Chapter 2 - Summary - belch and belch

THE ROLE OF IMC IN THE MARKETING PROCESS

Marketing strategies can influence the role of promotion and promotional decisions must be coordinated with other areas of the marketing mix. All elements of the marketing mix must be consistent in a strategic plan that results in an integrated marketing communications program. 

Opportunity Analysis:- Analysis of market for alternative market opportunities for existing product lines in current or new markets, new products for current markets, or new products for new markets. A market analysis will reveal areas where there is emerging demand or areas where customer needs are not being satisfied, and accordingly, a company may plan its marketing campaign.

Competitive Analysis: Companies have to factor in the products offered by competitors in the same category or substitutable categories and identify the competitive advantage their product offers the customer before launching their marketing campaign. Ways to achieve a competitive advantage include having quality products that command a premium price, providing superior customer service, having the lowest production costs and lower prices, or dominating channels of distribution. Competitive advantage can also be achieved through advertising that creates and maintains product differentiation and brand equity.

Target Marketing: After analyzing the market for opportunities and a thorough competitor analysis, the firm is now in a position to identify the specific customer group it wishes to cater to. Based on this target market, marketing strategies and objectives are set.

Steps to be undertaken under the target marketing process are:-

1)     Identifying markets with unfulfilled needs-Target market identification isolates consumers with similar lifestyles, needs, and the like, and increases our knowledge of their specific requirements.

2)     Determining market segmentation:- Markets can be segmented on the basis of customer characteristics like demography which include gender, age, race; geography which include factors like region, city size; socio-economic factors which include income, education; and psychographic factors which include personality, values, lifestyle. Markets can also be segmented on the basis of buying situations like outlet type, benefits sought, usage, awareness and behavior.

3)     Select target market- The firm here decides how many segments to cater to and which segment offers maximum potential.

4)     Positioning- Marketers position products with respect to product specific benefits or with respect to the competition. Positioning could be by product attributes, price, quality, use, product class, user, cultural symbols etc.

Developing Marketing Planning Program:-

1)     Product Decisions:- These include decisions with respect to the bundle of values that the product brings to the customer and may include aspects like branding, packaging etc.

2)     Price Decisions:- Factors such as product, quality, competition, and advertising all interact in determining what price a firm can and should charge.

3)     Distribution Channel Decision:- Channel decisions involve selecting, managing, and motivating intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors, brokers, and retailers that help a firm make a product or service available to customers. These intermediaries, sometimes called resellers, are critical to the success of a company’s marketing program.

4)     Developing Promotional Strategies: This involves deciding if the promotional strategy must be push based, or pull based. The choice between selling and marketing.

After a company applies the model presented above, it uses a mix of marketing tools like advertising and sales promotion to fulfill the marketing strategy.