Principles and Practices of Marketing: A Business Consultants Report

This report examines the principles and practices of marketing, focusing on customer relationship management (CRM) and its implementation within a business consultancy firm. It explores the importance of CRM in enhancing customer satisfaction and building a competitive advantage. The report details the marketing strategy of A Business Consultants Ltd., including its market orientation, CRM techniques employed (such as cloud-based data management and predictive analytics), and the effectiveness of these techniques. It also analyzes the application of the 7 Ps of marketing mix and the current and future promotional strategies, including the AIDA marketing technique. The report provides recommendations and concludes with an overview of the findings, emphasizing the significance of adapting marketing strategies to meet the evolving demands of customers and the increasing competition in the market. The report highlights the importance of e-CRM and social media in modern marketing practices.

Running head: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF MARKETING
Principles and practice of marketing
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF MARKETING
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Background and Marketing Strategy...............................................................................................4
Market Orientation...........................................................................................................................6
Range of CRM Techniques.............................................................................................................6
Use of CRM Techniques in the Company.......................................................................................7
Effectiveness of the Technique........................................................................................................8
7 P’s of Marketing...........................................................................................................................9
Current Promotional Mix...............................................................................................................11
Promotional Mix Strategy to be used in the future........................................................................13
AIDA Marketing Technique..........................................................................................................14
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................17

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PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF MARKETING
Executive Summary
The following report is based on the use of CRM technologies as well as the proper
implementation of the different marketing mix strategies for a consultancy firm in the market.
The report has aimed to address the promotional strategies of a business organization and the
ones that are used by the following business to address the marketing challenges of the firm. The
report has also identified the usage of social media by the organization and the implementation
of the AIDA strategy by the management of A business consultants Ltd. It ends with a brief
conclusion as well a short recommendation that addresses the shortfall and mentions their
solutions.

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PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF MARKETING
Introduction
A proper relationship between a customer and an organization is utmost important to
create a high level of customer satisfaction. Most of the business organizations concentrate on
enhancing the relationship between the customers and the people who run the business. The
Customer Relationship Management or the CRM system has the power to incorporate all the
necessary items that needs to be done to satisfy the customers of the business as well as create a
competitive advantage for the business that helps them to beat their rivals in attracting more and
more customers (Tsou and Hsu 2017). CRM in the modern era is the best possible way to
achieve success as it differentiates the best with the better ones. It not only helps the organization
to attract customers and make them to retain the profitable customers.
Background and Marketing Strategy
Business consultants are the ones who advise the other business houses on strategy,
problem solving and planning the business of the clients in the appropriate manner to help them
gain a commendable market share. A Business Consultants Ltd. has been in the business for
more than 10 years from now and is a reputable name in the market. It operates a number of
offices in the central business district of London and has a number of well known clients under
its fold. The marketing strategy of the following business organization is no different from that
of any other companies. The marketing plan of the business helps to identify and meet the needs
of the customers (Navimipour and Soltani 2016). The marketing department of the mentioned
organization considers the perspective of how the client chooses the company and formulates the
marketing plan accordingly. The foremost thing that is performed by the following department is

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to ensure that the plan follows a written process which is effective and clear enough for the
clients to understand. According to, Navimipour and Soltani (2016) a better understanding and
acceptance of the different elements helps to build a strong relationship with the clients and it
will ensure the return of the clients to the consultant for future planning or advertisement. The
management of a business consultant has also the aim of maintaining a standard procedure for all
their works as such a procedure helps to attract the most profitable clients. The cost of their
service has also been kept at a standard rate which helps in retaining as well as attracting the
customers.
The recent improvements in Information Technology has been inspirational for the
company as it has helped the organization to make more targeted communications and also to
approach the customers in a much organized way to promote the products. The competition from
other products and e-consultants has been increasing gradually which has forced the management
to make a number of strategic changes to meet the demands of the modern customers. The
company has focused more on the use of CRM to effectively communicate and satisfy the
customers. Apart from the traditional CRM practices e-CRM has been recently introduced by the
management to create loyalty among the existing customers of the organization. The company
have divided it into three different categories namely strategy, technology and people. A
business Consultants Ltd. has focused on the relationship management of the customer to be
capable to achieve the highest rate of satisfaction among the existing customers. Its strategies to
enhance customer satisfaction will also be helpful to attract other potential customers. The
company has implemented the system based on the e-CRM techniques. The use of internet and
latest software by the company helps them to manage the business operations and other
processes more smoothly and efficiently (Taylor et al. 2015). The current set of processes helps

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the IT team of the business to allow the organization to increase their profit and also enable
customer satisfaction by meeting all of their needs. The most important contribution of the e-
CRM technologies in the formulation of the marketing strategies are the ability to deliver the
best possible services at the correct time.
Market Orientation
CRM or Customer Relationship Management is the system that has the objective to
improve the relationship with the existing set of customers and also helps to attract new and
other potential customers. The rise in the customer centricity is widely considered to be the most
important achievement of CRM implementation. The formation of the IT department in the
organization has helped the organization to develop a shared vision amongst the employees of
the organization and has also helped to form a better communication channel that helps to
integrate the work of the different members of the organization (Taylor et al. 2015). The
management of the business consultant firm is able to take much wiser and better decisions for
each and every actions of the following business. The market orientation helps the employees of
A business consultants Ltd. to act more freely and pursue for different goals and objectives. This
also helps them to perform in a much better way and in turn increases the operational efficiency
of the mentioned company.
Range of CRM Techniques
Business organizations implements a number of different CRM techniques according to
their needs. Each of the companies has their own set of CRM needs as because their preferences
are different from each other. Some common CRM practices are;

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PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF MARKETING
1. CRM helps to be clear about the goals of the organization
2. CRM helps to customize the operations of the business
3. CRM increases coordination between different departments of the organization
4. CRM helps in retaining customers and attracting potential customers
5. CRM increases operational efficiency of the business
Use of CRM Techniques in the Company
A business Consultants Ltd. has taken up a number of different CRM techniques to ensure
customer satisfaction. They are;
1. CRM helps to retain customers- The CRM technology helps to retain the customers of
the business. The maintenance of the database of the different customers helps the
organization to establish a long-lasting relationship with them (Lovelock and Patterson
2015). This relationship will surely bring the customer back to the business for future
transactions.
2. CRM helps in maintaining cloud based data- Cloud based applications are believed to
be the future of the software world. CRM is gradually being transferred to cloud based
form and such a transformation will provide easy access to the software from any place in
the world. Its transformation can also help it to integrate it with other forms of software
which is perhaps the most important benefit of the cloud based system.
3. CRM helps in predictive analytics- The advanced form of CRM software helps the
business organization to aim for the best customers available in the market and focus
more on them. The following prediction can be made considering the nature of their past
purchases and market behaviors.

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4. CRM can be said to be social savvy tool- The following software has been installed by
the management of A business consultants Ltd. more because of the immense user
friendly nature of the software and its ability track the interactions of the customers
across a number of different social media platforms (Khodakarami and Chan 2014). The
company immensely follows the activities of their clients on face book and twitter to
make a clear prediction of their nature of purchases.
Effectiveness of the Technique
A clear picture of the effectiveness of the CRM techniques can be best explained on a
detailed discussion of the different CRM activities of the following organization. The
identification of the effectiveness has been done on a scale of 1 to 5 accordingly.
Set 1- Application of the programs for interaction with the customers is the most common type
of CRM measure that is used by the organization. The company applies and develops flexible
programs for ease of interactions with its customers.
Set 2- Segregating the Customer Base of the company helps in the study of the customers and
thus helps the organization to get a thorough knowledge of the customers, their behavior, choices
and demands. The company divides the customers on the basis of their common choices
accordingly. This may include choice, preferences, interests, perceptions and opinions. The
management of the consultant company as mentioned in this project can also group the
customers according to their profitability and also according to the demographics.
Set 3- Flexibility that the company enjoys in providing quality services to the customers is
another important benefit of the CRM technology as it helps the organization to change the
offers at any time and satisfy the demand of the customers.

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Set 4- The management of the programs that are connected with the stages of the relationship
with the customers is one of the key areas of discussion as because the organization arranges and
executes the programs to attract the different customers to the business.
Set 5- The final set is the assessment of the effectiveness of the CRM programs. The standard
which the company maintains to implement the actions of the program is utmost important to
identify the type of services that are delivered to the customers of the business. The management
of the company can also measure the percentage of customers that both avails the services of the
company and also the lost clients. Such a measurement helps to collect all the necessary results
that are needed to construct the annual report of the business firm.
7 P’s of Marketing
The development of the marketing strategy of the business will be followed by a seven P
formula. A business Consultants Ltd. develops Marketing strategies based on the seven P’s of
marketing mix. The modern marketing world is filled with different new possibilities and thus a
small change in the marketing mix can result into bigger changes in the marketing policies of the
following business (Khodakarami and Chan 2014). The marketing team of the mentioned
business organization has a fair amount of experience of the market and each of the different P’s
are optimized by the department to achieve the best possible results.
1. Product- There are a number of different companies both large scale as well as medium
and small scale that takes the help of A business Consultant Ltd. to get an idea about the
exact product and service that they intend to offer in the market. Thus similar to these
companies the consultant company has also its own set of product that can be defined as
the market driven business strategies or the services that they provide to the clients. The

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marketing strategies help the organization to promote the value of the products and
establish the superiority of such products in the market.
2. Price- The Company as discussed in the report does not have any physical products but
has non-tangible products in the form of consultancy services offered to the clients. The
management of the business organization has set up the prices of the services in such a
way that it not only matches the reality of the market but also increases the profit
percentage of the organization (Kitchen and Burgmann 2015).
3. Place- The market driven strategies of the following organization chooses the exact place
where the clients can be able to interact with the salesperson. This can happen through a
number of different sources like e-mail, phone or interview and also by meeting face to
face. Thus place is an important consideration for the business house as any change in
place can adversely affect the condition of the market.
4. Promotion- Promotion is perhaps the most important consideration for a consultant
company. Minor changes in promotional strategies can lead to huge changes in marketing
strategies (Khan 2014). A strategic based research is thus carried out by the management
of the organization to promote their services in the best possible way. Promotional mix
helps to create a creative design for the different organizations, plans a direct mail
procedure and successfully provides promotional channels for the different products and
services across the profitable channels in the market.
5. Packaging- Packaging is believed to create the first impressions for the business
organization and thus success depends largely on the innovations in packaging which
helps in the success of the business (Hassan et al. 2015). Packaging has a crucial role to
play from the beginning which is the time of contact and the point of purchase

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6. Positioning- Successful Marketing is possible only by proper positioning of the business
in the minds of the people. A Business consultancy Ltd. has been successful to gain a
permanent place in the minds of a set group of loyal customers.
7. People- People refers to the staff and the people who sales the services of the company to
the customers. The presence of experienced people in the company structure helps the
customers to be satisfied with the service and in turn they refer the quality services to
other potential users. Thus people form an important element of & P’s in marketing. The
management of A Business Consultants Ltd. has an effective training program in place
which creates a simulator environment for the trainees to help them satisfy the customers
more easily in the practical field (Andrews and Shimp 2017).
Current Promotional Mix
The success of a particular product or service depends on whether the company is able to
communicate the benefits of the particular service to the target market. The failure to
communicate the benefits of the particular service will lead to a downfall for the company. The
current Promotional Mix strategy of the organization has been provided in a detailed table;
Types of Promotional Mix Discussion Public Relations The company has given due importance for
the formation of a solid relationship between
the management, customers and the media
channels. Proper relationship between these
parties helps in the creation of publicity and
thus reduces the chances of any negative

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PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF MARKETING
situations in the future. Sales Promotion The marketing team of A business consultants
Ltd. has the aim to increase the short term
sales of the organization by means of
providing discounts to the clients and by other
forms of additional benefits for them. Personal Selling This involves the interaction or the meeting
between the consultant of A Business
Consultancy Ltd. and the client. Advertisement The business firm generally pays for the
communication through the mass media
channels like TV, billboards and other forms
of mass media channels. Marketing via Internet Advertising the services of the organization
through the internet has turned out to be the
latest form of selling. There are a number of
different internet web pages where the
company advertises its services for the clients
to have a look.

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PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF MARKETING
 Sponsorship Sponsorship is another form of promotion as
it helps to increase the brand value of the
product and services. A Business Consultancy
Ltd. sponsors both medium sized events as
well as large scale events.
 Social Media Promotion through social media channels like
Face book and twitter is the latest trend in
promotional mix as the following sites have a
large scale following which helps to promote
the services of the organization to new start
ups and potential entrepreneurs.
Promotional Mix Strategy to be used in the future
The modern market has been undergoing changes every now and then and marketing
teams of different organizations are into a rat race to correctly predict and implement the most
effective strategy to gain success in the future. Social media is the latest trend in the market that
is termed to be the future of marketing (Hassan et al. 2015). Some of the important elements of
social media marketing include;

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PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF MARKETING
1. Though social media platforms are free for the users in future the scenario might change.
However the options of advertisement and sponsorship in these platforms might remain
free and thus the company can employ the following approach to create a different
experience for the users.
2. The emergence of a number of new social apps has been and will continue to be
instrumental to the success of the social media marketing in the near future. The increase
in the social apps will open the doors for further promotion and advertisement of the
organization.
3. Social media tools bring individualization on the consumer experience and thus they have
a great impact on the buying behavior of the customers.
AIDA Marketing Technique
AIDA Model stands for attention, interest, desire and action. It is a common form of
acronym used in marketing and advertising. The following marketing strategy helps the
marketing managers of the business organizations to formulate and implement effective
communication strategies so that communication between them and the consumers becomes
easy. The following describes a common list of events that occur when a customer comes in
contact with an advertisement (Hassan et al. 2015). The management of A business consultants
generally innovates new kinds of advertisements that are bound to grab the attention of the
potential customers. The use of innovative quotes, colors, background or some new channel of
advertisements has come to the use of the marketing team of the department. According to the
business firm the mission of the AIDA model is to;
a. Attract a potential customer

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PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF MARKETING
b. Raise the amount of interest in him
c. Must have a convincing ability
Some recent changes have been gradually integrated into the AIDA model to make it more
flexible and easy to market the services of the organization. The new changes have transformed
the way that the marketers approach the customers and allow the customers much more scope to
choose the best option (Choudhury and Harrigan 2014). The integration of AIDA within the
social media further provides a new dimension to the business and helps the business to make
inroads into a new set of modern customers. The advantage that social media provides the
mentioned business is its ability to draw immense attention and interest. Social Media is the
largest platform for the company to expand its wings and it always keeps on updating (Bhaduri
and Fogarty 2016).
Recommendations
After a detailed analysis of the CRM techniques and its use in the consultancy business
some potential gaps can be identified which may have a clear impact on establishing a proper
customer relationship. However there are different ways by which these gaps can be closed;
1. The CRM software that is used by A Business Consultancy can be formulated in a much
easier and proper way.
2. A detailed analysis of the customer behavior can be recorded and stored by the
organization
3. An updated data on the CRM techniques will help the organization to stay competitive in
the market.

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Conclusion
The following report has enabled the readers to identify the uses of CRM technology and
its technological advantage in the modern marketing world. A thorough analysis of the report
will make the people accustomed to the techniques of modern marketing used by the consulting
company and its effectiveness in the market. The readers will also be able to gain a proper
knowledge on AIDA marketing techniques and the promotional mix strategies used by the
organization. Thus it can be concluded that a proper mix up of the marketing strategies will help
the business to earn much more revenue.

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