What Market Do – SS1 Marketing Lesson Note (Second Term)

Marketing activities are the actions that sell products, services and organisational agendas to customers.

Behavioural objectives

1. Explain what marketing activities are.
2. Describe the actions an organisation takes before marketing.
3. State the three steps for getting the most from distribution channels and marketing programmes.
4. List the four Ps of marketing.
5. Explain the purpose of advertising and promotion.

What are marketing activities?

Marketing activities are the tasks an organisation carries out to make customers aware of, want and buy what it offers.

• Behind-the-scenes tasks: market research and planning.
• Communication: the ways a message is passed on to the intended audience.
• Who uses them: companies, government bodies, non-profit organisations and cities.
• What they sell: products, services and organisational agendas (ideas or causes).

What actions do organisations take before marketing?

Before marketing begins, an organisation takes three actions: it mobilises its workforce, produces quality goods and services, and manages its distribution network.

1. What is mobilisation of the workforce?

Mobilisation is the process of forming groups, associations and organisations to pursue collective goals.

• Why it is needed: organisations do not appear on their own. People must be brought together and organised.
• Effect on marketing: effective marketing activities need a mobilised workforce.
• Mark of a successful company: it can mobilise the right people to achieve the organisation’s goal.

2. Why must an organisation produce quality goods and services?

An organisation must produce quality goods and services because customers mainly care about product quality.

• Customer knowledge: customers know the quality and feature differences between competing brands.
• Meeting needs: the organisation must offer goods and services that satisfy customer needs.
• Customer choice: customers pick from the many brands available by looking for the best quality for their money.

3. Why must an organisation manage its distribution network?

Distribution, also called placement, is the way goods and services reach customers, and it is one of the four Ps of marketing.

• Importance: sales and distribution are an integral part of any industry.
• Role of channels: distribution channels play a key part in the whole marketing strategy.
• Hard choices: when demand is lower, marketers must adjust their operations and face difficult decisions.
• Lasting effect: these decisions affect customers and channel partners in the short term and the long term.
• What marketers must do: get the decisions right, carry them out at low cost and avoid lapses in customer service.

What are the four Ps of marketing?

The four Ps of marketing are product, price, place and promotion, and together they form a successful marketing strategy.

What are the three steps for getting the most from distribution channels and marketing programmes?

The three steps are to identify the best partners, get the most out of your marketing, and manage the transition.

Step 1: Identify the best partners

This step is a hard look at the current channel design.

• Know your customers: find the most profitable and highest potential customer segments.
• Check the fit: see how well those segments match the existing channels.
• Track the flow: understand how units, revenue and profit move across sales channels, products and regions.
• Test alignment: judge how well each partner fits the company’s value proposition and its most profitable segments.
• Check strength: look at a partner’s financial strength and strategic position.
• Choose for the long term: prefer partners that will still be in business for years.

Step 2: Get the most out of your marketing

This step is a review of marketing programmes against the key target segments.

• Find what works: identify which demand generation programmes and promotions brought in and converted qualified customer leads.
• Examples of programmes: direct mail, trade advertising, broadcast advertising and incentives.
• Compare results: check performance in different regions, segments and markets, and how closely sales followed the effort.
• Cut waste: a careful review shows which programmes can be rationalised (reduced or combined).

Step 3: Manage the transition

This step is the careful planning of implementation once channel design and resource allocation are settled.

• Local variation: differences between local markets may force big changes to the overall direction.
• Uneven support: some channel partners need more help than others, especially when they take on new customers with different service needs.
• Close communication: staying in touch with target partners helps manage channel conflict and reduces harm to customers.

What are advertising and promotion?

Advertising and promotion are activities carried out to increase sales or improve the image of a product or business.

• Promotion: the part of the four Ps that communicates the company’s message to the consumer.
• Why it matters: a business can have the finest product and attractive prices, but few people will buy if they do not know about it.
• Main benefit of advertising: one message reaches a large audience at one time, which lowers the cost per contact.

What does advertising tell the potential customer?

Advertising mainly informs the potential customer about four things.

• Availability: that the products or services can be bought.
• Season: when the products are in season.
• Location: where the business can be found.
• Special features: anything special about the product.

When are promotional activities used?

Promotional activities are used to keep customer traffic steady throughout the market season.

• Early in the season: to draw customers to the business.
• During the season: to keep traffic up in slow periods.

Who decides the marketing communications strategy?

The marketing manager decides the marketing communications strategy, and it is one of the manager’s primary roles.

• Who the customer is: the target group to reach.
• How to contact them: the media or channel to use.
• What the message should be: the content of the advertisement or promotion.

Evaluation

1. What are marketing activities?
2. Why must an organisation mobilise its workforce before marketing?
3. Why should an organisation produce quality goods and services?
4. State the three steps for getting the most from distribution channels and marketing programmes.
5. List four things advertising informs a potential customer about.

Assignment

1. Explain the three actions an organisation takes before marketing: mobilisation of workforce, production of quality goods and services, and managing the distribution network. Then list and explain the four Ps of marketing.