SWOT

A SWOT Analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of marketing and helps managers to focus on key issues.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors; strengths should be highlighted and weaknesses eliminated or overcome.

Opportunities and threats are external factors; opportunities should be capitalized on and threats avoided or overcome.

Watch this video for an idea of how a SWOT Analysis might be performed for a business:

You can think about yourself as a “product” that can be marketed and apply the SWOT Analysis tool on a personal level as well. Watch this video for an idea of how a SWOT Analysis might be performed for a person:

Tweet This!

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Ignoring online marketing is like opening a business but not telling anyone.

~ Anonymous

Social media is enabling more and more companies to achieve success internationally.

• It makes market research easier to conduct and allows companies to track many markets at once, so that adaptations can be made more efficiently.
• Company communications are more targeted and personalized, with consumers responding directly and generating word of mouth advertising.
• Small companies can start locally, establishing their presence as a trusted brand, before continuing to expand their international presence.  
• Technology has caused consumers to become less brand loyal, so companies are trying to engage consumers through the use of social media.

Watch this video, which outlines how Cornetto, after studying the cultural habits of young people in China, used social media to successfully market their products to Chinese teenagers:

Targeting Your Market

Products and selling methods do not appeal to all consumers in the same way. Because the goal of marketing is to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers better than the competition, businesses must identify consumer groups that are most likely to purchase their specific goods and services, and implement the marketing strategies that will be most effective for this audience. This intended audience is called the target market.

Target Marketing has three components:

Market Segmentation - dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers with different needs, characteristics, or behaviours. Each of these segments may require different products or different marketing strategies.

Market Targeting - evaluating each market’s attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter.

Market Positioning - determining how to make a product have a clear, distinctive, and desirable image relative to competing products in the minds of target consumers.

Target Markets have traditionally been defined by demographics - things like age, gender, socioeconomic status, geography, occupation, education, and income.

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The year that someone was born will not tell you how likely he is to buy your product.

~ Jamie Beckland, The End of Demographics (June 2011)

The rise of social media has prompted the demise of demographic marketing. There are very few unifying characteristics among young people today, and groups that individuals identify with are increasingly small and ever-changing.  

Psychographics provide much more useful information to marketers. They make it possible to analyze consumer behaviour and buying patterns, and to predict consumer behaviour based on patterns and lifecycle data.

Read the following article to learn more about psychographic marketing research:

This video describes how Facebook can be used to help identify a target market:

The Marketing Mix

The Marketing Mix (the Four Ps) consists of a series of strategic decisions made in four main areas - Product, Price, Place and Promotion - for the purpose of satisfying customers in a target market. There are a large number of variables in each of these four areas, which makes the decisions complex. Often what works well in the domestic market is impossible in a foreign market.

Think about the Marketing Mix as an artist’s palette.

The marketer mixes the four main colours in different quantities in order to create a final masterpiece. Just as every painting is original, no two marketing mixes will be exactly alike. When the marketer is creating the painting, they are trying to design a picture that will appeal to the target market group; each P must be determined with this in mind, and all 4 must work together.

Product

This is the starting point. It is the good or service that is marketed to the target customer group. Product decisions involve the identification of the ideal product, its quality and features, along with any modifications, varieties offered, and packaging. It is important to note that a product isn’t necessarily a physical good; it can also be a service, an idea, a destination, or even a cause.

Price

When setting its prices, a business needs to think about its costs, but they also need to think about the effect that price will have on demand. Setting prices in international markets can be particularly tricky; companies must consider economic conditions, currency exchange rates, and the international business climate. Businesses can reduce costs by improving manufacturing and efficiency.  

This is a Pricing Strategies Matrix, which describes the four main types of pricing strategies a company may use when entering a market. Click on the quadrants to learn more about each pricing strategy.

Place

This element refers to the way that products are distributed. It involves getting the product into the hands of the consumer when they want it and where they want it.    International distribution is complex, and often intermediaries are required to help with the distribution. The Internet is an increasingly important tool, especially for small businesses, that can use it to reach their customers on a global scale.

Promotion

This element can include advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, publicity, and public relations. It is the total set of tools available for communicating with the target market. Branding is an important component of promotion and a successful brand is the most valuable resource a company has. Companies with strong brands try to use these brands globally to give the company a uniform worldwide image. This makes it easier to introduce new products associated with the brand name.

The 4 C’s

Some people now dismiss the 4 P’s as being out of date, and University of North Carolina professor Bob Lauterborn has proposed a more customer-centric approach to the marketing mix, the 4 C’s.

Customer (vs. Product)

You can’t just develop products and try to sell them to a mass market. Marketers need to study consumer wants and needs and then design a product that will attract buyers.  This involves a careful analysis of the geographic, demographic, and psychographic factors in the market.

Cost (vs. Price)

All costs involved in satisfying customers need to be considered, including the costs that customers incur themselves in getting the product. For example, customers purchasing burgers not only pay the price of the burger itself, but also incur a cost in driving to the restaurant, and also perhaps a cost of conscience in eating meat. A business that relies strictly on price will leave it vulnerable to competition in the long term.

Convenience (vs. Place)

Understanding the consumer means understanding how each subset of the market prefers to buy the product. Because many people make buying decisions on the basis of convenience, a business needs to have an online presence.

Communication (vs. Promotion)

This involves “communicating” the product’s value to the customer, rather than “promoting” it. Communication is about developing a rapport and relationship with the customer, and engaging them through interactive communication.