Marketing Strategies

Marketing Strategies: A marketing strategy serves as the foundation of a marketing plan. A marketing plan contains a list of specific actions required to successfully implement a specific marketing strategy. An example of marketing strategy is as follows: "Use a low cost product to attract consumers. Once our organization, via our low cost product, has established a relationship with consumers, our organization will sell additional, higher-margin products and services that enhance the consumer's interaction with the low-cost product or service."

A strategy is different than a tactic. While it is possible to write a tactical marketing plan without a sound, well-considered strategy, it is not recommended. Without a sound marketing strategy, a marketing plan has no foundation. Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning of marketing plans designed to reach marketing objectives. It is important that these objectives have measurable results.

A good marketing strategy should integrate an organization's marketing goals, policies, and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole. The objective of a marketing strategy is to provide a foundation from which a tactical plan is developed. This allows the organization to carry out its mission effectively and efficiently.

One used the following techniques to device the Marketing Strategy for the product/service:

Segmentation

Targeting

Positioning

Segmentaion:

Market segmentation is the process in marketing of grouping a market (i.e. customers) into smaller subgroups. This is not something that is arbitrarily imposed on society: it is derived from the recognition that the total market is often made up of submarkets (called 'segments'). These segments are homogeneous within (i.e. people in the segment are similar to each other in their attitudes about certain variables). Because of this intra-group similarity, they are likely to respond somewhat similarly to a given marketing strategy. That is, they are likely to have similar feeling and ideas about a marketing mix comprised of a given product or service, sold at a given price, distributed in a certain way, and promoted in a certain way.

Market segmentation is widely defined as being a complex process consisting in two main phases:
- identification of broad, large markets
- segmentation of these markets in order to select the most appropriate target markets and develop Marketing mixes accordingly.

Everyone within the Marketing world knows and speaks of segmentation yet not many truly understand its underlying mechanics, thus failure is just around the corner. What causes this? It has been documented that most marketers fail the segmentation exam and start with a narrow mind and a bunch of misconceptions such as "all teenagers are rebels", "all elderly women buy the same cosmetics brands" and so on. There are many dimensions to be considered, and uncovering them is certainly an exercise of creativity.

Identify and name the broad market
You have to have figured out by this moment what broad market your business aims at. If your company is already on a market, this can be a starting point; more options are available for a new business but resources would normally be a little limited.

The biggest challenge is to find the right balance for your business: use your experience, knowledge and common sense to estimate if the market you have just identified earlier is not too narrow or too broad for you.

Identify and make an inventory of potential customers' needs
This step pushes the creativity challenge even farther, since it can be compared to a brainstorming session.

What you have to figure out is what needs the consumers from the broad market identified earlier might have. The more possible needs you can come up with, the better.

Got yourself stuck in this stage of segmentation? Try to put yourself into the shoes of your potential customers: why would they buy your product, what could possibly trigger a buying decision? Answering these questions can help you list most needs of potential customers on a given product market.

Formulate narrower markets
Try to form sub-markets around what you would call your "typical customer", then aggregate similar people into this segment, on the condition to be able to satisfy their needs using the same Marketing mix. Start building a column with dimensions of the major need you try to cover: this will make it easier for you to decide if a given person should be included in the first segment or you should form a new segment. Also create a list of people-related features, demographics included, for each narrow market you form – a further step will ask you to name them.

There is no exact formula on how to form narrow markets: use your best judgement and experience. Do not avoid asking opinions even from non-Marketing professionals, as different people can have different opinions and you can usually count on at least those items most people agree on.

Identify the determining dimensions Carefully review the list resulted form the previous step. You should have by now a list of need dimensions for each market segment: try to identify those that carry a determining power.

Reviewing the needs and attitudes of those you included within each market segment can help you figure out the determining dimensions.

Name possible segment markets You have identified the determining dimensions of your market segments, now review them one by one and give them an appropriate name.

A good way of naming these markets is to rely on the most important determining dimension.

Evaluate the behavior of market segments
Once you are done naming each market segment, allow time to consider what other aspects you know about them. It is important for a marketer to understand market behavior and what triggers it. You might notice that, while most segments have similar needs, they're still different needs: understanding the difference and acting upon it is the key to achieve success using competitive offerings.

Estimate the size of each market segment
Each segment identified, named and studied during the previous stages should finally be given an estimate size, even if, for lack of data, it is only a rough estimate.

Positioning

Simply, positioning is how your target market defines you in relation to your competitors.

A good position is:
1. What makes you unique
2. This is considered a benefit by your target market

Both of these conditions are necessary for a good positioning. So what if you are the only red-haired singer who only knows how to play a G minor chord? Does your target market consider this a good thing?

Positioning is important because you are competing with all the noise out there competing for your potential fans attention. If you can stand out with a unique benefit, you have a chance at getting their attention.

It is important to understand your product from the customers point of view relative to the competition.

Environment

In order to begin positioning a product, two questions need to be answered:

1.What is our marketing environment?
2.What is our competitive advantage?

The marketing environment is the external environment. Some things to consider:

• How is the market now satisfying the need your software satisfies?
• What are the switching costs for potential users for your market?
• What are the positions of the competition?

The competitive advantage is an internal question. What do you have that gives you advantage over your competitors. Some things to consider:

• Is your company small and flexibility?
• Do you offer low cost and high quality?
• Does your product offer unique benefits?
• Are you the first on the market with this product (First mover advantage)?

Positioning Strategies

There are seven positioning strategies that can be pursued:

Product Attributes: What are the specific product attributes?

Benefits: What are the benefits to the customers?

Usage Occasions: When / how can the product be used?

Users: Identify a class of users.

Against a Competitor: Positioned directly against a competitor.

Away from a Competitor: Positioned away from competitor

Targeting:

Target Marketing involves breaking a market into segments and then concentrating your marketing efforts on one or a few key segments.

Target marketing can be the key to a small business’s success.

The beauty of target marketing is that it makes the promotion, pricing and distribution of your products and/or services easier and more cost-effective. Target marketing provides a focus to all of your marketing activities.

So if, for instance, I open a catering business offering catering services in the client’s home, instead of advertising with a newspaper insert that goes out to everyone, I could target my market with a direct mail campaign that went only to particular residents.

While market segmentation can be done in many ways, depending on how you want to slice up the pie, three of the most common types are:

• Geographic segmentation – based on location such as home addresses;

• Demographic segmentation – based on measurable statistics, such as age or income;

• Psychographic segmentation – based on lifestyle preferences, such as being urban dwellers or pet lovers.

Branded Gold Market in India

THE FRAGRANCE OF GOLD

In the late 1990s, the Indian jewellery market witnessed a shift in consumer perceptions of jewellery. Instead of being regarded as only an investment option, jewellery was being prized for its aesthetic appeal. In other words, the focus seemed to have shifted from content to design. Trendy, affordable and lightweight jewellery soon gained familiarity. Branded jewellery also gained acceptance forcing traditional jewellers to go in for branding. Given the opportunities the branded jewellery market offered; the number of gold retailers in the country increased sharply.Branded players such as Tanishq, Oyzterbay, Gili and Carbon opened outlets in various parts of the country. Traditional jewellers also began to bring out lightweight jewellery, and some of them even launched their in-house brands.

However, the share of branded jewellery in the total jewellery market was still small (about Rs. 10 billion of the Rs. 400 billion per annum jewellery market in 2002), though growing at a pace of 20 to 30 percent annually.

The branded jewellery segment occupied only a small share of the total jewellery market because of the mindset of the average Indian buyer who still regarded jewellery as an investment. Moreover, consumers trusted only their family jewellers when buying jewellery.Consequently, the branded jewellery players tried to change the mindset of the people and woo customers with attractive designs at affordable prices.

Gold Jewellery Market in India

Before the liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991, only the Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC) and the State Bank of India (SBI) were allowed to import gold. In 1993, gold and diamond mining were opened up for private investors and foreign investors were allowed to own half the equity in mining ventures.

In 1997, overseas banks and bullion suppliers were also allowed to import gold into India. These measures led to the entry of foreign players like DeBeers,³ Tiffany⁴ and Cartiers⁵ into the Indian market. In the 1990s, the number of retail jewellery outlets in India increased greatly due to the abolition of the Gold Control Act.'

This led to a highly fragmented and unorganized jewellery market with an estimated 100,000 workshops supplying over 350,000 retailers, mostly family-owned, single shop operations. In 2001, India had the highest demand for gold in the world; 855 tons were consumed a year, 95% of which was used for jewellery. The bulk of the jewellery purchased in India was designed in the traditional Indian style.⁶ Jewellery was fabricated mainly in 18, 22 and 24-carat gold. (Refer Table I for carat calculation) As Hallmarking⁷ was not very common in India, under-caratage was prevalent. According to a survey done by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS),⁸ most gold jewellery advertised in India as 22-carat was of a lesser quality.

Over 80% of the jewelers sold gold jewellery ranging from 13.5 carats to 18 carats as 22-carat gold jewellery. The late 1990s saw a number of branded jewellery players entering the Indian market.

Titan sold gold jewellery under the brand name Tanishq, while Gitanjali Jewels, a Mumbai-based jewellery exporter, sold 18-carat gold jewellery under the brand name Gili.

Gitanjali Jewels also started selling 24-carat gold jewellery in association with a Thai company, Pranda. Su-Raj (India) Ltd. launched its collection of diamond and 22 -carat gold jewellery in 1997. The Mumbai-based group, Beautiful, which marketed the Tiffany range of products in India, launched its own range of studded 18-carat jewellery, Dagina. Cartiers entered India in 1997 in a franchise agreement with Ravissant.⁹ Other players who entered the Indian branded gold jewellery market during the 1990s and 2000-01 included Intergold Gem Ltd., Oyzterbay, Carbon and Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ).

Gili: In 1994, Gili Jewellery was established as a distinct brand by Gitanjali Jewels, soon after the abolition of the Gold Control Act by the Indian government. Gili offered a wide range of 18-carat plain gold and diamond-studded jewellery, designed for the contemporary Indian woman. The designs combined both the Indian and western styles and motifs. With sales of Rs.0.14 billion for the year 2000-01, Gili had a 0.03 percent share of the 400 billion jewellery market in India and a 1.4 percent share of the branded jewellery market.

Tanishq: In 1984, Questar Investments Limited (a Tata group company) and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO) jointly promoted Titan Watches Limited (Titan).

Initially involved in the watches and clocks business, Titan later ventured into the jewellery businesses. In 1995, Titan changed its name from 'Titan Watches Ltd.' to 'Titan Industries Ltd.' in order to change its image from that of a watch manufacturer to that of a fashion accessories manufacturer. In the same year, it also started its jewellery division under the Tanishq brand.

Among the branded jewellery players in the Indian market, Tanishq is considered to be a trendsetter. When it was launched in 1995, Tanishq began with 18-carat jewellery. Realizing that such jewellery did not sell well in the domestic market, the 18-carat jewellery range was expanded to include 22 and 24-carat ornaments as well. When Tanishq was launched, it sold most of its products through multibrand stores.

courtesy:Icmr case studies

Brands preparing for marketing strategies for 2012 Olympics

FUTURE STRATEGIES

In a few short weeks, the Beijing Olympic Games will be history. As the last spectator files out of the Chinese capital’s Bird’s Nest stadium on 24 August, the eyes of the world will turn to London, and 2012. For marketers, the planning has already begun in earnest. Brands that have already signed up as sponsors for London 2012 include BP, BT, British Airways and Lloyds TSB. As they prepare over the next four years, the question arises as to what they can learn from Beijing.

Perhaps the trend that has really set this summer’s Olympics apart is the battle between sponsors and marketers keen to capitalise on the Games without paying for official endorsements. For all the obvious differences between the UK and China, this will be an equally significant issue affecting the marketing strategies surrounding London 2012. At Beijing, the rights of sponsors have been policed in a way never witnessed before .

This has been particularly evident in the outdoor sector, with brands employing classic ambush marketing strategies by buying up billboards around the Games. To counter this, the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) introduced the priority allocation of prominent surrounding sites to official sponsors between July and September. In an attempt to gain greater control over the fragmented outdoor scene, it also removed hundreds of billboards and invalidated advertising contracts signed last year, insisting that brands buy bundled packages at capped rates. In the lead-up to the Games, rumours circulated that ads from non-sponsors would be taken down.

Moreover, in an unprecedented move, the China Advertising Association recently banned non-sponsors of the Games from running ads featuring Olympic athletes. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), eager to protect the value of its lucrative sponsorships, has been behind much of this clampdown activity. However, it has not prevented some blatant attempts at ambush marketing. Local sportswear brand Li-Ning - whose slogan ‘Anything is possible’ is strikingly similar to Adidas’ ‘Impossible is nothing’ — even tried to have broadcasters on Chinese state TV wear its branded clothing while on air, before BOCOG intervened.

“Guerrilla marketing has been huge this year, more than in past Olympics,” says Shaun Rein, chief executive of China Market Research (CMR) Group. “Even companies in unrelated industries are using sports imagery in their ads. As a result, it is harder and harder for official sponsors to stand out above the din.”

That view is shared by Alexandra Oikonomidou, director of Ogilvy PR Worldwide and previously a member of the Athens 2004 organising committee. “During this Games, guerrilla activity has taken a whole new role and is more aggressive than anything I have seen at previous Games. Nevertheless, BOCOG has also become more sophisticated at handling this.”

London should be a less chaotic market — outdoor operators have already begun offering billboards on long-term contracts — but marketers should expect similarly strict enforcement of sponsors’ rights. “The protection of the Olympic intellectual property rights has become a serious responsibility for the organising committee; non-Olympic sponsors are very limited in what they can do during the Games,” says Oikonomidou.