Marketing Essay

Having read the chapters from Lovelock, Wirtz, Key & Lu (2005) and Masterson & Pickton (2010), what did you find most interesting about services marketing and why? Answer:In this chapter, the most interesting about services marketing is the growth of the service economy. In numerous countries, increased productivity and automation in agriculture and industry, combined with growing demand for both new and traditional services, have jointly resulted in a continuing increase over time in the percentage of the labor force that is employed in service. In recent years, the development of technology, especially IT and telecommunication, has became more crucial in services. The opening up of the service economy means that there will be greater competition. In turn, more competition will stimula innovation, not least through the application of new and improved technologies. Having read the chapters from Lovelock, Wirtz, Key & Lu (2005) and Masterson & Pickton (2010), what concepts or ideas relating to services marketing did you find most difficult to understand and why? Answer: In my opinion, the most difficult to understand concept is â€Å"People are often part of the product†. The difference between ones service and another often lies in the quality of employees who serve the customers. Service firms need to devote special care to selecting , training,and motivating those employees who will be serving customers directing. At the same time, firms have to manage and shape customer behavior, as the type of customers who patronize a particular service business can shape the nature of the service experience. I think it only proof that the people is very important in doing service. Why people are part of product? It make me confused. Having read the chapters from Lovelock, Wirtz, Key & Lu (2005) and Masterson & Pickton (2010) outline four generic differences between good and services. How do these differences impact on the marketing of service products? Answer: there are 4 generic differences between good ans services. First, goos are tangible while services are intangible. As a result, services can not be inventoried, easily patented and readily displayed or communicated. In addition, pricing is more difficult. Second, goods are standardized while services are heterogeneous. So service delivery and customer satisfaction depend on employees and customer actions. Service quality depend on many uncontrollable factors. Third, for goods, production separate from consumption, but for services, simultaneous production and consumption. As a result, people participated in will affect each other. Fourth, goods are nonperishable while services are perishable. So it is difficult to synchronize supply and demand with services. And services can not be returned or resold. Having read chapter fourteen of the prescribed text – Armstrong et al (2012) – what did you find most interesting about socially and ethically responsible marketing and why? Answer:The most interesting about socially and ethically responsible marketing is the marketing’s impact on society as a whole. There are several impacts, such as false wants and too much materialism, too few social goods, cultural pollution. For false wants and too much materialism, critics have charged that the marketing system urges too much interest in material possessions, and that the Western world’s love affair with worldly possessions is not sustainable. People often are judged by what they own,rather than by who they are. The critics do not view this interest in material things as a natural state of mind, but rather as a matter of false wants created by marketing. Marketers stimulate people’s desire for goods and create materialistic models of the good life. Having read chapter fourteen of the prescribed text – Armstrong et al (2012) – what concepts or ideas relating to did you find most and why? Answer: the most difficult to understand relating to socially and ethically responsible marketing is that critics charge the marketing system with creating cultural pollution. Commercials interrupt serious programs; pages of ads obscure magazines; billboards mar beautiful scenery; spam fills our inboxes. However, why say these interruptions continually pollute people’s minds with messages of materialism, sex,power or status. Most ads have its culture of products or companies, and some of them can bring a good culture value about consumption to people. In addition, advertisers are making their ads more entraining and informative. Outline and discuss four social criticisms of marketing. How would adopting a societal marketing orientation help to overcome these criticisms? Answer: the societal marketing orientation is the idea that the organisation should determine the needs, wants and interests of target markets and deliver the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than competitors, and in a way that maintains or improves society’s wellbeing. Sustainable marketing calls for products that are not only pleasing but also beneficial. Products can be classified according to their degree of immediate consumer satisfaction and long ran consumer benefits. Marketers should take the whole society into account when they doing marketing. Deficient products have neither immediate appeal nor long-run benefits. Pleasing products give high immediate satisfaction but may hurt consumers in the long run. What the society wants is desirable products, which give both high immediate satisfaction and high long-run benefits. Concentrating more on social interests can help to overcome these criticisms. Based on your own experiences, what are the advantages for marketers in using social media as part of their marketing communications strategies? Answer: there are several advantages for using social media marketing. First, it is much cheaper. Traditional advertising methods can be costly for businesses while It’s free for businesses to sign up for popular social media networks, so it’s an affordable way to promote products and services, while building relationships with customers. Second, instant. With social media, you can announce a sale or special event as soon you finalize plans. Social media gives business owners the ability to share information, such as blog posts, tips and ideas and coupons instantly. third, interact. People can interact with consumers directly through social media, and social media marketing enables people to provide them with assistance on-the-spot. Social media networks also gives people a chance to interact with other entrepreneurs and leaders in their industries. Fourth, using social media marketing can get a huge database of ideas. On the social sites, there are many looking for answers to their problems. People are looking for solutions and one of the places they are looking is in social media where they might be following one of their teachers such as a blogger or mentor. Based on your own experience, what are the disadvantages or risks for marketers in using social media as part of their marketing commuications strategy? Answer: there are several disadvantages of using social media marketing. First, the wrong online brand strategy could put people at a viral social disadvantage and may even damage people reputation, i. e, when person makes a mistake offline, a few will know but when he make a mistake in front of hundreds or thousands of his online audience, most of them will know. Second, in order to get social media’s full effect, you need to understand how it works, when and how to use it and which channels to focus on depending on your end goal of using social media. Third, social media can have a negative influence on worker productivity. Employees may waste valuable time using social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. They can also use social media to attack the company’s reputation. Fourth, when social media is used excessively or in the wrong way, it could have serious detrimental outcomes on both mental and even physical health of individuals. In addition, social media may open possibility for hackers to commit illegal crime such as fraud, spam and virus attacks. People falling prey to online scam may also increase, resulting in data or identity theft.