Principles and Practices of Marketing

This document provides an introduction to the principles and practices of marketing, with a focus on promotional activities. It explains various promotional activities such as customer facing touchpoints, external spaces, digital platforms, and third parties. The document also discusses the promotion mix and different marketing theories, including push and pull strategies and the communication process, with reference to Sky Telecommunication.

Principles and practices
of marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK1.............................................................................................................................................1
1. Explanation of various promotional activities.........................................................................1
TASK2.............................................................................................................................................4
2. Explaining promotion mix and different marketing theories with reference to the company. 4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is a technique that is used by an individual or an organisation to promote its
products and services so that it can leave an impact on the minds of the customers and hence
resulting in increased sales (Ashton and Manchanda, 2018). Sky is a telecommunication
company that is one of the largest firm and established a long ago. This report covers topics such
as promotional activity at customer facing touchpoints, in external spaces, through digital
platforms, and third parties. Apart form this there is a explanation of promotional mix and two
marketing theories that are namely push and pull strategy and communication process that the
firm uses.
TASK1
1. Explanation of various promotional activities
Promotional activity is the most important aspect for any business as it can help a
company to increase its sales and profitability and at the same time it has the potential to
decrease it too if not used correctly. Sky is a firm that is operating in the UK since very long and
has captured a larger share of market and enjoys a loyal customer base in the telecommunication
business. It has various branches all over the world and is willing to expand to other places too.
There are various promotional activities that have taken place in the last two years or so and it
proves very beneficial for the firm in increasing profits and thus resulting in increased growth.
Various promotional activities are explained in detail below-
Customer facing touchpoints- It is very important for a business to improve these as it
can directly affect the sales. It is an aspect that involves customer inclusion, like the product and
services of a firm can be seen by the buyer online or offline and thus it can impact the mind of
the customer. A firm can try to improve it by doing a complete analysis of the needs,
requirements, and demands of the buyer and then striking on the right spot. Sky gives a lot of
importance to these factors because of its potential to change the equations and that too very
rapidly. It employs a specific team of experts so that it can analyse the various aspects regarding
customer touchpoints (Daugherty, 2019). It also deploys many skilled personnel in the reception
area because of the qualities like empathy, communication skills, behaviour, generosity,
gratitude, etc. because it is very important for a firm that is dealing in the telecommunication
services. These employees of the firm gives their best to a customer and helps in every possible
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manner which helps directly in improving the confidence of the buyer on the firm and thus
results in larger market share and thus directly impacting the profits and sales of the company.
This tool has some advantages and disadvantages of using it and these aspects can't be
ignored due to the size of the firm. Sky has many advantages of using it like quick solutions can
be given to the customers as well as feedback process also simplifies. Also communication is
effective and efficient as it is one on one conversation and there are many benefits of it like
emotional connect, understanding, personal impact, etc. which is very useful in the process of
communication (Ewins, 2020). In addition to that facial recognition can be done so that need and
requirements of the customer can be understood. There are many disadvantages of using it too as
the firm can be bounded by the commitment of serving the customers and that can act as a
hindrance in serving other people. Also there is a limitation of a verbal communication and the
person interacting can lack knowledge about the topic and this can affect the image of the
company in the bad way. The customer that the firm deals with expect a lot and that sometimes
becomes a burden on the firm.
External spaces- It includes promotional activities that can gather attraction of a lot of
customers within a limited period of frame and is vastly used in the current market situation and
is capable of increasing sales of a firm drastically and that too in a short time. It is very helpful
for a company that is willing to expand its business and it acts as an important tool in achieving
that target (Hammoud, Abd-Elwahab and Essawy, 2018). It is also very handy in a firm that
wants to spend less on promotional activities but is also willing to promote its product and
services to a larger audience, so it is the best tool of doing so. Sky that deals in
telecommunication industry does a lot of external advertising to lure buyers to use its products
and services. It advertise on various places that has a great footfall of visitors and thus is directly
benefits the firm in increasing its sales because of the mass reach. The company uses various
methods that are suitable like advertising on billboard that are located in popular places,
newspapers, radio, television, magazines, etc. and this helps to reach target customers all over
the world. Also it sanctions a budget for these types of advertising so that a proper allocation of
those funds can be made. These all aspects proved very crucial for the firm as it has managed to
increase the value of the company many times.
This tool is very beneficial for a company but possess many challenges too which can't be
ignored. Sky has many advantages of using it like it can gather attention of large number of
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people. Also an impact can be left on the customers subconscious mind and that is very crucial in
determining the place of expenditure of buyer. It has many disadvantages too as it adds to the
cost that the buyer has to bear. Also it is very harmful for a company if the funds are not
sufficient to bear such cost and thus leading to huge losses (Harahsheh, Haddad and Alshorman,
2019).
Digital platforms- It is of great importance in the current market scenario because
almost every firm does its promotion through digital platforms that helps to reach the target
customers. These promotional activities have the potential to reach a wider audience and that too
within limited period of time. It does not involve investing huge amount of funds as smaller
investments in these type of advertisements can fetch great results and because of its advantages
that rule out any disadvantage of using this platform, many firms tends to use it and that too in a
larger proportion. Sky is a firm that uses this type of platform more often because it has shown
very good results in increasing sales, profitability, and market share of the company. It uses the
lights of social media that connects billions of people and is very convenient and easy to operate
too. Also in current market environment many websites are providing domain names free of cost
of charge a nominal amount and possess a lot of benefits and Sky has used this to its advantage .
The firm uses a domain name of a very popular website that experiences a lot of traffic on its
sites and thus it benefits the firm also and is very critical in attracting customers. Also it uses
other things too like marketing through personal emails, knowledge based platforms, platforms
oriented specially for services, etc. and this helps in attracting customers due to repetitive impact
on the minds of the buyer by using proper marketing tool (Hong and Park, 2020).
It is a tool that is most commonly used in the current scenario but it has many advantages
as well as disadvantages of using it. Sky is very much dependent on this tool for marketing as it
is very convenient and easy to use and it can reach a large number of people within a limited
period of time. Also this is very beneficial as it gives a firm to reach the target audience that
would help in increasing the sales and profitability of the firm. There are many disadvantages of
it as it can be hacked and can be used for wrong purposes and can possess danger to the firm as
well as national security. Apart from this it also affects the local customer base as the firm is
busy luring the larger customers ignoring the local base of the buyer.
Third parties- It is also one of the most important aspect that drives marketing as it can
affect the sales and then profitability of the firm. In this experienced personnel are either
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recruited or chosen from the existing staff that possess such qualities for conducting this job
effectively and efficiently. In this various analysis are done and then a summarised report is
formed by deep researching and evaluation of the information about the report. The media is then
used according to the needs, requirements, and demands of the firm and by this a strong and
sound message is send to the customers which highlights companies strengths and plus points. It
helps in increasing the sales because of the positive message that was send by using the media
correctly (Kociatkiewicz and Kostera, 2019). Sky is a company that invest a lot of funds in this
aspect and has proved very beneficial for the firm too. It is a vast firm and the customers wants
to know about its working so firm uses this aspect to show the positive aspects of the business in
a correct, righteous, and proper manner. The analysis and evaluation is done by a team of experts
that was formed under specialised wing so that the report that have to be framed by the team
shows true and fair picture of the firm that will help in increasing the base of its customers. After
that the report is shown to the public by various means like articles and through this a positive
image of the firm is put in front of the customers that is beneficial for the firm.
Like all other tools it also possess many advantages and disadvantages for the firm using
it. Sky use it to show a positive impact of the firm so that customer share can be increased. Also
in this tool skills of experts can be used in an effective and efficient manner so that profitability
and growth of the firm can be increased. There are many disadvantages of it because if the report
of the team that was formed is incorrect it can lead to massive downfall in the customer base and
that too within a short period of time. Also there is high possibility of misusing the reports by the
competitors and thus affecting the overall growth and sustainability of the firm in a negative way
(Liao, 2020).
TASK2
2. Explaining promotion mix and different marketing theories with reference to the company
Promotional mix is a marketing strategy that involves various aspects like personal
selling, advertising, sales promotion, and public relation. It is a very important aspect as it
includes main components of a business (Marketing campaign of Sky Telecommunication, 2020).
Personal selling is a tool in which face to face conversation and happens between the sales
representative and the customer. In advertising product or a service is promoted without
involving a person in between. While sales promotion is a tool that is used to attract customers
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by giving discount, allowances, coupons, etc. Whereas public relation is a tool that is used to
promote, protect, and improve the image of the company. All these are very beneficial for a
company and can take it to new heights of success.
Sky is a vast firm that has established its branches all across the world and it uses
promotional mix tools at a wide level as it is proved very crucial for the firm in increasing the
profit margins. It recruits experts to guide customers in taking the best products and services that
are rendered by the firm and it also uses various tools of attracting customers by giving
discounts, sale, coupons, etc. While it uses advertisements in a very careful and precise manner
that adds in the profitability and growth of the firm. Apart from this it has a team of experts that
look after the public relations and deals with it effectively and efficiently. Firm research, analyse,
and evaluate all the aspects very carefully and thus it helped the company to be ahead of other
competitors in this stiff competition market (Loude, 2017).
There are various marketing theories that are used by Sky so that it can operate its
business effectively and efficiently. All these are explained below with the reference of the
company-
Push and pull strategies- It is a strategy that involves two aspects that is push and pull.
While in push strategy product or services that are given by a firm is taken to the customer as it
is a very old tried and tested method. It is used by firms that are established currently in the
market and does not have a large customer base so it tends to provide their products or services
to the buyer by fulfilling needs, requirements, and demands of the target customers. Whereas in
pull strategy customers are attracted by a firm in such a manner that the buyer contacts the
company rather than firm contacting the customers. It is generally used by firms that are well
established in the market and doing operations in the industry since a very long time and have a
loyal and big customer base (McCabe, 2019).
If the firm that is Sky use push strategy it will be harmful for the firm as the industry in
which it operates is very uncertain and also possess many challenges like stiff competition but it
can be advantageous to the firm as it can capture a large number of market share by taking its
products and services to the customers.
Whereas if firm uses pull strategy it will be beneficial for the firm as it can sell its
products and services without doing much efforts. Also it has its disadvantages as it can shrink
the customer base (Morin, 2019).
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The firm Sky uses pull strategy because it is established in the market since long and
enjoys a loyal customer base. This helps the firm to sell its products and services without doing
much efforts and that saves funds for the organisation.
Communication process- It is a process that involves a series of steps or actions that are
taken to generate a good and successful communication between two people, it can be either
between a customer and organisation or between a representative and a buyer (Pistol and Bucea-
Manea, 2017). Sky has a team of experts in this department that takes care of all the aspects that
are related with it and focusses on an impactful communication. It uses various tools so that it
can achieve the desired results with efficiency and effectiveness. There are different parts of this
process that are explained briefly below with context to the firm-
Sender- The sender can be an individual or a representative that sends a message to the
recipient. The message can be an idea for a product or service or it can be an information
regarding finished goods or services (Putsenteilo, Nyanko and Karpenko, 2018).
Message- It is a piece of information that a sender sends and receiver receives. The
message that has been send must carry all the necessary details so that it conveys its full meaning
without opening to more than one interpretations. It must be precise, clear, short, and to the point
(Raulf, 2020).
Channel of communication- It is the medium through which a message is send. This is
very crucial aspect and a sender has to chose the best alternative channel of communication by
seeing the importance of the message and the time limit.
Decoding- It is the interpretation of the message by the receiver and it must be done very
carefully and precisely. Also a receiver must have all the necessary knowledge regarding the
message (Rytkönen, Vigerland and Borg, 2019).
Receiver- It can be a person or a customer that receives the message of the sender. A
receiver must be well educated and knowledgable to understand and interpret the message
correctly that has been send by the sender.
Feedback- This is the last step as in this step a receiver sends a feedback of the message
that has been received. It can further lead to various interactions between the sender and the
receiver in case of any differences (Wali, 2016).
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CONCLUSION
Marketing is a simple process of promoting a product or service in such a manner so that
it can reach to the target audience within a limited period of time and that too with a limited
amount of funds. Sky is a firm that is operating in the UK and deals in telecommunication
industry and has established very well enough and also captured a larger share of market as
compared to other competitive firms in the same industry. From the above it can be concluded
that there are various promotional activities that are used by the company so that the product and
services can reach to the maximum number of people. Also it can be concluded that there are
various advantages and disadvantage of customer touchpoints, external spaces, digital platforms,
and third party promotional activity but a firm has to chose accordingly from the above so that it
can add to the productivity of the firm. Apart from it promotional mix is also used by firm in an
effective and efficient manner that helps in its growth. Further from push and push strategies it
can be concluded that both have merits and demerits and the firm has to chose accordingly and
the firm uses pull strategy because of its market image that it developed over the time. Also
communication process of the company is very well placed and is strong enough that can handle
all the differences.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Ashton, W. J. and Manchanda, R. V., 2018. Using previous social marketing efforts to assess a
new program. Journal of Social Marketing.
Daugherty, M. L., 2019. Small business marketing strategies for physical therapy practice
owners. International Journal of Healthcare Management. pp.1-7.
Ewins, N., 2020. Variations in American marketing practices of early 19th-century ceramic
importers and dealers, reflecting culture and identity. Journal of Historical Research in
Marketing.
Hammoud, G., Abd-Elwahab, S. and Essawy, T., 2018. The Application of Societal Marketing in
Egyptian Travel Agencies. International Journal of Heritage, Tourism and
Hospitality. 12(3 (Special Issue)). pp.195-213.
Harahsheh, S., Haddad, R. and Alshorman, M., 2019. Implications of marketing Jordan as a
Halal tourism destination. Journal of Islamic Marketing.
Hong, S. H. and Park, M. J., 2020. Dynamics of marketing automation adoption for
organisational marketing process transformation: the case of Microsoft. International
Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management. 12(3). pp.205-224.
Kociatkiewicz, J. and Kostera, M., 2019. ‘Our marketing is our goodness’: earnest marketing in
dissenting organizations. Journal of Business Ethics. pp.1-14.
Liao, C. H., 2020. Evaluating the Social Marketing Success Criteria in Health Promotion: A F-
DEMATEL Approach. International journal of environmental research and public
health. 17(17). p.6317.
Loude, E., 2017. # Sponsored?: Recognition of Influencer Marketing on Instagram and Effects
of Unethical Disclosure Practices.
McCabe, M. B., 2019. Intersections in Marketing Practice and Marketing Education.
Morin, L., 2019. Marketing the Arts: A Comparative Analysis of the Social Media Practices of
Select Performing Arts Centers.
Pistol, L. and Bucea-Manea, R. Ţ., 2017, July. The „7Ps” &” 1G” that rule in the digital world
the marketing mix. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Business
Excellence (Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 759-769). Sciendo.
Putsenteilo, P. R., Nyanko, V. M. and Karpenko, V. L., 2018. Trajectory of marketing function‒
from traditions to innovations. Вісник Дніпропетровського університету. Серія:
Менеджмент інновацій. (26, вип. 3-4), pp.103-113.
Raulf, F., 2020. Personalised Content Strategy in Inbound Marketing: The main influences on
the success of content strategy.
Rytkönen, P., Vigerland, L. and Borg, E. A., 2019. Georgia Tells its Story: Wine Marketing
Through Storytelling.
Wali, A. F., 2016. A Comparative Consumer Study of Firms’ CRM Practices and Marketing
Effectiveness in the Mobile Telecommunications Sectors of Nigeria and the
UK (Doctoral dissertation, University of Huddersfield).
Online
Marketing campaign of Sky Telecommunication. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.sky.com/>
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