...Achieving Excellence: How to Truly Understand and Fulfill Customer Needs, Wants, and DesiresBy Mark Hamister, CEO, The Hamister Group, Inc. My vision of how to lead a company has always been based on three principles: know your product; understand your customer; and don’t accept mediocrity.Knowing your product is the easiest of the three, although we all have encountered plenty of sales and management staff who don’t. These people need to practice MBIWA (Management by Interacting and Walking Around) and | understand their products from the front line. I advise my management staff to get out onto the floors, talk to people in every department, and learn how each part of the product works. I stay in my hotels as a guest and take my spouse with me for a woman's perspective. After learning every aspect of our properties, we then take great care to avoid falling into the trap of fixating on our products so intensely that we can’t see them through our customers’ eyes.Most companies view customer needs, wants, and desires from their own perspective or try to guess at them. This is unfortunately the case with people who know their products exceptionally well: they can’t see them from any vantage point but their own. Our team prides itself on asking customers what their needs, wants, and desires are. We actively listen to our guests and base our product strategies on their responses. For example, we recently asked some of our extended-stay guests about their hotel expectations:...
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...In spite of the benefit of internal ventures, the risks of failure are high, and even successful ventured takes many years to become profitable. In fact, the slow speed of internal ventures often causes managers to think seriously about acquisition when they want to diversify their firms. If a firm acquires an existing business, it gains immediate entrance into the new business area. Furthermore, if the acquired firm has been successful, the acquiring firm managers may feel there is less risk of failure. b. Merger and Acquisitions: some organizations choose to buy diversification in the form of acquisitions. They are often considered a “substitute for innovation”. Mergers occur ant time two organizations combine into one. Acquisition, where one organization buys a controlling interest in the stock of another organization or buys it outright from its owners, are the most common type of merges. Acquisitions are relatively quick way to: i. Enter new markets ii. Acquire new products or services iii. Learn new resource conversion process iv. Acquire needed knowledge and skills v. Vertically integrate vi. Broaden market geographically vii. Fill need in the corporate portfolio. A Few of Many Potential Problems with Mergers and Acquisitions High Financial Costs I. High premium typically paid by acquiring firms II. Increased interest costs. Borrowing money at high interest rate finances many acquisitions...
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...Discussion Week 1 How Can customers needs and wants impact marketing? Marketing merely reflects and shapes the needs and wants of customers. Relationship marketing communicates the idea that a major goal of marketing is to build long-term relationships with the customers contributing to the firm’s success (Babin & Zikmund, 2010). We as people and customers all have needs and wants, this is just part of who we are as human beings. Companies will strive to satisfy these functions and keep doing so by advertising to let the people know they are around and can provide the products they need. Customer’s needs vary depending on the region they live in. Someone living in the U.S. my need food but want fries, hamburger and a soft drink and a person that lives in Mauritius that needs food may want a mango, rice, lentils and beans (Lynch, 2011). With there being different groups and classes of people who have various wants and needs, marketers must continually be creating and developing attractive products and devising brilliant marketing strategies to win the consumer over. We as people like consistency and if a marketer provides consistent service in addition to great products and price then the customers will keep coming back for years to come. This is all part of what a customer’s expectations on a product are. Zikmund, W.G., & Babin, B.J. (2010). Exploring Marketing Research. 10th Ed. Chapter 1: The Role of Marketing Research. Keeping Customers and Building Relationships,...
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...marketing create or satisfy needs? Take a position, marketing shapes or merely reflects needs and wants of conso answer these questions, we must know what market is. Market is the set of all actual and potential buyers of a product or service and marketing is a social and managerial process where by individuals and groups obtains what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. The traditional view of marketing is that the firm makes something and then sells it. In my words, marketing is how the producers create value to the customer and receive it by needs and wants. We must know that marketing concept is the philosophy that firms should analyze the needs of their customers and then make decisions to satisfy those needs, better than the competition. Ever since man started to trading goods, marketing was created. Suppose that marketing was never exist, we cannot buying foods, houses, car, etc. Without marketing, this world is nothing. Marketing involves the satisfying customers’ needs and wants. Marketing has a value creation and delivery sequence that consists of three parts. That is choosing the value, providing the value, and communicating the value. From my understanding, marketing does both. It creates and satisfies needs of customers. Marketers must use the marketing development’s term to create needs. They must learn how to change in knowledge, behavior, attitudes, or creativity. Then, it helps customers to be motivated to learn...
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...“Marketing merely reflects the needs and wants of consumer” Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of needs back in 1950s and 60s. Human needs are arranged in a hierarchy from most to least pressing – physiological needs (primary or fundamental needs), safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self – actualization needs. When a person succeeds in satisfying an important need, he will then try to satisfy the next most important need. God create human with different types. In this world, there are continent, ocean, country, and city. They are different, so are we. I think we have same physiological needs because we cannot live without them. As customers, we always want quality products, which satisfy our needs and wants. Customers are looking for products and services with best combination of price, quality, and availability. As a human, we are different. There are segmentation by age, gender, nationality, lifestyle, income, and many others segmentation. If, you are female, your needs and wants are different with male. I am Indonesian, my needs and wants are different with American. I eat rice; they eat burger, pizza, and other food. This is why marketers must create and develop attractive product. Some customers would not mind to paying a higher price for a product or service if we received something with best combination of price and quality. This is a part when a costumer’s expectations on a product or service are, and if these expectations are met continually then...
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...mainly with customers although it can have many definitions. This simplest definition is: Marketing is managing profitable customer relationship. (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Marketing has two main goals of attracting new customers and keeping current customers. In my company the goals of attracting new customers and maintaining current customers is essential to keeping the company profitable and relevant. My company Vice GOLD, which is a clothing brand, will be launching soon and our marketing has to be effective. We have good reviews from testing some of our pieces at fashion shows and limited clientele. That is great word of mouth marketing because our current customers are talking about us, and that will get future customers excited when the brand launches. Our current customers appreciate our excellent customer service and creative styles. This makes them want to stay customers because they remember how they were treated during the shopping process. And with them on our mailing list, they are the first to know of new and limited edition styles. Attracting new customers, is important because we want the company to be profitable and be well known in the fashion world. What is the difference between a need, a want, and a demand? Describe the need versus want for the following items: a car, Gatorade, Nike Shoes, basic foods, an iPod, and housing. Although they may often be confused for each other, there are differences between a need, a want, and a demand. Our needs are essential...
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...Profitable Customer Relationships Marketing * Goal: Attract new customers by promising superior value and keep and grow current customers by delivering satisfaction * Involves satisfying customer needs * Definition: Process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value for customers in return * Process 1. Understand the marketplace and customer needs 2. Design a customer-driven marketing strategy 3. Construct an integrated marketing program that delivers superior value 4. Build profitable relationships and create customer delight 5. Capture value from customers to create profits and customer equity | Understanding the marketplace and customer needs | 1. Customer needs, wants and demands * Needs: States of felt deprivation * Wants: The form human needs take as they are shaped by culture and individual personality * Demands: Human wants that are backed by buying power * Given their wants and resources, people demand products with benefits that add up to the most value and satisfaction * Outstanding marketing companies conduct marketing research to learn and understand their customers’ needs, wants and demands. | 2. Market Offerings – Products, Services, and experiences * Customers’ needs and wants are fulfilled through a market offering * Market offering: Some combination of products, services, information, or experience offered to a market to satisfy a need or want (not limited...
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...satisfy needs? Take a position, marketing shapes or merely reflects needs and wants of consumer? When we talk about marketing, there are lot things that we should know first. Marketing is activities of creating value that desired by the potential buyers and receiving value from the potential buyers for the value that they have received. When marketers want to create something that has value to the potential buyers, marketers must know first, what do the potential buyers need or want. As a marketer, it does not make any sense if we sell something that does not have value, or if the marketers want people to purchase something that they do not need of even want. Marketers can not force anyone to do something. They can only ask them to buy their product or service. Some people might not care about what they are asking for. So, in the business of selling product or service, we know word “marketing”. Marketing is an art of identifying and meeting the people’s needs and wants. It is all about communication between two parties that profitable for the both sides by exchanging value. Marketing is not that easy to do. As we know, we can not mess with the “free will” of the people around us or people that we see as the potential buyers. It is up to them if they are willing to buy the marketers’ products or service. In this case, the marketers have to do their marketing activities. Their job is to tell people that their product or service is suit with the people’s need or want. Therefore...
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...Fundamentals of Marketing Management Process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. Dr. P.V. (Sundar) Balakrishnan Simply put: Marketing is the delivery of customer satisfaction at a profit. Managing World-Class Organizations S #1 Balakrishnan The Marketing Objective Activities in the Marketing Process ... “Satisfy the needs of a group of customers better than the competition.” Distinguish from Selling or Advertising: – merely a subset of marketing actions used to satisfy consumer needs. Marketing focuses on the use of all the firm’s controllable influences to satisfy the customer. S #3 Balakrishnan S #2 Balakrishnan Broad Objective of Marketing Identify needs of customers that company can satisfy Design a Product (“bundle of benefits”) that satisfies those needs - better than existing products. Promote / communicate these benefits in order to motivate purchase Price at the right level so that consumers are willing & able to buy the product and the firm’s profit goals are met Make the product available at the right Place so that exchange is facilitated S #4 Balakrishnan Core Marketing Concepts To grow the business by adapting it to changes in the environment : by monitoring Needs, wants, and demands changes in customer needs changes in competition changes in the company’s own skills / resources Markets looking...
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...Process Marketing deals with customers more than any other business functions. Marketing is managing profitable customer relationships. Marketing has a twofold goal. They are to attract new customers by promising superior value, and keep and grow current customers by delivering satisfaction. The American Marketing Association defines marketing as “The Process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, good, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objective”. The Marketing process is the method of evaluating openings, choosing the proposed customer, addressing the consumer needs and wants, describing the price, product, place and promotion and addressing the marketing campaign. The marketing process takes major responsibility to control overall marketing strategy. The marketing process has 5 steps that lead to a successful advertising campaign. In the first four steps, companies work to understand consumers, create customer value, and build strong customer relationships. In the final step, companies reap the reward of having superior customer value. Now, we will explore the steps of the marketing process. Step 1 is marketers need to understand the market place and the needs and wants of customers. There are five core customer and market place concepts. Needs, wants, and demands is one. Human needs are states of felt deprivation. Human wants are the form human needs take as they are shaped by...
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...examples of needs, wants and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. Needs: Needs are defined as states of felt deprivation. They include basic physical needs (food, shelter, warmth, etc.), social needs (affection and a sense of belonging) and individual needs (knowledge and self-expression). These needs are a part of the human makeup; they are not created by marketers. The Build-A-Bear customers are mainly children and all children have a need of entertainment, love & affection, comfort and a sense that they belong. Build-A-Bear fulfills these needs by offering an experience that provides them with entertainment, creates a new friend for them to love & bring comfort and by joining the Build-A-Bear “Club” they get a sense of belonging. Wants: Wants are defined as the form needs take when shaped by culture and individual personality. In Build-A-Bears case children want the opportunity to personalize their new friend based on their individual preferences. Starting from the “Choose Me” station, where they can select the type of stuffed animal, thru to the “Name Me” station, the children have control, giving them a sense of individual satisfaction. Culture shapes the sense of belonging need into a want by influencing the children to want to belong to the “Build-A-Bear Club”. Other children who have shared the experience already belong making the new customers want to as well. Demands: Demands are defined as wants that are...
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...generating new customers, marketers must also focus of customer retention. The marketing process has five key steps that lead to a successful organization/ campaign. * Targeting Consumer Wants The first step of the marketing process is analyzing and comprehending the current marketplace. Understanding what people want is essential to beginning a successful marketing campaign. After finding a potential niche for a product or service, marketers must conduct research about competitors and similar items currently available on the market. After identifying these factors, an overall plan must be established to launch the good or service. Sales methods, franchising, and partnerships are all aspects of the product launch that must be examined before production can take place. * Establishing a Consumer-Driven Sales Strategy After finding a profitable niche, a unique strategy must be established to market to the intended target audience. This step of the marketing process is essential, as a method must be constructed that not only will be profitable for the company, but also for the consumers. Market segment analysis is often done to break down the population into smaller groups, so the target audience can be found. * Creating Consumer Value The next step of the marketing process is finding a way to create a product that offers consumers value for their money. In this step, the four “P’s" of marketing come into play. The first “P" is the product itself; it needs to be something...
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...Principles of Marketing Marketing: Managing Profitable Customer Relationships Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 1. Define marketing and outline the steps in the marketing process 2. Explain the importance of understanding customers and the marketplace, and identify the five core marketplace concepts 3. Identify the key elements of a customer-driven marketing strategy and discuss the marketing management orientations that guide marketing strategy 4. Discuss customer relationship management, and identify strategies for creating value for customers and capturing value from customers in return 5. Describe the major trends and forces that are changing the marketing landscape in this age of relationships 1-2 Chapter Concepts 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. What Is Marketing? Understanding the Marketplace and Customer Needs Designing a Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy Preparing an Integrated Marketing Plan and Program Building Customer Relationships Capturing Value from Customers The New Marketing Landscape So, What Is Marketing? Pulling It All Together 1-3 What Is Marketing? Marketing Defined Marketing is the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships to capture value from customers in return 1-4 What Is Marketing? The Marketing Process 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Understand the marketplace and customer wants and needs Design a customer-driven marketing strategy Construct a marketing plan...
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... Give examples of needs, wants, and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. What are the implications of each on Build-A-Bear's actions? Answer. Demonstration of needs, wants, and demands that Build-A-Bear customers. Needs: Needs are basic human requirements. Build-A-Bear customers demonstrated the strong needs for: · Recreation · Entertainment · Individual choice · Self Expression Wants: Need become wants when they are directed to specific objects that might satisfy the need. Wants are shaped by the society. When children enter in Build-A-Bear store they step into “cartoon land” having child friendly assembly line comprised of clearly labeled work stations. When children choose unstuffed animal from bin, stuff them, add voice box, spa treatment, dress them and name process of creating a stuffed bear become their want. Demand: demand are wants for specific products backed by an ability to pay. Build-A-Bear actually puts customer ideas into practice. The ideas generated by customers are actually demand of customers. The ideas that become successful addition of Build-A-Bear are: · Mini scooter · Mascot bears · Sequined purses Implications of needs, wants, demand on Build-A-Bear action: It is most important for Build-A-Bear to distinguish between these three concepts. First of all they should identify the core needs of their customers. And then design the...
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...of needs, wants, demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. Needs: Need is defined as a state of felt of deprivation or lacking something. According to this case study, we can say that the children needs are entertainment, fun and creativity. We know that every child want to play with something whether the child belongs to a rich or a poorer family. The second thing is we can notice that the new born babies love to play with technology means they want creativity. They want to do something that is new and unique. Build-A-Bear customers are children, who have needs of belonging (joining the Build-A-Bear "club."), affection (creating and caring for another being), and self-expression (the ability to create a product that reflects elements of the self). Wants: Wants are basically “needs, that are fulfilled according to the costumer’s personality and culture.” In this case study, we can observe that the target customers are children and children love to play with animals. Due to the advancements in technology, the children are being something which they really want and know to be the only source of delightfulness. Hence, the company has added different assembly lines and clearly labeled work stations. Children want a place where they can get a toy of their choice where they have freedom to make a toy like bear of their own choice by choosing, stuffing, stitching, and naming the toy (bear). Demands: Demands are “wants, backed...
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