Short Answers to Marketing Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Short Answers to Marketing Questions - Essay Example Pricing involves deciding the right price on the basis of competition and desired margins. Besides, planning marketing strategy is an overriding function of marketing management where planning for various marketing activities is done in accordance with organizational goals. 2. Developing a new product generally involves seven steps. The first step is the idea generation where the idea may be regarding a new innovation or customization of an existing product to new market, target segment or geography. The second step is screening where useful ideas are shortlisted from a large number of ideas. In the third step, the testing of the idea or concept is performed. Fourth step involves financial and technical analysis of the prospective product. The fifth step is the actual development or design of the new product. In the next step, test marketing is done on a focus group or selected markets. The last step is the commercialization of the product which is also called Go to Market. 3. The pr oduct life cycle shows the path of a product in an industry through 4 stages. Consider the example of an electronic product such as a mobile phone. A new mobile phone is introduced into the market in its first stage with a lot of marketing hype to make it attractive to customers. As customers buy it and realize its benefits, more customers buy the mobile phone leading the product towards a growth stage. After the product sales reach a peak, it is no longer very attractive to customers because of introduction of new advanced products and technologies by competitors. The product reaches a maturity stage. Finally, the mobile phone is no longer attractive to customers. Its features become obsolete. It reaches a decline stage and is phased out of the market. 4. An organization can primarily use 4 promotional methods in its promotion mix. Advertising involves non-personal communication through mass media. For example, advertisement of a soap over TV. Personal selling is aimed at informing and convincing customers personally to buy products. For example, Sales representatives selling credit cards. Public relations include maintaining indirect relations with customers through useful sources such as favorable articles in newspapers. Sales promotion contains activities such as providing incentives and gift vouchers to boost sales. 5. While creating an advertising campaign, the company firstly needs to identify the target audience. Secondly, the company must decide the quantifiable objectives to be conveyed to the prospective customers as a result of the campaign. Thirdly, the organization must create the advertising platform containing issues important to both company and the customers. Thereafter, the organization needs to decide the money to be spent and the media forms to be used. Lastly, the company must decide how to measure the advertising effectiveness. 6. Public relations are a set of communication steps taken by an organization to maintain a healthy relationshi p between itself and its various stakeholders. A company can reach almost anyone through public relations. For example, a positive newspaper article describing the efficient manufacturing process in a steel factory can go a long way in establish good relations with customers, shareholders, government, environmental regulatory agencies, NGOs, suppliers and so on. 7. The competition between two or more firms is said to be price competition when the