Marketing principles

Marketing principles or principles of marketing are ideas which companies use for an effective marketing strategy. They are the principles upon which we build product promotion strategies. Marketing principles can be used for the effective promotion of either goods or services.

The Purchasing decision process

The psychological processes play a significant role in understanding how consumers make their purchasing decisions. For this purpose, marketers have developed a stage model of the buying decision process. It states, that the consumer passes through five sequential stages, namely problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post-purchase behaviour. What is more, the purchasing process starts long before the actual purchase and has consequences long afterward. Marketers must deeply understand all variables influencing in each stage of the consumer behaviour, such as choosing the product or brand, consumer experiences in learning, the usage and even the disposal of product (Ferrell, 2014).

Marketing Mix

Guided by marketing strategy, the company designs an integrated marketing mix made up of factors under its control:

• product,
• price,
• place,
• promotion, (the four Ps). To find the best marketing mix and strategy, the company engages in marketing analysis, planning, implementation and control. Through these activities, the company observes and adapts to the forces and factors in the marketing environment. (Calvo-Porral, 2017).

Developing a marketing plan

A marketing strategy is dynamic. Companies must constantly monitor the marketing environment not only to design their marketing strategy, but also revise it if necessary. Information about various forces in the marketplace is collected, analysed and used as foundation for marketing plan decisions. The following questions are used to help to understand how the information in this chapter contributes to the development of your marketing plan:

• Describe the current competitive market for your product.
• Can you identify the number of brands or market share that other companies hold? Expand your analysis to include other products that are similar to or could be substituted for yours.
• Using the business-cycle pattern, in which of the four stages is the current state of the economy? Can you identify changes in consumer buying power that would affect the sale and use of your product?
• Do you recognise any laws or regulatory agencies that would have jurisdiction over your type of product?
• Conduct a brief technology assessment, determining the impact that technology has on your product, its sale or use.
• Discuss how your product could be affected by changes in social demographic characteristics, attidues or lifestyles.

The information obtained from these queries should assist you in developing various aspects of your marketing plan (Gbadamosi, 2013).

Marketing principles — recommended articles

Howard Sheth model of consumer behaviour — Marketing research — Nicosia model — PEST analysis — Context of the organization — Customer equity — Promotional plan — Consumer decision making — Market information

References

• Calvo-Porral C.(2017), Principles of Marketing, ESIC Editorial, Madrit,
• Ferrell O. (2014), Principles of marketing, Cengage Learning Australia, South Melbourne,
• Gbadamosi A. (2013), Marketing Principles with Student Resource Access 12 Months, Macmillan International Higher Education, South Melbourne,
• Kotler P. (2010), Principles of Marketing: A Value-Based Approach, Pearson Education, Hampshire,
• Pride W. (2017), Marketing Principles, Cengage AU, South Melbourne.

Author: Katarzyna Adamczyk