IV. Marketing

Structure of the Chapter:

Introduction:

Marketing is the management process which identifies, anticipates and supplies customer requirements efficiently and profitably. (British Chartered Institute of Marketing) After studying this chapter students should be able to describe the components of marketing mix, forms of marketing communication, tools of marketing and explain what marketing research is and why it is important.

 

Key Words:

Focus on - to concentrate on
Customer - a person or company that actually buys something
Marketing concept - assumes that the producer´s task is to find wants and fill them
Essence - the main feature or most important quality
A leap of imagination - you have to try hard
Promotion - action to help the sales of a product or service
Actual - real, existing in fact
Accompany - occur or do at the same time as
Maintenance - keeping in good repair or working order
Give up - abandon, stop
Available - able to be used
Warehouse - a large building for keeping goods in
Impact - to have strong impression or effect
Competition – the act of trying to do or get something better than one´s rivals
Consider – to think about, take into account
Comprehensive – complete and including everything that is necessary
Support – to strengthen, help, provide
Share – to have in common
Maturity – the state of being fully developed
Decline – gradual and continued loss of strength

Pre-reading Tasks:

What do you understand under the term of marketing?
What´s your opinion on efficiency of TV advertising?
Can you give any example of unreasonable promises made in advertisements?
How important are well-known brand names for you personally?

Specialist text:

The marketing concept

Marketing is all the activities that keep a company focused on its customers and ensure that the company´s offerings are valued by its customers. The test of any market-oriented organisation is whether the managers look to change their behaviour or that of their customers when something goes wrong. The most important principle behind the marketing concept is that the customer is king! A market is a group of people with unsatisfied wants and needs who are willing to exchange and have the ability to buy. Identifying markets and therefore customers is time-consuming and expensive, but a necessary function for all types of organisations, big and small. Another important part of the essence of marketing is marketing imagination - it means a leap of imagination to see what the customer might want. Innovation, to bring in new ideas, to make changes, is an important part of the marketing concept. Also important is the strategic vision a company sets for itself - its self-image. One way that companies can control the marketing process is by using the marketing mix. the marketing mix is the combination of activities involving product, price, place and promotion that a firm undertakes in order to provide satisfaction to consumers in a given market. Product: It is more than the item that is designed, produced and offered for sale. It includes all the planning that comes before actual production, research and development and all services that accompany the product, such as installation and maintenance. Price: the cost, or what the buyer must give up to receive the product. Price is not static - it may start out initially high and then fall. Place: or distribution is making sure that the product is available where and when it is wanted. It also involves decisions on how much inventory to hold, how to transport goods and where to locate warehouses. Promotion: It is a broad term that is used to describe the entire field of marketing communication - advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations. An essential part of the marketing concept is planning. A company must invest significant resources and time in the planning process. It defines the short and long-term future of the firm. It´s part of the effort involved in identifying markets.

International marketing

We truly live today in a global marketplace. World trade has been increasing and shifting dramatically in the last decade. Marketing plays an important role in a firms strategy to globalize. When considering entry into a foreign market the first strategic decision, after product identification, is to choose an entry strategy. Several important factors can impact the firms strategic decision-making process: The marketing environment Governments as regulators and supporters
The impact of government policies:

Firms considering entry into a foreign market must always perform political and market risk analyses. Political risk is created by an investors uncertainty about a foreign country´s future political stability and future acts by the government that would cause the firm to loose money. Market risks are created by uncertainty about future changes in cost, demand and competition in the market place.

Marketing knowledge

Marketing requires extensive market research in order to develop a comprehensive strategy. Marketing research focuses on understanding the customer. The purpose of the research is to identify the characteristics of the market and to measure market potential. Research is also commonly used to support short-range and long-range forecasts, and to study competitive products and develop or evaluate new products.

The tools of marketing

Marketers use a variety of tools to describe, understand and forecast their markets.
Mass marketing: the total market is not divided into parts based on customers wants, needs and characteristics. Used when consumers see little or no difference between the products of different firms.
Market segmentation: the total market is subdivided into smaller parts whose members share certain characteristics (age, sex, income, jobs). Used to identify specific markets where products can be sold.
Target markets: results from market segmentation that identifies markets that the marketer thinks he can sell his product in.
Product life cycle: the belief that all products move through a series of four life stages, from introduction, to growth, to maturity and finally to decline. Used when developing products.
Brand: A name, term, symbol, design or combination of these elements that is intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and differentiate them from those of competitors.

Comprehension questions:

  1. What is the essence of marketing?
  2. What are the components of marketing mix?
  3. What are the four forms of marketing communication?
  4. Why does marketing require extensive market research?
  5. What tools of marketing do marketers use?

Activities:

I. Read the following text and explain the meaning of the underlined words and phrases in English:

The art of advertising is to persuade people to buy your product or service. This requires a basic understanding of psychology, the needs of human beings and how those needs can be satisfied. An American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, has suggested those needs can be compartmentalised and arranged in the form of a hierarchy. At the lowest level people need food, shelter, warmth and sex. When these needs are largely satisfied, people begin to think about the safety of themselves and their personal possessions. Squirrels, when they have had their fill of nuts, begin to bury nuts in their winter larders. Human beings have the same tendency, much to the relief of the insurance companies. Insurance appeals to those who would feel the loss of personal possessions, through burglary, flood and fire, and those who seek pensions and financial security generally. Even when a human being does not feel under threat, a new need emerges according to Maslow. There is now the need to be approved by other people, the need for love and respect. The advertising industry finds this a very useful area for its machinations. The advertiser might be trying to persuade you to buy a new car.”This is the latest and the best sports car in the market. It is faster, sleeker, more enviable than anything else in the world. If you haven´t got one, or don´t get one pretty soon, the rest of the world is going to see you as a dead duck!” According to Maslow the ultimate need is for fulfilment. This would no doubt come when we have all that the advertisers say we so desperately need.


II. Complete the following dialogue.



III. Join the halves of sentences:

a) It becomes obvious that making and selling
b) The problem facing any business is that
c) The rapidly changing world is both a headache and
d) A hoarding is a site for poster advertising which some firms use to
e) Without the possibility of advertising,
f) Having made a product
g) The target audience is the section of the population
h) The firms spend a lot of money on advertising to
i) For the typical manufacturer
1) the market for goods and services is everchanging.
2) attract the attention of people such as pedestrians and motorists.
3) workforces would have to be laid off when sales fell.
4) the problem becomes to find someone who will buy it.
5) are two facets of the same undertaking.
6) an exciting challenge to those engaged in marketing.
7) advertising is a form of insurance.
8) whom the advertisement is intended to appeal.
9) remind the public of the name of the product.

IV. Think of a product you would like to advertise and write a short text for it in a newspaper.



V. Fill in the blanks, using given words.

unstable   argued
forces   scourge
adopted   at risk
mechanism   cargoes
encourage   fortunate

The marketing function is usually seen as anticipating consumer wants and then proceeding to satisfy them. While many see evils in the capitalist system of which marketing is a part, the richest countries in the world are those which have (1) ... the market economy. Is that a coincidence or is it cause and effect? It seems a fact that the people in capitalist societies are generally better dressed, less hungry and live longer. Prices are determined by the (2) ... of demand and supply. the people choose which goods are going to be produced and, just as importantly, which goods are not going to be produced. They vote with their pounds, liras, francs, marks and pesetas. If people lke a particular product or service, they will buy it, and that will (3) ... the suppliers to produce more of the same. If people do not ”vote” for it, production of the commodity will cease. It seems natural that the notion of a political democracy becomes fused with the concept of consumer sovereignty. Yet we need to understand the limitations of the free market philosophy. It is dangerous to think that the price (4) ... can solve all the problems which face our societies. For example, unemployment remains the (5) ... of capitalism and no society can be described as either fair or efficient while large numbers of our population are denied the opportunity to work. The sick and underprivileged must also be cared for, whether or not they have money of their own to spend. Those of us who begrudge giving aid to the less (6) ... must expect to pay a high price for our selfishness. We may enjoy material prosperity, but the society in which we live may become ugly and (7) ... . Another major criticism can be levelled at what is produced in the free economy. The quality of our lives is no doubt improved by much of what we produce, but the value of some activities are questionable. For example, if some people want to drive sleek sports cars at 100 miles per hour on the motorways, do we allow the world´s car makers to provide them with such cars, even though the lives of innocent road-users are put (8) ... ? Cigarette manufacturers in a market economy, facing restrictions on television advertising as a result of a government which sees their product as ”dangerous to health” may export their deadly (9) ... to less sophisticated overseas markets. Nuclear waste is sometimes similarly exported to developing countries with less protected populations. Of course it can be (10) ... that people should be able to smoke tobacco if they want to, but do we take the same liberal stance in relation to hard drugs? Perhaps the market for heroin is after all just like any other market?


VI. Match up the phrases and put the verbs into 1st, 2nd and 3rd conditional:

a) If there (be) any problems with delivery, ...
b) We (fulfil) orders within three months, ...
c) If you (require) any further information, ...
d) If this transaction (be) successful, ...
e) We (consider) payment by 30-day bill of exchange ...
f) We (send) the consignment by air ...

1. ... we (place) larger orders in the future.
2. ... we (be pleased) to supply it.
3. ... provided you (offer) two referees.
4. ...we (inform) you immediately.
5. ... unless there (be) special problems.
6. ... if the railways (be) on strike.

VII. Quiz

Look at the sentences below and choose the right answer.
1. A market is a group of people with unsatisfied needs who have the ability
  1. to sell
  2. to buy
  3. to hire
2. Once a
  1. purpose market
  2. goal market
  3. target market
has been identified, a company has to decide what goods or service to offer.
3. The company must also take into the account the existence of
  1. competitors
  2. competitive
  3. competes
4. One way that companies can control the marketing process is by using the
  1. international marketing
  2. marketing mix
  3. marketing environment
5. Marketing plays an important role in a firm strategy
  1. to globalise
  2. to perform
  3. to evaluate
6. Marketing research focuses on
  1. shifting
  2. understanding
  3. evaluating
the customers.
7. Sales
  1. services
  2. marketers
  3. representatives
who also talk to customers, are another important source of information.
8. Marketers use a variety of
  1. symbols
  2. products
  3. tools
to describe, understand and forecast their markets.
9. Advertising informs consumers about the existence
  1. methods
  2. benefits
  3. aspects
services and attempts to persuade them to buy them.
10. Public relations is concerned with maintaining, improving or protecting the
  1. image
  2. stage
  3. tactics
of a company or product.

Summary:

The chapter deals with the marketing, the aim of which is to know and understand the customers so well that the products or services fit them and they are ready to buy them. Students will learn about marketing mix, marketing communication, international marketing and the tools of marketing. They will practise terminology in a specialist text, in comprehension questions and in activities connected with this topic.

Literature:

I. MacKenzie: English for Business Studies, CUP 2002
L. Jones, R. Alexander: New International Business English, CUP 1996



Checks:

Comprehension Check:

  1. The essence of marketing is that a company´s choice of what goods and services to offer should be based on the goal of satisfying consumers´needs.
  2. Product, price, place, promotion
  3. Advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations
  4. In order to develop a comprehensive strategy
  5. Mass marketing, market segmentation, target markets, product life cycle, brand

Check I:


persuade - convince, cause somebody to do something or stop doing something
be satisfied - be met, somebody is given what he wants and needs
compartmentalise - divide
possessions - property
insurance company - a company that offers to make payments if a certain event should happen in exchange for certain payments called premiums
seek - search for, look for
emerge - appear
enviable - causing envy
fulfilment - satisfaction, happiness

Check II:

range, promotion, confirm, batches, campaign, warehouse, spenders, segment

Check III:

a5, b1, c6, d2, e3, f4, g8, h9, i7

Check V:

  1. adopted
  2. forces
  3. encourage
  4. mechanism
  5. scourge
  6. fortunate
  7. unstable
  8. at risk
  9. cargoes
  10. argued

Check VI

a4:If there are any problems with delivery, we will inform you immediately.
If there were ..., we would inform ... .
If there had been ..., we would have informed ... .
b5: We will fulfil orders within three months unless there are special problems.
We would fulfil ... unless there were ... .
We would have fulfilled ... unless there had been ... .
c2:If you require any further information, we will be pleased to supply it.
If you required ..., we would be pleased ... .
If you had required ..., we would have been pleased ... .
d1: If this transaction is successful, we will place larger orders in the future.
If this transaction was ..., we would place ... .
If this transaction had been ..., we would have placed ... .
e3: We will consider payment by 30-day bill of exchange provided you offer two referees.
We would consider ... provided you offered ... .
We would have considered ... provided you had offered ... .
f6: We will send the consigment by air if the railways are on strike.
We would send ... if the railways were ... .
We would have sent ... if the railways had been ... .

Check VII:

1. b, 2. c, 3. a, 4. b, 5. a, 6. b, 7. c, 8. c, 9. b, 10. a