1.2. (Pg.351-352. Section 10.9.4)Beacon -Facebook makes use of the beacon advertising system to communicate with targeted advertisements and enabling people to share their thoughts and activities with friends. Facebook i
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1.2. (Pg.351-352. Section 10.9.4)Beacon -Facebook makes use of the beacon advertising system to communicate with targeted advertisements and enabling people to share their thoughts and activities with friends. Facebook is a low-cost marketing strategy. Marketing activities that would cost thousands of Rands through other channels can be used on Facebook for a fraction of the cost. This makes it ideal for small to medium businesses with a limited marketing budget. Larger business (for example Sanlam, Wesbank etc.) can also trial marketing concepts and themes through Facebook before committing to bigger campaigns. Mobile Platforms -Mobile platforms has promoted and improved businesses communication by ensuring that companies can track their trends and results which can help them to improve their communication strategies and increase productivity. Mobile devices continue reshaping the world. Mobile apps which determine our daily lives, behaviours and even shopping habits also form a basis for a quick change in finance and banking fields. With the development of mobile technologies, users can take mobile banking benefits by doing their banking and financial businesses with mobile platforms easily. Twitter and micro blogging -Twitter allow direct two-way communication with your customers. Because it is a public interaction, if you do it well it shows your business in a positive light. Brand identity: Being on Twitter can help communicate your brand ethos and personality. Twitter is the only social network where brands and consumers have an even playing field and unrestricted lines of clear, concise communication. Twitters is a multibillion-dollar company that enables its users to broadcast short (140-280 characters) messages about whatever they feel like, reaching a potential audience of 330 million active users. Messages are broadcast in real time, so developing stories can be updated instantly and continuously. This far reach, instantaneous updates, and small message size makes Twitter an ideal 6
social media marketing communication tool to reach a targeted audience. Review blog -Blogging is not a new concept when it comes to advertising your financial agency or personal brand. Many people in the financial industry are already veterans in blogging and have been out in the field for years. A review blog is a great way to promote your brand or organisation's authenticity. Online visibility is exactly what it sounds like -being able to be found and seen on the internet. This could mean your business pops up a lot in search engines, on social media, on other people's blogs as a guest writer, etc. business blogging is one way to help get your business in front of people looking for your products or services on the internet. Knowing who your buyer personas are is a key step towards building a successful blog. Really simple syndication (RSS) feed -RSS feeds are a quick and easy way to get the news that matters most to you as soon as it its published. These feeds contain headlines, links and descriptions and are updated as the website is updated with new stories. RSS feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate their listings automatically to anyone subscribing. More and more websites are recognizing the popularity of RSS feeds and the number of sites offering them is growing rapidly. RSS allows users to easily stay informed by retrieving the latest content from the websites they are interested in. They save time by not needing to visit each site individually. They also ensure privacy by not needing to join each site's email newsletter. A further benefit is that the user can aggregate feeds from many websites into one place. 7
Question 2 (Ref- Study Unit 1 of Study guide and Chapter 5 of Prescribed book)2.1. (Pg.147. Chapter 5) Having a plan for informing the public about your products and services can help your company develop its identity and build a consumer base. Marketing management is an essential part of how a company grows and carries out its business plan. Marketing management refers to the strategies, tools and analyses used in promoting a business. Businesses use marketing management techniques to identify opportunities for growth and connect effectively with new target markets. It coordinates advertising efforts across platforms to promote a brand's image and capture as many potential customers as possible. Marketing management also involves reflecting on the impact of past marketing campaigns and customer outreach efforts, using customer feedback and sales trends to adjust a company's overall marketing plan. It seeks to streamline the way a business builds relationship with customers and connects their products and services with people who could benefit from them. It includes the organisation's mission or strategic direction, its objectives and goals, its growth strategies, and the business portfolio (Paley, 1999: 248).2.2. (Pg.161 -Section 5.5.1) It is important to bear in mind that the five proposed steps that are followed in the marketing plan differ among authors. According to Paley (1999: 248), a marketing plan consists of the following five steps:A marketing plan helps you promote products and services in your business that meet the needs of your target market. It requires research, time, and commitment, but is a very valuable process that can greatly contribute to your business success. I would develop a strategic marketing plan for BBS Hotel for international backpacker travellers as the following: 8
Step 1: Situation analysis-This is basically the process of critically evaluating the internal and external conditions that affect an organisation, which is done prior to a new initiative or project it provides the knowledge to identify the current opportunities and challenges to your organisation, service, or product. Situation analysis helps develop a basis of understanding of the environment in which a plan is delivered. It provides a common reference point for the planning process and prioritises action. Defining your target market is a crucial step in your marketing plan. A carefully selected target market will make your marketing far more effective because you can focus on the specific needs and demand of a certain group. This allows you to dominate a market segment, make your prices secondary, accomplish a better return on investment (ROI) and make your business more enjoyable. So, the question is, who is your ideal target market you want to focus your marketing upon? And for business already in the running, how much percent of your current guests consist of your ideal target market? The price that you charge for each bed not only determines your margin but also how you are perceived from potential guests. Step 2: Marketing opportunities-In this part you will reveal three key plans: Your sales strategy -the prices you will set, your marketing strategy -the actions you will take to attract customers and build customer loyalty and finally, your risk management strategy -how you will minimise the risks related to your business. Placing a spotlight on these will show potential investors/buyers that you have given your project a lot of thought and anticipated the risk involved in running the business over the long term. Market research helps you evaluate the attractiveness of a new market before investing in it. It involves collecting and analysing data about your product/services and how they would fair in a new market environment. It helps you understand the target consumer's shopping habits, needs, and purchasing power. Lastly, it tells you how you're to-be competitors have shaped the industry in your target market, and how you can disrupt the industry for the benefit of your business. The new market you are looking for might be right under your nose; you're to-9
be customers could be the very people you currently sell/provide a service to. Ask yourself: Apart from the items or services you sell/provide, which other services or products might your current customers need? Step 3: Marketing objectives -Marketing objectives are actionable targets designed to provide not just overall direction, but clear and specific actions. They are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based (These are often called SMART goals). Marketing objectives should be tied to the overall success of the company, not just an arbitrary number. Objectives outline more than just a specific number, but also how you plan to reach that number and what impact that endpoint will have on the company. Goals and objectives are two sides of the same coin. In general, business goals define endpoint, while objectives are a more specific outline of how your marketing team will get there. A few examples of marketing objectives -Increase sales, if you provide a service like a hotel, you might want to focus on increasing sales to increase revenue. Then, outline how you will get there -perhaps by increasing lead generation content production or automating your email marketing your suggest related services. Increase leads -if you offer an expensive service, you might want to increase the number of people who land in your sales pipeline so you can work to convert those folks over time. Grow brand awareness -if you are a new company or are launching a new service, you may be interested in growing your brand awareness to increase sales. This goal can be difficult to track without a clear objective. Note that this objective not only outlines the target to increase brand awareness but also how you will measure it -through an increase in organic searches of your brand/company name. Decrease churn -You are a well-established company and have a decent sales funnel -but you have a hard time keeping customers. Since it is cheaper to keep customers, you have already earned than bring new customers, you might create an objective to decrease customer turnover. In short -Outline your main marketing objectives, set short-term goals, outline your marketing 10
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