Marketing
Week 1:
- The main goal of marketing = manipulating consumers into buying products they
don’t necessarily need or want.
- Marketing is the serving consumer needs, profitability.
- Strategy: overarching plan to achieve an objective
- Tactics: actions taken to support the strategy
- Complementary: strategies give tactics a purpose and direction, tactics convert
strategies into actions and results
- An entrepreneurial mindset is defined by a focus innovation, risk taking, and being
proactive
- Constraints inspire creativity.
- Turning challenges into opportunities: more flexible, creative, free thinking, easier to
change, adjust. + less to lose, no weight of an existing brand that makes it hard to
change people’s mind + marketing can integrated into other business functions.
Positioning
- =The absolut basis of your strategy
- Positioning sets the vision for your company
- Why will someone in the target market buy my product instead of the competitor?
- What is unique value that I provide to customers?
- What makes positioning challenging? Various stakeholders (investors, market
intermediaries, employees, strategic partners and users) and different opinions about
your product offering, corporate image, equity
- 2 components of positioning: segmentation and differentiation
- Segmentation: who, what group of consumers are you targeting? (my customers)
- Differentiation: what, what value are you delivering to them? (competitors)
- Key theoretical components: the segment you are targeting and their needs + your
unique value proposition.
- But also brand name and category, the evidence, maybe: competitors
- Template positioning statement template:
- Reasons to believe: medals, labels. Awards, invented or real expertise, quantifiable
info, origins, history/legacy, company ethos.
Positioning vs the human mind
- The brain rejects complex, confusing, contradictory info:
Make your positioning narrow
, Make your positioning simple
Integrate a consistent positioning throughout.
Segmentation
- A market segment is a group of customers sharing common desires, needs, and
buying patterns
- Maximize similarity in the group: similar responses to marketing actions
- Maximize distance to other groups
- Traditional marketing approach: segment the whole market, target the most
appropriate segment (time waste for entrepreneurs)
- Entrepreneurial approach: segmenting and targeting occur in tandem. (in one step)
Why segmentation?
- Satisfying needs ‘on average’ satisfies the needs of no one.
- Segmentation increases efficiency of marketing and responsiveness of customers.
- Products can be sold differently to different people (e. g same products; extensions>
pregnancy test: not always good thing)
Bases for segmentation
- Geographic: nations, states, regions, cities
- Demographic: age, gender, race, family size, income, education
- Psychographic: lifestyle, personality, needs (the best)
- Behavioural: product experience (the best)
User status (nonuser, potential, first-time, regular user)
Usage rate (light, medium, heavy)
Loyalty status (none, medium, strong, absolute)
Occasions (regular vs special occasion)
Benefits (quality, service, economy, speed)
Psychographic segmentation: personality
- VALS:
, - Big 5: ESAOC
- Goals segmentation: see your customer clearly, create a customer profile ( that uses
the criteria which is identified, mentioned)
The buyer may not be the user
- Disconnection between buyers and users:
Many roles: initiator, decider, buyer, user
One buyer> many users
Solution: focus on users
- Buyer and user have conflicting interests
Buying food for kids: teenagers affecting tech purchases
Solution: your marketing can reframe the conversation
Best practices for segmentation
- Describe people the way they would describe themselves (not by age segments but
stage in life for example)
- Will the segment buy your product? Do they find value in it?
- And small enough to be cohesive? (you want it not to be to big)
- Can you reach your segment? (preliminary step: can you identify it?)
2 approaches to differentiation
- Vertical differentiation: competing directly with competitors:
more/better/smaller/cheaper/faster
- Horizontal differentiation: finding a different angle (f.e. offering different attributes,
selling to different segments)
Typically not associated with quality or price
The key to achieving a sustainable value proposition and competitive advantage.
Creating sustainable competitive advantage
, Tips:
- Listen to your customers
- Choose your competition
- Choose your criteria: horizontal differentiation
Week 3: Customer value
- Customer value= total benefits – total costs
- Consumers differ in the value they derive
- However, there are patterns in ways that brands can create value
- Understanding consumer value helps you identify market opportunities
- Consumer value helps commands a price
3 ways of value to consumers
1. Functional value (also performance value)
2. Economic value (price value)
3. Psychological value
- The base of pyramid: functional and economic value
- Stable source of competitor advantage
Week 1:
- The main goal of marketing = manipulating consumers into buying products they
don’t necessarily need or want.
- Marketing is the serving consumer needs, profitability.
- Strategy: overarching plan to achieve an objective
- Tactics: actions taken to support the strategy
- Complementary: strategies give tactics a purpose and direction, tactics convert
strategies into actions and results
- An entrepreneurial mindset is defined by a focus innovation, risk taking, and being
proactive
- Constraints inspire creativity.
- Turning challenges into opportunities: more flexible, creative, free thinking, easier to
change, adjust. + less to lose, no weight of an existing brand that makes it hard to
change people’s mind + marketing can integrated into other business functions.
Positioning
- =The absolut basis of your strategy
- Positioning sets the vision for your company
- Why will someone in the target market buy my product instead of the competitor?
- What is unique value that I provide to customers?
- What makes positioning challenging? Various stakeholders (investors, market
intermediaries, employees, strategic partners and users) and different opinions about
your product offering, corporate image, equity
- 2 components of positioning: segmentation and differentiation
- Segmentation: who, what group of consumers are you targeting? (my customers)
- Differentiation: what, what value are you delivering to them? (competitors)
- Key theoretical components: the segment you are targeting and their needs + your
unique value proposition.
- But also brand name and category, the evidence, maybe: competitors
- Template positioning statement template:
- Reasons to believe: medals, labels. Awards, invented or real expertise, quantifiable
info, origins, history/legacy, company ethos.
Positioning vs the human mind
- The brain rejects complex, confusing, contradictory info:
Make your positioning narrow
, Make your positioning simple
Integrate a consistent positioning throughout.
Segmentation
- A market segment is a group of customers sharing common desires, needs, and
buying patterns
- Maximize similarity in the group: similar responses to marketing actions
- Maximize distance to other groups
- Traditional marketing approach: segment the whole market, target the most
appropriate segment (time waste for entrepreneurs)
- Entrepreneurial approach: segmenting and targeting occur in tandem. (in one step)
Why segmentation?
- Satisfying needs ‘on average’ satisfies the needs of no one.
- Segmentation increases efficiency of marketing and responsiveness of customers.
- Products can be sold differently to different people (e. g same products; extensions>
pregnancy test: not always good thing)
Bases for segmentation
- Geographic: nations, states, regions, cities
- Demographic: age, gender, race, family size, income, education
- Psychographic: lifestyle, personality, needs (the best)
- Behavioural: product experience (the best)
User status (nonuser, potential, first-time, regular user)
Usage rate (light, medium, heavy)
Loyalty status (none, medium, strong, absolute)
Occasions (regular vs special occasion)
Benefits (quality, service, economy, speed)
Psychographic segmentation: personality
- VALS:
, - Big 5: ESAOC
- Goals segmentation: see your customer clearly, create a customer profile ( that uses
the criteria which is identified, mentioned)
The buyer may not be the user
- Disconnection between buyers and users:
Many roles: initiator, decider, buyer, user
One buyer> many users
Solution: focus on users
- Buyer and user have conflicting interests
Buying food for kids: teenagers affecting tech purchases
Solution: your marketing can reframe the conversation
Best practices for segmentation
- Describe people the way they would describe themselves (not by age segments but
stage in life for example)
- Will the segment buy your product? Do they find value in it?
- And small enough to be cohesive? (you want it not to be to big)
- Can you reach your segment? (preliminary step: can you identify it?)
2 approaches to differentiation
- Vertical differentiation: competing directly with competitors:
more/better/smaller/cheaper/faster
- Horizontal differentiation: finding a different angle (f.e. offering different attributes,
selling to different segments)
Typically not associated with quality or price
The key to achieving a sustainable value proposition and competitive advantage.
Creating sustainable competitive advantage
, Tips:
- Listen to your customers
- Choose your competition
- Choose your criteria: horizontal differentiation
Week 3: Customer value
- Customer value= total benefits – total costs
- Consumers differ in the value they derive
- However, there are patterns in ways that brands can create value
- Understanding consumer value helps you identify market opportunities
- Consumer value helps commands a price
3 ways of value to consumers
1. Functional value (also performance value)
2. Economic value (price value)
3. Psychological value
- The base of pyramid: functional and economic value
- Stable source of competitor advantage
