7.7 - How Marketing shapes the modern day business?

1) Introduction

Before going through the lesson, we need to understand what Marketing is.

• According to the AMA’s definition, “Marketing is 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.” From this, we understand that when doing marketing, we need to find out what kinds of products or projects customers want, and how to attract and retain them by communicating the value of the product or service.

In this lesson, you will these:

• Understanding your customer

• How to illustrate your product or service

• How to build a marketing strategy(4Ps strategy)

• How to create a brand message

And this chapter we will focus more on product marketing.

1.  How to build a market strategy:

Before discussing marketing strategies, it's essential to understand the four key elements of marketing, known as the 4Ps: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. These elements form the foundation of any successful marketing plan and are indispensable.

Product: As a business owner, you must fully understand what you're selling and why customers would want or need it. In a competitive market, creating a unique product or differentiating your offering can lead to better sales.

Price: Determining the right price involves comparing your product to competitors’ offerings. A competitive price can attract customers and drive their purchasing decisions.

Promotion: The goal of promotion is to create a strong connection between the product and the consumer, sparking interest and desire. This can be achieved through various channels such as social media, TV commercials, posters, and more.

Place: Choosing the right place to promote or sell your product is crucial. Whether through online platforms or physical locations, selecting the most suitable environment helps maximize exposure and purchasing intent.

2) How to understand your customer?

Before you can effectively sell your product, you need to understand who your customers are. This is where data collection becomes essential. Conducting market surveys and analyzing customer data provides valuable insights into your target audience—their needs, preferences, and buying behavior. If you're expanding into international markets, it's important to consider regional differences and conduct local surveys to better understand cultural expectations and consumer habits.

When selling business-to-business (B2B) instead of directly to consumers, the approach changes slightly. How do you identify potential corporate clients? One method is through sales representatives, who directly contact companies to gauge their interest. The other one is to research the industry in advance and identify how your product or service can solve specific problems or add value to their operations. By aligning your offer with their needs, you increase the chances of building successful business relationships.

     3.  How to promote your product or service:

After identifying your target market, the next crucial step is promoting your product to potential customers. In many industries, you may face intense competition, with multiple companies offering similar or even identical products. In such cases, it's essential to differentiate your product and clearly communicate those differences to your audience. Start by highlighting what sets your product apart—this could be done through visual content such as promotional videos or advertisements that showcase its unique features and benefits. Next, carefully choose the right advertising channels based on your budget. If you have sufficient funding, TV commercials and large posters in high-traffic public areas can help capture widespread attention. On a smaller budget, cost-effective alternatives like social media ads or setting up promotional stands in local areas can still generate strong visibility. Additionally, attending industry-specific exhibitions is a powerful way to demonstrate your product directly to potential customers, allowing them to see its advantages firsthand. These promotional strategies not only help attract attention but also build a distinct brand identity in a crowded market.

Example: Dyson

Dyson entered a very crowded market—vacuum cleaners—where many brands were already offering similar products at lower prices. Instead of competing on price, Dyson focused on product innovation and clear promotion of its unique features. Its founder, James Dyson, developed a vacuum cleaner that used cyclone technology to maintain suction without a bag—something no other brand offered at the time.

To promote this difference, Dyson invested heavily in advertising that clearly explained the technology, often showing how traditional vacuums lose suction while Dyson’s did not. The brand also ran TV ads and placed demo stands in stores, allowing customers to test the product themselves. Even with a higher price point, the clear demonstration of benefits helped Dyson gain trust and market share.

Over time, Dyson expanded into other saturated markets like hair dryers and air purifiers—again focusing on product innovation and strong, clear marketing to set themselves apart. 

4. How to create a brand message:

Brand messaging plays a crucial role in stimulating the customer's desire to buy. In today’s competitive market, consumers are not just buying products—they are buying emotions, stories, values, and identities. That’s why creating inspirational and emotionally resonant brand messages is critical for any successful marketing strategy. A powerful brand message can influence how a customer feels, thinks, and ultimately, acts toward a product or service.

However, to be effective, a brand message must be more than just inspirational—it must also be clear, concise, and memorable. Ideally, your brand message should be captured in one to three sentences and include no more than 10 essential features or values of your product or service. These could include things like quality, affordability, convenience, sustainability, innovation, design, reliability, or customer support—whatever distinguishes your offering. Once you’ve identified those key features, the next step is to blend them into a concise, emotionally driven statement—a mnemonic message that customers can easily recall and connect with. This message should not only communicate what the product is but also why it matters and how it improves the customer's life. When done well, it builds trust, shapes perception, and creates a compelling reason to buy.

Example: NIKE “Just do it”

This three-word slogan is a powerful mnemonic. It’s short, emotionally loaded, and connects directly to customer desire—the desire to take action, overcome limits, and achieve goals, whether in sports or life.

2. History and Context:

Marketing has evolved significantly throughout history, beginning with simple trade and barter systems in ancient civilizations, where people exchanged goods based on need. As societies grew, merchants began using basic promotional techniques, like signs and word-of-mouth, to attract buyers. During the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, mass production created the need for broader distribution and more structured marketing strategies. The 20th century introduced modern marketing concepts, with the rise of branding, advertising, market research, and the development of the "4 Ps" (product, price, place, promotion). In recent decades, the digital age has transformed marketing through the internet, social media, data analytics, and personalized content, shifting the focus from mass communication to targeted, customer-centric engagement.

3) Use in today's world:

 1.  Coca-Cola – New Product Variants (e.g., Coca-Cola Zero Sugar)

• What They Did: Coca-Cola launched "Coke Zero Sugar" to appeal to health-conscious consumers who wanted the taste of Coke without the sugar.

• Product Marketing Strategy:

• Clear messaging: “Zero Sugar, Same Great Taste.”

• Influencer campaigns and sponsorships (e.g., sports events).

• Taste tests and in-store promotions to educate and convert traditional Coke drinkers.

               2. Apple - iphone

• Market Research: Apple studies customer needs, competitor offerings, and tech trends to determine features like improved cameras, battery life, or design changes.

• Product Positioning: The iPhone is positioned as a premium, innovative, user-friendly device that integrates seamlessly with other Apple products.

• Launch Events: Apple holds high-profile launch events that create buzz and excitement, often streamed globally.

• Advertising & Promotions: Apple runs global ad campaigns on TV, social media, and billboards showcasing the iPhone’s new features with sleek, minimalist visuals.

   3. Dyson – Airwrap Hair Styler

• What They Did: Dyson, known for vacuums, entered the beauty market with the Airwrap, a high-tech hair styling tool using air instead of extreme heat.
  
  

• Product Marketing Strategy:

-  Unique Value Proposition: Positioned the Airwrap as a revolutionary tool that styles hair without heat damage.

- Premium Branding: High-end pricing and sleek packaging emphasized luxury and innovation.

- Influencer Marketing: Partnered with beauty influencers and hairstylists to demonstrate real results on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

- In-Store Demos: Provided hands-on experiences at Dyson stores and beauty retailers like Sephora.

- Customer Education: Created detailed tutorials showing how to use different attachments for various hair types.

- Real-life applications: 

1. Toyota Prius Hybrid Car - Positioning and market segmentation:

• Feature Highlighting: Ads focused on hybrid technology, low emissions, and long-term savings on gas—features that mattered to their audience.

• Cultural Integration: Celebrities and influencers known for being environmentally conscious drove the Prius, making it a status symbol in green communities.

• Strategic Partnerships: Toyota partnered with environmental causes and events to enhance the Prius brand message.

2. McDonald’s  McCafé – Competing Beyond Burgers:

• Rebranding a Fast Food Giant: McCafé had to shift public perception—from fast food to quality coffee. Product marketing made it clear: McDonald’s could serve good coffee, quickly and cheaply.

• Promotions and Free Trials: To attract skeptics, McDonald’s gave away free coffee during launch campaigns. This encouraged first-time trials and reduced risk for new customers.

4) Future outlook:

The future of product marketing is rapidly evolving as technology, consumer expectations, and data-driven strategies continue to shape how brands connect with their audiences. In the coming years, product marketing will become even more personalized, predictive, and experience-focused. With the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, companies will be able to analyze vast amounts of customer data in real-time to deliver hyper-targeted messaging tailored to individual preferences, behaviors, and needs. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) will transform product demonstrations and customer engagement, allowing consumers to "try before they buy" from anywhere in the world. Additionally, sustainability and ethical branding will play a much larger role, as consumers increasingly demand transparency, inclusivity, and environmental responsibility from the brands they support. Product marketers will need to collaborate more closely with product development, customer success, and sales teams to ensure consistent value communication across the entire customer journey. Rather than focusing solely on launching new products, the emphasis will shift toward building long-term relationships and loyalty by delivering meaningful, authentic experiences that evolve with customer expectations. As digital platforms become more saturated, storytelling, community-building, and emotional resonance will be key differentiators for successful product marketing in the future.

5) Reflections and critical thinking:     
Now we can go back to our topic question “ How marketing shapes modern day business?”

Marketing has become one of the most critical forces shaping modern-day business, influencing everything from how companies develop products to how they connect with customers and grow their brands. In a competitive, fast-paced global economy, marketing is no longer just about selling products, it is about understanding people, solving problems, and creating lasting value. Through market research, businesses gain insights into customer behaviors, preferences, and pain points, allowing them to tailor their offerings more precisely to meet evolving demands. In this way, marketing informs product development, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and overall business direction. Moreover, in the digital era, marketing is the primary means by which brands build visibility and credibility. Whether through social media engagement, search engine optimization, influencer partnerships, or immersive content experiences, marketing helps businesses tell compelling stories that resonate with their target audiences. It fosters emotional connections, builds trust, and shapes public perception, all of which are vital in an age where consumers expect authenticity, personalization, and purpose from the brands they support. Marketing also plays a crucial role in customer retention and loyalty, using data-driven strategies such as email campaigns, loyalty programs, and customer feedback loops to keep customers engaged and satisfied long after the initial purchase. Additionally, marketing drives innovation by identifying emerging trends and encouraging businesses to stay ahead of the curve. In essence, modern businesses that view marketing as a strategic, integrated function, rather than a standalone department are better equipped to adapt, grow, and thrive in an increasingly complex and customer-centric marketplace. Marketing doesn't just support business, it shapes its direction, its identity, and its future.

6) Mnemonic: "PRODUCT"

P – Positioning
→ How your product is perceived in the market.

R – Research
→ Understand your market, competitors, and customer needs.

O – Offering
→ Define the value your product provides.

D – Differentiation
→ What makes your product unique.

U – Understanding Customers
→ Know who you're targeting and what they care about.

C – Communication
→ Share your message clearly across all channels.

T – Targeting
→ Focus your efforts on the right audience segments.

Further reading websites: investopedia.com  

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