Marketing includes those business activities in the flow of goods and services from production to consumption. Goods and services are of two types; consumer and industrial. Firstly, it is important to define the primary difference between Business to Business (B2B) Marketing and Business to Consumer (B2C) Marketing. Both markets are types of commercial transactions, however, simply put, business to consumer (B2C) is the process of selling products directly to consumers and industrial/business to business (B2B) is the process of selling products or services to other businesses. However, the differences between both business systems are much more complex than their simple definitions, so are their similarities. Obviously, both B2B and B2C markets have one fundamental difference: the type of customer. However, this article is going to investigate these markets further, discussing the similarities and differences between their market’s structure, marketing practices and buying behaviour within the industry. Market Structure One key Continue reading
Industrial Marketing Concepts
Need for Advertising Agencies in Industrial Marketing
An Advertising agency is an organisation whose business consists in the acquisition of the right to use space of time in advertising media and the administration of behalf of the advertisers of advertising appropriations made by them. It renders advice and creative services for its clients. It does not sell any tangible products, but sells creative talents and past experience. Thus it is an organisation specially created for rendering services in advertising. The services of an advertising agency in general can be summarized as follows: It makes the advertisements pleasant and serves the purpose. It can get the advertisements published at the appropriate times. It can help the advertiser in the preparation of the advertising budget. It can free the advertiser from the botheration of contacting the media owners of all types as and when necessary. It can do market research for the advertiser at a lesser cost. It can Continue reading
Strategic Planning in the Industrial Market
While the basic principles of marketing planning apply in both markets, many organizations have found that what works well in the consumer market fails to do so in the industrial market. Two significant differences between these markets appear to account for this phenomenon. First, unlike the consumer market where products are normally’ marketed through one or two channels, most industrial marketers face diverse markets that must be reached through a multiplicity of channels-each requiring a different marketing approach. A producer of communication equipment, for instance, may market to such diverse segments as the commercial, institutional, and governmental market, each of which will require a unique marketing plan. Second, in contrast to consumer marketing, successful industrial marketing strategy depends more on other functional areas. Where the elements of planning in consumer marketing can often be contained within specific areas of marketing, such as advertising, selling, and product management, planning in the Continue reading
Importance of Services in Industrial Marketing
Business services include maintenance and repair support and advisory support. Like supplies services are considered as expense items. The explosive growth of the internet has increased the demand for a range of electronic commerce services such as delivering technical support, customer training and management development programmes. The rapid growth of business services in industrial marketing is governed by four important factors which are explained below. Innovations: The innovations in the field of science and technology have contributed for increasing demand in the area of business services. Advancement in computer security systems, computer enabled services, environmental control systems for office and factory buildings are examples for the effect of innovations on business services. Out Sourcing: It is a common phenomenon that the present day organizations are getting the services done from outside services provide. In an area where the company is not expertised such as management information functions, HR, Payrolls, Warehousing Continue reading
Industrial Product Development
Industrial product is defined as a complex set of economic, technical, legal, and personal relationship between the buyer and the seller. A product is a combination of basic, enhanced, and augmented properties. Basic properties are included in the generic product, with fundamental benefits sought by customers. Generic products are made differentiable by adding tangible enhanced properties such as product features, styling and quality. The augmented properties include intangible benefits such as technical assistance, available of spare parts, maintenance and repair services, warranties, training, timely delivery, and attractive commercial terms. The product package as expected by the prospective customers should be well understood by the industrial marketer. Industrial product development is the process by which the product ideas are generated, assessed, directed and converted into products. There are seven stages in the process of industrial product development. Idea Generation: The Industrial marketer should be consciously search for new product idea and Continue reading
Long-Term Industrial Product Strategies
Industrial marketing firms have to adopt the following three important steps for developing long term product strategies for existing individual products and products lines. Assessing the performance of all the existing products or product lines by using product evaluation matrix. Examining the relative strengths and weakness of the firm’s products in comparison to competitors’ products by using perceptual mapping technique. Deciding the product strategies for the existing products based on the above analysis. 1. Product Evaluation Matrix Yoran Wind & Henry Claycamp have developed a technique called product evaluation matrix to be used to assess the product performance. Performance parameters of a product such as industrial sales, company sales, market share and profitability are combined in the matrix. Industry sales are represented on vertical axis and are grouped as growth, stable or decline. Company sales are assessed on horizontal axis and are grouped as growth, stable or decline. In the Continue reading