MARKETING

Marketing is defined by the AMA as "the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large."

It can also be defined as "the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships, in order to capture value from customers in return".This replaces the previous definition, which still appears in the AMA's dictionary: "an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders." It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments. It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves.

Marketing is used to identify the customer, satisfy the customer, and keep the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, marketing management is one of the major components of business management. Marketing evolved to meet the stasis in developing new markets caused by mature markets and overcapacities in the last 2-3 centuries. The adoption of marketing strategies requires businesses to shift their focus from production to the perceived needs and wants of their customers as the means of staying profitable.The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions. It proposes that in order to satisfy its organizational objectives, an organization should anticipate the needs and wants of consumers and satisfy these more effectively than competitors.The term developed from an original meaning which referred literally to going to a market to buy or sell goods or services. Seen from a systems point of view, sales process engineering marketing is "a set of processes that are interconnected and interdependent with other functions,whose methods can be improved using a variety of relatively new approaches."

Marketing Objectives

You must develop clear objectives before proceeding with community outreach and marketing efforts. These objectives are as follows:

·         Obtain support for the mentoring concept;

·         Obtain funding for the mentoring program; and

·         Recruit volunteer mentors and program participants.

The next step is to develop an effective communications strategy, which includes choosing your most important audiences and deciding on the best ways to communicate with them. Marketing your mentoring program is an ongoing process that must be incorporated into the marketing plan for the entire organization.

Communications Strategy

Four basic components of the communications strategy should be included in all materials or presentations promoting your mentoring program:

1. Establish the need for mentoring to enhance support services available for at-risk populations.

·       Include statistics on the client populations. (These numbers are specific to your community.)

·       Tie your message into your organization’s mission and history.

2. Describe program components and activities.
3. List benefits of mentoring program for:

·       Program participants (clients);

·       Mentors; and

·       Community at large (emphasize those groups most important to you).

4. Include an example or case study of a mentoring success story (if possible).

The communications strategy should include different forms of promotion. It is important to choose a form of promotion that is practical and appropriate for each audience. By highlighting specific benefits to specific audiences, you can tailor your message.

Conclusion From This Article

You can greatly simplify recruitment and public relations tasks, as well as achieve better results, if you identify the benefits for your audience, earmark a budget and devise a month-by-month plan.A marketing strategy differs from a marketing tactic in that a strategy looks at the longer term view of the products, goods, or services being marketed. A tactic refers to a shorter term view. Therefore, the mailing of a postcard or sales letter would be a tactic, but a campaign of several postcards, sales letters, or telephone calls would be a strategy.The communications strategy should include different forms of promotion. It is important to choose a form of promotion that is practical and appropriate for each audience. By highlighting specific benefits to specific audiences, you can tailor your message.