Marketing Term Paper on Customer-targeted Marketing

Marketing

The global economy is constantly changing and several organizations are currently undergoing turbulence. However, successful organizations are those that have realized that consumers are their greatest assets. The need to survive in this competitive market any company aspiring to remain a part of the industry has to increase product and service value otherwise loss of market share will become inevitable. With this in mind, organizations have to constantly rethink on their marketing strategies and fully focus on developing appropriate holistic customer-focused strategies that ensure that all its customers remains at the center of the their business thinking (Elsbach, 2013).

Consumers are the most important aspect of any business. They are the reason why a company exists. They, therefore, deserve to be treated with respect and their needs handled adequately. Reaching out to consumers in the market is solely through marketing. Rapid information technology especially the web has made it very difficult for businesses to fully address the needs of consumers adequately. In this case, there ought to be an appropriate and balanced shift from traditional marketing approach to more customer targeted marketing (Faed, 2010). As an organization, it is important to apply adequate knowledge and funds in understanding consumers and further modifying products or services to accommodate diverse needs of current and potential clients. The most important thing is to create a pool of loyal customers who in process attract other potential clients.

The main aim in any form of marketing is to attract as many customers as possible and similarly retain the potential ones with repeated purchases. Marketing is a handy job and requires constant monitoring of the trends in the market to remain on par with competitors. Consumers being the primary target, a concentration on their needs and purchase behavior are strategically important. In the marketing field, many factors influence consumers' behavior most significantly the purchasing power (Dudovskiy, 2016). The business industry has become quite competitive such that consumer loyalty is part of service providers' primary objective. Maintaining a bigger market share for industries means they have to be competitive, it is therefore very critical for our company to understand the changing trends in the business market and one fundamental one is consumer-buying behavior (Stately, 2012).

As a manager, there are some changes that I would have embrace to achieve an effective customer marketing approach. First technique that I will use in reaching out to many customers is electronic marketing. In recent days, the electronic marketing has been termed as a brand philosophy and new version of business practice that seeks to incorporate the involvement of marketing of goods, provision of services, the creation of innovations, and information among others via the web and other electronic Medias and gadgets (Elsbach, 2013). Various researchers and reviews point out that the definition of electronic marketing is diverse and varies. It relies on the particular authors or investigators' perspective, professional specialization, background, and information. Amone (2013) defines electronic marketing as, direct communication with customers for the achievement of marketing goals and institutional objectives via the application of digital technologies or through electronic means. This technique would provide an integral role in creating awareness about goods that my company produces. This would increase my client base thus the productivity of the firm will increase. It is imperative to note that electronic marketing comprises of so various technologies that are explained later in the article.

The importance of changing from traditional marketing approach to customer targeted marketing

As an organization, before proceeding in marketing shift in the organization it will be appropriate to explain briefly what traditional and consumer targeted marketing mean and why it is necessary at this time. In simple terms, traditional marketing mix revolves around four major elements which are the 4 Ps of marketing. The 4 Ps explained are product, price, promotion, and place. Products are anything that can be offered to customers to satisfy need and price is the assigned value of that service or product. Promotion is any activity undertaken by a company to persuade consumers to buy and place is where companys services and products are availed for consumption (Barbara, 2005). However, one issue that has seen several companies shift from traditional marketing is that its 4 Ps is too myopic in todays market situation. Overall, the traditional marketing mix is too product-focused and typically takes an inward-looking strategy in as far as organizations resources and production capabilities are concerned. Customers today expect companies to market their products and services in a way that their needs are directly addressed. In essence, more organizations have shifted from product-centered marketing to customer-targeted marketing (Swapnil and Veena, 2016).

Customer targeted marketing makes the customer the central focus in strategy making rather than the product. This means that the company has to build commitment in quality and listen appropriately to customers and strategize how to innovate products to suit those needs (Hasan, 2012). With customer targeted marketing the company ought to gather information directly from consumers with help of information technology and ensure that complains are addressed before they get out of hand. In essence, Customer-Targeted Marketing is appropriate because through this the company gets the chance to see all its customers as individuals rather than a homogeneous group of people with similar tastes and preferences, buying behaviors, and values. The company needs to remain customer-focused in all its marketing strategies and ensure that no single group of consumers is sidelined (Swapnil and Veena, 2016). Customer-Targeted Marketing enhances customer loyalty unlike traditional marketing. For example, in the banking sector companies have enhanced greater customization. The standard features have been classified to varied menus from which customers select their preferred combination without much influence from the company. This freedom is what has given consumers more taste and increased their loyalty and satisfaction unlike before(Hasan, 2012).

How to change my company from a traditional marketing approach to customer targeted marketing

In order to successfully transition from the traditional marketing approach to customer targeted marketing, an organization should fully adhere to the following: (1) the planning process has to focus on customer wants and less on company goals; (2) the company should fully focus on obtaining honest suggestions and feedback by adopting different communication channels. Forcing customers to listen is the most inappropriate marketing strategy, and; (3) the company should integrate its customers in all aspects of business starting from product design to even after sales services (Kennington, Olinick, and Rajan, 2011).

All this will be achieved through an organization wide responsibility, appropriate human resource training, enhanced customer communication, and adequate use of information technology. With regards to proper usage of technology it is important to note that the business environment has many sectors. Companies have substantially utilized technology to bring in a new brand in the business industry. The supply chain and logistics, house, and inter-active synchronization, production, office automation are some of the areas that technology has improved through many applications developed to date. To merge all the departments in my company, I would use various technological approaches like Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Internet of Every Thing, Virtual Reality, and Machine Learning (Kohli, 2017).

I would also train my employees in the same line so that they can easily operate under the new technology. There are existing software companies that have emerged helping the business industry grow regarding innovation and technological advancement. To embrace the technological changes, I will work with some of these companies in installation of those software and training of workers. Software innovation has been impactful in revolutionizing the business environment to a digital environment where technology is the order of the day (Kohli, 2017).

The 21st century welcomes robust business options. Aside from creative innovations from technological developments and the rise in entrepreneurs with creative ideas, the developments in business are possible using the Internet and other electronic media services as a form of communication and in the marketing of products to consumers. Most clients possess electronic gadgets such as mobile phones, tablets, and computers. Most people sleep, eat, and walk Information Technology; therefore, E-marketing is very effective in ensuring that information directly reaches the targeted clients all over the world. Electronic marketing has been dubbed as the modern day phenomenon and philosophy of the business community; this has given a chance to the growth and dynamic change within this sector of the economy. Hence, application of electronic marketing to my company would very beneficial to the company (Debrah and Smith, 2012).

The implementation of E-Marketing by the company is a positive step that would both transform and shape the nature of my business around the world. This is concerning the growing levels of usage of the internet and related Electronic Marketing gadgets such as the use of mobile phones, the transfer of messages and information through e-mails and extranets among other electronic transactions (Kohli, 2017). Studies suggest that this may not only work to increase opportunities for the business enterprises but also act as a security measure that reduces threats faced by this company. From this point of view, it is right to conclude that the Internet and other electronic media services used in Electronic Marketing would play both an essential and vital role in the processes of marketing activities in the business.

I would eventually be able to create consumer relations in sales, customer assistance, and marketing. E-marketing would help me to disseminate information and services to my respective clients and get feedbacks through the internet from customers on the value of services they receive. Consumer loyalty, a significant factor in the business industry has improved through repeated purchases. Internet marketing has contributed significantly to customer decision-making process before remitting their money to a product, the enterprises display information about their goods online, and customers can easily access them (Stokes & Wilson, 2013). Product differentiation and awareness are possible through E-marketing as consumers of can now evaluate different products and design what they want.

Conclusion

The face of marketing has wholesomely transformed due to technology. Consumers can now shop online and communicate to their suppliers through the internet due to E-marketing. Information Technology has thus become part of the business industry and the company should know how to meet consumer demands through existing platforms. The internet is fast growing as a push and pull factor for customers as it is a domain channel for sales of business products. E-Marketing has become multi-functional for Business Enterprises due to the many ways of reaching out to potential customers and even absorbing new ones through effective marketing. Allwood and Stewart (2012) argue that Business Enterprise owners are widely using the internet to study con...