Marketing

1. Standard instruments: few or no degrees of freedom, standard determined by the market, non-attainment can lead to failure, exceeding of standard impossible
2. Dominant instruments: contains degree of freedom, curcial for market success, requires high level of financial, personnel or intellectual-creative investment
3. Complementary instruments: contains degrees of freedom, important for market success, necessary to support the effect of dominant instruments
4. Marginal instruments: may remain meaningless to success in certain situations

Specifies the information required to address certain issues concerning the market, designs the method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications.

Application: 

• Identification and definition of marketing opportunities and problems
• Generation and evaluation of marketing actions: advertising pretests, product tests, advertising effectiveness measurement
• Monitoring marketing performance

Goal: Analysis of purchaser behavior e.g. which features have significance for potential consumer, how do consumer respond to certain communications, has customer retention (satisfaction) risen in the past? etc. --> come to a better decision through reduced uncertainty

Discovering causes for problems or connections between variables e.g. difficulties in handling a problem - latent need of consumer - can be discovered. Often the beginning of a bigger project, serves for subsequent investigations. Usually done through soft methods e.g. in-depth interviews, group discussion etc..

Widespread used method to answer questions on market share changes, level of distribution, what media is used by the core target group etc. --> is used to extrapolate results for an overall population

Most demanding method, looking not only for symptoms but for the actual reason of this effect e.g. for certain behavior or preferences --> done through e.g. experiments

Analysis and decision that relate tot the advantages of an offering from the perspective of the potential customer and to differentiate from competitors in the respective market

Signs, symbols, namet et.c as a medium to deliver a message: 

Association: with persons, cultures, stories -> is an imigae -> the benefit results in identification

Constan level of quality --> trust --> the benefit is reduced pruchasing risk

Contribution to the success of existing businesses (knowledge of the customer of the brand) + Controbution to the success of new businesses (latent brand equity) = Brand Equity

Facotrs influenceing brand equity:

• brand awareness, brand image (type, intensity, direction, amount, relevance, uniqueness of associations) --> level of awareness: 1. Exlusive awareness 2. top of mind 3. brand recall 4. aided brand recognition 5. brand is unknown

• Competence - Who am I? what benefits do we provide, special competency
• Tonality - How am I? how do I approach my customers e.g. Mini differernt than BMW
• Benefit/assoications - What do I offer? what value does the customer receive from us
• Brand Picture - How do I appear? brand appearance towards customer

Umbrella Brand Strategy: one single, dominating brand

Subbranding Strategy: Equal next to the subbrands

Endorsement Strategy: Steps back in support of the subbrands

Seperate Branding Strategy: Masterbrand is completly in the background

Organizational unti in the the enterprise with its own market task and a certain scope for stregic decision-making.

A SBF can encompass several products e.g. HiFi devices with speakers, receivers etc. but one product can also be in several SBFs e.g. coffee which is offered to different customer group through different strategies

Purpose of selling products to the end consumer --> all about the customer 

• depends on the original demand, the need of the customer
• There is a large number of potential customers
• Numerous small single purchases
• Anonymity of the market
• Little information of the consumer

Products/service which are procured by organizations to produce other goods which will then be passed to the end consumer

• Act upon own demand
• Few potential buyers
• Tight business relations
• Direct market contact
• Formalized buying decisions
• Several people involved in decision-making
• Long-term buying process

- Experience Curve

- Economies of Scale

- Product Life Cycle

- PIMS Study

• Technological Conditions - emergence or propagation of new technology can be risk and opportunity
• Political-Legal Contiditions - political changes influence the scope of business action
• Macroeconomic Conditions - influenced by macroeconomic factors
• Demographic Conditions - might diminish or create new needs

Porter's 5 Forces:

• Threat of new entrants
• Threat of substitution
• Bargaining power of buy
• Bargaining power of supplier
• Rivalry within market

• Variation: To what degree does the positioning strategy pursued so far have to be changed? e.g. Repositioning
• Style: What competitive situation should be selected? e.g. Market follower, Niche market operator etc.
• Substance: What benefit should be offered for the customer? Performance or price advantage? Either/or strategy --> more for more - same for less - less for much less etc.
• Field: What target groups should be proritised? Market segmentation e.g. demographics, geographics, economic/social status, purchase behavior, product use, personality lifestyle etc.