Marketing and Customer free essay sample

Megan Sedlacek Marketing Unit 4 Assignment 1. As a marketing consultant for a chain of hair salons, you have been asked to evaluate the kids’ market as a potential segment for the chain to target. Evaluate the kids’ segment against the four criteria for successful market segmentation. * Substantiality: Is the kids’ group large enough to warrant developing and maintaining a special marketing mix? I think so. However, there is a challenge finding the right size or balance. If the kids’ group is too large in one region, there is a risk of diluting effectiveness, and if the group becomes too small, the company will lose the benefits of economies of scale. There are often very large customers that provide a large portion of a suppliers business. These single customers are sometimes distinctive enough to justify constituting a segment on their own. This variable should be relevant to a substantial group of customers, such as parents who have children. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing and Customer or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page * Identifiability and measurability: Is the kids’ market large enough to be identifiable and measurable? Yes, with the population booming, however it’s almost impossible to get accurate strategic data on a number of customers. The best idea would be to use more persuasive methods while gaining clientele that compensates for the gap of accurate data measurement. * Accessibility: Is there a way to market and reach members of other targeted segments? There are several variables to consider when marketing to both a largely populated area with competition and low population areas that may not have as much competition. You may be able to reach the attention of kids’ and parents by marketing low cost haircuts and other services that they may be looking for. In a kids’ group, the only service you are probably going to supply is haircuts, so to combine a haircut sale with something that a parent might be looking for at a low cost, you are probably going to gain their attention and grab their business. * Responsiveness: Are we able to offer lower priced hair-cuts to kids’? Yes, it’s kind of like accessibility. If you market a lower cost haircut for children, the parents are probably more likely to react and bring their kids’ in for a haircut. If the service is outstanding you are probably going to receive a repeat customer. 1. Write a letter to the president of your bank suggesting ideas for increasing profits and enhancing customer service by improving segmentation and targeting strategies. * As a loyal provider to many people in the community, there is potential to increasing profits by enhancing customer service and improving segmentation and targeting strategies. Proper customer segmentation needs to be done to see who retains what as well as what product need to be sold and when it is crucial. The channels to be used to target a customer and how to do it with the least amount of costs plays an important role in increasing the profitability and bringing value to a customer. Using the right customer-centric strategies with help of latest systems we can slice and dice relevant customer data and enable institutions to ensure and expand customer profitability. We can retain happy customers and increase profits several ways. One way is to manage customer life cycles at the bank. Once the customer has been acquired using traditional or non-traditional sources, the challenge is keeping them engaged and making them profitable. We need to initiate customer centric initiatives to see that the customer in the center of all activities that are undertaken. Customer segmentation is made to distinguish profitable from non-profitable and use strategies to see that the bottom line is enhanced. Another idea would be to use effective channeling. Providing the best customer service and clear communication to the customers is key to reducing costs as well as costly mistakes. We should also be able to supply the customers with a spend analysis. Based on individual analytics and metrics customers can be sent mailers on the product which they plan to buy. Based on segments, customer centric offerings are to be offered. Each customer has their own liking and disliking as well as proper planning. The right time to offer also plays an important role. This will avoid unnecessary mailers/calls to be made. Customers normally tend to ignore mass mailers and emails which are sent on regular intervals as they feel that they are junk mail. It is also important to determine the best channel of communication the customer is most likely to respond to. Valuable resources and time is saved and also frees marketing resources to concentrate on other customer and plan for newer programs. Overall, we can work with our customers on helping us improve our customer service and provide the quality service that the customers deserve. It is in this endeavor to have a sustaining model to keep the customer engaged throughout their relationship with the bank for growth and profits in the long run. . You are the marketing manager for a specialty retailer that sells customized handbags. Describe how the company could benefit from one-to-one marketing. The company is more likely to attract customers by offering discounted items which are automatically selected to appeal to the individual recipient. Once clientele is received, the personalization of offerings can be based solely upon individual purchasing records because of the simplified a nd repetitive nature of their business. By being loyal to the customers and offering discounts on a personal level, the company is sure to win the business of the customer for a lifetime. 3. In the absence of company problems, is there any reason to develop a marketing decision support system? * Yes, a decision support system holds data of customers’ and potential customers’ profiles and purchase patterns. With this said, managers are able to probe for trends, isolate potential problems, and ask â€Å"what if† questions to make the appropriate decision in any case. 4. Prepare a memo to your boss at JetBlue Airlines to outline why the organization needs a CI unit. With competition of the industry on the rise, JetBlue Airlines needs a way to become better competitors to keep and gain more customer relationships. We can achieve the competitor advantage by implementing a competitive intelligence unit that allows us to assess our competitors and vendors information. We would be able to improve our performan ce standards to be on the same level as our competitors but also be able to increase our earnings over those in the industry. Overall, a competitive intelligence unit can help us in our marketing decisions and be a more successful company overall.