Business Stages in Marketing

As a business grows, it may diversify into different product lines. A big business may have such a wide range of products that a whole marketing department is dedicated to monitoring sales and developing new lines. Before any new product is put onto the shop shelves it should get through several stages. The first one is the origination of the idea of a product. Where do ideas originate? Marketing teams get ideas for new products from four main sources.

Competitors' lines is the "me too" source. If a rival company brings out a particular line which does well, the marketing team will explore the possibility of bringing out a similar line to ensure they have a share of the market.

Brainstorming. Colleagues, customers, friends, etc. are encouraged to make suggestions. Most of the ideas they come up with are impractical, but sometimes a winner turns up.

Gaps in the market. The marketing team will be continually looking out for new opportunities. For example, a craze for a new sport will bring opportunities for sportswear and equipment.

Overseas products. A member of the marketing team will be responsible for keeping an eye out for products abroad which might be suitable for the home market.

Once the idea is adopted the research and development department will find out whether the product can be made. Then members of the marketing department will inform a market research agency about their idea, specifying the target customers they are aiming at. The market researchers then produce a questionnaire which they ask a selected number of people to answer. From their answers they can judge the amount of interest there is in the idea, and what sort of demand there may be for it. They will find out information such as how much customers may be prepared to pay for it, and what sort of packaging they prefer.

The marketers now instruct artists to work on designs for the packaging of the product. They also inform an advertising agency about the product, letting it know the market they are aiming at, what image they are trying to present, what competition there is and why this product is better, and a rough price for it. This gives the advertisers time to prepare campaign informing the public about the new product.

The research and development team can now come up with samples and rough costs, and the marketers estimate how many they can sell in a five year, three year or one year period. They can calculate a shelf price for the product taking into account their company's profit and the retailer's mark-up. After comparing this with their competitors' prices they can see whether it is realistic.

The market research agency presents a group of target customers with samples of the actual product. They may have liked the idea of the product - but do they like the actual thing? Will they still want to buy it?

The marketing department then order the production team to make the right number of items of the product to fit in with their sales forecast. The marketing people inform sales representatives about the product and the target market. They decide on any promotional tools they would like to support it in the shops, such as free offers, competitions, and so on.

The sales reps sell the new product to retailers, and the marketing team ensures that it is delivered to them at the right time.

C o m m e n t s

to diversify -	випускати многономенклатурну продукцію, диверси-фицировати (виробництво)
product line -	асортимент виробів
to monitor -	відслідковувати і контролювати
rival -	конкурент
brainstorming -	метод "мозкової атаки ", пошук творчих ідей
winner -	зд. ідея, що приносить прибуток
to turn up -	з'явитися раптом
craze -	модне захоплення
to estimate -	підраховувати приблизно, складати кошторис
shelf price -	продажна ціна
retailer's mark-up -	роздрібна націнка
promotional tools -	рекламно-пропагандистські засоби
free offer -	безкоштовний зразок товару

Task 8. Answer the questions.

1. Where do ideas of new products originate?

2. What does "me too" source mean?

3. How do you understand the brainstorming technique?

4. Give your own example of a possible gap in the market.

5. What new overseas products can be suitable for our market?

6. What is the purpose of a questionnaire?

7. How do the marketers prepare the product for promotion?

8. How is a shelf price of a product calculated?

Task 9. Find in the text English equivalents of the following Russian word combinations:

розмаїтість товарів, виникнення ідеї, досліджувати можливості, спостерігати за, визначаючи цільових покупців, приблизна ціна, фактичний товар, потрібна кількість одиниць виробу, прогноз продажу, агент у справах продажу товарів.

Task 10. Order the following stages in the process of marketing.

___Preparing a promotion compaign.

___Ordering the right number of items of the; product.

___Producing a questionnaire.

___Selling the new product to retailers.

___Originating of the idea of a product.

___Calculating a shelf price.

___Working on design of the packaging.

___Making samples of the product.

___Developing the product.