The introductory video to marketing was focused, detailed, and very well explained. I was not befuddled with numbers, terminologies, or promises and veiled threats of the hardship to come in the course. I have become accustomed to surprises at Lagos Business School, and it is now the new normal. I took everything with a pinch of salt.
The pre-module webinar however fulfilled the same promise; once you concentrate and follow instructions, you will learn and have lots of fun doing so. The faculty was very deliberate about the approach to the course; marketing is a different proposition with a different expectation from its ‘cousin course’ -Analysis of Business Problems (ABP). Who knew they were related?
My closest colleague at work has a background in marketing and interacting with her and observing her, I always thought marketing is about persuasion. How to convince people to buy your product. To do that, they need to see the greatest value in the product you are offering, and they have to be willing to part with their money to obtain this value. A great marketer achieves this and takes some appreciation as a bonus as well. But I digress.
The case study was interesting. ‘Is Apple Managing its 4 Ps Effectively?’ We were introduced to the 4Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. They are the tools marketing managers employ to achieve their marketing objectives. The four elements are interrelated and together provide a powerful framework for developing robust marketing strategies.
Product: This is the good or service being marketed to your clients. Any commodity or service that satisfies customer demands or wants is considered a product. It may also be described as a collection of services with accompanying physical characteristics like shape, size, brand name, etc. Products may be priced economically by businesses because of how consumers perceive their worth.
When developing a product, the following considerations should be made:
- What do you sell?
- What does your product accomplish? Does the product fill a gap in the market or offer a fresh experience?
- Who is the intended market for your product?
- What is the unique selling point of the product or service?
Price: Sales volume and, subsequently, company profitability is directly impacted by a product’s pricing. Important elements that affect the price include demand, cost, pricing patterns among rivals, and government regulations. Prices typically reflect the perceived worth of the goods rather than their actual value. This implies that prices can be raised to encourage exclusivity or lowered to open up access.
Pricing therefore includes making choices on the base price, discounts, and price adjustments. It’s crucial to consider whether and when strategies like discounting are necessary or suitable.
Place: Placement entails deciding where goods will be made accessible for purchase. The main goal of managing trade channels is to make sure that the client can easily get the goods at the appropriate time and location. The positioning and cost of wholesale and retail establishments are additional factors that should be considered.
Promotion: Promotion is the process of promoting your good or service. Through promotion, organizations can spread the word about their product and create a marketing plan that appeals to their target market.
Products may be promoted in a variety of ways: word-of-mouth, print ads, and television commercials are some examples of conventional techniques. However, in the digital era, there are more marketing channels available, including content marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing.
#MEMBA11
Life Prototyping