Enterprise Marketing

Businesses spend money in advertising because advertising primarily increase their product sales and thereby generating more profits. Other reasons include

Employee relationship management or employee management refers to the process of effectively managing the human resources or employees there by helping in realizing the goals of the organizations.

This process is majorly implemented by the human resources department. The HR team takes the responsibility of training and coaching the managers and other executives about how to develop and maintain effective relationship with employees. They also keep track of these relationships to determine how effectively the objectives are being met.

SMART is an acronym indicating the following five goals. Businesses use this tool to set result-oriented goals that can be set in action.

An efficient brand name should posses the following characteristics.

Organizations usually follow the four rules provided below before considering any form of advertising.

1. Aim: The central aim of the company will be analyzed. Need to decide on the aim of the advertising like

2. Target: The primary target need to be determined. Based on that a specific segment of customers like

3. Media: Considering the aim of the advertising and the targeted segment determin which media best suits for advertising. The media like

4. Competitors: Compare with the advertising strategies followed by the competitors. Based on the results achieved by the competitors, a decision will be taken regarding the approach to be followed.

AIDA is an acronym for the following four responses that can be grabbed by effective advertising.

The following are the roles played by a sales person.

Public relations refer to the establishment and maintenance of mutual understanding between a company or individual and the associated public. Effective public relations should be deliberate, planned and have sustained effort. Thus public relations ensures that good relationship is maintained with the public or stakeholders of the business. This in-turn help the company to acquire good publicity and develop and maintain goodwill. Public relations also ensures help the companies to handle negative events, stories and rumours effectively.Good public relations not just helps in maintaining good relationships with the existing customers but also ensures that the business is expanded through referrals.

Stakeholders refer to different segments in a society who have direct impact on the business decision making process and can directly impact the marketing performance of the business. Various groups that fall into the category of stakeholders are as follows:

Maintaining good public relations with all the stake holders help the company to increase the goodwill which intun help in improving the business through referrals.

Organizations use the following tools to maintain their public relations.

The following are the advantages that the organizations experience when using CRM.

Penetration pricing refers to the pricing strategy where in a new product is initially offered at a lower price than the market price to attract new customers. The lower price attract the customers and persuade them to adopt the new product. Companies follow this strategy to increase their market share or increase their sales volume. Proft making is not the primary objective of this strategy. Once the market share reaches to the desired levels, the companies increase the price of the product.

Depending on the varieties of products offered by the business, entrepreneurs follow different policies in arriving at a brand name. The names chosen should be able to grab attention from the public. For this reason the entrepreneur should be chose their brand strategy very carefully as this summarizes the purpose and goal of the organization.

Usually from the perspective of entrepreneurs the brand names can be considered in the following ways.

The following factors enable the organizations to effectively manage their employees.

Vendor management refers to the process that helps the organizations to

The process usually starts once the need arises to outsource a given task to a vendor. Organizations perform the following activities to accomplish vendor management.

The organizations research and come up with a list of vendors who can perform the task and deliver it with quality. All the chosen vendors are then evaluated based on the following factors.

Initially quotations are obtained from each of the vendors, their references are checked, and then the company is researched thoroughly through online resources. Once this is done their financial stability, certifications are insurance details are evaluated.

Once a list of vendors are chosen, the responsibility of the vendor managers lies in

Big organizations will usually have a pool of vendors. Depending on the past performance a specific vendor might be best suited for a specific task while secondary preference is given to other vendors. When the preferred vendor is not able to take up a project or task or unable to deliver then the other vendors will be allocated with the assignment.

Vendor management usually requires huge documentation work. The databases need to be integrated with various accounts payable systems. In this process it usually requires obtaining vendor information like contact information, insurance/tax related documents etc. When the vendors have access to confidential information it is essential to get the non-disclosure or similar agreement signed in from them and documented. All such documents thus procured should be updated each year.

1. Cost Plus Pricing: Cost plus pricing is the most common and simple pricing strategy. As per this strategy the price is determined by calculating the sum of the cost of production and appropriate profit. However, this strategy does not stress on the optimum utilization of all available resources. This strategy completely depends on the manufacturing estimates. Costs associated with manufacturing are calculated to

The estimation is done by computing the factors like volume of resources, the cost associated with these resources and the duration for which these resources will be used. When it is required to justify the capital-expenditure, the depreciation and cash-flow analysis is done using accounting methods.

2. Penetration Pricing: This strategy requires the price to be set to a value lower than the market price. This is usually done to acquire new customers. The whole idea is that the customers will switch to the new brand due to the lower prices. This is a short-term strategy and is usually used to increase the market share or sales volume rather than to incur huge profits. Once the required market share is achieved the prices are increased to regular values.

Note: To overcome these disadvantages companies adopt a slightly modified version of this strategy where in they do not reduce the price initially. In this case they provide good discounts to the customers initially. This works as the customers do not have expectation that the price will be lower for a longer term.

3. Skimming or Creaming: In skimming or creaming, few goods are sold at a high price so as to reach the break-even point as quickly as possible. The sale of products will last for a limited period of time so that most of the investment is recovered. The organization has to let go of the higher number of sales in this case. This strategy is usually employed in the electronics industry, for example, smart phones. This strategy targets the early adopters, who have lower price-sensitivity, which can be because of their need for the product out-weighs their

Once skimming is period is over, the seller must revert back to other pricing strategies like economy or penetration.

4. Variable price method: In this, the same goods or services are sold at different prices to different customers. This is usually found in cultures where dickering is common or where bidding or auction is taking place. Even in place where fixed pricing is standard, the prices may vary depending on the volume of the products purchased by the consumer. To avail this the customers must comply with certain criteria. The following are examples.

Advantages: It helps the sellers to sells the goods and services that failed to perform as expected there by helping them to make some profits or atleast avoid losses.

Disadvantages: When the customers who paid higher price realize that the products were sold to them at a price higher than the others, the seller might lose them.

While choosing a distribution channel, the manufacturer usually evaluates it from the following factors perspective.

1. Unit value of the product: Expensive products like diamond ornaments or industrial equipment use a small distribution channel. Less expensive products use long distribution channels.

2. Customized or Standard size product When the product is customized then the manufacturer should be directly in touch with the customer to ensure that the product is matching the customized requirements of the customer. So a small distribution channel is used. On the other-hand standard products are distributed through long distribution channels.

3. Perish-ability of the productsPerishable products like food items etc choose shortest distribution channel so as to deliver the product to the customer. On the other-hand if the product is durable then long distribution channel is used.

4. Technical nature: When the product is technically more complex then the product is directly delivered to the customer so as to give them good insight into the technical intricacies of the product. On the other hand a product which is technically not so complicated is delivered through long distribution channels.

Promotional mix is a combination of the various promotional strategies put together. Usually the following four promotional strategies are used for bring about the promotional mix.

1. Advertising:Companies pay for advertising where in the communication targeted to persuade the potential customers to incline towards the product or service as against the competitors’ products or services. Advertising will be more effective when it is targeted towards the potential customers who will be more likely to purchase the product or service. Advertising aims to let the customer know about the name and benefits of the products or service and work towards creating a goodwill and positive image. It also encourages the customers to get more educated about the product or service.

Usually this is carried out through the following media:

2. Personal Selling: Personal selling is carried out by reaching the prospective customer in-person and giving them a presentation of the product or service, thereby creating awareness of the product or service. This is usually carried out through salespersons. The sales person thus acts as an ambassador of the company and plays the following roles.

3. Sales promotion: The customer is provided with short-term incentives or activities that persuade the customer to choose the product or service over that of competitors’. This promotion strategy is a “below the line” strategy. This form of sales promotional activities are targeted towards final buyers, business customers, wholesalers, retailers and the team of sales force. Few examples of the promotional activities are:

4. Public relations: Public relations is aimed to maintain deliberate, planned and sustained effort to create and maintain relation between the organization and its public. It strives to maintain good relations with all the stakeholders/public through publicity, building a positive corporate image, ensuring that the negative events/rumors/stories are strategically handled. This ensures that the customer is satisfied and becomes a source of referrals. Usually the following various tools are used in public relations.

The following media options are used for advertising.

1. Ambient: Ambient advertising is any type of advertising to target the potential customers outside the home. Examples include the the ads that appear behind the utility bills, the ad that appears when the lift door in the shopping mall is closed, displaying the branded coasters at a local club, projections onto the buildings, distribution of branded mugs etc. The scope is as limitless as the imagination.

2. Directory listing: The business details are printed in yellow or white pages, local business directories, trade or union directories. The business reaches the customers who use this media.

3. Direct mailing: Catalogues, pamphlets, newsletters or letters are sent to the customer through email or post or fax. This form of advertising is broadly used by the businesses.

4. Internet: Now-a-days, Internet became a widely adopted media for advertising. Ads are placed on the websites. These ads are in the form of links from one website to the other. Other forms include publishing the content on the blogs, providing online games, social networks, forums and search engines.

5. Movies: Businesses purchase cinema advertising for a number of screenings or “runs”. This can be either on a particular cinema or screen. The advertisers usually offer the production and screening of the advertisement. In addition to this, businesses sponsor movies and include their advertising as part of the movie itself.

6. Office front or window display: In this form of advertising, the business office or shop’s exterior is very well maintained with clear and bold sign. The windows are maintained bright and attractive and well lit during the night hours. It projects the business logo and stresses on the fact that why their product or service is worth trying. To summarize, it should have very good impact to grab the attention from onlookers.

7. Outdoor: This form of advertising displays static advertising in the form of billboards, backside of street benches, bus shelters. In some other form it appears as mobile advertising with the ads displayed on autos, buses, trains, taxis etc.

8. Point of sale:Customers are targeted through floor stickers, digital advertising in the store or super markets, signage attached to the shopping carts, posters at the billing counters, posters in the shelf, conducting surveys about the product in the store. This helps the business to change customer decision and make them think to buy the product or service.

9. Press:Ads are displayed in the journals, magazines and news papers. Businesses adopt this form of advertising to build the image, spreading of information and to conduct the sales campaigns. This is more suitable for small businesses.

10. Radio: Radio advertising is effective to reach targeted audience like teenagers, racing followers or book lovers etc. It is usually in the form of spot advertisements (spanning 15 to 30 seconds), promotions or talk-shows/RJ discussions. Many radio stations offer production and extension of these campaigns through their websites too.

11. Stationary: Businesses print stationary like business cards, envelops, letterheads etc to promote their business image or to spread the name of their business. The stationary used is of good quality and will provide everyday presentation of the business image.

12. Television: Television if one of the most powerful advertising medium as it uses sight, sound and movement to grab the attention of the viewers. Due to high cost involved in producing and getting the airtime to play the ads, this form of advertising is mostly suitable for well established businesses.

Sales promotion, often called as below-the-line activities, refers to the activities or short-term incentives that are used to encourage the customers to purchase a product or service. The following are the most commonly used sales promotion activities.

1. Consumer Promotions: These are targeted towards final buyers and include

2. Business Promotions: These are targeted towards business customers and include

3. Trade promotions: These are targeted towards retailers and wholesalers and include

Sales Force Promotions: These are targeted towards members of the sales force and include

Negotiation is a process in which two or more parties, having different needs and goals, discuss about an issue to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution. Negotion skills are very critical in business environment which involves

Good negotiations play a critical role in business success as they help in

The following are the various negotiation techniques.

1. Integrative: Integrative negotiations, also known as win-win, requires the parties involved to arrive at a solution which makes everyone a winner. This might require that the parties involved make a trade off, consider multiple issues and try to enlarge the pie instead of dividing it. Integrative negotiations promote the development of good working relations and trust

2. Distributive:Distributive negotiations, also known as win-lose, are the ones in which one party wins and gets what it needs while the other party loses and has to give up something. Consider the case of buying an asset like a land for the firm. In this case the buyer will try to reduce the price as much as possible while the seller will try to get as much as possible. It appears that the parties have conflicting interests. Distributive negotiations will not promote lasting/good working relations.

3. Inductive: This type of negotiation start with working on small details and continue to work upwards until an agreement is made. An example is the case where the labour union is negotiating with the factory managment regarding the provision of facilities for the employees, employee pension scheme and investment plan. They start with negotiating small details initially and then start moving up onto the bigger things.

4. Deductive: In this case, the involved parties arrive at an agreed upon strategy to start the negotiations. the negotiations start in accordance with the established principles and considering a formula to arrive at a negotiation while working out the details.

5. Mixed: This is most commonly used form of negotiation and is a mix of both the inductive and deductive methods of negotiation.

A business is said to have failed when it is not able to make any profits or generate adequate revenue to cover its expenses and subsequently stopping all of its operations. To meet its day to day expenses, a business has to generate enough cash flow. If a profitable business is not able to do this, it is said to have failed.

The following are the various reasons that could cause a business to fail.

1. Adequate cashflow Deficit: Cashflow is defined as a business’s capacity to maintain enough funds to meet its day-to-day expenses related to the business activities. When a business is not able to estimate the incoming and outgoing cashflow, it is prone to failure. This is especially true in case of small businesses. Due to this reason it is very critical for the entrepreneurs to get enough accounting knowledge so that they can make cashflow projections. This will help them to estimate how much they can spend each month.

Bad/Poor Business Planning: The most common cause for around 90% of business failures is poor business management competencies and planning. A well prepared business plan incorporates

Other details like

can also be included.

When these details are poor, it leads to business failure.

2. Competition Ignorance: When the business fails to keep a watch on competitors and positioning of the products, the customers, who are always looking for a better/best offers will move out to the competing business which is offering a better product or service or lower price. This will make the customer a winner at the cost of business losing. This will lead to failure of business.

3. Decreased customer base: Businesses tend to lose customers under competition. Small businesses are better to focus on a customer strategy that suits well for them. They should also be looking for alter strategies instead of completely sticking to one. It is essential for the business to have a difersifying customer base. The business should always be ready to adapt new ideas and trends. Failure to do so will lead to failure.

4. Entrepreneurial skill deficit/lack: Inadequate entrepreneurial skills, especially during the start up phase, are critical for making a business successful. During the later phases having administrative and management skills pays off. The success of a small business depends on

Entrepreneurs being high risk takers and have a greater need for achievement and social awareness, their personal and personality characteristics might lead to business failure.

5. Faulty/Poor System of Control: A business has no control over the external environment but it has easy access and control to internal environment. Failure to exercise control on the internal environment will lead to business failure. The should be controlling factors for

The control system should be capable of establishing standards, measure performance, compare performance against standards and take corrective measures to eliminate deviation from the standards. Failure to do so will cause the business to fail.

6. Growth Spurt: Uncontrollable growth, if not dealt with properly, will cause the business to fail. There should be professional management team, flexibility in the business, appropriate systems and controls in place for the business to succeed. The business can achieve this through proper planning. When this is not considered, it might lead to failure.

7. Having incompetent Management:When the management is incompetent or inexperienced it will not be possible to manage and effectively implement and monitor the strategic and operational plan of the business. Though a business have an excellent strategic plan, its effectiveness depends on the management’s competence to implement it. Management incompetency is also the root cause of around 90 percent of business failures.

8. Inappropriate Location: Chosing an unsuitable location will cause business failure. This factor is not applicable for all the businessses but for some business being at the right location is very important. Failure to establish the business at the correct location will cause the business to fail.

9. Inadequate Financing: Finance is the life-blood for the business to grow at all stages. Non availability of funds, lack of proper planning for funding to grab growth opportunity will cause the businesses to fail. The financial planning should be done well in advance. The entrepreneurs should

Failure to do so will lead to business failure.

10. Unworkable Goals: It is essential that the entrepreneurs should not just set goals but should also set workable goals. As the entrepreneurial pursuits often involve uncertainity, it is essential to set realistic/achievable goals in the scope of acceptable risk taking and optimism. Failure to do so will lead to business failure.

11. Industry Experience Deficit: The resources available for the business must be compatible to meet the demands of the environment with which the firm deals with. This can happen when the business have good industry experience. The structure of the industry will dectate the performance of the business greatly. Failure to have the industry experience will lead to failure.

I would advise the following marketing stragegies to promote the business.

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