Limited Editions as a Marketing Strategy

The term “Special Edition” or “Limited Edition“; when used in marketing management, intends to give the product something new and previously unseen in the regular edition. Limited Edition marketing strategy carries a sense of immediacy and exclusivity as the products would only be available for a short time and/or in limited numbers. The term “Limited Edition” has its origin in the publishing industries where limited numbers of copies of books are printed with top quality impressions. These limited editions are sold at a premium price. Although limited edition are sold at premium, there are many FMCG companies which have implemented this concept minus the premium price. The industries which are using limited edition marketing strategy are automobiles and luxury lifestyle products such as wrist watches, designer wear, etc. There can be variety of motivations for a marketer to launch products as limited or special editions. The reason canContinue reading

Emotional Marketing

Emotional marketing is a highly successful method that is used by marketers to both attract and retain customers. The main aim of emotional marketing is to connect to customers’ hearts. It is seen that emotional thoughts stimulate people’s minds faster than rational thoughts. Emotional marketing is all about considering the feelings and needs of customers and finding ways to take advantage of the same to achieve higher volumes of sales. Most marketers are now adopting emotional marketing technique because of the realization that the emotional route can be effectively used to change consumers’ attitude towards their products. Now-a-days companies are using emotional advertisements to evoke favorable reaction from consumers. Emotion based marketing offers competitive advantages to marketers in developing strong relationship with consumers. Many of the advertisements these days have a strong element of emotion touch to them, which draws consumers to connect with the brands being advertised. ForContinue reading

Theories of Learning

Learning is an important psychological process that-determines human behavior. Learning can be defined as “relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience or reinforced practice”. Important theories of learning are: 1. Classical Conditioning The work of the famous Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov demonstrated the classical conditioning process. When Pavlov presented a piece of meat to the dog in the experiment, Pavlov noticed a great deal of salivation. He termed the food an unconditioned stimulus and the salivation an unconditioned response. When the dog saw the meat, it salivated. On the other hand, when Pavlov merely rang a bell, the dog did not salivate. Pavlov subsequently introduced the sound of a bell each time the meat was given to the dog. The dog eventually learned to salivate in response to the ringing of the-bell-even when there was no meat. Pavlov had conditioned the dog to respond toContinue reading

Two Basic Aspects of Financial Management

The general meaning of finance refers to the provision of funds, as and when needed. However, as management function, the term ‘Financial Management’ has a distinct meaning. Financial management deals with the study of procuring funds and its effective and judicious utilization, in terms of the overall objectives of the firm, and expectations of the providers of funds. The basic objective is to maximize the value of the firm. The purpose is to achieve maximization of share value to the owners, i.e. equity shareholders. There are two basic aspects of financial management : 1. Procurement of Funds As funds can be obtained from different sources thus, their procurement is always considered as a complex problem by business concerns. These funds procured from different sources have different characteristics in terms of risk, cost and control that a manager must consider while procuring funds. The funds should be procured atContinue reading

Functions of Finance Manager

The twin aspects, procurement and effective utilization of funds are crucial tasks faced by a finance manager. The financial manager is required to look into the financial implications of any decision in the firm. Thus all decisions involve management of funds under the purview of the finance manager. A large number of decisions involve substantial or material changes in value of funds procured or employed. The finance manager, has to manage funds in such a way so as to make their optimum utilization and to ensure their procurement in a way that the risk, cost and control are properly balanced under a given situation. He may not, be concerned with the decisions, that do not affect the basic financial management and structure. The nature of job of an accountant and finance manager is different, an accountant’s job is primarily to record the business transactions, prepare financial statements showing resultsContinue reading

Current Trends in Human Resource Management

The world of work is rapidly changing. As a part of organization, Human Resource Management (HRM) must be prepared to deal with effects of changing world of work. For the HR people it means understanding the implications of globalization, work-force diversity, changing skill requirements, corporate downsizing, continuous improvement initiatives, re-engineering, the contingent work force, decentralized work sites and employee involvement. Let us consider each of them one by one. 1. Globalization and its implications Business today doesn’t have national boundaries – it reaches around the world. The rise of multinational corporations places new requirements on human resource managers. The HR department needs to ensure that the appropriate mix of employees in terms of knowledge, skills and cultural adaptability is available to handle global assignments. In order to meet this goal, the organizations must train individuals to meet the challenges of globalization. The employees must have working knowledgeContinue reading