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GEMS – Marketing module

Session 3Faculty: Dr. Richa Vyas

Group HRRecap – Session 1 & 2

• Introduction to Marketing,• Evolution of Marketing• Difference between selling & Marketing• Difference between Needs, wants & demand• Customer Value Concept• Marketing Mix• Customer Satisfaction

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Group HRLearning from Assignment-2

• Can you relate Customer Value, Customer Dissatisfaction and Complaint Management?

• Did the exercise make you understand the value of Marketing and customer services in the consumer’s life?

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Agenda for Session 3

• Choosing a marketing strategy• Differentiation• Brand positioningQ: What is marketing strategy?

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Marketing Strategy

Steps in choice of strategy• Defining the market –

opportunities and threats• Analyzing competitors –

strengths and weaknesses• Choosing a competitive

strategy

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Marketing Strategy – defining the market

• Identifying opportunities in a market based environment scanning and taking into account the competence and resources available with the firm

• E.g. –• – material handling equipment (high

infrastructure growth is the agenda)• Tata Nano (uplifting the middle class

family for a secure ride)

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Marketing Strategy – analyzing competitors

• Based on competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, the strategy needs to be decided

• E.g. Mercedes, BMW and Audi – German Automakers- vs Ford, GM and Chrysler

• What if a small player wants to launch a soap against Unilever / P&G ?

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Choosing a strategy

• Options:• Defense (undertaken by market leader like Colgate)• Challenger (undertaken by those who are trying to make

their mark like Facebook-Orkut)• Follower (matching the market leader’s features –

Samsung, imitation)• Niche (Harley Davidson Royal Enfield)

Group HRCompetitive Strategies

• Porter’s competitive strategies – • Cost leadership,• Differentiation, • Focus

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Differentiation

• Why do we need ‘Differentiation’?• To create an edge over competitors – stand out among all

the soaps in the market (e.g. Dove-3/4 moisturizer,)• To communicate the value proposition to our target

customers (e.g. Sunsilk- We work with leading hair experts to give you the best hair care)

• Inspiring romance every day

Group HRSee this Print Ad

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Positioning

• Positioning – the act of differentiationDesigning the company’s or the brand’s

image to occupy a distinct place in the minds (and hearts) of customers

E.g:• Starbucks• Vodafone

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Deciding the positioning

• Issues to consider:• Competitive frame of reference – check

what competitors are offering (mindspaces already rented out by customers! E.g. Soft Skin- Dove)

• Check the product category – points of parity (e.g. a bank – savings account, ATM facility, FDs, cheque book, internet banking etc.) Incorporate these and then choose a suitable ‘point of difference’

• Examples: Fedex – overnight; Nike – achiever

• Dettol - hygiene

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Considerations for positioning

• Choosing the positioning:• Relevance – for the target customers (e.g. a wall clock

that is waterproof – not of much relevance; but Ponds age Miracle; gives you back the lost romance):

• Nike– enables you to achieve more

Group HRConsiderations for positioning

• Choosing the positioning:• Distinctiveness – the

positioning must be easily distinguishable from competitors and also be superior than others

• Vodafone in India created animated characters to promote its various services, it helped them break the clutter

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Considerations for positioning

• Choosing the positioning• Believability: Target customers must find the

positioning credible. E.g. a health drink promising double growth in children’s height!

• Lexus compared itself feature to feature with Merc

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Positioning

Deliverability criteria:• Feasibility – will the product be able to match the positioning?

(e.g. Ambassador car claiming to be a style icon for the youth)• Communicability – can the message be communicated

effectively? (e.g. a brand that promises a ‘heavenly’ feeling)• Sustainability – can the positioning be sustained? (e.g. a

brand that uses a hollywood movie’s craze to position the brand – the positioning could become weak once the movie is gone)

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Positioning Methods

• Various methods used for positioning:• Features of the product (e.g. a car with

a powerful engine )• Benefits (e.g. Vodafone– best network

connectivity)• People (e.g. the Singapore Airlines

cabin crew)• Image (e.g. Nike– focusing on

achievers)

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Branding

• What is a brand?• A brand offers more value than the basic purpose of

the product. E.g:• A Jaguar is more than just a car – it offers prestige,

status, extra comfort etc. • Branding is the process of endowing products and

services with the power of a brand. This is done through the creation of a suitable image in the customer’s mind.

Group HRBrand/Not to brand?

• Brands though an asset for a company, are expensive to build and manage

• Apple-i-phone (outsourced)

• Intel-inside (Ingredient branding)

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Branding

• A brand offers a ‘promise’ to customers. This is also referred to as value proposition

• Lets look at some examples:

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Branding

• What do you need to create the brand?• Logo, name, visual imagery – for easy recall• Features and performance – value proposition – for

conveying the benefit to customers• Associations – the brand gets identified with something the

customers like (e.g. cricket) – for brand association• Playing an active part in the customer’s life – brand

resonance- Unilever

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Differentiation and Branding

• Choose a differentiation and use branding based on the customer’s psyche – their preferences, desires, attitudes…

• More examples:• Coca Cola –• Samsung – Next is What?

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Branding

• Brand equity is the added value endowed to products and services – this is reflected through the customer’s attitude towards the brand

• A brand can be extended into other categories – like Maggi noodles – sauces

• Tata brand – highly extended. The core value – trust has endured through all the extensions

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Home Work

BRANDING: Write a short one page note on the brand you love, your write up should include following points:

1. Which Brand You Love?2. When did you buy it first?3. How did you get to know about it? (retailer, advertisement, friends)4. Why did you buy this over other brands?5. Did you buy it again? Did you recommend it to someone?6. Why do you like/love this brand?

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Any questions?