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MARKETING ESSENTIALS
Author’s note
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 1
Table of Contents
PART 1.......................................................................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
The role and responsibilities of a marketing manager in the context of the organization.....4
Analysis of how marketing influences and interrelates with other functional departments of
the organization......................................................................................................................6
Value and importance of the marketing role in the context of the organization....................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9
PART 2.....................................................................................................................................11
Section A..............................................................................................................................11
Section B..............................................................................................................................14
Market plan......................................................................................................................14
References................................................................................................................................18
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 2
PART 1
Introduction
The assignment aims at analyzing the concept of marketing concepts and strategies
within the organization. The assignment has been divided into two parts. The first part
includes marketing concepts for Microsoft. The second part of the assignment includes
comparison of 7Ps of marketing between different organizations of the same industry. The
comparison is done between Apple and Samsung. The second part also includes market plan
for the organization chosen in the first part i.e., Microsoft.
Discussion
Production concept: This idea is based on the consumer's view that customers are drawn
towards goods that are readily available in good quantities on the market at cheap prices. The
organization's operating ability must therefore concentrate on raising the rate of production.
Product concept: Consumers are linked and select goods that have value for money, quality
and imaginative approach. This concept indicates that customers can be maintained by goods
and services that are advantageous to customers.
Selling concept: Through advertisements, the mind set of modern customers are attracted,
so, the customers prefer to concentrate on the goods and services that are actively advertised
on the market (Wood 2016).
Marketing concepts: The marketing concept outlines the need for the distribution of their
goods and services to concentrate on the target customers. In addition, company companies
need to have better prices for goods and services in order to meet the competitive market. In
order to communicate with the target consumers, the marketing concept indicates that the
organization's brand image needs to be improved. If the value of the brand is improved,
customers will naturally prefer the brand over other business rivals.
Societal concept: This principle reflects the big emphasis on target customer needs and
requirements, so customers can choose the brand to the other rivals on the market (Kotler,
Kartajaya and Setiawan 2019).
Marketing mix-planning: After a strategy has been developed, an organization must then
determine which strategies would be most successful in achieving strategy objectives.
Tactical marketing involves designing a four-component product, price, place and
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 4
promotional marketing mix that fits the plan for the targeted collection of consumer needs
(Marketing - The marketing process 2021).
Marketing control: Every business is continuously evolving, and a plan that is immediately
effective might not be successful in the future. To be sure that it continues to achieve its
targets, it is important to review a marketing campaign regularly. Four types of control
strategies are used namely: profit control, annual plan control, efficiency control and strategic
control (Deepak and Jeyakumar 2019).
The role and responsibilities of a marketing manager in the context of the organization
A marketing manager is the person who is responsible for managing the product’s
marketing tools in the company. A marketing manager is someone who manages a company
or product's marketing tools. Marketing managers concentrate primarily on the functional
coordination and execution of the marketing activities in the company. In order to be efficient
and effective in their performance, marketing managers must perform the following
functions:
Identifying potential market: manager has to identify potential market for enhancing
demand of products and services.
Creating market plan: The manager is expected to devise a business strategy to determine
how to execute marketing activities such as forecasting, advertising, promotion, distribution,
and others to achieve the company's target.
Distribution strategy: marketing manager is responsible for the distribution of goods and
services with the help of retailers, wholesalers and other intermediaries (Functions and
Responsibilities of Marketing Manager 2021).
When a company's management needs to prepare and execute a marketing plan, the
company's finance department, the human resources department, the sales department and the
production department need to be assisted in the market plan. Marketing activities are distinct
business organization departments, however every department and role in an organization
are connected together to improve the company's profitability (Hanssens and Pauwels 2016).
For instance: finance department provides budget, production department deals with logistics,
human resource deals with manpower planning and many more.
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 6
Value and importance of the marketing role in the context of the organization
Marketing plays a very important role in the context of organizational performance.
Some of the importance and role of marketing are as follows:
Brand equity: Consumers tend to be inclined towards brands or organizations that offer their
goods and services with added value. Marketing thereby offers a reputation and builds the
company's high brand image among customers. This approach explicitly encourages business
entities to maximize their volume of sales.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it concludes that marketing is the crucial department in
the business and it help he company to maintain long-lasting relations with the customers.
This is the strategy which helps the business to flourish. But marketing department cannot
contribute alone towards the development of the company. It requires constant of other
functional departments. The sales department requires support of the finance, marketing,
supply and production department for operating efficiently. Similarly, for executing any
marketing plan, the finance department provides budget and monitors costs, production
department handles complaints related to the product, supply chain helps in inventory and
distribution of products, human resource is responsible for manpower and many more. Thus,
marketing department works in collaboration with other department for the overall success of
the company.
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 8
References
Chaney, D., Touzani, M. and Ben Slimane, K., 2017. Marketing to the (new) generations:
summary and perspectives, 10(12), pp.25.
Contreras, F.L. and Ramos, M.L.Z., 2016. What is Marketing? A Study on Marketing
Managers’ Perception of the Definition of Marketing. In Forum Empresarial (Vol. 21, No. 1,
pp. 49-69). Universidad de Puerto Rico.
Deepak, R.K.A. and Jeyakumar, S., 2019. Marketing management. Educreation Publishing,
20(3), pp.15-23
Encyclopedia Britannica. 2021. Marketing - The marketing process. [online] Available at:
<https://www.britannica.com/topic/marketing/The-marketing-process> [Accessed 18
February 2021].
Hanssens, D.M. and Pauwels, K.H., 2016. Demonstrating the value of marketing. Journal of
Marketing, 80(6), pp.173-190.
Homburg, C., Jozić, D. and Kuehnl, C., 2017. Customer experience management: toward
implementing an evolving marketing concept. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 45(3), pp.377-401.
IMD business school. 2021. The top 7 trends that will affect the future of marketing | IMD.
[online] Available at: <https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/seven-trends-that-
will-affect-the-future-of-marketing/> [Accessed 18 February 2021].
Jain, E. and Yadav, A., 2017. Marketing and technology: role of technology in modern
marketing. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 19(5), pp.49-53.
Kotler, P., 2016. A framework for marketing management. Pearson Education Limited.
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 9
Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H. and Setiawan, I., 2019. Marketing 3.0: From products to customers
to the human spirit. In Marketing Wisdom (pp. 139-156). Springer, Singapore.
Marušić, T., 2019. Importance of marketing mix in successful positioning of products and
services on the market. Ekonomska misao i praksa, (1), pp.431-446.
Small Business - Chron.com. 2021. What Aptitudes, Strengths & Skills Does a Marketing
Manager Call For?. [online] Available at: <https://smallbusiness.chron.com/aptitudes-
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Wood, M.B., 2016. The marketing plan handbook (p. 224). Pearson.
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 10
PART 2
Section A
clients with high rates. The pricing on its most recent smartphones
strategy often assists the company and other products. As
to target a small portion of middle- and competitors launch products with
upper-class market and also contributes the same characteristics and
to higher profits for the business. capabilities, Samsung lowers
In general, Apple prices are higher than costs and raises its market share
those of their rivals. When the iPhone 5c as easily. "For instance, within
was launched in September 2013, two months of their launch, the
analysts anticipated a cheaper handset to Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus
compete with the smartphones of smartphones began to see
cheaper rivals. Selling a great phone and discounts of more than USD
delivering a great experience is the 150."
primary aim of the company. When an Samsung is a pioneer in monitors
old computer is returned to encourage and smartphones in the market.
sales of new items, Apple provides store However, in all segments of the
credit. And even if a device doesn't apply company, it does not play the
for credit, it will be recycled and same position. For instance,
converted into something positive for the Samsung could never possibly
world (Tien, Long and Chi 2019). exceed LG for home appliances.
Cannon and Nikon are among
the leading cameras in the
industry. Samsung therefore
applies aggressive pricing to
domestic appliances for its
products and cameras and
declares the position of these
markets (Liu, Zhai and Chen
2019).
Place The organization has employed a holistic Samsung is involved in the market
distribution approach to enter the market. The across distinct networks. Samsung is
business prefers selective distribution strategies now focusing on the three-segment
that include Apple stores, Apple online stores, model of channel marketing. New retail
certified distributors, telecom companies, etc. & distributors, distribution and service
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 12
simplicity. Apple is also remembered for its businesses. It is highly diversified and
simpler processes and functions. The has activities in engineering, consumer
organization operates many factories across the electronics, financial services,
globe and all operations adopt a structured shipbuilding and medical services,
strategy (Apple 7Ps of Marketing Mix 2021). among others. Samsung is adopting the
best practices and procedures of the
industry for the manufacture of its goods
(Samsung Marketing Mix 2021).
Physical evidence The logo as well as the friendly atmosphere of In various colored packaging that can be
the stores is the physical evidence of the brand. easily found on store shelves, the
It offers clients a luxury experience and helps to company markets its products. They are
preserve the reputation of the brand with placed on the special shelves of the
sophistication. company, which have a distinct color
and design. It enables the positioning of
these shelves for customers in successful
retail stores.
Section B
Market plan
With the following specific tasks, the fundamental marketing plan for Microsoft can
be developed:
Identification of target customers: After research, the most critical factor in the marketing
planning process is the identification of target audiences. To build and schedule accordingly,
the company must be specific about its final client. The company will recognize their rivals
who are going after their target customers. The analysis of rivals also allows the company to
effectively learn about industry dynamics and market positives and negatives.
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 14
Pricing strategy: Sectors, capacity to pay, business dynamics, competitor behavior, trade
margins and production costs, among others, are taken into account in a pricing strategy. It is
directed at the customers and competitors identified (Scott 2021).
Budget: Formulate a budget for marketing strategies and use a specific timeline to create well
defined objectives and outcomes.
Distribution strategy: The places where company will promote and sell its products are
distribution channels. One can identify the areas in which this customer tends to purchase
once people determine the target market. This will include retail outlets, online market, trade
shows and many more.
Product strategy: this will include which product to sell and through which platform. This
will also identify the target market and customer segment for specific products.
Promotion plan: this will include various platforms for promoting the products and services
of the company. Some of the platforms include blogs, social media ads, search engine
optimization, offline promotion, billboards, email marketing, content marketing, viral
marketing, and many more.
Product: The Company’s product must have consistency, customer service, availability and
branding characteristics. Microsoft intends to meet the needs and expectations of its
customers with the company's goods and services.
Price: Pricing is the most important aspect of the marketing mix, and the business needs to
use a pricing approach that can counter its rivals and provide the customer with a value-added
feature.
Place: For the company's growth, the availability of the product is necessary. In the case of e-
commerce sites, the store location must be available to the target customers and the
distribution section must be good.
Promotion: The use of marketing messages, personal sales, direct marketing and
advertisement to communicate efficiently with customers is called promotion (Išoraitė 2016).
People: The Company’s people include such as managers, workers, customer representatives,
respectively.
Process: The organization's systems must have business activities focused on consumers.
The company's main aim is to have a customer-focused effort to succeed in the company.
Physical evidence: The consumer interface must be pleasant, such as selling the items to
customers, and the representatives of the organization must act professionally (Scott 2021).
The evaluation and monitoring will be done through SMART goals (Malhotra, Nunan
and Birks 2017). The goals will consider areas like return on investment, review of sales
numbers, customer reactions and response, market reach expansion, partner response,
salesperson feedback, actions of rivals, sales response, cost per acquisition, customer
retention rate, expenses and many other factors.
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 16
References
Apple (IN). 2021. Apple Accessories for Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac. [online]
Available at: <https://www.apple.com/in/shop/accessories/all> [Accessed 17 February 2021].
Asdi, A. and Putra, A.H.P.K., 2020. The Effect of Marketing Mix (4P) on Buying Decision:
Empirical Study on Brand of Samsung Smartphone Product. Point Of View Research
Management, 1(4), pp.121-130.
Digital Marketing. 2021. Apple 7Ps of Marketing Mix. [online] Available at:
<https://nikdigital2018.wordpress.com/2018/08/15/apple-7ps-of-marketing-mix/> [Accessed
17 February 2021].
Išoraitė, M., 2016. Marketing mix theoretical aspects. International Journal of Research-
Granthaalayah, 4(6), pp.25-37.
Liu, J., Zhai, X. and Chen, L., 2019. Optimal pricing strategy under trade-in program in the
presence of strategic consumers. Omega, 84, pp.1-17.
Malhotra, N.K., Nunan, D. and Birks, D.F., 2017. Marketing research: An applied approach.
Pearson Education Limited.
Part 2
Ruiz, E.H., Restrepo, C.A.P., Lopez, C.A. and Kee, D.M.H., 2020. Samsung: Customer
loyalty strategy in Malaysia and Colombia. International Journal of Accounting & Finance in
Asia Pasific (IJAFAP), 3(2), pp.57-67.
Scott, C., 2021. How to Create a Go-to-Market Strategy for a New Product. [online]
QuickBooks. Available at: <https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/selling/how-to-create-a-go-to-
market-strategy-for-a-new-product/> [Accessed 18 February 2021].
MARKETING ESSENTIALS 17
Tien, N.H., Long, N.T. and Chi, D.T.P., 2019. Price Policy in International Marketing.
Comparative Analysis between Samsung and Apple.“. International Journal of Research in
Marketing Management and Sales, 1(2), pp.144-147.
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