Week 19 (26.8.07)

Learnt

Marketing - The Big Picture

• Marketing is a total system of interacting business activities to plan, price, promote and place (through distribution) want-satisfying products and services to users that satisfy organizational goals.
• Why marketing is growing in Importance:

1. Demographic shifting
2. Psychographic changes
3. Geographic
4. Real growth is changing
5. Fragmented markets
6. Global market
7. Technology shifts
8. Product life cycles
9. Competition is increasing
10. Changing customers wants
11. Governmental regulation and deregulation
12. E-commerce

• Marketing is the "Epicenter of Strategy" - today, a company must have right product or service, at the right price and quality
• A marketer must know customer's exact needs; leverage their company's strengths against competition's weaknesses
• Successful company must be FOCUS - if lose focus, will lose customer and the market
• In an organization, centering the customer is MARKETING (customer-driven strategy) and SALES
• Marketing - to find, grow and retain customers, to generate profits and growth
• Estimated replacement cost for new replacement customer is 7 to 10 times more than customer retention. In addition, less time, less efforts and higher margin generated to keep a customer satisfied than to locate and convince a total stranger to start on business
• Core Issues Marketing Manages:

1. Establish plans, objectives and strategies
2. Develop research methods to identify customers' needs
3. Develop appropriate programs for uncovered needs
4. Identify industries, segments and target-customer groups for company to develop sustainable competitive advantage (SCA)
5. Identify industries, segments and customer groups for customer to develop SCA

Unlearnt

Often ignore the importance of doing analysis of keeping how many good customers with company. Usually concentrate more on converting new customers. Agree with the customer-satisfaction survey show that less effort and smaller investment to keep a customer satisfied, than to find a replacement for dissatisfied customer.

Relearn

Will discuss with my manager immediately on few important customers whom has purchased Norvasc for a long time (value the customer relationship); to propose for case to case basis on the request of special pricing. The generic competition is increasing in the market place which makes us to review our tactics and strategies in our individual purchasers.