Marketing Management

Unit – 1
MBA – 1st Semester

Nature and Scope of Marketing.

Introduction:- In today's world of marketing, everywhere you go you are being marketed to in one
form or another. Marketing is with you each second of your walking life. From morning to night you are
exposed to thousands of marketing messages everyday. Marketing is something that affects you even
though you may not necessarily be conscious of it.

Definition of Marketing

According to American Marketing Association (2004) - "Marketing is an organisational function

and set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for
managing relationships in a way that benefits both the organisation and the stakeholder."

AMA (1960) - "Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods
and services from producer to consumer or user."

According to Eldridge (1970) - "Marketing is the combination of activities designed to produce

profit through ascertaining, creating, stimulating, and satisfying the needs and/or wants of a
selected segment of the market."

According to Kotler (2000) - "A societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what
they need and want through creating, offering, and freely exchanging products and services of
value with others."

Nature of Marketing:-

1. Marketing is an Economic Function:- Marketing embraces all the business activities involved in
getting goods and services , from the hands of producers into the hands of final consumers. The
business steps through which goods progress on their way to final consumers is the concern of
marketing.

2. Marketing is a Legal Process by which Ownership Transfers:- In the process of marketing the
ownership of goods transfers from seller to the purchaser or from producer to the end user.

3. Marketing is a System of Interacting Business Activities:- Marketing is that process through

which a business enterprise, institution, or organisation interacts with the customers and stakeholders
with the objective to earn profit, satisfy customers, and manage relationship. It is the performance of
business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer or user.

4. Marketing is a Managerial function:- According to managerial or systems approach - "Marketing is

the combination of activities designed to produce profit through ascertaining, creating, stimulating, and
satisfying the needs and/or wants of a selected segment of the market." According to this approach the
emphasis is on how the individual organisation processes marketing and develops the strategic
dimensions of marketing activities.

5. Marketing is a social process:- Marketing is the delivery of a standard of living to society. Societal
marketing performs three essential functions:-

 Knowing and understanding the consumer's changing needs and wants;

 Efficiently and effectively managing the supply and demand of products and services; and
 Efficient provision of distribution and payment processing systems.

6. Marketing is a philosophy based on consumer orientation and satisfaction.

7. Marketing had dual objectives - profit making and consumer satisfaction.

Scope of Marketing

1. Study of Consumer Wants and Needs:- Goods are produced to satisfy consumer wants. Therefore
study is done to identify consumer needs and wants. These needs and wants motivates consumer to
purchase.

2. Study of Consumer behaviour:- Marketers performs study of consumer behaviour. Analysis of

buyer behaviour helps marketer in market segmentation and targeting.

3. Production planning and development:- Product planning and development starts with the
generation of product idea and ends with the product development and commercialisation. Product
planning includes everything from branding and packaging to product line expansion and contraction.

4. Pricing Policies:- Marketer has to determine pricing policies for their products. Pricing policies differs
form product to product. It depends on the level of competition, product life cycle, marketing goals and
objectives, etc.

5. Distribution:- Study of distribution channel is important in marketing. For maximum sales and profit
goods are required to be distributed to the maximum consumers at minimum cost.

6. Promotion:- Promotion includes personal selling, sales promotion, and advertising. Right promotion
mix is crucial in accomplishment of marketing goals.

7. Consumer Satisfaction:- The product or service offered must satisfy consumer. Consumer
satisfaction is the major objective of marketing.

8. Marketing Control:- Marketing audit is done to control the marketing activities.

Evolution of Marketing:- Today marketing is known as an advanced blend of strategy and

technology; however it hasn’t always been this way. Marketing as we know it began with humble
beginnings of simply trying to sell goods and services.

Attempts to accomplish this may be as old as civilization itself. Some believe it started with trying to
presents goods in a certain way for trading. The effort to develop persuasive communications for selling
goods and services has been around since the times of ancient China and India. This activity may not
have been recognized as a marketing business at the time, but it is where the idea for marketing started
to develop.

Business has evolved significantly in the past 200 years, progressing through different phases of
evolution as advances in all areas of life change the way people live and work.

 The simple trade era stretched from the beginning of history to the middle of the 19th century,
when trade revolved around local barter economies.
 Between the 1860s and 1920s, mass production became the focus in the production era. In
this era, simply mass producing goods was a primary driver of sales.
 As the production era gave way to the sales era (1920s to the 1940s), modern marketing began
to take shape.
 From the 1940s to 1960s, branding and positioning became important as marketers began to
understand the value of customer loyalty and brand reputation in the marketing department
era.
 From the 1960s to the 1990s, the marketing company era phased out what theorists call the
manufacturing concept in favour of the marketing concept.
 The marketing concept era gave way to the relationship marketing era, in which marketers
began to see long-term customer relationships as a key to company growth.
 The current marketing era as of this writing is known as the digital marketing era or the social
marketing era. No matter the name, this era is characterized by making personal connections
 and building relationships on a global scale, involving customers directly in product development
decisions and utilizing the Internet to spur word-of-mouth marketing and leverage loyal customer
relationships.

MARKETING ORIENTATIONS:- While trying to build profitable relationships with target customers,
management has to design an effective marketing strategy. But what philosopy will guide this strategy?
How much weight is given to the interests of the company, customers and society? The marketing
concepts classify these interests into five categories. Companies use these orientations as a basis for
their marketing campaigns.

1. Production Concept:- The Production Concept is just about producing, and does not spent much
effort on knowing something about the customer. It follows the idea that consumers will favour products
that are available and highly affordable. Therefore, the aim of the organization is to improve production
and distribution efficiency. The Production Concept is one of the oldest orientations. It may work in some
cases, but entails the risk of focusing too much on the own operations and losing sight of the real
objective of marketing – satisfying customer needs and building relationships.

2. Product Concept:- The Product Concept focuses totally on the product: nicer, better, cheaper…,
but not on the customer and what he might need. In other words, it starts with a product and then tries to
sell this product to customers, instead of starting with a customer and considering the needs and wants
of this customer.

An example is a TV remote control which has more than 50 buttons and is capable of everything, but
does the customer really need and want it? It is based on the idea that consumers will favour products
which offer the most quality, performance and features. Therefore, the aim is to improve the product.
However, focusing too much on the product may also lead to missing the actual aim of marketing:
Imagine you are a manufacturer of mousetraps. You design and produce the best mousetrap the world
has ever seen, expecting that everyone will buy it. But does the world actually want to see your product,
does it need this mousetrap, only because it is nicer, better, cheaper? The solution people are looking
for might be a spray, an exterminating service or something else. So focusing only on improving your
products does not mean success.

3. Selling Concept:- The Selling Concept is, as the name indicates, all about selling, which involves
aggressive selling to any customer. It is of minor importance who this customer may be, why he might
need the product, which usually automatically leads to a short-term customer relationship.
Consequently, the Selling Concept takes on an inside-out perspective, starting with the existing products
and focusing on finding customers for these. In other words, it is all about selling what the company
makes, following the idea that consumers will not buy enough of the company’s products unless it
undertakes a large selling and promotion effort. There are industries where this concept holds and often
is the only solution. Typically, it is practised with unsought goods, that is, products that consumers
normally do not think of buying, such as insurances or blood donations. As said before, this carries the
risk that the only focus is on creating a sale, but not on building profitable long-term customer
relationships.

4. Marketing Concept:- The Marketing Concept is the first approach which can actually fulfill the
needs of a marketing strategy: building profitable long-term relationships by maximizing value for the
customer. It is about knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering satisfaction better
than competitors do.

Consequently, the Marketing Concept takes on an outside-in perspective, starting with the customer
needs, and aiming to find the right products for the customer. In other words, instead of the product-
centred ‘make and sell’ philosophy, the Marketing Concept is a customer-centred ‘sense and respond’
philosophy. Instead of finding the right customers for a product it aims to find the right products for target
customers. In contrast to the above explained concepts, the Marketing Concept yields more customer
value by creating lasting relationships with the right customers, which is based on customer value and
satisfaction.
5. Societal Marketing:- While in former days, a company was a closed system, nowadays it has to
be open. In other words, it has to consider what the society wants and will accept, now and in the future.
The Societal Marketing Concept addresses these issues. Therefore, it is an advanced version of the
Marketing Concept, questioning that the latter overlooks possible conflicts between consumer short-term
wants and consumer long-term welfare. Therefore, the Societal Marketing Concept considers what the
customer wants now, but at the same time looks at what society wants now and in the future, calling for
the satisfaction of society’s long-term interests. It aims to meet the present needs of consumers and
businesses while simultaneously preserving the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Factors
that might be involved in this philosophy often aim at being socially and environmentally responsible,
addressing issues such as pollution, employment conditions, safety, corporate social responsibility…
Nowadays, the societal marketing concept is may be the best orientation, since it looks at the long-term
interests of society and thereby forms a strong basis for an effective marketing strategy. However, it is
also the most difficult one to achieve. Companies have to balance three considerations at the same
time: the company’s profits, consumer wants, and society’s interests.

Core Concepts of Marketing:-

“Marketing is social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtains what they
needs and wants through creating and exchanging product and value with others.”

1. Needs:- Existence of unmet needs is precondition to undertake marketing activities. Marketing tries
to satisfy needs of consumers. Human needs are the state of felt deprivation of some basic satisfaction.
A need is the state of mind that reflects the lack-ness and restlessness situation.

Needs are physiological in nature. People require food, shelter, clothing, esteem, belonging, and
likewise. Note that needs are not created. They are pre-existed in human being. Needs create
physiological tension that can be released by consuming or using products.

2. Wants:- Wants are the options to satisfy a specific need. They are desire for specific satisfiers to
meet specific need. For example, food is a need that can be satisfied by variety of ways, such as sweet,
bread, rice, chapatti, etc. These options are known as wants. In fact, every need can be satisfied by
using different options.

Maximum satisfaction of consumer need depends upon availability of better options. Needs are limited,
but wants are many; for every need, there are many wants. Marketer can influence wants, not needs.
He concentrates on creating and satisfying wants.

3. Demand:- Demand is the want for specific products that are backed by the ability and willingness to
buy them. It is always expressed in relation to time. All wants are not transmitted in demand. Such
wants which are supported by ability and willingness to buy can turn as demand.

Marketer tries to influence demand by making the product attractive, affordable, and easily available.
Marketing management concerns with managing quantum and timing of demand. Marketing
management is called as demand management.

4. Product:- Product can also be referred as a bundle of satisfaction, physical and psychological both.
Product includes core product (basic contents or utility), product-related features (colour, branding,
packaging, labelling, varieties, etc.), and product-related services (after-sales services, guarantee and
warrantee, free home delivery, free repairing, and so on). So, tangible product is a package of services
or benefits. Marketer should consider product benefits and services, instead of product itself.

Marketer can satisfy needs and wants of the target consumers by product. It can be broadly defined as
anything that can be offered to someone to satisfy a need or want. Product includes both good and
service. Normally, product is taken as tangible object, for example, pen, television set, bread, book, etc.
However, importance lies in service rendered by the product. People are not interested just owning or
possessing products, but the services rendered by them. For examples, we do not buy a pen, but writing
service.

Similarly, we do not buy a car, but transportation service. Just owning product is not enough, the product
must serve our needs and wants. Thus, physical product is just a vehicle or medium that offers services
to us. As per the definition, anything which can satisfy need and want can be a product. Thus, product
may be in forms of physical object, person, idea, activity, or organisation that can provide any kind of
services that satisfy some needs or wants.

5. Utility (value), Cost, and Satisfaction:- Utility means overall capacity of product to satisfy need
and want. It is a guiding concept to choose the product. Every product has varying degree of utility. As
per level of utility, products can be ranked from the most need-satisfying to the least need-satisfying.

Utility is the consumer’s estimate of the product’s overall capacity to satisfy his/her needs. Buyer
purchases such a product, which has more utility. Utility is, thus, the strength of product to satisfy a
particular need.

Cost means the price of product. It is an economic value of product. The charges a customer has to pay
to avail certain services can be said as cost. The utility of product is compared with cost that he has to
pay. He will select such a product that can offer more utility (value) for certain price. He tries to
maximize value, that is, the utility of product per rupee.

Satisfaction means fulfilment of needs. Satisfaction is possible when buyer perceives that product has
more value compared to the cost paid for. Satisfaction closely concerns with fulfilment of all the
expectations of buyer. Satisfaction releases the tension that has aroused due to unmet need(s). In short,
more utility/value with less cost results into more satisfaction.

6. Exchange, Transaction, and Transfer:- Exchange is in the center of marketing. Marketing

management tries to arrive at the desired exchange. People can satisfy their needs and wants in one of
the four ways – self-production, coercion/snatching, begging, or exchanging.

Marketing emerges only when people want to satisfy their needs and wants through exchange.
Exchange is an act of obtaining a desired product from someone by offering something in return.
Obtaining sweet by paying money is the example an exchange.

Exchange is possible when following five conditions are satisfied:-

1. There should be at least two parties.

2. Each party has something that might be of value to the other party.
3. Each party is capable of communication and delivery.
4. Each party is free to accept or reject the exchange offer.
5. Each party believes it is desirable to deal with the other party

Transaction differs from exchange:- Exchange is a process, not event. It implies that people are
negotiating and moving toward the agreement. When an agreement is reached, it is transaction.
Transaction is the decision arrived or commitment made.

For example, Mr. X pays Rs. 25000 and obtains a computer. There are various types of transactions,
such as barter transactions, monetary transactions, commercial transactions, employment transactions,
civic transactions, religious or charity transactions.
Transaction involves following conditions:-

1. At least two things of value.

2. Agreed upon conditions.
3. A time of agreement.
4. A place of agreement.
5. A law (legal system) of contract to avoid distrust.
Transfer involves obtaining something without any offer or offering anything without any return. For
example, Mr. X gives gift to Mr. Y. Transfer is a one-way process. But, pure transfer is hardly found in
practice. One transfers something with some unexpressed expectations. Offer of money to beggar is to
get the favour of God.

Donor gives donations and receives honour, appreciation, and special invitation, or even special
influence in administration. Gift is rewarded in terms of gratitude, a good behaviour, saying, “thank you”
or with the expectation that the receiver of the gift will offer the same in the future. Almost all transfers
are same as transactions. Transfer and transaction both are important for marketer.

7. Relationships and Network:- Today’s marketing practice gives more importance to relation
building. Marketing practice based on relation building can be said as relationship marketing.
Relationship marketing is the practice of building long-term profitable or satisfying relations with key
parties like customers, suppliers, distributors, and others in order to retain their long-term preference in
business.

A smart marketer tries to build up long-term, trusting, and ‘win-win’ relations with valued customers,
distributors, and suppliers. Relationship marketing needs trust, commitment, cooperation, and high
degree of understanding.

Relationship marketing results into economical, technical, social, and cultural tie among the parties.
Marketing manager is responsible for establishing and maintaining long-term relations with the parties
involved in business.

Network is the ultimate outcome of relationship marketing. A marketing network consists of the
company and its supporting stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, distributors, advertising
agencies, colleges and universities, and others – whose role is considered to be essential for success of
business. It is a permanent setup of relations with stakeholders. A good network of relationships with
key stakeholders results into excelling the marketing performance over time.

8. Market, Marketing, Marketer, and Prospect:-

In marketing management, frequently used words are markets, marketing, marketer, and prospects. A
market consists of all potential customers sharing a particular need or want who might be willing and
able to engage in exchange to satisfy this need or want.

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

Marketer is one who seeks one or more prospects (buyers) to engage in an exchange. Here, seller can
be marketer as he wants other to engage in an exchange. Normally, company or business unit can be
said as marketer.

Prospect is someone to whom the marketer identifies as potentially willing and able to engage in the
exchange. (In case of exchange between two companies, both can be said as prospects as well as
marketers). Generally, consumer or customer who buys product from a company for satisfying his needs
or wants can be said as the prospect.

The Elements of Marketing Mix:- Marketing involves much more than promotions because
companies think about everything from conception to marketing for creating a brand. You can achieve a
comprehensive marketing strategy using the marketing mix process.

What Is The Marketing Mix:- The marketing mix is a combination of actions that a company might take
to develop a brand or product. These are a set of processes that the company uses for promotional
purposes. The marketing mix is essential because it provides customers with a good understanding of
the product or service and facilitates successful product development. By this, companies can ensure
that they competitively price their products, adequately promote products and remain in demand.
It also helps companies ensure they can offer the right product, at the right time, at the right place for the
right price. Traditionally, companies execute the marketing mix through the four Ps of marketing.

What Are The Elements of The Marketing Mix:- Developing a company's marketing mix starts with
understanding the four Ps of marketing. The four Ps answer various questions that help create and
communicate a new product or service to the target audience. The four elements of the marketing mix
are:-

1. Product:- Product refers to the services or goods a company provides to satisfy the customers'
needs. Goods are tangible items such as shoes, clothes, furniture or electronic items, while
services involve performing actions like dry-cleaning, beauty parlour or home cleaning services.
Successful marketing involves understanding the product's life cycle and creating a plan. When
developing a product, plan for different challenges that you may encounter during the product
development stage. The product life cycle stage comprises the growth, maturity and decline
stages. When a product reaches the final or decline stage, the marketing mix helps you reinvent
the product or service to win the customer's trust. Some essential product questions that a
marketing mix can help answer are:-
 What is the customer's expectation from the product or service?
 How and where would the customer use the product?
 How do customers interact with the product or services?
 How is the product different from the competitor's product?
 What value is the product likely to create?
2. Price:- This element of the marketing mix focuses on how much money a consumer might pay
for a product or service. Price is an essential aspect of the marketing mix because it allows a
company to remain competitive while enjoying a good profit. Competitive pricing can influence
the branding of goods and services a company sells. Using the marketing mix strategy, a
business can calculate the optimal price for the product or services. A high price can discourage
prospective customers and a low price can result in a customer doubting the product or service
quality.
Some successful strategies for adjusting the product's price include running sales discounts,
establishing a credit policy and using coupons. Before pricing a product or service, a company
considers survival cost and profit maximisation. The marketing mix strategy allows you to
determine if discounting is appropriate for product pricing. Often, pricing reflects the customer's
perceived value of the product. Some pricing questions that a marketing mix can help answer
are:-
 What price is the customer willing to pay for the product or service?
 If the prices decrease, would the customers increase?
 How would consumers interact if the product prices increased marginally?
 How much does the product cost when compared to the competitors?
 Can a discount make a difference in the product's selling price?
3. Promotion:- Promotion involves using marketing techniques and strategies, explaining product
benefits to the customers and justifying why they pay a specific price for it. The goal of promoting
a product is to reveal the products or services to customers. Marketers tie the promotion and
placement elements, such as sales promotion and advertising, to reach their target audience.
Usually, the marketing mix uses four types of promotions, including sales promotion, public
relations or PR, direct marketing and advertising. The PR helps a company manage the
company's corporate image.
Advertising is the paid communication of services or products. While a sales promotion can help
in boosting short-term sales. Companies can use one or more promotion techniques to reach
their primary audience. For instance, companies can use PR and sales promotion or
advertisement with PR. Some essential promotion questions that a marketing mix can help
answer are:-
 What is the best time to promote?
 Which social media platform can you include in the marketing strategy?
  What type of content can you include?
 How can you encourage customers to review your products?
 How are your competitors promoting the product?
4. Place:- Place in the marketing mix strategy is about a company's distribution strategy. It primarily
entails knowing the area's best ideal for distributing a product. This also refers to placing
products in specific stores or acts of including products on a television show or website.
Companies can also use the marketing mix to place a product on the store's specific display.
This helps in ensuring that the company reaches the target audience. The four primary
placement marketing strategies are indirect, direct, dual distribution and reverse channel.
Indirect channels use intermediaries such as retailers or wholesalers who sell the products to
customers. A company uses direct and indirect placement strategies to reach its target audience
in a dual distributing strategy. Some essential place questions that a marketing mix can help
answer are:-
 Where do customers look for similar products and services?
 Where can you advertise to reach the target audience?
 In which events can you promote the products or services?
 From which physical or digital channels can you displace the competitor?

Three More Ps of The Marketing Mix:- You can use an additional three Ps for the marketing mix to
define the marketing strategy. The three additional Ps of the marketing mix are:-

5. People:- This marketing mix comprises people who work for the company and different
processes used to hire employees. People in the marketing mix refer to anyone involved in
designing, managing and selling products. It also involves employees who represent customers
and recruit and train employees. It is critical for a company's success because customers prefer
interacting with professional, polite and knowledgeable employees.
6. Physical evidence:- The marketing mix takes care of everything a customer sees and hears
about a company's product or services. The marketing mix accounts for tangible aspects such as
physical environment, packaging, quality, logo, website and branding. These elements provide
customers with the physical evidence required to ensure that a business is viable and legitimate.
Physical evidence can incorporate aspects that prove a brand exists and purchase happened.
7. Process:- The process involves how a business might run, how you deliver the service or
product, how you package the product and how customers go through the sales funnel and
shipping. When marketers explain the manufacturing and handling process, they can attract
more customers. This also increases transparency in the organisation and gives customers
insight into how you manufacture and produce the products.

What is customer value:-

Customer value is best defined as how much a product or service is worth to a customer. It’s a
measure of all the costs and benefits associated with a product or service.

Examples include price, quality, and what the product or service can do for that particular person. There
are also monetary, time, energy, and emotional costs that consumers consider when evaluating the
value of a purchase.

How is customer value created?

Customer value isn’t only about money. It’s typically created through the solution that a product or
service provides, not only to the buyer but to their organization as well. Keep in mind that customer
value is subjective. Price is universal—it will cost every customer the same amount to purchase your
product or service. But the value will be different for every buyer because it involves so many variables,
including customer experience.

For example, say you offer an ecommerce platform where businesses can post items for sale. You get
two new customers—an online-based corporation and a mom-and-pop shop that, until now, has been
brick and mortar. The cost is the same for both companies. But for the corporation, a new ecommerce
site in and of itself may not drastically change their business. For the mom-and-pop store, however,
going online could radically increase their sales. So, your company’s value will likely be much higher for
them than for the corporation.

Similarly, if you’re selling software to multiple companies, your customer value will be higher for a
business that relies on your product to run every department than for a business that only uses your
product within one department.

Why is customer value important?

Delivering customer value is key to maintaining long-term relationships with existing customers and
earning repeat business. It’s an important part of meeting customers’ needs and expectations and
learning how they change over time. Knowing how customers feel about your product and the service
experience you offer is key to building customer loyalty and increasing customer lifetime value. Quality
service can add customer value.

According to Customer Experience Trends Report:-

 93 percent of customers will spend more with companies that offer their preferred option to reach
customer service.
 90 percent of customers will spend more with companies that personalize the customer service
they offer them.
 64 percent of business leaders say that customer service has a positive impact on their
company’s growth.
 60 percent of business leaders say it improves customer retention
 47 percent of business leaders report an increase in their ability to cross-sell due to good
customer service.

How to measure customer value:- Customer value optimization starts with measuring it.

1. Ask customers a small set of questions:- To track customer value, you need to communicate
directly with your customers. Ask them how your business is providing value and how it can
continue to do so. Many companies opt to gather customer feedback by sending out regular
surveys via email or by calling customers directly. First, come up with a small set of questions
that will allow you to gauge the value you’re delivering. For example, you could ask customers
how your product or service helped them achieve their goals or how your company could
improve or provide more value.
2. Determine customer benefits and customer costs:- Along with qualitative questions, you
should also pose quantitative questions to evaluate the value of your products or services. To
get a sense of perceived value, you could ask buyers to rate how satisfied they were with their
purchase based on a scale from 1 to 5. Then, you can take the average numerical rating and
determine whether or not your company is delivering high value. Once you have your feedback,
create a list of the ways your team delivers—and doesn’t deliver—customer value.
3. Determine if the benefits outweigh the costs:- Finally, you can start to see whether the
benefits (like convenience, quality, and brand reputation) outweigh the costs (such as price, time
investment, and emotional stress). While it takes time and effort to measure your customer
value, the insights you’ll gain will be invaluable.

Customer value formula

Total Customer Benefits — Total Customer Costs = Customer Value

You’ll need to subtract total customer costs from total customer benefits. There are two key types of
customer benefits: product and/or service value and service experience value. Other types of customer
benefits can include social value, personal value, and psychological value. Since benefits (and costs)
tend to be qualitative, you’ll want to assign a metric to the different types of benefits and costs to see if
certain benefits outweigh certain costs. For example, numerous studies have identified customer service
as a benefit that outweighs price.

Benefits and costs can vary depending on the needs of a specific customer group. Customer personas,
journey maps, and support data can help you segment your customer base.

Tips for increasing customer value:- Acting on feedback is just as important as getting it. Taking
customer feedback seriously shows buyers that you care about them and are committed to providing a
good experience, which can help increase satisfaction. So, use feedback to identify areas of
improvement and formulate a plan for delivering more value. You may find that you need to:-

 Personalize your support interactions

 Provide multichannel support options
 Create a robust onboarding program
 Prioritize customer success
 Address patterns in support issues
 Make sure customers know you’ve heard them
 Find opportunities to surprise and delight
 Acknowledge and reward customer loyalty
 Give your customers a sense of community

Value Delivery:- Value Delivery is the process of providing value to customers by means of a
product or service. This involves developing the product, packaging it, promoting it, and distributing it
to customers in a manner that not only meets but also surpasses their expectations.

The essence of a value delivery system lies in comprehending the requirements of customers and
furnishing them with products and services that cater to those needs. The objective is to construct
something valuable for customers and explore means of delivering it promptly and at a reasonable cost.

What is Value Delivery:- Value delivery is a way of providing clients with solutions that go above
and beyond what they anticipated and add value to their lives while assuring complete
satisfaction and a high return on investment. For example, when a consumer purchases a laptop,
value delivery may entail giving them free software updates and longer warranties.

A business strategy that consistently works to provide its existing and potential customers extra value
frequently benefits from more income, faster growth, and better loyalty. It entails comprehending
consumer demands and providing timely, cost-effective, and personalized goods and services that
address those needs.

In order to optimize value, developing a value delivery system necessitates thorough planning and
evaluation of each business unit. It begins with a simple and clear company plan that is created with the
target market’s demands and preferences in mind.

Different Levels of Delivering Value:- Businesses need to deliver value to their customers at different
levels of their business. There are three levels of a business where value delivery works, and they are:–

 At the level of an organization or a business

 At the level of a department within the organization
 At the level of an individual employee

At the level of an organization or a business:- Value delivery at the organizational or company level
refers to the accomplishment of the organization’s goals and objectives. Additionally, it implies that the
business has the ability to recognize and cater to the wants and preferences of its clients. To guarantee
client happiness, the business should concentrate on offering the appropriate tools, procedures, and
assistance.

At the level of a department within an organization:- At this level, value delivery means that each
department has specific goals and objectives to achieve. This includes sales, customer service,
marketing, and other departments. Each of these departments should have a clear set of objectives and
strategies to meet those objectives. By focusing on each department’s goals, the company can deliver
value and ensure customer satisfaction.

At the level of an individual employee:- At this level, value delivery refers to each employee being
able to give consumers the finest experience possible on an individual basis. This entails being aware of
consumer wants and being capable of offering the ideal service or product to suit their needs. To
guarantee they are giving customers the greatest experience possible, staff members should be given
the proper equipment and resources.

Ultimately, the goal of value delivery is to ensure that an organization and its employees are focused on
meeting customer needs and delivering a satisfactory experience. The key to successful value delivery
is a well-thought-out strategy.

You need to decide how you’re going into the development of a unique solution that meets the needs of
your customers. Creation and support of the solution are important factors in successful value delivery.
Make sure you have a plan for each step in the process, from concept to delivery.

How to prepare yourself to Deliver Value:- To prepare for value delivery, product teams should
develop an understanding of their customer base, market dynamics, and pricing. They should also
create a sound product strategy that will help them determine the most effective way to deliver value
and ensure customers remain happy. Some of the steps that you need to follow are-

1. Aligning Your Team Around Delivering Value:- The first step to delivering value is to ensure
that the project teams, product managers, and product team all understand the objectives and
are aligned around these goals. This will help ensure that the product managers have a clear
understanding of how to deliver value and what the desired outcomes should be.
2. Be aware of the customer value proposition:- The next step is to ensure that the product
team and managers are aware of the customer value proposition. This involves understanding
what makes them purchase a product, their needs and wants, and how the product can fulfill
them. It also means understanding the current market share of competitors as well as what new
opportunities are available.
3. Analyzing Your Market:- Another important step in delivering value is to analyze the market
and determine what potential opportunities can be capitalized on. This includes researching the
competitive landscape, understanding customer preferences and market trends, as well as
looking at emerging markets and potential new products.
4. Building the right process and using the right tools:- Product teams also need to ensure that
they have the right tools and processes in place for delivering value. This includes selecting the
right project management system, developing a product roadmap and timeline, as well as
managing customer expectations. Having the proper resources in place will help to ensure that
the product team can deliver value efficiently and effectively.
5. Measuring and Monitoring Performance:- Product management teams should also be
monitoring and measuring the performance of their products. This includes tracking customer
satisfaction, market share, and revenue to determine if the value is being delivered as expected.
Using metrics such as those outlined in the Harvard Business Review article on the elements of
consumer value will help product teams assess the success of their product and identify areas
for improvement.

Value Delivery Process:-

1. Choosing which value is most important to customers:- To ensure your organization is
ready to deliver value, it is important to research and understand what matters most to
customers. This could be price, quality of the product or service, speed of delivery, convenience,
or even customer experience. It is essential to identify the key value for customers so that you
can focus efforts and resources on satisfying them and converting them into happy customers.
2. Delivering the value:- Developing a well-crafted marketing plan, implementing the appropriate
marketing mix, identifying target audiences, and other related tactics have made it simpler to
provide value to customers. The marketing industry has undergone significant changes, with
companies paying close attention to the strategies used by their marketing departments. As a
result, it has become easier to provide valuable marketing services. It is also important to ensure
that your organization is equipped with the necessary tools and resources to deliver value
effectively.
3. Communicating the value:- It is crucial to communicate the value to the customer after creating
the value delivery process. In today’s world, there is a significant amount of noise and customers
tend to ignore a message if it is not repeated multiple times. As a result, creating a promotion
mix and making sure that the customer recognizes the value offered is crucial. Businesses need
to ensure that customers understand the benefits of their product and how it will improve their
life.