Marketing Realities
Marketing is defined as the process or activity of promoting or advertising an product or service in order to increase its sales; it is referred as the activity of superfluous sales. The role of marketing in modern organisations is growing continuously, and corporations spend heavily on their marketing strategy to gain competitive advantage. Modern industries and markets are constantly and drastically changing which also influence the marketing strategies of organisations. The companies have to assess these changes and implement strategies based on them to gain competitive advantage and sustain their future development. This report will analyse various marketing realities which affect companies’ strategies and evaluate market trends that affecting future marketing strategies. Further, the file will discuss corporations which effectively target their audience and which ones do not.
As per Morgan (2012), marketing realities define the state of things in industries or world that affect corporations’ marketing strategies. Following are few key forces that drive new marketing realities in industries.
As per Mohr and Sarin (2009), digitalisation and popularity of technology have contributed to the enhancement of profitability of corporations; technology has a considerable impact on company’s marketing strategies. Organisations use technology to improve their marketing influence and reach a wider audience, for example, the popularity of smartphone provides a new platform for companies to market their products. The companies can show their advertisement in between videos, music and in mobile applications. The corporations also collect the data of smartphone users to provide them advertisement based on their preference and interest.
In the future, the development of a new device or service can provide a new platform for companies to market their products. For example, social media sites become considerable popular between people, and they provide a large platform for companies to market their product. In the future, the trend of the internet of things or smart home devices might provide a new platform to corporations to market their products (Kimmel, 2010).
Globalisation has a substantial influence on industries in past years, and it is continuously shaping them for the future. Harvey (2009) provided that globalisation is defined as the process through which corporations are able to develop their international influence or begin their international expansion. The corporations are able to expand their business practices in different countries and increase their international operations; they are also required to market their product and services to an international audience which require them to update and change their marketing strategies. The globalisation has enabled corporations to promote their products at global stage and companies can use this platform to increase their profitability. The globalisation allows small and medium corporations to easily advertise their products to a global audience which increase their sales and profitability.
Technology
In the future, globalisation will allow corporations to expand their business overseas without establishing any new infrastructure easily. For example, online shopping becomes more sophisticated and companies, such as Amazon, are providing its customer products from international companies which are not situated locally. It allows international markets to merger into a single market which focuses on customers’ demands. The trend of online services will influence the marketing strategies of companies which are affected by globalisation (Baker, 2014).
The popularity of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is growing popular among modern corporations; the companies are adopting CSR policies into their operations to ensure they fulfill their social responsibilities. As per Jahdi and Acikdilli (2009), the firms have to implement these policies into their marketing strategy as well; the requirement of socially responsible marketing (SRM) model is growing between modern organisations. The SRM model requires that corporations provide adequate information in their advertisement to protect the public from any potential harm. The marketing team has to ensure that company is fulfilling its social responsibilities regarding marketing principles. Implementation of an effective SRM model can assist in increasing the reputation of a firm which leads to increase in their sales.
In the future, the requirement of implementation of CSR policies in business operations will grow substantially, and customers prefer to pay extra for the products of firms which implement an effective CSR model (Hildebrand, Sen and Bhattacharya, 2011). For example, Starbucks markets its products as environment-friendly, due to which company is able to sell its products at higher prices. Many governments have implemented regulations to ensure that firms are fulfilling their corporate requirements. The trend of companies with effective SRM model is growing continuously, and it will impact other businesses as well because they also have to comply with ethical requirements while marketing their products (Sheikh and Beisee-Zee, 2011).
There are several examples of brands and products which are able to successfully speak to their audience and effectively target specific age group. For example, in the personal computer industry, Lenovo wins the title of the highest selling personal computer company in 2016, and the company was able to beat giant corporations such as Apple, Dell and HP (Weinberger, 2017). One of the key factors of Lenovo’s success is their marketing strategy; the company understood its audience and directly market their services to them which enable them to directly target their specific audience (Chianasta and Wijaya, 2014).
Future Changes
The reason for company’s success is that they understand their primary demographic is teenagers who buy new laptops and personal computers to perform activities such as playing video games, watching movies, listing to music, surfing web, homework and many others. The teenagers also use their computer in comfortable locations rather than sitting at a desk. The company takes this opportunity to create Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga, Lenovo IdeaPad, and Lenovo Flex. All these devices and their series have become the most successful laptops that are sold by the company (Beren and Ludwig, 2017). The marketing strategy of the corporation also targets teenage demographic which assist in increasing their sales.
For example, the advertisement of Lenovo’s product appeals to young demographic because it includes fast graphics, young celebrity role models, and latest music. The corporation also uses technology to market their products to specific demographic by advertising on mobile devices and social media sites. The company show teenagers in their advertisements using company’s laptops in comfortable and creative locations which increase the reputation of the company. The firm also allows its customers to add or remove new hardware and software equipment into their devices which attack professional users to the company as well.
Apple incorporation failed to attract specific demographic due to which they lose the number one spot in the personal computer industry to Lenovo. The marketing campaign of the company failed to target specific audience which negatively affects their business. The advertisement of the products focuses on their specs, and they did not attract a younger audience. The corporation also failed to bring new innovations to their products, and they did not allow its customers to change its specification (Priestley, 2015). The younger audience prefers to build their personal computers by adding hardware and software according to their preference. But, the iMac or MacBook laptops did not allow its users to change its specification, and the only way they can increase their specifications is by paying for expensive components that they can only purchase from Apple. The low prices of Lenovo computers attack younger audience since it provides more features and options at low prices. On the other hand, Apple iMac and MacBook laptops are substantially high in price and offer fewer customisation options; teenagers also prefer to change their personal computer in one or two years, but they are not able to do that with Apple’s products since they are expensive.
Globalisation
Apple can increase its market share in PC industry by creating new innovative products and targeting a specific audience. The company should provide the option of customisation to their audience since it attracts younger demographic. Apple’s decision to add new colours and providing student discounts can be beneficial for the firm. The corporation should target their advertisement to specific audiences, such as teenagers, by using celebrity role models and providing new customisation options.
Conclusion
In conclusion, marketing realities affect the promoting and advertisement strategies of a corporation, and organisations have to analyse various external factors to improve their profitability. The marketing realities such as social responsibilities, technology, and globalisation affect the marketing strategies of modern corporations. The popularity of technical devices provides a new platform to companies on which they can market their products such as social media and mobile application. Globalisation allows corporations to provide their services in international markets and promote their products to a worldwide audience. Lenovo has become successful by using effective marketing strategy, whereas, the sales of Apple’s computers are decreasing. Lenovo target a specific demographic through its marketing campaign and Apple failed to do so; Apple can improve their marketing campaign by increasing their focus on specific demographic and making their products more approachable to their audience.
References
Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Beren, D. and Ludwig, S., 2017. The 8 Best Lenovo Laptops to Buy in 2017. [Online] LifeWire. Available at: https://www.lifewire.com/best-lenovo-laptops-4136233 [Accessed on 14/12/2017]
Chianasta, F. and Wijaya, S., 2014. The impact of marketing promotion through social media on people’s buying decision of Lenovo in internet era: A survey of social media users in Indonesia. International journal of scientific and research publications, 4(1), pp.1-6.
Harvey, D., 2009. The art of rent: globalisation, monopoly and the commodification of culture. Socialist register, 38(38).
Hildebrand, D., Sen, S. and Bhattacharya, C.B., 2011. Corporate social responsibility: a corporate marketing perspective. European Journal of Marketing, 45(9/10), pp.1353-1364.
Jahdi, K.S. and Acikdilli, G., 2009. Marketing communications and corporate social responsibility (CSR): marriage of convenience or shotgun wedding?. Journal of Business Ethics, 88(1), pp.103-113.
Kimmel, A.J., 2010. Connecting with consumers: Marketing for new marketplace realities. Oxford University Press.
Mohr, J.J. and Sarin, S., 2009. Drucker’s insights on market orientation and innovation: implications for emerging areas in high-technology marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37(1), p.85.
Morgan, N., 2012. Time for ‘mindful’destination management and marketing. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 1(1), pp.8-9.
Priestley, T., 2015. Apple’s Core Problem Is That It Can No Longer Innovate. [Online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/theopriestley/2015/09/10/apples-core-problem-is-that-it-can-no-longer-innovate/#464632db66b5 [Accessed on 14/12/2017]
Sheikh, S.U.R. and Beise-Zee, R., 2011. Corporate social responsibility or cause-related marketing? The role of cause specificity of CSR. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28(1), pp.27-39.
Weinberger, M., 2017. Apple’s Mac were the biggest losers of the PC industry in 2016. [Online] Business Insider. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.in/Apples-Macs-were-the-biggest-losers-of-the-PC-industry-in-2016/articleshow/56509349.cms [Accessed on 14/12/2017]
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