Product, Price, Promotion, and Place
Most companies offer a variety of products that appeal to different groups. When creating a marketing strategy, managers must consider both the nature of their products and the nature of their potential customers Managers at many companies think of their businesses in terms of the products and services they sell. This is a logical way to think of a business because companies spend a great deal of effort, time, and money to design and create those products and services.
When a company takes its business to the Web, it can create a Web site that is flexible enough to meet the needs of many different users. Instead of thinking of their Web sites as collections of products, companies can build their sites to meet the specific needs of various types of customers. A good first step in building a customer-based marketing strategy is to identify groups of customers who share common characteristics.
A marketing strategy that sends specific information only to people who have indicated an interest in receiving information about the product or service being promoted should be more successful than a marketing strategy that sends general promotional messages through the mass media.
Permission Marketing: Sending one e-mail message to a customer can cost less than 1 cent if the company already has the customer’s e-mail address. Purchasing the e-mail addresses of people who ask to receive specific kinds of e-mail messages adds between a few cents and a dollar to the cost of each message sent. Another factor to consider is the conversion rate. The conversion rate of an advertising method is the percentage of recipients who respond to an ad or promotion. The practice of sending e-mail messages to people who request information on a particular topic or about a specific product is called opt-in e-mail and is part of a marketing strategy called permission marketing.
Purchasing activities include identifying and evaluating vendors, selecting specific products, placing orders, and resolving any issues that arise after receiving the ordered goods or services. These issues might include late deliveries, incorrect quantities, incorrect items, and defective items. By monitoring all relevant elements of purchase transactions, purchasing managers can play an important role in maintaining and improving product quality and reducing costs. The part of an industry value chain that precedes a particular strategic business unit called that business unit’s supply chain. A company’s supply chain for a particular product or service includes all the activities undertaken by every predecessor in the value chain to design, produce, promote, market, deliver, and support each individual component of that product or service.