Marketing Management

Overview

Master the fundamentals of marketing with a top presenter and practitioner! This intensive, fast-paced Short Course covers the basic principles of modern marketing management.

Understanding and excelling at the basics is as important in marketing as it is in sports. This Short Course will provide an excellent foundation in those basics for either further study, for supervising the performance of marketers, or for working effectively with them. Fundamental marketing principles and concepts will be covered that are timeless and generic to all organisations – whether consumer or business-to-business, product or service, profit or not-for-profit oriented.

While the Short Course will be theoretically sound, it will have a highly practical emphasis. (Steve Bridges has not only been a Professor of Marketing but has also held senior marketing positions in a variety of New Zealand companies.) Therefore, lots of examples will be given throughout the sessions to illustrate how marketing theories and concepts actually apply in business. While the emphasis of the Short Course will be on the marketing of consumer products and services, many examples of business-to-business marketing will nevertheless be provided.

Topics Covered

What Marketing is - and is not
It is an unfortunate reality in New Zealand that most people equate “marketing” with advertising, promoting and/or selling a product or service. (A reflection of this is the frequently heard statement that “we have to get out and market our product.”) This approach – which Steve Bridges labels “pseudo marketing” - is dangerous for organisations operating in an intensely competitive environment. This session therefore defines what marketing really is and provides a checklist of ways in which organisations that practise real marketing operate differently from those which are pseudo marketers. A mini case study is presented which clearly illustrates how real marketing differs from pseudo marketing.

Marketing Planning
After providing a brief coverage of the marketing planning process, Steve describes the "Marketing Plan Flow Chart" (MPFC) framework that he innovated while working at Tullen Industries Ltd. and that is now being widely used by companies throughout New Zealand. Participants receive an A-3 sized checklist of the contents of the MPFC as well as the A-1 sized template upon which to write their own marketing plans. Steve describes the MPFC checklist in some depth so that participants can quickly grasp the structure and contents of marketing plans.

Understanding Customers
The objective of this session is to give useful and critically important insights into the (seemingly strange) ways that buyers behave - and why they behave that way. Steve explains how customers view products and services, how they put up barriers and how these can be surmounted.

Marketing Research
In this session, Steve covers the value of marketing research as well as the pros and cons of various marketing research methods, e.g. primary and secondary research, focus groups, telephone surveys, mail surveys and internet surveys. He also describes what marketing research can and cannot do. Using actual customer satisfaction questionnaires, Steve also describes how research can be abused or misused – and how this can be avoided.

Market Segmentation
This session describes and evaluates the various approaches to markets, e.g. market aggregation, market segmentation and mass customisation. Various methods of market segmentation – including demographics, psychographics and benefit segmentation - are covered and evaluated. After examples are given of psychographic and benefit segmentation, participants work in groups on two mini case study examples of market segmentation.

The Product
In this session, Steve defines what a “product” is from the customer’s perspective, which is often much different and broader than how producers define the term. He also covers the importance of form as well as substance -in marketing generally as well as product development specifically. The critical importance of both generic and brand names is graphically illustrated through the use of many examples – both good and bad. The various ways in which packaging can add value to products is also described, followed by a review and evaluation of the many ways in which new products (and services) can be developed.

The Service
A common problem in New Zealand is that service providers seek to provide a good service. The problem is that “good” is not good enough in this day of intense competition; indeed, good is bad. In this session, Steve explains why this is the case and defines how customers define the term “service”. He also examines a systematic way in which value can be added to a core service and why form (i.e. design) is as important for services as it is for products.

Marketing Communications
A retailer once said that “I know that half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the problem is, I don’t know which half!” Using actual examples, this session describes ways in which this problem can be avoided. It also covers the emerging and rapidly developing phenomenon of social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Who should attend

This Short Course is appropriate if you find yourself in any of the following situations:

• You have recently been put into a marketing position but have no formal training in this discipline.
• You are thinking about a career in marketing but need to know more about what is involved before making a major investment in tertiary education.
• You work with marketing people and wish to develop an understanding of where they are coming from in order to work together more effectively.
• You work in an organisation that is converting to a customer orientation and want to understand what changes are likely to take place - and why.

Outcomes

• Understand what “marketing” really is, i.e. that it is much, much more than just advertising, selling, and/or promotion
• Understand the unique hallmarks of organisations that implement a “real marketing” i.e. customer-centric approach
• Understand the structure and contents of a marketing plan
• Understand buyer behaviour, including how and why customers put up barriers and how to surmount these
• Understand the pros and cons of various marketing research methods and techniques
• Understand what a “product” and “service” are from a customer’s perspective – and how to add value to both core products and services
• Be able to critique your organisation’s approach to print advertising, leaflets/brochures, direct marketing letters, and email advertising