competition as a marketing policy

Arrange you contests on your website? If not, then you're missing a great opportunity to attract new visitors, increase the proportion of its presence on the web, and, consequently, profits. Every day, thousands of people are connecting to the internet to find some competition and try to win. Why do not you start to attract these people to your web site?

Why the competition?

One could argue that these people come to your site with only one purpose - to win the competition. They come to be recorded and go. Yes, it's true, but at periodic tenders they ENTERED your site to your bookmarks, and even then it may be of interest not only to the player himself, but his household, if they have access to the same computer. In addition, both players have some of his interests. A brilliant example of this is the recently which came to me a letter ". Should note that initially I just visited your site in order to participate in the competition, but now I'm going back to it regularly and sign up for your newsletter. Thank you." Thus, the benefits of competition is not limited to a simple increase in the number of page views.

Types of competitions

Now that you've seen the benefits of competitions, you're faced with the problem: what type of competition to choose? There are several different types of competitions from simple lotteries entered on the list e-mail addresses to serious quizzes designed for serious work of the player. By far the most simple contests are the most popular, as they require a minimum of effort from the participant. More often than not, to participate in such a contest to be entered in a special form of your name and e-mail address, and that's enough for the win. As for the other types, you can conduct surveys (holding a raffle among the respondents, regardless of the correct answer), quizzes, where to win you need to correctly answer a series of questions, guessing riddles, organize active games (shooting, catching mice, etc.) . Then what kind of competition you choose will determine the amount of time that the user will have to spend on your page contests.

Sponsors and prizes

You have decided that the contest is beneficial for you, but where will you get prizes for your actions, whether they be valuable? Most likely you will have to pay for itself the first two or three contests. In order not to break your budget, use inexpensive but substantial prizes, such as certificates of online shopping (the same money, but only with the right to purchase a certain product - approx. Lane.), Paid services, free magazine subscriptions, or simply a check for 25 U.S.. If you do keep an online store, you may be best for you to distribution of goods (or certificate) from their own store. And, no matter what the prize itself - people love to win and receive gifts, and the size and nature of the gift is of secondary importance.

After spending several successful competitions, you can try to find a sponsor for subsequent draws. Determine the minimum value of sponsorship. It may depend on the competition itself, and on the type of advertising (and the audience), you can offer the sponsor.

On my site TheFamilyCorner.com sponsor receives a reference to the first page, the link to the contest page, as well as a mention in a periodic newsletter. The minimum cost of participation - $ 30-50 - depending on the traffic that will sponsor (of course, any contest is not a sponsor). Please note that this is a much better deal than buying an ordinary advertising as thirty dollars, you are unlikely to be able to place an ad in an ezine with more than 8 thousand subscribers.

As you can see, this cooperation can be very profitable for the advertiser, so make sure to include information about this feature on page drawings and information to advertisers on the site.

Advertising competition

When your competition is running, send the information about it in the news agencies that are interested in this type of information, as well as specialized sites. For example, Moms Network provides descriptions and links to a range of competitions, and it is being sent there people spending most of their time in search of competitions and trying to win them.

Do not forget to mention about the action in its own newsletter, remind about themselves members of open lists that you read regularly (if not inconsistent with the rules of the page) and do not forget to put a prominent link on the front page of their site. You can also include information about the competition in your signature to increase the volume of attracted the audience.

If you already have a sponsor, make a small advertisement to be placed in his newsletter as a sponsor for the benefit advertise your competition, your information is likely to be placed in the appropriate mailing list. Sponsoring the competition - it's not just advertising, but also one of the elements of branding, so it is advisable to send you an advertiser of its visitors, even to the detriment of their own short-term gain.

Attracting new subscribers

Competition - it's a great way to attract new visitors to the site and new subscribers to our newsletter. You can turn into a form of competition subscription option on the app. You can also send participants to the subscription page immediately after filling out the form. By the way, it is necessary to have an independent newsletter for the contestants, at least in order to inform them of new prizes and competitions and prize winners. This newsletter will be a success among the participants as the main source of information about the sweepstakes.

Winner's Choice

Choose the winner from among the correct answers at random and send him / her a form letter with a description of what, when, where and from which site he / she won. I usually put the condition of obligatory response within seven days after sending me notifications about winning. In a response letter must specify the full name, postal address and some information about yourself. If the answer is no set time comes, I pick another winner, this has already happened, and unfortunately, many times. Try to keep the winners are not repeated.

Keep your distance

Along with contests and complaints come from the losers. Do not engage with them in a long correspondence, write a polite reply: "Thank you for participating in our contest. Do not forget to visit us tomorrow to try again." Remember that you can not make everyone happy and always.

Because there are people who spend all their time on the Internet searching for and participation in such contests and competitions, then get ready for the "screened" candidates. Sometimes, choosing the winner and sent him a letter, instead of gratitude I get dry hasty letter avid player. In this case, put a lock on the street address and, if possible, select an alternate winner. You can make a lot of people happy and satisfied owners of a prize, so why would you waste your time and money on professional players?

Continue or stop?

A good choice would be to end the contest at the end of the month and wait a few days before the start of the new. During this time, you can prepare to clean up the database of addresses, to place locks, etc. On its Web site, for example, I spend contests 1 to 25 of each month. Thus, I have 5 days to harvest and recreation. The competition itself (its structure) does not change, but the prizes and sponsors of each new month, so I have a little trouble with the competition itself. By the way, in between competitions attendance drops slightly, because the breaks are small, and the site has another interesting information.

Rules and Regulations

Do not forget that you need a certain set of official rules, prohibitions and restrictions (age, country of residence, etc.). This will allow you to avoid many unpleasant situations with disgruntled participants. Make sure that the rules are clear and they have a link on the front page for the contest. It may not be amiss to refer to an experienced lawyer, especially if you play large sums of money or prizes.

For six months the number of subscribers to the site TheFamilyCorner.com increased 13-fold from 300 to 4,000. The number of visitors during the same period increased by five times, and continues to grow. All this - the result of a focused marketing strategy, which is based on regular contests and raffle prizes.

How to write a marketing report (a practical guide)

The annual marketing report - one of the basic and most important documents, which is included in the list of tasks to be solved by the marketing department at the firm, enterprise, modern production. To the time of writing (usually the beginning of the year following the reporting year) for employees of the marketing department has all the necessary information to analyze in an accessible and visible form, is necessary to form a monthly marketing reports, which include the main points of the annual. It should be monthly reports on sales, efficiency, assortment, advertising effectiveness on consumers, competitors and suppliers.

Keep in mind that different areas of activity - wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, services, consulting, etc. - Content marketing reports should be adjusted according to the specific activities of the relevant company, factory, industrial and commercial units. It is proposed, for a summary of different types of business activities using the term "project".

The annual marketing report usually includes the following main points:

Introduction

Basic concepts and definitions

General information about the project

Description of the selected market niches

Types of production, trade practices or other type of business activity

Description and characteristics of consumers

Description of the location of the corresponding production / commercial unit

Trade policy (analysis of the effectiveness of range)

Pricing Policy

Additional services, additional activities

Methods of sales promotion (advertising, RP-events vendors work - for retailers, providing quality products and services, customer service)

Competition and market

The conclusions, projections and recommendations

Consider the content of each item in more detail.

1. INTRODUCTION

Report Purpose: The purpose of the report can be an analysis of industrial / commercial activities, or the development of plans and recommendations for the next period, etc.

Links to previous reports or documents

Description of the original data on which the analysis is done, methods of making, storing and updating

2. BASIC CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS

This section should provide a description of the basic concepts and definitions that will be used in the report. For example, it is useful to define and summarize the key consumer groups that exist on the market in question; classifier showing the main characteristics and price ranges of the relevant product / product / service; offer interpretations of key terms and concepts.

3. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT

Starting date of the project

Description of the main business activities involved in the project

The objectives of the project, the development strategy

Key financial and economic indicators for the last period

Level of technology, service

Brief description of the main types of products / services

4. Description of the selected market niches

? The presence of a group of potential consumers interested in manufactured / offered products / services

? Market Segmentation:

- Geographic segmentation

demographic segmentation (age, gender, family composition,

income, occupation, education)

psychological segmentation (lifestyle, hobbies, leisure activities, etc.)

Behavioral segmentation (the reasons for the purchase,

the expected benefits from the purchase, consumption rate,

willingness to buy, and so on.)

? A summary of the selected competitive market

? Brief description of the activities and characteristics of the suppliers of goods, components, raw materials, etc. (The reasons for choosing a particular supplier, the benefits of working with specific suppliers, difficulties in dealing with some suppliers)

5. Types of production, trade practices or other type of business activity

An outline description of the type of organization of business activities. For example, for the production of:

series, small-scale, single, continuous or discontinuous

sources of raw materials and components

the technologies with a focus on the possible competitive advantages

secondary production, the use of waste

For retail / wholesale:

chain store or a few stores not associated to the range, pricing, style, etc. in a single network

the unity of the trading process in stores

Work vendors / sales managers with customers (communication style, appearance, qualification and competence, knowledge of the characteristics of the proposed product, communication, mobility, availability of instructions for the sellers

clearance outlets stores

6. Description and characteristics of consumers

Retail Customer:

social portrait of the consumer (age, income, education, employment and activity, marital status)

more complete information about the user (interests, hobbies, viewed TV programs, read the literature, the press, favorite radio station, car, place of residence of potential customers; accommodation - apartment, villa, etc.)

motivation for the acquisition of the relevant goods / products / services (provision of physiological needs, ensuring their own safety or the safety of loved ones, self-assertion, taking care of loved ones, respect from others, membership of a particular social group)

description of the process of consumer decision-making when purchasing the goods / products / services

the benefits that the customer when purchasing the goods / products / services

analysis of consumers' places of residence (these data will form the guidelines for placement, for example, an address or a billboard advertising locations for new commercial and industrial areas, etc.)

Wholesale consumer

Description of the groups of wholesale customers (production, trade, brokerage firms, foreign companies, etc.)

a more detailed description of each large-scale consumers

description of the use of purchased products to wholesale customers

a brief description of the final consumer of goods sold

description of the basic principles of the organization and work with wholesale customers (billing system, supplies the most popular models or products, brand products, the frequency and nature of the complaints, the degree of satisfaction with range, quality and technical and technological characteristics of the goods)

7. Please MESTARASPOLOZHENIYA RELEVANT INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL UNITS

Retail

location of outlets

The streams of vehicles, pedestrians, assessment of the intensity of flows (number of vehicles or pedestrians per hour, with changes in intensity depending on the time of day)

convenience of driving to the point of sale on a vehicle or other means of transport (the presence of nearby subway stations, bus, trolleybus, tram stops, railway stations)

ability to reach a flow of vehicles passing from other areas that are not the closest to the point of sale

the presence in the immediate vicinity of large offices, banks, industries, commercial centers, markets

description of the degree of solvency of residents of nearby areas, their level and style of life, income level, social portrait

valuation of 1 sq.m rental housing or commercial and industrial buildings in nearby areas

assessment of the potential scope of the analyzed point of sale (in population of the areas)

location in the immediate vicinity of shops competitors

Wholesale

analysis of the location in terms of ease of entrance wholesale customers

the location of potential wholesale clients on appropriate production / commercial unit

location relative to competitors in the analyzed industrial / commercial unit

Production

Analysis of the location in terms of convenience and cost of delivery of raw materials, components

analysis of the location in terms of ease of delivery of products to the wholesale or retail buyer

Analysis of the location of their own retail outlets of the product relative to the location of the production

the location of potential wholesale / retail clients in relation to the relevant production

analysis of the locations of the business partners

analysis of the position of competing industries

8. COMMODITY POLICY

analysis of the reasons that formed the existing range, the evaluation of its optimality

a brief description of consumer, technical, and technological properties of the main product groups or products

Assessment of the volume of sales (in value and volume terms) for each product or product

cost-benefit analysis, the rate of profit by product group or product

identify unprofitable products or groups of products, the analysis of the causes of low profitability

sales analysis for a similar assortment groups or products of competitors

analysis of seasonal sales

analysis of the reasons for the increase / decrease sales by assortment groups or products during certain periods of time

effectiveness analysis in the presence of a certain product or range of products (including production costs, demand, selling prices, difficulties in the production or delivery, convenience, suppliers or partners, etc.)

9. PRICING

the basic principles of pricing policy (with regard to the specifics of purchasing power and income consumer groups, which focuses on the relevant industrial / commercial unit)

peculiarities of the cost of the relevant goods / services

assessment of the degree of influence on their own pricing policy and price level pricing from competitors

reasons for the change in the price level that occurred during the analyzed period

analysis of the pricing policy of suppliers of raw materials, components and related products

discounts, discount cards

Description of shares on sales, which passed over the analyzed period

description of the features of the system of settlements with customers (credit cards, cash / non-cash payments, payment amount, customer lending, vacation goods on consignment, etc.)

analysis of the relevant settlement system with customers from competitors

10. ADDITIONAL SERVICES ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

This section should provide a brief description of additional services or additional activities. It is possible to adhere to the basic points that make up the description of the main types of activities:

reasons for the appearance of additional activities

a brief description of additional activities

assessment of the level of demand for the results of additional activity

the level of prices and pricing

description of market conditions, competitors

Description of consumers for additional activities

the movement of goods from additional activity on the market

11. Methods of sales promotion

? description of the main marketing goals and objectives for the plant / business unit

? a brief description of the advertising concept, which was adopted at the respective reporting period

description of the main types of advertising and PR-actions of shares used for the reporting period

advertisement in the press

radio ads

advertising on television

outdoor advertising; appearance of the point of sale or manufacturing, office

billboards

targeted advertising

joint advertising

participation in exhibitions and trade fairs

Advertising on the Internet

Print advertising (brochures, catalogs, press releases)

Merchandise with the logo of the company, address, and methods of their distribution

? internal advertising (point of sale, industrial /

commercial units)

? PR-activities

sponsorship

dissemination of information about the company through television, radio, press, speech management representatives in the media

corporate communications

press conferences, seminars

presentation

? promotion

discounts, price cuts

availability of discount cards

prizes, gifts to customers and clients

free samples, testing products, wine

Warranty

demonstration of goods in the places of their implementation

sales promotion / Sales Manager

encourage business partners and sales agents

joint promotion with other firms

? analysis of the effectiveness of advertising

? ensuring the quality of products, services, customers

12. Competition and market

? levels of competition relevant to the occupied market:

competitive products, product groups

competitive brands

Production Competition

industry competition

formal competition

general competition

? information about competitors that operate on the selected segment of the market:

analysis of the locations of the competing industrial / commercial unit

Commodity and assortment policy of competitors

pricing policies of competitors

competitors' advertising policy, methods of sales promotion and PR-activities

description of the consumers they work with rivals

Methods and techniques for working with competitors consumers

analysis of the characteristics of the organization of production / trade competitors

especially human resources policy at competitors

Additional services offered by competitors

clearance outlet / manufacturing / office competition

assessment of the scope of the competition

innovations, additional activities of competitors

analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of competitors

? analysis of our competitive advantages

13. Conclusions, forecasts and recommendations

The conclusions, projections and recommendations appropriate to do in accordance with the main points of the report. Here it is always done overall conclusion about the effectiveness of the activities of the project during the analyzed period.

14. APPENDIX - indicated graphs, tables, diagrams and other additional materials that clearly illustrate the contents of the report. It may be:

? chart of market segmentation

? organizational structure of the respective production / commercial unit

? interaction scheme appropriate production / commercial unit with suppliers, partners, retail outlets, wholesale customers

? arrangements of their own retail outlets, offices or industries showing traffic flows, pedestrian entrance ways (for supply of raw materials and components); mapping potential coverage by district, region, province

? diagrams, drawings, images produces / sells products, their technical and operational characteristics

? graphics seasonal sales

? cost structure diagrams relevant product / product / service

? change the dynamics of profitability by product or product group

? Image advertising layout, the locations of billboards, describing the content of radio and TVC, other visual promotional materials

? trade arrangement / production sites of competitors with their areas of coverage by district, region, regions (can be compared with the territories of coverage proprietary trading / manufacturing network)

? charts and graphs of sales forecasts by product or product group

In conclusion, it should be noted that the marketing report for each individual case must not be limited to the above enumerated paragraphs. Specificity of the relevant industry, manufacturing or areas of trade, of course, will require adjustments content marketing report on the specific conditions of industrial / commercial activities.

The authors of this material will be grateful for the feedback, happy to hear your opinion and to answer questions related to the topic of the article.

References

For preparation of this work were used materials from the site http://www.marketing.spb.ru/

Controlling the costs of marketing and promotion

Pavel Lebedev, an independent consultant, a member of the network of the National Guild of Professional Consultants Russia

Developing a program to attract new customers, the company has allocated more funds for its financing. However, significant results this marketing move has brought. As a result, management was faced with a choice: turn on funding for the program or try to resuscitate her.

In the battle for market share the company can succeed in the presence of an aggressive marketing strategy. But often, it requires a high level of spending on promotion. In practice, a thorough analysis of these costs, in spite of their considerable value, is not as common as it should.

When deciding on the investment of a production nature, companies tend to prepare a business plan or make projections. First of all estimated return on capital employed, taking into account the duration of the economic life of investment (ROI - Return on Investments). When evaluating the ROI is assumed that the losses in the early period must be compensated in the future. However, to the costs of marketing in the traditional accounting systems financiers suited up "to the contrary." As a rule, they are recognized as short-term and write off to the income statement. This approach does not assess how effective and appropriate costs have been incurred.

Marketing costs are underestimated

Traditional accounting system calls in recent years more and more criticism. One reason for this is that it virtually ignores the intangible component of the business. At the same time, the financial community, spread the notion that the company's value is determined by discounting the future cash flows. Essentially future cash flow gives an evaluation of the usefulness of the market the company offers potential customers. So the cost of the organization, calculated using the discount rate that reflects the inherent value of its intangible assets. For example, such as internally generated goodwill (the difference between the potential business value and the book).

The methodology of the traditional accounting does not allow considering the costs of marketing and promotion as an asset. However, from a strategic point of view, they have one of the main criteria of an asset - the potential to generate revenue in the future. Of course, there is the problem of a reliable measurement of the cost of that asset. But it does seem that for the purposes of strategic management accounting can be neglected.

Investment in marketing and promotion can be analyzed similarly to investments in tangible assets. One of the main tools of controlling in this case is the calculation of return on investment. This indicator is defined as the ratio of the effect on investment of their value. With the definition of the rate of investment is achieved more or less simple: it is the entire amount of the expenditure. But what about the definition of the effect?

Features of the calculation of profitability

When calculating the return on investment in the numerator of the indicator of profit. To measure the return on marketing activities in the area will have to resort to certain assumptions.

First of all it is necessary to develop standard procedures for the measurement and interpretation of indicators. Exploring marketingvye assets, determine their properties and describe them using measurable parameters. This will provide an opportunity to assess what was going on or what will happen with the asset. Among such properties, for example, include:

consumer awareness of the brand or product;

knowledge of consumers of product;

propensity to shop at the company, etc.

The definition of these properties involves three stages. The first - to set specific objectives for market products, consumer groups, trade channels. The second phase - the development of qualitative and quantitative marketingvyh purposes, as well as a choice of ways to achieve them. Third - linking goals and activities with the strategic management accounting and controlling.

Changing these properties will have an impact on the profitability of the product. Having clear criteria can be determined's incremental revenue, expenses and profit. The calculated profit and are encouraged to consider how an effect size of investment needed to calculate ROI.

Is often difficult to determine what would be the utility of the asset to the business. In this case, you should ask the question: is there an asset at all, or have been ineffective spending, and in fact damages? So, it is easy to determine the potential effect of a carefully planned promotions. Entirely different is the situation with "automatic" spending budget - simply because such a practice has always existed in the company. In this case, management should consider the feasibility of developing a more effective marketingvyh programs.

How to measure the value of a customer

To illustrate the possibility of applying this instrument in practice, give an example. In one of the consulting projects we needed to develop an algorithm for estimating the cost-effectiveness of the company to attract new subscribers and increased circulation of the magazine (see table).

In this case, the return on investment should be measured as the ratio of the effect of attracting new subscribers to the cost of their attraction. Price attract one subscriber can be calculated as the ratio of the total cost of this marketingvuyu program to the expected number of new customers. The cost of the program was determined by the budget spending to attract subscribers. However, there were difficulties with the assessment of the size of the effect.

The value of the subscriber for the company, it was decided to measure the value based on the forecast of profit it can bring. In this case, the life cycle of the subscriber was identified in five years. A further prediction was not considered necessary because of the high level of uncertainty.

The rate of return subscriber, we calculated the following way. Initially identified forecast revenue per subscriber per year. Then, based on the current structure of revenue (cost was 73% of its value), calculated the profit. Income attributable to the period from the second to fifth years, prodiskontirovali at the weighted average cost of capital (WACC - Weighted A verage C ost of C apital) and sum. In this case, the calculation was considered the undiscounted value of the cash flows of the first year, which was adopted as the reference. On the basis of the resulting performance has been calculated ROI.

Thus, the problem was solved of a strategic nature, were made extremely important assessments. We used the traditional tools of financial management: building a financial model, discounting, the calculation of return on equity. Less important and was a correct statement of the problem.

Possible errors

In conclusion, I would caution against mistakes that companies' specialists often allows the use of return on investment. One of them is the assignment to the investment of the totality of the costs of marketing. It is important to distinguish between the costs that the company risks, that is, the actual investment and operating costs to maintain sales.

Another common mistake, the observed return on investment will not be correlated with the cost of capital employed. Creating value assumes that the generated return on investment will be greater than the cost of invested resources. Thus, a positive value of the ROI is not enough. For example, if the ROI is 10 percent per annum, and the resources invested in 12 percent of the cost, then we are the losers.

When implementing the described instrument and it should be remembered that all management decisions are based on forecasts of the future, which is uncertain. These forecasts are inevitably flawed. At the same time, other, more optimal, method of study of strategic decisions is not there yet.

References

For preparation of this work were used materials from the site http://www.troek.net/

Four era in the history of marketing

The essence of marketing is the process of sharing, in which two or more parties to meet their needs, communicate with each other something valuable. In some cases, people give money for material goods, such as CD, clothes or cars. In other intangible receive money for services such as child care, a haircut in a barbershop or a concert. There are situations where people are giving their money or free time, say donating blood to the Red Cross, donate money to build a new sports hall, a church or a school or take part in the campaign to improve the environment.

Although marketing has always been and remains a part of the business, its importance varies considerably. Consider the four eras in the history of marketing: 1) the era of production, and 2) the era of sales, and 3) the era of marketing, and 4) the era of the relationship.

The era of production

Prior to 1925, most companies, even those who acted in the most developed countries of Western Europe and North America, mainly focused on the production. Manufacturers have concentrated on producing high-quality products, and then looking for people who will be engaged in their sales. A great example of a company focused on the production, gives the history of Pillsbury. The late Robert Keith (Robert J. Keith), who at one time was its chief executive officer, described Pillsbury in the early years of its operations.

We are a professional millers. Thanks to the good supply of fine North American wheat, huge flows of water and a great mill equipment we produce flour of the highest quality. Our main function - to produce high quality flour, although, of course, we have to hire salespeople to its sales and accountants, who are our accounting records.

In this era, the prevailing view that a good product (which has a high physical quality), he will be able to sell yourself. Focusing on the production of asking business philosophy for decades, and indeed, the success of a business is often determined only in the parameters of the achievements in the field of production. The era of production has ceased, not even reaching its peak, and it happened in the beginning of XX century. Take full advantage of this orientation represents the assembly line, Henry Ford (Henry Ford), which he used for the mass production of cars. The most common in those days to do with marketing clearly reflects Ford's famous expression: "They (consumers) can be of any color (the car), which want to, as long as it is black." For those years were characterized by a lack of capacity and an active consumer demand. It is easy to see how in such circumstances, the priority was productive activities.

The essence of the era also made good passes declaration made over 100 years ago, philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (Ralph Waldo Emerson): «If a man writes a good book, playing with a good sermon or create a better mousetrap than his neighbor, even if it the house is in the woods, people protopchut necessarily a path to his door. " However, a more perfect mousetrap does not guarantee success, and marketing history shows many huge errors that have occurred in spite of the excellent design "mousetraps." In fact, over 80% of new products are unsuccessful. Moreover, the invention of the new desired product is insufficient. It must also meet the needs that are felt in the market. Without this, even the best engineering design finest quality product fail. Remember that even horseless carriages took some time to achieve relevance. At first, people were afraid vehicles with a motor, which gave a lot of noise, raised clouds of dust on the muddy roads, stuck in the mud and prevent movement of horses. A huge speed 7 miles per hour resulted in various accidents and other difficulties on the roads. Therefore, to change people's opinions about his proposed new product, the first sellers of cars had to resort to a variety of clever marketing techniques that eventually worked: people had a clearly perceived need for a new product.

The era of sales

Manufacturing techniques in the United States and Europe becoming more sophisticated, and in the period from the 1920s to the 1950s, the volume of products all the time growing up. Therefore, manufacturers have increasingly paid attention to the effective work of sales staff, so that they more actively searched for their consumers. In this era of the company were trying to agree on the amount of output to the potential number of consumers who want to receive it. Companies with a focus on sales proceeded from the assumption that consumers will resist buying goods and acquisition services that they do not seem basic, and that the main task of the sales and advertising - to convince them to buy.

While this time of marketing departments began to emerge from the shadow of production, finance and engineering, they are nevertheless usually still remained a secondary position. This is reflected even in the name of job positions: many senior managers of marketing services at that time were called salespeople. Here is how this period is described in the company's history Pillsbury.

Our company engaged in the milling of flour, produces for the consumer market a variety of products. We have to have a first-class sales organization that can realize all our products at competitive prices for us. To help our sales staff, we resort to consumer advertising and marketing knowledge. We want our sales representatives and our dealers have all the necessary tools to enable them to sell all the products of our businesses.

But sales are not the only component of marketing. Professor of Marketing at the University of Harvard University Theodore Levitt (Theodore Levitt) so to say on the subject: "Marketing is different from the sales as well as chemistry from alchemy, astronomy from astrology, chess, checkers from."

The era of marketing

After the Great Depression in the early 1930s, personal income and consumer demand for goods and services have increased dramatically because of what marketing has come to play a much more important role. The survival of the organization demanded that the managers have paid extra attention market their products and services. This trend ended with the outbreak of the Second World War, during which food rationing and shortages of consumer goods were the most common. However, during the war there were only a kind of a pause in the overall increasing trend in the business: a more dynamic transition from the focus on the product, and sales to the satisfaction of consumer needs.

The emergence of the marketing concept

Marketing concept, a radical change in management philosophy can best be explained as a transition from a seller's market, where there were a lot of buyers a limited number of goods and services to a buyer's market, which offered more goods and services than there are consumers who want to buy them. The Second World War ended, and the plants stopped making tanks and ships, and again returned to the production of consumer goods, ie to the type of activity that had stopped because of the situation in early 1942

The emergence of a strong buyer's market has given rise to the need for the kinds of business focused on the consumer. Companies are now required to go out with their goods and services to the market, and not just to produce and sell them. This understanding was the impetus for the emergence of the marketing concept. Forming the concept and its dominant role in the business refer to 1952, when General Electric proclaimed a new philosophy of management.

The Concept is a marketer in the beginning, not the end of the production cycle and integrates marketing with every phase of the business. Therefore, through its marketing research and analysis shows engineers, designers and manufacturers, the consumer wants to have a particular product, what price he is willing to pay for it and where and when he wants to get the product. So marketing is necessary authority in product planning, production planning and inventory control, as well as sales, distribution and services related to the product.

Marketing is no longer seen as an additional activity performed after the completion of the production process. On the contrary, marketing is beginning to play a leading role in the planning of the product. Now, marketing and sales are no longer terms, synonyms.

A fully developed marketing concept is a consumer orientation of the entire company, which aims to achieve long-term success. It comes from the fact that all service organizations should contribute to the definition of consumer needs and desires, and then to their satisfaction. Marketers are not the only professionals involved in this. Employees of the credit department and engineers developing products also play important roles. Focus on achieving long-term success - that's what distinguishes considered here the concept of the orientation for a maximum short-term profits. Since the initial assumption of the marketing concept is the continued existence of the company, the general orientation of the consumer in the long run will lead to higher profits than the options management philosophy focused on the achievement of immediate objectives.

A clear market orientation, ie, situation where the company has adopted the marketing concept, generally contributes to market success and overall improved performance of the company. It also has a positive impact on new product development and introduction of innovative products. Companies that are adopting the strategy determined by the market, are better able to understand the experience of consumers, their purchasing habits and requests. Therefore, these companies can develop products that give advantages over rivals and achieving the level of quality that meets the requirements of consumers. Consumers in this case more readily accept new products. This is the beginning of marketing, defined by consumers.

The era of relations

The fourth era in the history of marketing emerged in the last decade of the XX century and continues to this day, in the XXI century. Organizations today are transforming consumer orientation characteristic of the era of marketing and doing in this direction the next step, with special attention to the establishment and maintenance of relationships with both customers and suppliers. This focus reflects a sharp change from the traditional concept of marketing as a simple exchange between buyer and seller. Relationship marketing in contrast to the past approach is based on developing long-term and eventually the relationship between buyers and suppliers that add value to both parties. Strategic alliances and partnerships manufacturers, retailers and suppliers generally allow you to win all the participants. Ryder System, owner of the famous yellow trucks that take a car, made alliances with companies such as Delphi Automotive, the largest supplier in the U.S. automotive parts and Toyota Tsusho America, supplying iron, steel, and textiles to automotive companies. Ryder and Toyota formed a joint venture, which they called TTR Logistics, which supplies materials Toyota Tsusho, a Ryder manages the flow and storage of various materials such as plastic and wires. Ryder expects that this alliance will yield revenues of $ 22 million already in the first year and hundreds of millions in the future. Participants consistently implemented relationships produce an estimated 25% more sales than firms operating in isolation. Having a wider access to potential buyers of their products, they also reduce the risks arising from the demand on the market of new products.

References

For preparation of this work were used materials from the site http://www.elitarium.ru/