Role of marketing
Marketing is a process by which firms create value for its chosen customers.

Value = Benefits – Cost
It is created by meeting customers’ needs.
Thus a firm is defined not by the product it sells, but by
customer benefit it offers.
What is value?

How do you define your firm?

What happens after value creation?
Capture value
through pricing
Create value
Any firm must continue to do this, i.e. create value
and capture it and the plan by which this is done is
called Marketing strategy of the firm.

Marketing strategy has majorly 2 activities -
1- Selecting a target market and determining the desired positioning of product in customer’s mind.
2- Plan for the marketing activities, to achieve desired positioning.

Positioning

Positioning
Market Positioning refers to the ability to influence
consumer perception
regarding a brand or product
relative to competitors.

Little more upon positioning
Price
Quality

Building blocks of any marketing strategy
5 Cs S T P 4 Ps

5 Cs
• Customer Needs-
• What problem do we intend to solve for the customer?
• What need we fulfil?
• Company skills-
• What is the competence we have to fulfil the needs?
• Competition-
• Who competes in meeting those needs?
• Collaborators-
• Who should collaborate with us to fulfil the needs?
• Context-
• What cultural, technological and legal factors limit us?

5 Cs- Practical analysis

Define 5Cs of your company

S T P
• What is segmentation?
• The process of dividing your customers into groups, based upon some commonality, such as interests, needs, wants and
motivations.
• Why to segment ?
• To offer customised service, save money on marketing campaigns, develop a niche for the firm.
• How to segment a market?
• Demographic
• Age, Gender, Income, Occupation, Education, Marital status, religion, region, nationality etc.
• Geographic
• Urban, rural, nation, state, city etc
• Behavioural
• The behaviour in store, online, using an app
• Life style
• Values, culture, spend, shopping, travel,

Example of segmentation
Case- A 20 year old institute has been offering IIT JEE and NEET coaching. This is being done along with the
11th and 12th board studies. Please help in the customer segmentation here?
Segmentation – Comes from which C?

Targeting
• What is targeting?
• The process of selecting the segments to serve and reach out to them.
• Why to target ?
• Each segment of the customers will have different rules of buying, thus each segment will need different products and the ways of
marketing. Hence the core competencies of the company will come into play. Thus targeting is choosing the rules of the game.
• What to take care while targeting?
• A firms competitive edge.
• The goal alignment of the company with the target segment.
• Resources needed to approach the segment.
• Collaborators to market successfully.
• Financial returns expected.

Example of targeting
Case- A 20 year old institute has been offering IIT JEE and NEET coaching. This is being done along with the
11th and 12th board studies. The average fees is 150000 per year. The institute plans to offer commerce and
design course also. Please help what should be the target customer and why?
Target – Comes from which C?

Positioning
• What is positioning?
• Positioning refers to the place that a brand occupies in the minds of the customers and how it is distinguished from the products
of the competitors.
• Why to position ?
• Positioning is done to make a place for a brand in the minds of the customers to highlight how is the product distinguished from
the products of the competitors. Example - inexpensive or premium, utilitarian or luxurious, entry-level or high-end. Lets have a
few more examples here
• How to build a positioning statement?
__________________________ is ____________________________________among all __________________ because ________________________
(Our product/brand) (Most important claim) (Competitive frame) (Most important support/s)
* Not necessary in the same order
https://www.zendesk.com/in/blog/positioning-statement-examples/#georedirect

1. Lets make a positioning statement for our companies
2. Lets make a positioning statement for ourselves

End of session 1

Marketing Mix or 4Ps (Product, Place, Promotions, Pricing)
• Product (Kya market karenge)
• How do we define a product?
For marketing purpose the product has to be considered the value delivered to the customer, not just the
physical product itself.
• Place (Kis jagah pe market karenge) – Marketing Channels- The mechanism used to reach out to the
customer for demand generation, fulfilment of the demand.
• Promotion- (Kya bolenge) :Marketing communication- Appropriate and set ways of in which to
communicate with the customer.
• Pricing

P1- Product-Definition
• Product
• What is product vs what is the value that the product offers?
Laptop
Product
- Portable computer
- Machine that we can carry
-
Value
- Convenience
- Brand
- Instrument to
compute/design/Communicat
ion/Collaboration
Product
- Course for seniors
- Learning
-
Value
- Move up in career
-Pride in the brand
- Confidence
booster/networking/Alumni
Status
SMP-IIM A

P1- Product-Definition
• Make the same analysis for-
• Top product of your company
• Maruti Car
• OTT platforms

P1- Product-Line planning decisions
Product Line Breadth
• Different product with
similar flavour.
• Shoe manufacturer
deciding to sell chappals
too.
• Desktop manufacturer
making laptops too.
• Car manufacturer moving
into trucks.
• This is made by the
companies desired
consistency or similarity of
the products
Product Line Length
• How many items in a
product line with varying
price points.
• Standard internet/ECO
internet/ Premium
• Basic/Plus/New- Additional
features etc.
• .
• .
• .
Product Line Depth
• How many items in a
product line with varying
features and same price
points.
• Different of a garment

P1- Product-Line planning decisions-
Considerations
Q 1
Will this product be
profitable?
Q2
Will it give required
differentiation from the
competition?
Q3
Will this product
cannibalise or
complement the existing
line of products?
Q4
Any impact on the brand
equity?
Q5
Can any other product
be repositioned like this
one?

P1- Product-Development process
STEP 1
Opportunity
identification
STEP 2
Design
STEP 3
Testing
STEP 4
Product
introduction
STEP 5
Life cycle
management
Identify the market/price etc
The 2 steps of Design and testing are
inter-related. You design and test
with the customers. Develop further
based on the reactions/feedback
Identify the customer problem
that can be solved
Learn, re-iterate,
introduce new
features

P2- Place: Marketing Channels
Set of mechanism to which help the firm to reach to the customers, either for demand generation, product sales,
delivery or service.
C1
C2
C3
C4
C7
C5
C6
In case of elimination of a channel, someone else needs to perform the function of channel. Cutting the middleman also results in the reduction of the services given
by the middle men.

P2- Place: Marketing Channels
2 decisions in a channel are
Channel design
• Direct distribution- Company employees go and sell the product. Usually
high value products, where the total customers are less. High degree of
control is required in sales.
• Indirect distribution- Third party distribution. The products are not that
technical to sell. High demand and the company cannot employ so many
people to sell. Company is not selective in the acquisition. Low degree of
control needed. High cost of stocking the goods.
• The channel structures change over the time. The computers first sold via
company directly, now are distributed freely. Once the market is
matured, where there is ow need to intense education to the customers,
the direct slowly gives way to indirect. However hogh value products
such as jet engines etc are still sold by the company reps.
Channel Management
• Managing the conflict in the channels.
• More of a everyday job.
• Direct and indirect my oppose each other, the company may not
like the channel partners, channel partners have a grudge with the
company etc.

P3- Promotion: Marketing Communication
• Product knowledge
• Awareness of the product
• Develop interest in purchasing
• Trying the product
• Re-purchase
• Actual Sales
Online
Media
Outdoors ATL
News papers,
PR agencies
Personal Selling

P3- Promotion:6 M - model of communication
• Market- Communicate to which segment of the market.
• Mission- What is the objective of the communication.
• Message- Specific points to be communicated.
• Media- Which vehicle to use for communication.
• Money- Expense
• Measurement- How to assess the impact of the campaign
DMU (Decision Making Unit)- People involved in
the decisions making.
The communication to cover each/maximum
DMUs

P3- Promotion : 2 types
Marketing Promotion
• These promotions ensure the requisite knowledge is given to the customer.
• The awareness is spread.
• The longingness to buy is created.
• How ever the marketing promotions, although playing a big role, limit themselves and do not complete the sales transaction. Actual sales
person/channels involvement is needed to complete the transaction.
Sales Promotion
Usually applied to get short terms sales up.
• Consumer promotion-Manufacturer to consumer. Direct coupons, free trials etc.
• Trade promotions- Manufacturers to the trade partners. Discounts on bulk purchases etc.
• Retails Promotions- Trade to the end user.

P4- Price
• Pricing is a way to derive maximum value from the customer, or the maximum price the customer is willing to pay.
• Not always is the pricing a function of costs, sometimes to penetrate the markets, company price the products even
lower than the cost.
• Skim and Penetration- Selling at higher price to premium customers to skim them and then lowering the price for the
masses. Example hardcover of the same book is costlier than soft cover which usually is introduced later.
• Price customization- Airlines seats, taxi surge pricing etc examples of the price customizations based upon the time,
days, etc when the product is being purchased.
• Price leadership- Mostly here the price wars happen.