Archive for the 'Marketing Questions' Category

Sep 1st 2007 Formulating a Marketing Strategy

Here are a few of the questions Susan Hewitt, the founder of Blythe Hewitt Associates in San Francisco, tells her startups they must be prepared to answer when they are formulating a marketing strategy:

  • How far are you along in product development?
  • What’s your category? Is it a new category, or a crowded category?
  • What are your current marketing goals? Introducing the product? Adding the product to an existing category? Branding? Enhancing an already established brand awareness?
  • What is the target market? Business? Consumer? And who, precisely, is the target within those categories?
  • What are the trends within the market?
  • What are the business challenges that this product solves?
  • What are the IT headaches the product alleviates?
  • Who’s your competition? Direct? Indirect?
  • What are the key differentiators between this product and the competitor’s?
  • Within your target market, who are the decision makers who buy the product? Who are the influencers who affect them?
  • Are there any gurus known for their market savvy in this product space you are in?

Source:
Where to Begin?
by Jane Hodges
Business 2.0, June 2000

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Aug 31st 2007 Evaluating a New Distribution Channel

The following six questions are helpful in evaluating the opportunity presented by the new distribution channel:

  • How attractive is the value proposition that the new distribution channel gives our target segments?
  • Is the proportion of our target segment attracted to the new channel large enough to demand our attention?
  • Do we have a differentiated value proposition or an operational advantage in serving customers through the new channel?
  • Is our cost structure and value network optimized to serve customers through the new channel?
  • What can and will competition do with the new channel?
  • How will the new distribution channel change consumer channel preferences and strategies of existing channel members?

Source:
The Strategic Role of Marketing
by Manda Salls
HBS Working Knowledge, May 31, 2004
Note: From the book Marketing as Strategy by Nirmalya Kumar

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Aug 30th 2007 Discounting Questions

To cultivate discount awareness and discipline, managers should start by asking themselves the following questions:

  • Are discount dollars being invested in the customer segments and product categories that provide the greatest strategic value to the company? For that to be so, discount guidelines for each segment and category need to be established in advance of negotiations.
  • Do discount levels associated with a particular customer segment or product category vary widely, beyond what can be attributed to differences in deal size? If so, guidelines for determining discount size need to be set and enforced, and additional sales training may be appropriate.
  • Are discounts fairly consistent over time, or do they rise sharply at the end of the quarter? Higher discounts at quarter’s end are expected, as the sales team strives to hit targets. If these spikes are excessive, though, sales incentives may need to change, so that reps are rewarded for keeping their discounts in line.
  • Is excessive discounting a widespread, relatively uniform problem in the company? Such a pattern calls for a broad review of discount policies and a fresh look at price lists, which could require downward adjustment.

Source:
A Case for Discount Discipline
by Jim Geisman
Harvard Business Review

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Aug 29th 2007 Conversational Marketing

Many companies are not ready for the changes conversational marketing brings. They face three critical issues.

  • What types of dialogues and other customer interactions must be created to support true customer conversations?
  • How can the company determine and implement a conversational style that is aligned with the customer’s needs and based on a cost-effective set of new technologies?
  • Who inside and outside the company must participate in customer conversations to sustain them, and how can these participants be included?

Source:
What Color is Snow White?
by Andrea Bargsley
BlabberMouth

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Aug 25th 2007 Basic Marketing Questions

  • Who are our IDEAL customers?
  • How do we REACH them?
  • How do we ENGAGE them?
  • How do we PERSUADE them?
  • How do we deliver VALUE to them?
  • How do we KEEP doing this?

Source:
7 Strategy Challenges for Effective Online Marketers
by Jeffrey Eisenberg
GrokDotCom
Note: posted in the comments section of the article

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Aug 23rd 2007 Advertising and Promotions Questions

  • How large are the differences in our company’s A&P investments, as a percentage of sales, for each brand, market segment, and region or country?
  • Is there a clearly defined strategic rationale for these differences (or for the lack of differences)?
  • Are the differences in intensity and sensitivity of advertising and promotions among the various market segments and countries adequately acknowledged?
  • Are the differences in our competitive position (relative market share) properly translated into a maintenance level for the brand?
  • Have we made a clear choice among maintenance, harvest and growth approaches for each brand, segment, and region or country? Does this choice reflect the level of A&P investments?
  • How does our company decide on its total A&P budget for each brand, segment, region or country? Is the decision based on sound logic or does the process of negotiation result in incremental adjustments to the previous year’s budget?

Source:
To Spend or Not to Spend: A New Approach to Advertising and Promotions
by Emile Gostelie
Boston Consulting Group

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Jul 10th 2006 Pricing Questions

  • Do you know what would happen to your bottom line if you raised (or lowered) prices by 1 percent?
  • Do you know which of your customers are – or are not – price sensitive and why?
  • Where are the pricing leakages occurring in your company?
  • What functions or departments control the final pricing decisions?
  • How could you change your pricing mechanisms to build your advantages?

Source: Pricing Myopia / Philippe Morel, George Stalk, Jr., Peter Stanger, Peter Wetenhall / Boston Consulting Group, December 16, 2003

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Nov 19th 2005 Top 10 Advertising Questions

  • How do I know how much to spend on advertising?
  • How do I evaluate the effectiveness of my advertising?
  • How can I learn more about my target audience?
  • How do I evaluate the efficiency of different media?
  • How do I make certain that my ad will pull?
  • What’s more important: reach or frequency?
  • How do I know which medium works best?
  • Should I run a big ad once or several smaller ads more frequently?
  • What factors should I consider when choosing a media vehicle?
  • How do I know I’m reaching my target audience?

Source: AdInsite / http://www.adinsite.com/marketingtop10.html (note: Answers found at the site for each question)

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