Assessment Tasks

Assessment Tasks

Introduction

Assessment Task - P1.1 Elements of a marketing process

The term marketing is the most commonly used word which is widespread. Marketing is the use of a set of tools designed to satisfy the customer. As a discipline of science, marketing is a set of principles, methods and techniques, through which it seeks to conquer a market, collaborate in achieving the objectives of the organization and meet the needs and desires of consumers or customers. The firm must discover a way to meet the unfulfilled needs of the consumers (www.cim.co.uk). This can be done in a series of steps including the situation analysis for identification of the current opportunities, strategy formulation, tactical decisions, and implementation of the plan and controlling of the results.

Elements of the Marketing Process

Situation Analysis

The board sets the tone for action. Before producing an article or offer a service, management must analyze the opportunities offered by the market, i.e. which segment of the consumers it wants to serve i.e. identify its target market which has the capacity to acquire a product or service, and if it meets the needs of the customer. The company is responsible for identifying the potential customers of the company, including the intensive competitors, their product offerings, their share in the market, marketing practices and policies and side by side must also consider the substitures and complementary products present currently. They must also perform an internal analysis of the company to determine if it really is in a position to carry out the project. Finally, it must consider what policy is most suitable for the distribution of the product or service to reach the consumer. With all the data, the company makes a diagnosis. If this is positive, then goals are set goals and guidelines are provided for achieving them.

Not only this, the firm must carefully analyse its micro and macro business environment. For analyzing the micro business environment, the position of the employees, shareholders, suppliers and customers are considered and plans are made to meet their needs effectively. For the macro environment, a PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Economic, and Legal) analysis is carried out. The entire analysis takes in view the present, past and the future situational aspects and outlines them chronologically. From this point, future trends can be predicted. Not only this, the company also carries out a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to ensure that it is aware of the position of its competitors and utilizes its strengths to compete efficiently (Jenny, n.d).

Here, if gaps are identified between what the customer wants and what is offered to them, the company may come up with innovative strategies to come up with products that help in filling of the gaps previously identified. This also helps in identifying the capabilities and improving ways to meet the needs of the customers better than the competitors do.

Marketing Strategy

Once the opportunities and the capabilities are identified, a strategic plan can be developed to satisfy the unmet needs of the ...