SOCIAL MEDIA

MARKETING CSA3068
Module:1: Role of Marketing, Consumers and Consumption, Segmentation, Targeting
and Positioning, Designing Products and Services, Pricing and Channels, Using
Communication to Engage Customers, Introduction to Digital Marketing Basics, Digital vs.
Traditional Marketing
 Marketing plays an essential role in a business.
 Without this department, businesses cannot sell products.
 In fact, the company’s products do not sell because they are not by consumer needs.
 The marketing department also plays a strategic role in maintaining strong customer
relationships.
Why is the marketing department so vital to a company?

 First, this department identifies customer needs, either current needs or future needs.
This task is their domain.
 From this task, the team then decides on the right marketing mix.
 they decide what product to sell,
 at what price, and
 how to promote and deliver it to customers.
 Second, the marketing team is trying to increase customer awareness of the company’s
products.
 So, they are interested in buying.
 And after buying, they come back at a later date to buy again.
 Third, the marketing team struggles to sell as many products as possible to get
maximum revenue.
 Fourth, the marketing department is tasked with increasing or maintaining market
share.
 This task is related to how money continues to flow into the company.
four main roles of marketing

1. Identifying consumer needs

2. Satisfying customer needs
3. Maintaining customer loyalty
4. Building customer relationships
Identifying consumer needs

 The marketing team finds out about what consumers need and want.
 It is not only related to the product and its technical aspects like the design or other features.
But it’s wider.
 For example, the marketing team learns about consumers’ ability and willingness to pay.
Then, they mapped out where and how consumers typically buy.
 In general, identifying customer needs aims to:
• Ensuring products stay focused on customer needs.
• Identifying consumers’ explicit and implicit needs and finding opportunities for new
products.
Satisfying customer needs

 Customer satisfaction is about how well the company meets customer expectations.
Customers are satisfied, at least if the company can meet their expectations. It doesn’t
just talk about the product but also other aspects, such as the customer experience while
using and interacting with the company’s salespeople.
 Satisfied customers are important to maximize sales. When customers are satisfied,
they buy. And after some time, they buy again. As a result, customer satisfaction will
flow to the company on an ongoing basis.
How does the company satisfy customer needs?

1. What kind of product should be sold? What features are customers interested in?
2. What price should be charged for each customer?
3. How do we effectively promote products and attract consumers to buy?
4. How to make sure products are available when customers need them?
Maintaining customer loyalty
 Satisfying customer needs is the first step. And encouraging their loyalty is the next step.
 Customer loyalty is about how the customer and company are emotionally attached to its
products. It then manifests in how willing customers are to repeatedly buy and engage more
deeply.
 Loyal customers are important to the company as it leads to more profits. Companies can
continue to sell products even when they cannot acquire new customers. For example,
when the industry is mature, it is difficult for companies to find new customers in the
existing market. They survive in the industry, relying solely on repeat purchases from
existing customers.
 In addition, repeat purchases are cheaper than acquiring new customers. For example, it
does not require intensive promotion to encourage potential customers to buy.
 So, how does the company encourage existing customers to be loyal? Conceptually, it is
easy, i.e., by always giving the best to the customer. Companies consistently offer a unique
selling proposition. This requires companies to continuously adapt to competitive and
customer needs changes. Thus, the unique selling proposition remains relevant over time.
Building customer relationships

 Building strong relationships is vital to driving their satisfaction and loyalty. This effort
is not only done after the customer buys, is satisfied, and repurchases. But, it lasted
since they were aware of the company’s offerings. For example, impressions and
relationships are created when potential customers interact with salespeople. But, it
may last a short time because they don’t like it and choose a competitor’s product.
marketing strategy

 A marketing strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a specific marketing-

related goal or set of goals. Marketing strategies are typically developed with the help
of market research and target audience analysis.
 Once a marketing strategy has been developed, it will be implemented through various
marketing channels, including advertising, public relations, and online marketing.
 One of the first things to do is carry out some market research. This will help you to
understand the current state of your industry and will allow you to identify the potential
opportunities and threats that may be present in your market.
 It can also be used to identify your target audience. There are different types of market
research you can conduct.
 Primary research is where you speak directly to customers and understand their needs,
while secondary research looks at data and statistics from your industry.
 You can also conduct qualitative or quantitative research to understand your industry
better. Depending on your marketing strategy, you may want to focus on one type of
research or a combination of them all.
Key pillars of marketing strategy

 There are four key pillars of marketing strategy: product, price, promotion, and place.
 Product: Ensure you have the right products or services to meet your customer’s needs.
 Price: Set the right price for your products or services, which requires analyzing your
costs, your competition’s prices, and the pricing of similar products or services.
 Promotion: Get the word out about your products or services. This can involve
everything from advertising to public relations to direct marketing.
 Place: Make sure your products or services are available where your customers want
them. The place is about choosing suitable retail locations or developing an effective e-
commerce presence.
 E-Business is conducting business on the Internet, in addition to the E-Commerce
transactions of buying and selling of goods and services.

Online business suggests using the Internet and the web for bargains and also
business trades, which regularly incorporate the exchanging of huge worth (e.g., cash)
across progressive or solitary cutoff points as a compromise for things and
organizations. Here we revolve around painstakingly enabled business trades among
affiliations and individuals.
 e-commerce is a subset of online business, which typifies all "trade" led through the Internet.
It alludes to that piece of web-based business that involves the offer of item stock and does
exclude offer of administrations, specifically railroad tickets, aircrafts tickets and occupation
entrances.

 There are three types of destinations that cater to retail sales:

 i. Traditional retail- brick-and-mortar

 ii. Corporatized retail- brick-and-mortar

 iii. Corporatized retail- e-tailing

The Internet and the Web

 The Internet was considered in 1969, when the Advanced Research Projects Agency (a
Department of Defense association) financed exploration of PC organizing. The
Internet could wind up like EDI without the development of the World Wide Web in
1990s.
 The Web turned into a famous standard medium (saw as the fourth standard medium
notwithstanding print, radio and TV) in a speed which had never been seen. The Web
clients and substance were nearly multiplied a few months in 1995 and 1996.
 E-Commerce can be classified based on
1. • Participants
2. • Task (or)
3. • Technology.
According to participants it can be classified as:
4. • B2B
5. • B2C
6. • C2B
7. • C2C
8. • P2P
9. • Non-business EC
10. • Intra-business (organizational) EC
11. • Business-to-employees (B2E): This is a subset of the intra-business category,
where the organization delivers services, information or products to individual
employees
12. • Government-to-citizen (G2C)
13. • Mobile commerce (m-commerce)
Business models related to e commerce
 eCommerce is typically classified into three different models based on the type of participants involved in
the transaction: B2B, B2C, and C2C. Broadly speaking these business models are:

1. B2B is when organizations offer to different organizations. This is run of the mill of writing material stores
who sell office hardware in mass to organizations. Typically, B2B organizations give a limited rate for
every unit if clients purchase in mass which it is incredible inspiration for workplaces to benefit of
Business to Consumer (B2C)

2. B2C is the most generally considered plan of action where dealers offer to shoppers who purchase a
modest quantity of produce. A recognizable illustration of the B2C model would be stores where buyers
purchase their shopping week by week yet they wouldn't ordinarily mass purchase anything.

3. Consumer to Consumer (C2C): C2C is a generally new plan of action where shoppers who recently
purchased something try to exchange this thing to another buyer. Through commercial centers like eBay
and Amazon, this can be simple and very worthwhile for selling things that you presently don't need.
 Electronic Tendering Systems

Large organizational buyers, private or public, usually make large-volume or large-value

purchases through a tendering (bidding) system, also known as a reverse auction. (e.g.
General Electric Corp.)

Name your Own Price

 This model allows the user to set the price he or she is willing to pay for a specific
product or service. (e.g. Priceline.com)
 Find the best Price

Also known as search engine model wherein a customer may specify his/her need and then
an intermediate company such as Hotwire.com matches the customer’s need against a
database, locates the lowest price, and submits it to the consumer.

Affiliate Marketing

 Here it refers to a marketing partner (a business, an organization, or even an individual)

referring consumers to a selling company’s website.

Viral Marketing

 An organization can increase brand awareness or even generate sales by inducing

people to send messages to other people or to recruit friends to join certain programs.
 Group Purchasing

This is sometimes called volume-buying model, where discounts are usually available for
purchasing large quantities. (e.g. letsbuyit.com)

 Online Auctions, Product and Service Customization, Information Brokers. Bartering,

Deep Discounting, Membership, Information brokers Value-Chain Integrators , Value-
Chain Service Providers, Supply Chain Improvers are other forms of Business models.
E-Commerce – Objectives
The various objectives of the e-commerce can be laid down as follows:

 Improvement of Business-Relationship:

The business progression ought to be conceivable through the web business being the fundamental and
the principal thing. As their nearby contact in the association and the purchaser, their business
relationship will be overhauled. Along these lines the space of the market can be extended.

 Better-Customer Service:

As it is done relentless, the customer will reliably have online help as for the things. As all the
information is equipped to the customer, it ends up being not hard to him to pick the best thing among
any leftover different alternatives. As even the assistance ought to moreover be conceivable through
the net rapidly, the customer care will be expanded. By including the customer care, the associations
are endeavoring to abuse a lion-share keeping watch.
Pure vs. Partial EC

 Purely physical organizations (companies) are referred to as brick-and-mortar (or old-economy)

organizations. Companies that are engaged only in EC are considered virtual or pure-play
organizations.

 Click-and-mortar (or click-and-brick) organizations are those that conduct some EC activities, but
conduct their primary business in the physical world.

 Electronic market (or e-marketplace)?

E-market is an online marketplace where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods, services, money, or
information.
E-Commerce – Essentials and Procedures
 E-commerce operates digitally. It has some unique ways to put a business transaction in place.

 1. Product/Service:

For E-commerce to happen there should be a prod­uct or service that has value and for which someone is willing to pay a
price. If this criterion is met, then you can sell anything on ecommerce websites—gadgets, books, automobiles, grocery,
toys, apparel, vegetables and digital goods such as music, e-books, software, air tickets, magazine subscriptions and the
like.

 2. Processing Mechanism:

The ecommerce website of a company should put an easy process in place so that the customer browsing through the
site can place an order. The software that makes this happen is called a shopping cart.

 3. Payment Gateway:

Once the customer fills the cart with items that he or she has shopped, the site should take the customer towards the
payment gateway, which collects money electronically. If the product is downloadable such as music, e-book etc., the
website must also provide for that after accepting payment from customer.
4. Delivery of Product:

 Once customers make the payment, the e-com­merce site must ensure the delivery of product in
good condition on time. Logistics is a specialized function, so most sellers outsource it to third
party logistics providers. Like Amazon using the services of FedEx.

5. After Sale Service:

 Customers need to be serviced pre-sales as well as post sales. Before the sale, customers might
have queries about product features that are not mentioned on the website. They might have ques­
tions about customization and accessories. After the sale, customers might have queries related to
the usage, repair or enhancement of the products or services that they have already purchased.

6. Reverse Logistics:

 There is no guarantee of supplying an error-free product. If products get damaged or stop

functioning after a while, or a wrong product is delivered—the ecommerce seller must ensure the
flow of products in the reverse direction—known as reverse logistics—where goods flow from
customer to the seller.
MARKETING STARTEGIES

 The right mix of product, price, promotion and place strategies will vary depending on
your business and your customers.
 But all four key pillars of marketing strategy are essential to consider when developing
a comprehensive marketing plan.
 There are many marketing strategies.
10 Most Important Types of Marketing Strategies in
2022
1. Digital Marketing Strategy
 A digital marketing strategy is a plan that businesses use to market their products or
services online. This can include content marketing, social media marketing, and email
marketing.
 A digital marketing strategy should be designed to achieve specific business goals, such
as increasing website traffic or boosting online sales. To create an effective digital
marketing strategy, businesses need to understand their target audience and what needs
or wants they have.
 They must also set realistic goals and objectives for their digital marketing campaign.
Once these things are in place, businesses can develop their digital marketing strategy.
2. Email Marketing Strategy

 Email marketing strategy is a subset of digital marketing. Still, it needs to be explained

in detail as it can be an excellent and cost-effective way to reach out to potential
customers and build relationships with existing ones.
 However, a few things to keep in mind when developing an email marketing strategy.
• First, ensure that your email list is accurate and up to date is essential. Inaccurate email
lists can lead to undeliverable emails, damaging your reputation, and losing customers.
• Second, it’s crucial to segment your email list so that you can send targeted messages to
specific groups of people. Segmenting your email list will help you better customize
your messages and ensure they are relevant to your recipients’ interests.
3. Content marketing strategy

 Any company that wants to succeed in this digital era must have a solid content
marketing strategy. This strategy should be based on the company’s business goals and
lay out a clear plan for how the company will use content to achieve those goals.
 Without a content marketing strategy, it won’t be easy to measure the success of
content marketing campaigns. The company will likely waste a lot of time and money
on content that doesn’t help them achieve their objectives.
 A content marketing strategy can help a company to focus their content creation efforts,
target their audience more effectively, and measure the results of their campaigns so
that they can adjust their approach as needed.
 Content marketing is the development and distribution of relevant, useful content—
blogs, newsletters, white papers, social media posts, emails, videos, and the like—to
current and potential customers. When it’s done right, this content conveys expertise
and makes it clear that a company values the people to whom it sells.
 Content marketing is a marketing strategy used to attract, engage, and retain an
audience by creating and sharing relevant articles, videos, podcasts, and other media.
4. Inbound Marketing Strategy

 An inbound marketing strategy is a comprehensive plan for driving traffic, engagement,

and conversions. According to the Search Engine Journal,
inbound leads cost 60% less than outbound leads. This makes it very important for any
business to generate leads through Inbound Marketing.
 Inbound Marketing begins with identifying your target audience and understanding
their needs and pain points. Once you know who you’re catering to, you can create
targeted content that speaks to their interests.
 This content should be distributed across various channels, including your website,
blog, social media, and email. Additionally, it would be best to have a call-to-
action(CTA) at the end of each piece of content to encourage the reader to take action.
 A call to action, or CTA, is a clickable element that is very often found on the pages of
websites, but also in blog articles or in emails. The goal is to influence Internet users to
carry out a specific action as part of a marketing strategy, and useful to advance them in
their conversion process.
 Like what:
• Download a guide,
• Register for a webinar,
• Subscribe to a newsletter,
• Request a demo, ...
 A CTA can take several forms: an image, a button, a pop-up, a link, etc... It most often
refers to a landing page dedicated to the offer initially proposed by the CTA (example:
download of a white paper, registration for a webinar, appointment request, ...).
5. Social Media Marketing Strategy

 Social media marketing uses platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to build
relationships and interact with potential and current customers. Social Media is a subset
of Digital marketing, but it needs to be discussed separately as we live in a socially
connected world.
 When done correctly, social media marketing can effectively reach new customers,
engage with existing ones, and build brand loyalty. However, social media marketing
takes more than creating a profile and posting updates.
 To succeed, businesses need a well-thought-out social media marketing strategy that
considers their goals, target audience, and available resources. Without a clear plan,
companies will likely waste time and money on social media without seeing any
results.
6. Marketing Communications Strategy

 A marketing communications strategy is how a company’s marketing team decides to communicate

with its target audience. The plan should consider the company’s goals, budget, and target audience.
 It should also be aligned with the overall marketing strategy. Many different channels can be used
for marketing communications, such as advertising, public relations, events, and digital marketing.
The key is to select the channels that will be most effective for reaching the target audience.
 In some cases, a multi-channel approach may be best. Once the channels have been selected, the
next step is to develop messages that align with the company’s brand and resonate with the target
audience.
 The final step is to execute the plan and track the results to ensure that the desired outcomes are
achieved. A marketing communications strategy is integral to any marketing plan and can be a
powerful tool for success.
7. Paid Advertising

 Paid advertising is a form of marketing in which businesses pay to have their products
or services advertised. This can take many forms, from paid placement in search
engines to paid sponsorships of websites or online events.
 Paid advertising can be an effective way to reach a large audience with a focused
message, and it can be a valuable part of any marketing strategy.
 However, before committing to any campaign, it is crucial to consider the costs and
benefits of paid advertising. Otherwise, you may spend more money than expected with
little to show.
8. PR marketing strategy

 Public relations marketing is a strategy that uses Public Relations techniques to

influence perceptions, build credibility and create a positive image for a company or
organization.
 Public relations marketing is about using the media to generate positive exposure for a
company. It can achieve various objectives, including increasing brand awareness,
establishing thought leadership, generating sales leads, or building relationships with
key stakeholders.
 Public relations can effectively reach target audiences and complement other marketing
activities such as advertising, digital marketing, or direct marketing.
9. Word-of-mouth marketing

 Word of mouth marketing is one of the most powerful tools available to businesses. After
all, nothing is more convincing than a personal recommendation from a friend or family
member.
 And yet, word-of-mouth marketing is often overlooked in favor of more traditional
advertising methods. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to encourage word-
of-mouth marketing, and the best part is that it doesn’t have to be expensive. Here are a
few tips:
• Make it easy for customers to share their positive experiences with your business. This
could include providing social media buttons on your website or setting up an online
review system.
• Reward customers who refer new business to you. This could be in the form of a discount
or a free product.
10. Influencer Marketing Strategy

 Influencer marketing strategy is a framework that organizations use to identify, engage

and activate influencers to achieve business objectives through influencer marketing
programs.
 With the rise of social media platforms, brands can no longer avoid influencer
marketing. Once considered something that’s just nice to have, influencer marketing is
fast becoming an essential component in a brand’s marketing arsenal.
 The influencer marketing strategy should support the organization’s business
objectives. It should also be aligned with the organization’s brand identity and values.
 The influencer marketing strategy should take into account the following:
• The organization’s business objectives
• The target audience
• The influencers that best align with the organization’s brand identity and values
• The type of influencer relationships that best support the organization’s business
objectives
• The goals and metrics for measuring success.
 If you play the right cards, influencer marketing can help amplify brand awareness,
improve credibility, reach the target audience, and boost conversions.
Consumers and Consumption

What is Consumerism
 Consumerism is a cultural and social phenomenon that emphasizes the
acquisition and consumption of goods and services as a central part of our
identity and social status.
 According to this theory, increasing the consumption of goods is
economically desirable. It also describes the tendency of people living in a
capitalist economy to engage in a lifestyle of excessive materialism, which
revolves around wasteful or conspicuous overconsumption.
 Moreover, it is often characterized by a focus on materialism, status, and
the accumulation of goods, often at the expense of social and
environmental considerations.
 What is Consumption
 Consumption is the process of using goods and services for personal
satisfaction or needs. It is a fundamental human need and plays a
significant role in shaping our lifestyles, culture, and economy.
 Consumption is a basic human need since it involves acquiring and using
goods and services to meet our needs and wants. Basic needs include food,
clothing, shelter, and healthcare, while wants may include entertainment,
hobbies, and leisure activities.
STP Marketing: Segmentation, Targeting and
Positioning

 The STP Marketing Model can be utilized for assessing how you communicate the
advantages and worth of your product to various segments and enhancing your product
offering.
 The acronym STP stands for the following three steps in marketing strategy –
• Segment your market,
• Target your best customers, and
• Position your offering.
 For example, a smartphone company might segment its market into age groups like
teenagers, adults, and seniors. Based on the target market, they can then determine
which product features to provide that will be most suitable for their target audience.
Finally, by highlighting its benefits and value, they will position their product in the
market.
STP Marketing?

 The STP marketing model is composed of three steps: Segmentation, Targeting, and
Positioning. This model analyzes your products or services and how you promote their
advantages to particular groups of customers.
 Simply put, the STP marketing model involves dividing your market into segments,
directing marketing efforts towards specific customer groups based on their
preferences, and adapting your brand positioning to meet their expectations.
 The model can be helpful in identifying your most valuable customer types. Then, you
can create products and marketing messages specific to each group. This approach can
improve your engagement with the target audience, personalize your messaging, and
boost your sales.
STP Marketing Model as a Planning Tool
 Applying the STP Model
 Step 1 – Segment Your Market
 To effectively meet the needs of different customers, it’s important to use
market segmentation. This means dividing your customers into groups based on
common characteristics and needs. By tailoring your approach to each group, you’ll
have an advantage over competitors who use a universal approach for all customers.
You can segment your target markets in various ways –
• Demographic segmentation
• Geographic segmentation
• Psychographic segmentation
• Behavioral segmentation
For example, if you’re marketing a new car model, you might want to target people in a
certain age range or with a certain income level.
Step 2 – Target the Right Customers
 After dividing your market into segments, you need to identify the customer segment(s)
with the highest value and focus on targeting them.
 To determine the most profitable group, you must identify the segments that will yield
the highest return.
 There are various factors that you should take into account for this decision –
1. The profitability of each segment – Which customer groups are the biggest contributors
to your profit?
2. The size and potential growth of each customer group – Is the market large enough to
justify attention? Can it experience consistent growth? How does it compare to other
market segments?
3. How well your organization can service this market – Could there be any legal,
technological, or social factors that may affect our operations? It would be helpful to
conduct An analysis for each segment to identify possible opportunities and threats.
Step 3 – Position Your Offering

 To effectively target valuable customer segments, you must determine the functional
positioning strategy for your product. Additionally, you need to choose which
marketing mix will be most effective for each targeted segment.
 To attract potential customers, it is important to highlight the distinctive advantages and
characteristics of your product as compared to your competitors while making decisions
regarding the product positioning map.
 To improve your product’s positioning, start by figuring out its unique selling point. Then,
make a positioning map to see how different customer segments view your product. This
will enable you to make informed decisions about how to position your product effectively.
 To better understand the wants and needs of different groups, identify the problem your
product solves for them. Then, create a clear value proposition that highlights how your
product addresses this problem better than competitors, and develop a marketing campaign
that effectively communicates this value proposition to your target audience.
Applying Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning to
Digital Communications

 In digital marketing, having an effective strategy requires incorporating segmentation,

targeting, and positioning. It’s important to create content that has a clear goal and is
specifically tailored to the preferences and needs of your target customer group.
 Digital marketers can use marketing personas to improve communication relevance at a
tactical level, just like in STP marketing. This can be observed through different email
customer segmentation methods.
 Before launching online campaigns to attract customers, it is important to grasp their
online behavior. This includes identifying the platforms and channels they use, where
they spend most of their time online, and the type of content that engages them. Utilize
this knowledge to craft campaigns that are tailored to the specific preferences of your
target customer segments.
 To understand the STP process, let’s go through an example to understand the
role of segmenting, doing target market research, and analyzing positioning factors –
Starbucks STP
 Starbucks is an example of a company that has utilized effective STP strategies. They have
carefully targeted and positioned themselves as the go-to destination for coffee drinkers
looking for high-quality beverages, snacks, and experiences.
 By offering a variety of products and services to meet different needs, they are able to
appeal to a wide range of customers. Starbucks also offers a loyalty program, which is
designed to reward loyal customers and keep them coming back.
 Additionally, they have positioned themselves as a place for people to come together and
relax, appealing to those who may just need a break from their day or want to socialize
with friends. By utilizing an effective STP strategy, Starbucks has been able to become one
of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Assignment

 Walmart STP
 Airbnb STP
 Benefits of STP Marketing
 Using STP (Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning) in marketing can help you create
tailored and effective marketing communications.
 Instead of creating broad messaging that appeals to a wide audience, you can create
personalized messaging that appeals to the specific niche you have chosen to target.
The marketing campaign will likely achieve better results, with increased engagement
from the target audience, a higher rate of sales conversions, and optimized
brand loyalty.
 Marketing analytics plays a crucial role in creating and accurately analyzing market
segments for STP in marketing, just like many other marketing processes. To create
effective marketing campaigns, marketers will require marketing analytics software
that can examine particular demographic and behavioral information in depth.
Designing Products and Services

 New products and services are the lifeblood of all businesses. Investing in their
development isn't an optional extra - it is crucial to business growth and
profitability.
 planned and phased development process
• The lifecycle of products and services
• Developing your ideas
• Match products and services to market needs
• Pricing your proposed service or product
• The project development process
• Creating a project team
• Investment and cost control
• Manage a development project
The lifecycle of products and services
 There are five key stages in the lifecycle of any product or service.
1. Development - at this point your product or service is only an idea. You're investing
heavily in research and development.
2. Introduction - you launch your product or service. You're spending heavily on
marketing.
3. Growth - your product or service is establishing itself. You have few competitors,
sales are growing and profit margins are good. Now's the time to work out how you
can reduce the costs of delivering the new product.
4. Maturity - sales growth is slowing or has even stopped. You've been able to
reduce production and marketing costs, but increased competition has driven down
prices. Now is likely to be the best time to invest in a new product.
5. Decline - new and improved products or services are on the market and
competition is high. Sales fall and profit margins decline. Increased marketing will
have little impact on sales and won't be cost-effective unless new markets are
identified.
Developing your ideas
 There's a lot at stake when developing a new product or service.
To minimise risks and allocate investment and resources wisely, you should
consider a number of factors:
1. Will your new product or service meet customers' specifications? For example,
consider its design, ease of use and performance benefits.
2. How technologically feasible is the product or service? Can you meet the
design, resource and manufacturing requirements?
3. Are you clear about what you hope to achieve with the new product or service?
Does it meet the strategy outlined in your business plan and play to your
business' strengths?
 The clearer you are about your plans, the better you can analyse the risks
involved.
Match products and services to market needs

 New products and services have to offer benefits that meet your customers'
needs. You need to discover what these are.
 Market research, using techniques such as surveys and focus groups, will help
you do this.
 Remember that although the end user of your product or service might be your
most important customer, you may have to take the needs of other parties into
account.
 For example, if you were planning a new product, you would need to consider
how retailers would stock it as well as how it would benefit professional
decorators. If you're creating a toy, you should consider what parents as well as
children will think of it.
Pricing your proposed service or product

 Establishing a pricing strategy for a new product or service is an important part of the
development process. You should consider pricing the moment you decide to take an idea
forward as it will determine how much you can afford to invest in the project.
 You will need to take the following factors into account:
• The benefits - or value - to the customer of your product or service compared with what the
competition has to offer. Will the price be one that customers are prepared to pay?
• Whether or not you're first to market. Is your product or service revolutionary or are you
following a market trend?
• The selling channels you want to use, which will affect your promotional spending and
distribution costs.
• The speed with which you want to establish your product or service.
• The expected lifecycle of your product or service.
• Whether you are covering your costs.
The project development process

 An effective development process for products or services should be divided into a number of key
stages:
• Idea generation - to capture new ideas.
• Idea distillation - to screen out those ideas not worth taking forward.
• Concept definition - to consider specifications such as technical feasibility and market potential. If
you're planning a new product, you should consider the design process now.
• Strategic analysis - to ensure your ideas fit into your business' strategic plans.
• Concept development - to create a prototype product or pilot service.
• Test marketing and finalising the concept - to ensure your product or service can be modified
according to customer, manufacturer and support organisations' feedback. This means deciding the
best timing and process for piloting your new product or service.
• Product launch - the trickiest stage. Before setting a date you must determine how to sell, promote
and support your product or service. Getting it right first time is essential. But any decisions to delay
your launch should be balanced against the danger that your competitors will beat you to market.
Creating a project team

 Every potential new product or service requires a dedicated development team.

 In creating your team you need to include people with a variety of skills. For example, as well as a
creative ideas person you may also need a technical expert, a marketing specialist, someone who
can source components and someone who understands the supply-chain difficulties you could
encounter.
 All team members should understand your business' objectives and be committed to them.
 There are many forms of effective team working and the right one for you will depend on your
business' needs. For example, team members might:
• work as a unit dedicated to one project, reporting to a project manager
• work exclusively on one project but remain in separate departments reporting to department heads
who are under the project manager
• work on several projects at once with both a department head and project manager to monitor
progress
 Teams need someone in a project management role to lead, co-ordinate and motivate the team.
Investment and cost control
 Developing new products and services is an inherently risky process. You must plan any investment carefully
and strictly control your costs. You need to:
• factor any future investment in products and services into your strategic business plan
• plan exactly where this investment will be directed
• justify the expenditure on every project
• manage your costs
 Before making investment decisions, consider how much your business stands to gain from a completed
product or service. Weigh this against the risks you face.
 Phasing new product development
 One way to minimise your risks is to phase investments in projects. By reviewing a project at the end of each
phase or stage of development, you can identify products or services that are unlikely to be successful before
resources are wasted. If the product or service fails to meet established criteria, the project is ditched. If it
meets them, resources sufficient to enable it to reach a next, predetermined, stage are allocated.
 Finding support
 A range of government grants and tax breaks is available for research and new product development.
 Cost control
 It's essential to keep a close eye on costs when you develop new products and services to avoid them
spiralling out of control.
 There are two main ways to estimate costs:
• a top-down approach where you consider previous comparable projects and use
them as a benchmark
• a bottom-up approach where all team members agree on the costs they expect
to incur with one project manager, who will then estimate the total cost
 Remember that your costs could include staffing, materials, technology, product
design, market research, prototyping and incremental overhead costs.
Manage a development project

 Project managers are essential to ensure the successful development of new products or services.
They'll be responsible for:
• controlling costs and allocating resources - for further information, see the page in this guide on
investment and cost control
• drawing up the key parameters for the product or service's specification
• co-ordinating the product development team - for further information, see the page in this guide on
creating a project team
• timetabling the development process
• troubleshooting
 Timetabling the development process
 Your project manager should draw up a critical path for the completion of key tasks. SMART (specific,
measurable, agreed, realistic and time-limited) objectives can help to control and co-ordinate the
development team's advance along this path and stages can be used to monitor progress.
 However, flexibility must be built into your plans. Any number of unknowns can come into play and result
in, for example, a change in the project's specifications or expected completion date.
Pricing and Channels

Pricing and Channel Strategy: The Importance of Understanding Customer Chain

If your company is a business-to-business supplier, most likely its product(s) go
to market via complex customer chains to end users some distance from the
manufacturing dock.
In these situations, the supplier inevitably loses visibility and control on the
price paid beyond the first step in the distribution channel.
When visibility and control is limited, a successful pricing strategy is dependent
on understanding how you and your channel partners can successfully win
against your competitors and their channel partners’ offer.
 One way to gain greater insight into your pricing along the customer chain
is through analyzing customer chain economics.
 Customer chain economics allow suppliers to better understand the
discounts and multipliers that need to be in place at each stage along the
customer chain, including first and second step channel players.
 Creating margin incentives that positively impact sales along the customer
chain can only be done after the economics are well understood.
Know Which Customer Chains Matter
 A leading packaging company wanted to focus on the right market
segments within the highly complex pharmaceutical market to ensure
future growth. Due to its capital-intensive business, the client needed to
choose which customers to pursue and which countries to enter. However,
it had no insight into its revenue or profit potential across each segment.
 Customer chain economics were developed for different countries, which
clearly identified pro forma revenue potential as well as the profit pools
available along the customer chain.
 As a result of understanding pricing along the customer chain, the client
was able to quickly identify a more profitable segment, which was different
from what it originally believed. Following the money across a customer
chain map was an important driver of success.
 Channel-Based Pricing is adopted in order to set price depending on the
means of delivery of goods or services.
 Channel power, conflict, and competition further complicate suppliers go to
market strategy, thus they use different channels to get the product to the
market. Thus the price discount is determined based on the channel reach or
transaction volume.
 For various customer segments discount levels should be established which
has multiple channels serving different segments.
 Compensations needs to be decided accordingly as e-commerce and evolving
logistics capabilities are changing the scenario.
 Channel Pricing is different from traditional pricing because traditionally price
was based on the value of the product .
 But now the value is determined by the entire customers experience including
the interaction that the customer has with the distribution channels.
 The channel pricing covers the charges for the third party involvement on
supplier’s side.
 It drives the supply chain and adjusts the channel cost.
 Five channel pricing strategies—
 functional discounts,
 activity-based pricing,
 results-based programs,
 multi-price strategies, and
 resale price setting.
 Functional Discounts: When the supplier breaks its traditional discount model
into discrete functions. The suppliers also unbundles services and
compensations and they only pay for the best services and for the functions that
are performed.
 Activity-Based Pricing: Moving beyond prompt payment discounts, it is
followed to motivate an array of value-added services.
 Results-based programs: It focuses not on the activities but on the desired
objectives being fulfilled.
 Resale Price Setting: Eliminates destructive channel pricing conflict.
For example: Books sold through Flipkart has more discount than retail Bookstores
Using Communication to Engage Customers

 Effectively communicating makes a positive impact on customers because

it helps ensure repeat business. Communication with customers happens
across a variety of positions throughout a business.
 For example, in the banking field, bank tellers frequently interact with
customers. A variety of different businesses offer customer service
representatives who are liaisons between the company and the customer.
Marketing professionals interact with a variety of audience members to
help understand the demographics and needs of the companies they
represent.
 Engaging with your customers through platforms like social media can
help identify subjects within your business and start conversations around
concepts brought up from surveying your audience.
For example, if a business shares a post about a new location on their social
media page, there is an opportunity they may receive questions regarding an
opening date or the location address. This allows a business to create a
relationship and connect with the audience by answering their questions.
ways to communicate more effectively
with customers
1. Be available
 Businesses must provide customers with options to be able to reach out to them.
 Technology also offers the ability to provide customers an easy way to connect with
businesses. Different communication options are easy for customers to use, like phone
calls, emails, a website instant chat feature or social media channels the business
provides.
 Customers may prefer a more traditional communication channel, like speaking on the
phone, because it allows them to speak to a real person.
 Emails allow a business to connect and communicate with customers. It also allows a
business to promote any upcoming sales. Typically, businesses should take no longer
than 24 hours to respond to customers.
 Social media is a common method for interacting with customers. It's an excellent
opportunity for connecting with people, answering questions and offering promotions.
2. Monitor first impressions
 First impressions are essential when it comes to providing good customer
service. A customer might define their entire experience with an
organization based on their first interaction with the company. If a
company wants to retain its customers, a great way to do so is by creating
trust. A good first impression will help to develop a strong sense of loyalty.
 The best way to create an excellent first impression is by hiring empathetic
workers who have patience and know how to handle customers' questions
and concerns effectively and promptly. The best way to monitor first
impressions is by offering regular surveys to customers. Businesses can
decide if their methods are successful by the feedback they receive.
3. Personalize each interaction
 Customers want to have a personal relationship with the organizations
they do business with. It's important when communicating with customers
to have real conversations and don't offer scripted responses.
 For example, if a product has sold out instead of stating it's not in stock,
you could phrase it like this, "While we don't have this product at our location,
it is available at another store. I can call them to save it for you or I can place
an order and contact you once it arrives at our location if that is more
convenient."
4. Relate to customers
 Empathy is important for good communication with customers. Businesses
that can relate to their customers can find ways to solve problems and
provide a good experience. Customers need to understand what a
business is trying to convey.
 Solutions can take time and customers know that. They want a company to
recognize their perspective.
For example, a customer who is unhappy with a product wants you to express
an understanding of their level of frustration and offer solutions to remedy
their concerns.
5. Finish a conversation in a helpful manner
 Final impressions are as important as first impressions. Workflows can get
hectic and customer service representatives can be in a rush to finish a
task, which can impact the experience for the customer who's interacting
with them.
 It's important to make sure that even if a resolution occurs, ask what else
can happen to ensure that the conversation with the customer has
concluded and that they leave happy and satisfied.
For example, at the end of the conversation, ask if there is anything else they
need help with, let them know they can reach out if there are any further
questions. It's also important to show gratitude and thank a customer for
their business.
digital marketing?
 Digital marketing is a form of marketing that leverages the internet and digital
technologies, such as computers and smartphones, to connect with customers. More
than running a sponsored Instagram ad to drive sales, it's a set of practices that
interacts with customers at every stage of the buying journey.
 Digital marketing includes email, social media, advertising, and multimedia
messaging that is distributed through mobile and web.
 Over 60 percent of the global population is online, and more people are joining them
every day . That's why companies are now increasing their digital marketing budgets
by double-digit figures while traditional marketing gets slashed.
 Data plays a big part in digital marketing. Marketers can collect valuable information
by tracking a customer’s journey in real time and target specific audiences by
tailoring content to their preferred digital channels.
For example, Starbucks has collected data from their rewards mobile apps to help
identify seasonal trends and create tailored promotions
 Digital marketers connect with potential customers through different channels. The
following digital marketing tactics, used by small companies and big businesses
alike, remain among the most popular and impactful used today.
1. Search engine optimization (SEO)
 Search engine optimization (SEO) is a technique that seeks to improve the ranking of
online material on search engines such as Google or Bing. If you have ever searched
for something on Google, you’ve likely noticed that even the simplest search can
yield millions of results. Yet, you probably rarely go past the first few suggestions, let
alone the next page.
 In such a highly crowded space, digital marketers use SEO to ensure that potential
customers actually find their products or services online.
Some common ways to go about SEO include:
• Creating quality content that meets searcher intent
• Using keywords to help search engines identify relevant material
• Using long-tail keywords (specific phrases that searchers use) to help content reach its
target audience
• Ensuring that content loads quickly and is compatible with mobile devices
Data drives SEO marketing
 In SEO marketing, you'll be in charge of monitoring data, such as the bounce rate or
clickthrough rate, to measure how well a blog, product page, or social media post is
doing.
 You'll need to become familiar with tools like SEMRush and Google Analytics, as well
as business intelligence tools like Tableau and Looker to generate and analyze data
from your organization.
SEMRush and Google Analytics
 Semrush is like a keyword research tool, Google Trends, Moz, Hootsuite and SimilarWeb in one
 Semrush is an all-in-one tool suite for improving online visibility and discovering marketing insights.
This tool can help marketers with the following services: SEO, PPC(pay per click), SMM, Keyword
Research, Competitive Research, PR, Content Marketing, Marketing Insights, and Campaign
Management.
 Google Analytics is a free service for website analytics that helps website owners or
admins view data related to their website traffic and activity. Use Google Analytics to sort
and sift website analytics into dozens of different data dimensions and metrics, such as:
• Which pages they visit on your website
• How long they viewed the page
• The browser they’re using
• If they’re on a desktop or mobile device
• What site they were on when they clicked over to yours
• Which forms the user-submitted
• How many users are currently on your site
 Google Analytics is used to view website analytics over time. When Google
Analytics is used at its full potential, it can help you track your website ROI
(return on investment) for all of your online marketing efforts.
 It does this by giving you specific insights into the different ways your users
found your site and how they use it once they land on it.
 Using the data tracked by Google Analytics, you can spot trends in user
activity, how your pages and posts are performing, and make informed
decisions based on how your site visitors actually interact with your
website.
 Google Analytics allows you to quit guessing about what visitors do. You can
actually see the real, raw data.
How Google Analytics get or Track Data

 Before Google Analytics can begin tracking the data to your website,
 you first have to install a unique code on the site. The code you’ll be given is a
snippet of what’s known as Javascript; a language for coding that automatically
runs in a site visitor’s browser when they’re on each individual page.
 Your specific Javascript code works in unison with a much bigger Javascript file
located on Google’s servers. It collects all of the information about your users’
site activity. Every time your website is visited, the Javascript code tracks
everything the visitor does during their visit.
 In addition, the code places a cookie on a user’s device that provides additional
anonymous information.
2. Search Engine Marketing & PPC

 Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is one of the most primary types of Digital Marketing
activities that help businesses gain market online via Ads on search engines such as
Google, Bing or Yahoo.
 SEM assists in optimizing the brand presence and conversions for businesses through
paid and unpaid advertising.
 Unpaid SEM is SEO while Paid SEM is PPC.
 The formula to calculate PPC is: Pay per click ($) = Advertising cost ($) ÷ Number
of ad clicks
3. Social Media Marketing (SMM)

 Social Media Marketing is of the youngest and most popular types of Digital Marketing
that help marketers advance their brand image in a most powerful and trendy manner.
 SMM is nowadays preferred by different businesses for optimizing the image of a
brand, business, product, or individual.
 We all are mostly aware of different social networks around us such as Facebook,
Google+, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Snapchat Pinterest, etc.
 In addition to these, there are niche networks, discussions, forums, dynamic blog
groups, and the places wherever two-way discussion happens comes under the radar of
Social Media Marketing.
 Creating and distributing quality content in a well-targeted manner is the base of
successful SMM campaigns.
4. Email Marketing
 Email marketing is one of the oldest types of Digital Marketing that is still highly
contemporary and fruitful. Marketers use emails for developing relationships with their
potential and existing customers that help them generate leads and ensure their
conversions.
 Different Email Marketing Components that You Can Use are:
 (i) Newsletter
 (ii) Announcements
 (iii) Event Invitation
 (iv) Marketing Offer
 Email Marketing is advisable for all kinds of businesses as it is highly cost-effective
and considered the best type of Digital Marketing that ensure the best conversions.
5. Content Marketing
 Content Marketing is one of the most important types of Digital Marketing that revolve
around the management and execution of different written, engaging, downloadable,
and visual Digital Media Content.
 Content marketing means attracting and transforming prospects into customers
by creating and sharing valuable free content.
5 Steps To Do Content Marketing
 (i) Define your goal and conduct a persona research
 (ii) Determine a Content Management System & brainstorm content ideas
 (iii) Know which types of content would be the best fit for your Business
 (iv) Start a blog and post at least once a week
 (v) Publish and manage your content
FAQs
 1. What are the different digital marketing types?
There are many different types of digital marketing, including search engine optimization
(SEO), social media marketing (SMM), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), email marketing,
and more.
 2. Which type of digital marketing is right for my business?
The type of digital marketing that is right for your business depends on your audience,
budget, goals, and resources.
 3. What are the benefits of digital marketing?
Digital marketing can help you reach your target audience, promote your product or service,
and achieve your marketing goals.
 4. How do I get started with digital marketing?
If you’re not sure where to start, contact a digital marketing agency to get started. You need to
check the reviews first and then contact them.
Digital vs. Traditional Marketing
Traditional Marketing?

 Traditional marketing encompasses the marketing methods that can be used without the
internet. These are the methods that have been around for decades and are typically used less
often now. However, they’re not without their strengths.
 Common traditional market methods include:
• Directly mailed postcards, coupons, and informational packets
• Television or radio commercials
• Newspaper or magazine ads
• Billboards and fliers
• Telephone calls and text notifications
 We see and hear many of these ads every day just by listening to the radio on the way to
work or even looking out the window at the billboards as we go by. They’ve become a part
of daily life.
Digital Marketing?
 Digital marketing strategies evolve quickly because of trends and new technology.
These strategies include those that require the use of the internet or smartphones. They
haven’t been around as long as traditional methods, but they certainly pack a punch.
 Common digital marketing methods include:
• Website content
• Email campaigns
• Content marketing
• Social media posts
• Clickable ads
• Affiliate marketing
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
Pros and Cons of Traditional Marketing

 When comparing traditional marketing vs. digital marketing, traditional methods are often viewed
as outdated or irrelevant. However, many of these tactics are still useful and effective today.
 Pros
• If you want to reach an older demographic, traditional marketing can be very effective.
It has been reported that audiences ages 50+ spend almost twice as much time reading the
newspaper and watching TV as compared to those ages 21-34.
• TV or radio commercials will play multiple times and remind the audience of the business,
whereas digital marketing items may be skipped through or blocked (e.g., clicking “I don’t want
to see this” on social media ads, or skipping through ads before YouTube videos).
 Cons
• Printing postcards to send out even to just a local audience can be expensive, and there is no
guarantee that the recipient is interested in your business or the product/service you offer.
• Traditional marketing methods can take weeks or months to yield results and data. You can’t tell
when someone has read your newspaper ad unless they decide to follow-up. Even then, without a
survey, you won’t know if the ad was the reason for the follow-up.
Pros and Cons of Digital Marketing
 Digital marketing strategies are always evolving with new technology and trends like voice search and
social media usage. These strategies include the most modern and latest tactics.
 Pros
• Data and audience involvement can be tracked instantly. When someone clicks on a link to your site,
reads an email, or follows you on social media, you have that information immediately. You can draw
numerous insights from this data, including which type of content works best for a specific audience,
which mediums are the most effective, and even what time of day receives the best engagement.
• Digital marketing strategies incur a much lower cost. Sending out an email campaign can save a lot of
money compared to printing individual postcards and paying for postage on each.
 Cons
• Some internet users have ad blockers, so they’ll never see pop-ups or banner ads. Other times, ads can be
skipped or removed if a user pays for premium services (e.g., Spotify, Hulu, Twitch).
• Because new technology and trends emerge so frequently, digital marketing tactics need to be evaluated
and reevaluated for effectiveness continually what works well one day may be irrelevant the next.