Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
value cahin
The value chain is a systematic approach to examining the development of competitive advantage. It was created by M. E. Porter in his book, Competitive Advantage (1980). The chain consists of a series of activities that create and build value. They culminate in the total value delivered by an organisation. The 'margin' depicted in the diagram is the same as added value. The organisation is split into 'primary activities' and 'support activities.'
Primary Activities.
Inbound Logistics.
Here goods are received from a company's suppliers. They are stored until they are needed on the production/assembly line. Goods are moved around the organisation.
Operations.
This is where goods are manufactured or assembled. Individual operations could include room service in an hotel, packing of books/videos/games by an online retailer, or the final tune for a new car's engine.
Outbound Logistics.
The goods are now finished, and they need to be sent along the supply chain to wholesalers, retailers or the final consumer.
Marketing and Sales.
In true customer orientated fashion, at this stage the organisation prepares the offering to meet the needs of targeted customers. This area focuses strongly upon marketing communications and the promotions mix.
Service.
This includes all areas of service such as installation, after-sales service, complaints handling, training and so on.
Support Activities.
Procurement.
This function is responsible for all purchasing of goods, services and materials. The aim is to secure the lowest possible price for purchases of the highest possible quality. They will be responsible for outsourcing (components or operations that would normally be done in-house are done by other organisations), and ePurchasing (using IT and web-based technologies to achieve procurement aims).
Technology Development.
Technology is an important source of competitive advantage. Companies need to innovate to reduce costs and to protect and sustain competitive advantage. This could include production technology, Internet marketing activities, lean manufacturing, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and many other technological developments.
Human Resource Management (HRM).
Employees are an expensive and vital resource. An organisation would manage recruitment and s election, training and development, and rewards and remuneration. The mission and objectives of the organisation would be driving force behind the HRM strategy.
Firm Infrastructure.
This activity includes and is driven by corporate or strategic planning. It includes the Management Information System (MIS), and other mechanisms for planning and control such as the accounting department.

ansoff's matrix:how to grow systematically
This well known marketing tool was first published in the Harvard Business Review (1957) in an article called 'Strategies for Diversification'. It is used by marketers who have objectives for growth. Ansoff's matrix offers strategic choices to achieve the objectives. There are four main categories for selection.
Ansoff's Product/Market Matrix

Market Penetration
Here we market our existing products to our existing customers. This means increasing our revenue by, for example, promoting the product, repositioning the brand, and so on. However, the product is not altered and we do not seek any new customers.
Market Development
Here we market our existing product range in a new market. This means that the product remains the same, but it is marketed to a new audience. Exporting the product, or marketing it in a new region, are examples of market development.
Product Development
This is a new product to be marketed to our existing customers. Here we develop and innovate new product offerings to replace existing ones. Such products are then marketed to our existing customers. This often happens with the auto markets where existing models are updated or replaced and then marketed to existing customers.
Diversification
This is where we market completely new products to new customers. There are two types of diversification, namely related and unrelated diversification. Related diversification means that we remain in a market or industry with which we are familiar. For example, a soup manufacturer diversifies into cake manufacture (i.e. the food industry). Unrelated diversification is where we have no previous industry nor market experience. For example a soup manufacturer invests in the rail business.
Ansoff's matrix is one of the most well know frameworks for deciding upon strategies for growth.
refernce:marketingteacher.com
micro and macro environment
The micro-environment
This environment influences the organization directly. It includes suppliers that deal directly or indirectly, consumers and customers, and other local stakeholders. Micro tends to suggest small, but this can be misleading. In this context, micro describes the relationship between firms and the driving forces that control this relationship. It is a more local relationship, and the firm may exercise a degree of influence.
The macro-environment
This includes all factors that can influence and organization, but that are out of their direct control. A company does not generally influence any laws (although it is accepted that they could lobby or be part of a trade organization). It is continuously changing, and the company needs to be flexible to adapt. There may be aggressive competition and rivalry in a market. Globalization means that there is always the threat of substitute products and new entrants. The wider environment is also ever changing, and the marketer needs to compensate for changes in culture, politics, economics and technology.
The internal environment.
All factors that are internal to the organization are known as the 'internal environment'. They are generally audited by applying the 'Five Ms' which are Men, Money, Machinery,Materials and Markets. The internal environment is as important for managing change as the external. As marketers we call the process of managing internal change 'internal marketing.'
Essentially we use marketing approaches to aid communication and change management.
The external environment can be audited in more detail using other approaches such asSWOT Analysis, Michael Porter's Five Forces Analysis or PEST Analysis.
marketing environment

Friday, January 15, 2010
How does one decide which type of sampling to use?
The formulas in almost all statistics books assume simple random sampling. Unless you are willing to learn the more complex techniques to analyze the data after it is collected, it is appropriate to use simple random sampling. To learn the appropriate formulas for the more complex sampling schemes, look for a book or course on sampling.
Stratified random sampling gives more precise information than simple random sampling for a given sample size. So, if information on all members of the population is available that divides them into strata that seem relevant, stratified sampling will usually be used.
If the population is large and enough resources are available, usually one will use multi-stage sampling. In such situations, usually stratified sampling will be done at some stages.
types of sampling
Simple Random Sampling: A simple random sample (SRS) of size n is produced by a scheme which ensures that each subgroup of the population of size n has an equal probability of being chosen as the sample.
Stratified Random Sampling: Divide the population into "strata". There can be any number of these. Then choose a simple random sample from each stratum. Combine those into the overall sample. That is a stratified random sample. (Example: Church A has 600 women and 400 women as members. One way to get a stratified random sample of size 30 is to take a SRS of 18 women from the 600 women and another SRS of 12 men from the 400 men.)
Multi-Stage Sampling: Sometimes the population is too large and scattered for it to be practical to make a list of the entire population from which to draw a SRS. For instance, when the a polling organization samples US voters, they do not do a SRS. Since voter lists are compiled by counties, they might first do a sample of the counties and then sample within the selected counties. This illustrates two stages. In some instances, they might use even more stages. At each stage, they might do a stratified random sample on sex, race, income level, or any other useful variable on which they could get information before sampling.
sampling
A sample is a subset of the whole population Typically, the population is very large, making a census of all the values in the population impractical or impossible. The sample represents a subset of manageable size. Samples are collected and statistics are calculated from the samples so that one can make inferences from the sample to the population. This process of collecting information from a sample is referred to as sample. sampling requires 3 major decisions and they are:
- Who is to be surveyed?
- Sampling unit
- How many people should be surveyed?
- Sample size
- How should the people in the sample be chosen?
- Sampling procedure
Ten Rules for More Effective Advertising
1. Does the ad tell a simple story, not just convey information?
A good story has a beginning where a sympathetic character encounters a complicating situation, a middle where the character confronts and attempts to resolve the situation, and an end where the outcome is revealed. A good story does not interpret or explain the action in the story for the audience. Instead, a good story allows each member of the audience to interpret the story as he or she understands the action. This is why people find good stories so appealing and why they find advertising that simply conveys information so boring.
2. Does the ad make the desired call to action a part of the story?
A good story that is very entertaining but does not make a direct connection between the desired call to action - the purpose of the ad - and the story is just a very entertaining story. The whole point of the story in advertising is to effectively deliver the desired call to action. If the audience does not clearly understand the desired call to action after seeing the ad, then there is no point in running the ad. Contrary to popular belief, having an entertaining story and clearly delivering the desired call to action are not mutually exclusive.
3. Does the ad use basic emotional appeals?
Experiences that trigger our emotions are saved and consolidated in lasting memory because the emotions generated by the experiences signal our brains that the experiences are important to remember. There are eight basic, universal emotions - joy, surprise, anticipation, acceptance, fear, anger, sadness, and disgust. Successful appeals to these basic emotions consolidate stories and the desired calls to action in the lasting memories of audiences. An added bonus is that successful emotional appeals limit the number of exposures required for audiences to understand, learn, and respond to the calls to action - people may only need to see emotionally compelling scenes once and they will remember those scenes for a lifetime.
4. Does the ad use easy arguments?
"Jumping to conclusions" literally gave our ancestors an advantage even when the conclusions that made them jump were wrong because delaying actions to review information could have deadly consequences. Easy arguments are the conclusions people reach using inferences without a careful review of available information. Find and use easy arguments that work because it is almost impossible to succeed when working against them.
5. Does the ad show, and not tell?
"Seeing is believing" and "actions speak louder than words" are two common sayings that reflect a bias and preference for demonstrated behavior. This is especially true when interests may not be the same. Assume audiences are skeptical about any advertising and design advertising that shows and does not tell.
6. Does the ad use symbolic language and images that relate to the senses?
People prefer symbolic language and images that relate to the senses. People are far less receptive and responsive to language and images that relate to concepts. Life is experienced through the senses and using symbolic language and images that express what people feel, see, hear, smell, or taste are easier for people to understand, even when used to describe abstract concepts. The language and images used in advertising should "make sense" to the audience.
7. Does the ad match what viewers see with what they hear?
People expect and prefer coordinated audio and visual messages because those messages are easier to process and understand. Audio and visual messages that are out-of-sync may gain attention, but audiences find them uncomfortable.
8. Does the ad stay with a scene long enough for impact?
People have limited mental processing capacities. Quick cuts to different scenes require people to devote more of their limited resources to following the cuts and less resources to processing each scene. It takes people between eight and ten seconds to process and produce a lasting emotional response to a scene. Camera movement or different camera angles of the same scene can engage people through their orienting responses while providing enough time for them to process the scene.
9. Does the ad let powerful video speak for itself?
Again, the processing capacity of our brains is limited and words may get in the way of emotionally powerful visual images. When powerful visual images dominate - when "a picture is worth a thousand words" - be quiet and let the images do the talking.
10. Does the ad use identifiable music?
Music can be a rapidly identified cue for the recall of emotional responses remembered from previous advertising. Making the same music an identifiable aspect of all advertising signals the audience to pay attention for more important content.
newspaper advertisement
we all know alot about outdoor advertisement and e-marketing etc but we didnt study about newspaper advertisement in detail.
Newspapers generally feature two types of ads. First, there is the classified ad or text ad, and then you have retail advertising or display ads. The display ad may be all text or include images and can be found throughout the publication. All of the following types of newspaper ads refer to display ads.
Business Card Ad - This type of ad basically says who and where you are, and what you sell. It may include your logo. Short and sweet, that's it. This could be a nice small ad that you run year round.
Coupon Ad - These are great for sales promotions to bring new customers to the store. By offering a certain dollar or percent amount off your merchandise, the coupon offer is also one of the easiest ads to track the effectiveness.
Sale Ad - Instead of offering a discount to a particular customer like the Coupon Ad, the Sale Ad invites the public into their store to receive a discount on a product, department or the entire store. Most retailers limit the extent of their newspaper advertising to the ad featuring a clearance or other markdown sale.
Spotlight Ad - This type of newspaper ad focuses the attention to a particular product, product line, staff member or customer of your business. This looks good as a larger display ad run just a few times each year.
Informational Ad - This ad could be written as a Q&A ad offering your professional advice on a topic your store covers. It could also be written in a journalistic style making it read like an article instead of an advertisement.
effective advertisement
When advertising fails to sway consumers, most advertisers follow Leahy's Law by increasing the frequency of the advertising hoping that more of what is not working will somehow work when consumers are subjected to more of the same. however, there maybe some problem with the ad itself which the advertisers dont see.
for an ad to be efective it must "show" rather than "tell" .Seeing is believing" and "actions speak louder than words" are two common sayings that reflect a bias and preference for demonstrated behavior. This is especially true when interests may not be the same. Assume audiences are skeptical about any advertising and design advertising that shows and does not tell.
difference b/w the 3 types of advertising
Mehr lesen:http://www.marketingfan.com/difference-between-informative-persuasive-comparative-and-reminder-advertising#ixzz0ccMX3d85
Thursday, January 14, 2010
C2C marketing
Target marketing
Market segmentation: identify and profile distinct group of buyers who differ in their needs and preferences.
market targeting: select one or more market segments to enter.
market positioning: for each target segment, establish and communicate the key distinctive benefits of the company’s market offering.
The Classic Hotmail.com Example of Viral marketing
The classic example of viral marketing is Hotmail.com, one of the first free Web-based e-mail services. The strategy is simple:
- Give away free e-mail addresses and services,
- Attach a simple tag at the bottom of every free message sent out: "Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com" and,
- Then stand back while people e-mail to their own network of friends and associates,
- Who see the message,
- Sign up for their own free e-mail service, and then
- Propel the message still wider to their own ever-increasing circles of friends and associates.
Like tiny waves spreading ever farther from a single pebble dropped into a pond, a carefully designed viral marketing strategy ripples outward extremely rapidly.
Viral Marketing Defined
What does a virus have to do with marketing? Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, to millions.
Off the Internet, viral marketing has been referred to as "word-of-mouth," "creating a buzz," "leveraging the media," "network marketing." But on the Internet, for better or worse, it's called "viral marketing."
An effective viral marketing strategy:
- Gives away products or services
- Provides for effortless transfer to others
- Scales easily from small to very large
- Exploits common motivations and behaviors
- Utilizes existing communication networks
- Takes advantage of others' resources
b2b marketing
Business-to-business (B2B) describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. Contrasting terms are business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-government (B2G).
The volume of B2B transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions. The primary reason for this is that in a typical supply chain there will be many B2B transactions involving subcomponent or raw materials, and only one B2C transaction, specifically sale of the finished product to the end customer. For example, an automobile manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windscreens, and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the consumer, is a single (B2C) transaction.
Many professional institutions and the trade publications focus much more on B2C than B2B, although most sales and marketing personnel is in the B2B sector.
key components of inbound marketing
The most successful Inbound Marketing campaigns have three key components:
(1) Content - Content is the substance of any Inbound Marketing campaign. It is the information or tool that attracts potential customers to your site or your business.
(2) Search Engine Optimization - SEO makes it easier for potential customers to find your content. It is the practice of building your site and inbound links to your site to maximize your ranking in search engines, where most of your customers begin their buying process.
(3) Social Media - Social media amplifies the impact of your content. When your content is distributed across and discussed on networks of personal relationships, it becomes more authentic and nuanced, and is more likely to draw qualified customers to your site.
What Is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound Marketing is marketing focused on getting found by customers.
In traditional marketing (outbound marketing) companies focus on finding customers. They use techniques that are poorly targeted and that interrupt people. They use cold-calling, print advertising, T.V. advertising, junk mail, spam and trade shows.
Technology is making these techniques less effective and more expensive. Caller ID blocks cold calls, TiVo makes T.V. advertising less effective, spam filters block mass emails and tools like RSS are making print and display advertising less effective. It's still possible to get a message out via these channels, but it costs more.
Instead of interrupting people with television ads, they create videos that potential customers want to see. Instead of buying display ads in print publications, they create their own blog that people subscribe to and look forward to reading. Instead of cold calling, they create useful content and tools so that people call them looking for more information.