MKTG 3305 Final Exam

A desire outcome of marketing. An exchange is when people give up something to receive something they would rather have. Exchange does not require money.[The 5 conditions for exchange are:(1)At least two parties.(2)Each party has something that might be of value to the other party.(3)Each party is capable of communication and delivery.(4)Each party if free to accept or reject the exchange offer.(5)Each party believes it is appropriate or desirable to deal with the other party.] Exchange will not necessarily take place even if all these conditions exist. An exchange does not take place until an agreement is reached with a buyer and you actually sell the product. Marketing an occur even if an exchange does not occur.

Customer value is the relationship between benefits and the sacrifice necessary to obtain those benefits. Customer quality is NOT simply a matter of high quality. A high-quality product that is available at a high price will not be perceived as a good value, nor vice versa. Customers value good and services that are of the quality they expect and that are sold at prices they are willing to pay. Marketers interested in customer value: (1)Offer products that perform.(2)Earn trust.(3)Avoid unrealistic pricing.(4)Give the buyer facts.(5)Offer organization-wide commitment in service and after-sales support..(6)Co-creation:Allow customers to shape their own experience.Ex. TiVo

Customer satisfaction is the customer's evaluation of a good or service in terms of whether that good or service has met the customer's needs and expectations. Failure to meet needs and requirements results in dissatisfaction with the good or service.Keeping current customers satisfied is just as important as attracting new ones and a lot less expensive

A production orientation is a philosophy that focuses on the internal capabilities of the firm rather than on the desires and needs of the marketplace. Management assesses its resources and asks: "What can our engineers design?", "What is easy to produce, given our equipment?"This is also referred to as the Field of Dreams orientation from the famous movie line, "If we build it, they will come." A production orientation falls short because it does not consider whether the goods and services that the firm produces most efficiently also meet the needs of the marketplace. Sometime what a firm can best produce is exactly what a market wants.When competition is weak or demand exceeds supply, a production-oriented firm can survive and even prosper.

A Sales Orientation is based on the ideas that people will buy more goods and services if aggressive sales techniques are used and that high sales result in high profits. Not only are sales to the final buyer emphasized but intermediaries are also encouraged to push manufacturers' products more aggressively. To sales-oriented firms, marketing means selling things and collecting money. The fundamental problem with a sales orientation, is a lack of understanding of the needs and wants of the marketplace. Sales-oriented companies often find that, despite the quality of their sales force, then cannot convince people to buy goods or services that are neither wanted nor needed.

A Marketing Orientation involves obtaining information about customers, competitors, and markets; examining the information from a total business perspective; determining how to deliver superior customer value; and implementing actions to provide value to customers. Understanding your competitive arena and competitors' strengths and weaknesses is a critical component of a market orientation. This includes assessing what existing or potential competitors might be intending to do tomorrow as well as what they are doing today.

The Marketing Concept is a simple and intuitively appealing philosophy that articulates a market orientation.. It states that the social and economic justification for an organization's existence is the satisfaction of customer wants and needs while meeting organizational objectives. It is based on an understanding that a sale does not depend on an aggressive sales force, but rather on a customer's decision to purchase a product. What a business thinks it produces is not of primary importance to its success. Instead, what customers think they are buying-the perceived value-defines a business.The marketing concept includes the following:(1)Focusing on a customer wants and needs so that the organization an distinguish its product(s) form competitor's offerings.(2)Integrating all the organization's activities, including production, to satisfy these wants.(3)Achieving long-term goals for the organization by satisfying customer wants and needs legally and responsibly

Relationship marketing is a strategy that focuses on keeping and improving relationships with current customers. It assumes that many consumers and business customers prefer to have an ongoing relationship with one organization rather than switch continually among providers in their search for value. Most successful relationship marketing strategies depend on customer-oriented personnel, effective training programs, employees with authority to make decisions and solve problems, and teamwork.

Strategic Planning is the managerial process of creating and maintaining a fit between the organization's objectives and resources and the evolving market opportunities. The goal is long-run profitability and growth. Planning is the process of anticipating future events and determining strategies to achieve organizational objectives in the future. Marketing planning involves designing activities relating to marketing objectives and the changing marketing strategies and decisions.

The Marketing Plan is a written document that acts as a guide book of marketing activities for the marketing manager.The elements of a marketing plan are:(1)Defining the Business Mission and Objectives.(2) Performing a SWOT Analysis.(3) Delineating a Target Market.(4) and Establishing components of the Marketing Mix

A situation analysis is sometimes referred to as a SWOT Analysis. That is a firm should identify its internal (S)trengths(W)eaknesses, and also examine its external (O)pportunities(T)hreats. When examining internal strengths and weaknesses, the marketing manager should focus on organizational resources such as production costs, marketing skills, financial resources, company or brand image, employee capabilities, and available technology. When examining external opportunities and threats, marketing managers must analyze aspects of the marketing environment. This process is called environmental scanning-the collection and interpretation of information about forces, events, and relationships in the external environment that may affect the future of the organization or the implementation of the marketing plan.

A Competitive Advantage is a set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to the competition. It is the factor or factors that cause customers to patronize a firm and not the competition.

Having a Cost Competitive Advantage means being the low-cost competitor in an industry while maintaining satisfactory profit margins. A cost competitive advantage enables a firm to deliver superior customer value.Ex. Wal-Mart. Costs can be reduced in a variety of ways: Experience curves, efficient labor, gov subsidies, product design, new methods of service delivery.

A Product/Service Differentiation Competitive Advantage exists when a firm provides something unique that is valuable to buyers beyond simply offering a low price.Ex. brand names(Lexus), a strong dealer network(Caterpillar Tractor for construction work), product reliability(Maytag appliances), image (Neiman Marcus in retailing), or service (FedEx)

A Niche Competitive Advantage seeks to target and effectively serve a single segment of the market. For small companies with limited resources that potentially face giant competitors, niching may be the only viable option. A market segment that has good growth potential but is not crucial to the success of major competitors is a good candidate for developing a niche strategy. Many companies using a niche strategy serve only a limited geographic market. Other companies focus their product lines on specific types of products.