Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Devising winning marketing strategies

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Marketing andConsumerBehavior

CIM MEMBERSHIP NUMBER: 14697551WORD COUNT- 6,236

MARCH 2013

‘I confirm that in forwarding this assessment for marking, I understand and have applied theCAM/CIM policies relating to word count, plagiarism and collusion for all tasks. This assessment

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is the result of my own independent work except where otherwise stated. Other sources areacknowledged in the body of the text, a bibliography has been appended and Harvardreferencing has been used. I have not shared my work with other candidates. I further confirmthat I have submitted an electronic copy of this assessment to CIM in accordance with theregulations.’

Table of Contents Task 1- The role of marketing and the contribution of the marketing department to Nexus Marketing Solutions........................................................................................................................................4

1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................................4

1.2 Importance of marketing planning process......................................................................................4

1.3 Marketing plan..................................................................................................................................5

1.4 Importance of objectives..................................................................................................................6

1.5 Tools and techniques used to satisfy customer requirements and compete effectively..................7

References...............................................................................................................................................8

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Task 2 - marketing research presentation.........................................................................................9

2.1 SLIDE 1................................................................................................................................................9

2.2 SLIDE 2...............................................................................................................................................10

2.3 SLIDE 3...............................................................................................................................................11

2.4 SLIDE 4...............................................................................................................................................12

2.5 SLIDE 5...............................................................................................................................................13

2.6 SLIDE 6...............................................................................................................................................14

References...............................................................................................................................................15

Task 3 - The key aspects of consumer behavior and the relevance to Nexus Marketing Solutions......16

3.1 INTRODUTION...........................................................

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......................................................................

...16

3.2 Importance of customers...................................................................................................................16

3.3 Differences between consumer buyer behavior (CBB) and organizational buyer behavior (OBB)....17

3.4 The decision making unit (DMU) in B2B marketing...........................................................................18

3.5 The organizational buying decision making process..........................................................................19

3.6 Effective internal communication.....................................................................................................20

References...............................................................................................................................................21

Task 4 - The impact of marketing communications on marketing channels........................................23

4.0 Marketing channels............................................................................................................................24

4.1 uses of marketing communication.....................................................................................................24

4.2 The use of digital channels.................................................................................................................25

References................................................................................................................................................26

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Task 5 - Short-term Marketing Communications Plan........................................................................27

5.0 Introductions.......................................................................................................................................28

5.1 Current communications tools............................................................................................................28

5.2 objectives.............................................................................................................................................29

5.3 Target audience...................................................................................................................................29

5.4 Communications mix...........................................................................................................................31

5.5 Budgeting.............................................................................................................................................31

5.6 Measuring the effectiveness of the campaign.....................................................................................33

References.................................................................................................................................................34

Appendix I.....................................................................

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.....................................................................34

Appendix II........................................................................................................................................35

Task 1A briefing paper on

“The role of marketing and contribution of the marketing department to Nexus Marketing Solutions”

Prepared by: The Marketing Manager

For: All employees

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Date: 10th January 2013

1.1 Introduction

The contribution of the various departments within an organization isimportant for actualization of organizational goals and objectives.The organizational goals (for Nexus MS) give direction and purpose toevery activity. The business goals are set and planned towards theoverall achievement of the corporate goals, while the marketing goalsare derived from the business goals. The marketing, Human Resource andfinancial goals work together towards achieving business goals.

1.2 Importance of marketing planning process

The marketing planning process is a subset of the corporate planningprocess, it must complement and help Nexus Marketing Solutions setand/or achieve its corporate goals the marketing planning process isimportant because it;

Helps Nexus MS achieve corporate goals: The achievement of corporategoals is dependent on the ability of the various departments (such asmarketing and sales, HR, operations etc) to achieve their departmentalgoals and then work as a team. The marketing planning process helpsNexus set clear and achievable marketing goals. When these goals aremet, business and corporate goals will be met as well.

Helps Nexus MS understand her Strength, weaknesses, opportunities andthreats (SWOT): The results and information obtained from themarketing planning process gives Nexus MS- an enlightened view of itstarget/prospective market, competitors and stakeholders. Thisinformation can be distilled into strength, weaknesses, opportunitiesand threats (SWOT) and the information produced used to develop themost appropriate strategies for the achievement of marketing

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objectives. An area of strength for Nexus is its strong team ofDigital marketing professionals.

1.3 Marketing plan

Though various marketing planning models have proven effective overthe years, many experienced Business consultants claim that the SOSTACmodel is one of the most effective (Smith and Taylor 2004). SOSTAC isan acronym for: Situation analysis, Objectives, Strategy, Tactics,Actions and Controls.

Fig 1” SOSTAC MODEL(chinaclick, 2006)

Situation analysis: This answers the question “where are we now?” thesituation analysis helps Nexus MS understand her micro (customer,competitors, synergistic agencies etc), and macro (the economic,political, social cultural, technological and legal) environmentalfactors. The internal analysis looks at key indicators. Such as marketshare and Return on Investment (Smith and Chaffey, 2005). This

http://www.chinaclick.com.cn/resource/02.htm

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analysis gives the Nexus marketing department a broad understanding ofher SWOT: Strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Objectives: Objectives clarify – where do we want to be? (Smith andChaffey, 2005). The objectives must reflect the corporate goals ofNexus MS., it also gives the marketing department a sense ofdirection. Good objectives must be SMART (specific, measurable,achievable, realistic and time bound). SMART objectives are productsof prior understanding of Nexus’ SWOT, an example is attracting fourhundred visitors (people interested in digital marketing) to the NexusWebsite daily, six months after the website launch.

Strategy: Strategy summarizes “how to achieve” the set objectivesbased on the amount of resources available, exploitation of strengthsand opportunities, minimizing threats (Smith and Chaffey, 2005).Strategy involves steps such as

Segmentation: dividing the market into segments. Targeting: choosing what segment(s) to target. Positioning: how to differentiate our services in the minds of

our target.

Tactics: At this stage we define how we will execute our marketingstrategy (Smith and Chaffey, 2005). The goals of each tactic must bemeasurable and aligned to the marketing objectives and strategy. Thetactics incorporates the seven Ps of marketing (product, price,promotion, place, people, process and physical evidence.

Actions: Actions are the specific work processes that go on to achievethe goals of tactics and strategies; it can be planned as a mini-project e.g. a critical path analysis or a Gantt chart.

Control: The control stage continually reviews the whole process toensure the objectives are being met in time and quality. The controlstage can be while the marketing plan is operational and/or at the endof the whole implementation phase. An example is the use of Googleanalytics to continuously evaluate the achievement of the objectivestated in (3.2) above

1.4 Importance of objectives

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Objectives give the marketing plan- direction and focus: objectiveshelp the marketing department focus their energies and actions. Wellthought-out objectives will also aid the measurement of the executionof the marketing plan, Evaluating the position of the marketingactivities with respect to the set objectives and corporate objectivescreates a greater chance and tendency to achieve the set goals.

1.4.1 The Influences on objectives are:

Corporate and business objectives: The corporate and businessobjectives of Nexus MS have the most important influence on themarketing objectives.

Customers: Market and customer data must be considered when craftingmarketing objectives. Factors such as brand perception, share of mindand share of market often influence the marketing objectives.

Market trend: While the business environment remains in a state ofconstant change, it is still sound marketing practice to baseobjectives on previous market trends and understanding of the marketbehavior from previous data.

1.4.2 Processes for setting objectives:

Top-down: This involves setting objectives at the corporate level andthen having the various departments in the organization set theirvarious objectives in line with the corporate objectives. This is themethod adopted at Nexus MS.

Bottom-up: The various departments set their own objectives and thenpassing it all to the top. Example: the various arms of the marketingdepartment like marketing communications, branding and sales setstheir various objectives and then pass it to the marketing manager.The marketing manager collates and draft objectives for the marketingdepartment, then takes it to the relevant strategic business unit.

1.5 Tools and techniques used to satisfy customer requirements andcompete effectively

1.5.1 Tools

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The tools comprise the marketing mix (7Ps).

Product: Our services at Nexus Marketing Solutions are used as averitable tool for distinct positioning, as the ability to present thefeatures and benefits of our service offerings relative to that of ourcompetition will help Nexus MS meet the specific needs of consumersand gain competitive advantage.

Price: The price is a tool for positioning the product (the use of aprice that is high enough to elicit “perceived value” in the minds ofthe consumers), Nexus MS will not use a price that is high as todissuade its target customers. Our Pricing decisions are based oncosts, the nature of competition, and the customer’s perception of ourservice’s value (Alter, 2000).

Promotion: While implicit communication occurs through the variouselements of the marketing mix (Belch and Belch, 2009), a planned andcontrolled promotional program uses tools like advertising, publicrelations, personal selling, interactive media to communicate ourservice benefits and solutions to customers. An example is our use ofdirect marketing (post) to inform and persuade our prospects toutilize our digital marketing services

Place: For Nexus MS, distribution involves hours of operation andlocation of our services, convenience and easy accessibility (Alter,2000). Our distribution strategy can also be used as a tool forpositioning (because of our availability and ease of accessibility)and gaining competitive advantage

1.5.2 Techniques:

Relationship marketing: The process of identifying, developing,maintaining, and terminating relational exchanges with the purpose ofenhancing performance (Palmetier, 2008). Good relationships lead togood quality because of good customer satisfaction which arises asspecific customer needs and wants are understood and satisfied better(Kanagal, Journal of Management and Marketing Research). Relationshipmarketing can be used to build trust, as much of relationshipmarketing itself is centered on the trust the customer have for NexusMS.

Network marketing: Network marketing is a sales system for selling aparticular product by recruiting people to help you sell (Antonio,

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2008). Network marketing has helped brands like Tianshi, GNLD, foreverproducts to spread their businesses and products worldwide and cost-effectively too.

WORD COUNT – 1,279

References for TASK 1

Alter, S. K.(2000) ‘The Marketing Plan’ [online] Creative Common Attributions-Share Alike 3.0, Available at: http://www.virtueventures.com/sites/virtueventures.com/files/mdbl-chapter5.pdf [ACCESSED 9th January 2013]

Antonio, V. (2008) ‘How to achieve Network Marketing Success’ [online] SalesInfluence, Georgia, Sales Influence publishing. Available at: http://www.victorantonio.com/files/1710021/uploaded/Network-Marketing-Success-VA.pdf [ACCESSED 10th January 2013]

Belch and Belch (2009) Advertising and Promotion: an Integrated Marketing Communications perspective, Eight editions, Irwin, McGraw-Hill international

Chaffey, D. and Bosomwoth, D. (2012) ‘Digital marketing strategy Planning Template, Smart Insight’

Kanaga, N. (not dated) ’Role of Relationship Marketing in Competitive Marketing Strategy’[online] Journal of Management and Marketing Research, Available at: http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/09204.pdf [ACCESSED 10th January 2013]

Palmatier, R. W. (2008) Relationship Marketing, Relevant Knowledge Series, Cambridge, Marketing Science Institute.

Smith, P. R.(2011) ‘SOSTAC guide to writing the perfect marketing plan’[online] Version1.1 , Available at: http://share.pdfonline.com/5a0bae32dc9e4bffa7d2a23231e72254/SOSTAC.htm [ ACCESSED 15th February 2013]

Smith, P. R. and Chaffey, D.(2005) Emarketing xcellence: the Heartof Ebusiness, Second Edition, Oxford, Elsivier Butterworth-Heinemann

http://share.pdfonline.com/5a0bae32dc9e4bffa7d2a23231e72254/SOSTAC.htm

http://www.victorantonio.com/files/1710021/uploaded/Network-Marketing-Success-VA.pdf

http://www.victorantonio.com/files/1710021/uploaded/Network-Marketing-Success-VA.pdf

http://www.virtueventures.com/sites/virtueventures.com/files/mdbl-chapter5.pdf

http://www.virtueventures.com/sites/virtueventures.com/files/mdbl-chapter5.pdf

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Task 2PRESENTATION

2.1 SLIDE 1

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Speaker notes for slide 1

Market research

For effective marketing, we (Nexus Marketing Solutions) must understand our target markets, our competition and our business environment (both micro and macro). This understanding can only be obtained through market research. Marketing research is the scientificand controlled gathering of non routine marketing information undertaken by management to solve marketing problems (Burnett et al, 2010).

2.2 SLIDE 2


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Identification of problem: The first step to market research is the identification of the problem, For the research to be worthwhile, theproblem of the research must be stated clearly.

Research methodology: After we’ve identified the problem, the next step is translating the problem into a research methodology, which leads to the development of research instruments (Andreasen, 2002).

Sampling methodology: This is the strategy the marketing department will employ in obtaining a representative fraction of the research “population” or “universe”. The samples could be random or non-random samples.

Collection of data: The data can be quantitative and/or qualitative and the collection of data must be done in an unbiased and systematic manner to ensure objectivity of the research conclusions.

Analyzing the data: This is the categorization, aggregation, and the manipulation of data to get solutions to the problems underlying the research project (Burnett et al, 2010).

Presentation of report: The report should be presented clearly, accurately, and honestly. The key attributes are completeness and conciseness in meeting the information needs of the whole process (Smith and Albaum, 2013).

2.3 SLIDE 3

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Uses

Substitute for field research: Depending on the amount of information available, secondary data may be enough to answer the research questions hence solving the problem.

Used as a supplement to primary data: When secondary data is not enough to solve the problem, it may still be used in its supplementarycapacity to formulate hypothesis, plan collection of primary data and define population and select sample (Smith and Albaum, 2012)

Sources

Internal: Data collected from daily business processes of Nexus Marketing Solutions are internal, these include our sales reports, clients data etc.

External: Sources include government data sources (supranational, federal, state and local), private data sources (trade associations,

institutions, periodicals, professional journals), and internet databases.

2.4 SLIDE 4

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Benefits

Saves time: An in-depth search of secondary sources takes a fraction of the time that primary research would take (Smith and Albaum, 2012).

Saves money: If there is readily available secondary data that can provide the needed information, it can translate to cost savings for Nexus Marketing Solutions

Limitations:

Relevance: The data may lack relevance “in time”- out dated and purpose (no two researches are similar).

Accuracy: The data may be inaccurate because of factors such as bias and errors in collection.

2.5 SLIDE 5

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Surveys: This is the most popular data collection technique; it involves answering of questions that can be closed and/or open ended. Nexus MS can collect data by administering Surveys through postal service, telephone, web or face to face.

Observations: This is the oldest form of primary data collection, Observation is the noting and recording of events, behaviors, and artifacts in their social context or environment.

Focus groups: A focus group doesn’t use the traditional question-and-answer format. Instead, a moderator conducts a discussion of about 8 to 12 participants (Smith and Albaum, 2013). Use of focus groups is quite popular and saves lots of time however it can be subjective.

Individual depth interviews: It involves directly interviewing customers, employees and other stakeholders of the research populationas a source of data. It may also be subjective.

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2.6 SLIDE 6


Uses

When relevant and accurate secondary data is unavailable for analysis,Then primary data must be collected. Primary data is highly necessary when undergoing research on statistical marketing researh

Benefits

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Primary data can provide more accurate answers to research questions when compared to secondary data.

It carries a significantly lower risk of bias than secondary data.

Limitations

Primary data collection will often require significant financial resources and time when compared to secondary.

WORD COUNT - 647

References

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Andreasen, R. A. (2002) Marketing Research That Won’t Break the Bank: A Practical Guide to Getting the Information You Need, First edition, U.S.A, Jossey-Bass.

Burnett, J. et al (2010) ‘Global text: Introducing marketing’[online], Global Text Project, Zurich. Available at: http://textbookequity.com/oct/Textbooks/Burnett_introdmarketingCCM.pdf [ACCESSED 5th January 2013]

Smith, S. M. and Albaum, G. S. (2012) Basic Marketing Research Volume 1: Handbook for Research Professionals, U.S.A., Qualtrics Labs Inc. Available at: http://cloudfront.qualtrics.com/q1/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/BasicMarketingResearch.pdf [ACCESSED 5th January 2013]

Smith, S. M. and Albaum, G. S. (2013) Basic Marketing Research: Analysis and Results, U.S.A., Qualtrics Labs Inc.

Task 3A REPORT on

“The key aspects of consumer behaviorand the relevance to Nexus MarketingSolutions”

Prepared by: The Marketing Manager

For: Senior Management team and Marketing department

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3.1 INTRODUTION

The ability to satisfy the needs of consumers (in B2B markets) isdependent on an understanding of organizational buying behavior. Thiswill help Nexus MS engage business owners and marketing departments ofdifferent organizations as they search for relevant value enhancingservices related to advertising and marketing.

Marketers need to know the specific needs customer’s are attempting tosatisfy and how they translate into purchase criteria. This reporthighlights the importance of “organizational buying behavior” in themarketing and advertising industry as it is related to Nexus MarketingSolutions.

3.2 Importance of customers

Customers are the most important people for any organization. They areinvaluable to the success of the business. Customers are important toNexus Marketing Services in the following ways;

Revenue: The clients of Nexus MS and the prospective customers are themain source of revenue for the business entity. Our growth/developmentand further investment in other ventures is thus dependent on ourability to reach out to, win customers and maintain a growing customerbase.

A source of customer feedback: Customers are a source of real andvaluable data. The data obtained from customers is used by Nexus MS toimprove her service offerings, This data is valuable in improving ourcustomer’s level of satisfaction thus increasing repeat patronage.

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Repeat businesses and referrals: Clients select professional serviceproviders primarily on the basis of recommendations and referrals, inother words positive word-of-mouth (Riddle, 2008). Repeat business andreferrals are products of a motivated and satisfied customer.

3.3 Differences between consumer buyer behavior (CBB) andorganizational buyer behavior (OBB)

The following distinguishes the buying behaviors of individualconsumers and organization

Criteria Consumer BuyerBehavior

Organizational BuyerBehavior

Quantity The amount ofproduct/service boughtby consumers isrelatively small tothe amount bought byan organization. E.g.an individual buys afew(20) liters ofpetrol

Because anorganization buys forindustry/professionaluse, it tends to makebulkier purchases thanthe average consumer.E.g. Nigerian telecomgiant, MTN buysthousands of liters ofpetrol weekly to powergenerators for itstelecommunicationmasts.

Repeat purchase Consumers are eitherlong-time (repeat) orone-time buyers,depending on the kindof product and itsavailability.

Organization tend tobe more loyal to theirsuppliers as theyoften strike dealsthat are favorable andlong-terme.g. IBM has a long-term deal (spanningyears) with Intel forprocessor chips

Risk Consumers are lessrisk averse and theeffect of bad buyingdecision is lessconsequential whencompared to

The risk involved ishigher. For example, abad execution fromagencies willsignificantly affectan organization’s

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organizational buys. marketing goals.Decision makers The decision making

unit of consumerbuyers is smaller,less diverse andcomposed of mainlyfriends and familymembers.

The decision makingunit of organizationsis more diverse andconsisting ofdifferent individualswith various needs.E.g. the followingconstitutes the DMU ofan organizationlooking for anadvertising agency:finance manager, theM.D, marketingmanager, etc.

The buying process The buying process canrange from impulsepurchase to averagelylong processes.

The buying process(especially for thefirst time purchase)is always relativelylong.

Basis of decision The basis of decisionare mostly emotionaland sometimes rational(especially for highinvolvement goods)

The buying decisionsare usually rational(deliberations by thedecision making unit)and political (socialand organizational-political influence).E.g. governmentcontracts are mainlypolitically awarded.

3.4 The decision making unit (DMU) in B2B marketing

In most, if not all B2B sales, there is more than one person involvedin the buying decision (the decision making unit). It could be anynumber of people that serve any number of roles within theorganization (Hawthorne, 2008). The appeal to each member of the DMUshould reflect their individual needs, the dynamic nature of the unitand the organization’s needs. The members of the DMU are:

Gatekeepers: They control the flow of information to managers andother members of the DMU; they include technical personnel and

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personal secretaries (Ellis, 2010). It is a wise move to buildrelationships with these gate keepers; as they are a source ofrecommendations to the key members of the DMU, a source of positiveword-of-mouth and information to Nexus MS.

Buyers: The buyers/purchasers of marketing and advertising servicesare in the marketing or corporate communications department dependingon the organization. The buyers may be more interested in makingbetter deals. Selecting agencies and managing the buying process suchthat the necessary services are acquired (Brenan, 2011)

Users: The users are the people who will ultimately use the product(Ellis, 2010). The users may involve the various departments andpersonnel we have to work with (in the organization), the users areimportant especially in providing feedback on the performance of thepurchase (Brenan, 2011). We (Nexus MS) can influence the users throughour after sales services.

Deciders: Are mainly saddled with the task of making the finalpurchase decision, in complex purchases this is likely a seniormanager (Ellis, 2010).the decider gathers information from all othermembers of the DMU and takes the final decision. Since this positionmay not necessarily be formalized, it may be difficult to identify thedeciders in the DMU.

Influencers: The influencers can make or mar the buying decision;Contributing to the formulation of service specifications and agencyrequirements and recommending which vendors to consider or whichproducts best satisfy the organization’s needs (Brenan, 2011). E.g. ifwe are selling to the marketing department, the influencer may be thehead of the department and may be concerned with our competence andour clientele.

Initiators: They make the first request for the buying decision(Ellis, 2010). The initiators start the buying process and sometimesthe initiator sets up the decision making unit.

3.5 The organizational buying decision making process

Our ability to formulate successful marketing strategies is dependenton our understanding of how organizations in our market-reach their

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marketing decisions. The organizational (buying) decision makingprocess is dependent on the buying situation: whether it is a new taskbuying, a modified rebuy (occurs when an organization has purchased asimilar kind of service before) or a straight rebuy (the purchasingdepartment reorders on a routine basis (Chris & Scot McKee, 2011)).

New task: When the buying situation involves a problem or need iscompletely different from previous experiences. This buying situationrequires a significant amount of information.

modified rebuy: Occurs when an organization has purchased a similarkind of service before but decision makers feel there are benefits tobe derived by reevaluating alternatives.

Straight rebuy: The buying situation is a recurring or continuingsituation. So buyers have experience in the area and it requireslittle or no information.

Problem recognition: The decision making process begins when anorganization recognizes a problem or need that can be met by acquiringa good or service. It could include changing business needs (to meet anew government regulation or target new market), a supplier review ordissatisfaction with current service proposition (Ellis, 2010) forexample our prospects may need a better advertising copy with better“creatives” because their previous agencies are not delivering suchwork.

Product specification: As a result of identifying a need, influencersand users can determine the desired characteristics of the serviceneeded to resolve the problem (Chris Fill & Scot McKee, 2011). Thisalso involves the setting of “qualifying” and “differentiating”criteria to evaluate suppliers (Ellis, 2010). Components such asgoals, experience, past clientele or work done, quality,legal/environmental, logistics and budget specifications are importantaspects of the product/service specification.

Supplier search: At this stage the buyer actively seeks organizationswhich can deliver the necessary product/service specifications (ChrisFill & Scot McKee, 2011). Organizations often seek agencies that’llmeet the service specification, performance standards and

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organizational requirements. This involves a process of submittingproposals and making pitches before agencies are selected.

Select suppliers: The buying organization would invite agencies tosubmit their proposals; such an invitation could be placed in thenewspapers, trade journals, and company websites or sourced throughemployees and/or other agencies (Sahney, sourced 2013). Based on theevaluative criteria established, the DMU engages in deliberations andnegotiations- leading to the selection and ratification of the agencyor agencies.

Order: This involves drawing up of an order or contract and signing ofthe contract terms (Ellis, 2010). The contract is binding for theperiod of the time.

Post purchase evaluation: After purchase the supplier’s performance isbenchmarked and evaluated, with a decision taken to endorse, modify ordiscontinue the relationship. The opinions of the users in the DMU maybe vital at this stage (Ellis, 2010). The post evaluation determineswhether clients execute more advertising deals with Nexus MS.

It should be noted that the buying process is not often linear, somestages may occur simultaneously or even out of sequence.

3.6 Effective internal communication

Internal communication is significant in any organization because ithelps to build a healthy organizational culture (Hume, 2001).Effective internal communications can help Nexus Marketing Solutionsachieve the following:

3.6.1 Create good internal relationships

When we communicate effectively with our internal stakeholders,whether they are employees and/or consultants it helps to develop acohesive culture where everyone is focused on the same goals and hasthe same objectives. By working within a cohesive culture, ourstakeholders can work more efficiently and collaborate moreeffectively helping us achieve business goals and objectives (Hume,2001).

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Internal communications ensures all departments; employees andconsultants understand the corporate, business and marketinggoals of Nexus MS and their roles in achieving the setobjectives. This increases their focus and commitments.

Good internal relationships resulting from healthy communicationcan help provide valuable feedback from internal stakeholders.E.g. an employee that understands Nexus’ passionate commitment tocustomer relationship will tend to give more feedback on how toimprove on some area of our service and thus improve customersatisfaction.

It can help manage internal conflict, when employees understandwhat’s relevant to Nexus Marketing Solutions and vice versa, bothparties can compromise and unite to achieve common interests.

3.6.2 Establishing Good customer relationships:

Good internal communication enhances external marketingstrategies. As employees understand Nexus MS’ strategic goals,they interact more effectively and confidently with new customersand potential clients (Chihockey and Bullard, 2009).E.g.adequately communicating our external marketing goals andstrategies on client retention will propel the account executivesto better manage the clients account.

Good internal communication ensures a unified approach andmessage when employees interact with prospects. Thissignificantly reduces the level of distortion and discrepancywhen prospects engage with Nexus’ employees and consultants

3.6.3 Maintaining good customer relationships:

All the various functions within Nexus Marketing Solutions must beintegrated through effective internal communications to help maintaingood customer relationship. The result can be disastrous if forexample employees promise customers services or offerings that arebeing tested, in conceptual or developmental phases.

Effective internal communication ensures a consistent message iscommunicated by units involved in customer relationshipmanagement (consultants, account managers and secretaries).

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When every employee understands that healthy customerrelationships bring repeat business this through effectiveinternal communications they would strive to produce excellentwork and help build better customer relationships.

WORD COUNT – 1,868

REFERENCES for TASK 3

4imprint (2008) ‘Internal Communition’ [online] 4imprint blue papers. Available at: http://info.4imprint.com/wp-content/uploads/Blue%20Paper%20Internal%20Communication.pdf [ACCESSED 16th January 2013]

Brennan, R. et al (2011), Fundamentals of Business-to-Business Marketing [online] 2nd edition, SAGE

Chihocky, J. and Bullard, M. (2009) ‘How Strategic Internal Communications Can Positively Affect Your Business,’[online] Whitepaper, Janson Communications, Available at: http://www.noplanenogain.org/images/1255960872.pdf_copy2.pdf [ACCESSED 16th January 2013]

Chris, F. & McKee, S. (2011) Business Marketing Face to Face: TheTheory and Practice of B2B Marketing, Oxford, GoodFellow Publishers Limited.

Ellis, N. (2010) Business to Business Marketing Relationships, networks and strategies, London, Oxford University Press.

Hawthorne, A. (2008) ‘Marketing to the Entire Decision Making Unit – B2B Marketing and Sales Tip #119, B2B lead generation,’[online] Salesforce, Available at: http://blog.reachforce.com/b2b-lead-generation/marketing-to-the-entire-decision-making-unit-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-119/ [ACCESSED 12th January 2013]

Hume, J. (2001) ‘internal communication toolkit,’[online] CIvicus, Johannesburg. Available at: http://www.civicus.org/new/media/CIVICUSInternalCommunicationToolkit.pdf [ACCESSED 16th January 2013]

Riddle, D. I. (2008) ‘Developing Repeat AND Referral Business,’ [online] Service-Growth Consultants Inc. Available at:

http://www.civicus.org/new/media/CIVICUSInternalCommunicationToolkit.pdf

http://www.civicus.org/new/media/CIVICUSInternalCommunicationToolkit.pdf

http://www.noplanenogain.org/images/1255960872.pdf_copy2.pdf

http://info.4imprint.com/wp-content/uploads/Blue%20Paper%20Internal%20Communication.pdf

http://info.4imprint.com/wp-content/uploads/Blue%20Paper%20Internal%20Communication.pdf

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http://www.servicegrowth.org/documents/Developing%20Repeat%20and%20Referral%20Business.org.pdf [ACCESSED 11th January 2013]

Sahney, S. (sourced 2013)’module-5: Consumer Behaviour,’ [online] Vinod Gupta School of Management, Indian institute of technology.Available at: http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/110105029/pdf%20sahany/Module5.(10)_doc.pdf [ACCESSED January 13th 2013]

http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/110105029/pdf%20sahany/Module5.(10)_doc.pdf

http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/110105029/pdf%20sahany/Module5.(10)_doc.pdf

http://www.servicegrowth.org/documents/Developing%20Repeat%20and%20Referral%20Business.org.pdf

http://www.servicegrowth.org/documents/Developing%20Repeat%20and%20Referral%20Business.org.pdf

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TASK 4 ReportTo: Marketing Manager

From: Marketing Officer


Subject: The impact of marketing communicationson marketing channels

Spectranet

Customers

Vendors

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4.0 Marketing channels

A marketing channel is a system involved, either directly orindirectly, with making something of value available for use orconsumption (Goldkuhl, 2007). A channel of distribution should betreated as a unit (Stanton, 1981). Thus necessitating the need tobuild, maintain coherence and mutually beneficial relationshipsamongst channel members and Spectranet. The channel system ofSpectranet is shown.

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N.B: The arrow shows the flow of products/services

4.1 Marketing communications can be used for:

Motivating vendors

Personal selling: The maintaining of healthy relationships betweenSpectranet and vendors through personal selling will help Spectranetmotivate its channel members. The individualized communication inpersonal selling allows Spectranet to tailor the communicationobjectives to the specific needs of the channel members through itssales force (Belch and Belch, 2009). This will also be a source offeedback for developing more motivating appeals for vendors.

Sales promotion: The use of trade-oriented sales promotions likepromotional allowance (a percentage from the list price of the device)and price deals (giving price cuts based on the quantity of goodspurchased) can also help to motivate vendors.

Maintaining trust between Spectranet and its vendors

Direct marketing: Regular communication with the vendors (throughemails, sms and post mails) will help maintain trust, throughinforming them of the various technological advances of Spectranet,commitment of Spectranet to ensuring a high standard of service andthe protection of the interest of channel members.

Public relations: Public Relations activities can actually buildrelationships (Belch and Belch, 2009). This builds the confidence ofthe vendors because they are assured that the positive publicperception will create an atmosphere for customer patronage. Examplesare offering press releases on Spectranet’s product developments andengaging in community development programs (supplying free internetservices to schools and libraries).

Resolving conflicts

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Conflicts can be resolved by creating an atmosphere for dialogue,through:

Trade forums: Spectranet can resolve conflicts by organizing eventssuch as trade forums, where vendors are educated on the variouspolicies, agreements and relationships that exist (between thevendors/Spectranet and vendors/vendors). Spectranet can also use theplatform to educate the vendors on leveraging their various potentialtowards creating a win-win situation for all.

Personal selling: The use of “personal follow-up on the vendors” canalso better understand their needs and help Spectranet handle anyissues or conflicts.

4.2 The use of digital channels

4.2.1 Advantages:

Reach: Digital channels offer wider reach. Consider the ability of bigbrands like Amazon to leverage the internet in reaching out to variousprospects and consumers at the same time (thousands) compared to thelimited number of customers that can be reached by traditionalchannels.

Cost effective: The setting up and running of digital channelsinvolves significantly lower costs of satisfying the needs ofcustomers (e.g. the cost of emails, live chats and sms issignificantly lower than traditional means such as post mails, visitsetc.).

4.2.2 Disadvantages:

Public perception: There is negative perception (general fear ofinternet fraud) especially in developing cities like Lagos. Thus thewider adoption in this city (our target geography) depends oneducating the various publics of the security and benefits of thechannel.

Infrastructure: Internet penetration and infrastructure for effectivedeployment of digital channels are still inadequate in Lagos.

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4.2.3 Impact on existing traditional channels

Digital channels can complement existing traditional channels byexposing potential customers to easily accessible online customersupport services through online live chats, automated free toll lines,social media platforms for feedback and product updates and also as asource of information.

Digital marketing channel is quite capable of replacing conventionaldistribution channels, when it comes to communicating information andconducting transactions (Webb, 2002). Spectranet can utilize a vastsales force to ensure the products are directly distributed to thevarious consumers, completely removing the need for vendors.

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References for TASK 4

Belch and Belch (2009) Advertising and Promotion: an Integrated Marketing Communications perspective, eight editions, Irwin, McGraw-hill international

Goldkuhl, L. (2007) ‘Multiple Marketing Channel Conflict with a Focus on the Internet: A Dual Perspective’[online] Doctoral thesis, Luleå University of Technology. Available at: http://pure.ltu.se/portal/files/1244626/LTU-DT-0770-SE.pdf [ACCESSED 27th January 2013]

Stanton, W. J. (1981) Fundamentals of Marketing, sixth edition,Tokyo, Mcgraw-Hill Inc.

Webb, K. L. (2002) ‘Managing channels of distribution in the age of electronic commerce.’[online] Industrial Marketing Management Available at: http://faculty.darden.virginia.edu/bodilys/estrat/topic3_2002/Managing%20channels%20of%20distribution.pdf [ACCESSED 27th January2013]

http://faculty.darden.virginia.edu/bodilys/estrat/topic3_2002/Managing%20channels%20of%20distribution.pdf

http://faculty.darden.virginia.edu/bodilys/estrat/topic3_2002/Managing%20channels%20of%20distribution.pdf

http://pure.ltu.se/portal/files/1244626/LTU-DT-0770-SE.pdf

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TASK 5

Short-term Marketing Communications Plan:

“Improving customer retention for the “surfand talk”/CPE (customer premises equipment) device”

For

Spectranet Nigeria Ltd

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5.0 Introduction

Marketing communication can assume one of any of these four roles:Inform, Remind/reassure, Persuade and Differentiate. It is a tool usedto position Spectranet in the minds of customers and publics based onour differentiating features.

5.1 Current communications tools

Personal selling: Spectranet utilizes a sales team(over onehundred and fifty sales individuals, a large sales force comparedto other internet service providers in Nigeria, like SwiftNetworks and Mobitel)

Advertising: Spectranet uses billboard advertising, fliers,transit advertising (occasional use of branded bus to promoteproducts) and outdoor advertising.

Sales promotion: Spectranet offers short-term promotions such asdiscounts, subscription bonuses etc.

Strengths

The strength of Spectranet’s communications plan lies in its personalselling, though supported by other communication tools.

The current state of the telecommunication industry (with history ofdowntime and bad internet service) in Nigeria reinforce the need forpersonal selling to help Spectranet communicate its product benefits,

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persuade customers toward purchasing the internet device and dispeldoubts regarding the internet service. The sales force help customersresolve issues and inform them of other offerings.

Advertising: advertising creates general awareness for the product.This tends to make the job of the sales team easier as it is mucheasier to sell a product that people are already aware of compared tosomething more novel and unknown. Spectranet uses billboardadvertising and periodic transit advertising as a constant reminder,helping Spectranet gain brand awareness and recall.

The sales promotion: the offering of discounts and subscriptionbonuses significantly encourages repeat purchases. While the use ofsampling, encourage first time buyers to try the product by loweringthe risk of trying the internet service and increasing benefits andmotivations for purchase.

Weaknesses

Direct marketing through sms, emails and post-mails (due to thepresence of in-house database of clients) would be an effective meansof sending targeted messages to current clients, hereby increasingrepeat purchase. This is largely unexplored.

The advertising campaigns on other media (such as Television, radioetc) and public relations embarked on by Spectranet presently lagsbehind that of competitors such as swift 4G and Mobitel, even thoughtheir service offering is not as robust as that of Spectranet. Thisreduces the perceived quality and brand awareness of Spectranet,thereby putting Spectranet at a disadvantage when considering brandrecall and preference.

5.2 Objectives

Due to the high level of customer churn in the industry and theeffects on Spectranet’s turnover (41.3% of registered customers didnot re-subscribe for internet service for three months: July, augustand September 2012), Spectranet must now pay attention to retainingcustomers because of these reasons:

The cost of acquiring new customers is 5-12 times greater thanthat of retaining already existing customers.

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ROI is significantly higher for investment in customer retentionthan in acquisition.

Spectranet thus developed a communications plan that sets to achievethe following objectives.

To maintain the current subscription behavior (renewal) of 80% of the active subscribersof the surf and talk’ device of Spectranet over the next six (6) months.

To reactivate 35% of customers that have been inactive (have not subscribed for over2months) over the next 4 months.

5.3 Target audience

While the first objective focuses on all present users of the surf andtalk device, the second focuses on the dormant users (for 2 months).

Target audience: individuals

s/n First objective Second objectiveDemographics

age 18 and above Same Residence Lagos state, Nigeria SameGender Male, female SameIncome 70,000 naira and above SameSocial class middle class and above SamePsychographics

opinions Internet is animportant part ofeveryday family,educational and sociallife.

Internet is importantbut factors such asspeed, reach,reliability and costmust be stronglyconsidered.

Lifestyle Fast paced andinformation technologydependent

Fast paced but seekingthe most satisfyingand cost effectiveservice at any time.

activities Internet is used forresearch, payingbills, socializing,receiving information

same

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etcinterests Desire a fast,

reliable and aninternet service witha wide reach

same

Buying behavior

Usage status First time and lastmonth subscribers.

dormant for 2-monthsand above (nosubscriptions forinternet plans)

Usage rate Present subscribers(active subscribers atleast for the lastmonth).

no monthlysubscription for thelast 2-months

Awareness Most likely basicproduct knowledge andusage.

Same

Benefits sought Fast, reliable,convenient/easy to useand an internetservice with widecoverage (all overLagos and beyond).

same

Target market: Organizations (Religious and Corporate)

s/n First objective Second objectiveDemographics

Office address orlocation:

Lagos state, Nigeria Same

Type of organization Small and mediumenterprises (SMEs)like hotels,cybercafés, stores andoffices of businessconsulting firms,churches etc. smallbranches of some largeorganizations.Internet dependent

Same

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businesses like Forextraders, IT firms,schools etc.

Psychographics(DMU)Interests Internet savvy and

internet dependentbusinesses andorganizations withcertain activitiesthat requires frequentinternet use andaccess.

Same

Buying behavior

Decision making unit Decision making unit:Consist of formallyconstituted members ofthe organization(initiators,gatekeepers, buyers,users etc) or informalgroups that eventuallyaffect the buyingdecision.Understanding the DMUcan help Spectranetdevelop bettercommunication plans.

Same

Usage rate Monthly subscriber, atleast for the monthand all new customersin the last month(though the internetbundle packagesubscribed forvaries).

no monthlysubscription for thelast 2-months

Awareness Varies from basic-advanced productknowledge and usage.

Same

Benefits sought Fast, reliable, Same

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convenient/easy to useand an internetservice with widecoverage (all overLagos and beyond).

Usage rate First time users ofthe surf and talkdevice and last monthsubscribers

dormant for 3-monthsand above (nosubscriptions forinternet plans)

5.4 Communications mix

The message: the message will involve mainly persuasive and reassuringmessages regarding the speed, reliability, robust offering ofSpectranet. The tools are:

Personal selling

To retain active subscribers:

A robust and efficient customer service system (on call and onlinechat) will engage the active customers and help them resolve theirnetwork issues and dispel any objections or concerns. Most times,customers are identified and offered alternative value propositionsonly after they’ve already decided to abandon service (PwC, 2011).Sales representatives will educate the subscribers (about serviceofferings, where/how to complain and sales promos) that are yet torespond to direct marketing, through phone calls and scheduled visits.This will also help collect valuable data regarding the level ofsatisfaction of current customers.

To reactivate dormant subscribers:

Putting calls through to personal clients to discover their reasonsfor stopping the service will help initiate the recovery process andsegment the dormant subscribers based on their reason. This will serveas a medium to dispel their current dissatisfaction, reassure andpersuade them to try the new and improved Spectranet service.

Direct marketing


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The database of current subscribers will be used to segment the activesubscribers. This will help Spectranet send relevant and targetedmessages such as: apologies (downtime and compensation plan) andservice offerings to subscribers. This message will be based on thesubscriber’s purchase behavior and data consumption, the messages willbe sent as sms and emails.

Sales promotion


The development of longer offerings with better price offers such as12, 500 naira for 3-months compared to 5,000 naira per month. Thesesales promos will be communicated through direct marketing andpersonal selling. This will help Spectranet persuade and retaincustomers over longer periods thus reducing churn rate.


Putting calls through to personal clients to discover their reasonsfor churning the service will help initiate the recovery process andsegment the dormant subscribers based on their reason for churning theservice. This will serve as a medium to dispel their currentdissatisfaction, reassure and persuade them to try the new andimproved Spectranet service.

Public relations


The first step is the use of press releases to create awareness. Theuse of press releases to inform the general public about the variouschanges and innovations occurring in Spectranet and its impact on thequality of service, will further reassure various publis aboutSpetranet’s commitment to excellent service delivery.

5.5 Budgeting

Budgeting can determine the extent of achievement of the goals whilealso minimizing the cost of the marketing spend as much as possible.

Budget setting involves methods such as;

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The affordable method: The firm allocates marketing communicationspend based on what it can afford (Belch and Belch, 2009).

Arbitrary allocation: The budget is determined by management solely onthe basis of what is necessary (Belch and Belch, 2009).

Percentage of sales: This sets the budget as a percentage of theprojected sales for the period(marketing planning period).

Competitive parity: Involves modeling the competition’s budgetingstandards. This basically may not satisfy the objectives of thecurrent communications plan, as they may be different from that of thecompetitors.

The objective and task method is recommended for this plan as it takesinto consideration the goals of the marketing plan and allocates thefunds needed for the various tasks leading to achievement ofobjectives. It also allows the managers closest to the communicationeffort to have specific strategies and input into the budget-settingprocess (Belch and Belch, 2009), helping the team focus on theobjectives of the marketing communication. The main benefit of therecommended method is that it makes the achievement of communicationobjectives possible by making sufficient resources available.

5.6 Measuring the effectiveness of the campaign

Measuring the effectiveness of the promotional program is a criticalelement in the promotional planning process (Belch and Belch, 2009).This measurement will be used to evaluate the current program and alsoas input into the next marketing period’s situation audit.

Due to the presence of a database of subscribers, response to thesales promotion will be measured through

direct responses from the phone calls of the sales team, the amount of subscription to the free trial The amount of paid subscription after the period of the free

trial is exhausted.

This will be used to further optimize the communication process. ThePublic relations activities will be evaluated using subscribers

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opinion surveys to gather data to evaluate the PR goal of creatingawareness and a change in the perceived quality.

The query/auditing of the Spectranet customer’s database is anindirect measure (as other elements of the marketing mix also havesignificant effects) of the effectiveness of the promotional campaignin eliciting renewal of subscription and aiding the reactivation ofdormant subscribers. This involves metrics such as

The percentage of subscribers that renew their subscriptions Percentage of dormant subscribers that participated in the free

trial Percentage subscription after free trial The response rate to the direct messages is a measure of the

effectiveness of the direct messages.

WORD COUNT - 1806

References

Accenture (2011) ‘Maximizing Customer Retention: A Strategic Approach to EffectiveChurn Management’ [online] Accenture, Available at: http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-Maximizing-Customer-Retention.pdf [ACCESSED 28th January 2013]

Baster Strategies Incorporated: BSI (2004) ‘Customer Retention: A Business Imperative’ [online] BSI, New York. Available at: http://www.baxterstrategies.com/White%20Papers/Customer%20Retention.pdf [ACCESSED 28th January 2013]

Belch and Belch (2009) Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, Eight Editions, Irwin, McGraw-Hill international.

PwC (2011) ‘Curing Customer Churn’ [online] PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, PwC US. Available at: http://www.pwc.com/en_us/us/increasing-it-effectiveness/assets/curing-customer-churn.pdf [ACCESSED 29th January 2013]

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APPENDIX

APPENDIX ICompany profile Used for task 1, 2 and 3

Nexus Marketing Solutions is an innovative marketing solutionsprovider operating in Lagos, Nigeria. Nexus marketing solutionsapplies basic marketing techniques and theories with a touch ofcreative innovation from its team of innovative marketing consultants.The core values of knowledge, research and innovation are fused in ourunique formula that guarantees innovative marketing solutions. NexusMS is a sole proprietorship business, approved for business byCorporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Nigeria on the 27th august 2012.

Customer base

The target market includes: small and medium scale businesses in theshort term (Lagos, Nigeria) and more importantly multinationals andcorporations in Nigeria and Africa in the long run.

Services offered:

Creative strategy Printing of promotional items Integrated marketing communications Digital marketing Brand identity conceptualization Market research and product research Website design and programming Web copywriting Bulk sms

Service selected:

Digital marketing: most Nigerian business owners are online but veryfew understand the power of the internet as a marketing medium. It is

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against this backdrop that Nexus Marketing Solutions has decided tohelp businesses grow and reach their consumers through digitalmarketing.

APPENDIX IICompany profile Used for task 4 and 5

Spectranet Nigeria limited is an internet service provider (ISP) inLagos, Nigeria. Spectranet offers a wide range of internet servicesfor both individuals, corporate and religious organizations It wasregistered and approved for business by Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC) Nigeria and began its commercial activates in the year 2011, twoyears after it was licensed by the Nigeria communications commission.

Customer base

The target market includes: individuals, corporate organizations andspecialized large corporate entities (that utilize higher internetbandwidth) that desire a fast and reliable internet service.

Services offered:

Point to point microwave internet service: this is for bigorganizations that need bigger data access and higherinternet connectivity.

Eazee dongle: this is a portable USB device that gives usersinternet access on the go.

Surf and talk or CPE (customer premises equipment): is aninternet device that offers multiple users access tointernet services, through its in-built wireless router.

Service selected:

The selected product is the surf and talk or CPE (customer premisesequipment). The product offers fast and reliable internet service tousers within a 10meters radius; it is targeted at SMEs (small and

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medium scale enterprises), small home, offices and business cybercafésliving in Lagos state.

Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Devising winning marketing strategies

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