CHAPTER 7: BUSINESS MARKETING

BUSINESS MARKETING

Businesses use marketing to promote their products and get consumers buy them. These consumers are sometimes other businesses or organizations. In this case, companies use business marketing to promote their products. Sometimes the products that are sold through business marketing are intermediate goods and services and other times they are finished, consumer goods. The difference is that these consumer goods are sold in rather large quantities to one buyer for public use. Companies that produce electronic supplies frequently sell their goods and services to individuals that need them for personal  use and to organizations and businesses that need them for other reasons. 

Other businesses, such as apparel retailers, are less inclined to use business marketing. Zara is one of these apparel retailers that does not use business marketing. The type of products that Zara offers are not suited for consumption other than family or personal uses--Its intended costumers are individuals that use its clothes or home goods daily only. 

CHAPTER 8: SEGMENTING AND TARGETING MARKETS

SEGMENTING AND TARGETING MARKETS

In the 1960 numerous companies begun using market segmentation. Until then, most companies would make only one type of product and targeted it to the entire market. This way of distributing the products was not as effective as segmenting markets. Segmenting markets allows companies to produce different types of goods in different amounts and aim them to a specific demographic of consumers. This strategy allows a company to reach a wider scope of preferences and needs, thus increasing the chances of a company to make as much money as they can. 

There are certain bases that must be met in order for a business to have a successful segmentation of consumer markets. The segmentation must be based on variables, single or variable. Single variables tend to be easier because the company has to make only one change and it could be based on group age, gender,ethnicity etc. Multiple-variable segmentation is much more precise and common. Usually it is easier to change more than one thing in the market(e.g. Age and gender). The most used variables that consumer markets use are demographics, psycho-graphics, geography, usage rate etc. 

Multiple-variable segmentation is frequently used by apparel retailers such as Zara. Zara has many stores throughout the world and it appeals to different types of people, so segmenting markets is a must. This company segmented its markets based on geographic and demographic features. The various locations of Zara stores fall into different climate zones, with different market sizes and densities. Based on these differences, the retailer decides the types of products and the amount of products that it needs to make at certain times. Meanwhile, the retailer is also considering the age, gender, ethnicity and finances. They use this to decide how they distribute their products and at what price they will sell them. For example, TRAFA line that has as its intended consumers teenagers is cheaper that the Basic line, which is intended for professionals.  Also, the prices for the same products in Manhattan are different from the ones in Paris etc. 

These factors and many more decide how the markets are segmented. 

CHAPTER 11: DEVELOPING AND MANAGING PRODUCTS

DEVELOPING AND MANAGING PRODUCTS

To be successful and to resist the market for a long time a company needs to constantly meet the consumer's demands. It needs to constantly come up with new products to satisfy its costumers. 

There are different types of "new" products that a company can place in to the market. There are the new-to-the-world products, that are innovative product never seen by the public before. There are new product lines, that may not be completely new to the public but are a new component to a particular line of products. There may be addition or renovations to the product line, which means that there isn't necessarily an actual new product but there are modifications to the existing products. 

Many businesses incorporate all of these components very often, especially high-tech companies that have to do with communication and transportation, such as twitter, apple, Nissan etc. This companies decide what kind of products to make and when to release them based on competition and the changes in the lives of their buyers. And these indicators for new products are not limited to high-tech companies only. They apply to apparel retailer too, such as Zara.

As a fashion imitator Zara doesn't have to worry about setting new trend or trying to figure them out. However, it does need to change the variety of its product lines in order to keep its costumers and to expand its business. One of the strategies that Zara has followed is lowered priced products. Zara offers products similar to the products of famous designer, for a much lower price. Also it, sometimes, adds new products to the existing lines and revises some of the old products to give them a slightly new, different appearance to fit the new trends. So far these strategies have proven to be successful since Zara has survive the market for many years and seems to be constantly growing. 

CHAPTER 18: SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING

SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING

One of the most important asset that many companies have to promote their business is marketing. Traditionally marketing is done through T.V. adds, newspaper adds, posters etc. Lately, marketing is done through social media too. Companies can reach to prospective consumers through mobile marketing, e-mail marketing or online adds etc. This type of marketing has become very successful as social media is very popular among different generations nowadays. However, not every business chose to use social media for marketing, or even marketing at all.

Zara is one of these companies that chose not to use marketing. This company believes that there is better use of their money than marketing. Zara is a fashion imitator, which means that the style of its products is already in style. Unlike the apparel retailers that set the trends, Zara has affordable styles and approximately 700 convenient stores throughout the world. Also, Zara uses the money saved from not advertising to release a new line every two weeks. All of these combined create many loyal consumers, proving that Zara's strategy is working.  

CHAPTER 10: PRODUCTS CONCEPTS

PRODUCT CONCEPTS

Before worrying about  strategies to expand the business, a company must first have abundant  products to sell. When the company has many products available, it reaches more consumers and it begins to orient the managers towards efficient business moves. It allows them to decide which type of goods and services should be produced and which ones should not, and it provides the managers with possible marketing strategies such as advertising, distribution etc. that will guide them into making their business successful. 

The marketing strategies that a company chooses to follow depends on the type of products that that company provides. For example the marketing strategies for industrial products and consumer goods are quite different. The consumer products are much more versatile and appeal to a larger number of people, thus the magnetizing strategies are more numerous.

Consumer goods are classified based on the need of the consumers for them. There are convenience products, which are usually inexpensive and used for basic needs and services. There are shopping products, which are not as inexpensive and common in need as the convenience products. There are many more categories that classify products based on their price and usage. Apparel retail companies usually have shopping products, which are classified in other subcategories within themselves based upon the different marketing strategies used to sell them.

Zara is an example of apparel retail companies that provides shopping goods. The products of Zara are not as basic and inexpensive as convenience products but they are not as particular and expensive as specialty products because Zara is a fashion imitator. Being a vertically integrated business Zara saves a lot of time and money on producing its products. This allows Zara to sell its clothes  in product lines, a group of related items-- approximately every two weeks  there is a new clothing line in every Zara store. Lately, Zara began to produce other items than clothes such as accessories, cosmetic products and home products. All of these products are sold in what is called a  product mix. Usually components of the product mix would require different marketing strategies, but this is not the case of this company. Zara uses the same strategy for all of them: the products are versatile available in every worldwide Zara store at an affordable price--so far it has resulted successful. 

                          

        

CHAPTER 17: PERSONAL SELLING AND SALES MANAGEMENT

PERSONAL SELLING AND SALES MANAGEMENT

Personal selling has been a popular practice among certain kinds of businesses since a long time ago. Companies that launch new services of goods frequently, usually need to use personal selling to make the new product more appealing to the costumer. Personal selling is designed to provide the prospective costumer with reasonable exudes to purchase the product. To achieve this goal, personal consultants sometimes have to show a demonstration of the product or link the product to the lifestyle of the costumer, etc. All of these strategies and more, often provide the company with new and loyal costumers because the company has created a sense of credibility and familiarity. 

However, this kind of service is not needed in every type of businesses. It is necessary for companies that launch luxurious and innovative products, such as private jets, yachts or new technologies, for which the costumer needs a proper demonstration and justification. For other companies that sell simple, everyday products, such as clothes and food, personal selling is not crucial to the business' success. 

Zara is one of the world's largest apparel retailers. It is said to be a "fashion imitator" because rather than attempting to create new fashion trends, it focuses on manufacturing versatile quotidian products based on the already established trends. This strategy allows Zara to have costumers who already know what they want and do not need personal selling to invent reasons for the products purchase.

CHAPTER 16: ADVERTISING, PUBLIC RELATIONS, AND SALES PROMOTION

ADVERTISING, PUBLIC RELATIONS, AND SALES PROMOTION

To successfully reach as many costumers as possible businesses need to promote their products. One tool of promotion, which has resulted the most popular among the business world is advertising. Advertising is typically very expensive. Every year the expenditure of one company  for advertising increases by a significant percentage. Nevertheless, it is still widely used because it often brings about satisfactory results.

However not all companies use advertising to promote their business.

Zara is one of these companies that is successful without using advertising. The money that would be spent on billboards and TV commercials, Zara uses  it on new merchandise and new technology. The new technology enables the retailer to launch new products quickly: there is a new line in each  store every two weeks. The products are appealing to a large variety of people (different genders, styles, ages, cultures etc.). Also the prices are not too high, making them affordable for most of the people. The way in which the product is presented to the public, the time in which it is available, the quality of the product and the convenient locations of the stores are the only way of promotion for Zara. This strategy has been proved to be a very successful, seeing that the net sales are increasing every year.