Some more Information about Marketing

Marketing means finding out what people want, than producing it and offering it to them. It is both a specific activity which needs to be carried out as a vital stage in the development of a new product, and a continuous process that is an integral part of everyday management activity.

In a manufacturing company, the marketing department pinpoints a new product that could be successfully developed and introduced. The research and development department designs it, then the production departments makes it, the publicity department promotes it, and the sales department sells it.

In reality, you know probably all of these departments, and several others too. This is good you can bypass all the problems of communication between the different departments. At the same time, it may be helpful to think consciously which hat you are wearing at any one moment, so as not to confuse marketing with other related activities.

What marketing is:

- being customer-oriented, taking the market as the starting point;

- integrating a number of different functions, such as planning which courses other services to market, designing and packaging them, deciding on the price structure, promoting and presenting them in various ways, following up;

- developing a strategy that concentrates effort on meeting the stated aims of the organization, so that effort is focused and not wasted.

What marketing is not:

- getting your name known (this is publicity);

- preparing specific courses on demand (course design);

- getting people to buy your courses (sales);

- going to nice places in the hope of making useful contacts (junketing).

Marks & Spencer

Britain’s favourite store

Marks & Spencer ( or M&S ) is Britain’s favourite store. Tourists love it too. It attracts a great variety of customers, from housewives to millionaires. Dustin Hoffman and the British Prime Minister are just a few of its famous customers. Last year it made a profit of $529 million, which is more than $10 million a week.

How did it all begin?

It started 105 years ago, when a young Polish immigrant, Michael Marks, had a stall in Leeds market. He didn’t have many things to sell: some cotton, a little wool, lots of buttons, and a few shoelaces. Above his stall he put the new famous notice: Don’t ask how much – it’s a penny. Ten years later, he met Tom Spencer and together they started Penny Stalls in many towns in the north of England. Today there are 564 branches of M&S all over the world – in America, Canada, Spain, France, Belgium and Hungary.

What are the best sellers?

Surprisingly, tastes in food and clothes are international. What ells well in Paris sells just as well in Newcastle. Their best-selling clothes are:

* For women: jumpers, bras, and knickers (M&S is famous for its knickers!).

* For men: shirts, socks, pyjamas, dressing gowns, and suits.

* For children: underwear and socks.

Best-sellers in food include: fresh chickens, bread, vegetables, and sandwiches. Chicken Kyiv is internationally the most popular convenience food.

Why is M&S so successful?

The store bases its business on three principles: good value, good quality and good service. Also, it changes with the times – once it was all jumpers and knickers. Now it’s food, furniture and flowers as well. Top fashion designers advise on styles of clothes. But perhaps the most important key to its success is its happy, well-trained staff. Conditions of work are excellent. There are company doctors, dentists, hairdressers, and even chiropodists to look after staff, and the staff can have lunch for under 40p!