THE FOUR UTILITIES OF MARKETING


The marketing process must also add "utility" to the products consumers want.  Utility is the use or satisfaction a person gets from a product.  If you purchase a chain saw you anticipate that you will receive a certain amount of utility from it.  You will be able to use the saw to cut fire wood, prune trees, and take care of  a variety of jobs around your home.

There are four types of utility.

Form Utility - a product must be processed into a form that the customer wants or needs.  For example, wheat is processed into bread, trees are processed into lumber, and potatoes are processed into

THE NINE FUNCTIONS OF MARKETING







In order for the marketing bridge to work correctly  -- providing consumers with opportunities to purchase the products and services they need -- the marketing process must accomplish nine important functions.




The functions are:

• Buying - people have the the opportunity to buy products that they  want.
• Selling - producers function within a free market to sell products to consumers.

Micro-economics
It is that branch of economics which studies the inter-relationship of individual economic units i.e. households, firms, and industries in the  production, consumption, exchange and distribution of goods and services.
                 OR
The study of behavior of individual consumer or a firm or an industry .

Macro-Economics
It is that branch of economics, which studies the aggregates, and average of the economy and causes of fluctuations in them with a view of focusing on economy as a whole. 

Marketing segmentation is one of the most important strategic concepts in the marketing discipline as well as for the Business . The overall objective of using a Market segmentation strategy is to improve the company’s competitive position and better serve the needs of customers.

The marketing concept calls for understanding customers and satisfying their needs better than the competitors, but different customers have different needs, and it is rarely possible to satisfy all customers by treating them alike.

Market segmentation is the division of a market into different groups of customers with distinctly similar needs and product/service requirements. Or to put it another way, market segmentation is the division of a mass market into identifiable and distinct groups or segments, each of which have common characteristics and needs and display similar responses to marketing actions.

The concept of market segment is based on the fact that the market of commodities are not homogeneous but they are heterogeneous. Market represent a group of

Human resource management (HRM) conducts performance management. Performance management systems consist of the activities and/or processes embraced by an organization in anticipation of improving employee performance, and therefore, organizational performance. Consequently, performance management is conducted at the organizational level and the individual level. At the organizational level, performance management oversees organizational performance and compares present performance with organizational performance goals. The achievement of these organizational performance goals depends on the performance of the individual organizational members. Therefore, measuring individual employee performance can prove to be a valuable performance management process for the purposes of HRM and for the organization.

For starters, performance management is the process of reviewing an employee’s performance during the preceding year or cycle and deciding where he or she stands as far as their peers in the same band are concerned. The process of reviewing results, arriving at a rating and then deciding upon the bonus or salary hike is what performance management is all about.


So, what is it that is so important about performance management?

Planning good strategies is only a start toward successful marketing. A brilliant marketing strategy counts for little if the company fails to implement it properly. Marketing implementation is the process that turns marketing plans into marketing actions in order to accomplish strategic marketing objectives. Implementation involves day-to-day, month-to-month activities that effectively put the marketing plan to work. Whereas marketing planning addresses the what and why of marketing activities, implementation addresses the who, where, when, and how.

Many managers think that

Customer service is important to the success for every business, because without customers there would not be a business. The relationship between a company and its customers has always been important, but it seems like delivering top-notch customer experience is getting more critical in today’s market. Interactions between brands and their consumers are becoming increasingly more customer-driven thanks to the power of social media, and companies are no longer the only ones influencing their brand perception. What your customers say about you and your products is just as important (arguably even more important) than what you say about yourself. Technology has enabled today’s customers to have tremendous clout. Through the power and virility of Facebook, Twitter and online review sites, customers can influence a company’s brand value in a positive or a negative direction. And what your customers have to say about your brand is directly related to the experience they have when interacting with your company. Much of that interaction will stem from your company’s contact center.

Excellent customer service results in:

Customer service is when a company works everyday to keep our business so that they never face the threat of losing any customer.  It is the difference between a company that acts proactively and a company that simply reacts.
Recently saw this quote on a Simon Sinek newsletter and it got me to thinking about how we approach customer service.  How many of us only react to our customers and don’t proactively work to make sure that their visit is their best ever before they arrive?

Here are some ideas on how you can start making sure that you are working everyday to keep your customers.

Before your Customer/guest arrives:

1.)    Make sure that the person answering the phone has a smile in their voice.  I can’t tell you how many times I have called to make a reservation only to hear a monotone that sounds like a computer recording.  Train your customer service  people to smile before they pick up the phone.  Sounds silly since no one can see the smile but it actually works to send that smile across the airwaves.  Have friends call the office on occasion just to find out how the customer service person sounds.  Do they sound happy that the person has called?  Do they offer information ethically and satisfied the customer?

2.)    Be sure to send out confirmations on any reservations. This helps make sure that nothing has been entered

Horizontal integration: integrating L&D activity with other HR practices so that there is consistency across the whole HR area, with all its activity supporting organisational goals. Horizontal integration is found in the way all HR activities feed into each other and support each other. Such activities as Recruitment & Selection, Performance Management, Reward Management must be tailored is such a way that each feeds into and is in turn supported by the other.

Monopolistic/Imperfect competition as the name signifies is a blend of monopoly and competition. It is a systematic and realistic theory of price analysis in this imperfectly competitive world. Monopolistic competition is a market situation in which there are relatively large number of small firms which produce or sell similar but not identical commodities to the customers.

According to Leftwitch:
"Monopolistic competition is a market situation in which there are many sellers of a particular product, but the product of each seller is in some way differentiated in the minds of consumers from the product of every other seller".

In the words of J.S. Bain:
 "Monopolistic competition is found in the industry where there is a large number of small sellers selling differentiated but close substitute products".


For example, a firm supplies branded good 'Lux Soap' in the market. There are many other firms in the market which sell similar soaps (not identical) with different brand names like Rexona, Palm Rose, etc., etc. The firm supplying 'Lux Soap' enjoys a monopoly position over the sale of its own product. It also faces competition from firms selling similar products.

Same is the case with many other firms in the market like plywood manufacturing, jewellery making, wood furniture, book stores, departmental stores, repair services of all kinds, professional services of doctors, technicians, etc., etc. These firms and others which have an element of monopoly power and also face competition over the sale of product or service in the market are called monopolistically competitive firms.

The existence within a market for some good or service of a sufficient number of buyers and sellers such that no single market participant has enough influence to determine the going price of the good or service is known as Competition . It is opposite of monopoly.

Any person or entity which is a rival against another. In business, a company in the same industry or a similar industry which offers a similar product or service. The presence of one or more competitors can reduce the prices of goods and services as the companies attempt to gain a larger market share. Competition also requires companies to become more efficient in order to reduce costs. Fast-food restaurants McDonald's and Burger King are competitors, as are Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and Wal-Mart and Target.

"Competition" is one of those simple words which are common in everyday speech. We all assume we understand what it means, but when we try and explain it, it starts to present problems. Ask yourself what benefits you think you get from

Performance Management is one of the key processes that, when effectively carried out, helps employees know that their contributions are recognized and acknowledged. Performance management is an ongoing process of communication between a supervisor and an employee that occurs throughout the year, in support of accomplishing the strategic objectives of the organization. The communication process includes clarifying expectations, setting objectives, identifying goals, providing feedback, and evaluating results.

Overseeing performance and providing feedback is not an isolated event, focused in a performance assessment or evaluation. It is an ongoing process that takes place throughout the year. The Performance management process is a cycle, with discussions varying year-to-year based on changing objectives.

Organizations that take this seriously manage performance via a set of inter-related techniques that fall under the headings Plan, Act, Monitor and Review:

Reactive customer service is the action of Handling Customer Challenges. Reactive customer service is action taken by companies after customers experience problems or make complaints. This is in contrast to proactive customer service, which is aimed at minimizing problems or complaints. Many companies spend most of their day dealing with things like the following:

• The order did not ship on time.
• The warranty paperwork was never issued.
• The wrong name was put on the contracts.

In today’s information-soaked business climate, the time dedicated to reactive issues has skyrocketed. The more complicated our businesses have become, the more potential for problems.

Look at your job (and your life) — has it gotten simpler in the last decade or