Companies are successful when they identify the needs of particular market segments and offer the products and services that satisfy those needs. The marketing function studies the markets that are accessible to a company and the needs of the members of those markets. It defines the characteristics of goods and services that target market members will buy, publicizes their availability, sets competitive prices and makes the goods and services easy to acquire. Successful marketing supplies targeted consumers with goods and services they need at prices they can afford.
Define Your Market
Successful marketing starts with market research. The first goal of market research is to identify a target market. Target markets are those that your company can reach and whose members are likely to buy your products or services. If you specialize in high-value brands, you want to target high-income customers, but you have to develop a strategy to reach them. Such a strategy typically includes personal contacts and memberships in clubs or organizations. If your company competes on price, you need high sales volumes and a strategy that includes direct mail and high-traffic locations. Your target market reflects the nature of your business.
Identify Customer Needs
Once you have selected a target market because your company can access it and its members are likely to be interested in your products, your market research focuses on what the members of your target market need. You want to identify customer needs that your company can satisfy better than existing suppliers because of your natural competitive advantages. If you can satisfy customer needs at lower cost or with a better product than the other suppliers, then those are the needs you want to target.
Determine Pricing
The final aspect of your market research deals with pricing. When you have selected your target market and know what needs you are addressing, you have to find out how much potential customers are paying to satisfy those needs and how much they would pay if you entered the market with lower cost or better products. This information helps you decide whether you can profitably offer your products in this market and the price levels you can achieve.
Start Promotion
Your promotion has to be focused on the needs you identified with your market studies and your pricing strategy. When you promote how you can better satisfy the needs of the members of the target market and you specify an appropriate price, the purpose of the promotion is just to let people know that your offer, which is better than the ones they are used to, exists. Since you have chosen a target market that is accessible to your company, you can easily reach this segment of the public with your promotion.
Make the Sales
The final element in successful marketing is to make it easy for potential customers to buy the product. Customer barriers to making the purchase include inconvenience, required travel, waiting, unfamiliar payment conditions and unpleasant staff. Successful marketing includes identifying and removing or minimizing such barriers. If the marketing strategy has followed the first four steps, removing any such barriers will let members of your target market get the better deal you have designed for them.
