Marketing Principles and Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide

This report delves into the fundamental principles and techniques of marketing, providing a comprehensive guide for understanding and implementing effective marketing strategies. It explores key concepts such as market segmentation, marketing mix, and market research methods, while also examining the role of e-marketing and online image management in today's digital landscape. The report uses a case study of a small family-run business manufacturing household products to illustrate the practical application of these principles.

MARKETING
PRINCIPLES AND
TECHNIQUES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1..............................................................................................................................................4
1.1 CONCEPT OF MARKETING AND DIVERSE ACTIVITIES USED IN MARKETING
DEPARTMENT..............................................................................................................................4
1.2 MARKET SEGMENTATION PROCESS FOR IDENTIFYING CUSTOMERS...............................7
1.3 MARKETING MIX APPLICABLE TO THE PRODUCTS................................................................9
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................11
2.1 AIMS OF RESEARCH AND MARKET ANALYSIS......................................................................11
2.2 MARKET RESEARCH METHODS............................................................................................12
2.3 MARKET ANALYSIS TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES.....................................................................14
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................15
3.1 METHODS USED TO E- MARKET PRODUCTS AND SERVICES...............................................15
3.2 COMPANIES MANAGING THEIR ONLINE IMAGE.................................................................18
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................19
4.1 MARKET ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES TO RESEARCH THE TARGET MARKET FOR PRODUCTS
AND SERVICES............................................................................................................................19
4.2 INTERPRETATION OF THE FINDINGS OF MARKET RESEARCH AND MARKET ANALYSIS......20
4.3 PRESENTING THE FINDINGS TO THE MARKETING TEAM....................................................21
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................22
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................23
2

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is considered as the backbone of any business which helps in promoting the growth
of the business. This report focuses on the understanding of the concept of marketing for
running a business by doing research and the tools as well as the techniques needed for the
business to run smoothly. Further, the concept of e-marketing is described with respect to the
products and the services used by the business. This report describes the procedure and the
techniques that the small family runs a business of manufacturing the household products
consisting of the excellent product of shampoo for increasing the market share of the company
named Annie’s product.
3

TASK 1
1.1 CONCEPT OF MARKETING AND DIVERSE ACTIVITIES USED IN MARKETING
DEPARTMENT
Marketing is defined as the doing the promotion of the products and services offered by the
company in order to attract a large number of customers for buying the products. It consists of
different activities such as advertising, selling the products and the products to the customer.
Marketing helps in describing the features of the product and their benefits to the customer so
that the customer can purchase it (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). The marketing helps in
building the relationship of the company with the customer. The analysis of the marketing is
done by the research which helps in understanding the needs as well as the demands of the
customer. The survival of the company without the marketing is impossible. The marketing
helps in gaining the profit of the company.
Figure: Core Marketing Concepts
Source: Administrator, 2011
DIVERSE ACTIVITIES IN MARKETING DEPARTMENT
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Marketing department in small business consist of a person, either the marketing director or
the manager in addition to the executive.
The diverse activities in the marketing department are:
Product Development
The product development helps in bringing either the new product or improving the existing
one so that the opportunities with respect to the company can be analysed by doing the
research on the needs of the customer (Lovelock, 2011). This approach helps in identifying the
features of the product.
Sales Report
Sales support can be built by the company by giving the customer the website of the company
to register their details so that the customer base will be build which will further help in
increasing the sales of the company.
Communication
Communication material can be developed by the company such as the brochures, leaflets,
advertisement according to their budget so that the promotion can be done of the products
and services of the company to the customer.
Market Research
The benefit of doing the market research helps in gaining the opportunities by analysing the
needs of the customer (Kotlerand Armstrong, 2010).The research is conducted in order to
identify the strength as well as the weaknesses of the competitors.
Events
The events help in organizing the seminars, exhibitions, conferences by planning the logistics
and the facilities of a meeting. For an example, presentation and handouts can be given to the
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customer of the shampoo product for the purpose of giving them knowledge about the
product.
Market Strategy
The strategy of the marketing is designed in order to achieve the overall objectives of the
company for entering a new market so that the campaigns of planning can be made. For an
example, the demands for product shampoo can be increased in the market using a market
strategy to enable the customer know about the brand.
6

1.2 MARKET SEGMENTATION PROCESS FOR IDENTIFYING CUSTOMERS
Market segmentation is used to identify different types of customers based on their needsfor
the purpose of satisfying their needs. This process of identification of the customers is referred
to as the market segmentation (Hollensen, 2010).It is the division of the market into the
different types of segments so that the similar needs, as well as the demands of the people, can
be understood easily. After the division of the market, the customers can be targeted more
easily for buying the product.
Figure: Market Segmentation
Source: Admin, 2017
The various types of market segmentation are described below:
Demographic Segmentation
The market segmentation is done on the basis of age, income, qualifications, gender; status is
termed as demographic segmentation (Hair, et al.2010).The advantage of this is to divide the
people into groups of similar needs.
7

Psychographics Segmentation
It consists of the segmentation on the basis of personality, lifestyle, characteristics, as well as
the status of the people.
Geographic Segmentation
The segmentation of the people is done on the basis of the country, village, state, region, etc. A
group of people is designed according to the location as well as the topography.
Behavioural Segmentation
Segmentation of the people is done on the basis of the behaviour of the people generally
consisting of the past behaviour in order to group the people.
Attractive Features of the Product for providing Attraction to Annie’s Business
The price of the shampoo is kept affordable so that the customer can easily buy it. The
shampoo is made from the herbal ingredients which will help in promoting the growth of the
hair. It will further help in curing all the hair related problems such as hair fall, dandruff,
dryness, etc. The shampoo will help in promoting the shine to the hair. The results of the
shampoo are commendable. It is safe for all the ages of the people. It has passed a further test
of quality.The goal of the product is to give the people a healthy, shiny, lustrous hair.
8

1.3 MARKETING MIX APPLICABLE TO THE PRODUCTS
The marketing mix is considered as the foundation of marketing and is defines as the process of
bringing the right product at the right place and time in the market and also the price of the
product to be made correct (Armstrong, et al. 2015). Building a right marketing mix is utmost
essential in the business which consists of 4 Ps of marketing which is further described below:
Figure: Marketing Mix
Source: Bhasin, 2017
Product
A product is defined as the item built for the purpose of satisfying the needs of the customer.
The product consists of different phases of its life cycle including the growth, maturity, and the
downfall of the product. The Annie’s shampoo will satisfy the needs of the customer giving
them a lustrous and healthy looking hair solving their all the hair problems.
Price
Price is defined as the amount the company has set for the customer in order to buy it. Price of
the shampoo is kept affordable so that the customer can easily buy it.The price of Annie
shampoo is kept according to the values and the features possessed by it.
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Promotion
Promotion plays a key role in marketing in influencing the customer about the product with the
help of banners, advertisements, different media, etc. The Annie’s shampoo will be promoted
with the description of its excellent features so that the attention of the customer can be
drawn.
Place
The place is one of the most important components of marketing mix so that a large number of
customers can be targeted (Kimand Hyun, 2011). The place of distributing the product is chosen
according to the analysis done in the market for recognizing the target market.
10

TASK 2
2.1AIMS OF RESEARCH AND MARKET ANALYSIS
The aims of market research and market analysis are described below:
 To understand the needs, demands and the expectation of the people.
 Evaluating the measures for improving the performance of policy of sales of the
company.
 Analysing the reactions of the people towards the company’s products as well as the
services.
 Identifying the opportunities for the company to enhance growth.
 Designing the attractive packages for the products of the company (Granot, et al. 2014).
 Improving the older products as well as introducing the other products by analysing the
market.
 Identification of the methods for doing the promotion of the products in order to
increase the customer base (Dibband Simkin, 2013).
 Identification of the strength as well as the weakness of the competitors.
 Analysing the market for determining the share of the company.
 Determining the problems of marketing along with their solutions to enhance the
growth in the market.
 Estimating the powers of buyers in the certain areas.
 Analysing the market for finding out the habits of the people.
 The market analysis helps in determining the conditions of the market. ‘
 To understand the customer level of acceptance.
 Helps in analysing the methods of distribution which is essential for the products as well
as the services.
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2.2 MARKET RESEARCH METHODS
Market research methods are classified into two types namely the primary methods and the
secondary methods.
Figure: Market Research Methods
Source: Administrator, 2017
PRIMARY RESEARCH METHOD
It further consists of the surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, and the experiment
which are described below:
Surveys
Surveys are conducted in order to obtain the feedback about the particular product. It is
considered as one of the most commonly used methods of market research. A survey is done
for determining the facts and the satisfaction level of the customers and is done by analysing
the answers of the people (Malhotra, and Peterson, 2014).
Focus Groups
Focus group helps in estimating the research based on qualitative and is generally done by the
discussing involving a group of people. These people are set according to the common
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demographic. They are further assisted by the moderator. Rooms are also designed for such
type of gathering.
Interviews
It consists of the one moderator and the one customer and one to one communication are
done for understanding the need as well as the demands. It is based on the specific topic
involving a deep research.
Experiments
It helps in testing the services and the product scientifically consisting of the packaging, its
elements as a whole.
SECONDARY MARKET RESEARCH
Secondary research is conducted to the existing data which is available such as journals, etc. It
is often considered as the time-saving research method (McDanieland Gates, 2013). Existing
data and the content is used for making applicable to the new product.
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2.3 MARKET ANALYSIS TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
The market analysis tools and techniques are described below:
VMOST
It is abbreviated as vision, mission, objectives, Strategy, and Tactical. It helps in determining the
connection between the strategy and the tactics used by the company for doing the marketing.
SWOT
It stands for strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats. The strength, as well as the
weakness of the organization, is considered internally while the opportunities, as well as the
threats, are considered external to the company (Rand and Rust, 2011). It helps in analysing the
views of the different stakeholders so that the issues can be highlighted.
PEST
It is abbreviated as political, economic, social, and technology. It is the advanced version of
SWOT determining the direction the business should take in order to achieve the objectives of
the company.
SOAR
It consists of the strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results. It is used to analyse the
impact of the strategy adopted by the business.
BOSTON MATRIX
This matrix helps in analysing the products as well as the services of the company as a whole for
identifying the cash cow, sick dog, flying star or questionable state of the strategy of the
product.
PORTER”S FIVE FORCES
It helps in identifying the competition in the market and consists of the five components such as
bargaining power of suppliers, a threat of substitute, competitive rivalry, bargaining power of
buyers and threat of new entrants.
MATURITY MODELS
It consists of the going of product to the maturity level so that the problem, as well as the
solutions, can be determined (Hays, et al. 2013). It consists of the model of technology, team,
and evolution.
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TASK 3
3.1METHODS USED TO E- MARKET PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
E-Marketing is defined as the marketing done with the help of modern technology namely
internet or the mobile. The internet serves as a medium for searching the information about
the product.
Figure: Different Types and methods of E-Marketing
Source: Eman, 2016
The methods used to e-market products and services are described below:
E-Mail Marketing
It is considered as one of the cheapest methods of marketing for doing the marketing with the
help of emails for the certain type of targeted customers (Strauss and Frost, 2016). The reason
for sending the emails is to develop the relationship with the clients in order to increase the
loyalty of the customers and it also helps in building new customers.
15

Search Engine Marketing
It provides the company of the facility of displaying the website of the company in the first web
search of the internet (Kian Chong, et al. 2010). It is achieved with the help of the keywords
used in the website if the company which helps in increasing the number of customers to the
website of the company.
Social Media Marketing
It helps in building the communication with the people through the social media namely
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. So that the features of the product can be clearly stated
which helps in increasing the sales of the company.
Viral Marketing
It uses a technique of creating the awareness about the brand with the help of socially available
networks. It can be implemented with the help of video clips, images, software, Ebooks, etc in
order to educate the people about the brand.
Blog Marketing
It helps in creating the blogs about the products as well as the services of the company so that
the customer might find it useful for buying that product. It is different from the blogs or
websites of the corporate sector.
Article Marketing
It helps in writing the articles about the businesses of the company for the purpose of providing
access to the people in the market. It consists of two parts namely the bio box and the by-line
which further consists of the information of the author with respect to the business as well as
the references. It helps in attracting a large number of customers.
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Geo-Marketing
The location of the website physically is determined with respect to the visitor with the help of
software called geo-location software and this type of marketing, the important data with
respect to the products and the services are being delivered and provided to the customer.
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3.2 COMPANIES MANAGING THEIR ONLINE IMAGE
Building the online image is the most essential for bringing the growth in the company. The
reputation possessed by the company online help in either bringing down the growth or
increases the growth of the company in the market. It is typically based on the consumer
methods of searching the products online (Steinberg, et al. 2010). A research shows that the
people follow the online reviews rather than the personal opinions of the people. Internet
helps in revealing a lot about the business of the company which affects the decision-making
process of the customer. If the company has a bad reputation online then it will result in the
complaints of the customer, bad reviews about the products and the services of the customer.
The displaying of the company online must be checked in order to further steps for expanding
its growth. The image of the company can be evaluated by using the Google or the Bing for
searching about the brand (Yasutaka, et al. 2013). The first web page displayed on the search
result consists of the number of visitors to that place so efforts must be taken for displaying the
search result done by the customer comes first. Further, Google alerts must be set in order to
get updates about the company.
The control over the domains of the company must be undertaken such as the authorization
and accessed to the website cannot be just done by the competitors present in the market. A
search engine must be provided with the contents of the company revealing information in a
positive way so that people get engaged in it in reading that content. Blogs must be created for
providing the information to the people so that the company will be in the limelight of the
internet.
Reviews must be made based on the profiles of a site for bringing the brand image of the
company to the people. Feedbacks of the people must be checked in order to get the opinion of
the people towards the brand.
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TASK 4
4.1 MARKET ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES TO RESEARCH THE TARGET MARKET FOR
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Market segmentation is used to analyse the target market by the process of diving the
customers into the group of people who possesses the similar needs. Behavioural segmentation
process of marketing is used for analysing the target market as this is based on the behaviour of
the people towards the acceptance level of the shampoo (Wedel and Kamakura, 2012). If the
people like the shampoo they will purchase it. Another type of segmentation that can be
applied here is the demographic type segmentation which is based on the budget possessed by
the people as per their income. The other type of segmentation called the psychographics helps
in determining the interests of the people as the values of the customer service as a great
advantage to the company. This is one of the most important types of segmentation adopted
by the company as the shampoo is made from the herbal ingredients. People prefer to use the
organic and the herbal products for their hair. Behaviour segmentation consists of the different
types of users namely the first type users, ex-users, regular users, etc. The rate of using the
shampoo is based on the products quality. It is based on the fact of the number of users who
actually will be using the product so that the competition can be achieved in the market.
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4.2 INTERPRETATION OF THE FINDINGS OF MARKET RESEARCH AND MARKET
ANALYSIS
The market research helps in findings the competitor of this business namely Unilever, Loreal,
and Proctor and Gamble whose shares of a market is high consisting of about 17% market share
of Unilever, 45% market share of Proctor and Gamble, and Loreal consists of about 12% of
market share. These companies consist of many brands of the products so for them it doesn't
matter if the sales of one brand fall down as the sales of another brand will increase. Profiling
of the customers must be done by providing a range of products to the customer. The Loreal
brand has developed the shampoo for four categories of the people named the men, women,
children as well as the older people. Unilever consists of the top brands which became popular
namely VO5, Sunsilk, and the Tresemme. The key factors considered by the Unilever are the
styling as well as the gender. Wella consists of 10 brands of shampoo for the men along with
their conditioners. Different features of Wella consist of repair, increasing volume, providing
hydration, etc.
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4.3 PRESENTING THE FINDINGS TO THE MARKETING TEAM
Through the research, it is found out that the shampoo industry is developing and growing fast
with respect to the time. The competition in the market is very high as the most of the
companies have already developed their brand image. Doing the research about the
competitors helps in analysing the market as a whole for the purpose of knowing the products
being offered by them to the customers. Also, the products must be developed according to the
needs as well as the demands of the customer. Market segmentation plays a significant role in
analysing the target market. The requirements of the customer must be considered in order to
produce the growth of the company in the market. Different types of people acquiring or
having different needs which must be considered so that the demands of the product can be
raised in the market. Also, online marketing helps in promotion of the products by conducting
and maintaining the reviews about the feedback of the customer. The focus should be made on
the customer as they play a significant role in the success of any business. The behaviour of the
customer must be analysed with respect to the products purchasing.
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CONCLUSION
This report helps in the understanding of the concept of marketing which plays a significant role
in increasing the market share of the company by creating the brand awareness. The customer
is the base of any business for its successful growth and implementation. Online marketing is
the most significant way to increase the image of the company. Segmentation of the people is
done on the basis of behaviour as well as the level of income earned by them. The different
marketing tools as well as the techniques used by the company in order to increase the
customer base by analysing the market.
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