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    IB: Business Management Notes onMarketing (Unit 4.1)

    6 DecMarketing is the identification, anticipation, and satisfaction and of customer needs and wants profitably.

    Marketing is important to businesses as they will need to satisfy customerneeds and wants to survive and also to prevent them from buying from anyrival businesses.

    They will have to appeal to people by the use of price, product, promotion andplace.

    The right price has to be chosen because it is crucial that the customer canafford t he product and so they dont buy from other competitors

    The right product has to be selected as the product has to be appealing to thecustomer in terms of size, colour, functions. This is needed to satisfy customerneeds and wants

    Promotion is crucial as they need to make consumers aware of the product andto be persuaded to buy it.

    Place is also important because it has to be fitted to suit customersconvenience

    The marketing mix is a key part in marketing as it involves the success theproduct will produce if it is marketed properly.

    A business that sells mainly to customers and private individuals(like thegeneral public) will be called consumer markets.

    While a business that sells to other businesses or organizations will be involvedin commercial or industrial markets .

    A business usually wants to know three things;

    - Market share that they hold

    - Market size

    - Number of competitors

    - Potential for market growth

    MARKET SIZE is usually defined by;

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    customer base, if there is a large customer base then that means that the marketis quite diverse and has a lot of opportunity of expansion(like the fast foodmarket) while if the market is quite niche then there will be a limited customerbase and therefore small market size

    barriers to entry, if there are many natural or legal barriers of entry it restrictsmarket size and it means that the market will have fewer suppliers as there arefewer competitors

    location, a business may operate in certain geographic area because the marketthere may be more successful due to the abundant potential customers there.However, now increasing globalization prevents a market from being hinderedby geographical restraints.

    Volume of sales- if the value of sales in this market is very small then themarket is not likely to be big as suppliers are not attracted into this market.

    MARKET GROWTH- another thing that businesses will be interested in

    this refers to the increase of size that a market faces over time during market growth it means that more suppliers enter the market and the

    volume of sales go up. This market growth usually attracts more suppliers in because of the potential

    of bigger profits.

    MARKET SHARE

    How much of the overall sales in the whole market a certain business owns. This is usually used to measure success of the business over time See how well the business is doing over competitors

    Market concentration looks at the degree of competition within a market; This is done by calculating the market shares of the largest firms in the market

    (like apple and Microsoft in the computer industry) This is given by the concentration ratio, if there is a 98% concentration ratio is

    means that the two top competitors(apple and Microsoft) produce for 98% of the whole industry- so this will not be a very competitive industry because thesmall businesses only account for 2% of the whole industry

    Such big industry-dominating businesses are called oligopolists

    PRODUCT ORIENTATION

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    v This is used to describe a business that focuses production on the product in itself instead of producing to satisfy customer needs and wants.

    v The product is produced in the belief that it will be sold, and it may be for popularproducts like the iPod

    v Sell products that they can make, rather than selling products with elevated costsdue to marketing

    v Product orientation may be successful because of Says law (supply creates its owndemand)

    v Producers are not always sure if they will sell, it is highly risky because suitablemarket research has not been undertaken, money for R&D may be wasted as a causeof hit and miss strategies

    v Many product orientated businesses may focus upon producing more luxury itemswhere the production process may be scrutinized with more detail- so quality can beassured

    MARKET ORIENTATION

    A business that focuses upon satisfying customer needs and wants, andproduces what the customer wants rather than what they can actually make

    Usually involves market research to look into the present and future demand of

    the product- this is costly but it is worthwhile as it makes the product less riskyand more likely to form good profits

    A market orientated business is also flexible to changes in the market, likedifferent trends because they can be kept up to date

    A disadvantage for market orientation is the costs associated with it, there is notalways a guarantee this method will be successful.

    FACTORS THAT AFFECT MARKET OR PRODUCT ORIENTATION

    What type of product it sells, if it is a product that is quite homogeneous then

    not a lot of market research will be required. Organization culture- if a firm believes that customers should be placed aboveall then it will usually be market orientated

    Nature of barriers to entry; firms with less competition will be more productorientated and vice versa. This is because if there are many barriers of entrythere will be less suppliers in the market, so consumers dont have such a broadrange of options

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    Social marketing

    Usually for a cause instead of selling of products Like the government imposed adverts to prevent people from taking drugs and

    smoking, this is a form of social marketing an activity that affects social behavior This differs from commercial marketing because people are not persuaded to

    buy anything, but instead informed of causes and persuaded against a certainaction

    A challenge to social marketing is the unwillingness of people who changetheir social behavior due to habits

    Clients of social marketing agencies are usually non-profit organizations andthis is how it differs from profit making organizations

    B r a n d s - i n t r o d u c t i o n t o B r a n d s

    A brand is a product with unique character, for instance in design or image. It isconsistent and well recognised.

    The advantages of having a strong brand are:

    Inspires customer loyalty leading to repeat sales and word-of mouthrecommendation

    The brand owner can usually charge higher prices , especially if the brand isthe market leader

    Retailers or service sellers want to stock top selling brands. With limited shelf space it is more likely the top brands will be on the shelf than less well-knownbrands.

    Some retailers use own -label brands, where they use their name of the productrather than the manufacturers like Tescos Finest range of mea ls and foodstuffs.These tend to be cheaper than the normal brands, but will give the retailer moreprofit than selling a normal brand.

    Some brands are so strong that they have become global brands . This means that theproduct is sold in many countries and the contents are very similar. Examples of global brands include: Microsoft, Coca Cola, Disney, Mercedes and Hewlett Packard.

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    The strength of a brand can be exploited by a business to develop new products. Thisis known as brand extension a produc t with some of the brands s characteristics. Examples include Dove soap and Dove Shampoo (both contain moisturiser); Mars Barand Mars Ice Cream

    Brand stretching is where the brand is used for a diverse range of products, notnecessarily connected. E.g. Virgin Airlines and Virgin Cola; Marks and Spencer clothesand food.

    The logo on a product is an important part of the product. A logo is a symbol orpicture that represents the business. It is important because it is easy to recognise,establishes brand loyalty and can create a favourable image.

    Q.What factors are important in building brand value?

    Several factors are crucial in building successful brands, as illustrated in the diagram

    below:

    Quality

    Quality is a vital ingredient of a good brand. Rem ember the core benefits thethings consumers expect. These must be delivered well, consistently. The branded

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    washing machine that leaks, or the training shoe that often falls apart when wet willnever develop brand equity.

    Research confirms that, statistically, higher quality brands achieve a higher marketshare and higher profitability that their inferior competitors.

    Positioning

    Positioning is about the position a brand occupies in a market in the minds of consumers. Strong brands have a clear, often unique position in the target market.

    Positioning can be achieved through several means, including brand name, image,service standards, product guarantees, packaging and the way in which it is delivered.In fact, successful positioning usually requires a combination of these things.

    Repositioning

    Repositioning occurs when a brand tries to change its market position to reflect achange in consumers tastes. This is often required when a brand has become tired,perhaps because its original market has matured or has gone into decline.

    The repositioning of the Lucozade brand from a sweet drink for children to a leadingsports drink is one example. Another would be the changing styles of entertainerswith above-average longevity such as Kylie Minogue and Cliff Richard.

    Communications

    Communications also play a key role in building a successful brand. We suggested thatbrand positioning is essentially about customer perceptions with the objective tobuild a clearly defined position in the minds of the target audience.

    All elements of the promotional mix need to be used to develop and sustain customerperceptions. Initially, the challenge is to build awareness, then to develop the brandpersonality and reinforce the perception.

    First-mover advantage

    Business strategists often talk about first-mover advantage. In terms of brand

    development, by first -mover they mean that it is possible for the first successfulbrand in a market to create a clear positioning in the minds of target customersbefore the competition enters the market. There is plenty of evidence to support this.

    Think of some leading consumer product brands like Gillette, Coca Cola and Sellotapethat, in many ways, defined the markets they operate in and continue to lead.However, being first into a market does not necessarily guarantee long-term success.Competitors drawn to the high growth and profit potential demonstrated by the

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    market -mover will enter the market and copy the best elements of the leadersbrand (a good example is the way that Bo dy Shop developed the ethical personalcare market but were soon facing stiff competition from the major high streetcosmetics retailers.

    Long-term perspective This leads onto another important factor in brand-building: the need to invest in thebrand over the long- term. Building customer awareness, communicating the brandsmessage and creating customer loyalty takes time. This means that management mustinvest in a brand, perhaps at the expense of short -term profitability.

    Internal marketing

    Finally, management should ensure that the brand is marketed internally as well asexternally. By this we mean that the whole business should understand the brand

    values and positioning. This is particularly important in service businesses where acritical part of the brand value is the type and quality of service that a customerreceives.

    Think of the brands that you value in the restaurant, hotel and retail sectors. It islikely that your favourite brands invest heavily in staff training so that the face-to-face contact that you have with the brand helps secure your loyalty.

    B r a n d s - P o s i t i o n i n g a n d M a r k e t m a p p i n g

    Once an entrepreneur has identified an appropriate segment of the market to target,the challenge is to position the product so that it meets the needs and wants of thetarget customers.

    One way to do this is to use a market map (you might also see this called by itsproper name the perceptual map).

    The market map illustrates the range of positions that a produc t can take in amarket based on two dimensions that are important to customers.

    Examples of those dimensions might be:

    High price v low price Basic quality v High quality Low volume v high volume Necessity v luxury Light v heavy Simple v complex

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    Lo-tech v high-tech Young v Old

    Lets look at an illustrated example of a market map. The map below shows onepossible way in which the chocolate bar market could be mapped against two

    dimensions quality and price:

    How might a market map be used?

    One way is to identify where there are gaps in the market where there arecustomer needs that are not being met.

    For example, in the chocolate bar market, Divine Chocolate (a social enterprise)successfully spotted that some consumers were prepared to pay a premium price forvery high quality chocolate made from Fairtrade cocoa. Green & Blacks exploited theopportunity to sell premium chocolate made from organic ingredients. Both thesebrands successfully moved into the high quality / high price quadrant (see above)before too many competitors beat them to it.

    The trick with a market map is to ensure that market research confirms whether ornot there is actually any demand for a possible gap in the market. There may bevery good reasons why consumers do not want to buy a product that might,potentially, fill a gap.

    B r a n d s - B r a n d n a m e sIntroduction

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    How should brand names be chosen? Is the name important?

    Marketing theory suggests that there are three main types of brand name:

    (1) Family brand names:

    A family brand name is used for all products. By building customer trust and loyalty tothe family brand name, all products that use the brand can benefit.

    Good examples include brands in the food industry, including Kelloggs, Heinz and DelMonte. Of course, the use of a family brand can also create problems if one of theproducts gets bad publicity or is a failure in a market. This can damage the reputationof a whole range of brands.

    (2) Individual brand names:

    An individual brand name does not identify a brand with a particular company.

    For example, take the case of Heinz. Heinz is a leading global food manufacturer witha very strong family brand. However, it also operates many well-known individualbrand names. Examples include Farleys (baby food), Linda MacCartney Foods(vegetarian meals) and Weight Watchers Foods (diet/slimming meals andsupplements).

    Why does Heinz use individual brand names when it has such a strong family brandname? There are several reasons why a brand needs a separate identity unrelated tothe family brand name:

    The product may be competing in a new market segment where failure could harmthe main family brand name

    The family brand name may be positioned inappropriately for the target marketsegment. For example the family brand name might be positioned as an upmarketbrand for affluent consumers.

    The brand may have been acquired; in other words it has already established itself as a leading brand in the market segment. The fact that it has been acquired by acompany with a strong family brand name does not mean that the acquired brand has

    to be changed.

    (3) Combination brand names:

    A combination brand name brings together a family brand name and an individualbrand name. The idea here is to provide some association for the product with astrong family brand name but maintaining some distinctiveness so that customersknow what they are getting.

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    Examples of combination brand names include Microsoft XP and Microsoft Office inpersonal computing software and Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz Pet Foods.

    What are the features of a good brand name?

    Brand names should be chosen carefully since the name conveys a lot of informationto a customer. The following list contains considerations that should be made beforemaking a final choice of brand name:

    A good brand name should:

    Evoke positive associations Be easy to pronounce and remember Suggest product benefits Be distinctive Use numerals when emphasising technological features

    Not infringe existing registered brand names

    B r a n d s - B r a n d e x t e n s i o n a n d b r a n ds t r e t c h i n gMarketers have long recognised that strong brand names that deliver higher sales andprofits (i.e. those that have brand equity) have the potential to work their magic onother products.

    The two options for doing this a re usually called brand extension and brandstretching.

    Brand extension

    Brand extension refers to the use of a successful brand name to launch a new ormodified product in a same broad market.

    A successful brand helps a company enter new product categories more easily.

    For example, Fairy (owned by Unilever) was extended from a washing up liquid brandto become a washing powder brand too.

    The Lucozade brand has undergone a very successful brand extension from childrenshealth drink to an energy drink and sports drink.

    Brand stretching

    Brand stretching refers to the use of an established brand name for products inunrelated markets.

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    For example the move by Yamaha (originally a Japanese manufacturer of motorbikes)into branded hi-fi equipment, pianos and sports equipment.

    When done successfully, brand extension can have several advantages:

    Distributors may perceive there is less risk with a new product if it carries a familiarbrand name. If a new food product carries the Heinz brand, it is likely that customerswill buy it

    Customers will associate the quality of the established brand name with the newproduct. They will be more likely to trust the new product.

    The new product will attract quicker customer awareness and willingness to trial orsample the product

    Promotional launch costs (particularly advertising) are likely to be substantially

    lower.

    B r a n d s - T y p e s o f B r a n dTypes of brand

    There are two main types of brand manufacturer brands and own-label brands.

    Manufacturer brands

    Manufacturer brands are created by producers and bear their chosen brand name. Theproducer is responsible for marketing the brand. The brand is owned by the producer.

    By building their brand names, manufacturers can gain widespread distribution (forexample by retailers who want to sell the brand) and build customer loyalty (thinkabout the manufacturer brands that you feel loyal to).

    Own label brands

    Own-label brands are created and owned by businesses that operate in thedistribution channel often referred to as distributors.

    Often these distributors are retailers, but not exclusively. Sometimes the retailers

    entire product range will be own-label. However, more often, the distributor will mixown-label and manufacturers brands. The major supermarkets (e.g. Tesco, Asda,Sainsburys) are excellent examples of this.

    Own-label branding if well carried out can often offer the consumer excellentvalue for money and provide the distributor with additional bargaining power when itcomes to negotiating prices and terms with manufacturer brands.

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    Why should businesses try to build their brands?

    There are many advantages to businesses that build successful brands. These include:

    Higher prices

    Higher profit margins Better distribution Customer loyalty

    Businesses that operate successful brands are also much more likely to enjoy higherprofits.

    A brand is created by augmenting a core product with distinctive values thatdistinguish it from the competition. This is the process of creating brand value.

    All products ha ve a series of core benefits benefits that are delivered to all

    consumers. For example:

    Watches tell the time CD -players play CDs Toothpaste helps prevent tooth decay Garages dispense petrol.

    Consumers are rarely prepared to pay a premium for products or services that simplydeliver core benefits they are the expected elements of that justify a core price.

    Successful brands are those that deliver added value in addition to the core benefits.

    These added values enable the brand to differentiate itself from the competition.When done well, the customer recognises the added value in an augmented productand chooses that brand in preference.

    For example, a consumer may be looking for reassurance or a guarantee of quality ina situation where he or she is unsure about what to buy. A brand like Mercedes, Sonyor Microsoft can offer this reassurance or guarantee.

    Alternatively, the consumer may be looking for the brand to add meaning to his or herlife in terms of lifestyle or personal image. Brands such as Nike, Porsche or

    Timberland do this.

    A brand can usefully be represented in the classic fried -egg format shown below,where the brand is shown to have core features that are surrounded (or augmented)by less tangible features.

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    b u y e r b e h a v i o u r - i n t r o d u c t i o n

    Introduction

    An important part of the marketing process is to understand why a customer or buyermakes a purchase.

    Without such an understanding, businesses find it hard to respond to the customersneeds and wants.

    Marketing theory traditionally splits analysis of buyer or customer behaviour into twobroad groups for analysis Consumer Buyers and Industrial Buyers

    Consumer buyers are those who purchase items for their personal consumption

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    Industrial buyers are those who purchase items on behalf of their business ororganisation

    Businesses now spend considerable sums trying to learn about what makes customerstick. The questions they try to understand are:

    Who buys? How do they buy? When do they buy? Where d o they buy? Why do they buy?

    For a marketing manager, the challenge is to understand how customers mightrespond to the different elements of the marketing mix that are presented to them.

    If management can understand these customer responses better than the

    competition, then it is a potentially significant source of competitive advantage.

    B u y e r b e h a v i o u r - T y p e s o f C u l t u r a l / S o c i a li n f l u e n c e sCultural factors have a significant impact on customer behaviour.

    Culture is the most basic cause of a persons wants and behaviour. Growing up,children learn basic values, perception and wants from the family and otherimportant groups.

    Marketing are always trying to spot cultural shifts which might point to newproducts that might be wanted by customers or to increased demand. For example,the cultural shift towards greater concern about health and fitness has createdopportunities (and now industries) servicing customers who wish to buy:

    Low calorie foods Health club memberships Exercise equipment Activity or health -related holidays etc.

    Similarly the increased desire for leisure time has resulted in increased demand forconvenience products and services such as microwave ovens, ready meals and directmarketing service businesses such as telephone banking and insurance.

    Each culture contains sub -cultures groups of people with share values. Sub-cultures can include nationalities, religions, racial groups, or groups of people sharingthe same geographical location. Sometimes a sub-culture will create a substantial anddistinctive market segment of its own.

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    For example, the youth culture or club culture has quite distinct values andbuying characteristics from the much older gray generation

    Similarly, differences in social class can create customer groups. In fact, the officialsix social classes in the UK are widely used to profile and predict different customer

    behaviour. In the UKs socioeconomic classification scheme, social class is not justdetermined by income. It is measured as a combination of occupation, income,education, wealth and other variables:

    Classname Social Status Occupational Head of Household

    % of UK Population

    A Upper middle Higher managerial, administrative orprofessional 3

    B Middle Intermediate managerial,administrative or professional 14

    C1 Lower middle Superiors or clerical, juniormanagerial, administrative orprofessional

    27

    C2 Skilled working Skilled manual workers 25

    D Working Semi-skilled and un-skilled manualworkers 19

    E Those at lowest levelof subsistenceState pensioners or widows, casual orlower-grade workers 12

    b u y e r b e h a v i o u r - s o c i a l f a c t o r s

    Introduction

    A customers buying behaviour is also influenced by social factors, such as the groupsto which the customer belongs and social status.

    In a group, several individuals may interact to influence the purchase decision. Thetypical roles in such a group decision can be summarised as follows:

    Initiator

    The person who first suggests or thinks of the idea of buying a particular product orservice

    Influencer

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    A person whose view or advice influences the buying decision

    Decider

    The individual with the power and/or financial authority to make the ultimate choice

    regarding which product to buy

    Buyer

    The person who concludes the transaction

    User

    The person (or persons) who actually uses the product or service

    The family unit is usually considered to be the most important buying organisation

    in society. It has been researched extensively. Marketers are particularly interested inthe roles and relative influence of the husband, wife and children on the purchase of a large variety of products and services.

    There is evidence that the traditional husband-wife buying roles are changing. Almosteverywhere in the world, the wife is traditionally the main buyer for the family,especially in the areas of food, household products and clothing. However, withincreasing numbers of women in full-time work and many men becoming homeworkers (or telecommuting) the traditional roles are reversing.

    The challenge for a marketer is to understand how this might affect demand for

    products and services and how the promotional mix needs to be changed to attractmale rather than female buyers.

    B u y e r b e h a v i o u r - T h e d e c i s i o n - m a k i n gp r o c e s sHow do customers buy?

    Research suggests that customers go through a five-stage decision-making process inany purchase. This is summarised in the diagram below:

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    This model is important for anyone making marketing decisions. It forces themarketer to consider the whole buying process rather than just the purchase decision(when it may be too late for a business to influence the choice!)

    The model implies that customers pass through all stages in every purchase. However,in more routine purchases, customers often skip or reverse some of the stages.

    For example, a student buying a favourite hamburger would recognise the need(hunger) and go right to the purchase decision, skipping information search andevaluation. However, the model is very useful when it comes to understanding anypurchase that requires some thought and deliberation.

    The buying process starts with need recognition. At this stage, the buyer recognises aproblem or need (e.g. I am hungry, we need a new sofa, I have a headache) orresponds to a marketing stimulus (e.g. you pass Starbucks and are attracted by thearoma of coffee and chocolate muffins).

    An aroused customer then needs to decide how much information (if any) isrequired. If the need is strong and there is a product or service that meets the needclose to hand, then a purchase decision is likely to be made there and then. If not,then the process of information search begins.

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    A customer can obtain information from several sources:

    Personal sources: family, friends, neighbours etc Commercial sources: advertising; salespeople; retailers; dealers; packaging; point -of-sale displays

    Public sources: newspapers, radio, television, consumer organisations; spe cialistmagazines Experiential sources: handling, examining, using the product

    The usefulness and influence of these sources of information will vary by product andby customer. Research suggests that customers value and respect personal sourcesmore tha n commercial sources (the influence of word of mouth). The challenge forthe marketing team is to identify which information sources are most influential intheir target markets.

    In the evaluation stage, the customer must choose between the alternative brands,

    products and services.

    How does the customer use the information obtained?

    An important determinant of the extent of evaluation is whether the customer feelsinvolved in the product. By involvement, we mean the degree of perceivedrelevance and personal importance that accompanies the choice.

    Where a purchase is highly involving, the customer is likely to carry out extensiveevaluation.

    High-involvement purchases include those involving high expenditure or personal risk for example buying a house, a car or making investments.

    Low involvement purchases (e.g. buying a soft drink, choosing some breakfastcereals in the supermarket) have very simple evaluation processes.

    Why should a marketer need to understand the customer evaluation process?

    The answer lies in the kind of information that the marketing team needs to providecustomers in different buying situations.

    In high-involvement decisions, the marketer needs to provide a good deal of information about the positive consequences of buying. The sales force may need tostress the important attributes of the product, the advantages compared with thecompetition; and maybe even encourage trial or sampling of the product in thehope of securing the sale.

    Post-purchase evaluation - Cognitive Dissonance

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    The final stage is the post-purchase evaluation of the decision. It is common forcustomers to experience concerns after making a purchase decision. This arises froma concept that is known as cognitive dissonance. The customer, having bought a product, may feel that an alternative would have been preferable. In thesecircumstances that customer will not repurchase immediately, but is likely to switch

    brands next time.

    To manage the post-purchase stage, it is the job of the marketing team to persuadethe potential customer that the product will satisfy his or her needs. Then afterhaving made a purchase, the customer should be encouraged that he or she has madethe right decision.

    b u y e r b e h a v i o u r - n e w p r o d u c t s

    Customer buying process for new products

    How do customers approach the process of buying a new product? How does this differfrom the process for buying a product which the customer has bought before? What ismeant by a new product?

    A new product can be defined as:

    "A good, service or i dea that is perceived by some potential customers as new.It may have been available for some time, but many potential customers havenot yet adopted the product nor decided to become a regular user of the

    product"

    Research suggests that customers go through five stages in the process of adopting anew product or service: these are summarised below:

    (1) Awareness - the customer becomes aware of the new product, but lacksinformation about it

    (2) Interest - the customer seeks information about the new product

    (3) Evaluation - the customer considers whether trying the new product makes sense

    (4) Trial - the customer tries the new product on a limited or small scale to assess thevalue of the product

    (5) Adoption - the customer decides to make full and/or regular use of the newproduct

    What is the role of marketing in the process of new-product adoption?

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    A marketing team looking to successfully introduce a new product or service shouldthink about how to help customers move through the five stages.

    For example, what kind of advertising or other promotional campaign can beemployed to build customer awareness? If customers show a desire to trial or sample

    a product, how can this be arranged effectively?

    Research also suggests that customers can be divided into groups according to thespeed with which they adopt new products.

    Rogers, in his influential work on the diffusion of innovations, suggested the followingclassification:

    The innovators (those who adopt new products first) are usually relatively young,lively, intelligent, socially and geographically mobile. They are often of a highsocioeconomic group (ABs). Conversely, the laggards (those who adopt last, if atall) tend to be older, less intelligent, less well-off and lower on the socioeconomicscale.

    It follows from the above model that when a business launches a new product orservice, the customers who buy first are likely to be significantly different from thosewho buy the product much later. This needs to be borne in mind when developing themarketing mix.

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    b u y e r b e h a v i o u r - s t i m u l u s - r e s p o n s e m o d e l

    Introduction

    A well-developed and tested model of buyer behaviour is known as the stimulus-

    response model, which is summarised in the diagram below:

    In the above model, marketing and other stimuli enter the customers black box andproduce certain responses.

    Marketing management must try to work out what goes on the in the mind of thecustomer the black box.

    The Buyers characteristics influence how he or she perceives the stimuli; thedecision-making process determines what buying behaviour is undertaken.

    Characteristics that affect customer behaviour

    The first stage of understanding buyer behaviour is to focus on the factors thatdetermine he buyer characteristics in the black box. These can be summarised asfollows:

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    Each of these factors is discussed in more detail in our other revision notes on buyerbehaviour.