This paper provides a comprehensive description and definition of the eBusiness landscape, how it affects healthcare, and opportunities created in the health industry and specifically in diabetes care. Marketing and sales managers are bombarded with hype about eCommerce, but much of the information is either too technical or presented by enthusiasts with a vested interest. The Internet is indeed not only a great opportunity as a new sales channel, but also contributes to improving the overall effectiveness of marketing communications, sales processing and customer service. Unfortunately, it can also be a way of wasting a lot of money. While one cannot ignore the potential of the Internet to add value to your companyâs sales and marketing activities, at the same time it would be unwise to expect eMarketing to be a panacea to cure a faltering marketing or sales strategy. The question is how to separate the hype from the real issue and how eBusiness can fit into the overall strategy of the companyâs marketing and sales strategy.
In this paper the authors, drawing on the experience of one of the worldâs leading telecommunications suppliers, outline the role an organisationâs salesforce can play in helping to develop and shape marketing strategies. BT operates the fifth largest telephone network in the world and currently serves over 21 million customers in the UK, handling almost a hundred million calls each day. The company employs almost 190 people in the UK and owns or leases over 8 properties, in addition to operating the largest commercial motor transport fleet in Europe (with 73 vehicles). It is against this backdrop that BT is continually attempting to assess customers' needs and requirements and develop marketing strategies that will give the company an edge in the market place. This is a difficult task for any large organization, but one that is made particularly problematic given that the classic approach to marketing does not necessarily lend itself to the challenges facing BT.
This paper is divided into two parts. The first part will outline some elements of a semiotic theory of the brand. In the definition of the brand identity, a crucial point is an identification of basic values and the distinction of these from a more superficial brand's elements. This distinction is particularly relevant in order to pilot the brand evolution over time. A precise approach for spotting the brand's basic values will be described in this part. In the second part a specific methodology, called "Brand Audit" will be presented. The Brand Audit is a research procedure designed to help the strategic marketing of a given brand. It is based on five types of information. The brand communication universe, the company's culture and objectives, the socio-cultural trends, the market data, and the consumers' responses are investigated and put together, in order to collect several different versions of the identity of the studied brand. These five types of information are in constant interaction and evolution and must be apprehended within a unique theoretical and methodological framework.
Competitive pressures as well as the search for fee based incomes, mainly derived from cross-selling, have forced financial institutions to re-define their marketing strategies. Relationship banking has been perceived as a solution to these changes. The concept of relationship banking is based on the premise that "keeping a client is more desirable than attracting new business". This approach to bank-customer exchanges is particulary relevant to commercial (i.e.business sector) segments. Yet in reality the management of relationships is far from being a success, as stated by Day (1985)..."the business association with bankers euphemistically refer to relationship is prompted by financial lust not customer trust." On the basis of interactions with over 200 commercial bankers we trained through the Institute of Canadian Bankers, this paper identifies the major problems raised by the implementation of an effective relationship approach. From this critical analysis, the paper points out the need to view relationship banking as a major corporate issue, not as the sole responsibility of front line people (account managers). More precisely effective relationship banking entails: 1. A re-definition of profit centers 2. A new balance between responsibilities and authority, 3. Revised human resources policies as far as account managers are concerned, 4. Performance appraisal based on relational criteria as well as profit. The conclusion is that within the banking industry, as far as bank-customers relationships are concerned, marketing and strategic issues are merging.
Most food and drink companies competing in the European markets of the 1990's see a challenge to exploit efficiently existing brand equities as well as to maximise the chances of success for new brands. The Quaker Oats company is present in Europe in some of the fastest - growing (and most competitive) markets - including breakfast cereals, petfoods and sports drinks. In all of these markets, and in each of the countries in which Quaker operates, one can identify many opportunities to launch new products. From the viewpoint of strategic marketing, the challenge is to prioritise these opportunities and to determine the appropriate ways to develop and grow our brand equities. In this paper, we will describe the approach which Quaker has taken to analysing and prioritising these opportunities for the next five years. This process included an evaluation of our existing brand equities and their potential for further development and renovation as well as an evaluation of the opportunities for some new brand ideas which were at various stages of development in the business.
A case history showing how a multifacetated methodology along with a close relation between research and marketing can contribute to strategic marketing decisions in the case of the salvation of a brand in an increasing competitive and changing market, as it is the case of the margarine and butter market in Portugal. The step by step, creative and flexible methodologies used to meet the several stages of the marketing decisions allowed the identification and diagnosis of the causes for the declining tendency and the research recommendations along with the marketing strategies succeeded in waking up and giving a new life to the brand Flora. This case history stems out from a set of five sequential research studies conducted between December 89 and May 90 that allowed the relaunch of the brand by the Autumn of 90. Combined efforts that imply a TRUE involvement of research in the marketing process and an open and confident attitude from marketing towards research can, at the proper time, find the best solution for a "condemned" brand.
We note in this case-study that the support of pan-European marketing information is decisive to understand the complexicity of the challenging European market which needs a lot of preparation for the total opening of the frontiers. It is indispensable to integrate all information sources to get the right picture of the market. To get a well harmonized information picture across the different countries is an important step but not enough to understand it. To analyse international figures we need a proper knowledge of the various local particularities. The durables good industry should be prepared to the geographical extension of the large retailer organisations with purchasing departments for the European market and set up pan-European key account marketing function as well as capabilities to face this new dimension which is becoming more and more important in the near future. To get the parallel-import phenomena under control, the industry should be supported in the marketing information by a pan-European pricing monitor. Setting up an international marketing strategy either based on consumer research or on retailer panel information without integration of both of them in the analysis of the market situation is very risky and can lead to wrong strategic issues. To be successful on our challenging European market in the durables field we need for the international marketing strategy the support of global pan-European marketing information with the integration of the knowledge of the local environment and the different source of information like the qualitative and the quantitative ones.
To strengthen its advertising market position, VNU - the largest Dutch magazine publisher - has designed an innovative magazine marketing strategy based on the concept of state-of-mind. State of mind refers to a set of personality characteristics involving lifestyle as well as activities & interests and applies to both readers, magazine titles and consumer products on a brand level. A personâs state-of-mind at any given period determines: * her choice of magazine titles to buy and read; and * her selection of consumer products and brands to purchase and use. Magazines are particularly suited to exploit such state-of-mind impact. The theoretical approach identifies temporary individual-moments in a person's state of mind. Temporary individual-moments supplement the more permanent, stable personality characteristics which underly traditional segmentation. They relate directly to emotional, instrumental and expressive components of reader-magazine involvement. Focus is on the convergence between the state-of-mind of a magazine and of a consumer brand to select eligible titles across which to subsequently perform quantitative media planning optimization.
The situation that Europe '92 will present to marketers in Europe is very similar to the context in which Indian marketers have been operating for years - where different regions of the country are like separate countries in themselves, both in terms of size and in terms of their cultural and marketing environment. This paper discusses the key issues involved in developing successful marketing strategies for such a unified but diverse market. It is based entirely on examples drawn from the Indian experience, with specific emphasis on one particular case study - that of ABC Ltd, a leading Indian cosmetics and toiletries company. The paper is divided into two parts - the first part relates to marketing strategy development for the firm or strategic business unit as a whole; and the second relates to developing a marketing strategy for the brand, in order to succeed in Europe '92 kind of market.