Understanding Marketing

Understanding Marketing

Ben Yoder

July 15, 2006

AIU Online

Abstract

A company cannot truly grow without a great marketing program. Marketing has evolved with the internet. Companies can now track customers much easier, filling their needs and wants. Companies realize that building a strong customer relationship is more important then mass marketing and having many customers. They are finding that retaining existing customers is more efficient then having more customers who are not repeat customers. Marketing is not just selling and advertising like it used to be, customer satisfaction is more important. Also it's not just dedicated to one department; everyone has to participate to have complete customer satisfaction.

Businesses need marketing programs to be successful in their industry. Marketing must be carefully be thought about and planned out. The firm should set goals and come up with strategies to reach these marketing goals. How does marketing work and why is it important to have great marketing strategies?

Understanding their marketing environment is something that all marketers must do immediately upon starting a job. Marketing used to be thought as just selling and advertising, but now is more conscious of customer needs and wants. Businesses are finding that it is cheaper and more profitable to keep existing customers satisfied, instead of constantly attracting new customers that are not satisfied and then immediately losing these customers Armstrong, G. & Kotler, P. (2005). It makes sense to retain customers; other wise companies have to shell out excessive amounts of money in advertising to attract new customers. Marketers have to research the (product, service, or experience) Armstrong, G. & Kotler, P. (2005) that they will be marketing. Marketers then search out and target the most profitable market. Targeting lower income people when selling 60 inch flat screen televisions is not going to boost sales; instead the marketer should target middle or upper income markets where the expensive television can be afforded

Marketing management is important to staying organized and efficient. [Traditionally sales and marketing departments did not get along. Companies are now finding that when these two departments work together sales cycles are shorter, market-entry costs go down, and the cost of sales is lower. IBM personally found out that when the two departments were integrated that the marketing program was more efficient] Kotler, Krishnaswamy, & Rackham (n.d.). Marketing managers must find ways for all departments to get along and supplement each others work. Managers should also create or find something in their product or service that will attract customers. Teracycle a startup business in Trenton, NJ sells fertilizer made out of worm compost. Their product, packing, and even some of their equipment is recycled trash. Their marketing plan is to promote that their product is totally organic Burlingham (2006) and it works, through this method they have acquired business from Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Such formidable companies can have a huge impact on a small startup like Teracycle. The right marketing is vital to attract profitable customers.

The most important part to a successful marketing program is customer satisfaction. Without customer satisfaction the firm loses customers and eventually fails. With the B2B (business to business) model, connectivity with customers, channel partners, and suppliers is very important to decision making and customer satisfaction (AIU-Online 2006). Technology is making connectivity easier through video, teleconferencing, and the internet. Marketers most show respect, honesty, go the extra mile, and do unto others as you would want others to do to you Lesonsky (2001). For example, a customer goes to the hardware and buys a box of nails and then comes home to find out that they are the wrong size; now he wants to return the nails even though there is nothing wrong with the product. Letting the customer return the nails will build customer loyalty and the customer will most likely return in the future. Companies are realizing that losing a customer, means losing a lifetime of purchases that the customer would have made Armstrong, Kotler (2005). The hardware store realized that it would cost more in the long run if they lost the customer's business, so they will refund him for the nails. How do businesses find out how to keep customers satisfied? Simply by