The Role of IMC in the
Marketing Process
Tata Sai Vijay
Associate Professor
Marketing & Promotions Process Model
Marketing Strategy and Analysis
Strategic Marketing Plan
Opportunity Competitive Target
Analysis Analysis Marketing
Opportunity analysis
• Opportunity Analysis
• Market opportunities are areas:
• Favorable demand trends.
• Customers’ needs and opportunities are not being satisfied.
• Firm can compete effectively.
• Steps to identify market opportunities:
• Examine the marketplace.
• Observe demand trends and competition in various market segments.
Competitive Analysis
• Analyze the competition - its products or services
• Search for competitive advantage
Target Market Selection
• Done after evaluating market opportunities and doing a competitive analysis.
• Can select one or more target markets.
• Has direct implications on firm’s advertising and promotional efforts.
Market Segmentation
• Dividing a market into distinct groups
• With common needs
• Who respond similarly to a marketing situation
Bases for Segmentation
Psychographic Demographic
Customer
Characteristics
Behavioral Geographic
Behavior Outlets
Buying
Usage Situation
Awareness Benefits
Selecting a Target Market
1 Determine how many segments to enter
2 Determine which segments have the
greatest potential
Segments
Undifferentiated Concentrated
Differentiated
The Target Marketing Process
• Determine which segments offer potential.
• Select most attractive segment through:
• Sales potential of segment.
• Opportunities for growth.
• Competition analysis.
• Ability to compete.
• Ability to market to this group.
Market Positioning
• Positioning: to make it unique within the marketplace.
Positioning
• Creating an “image”
• Marketers use promotions as a tool to build up brand or corporate “image”.
• Positioning is all about ‘perception’
Positioning Strategies
Attributes and Benefits
Price/Quality
Use/Application
Product Class
Product Users
Competitors
Cultural Symbols
Positioning by Product Attributes and Benefits
• Sets brand apart from competitors on basis of specific characteristics or benefits
offered.
• Salient attributes: Important to consumers and are basis for making a purchase decision.
Positioning by Use or Application
• Used to enter market or expand usage.
Positioning by Competition
• Direct comparison between competing brands.
• Advertisements are constructed that directly or indirectly compare the
characteristics of competing brands
Positioning by Culture and Heritage
• Pitching products as irreplaceable parts of our life like our culture and heritage.
How the manufacturer sees the product
How the customer sees the product
The Marketing Planning Program
Product Distribution
Decisions Channels
Promotional Price
Strategy Decisions
Product Decisions
• Offerings
• Physical product
• Service
• Cause
• A person
Product Decisions
• Product symbolism:
• What a product or brand means to consumers.
• What consumers experience in purchasing and using a product.
Product Decisions - Branding
Develop &
Build
Build & enhance
relationships
maintain brand attitudes toward
between the
awareness and the company,
consumer and
interest product, or
the brand
service
Product Decisions - Branding
Brand Identity
vs.
Brand Equity
Product Decisions
• Packaging
• Traditionally provided functional benefits—economy, protection, and storage.
• Used to communicate with consumers and create an impression of the brand.
Pricing Decisions
Factors the firm What consumers
must consider give up to buy a
product or service
Costs Time
Demand Mental activity
Competition Behavioral effort
Perceived value
Distribution Channels
Sets of interdependent organizations
involved in the process of making a product
or service available for use
Channels and Image
• Channels can impact communication objectives
• Image
• Store displays
• Point-of-purchase merchandising
• Shelf footage
Types of Channels
• Direct
• Driven by direct-response ads, telemarketing, the Internet
• Indirect
• Network of wholesalers and/or retailers
Push vs. Pull Strategies
Push vs. Pull Strategies
• Push strategy…
• motivating the channel members to stock and promote a manufacturer’s products.
• Push strategy encourages resellers to push merchandise through to their customers.
• Pull strategy…
• spending money on advertising and sales promotion efforts directed toward the ultimate
consumer.
• To create consumer demand, which encourages them to request the product.
Push vs. Pull Strategies
• Choice of a strategy depends
• company’s relations with the trade,
• its promotional budget, and
• demand for the firm’s products.
• Often use both of these strategies, with the emphasis changing as a product moves
through its life cycle.
Push Versus Pull
Push Policy Pull Policy
Producer Producer
Wholesaler Wholesaler
Retailer Retailer
Consumer Consumer
Promotion to Push Goods Through Channels
Point of sale displays, racks, stands
PUSH
Trade deals, special displays
Dealer premiums, prizes, gifts
Cooperative advertising deals
Advertising materials
Collaterals, catalogs, manuals
Company conventions, meetings
Promotion to Pull Goods Through Channels
PULL
Sampling, free trial
Rs-off promotions
Rs-off coupons
Combination offers
Premiums or gifts
Contests
THANK YOU
