The Marketing Process Definition
The marketing process to analyze market opportunities, selecting target markets, developing marketing mix, and finally managing the marketing effort. As one can see that the targeted customers stand at the center of the marketing process.
Four Steps in Marketing Process
- Analyzing marketing opportunities
- Selecting target markets
- Developing marketing Mix
- Managing the marketing effort
Analyzing Marketing Opportunities
The First step in marketing process is to analyzing market opportunities. After analyzing the marketing opportunities only then marketer and C-suite executives can availing them by satisfy the customer’s requirements. If a particular company best satisfy customer requirements this will also give competitive advantage and edge to the company. Analyzing the marketing opportunities is very important in marketing planning process. Marketer and C-suite executives must analyze the long-run opportunities in the market for the purpose of rapid growth as well as to improve the business unit’s performance. To evaluate marketing opportunities, companies needs to operate a reliable and well managed marketing information system.
There are so many techniques and frameworks that can help in situational analysis.
- 5 c analysis
- PEST analysis
- SWOT Analysis
Selecting the target Market
To succeed in today’s competitive marketplace, it becomes compulsory that companies must be customer centered. They must divert the customers from the competitors towards them and keep them by delivering greater value and desired satisfaction. A sound marketing strategy always requires a careful, deliberate analysis of consumers and consumer’s behavior
As a marketer or business student you know that companies cannot satisfy all consumers in a given market area, so successful companies divide up the total market in different segments which called market segmentation and then they choose the best segments (market targeting). After that they design strategies for profitably serving and satisfying targeted segments better than their competitor that is called the market positioning.
So successful companies select the target market then learn about the needs, characteristics, or behavior of targeted market which might require separate products or marketing mixes.
Developing the Marketing Mix
As in previous step of the marketing process company has decided marketing strategy to targeted market now this is the time to begin planning for marketing mix. Marketing mix is a set of controllable marketing variables that the firm blends to produce and satisfy the wants of targeted market.
An effective marketing program always reflect elements of marketing mix into designed to achieve the company’s marketing objectives and goals by delivering value and satisfaction to consumers. This required focus on marketing 4 P’s & 4Cs which are mentioned as below:
Product = Customer Solution.
Price = Customer Cost.
Place = Convenience.
Promotion = Communication.
Managing the Marketing Effort
After designing and putting into action the marketing mix then companies requires to manage the marketing effort to achieve its objectives and goals in target markets. This step actually needs the four management functions that are: analysis, planning, implementation, and control. If management will focus on these four functions then they will definitely achieve desired company goals and objectives.