C's of marketing

its been a while since i thought of writing an article and i felt i should try to pass on the learnings that i had from a very close associate of mine.i feel grateful for the knowledge that has been passed on to me and feel knowledge indeed is power and felt i should share something useful.so if you are interested please comment ,share ,like the article which will help me write more and share with you more.

The 5 C’s and Strategic Marketing Basics

Once you know the marketing mix, goals, and targets of your marketing effort, the next step is to develop the marketing strategy.  A good guideline to make the right decisions, while constructing a marketing plan and strategy, are the 5 C’s:age old principles but still holds value in marketing....

• Company – Determine if your company can meet those customer needs.  For example, does your company have the right product line and/or technical expertise?  A good tool to help determine your company’s strengths and weaknesses is “SWOT” analysis.  This stands for Strengthssuch as innovative products, expertise, great processes and procedures, Weaknesses such as the lack of knowledgeable technical support or poor product quality, Opportunities such as a new international market or a market led by a weak competitor, and Threats such as a new competitor or price war.  This is a very good tool to analyze the internal strengths and weaknesses, and the external opportunities and threat.

• Customer – Determine what needs from which clients you’re trying to satisfy.  A few areas to research would be the market segments, benefits the customer wants, if the value of the benefits outweigh the costs, frequency of purchases, quantity of purchases, retail channel, and needs based on trends over time.

• Competition – Determine who competes with your company in meeting the customer’s needs.  Is it an active competitor or a potential threat?  What are their products exactly?  What are their strengths and weaknesses?

• Company – Determine if your company can meet those customer needs.  For example, does your company have the right product line and/or technical expertise?  A good tool to help determine your company’s strengths and weaknesses is “SWOT” analysis.  This stands for Strengthssuch as innovative products, expertise, great processes and procedures, Weaknesses such as the lack of knowledgeable technical support or poor product quality, Opportunities such as a new international market or a market led by a weak competitor, and Threats such as a new competitor or price war.  This is a very good tool to analyze the internal strengths and weaknesses, and the external opportunities and threat.

• Collaborators – Determine if there is any outside source that can help the company such as distributors, suppliers, etc.

• Context – Determine if there are any limitations due to Political issues such as legal problems, trade regulations, taxation, and labor laws, Economic concerns such as growth rate, labor costs, and business cycle stage, Social impacts such as demographics, education, and culture, and Technological developments such as the impact on cost structures.  This is also known as “PEST” analysis.  These forces can be dramatic and difficult to predict.

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