What is marketing?

Marketing is the process of studying wants and needs and satisfying them by exchanging goods and services; this results in satisfied buyers and creates profits for sellers.

Nowadays, general marketing strategy includes such essential elements as planning, market research, new product development, sale and the so-called communications mix which comprises advertising, public relations, direct mail and special events such as product shows, conferences and exhibitions.

An essential part of marketing is marketing research. The object of it is to find out what consumers want and advise producers the standard of quality, style of packaging, choice of brand name and general design of the products.

To maintain some control over the marketing functions in a firm, many businesses have created a position called marketing manager. A marketing manager plans and executes the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals.

When developing programs to satisfy markets wants and needs marketing managers work with several variables known as the marketing mix. A marketing mix is the strategic combination of product decisions on packaging, pricing, distribution, credit, branding, service, complaint handling, and other marketing activities.

Traditionally the important elements of the marketing mix are defined as the four P’s:

Product (quality, product range, and packaging);

Place (where product is available and how it is distributed)

Promotion (how the potential consumers should be reached and how the company should push its products);

Price (the cost to the buyer of goods and services; credit, retail margins).

Implementation of marketing concept begins and ends with marketing information about customers — first to determine what customers need, and later to evaluate how well the firm is meeting those needs.

Marketing really means nothing if we don’t have the product that appeals to people. Product development, then, is a key activity in any modern business.

From a marketing viewpoint a product is not just the physical good or service. A product consists of all the tangibles and intangibles that consumers evaluate when deciding whether or not to buy something. Thus a product is a washing machine, car, or bottle of beer, but the product also consists of: price, package, store surroundings, image created by advertising, guarantee, reputation of the producer, brand name, service, buyers’ past experience. When people buy a product, they evaluate all these things and compare products in all these dimensions.

Exercise 2 Answer the following questions.

1. What is marketing? 2. What does marketing strategy include? 3. What are the functions of a marketing manager? 4. What is a marketing mix? 5. How were the important elements of the marketing mix defined? 6. Tell about the four Ps. 7. What does product mean for marketing? 8. What is a key activity in any modern business? 9. What does a product consist of?

Exercise 3 Here is a definition of marketing. Complete it by inserting the following verbs in the gaps.

design ▪ develop ▪ identify ▪ influence ▪ modify ▪ persuade

Marketers have to … or anticipate a consumer need; … a product or service that meets that need better than any competing products or services; ... target customers to try the product or service; and, in the long term, … it to satisfy changes in consumer needs or market conditions. Marketers can ... particular features, attractive packaging, and effective advertising, that will … consumers’ wants. Marketing thus begins long before the product or service is put on the market; it combines market research, new product development, distribution, advertising, promotion, product improvement, and so on.

Exercise 4 a) Read a part of an interview with Marianne Irving, Vice President, Marketing, at Pearson Education, talking about successful marketing.

Interviewer: Marianne, what is the key to successful marketing?

Marianne: Well, the key to successful marketing involves many different things. Most people would say successful marketing is just a good creative campaign. Some people would go further than that and say it involves many good marketing communications: reaching the right people, clear marketing messages and working well with sales teams to get the right sales channels.

But the most common definition of marketing is just two words: customer orientation. What does that actually mean though? It really means four things: producing what customers want, when they want it, at the right price and in a way that’s profitable for the company, and I believe in that definition very strongly.

b) Complete the following sentences and draw a chart using the information obtained:

1. Successful marketing includes good creative …, good marketing communications and customer … 2. Good marketing communications include reaching the right …, clear marketing … and working well with … to get the right sales channels. 3. Customer orientation really means four things: producing what customers …, … they want it, at the right … and in a way that’s ….

Exercise 5 Martin is the marketing manager of a telecommunications company. He is telling his colleagues about the marketing mix for a new product. Read and take notes on the four Ps.

The key factors of our cable package are that you get everything you need to connect to the Internet, and that your connection is faster than anything you can get anywhere else. You can email videos in just seconds, instead of minutes or hours. Customers also get free webspace and can use our webpage design program. And finally, our software automatically scans all incoming emails for viruses.

We will be reaching customers through ads on websites and in magazines starting in September. Our product will then be immediately available to customers in major metropolitan areas across Europe. We will guarantee that customers will have all hardware and be able to use our modems within 48 hours of placing an order.

We haven’t fixed a price yet, but this will be decided in the next week or two. Because our product is in the introduction phase, our pricing model should win us as many customers as possible, as quickly as possible.

Product – have everything you need to connect to theInternet, …

Price _____________________________________

Placement _________________________________

Promotion _________________________________

Exercise 6 Use the following tips to make notes on the four Ps of one of your company’s products or services. Then use your notes to give a short presentation of the product or service to the class.

Product: What are the important aspects of your product? Why do people want to buy your product?

Price: What factors affect your price?

Placement: When and where is your product available to customers?

Promotion: List the ways in which you reach customers. What are your contact points?

Exercise 7 a) Read the interviews of four consumers talking about different products. Decide which of the four Ps each speaker is discussing: product, price, promotion or place.

A I really wanted it. But when I tried to buy it, I just couldn’t get it anywhere. My friend heard that it was in one shop and he queued up for ages, but they’d run out by lunch time.

B The company held a party on a river boat to launch their new campaign. It was absolutely fantastic. We also got a free gift at the end.

C The shoes were really expensive but definitely worth it. I think the fact that they are so expensive really distinguishes them from the competition.

D I’ve had this briefcase for 20 years and it still looks good. The material is high quality and long-lasting.

b) Think of some products you have bought recently. Why did you buy them? Which of the four Ps influenced your decision to buy?

Exercise 8 a) Study the following chart and an example of a typical consumer profile of a music magazine Total Guitar.

Product	Demographic (age, occupation, education, income, gender, family size)	Geographic (place of living: region, a rural or urban area, an estate, private housing, and so on)	Benefits of a particular product (brand) as opposed to any other; common characteristics of people who use particular brands (products)	Psychographic (social class, personality type, lifestyle and so on)	Behaviouristic (frequency of purchase, loyalty to particular products or brands and so on)
Total Guitar	Males aged between 14-25.Likely to be at school (college, university). Limited income from part-time work	No particular geographic trend	Likely to enjoy heavy metal (shred styles). Likely to be IT savvy and familiar with DVD/CD technology	Large amounts of leisure time, frequently go out to clubs, pubs and live music events.	Likely to purchase monthly but may not subscribe to the magazine. Internet savvy and interested in relevant merchandise

b) Choose a well-known product for each of these product categories.

1 cars Mercedes 3 watches/jewellery

2 newspapers and magazines 4 clothing

Give typical consumer profiles for each product according to the model above. Consider the products that you described in. How could you try to increase their sales?

Exercise 9 Here are a few of the marketing strategies companies have used in recent years. Find English definitions for them.

ambush marketing – паразитичний маркетинг (спроби асоціювати компанію або торгову марку з якоюсь значною подією (напр. олімпіадою) без виплати комісійних тому, хто організує дану подію) guerrilla marketing – партизанський маркетинг (інноваційні, нетрадиційні та дешеві маркетингові техніки, націлені на досягнення максимального збуту товару) viral marketing – «вірусний маркетинг» (використовує принципи, аналогічні тим, на яких заснована робота комп’ютерних вірусів) blitz marketing – інтенсивна, стрімка компанія, яка укладається у короткий проміжок часу

1 an entrepreneur starts small, produces a product or service that can outdo those of much larger companies, and spends nothing on advertising or promotion; 2 a company attacks the targeted segment of the market with huge resources, advertising, and special offers; 3 companies turn users of the Internet into unwitting (and unpaid) advertisers of their products; 4 a company takes advantage of the presence of the media at an event in order to effectively advertise for free.

Exercise 10 Read and translate the text about branding. Before reading discuss the following questions:

1. Who in your group is wearing clothes of well-known brands? 2. Why are these brands so popular? 3. What is the difference between a logo, a brand, and a trademark? Think of examples of each.

jingle – рекламна пісенька (виконується в рекламній передачі)

signage – ідентифікаційний комплект фірми (набор торгових знаків, вивісок та ін. елементів, які формують образ компанії, сіті ресторанів и т. д.)

connotation – додатковий, побічний відтінок значення

private label – марка торговельного підприємства

generic brand – родова марка товару

brand awareness – репутація торговельної марки; відомість торговельної марки

brand equity – цінність бренда, бренд-капітал

brand extension – поширення бренда

brand identity – індивідуальність бренда

brand image – образ торгової марки, репутація товару

brand loyalty – відданість споживачів бренду

derived brand – похідний бренд

off-brand – без торговельної марки

legal designation – юридична назва