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PERSONALITY

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:45:01 +0000

Personality is defined as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts an interacts with others. Adult personality is generally considered to be made up of hereditary and environmental factors, moderated by situational conditional.

Hereditary:- Hereditary refers to those factors that were determined by conception. Physical stature, facial alteration, gender temperament, energy level and biological rhythms are characteristics that are either completely or substantially influenced by parents. Evidence demonstrates that traits such as shyness, fear and distress are most likely caused by inherited genetic characteristics.

If personality characteristics were completely dictated by heredity, they would be fixed at birth and no amount of experience would alter them. If one is relaxed and easygoing as a child, for ex. that would be the result of one’s genes, and it would not be possible to change those characteristics. But personality characteristics are not completely dictated by heredity.

Environment:- Among the factors that exact pressures on our personality formation are the cultures in which we are area raised; our earlier conditioning the norms among our family, friends and social groups and other influences that we experience. These environmental factors play a substantial role in shaping our personalities. Cultural establishes the norms attributes and values that are passed along from generations to the and create consistencies of time ideology that is only moderate intensely fostered in one culture may only have emphasis in another. It can be concluded that both heredity and environment are the primary determinations of personality.

Situations:- The third factor, the situation influences the effects of heredity and environment on personality. An individual’s personality, although generally stable and consistent does change in different situations. The different demands of different situations call forth different aspects of one’s personality. So we shouldn’t look at personality patterns in isolation.

Determinations of personality that are more input than in others in shaping the personality of a manager include:-
1. Locus of control:- The degree to which people believe they masters of their own fate. Individuals who believe that they control what happens to them make more successful manager than those who believe that what happens to them is controlled by outside forces such as luck or chance.
2. Introvert and Extrovert:- Extrovert i.e. individuals who are gregarious and social are more successful as managers than Introverts i.e. individuals who are shy, quite and retiring.

RETAILING

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 01:44:47 +0000

Retailing includes all the activities involved in selling goods or services directly to final consumer for their personal, non business ose. It does not matter how the goods or services are sold (by person, mail, telephone) or where they are sold( in a store, on the street, or in the consumer’s home).

Retailers can be various types:-
a) Store retailer
b) Non store retailers

a)Store retailer:- Store retailers includes:-
a) Specialty store:- A specialty store carries a narrow product line with a deep assortment within that line examples of specialty retailers are apparel stores, sporting goods stores.
b) Department store:- A department store carries several products lines, typically clothing, home furniture and household goods.
c)Super market:-A supermarket is a relatively large, low cost, low margin high volume self service operation designed to serve the consumer’s total need for food and household-maintains product.
d) Convenience store:- Convenience stores are relatively small stores that are located near residential areas; are open long house and seven days limited line of high turnover convenience products.

B) Non store retailing includes:-
a) Direct Selling:- It involves oral presentation in a conversation with one or more prospective purchases for the purpose of making sales.
b) Automatic vending:- Automatic vending through coined operated machines has been a major port would war-II growth area. Automatic vending has been applied to a considerable variety of merchandise including impulse goods with high convenience value (soft drinks, candy). Vending machines offer customers the advantages of twenty four hour selling, self service and unhanding merchandise.

Retail marketing decisions:-
a) Target market decision::- A retailer’s most important decision concerns the target. Should the store focus on upscale, mid- scale or downscale shoppers? Do the target shoppers want variety, assortment depth or convenience?
b) Product assortment and service decision:- Retailers have to decide on three major product variable that help position their store to their target market, namely product assortment, service mix and store atmosphere.
The retailers product assortment must match the shopping expectations of the target market. The retailer has to decide on product assortment breadth and depth. Retailers must also decide on the service mix to offer customers. The old “mom and pop” grocery stores offered home delivery, credit, services that today’s supermarket have corpulently eliminated.
The store’s atmosphere is a third element in its product arsenal. Every store has a physical layout that makes it hard or easy to move around. Every store has a “look”; one store is dirty, another is charming, a third is palatial, a fourth is somber. T store must embody a planned atmosphere that suits the target market and draws them towards purchase.

Price decision:- The retailer’s price are key positioning far for and must be decided in relation to the target market, the product and service assortment mix and competition. All retailers would like to charge high mark ups and achieve high volumes; but usually the two do not go together .most retailers fall into the high markup highs volume group (mass merchandisers and discount stores)
Promotion Decision:- the retailer must use promotion today that support and reinforce its image positioning. Fine stores will place full page tasteful ads in magazines and train their safes people to greet customers. Discounter will use less trained people to and use tow cost promotional tools to generate traffic.

Place Decisions :- retailers are ;accustomed to saying that the key to success in retailing is “location”. For example customers primarily choose the bank that is nearest to them Department – store chains, oil companies and last food franchisers exercise great case in selecting location.

Establishing the channel objectives and constrains:-

admin — Sat, 29 May 2010 00:47:05 +0000

The channel objectives should be stated in terms of targeted services output level. Under competitive conditions, channel institutions should arrange their functional tasks so as to minimize total channel costs with respect to tasks desired levels of service output. Effective channel planning requires manufactures to determine which market segment to serve and the best channels to use in each case. Each producer develops its channel objectives in the face of constrains stemming from products, intermediaries, competitors, company policy, environment and the level of service output desired be target customers.

Product characteristics:- Perishable products require more direct marketing because of the dangers associated with delays and repeated handling. Bulky products require channels that minimize the shipping distance. Custom-built machinery and specialized business forms are sold directly by company sales representatives because middlemen lack the requisite knowledge. Products requiring installation and/or maintenance services are usually sold and maintained by the company or exclusively branches dealers.
Competitive characteristics:- Channel design is influenced by the competitor’s channels. The produces may want to compete in or near the same outlets carrying the competitor’s products. In some other industries, producers may want to avoid the channels used by competitors.

C) Identifying the major channel alternatives-

After a company has defined its target market and desired positioning it should identify its channel by three elements:-
1) The type of business intermediaries
2) The number of intermediaries and
3) Terms and responsibilities of each channel participants.

1) Types of intermediaries:-
The firm has following channel alternatives-
Company Sales force:- Expend the company’s direct sales force. Assign to contact all prospects in the area. Or develop separate sales force for different products.
Manufacture’s Agency:- Hire agencies in different regions sell the equipment.
Industrial Distributors:- Find distributors in the different regions who will buy and carry device. Give them exclusive distribution adequate margins and promotional support.
2) The number of intermediaries:-
Company has to decide on the number of middlemen to use at each channel level. Three strategies are available.
Intensive Distribution:- Producers of convenience goods etc. typically seek intensive distribution that is stocking their product in numerous outlets. These goods must have place utility.
Exclusive Distribution:- Some producers limit the number of intermediaries handling their products. Through exclusive distribution the manufacturer hopes to obtain more aggressive and knowledgeable selling and more control over intermediaries polices on prices, promotion, credit and various activities.
3) Terms and responsibilities of channel members:- The producer must determine the conditions and responsibilities of the participating channel members. The main elements in the trade relation mix are price policies, conditions of sale, territorial rights and specific service to be performed by each party.

4) Evaluating the major channel alternatives:-
Each channel alternative needs to be evaluated against economic, control and adaptive criteria.
Economic criteria:- Each channel alternative will produce a different level of sales and cost. Company sales representatives concentrate entirely on the company’s products; they are better trained to sell the company’s products, they are more aggressive because their future depends on the company’s success on the other hand, sales agency could comically sell more than a company sales force. The sales agency has more number of sales representatives and secondly, sales agency has better knowledge of the geographical area in which he is operating
Control criteria:- Channel evolution has to include control issues. Using a sales agency poses a control problem. A sale
agency is an independent business firm seeking to maximize its profits. The agents may concentrate on the customers who buy the most, not necessarily of the manufactures goods. Further, the agent might not master the technical details of the company’s product or handle its promotion materials effectively.
Adaptive Criteria:- Each channel involves some duration of commitment and loss of flexibility. A manufactures seeking a sales agency might have to offer a five year contact. During this period, other means of selling such as direct mail might become more effective, but the manufactures is not free to drop the sales agency. A channel required a long commitment needs to be greatly superior on economic or control grounds to be considered.

Managing marketing channels

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:35:06 +0000

Marketing channel can be viewed as a set of interdependent organization involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption.
Most producers do not sell their goods directly to the final users. Between them and final user stand a host of marketing intermediaries performing variety of functions and bearing variety of names? Some intermediaries-such as wholesalers and retailers-buy, take title to and resell the merchandise; they are called merchant middlemen. Others-such as brokers, manufacturers representative and sales agents-search for customers and may negotiate on behalf of the producers but do not take title to the goods; they are called agent middlemen. Still others-such as transportation companies, independent warehouses, banks and advertising agencies –assist in the performance of distribution but neither take title to goods nor negotiate purchases or sales; they are called facilitators.

Importance of marketing intermediaries:-
many producers lack the financial resources to carry out direct marketing. Ex. Maruti udyog sells its cars through more than 600 dealer outlets; even maruti udyog would be hard pressed to raise the cash to buy out its dealers.
a) Direct marketing would require many producers to become middlemen for the complimentary products of other Producers in order to achieve mass distribution economies. Ex.maruti udyog will have to become middlemen for auto ancillary companies if it establish its own distribution network.
b) producers who can afford to establish there own channels can offer earbn a grater return by increasing their investment in their main business. If a company earns a 20 percent rate of return on manufacturing and foresees only a 10 percent return on retailing. It will not want to undertake its own retailing.
c) Marketing intermediaries through their own contacts, experience, specialization and scale of operations, offer the firm more than it can usually achieve on its own.

Marketing channel functions

a) information:- the collection and dissemination of persuasive
communications about potential and current .
customers, competitors and other actors and forces in
the marketing environment.
b) promotion:- the development and dissemination of persuasive
communication about the offer designed to attract
customers.
c) negotiation:- the attempt to reach find agreement on price and other
terms so that transfer of ownership or possession can be
affected
Ordering:- the backward communication of intentions to buy the marketing
channel members to the manufacturers.
financing:- the acquisition and allocation of funds required to finance
Inventories at different levels of the marketing channel.
Risk taking:- the assumptions if risks connected with carrying out the
channel work..
physical possession:- the successive storage and movement of the physical
products from raw materials to final customers.
Payment:- buyers paying their bills through banks and other financial
Institutions to the sellers.
Title:- the actual transfer of ownership from one organization or person to
Another.

Factors Affecting Price Sensitivity

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 02:04:46 +0000

Unique – Value Effect: Buyers are less sensitive when the product is more unique.

Substitute- Awareness Effect: Buyers are less price sensitive when they are less aware of the substitutes.

Difficult-Comparison Effect: Buyers are less price sensitive when they cannot easily compare the quality of substitutes

Total Expenditure Effect: Buyers are less price sensitive of the product is not very expensive with respect to their income.

End-Benefit Effect: Buyers are less price sensitive the less the expenditure is to the total cost of the product.

Shared Cost Effect: Buyers are less price sensitive part of the cost is borne by another party.

Price Quality Effect: Buyers are less price sensitive when the product is assumed to have more quality, prestige or exclusiveness.

Inventory Effect: Buyers are less price sensitive when they cannot store the product.

III Estimating Cost a company will like to charge a price that covers its cost of producing, distributing and selling the product, including a fair return for its efforts and risk.

Types of Costs A company’s cost takes two forms, fixed and variable. Fixed cost are the costs that do not vary with production of sales revenue. Examples of fixed costs includes monthly rent, interest etc.
Variable costs vary directly with the level of production. These costs tend to be constant per unit produced. They are called variable because their with the number of unit produced.
Total cost consists of the sum of the fixed and variable costs for a given level of production. Management will like to charge a price that will be at least cover the total production costs at a given level of production.

IV Analysing competitors price and offers: Competitors prices and possible price reactors help the firm establish where its prices might be set. The company needs to learn the price and quality of each competitors offer.
Once the company is aware of competitors prices and offers, it can use them as an orienting point for its own pricing. If the firm’s offer is similar to a major competitor’s offer, then the firm will have to price close to the competitors or lose sales. If the firm’s offer is inferior, the firm will not be able to charge more than the competitor. If the firm offer is superior, the firm can charge more than the competitor.
V. Selecting a Pricing Method: A company can select any of the following pricing method:
a. Mark-up Pricing
b. Target-return Pricing
c. Perceived value pricing
d. Going rate Pricing
e. Select-bid Pricing

A. Mark-up Pricing: The most elementary pricing method is to add a standard mark-up to the cost of the product.

B. Target Return Pricing: The firm determines the price that would yield its target rate of return on investment (ROI). Suppose a manufacturer has invested one million in the business and wants t set price to earn a 20 percent ROI i.e 2,00,000. he hopes to sell 50,000 pieces and the unit cost Rs. 16/-. The target return price is given by the formula

Target return price = Unit Cost + Desired return X Capital Invested
Unit Sales

= 16 0.20 X 10,00,000 =Rs. 20/-
50,000

Hence the manufactures will set a price of Rs. 20/-.
The manufacturer can also use break-even analysis, the break-even volume is given by

Break-even Volume = Fixed Costs
Price-Variable Cost

Suppose the fixed cost is Rs, 300000 and variable cost is Rs. 10/- and the produces wants to charge price of Rs. 20/-, then the break-even volume is given by

300000 = 30,000 Pieces
20-10

Perceived value Pricing: An increasing number of companies are basing their price on the product’s perceived value. They see the buyer’s perception of value, not the sellers cost, as the key to pricing. They use the non-price variables in the marketing mix to build up perceived value in the buyers mind, price is set to capture the perceived value.

Going Rate Pricing: In going rate pricing, the firm bases its price largely on competitors prices. With less attention paid on its own cost and demand. The firm might charge the same, more of less than its major competitors.

Sealed Bid Pricing: Competitive-oriented Pricing is common where firm for jobs. The firm bases its price on expectations of how competitors will price rather than on a rigid relation of the firm’s costs or demands. The firm wants to win the contract , and winning normally requires submitting a lower price than competitors.

VI. Selecting the Final Price: While selecting the final price, the company has to select some additional factors such as:-

Psychological Pricing: Sellers should consider the psychology of prices in addition to their economies. Many consumers use price as an indicator of quality. Image pricing is especially effective with ego-sensitive products such as perfumes and expensive cars.

The influence of others Marketing-mix elements on Price: The Final price must take into account the brander’s quality and advertising relative to competition. Brands with average relative high quality but high relative advertising budgets able to charge premium price, consumers are willing to pay higher prices for know products than for unknown products.

Adapting the Price

Price Discounts and Allowances: Most companies will modify their basic price to reward customers for such acts as early payment, volume purchases and off-search buying. These price adjustment – called discounts and allowances can be of various types such as:-

Cash Discounts: A cash discount is a price reduction to buyers who promptly pay their bills. Such discounts, serve the purpose of reducing the sellers liquidity and reducing credit-collection cost and bad-debts.

Quantity Discount: A quantity discount is a price reduction to buyers who buy large volumes. Quantity discounts must not exceed the.

Many managers believe that revenue maximization will lead to long-run profit maximization and market share growth.

Maximum Sales Growth: Some companies want to maximize unit sales. They believe that a higher sales volume will lead to lower unit costs and higher long run profit. They set the lowest price, assuming the market is price sensitive. This is called market penetration pricing.

Maximum Market skimming: Many Companies favour setting high prices to skim to the market. If estimates the highest price it can charge given the comparative benefits of its new product versus the available substitutes. Each time sales slow down, it lowers the price to draw in the next price sensitive layer of customers.

Product-Quality Leadership:- A company might aim to be the product-quality leader in the market.

Determining Demand: Each price that the company might charge will lead to a different level of demand and will therefore, have a different impact of its marketing objectives. In normal case, demand and price are inversely related , that is, the higher the price, the lower the demand.

Establishing the channel objectives and constrains:-

admin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 05:17:21 +0000

C) Identifying the major channel alternatives-

Managing marketing channels

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:39:03 +0000

Marketing channel functions

Channel design decisions
Designing a channel systems calls for analyzing customers needs, establishing channel ob\ejectives, identifying the major channel alternatives and evaluating them.
a) analyzing service output levels desired by customers
understanding what, where, why, and how target customers buy the first step in designing the marketing channel produce five service outputs:-
a)lot size:- the lot size is the number of units that the marketing channel permits a typical customers to buy on a buying occasion. The smaller is the lot size, the greater the service output level that the channel must provide.
b)Waiting time:- waiting time is the average time that customer of That channel wait for receipt of the goods. Customers normally prefer fast delivery Channels. Faster service requires a great service output level.
c)special convenience:- special convenience expresses the degree to which the marketing channel makes it easy for customers to purchase the product.
d)product variety:- product variety represents the assortment breath provided by the marketing channel. Normally customers prefer greater Assortment breadth because it increases the chance of exactly meeting their need.
e)service backup:- service backup represents the add-on service (credit,delievery, installation, repairsI) provided by the channel. The greater the service. backup, the greater the work provided by the channel.

The marketing manager must know the service output desired by the target customers provided increased levels of service output means increased costs for the channel and higher prices for customers.

Factors Affecting Price Sensitivity

admin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 23:38:29 +0000