4Ps Vs 4Cs

Not PRODUCT, but CONSUMER

You have to understand what the consumers' wants and needs are. Times have changed and you can no longer sell whatever you can make. The product characteristics have to match the specifics of what someone wants to buy. And part of what the consumer is buying is the personal "buying experience."

Not PRICE, but COST

Understand the consumer's cost to satisfy the want or need. The product price may be only one part of the consumer's cost structure. Often it is the cost of time to drive somewhere, the cost of conscience of what you buy, the cost of guilt for not treating the kids, the investment a consumer is willing to make to avoid risk, etc.

Not PLACE, but CONVENIENCE

As above, turn the standard logic around. Think convenience of the buying experience and then relate that to a delivery mechanism. Consider all possible definitions of "convenience" as it relates to satisfying the consumer's wants and needs. Convenience may include aspects of the physical or virtual location, access ease, transaction service time, and hours of availability.

Not PROMOTION, but COMMUNICATION

Communicate, many mediums working together to present a unified message with a feedback mechanism to make the communication two-way. And be sure to include an understanding of non-traditional mediums, such as word of mouth and how it can influence your position in the consumer's mind. How many ways can a customer hear (or see) the same message through the course of the day, each message reinforcing the earlier images? [7]

Prepare promotional strategies

The fourth step of a promotions opportunity analysis program is to prepare a general communication strategy for the company and it products. Strategies are sweeping guidelines concerning the essence of the company's marketing efforts. Strategies provide the long term direction for all marketing activities.[11]

It is critical that the company's communication strategy mesh with the overall message and be carefully linked to the opportunities identified by a communication market analysis. Communications strategies should be directly related to a firm's marketing objectives. Strategies must be achievable using the allocations available in the marketing and communications budgets. Once strategies have been implemented, they are not changed unless major new events occur. Only changes in the marketplace, new competitive forces, or new promotional opportunities should cause companies to alter strategies.[12]

Business-to-government (B2G) is a derivative of B2B marketing and often referred to as a market definition of "public sector marketing" which encompasses marketing products and services to various government levels - including federal, state and local - through integrated marketing communications techniques such as strategic public relations, branding, marcom, advertising, and web-based communications.

B2G networks provide a platform for businesses to bid on government opportunities which are presented as solicitations in the form of RFPs in a reverse auction fashion. Public sector organizations (PSOs) post tenders in the form of RFPs, RFIs, RFQs, Sources Sought, etc. and suppliers respond to them.

Government agencies typically have pre-negotiated standing contracts vetting the vendors/suppliers and their products and services for set prices. These can be state, local or federal contracts and some may be grandfathered in by other entities (ie. California's MAS Multiple Award Schedule will recognize the federal government contract holder's prices on a General Services Administration Schedule).

There are multiple social platforms dedicated to this vertical market and they have risen in popularity with the onset of the ARRA/Stimulus Program and increased government funds available to commercial entities for both grants and contracts.

1- Advertising:This tool can get your messages to large audiences efficiently through such avenues as radio, TV, Magazines, Newspapers (ROP), Internet, Billboards and other mobile technological communication devices. This method can efficiently reach a large number of consumers, although the costs may be somewhat expensive.

2. Sales Promotion:This tool is used through coupons, contests, samples, premiums, demonstrations, displays or incentives. It is used to accelerate short-term sales, by building brand awareness and encouraging repeat buying.

3. Public Relations:This integrated marketing communications tool is initiated through public appearances, news/press releases or event sponsorships, to build trust and goodwill by presenting the product, company or person in a positive light.

4. Direct Marketing:This tool will utilized email, mail, catalogs, encourage direct responses to radio and TV, in order to reach targeted audiences to increase sales and test new products and alternate marketing tactics.

5. Personal Selling:Setting sales appointments and meetings, home parties, making presentations and any type of one-to-one communication, to reach your customers and strengthen your relationship with your clients, initiate this IMC tool.

THE PROMOTIONAL TOOLS

The characteristics of various promotional tools are as follows:

Advertising

Advertising is a public mode of communication. Because it is communicated simultaneously to large number of people and people know that the same communication is going to many people, they feel their motives for buying are understood by the advertiser.

Advertising messages can be repeated number of times. Buyers also can compare advertisements of various companies selling the same product. The media offers the facility to add color, sound etc. to the message and dramatize the message. But advertising cannot have dialogue with the people. People may not see and pay attention to the advertisement.

Advertising is an efficient way to reach geographically dispersed potential buyers at a low cost per exposure.

Advertising has two recent variants. Advertorials are offer editorial content and while it is paid for by the advertiser and it will be difficult for the reader to easily make out that it is an advertisement. Similarly infomercials are TV programs that are meant for promoting the products of the company. They discuss the working of the product, benefits of the products, and user experience etc. and they may beam the message to buy the product and the address to be contacted.

Sales promotion

Sales promotion tools like coupons, contests, premiums, and the like act as communication medium and also promote sales.

They gain attention and provide information that may lead the consumer to the product. They include a distinct invitation to the consumer to do the transaction in a short period of time.

Public relations and publicity

News stories and feature articles are more authentic and credible than advertisements to readers. The articles act as testimonials. The message gets through to the potential buyers as news and they may not turn away from it as they turn away from the advertisements.

Personal selling

Personal selling as a communicative channel involves a live, immediate, and interactive relationship between persons. Personal selling leads to relationships. The listener feels obligated to respond to the salesman at least with a polite “thank you.”

Direct Marketing

The alternatives are direct mail, Email, and telemarketing. In these cases the message is addressed to a specific person. The message can be customized. Even though mailing folders and email are normally standardized to gain efficiency. The message can be up to date.  In case of telemarketing, message can be altered depending on the response. In the case of other alternatives subsequent communication can be altered depending on the response.

 MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS TOOLSCrucial to the development of a lengthy, profitable business is brand building. And key to brand building isregular, ongoing communication between a firm and its customers and prospects. For your consideration, wehave outlined the following menu of activities which we feel could add value to your overall marketing effort.TV AdvertisingDirect response TV advertising is the purest form of direct marketing and it is a ‘number’s game’ – the morepeople impacted upon by a message, the greater the response. TV not only builds audience coverage quickly,but also lends credibility to your overall proposition, allowing viewers to see your offer in the company of itspeers. Clever airtime planning can optimise response levels and effectiveness whilst minimising media costs.Press AdvertisingPress advertising also reaches substantial numbers of people and a combination of national, regional andethnic publications should be considered. For instance, combining cost-effective exposure in a regional editionof a national or specialist media that is read by your customers.Radio AdvertisingIntrusive and impactful, radio reaches audiences at times and in circumstances that other media cannotachieve (in their workplaces or in their cars for example). It is also ideal for building up frequency of impact,reinforcing key aspects of a campaign, such as a freefone number, and acting as a call to action to potentialcustomers who may not recognise that they are actually ‘in the market’.Cinema AdvertisingEither moving or stills advertising in cinemas is an extremely cost-effective medium that can be targeted tospecific venues or regional locations. Used to reinforce campaign messages within a relaxed and influentialenvironment, cinema advertising is not likely to generate an immediate response but it is likely to be effectiveas a low-cost, long-term ‘reminder’ medium.SponsorshipSponsorship is fast becoming a way to reach an audience in an increasingly crowded market. Sponsoringoffers an opportunity to support well recognised locally-based community events with fantastic benefits for yourcompany.Leaflet DistributionQuick, easy and effective, leaflet distribution provides a means of optimising targeted impact within a controlledarea. Leaflets can be distributed with newspapers (shared), on a solus basis or by the Post Office. Efficiencycan be optimised by the application of audience profiling analysis (ACORN) to key target areas and this tactic is

particularly effective when localised campaigns are being conducted.SMS CampaignsGrowing in importance as a tool to reinforce impact and generate immediate response, text messagingmarketing works in a similar way to traditional direct mail, in that effectiveness is dependent upon accuracy oftargeting and strength of database intelligence. However, its big advantages are that the message reach aperson rather than an address and that newly received text messages are more likely to be opened and readthan paper based direct marketing. Used tactically and with potent call-to-action, these channels can boostoverall campaign response levels.Ambient AdvertisingOther opportunities exist to further reinforce campaign impact to key audiences at key times (i.e.: washroomadvertising, stadia advertising, in-field panels next to M’ways, etc). Used tactically and ideally with tailoredcreative executions, these opportunities can enhance selected target audience identification with yourproposition, thus adding credibility and positioning your offer positively within the minds of potential clients.Outdoor AdvertisingStatic posters or mobile opportunities (buses/taxis) act to maintain campaign profile and subliminally reinforceawareness of the proposition. Strategically placed at key points and in major footflow areas, outdoor only has ashort period of time in which to achieve impact (estimated 3 seconds) so ideally works either to reinforce analready established campaign presence or as a key component of an effective media mix.Direct MailTargeted correctly and with an appropriate campaign message and creative treatment, direct mail can be anextremely effective advertising tool, with easily measurable response levels. The greater space afforded bythis medium, compared to a print ad or poster for instance, provides a platform for elaborating on your keyselling points. However, effectiveness is highly dependent upon the cleanliness and accuracy of your initialdatabase – if contact details are too old or wrong, and items are sent to either inappropriate or even nonexistentcontacts this can actually have a negative impact upon your long-term campaign effectiveness.TelemarketingEither working from lists sourced and supplied by you, or generating calls from databases bought from relevantoutlet, telemarketing can be a very cost-effective technique of reaching new customers

Marketing Communication Techniques

Marketing is defined by Merriam Webster as "the process or technique of promoting, selling and distributing a product or service." Since communication at its core is the exchange of information, marketing and communication are very closely intertwined. For this reason, the two terms are often combined into the term "marketing communications." Companies use many marketing communications techniques to promote their products and services.

1- Print

o Print is one type of marketing communication technique. Print marketing includes a variety of channels, such as magazine and newspaper marketing; billboards and signs; and direct mail, which is when you send printed marketing materials such as postcards, letters and brochures directly to a group of people via postal mail. Of all these print marketing techniques, direct mail provides the most measurable results because you can directly track how many responses you get to each direct mail campaign you send--this is called the "response rate."

2 - TELEVISION AND RADIO

o Two other marketing communications channels companies use to market their products and services are television and radio. Businesses communicate information about their product and service offerings through television and radio advertisements. These companies work with television and radio networks to determine which television and radio channels are best suited to their target market. A company's target market is based on customer traits such as sex, age and income level the company has identified through market research. Businesses are also using television as a way to get better exposure to their products through a technique called "product placement." This is when advertisers pay a network or television show to feature their products in the show, which helps raise awareness about the products among consumers.

3 - ONLINE

o There is a variety of marketing communication techniques companies’ use with the Internet. According to eMarketer, there were almost 200 million Internet users in the United States in 2009, which was 65 percent of the total population. This represents an opportunity for marketers to communicate key features and benefits about their products and services to a huge online audience. Some techniques companies use

to market their products and services online include search engine marketing, or "SEO," and search engine optimization, or "SEM." SEO is when companies strategically use targeted words within their website to attract higher rankings in the search engines, and SEM is when companies purchase ads that show up when consumers use search engines. Other techniques companies use online are video marketing, in which companies create videos to display information about their products and services, and social media marketing, in which companies communicate information about their products and services via social media websites.

4 - MOBILE

o Mobile marketing involves communicating with a customer through her mobile phone. Companies use several mobile marketing communication techniques, include targeted SMS ads, which are text messages sent to customers to communicate important information. Companies also create mobile websites that consumers can access via their mobile phones, and develop mobile applications that consumers can download.

5 - PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public relations techniques use information to influence public opinion. It is distinguished from advertising in that your public relations techniques and tactics are unpaid. You will use press releases, press conferences; arrange news coverage of an event or a topic, symposia and speaking engagements. Depending on the nature of your company you may also employ lobbying and public service announcements.

6 - PERSONAL SELLING

Traditional personal selling techniques are when the seller or sales person engages the customer or prospect in a conversation, whether in person or on the telephone. It has expanded to include telemarketing, sales presentations or other opportunities a sales person has to represent the company or product. The differentiation between personal selling and other communications in the marketing mix are beginning to merge, particularly as technology allows us increasing opportunities to engage external audiences.

7 - SALES PROMOTIONS

Sales promotions to external audiences can involve direct contact with consumers, such as store displays and other point-of-sale materials, contests, coupons, demonstrations, samples and other giveaways. These types of promotions are not limited to consumers; incentives are also given to sales staff, resellers and other intermediaries in the form of discounts, bonuses or other special awards.

Job SummaryWe’re a rapidly expanding finance company looking for self-motivated people to fill our new and open positions for Dealer Account Managers in many markets in the U.S. We offer a industry leading plan with Base Salary, Commission and other expenses. We also offer full benefits plus 401K.Essential Duties and ResponsibilitiesYou must be able to establish, maintain and grow and develop a dealer base and market with both Franchise and Independent Auto Dealerships. You will promote our programs to dealerships, and grow business within our guidelines and performance measures as well as assisting our corporate office with dealer and customer issues.

Qualification RequirementsPrevious auto sales, auto finance or sub-prime finance company representative experience is a plus but we will provide the necessary training and tools to secure your success.

Competencies

For consideration, please submit your resume using our online form. Be sure to include the job title in the message field for the position you are interested in. Click here to apply.