New Product Development Strategy

With a well-considered new product development (NPD) strategy, you can avoid wasting time, money and business resources. An NPD strategy will help you organize your product planning and research, capture your customers' views and expectations, and accurately plan and resource your NPD project. Your strategy will also help you avoid:

·         overestimating and misreading your target market

·         launching a poorly designed product, or a product that doesn't meet the needs of your target customers

·         incorrectly pricing products

·         spending resources you don't have on higher-than-anticipated development costs

·         exposing your business to risks and threats from unexpected competition.

There are several important steps you will need to plan into your NPD strategy.

1.  Define your product : An accurate description of the product you are planning will help keep you and your team focused and avoid NPD pitfalls such as developing too many products at once, or running out of resources to develop the product.

2.  Identify market needs: Successful NPD requires a thorough knowledge of your target market and its needs and wants. A targeted, strategic and purposeful approach to NPD will ensure your products fit your market. Ask yourself:

·         What is the target market for the product I am proposing?

·         What does that market need?

·         What is the benefit of my proposed new product?

·         What are the market's frustrations of existing products of its type?

·         How will the product fit into the current market?

·         What sets this product apart from its competition?

Draw existing market research. You may need to undertake additional research to test your new product proposal with your customers. For example, you could set up focus groups or a customer survey.

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3.  Establish time frames: You need to allow adequate time to develop and implement your new products. Your objectives for developing new products will inform your time frames and your deadlines for implementation. Be thoughtful and realistic. Some objectives might overlap but others will be mutually exclusive.

·         Your objective to race against your competition will require efficiency from your team.

·         Your aim to achieve a specific launch date will be influenced by demand for seasonal products and calendar events.

·         Your aim to be responsive to your customers' needs and demands will require time for research to ensure you develop the right products at the right time.

·         Your objective to stick to business as usual and maintain other schedules will affect the resources you make available for NPD.

4.  Identify key issues and approaches: There are many tasks involved in developing a product that is appropriate for your customers. The nature of your business and your idea will determine how many of these steps you need to take. You may be able to skip or duplicate certain stages, or start some of them simultaneously. Key tasks include:

·         generating and screening ideas

·         developing and screening concepts

·         testing concepts

·         analyzing market and business strategy

·         developing and market testing products

·         implementing and commercializing products.

Process of New Product Development

 Every entrepreneur knows that productivity is one of the key ingredients for successful product development.

 The New Product Development process is often referred to as The Stage-Gate innovation process, developed by Dr. Robert G. Cooper as a result of comprehensive research on reasons why products succeed and why they fail.

Step 1: Generating

Utilizing basic internal and external SWOT analyses, as well as current marketing trends, one can distance themselves from the competition by generating ideologies which take affordability, ROI, and widespread distribution costs into account.

Step 2: Screening the Idea

Wichita, possessing more aviation industry than most other states, is seeing many new innovations stop with Step 2 – screening.  Do you go/no go? Set specific criteria for ideas that should be continued or dropped. Stick to the agreed upon criteria so poor projects can be sent back to the idea-hopper early on.

Because product development costs are being cut in areas like Wichita, “prescreening product ideas,” means taking your Top 3 competitors’ new innovations into account, how much market share they’re chomping up, what benefits end consumers could expect etc. 

Step 3: Testing The Concept

As Gaurav Akrani has said, “Concept testing is done after idea screening.” And it is important to note, it is different from test marketing. Aside from patent research, design due diligence, and other legalities involved with new product development; knowing where the marketing messages will work best is often the biggest part of testing the concept.  Does the consumer understand, need, or want the product or service?

Step 4: Business Analytics

During the New Product Development process, build a system of metrics to monitor progress. Include input metrics, such as average time in each stage, as well as output metrics that measure the value of launched products, percentage of new product sales and other figures that provide valuable feedback. It is important for an organization to be in agreement for these criteria and metrics. Even if an idea doesn’t turn into product, keep it in the hopper because it can prove to be a valuable asset for future products and a basis for learning and growth.

Step 5: Beta / Marketability Tests

Arranging private tests groups, launching beta versions, and then forming test panels after the product or products have been tested will provide you with valuable information allowing last minute improvements and tweaks. Not to mention helping to generate a small amount of buzz. Word Press is becoming synonymous with beta testing, and it’s effective; Thousands of programmers contribute code, millions test it, and finally even more download the completed end-product.

Step 6: Technicalities + Product Development

Provided the technical aspects can be perfected without alterations to post-beta products, heading towards a smooth step 7 is imminent. According to Akrani, in this step, “The production department will make plans to produce the product. The marketing department will make plans to distribute the product. The finance department will provide the finance for introducing the new product”.

Step 7: Commercialize

At this stage, your new product developments have gone mainstream, consumers are purchasing your good or service, and technical support is consistently monitoring progress.  Keeping your distribution pipelines loaded with products is an integral part of this process too, as one prefers not to give physical (or perpetual) shelf space to competition. Refreshing advertisements during this stage will keep your product’s name firmly supplanted into the minds of those in the contemplation stages of purchase.

Step 8: Post Launch Review and Perfect Pricing

Review the NPD process efficiency and look for continues improvements. Most new products are introduced with introductory pricing, in which final prices are nailed down after consumers have ‘gotten in’.  In this final stage, you’ll gauge overall value relevant to COGS (cost of goods sold), making sure internal costs aren’t overshadowing new product profits.  You continuously differentiate consumer needs as your products age, forecast profits and improve delivery process whether physical, or digital, products are being perpetuated.

 Remember: The Process Is Loose

The entire new product development process is an ever evolving testing platform where errors will be made, designs will get trashed, and loss could be recorded. Having your entire team working in tight synchronicity will ensure the successful launch of goods or services, even if reinventing your own wheel. Productivity during product development can be achieved if, and only if, goals are clearly defined along the way and each process has contingencies clearly outlined on paper.

Define New Product

 Businesses focus on designing new products and selling these products to customers. The company's goal with creating new products involves two parts. The first part consists of finding a product that customers want to pay for; only products that customers purchase produce revenue for the business. The second part consists of beating competitors to market. The first company to offer a product generates the greatest number of repeat customers.

 

Philip Kotler & Gary Armstrong: A new product is a good, service, or idea that is perceived by some potential customers as new.

Steven J. Skinner: A new product is one that a specific organization has not marketed previously, although other organizations may offer similar products.

Evans & Berman: A new product is a modification of an existing product or and enovation that consumer perceives as meaningful.

Q: Process of New Product

The process of creating a new product involves nearly every department in the organization. Many companies create a new product development team. The team includes representatives from the purchasing department, research and development, the production area, accounting and marketing. The purchasing and accounting representatives contribute financial data regarding the new product. The purchasing representative contacts vendors and provides material cost information to the team. The accounting representative uses the material cost information, estimated labor costs and calculates the total product cost. The accounting representative also calculates a potential profit margin using the anticipated selling price from the marketing department.

 

Q:  Success of a New Product?

 Philip Kotler & Gary Armstrong: To create successful new products, a company must understand its consumers, markets and competitors and develop products that deliver superior value to customers.

The following point should be considered: a) Adequate market demand, b) Proper utilization of money & resources, c) Similar to existing market structured) existing production system, e) Efficiency & experience of management, f) Social acceptability, g) Legal obstacle, h) Environmental influence, I) Differential quality, j) To increase brand & company image, k) Government patronization.

Explain the Approaches of Pricing

 The company can select one or a combination of three general pricing approaches: The cost based approach (cost-plus pricing, break-even analysis and target profit pricing); the buyer based approach (perceived value pricing); and the competition based approach (going rate or sealed bid pricing).

 1.  Cost based pricing:

Cost Plus Pricing: The simplest pricing method is cost plus pricing- adding a standard markup to the cost of the product. e.g.  Lawyers, accountants and other professionals typically price by adding a standard markup to their costs.

Breakeven Analysis:

Target pricing uses the concept of a breakeven chart. A breakeven chart shows the total cost and total revenue expected at different sales volume levels. Variable costs are added to fixed costs to form total costs, which rise with volume. Breakeven volume can be calculated using the following formula:

       Fixed cost

Breakeven volume: __________________

price – variable cost

 The manufacturer should consider different prices and estimate breakeven volumes, probable demand and profits for each. Even though the low price attracts many buyers, demand still falls the high breakeven point and the manufacturer loses money. To achieve the target return, the manufacturer will have to search for ways to lower fixed or variable costs, thus following the breakeven volume.

 2.  Buyer based pricing:

An increasing number of companies are basing their prices on the product’s perceived value. Perceived value pricing uses buyers perception of value, not the seller’s cost, as the key to pricing. The company uses the non-price variables in the marketing mix to build up perceived value in buyers minds. Price is set to match the perceived value.

            A company using perceived value pricing must find out what value buyers assign to different competitive offers. If the seller charges more than the buyers perceived value, the company’s sales will suffer. Many companies overprice their products, and their products sell poorly. Other companies under-price. Under-priced products sell very well, but they produce less revenue than they would if price were raised to the perceived value level.

 3.  Competition based pricing:

Going rate pricing: In  going rate pricing, the firm bases its price largely on competitors prices, with less attention paid to its own costs or to demand. The firm might charge the same, more, or less than its major competitors. Going rate pricing is quite popular. When demand elasticity is hard to measure, firms feel that the going price represents the collective wisdom fo the industry concerning  the price that will yield a fair return. They also feel that holding to the going price will prevent harmful price war.

Seal bid pricing: Competition base pricing is also used when firms bid for jobs. Using sealed bid pricing, a firm bases its price on how it thinks competitors will price rather than on its own cost or on the demand. The firm wants to win a contract, and winning the contract requires pricing lower than other firms.

What is pricing? Describes factors to consider when setting prices

 Price is the only element in the marketing mix that produce revenues, all other elements costs. A company’s pricing decisions are affected both by interval company factors and external environmental factors. Internal factors include

The company’s marketing objectives, marketing mix strategy, costs and organization. External factors include the nature of the market and demand, competition and other environmental elements. 

The pricing strategy is largely determined by the company’s target market and positioning objectives. Common pricing objectives include survival, current profit maximization, market share leadership and product quality leadership.

Price is only one of the marketing mix tools. The company uses to accomplish its objectives, and must be coordinated with product design, distribution and promotion decision to form a consistent and effective marketing program. Prime decision must be carefully coordinated with the other marketing mix decisions when designing the marketing program.

The company wants to change a price that both covers all its Costs for producing distributing and selling the product and delivers a fair rate of return far its effort and risk. There can two types of costs fixed and variable. Total costs are the sum of the fixed and variable costs for any given level of production.

Costs set the floor for the company’s price- the price must cover all the costs of making and selling the product, plus a fair rate of return. Management must decide who within the organization is responsible for setting price. In large companies, some pricing authority may be delegated to lower-level managers and sales people, but top management usually sets pricing policies and approves proposed prices. Production, finance ad accounting managers also influence pricing.

External factors that influences pricing decision include the nature of the market and demand, competitions prices and factors such as economy, needs and government actions. Pricing is especially challenging in markets characterized by monopolistic competition or oligopoly.

Consumers compare a products price to the prices of competition’s product. A company must learn the price and quality of competitions offers and use them as a starting point for its own pricing.

Marketing Mix

 A marketing communication mix is a combination of marketing variables for a specific product/service, arrived at by choosing the best mix from the 4 Ps of marketing. It defines how you will position your product in the market. The four Ps are - Product: brand name, styling, etc. Place: distribution channels, warehousing, etc. Price: retail price, seasonal pricing, etc. Promotion: advertising, sales promotion, etc.

1.Advertisement:  Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by identified sponsor.

2. Sales Promotion:  A variety of shot-term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or services.
3. Public Relation and Publicity: A variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company's image or its individual products.

4. Personal Selling: Face-to-face interaction with one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions, and procuring orders.

5. Direct Marketing: Use of mail, telephone, fax, e-mail, or internet to communicate directly with or solicit a direct response for specific customers and prospects.

Integrated Marketing Communication? Marketing Communication Mix

 An approach to achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign, through a well-coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other.

 

As defined by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, integrated marketing communications " ... recognizes the value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion and combines them to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication impact."

 

Integrated marketing communication refers to integrating all the methods of brand promotion to promote a particular product or service among target customers. In integrated marketing communication, all aspects of marketing communication work together for increased sales and maximum cost effectiveness. Various components of Integrated Marketing Communication as under:

1.      The Foundation - As the name suggests, foundation stage involves detailed analysis of both the product as well as target market. It is essential for marketers to understand the brand, its offerings and end-users.

2.      The Corporate Culture - The features of products and services ought to be in line with the work culture of the organization. Every organization has a vision and it’s important for the marketers to keep in mind the same before designing products and services.

3.      Brand Focus - Brand Focus represents the corporate identity of the brand.

4.      Consumer Experience - Marketers need to focus on consumer experience which refers to what the customers feel about the product. A consumer is likely to pick up a product which has good packaging and looks attractive. Products need to meet and exceed customer expectations.

5.      Communication Tools - Communication tools include various modes of promoting a particular brand such as advertising, direct selling, promoting through social media such as facebook, twitter, orkut and so on.

6.      Promotional Tools - Brands are promoted through various promotional tools such as trade promotions, personal selling and so on. Organizations need to strengthen their relationship with customers and external clients.

7.      Integration Tools - Organizations need to keep a regular track on customer feedbacks and reviews. You need to have specific software like customer relationship management (CRM), which helps in measuring the effectiveness of various integrated marketing communications tools.

Product Life Cycle (PLC) strategies

 Each product has a life cycle marked by a changing set of problems and opportunities. The product life cycle have five distinct stages such as product development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline stages.

i)        Product development begins when the company finds and develops a new product idea. During product development, sales are zero and the company’s investment costs mount.

ii)      Introduction is a period of slow sales growth as the product is being introduced in the market. Profit are non-existent in this stage because of the heavy expenses of product introduction.

iii)    Growth is a period of rapid market acceptance and the raising profits.

iv)    Maturity is a period of slow down in sales growth because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers. Profits level off or decline because of increased marketing out lays to defined the product against competition.

v)      Decline is the period when sales fall off and profit drop.

Certainly not all products go through exactly the same life cycle. There are variations in the time it takes for products to go through particular stages of the cycle.

            The product life cycle is a key marketing planning tool because the relative importance of various elements of the marketing mix will shift at different stages in the life cycle. Price is often more important during the maturity stage than during the introduction stage. Communicating the availability and features of a new product through advertising and personal selling is essential in achieving buyers awareness during the early stages of the life cycles. The life cycle concept also emphasizes the need for a company to develop a stream of new and improved products so as to expand sales and profits over the long run.

            The exact pattern and timing of the life cycle for a product may be difficult to predict. Life cycle patterns should be monitored and projections should be revised on the basis of new information and experience.

New product development strategies

 Organizations must develop new products and services. A company can obtain new products in two ways. One is through acquisition- by buying a whole company, a patent, or a license to produce someone else’s product. The other is through new product development in the company’s own research and development department. Their current products face limited life spans and must be replaced by newer products. But new products can fail- the risks of innovation are as great as the rewards. The key to successful innovation lies in a total company effort, strong planning, and a systematic new product development process.

            The new product development process consists of eight stages: idea generation, idea screening, concept development and testing, marketing strategy development, business analysis, product development, test marketing and commercialization. The purpose of each stage is to decide whether the idea should be further developed or dropped. The company wants to minimize the chances of poor ideas moving forward and good ideas being rejected.

Role of Advertisement as an element of Promotion Mix

 Marketing Mix in one of the major concepts in modern marketing. The marketing mix consists of everything can do to influence the demand for its products. The many possibilities can be collected into four groups of variable known as the “Four Ps”: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The basic function included in the mix are product Development, branding and packaging, pricing, promotion advertising selecting of cannel of distributing, physical handling and personal selling.

Advertising is most often intended to be a supporting component in a marketing mix. It may, however be clarified here that advertising is one of the components of the promotion mix- the other begging personal selling, sales promotion and public relations. Advertising decisions must be integrated and coordinated with the rest of the marketing mix, particularly product/brand decisions.

Advertising facilities widespread distribution. It permits communication to large number of potential customers at the same time. Today most promotion blends contain the two elements of advertising and personal selling. Advertising is more visible to the average consumer in many ways.

The amount of the marketing budget allocated to advertising is the advertising budget. In allocating the advertising budget, it is important to keep in mind that the incremental amount of money put into advertising must be more useful that the same amounts, put into distribution or product refinement or even reduced prices. Understanding consumer motivation and behavior is a most significant factor in advertising decision making and in developing a marketing mix.

Elements of Marketing Communications

 Corporate Image :  A company's corporate image sums up the publicly established characteristics of the business. This includes what the company claims it does best (known as core competencies), logos, policies and company culture

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Branding: Brands are the names generally associated with a product, group of products or a company. A brand name is meant to evoke a certain set of thoughts and feelings in consumers, and businesses can charge more for successful brand-name products. IMC creates branding and is aided by existing branding.

Market Segmentation: Market segments are sets of consumers grouped together because of similar needs, demographics, behaviors or characteristics. Marketers research segments to determine what types of products and messages appeal to them.

Advertising:  Crafting advertising messages to reach the target segment is essential to IMC plans. Different types of messages match up with the corporate image, branding and market segment preferences. Advertising may use elements such as humor, fear and taste to appeal to audiences.

Media Selection: Markets must select the type of advertising mediums that will best feature the IMC and brand messages. Possible mediums include magazines, websites, radio and television. Media selection also involves determining the market segment's preferred mediums.

Promotional Tools: IMC uses consumer promotional tools to enhance branding and attract market segments. Coupons, rebates, sales and bonus packs are examples of promotional tools. Other promotional tools include contests, sweepstakes and free samples.

Customer Relationship Management: Customer relationship management (CRM) programs are designed to instill long-term loyalty in existing customers. CRM tactics include commitment to excellent customer service and keeping a record of current customers .

Public Relations: Public relations protects the brand and corporate image by creating publicity that builds a positive impression of the company and by reducing the impact of negative events related to the business.

Define Marketing Communication

 

Marketing Communications: All strategies, tactics, and activities involved in getting the desired marketing messages to intended target markets, regardless of the media used.
Marketing communications (or marcom) consists of the messages and related media used to communicate with a market. Those who practice advertising, branding, direct marketing, graphic design, marketing, packaging, promotion, publicity, public relations, sales, and sales promotion are termed marketing communicators, marketing communications managers, or more briefly as marcom managers.

Objective/ Characteristics: Marketing communications serve five key objectives: 1) the provision of information, 2) the stimulation of demand, 3) differentiating the product or service, 4) underlining the product's value, 5) regulating sales.

Introduction-Means of Distributing Financial Services

 Distribution channel decisions are among the most complex & challenging decisions facing the firm. Each channel system creates a different level of sales and costs. Once a distribution channel has been chosen, the firm usually must stick with it for a long time. The chosen channel strongly affects, and is affected by, the other elements in the marketing mix.

            Each firm needs to identify alternative ways to reach its market. Available means vary from direct selling to using one, two, three or more intermediary channel levels. Marketing channels face continuous and sometimes dramatic change. Three of the most important trends are the growth of vertical, horizontal and multicultural marketing systems. These trends affect channel cooperation, conflict and competition.

            Channel design begins with assessing customer channel-service needs and company channel objectives and constraints. The company then identifies the major channel alternatives in terms of the types of intermediaries, the number of intermediaries, and the channel responsibilities of each. Each channel alternatives must be evaluated according to economic, control and adaptive criteria. Channel management calls for selecting qualified middlemen and motivating them. Individual channel members must be evaluated regularly.

            Just as the marketing concept is receiving increased recognition, more business firms are paying attention to the physical distribution concept. Physical distribution is an area of potentially high cost savings and improved customer satisfaction. When order processors, warehouse planners, inventory managers and transportation managers make decisions, they affect each other’s costs and ability to handle demand. The physical distribution concept calls for treating all these decisions within a unified framework. The task is to design physical distribution systems that minimize the total cost of providing a desired level of customer services.

Types of Publicity

 Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people (for example, politicians and performing artists), goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.

The following sections list numerous means by which you can publicize events.  One of these ideas will be familiar to you while others will hopefully provide you with insight into innovative and more creative ways of effectively
publicizing programs.

Inexpensive Publicity Techniques:

i) POSTERS: The essential purpose of a poster is the rapid telling of a single simple message using a limited number of elements. Posters are viewed more rapidly than other methods of advertisement. Their message must be strong, simple, and brief.

ii) TABLE TENTS: Table tents should be made of thick or heavy grade of paper that will stand firm. Table tents can be placed in visible locations including lounges, lobby, dining hall, and on desk tops.

iii) INVITATION: A personal touch can be added to your publicity by distributing invitations for your program. These can be placed in mailboxes or handed out or slipped under room doors.

iv) CALENDAR:  A large calendar of activities located on your bulletin board or distributed individually is a particularly effective technique. Students will have at least one consistently identifiable source for information and activities. The smaller calendars of activities can be copied and put into mailboxes or slid under doors.

v) BALLOONS: You can write a message on the balloon or put the message on a piece of paper inside the balloon. Balloons can be tied with string to student’s door knobs, handed out at the entrance of the building or handed out in dining hall lines.

vi) TICKETS: You can purchase printed tickets or make your own. Free tickets, and invitations, can be placed in mailboxes, handed out, or slipped under doors. A variation of the ticket concept is to distribute coupons. The coupon might entitle the person to a prize or free refreshment item. Coupons can be included on flyers or on printed schedules and this may prevent your advertisement from falling victim to the trashcan.

vii) BILLBOARDS: Place a large poster in the central lobby of Goodwin Hall. For a more unusual effect, make a human billboard by hanging posters on the front and back of someone and have them walk around.

viii) BANNERS: A large extension of the poster, these can be hung outside the hall or in the mailroom or in a lobby. A bed sheet or old shower curtain will make a good size banner.

ix) WORD OF MOUTH: And of course, there is the time-honored word-of-mouth technique. This is perhaps the oldest, yet most effective way to get the word out. Its effectiveness should not be underestimated. Go door to door and personally inform people of the activity; and remind them frequently, so that they don’t forget.

OTHER PUBLICITY TECHNIQUES:

1.      Networking sites,  2.  Mass e-mails,                     

2.      3.  Bags,                4.  Bookmarks

5.    Bull Horns,                       6.  Bumper Stickers,   

7.  Computer Letters   8.  Door Hanger

9.    Door Prizes,                     10. Footprints,                        

11. Fortune Cookies,   12. Free Tickets to events

13.  Lawn Signs,         14. Logos,                  

15. Painted Windows, 16. Audix Message

17.  Puzzle Pieces        18. Sneak Previews,   

19.  Stickers,               20. Teasers

21.  Bathroom stalls,   22. T-shirts,                

23. Visors,                   24.Sidewalk Chalk Writing

25. Mirror Signs,         26. Lollipops with messages

Discuss the steps in developing effective marketing Communication

 The marketing communicators must (1) identify the target audience (2) Determine the communication objectives (3) Design the message and (4) manage and coordinate the total marketing communication process.

Identify the Target Audience : A marketing Communicator must start with a clear target audience in mind. The audience may be potential buyers of the company’s products, current users, deciders, or influence. The audience may be individuals, groups, particular publics or the general public. The target audience will critically influence the communicator’s decision on what is to be said. How it is to be said, when it is to be said, where is to be said and who is to say it.

Determining the communication Objectives : Once the target audience and its characteristics are identified, the marketing communication must determine what response is sought. The ultimate response of course, is purchase. But behavior is the end result of a long process of consumer decision marking. The marketing communicator needs to know how to move the target audience from where it now stands to a higher state of readiness to buy. We will work with the “hierarchy – of – effects “models and described the six buyer – readiness states Awareness, Knowledge, liking, Preference, Conviction, and Possible, depending upon the degree of consumer involvement and the degree of brand differences.

Designing the Message : Having defined the desired audience response, the communicators move to developing an effective message. Ideally the message should get attention, hold interest, arouse desire and obtain action. In practice, few messages take the consumer all the way from awareness through purchase, but the frame work suggest the desirable qualities.

Managing and Coordinating the Marketing Communication Process : The wide range of communication tools and messages available for reaching the target audience makes it imperative that they be coordinated. Other wise the messages might be ill timed in terms of the availability of goods: they may lack consistency: or they might not be cost effective. Left alone, each manager of a communication resource will fight for more budget irrespective of the relative merits of each tools.

Social Responsible of Marketing Communication

 Effective marketing draws customers to a business and, hopefully, increases profits. When a business advertises products or otherwise communicates with potential customers, marketing communications must be responsible, and the company must be accountable for what it says in its marketing materials. Irresponsible marketing may result in injuries to customers -- physically or financially. Further, untruthful or misleading advertisements may expose the business to lawsuits from customers.

Truthful Content: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces laws regarding marketing and advertisements. In general, responsible marketing communications must "tell the truth and not mislead consumers," according to a writer on the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection Business Center website. Businesses cannot lie in advertisements or other marketing communications. While related to truthful content, the communications also cannot be misleading or deceptive.

Not Deceptive: An advertisement may be truthful, yet still be deceptive. If a business does not include all the relevant facts, or otherwise slants the language of the marketing communication in a way that a customer would be mislead by the facts of the content, the communication is not considered a responsible type of message.

Full Disclosure in Plain Language: Problems or concerns related to the product must be clearly stated in a conspicuous spot on the marketing communication and in language that the average consumer will understand. Any limits on liability or concerns regarding warranties or other promises must be fully spelled out either in the advertisement or in a supplement that accompanies the advertisement. Consumers must be provided with enough information about the product to make an informed decision as to whether they want to expend their resources on that item.

Inoffensive Content: The content must also "fit" the intended audience. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), for example, makes a point to companies that produce video games or software intended for mature audiences -- they must not target younger consumers. A game labeled "Mature" should not be advertised during times when the programming is primarily geared toward a younger audience, such as Saturday morning cartoon shows. Further, the content of the advertisement should not be offensive to the general public.

Importance of Marketing Communication

 Although marketing can take many forms, all marketing is an act of communication. The fundamental goal of marketing is to deliver a message to potential consumers designed to convince them to perform a specific action--usually to purchase a particular product or service. To be an effective marketer, one must have a keen grasp on the effects of different media on communication and understand how consumers are most likely to interpret various messages.

Communication Media:

Marketers can communicate a single message using a variety of different media. To market effectively, a marketer must determine both how the characteristics specific to various media--both their advantages and disadvantages--and know which are best suited to an organization's message. In addition, the marketer should also know how to adapt an organization's message to fit each media, so that the consumer is delivered the same message through a number of different formats.

Direct vs. Indirect Messages:

The message is a piece of marketing can be either direct, indirect, or a combination of both. For example, a sign that reads "Save a Tree: Recycle" is a relatively direct piece of marketing. By contrast, a photo of a fashion model wearing an elegant dress and holding a bottle of perfume is relatively indirect. The viewer must infer that the model is advertising the perfume and--the marketer hopes--associate the perfume with beautiful, well-dressed people.

One-way vs. Two-Way:

With the advent of social networks and user-generated content--the so-called web 2.0--many savvy marketing companies understand that the most effective marketing is often interactive than the presentational. While traditional advertising has consisted of a company broadcasting or publishing a message to a target audience, information-age advertising involves a dialogue with potential consumers.

Communication Across Cultures:

One of the difficulties that companies in a globalize world run into is the complexity of communicating to potential customers who are part of a very different culture. While some marketing messages may be appropriate for some audiences, a skillful marketer will know that these same messages may communicate something very different in another culture.

Discuss Public Relations activities

 Mass promotion tool is Public relations- building good relations with the company’s various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good “corporate image” and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories and events. Public relations is a much broader concept that includes publicity as well as many other activities. PR departments use many different tools such as Press relations, Product publicity, Corporate communication, Lobbying and Counseling. PR is used to promote products, people, places, ideas, activities, organization and even nations. PR department is usually located at corporate headquarters. Its staff is so busy dealing with various publics- stockholder, employees, legislators, city officials- that PR programs to support product marketing objectives may be ignored.

Major Public Relations Tools: PR professionals use several tools. One of the major tools is news. Speeches can also create product and company publicity. Another common tool is special events. Ranging from news conferences, press tours, grand openings and fireworks displays to laser shows, hot-air balloon releases. Multimedia presentations and star studied spectaculars that will reach and interest target publics.

PR also prepare written materials to reach & influence their target markets. These materials include annual reports, brochures, articles and company newsletters and magazines. Audiovisual materials, such as films, slide-and sound programs and video and audio cassettes are being used increasingly as communication tools. Corporate identity materials also can help create a corporate identity that the public immediately recognizes. Logos, stationery, brochures, signs, business forms, business cards, building, uniforms and company cars and trucks all become marketing tools when they are attractive, distinctive and memorable. Companies also can improve public goodwill by contributing money and time to public service activities e.g. Bangladesh Bank CSR activities, etc.

Major Public Relations Decisions: Management should set PR objectives, choose the PR messages and vehicles, implement the PR plan and evaluate the results.

Setting Public Relations Objectives: To develop a program to support two major marketing objectives-

 1) improve the image of the company and 

2) Increasing the market share of the company.

Choosing Public Relations Message and Vehicles: Uses product more public recognitions.  May relate Sponsor newsworthy events. Organization creates news- academic conventions, inviting well known speakers, holding news conferences for many different audiences.

Implementing Public Relations Plan:  PR professionals are often former journalists who know many media editors and know what they want

Evaluating Public Relations Results: Public relations results are difficult to measure because PR is used with other promotion tools and its impact is often indirect. If PR is used before other tools  come into play, its contribution is easier to evaluate. The easiest measure of publicity effectiveness is the number of exposures in the media.

The Roles of Advertising – Advertising Channels , Promotions, Publicity

Three major tools of mass promotion are advertising, sales promotion and public relations. We define advertising as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.

Advertising is the use of paid media by a seller to inform, persuade and remind about its products or organization is a strong promotion tool. American marketers spend more than $ 125 billion each year on advertising and it takes many forms and has many uses. Advertising decision making is a five step process consisting of decisions 1) about the objectives, 2) the budget, 3) the message, 4) the media and finally 5) the evaluation of results. 

Objectives

• Communication objectives
• Sales objectives

Budget

• Affordable approach Percent of sales
• Competitive party
• Objective and task

Media

• Reach, frequency,
• Impact major media types
• Specific media vehicles
• Media timing

Message

• Generation
• Evaluation &
• Selection
• Execution

Evaluation

• Communication impact
• Sales impact

Advertiser should set clear objectives as to whether the advertising is supposed to inform, persuade or remind buyers.

The advertising budget can be based on what is affordable, on a percentage of sales, on competitors spending, or on the objectives and tasks. Some specific factors may be considered related budgeting: Stage in the product life cycle, Market share, Competition and clutter, advertising frequency and Product differentiation.

The message decision calls for designing messages, evaluating them and executing them effectively. The  media decision calls for defining reach, frequency and impact goals; choosing major media types; selecting specific media vehicles and scheduling the media or deciding of media timing.

Finally, evaluation calls for Measuring the Communication Effect and Measuring the Sales Effects of advertising before, during and after the advertising is placed. In measuring communication effect copy testing can be done before or after an ad is printed broadcast that is availing of methods- pre-testing, portfolio tests and Laboratory tests. Measuring of sales effect by many factors such as product features, price and availability.

 

Sales promotion covers a wide variety of short term incentive tools- coupons, premiums, contests, buying allowances- designed to stimulate consumers, the trade and the company’s own sales force. Sales promotion spending has been growing faster than advertising spending in recent years. Sales promotion calls for setting sales promotion objectives; selecting tools; developing, pre-testing and implementing the sales promotion program and evaluating the results.

Public relations- gaining favorable publicity and creating a favorable company image- is the least used of the major promotion tools, although it has great potential for building awareness and preference. Public relations involves setting PR objectives, choosing PR messages and vehicles, implementing the PR plan and evaluating PR results.

 

Financial Services Technology

 As the decades have passed by, so has the increase of technology today. The right financial services can determine whether or not you understand and invest your money with a company. It is important for any consumer and also for business owners, to be up to date with the advances within the future of technology.

Businesses and individuals are looking for an easy and quick answer to assist them with advances that may be confusing. Some of the advances in technology are online payments and shopping, the emerging smartphone, and cross channel functionality, to name only a few. Communication becomes key within these technologies and consumers need to feel secure when they are moving ahead with the advances in technology.

Banking technology conferences are a source to get new and applicable news and thus allow all of the new providers and inventors of technologies to showcase their work. Then, possibly sell their new technologies to interested parties. These parties could range anywhere from private investors to big companies such as Wells Fargo or Coldwell Banker. At these conferences you are liable to see anything from financial service technology to new insurance technology. This kind of insurance technology can be anything from car insurance to insurance from identity theft. These conferences are a wonderful place for new fresh ideas and providers of technology. They allow the new generation of technologies to be showcased for the first time and even allow old ideas to create new twists.

These conferences also allow different countries to showcase the new ideas that they have come up with and this encourages international trade. Financial technologies can include anything from new ways to trade to new web sites that encourage financial marketing. One of the most lucrative fields at the moment however is that of insurance technology. This is particularly lucrative in this day and age due to the fact that identity theft is on the rise. As more and more people throughout the world turn to online banking the risk of identity theft grows. The fact that each online transaction uses a series of numbers unique to you means that a skilled enough hacker can get hold of your personal information and further their own causes while using your accounts. More often than not, the companies that provide this kind of service will negotiate with companies that the thief made purchases using your information. They will negotiate with the companies, credit card providers, and even the banks to ensure them that you are not the one making the fraudulent charges, and on occasion they may even cover the losses that you are caused due to problems caused by your identity theft.

Staying on top of financial services technology is important for everyone looking to start and continue and securely grow their business or services that are offered online. It will help you to decide which decisions need to be made and when, after reading some of the information. A well informed person will grow with the advances that are being made and continue with an upward climb to success.