...Marketing knowledge and the value of segmentation Sally Dibb Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK Philip Stern Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK Robin Wensley Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK Keywords Market segmentation, Marketing theory, Customer profiling, Organizational performance Introduction Market segmentation is according to many textbooks, one of the fundamental principles of marketing (Kotler, 1997). Marketing theory suggests that businesses adopting a market segmentation approach can enhance their organisational performance (Kotler, 1997). Market segmentation is grounded in economic pricing theory, which suggests that profits can be maximised when pricing levels discriminate between segments (Frank et al., 1972). One reason for the widespread acceptance of the approach is the belief that organizations cannot normally serve all of the customers in a market. The leading textbook by Kotler (1997) states that, ``Customers are too numerous, and diverse in their buying requirements''. The implication is that segmentation helps to homogenize market heterogeneity and coincidentally allow for improved organisational performance by targeting specific segments of the market. Thus customers who have been aggregated according to similar buying needs and behaviour will tend to demonstrate a more homogeneous response to marketing programmes (Choffray and Lilien, 1978; Wind, 1978). The marketing...
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...Appendix 1 Case study: Shanghai Disney Resort Joint ventured by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and the Shanghai Government, the Shanghai Disney Resort has been started since 2009. The entire project is divided into two phases. The first phase is scheduled to be completed in December 2014. It includes a Magic Kingdom-style park, Shanghai Disneyland Park, and two themed hotels. The two phases cover a total of 963 acres of land, more than three times the size of the Hongkong Disneyland. The budget of the project amounts to US$ 4.5 billion. The Resort is built in a style similar to other Disney Resorts around the world. At the same time, special fascinations are designed to attract Chinese guests. Distinctive performance will be organised in particular Chinese festivals. After completion of the first phase, the Resort is expected to serve 12 million guests during the first six months. As expected, the guests will be local citizens and residents in the neighbouring provinces. Gradually, the Resort plans to attract customers from the entire nation, as well as tourists from countries in the vicinity, such as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. The management budgets at 40 million guests per year, until the completion of the second phase. The management anticipates a similar customer profile in the target market segment. That is, families with young children are the primary targets. Secondarily, the Resort aims at young couples, tourists, and youth...
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...Literature Review Essay Relationship between ‘Marketing’ and ‘sales’ in B2B organizations Introduction Within a ‘Business to Business’ organization, relations between sales and marketing are often dysfunctional meaning they do not always operate properly or as they should (Kotler, Rackham & Krishnaswamy, 2006). One of the key goals of a business is to make profits, which is done by making sales, which only happens by providing a product that satisfying the customer’s needs (Futrell, 2013). This requires both sales and marketing. You would expect sales and marketing to be well aligned in a successful organization, however this is far from the case. This essay will first look at the causes that usually lie behind the concern that sales and marketing do not always act collaboratively to the benefit of the organization but in fact have a dysfunctional relationship exists between marketing and sales divisions. It will look into the ways in which this problem can negatively impact on an organization's ability to serve its customers and compete effectively. Finally potential solutions will be identified and discussed in relation to improving the synergy and integration between sales and marketing, which will ultimately allow organizations serve their customers and compete most effectively in this ever changing world. What causes Sales and Marketing relationship to be dysfunctional? Within a business to business organization, sales and marketing do not always act collaboratively to the...
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...Chapter 4 Managing Marketing Information GENERAL CONTENT: Multiple-Choice Questions 1. Despite the data glut that marketing managers receive, they frequently complain that they lack _____. a. enough information of the right kind b. quality information c. timely information d. accurate and reliable information e. valid information (Answer: a; p. 97; Easy) 2. An MIS consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, _____, evaluate, and distribute information to marketing decision makers. a. test b. test market c. analyze d. critique e. assess (Answer: c; p. 97; Easy) 3. Your firm has just developed its first successful MIS. It interacts with information users to assess information needs, develop needed information, _____ the marketing information, and help managers use it in their decision making. a. distribute b. collect c. retrieve d. store e. validate (Answer: a; p. 97; Challenging) 4. The marketing information system is not limited to use by the company it serves. It may also provide information to _____. a. the government b. external partners c. various publics d. competitors e. none of the above (Answer: b; p. 97; Moderate) 5. Marketers must weigh carefully the costs of additional information against the _____ resulting from it. a. uses b. benefits c. knowledge d. rewards e. cost (Answer: b; p. 98; Easy) 6. Four common sources of internal data include the accounting department, operations, the sales force...
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...Creating, Financing, and Marketing a Business BUS 100 March 3, 2013 Creating, Financing, and Marketing a Business A partnership is a voluntary agreement under which two or more people act as co-owners of a business for profit (Kelly & McGowen, 2012, p. 76). There are some advantages of this form of agreement whereas each partner has the right to participate in the company’s management and share in profits and losses, but also has unlimited liability for any debts the company incurs. A partnership is easier to establish compared to a corporation. Each partner will share start-up cost, and reciprocate support and motivation. Partnership earnings that pass through the business are taxed only as the partners’ personal income. In contrast to, unlimited liability, partners are jointly and individually liable for the business activity of the other. If a partner withdraws from the partnership, he is still responsible for any debt the business had at the time of withdrawal, it does not matter who created the obligation. Decisions are shared and differences of opinion can lead to disagreements, which can lead to one partner buying out the other. The various funding options for small businesses offer an individual an alternative to partnership. Federal, state, and local governments have all created government subsidy or incentive programs try to facilitate small business funding. Commercial banks and private investors also play a key role in funding small businesses...
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...Case Study MKT 113 Southern New Hampshire University Prince Sports is a racquet company that sells innovative tennis, squash, and badminton racquets. Prince is known for their many varieties of equipment as well as their new, innovative products. Prince invented the first oversize and long body racquets as well as the first synthetic gut tennis string. They were also the first to introduce the natural foot shape tennis shoe. Social Networking along with break-through technology have worked in favor of Prince Sports as well as segmenting and customizing racquets for specific players. They have custom racquets with shorter, slower strokes, moderate-to-full strokes, and longer, faster strokes. In 2012, Prince Sports filed for bankruptcy protection due to competition from competitors that were better equipped. Prince blamed the increased competition as well as the downturn in the economy as reasons for their downturn as well. In order to help grow the tennis industry, Prince can sponser tourniments at kid’s summer camps, donate raffle tickets for a free racquet, and even create a line specifically for women that might include racquets as well as sports clothing and shoes. In order to reach recreational and junior players, Prince can can hold in-store demonstrations, use web advertisments as well as social media. Prince can use wall displays, utilize in-store circulars, and sponser professional players to market their product within mass merchandisers as well...
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...MKT 113 Scenerio - Prince Sports, Inc. Southern New Hampshire University Prince Sports is an inventive sports equipment retailer that offers many different tennis products. Their tennis products alone consist of numerous types of racquets, tennis strings and footwear models, as well as bags and apparel. The company focuses on persistence to meet the needs of all age levels of players and to innovate. There are numerous methods of marketing to diverse demographics and cultures with many different variables contributing to the increase or decrease in resulting sales. The era brings with it many changes to marketing strategies for businesses. Demographic shifts and cultural changes have led to a higher health awareness, which spurs extensive interest in many different sports, one of which is tennis. For Prince, social and technological avenues have created new channels for marketing such as social media, online advertisments, and e-commerce. Outlets such as social media with devices like smartphones, tablets and other portable computers have led to a higher connection among users, which contributes greatly to word-of-mouth marketing. Accessible peer-to-peer connections can also add to the spread of negative reviews, or competition from other tennis equipment retailers through rival sales or promotions. There are also many economic trends that are working against Prince. The recession left many people with limited disposable income, so buying specialty equipment became...
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...Questions What are the components of a modern marketing information system? What are useful internal records? What makes up a marketing intelligence system? How can companies accurately measure and forecast demand? Marketing Information System A marketing information system (MIS) consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers. 3 components of MIS Internal records Marketing intelligence Marketing research (Chapter 4) Internal Records Order-to-payment cycle Sales information Databases, data warehousing, data mining Marketing Intelligence System A marketing intelligence system is a set of procedures and sources that managers use to obtain everyday information about developments in the marketing environment. The internal records system supplies results data, but the marketing intelligence system supplies happenings data. Steps to Quality Marketing Intelligence Train sales force to scan for new developments Motivate channel members to share intelligence Hire external experts to collect intelligence Network externally Utilize a customer advisory panel Utilize government data sources Purchase information Collect marketing intelligence on the Internet Demand Measurement The marketer’s first step to evaluate marketing opportunities is to estimate market demand and company...
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...MKT 113: Final Project Part I Final Submission Christian Baker Southern New Hampshire University The purpose of this document is to deliver the product overview and proposed marketing strategy for a new product being launched. The company launching this product provides various pet supplies and will be launching a new pet food line. This pet food line is for cats and dogs and will be called Pawfect. Pawfect will be an all-natural pet food made with high quality ingredients. With the trend in all natural foods, Pawfect will need to be marketed to the correct market segment. The main strength that can be leveraged for the marketing strategy is the fact that the product uses all natural ingredients. There is a trend in consumers being more conscious with what they eat and what they give to their pets. These facts can be marketed to the consumers that our product is superior. Showing these facts to consumers will suggest that other products are of lower quality and not to the consumer’s standards. Convincing the consumers that they are getting a higher quality product will justify the slightly higher purchase price. The target market for this product is “Young Digerati”. These people are young professionals, with ages between 25 and 44, have families, are management level employees, and are wealthy. They have mixed families, so some will have kids and others will not. The ethnicity of this segment is mixed as well with mostly white, Asian, and Hispanic consumers. They...
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...Stephen Choi MF602 March 12, 2013 Walnut Venture Associates (A): RBS Group Investment Memorandum The RBS Group’s business seems promising and I suggest investing $1 million in the business, exiting in three years, that is, at the end of fiscal year 2000-2001. Milestones While the business seems quite promising, there are certain milestones RBS will need to achieve in the following three years. First, within the next month RBS will have to hire a vice president who will focus on sales since its second phase will focus on increasing sales to secure market share. While the current executives of RBS have done a great job, they will need additional expertise since the sales role will switch over to newly hired sales personnel of their regional offices. Also, RBS will need to find another $1million for its next round. Since Walnut Venture Associates can only raise $1million, it is imperative that RBS find another source of funding to power through its second phase of business. Considering the prospect of RBS and its well-established relationship with big technology firms, this should not be too much of a problem. Next, RBS will have to enter the third phase of expanding its business in foreign countries should begin in the beginning of fiscal year 2000-2001. Two years after phase two, its revenue flow is projected to become more stable and cash flow turns to profit. Therefore, this seems to be the right time to enter phase three and boost up its value one last time...
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...Avon Case Study • For 113 years, Avon has used only direct selling. • In the late 1990s Avon was operating in over 135 countries with a sales force of more than 2.3 million independent representatives. • Avon Ladies – their representatives – handled 650 million customer orders and generate more than 2 billion US dollars in commissions per year. • The personalized, friendly customer service offered by Avon Ladies is considered a key competitive strength. • Company moved into China in 1990 and with the common cultural background and relatively new concept of direct selling in China, it appeared to be a promising opportunity. • Key issue/problem, which Avon encountered, was on April 21, 1998; the Chinese government announced an immediate ban on all direct selling. • In response to the ban in China, a course of action Avon could have taken would be to adjust their market strategy in order to continue their operations in China. • Once the ban was set into place by the Chinese government, Avon could have taken the time given by the government to obtain a retailers license. Opening a retail store, the Avon ladies could continue to apply the companies selling approach policy. • Although there could have been am alternative course of action for Avon, choosing to cease sales operations in China was the best course of action. • By ceasing sales operations, Avon was able to maintain their company policy, image, and their competitive strength. Questions: 1. Avon is seen as a...
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...Literature Review The nature of consumers is responsible for the chances of an idea to become a successful business. Dalenberg, et al. (2014), p. 1 observes that consumers demonstrate high variability levels in product liking. The essential element that needs to be considered is the exposure of the product to reach the consumers. In their study, Thrassou, et al. (2012), p. 22 acknowledge that the most important aspect in a new idea or innovation is value. The significance of having an insight on consumer knowledge behavior is based on the modern marketing philosophy that recognizes the consumers as the target of any marketing activity (Thrassou, et al., 2012, p. 28). The basis of the business idea can be attributed to the highly competitive market environment. While already the problem that the idea seeks to address is being solved by another idea, the intense competition prompts the need for innovation to be able to offer greater value (Thrassou, et al., 2012, p. 30). In his article, Gentile (2010), p. 96 covers the difficulty that is involved in having people change their behavior to accept an idea. It is acknowledged that it is difficult to change ideas but that is exactly what businesses are required to do to get consumers buy the product or service. The difficulty in having consumers embrace a new product has been observed by Ji & Wood (2007), p. 261 as resulting from the high degree of repetition that is evident in consumer domains....
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...What implication do fluctuations in foreign exchange rates have on the pricing decisions of export marketing managers? Globalization is no longer an abstraction but a stark reality that virtually all firms, large and a small, face. Firms that want to survive in the 21st century must confront all encompassing force that pervades every aspect of business. However, exchange rate fluctuation is an issue that affects the decisions marketing managers make about pricing. Management faces different decision situations, depending on whether currencies in key markets have strengthened or weakened relative to the home country currency. If the home country currency is weakened this would be an opportunity as exchange would be in a favourable position. A producer in a weak-currency country can choose to cut export prices to increase market share or maintain its prices and reap healthier profit margins. When revenues are translated into home country, the returns would be substantial. On the other hand it is a different situation when a company’s home currency strengthens, management would see this as unfavorable for exportation as overseas revenues would be reduced when translated to home country currency. Management in making there decision must consider currency fluctuation even though the degree of exposure varies among companies. In an example, Honda is heavily dependent on the North American market, which accounts for more than half of its operating income. In trying to reduce currency...
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...BUSINESS STUDIES IMPORTANT TERMS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. Opportunity cost Specialization Objectives Value added Profit Business stakeholders Primary business Secondary business Tertiary business Private business/sector Public business/sector Merit good Public good Privatization Capital intensive business Labour intensive business Conglomeration Integration Merger Takeover Wholesaler Retailer Economies of scale Diseconomies of scale Diversification Market size, market growth Market share Sole trader Partnership Limited company Private /public limited company Unlimited / limited liability Unincorporated/ incorporated Deed of partnership Shareholders Stock market Prospectus AGM Joint venture Franchise Nationalized business Monopoly Socially responsible business Inflation Economic boom Economic recession Unemployment Balance of payment deficit/surplus Monetary policy Fiscal policy Quota Interest rate Dismissal Redundancy Cost benefit analysis Pressure groups from the desk of Ms. Nadia Niaz Siddiqui 57. Fixed/variable cost 58. Break even output 59. Margin of safety 60. Budget 61. Sales forecast 62. Working capital 63. Cash flow forecast 64. Balance sheet 65. Profit and loss statement 66. Variance 67. Debtors 68. Creditors 69. Fixed asset 70. Current asset 71. Long term/current liabilities...
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...Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. The Ten Step Strategic Marketing Process 2 3. The Strategic Marketing Plan 3 3.1. Scope 3 3.2. Space 4 3.3. Segmentation 5 3.4. Serve 10 3.5. Sense 12 3.6. SWOT 14 3.7. Select 16 3.8. Sizing 17 3.9. Stand 18 3.10. Seize 19 4. References 21 Introduction In this assignment, as part of the curriculum in the MBA program, I analyze the marketing plan of an organization to illustrate the existence of the ten steps in marketing planning. For this purpose I have selected the marketing plan prepared by Expeditors Lanka (Pvt) Ltd for launching of warehousing facility in Sri Lanka. The company is a fully owned subsidiary of Expeditors International of Washington Incorporation a publicly traded company in Washington Stock Exchange. Bothe these companies carrying on the business of global logistics solutions provider, helping their customers to improve their supply chain management. The holding company was incorporated in 1979, with only 5 branches worldwide. After having operated for 28 years, today the company has become an industry legend, with 226-branch network, strategically placed at major points covering all five continents in the globe, and employing over 10,000 professionals. This has been the competitive advantage Expeditors enjoy over most of its competitors in the global market place. The local company was incorporated in 1996, as one of the branches...
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