Assignment No. 4

Marketing ManagementSubmitted by : Hasan Naveed (07855)Submitted to : Jami MoizDate : 27-03-2014

1)Identify the four market segment groups based on brand loyalty status and list what a company can learn from analyzing the degrees of brand loyalty?

Brand loyalty refers to the customers preferences and repeat purchases of the one particular brand. This loyalty helps the business to achieve long term business and also ensures sales in times of recession or any slump in the market. This is the reason why many companies work a lot to build on their brand loyalties by aiming to bring in consistent value to the buyers, along with bringing in innovating ideas, keeping a close tab on the needs and demands of the buyers. There are typically four groups of brand loyalty: Hardcore loyals Spilt loyals Shifting loyals SwitchersHardcore loyals: These buyers purchase only one particular brand at all times. The buyer is brand specific and has strong inclination to buy the same brand every time. Hardcore loyals get a sense of comfort and pride by using their favorite brand. If a company has a large number of hardcore loyals, then the company can easily assert that the product holds a considerable amount of strength in the market. A prime example for this could be Starbucks Coffee. Its customers are hardcore loyals and prefer to drink only Star bucks despite having a number of competitors coffee at their disposal. Split loyals: These buyers are those who prefer making a choice between two or three brands. These customers always have an alternate available to themselves. The companies can have an idea of their major competitors and also have a look at their own strengths and weaknesses. Not only has this but also weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors products. For example a buyer always has an option of buying a Dell laptop or a Sony laptop with the same features. Shifting loyals: These are those customers who shift their loyalty from one brand to another brand. It depends on the customers own preferences as well which prompts him to keep shifting brands. The companys poor marketing skills could be blamed for the shifting of customers to different brands. This is the reason why strong marketing techniques are very important to create loyalties. For example a previous I-phone user now shifts to Samsung S4.Switcher: These buyers show no loyalties to any particular brand. The buyers are basically with such a mindset that they opt for any product that is easily available in the market at a price that is affordable. Switchers are not brand conscious and will use any brand available. For example a customer can buy any bread available at the shop Dawn, Bake Parlour or any available bread.A company can learn a great deal by analyzing the degrees of brand loyalty. By understanding the degrees of the brand loyalty, companies can easily have a greater idea where their product lies and what needs to be done in order to strengthen the brand loyalty. For example if there are large numbers of shifting loyals, the company would needs to focus more on the marketing aspect of their strategy. If there are large numbers of high loyals, then the company can choose to sustain their quality and ensure that there are no quality or service loopholes that will drive these hard loyals away. The company has a greater control over their strategies and are able to steer themselves in a better way. It also helps the companies to be able to evaluate the competitors process as well if there are a large numbers of split loyals present.

2) Give an example of how a company might target products to children in an ethical way?Nowadays, children are considered to be an independent group of consumers, having their parents money to spend and influence some sort of power on the family purchases. The market for children products is on the rise but it is very important for the companies to ask themselves what kind of messages are being passed on the children. They are unable to distinguish between marketing and other kinds of communication because of which they are more susceptible to being manipulated and easily take the messages in advertising as truthful and fair. To exploit this weakness in children for any kind of gain by the businesses is deemed to be unethical. The children are unable to comprehend the actual message being passed on by the advertisers. One way to ethically target products to children is to take a responsible approach when marketing products especially food related products. For example Mcdonalds was criticized for promoting food meals (Happy Meals) amongst children which was high in sugar, fat, salt and calories. It was unethical by Mcdonalds to exploit the childrensS attraction of getting a free gift with their Happy Meals and in return making the children eat the high calories food. Hence when advertising to children, the companies could opt for a more responsible approach and develop message and advertising to children and parents that promote healthy behaviors and products.

3) Identify the ways in which shopping behaviors differ between men and women?Men and women differ a lot in terms of their shopping traits. To identify a few differences, below are the differences mentioned:Men shopping behavior:Men dont usually like to take partners to shop and often shop alone. They do not have any major craving for items on sale nor do they have any huge interest in the same. They dont spend much time in doing all sorts of price comparison nor do they bargain much with the sales people. It can be said that for men, the whole idea to shop is similar to that of achieving a goal. Usually as soon as they are done with their purchase, they leave the shop. It is said that men are more easily influenced by the sales guys. They are not fond of getting too many opinions from different people. The need to get done with the purchase at the earliest coupled with no interest in getting too many opinions about the product makes men more inclined in going alone. They dont like spending too much time in the markets. This explains why I hated going to bazaars with my mother when I was young because she used to spend hours in the bazaar and at most times doing window shopping and I used to get irritated every time and ultimately I stopped going to the bazaar with her.

Women shopping behavior:For women, the whole idea of going for shopping is no less than going for a picnic. They love to get as many female friends along to shop and go in groups. It is more of an event to get together and enjoy the party in the markets. Many times they dont actually purchase anything but love doing window shopping. When they do actually make a purchase, they go into the bits and pieces of every minute detail of the product before finalizing it. From the price of the product to the color to its size and just about everything. They are very particular about how it would look on them and ensure that they try out the product and get a feedback from their shop partners. They take their decision with ample time and dont make any decision in a hurt. They love to bargain and do it with good skills. Men who accompany women to shop often find themselves seated on the chairs inside the shops or in the car because they know that the process is going to take a good amount of time.

References

http://bilaras.hubpages.com/hub/Men-and-Women-Shopping-Behaviors (accessed on 27-03-2014)

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3222-Behavioral-Differences-Between-Men-and-Women-Influence-Shopping (accessed on 27-03-2014)

http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/gmcb_v08/CP%20paper%2020%20Ivonne%20Hoeger.pdf

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/business-marketing-advertising-children-rights (accessed on 27-03-2014)

http://www.ethicsbasedmarketing.net/6.html (accessed on 27-03-2014)

http://www.moneycrashers.com/men-vs-women-shopping-habits-buying-decisions/ (accessed on 27-03-2014)