About Marketing

INTRODUCTION :

At the outset let us understand what Marketing is :

Marketing has been given many different definitions. It is sometimes confused with promotion – or even sales. It is neither. Marketing is concerned with the management of the ‘marketing mix,’ in other words the following: (sometimes referred to as the 4 Ps)

• Price – how much you are selling the product or service for

• Product (or service) – what you are designing, developing, manufacturing, providing and selling

• Place (or channel strategy) – which channels you are using to sell your product or services (e.g. are you selling direct to customers over the Internet or are you selling through a retailer or other third party)

• Promotion – what methods are you using to communicate what it is that you do to your market. This includes packaging, sales, brochures, exhibitions, advertising, direct mail, Internet marketing etc

Marketing planning offerings

Marketing planning is a vital discipline to ensure that the marketing process occurs successfully. Marketing planning is not the same thing as sales planning or producing an annual budget. Done properly, marketing planning analyzes the current situation, using research where necessary, and creates a tactical plan using an optimized combination of other elements of the marketing mix.

WHY WE NEED A MARKETING PLAN ?

A marketing plan is vital for your business as you consider how you can best achieve your business objectives. The planning process need not be complex – it is simply a logical approach to looking at your business and its environment, deciding on your marketing objectives are and then deciding the marketing programs that need to be created to ensure that those objectives are met. It is better that a marketing plan is a rough collection of notes that are used and applied than a pristine and ‘professional’ looking document