, and Price

In a free market, prices for inputs and products are determined by

supply and demand.
Supply
Is what producers are willing to market at a certain price.

Demand
Is how much consumers are prepared to buy at the market price.

In theory, as the price of a product goes up, the quantity supplied

rises and the quantity demanded falls. Likewise, when the price
goes down, the quantity supplied falls and the quantity demanded
rises.
For agricultural produce, demand is affected by a number of
factors, the most
The Marketing Training Manual 24 Marketing Module 3: Markets
and Marketing

Industrial or business to business (B2B)

marketing

An organization seeks to build a new warehouse. After

documenting requirements, it obtains three proposals
from suitable construction firms. After a long process of
evaluation and negotiation, it places an order with the
organization that it believes offers the best value for
money.
An organization needs legal services and obtains
submissions from two law firms. Analysis of the proposals
and subsequent discussions determines that there is no
price advantage to placing all of the work with one firm,
and the organization decides to split the work between
the two firms based on an evaluation of each firm's
capabilities.
A sales representative makes an appointment with an
organization that employs 22 people. He demonstrates a
photocopier/fax/printer to the office administrator. After
discussing a proposal, the business owner signs a
contract to obtain the machine on a fully-maintained
rental and consumables basis, with an upgrade after 2
years.
Main features of the B2B selling process are:
Marketing is one-to-one in nature. It is relatively easy for
the seller to identify a prospective customers and build a
face-to-face relationship. Highly professional and trained
people in buying processes are involved. In many cases,
two or three decision makers must approve a purchase
plan. Often the buying or selling process is complex, and
includes many stages (for example, request for proposal,
request for tender, selection process, awarding of tender,
contract negotiations, and signing of final contract).
Selling activities involve long processes of prospecting,
qualifying, wooing, making representations, preparing
tenders, developing strategies, and contract negotiations.
Blurring between B2B and B2C

Industrial marketing can cross the border into consumer

marketing. For example, an electronic component seller
may distribute its products through industrial marketing
channels (see channel (marketing)), but also support
consumer sales. Many products are equally desired by
business and consumers—such as audio products,
furniture, paint, hardware, etc. Nonetheless,
manufactures and service providers frequently maintain
separate industrial and consumer marketing operations
to reflect the different needs of the two channels.
Competitive tendering
Industrial marketing often involves competitive tendering
(see tender, tendering). This is a process where a purchasing
organization undertakes to procure goods and services from
suitable suppliers. Due to the high value of some purchases (for
example buying a new computer system, manufacturing
machinery, or outsourcing a maintenance contract) and the
complexity of such purchases, the purchasing organization will
seek to obtain a number of bids from competing suppliers and
choose the best offering. An entire profession (strategic
procurement) that includes tertiary training and qualifications has
been built around the process of making important purchases.
The key requirement in any competitive tender is to ensure that...
The business case for the purchase has been completed and
approved.
The purchasing organization's objectives for the purchase
are clearly defined.
The procurement process is agreed upon and it conforms
with fiscal guidelines and organisational policies. The
selection criteria have been established.
A budget has been estimated and the financial resources
are available.
A buying team (or committee) has been assembled.
A specification has been written.
A preliminary scan of the market place has determined
that enough potential suppliers are available to make the
process viable (this can sometimes be achieved using
an expression of interest process).
It has been clearly established that a competitive
tendering process is the best method for meeting the
objectives of this purchasing project. If (for example) it
was known that there was only one organisation capable
of supplying; best to get on with talking to them and
negotiating a contract.
Because of the significant value of many purchases,
issues of probity arise. Organisations seek to ensure that
awarding a contract is based on "best fit" to the agreed
criteria, and not bribery, corruption, or incompetence.
Bidding process
Suppliers who are seeking to win a competitive tender go
through a bidding process. At its most primitive, this
would consist of evaluating the specification (issued by
the purchasing organization), designing a suitable
proposal, and working out a price. This is a "primitive"
approach because...
There is an old saying in industrial marketing; "if the first
time you have heard about a tender is when you are
invited to submit, then you have already lost it."
While flippant, the previous point illustrates a basic
requirement for being successful in competitive
tendering; it is important to develop a strong relationship
with a prospective customer organization well before they
have started the formal part of their procurement
process.
Non-tender purchasing

Not all industrial sales involve competitive tendering.

Tender processes are time consuming and expensive,
particularly when executed with the aim of ensuring
probity. Government agencies are particularly likely to
utilise elaborate competitive tendering processes due to
the expectation that they should be seen at all times to
be responsibly and accountably spending public monies.
Private companies are able to avoid the complexity of a
fully transparent tender process but are still able to run
the procurement process with some rigour.Beneficial
Developing a sales strategy/solution selling/technical
selling
The "art" of technical selling (solution selling) follows a
three stage process...
Stage 1: Sell the appointment: Never sell over the
telephone. The aim of the first contact with a
prospective purchaser is to sell the appointment. The
reason is simple; industrial sales are complex, any
attempt to sell over the phone will trivialise your product
or service and
run the risk of not fully understanding the customer's
need.
Stage 2: Understand their needs: The best method of
selling is to minimise the information about your goods or
services until you have fully understood your customer's
requirements.
Stage 3: Develop and propose a solution. The solution is
(of course) developed from your (or the firm that you
represent's) product or service offerings.

Marketing supports solution selling through methods

like account-based marketing—understanding a specific
target organization's requirements as the foundation of a
marketing program. As research shows, [1] sales success is
heavily weighted towards suppliers who understand the
customer. In UK research, 77 per cent of senior decision-
makers believe new suppliers' marketing From cannon
fodder to preferred tenderer

The term "cannon fodder" derives from the World Wars

and refers to the massing of undertrained and recently
recruited troops sent to the fronts to face the enemy.
Such troops invariably had a poor survival rate but
provided the tactical advantage of distracting the enemy
while professional soldiers mounted more effective
operations. In adopting the term to Industrial Marketing it
means those bids being submitted that have no chance of
winning but are involved to make up the numbers (you
can't have only one bid in a "competitive" tender process;
that wouldn't satisfy the requirements of probity) (for
example in government tenders, or for private enterprise
the requirement to "truly test the market" and to "keep
them honest"). The reader might be wondering why
anybody would go to all of the work of submitting a
tender when they had no chance of winning; for the same
reason that troops were sent in to battle to die; they
thought they had a real chance

The key features of a successful industrial

sales organisation
In industrial marketing the personal selling is still very
effective because many products must be customized to
suit the requirements of the individual customer.
Indicators such as the sales tunnel give information on
the expected sales in the near future, the hit
rate indicates whether the sales organization is busy with
promising sales leads or it is spending too much effort on
projects that are eventually lost to the competition or
that are abandoned by the prospect.
 RESEARCH PROBLEM
1. Identify your target market.
Which businesses need cleaning services? Which ones
can afford it and will pay for it? Why?

In your case, I would think that small businesses may not

be your ideal client. But then again, define "small
business." Are you referring to sales volume or number of
employees.

I can tell you right now as a marketing consultant that

has worked with a wide variety of businesses, including
small companies:

" Small businesses are very price sensitive and prefer to

do more themselves rather than pay someone else."
(They hold this belief even if it would free up more time
to be more productive. Go figure?)

So before you randomly begin picking a target market,

have a rational reason why. Continue to read below and
you'll begin to see what I am talking about.
2. Determine their wants and needs.
It may be obvious to you, but ask yourself: "Why would
someone want a clean office?"

These businesses never have walk-in traffic. They do not

have customers visit them. So naturally, there is far less
of a concern for a "clean office." Sure it would be nice to
have, but since no revenue will be lost if their office is
not spectacular looking, they are not motivated to do
anything about it.

However, seek out the businesses that do deal with

customers directly, especially professional services where
they have very high end clients visit them. Now they
NEED a very presentable office or they risk losing out on
a lot of revenue.

3. Determine the level and type of demand.

If you have ever read any of my previous work, you will
know that I am a very strong advocate of knowing
whether the type of demand is "Primary Demand" or
"Selective Demand." It is one of the most overlooked
aspects of marketing being ignored today!

Primary Demand: If a business does not already use your

TYPE of service and is not currently considering doing so,
you will need to create "primary demand." Simply put,
you will have to convince them first to even want your
type of service (or product) before you even get them to
buy it from you.

So for your cleaning business example, if you are

approaching businesses that currently do not use a
cleaning service, you will have to explain the time saving
and productivity enhancing benefits of using one. Then
explain why YOU are the one they need!

Selective Demand: These businesses already use a

service (or product) or are in the market for it and are
actively looking. In these cases you do not need to spend
much effort convincing them "why" they need it.

In this case, you must state your argument why your

cleaning service should be the one they choose.

This is what you will encounter when you call on or

contact businesses already using a cleaning service. They
will either be satisfied or unsatisfied with their current
service provider. Your emphasis will have to be on
"conquest sales" -- meaning stealing customers from your
competition.

Now in your line of business and in many others, slashing

prices always seems to be the first technique used to
steal customers. This may work well for selling products.
But if you are marketing services, let me tell you
this...think twice before doing that.

Yes, I am fully aware of the fact that there will be

businesses that will be open to talking to you if you offer
them a better deal. In some cases, they may feel they are
legitimately getting "ripped off" or paying way

too much right now. And they just might be right. In those
cases, if you can give them a fair price that is a better
deal for them AND still gives you healthy profit margins,
then go for it.

However, if you are slashing prices just to gain clients,

aren't you really just hurting yourself in the long run?
First of all, you can easily get into the game of "How low
will they go?" Secondly, it de-values your perception of
quality if you are "cheap." Thirdly, who's to say after all
this effort, you won't lose the business in a month or two
when someone else quotes them an even lower price?

What will you do next, price so low that you lose money
with every client? I didn't think so.

Here's what you could do though...

4. Develop a Hypothesis and a Solution

to Match
After you know your target market, have defined their
needs, and analyzed the competitive picture (currently
using or not currently using a service like mine) go ahead
and develop a clearly thought out hypothesis.

For example, start with business NOT currently using a

cleaning service, but that deal with customers or clients
regularly at their location.

Develop a strong case for WHY they would be wise to

invest in your cleaning services. Show them on a break-
even analysis that your fee will be well compensated in
either customer retention or converting a higher level of
store traffic or business appointments into paying
customers/clients.

Then state your case why it is more cost effective and

saves them valuable time to outsource this to you rather
than doing it themselves or paying an employee
overtime to do it. You can also emphasize that you are
the "expert" at this, not someone's secretary so it is
expected that you will do a far better job at it.

For businesses that ARE already using a cleaning service

or are currently "shopping" for one, state why you are
unique and better.

Determine the really compelling reasons why these

businesses want a cleaning service to begin with.
Maybe it is a retail store that wants to create a better
first impression for their customers. This will ultimately
lead to a better customer experience and ultimately more
in- store purchases.

A good example may be that unlike most competitors,

you also clean windows. Well, as a marketing consultant
to retail businesses, I can tell you that many "passerby's"
will first look in a store window before deciding to walk in
or not.

Now for successful marketing, all retail businesses would

perform better if they had more in-store traffic. So
therefore, if your cleaning service also cleans windows,
you could rightfully justify that your services are more
valuable to their retail business. You actually HELP them
get more customers and sell more products.

Maybe it is a professional service business that needs to

impress prospective clients to choose their services over
a similar competitor.

Your cleaning service may dust chairs and polish wooden

conference tables. Many other cleaning services may not
do this or do a poor job in doing so.

Now, as marketing consultants to service businesses, I

can also tell you that if a consultant, attorney,
accountant, or any other business professional needs to
meet with prospective clients in their office, they will
appreciate a better appearance. So if your cleaning
services can provide this better than anyone else (or at
least if you tell them about this first) you will get the
business or at least be highly considered for it!

Whatever the case may be, establish what makes you

different and have you are best suited to meet their
needs.

Do you see where I am going with this? Your initial

marketing questions asked how you can get more
business by passing out flyers or sending faxes to small
offices. Truthfully, that is simply not going to work. You
are not looking at the overall big picture of why anyone
would either want to hire a cleaning service or to hire
your particular cleaning service.

5. You must make AN OFFER.

Here are some examples:

Marketing message/sales offer to a business that does

NOT currently use a cleaning service

" If you have never considered using a cleaning service

before, allow us to show you how XYZ Cleaning, Inc can
make your store/office more presentable to customers
and how this newly improved appearance will affect your
cash register/bank statement.

If you are weary of trying new things, don't worry. Use us

FREE for one month and if you are not completely
satisfied with the results, if you are not completely
confident that it makes a difference to your customers, if
you are not completely aware of how it raises the morale
of your employees, then you do not have to using us
again.

But if YOU DO see a great improvement, we'll make you

a great deal on our services, simply because we want
your long term business." Marketing message/sales offer
to businesses that DO currently use a cleaning service

"I understand that you currently use ABC Cleaners, LLC.

Now you may or may not be completely happy right now,
but I want to make you a no-risk offer you can't refuse.

The truth is that you likely get consumed in your day to

day activities in running your business, overseeing
operations, managing employees, and handling
customers. Therefore, there may be little "imperfections"
your cleaning service is making that goes unnoticed by
you. But don't assume for one minute that your
customers or potential customers won't notice. And
remember, first impressions DO count!

So here's our offer. Have us come in the morning after

your regular cleaning service cleans your office. We will
do a thorough inspection with you present and look for
anything they may have done a less-than-satisfactory job
on. Then we'll show you why you probably over looked it
for so long, but why your customers will take notice and
how they will think differently about you because of it.
Now, if everything is already 100% completely clean and
presentable, we'll thank you for your time and then be on
our way. But, if together we find lots of "little things" that
are carelessly being done we will clean/fix it for you for
FREE.

That's right, use our services as a compliment to what

you are already paying for. Compare the quality of work
we do to what you are already paying for. If you can see
the difference in what we do for you, compared to what
you are already paying for, then consider us as your new
cleaning service."

6. Develop your marketing message

Once you understand the true needs your potential
clients have and the unique and competitive solutions
you can offer, only then should you develop your
marketing copy -- your sales pitch.

The two examples above incorporate great marketing

copy with a strong, benefits related offer. You can then
deliver this through direct mail, telemarketing, or a
combination of both.

I would only recommend distributing flyers if you are

confident you can place there where they will get read by
people who make the decision to hire a cleaning service.
So if there is an "Open Bulletin" board in an office
building, then go for it. However, they are rare and you
probably need permission anyway.

I'd avoid the fax marketing altogether. It's quite

annoying, ties up there fax line, and unless people have
already heard of you, they are more likely to toss your
message in the garbage.

Try sending direct mail to the decision makers of these

target companies and describe the benefits they will
experience from using your services.
7. Follow up
Even after identifying the businesses that are most likely
to need your services, after you have identified a
solution, and even after you contacted them with a
compelling offer, you still have to follow up.

Chances are they loved the sound of it when they got it.
They had every intention of following up with you. But
then just got busy. So your follow up call can make all the
difference in the world and get your foot in the door ... in
a very big way. Then it's up to you to DELIVER on your
promise.
 8. ANALYSIS
Market Analysis

The goal of a market analysis is to determine the attractiveness of a

market and to understand its evolving opportunities and threats as they
relate to the strengths and weaknesses of the firm.

David A. Aaker outlined the following dimensions of a market analysis:

Market size (current and future)

Market growth rate
Market profitability
Industry cost structure
Distribution channels
Market trends
Key success factors
Market Size

The size of the market can be evaluated based on present sales and on
potential sales if the use of the product were expanded. The following
are some information sources for determining market size:

government data
trade associations financial data from major players
customer surveys

Market Growth Rate

A simple means of forecasting the market growth rate is to extrapolate

historical data into the future. While this method may provide a first-
order estimate, it does not predict important turning points. A better
method is to study growth drivers such as demographic information and
sales growth in complementary products. Such drivers serve as leading
indicators that are more accurate than simply extrapolating historical
data.

Important inflection points in the market growth rate sometimes can be

predicted by constructing a product diffusion curve. The shape of the
curve can be estimated by studying the characteristics of the adoption
rate of a similar product in the past.

Ultimately, the maturity and decline stages of the product life

cycle will be reached. Some leading indicators of the decline phase
include price pressure caused by competition, a decrease in brand
loyalty, the emergence of substitute products, market saturation, and the
lack of growth drivers.
 Market Profitability
While different firms in a market will have different levels of profitability, the average profit
potential for a market can be used as a guideline for knowing how difficult it is to make money
in the market. Michael Porter devised a useful framework for evaluating the attractiveness of an
industry or market. This framework, known as Porter's five forces, identifies five factors that
influence the market profitability:

Buyer power
Supplier power
Barriers to entry
Threat of substitute products
Rivalry among firms in the industry

Industry Cost Structure

The cost structure is important for identifying key factors for success. To
this end, Porter's value chain model is useful for determining where
value is added and for isolating the costs.

The cost structure also is helpful for formulating strategies to develop a

competitive advantage. For example, in some environments
the experience curve effect can be used to develop a cost advantage
over competitors.
Distribution Channels

The following aspects of the distribution system are useful in a market

analysis:

Existing distribution channels - can be described by how direct they are

to the customer.

Trends and emerging channels - new channels can offer the opportunity
to develop a competitive advantage.

Channel power structure - for example, in the case of a product having

little brand equity, retailers have negotiating power over manufacturers
and can capture more margin.

Market Trends

Changes in the market are important because they often are the source of
new opportunities and threats. The relevant trends are industry-
dependent, but some examples include changes in price sensitivity,
demand for variety, and level of emphasis on service and support.
Regional trends also may be relevant.
Key Success Factors

The key success factors are those elements that are necessary in order
for the firm to achieve its marketing objectives. A few examples of such
factors include:

 Access to essential unique resources

 Ability to achieve economies of scale

 Access to distribution channels

 Technological progress

It is important to consider that key success factors may change over

time, especially as the product progresses through its life cycle.
 9. CONCLUSIONS

Organizations engage in marketing research for two reasons:

(1) (1) to identify

(2) and (2) solve marketing problems.
(3)

This distinction serves as a basis for classifying marketing research into

problem identification research and problem solving research.

Problem identification research is undertaken to help identify problems

which are, perhaps, not apparent on the surface and yet exist or are likely
to company image, market characteristics, sales analysis, short-range
forecasting, long range forecasting, and business trends research.
Research of this type provides information about the marketing
environment and helps diagnose a problem. For example, The findings
of problem solving research are used in making decisions which will
solve specific marketing problems.

The Stanford Research Institute, on the other hand, conducts an annual

survey of consumers that is used to classify persons into homogeneous
groups for segmentation purposes. The National Purchase Diary panel
(NPD) maintains the largest diary panel in the United States.

Standardized services are research studies conducted for different client

firms but in a standard way. For example, procedures for measuring
advertising effectiveness have been standardized so that the results can
be compared across studies and evaluative norms can be established.
The Starch Readership Survey is the most widely used service for
evaluating print advertisements; another well-known service is
the Gallup and Robinson Magazine Impact Studies. These services are
also sold on a syndicated basis.

Customized services offer a wide variety of

marketing research services customized to suit a client's
specific needs. Each marketing research project is treated
uniquely.

Limited-service suppliers specialize in one or a few

phases of the marketing research project. Services
offered by such suppliers are classified as field services,
coding and data entry, data analysis, analytical services,
and branded products. Field services collect data
through mail, personal, or telephone interviewing, and
firms that specialize in interviewing are called field
service organizations. These organizations may range from
small proprietary organizations which operate locally to
large multinational organizations with WATS line
interviewing facilities. Some organizations maintain
extensive interviewing facilities across the country for
interviewing shoppers in malls.

Coding and data entry services include editing

completed questionnaires, developing a coding scheme,
and transcribing the data on to diskettes or magnetic
tapes for input into the computer. NRC Data Systems
provides such services.

Analytical services include designing and pretesting

questionnaires, determining the best means of collecting
data, designing sampling plans, and other aspects of the
research design. Some complex marketing research
projects require knowledge of sophisticated procedures,
including specialized experimental designs, and analytical
techniques such as conjoint analysis and
multidimensional scaling. This kind of expertise can be
obtained from firms and consultants specializing in
analytical services.

Data analysis services are offered by firms, also

known as tab houses, that specialize in computer analysis
of quantitative data such as those obtained in large
surveys. Initially most data analysis firms supplied only
tabulations (frequency counts) and cross tabulations
(frequency counts that describe two or more variables
simultaneously). With the proliferation of software, many
firms now have the capability to analyze their own data,
but, data analysis firms are still in demand.

Branded marketing research products and

services are specialized data collection and analysis
procedures developed to address specific types of
marketing research problems. These procedures are
patented, given brand names, and marketed like any
other branded product
Types of marketing research
Marketing research techniques come in many forms, including:

Ad Tracking – periodic or continuous in-market research to

monitor a brand’s performance using measures such as brand
awareness, brand preference, and product usage. (Young, 2005)
Advertising Research – used to predict copy testing or track the
efficacy of advertisements for any medium, measured by the ad’s
ability to get attention (measured with Attention Tracking),
communicate the message, build the brand’s image, and motivate
the consumer to purchase the product or service. (Young, 2005)
Brand equity research - how favorably do consumers view the
brand?
Brand association research - what do consumers
associate with the brand?
Brand attribute research - what are the key traits that
describe the brand promise?
Brand name testing - what do consumers feel about the names
of the products?
Commercial eye tracking research - examine
advertisements, package designs, websites, etc. by
analyzing visual behavior of the consumer
Concept testing - to test the acceptance of a concept by target
consumers

Cool hunting - to make observations and predictions in

changes of new or existing cultural trends in areas such
as fashion, music, films, television, youth culture and
lifestyle
Buyer decision processes research - to determine what
motivates people to buy and what decision-making
process they use

Copy testing – predicts in-market performance of an ad before it

airs by analyzing audience levels of attention, brand
linkage, motivation, entertainment, and communication, as well as
breaking down the ad’s flow of attention and flow of emotion.
(Young, p 213)
Customer satisfaction research - quantitative or qualitative
studies that yields an understanding of a customer's of
satisfaction with a transaction
Demand estimation - to determine the approximate level
of demand for the product
Distribution channel audits - to assess distributors’ and
retailers’ attitudes toward a product, brand, or company
Internet strategic intelligence - searching for
customer opinions in the Internet: chats, forums, web
pages, blogs... where people express freely about their
experiences with products, becoming strong "opinion
formers"

Marketing effectiveness and analytics - Building models

and measuring results to determine the effectiveness of
individual marketing activities.
Mystery Consumer or Mystery shopping - An employee or
representative of the market research firm anonymously contacts
a salesperson and indicates he or she is shopping for a product.
The shopper then records the entire experience. This method is
often used for quality control or for researching competitors'
products.
Positioning research - how does the target market see
the brand relative to competitors? - what does the brand stand
for?
Price elasticity testing - to determine how sensitive customers
are to price changes
Sales forecasting - to determine the expected
level of sales given the level of demand. With respect to
other factors like Advertising expenditure, sales
promotion etc.
Segmentation research - to determine
the demographic, psychographic, and behavioural characteristics
of potential buyers
Online panel - a group of individual who accepted to
respond to marketing research online
Store audit - to measure the sales of a product or
product line at a statistically selected store sample in
order to determine market share, or to determine
whether a retail store provides adequate service
Test marketing - a small-scale product launch used to
determine the likely acceptance of the product when it is
introduced into a wider market
Viral Marketing Research - refers to marketing research
designed to estimate the probability that specific
communications will be transmitted throughout an
individual's Social Network. Estimates of Social Networking
Potential (SNP) are combined with estimates of selling
effectiveness to estimate ROI on specific combinations of
messages and media.

All of these forms of marketing research can be classified as

either problem-identification research or as problem-solving research.

There are two main sources of data - primary and secondary. Primary
research is conducted from scratch. It is original and collected to solve
the problem in hand. Secondary research already exists since it has
been collected for other purposes. It is conducted on data published
previously and usually by someone else. Secondary research costs far
less than primary research, but seldom comes in a form that exactly
meets the needs of the researcher.

A similar distinction exists between exploratory

research and conclusive research. Exploratory research provides
insights into and comprehension of an issue or situation. It should
draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution. Conclusive
research draws conclusions: the results of the study can be
generalized to the whole population.

Exploratory research is conducted to explore a problem to get some

basic idea about the solution at the preliminary stages of research. It
may serve as the input to conclusive research. Exploratory research
information is collected by focus group interviews, reviewing literature
or books, discussing with experts, etc. This is unstructured and
qualitative in nature. If a secondary source of data is unable to serve the
purpose, a convenience sample of small size can be collected.
Conclusive research is conducted to draw some conclusion about the
problem. It is essentially, structured and quantitative research, and the
output of this research is the input to MANAGEMENT INFORMATION
SYSTEMS (MIS).

Marketing research methods

Methodologically, marketing research uses the following types of
research designs:

Based on questioning:
Qualitative marketing research - generally used for
exploratory purposes - small number of respondents - not
generalizable to the whole population - statistical
significance and confidence not calculated - examples
include focus groups, in-depth interviews, and projective
techniques

Quantitative marketing research - generally used to

draw conclusions - tests a specific hypothesis - uses
random sampling techniques so as to infer from the
sample to the population - involves a large number of
respondents - examples
include surveys and questionnaires. Techniques
include choice modelling, maximum difference preference
scaling, and covariance analysis.
Based on observations:
Ethnographic studies -, by nature qualitative, the
researcher observes social phenomena in their natural
setting - observations can occur cross-
sectionally (observations made at one time)
or longitudinally (observations occur over several
time- periods) –

examples include product-use analysis and computer

cookie traces. See also Ethnography and Observational
techniques.

Experimental techniques -, by nature quantitative, the

researcher creates a quasi-artificial environment to try to
control spurious factors,
then manipulates at least one of the variables - examples
include purchase laboratories and test markets
Questionnaires
1. What are the objectives of the marketing strategy? Are
they clearly stated? Are they consistent with the
objectives of the firm? Is the entire marketing mix
structured to meet these objectives?

2. What marketing concepts are at issue in the current

strategy? Is the marketing strategy well planned and laid
out? Is the strategy consistent with sound marketing
principles? If the strategy takes exception to marketing
principles, is there a good reason for it?

3. To what target market is the strategy directed? Is it

well defined? Is the market large enough to be profitably
served? Does the market have long-run potential?

4. What competitive advantage does the marketing

strategy offer? If none, what can be done to gain a
competitive advantage in the marketplace?

5. What products are being sold? What is the width,

depth, and consistency of the firm's product lines?
Does the firm need new products to fill out its
product line?
Should any product be deleted? What is the profitability
of the various products?

6. What promotion mix is being used? Is promotion

consistent with the products and product images? What
could be done to improve the promotion mix?

7. What channels of distribution are being used? Do they

deliver the product at the right time and right place to
meet consumer needs? Are the channels typical of those
used in the industry? Could channels be made more
efficient?

8. What pricing strategies are being used? How do prices

compare with similar products of other firms? How are
prices determined?

9. Are marketing research and information systematically

integrated into the marketing strategy? Is the overall
marketing strategy internally consistent?