UNIT 3 COMPANY ORIENTATION

TOWARDS MARKETPLACE

STRUCTURE-

3.1 Extending Traditional Boundaries

3.2 Holistic Marketing

3.3 Integrated Marketing

3.4 Internal Marketing

3.5 Relationship Marketing

3.6 Performance Marketing

3.7 Key Words

3.8 Summary

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

Explain the extension of boundaries of traditional marketing
Discuss the meaning and types of holistic marketing
Elaborate on the meaning and characteristics of integrated marketing
Discuss the importance of internal marketing in modern organisations
Explain the meaning of relationship marketing and performance marketing

INTRODUCTION
In the modern world, the definition of market has transformed to a great extent
depending on various functions of marketing performed by organisations. Many definitions of
marketing have been developed depending upon the functions performed by it in present times.
With the passage of time, marketing has extended its boundaries from being a managerial
function to the integrative function that binds the entire organisation together.
Various types of marketing have been evolved due to changing expectations of modern
consumers. These types of marketing have catered the needs of consumers in the dynamic
environment in present-day situations. This unit throws light upon these new types of
marketing and their role in the success of an organisation.
The opening section of this unit gives an overview of the extension of traditional boundaries
of marketing by modern organisations. The unit also discusses holistic marketing and its
various types. It also discusses relationship marketing, integrated marketing and internal
marketing. The latter section of the unit explains performance marketing.

3.1 EXTENDING TRADITIONAL BOUNDARIES

A market can be defined in various ways, i.e., in terms of product characteristics, in terms of
sales in particular regions and in terms of sales target. Depending on the criteria adopted for
differentiation, the definition of market changes according to the functions it performs for its
consumers.
Traditionally speaking, a market can be defined as a group of organisations involved in the
production of closely related products. In other words, it is a generic class of closely related
products that can be considered as a substitute for each other by consumers.
Some thinkers consider market as a class of people who purchase a certain type of product.
This suggests that consumers for a specific market can be easily identified with similar needs
and wants. It is correct to say that boundaries of the traditional market are extending with the
passage of time and growing consumer expectations. The following dimensions should be
covered while determining the boundaries of a market:
Consumer: A consumer can be defined as a homogeneous set of people having similar
needs and wants. For example, the market for cooking appliances covers households that buy
these appliances through departmental stores. It is very important to identify the target
consumer to decide the boundaries of a market.
Product: Products are used in several ways; therefore, they should be considered in
terms of the functions they perform. For example, some cooking appliances fry and boil while
others bake and roast. Consumer satisfaction is the most crucial aspect to be covered by the
product.
Technology: Various technologies can be used for performing a particular function. In
the above example of cooking appliances, a new technology called microwave radiation has
replaced the traditional alternatives of gas and electricity in many corners of the world.
Technology is also an important factor to be considered while discussing the boundaries of the
market.
Nowadays, these boundaries are restated in terms of five sets of “environmental influences”
that affect product and market boundaries, which can be discussed as follows:
1. Technological change: This is usually brought about by the displacement of existing
technology by new technology.
2. Market-oriented product development: This involves combining the features of several
products into one multi-purpose offering.
3. Price changes and supply constraints: This influences the perceived set of substitutes.
4. Social, legal, or government trends: This influences the patterns of competition.
5. International trade competition: This helps promote the brand across geographic
boundaries and on an international level

3.2 HOLISTIC MARKETING

Holistic marketing is the latest approach in marketing that has originated as a response to
fundamental changes in the dynamic marketing environment. It is based upon the philosophy
that everything matters. It focusses on a high degree of correlation and inter-relationship with
the organisational overall marketing plan.
Holistic marketing considers the organisation as a whole and, therefore, involves
interconnecting several activities. It is designed by taking into account the interdependencies
among various processes and activities of the organisation.
In the words of Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller, “A holistic marketing concept is based
on the development, design and implementation of marketing programs, processes and
activities that recognise the breadth and interdependencies.”
As a marketing discipline, holistic marketing needs to be understood from the whole picture of
the organisation. This proposes that marketing should be looked from a broader perspective
and not just as a management function in isolation.
Holistic marketing caters to the varying requirements of consumers through proper
identification of their demands. It involves a detailed identification and satisfaction of
consumer demands.
Samsung, a leading brand of the mobile industry, ensures product development by considering
the consumers’ expectations. Its stores are made in a proper manner and its customer service
is fast and cooperative.
Following are the four main components of this approach:
Internal marketing: It ensures a better and balanced work between departments.
Relationship marketing: It enhances better relations with customers.
Performance marketing: It is beneficial for driving sales and revenue growth.
Integrated marketing: It ensures that products, services and marketing go hand- in-hand.
Figure 1 depicts the holistic marketing
Figure 1: Holistic Marketing Concept
Source: https://www.marketing91.com/holistic-marketing-concept/

The four components of holistic marketing can be discussed as follows:

Internal marketing: Internal marketing considers employees as internal consumers.
Therefore, their satisfaction is of the foremost importance for the organisation. It focusses on
the active participation of employees in the marketing orientation programs of the organisation.
It is responsible for the synchronisation of the marketing department with other departments in
the organisation.
Integrated marketing: Integrated marketing refers to the practice of integrating
marketing programs to create, communicate and deliver value to consumers. It gains synergy
out of all marketing activities through designing an effective marketing mix program.
Relationship marketing: Relationship marketing refers to the practice of building long-
term relationships with various parties connected to an organisation including employees,
suppliers, financial institutions, regulatory institutions and society at large. All these parties
play a vital role in the achievement of organisational goals.
Social marketing: Social marketing believes that it is the prime responsibility of an
organisation to fulfil its social responsibility towards various groups of society.
The organisation should not be involved in any activity that is harmful to society. 45
Social marketing suggests that organisations should donate a part of their earnings for the
benefit of the society. Leading IT organisations including Microsoft, Wipro and Infosys are
involved in social issues like AIDS awareness campaign, schooling of children, blood donation
camps and provision of hi-tech facilities near their campuses. Such social initiatives help in
creating goodwill for these organisations.

Following are the benefits of holistic marketing:

 Holistic marketing helps in recognising the growing customer empowerment.
Holistic marketing helps in focusing on delivering outcomes and not products to
consumers.
Holistic marketing helps in finding new ways to reach customers with a message.
Holistic marketing helps in developing high-tech marketing tools.
Holistic marketing enables an organisation to maximise its profits by meeting
consumers’ expectations.

3.3 INTEGRATED MARKETING

According to the integrated marketing concept, marketing communication should deliver the
same message and create the maximum marketing effect through synergy. It is an approach
used by the organisation to create a good experience for consumers.
Marketing guru Philip Kotler defined IMC as “the concept under which a company carefully
integrates and coordinates its many communication channels to deliver a clear, consistent
message”.
Integrated marketing covers both large and small organisations with an objective of
coordinating elements of marketing communication in an effective manner. On one hand, large
organisations involve themselves in promotional activities such as advertising, sponsorship and
marketing events while, on the other hand, small organisations are involved in personal
marketing communication with their consumers.
Integrated marketing covers all aspects of marketing communication including advertising,
sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing and social media. It combines various
tactics, methods, channels, media and activities in a way that all work together as a unified
force. Marketing events use various marketing efforts like TV shows and word of mouth
advertising through consumers.
BUPA, which is a well-known brand in Personal Health Service, used TV, press, radio
advertising, direct marketing, sponsorship, PR and internal communications to promote its
healthcare products in the market. BUPA’s recent marketing strategy repositioned its brand
and integrated its offering.
According to the JIMC, “Integrated marketing communication is the management of all
organised communications to build positive relationships with customers and other
stakeholders. It stresses marketing to the individual by understanding their needs, motivations,
attitudes and behaviour.”
The following are the main characteristics of the internal marketing concept:
 Planned approach: Integrated marketing plans objectives that are consistent with
organisational goals. It covers the full extent of marketing communication activities in a
synergic manner.
Consumer-oriented: Integrated marketing considers consumer perceptions, attitudes
and their behaviours. It believes in identifying their needs and addressing them by taking into
account all these factors.
Data-driven: Integrated marketing is based on research and analysis of data to
understand the expectations of consumers. All the relevant data related to consumers is
collected and marketing initiatives are developed through the centralised data system of
integrated marketing.
Range of messages: Integrated marketing ensures the determination of standardised
messages to work for the mutual benefit of organisation and consumers with least incongruity.

3.4 INTERNAL MARKETING

Internal marketing considers the knowledge-driven workforce as the driving force behind the
success of an organisation. It aligns every aspect of organisation’s internal operations with an
objective of providing maximum value to consumers. In case of internal marketing, an
organisation considers its employees as ‘internal consumers’ who are convinced about the
organisation’s vision and are considered as important as ‘external consumers’.
The basic idea behind internal marketing is that consumers’ attitude towards an organisation is
the result of their experience with its employees. The overall consumer satisfaction is based on
his interaction with the employees of the organisation and not just products. Every employee
plays a vital role in shaping consumers’ belief towards the organisation.
Strong communication between the organisation and its employees is the foundation of internal
marketing. It focusses on disseminating information about organisational goals to its
employees and guiding them accordingly to achieve those goals.
Internal marketing involves hiring, training and motivating able employees who are interested
in serving the consumer. Employees are engaged in the function of marketing, like sales force,
advertising, customer service, product management and market research. The organisation
invests on training and providing technical expertise and developing its employees.

Relationship marketing solicits consumer feedback through surveys, polls and phone calls,
which can create a positive impression that their opinions are valued and helps create better
products and services.

3.5 RELATIONSHIP MARKETING

Relationship marketing establishes, retains and enhances long-term relationship with
consumers to create value for the organisation. The objective of relationship marketing is to
enhance a strong consumer relationship with the organisation as a satisfied consumer plays a
vital role in the success of the organisation. Relationship marketing is depicted in Figure 2:

Figure 2Relationship Marketing

Source: https://juneux.com/blog/2016/11/how-to-transform-your-current-marketing-into-
relationship-
marketing/
In modern organisations, relationship marketing is very important as it supports the
organisational capability of maintaining close contact with its consumers.
In the words of Greenrooms (1990), relationship marketing is “the process of establishing,
marinating, and enhancing the relationship with the customers so that the objectives of the
organisation are met. This is achieved by fulfilment of promises”.
Relationship marketing is an integrated effort by the organisation to identify, maintain, and
build up a strong network with its consumers. It continuously strengthens and maintains a
network for the mutual benefits of both the sides through interactive and value-added contacts
in the long run.
The basic idea behind relationship marketing is consumer relationship management, which
focusses on improving consumer relations for maintaining and improving brand loyalty. It
involves a two-way communication between consumers and the organisation through regularly
tracking of consumer activities.
The benefits of relationship marketing include:
Higher customer lifetime value (CLV): Relationship marketing helps in maintaining
loyal consumers who are interested in repeat purchase. They also play the role of brand
advocates by recommending these products to their friends, family and professional contacts.
Reduction in marketing and advertising expenditure: Relationship marketing saves
expenses on marketing and advertising activities. Consumers spread awareness about products
and services through the word of mouth, which helps in sales maximisation.
Stronger organisational alignment with the consumer: Organisations committed in
relationship marketing witness a stronger organisational alignment and a sound consumer
experience.
Today, most brands are engaged in providing various types of services to their consumers to
facilitate relationship marketing.
They provide exceptional customer service to create a positive image of the brand in the minds
of consumers. They perform the following tasks to establish a sound relationship with their
consumers:
They regularly thank their consumers through a social media platform or with surprise
gift cards on their special days.
They solicit consumer feedback through regular surveys, polls and phone calls, which
create a positive impression about the brand.
They involve in consumer advocacy or brand advocacy programmes to reward their
consumers who spread the word of mouth advertising on the brand’s behalf.

3.6PERFORMANCE MARKETING
Performance marketing has evolved with the adoption of various new technologies and
changing expectations of consumers. It has enhanced the practice of search engine optimisation
in various organisations.
According to performance marketing association “Performance marketing can be defined as
online marketing and advertising programs in which advertisers and marketing companies are
paid when a specific action is completed, such as a sale, lead or click.”
CHANNELS USED FOR PERFORMANCE MARKETING ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Native advertising: Native advertising is a type of advertising which matches the form,
feel and function of the content of the media on which it appears.
Sponsored advertising: Sponsorship advertising refers to a type of advertising where
the brand pays to associate itself with a special event. Organisations sponsor various teams,
sports tournaments, fairs and other community events with an objective to be viewed as a
participating member for the event. It helps in maintaining the brand’s image.
 Affiliate marketing: Affiliate marketing refers to one of the types of digital marketing
in which consumers get a commission on the sale of a product purchased by someone due to
their recommendation.
Social media marketing: Social media advertising refers to the advertising which is
provided on social media platforms. Social networks utilise consumers’ information with an
objective to provide the consumers with advertisements that are based on their interactions on
the platform.
Search engine marketing: Search engine marketing refers to the measures which are
designed to improve the position of a website while it shows search results.
Following terms are used in performance marketing to define and measure the return on
investment:
Impressions: It is the number of times the marketing content is displayed on various
social platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Engagement: It is the number of interactions with consumers in terms of likes,
comments, share and retweets by these consumers.
Clicks: It occurs when consumers open any external marketing link through a social
media post on platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Lead: It occurs when the consumer buys the product that appeared over a social network
and he got the information about this product over this platform only.

3.7 KEY WORDS

Synergy: Synergy is the effect of bringing marketing communication elements in a
mutually supportive manner.
Advertising: Advertising is the usage of paid media to deliver communication to target
audiences.
Clicks: A click occurs when a consumer opens any external marketing link through a
social media post on platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Lead: It occurs when the consumer buys the product that appeared over a social network
and he got the information about this product over this platform only.
3.8 SUMMARY
A market can be defined in various ways, i.e., in terms of product characteristics, in terms of
sales in particular regions and in terms of sales target. Depending on the criteria adopted for
differentiation, the definition of market changes according to the functions it performs for its
consumers.
Holistic marketing is the latest approach in marketing that has originated as a response to
fundamental changes in the dynamic marketing environment. It is based upon the philosophy
that everything matters. It focuses on a high degree of correlation and inter-relationship with
the organisational overall marketing plan.
Holistic marketing caters to the varying requirements of consumers through proper
identification of their demands. It involves a detailed identification and satisfaction of
consumer demands.
Social marketing believes that it is the prime responsibility of an organisation to fulfil its social
responsibility towards various groups of the society. The organisation should not be involved
in any activity that is harmful to society. Social marketing suggests that organisations should
donate a part of their earnings for the benefit of the society.
Integrated marketing covers all aspects of marketing communication including advertising,
sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing and social media. It combines various
tactics, methods, channels, media and activities in a way that all work together as a unified
force.
Internal marketing considers the knowledge-driven workforce as the driving force behind the
success of an organisation. It aligns every aspect of organisation’s internal operations with an
objective of providing maximum value to consumers.
Relationship marketing establishes, retains and enhances long-term relationship with
consumers to create value for the organisation. The objective of relationship marketing is to
enhance a strong consumer relationship with the organisation as a satisfied consumer plays a
vital role in the success of the organisation.
Performance marketing has evolved with the adoption of various new technologies and
changing expectations of consumers. It has enhanced the practice of search engine optimisation
in various organisations.