3.1. Pricing policy and the role in the marketing activities of the enterprise

3.2. Methods for setting prices in an enterprise

Learning objectives:

o determine the essence of pricing policy and its role in the marketing activities of the enterprise;

o reveal main aspects of the formation of the enterprise's marketing pricing policy;

o characterize methods for setting prices in an enterprise.

Pricing policy and its role in the marketing activities of an enterprise

From a marketing point of view the price of the product- this is an assessment of its consumer value from the position of the one who produces or exchanges the product. This definition reflects three significant circumstances:

The price is consistent with the consumer value of the product;

The price is consistent with the ideas and assessments of those who produce or exchange (sell) the product, and not with the assessments of the consumer;

Prices depend on the proximity to the end consumer of those who offer the product.

Pricing policy gives meaning to the total combination of marketing variables offered to consumers, hence pricing decisions must be made in conjunction with product, distribution, marketing and promotion plans. Price is the only element of the marketing mix that generates income; its other components increase the costs of the enterprise.

Pricing policy and strategy, being independent areas of the enterprise’s activity, are at the same time closely related to other elements and areas of marketing activity:

The goals of the pricing policy follow from the goals of the enterprise’s marketing activities and serve as one of the tools to ensure their achievement;

Pricing policy is closely related to marketing research (based on research results, goals, strategies, objectives, principles, and methods for setting prices are determined)

Pricing is related to market segmentation;

Pricing is a means of implementing a marketing program and provides a flexible response to changes in market conditions;

Pricing policy and strategy are related to commodity policy enterprises, since the price level for goods that differentiate and price dynamics depend on the type of goods, the degree of differentiation of products by the level of novelty.

Financiers usually start with expenses and add the desired profit to arrive at the selling price. Marketers start with end-consumer prices and then work backwards to determine channel prices and acceptable production costs.

Through price competition sellers influence demand through changes in price (Figure 3.1). An enterprise based on price competition must reduce prices to increase sales. In price competition, sellers move along the demand curve, raising or lowering their prices.

Rice. 3.1. Price competition

Minimizes price as a factor in consumer demand by demonstrating products or services through promotion, packaging, delivery, service, availability and other marketing factors. Through non-price competition, an enterprise shifts consumer demand to the right (Fig. 3.2), successfully distinguishing its products (services) from competing ones. This allows the company to: increase demand at a constant price; increase the price while maintaining the level of butt ^

Rice. 3.2. Non-price competition

Targeted pricing policy in marketing consists in the need to set such prices for your goods and change them depending on the market situation in order to capture a certain market share, receive the intended amount of profit, etc.

The most typical tasks, the successful solution of which directly depends on the implementation of a well-thought-out pricing policy, are:

o exit to new market - in order to attract the attention of buyers to the company’s products and gradually gain a foothold in the new market, it is advisable to set lower prices compared to the prices of competitors or to your own prices at which goods are sold in already developed markets; further, as a certain market share is gained and a stable clientele is formed, the prices for the company’s goods are gradually increased to the level of prices of other suppliers;

o launch of a new product- the introduction of a pioneering product in a completely new way or with a high degree of efficiency satisfies the needs of customers, providing the enterprise with a monopoly position in the market for some time; suppliers pursue a pricing policy of “cream skimming”: the enterprise sets the highest possible price, which ensures a rate of profit that is many times higher than the average for the industry;

o protecting the position- each enterprise strives to at least maintain the market share it has; the main factors that are taken into account when protecting a position in competition: quality indicators of goods, delivery times, terms of payment, volume and terms of guarantees, volume and quality of service, advertising, work with the public, other activities of the demand generation and sales promotion system;

o sequential passage through market segments- the product is offered first to those market segments in which buyers are willing to pay a high price; after receiving inflated (“premium”) prices at the first stage of sales, the enterprise consistently moves on to supplying goods at lower prices to market segments that are characterized by greater elasticity of demand;

o reimbursement of expenses:

a) quick reimbursement of costs- the relatively low price of a product (the policy of “affordable prices”) is determined by the desire of the enterprise to quickly reimburse the costs associated with its creation, production and sales;

b) satisfactory reimbursement of expenses- a policy of “target” prices is used, that is, those that, within one to two years, optimal loading production capacity (usually 80%) provides cost recovery and an estimated return on capital invested (mostly 15-20%);

o stimulation of complex sales- a “loss leader” pricing policy is used: by setting a relatively low price for the main product, the seller stimulates the sale of components and complementary goods to obtain the planned amount of profit.

As a component of the marketing mix, pricing policy is developed taking into account: the goals of the enterprise; external and internal factors influencing pricing; the nature of demand (in particular, the degree of price elasticity of demand); costs of production, distribution and sale of goods; the expected value of the product, and the real one; competitors' policies, etc.

Principles used in developing pricing policy:

o attention should be paid primarily to those markets and segments that are strategically important for the enterprise; pricing policy must be oriented towards achieving the main economic goal of the enterprise - making a profit;

o any price cannot be constant, since it is optimal only for certain conditions and a certain period of time; when conditions change, the price must change;

o the optimal price is the one that ensures the consumer’s confidence in the profitability of purchasing the product;

o everything above the zero price makes a profit. Factors determining the increasing value of the price

Declining purchasing power of consumers - they have become more price sensitive;

Foreign competition - the flow of cheap foreign goods forces prices to decrease in many areas;

Differentiation of a significant number of markets into segments requiring different price levels;

Government deregulation leads to intense price competition.

The most common mistakes in pricing are:

o orientation to cost accounting;

o lack of price flexibility;

o the price is set without taking into account the elements of the marketing mix;

o the price does not fully take into account the characteristics of different types of products, market segments and purchasing conditions.

Unethical aspects of pricing policy in marketing:

o prices are misleading - there are two types:

a) price bait with switching - in a communication appeal they attract the consumer with a low price, but upon purchase the price turns out to be higher;

b) discounts from inflated prices;

o price discrimination - an enterprise offering the same goods at different prices to different groups of consumers;

o predatory pricing - a sharp reduction in price in order to force competitors out of the market;

o price fixing:

a) horizontal - between sellers of the same level;

b) vertical - price fixation in the distribution channel by a strong participant in this channel.

The essence of pricing policy is to create and maintain in dynamics an optimal price structure for goods and markets.

The formation of pricing policy is based on the price setting model (Fig. 3.3).

First stage. There are three main goals of pricing, from which an enterprise can choose:

- Sales oriented- the enterprise is interested in increasing sales or maximizing market share; to increase sales volume, a penetration pricing strategy is used, associated with a low price, which is intended to capture the mass market;

- Profit oriented- the enterprise is interested in maximizing profits, obtaining a satisfactory income from optimizing investments or ensuring quick cash flow; Prestigious (high) prices are used, which are designed to attract a market segment that is more concerned about the quality of the product, its uniqueness or status, than the price;

- Focused on the existing situation- the enterprise seeks to avoid unfavorable government decisions in the field of pricing, minimize the effect of competitors' actions, maintain good relations with participants in distribution channels, reduce supplier requests or stabilize prices; The pricing strategy is developed in such a way as to avoid a decline in sales and minimize the influence of market factors.

Rice. 3.3. Pricing Model

Second phase - identification of factors influencing prices. Highlight:

a) external factors, influencing pricing decisions:

Consumers - as a rule, the lower the price, the higher the demand; however, not all consumers respond to prices equally, which serves as one of the criteria for market segmentation;

Government - government measures related to pricing: fixing prices, establishing minimum sizes prices for individual goods and services, various restrictions on their changes, and the like; the government can influence within the limits of anti-dumping and anti-trust laws, establish fines or other types of penalties for price fixing, for deception in price advertising, etc.;

Participants in distribution channels - wholesale and retail trade - strive to emphasize their importance and insist on increasing trade and wholesale discounts;

Competitors - with a high degree of competition, prices are regulated by the market, price wars force weak enterprises out of the market; if competition is limited, then the degree of control of the enterprise over prices increases and market influence decreases;

b) internal factors: costs, but not all of their components are controllable by the enterprise (prices of raw materials, transportation costs, advertising costs).

Multi-step approach to pricing provides six successive steps, each of which imposes restrictions on the following (Fig. 3.4).

Rice. 3.4. Stages of a multi-stage approach to pricing

Third stage - development of pricing strategies.

Pricing strategy- the most appropriate approach for specific conditions to forming a strategic price that ensures the efficiency of production and sale of goods with minimal risk.

The pricing strategy may be based on:

- On expenses- specialists determine the price based on the costs of production, service, overhead and give the desired amount of profit, that is, they determine the marginal price - the minimum necessary to make a profit; demand is not studied; this strategy is used by enterprises whose goal is to make a profit or income from investments;

- On demand- marketers determine the price after studying consumer demand and set a price acceptable for the target market, that is, they determine the “ceiling” of the price that consumers will pay for a product for which demand is price elastic; This strategy is used by businesses that believe that price is a key factor in consumer decision making;

- On competition- prices can be below market, at market level, above market, depending on the image of the product, discrepancies with similar products, the service provided, customer loyalty; This strategy is used by enterprises that face competitors who sell similar products.

Developing a pricing strategy is not a one-time activity. it needs to be revised in cases where: it is created new product; the product goes through various stages life cycle; the competitive environment is changing; competitors change prices for their analogue products; production costs and distribution costs increase or decrease; significant changes occur in the macroenvironment.

It is necessary to distinguish between pricing strategies and specifics for new improved and modernized goods and those that are traditionally produced and sold (Table 3.1).

Fourth stage - determination of the final price.

The implementation of a pricing strategy includes a significant number of diverse and interrelated decisions:

- Establishment of standard prices- a participant in the distribution channel determines prices for goods or services, taking into account the possibility of their remaining unchanged for a long time;

- Variable pricing- the company specifically changes prices to respond to changes in costs or consumer demand; Different prices may be offered for different market segments;

- Uniform price system- an enterprise sets the same price for all consumers who would like to purchase a product or service.

To calculate the initial price, different approaches are used:

1) according to geographical principle:

Method of establishing FOB (free carriage) at the place of origin of the goods;

Single price method (including shipping costs)

Method for setting zonal prices;

Basis point pricing method;

A method of setting prices with the assumption of shipping costs;

2) setting prices with discounts and offsets;

3) setting prices to stimulate sales: loss leader strategy, special occasion pricing, cash discounts;

4) setting discriminatory prices- different prices for different customers, for different products, in different places, at different times;

5a) setting prices for new products:"skimming", "durable implementation";

56) when entering the market with an imitation product, choose one of nine options for its quality and price positioning (Fig. 3.5):

Table 3.1

basic kinds pricing strategies depending

from the novelty of the product sold

Ending table 3.1

Rice. 3.5. Marketing strategy options according to price indicators

5) within the product range- set price guidelines for a number of products (Table 3.2);

Table 3.2

PRICING STRATEGIES WITHIN THE PRODUCT RANGE

6) initiative price change: proactive price reduction; proactive price increases.

Fifth stage - adjustment of the price level.

The price set by the company is the list price, that is, the “official” price that allows discounts. The list price is sometimes the same as the final selling price, but in most cases the business adjusts it in some way.

Five are often used types of price adjustments:

- Discounts- this is a reduction in the list price offered by the seller if the actions of buyers help reduce his costs; types of discounts: discount for the quantity of goods purchased (progressive)- may be non-accumulative and cumulative in nature; special discount(for a buyer who is of particular interest to the seller) hidden (providing free samples) seasonal (price incentive for purchasing a product outside the sales season); functional(for resellers for performing marketing functions necessary for selling goods to the end consumer) bonus(for increasing the trade turnover of a wholesaler or retailer) early payment discount(designed to stimulate quick payment for goods by buyers), etc.;

- Return- these are payments to buyers from sellers in exchange for goods or certain actions; a common type is trade offset, that is, a reduction in price when a used product is provided as partial payment for a new product;

- Price incentives- short-term discounts offered by businesses to entice consumers to buy a product; they are effective as a reaction to price cuts by competitors or in an attempt to entice users of competing brands to try the product;

- Geographical fixes- businesses make price changes to take into account differences in transportation costs due to the location of the seller or buyer;

- Unrounded prices- the company adjusts the list price so that it ends in the odd number following the even number.

Sixth stage - price assessment and control.

Price control involves identifying the need to change prices and adjust pricing strategies in response to customer, competitive, and trade behavior. At the same time, managers should be interested in two main questions: first, how much profit and sales goals are being achieved; secondly, how well do pricing levels and strategies fit with other elements of the marketing mix, e.g. product, promotion and distribution strategies.

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-1.jpg" alt=">Pricing policy in enterprise marketing">!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-2.jpg" alt="> Questions: 1. Pricing policy as a component of the marketing mix. 2."> Вопросы: 1. Ценовая политика как составляющая комплекса маркетинга. 2. Связь ценовой политики с другими элементами маркетинговой деятельности. 3. Цели ценообразования с точки зрения маркетинга предприятия. 4. Ценовая политика на основе сокращения затрат. 5. Определение цены с целью максимизации прибыли. 6. Цена и жизненный цикл товара. 7. Принципы, применяемые при разработке ценовой политики.!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-3.jpg" alt="> 1. Pricing policy as a component of the marketing mix Pricing policy is one"> 1. Ценовая политика как составляющая комплекса маркетинга Ценовая политика – одна из составляющих комплекса маркетинга, включающая установление фирмой цены на товар и способов их выравнивания в зависимости от ситуации на рынке с целью овладения определенной рыночной долей, обеспечения намеченного объема прибыли, подавления деятельности конкурентов и выполнения других стратегических целей. Цена - единственный элемент маркетинга-микс, приносящий доход, другие его составляющие увеличивают расходы предприятия.!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-4.jpg" alt=">As a component of the marketing mix, pricing policy is developed taking into account: Ø company goals ;"> Как составляющая комплекса маркетинга ценовая политика разрабатывается с учетом: Ø целей компании; Ø внешних и внутренних факторов, влияющих на ценообразование; Ø характера спроса (в частности, степени эластичности по ценам); Ø издержек производства, распределения и реализации Ø ощущаемой и реальной ценности товара; Разработка ценовой политики включает: Ø установление исходной цены на товар; Ø своевременной корректировки цен с целью приведения их в соответствие с изменяющимися рыночными условиями, возможностями компании, ее стратегическими целями и задачами, действиями конкурентов.!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-5.jpg" alt="> From a marketing point of view, the price of a product is an estimate of its consumer value"> С точки зрения маркетинга цена товара - это оценка его потребительской стоимости с позиции того, кто производит или обменивает товар. В этом определении отражены три существенных обстоятельства: 1) Цена согласовывается с потребительной стоимостью товара; 2) Цена согласуется с представлениями и оценками, кто производит или обменивает (продает) товар, а не с оценками потребителя; 3) Цены зависит от близости к конечному потребителю тех, кто предлагает товар!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-6.jpg" alt="> 2. Relationship of pricing policy with other"> 2. Связь ценовой политики с другими элементами маркетинговой деятельности Ценовая политика и стратегия, будучи самостоятельными сферами деятельности предприятия одновременно тесно связаны с другими элементами и направлениями маркетинговой деятельности: Ø - Цели ценовой политики вытекают из целей маркетинговой деятельности предприятия и служат одним из инструментов, обеспечивающих их достижение; Ø - Ценовая политика тесно связана с маркетинговыми исследованиями (по результатам исследований определяют цели, стратегии, задачи, принципы, методы установления цен); Ø - Ценообразование связано с сегментацией рынка;!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-7.jpg" alt=">Ø - Pricing is a means of implementing a marketing program, which provides flexible"> Ø - Ценообразование является средством реализации программы маркетинговой деятельности, что обеспечивает гибкое реагирование на изменение рыночной конъюнктуры; Ø - Ценовая политика и стратегия связаны с товарной политикой предприятия, потому что уровень цен на товары, которые дифференцируют, и динамика цен зависит от вида товаров, степени дифференциации продукции по уровню новизны.!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-8.jpg" alt="> 3. Pricing goals from the point of view of enterprise marketing Targeted"> 3. Цели ценообразования с точки зрения маркетинга предприятия Целенаправленная ценовая политика в маркетинге заключается в необходимости устанавливать на свои товары такие цены и так изменять их в зависимости от ситуации на рынке, чтобы завладеть определенной долей рынка, получить намеченный объем прибыли и т. п.!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-9.jpg" alt=">There are three main pricing objectives that a business can choose from:"> Различают три основные цели ценообразования, из которых может выбирать предприятие: 1. Ориентированные на сбыт - предприятие заинтересовано в росте реализации или максимизации доли на рынке, для увеличения объема реализации используется ценовая стратегия проникновения, связана с низкой ценой, которая предназначена для захвата массового рынка;!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-10.jpg" alt=">2. Profit-oriented - the enterprise is interested in maximizing profits, obtaining satisfactory"> 2. Ориентированные на прибыль - предприятие заинтересовано в максимизации прибыли, получении удовлетворительного дохода от оптимизации инвестиций или обеспечении быстрого поступления наличных; используются престижные (высокие) цены, которые предназначены для привлечения рыночного сегмента, больше обеспокоен качеством товара, его уникальностью или статусом, чем ценой;!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-11.jpg" alt="> 3. Focused on the existing situation - the enterprise seeks to avoid unfavorable"> 3. Ориентированные на существующее положение - предприятие стремится избежать неблагоприятных правительственных решений в сфере ценообразования, минимизировать результат действий конкурентов, поддерживать хорошие отношения с участниками каналов сбыта, уменьшать запросы поставщиков или стабилизировать цены; стратегия ценообразования разрабатывается таким образом, чтобы избежать спада в сбыте и свести к минимуму влияние рыночных факторов.!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-12.jpg" alt="> 4. Pricing policy based on cost reduction The variable cost method allows you to determine"> 4. Ценовая политика на основе сокращения затрат Метод переменных затрат позволяет определить калькулирование цен. По этому методу цена будет определяться: Цс. з=Зпер. ед+Ппер Зпер. ед – сумма переменых затрат при производстве единицы продукции Ппер – покрытие переменных затрат Пер=Зпост. ед. +Пед Зпост. ед. –сумма постоянных затрат при производстве единицы продукции П ед – прибыль на единицу продукции Таким образом, окупаемость рассматривается при заданном уровне цен т. е переменные затраты окупаются всегда т. к возмещаются покупателем после реализации товара, а !} fixed costs pay off only after the sale of a certain batch of purchases or sales volume.

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-13.jpg" alt="> The break-even point of the product is calculated Post. z=Zpost. total/Pper Postal total – sum of constants"> Точка безубыточного товара рассчитывается Опост. з=Зпост. общ/Ппер Зпост. общ – сумма постоянных затрат по предприятию Таким образом, эта окупаемость показывает, какой объём продукции нужно продать по рыночной цене чтобы возместить все постоянные затраты предприятия (прибыль=0). А для того, чтобы определить каким должен быть объём продажи нужно рассчитывать по формуле: Vпр=(Зобщ. пост+Пусл. общ)/Ппер Пусл. общ – сумма целевой прибыли Таким образом, применение данного метода позволяет определить наиболее выгодные для предприятия виды продукции. А это в свою очередь позволяет заменять !} individual species products by others and at the same time conditionally fixed costs do not change. Thus, this method makes it possible to find the optimal option for loading production from the point of view of making a profit.

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-14.jpg" alt="> 5. Setting prices to maximize profits Most firms want to set such"> 5. Определение цены с целью максимизации прибыли Большинство фирм хотят установить такую цену на свою продукцию, которая обеспечила бы им максимальную прибыль. Для того чтобы достигнуть данной цели, нужно определить величину предварительного спроса и предварительных издержек по каждой отдельной цене (т. е. ценовой альтернативе). Далее необходимо выбрать из этих альтернатив ту, которая в краткосрочном периоде принесет фирме максимум прибыли; Правило максимизации прибыли: в краткосрочном периоде фирма будет максимизировать прибыль, выпуская такой объем продукции, при котором предельный доход равен предельным издержкам (MR=MC)!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-15.jpg" alt="> Types of pricing strategies: high price strategy low price strategy"> Виды ценовых стратегий: стратегия высоких цен стратегия низких цен стратегия льготных цен стратегия цен, ориентированных на уровень конкуренции стратегия шкалы цен стратегия цен, учитывающих географический фактор ценовые линии смешанные стратегии Максимизация прибыли как цель ценовой политики может быть реализована при разных условиях хозяйствования и рыночной конъюнктуры: увеличение цены в связи с ростом капиталовложений, установление стабильного дохода на основе средней нормы прибыли, имеющей устойчивое положение на рынке, а также фирма, не уверенная в своем будущем и использующая выгодную для себя конъюнктуру.!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-16.jpg" alt=">6. Price and product life cycle Life cycle analysis - LCA)"> 6. Цена и жизненный цикл товара Жизненный цикл (Life cycle analysis - LCA) - это !} component product concept. With its help, the life of a product on the market is described from the moment the product is developed until it is discontinued and finally disappears from the market. The following stages of LCA are distinguished. 1. Stage of development and entry of the product onto the market. At this stage there are significant research, development and production costs. There are practically no competitors. The price level speaks volumes about the quality of the product. Pricing must be done in such a way that prices compensate initial costs for the development and production of goods. Under these conditions, the buyer is poorly informed about the product.

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-17.jpg" alt="> 2. “Growth” stage. The appearance of a new product on the market leads To"> 2. Стадия «роста» . Появление нового товара на рынке приводит к появлению новых конкурентов. В результате для потребителей создается большая свобода выбора. Можно устанавливать высокие цены, даже выше, чем на предыдущей стадии. Важно, чтобы уровень цены соответствовал уровню качества товара. На данной стадии оправдано применение следующих стратегий ценообразования: 1) «снятия сливок» , или награды, когда цена устанавливается выше цены конкурентов, подчеркивая исключительное качество продукта. В этом случае ориентация делается на менее чувствительную к цене группу потребителей. Производители работают с отдельными сегментами рынка; 2) установления цены паритета. Осуществляется явный или тайный сговор с конкурентами или идет ориентация на лидера в установлении цены. Фирмы ориентируются на наиболее массового покупателя, т. е. фирма работает со всем рынком.!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-18.jpg" alt="> The stage of “maturity” of the product. At this stage, saturation occurs in the market .Competition"> Стадия «зрелости» продукта. На данной стадии на рынке происходит насыщение. Конкуренция среди производителей данных товаров существенно ослабевает, поскольку некоторые из производителей уже замечают спад спроса. Кроме того, стремление завысить цены сопряжено с трудностями. Данная стратегия неоправданна. Производители с высокими затратами не выдерживают конкуренции. Некоторые производители переходят к созданию новых продуктов и сталкиваются с необходимостью реализации свободных мощностей. Для оставшихся на рынке производителей важно сохранить свою долю рынка. Это позволит им вести ценовую конкуренцию. Актуальной становится задача удлинения стадии «зрелости» . На этой стадии появляется некая общая «рыночная» цена, к которой в большей или меньшей степени тяготеют производители.!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-19.jpg" alt="> Falling stage. At this stage, prices for goods are minimal, but even"> Стадия падения. На данной стадии цены на товары минимальны, но даже в этих условиях потребительский спрос снижается. В результате снижения спроса на товар производственные мощности производителя оказываются недозагруженными. Это приводит производителя в условиях отсутствия перспективы увеличения сбыта этого товара к необходимости снятия его с производства. Фирма должна постоянно отслеживать рыночную конъюнктуру. Ценообразование на каждой стадии товара должно быть обоснованным, последовательным. Важно, чтобы стратегия ценообразования соответствовала общей экономической стратегии фирмы.!}

Src="https://present5.com/presentation/3/17735847_151613720.pdf-img/17735847_151613720.pdf-20.jpg" alt=">7. Principles used in developing pricing policy ü attention should be paid first of all on"> 7. Принципы, применяемые при разработке ценовой политики ü внимание следует обратить прежде всего на те рынки и сегменты, которые являются стратегически важными для предприятия; ценовую политику нужно сориентировать на достижение главной экономической цели предприятия - получение прибыли; ü любая цена не может быть неизменной, потому что она оптимальна только для определенных условий и определенного периода времени, при изменении условий цена должна изменяться; ü оптимальной ценой является та, что обеспечивает уверенность потребителя в выгодности покупки товара; ü все, что выше нулевой цены, приносит прибыль.!}

Marketing policy is a plan according to which the company’s entire program of work to promote goods and services is built and allows you to determine the main directions in the promotion of goods or services, as well as develop specific programs for this.

Marketing management at an enterprise includes the development of a marketing policy and its implementation and requires clear implementation of developed plans in the areas of product, pricing and sales strategies.

The development of a marketing policy is necessary in order to ensure the effectiveness of the activities carried out by the enterprise. And the formation of marketing policy as a process depends on the organization of marketing at the enterprise, its goals and objectives.

The structure of marketing policy includes the following hierarchy: enterprise and marketing goals; marketing strategies; marketing mix (basic elements - product, price, place and promotion).

The tools of marketing policy are also called its elements. These include:

1. Product policy. The company is obliged to constantly expand the range of products offered due to the growing needs of customers, as well as to maintain competitiveness. To be successful, a company must show the market how innovative it is, but do this before the market itself changes, i.e. stay ahead of needs. An example of a successful product policy: GAZ released the Gazelle car, which became a new era of passenger trucks in the CIS, the company changed products and adjusted them to the needs.
2. Sales, i.e. activities to bring products to consumers. The enterprise determines for itself which sales scheme to choose - use the services of dealers, open a branch for sales, count on small customers. An example of sales activity is selling through a teleshop, as well as opening a real store with these goods.
3. Promotion, i.e. finding ways to motivate people to buy, a policy of increasing sales. Allocation of funds for advertising. Searching for an unusual selling proposition for a product that does not have unique features.
4. Logistics, i.e. organization of inventory management and supply chain, product quality control. An example is the Ford Company, which gave quality awards to its suppliers.
5. Pricing – searching for the optimal price-quality ratio for the enterprise and the consumer.
6. Marketing information system. An information center that receives all information about the external and internal world of the enterprise. The received data is processed, presented in the form of reports and passed on for decision-making. An example is conducting marketing research that will indicate the mistakes and opportunities of the enterprise.

Depending on what share the company occupies in the market, types of marketing policies are distinguished. She may be:

Attacking – active position. The goal is to gain and expand market share;
defensive (or holding) - maintaining the existing position;
the policy of retreat is a forced policy. The goal is to reduce costs.

The main goals of marketing policy are to increase sales volume, profit, market share, as well as to gain leadership in the market segment occupied.

Marketing policy of the enterprise

Product policy of the enterprise

On at this stage marketers, using market research, competitors and consumers, develop a program of action for the enterprise in the field of product production (they assume which product will be in maximum demand, meet the needs of the buyer, determine its quality in comparison with competitors), establish rules for the creation of new products, predict the life product cycle.

In the ordinary sense, a commodity is usually understood as a thing intended for consumption, either final consumption or consumption for the production of another product. Marketing entity product is somewhat different from the generally accepted one, since what is usually called a product in a general sense is called a product in marketing. A product is a component of a product that carries the main qualities for which the product was purchased. For example, having produced saccharin (a sugar surrogate), it cannot be called a product without appropriate support. Product support is a set of measures for transportation, packaging, storage and use of the product. The product support group includes the following measures: everything that helps the product maintain its consumer qualities before sale (preservation, packaging, storage), measures for the correct use of the product (instructions, method of preparation), related products (adapters, batteries, cords).

And finally, a product turns into a commodity when marketing tools are used on it, which include design, advertising, properly established sales, and strong public relations.

Thus, a product for a marketer consists of a product, its support and marketing tools.

Marketing depends entirely on the consumer, on his needs and requests, so the enterprise is simply forced to change its product strategy, creating new products.

First, you need an idea for a new product. Sources of ideas can be both consumers themselves and scientists. In fact, at this stage of creating a new product, it is important for a marketer to learn to listen, since ideas can also be suggested by the shortcomings of competitors. Another source of ideas is scientists. As a result, many companies cooperate with universities, institutes and scientific laboratories. Also, ideas can be suggested by employees of the sales system (wholesalers, retailers) since they are closer to the consumer. Public opinion polls, statistical data, and test results in consumer magazines should not be ignored.

Secondly, screening and selection of ideas is required. This stage occurs according to two criteria: everything that is not related to the commercial purpose of the enterprise is confiscated, everything that does not correspond to the production capacity of the enterprise is confiscated.

Thirdly, it is necessary to create a prototype of a new product, and it is important to remember that undetected errors at this stage will cause huge losses later.

The next stage will be the release of a trial batch of goods to a limited market and research of this market.

Fifthly, it is necessary to choose a place and time for the mass release of goods; it would be advisable to coincide the release with some fair, exhibition, or holiday.

So, we can formulate the basic law of new goods: while one new product is on sale and is actively purchased, in parallel the process of developing the next new product must occur in order to ensure that the enterprise does not stand idle, and in order to increase its profitability and efficiency.

Marketing accompanies a product throughout its life cycle. The Law of New Products can be viewed from a life cycle perspective as: a business will have maximum profit and efficiency only when the life cycles of different products overlap each other.

Product policy at an enterprise solves the problem of creating a new product and is associated with the sphere of production. Marketing developments in this area help the entrepreneur avoid many of the mistakes that await him at this stage of business activity. Therefore, we can clearly say that product marketing policy helps to increase the efficiency of the company.

Pricing policy of the enterprise

The scope of an enterprise's pricing policy includes issues of wholesale and retail prices, all stages of pricing, tactics for determining the initial price of a product, and price correction tactics. By solving these issues, marketers set the most favorable price for the product, which helps to increase the profitability of the company.

External factors in the pricing process include:

1. consumers - this factor always occupies a dominant position in modern marketing;
2. market environment - this factor is characterized by the degree of competition in the market. Here it is important to highlight whether the enterprise is an outsider or a leader, whether it belongs to a group of leaders or outsiders;
3. participants in distribution channels - at this stage, both suppliers and intermediaries influence the price. Moreover, it is important to note that the greatest danger for the manufacturer is the increase in energy prices, which is why the state is trying to control this industry. The state influences the price through indirect taxes on business, establishing antitrust and dumping bans.

Pricing strategy is the choice by an enterprise of a strategy according to which the initial price of a product should change with maximum success for it, in the process of conquering the market.

Sales policy of the enterprise

The product sales system is one of the most important in the marketing policy of an enterprise. In sales policy, marketers touch upon the issues of choosing the most optimal sales channel, method of selling goods, which effective use will undoubtedly increase the company's profits.

One of the points of an enterprise's sales policy is the choice of the optimal distribution channel. A sales (distribution) channel for a product is an organization or person involved in the promotion and exchange of a specific product (several groups of products) on the market.

Sales of products in most cases are carried out through intermediaries, each of which forms a corresponding distribution channel. The use of intermediaries in the sphere of distribution is beneficial, first of all, for manufacturers. In this case, they have to deal with a limited circle of stakeholders in the sale of products. In addition, wide availability of goods is ensured when they move directly to the sales market. With the help of intermediaries, it is possible to reduce the number of direct contacts between manufacturers and consumers.

Supply and sales organizations, large wholesale warehouses, exchange structures, trading houses and stores can act as intermediaries.

Among the main reasons for the use of intermediaries are the following:

1. organizing the goods distribution process requires the availability of certain financial resources;
2. creating an optimal product distribution system presupposes the availability of appropriate knowledge and experience in the field of market conditions for your product, methods of trade and distribution.

Intermediaries, thanks to their contacts, experience and specialization, make it possible to ensure wide availability of goods and bring them to target markets.

Enterprises in a market economy pay considerable attention to the problems of optimizing the process of promoting goods from producer to consumer. The results of their economic activities largely depend on how correctly the channels of distribution of goods, forms and methods of their sales are chosen, on the breadth of the range and quality of services provided by the enterprise related to the sale of products.

Methods of selling goods:

1. wholesale- covers essentially the entire set of commodity resources, which are both means of production and consumer goods. As a rule, in wholesale trade, goods are purchased in large quantities. Wholesale purchases are carried out by intermediary organizations for the purpose of subsequent resale to grassroots wholesale organizations and retail enterprises. In most cases, wholesale trade is not associated with the sale of products to specific end consumers, i.e. it allows manufacturers, with the help of intermediaries, to sell goods with minimal direct contact with consumers. In the commodity market, wholesale trade is an active part of the sphere of circulation.

2. in the process of distribution of goods from manufacturers to consumers, the final link that closes the chain of economic relations is retail trade. At retail trade material resources move from the sphere of circulation to the sphere of collective, individual, personal consumption, i.e. become the property of consumers. This occurs through purchase and sale, as consumers purchase the goods they need in exchange for their cash income. Here, starting opportunities are created for a new cycle of production and circulation, as the product turns into money.

Marketing promotion of goods

Promotion is understood as a set of various types of activities to convey information about the merits of a product to potential consumers and stimulate their desire to buy it. Modern organizations use complex communication systems to maintain contacts with intermediaries, clients, and various public organizations and layers.

Product promotion is carried out by using in a certain proportion:

“Advertising is printed, handwritten, oral or graphic communication of a person, product, service or social movement, openly issued by and paid for by an advertiser for the purpose of increasing sales, expanding clientele, obtaining votes or public approval.” modern conditions advertising is a necessary element of production and sales activities, a way to create a sales market, an active means of fighting for the market. It is precisely because of these functions that advertising is called the engine of trade.

As part of marketing, advertising must: firstly, prepare the market (consumer) for a favorable perception of the new product; secondly, maintain demand for high level at the stage of mass production of goods; thirdly, to contribute to the expansion of the sales market. Depending on the stage of the product’s life cycle, the scale and intensity of advertising and the relationship between prestigious advertising (advertising of the exporting company, the competence of its personnel, etc.) and product advertising (i.e. advertising of a specific product) change; the methods of its dissemination also change, its arguments are updated, more recent, more original ideas;

2. Sales promotions are short-term incentive measures that promote the sale or marketing of products and services. If advertising calls: “Buy our product,” then sales promotion is based on the call: “Buy it now.” You can look at sales promotion in more detail, keeping in mind that it includes: stimulating consumers, stimulating trade, and stimulating the sales force of the organization itself.

Stimulating consumers is aimed at increasing their purchase volume. The following main methods are used: provision of samples for testing; use of coupons, partial price refunds or trade discounts; package sales at reduced prices; bonuses; souvenirs with advertising; encouraging regular clientele; contests, sweepstakes and games that give the consumer a chance to win something - money, goods, travel; exposition and demonstration of signs, posters, samples, etc. at places where products are sold;

3. Exhibitions and fairs occupy a prominent place in marketing. Their important advantage is the ability to present the product to customers in its original form, as well as in action. In any case, visitors come to the pavilions with a clear intention to learn something new for themselves, and this attitude actively contributes to the introduction of new products and services to the market. Personal contacts between stand staff (representatives of the seller) and potential buyers help create an atmosphere of trust and goodwill, which contributes to the development of business relationships. An exhibiting company (exhibiting samples of its products) can make presentations at symposia, usually held as part of an exhibition (fair), distribute printed advertising, show films or television films, donate advertising bags, handbags, folders, etc. Skillful exhibition activities plays no less, and sometimes even greater, role than publication advertisements in the press about products industrial purposes;

4. personal selling - oral presentation goods for the purpose of selling them in conversation with one or several potential buyers. This is the most effective tool for promoting a product at certain stages of its sales, especially for creating a favorable attitude among buyers towards the products offered, primarily towards products for industrial purposes. However, this is the most expensive promotion method. American companies spend three times more on personal selling than on advertising;

5. public relations - creation good relations with various government and public structures and layers by creating a favorable opinion about the company, its products and by neutralizing unfavorable events and rumors. Public relations also includes communication with the press, dissemination of information about the company's activities, lobbying activities in legislative and government bodies with the aim of making or canceling certain decisions, explanatory work regarding the position of the company, its products, and social role.

So, marketing considers a promotion policy that promotes maximum sales of a product, which helps the entrepreneur to better understand the buyer’s preferences and choose the most effective type of promotion.

Marketing pricing policy

Company goals;
external and internal factors influencing pricing;
the nature of demand (in particular, the degree of price elasticity of demand);
costs of production, distribution and sale of goods;
perceived and real value of the product;
competitors' policies, etc. Pricing policy development includes:
establishing the initial price for the product;
timely changes in prices in order to bring them into line with changing market conditions, the company’s capabilities, its objectives.

Among the factors external environment The main factors influencing the company's pricing policy are: actions of the government, participants in distribution channels, consumer reaction, and competitors' policies. The government can exert influence through anti-dumping and anti-trust laws, establish fines or other types of penalties for price fixing (both horizontal and vertical), for deceptive price advertising, etc.

A reseller can sell goods under a private label, refuse to sell unprofitable goods, set a high price for one or another brand of goods, and sell others cheaper (“selling against the brand”), etc.

With a high degree of competition, prices are regulated by the market, and price wars force weak firms out of the market. If competition is limited, the firm's degree of control over prices increases and market power decreases. Consumers exert influence both in terms of price elasticity of demand and behavioral characteristics, which is very important for targeted marketing (thrifty shoppers, personalized, ethical, apathetic).

Among internal factors, costs prevail, and not all of their components are controllable by the company (prices of raw materials, transportation costs, advertising costs). When costs increase, price policy can be helped by other components of the marketing mix: narrowing the range due to unprofitable goods or their individual modifications; modernization of goods, repositioning them, reducing the degree of differentiation. Reducing costs does not always have a favorable effect on pricing policy. Thus, when sugar prices fall, it is not profitable for confectionery producers to position them as cheap goods. There may also be support from product policy (increasing the weight of a box of chocolates without changing the price).

Cost method - the price is calculated based on the sum of constant and variable costs per unit of production and planned profit, taking into account the lower price threshold. With indirect sales, the selling price to the final consumer will increase by the amount of the markup, depending on the characteristics of the product (seasonality, fashion, novelty), as well as the price elasticity of demand. The cost method does not take into account market factors (the nature of demand, the level of effective demand, the policies of competitors, etc.), and the price determined in this way is almost always overestimated and in a competitive situation is fraught with negative consequences for the seller.

However, there are also positive assessments of this model: if within one industry all manufacturers of similar products use costly method pricing, price competition is minimal, and prices are more realistic and exclude profiteering at the expense of buyers. But note that such a situation is apparently unrealistic. Calculation using this method is simpler because it does not require studying demand.

Orientation to demand - the price is determined taking into account the level of effective demand of buyers of the target segment (there is an upper price threshold here). It is also necessary to study the nature of demand in terms of price elasticity in order to make subsequent changes to current prices, set the price for a new product when introducing it to the market and choose a strategy (high or low price), pricing in conditions of price competition, and a way to respond to the policies of competitors and etc.

Elastic demand is one that varies significantly depending on slight price fluctuations. The elasticity of demand decreases in the absence of competition, and also depends on the level of income and behavioral characteristics of consumers (confidence in the high quality of expensive goods, reluctance to change habits, slow reaction to price increases). Elasticity can be long-term or short-term, so the final conclusion is more correct to make after a certain period of observation.

Focus on competitors' prices - the price can be higher, lower or at the level of prices of competing products, depending on what advantages the company provides to the buyer in other components of the competitiveness of its offer and what are the arguments for positioning the product in relation to competing offers. To use this principle, you must have reliable information about the pricing policies of competitors, for which it is necessary to use both secondary and operational information (for example, conduct consumer surveys to determine their perception of the prices and quality of competing products).

Combined method - the initial price is calculated using the cost method and adjusted taking into account market factors (competitor policies, level of effective demand and behavioral characteristics of buyers, price elasticity of demand, etc.).

Target rate of return method - the price is set to achieve the desired rate of return on the capital invested.

The critical production volume decreases due to a decrease in fixed and variable costs, which must be taken into account manufacturing company. In addition, market factors (nature of demand, competition) will also affect the calculated price.

Based on the perceived and real value of the product - the price is set based on the perception of the product by consumers or its actual value.

To study the perception of a product by potential consumers, marketing research is necessary, but at the same time it is necessary to form the desired consumer attitude towards the company’s offer. This requires developing a product concept in relation to the target market, effective positioning, advertising methods and studying customer perception of the product image. The launch of the desired product into production is preceded by calculations of the output volume, taking into account the planned price and distinctive qualitative features of the product, the amount of investment and cost.

The price of such a new product is usually higher than the prices of competitors, so sellers (dealers) must be prepared to use arguments to convince the buyer that they are paying extra for a high level of service, a long warranty period, reliability and other obvious advantages of this offer.

The price based on real value is not inflated, the company in this case uses a low price strategy. In this case, as a rule, discounts and sales accompanied by advertising campaigns are excluded, which requires additional costs.

Based on current prices, the price corresponds to the price level of competitors established in the market. Small companies usually adhere to a “follow the leader” strategy and adjust the prices of their goods following changes in the pricing policy of the industry leader. However, the price should not be lower than cost to the detriment of own company.

The initial price established by one of the above methods differs from the final price for many reasons and under the influence of a number of factors. To introduce a new product, depending on the market situation, either a high price (the “cream skimming” strategy) or a low price (the “breakthrough” strategy) can be used.

The “cream skimming” strategy is aimed at a narrow target segment of buyers with a high level of income, price-inelastic demand, and who perceive a high price as evidence of a high quality product. A high price is justified either in the absence of competitors or if it is unattractive to them. It is also advisable to make sure that in other market segments demand is price elastic, since this strategy involves sequential entry into other segments with cheaper product options or a slightly lower price for the first offer. Thus, skimming is a high-to-low price strategy.

The “breakthrough” strategy - introducing a new product to the market at a low price - is aimed at attracting a wide range of buyers and gaining a large market share. To be successful, this pricing strategy requires a high degree of price elasticity of demand, the presence of internal reserves of the company for a possible subsequent reduction in prices under the influence of competition, and a forecast for the development of demand. So, if demand becomes excessive, then a price increase is possible, since the company, due to its production capabilities, will not be able to increase output. This is acceptable if such a situation is not attractive to competitors. The “breakthrough” strategy can develop according to the principle from low to high price also in a seller’s market with a high level of demand for the product.

Prices of goods in the nomenclature (assortment groups) can be:

Unified and flexible (providing the buyer with the opportunity to bargain);
standard (chewing gum, haberdashery) and changing (seasonal, for different categories of buyers);
unrounded (designed for psychological perception);
price lines (different prices depending on the technical level or class of the product, or with a large depth of assortment).

The use of variable prices is also called price discrimination. The basis of discrimination may be the difference in the place and methods of sale, the distinctive features of individual variants of a differentiated product, as well as the difference between customers (buyers) taking into account their income, behavioral characteristics, perception, psychology, etc. Price discrimination is effective under conditions of market segmentation and identification of relevant target segments, low prices should not be attractive to competitors, the price level should correspond in the perceptions of buyers to the quality of the product, the use of price discrimination should not contradict legislation in the field of state price regulation.

Determining the final price may be related to the purpose of sales promotion.

Examples of such prices could be:

The price of the “undressed” model - in advertising, to stimulate the desire to purchase, the price of the product without additional devices is indicated. But this should not be a deception in price advertising: at the point of sale, they also display models equipped with new additions (for example, cars), which, as a rule, turn out to be more attractive to buyers (the “bait and switch” technique);
“loss leader” price - setting a reduced price for the main product and inflating prices for mandatory accessories (camera and film, spare parts for motor vehicles, etc. Some companies achieve large profits due to prices for accessories (especially typical for the spare parts market), but this happens and the cause of “piracy”;
special occasion prices (price reductions after holiday sales for “tired” customers);
price for a set that is offered at a price lower than the sum of the prices of the individual items;
price discounts, barter offsets and markups.

There are many types of discounts, here are a few examples: discount for the quantity of goods purchased (progressive); special discount (for a buyer of particular interest to the seller); hidden (providing free samples); seasonal, functional (for resellers for advertising goods and other types of additional work); bonus (for increasing the trade turnover of a wholesaler or retailer), etc.

Of the offsets, the most popular are the goods exchange offset for the end consumer and the offset in the form of a price discount for intermediate sellers for their additional services (promotion of goods, etc.).

A markup is an addition to the price that must be specified in the contract for exceeding certain parameters of the product. More often it occurs in commodity markets (for example, an increase in the price of iron ore with a higher iron content than is stipulated by the technical terms of the contract).

Having chosen a pricing strategy, the company at the same time must be prepared to increase or decrease prices under the influence of factors in the external marketing environment (initiative price changes). Thus, underutilization of production capacity due to the fault of subsuppliers, a reduction in market share under pressure from competitors force the company to reduce prices in order to maintain its position or strengthen it.

The emergence of excessive demand and inflationary processes force firms to increase prices. Changing prices can cause an undesirable reaction from consumers and competitors for the company, so price regulation takes the form of reducing the number of discounts, using sliding prices (with payment of inflation compensation at the time of purchase), determining the final price at the time of delivery, etc. In a situation of rising costs, cheaper ones are sought original components, the weight of the product in packaging is reduced, the design of products is revised, etc.

Marketing product policy

The absence of a product policy leads to instability in the assortment structure due to the influence of random factors, loss of control over the competitiveness and commercial effectiveness of goods.

Product policy is developed based on factors: the state of demand and customer expectations, technological production capabilities, the availability of analogues of goods in the intended market.

Directions of product policy: segmentation of markets, strengthening our presence in them by increasing sales volumes, segmentation of consumers, maximum satisfaction of their needs, formation of consumer preferences, assortment policy, brand strategy.

A product is anything that is capable of satisfying a need or desire and is offered on the market with the aim of attracting attention, acquisition, use, appearing in the form of a physical object, service, idea, place, organization, etc.

The marketing concept of a product comes down to a set of properties that are significant for the consumer (functional, aesthetic characteristics, social and personal significance, prestige), which the buyer evaluates and is ready to purchase at a certain price and in a certain quantity.

Development of marketing policy

1. Development and coordination of the enterprise’s product policy;
2. Development and coordination of the enterprise’s pricing policy, taking into account the distribution system;
3. Development and coordination of the company’s product distribution policy;
4. Development and approval of a policy for promoting the company’s products.

Today, entrepreneurship cannot exist without marketing. Therefore, the development of marketing policy occupies one of the most important places in any business.

Many people understand by marketing policy only pricing policy, but this is one of the big misconceptions, because it also includes: the product (and its promotion), sales, supply and, of course, advertising.

In addition, issues of reducing tax risks and optimizing costs should also be considered here.

Marketing policy is a general plan focused on the main idea or certain goals (values) and establishing the framework of business strategy (economic behavior), as well as characterizing the necessary operational actions (use of marketing tools) in entrepreneurship.

Currently, the development of marketing policy includes the following sections:

Product strategy, consisting of a set of marketing measures to influence the consumer market, aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the business;
- sales strategy, including planning (formation) of product sales channels;
- pricing strategy, which consists of a combination of various options for pricing behavior in the market, determining pricing policy and pricing tactics;
- promotion strategy, determined by the planning and implementation of a set of activities aimed at promoting products on the market (advertising, warranty and pre-sale service, etc.).

The process of developing a marketing policy depends on many factors: specific goals and specific tasks of forming a marketing strategy, internal organization marketing in a firm (company), calculations of marketing expenses, desires, opportunities of a businessman to change existing marketing tactics, etc.

Typically, the process of developing a marketing policy is carried out in stages and consists of the following steps:

Preparation of analytical data (information), the purpose of which is to compare the actual state of the business with the market situation and obtain an expert assessment of the capabilities of the company or other form of entrepreneurship;
- direct development of marketing policy;
- development and approval of organizational and administrative documentation for the formation of a marketing strategy.

Thus, the development of a marketing policy is necessary for any business, regardless of its type, area of ​​activity and form of entrepreneurship.

Purpose of marketing policy

Marketing approach- a generally recognized direction in the creation and sale of products and services by firms different directions. In countries with developed market economies, much attention is paid to the marketing area, since an ineffective marketing system of an enterprise can lead not only to lost profits, but also to direct losses. Marketing system as a subsystem organizational management exists in any company, however, the degree of its development and effectiveness may vary significantly. Organizationally, in large and medium-sized companies, the management element of the marketing system is special services and divisions. In a small company, this may be directly one of the managers.

The term “marketing” - literally the process of promoting to the market - does not fully reflect the internal duality of the process and emphasizes the more “active” side of marketing in comparison with the “analytical”. To characterize this duality, the terms “strategic” and “operational” marketing are used. Strategic marketing is an analysis process that includes needs analysis, market segmentation, competitiveness analysis, and finally, the choice of an enterprise development strategy. Operational marketing is the process of selecting a target segment, followed by drawing up a marketing plan and applying the package marketing communications on selected market segments based on their marketing budget.

Marketing management refers to the analysis, planning, implementation and control of activities designed to establish and maintain exchanges with target customers in order to achieve certain organizational goals, such as generating profits, increasing sales volumes, increasing market share. The task of marketing management is to influence the level, timing and nature of demand in such a way that it helps the organization achieve its goals, i.e. Marketing management is demand management.

There are five different approaches to marketing management:

1. The concept of improving production, which states that consumers prefer goods with low prices, therefore, it is necessary to reduce costs in production.
2. The concept of product improvement is based on the fact that consumers prefer quality products and in this case sales promotion is not required.
3. The concept of intensifying commercial efforts is based on the fact that goods will not be purchased without significant efforts in the field of sales and promotion.
4. The marketing concept is based on the assertion that a company must, through research, identify the demands and needs of a precisely defined market and ensure their desired satisfaction.
5. The concept of social and ethical marketing proclaims as its principle the achievement of the goals of the organization and its ability to ensure consumer satisfaction and long-term well-being of both the consumer and society as a whole.

In practice, marketing activities have a great impact on people both as buyers and sellers.

Marketing goals: maximizing consumption, achieving maximum customer satisfaction, providing the widest possible choice, maximizing quality of life.

These goals are achieved by the marketing cycle, which includes: marketing research, marketing synthesis, strategic planning, operational planning and implementation of plans, control and information support.

The basis of marketing at an enterprise is a well-formed marketing policy.

The marketing policy of an enterprise is a comprehensive plan that focuses on the main idea or certain values ​​(goals) and establishes the basic framework of behavior (strategy), as well as describing the necessary operational actions (use of marketing tools).

Thus, the structure of marketing policy can be defined as follows:

Enterprise goals and marketing goals;
- Marketing Strategies;
- Marketing mix.

In turn, a marketing strategy is a conditional, global plan of “behavior” to achieve the goals of the enterprise and marketing goals.

The development of a marketing policy takes place in several stages; it is a complex planning process.

Marketing planning faces the following tasks:

1. analyze the situation within the enterprise and environment;
2. choose a market;
3. determine the size of the market coverage;
4. develop basic principles of behavior in relation to market participants;
5. determine key points in the use of marketing tools.

Marketing policy is also developed using marketing analysis and includes three stages:

1. setting goals;
2. development of a marketing strategy;
3. determining the use of marketing tools.

It is advisable to conduct marketing analysis before setting goals.

Marketing policy is part of the overall policy of the enterprise. Based on the analysis, each enterprise builds a common system of goals.

It can be represented as follows:

1. The purpose of the enterprise, i.e. mission (business mission);
2. “Personality” of the enterprise (corporate identity) - describes the traditions of the enterprise, the policies pursued, points of view, positions of managers and employees. It is the “personality” of an enterprise that creates its image in the eyes of society and in the eyes of its employees;
3. Enterprise priorities, i.e. what the company focuses on, depending on the level of profit (customers, employees, environment, profit and growth);
4. Operational goals: at this level, the task of management is to present the mission of the enterprise, taking into account its priorities and its “personality,” as a set of specific operational goals.

The latter are divided into:

General goals (for example, increase profits to...);
- goals of functional departments (this includes marketing goals, as well as purchasing goals, production goals, etc.);
- goals for business areas;
- the purpose of using specific tools.

The entire range of enterprise goals can be grouped into the following categories: goals related to:

Market (market share, turnover, new markets);
- profitability (profit, return on equity, etc.);
- finances (creditworthiness, liquidity, degree of self-financing, capital structure);
- employees (employee satisfaction, employee income and social security, social integration, personal development);
- prestige (independence, image, political influence, social influence).

It must be taken into account that all these goals are closely related to each other.

As for the goals of marketing policy, the following conditions must be met:

1) determine the dimension of the goals, i.e. set goals that can be monitored (for example, increase market share by 10%).
2) create a market-oriented system of goals, i.e. Marketing goals must be consistent with the overall goals of the enterprise and each other.

If some goals conflict with each other, priorities must be clearly defined, i.e. what is more important. For example, an increase in product turnover causes a decrease in profits due to increased costs, for example, on advertising. Here it is necessary to decide whether, in order to increase turnover, say, in the medium term, it is possible to allow a short-term decrease in profits.

When setting a goal, the following aspects are formulated:

Economic: closely related to the overall goals of the enterprise (profit, profitability, safety). Their achievement is easy to monitor because they are focused on the visible part of the purchase decision-making process.

These are goals such as:

Increase in sales turnover;
- increasing market share;
- access to a specific market;
- use of market potential.

Psychographic goals: a set of measures to increase turnover and sales should influence consumer behavior, i.e. actually exert a psychological influence on potential buyers. It is very difficult to measure and control whether goals have been achieved, since here we are dealing with the psychological motives of buyers' actions, the willingness to make a purchase and, finally, the likelihood of making a purchase. And there are no exact indicators reflecting these parameters.

The following goals are often set:

Increasing the degree of recognition of a product or brand;
- change / improvement of the image and attitude of consumers;
- strengthening the intention to make a purchase;
- change in preferences.

2. Scope of the goal - goals can be formulated precisely or generally. An example of a generalized goal is maximizing profit, market share, etc. In practice, goals are usually formulated precisely (based on indicators obtained during marketing analysis), i.e. for example, increase market share to 30%, achieve an increase in turnover by 20%, etc.

3. Time to achieve the goal - over what period of time this goal must be achieved. Those. goals can be formulated in the short-term, medium-term and long-term.

4. Market segment - for which group of buyers (selected according to geographical, socio-economic, psychological factors) and / or for which product this goal is formulated.

As for the structure of marketing policy, there are four main components: product, pricing, sales policy, as well as the policy of promoting goods on the market. The basis of marketing policy is the marketing strategy of the enterprise.

Marketing Policy Analysis

It should be noted that such an analysis does not necessarily have to be super complex, involving a large number of information, labor, time and other resources (it is the fear of starting such a complex business that often discourages managers from using marketing analysis). For most medium and small businesses, standard analysis tools are sufficient. Large enterprises usually use the appropriate software, which is due to both large arrays of collected data and a wider range of tasks to be solved.

Objectives of marketing policy analysis

The results of the analysis can be used by the company for the following main purposes:

In developing a marketing strategy for an enterprise, making decisions about changing or adjusting it;
when drawing up short-term plans for marketing and production activities, assessment of their implementation;
when making decisions regarding goods, product groups, prices, individual customers, etc. (within the framework of the existing marketing strategy);
in the manager’s assessment of the current state of affairs of the enterprise.

The third point deserves some explanation. Unfortunately, it is often the only goal of the marketing analysis. Remove the product from production or leave it; issue a new one or wait; whether to raise the price or not - these are the questions to which the analysis expects answers. It is possible to get these answers, but, unfortunately, they can give little to business.

Analysis of marketing policy cannot be carried out without having initial information about the company's work. On the one hand, the data collection stage is a purely technical and uncomplicated procedure; on the other hand, it is at this stage that mistakes are often made, which subsequently lead to incorrect analysis.

There are two main mistakes:

The information that is collected is not what is needed;
information is collected in a suboptimal way.

So, what data should be obtained to conduct a basic analysis of an enterprise’s marketing policy:

Data on sales volumes in physical and in value terms(broken down by time, product groups, clients, sellers), data on sales of related products and services (spare parts, service, etc.);
data on the “history” of each product (date of start of development and release to the market; cost, price and their changes);
data on the customer base (minimum information for B2B operations: company name, location, belonging to any segment, contact person, full name of the responsible manager);
similar information on distributors;
detailed information about each of the main competitors (it is advisable to keep “competitor cards”, constantly supplementing them up-to-date information);
promotion data (advertising budgets with a detailed breakdown, information about advertising campaigns, participation in exhibitions, etc.).

In order for information to be useful and not require much effort to obtain it periodically, it must meet the following requirements:

Credibility. All data used for analysis must be carefully verified, otherwise significant distortion of the output data may occur.
Efficiency. The work of collecting information must be streamlined.
Single form. A common problem: the database of the sales department works in the format of one program, the database of financiers - in another, the marketing department generally calculates in Excel. As a result, there is a loss of time to bring the data to a general form.
Limitation. The scope of the information flow must be clearly defined, and their changes should be agreed upon with management and performers.
"Long term" The main value of marketing information is the ability to see the dynamics of change. The longer the time period “covered” by the information, the better and more reliable the conclusions will be.

Once all the necessary information that meets the listed criteria has been collected, a competent specialist can easily analyze the marketing policy in the main areas.

Basic marketing policy

Marketing policy is a plan according to which a whole program of a company’s activities in the field of promoting goods and services is drawn up, which makes it possible to determine the main directions in promoting its products or services and develop a set of specific programs for this. Marketing management in the work of each company necessarily implies the development of a marketing policy, its implementation and requires the specific implementation of the developed processes in product, pricing and sales areas.

The implementation of marketing policy is a necessary condition for ensuring the effectiveness of the actions carried out by the company. And the organization of marketing policy as a process is determined by the implementation of marketing in the company, its goals and functions.

Those. Marketing policy fully reflects the company’s activities in the field of promotion to the market, development within the company itself, which is related to the company’s market activities.

The elements of marketing policy include:

Product policy. Any company simply must strive to expand the range of products produced based on the ever-increasing needs of customers, and, first of all, to maintain and support competitiveness. Any company must develop. Therefore, it is obliged to show the market its innovativeness, but manage to do this even before the moment when the market itself begins to change, in other words, it strives to get ahead of the needs. The implementation of a successful product policy can be considered using the example of the GAZ automobile manufacturer, which began producing the Gazelle car, thereby opening a new era of passenger trucks in post-Soviet countries. The company changed its products, thereby adapting them to the needs.

Sales This is a company’s activity aimed at bringing manufactured products to consumers. The management of each company independently determines the type of sales scheme, whether it is the use of dealer services, opening a branch for sales issues, or providing for sales to small customers. Let's say that selling products through the sale of goods through a teleshop has proven itself to be excellent, as has the opening of a real-life store with the same goods.

Promotion. This is a kind of seeking out and developing ideas that become motivation for consumers to make a purchase. In other words, it is a policy of increasing sales. It provides for the distribution of funds for advertising campaigns, and a search for a unique selling proposition for products that have some specific features. So, for example, an enterprise that sells ordinary office chairs as a unique trade offer takes advantage of the fact that similar chairs are made in accordance with physical characteristics humans and are absolutely harmless to health.

Logistics. Implementation of effective inventory and supply chain management, as well as continuous monitoring of product quality. For example, the Ford company paid its suppliers money for quality. Pricing. Development of the most optimal and acceptable price-quality ratio beneficial to both the manufacturer and the consumer.

Information activities of marketing. The presence of an information center in the company, where all data on the external and internal activities of the enterprise is collected. All collected data is analyzed and processed, and then sent further in the form of reports to make a specific decision. For example, take marketing research, the results of which will reveal errors and determine the company’s capabilities.

Types of marketing policies

Attacking. This is an active position of an enterprise that seeks to conquer new territories and expand market boundaries.
Defensive. In other words, holding, i.e. the company strives to maintain its existing position in the modern market.
Policy of retreat. It is a forced process in order to reduce costs.

Marketing policy is primarily aimed at increasing sales volume, revenue, market share, and also striving for leadership in the developed market area.

Public relations should not be overlooked either. The goal of marketing policy is to establish good relations with various government and public institutions and layers by creating a favorable image of the company and its products by neutralizing unfavorable and negative information.

Formation of marketing policy

Each individual product offered to consumers can be viewed in terms of three levels. The product, by design, is characterized by the consumer properties of goods and services purchased in the product by the buyer, i.e. This product meets the buyer's requirements. The company needs to turn a product from design into a product in actual execution.

When choosing marketing strategies and forming a marketing policy, a company needs to develop a number of product classifications for individual products based on the inherent characteristics of these products and market segmentation.

The positioning process was designed to make the most effective use of market segmentation. Target marketing consists of selecting segments that best meet the needs of the company.

Implementing a successful marketing policy involves taking into account individual preferences various categories consumers. This is the basis of market segmentation. Using segmentation, certain types (market segments) are selected from the total number of potential consumers, presenting more or less homogeneous requirements for the product.

The main goal of segmentation is to ensure that the product is targeted, since it cannot meet the needs of all consumers at once. Through it, the basic principle of marketing is implemented - consumer orientation. At the same time, the organization does not scatter, but concentrates its efforts in the “direction of the main blow” (the most promising market segments for it). This achieves an increase in the efficiency of the applied forms and methods of sales, advertising, sales promotion, etc.

The target market is the most suitable and profitable group of market segments (or a single segment) for the organization to which marketing activities are directed.

The potential of a market segment is characterized by its quantitative parameters, i.e. capacity. The segment must initially be large enough to cover the costs associated with implementation and work in the market and make a profit. In addition, it must have prospects for further growth.

One of the first strategic decisions a firm makes is to define its reference market and select its target customer segment(s). This choice involves dividing the entire market into groups of consumers who have similar needs and behavioral or motivational characteristics and who create favorable market opportunities for the company. A firm may choose to serve all consumers in its core market or may choose to focus on one or a few segments. Segmentation of the underlying market is usually carried out in two stages, corresponding to different levels of market division. The purpose of the first stage, or macro segmentation, is to identify “product markets,” while the second stage, micro segmentation, identifies consumer “segments” within each of these product markets.

Identification target groups consumers and is a segmentation process that breaks the underlying market into parts that are homogeneous in terms of requirements and purchasing habits. The segmentation process is of strategic importance for the enterprise, since it leads to the definition of its area of ​​activity and to the identification of factors that are key to achieving success in selected markets.

Assessing the significance of a segment involves determining how realistic it is to consider a particular group of consumers as a market segment, and how stable it is in terms of the main unifying characteristics. It is necessary to find out whether the needs of the segment are stable in relation to the proposed product. Otherwise, you can end up in a segment where competitors have strong positions, or offer a tourism product with unclear, vague address characteristics that will not be recognized by customers.

When searching for the optimal number of target market segments, two methods are used - concentrated and dispersed.

The process of determining the target market is closely related to the choice of an enterprise's marketing strategy.

Typically, a firm may pursue multiple product strategies. When making a specific choice, one should take into account the advantages, necessary market conditions, requirements for the organization of production and management, and destabilizing factors.

Possibilities strategic management not limitless. There are a number of restrictions on the use of strategic management, which indicate that this type of management, like all others, is not universal for all situations and all tasks.

Firstly, strategic management, by its very nature, does not and cannot provide an accurate and detailed picture of the future. The description of the desired future of the organization developed in strategic management is not detailed description its internal state and position in the external environment, but rather a set of qualitative wishes for what state the organization should be in in the future, what position it should occupy in the market and in business, what kind of organizational culture it should have, what business groups enter, etc. Moreover, all this together should be what determines whether the organization will survive the competition in the future or not.

Secondly, strategic management cannot be reduced to a set of routine rules, procedures and schemes. He does not have a theory that prescribes what and how to do when solving certain problems or in certain situations. Strategic management is, rather, a certain philosophy or ideology of business and management. And each individual manager understands and implements it largely in his own way. Of course, there are a number of recommendations, rules and logical schemes for analyzing problems and choosing a strategy, as well as for carrying out strategic planning and practical implementation of the strategy.

However, in general, in practice, strategic management is:

A symbiosis of intuition and the art of top management to lead the organization towards strategic goals;
high professionalism and creativity of employees, ensuring the connection of the organization with the environment, updating the organization and its products, as well as the implementation of current plans;
active involvement of all employees in the implementation of the organization’s tasks, in the search for the best ways to achieve its goals.

Thirdly, enormous efforts and large expenditures of time and resources are required in order for the strategic management process to begin to be implemented in the organization. Requires the introduction and implementation of strategic planning, which is fundamentally different from development long term plans, mandatory for execution in any conditions. It is also necessary to create services that monitor the environment and include the organization in the environment. Marketing services, public relations, etc. acquire exceptional importance and require significant additional costs.

Fourthly, the negative consequences of errors in strategic foresight are sharply increasing. In conditions when completely new products are created in a short time, the directions of investments are radically changed, when new business opportunities unexpectedly arise and opportunities that have existed for many years disappear, incorrect foresight, resulting in errors in marketing policy, can be a loss of profit for the organization. The consequences of an incorrect forecast and an erroneously formed marketing policy are especially tragic for organizations that have no alternative way of functioning or that implement a strategy that cannot be fundamentally adjusted.

Fifthly, when implementing strategic management, the main emphasis is often placed on strategic planning. However, this is completely insufficient, since the strategic plan does not ensure its successful implementation. In fact, the most important component of strategic management is the implementation of the strategic plan. This involves, first of all, the creation of an organizational culture that allows the implementation of the strategy, the creation of motivation and work organization systems, the creation of a certain flexibility in the organization, etc.

When developing a marketing policy, it should also be taken into account that any market consists of different numerical combinations of buyers various types. A brand loyalty market is a market in which a large percentage of buyers demonstrate unconditional loyalty to one of the brands available in it. In this sense, the markets for toothpaste and beer can perhaps be called markets of fairly high brand loyalty. Firms trading in the brand loyalty market will find it very difficult to increase their share of the market, and firms seeking to enter it will find it very difficult to do so.

A firm can learn a lot by analyzing the distribution of allegiances in its market. She should definitely study the characteristics of unconditional adherents of her own branded product.

Studying consumers who abandon its brand for others will help the firm become aware of its marketing weaknesses. As for consumers who do not have loyalties, the company will be able to attract them to itself by offering its brand.

When forming an organization's marketing policy, it is necessary to keep in mind that the nature of consumer behavior, which seems to be explained by commitment to the brand, may in fact be a manifestation of habit or indifference, a response to low prices or the lack of availability of goods of other brands. The concept of “brand loyalty” is not always clear-cut and should therefore be used with caution.

The degree of buyer readiness to perceive the product. At any given point in time, consumers are in varying degrees of readiness to purchase a product. Some consumers are not aware of the product, others are aware, others are informed about it, others are interested in it, others want it, and others intend to buy it. The numerical ratio of consumers of different groups greatly affects the nature of the marketing policy being developed.

An important structural element of marketing policy is the implementation of marketing plans. For each area of ​​activity, marketing plans should be prepared for products, brands and markets. Main part marketing plan includes a review of the marketing plan, market analysis, opportunities and threats, objectives and problems, marketing strategies, action programs, budget and control. As a rule, in practice it turns out that it is much easier to plan company strategies than to implement them. In order to achieve success, an organization must purposefully implement its strategy. Implementation is the process of moving from marketing strategies to marketing actions.

This process includes five key points:

1. The action program defines the main tasks and activities necessary for the implementation of the marketing plan, indicating the performers and deadlines for completing the work.
2. The organizational structure defines the tasks and authorities, and also coordinates the efforts of the company's employees.
3. The company's decision-making and reward system coordinates activities such as planning, obtaining information, budgeting, compensation, incentives and training. A well-designed action program, a well-functioning organizational structure and a system of decision-making and rewards ensure the effective implementation of the plan.
4. Successful implementation also requires careful planning. labor resources. A company must hire, train, find, and retain the people it needs.
5. Company culture can also make or break implementation. The company's culture determines the behavior of people in the company; successful implementation is possible with a stable, clearly formulated company culture that corresponds to the chosen strategy.

An important condition for the effective implementation of an organization's marketing policy is responsibility for the implementation of the plan. Responsibility for the implementation of the plan, as a rule, lies with marketing services. The modern structure of marketing departments is very diverse. The most common is a functional marketing organization, in which individual managers perform marketing functions and report to the chief marketing officer. A company may also use a geographic organization, in which efforts and functions are divided based on the geographic location of markets. If a product marketing organization is used, product managers manage the product and collaborate with people from other departments to develop and implement the plan. Another form is the market management organization, whose managers deal with specific markets and collaborate with specialists from other functional units.

The marketing service monitors and adjusts its plans in the process of marketing control. Operational control monitors the implementation of the goals set by the annual plan in terms of profit and production volumes. Strategic control allows you to ensure that marketing goals, strategies and systems correspond to the real and predicted state of the market environment. Periodic marketing audits are carried out to identify marketing opportunities and threats and identify favorable short-term and long-term actions to improve existing market positions. The company uses the findings to better understand and adapt to the market environment.

An important element in the implementation of an organization's marketing policy is marketing control, which is the process of quantifying and analyzing the results of the implementation of marketing policy and its plans, as well as taking corrective actions to achieve set goals. In the process of marketing policy, many unforeseen circumstances arise.

The control function is divided into four stages:

Formation of goals,
quantitative change in results,
analysis of performance results, search for reasons for any deviations from the planned,
corrective actions to eliminate discrepancies between assigned tasks and their execution. For this, a program of action and a revision of previously formed goals can be applied.

Improving marketing policy

It should be recognized that there is a large gap between what marketing declares “in theory” and what it is in practice. real life.

Most companies believe that marketing exists to help production get rid of created products. But the truth is the opposite: production exists to help marketing. A company can almost always reduce costs, but it is its marketing ideas and proposals that bring prosperity and prosperity to the company.

The marketing concept is the ideal to which every company should strive. Even if this is a myth, it is a guiding myth, guiding the company in its actions.

Under current conditions competitive environment no one really disputes the importance of marketing. Hardly anyone would doubt that the direction of all business activity to the needs of the buyer or user is the only way to do business. Despite the general agreement, many companies in practice limit themselves to operational marketing, leaving strategic marketing in the realm of good intentions. Understanding the concept of marketing is one thing; following this philosophy of action is something else entirely.

A company that embraces this philosophy will be faced with the need to build a market-driven organization, the emergence and actions of which are correlated with the concept of marketing. Creating superior customer value while generating profit is much more than a function of marketing. This is the purpose of all activities of the organization, not just one department. In other words, strategic marketing is too important for the organization as a whole to be reduced only to the activities of commercial services.

For an organization to perform above the market average, it must achieve a sustainable competitive advantage that results from consistently delivering superior value to customers. The three key components of market orientation are therefore customer orientation, competitor orientation, and cross-functional coordination.

Focusing on the end consumer means focusing efforts at all levels of the organization on creating value for the consumer, understanding and anticipating their needs.

Orientation towards an intermediate client implies a willingness to treat trading firms not as simple intermediaries, but as their clients, i.e. desire to take into account their specific needs.

Focusing on competitors involves understanding the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, “calculating” their strategy and the speed of reaction to their actions.

Cross-functional coordination means disseminating market intelligence within the organization, functional integration in strategy formulation, and using the vision and knowledge of various departments, not just the marketing department, to assess customer needs and problems.

The fifth component of a market-driven organization is environmental monitoring, or the ongoing analysis of alternative technologies, social changes, and government regulations that may present opportunities or threats to the firm.

Thus, marketing covers an area much broader than the traditional scope of marketing management, since it includes the organizational culture and climate that most effectively stimulate the behavior necessary for the successful implementation of the marketing concept.

As a result, the following definition of strategic marketing exists:

“The process undertaken by a market-oriented firm to achieve performance above the market average by systematically pursuing a policy of creating products and services that provide consumers with products of higher value than those of competitors.”

The key concepts here are customer value, competitive advantage and above-average profitability.

In a market economy, the function of marketing is to organize free and competitive exchange to ensure an effective match between supply and demand for goods and services.

This correspondence is not spontaneous and requires:

Organization of material exchange, in other words, the physical flow of goods between production and consumer;
- organization of communication, in other words, the information flow that precedes, accompanies and follows the exchange to ensure an effective match between supply and demand.

Thus, the role of marketing in society is to organize exchange and communication between sellers and buyers. IN this definition the tasks and functions of marketing are emphasized regardless of the purpose of the exchange process. In this formulation it refers to both commercial and non-profit activities and in general to any situation in which there is a free exchange between the organization and consumers of the goods and services it offers.

In foreign and domestic literature on marketing issues, there is no single definition of marketing activity, and there is no consensus on its content.

Marketing activities are activities carried out by the marketing department to resolve the issues facing it. practical problems in an organization (enterprise, firm).

Professor V. E. Pilipenko writes the following definition of marketing as an activity - it is a complex system, a set of actions carried out procedurally, in a certain sequence.

This system includes the following actions:

Accumulation of information in the process of marketing research of the market environment;
- analysis of accumulated information and diagnostics on its basis of the market environment in order to detect potential, unsatisfied, perceived or latent needs, demands and requests;
- development of scientifically and practically substantiated probabilistic judgments regarding the dynamics of these needs, requirements and demands in the future in the forecasting process;
- projection into the future of the activities of a business entity to achieve approved goals and transformation of information about the future nature of the needs and demands of consumers into directives for targeted activities in the planning process;
- establishing the sequence of using marketing funds to implement plans in the programming process;
- development of specific marketing tools necessary for the implementation of one or another aspect of the program during the design process;
- adoption of organizational management decisions regarding the implementation of relevant plans, programs and projects;
- monitoring the implementation of marketing goals, plans, programs and projects and identifying new promising goals through information feedback channels.

According to F. Kotler, the marketing management process is as follows:

1 Market opportunity analysis:
a) systems of marketing research and marketing information;
b) marketing environment;
c) individual consumer markets;
d) enterprise markets.
2 Selection of target markets:
a) determination of demand volumes;
b) market segmentation, selection of target segments and product positioning in the market.
3 Development of a marketing mix:
a) product development;
b) setting prices for goods;
c) methods of distribution of goods;
d) promotion of goods;
4 Implementation of marketing activities:
a) strategy, planning and control.

An important place in market relations belongs to marketing specifically in the sphere of production and trading business, since there is a question of selling goods (products) and services. Successful marketing activities in these areas make it possible to obtain high results.

Marketing activities in these industries should ensure:

Reliable, reliable and timely information about the market, the structure and dynamics of specific demand, tastes and advantages of buyers, that is, information about the external conditions of the company’s functioning;
- creation of such a product, a set of products (assortment), that more fully satisfies the requirements of the market than the products of competitors;
- the necessary influence on the consumer, on demand, on the market, which ensures the maximum possible control over the scope of sales.

In a planned economy, everything was clearly defined for enterprises: what goods to produce, at what price to sell, in what quantity and to whom to deliver.

In a market economy, on the contrary, nothing is certain and everything is ambiguous.

Before you start producing a specific product, you must:

Determine the needs and requirements of potential buyers;
- study the demand for goods that satisfy certain needs;
- explore the market opportunities of the enterprise for the production of goods;
- determine the target market;
- determine a specific product for production;
- determine the selling price of the goods.

After this, it is necessary to plan and evaluate production activities to organize the release of goods that satisfy the needs of customers. In addition, it is very important to determine measures to promote the product planned for release on the market. Only after carrying out such marketing activities can the enterprise have hopes of selling its product.

The above list of marketing work is not exhaustive, but it clearly shows what fundamental tasks marketing solves in an enterprise and its leading role in a market economy.

Marketing touches everyone's life. It is the process by which goods and services that provide a certain standard of living are developed and made available to people. Marketing includes a wide variety of activities, including market research, product development, distribution, pricing, advertising, and personal selling. Many people confuse marketing with commercial sales efforts, when in fact it combines several activities aimed at identifying, serving and satisfying customer needs to achieve organizational goals. Marketing begins long before and continues after the act of purchase and sale.

Marketing activities include all the functions inherent in any other type of management: planning, organizational activities, direction of activity, accounting and control. These functions are common to any type of activity. But in certain situations they can be specified taking into account the specifics of marketing activities.

During a comprehensive market research, the following areas fall into the development field:

The marketing environment is studied;
- analysis of market characteristics and market research is carried out;
- analysis of collected information on consumer properties is carried out specific product, its market positions;
- the opinion of consumers about this product is investigated;
- analysis of market participants is carried out: purchasing companies, competitors and neutral companies;
- the sales system is being studied;
- market segments are determined and analyzed;
- consumer activity and behavior are studied.

By analyzing the production capacity of an enterprise, it is possible to realistically assess whether it is able to satisfy all market demands and at the same time develop promisingly.

Based on the research data mentioned above, marketing programs are developed taking into account market forecasts; policy is determined business conduct companies on the market; pricing and sales policies are developed; New methods of product promotion and advertising campaigns are being created.

By making changes to the company's product policy, specific marketing activities are implemented aimed at improving the consumer properties of the product. New types and modifications of products are being developed. This increases the company's competitiveness.

Developing a pricing policy involves creating a pricing strategy with a long-term perspective of the company's operation, pricing tactics for a short period of work with a focus on a specific group or type of product, or market segment.

Sales policy is a system of sales channels for goods formed by direct or indirect methods.

Sales promotion and demand generation looks like a set of measures to promote a product on the market. First of all, these are advertising campaigns, sales promotion through price bonuses, offers of warranty service before and after the sale, etc.

When organizing marketing activities, special structural units are created that work in one vein with the scientific, technical and production and sales activities of the company. These divisions are subordinated to a specific area of ​​marketing activity. There are divisions that work separately, in assortment and product areas, and conduct research in regions or in consumer groups. But there may also be units with mixed functions.

You can control marketing activities during the implementation of the marketing program. Monitor compliance with planned standards, analyze sales, profitability and the degree of effectiveness of marketing costs, etc.

With ongoing monitoring of the implementation of marketing activities, you can make the necessary adjustments. This will have a positive impact on the production and sales picture of the enterprise as a whole.

Marketing can be considered as managing a company taking into account market conditions and consumer demand.

Marketing activities can be divided into 10 successive stages.

It is very important to note that marketing is a repeating cycle of activities to constantly adapt the company’s activities to changing environmental conditions:

1) marketing research: analysis of own capabilities, market research;
2) identifying the target market;
3) choice of marketing strategy;
4) development of a marketing program: 4P – product policy, sales policy, pricing policy, communication policy, budget;
5) marketing plan;
6) creation of a prototype product;
7) testing: market, laboratory;
8) mass production;
9) post-warranty service;
10) constant market testing.

The first stage is conducting marketing research, which consists of market research and analysis of the company’s own capabilities. At the second stage, the target market is determined, the segment or group of segments to which marketing activities will be focused. In the third stage, a marketing strategy is developed for this target market. The fourth stage involves the development of a marketing program, a medium-term document that includes product, sales, pricing and communication policies, as well as the necessary marketing budget.

Based on the marketing program, which mainly contains target quality indicators, a marketing plan is developed - a current plan with specific indicators of the marketing program.

Next comes the development and creation of a prototype product. The next stage involves market and laboratory testing of the new product. If the test results correspond to the indicators that were included in the marketing plan, then the company begins mass production. At the ninth stage, warranty and post-warranty service is provided (except for FMCG - consumer goods). The tenth stage is constant market testing and adjustment of the marketing program in connection with changes in market conditions.

Within the framework of marketing activities, a certain hidden conflict of interest arises. The main goal of marketing activities is to maximize the satisfaction of people's needs while complying with the most important goals of the organization. The goals of the organization are to minimize costs and maximize profits. In other words, invest as little money as possible (savings, including on quality) and get as much profit as possible.

The consumer is interested in saving money and getting better quality. This conflict is quite difficult to resolve, which is why modern marketing uses all kinds of methods to manipulate the minds of consumers. The topic of psychological impact on the consumer and social responsibility of marketing activities is becoming increasingly relevant in the modern market.

Studying the market through marketing research, which is a type of social technology aimed at discovering effective means of managing the market based on an objective understanding of the situation in it, began to be used in Russia as the basis for decision-making by enterprises since the mid-80s.

Very often, the production of goods and services begins without sufficient marketing research. Manufacturers do not want to incur additional costs for “unnecessary” marketing research, clarifying all the characteristics of production focused on meeting needs, which is a serious mistake - as a result, business managers lose much more.

Globalization of market relations presupposes, first of all, the entry of enterprises into foreign markets. A foreign economic activity is unthinkable without deep knowledge and practical skills in the field of marketing. Marketing is the basis of the rules of the “game of business” in world markets. It is competitive conditions that make it necessary for each enterprise, regardless of its type of activity, to use certain marketing tools for successful functioning and meeting market demand.

The relevance of marketing research is determined by the growing role of marketing both in the very system of relations between market actors and, one might say, in human life, namely:

Real development orientation Russian economy along the path of regulated market relations;
- growing interest in marketing as a means of livelihood and development of market entities;
- a massive change in the course of reforms in the mentality of consumers in the country and the formation in their minds of a new market lifestyle, an integral component of which is marketing.

These trends in the development of human society in the industrial world emphasize the relevance of marketing as a branch of economic science and expand the need for the formation of a more developed marketing architecture and the identification of its infrastructural components.

Control of marketing activities is an assessment of the results of the implementation of the marketing plan and taking the necessary measures to correct it, since if you miss the time when clarifications and changes can be made to the plan painlessly for the company, the consequences can be unpredictable.

However, the control procedures that exist in many companies are clearly imperfect. Some firms do not clearly set goals and define performance measurement systems. Many people do not have a clear idea of ​​the profitability of their transactions and do not analyze their costs for storing goods and maintaining distribution channels.

The practical application of marketing by enterprises contributes to the implementation of the most important socio-economic process to most fully satisfy the needs and demands of consumers.

In the context of the development of a market economy, management methods, expansion of rights and independence of enterprises, the content of the goals of economic behavior of both producers of products on the market and all economic activities fundamentally change. An indispensable requirement is the transition to the formation of production programs and product ranges based on a thorough study of consumer demand. This requires a clear system for the consistent implementation of a socially active production and marketing policy that helps meet public and individual needs for relevant products; increasing the competitiveness of manufactured products; accelerating the sale of manufactured goods and the turnover of invested funds.

The implementation of marketing activities acts as an objective need to orient the scientific, technical, production and sales activities of the company on the subject market demand, needs and requirements of consumers. This reflects and constantly intensifies the trend towards organizing production in order to increase the efficiency of the company as a whole and its business units.

The company's marketing activities are aimed at establishing, quite reasonably, based on market demands, specific current and mainly long-term goals, ways to achieve them and real sources of resources for economic activity; determine the range and quality of products, its priorities, the optimal production structure and the desired profit. In other words, the manufacturer is called upon to produce products that will be in demand by the consumer and, accordingly, will bring profit. And for this it is necessary to study social and individual needs, market demands as a necessary condition and prerequisite for production. Therefore, there is a growing understanding that production begins not with exchange, but with consumption. This concept has found its way into marketing.

Marketing sales policy

This is exactly what experts talk about when formulating the third commandment of marketing: “The right product in the right place and at the right time.”

The main goal of the enterprise's sales policy is to ensure the availability of goods to consumers.

To achieve it you need:

Identify the need of the target market and calculate its capacity;
- determine effective distribution channels;
- bring goods to consumers as quickly as possible.

The concept of sales includes the following elements: transportation, warehousing, storage, processing, promotion to retail and wholesale trade levels, pre-sale preparation, and actual sales.

A sales system is a complex consisting of an enterprise’s sales network and those distribution channels that use it to sell goods.

The main elements of the sales system include:

A sales channel is a defining link in the sales system of a given product, characterizing the functioning features, conditions and restrictions of sales activities;
- wholesaler (wholesaler) is a person (enterprise) that purchases significant quantities of goods from various manufacturers and limits their movement in retail trade;
- retailer - a person (enterprise) that directly sells a relatively large number of goods to the final consumer and purchases the goods either from a wholesaler or from a manufacturer;
- broker - a reseller who organizes the sale of goods without acquiring ownership of them;
- commission agent - a person who has a warehouse with goods that he sells on his own behalf, but at the expense of the manufacturing enterprise;
- wholesale agent - an employee under an agreement with the seller, conducting operations at his expense; at the same time, he may be given the exclusive right to sell the goods of the enterprise in certain quantities;
- consignor - a person who has his own warehouse and goods, but on a consignment basis (i.e. the goods are transferred to him for safekeeping by the producer);
- sales agent (sales agent) - a person who independently sells the goods of an enterprise to buyers and has a different status: working with restrictions (on consignment terms), serving only this enterprise or a given consumer, etc.;
- dealer - a widespread type of sales agent, specializing, as a rule, in the sale of durable goods that require significant amounts of service, which the dealer himself and his assistants usually do not provide.

Sales system functions:

Formation of a sales strategy;
- selection of sales channels;
- formation and processing of an array of documentation reflecting consumer orders (including intermediate ones);
- packaging of goods;
- formation of batches of goods in accordance with the needs of consumers;
- storing goods before transportation and their necessary modification in warehouses;
- organization of transportation of goods;
- assistance to intermediaries in organizing the effective sale of goods;
- collection and systematization of opinions of final and intermediate consumers about goods and the enterprise.

Organization of the sale of goods to the final consumer can be carried out by:

– offering goods in a retail trade enterprise (“merchandising”);
– licensed trade (“franchising”);
– direct contacts with consumers (“direct marketing”).

When planning a sale, the following areas of activity should be considered:

Study of market conditions - carried out at the general economic, industry and market levels based on predictive and analytical approaches;
- turnover forecast - assessment of the sale of goods in physical and value terms and the enterprise’s share in the turnover of enterprises operating in a given market, which is carried out for various periods and using various methods. The forecasts made are used when conducting trading operations, drawing up production schedules and inventory management, justifying budgets and profits, determining prices, financial costs;
- preparation of financial estimates - correlation of expected sales with the estimated amount of trading expenses and possible profit. Estimates are compiled for total sales volume and for individual goods;
- establishing “sales standards” - defining specific tasks for sales agents;

Trade reporting – providing information on actual sales and costs, information on new trends in the market;
- control criterion.

Each decision in the field of marketing policy involves certain costs. Sales costs are the amount of costs an enterprise incurs from the moment goods leave the warehouse until they are purchased by the buyer.

P.S. Zavyalov proposes the following cost ratio for the physical distribution of goods:

– investments in reserves – 45%;
– external transportation costs – 20%;
– warehouse processing costs – 15%;
– costs for management activities and overhead costs - 10%;
– internal transportation costs – 10%).

Marketing policy management

Knowledge of marketing only by a narrow circle of specialists (department, marketing group) becomes insufficient. It is necessary that marketing as a philosophy of entrepreneurship, as a business concept, masters and guides all employees, functions and departments of the organization. Marketing, turning into a mindset, permeating the activities of every employee from a clerk to a senior manager, creates the prerequisites and conditions for effective entrepreneurship.

So, marketing management is a purposeful activity to regulate the position of a company in the market, by means of planning, organizing, accounting, control, execution of each phase of the positional and activity behavior of the company, taking into account the influence of the patterns of development of the market space, the competitive environment to achieve profitability and operational efficiency subject on the market.

The field of marketing management, occupying a certain place in common system marketing knowledge includes analysis, planning, control over activities designed to establish, strengthen and maintain profitable exchanges by solving certain organizational objectives, such as making a profit, growing sales, increasing market share, etc. In the field of management, those directly related to marketing management in a company and marketing management of a company are the motivation of the company, evaluation of business decisions, strategic planning, choice of business form, management structure, personnel management, and simulation modeling.

Consequently, management functions represent the types of activities necessary to carry out management (influence).

From all of the above, we can draw the following conclusion that the concepts of “marketing management” and “marketing management” are included in the set of management tools and follow from general concept enterprise management.

Management functions such as goal setting, forecasting, planning, are essentially the justification and adoption of management decisions implemented within the framework of information and analytical tasks and marketing. Not all managers are able to resolve these issues on their own, and in complex cases this is unlikely.

In large and medium-sized enterprises, these tasks are assigned to special organizational units - marketing divisions and services. They act as internal consultants, preparing decisions (external consultants may also be involved for this purpose). The relationship between management and marketing is defined as follows. On the one hand, they can be treated as two separate related areas. On the other hand, marketing can be considered as a part of management, focused on monitoring the macroeconomic environment, external factors, internal changes, and developing an adequate response to them in the form of indicative management decisions. The more complex the enterprise management system, the more appropriate it is to clearly separate the tasks of management and marketing. Then the decision-making process becomes more observable and manageable, and the decisions themselves are justified and adequate.

Marketing in a broad sense is associated precisely with business intuition, which is determined by the ability of managers to carry out (independently or with the support of specialists) setting and solving management problems. At the same time, the difference between a manager and a marketing specialist has a specific meaning: the specialist makes indicative (recommendatory) decisions, and the manager makes directive (directly executed) decisions. Thus, in specific cases, the same subject can act in different capacities.

A holistic idea of ​​marketing management, combining the advantages of various modern scientific concepts and relevant practice, is based on the fact that the management of a subject’s activities in the market is based on:

Firstly, on the principles of strategic planning;
secondly, on the principles of investment portfolio management, in which each area of ​​activity of the subject, or its business unit, has its own profit-making potential, taken as the basis for the distribution of the subject’s resources;
thirdly, on the principles of marketing itself, which allows one to assess the prospects for the implementation of decisions made on the basis of the first two principles, and directly plan, organize and control their implementation, using systemic marketing tools.

Therefore, in the concepts of marketing management, the marketing process itself, including: analysis of marketing opportunities; development of marketing strategies; planning marketing programs (development of system tools); organization of execution and control of marketing work - is closely interconnected with strategic corporate planning (defining a corporate mission, defining strategic business units, distributing resources between them, planning new activities) and planning at the level of a strategic business unit (defining the mission of a strategic business unit). units, identification of opportunities and threats, strategic analysis, formulation of goals, strategies, business unit programs and control of their implementation).

Consequently, the most complex analytical, planning, organizational work at all available levels of the subject (corporation, business unit, structural subdivision) in the process of marketing management is ultimately subordinated to the formation and management of systemic marketing tools that directly create value and acquired good (or benefit) not only for the consumer and the subject achieving their goals in the market, but also for all participants in the exchange, for example, society, government institutions, personnel of the subject, its shareholders.

I would like to note the features of the marketing policy. The shipbuilding market, like any industrial market, is significantly different from any other market in terms of marketing policy. It is characterized by a number of features that make it impossible to use “classical” marketing solutions. First of all, there is a limited number of buyers. All buyers on the market are known, each has its own characteristics, each requires its own special approach.

An important factor is the individuality of each transaction. It is impossible to create a unified offer for all clients - the needs of each client are individual. You cannot offer the same equipment to a furniture and boat manufacturer.

In addition, almost all transactions on the market are one-time in nature. As mentioned above, the equipment has a long service life; it is purchased once for many years and, as a rule, does not require subsequent maintenance from the supplier.

Finally, the last but not least important feature of the market is the complexity of the customer's purchasing decision. Purchasing equipment requires significant capital investments and changes in the production process. The decision to purchase equipment from a particular supplier is made as a result of a long process, including dozens of meetings and hundreds of telephone conversations. Often, an enterprise may not even realize that it has a need to purchase of this equipment; many are convinced of its high cost, installation complexity and inapplicability in their production.

Every enterprise is interested in effective management its marketing activities. He needs to know how to analyze market opportunities, select appropriate target markets, develop an effective marketing mix, and successfully manage the implementation of marketing objectives. All this constitutes the marketing management process. Managing the marketing policy of an enterprise involves planning the goals of the enterprise. A goal is a guideline to which an enterprise should strive in its activities. Planning the goals of an enterprise consists of several stages. To choose the right path, you need to know the starting position of the enterprise. To do this, at the first stage of planning, a comprehensive analysis of its current activities (situational analysis) is carried out. Such an analysis makes it possible to assess the internal capabilities and resources of the enterprise, its strengths and weaknesses, to determine trends in changes in the external environment and the degree of adaptation of the enterprise to these changes. Having carried out all the research and answered the questions of interest, you can move on to the second stage - developing the goals of the enterprise. The choice of goals must be approached selectively. Of the many tasks facing an enterprise, it is necessary to highlight the most significant ones as goals so that the enterprise’s resources can be concentrated on them.

To achieve marketing goals, a marketing strategy is formed, which is closely related to the overall strategy. Marketing strategy is fundamental, medium or long-term decisions that provide guidelines and direct individual marketing activities to achieve their goals. The strategy is developed on the basis of set goals, a forecast of long-term prospects for the development of the market (markets), an analysis of customer needs, an assessment of the resources and capabilities of the enterprise. At the planning stage, there is a selection of marketing elements that are combined into the most optimal one in terms of the goals set, as well as the distribution of financial resources within the marketing budget. The activities of any enterprise are aimed at achieving its goals. These goals are the starting point for developing marketing plans and programs, the process of implementation of which should ensure accurate progress towards the target goals. Assessment of the degree of fulfillment of the intended goals and programs is ensured using a marketing control system.

To summarize the above, I would like to say that in connection with the increase in the social status of a person in Western civilization and the expansion of his rights, the concept of so-called enlightened marketing appeared. This is a marketing philosophy according to which the activities of an organization should be aimed at the effective functioning of the marketing system over a long period of time. Today, many Russian companies are taking a decisive step forward on the path of economic development, widely opening access to domestic and foreign investors. These investors are highly demanding in terms of where they invest their capital, which means that enterprises will have to earn a good reputation for themselves. This can be done, first of all, through competent, professional business activities that provide a high return on invested capital.

Russian companies will have to overcome an acute shortage of working capital; learn to manage finances; create modern marketing services; develop, develop and promote new products and services to the market; give up many old ones.

At the same time, Russian industry has a huge intellectual reserve, well-educated managers, highly qualified workers, and our subsoil is rich in natural resources. All this gives grounds for ambitious plans to enter world markets and take their rightful place there. But in order for these plans to become a reality, employees of firms and companies must understand what approaches, methods, and tools are at their disposal for organizing work in new conditions. It is unthinkable to make all the decisions alone. The director must create a team of like-minded people.

It is important to remember something else - best way provide support to your country during the difficult period of reforms, improve the overall situation in Russia - make your company prosperous, produce good products at prices affordable to consumers, create stable and well-paid jobs. Over time, this should translate into profits - one of the main indicators of the company's performance and its factor. If you achieve good results, then Russian and foreign investors will invest money in the development of the company, and other firms will cooperate.

Implementation of marketing policy

Company growth strategies;
market coverage strategies;
marketing strategies depending on the dynamics of consumer demand (synchromarketing strategy, remarketing, etc.);
competitive strategies (offensive and defensive).

The company's growth strategies include:

1 – strategy for developing a new product “old market – new product”. It consists of attempts to increase sales by improving, modernizing and improving its consumer properties, expanding the range, creating new models and types of products. The strategy is effective if the company has a number of successful brands, which allows, when promoting a product, to focus on the fact that these products are manufactured by a well-known company.
2 – strategy of deep penetration into the market “old market - old product”. As a rule, it is aimed at maintaining market position, but also consists in finding ways for the company to increase sales of existing products in the existing market. In this case, it is assumed to increase the market share by reducing production and distribution costs. Changing the pricing policy, identifying new ways to use the product.
3 – “new market – new product” – diversification strategy (introduction of something new).
4 – strategy for expanding the boundaries of “new market – old product”. The search is underway not only for new markets in a geographical sense, but also for new market segments. The strategy is effective if, as a result of changes in lifestyle and demographic factors, new market segments emerge and, accordingly, new areas of application are identified.

Integration is the unification of economic entities. Integrated growth strategies involve expanding the firm by adding new structures. Typically, these strategies are used by firms that are at a high level of business development and do not have the ability to implement concentrated growth strategies.

Types: vertical, horizontal.

The regressive integration strategy is aimed at developing the company through the acquisition of suppliers or strengthening control over them, through the creation of subsidiaries that carry out supply. By implementing this strategy, the firm reduces dependence on suppliers and price fluctuations.

The progressive integration strategy is expressed in the development of the company through the acquisition or strengthening of control over the structures located between the company and end consumers, that is, over distribution and sales systems (warehouses, transportation, retail network). The strategy is beneficial when intermediary services are too extensive or the company cannot find intermediaries with a high-quality level of work.

The horizontal integration strategy is based on the firm's actions to absorb or place under tighter control the enterprises of competitors in the firm's market. Often the main reason for horizontal diversification is the geographical expansion of markets. In this case, companies that produce similar products but operate in different regional markets merge.

Problems that arise with vertical integration: the appearance of a strong position; mutual dependence, which in case of any difficulty can put the next link at a disadvantage.

Advantages of integration: costs, control, emergence of stability.

Diversification is the penetration of an enterprise into industries that do not have a direct production connection or functional dependence on the main activity. Diversification - the company moves to the production of a new product and operates in a new market. Concentric diversification - release of a new product using technologies already available to the company, or production lines. Horizontal diversification - production technology is no longer connected with the previous one, retaining old customers while releasing new products. Conglomerate diversification - a completely new product is produced, not related to previous technologies and for completely new consumers.

Pros:

1) cost reduction when combining different types of businesses through unified management;
2) improving the information business;
3) technological benefits through technology exchange and joint R&D.

Minuses:

1) there may be no real connection between different types of business;
2) difficulties are created by antimonopoly legislation.

Market Reach Strategies

1. Mass (undifferentiated) marketing strategy. Working in a mass market, the product must suit the maximum number of consumers; similar products from competitors will differ mainly in price.

All actions of the enterprise are aimed at reducing costs: production, sales, advertising. The company prefers homogeneous products and focuses on a wide market and mass production.

Advantages: low level production costs, low level of marketing costs, the widest possible boundaries of the potential market.

Disadvantages: competitors may adopt cost-cutting methods; technological innovations may devalue existing developments.

2. Differentiated marketing strategy. The company strives to cover a fairly large number of market segments with products specially developed for them, strives to make its offer original for each segment, which allows it to set higher prices.

Advantages: painless implementation in selected segments, flexibility.

Disadvantages: significant marketing costs, presence of competitors in almost every segment, difficulty in achieving a competitive advantage in any segment.

3. Concentric marketing strategy. The company focuses its efforts and resources on one market segment and offers products specifically for this group of customers. This is a specialization strategy in which the offer is tailored to the client.

Advantages: relative protection from competition, work experience, income stability.

Disadvantages: difficulty in conquering a segment, the need to maintain constant contact with the client.

Marketing strategies that depend on the dynamics of consumer demand: excessive demand (demarketing) - advertising, price, sell fewer products for the same price, no delivery, no discounts, service package;
- we work on demand;
- falling demand (remarketing), restoration of demand or a situation of exit from the market to other segments, restoration in the mode of supporting marketing, not necessarily restoration;
- irregular demand (synchromarketing), we have the ability to “jump” (season, week, day, day, etc.), the company’s task is to equalize price conditions;
- irrational demand (wrong demand) – cigarettes, alcohol, drugs.

Competitive Strategies:

Attack - a competitive strategy used by a market contender in the fight for markets:

1) frontal attack, characterized by active actions in the position of a competitor, attempts to surpass him in the strong aspects of his activities (products, advertising, prices, etc.). The organization must have more resources than its competitor and be able to conduct long-term “combat operations.”
2) encirclement, an attempt to stop all or significant territory of the leader (quick victory); involves an attack from all directions, which forces the competitor to maintain a perimeter defense; applies when a market bidder hopes (and has the opportunity) to short term break the competitor's will to resist.
3) a bypass maneuver, a type of indirect attack, implemented, as a rule, in one of the following types: diversification of production, development of new geographic markets, implementation of a new leap in technology.
4) guerrilla attack, small impetuous attacks with the aim of demobilizing the enemy using not always correct methods (black PR). However, continuous guerrilla warfare is expensive and must be backed up by more massive attacking efforts to win.
5) a flank attack on the leader, competitors do not engage in a direct attack, is aimed at weak points in the activities of competitors, and concentrates efforts on gaining advantages in these weak points; often carried out unexpectedly for competitors.

Defensive positions, various kinds of barriers are created:

1) positional, we build up everything, all the strength. The best method of defense is the continuous updating of manufactured products.
2) proactive defense is based on anticipatory actions, for example, anticipating the appearance of a new competitor on the market, you can reduce the price of your products and get ahead of competitors in discounts.
3) flanking, aimed at protecting the most vulnerable points in the organization’s position in the market, where competitors can primarily direct their attacks.
4) counter-offensive, used by the market leader if proactive and flank defensive strategies do not produce any effect. The leader can pause to see the attacker's weaknesses

Marketing communication policy

Public Relations (PR) - public relations;
advertising;
sales promotion;
specialized exhibitions;
personal selling.

Public relations

Public relations (PR) is a non-commercial form of communication, a long-term effort planned to create and maintain goodwill and understanding between a firm and its public. The public should be understood as a wide range of potential consumers, the population of the market that attracts the company, as well as the company’s partners and its own personnel.

The main forms of PR: speeches in the media (TV, radio, articles in the press), press conferences, organizing shows, sponsorship and charity, corporate identity, prestigious advertising (souvenirs bearing corporate style attributes in their design, brochures, booklets, company magazine).

PR technology includes four components:

Analysis, research and problem setting;
- development of a program and budget;
- implementation of the program;
- evaluation of results and refinement of the program.

A company can carry out PR events using its own public relations services or specialized agencies. A combined method is also possible.

In favor of the first way ( own strength) the following provisions can be attributed:

The agency’s information about the company is, as a rule, incomplete, which requires initiation into the details;
Agencies are more likely to fail;
own employees are always interested in the success of events;
the commission has the opportunity to increase the effectiveness of events by creating specific units aimed at selected events (TV, press, photography, etc.).

The second way (specialized agencies) also has its advantages:

Significant practical agency experience;
possibility to terminate the contract;
higher trust in the advice of independent specialists.

The choice of one path or another depends on the company’s own capabilities, goals, objectives and marketing program, market conditions (primarily economic and cultural). Long-term (continuous) campaigns are usually carried out by the company’s own PR services (if they exist in the company’s organizational structure). It is advisable to obtain recommendations and consultations from independent specialists in public relations agencies.

The most universal way of PR can be considered publications about a company in the press. Relations with the press (mass media relations, press relations) are an important part of PR, and it should be noted that there is mutual interest here: for the press, the company is a source of reliable information. Information is transmitted in the form of a press release (information message) to a list of information recipients maintained by the company's PR service.

Typically a press release contains information:

About management appointments;
about new significant contracts;
about innovations that provide technological breakthroughs;
on mergers and acquisitions;
about strategic alliances, etc.

The content of the press release is designed to ensure a positive perception of the company by consumers, its own staff, shareholders, and the general public. Any means of PR always complement other forms of communication, while solving two main tasks: maintaining a balance of interests of the company and society, as well as eliminating the negative impact on the company’s image of various negative events and unfriendly rumors. Achieving positive perception of a company's products (brand) through PR is reinforced by advertising (if not lost due to more aggressive actions of competitors).

Advertising, unlike PR, is a commercial activity, “any paid form non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services of a specific customer.” The advertising campaign program for the target market includes such issues as the goals and objectives of the advertising campaign, the choice of the type of advertising and its distribution channel, the development of an advertising message, the determination of an advertising budget, and methods for assessing the effectiveness of advertising.

Advertising goals can be informative, persuasive, reminding, which depends on the strategic objectives of the company, the goals and objectives of the marketing program; characteristics of the target market identified as a result of its comprehensive research; product life cycle phases; the degree of consumer awareness about the product and the company itself. Information goals usually correspond to the phase of introducing a product to the market. Information advertising brings to the consumer information about a new product (new option), explains the methods of use, application of the new product, describes the qualitative advantages of the new service, etc. Information about advertising can be communicated to the consumer at other phases of the product’s life cycle (for the purpose of additional information about properties or new possibilities for use).

For the growth phase, the goal of persuasion is relevant, especially in a situation of increasing competition.

Through persuasion, the company strives to create sustainable demand. The purpose of persuasion is usually expressed in the form comparative characteristics advantages of the product (mainly on consumer markets).

Deciding on the advisability of advertising a product during the recession phase depends on the company’s strategy for a given period of the product’s life cycle. Practice shows that advertising in a situation of a steady decline in sales is unprofitable, and only a “reaping the fruits” strategy can justify the use of reminder advertising.

Advertising goals depend not only on the phase of the product’s life cycle, but also on other market factors. Thus, if a company is little known to potential consumers, but its offer is novel and has significant qualitative advantages, then advertising, already at the stage of introducing the product to the market, has the goal of convincing buyers of the superiority of its product.

An important task of advertising practice is the choice of means (distribution channel) of advertising. In essence, the task comes down to finding such media that provide the planned coverage of the target audience, the required frequency of contacts at the right time and correspond to the company’s advertising budget. When drawing up an advertising campaign plan, the advertising distribution channel is selected taking into account a number of factors, such as cost, possible coverage and characteristics of the target audience, content and goals of the advertising message, features of the advertising object, infrastructure and degree of media development of the target market, etc. Depending on the medium (distribution channel) there are different types of advertising: print advertising (in newspapers, magazines, directories and other printed publications), television and radio advertising, outdoor advertising, advertising on transport, etc. If the advertising message is delivered to the target audience by mail, then it can be advertising in every home or direct mail advertising.

Increasing competition in global commodity markets, on the one hand, and expansion functionality and areas of application electronic media- on the other hand, they contributed to the development of advertising media that allow both reducing advertiser costs and directly connecting seller and buyer (interactive television, electronic magazines, Fax).

Each advertising distribution channel has both advantages and certain disadvantages. For example, radio, which provides mass coverage and low cost, is at the same time inferior to television in terms of completeness of perception and duration of impact on the respondent. Direct mail advertising, with a high degree of selectivity of the target audience, only provides a 20-25% chance of “hitting the target” of the advertising message, etc.

Determining the volume and characteristics of the target audience is no less important for planning an advertising campaign than the cost of advertising space or time in various media. It should be taken into account that the target audience can be calculated, effective (potential clients in contact with this advertising medium), actual (potential clients who responded to the advertisement).

The effectiveness of advertising is usually assessed in relation to its specific type. It is much easier to make a preliminary (expert) assessment and more difficult to evaluate the results of an advertising campaign and the real impact of a particular type of advertising on certain indicators (results) of the company’s activities.

For expert assessment, advertising characteristics are determined, the significance of which is established using weight coefficients. By comparative assessment of several advertising options, the best one based on the sum of points is selected.

The criterion for quickly measuring the effectiveness of advertising can be such indicators as the effect of mutual understanding, sales level, increase in consumer loyalty to trademark. However, it is practically impossible to single out exactly the role of advertising, ignoring other factors of marketing efforts, the influence of the macro- and microenvironment of marketing, etc.

Perhaps the most reliable way is to study the effect of rapport, which is carried out in the study of consumer behavior. The effect of mutual understanding means the establishment of changes in the level of consumer awareness about a company, product (brand), in their reaction to the market environment, as well as preferences under the influence of advertising. Research can be either preliminary, before the advertisement is placed, or after the advertisement is published.

Preliminary research is carried out:

By surveying consumers to determine their reaction to several versions of an advertisement (video), for which appropriate criteria are developed;
package method, i.e. showing respondents a number of advertisements (videos) followed by discussion of what they saw. The most memorable options are considered successful;
using laboratory tests, the conduct of which involves determining the response of respondents to the proposed advertising options (pulse rate, blood pressure, eye reaction, breathing rate, etc.).

Note that such studies establish the degree of attractiveness of advertising, but not the object of advertising. For the purpose of operational research of the “mutual understanding effect,” the value of certain criteria is determined before and after the advertising campaign. For example, asking such a criterion as the degree of awareness of a product brand, and knowing that before the advertising campaign, sample surveys gave a result of 28%, and after - 42% with a planned 60%, they come to the conclusion about the need to improve advertising. Note that this method is not without the error mentioned above. It is more difficult to determine the commercial effect of advertising, say, according to such the most important criterion as increased sales due to higher consumer awareness of the product through advertising. The impact of advertising on the level of sales can only be assessed if all other factors on which sales depend are controlled: price, the level of quality of the product, the effectiveness of distribution channels, the influence of competitors, the macro environment, etc.

Sales promotion

Advertising attracts consumers' attention to a product and makes them want to purchase it. But additional stimulating influences are needed for desire to turn into a real purchase of goods and to achieve sustainable long-term sales. The next component of communication policy is aimed at this - sales promotion, which includes a variety of methods of stimulating influences that accelerate the response of consumers.

When developing a sales promotion program, there are two main questions - who needs to be stimulated and in what ways this should be done:

The objects of stimulating influences are:

Buyers (consumers);
business partners;
sales staff (including our own).

Methods of stimulation are selected in accordance with the object of stimulating efforts. Thus, competitions with gifts and win-win lotteries are organized for buyers; credit coupons and various discounts are offered (for regular customers, for repeat purchases, for purchases for a certain amount, etc.). It is also used to provide trial samples, which are distributed in stores free of charge, delivered “to every home,” sent by mail, or attached to another product purchased (the most expensive, but very effective method). To stimulate the sale of a product in the maturity phase (as a rule), coupons are used that encourage people to buy a new product with a certain incentive. Coupons can be included with purchases, sent by mail, but more often they are published in advertisements placed in a variety of publications. To stimulate the sale of consumer goods, packaging is actively used. For example, they offer two items in one package for the price of one (reduced price package) or the sale of related products in one package (packaging - set).

Often the buyer is stimulated with a premium, i.e. another product is included with your purchase for free or at a low price. There is a postal premium, i.e. the premium product is sent to the buyer by mail if he has provided proof of purchase (label, packaging, etc.). Buyers are also attracted by the demonstration of goods at points of sale. For food products, demonstrations take the form of tastings.

Business partners are usually encouraged to cooperate during business meetings and specialized exhibitions, usually of an industry nature. They feature products from industry suppliers displayed and demonstrated in action. Here, an exhibition participant can identify his potential buyers, strengthen contacts with his clients, introduce new products to the market and find new customers, evaluate his competitors and, in particular, their practices in the field of product policy, marketing, product promotion, and sales promotion.

Participation in international exhibitions allows you to attract the attention of the general public to the company’s achievements, create your image, and conclude contracts. In some cases, the state takes on part of the costs of organizing the exhibition, encouraging national companies to promote their products to the markets of other countries and stimulate sales. One of the problems of participating in exhibitions (especially international ones) is high costs and uncertainty of the beneficial effect. In this regard, there is a need for a reasonable selection of exhibitions for participation in it.

The following empirical criteria may help you select trade shows:

Qualitative characteristics of the audience:

Share of decision makers among visitors;
- the share of visitors belonging to the company’s target market;
- an exhibition for a certain circle of participants;
- advertising of the exhibition by the organizers;
- selection of visitors.

Quantitative characteristics of the audience:

Number of visitors at the company’s stand;
- number (in percentage) of new contacts over the past year;
- number of visitors per last years.

Stand location:

Stand location in the hall;
- the ability to select or determine the position of the stand;
- intensity of traffic in the aisles.

Organizational aspects:

Difficulty in registration and pre-registration;
- safety system;
- availability of devices for importing and exporting exhibits.

Incentives for sales personnel are aimed at effective cooperation with wholesale and retail sales intermediaries, as well as maintaining the proper level of work of our own personnel involved in sales activities. Thus, dealers can be provided with discounts on each unit of goods for a certain period of time, which stimulates an increase in the volume of purchases and an expansion of the range of purchased goods. The reseller is offered various types of benefits for the quantity or purchase of goods of a particular brand. Retailers are reimbursed for part (or all) of advertising costs, they are rewarded for the quantity of goods sold, for sales at a higher price (in cases where the right to bargain with the buyer is granted), etc.

Companies typically develop both ways to incentivize their business partners and annual budgets that include specific spending amounts for each incentive. The importance of this approach is dictated by the practice of sales promotion: increasing the incentive gives only a temporary increase in sales. Stimulating trading partners in a competitive environment should convince them to purchase the product of a given company, purchase it in large volumes, advertise the product, and promote the brand. However, the problems arising in this area force companies to take the preparation of sales promotion programs very seriously. Overall, these problems make it virtually impossible to effectively control reseller incentives.

Sales promotion programs usually include issues such as:

Justification of the stimulation intensity level;
development of conditions for participation in the incentive program;
determination of the time period for carrying out stimulating effects;
choosing methods of communicating about sales promotion (how to distribute coupons, how to notify about discounts, etc.);
developing a budget for the incentive program.

As a rule, sales promotion programs are compiled by firms taking into account accumulated experience, so they are rarely tested, but monitoring their implementation is the most important task of marketing managers.

The implementation of the program is carried out in two stages: the preparation stage and the sales stage. The preparation phase includes notifying all personnel involved in the program, preparing samples for awards, sending out promotional materials, working with specific resellers, etc. From the start of sales until the sale of about 95% of the goods, the sales period is calculated when promotional activities are directly carried out.

The results of implementing the planned program are assessed by calculating the effectiveness of sales promotion methods. Effectiveness can be determined either by comparing sales levels before and after promotion, or by conducting customer surveys, or by experimentation. The efficiency criterion for the first method may be the dynamics of the market share. Through surveys, you can find out the number of customers who took advantage of the benefits offered by the company; the degree of influence of incentive measures on the purchase decision, etc.

As for the experimental method, it is possible to set different tasks, for example, comparing the impact of certain incentives on different market segments; analysis of the effectiveness of using various printed publications to convey information about incentives to potential buyers, etc. In practice, there are many overlaps that create problems in the implementation of the assessment and reduce its reliability. You can read more about this in the sources provided at the end of the chapter.

It should be noted the relationship between advertising and sales promotion. First of all, advertising is also a way to stimulate sales. But if, through advertising, a company informs the market about a new product, how to use it, where to buy it, convinces them to buy a certain brand of product, etc. counting on a long period of stay on the market, then sales promotion is mainly a short-term impact on the consumer (reseller) in order to accelerate (increase) the level of sales of a particular product (brand). The buyer often learns about a method of stimulating sales from advertisements or videos.

Personal selling

A widely used method of promoting a product to the market is personal (personal) selling. It involves direct contact with one or a group of potential buyers by organizing product presentations in order to obtain orders (in some cases, direct sales). Personal selling is also a type of direct marketing. Personal selling is an expensive but very effective way of communication policy. Sales agents, or salespeople engaged in personal sales, must be highly qualified specialists and have special personal qualities: the ability to listen carefully and notice the various nuances of human behavior, the gift of persuasion, the ability to always leave the customer satisfied and ready for a new purchase, to use the interlocutor (client, potential buyer) as a source of information, transferring it to the company’s management and thereby facilitating the adoption of new decisions on product improvement, positioning, sales method, etc. Organizing personal sales includes searching for potential buyers (customers), making presentations, negotiating and concluding a contract (transaction), and servicing.

To prepare a list of potential customers, they use various sources of information: telephone and address directories, computer databases, industry magazines, government publications, etc.

Specialized exhibitions

An important source of finding customers is specialized exhibitions. Based on the list of its participants received in advance from the organizers of the exhibition, possible customers are identified among them, who are sent invitations to visit the company’s stand before the start of the exhibition, enclosing advertising brochures, leaflets, etc. To work at the exhibition, not only an experienced salesperson is needed, but also a specialist who can quickly recognize potential clients and competitors. Identified potential customers must be promptly personally addressed and sent out business letters, trying to get ahead of competitors. It is important that specialized exhibitions increase the number of customers, otherwise participation in them is pointless. If the potential buyer was convinced that exactly this company offers the product he needs, then negotiations will follow, the main object of which will be the price. The buyer can be either individual, and the organization. A competent seller must be well trained, navigate in any situation and be armed with special skills and rules.

It should be noted that there is a difference in promoting to the market through personal sales of new standardized goods (for industrial purposes, for example) and knowledge-intensive unique products, expensive jewelry (for example, special or designer designs). In the first case, as a rule, presentations are organized for those invited according to a pre-compiled address list of possible customers. The audience of listeners, consisting of specialists from various organizations - potential consumers, is offered reports and messages from representatives of the selling company, accompanied by video recordings or direct demonstrations of the product in action. In the second case (often, in contrast to a presentation, called personal selling), an individual approach to each potential customer is required. The salesperson must have good intuition to determine what questions to ask, how to present the same product in a personal conversation with different customers, what additional services to offer, etc. Personal sales are also accompanied by a demonstration of the product or video recordings.

Agents engaged in personal sales have to work in an increasingly competitive environment with other methods of direct selling (telemarketing, Internet, mail order, etc.), which will be discussed in the chapter “Direct Marketing”, and we move on to studying the next component of the marketing mix - distribution policy, which is also called “product distribution” or “sales policy”.

Marketing policy factors

It is necessary to take into account both those and others. Any factors can have both a positive and negative impact, and in this case it is important to understand whether the marketing service itself in particular and the company in general can control them. According to this principle, factors can be divided into controllable and uncontrollable. For the marketing service, all other divisions of the company, and even more so the management, are not controlled (directly), but for the entire company, only external factors are uncontrollable. The marketing service solves its problems by managing four main processes: product (product or service) planning, pricing, promotion and distribution (sales). The product, its price, promotion methods and distribution channels are completely controllable factors in the marketing environment. These four elements are commonly called elements of the marketing mix and are referred to as the “four Ps” (Jerome McCarthy), after the first letters of the corresponding English words product, price, promotion and place.

Let's return to other factors. Although the marketing service is obliged to coordinate and approve all its activities with the company’s management, it is worth considering that their goals largely coincide, and for this reason all other divisions of the company should not be classified as uncontrolled. All of them are to a certain extent controlled by the marketing service, but indirectly. A reasonable marketing policy always takes into account both the production, technological and financial resources of the company in particular, and the mission and general objectives of the entire company as a whole, otherwise it begins to look like sabotage. Thus, the uncontrollable factors influencing the company's marketing activities may be exclusively external factors of the marketing environment, but not all external factors are uncontrollable. External factors there are a great many, so they are divided into those that have a direct influence and those that influence through others, but often more seriously. The former are classified as microenvironmental factors, the latter – as macroenvironmental factors.

Macroenvironmental factors are more global factors that determine marketing activities by influencing microenvironmental factors. The following groups of macroenvironmental factors are distinguished: social (demographic), economic, technological, competitive, legal (political) and the most objective – natural factors. Macroenvironmental factors are factors unregulated in relation to the company (we do not take into account various types of bribes, lobbying and business penetration into politics). All of them can have both positive and negative effects on marketing activities, even blocking them completely. For example, for a certain type of product, the state (legal factors) together with financial institutions can provide special lending programs, and some products can simply be banned, like the iPhone in Syria. Social factors, which include not only demographic characteristics, but also the level of average income and spiritual values ​​of the population, are simply stupid not to take into account. If we return to the topic of cars, then exactly social factors are forcing manufacturing companies to create cheaper models for delivery to countries in Asia, Africa and other poor countries. A detailed discussion of the nature of all these factors and their impact on business will take a lot of space. At the moment, it’s enough just to know that they exist and that a lot depends on them.

The marketing mix is ​​understood as a set of controllable parameters, variables of an organization’s marketing activities, by manipulating which it tries to best satisfy the needs of target markets. In other words, the marketing mix refers to “a set of controllable marketing variables.”

The most reasonable is the “4P” concept, according to which the marketing mix consists of four elements (tools), each of which English language begins with the letter “P”: product, price, bringing the product to the consumer, to the place, promotion of the product. This concept was first proposed by Jerome McCarthy in 1960. In accordance with this concept, organizations, as part of their marketing activities, develop and implement product (commodity), pricing, sales and communication policies, which are reflected in the four main sections of the marketing plan. An organization can vary the parameters of the marketing mix in order to most effectively influence the market, consumers and achieve its goals within the framework of available capabilities and its understanding of the role of marketing. However, the structure of the marketing complex itself does not change; only the “filling” of its individual elements changes.

Price is the main element of the marketing mix, as it affects all components of the “4P” concept (see Fig. No. 2 in the appendix). Here it is necessary to clarify one point: if the market is price inelastic, then a change in the price factor will practically not change the amount of demand for a product or service (see Fig. No. 3 in the appendix). Therefore, in a market with inelastic demand, price fades into the background in the enterprise’s marketing system.

Price is a flexible marketing tool because prices can be changed quickly and easily based on demand, cost, or competition factors.

Due to the price elasticity of demand, price is one of the key
marketing tools. This happens for the following reasons:

1) Price changes greatly affect sales volume. Typically, a relatively low price will attract additional customers, but an unusually high price can have the same effect in some cases.

2) Changing the price, unlike any other marketing components, has the fastest effect. Price is the only marketing tool that is easily subject to change. To change the other three elements of the 4P concept, a fairly large amount of time and expense is required. The price can be easily edited to suit the changing conditions of competitors and consumers.

3) Potential consumers react faster to price changes than to changes in goods or services proposed to them. To see changes in the quality of a product, you need to buy or try it, while changes in price are immediately visible.

4) Changing prices to attract new customers is effective only in combination with promotional measures aimed at both resellers and potential customers. Price remains the main marketing tool only when interacting with other elements of the 4P concept.

All these reasons, with the correct determination of price, most significantly increase the sales volume of a product or service, which is the main result in the implementation of marketing policy. This in turn determines price as the main tool of the marketing mix.

When making a first purchase, the consumer cannot evaluate the quality of the product, and other things being equal, he will focus on price. As a rule, cheaper products are perceived by consumers as being of lower quality and vice versa. A high price gives a product or service a higher consumption status due to the limited number of consumers. Therefore, price acts as a separator in market segmentation.

A change in price will have a beneficial effect on sales only if it is set “correctly.” To do this, it is necessary to analyze competitors' prices, consumer capabilities, and many other factors. But in order to set the “correct” price, it is necessary to choose a pricing method that will reflect all costs, product features, market position, consumer desires, which in turn will determine the “correctness” of the price set for the product or service.

Price is the starting point for the consumer to choose a product or service. Typically, price is a more attractive factor than minor product features. A change in price in the short term affects the amount of demand and, accordingly, the volume of sales, so if an enterprise or organization wants to see quick and qualitative changes, then the price is key tool in the marketing mix

Price complex marketing tools are the totality of all tools related to the price of a product. This includes pricing policy, i.e. the actual price of the product, discount policy, terms of delivery and payment. Thus, we can say that the price complex is the general terms of the transaction.

Let's take a closer look.

1. Price policy determines what price is set for a particular product. Are used three pricing methods- By costs(costs + profit margin), according to competitors, By consumers(what price they are willing to pay for the product). Pricing policy can be long-term or medium-term and should be considered from a strategic point of view.

2. Discount– reduction in price for certain (product-related) consumer actions. The discount policy assumes

- building a discount system– what discounts will be used (functional, discounts for a certain volume, for “loyalty” to the product, etc. The types of discounts will be described in more detail in the topic “Pricing Policy”)

- determining the discount amount

- determination of discount intervals(for example, a 5% discount is provided when purchasing a batch of goods from 100 to 200 units, a 10% discount - from 201 to 300, etc.)

3. Delivery conditions include readiness for delivery, delivery time, terms of delivery of goods, conditions for replacement and return of goods, cost of packaging, freight and insurance. Most of these parameters are specified in the contract or in general conditions transactions, rules, etc.

4. Conditions of payment regulate the method of payment (for example, payment in advance, in cash, after receiving the goods, in whole or in parts), security of payment, means of payment (bank transfer, letter of credit, etc.), as well as payment terms and discounts for paying in cash.

5. When payment terms increase, another tool of the pricing complex comes into play - credit policy, for the use of which you need to determine the conditions (interest) and terms of the loan. Credit policies are widely used, e.g. retail chains, selling household appliances.

Price– the most important component of the marketing mix. It is prices that determine the structure of production and have a decisive impact on the movement of material flows, the distribution of the commodity mass, and the level of well-being of the population.

Professor of the Financial Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation E.I. Punin notes: “For independent commodity producers operating in the market, regardless of their form of ownership, the question of prices is a matter of life and death.”

Making marketing decisions in the field of setting prices for goods is a rather complex task for an enterprise, which is due to the special role of price as a means of making a profit, as well as its specific functions in the marketing mix. Pricing policy is closely related to the product, distribution and communication policies of the enterprise and is the final stage in the development of the marketing mix.

“Only marketing can set a price for a product that is high enough for the manufacturer and low enough for the consumer,” says the second commandment of marketing.

When setting prices, enterprise management must pay special attention to the following relationships:

? “price – product” – price reflects beneficial features goods for consumers;

? “price - distribution” - the organization of sales affects the price of the goods sold;

On corporate level price is the main factor of long-term profitability, predetermining the methods of conducting price or non-price competition:

– price competition leads to setting prices below the existing market level and is associated with achieving advantages in minimizing costs;

– non-price competition allows prices to be set at the level of existing market prices and even above them and is focused on a policy of differentiation.

In a market economy main price functions are:

Accounting;

Stimulating;

Distribution;

Balancing supply and demand;

Rational placement of production.

The essence of pricing policy in marketing– setting such prices for the enterprise’s goods and varying them depending on the market position in order to capture a certain market share, obtain the planned amount of profit, etc.

The goals of an enterprise's pricing policy can be:

Long-term or short-term profit maximization;

The economic growth;

Market stabilization;

Reducing consumer sensitivity to prices;

Maintaining leadership in prices;

Preventing the threat of potential competition;

Maintaining trade loyalty;

Improving the image of the enterprise and its products;

Increasing buyer interest;

Strengthening the market position of the assortment;

Capturing dominant positions in the market.

Complex tasks that marketers solve when developing and implementing pricing policies are presented in Fig. 4.1.

Rice. 4.1. Objectives of pricing policy in marketing

To work successfully in the market, it is very important to correctly take into account the factors influencing the price level. Marketers of foreign companies usually arrange them in ranked order.

1. Production costs.

2. Prices of competitors exporting to a given country.

3. Prices of local competing companies.

5. Transport costs.

6. Extra charges and discounts in favor of the intermediary.

7. Import duties and other charges.

Table 4.1

Factors influencing pricing in marketing

The methodology for developing pricing policy in marketing involves five stages (Table 4.2).

Table 4.2

Stages of developing a pricing policy

*See fig. 4.4.

The marketing system uses different types of prices. Some of them are presented in table. 4.3.

Table 4.3

Types of prices used when developing a pricing strategy

Data from the contract of the enterprise itself or other companies for similar goods;

Offers from foreign companies for the supply of similar goods (usually their prices are inflated);

Reference prices;

The difference in the competitiveness of goods. Taking it into account, amendments are made to the base price, for example, for differences in the configuration of the goods being compared, for differences in basic technical and economic indicators, in commercial or other terms of the transaction (terms, delivery conditions, payment terms, transaction volume, etc. ).

Should be considered international practice changes in the price (P) of equipment depending on its power (performance) – P:

Where P– an exponent that takes into account the dependence of price on the power (performance) of equipment.

When calculating the level of competitiveness, it is recommended to calculate the price of a product using the formula:

where Ts1, Ts0 are the selling prices of the analyzed and basic goods;

It.p., Ie.p. – parametric indicators for technical specifications and competitiveness of the analyzed product without taking into account sales prices;

IN– market share of the basic product (by value);

F– coefficient of equity participation of a single indicator of the sales price of a product;

? - an indicator of the relationship between supply and demand for a product, or an indicator of the prestige of the enterprise producing the product.

Calculations using the latter formula allow us to obtain a selling price that reflects the level of consumption prices and the overall competitiveness of the product in question.

Depending on the specific market situation, pricing can be:

Differentiated;

Competitive;

Assorted;

Geographical;

Stimulating.

At differentiated pricing differentiate:

–> spatial – the price is set depending on the location of buyers in different territories;

–> temporary – the price is set depending on the time of day, days of the week or time of year;

–> personalized – the price is set depending on the group of consumers (for goods for young people, the elderly, professionals, etc.);

–> quantitative – the price is set depending on the volume of the sold batch of goods.

The specific expression of differentiated pricing is standard and variable, uniform and flexible, discriminatory, fixed and sliding prices, the characteristics of which are given in Table. 4.3.

Competitive pricing aimed at maintaining price leadership in the market. The following methods are used:

? “price wars” – are used mainly in the market of monopolized competition. If prices are set above competitors' prices, the product attracts a small number of buyers;

? "skimming";

? "penetration";

? “learning curve” is a compromise between the “skimming” and “penetration” prices. A rapid transition from high prices to lower ones is expected to attract more buyers and neutralize the actions of competitors.

Assortment pricing is based not so much on the economic, but on the psychological perception of price by the buyer. This installs:

–> price lines – a range of prices within one product range, where each product reflects a certain level of quality;

–> “above par” price – a fairly low price for the basic product and a wide range of additional products to it;

–> price “with bait” - the price of a basic product, accessible to the mass buyer, and increased prices for a wide range of additional products to it;

–> prices for related products;

–> price for a set – a single price for a set of products;

–> prices for by-products;

–> psychological prices.

Between individual products within the range Various connections can develop:

–> interchangeability;

–> interdependence.

Changing the relationship between goods is made using the method cross elasticity, allowing to assess the switching of demand from one product to another.

Geographic pricing takes into account the features of the purchase and sale process from producers to consumers. It is used primarily in the formation of export prices. In Russian practice, for example, the following prices are widely used:

–> “ex-works” (EXW) – the seller places the goods at the disposal of the buyer on his territory, and the buyer bears all further risks and expenses;

–> “free on board” (FOB) – the seller’s responsibility ends when the goods are loaded on board (ship, plane, car);

–> “free along the side of the ship” (FAS) – the seller delivers the goods to the pier and bears all costs until loading;

–> “price, insurance, freight” (CIF) – the seller pays transport costs and insures the goods to the port of destination.

Incentive pricing based on the use of various types of discounts and offsets presented in table. 4.5.

Characteristics of methods for setting prices in marketing are given in Table. 4.4.

Table 4.4

Methods for setting prices in marketing

Price adjustments are often taken into account when calculating the final selling price. The simplest dependence that is used in this case:

where %srb is the average bank interest rate for lending operations (for a given country and for a given period of time);

i– number of parts of the advance or installment payment;

ri– the amount of the corresponding payment, %;

ti– the period between making an advance payment and receiving the order (or between receiving the order and the time of payment of the installment fee).

When calculating the price of a product it is widely used discount from price– reduction in the initial price of goods and services.

In marketing, various types of discounts are used, presented in table. 4.5.

Table 4.5

Types of price discounts in marketing

The methods presented in table. 4.4, allow you to calculate prices for goods. The price calculation algorithm is shown in Fig. 4.2.

Rice. 4.3. Price calculation algorithm

The nature of pricing strategies, the technology of their development and implementation methods are influenced by many factors, including:

The market potential of the enterprise and its ability to influence the market;

Market position of the enterprise and the level of its competitiveness;

Level of competition in the market;

The desire of the enterprise management for its intensive growth;

Changing the production profile and transition to the production of new products;

Transition to new forms and methods of work in the market.

Marketing practice uses various types of pricing strategies, which can be grouped into three groups.

1. Cost-oriented.

The total cost per unit of goods is calculated. The necessary data can be obtained from production accounting data. Agreed percentages are taken into account.

Advantages of the strategy: costs are easy to determine, since the method of calculating them is well known and convenient. However, deciding on overhead costs is quite subjective, and the demand factor is not taken into account.

In practice, when calculating prices, the break-even principle of production is often used. When calculating the possibility of achieving break-even when selling a certain volume of products at a given price, use the break-even formula:

where C is the price;

K – quantity of goods;

Ipost – fixed costs;

Iper – variable costs.

2. Demand oriented.

An enterprise may have a general idea of ​​the shape of the demand curve, since the latter is subject to constant fluctuations under the influence of competition, the market, the emergence of analogue products, the external environment, etc.

The enterprise must study the demand for such products using direct interviews, experiments, and statistical conclusions.

Quantitative measurement price sensitivity carried out using indicators:

Elasticity of demand;

? "perceived value".

Elasticity of demand depending on price - a percentage change in the sales volume of a product as a result of a change in its price by 1% (issues of elasticity are discussed in paragraph 3.2.). Demand is price elastic if it changes in the opposite direction compared to price.

If the market is saturated with a large number of goods and services that can satisfy the same needs, the price elasticity of demand is greater than one. In this case, price reduction becomes an effective tool for expanding the sales market and increasing sales revenue.

If the number of purchasing options is limited or demand exceeds supply, a situation of inelastic demand arises: prices may be higher. The important thing is that the more urgent the need, the less the price elasticity of demand (medicines, essential products, etc.).

Measuring the elasticity of demand allows you to determine in which direction prices need to be influenced to ensure an increase in sales.

The elasticity of demand depends on the price and consumer expenses, which are interrelated (Table 4.6).

Table 4.6

Dependence of price elasticity of demand on consumer expenses

Measurement perceived value product allows you to predict the development of demand by assessing the buyer’s perception not only of price, but also of other factors.

Any consumer is sensitive to price, but this sensitivity can vary significantly depending on the importance attributed to the product. The literature identifies 9 causal factors that determine consumer sensitivity to the price of individual goods:

Unique value effect - buyers are not so sensitive to price if the product has unique properties;

The effect of lack of awareness of analogues - buyers are less sensitive to price if they do not know about the existence of analogues;

Difficulty of comparison effect - buyers are less price sensitive if products are difficult to compare;

Total cost effect – buyers are less price sensitive if the price of the product is only a small proportion of their expenses;

The final benefit effect - buyers are less sensitive to price, the smaller the share of the product’s price in general expenses to obtain the final result;

Cost-sharing effect – buyers are less sensitive to price if they share it with others;

Sunk investment effect - buyers are less sensitive to price if it is used in conjunction with a previously purchased main product that represents a sunk cost;

The effect of the connection between price and quality - buyers are not so sensitive to price if the product evokes strong associations with quality, prestige, and exclusivity;

Inventory effect – buyers are less price sensitive if they do not have the opportunity to stock up on an item.

These price sensitivity factors apply to both product category purchasing decisions and brand choice.

In the market for industrial and technical products customer needs are more specific and the functions performed by the product are more defined. With low price sensitivity:

The price of the goods sold is only a small part of the final product price for the client or in his purchasing budget;

Losses from using a low-quality product are higher than the price;

Using the product can lead to significant savings;

The client implements a strategy of increased quality by purchasing this product;

The client needs a specific product, manufactured, for example, to a special order;

The client has a good financial position;

The client is poorly informed about market conditions;

The motivation for purchasing, as a rule, does not include cost minimization.

3. Competition-oriented (closed bidding).

Three mutually exclusive strategies can be used:

Adjustments to market price;

Consistent price reduction;

Consistent overpricing.

A type of competitive pricing is tender pricing– proposals (tenders) of suppliers invited to participate in tenders for the supply of certain types of goods are submitted by a certain date in a sealed envelope, which is opened publicly. The tender with the lowest price is accepted. Offers are based on the company’s own costs in producing the product and analyzing possible proposals competitors.

Alternative pricing strategies are presented in Table. 4.7.

The choice of an alternative pricing strategy depends on the pricing goals (Fig. 4.3), the quality of the product (Table 4.8) and the product life cycle (Table 4.9).

Rice. 4.3. Pricing goals when developing a pricing strategy

Table 4.8

Strategies for setting prices depending on product quality

Table 4.7

Alternative options for an enterprise's pricing strategy

* Marketing multiplier– an indicator that summarizes the long-term effect of price changes over a certain period and gives a reduced assessment of the variety of price influences.

Strategically optimal price ( R wholesale), which allows you to optimize long-term profit, can be determined by the formula:

Where E n – short-term price elasticity;

C – marginal costs;

M– marketing multiplier.

1. The company announces that the price of its electronic typewriter on January 1, 1994 is $850. This price includes delivery to the buyer, installation and two rolls of tape. highest quality. The company guarantees the absence of manufacturing defects for 90 days.

What might be the long-term and immediate consequences of this announcement for the firm?

2. Managers of a store selling frozen seafood note a drop in demand for the product in summer time. What could be causing this? Develop proposals for improving the sales organization.

3. In the Russian computer market, competition has become very intense, while the solvency of the population remains limited. What can retailers do to improve performance in the price-advertising chain in this situation?

4. The company sells a children's doll at a fairly high price. Offer your option for increasing product sales.

5. In conditions of economic stagnation in a number of countries, small manufacturers of household appliances are offering trade discounts, and car manufacturers are offering low-interest loans. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these price reduction methods?

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