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Importance of strategic marketing in an organization
Nature and importance of marketing
Segmentation and the marketing mix
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Recommended: Importance of strategic marketing in an organization
When developing a marketing strategy, firms must take into account market segmentation, market targeting, differentiation, and positioning. In this short paper, I’ll take unpack these terms in order to explain their importance in order to make a firm’s marketing strategy effective. In marketing segmentation, the first step of the marketing process, a firm must divide its potential clients into different segments based on their wants and needs (Kotler & Armstrong 2012). Because of their different wants and needs, these market segments may need “separate products or marketing programs.” (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012) These distinct segments vary depending on the product. For example, high-earning clients and low-earning clients would be distinct …show more content…
(Kotler & Armstrong, 2012) One strategy for this would be to explain how the product is different from other products and explain how a customer’s needs should push them in the direction of one product over another. Another strategy is to separate the customers based on self-identity and direct marketing efforts based on these concepts of self. Most notably, Apple computers have done this in their separation of Mac people and PC people. Though this marketing strategy was very effective, by focusing on the consumer herself rather than the product, the company took a substantial risk, as one researcher points out “If identity marketing comes on too strong, they theorized, it could threaten consumers’ sense of agency in choosing the brand, wiping away the self-expressive meaning of this choice. This may cause consumers to reassert their free will by rebelling against the brand, in spite of it fitting them so well.” (Kardashian, 2015) Differentiation, like any strategy in marketing can be useful, but it must be done in a manner that does not come off as …show more content…
Like differentiation, positioning depends on a customer’s understanding of a brand or product relative to competing products within the market. The difference between differentiation and positioning is that in differentiation the brand is set apart from competing brands, but in positioning the brand is juxtaposed relative to similar brands and products. Both concepts require a value judgement of the brand within the market. (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). The key importance of both positioning and differentiation for a marketing strategy is establishing the value of a product in the minds of a consumer relative to other products. When a customer knows how well a product stacks up against the competition, she has more of a reason to choose it over the
Market research provides information to help unravel marketing obstacles that businesses face in today’s business climate, an essential part of the business planning process. As shown in the example certain strategies such as segmentation or differentiation are almost unattainable without relevant market research.
Adopting a strategy of differentiation makes firms provide products and services what are distinct in some way valued by customers.
Segmentation, targeting and positioning are the fundament of modern marketing (Proctor, 2002, p. 188, as cited in Harris and Schaefer, 2015).
Many factors should be addressed when defining a target market. These factors include market segmentation, product life cycle, and the four "P's" that make the marketing mix. Market segmentation is the process of dividing a total market into market groups consisting of people who have relatively similar product wants and needs. There are four major segmentation variables: geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral. Geographic segmentation includes world region, country region, city, density, or climate. Demographic segmentation can consist of age, gender, income, occupation, education, race, religion, or nationality. Social class, lifestyle, and personality fall into the psychographic segment. The behavioral segment divides buyers into groups based on their knowledge, attitudes, uses, or responses to a product (Bethel, 2007). Once the market segment is identified, that market can be targeted.
It has been observed since the inception of Marketing that marketers target to only specific market and how they identify such market. There are certain criteria or base they use to identify the consumers who they would be serving to. Customers do have unique requirements satisfaction levels and aspirations. Some customers however are similar with respect to their requirements of goods and services. In such case if their needs are identified and they can be grouped in quantities of a specific size then it can be segmented. Now each customer group have specific expectations and businesses must cater to the needs of the segmented that has been targeted.
Segmentation is a marketing strategy that involves separating a wide target market into small groups of customers who share the common need of using or purchasing the product that needs to be marketed. Market segmentation strategies are utilized to identify these groups of consumers and strategies are designed and implemented to make the product or service appeal to them. Support and also the product will be strategically placed in order to successfully achieve the ultimate marketing goal. Businesses and organizations may come up with different type of strategies involving different products and catchy phrases depending on the product or the target segment.
Tanner and Raymond (2014) describe branding activity as “strategies that are designed to create an image and position in the consumers’ minds” (c.6). When branding messages coincide with its offerings’ characteristics, it establishes consumer trust, and brand strength. For example, when first introducing Dove brand in 1957, by labeling its product as a “beauty cleansing bar . . . [with] ¼ moisturizing cream, that rinses cleaner than soap” (Unilever, 2016), we can see that marketers associated the brand to moisturizing and beauty, and disassociated the brand from common soap. Over the years, this consistent message coinciding with product performance has strengthened the Dove brand. Strong brand equity is derived from consistent, strategic branding that establishes perceived quality and emotional attachment (Entrepreneur, 2016); therefore, consumers are more likely to pay higher prices, as well as purchase new offerings connected to the
In the modern world of conducting business, any company that wishes to succeed must differentiate its products or services from others in the industry. Differentiation makes it possible for consumers to point out notable differences between one company’s products as compared to those of competitors. Differentiation helps companies build brand loyalty as the uniqueness keeps customers fixed on a particular product. BMW is one of the most popular automakers in the world today. It definitely uses differentiation as a strategy to beat off competition by building products that are innovative, detailed and incomparable to those of competitors.
As noticed earlier, the formulation of a marketing positioning strategy needs dedication and work from the respective strategist, like patience, creativity, ability, imagination and sheer instinct. It also requires awareness that some times, the best strategy might be not to enter the market.
Dickson, P. R., & Ginter, J. L. (1987). Market segmentation, product differentiation, and marketing strategy. Journal of Marketing, 51(2(April 1987)), 1-10. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1251125
Targeting is the part of marketing strategy, along with segmentation and positioning, which revolves around the customer’s value and relationship. Therefore, the need to evaluate the various segments in the market such as group or organizations, needs the product or services, to be specially designed to satisfy with help of one or more segments to enter the market. Therefore, marketers need to identify and reviews the unique group of buyers who differ in their needs and preferences. And each segment that is chosen to target, the marketer needs to establish and communicate the unique benefits of the company or product or services, that is been offered in comparison to its competitors in the market.
This is based on the fact, that the small market volume does not enable brands a dynamic development of its positioning. At the opposite extreme, there are markets, which are constantly subjected to change in customers’ needs and preferences. The increasing heterogeneity of this kind of markets represents a challenging aspect for a positioning and requires high individualization (cf. Feddersen 2013, p. 54).
Market segmentation means dividing the market into distinct groups that have common needs and will respond similarly to marketing action. Each segment must be unique, have common needs, and respond in a similar manner to marketing efforts. Target market is the group of potential customer that has been selected by business to focus its marketing efforts towards. This is the group the business wants to sell its products/services to. Positioning refers to the image created in the minds of customer of its product or brand. It is a perception created in the minds of the consumer relative to that of its competitors.
Product positioning is to use certain features of the product to position against the product of competitor. With the help of this marketing activity, marketers can attract more customers by focusing of special features of their product.
Product differentiation also can be as the promotion that is the process of distinguishing a product or service from others, to make it more attractive to a particular target market. This involves differentiating it from competitors' products as well as a firm's own products. The example of product differentiation is brand names, strong dealer network, product reliability, image and services. Rejoice use a salon- smooth hair for a “Haba ng hair” (long hair) moment. Image of Rejoice also is different from other product. So, a customer can distinguish from the out looking of Rejoice. They must do the innovation to the product that can attract customer to buy the product. There are many types of Rejoice product that we call the product line and product