Marketing Research
Marketing research is essential for all business organizations. An organization must conduct research on the sectors that they intend to expand to. Research is also conducted in order for all stakeholders to know if the organization can flourish in certain areas before funds are allocated for opening a new branch or for expansion purposes. Marketing research has the purpose of informing an organization what business to engage in and what potential clients are interested in buying from them. The focus of the research is on customer preference and competitive intelligence. Well-conducted marketing research. Activities that entail marketing research are designed, and practical exercises should lead to exact decisions that assist in driving the overall business marketing strategies (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Marketing research is concerned with the range of marketing fundamentals. These fundamentals are presented in the form of the product of goods or service, cost, promotion, and delivery factors the organization will be required to assemble for customers needs to be met and general success of the company.
Competitive Intelligence
Competitive Intelligence is an important component of organizational decision-making practice and assists in achieving and maintaining competitive leadership. It enables the management understand, create insight and drive actions. This information Is relevant to all departments within the organization. Competitive Intelligence analysts have the role of identifying competitive trends, providing timely warnings on threats and prospects in the ever developing competitive landscape and evaluating their impacts. This intelligence also assists decision makers appreciate the competitive consequences of existing and possible resolutions and propel actions across the organization through well-timed deliverables.
Segmentation Criteria
Mass marketing requires making similar sales pitches to all prospective clients. Market segmentation breaks down clients into grouping based on their current income, age, race, standard of living, locality among various aspects in order for the organization to create a marketing strategy focused on each grouping/segment. Segmentation criteria are enhanced through the right choice of isolating the market through the various aspects. A segmentation criterion will involve:
- Distinguishing the features of the target clients from the masses and individually evaluating them
- Ensuring reliable communication can be accessed by the relevant client segments.
- Making sure that the client segment is big enough to substantiate the funds to be employed in targeting them.
- Satisfying the needs of the segment through provision of relevant goods or services.
The factors that influence the purchaser’s choice can be easily be categorized into
- Economics Environment: These factors comprise of crucial determinants such as the fiscal situation, regulatory policies, and competitive developments among others. A good example of regulatory policies being a factor is when an organizational purchaser suspects an increase of tax by the government; he or she is likely to buy more as they do not want to buy goods when the cost has increased as a result of the tax burden. An organizational purchaser may also modernize their technology if availability of machinery is at reasonable rates (Perreault, Cannon & McCarthy, 2011)..The organizational buyer will buy less goods if there are any inclinations towards a recessionary trend. An industrial buyer will be precautious and alert in his choices in order to avoid any organizational losses. An industrial buyer may collect data regarding the economic conditions and may have to make key decisions after a thorough analysis of the information and this leads to better purchasing decisions.
- Organizational Factors: These are domestic factors that affect the buying decision. Each buying organization has defined aims and objectives. Such an organization should have well established procurement systems with a conventional department. These aspects directly and indirectly control the overall organizational direction in regards to their purchasing choices. These attributes provides us with evidence for shaping up the buying decision. The aims of the purchasing organization controls the the sort of products needed and the criterion it chooses to evaluate its suppliers. Firms frame strategies for making their purchasing decisions. Government parastatals often employ bidding when sourcing for goods and services. Products standards are well defined and suppliers have to present bids after a public notice has been announced. Other purchasers may have their own ways of making purchases. Suppliers have to differentiate between standards and procedures and make the necessary adjustments to their quotations. Organizational hierarchy hands over accountability for decision making to certain departments or positions within the firm. People holding these positions are known as purchase managers.
- Inter-personal factors: industrial purchasing choices are often collective and defined by set standards. The purchasing centre entails several people with diverse official authority, position and articulacy. The purchasing center which in our case could be the procurements/purchasing department is made up of people who split up the risk that could arise from the purchasing decisions made. Such individuals are meant to have a shared vision in regards to the nature and scale of the purchase center. Any conflict within members should be solved quickly an amicably in order to guarantee the smooth operation of supply of goods into the organization.
References
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2012). Marketing management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Perreault, W. D., Jr., Cannon, J. P., & McCarthy, E. J. (2011). Basic marketing: A marketing strategy planning approach (18th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.