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1、INTRODUCTION TO MARKETINGLars Perner, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Clinical Marketing Deparment of Marketing, Marshall School of BusinessUniversity of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0443, USA(213) 740-7127 Cell: (760) 412-0154pernermarshall.usc.edu Current Marketing Fundamentals Course We
2、b Site Background What is marketing? Almost every marketing textbook has a different definition of the term “marketing.” The American Marketing Association (AMA) uses the following: “The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and servi
3、ces to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.” From this definition, we see that: Marketing involves an ongoing process. The environment is “dynamic.” This means that the market tends to changewhat customers want today is not necessarily what they want tomorrow. For
4、example, sales of beef are declining in the United States because consumers have become health oriented. Similarly, Tupperware parties are less popular today than they once were because there are fewer housewives who do not work outside the home. This process involves both planning and implementing
5、(executing) the plan. Some of the main issues involved include: o Marketers help design products, finding out what customers want and what can practically be made available given technology and price constraints. o Marketers distribute productsthere must be some efficient way to get the products fro
6、m the factory to the end-consumer. o Marketers also promote products, and this is perhaps what we tend to think of first when we think of marketing. Promotion involves advertisingand much more. Other tools to promote products include trade promotion (store sales, coupons, and rebates), obtaining fav
7、orable and visible shelf-space, and obtaining favorable press coverage. o Marketers also price products to “move” them. We know from economics that, in most cases, sales correlate negatively with pricethe higher the price, the lower the quantity demanded. In some cases, however, price may provide th
8、e customer with a “signal” of quality. Thus, the marketer needs to price the product to (1) maximize profit and (2) communicate a desired image of the product. o Marketing is applicable to services and ideas as well as to tangible products. For example, accountants may need to market their tax prepa
9、ration services to consumers. Reasons for studying marketing. There are several good reasons for studying marketing. First of all, marketing issues are important in all areas of the organizationcustomers are the reasons why businesses exist! In fact, marketing efforts (including such services as pro
10、motion and distribution) often account for more than half of the price of a product. As an added benefit, studying marketing often helps us become more savvy consumers. We will learn, for instance, that the per unit price of a bigger package is frequently higher than that of a smaller one, and that
11、more expensive products are frequently not better in quality. Criteria that must be met for marketing to occur. Several criteria must be met for marketing to occur: There must be two parties, each with unsatisfied needs or wants. This want, of course, could be money for the seller. Each must have so
12、mething to offer. Marketing involves voluntary “exchange” relationships where both sides must be willing parties. Thus, a consumer who buys a soft drink in a vending machine for 60 must value the soft drink, available at that time and place, more than the money. Conversely, the vendor must value the
13、 money more. (It is interesting to note that money is, strictly speaking, not necessary for this exchange to take place. It is possible, albeit a bit cumbersome, to exchange two ducks for a pair of shoes.) The parties must be able to communicate. This could be through a display in a store, an infome
14、rcial, or a posting on eBay. The marketing vs. the selling concept. Two approaches to marketing exist. The traditional selling concept emphasizes selling existing products. The philosophy here is that if a product is not selling, more aggressive measures must be taken to sell ite.g., cutting price,
15、advertising more, or hiring more aggressive (and obnoxious) sales-people. When the railroads started to lose business due to the advent of more effective trucks that could deliver goods right to the customers door, the railroads cut prices instead of recognizing that the customers ultimately wanted
16、transportation of goods, not necessarily railroad transportation. Smith Corona, a manufacturer of typewriters, was too slow to realize that consumers wanted the ability to process documents and not typewriters per se. The marketing concept, in contrast, focuses on getting consumers what they seek, r
17、egardless of whether this entails coming up with entirely new products. The 4 Psproduct, place (distribution), promotion, and pricerepresent the variables that are within the control of the firm (at least in the medium to long run). In contrast, the firm is faced with uncertainty from the environmen
18、t. The Marketing Environment Elements of the environment. The marketing environment involves factors that, for the most part, are beyond the control of the company. Thus, the company must adapt to these factors. It is important to observe how the environment changes so that a firm can adapt its stra
19、tegies appropriately. Consider these environmental forces: Competition: Competitors often “creep” in and threaten to take away markets from firms. For example, Japanese auto manufacturers became a serious threat to American car makers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Similarly, the Lotus Corporati
20、on, maker of one of the first commercially successful spreadsheets, soon faced competition from other software firms. Note that while competition may be frustrating for the firm, it is good for consumers. (In fact, we will come back to this point when we consider the legal environment). Note that co
21、mpetition today is increasingly global in scope. Economics. Some firms in particular are extremely vulnerable to changes in the economy. Consumers tend to put off buying a new car, going out to eat, or building new homes in bad times. In contrast, in good times, firms serving those needs may have di
22、fficulty keeping up with demand. Political. Businesses are very vulnerable to changes in the political situation. For example, because consumer groups lobbied Congress, more stringent rules were made on the terms of car leases. The tobacco industry is currently the target of much negative attention
23、from government and public interest groups. Currently, the desire to avoid aiding the enemy may result in laws that make it more difficult for American firms to export goods to other countries. Legal: Firms are very vulnerable to changing laws and changing interpretations by the courts. Firms in the
24、 U.S. are very vulnerable to lawsuits. McDonalds, for example, is currently being sued by people who claim that eating the chains hamburgers caused them to get fat. Some impacts of the legal environment: Firms are significantly limited in what they can do by various lawssome laws, for example, requi
25、re that disclosures be made to consumers on the effective interest rates they pay on products bought on installment. A particularly interesting group of laws relate to antitrust. These laws basically exist to promote fair competition among firms. Some principles involved here include: o Collusion: F
26、irms may not “conspire” to fix prices (agree that they will not sell below an agreed upon price) or reduce services. o Predation: Firms may not sell their products below their cost of production for the purpose of driving competitors out of business so that they, themselves, can raise prices when co
27、mpetition is reduced. o Market share: Firms which have an unacceptably large market share may be “broken” up by court order so that many smaller firms will be around to compete. (This is what happened to AT&T, and at times, IBM has been worried about this prospect). Tying: A firm that controls a val
28、uable product may not require the consumer to buy a more commonplace one to get the scarce product. For example, Intel controls many of the newest microprocessors (e.g., Pentium IV). Intel also makes motherboards for computers; however, motherboards are made by a lot of firms. Intel would be thought
29、 to abuse its effective monopoly power if it required consumers to buy a motherboard in order to get its newest chips. Technological. Changes in technology may significantly influence the demand for a product. For example, the advent of the fax machine was bad news for Federal Express. The Internet
30、is a major threat to travel agents. Social: Changes in customs or demographics greatly influence firms. Fewer babies today are being born, resulting in a decreased demand for baby foods. More women work outside the home today, so there is a greater demand for prepared foods. There are more unmarried
31、 singles today. This provides opportunities for some firms (e.g., fast food restaurants) but creates problems for others (e.g., manufacturers of high quality furniture that many people put off buying until marriage). Today, there are more “blended” families that result as parents remarry after divor
32、ce. These families are often strapped for money but may require “duplicate” items for children at each parents residence. Environmental scanning helps the firm understand developments in the market. Such developments may involve changes in the market place due to social trends (e.g., Gerber, a manuf
33、acturer of baby products, faces a serious challenge with declining U.S. birth rates), technology (e.g., VCR makers are threatened by DVD players), or new or potential competitors (e.g., Internet service providers are being threatened by increasing marketing efforts from MSN). Note that environmental
34、 scanning must be performed continuously, since environmental change does not cease. Economic cycles. The economy goes through cycles. In the late 1990s, the U.S. economy was quite strong, and many luxury goods were sold. Currently, the economy is somewhat weak, and many firms are facing the results
35、. Car makers, for example, have seen declining profit margins (and even losses) as they have had to cut prices and offer low interest rates on financing. Generally, in good economic times, there is a great deal of demand, but this introduces a fear of possible inflation. In the U.S., the Federal Res
36、erve will then try to prevent the economy from “overheating.” This is usually done by raising interest rates. This makes businesses less willing to invest, and as a result, people tend to make less money. During a recession, unemployment tends to rise, causing consumers to spend less. This may resul
37、t in a “bad circle,” with more people losing their jobs due to lowered demands. Some businesses, however, may take this opportunity to invest in growth now that things can be bought more cheaply. Strategic Planning and the Marketing Process Plans and planning. Plans are needed to clarify what kinds
38、of strategic objectives an organization would like to achieve and how this is to be done. Such plans must consider the amount of resources available. One critical resource is capital. Microsoft keeps a great deal of cash on hand to be able to “jump” on opportunities that come about. Small startup so
39、ftware firms, on the other hand, may have limited cash on hand. This means that they may have to forego what would have been a good investment because they do not have the cash to invest and cannot find a way to raise the capital. Other resources that affect what a firm may be able to achieve includ
40、e Trademarks/brand names: It would be very difficult to competefactors such as: Patents: It would be difficult toagainst Coke and Pepsi in the cola market. compete against Intel and AMD in the microprocessor market since both these People:firms have a number of patents that it is difficult to get ar
41、ound. Even with all of Microsofts money available, it could not immediately hire the Distribution: Stores have spacepeople needed to manufacture computer chips. for only a fraction of the products they are offered, so they must turn many away. A firm that does not have an established relationship wi
42、th stores will be at a disadvantage in trying to introduce a new product. Plans are subject to the choices and policies that the organization has made. Some firms have goals of social responsibility, for example. Some firms are willing to take a greater risk, which may result in a very large payoff
43、but also involve the risk of a large loss, than others. Strategic marketing is best seen as an ongoing and never-ending process. Typically: The organization will identify the objectives it wishes to achieve. This could involve profitability directly, but often profitability is a long term goal that
44、may require some intermediate steps. The firm may seek to increase market share, achieve distribution in more outlets, have sales grow by a certain percentage, or have consumers evaluate the product more favorably. Some organizations have objectives that are not focused on monetary profite.g., promo
45、ting literacy or preventing breast cancer. An analysis is made, taking into consideration issues such as organizational resources, competitors, the competitors strengths, different types of customers, changes in the market, or the impact of new technology. Based on this analysis, a plan is made base
46、d on tradeoffs between the advantages and disadvantages of different options available. This strategy is then carried out. The firm may design new products, revamp its advertising strategy, invest in getting more stores to carry the product, or decide to focus on a new customer segment. After implem
47、entation, the results or outcome are evaluated. If results are not as desired, a change may have to be made to the strategy. Even if results are satisfactory, the firm still needs to monitor the environment for changes. Levels of planning and strategies. Plans for a firm can be made at several diffe
48、rent levels. At the corporate level, the management considers the objectives of the firm as a whole. For example, Microsoft may want seek to grow by providing high quality software, hardware, and services to consumers. To achieve this goal, the firm may be willing to invest aggressively. Plans can a
49、lso be made at the business unit level. For example, although Microsoft is best known for its operating systems and applications software, the firm also provides Internet access and makes video games. Different managers will have responsibilities for different areas, and goals may best be made by those closest to the business area being considered. It is also more practical to hold managers accountable for performance if the plan is be
