The World of marketing
1
1An Overview of Marketing
2Strategic Planning: Developing and Implementing a Marketing Plan
3The Marketing Environment and Marketing Ethics
4Developing a Global Vision
Chapter1
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
1Define the term marketing
2Describe four marketing management philosophies
3Discuss the differences between sales and market orientations
4Describe the marketing process
5Describe several reasons for studying marketing
Learning Objectives
ethics in marketing
Healthy Versus Healthy Looking
Sun-care products represent a $400 million industry. The trend throughout most of the 1990s was in favor of higher sun protection factor (SPF) sunscreens because of consumer concerns about skin cancer, wrinkles, premature aging, and other negative outcomes associated with sun exposure. That seems to be changing now.
Teenagers are apparently ignoring the warnings about the sunÕs potential harm. According to a survey conducted by Seventeen magazine, 17 percent of responding teenagers say they never use a sunscreen. Two-thirds donÕt know what an SPF label is. Spring breakers on Florida beaches have been reported using baby oil, Crisco, and even motor oil to enhance the tanning effects of the sunÕs rays.
How has the suntan industry responded? Coppertone has introduced a new low ultraviolet ray (UV) protection product called Coppertone Gold, Banana Boat has followed with Tan Express, and Hawaiian Tropic has launched an oil called Total Exposure.
The new low SPF products now represent 15 to 20 percent of industry sales. ÒThe extreme segment of suncare is growing and itÕs going to grow more because of the new products,Ó said Jack Surette, Hawaiian TropicÕs vice-president for marketing.10
Industry executives defend the new lines, saying theyÕre just giving consumers a choice. What do you think?
global perspectives
The Customer, Not the Seller, Defines Value
Unlike some American industries that have trouble breaking into JapanÕs market, the mail-order catalog industry has been quite successful. Japanese shoppers are buying everything from L.L. Bean sportswear to Saks Fifth Avenue womenÕs fashions.
These retailers are succeeding while other American businesses are still struggling because the merchants have found a market where Japanese companies are not fulfilling customer needs. Many middle- and upper-class consumers, especially the younger generation and city dwellers, have avoided Japanese catalogs for decades because of their hodgepodge mix of everything from cheap dresses and necklaces to diapers and dog food. By contrast, American catalogs offer high-quality merchandise carefully aimed at specific groups. And they often contain two other items unusual in Japan: a lifetime, no-questions-asked guarantee and pictures of top models. Clothing with recognized U.S. labels also sells for much less in the catalogs than do well-known Japanese fashions in JapanÕs expensive department stores. In addition, more and more of the catalogs are being translated into Japanese to make their use easier.
Miho Takauji, an upper-middle-class working woman who has been hooked on such foreign catalogs for a few years, is representative of the new wave of Japanese consumers. She often looks through them at her home in Tokyo and orders clothing for herself and her husband. Ò ÔIn Japan, itÕs almost impossible to find anything good quality at a reasonable price,Õ Takariji said. ÔWhat I find in Japanese catalogs is cheap, but it looks cheap, too.Õ Ò12
Explain how American mail-order catalog firms are creating customer value in Japan.
Entrepreneurial insights
David Versus Goliath
The scenario is familiar, and much lamented this last quarter century: The big, heartless Wal-Mart or Target megastore moves in just outside of town, offering everything under the sun and trampling local mom-and-pop shops in the process. How can mom-and-pop retailers save their stores? A recent study produced the following seven tips:
1.Work with other local retailers to offer a complete merchandise selection. Consumers complained they couldnÕt find everything they needed on ÒMain Street,Ó so they had to travel to shop.
2.Build strong customer relationships. Local retailers should think back to the days when salesclerks knew the name of every customer who walked in the door and try to build that kind of personal bond to offer a benefit that the large, impersonal store canÕt provide.
3.Get involved with local events and government. Local retailers should identify strongly and overtly with the communities they serve. This might include sponsoring local sports teams and breakfasts with industry and government leaders and helping local schools raise funds.
4.Update merchandise more frequently. If local retailers improve their selection, they can convince consumers the best products can be found close to home. They can even charge higher prices because consumers will be willing to pay them for the convenience.
5.Train your sales force so they understand their importance in delivering customer satisfaction.
6.Conduct formal customer research. Distribute customer satisfaction cards in stores with questions regarding service, merchandise selection, and store appearance. This may help spot problems before they drive customers away.
7.On the other hand, donÕt be afraid to send customers away. Use the Miracle on 34th Street approach if your business does not carry an item requested by a customer: Suggesting another local store will build trust and keep customers shopping in town.20