Marketing Management
Marketing Plan
Chapter 5: Creating Long-Term Loyalty Relationships
Question 1
Monitoring customer satisfaction is a common practice used by numerous companies with the aim of identifying whether the customers enjoy the offered product and the way they are being treated by the company. Sonic should as well monitor customer satisfaction because it would help enhance the overall quality of relationships with the customers. It should be done systematically. For instance, Sonic would be recommended to monitor customer satisfaction once over a six-month period. It would be a systematic monitoring effort that would not require the allocation of vast resources. Over time, if more resources are available, Sonic could switch to quarterly monitoring of customer satisfaction because it would help understand customer behavior as well as assess the effectiveness of marketing strategy. Surveys and customer loss rates are recommended as tools for monitoring satisfaction.
Question 2
Net Promoter method is based on one single question that comes down to asking the customer about the likelihood of recommending the company to their friends and colleagues. It can be followed-up by open-ended questions that offer a better insight into the customer’s perception of the company or the offered product. Based on the specific benefits of the methods, it would be recommended as a supplementation to commonly used tools for monitoring customer satisfaction. The rationale for recommending it is the fact that this instrument offers more opportunities for understanding the needs and interests of the customers. As a result, Sonic could collect enough primary data for improving its product, marketing strategy, and approaches to building relations with the customers. Eventually, it could help generate more value and increase revenues.
Question 3
The so-called customer touch points are the foundation of long-lasting and loyal relationships with customers because they create customer experience that can be either unique and satisfying or absolutely dissatisfying. The concept comes down to any time an existing or potential customer comes into contact with the company. There are different types of touch points. However, for Sonic, two particular ones could be considered – communication and human. Communication touch points usually come down to the contact before the purchase and after it. These include social media profiles and websites with adequate product descriptions that attract the customer. These are vital for drawing customer’s attention to the product and motivating them to purchase it. After the purchase, these might include any marketing emails and online support so that the customers would become dedicated. Human touch points are related to the process of purchase and they create the buying experience, as they involve the work of sales managers. Here, the focus should be on the high quality of service so that the purchasing experience is satisfying.
Chapter 6: Analyzing Consumer Markets
Question 1
Cultural factors that are most likely to influence purchasing behavior are subculture (a specific social class) and social status. They are further supplemented by social factors, and these mainly include belonging to a particular social group (popularity of a smartphone among social group members) and the urge for a particular status (especially if it is introduced as a luxurious product that is preferred by successful people active young people or whichever else brand image is created). As for personal factors, these are the level of income (the ability to afford a purchase), personality and lifestyle (the need for particular functions of a smartphone), age (preference to specific technologies), and personal values. They could be better understood through primary research tools – surveys, interviews, and observations.
Question 2
For Sonic, it is advisable to focus on social and personal aspects of consumer behavior. Speaking of the social factors, they are vital because smartphones, to a particular extent, are used as an instrument for expressing one’s personality. In this case, if Sonic’s marketing plan succeeds in making the customers believe that the new smartphone would make them unique and create exceptional opportunities for expressing themselves, it would help attract more potential buyers. Besides, the stress should be laid on personal aspects of consumer behavior. It is critical to understand what motivates people to purchase a new smartphone – design, functionality, price or the opportunity to achieve a specific social status. These could help offer the smartphone that would satisfy the basic personal needs, thus attract more customers and make them loyal to the brand.
Question 3
Problem recognition – triggering external stimulus to purchase the new smartphone: launch an attractive marketing campaign that would lay stress on all of the abovementioned social and personal values;
Information search – active marketing effort via traditional (commercials) and digital marketing channels (social media and website): make the product notable;
Evaluation of alternatives – offering detailed descriptions of the available products along with photos to better evaluate them;
Purchase decision – including links to reviews in social media and on website (including links to video reviews) to affect the purchasing decision; the focus on physical and communication touch points;
Post purchase behavior – focus on communication touch points (online support) and guaranteeing different after-sales services.
Chapter 7: Analyzing Business Markets
Question 1
As specified by Melody, smartphones offered by Sonic could be of interest to mid- and large-sized corporations. Because Melody laid the stress on the access to data at any time and from any location, service businesses would be interested in the offered product. The point here is that employees at organizations providing services (regardless of the type of services) should always stay in touch with their colleagues and customers. Having access to the real-time or near real-time data would as well be of use for them. The information about such businesses, their employees, and any other information about their activities could be found using primary data – government reports or those published by businesses themselves. News articles can as well be helpful for identifying the names of businesses and, more importantly, potential leaders in the industry.
Question 2
Based on the abovementioned, Sonic could offer the type of purchase that is referred to as the purchase of finished products. It would provide the needed amount of smartphones (finished products) needed for the internal use by the employees of the specified business. This one is appropriate because the products offered by Sonic do not require the further processing before they can be used by the end customer (in this case, organizations’ employees). Two parts would be involved in this type of purchase: buyer (the target company) and supplier (company). The purchase would be completed in the course of negotiations regarding prices and shipment details. Financial and receiving departments of the buyer would as well be involved to assure the accuracy of the purchase. Generally, this type of purchase would be influenced by initiators (those creating demand); approvers (the departments of the buying company supporting cooperation with Sonic), and buyers themselves.
Question 3
Demand for smartphones among corporate buyers tends to be elastic. It is associated with the critical role of price as well as the presence of numerous substitutes. For Sonic, it means that higher prices would make the offered product less attractive, especially if substitutes are available at lower prices. For this reason, the marketing plan should demonstrate how Sonic’s product is better than that offered by competitors so that price is not a main factor for making a decision and the stress is on functionality.
Chapter 8: Tapping into Global Markets
Question 1
To enter foreign markets, indirect exporting (domestic-based export agents and overseas intermediaries) is recommended. It would help reduce any unnecessary costs related to transportation and logistics because the company uses already available networks and systems – those offered by the intermediaries. Even though the control over sales is reduced and potential revenues are lower, this option is preferable for a startup company that does not possess resources enough for the development of its own logistics systems and opening its own distribution centers. Besides, it is a favorable option for the startup company because it could further focus on domestic operations and the development of its product. Once it becomes more recognizable and notable, it could choose direct exporting for expanding to foreign markets, but, at the beginning of this path, indirect exporting is an economically and strategically sound choice.
Question 2
If Sonic starts marketing its product in other countries, product adaptation could be an appropriate international product strategy. It can be explained by the fact that cultural and geographic differences may play a vital role in consumer behaviors. For this reason, adapting the product to local needs may be optional for outperforming local competitors as well as attracting local customers. Still, in this case, it is essential to note that adaptations should be slight, not dramatic so that the overall design and other unique features of the product are not affected, as they make up an important part in the brand image. However, some adaptations in software and functionality in response to the country-specific needs of the customers may be beneficial.
Question 3
Country-of-origin perceptions might have an impact on the perceived brand positioning and the quality of the finished product. The fact that smartphones would be manufactured in Mexico might influence their perception due to some negative stereotypes regarding the supposed quality of the offered product. For this reason, the marketing plan should be altered and stress on strict quality control procedures and the quality of details used to manufacture them so that the negative country-of-origin perceptions are mitigated and the product is positioned and seen as the US-made.
