Holistic Marketing

HOLISTIC MARKETING

Holistic Marketing is a term used to describe a strategy that enables you to look at your marketing efforts as a 'whole', which in turn helps you develop an overall or 'holistic marketing' plan. Whereas Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is the coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, functions and sources within a company into a seamless program that maximizes the impact on consumers and other end users at a minimal cost.
Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is a process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value primarily through communication efforts. Such efforts often include cross-functional processes that create and nourish profitable relationships with customers and other stakeholders by strategically controlling or influencing all messages sent to these groups and encouraging data-driven, purposeful dialog with them. IMC includes the coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless program in order to maximize the impact on end users at a minimal cost. This integration affects all of the firm's business-to-business, marketing channel, customer-focused, and internally directed communications.

Holistic marketing is broader whereas integrated marketing communications is more specific.

A marketing strategy that is developed by thinking about the business as a whole, its place in the broader economy and society, and in the lives of its customers. It attempts to develop and maintain multiple perspectives on the company’s commercial activities.Four components of holistic marketing: 

1. Integrated marketing
2. relationship marketing
3. internal marketing
4. performance marketing 

Whirlpool Corporation is committed to making a sustainable difference in everything it does.  Our leadership and employees are guiding the course of the company in ways that restore and enhance all forms of capital – human, natural and financial – to meet consumer needs, generate shareholder value and contribute to the well-being of current and future generations. Through Whirlpool Corporation’s Sustainability Reports the company aims to provide a high-level overview of its efforts to make a sustainable difference in the world.  The company also produces an Annual Report, a 10-K filing and a detailed Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) report.  These reports reflect Whirlpool Corporation’s commitment to openly communicating with its stakeholders about its performance

The focus on water and energy savings doesn’t stop in the laundry room.  In the kitchen, Whirlpool brand will introduce a new ENERGY STAR® qualified French door bottom mount refrigerator that features In-Door-Ice ice dispensing system.  This refrigerator is the ideal complement to the Resource Saver dishwasher that cleans a full load of dishes using one-third less water and energy.  And the SteamClean range that lets you spot clean your oven interior in just 20 minutes without using harsh chemicals or temperatures

Sales Management

SALES MANAGEMENT

Definition

Sales Management is the effort put forth to attain a company’s sales objectives.

Sales management can involve any of the following activities: (1) formulation of sales strategy through development of account management policies, sales force compensation policies, sales revenue forecasts, and sales plan, (2) implementation of sales strategy through selecting, training, motivating, and supporting the sales force, setting sales revenue targets, and (3) sales force management through development and implementation of sales performance, monitoring, and evaluation methods, and analysis of associated behavioral patterns and costs.

According to American marketing association Sales Management includes the “Planning, direction and control of personnel selling, including recruiting, selecting, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying and motivating as these tasks apply to the personnel sales force

Objective of Sales management

There are 3 main Objectives of sales management or a sales manager namely – Sales volume, Contribution to profit and Continued growth. Sales Management is also closely linked to Financial Results. 

The main sales of a Whirlpool washing machines will happen in a retail outlet, which will have similar products from competitive brands. The customer will make a decision based on the pros and cons of all the available brands at a retail shop. Whirlpool also has some exclusive franchisee shops which will have all the other Whirlpool products like air conditioner,microwave,refrigerator etc.

Organization Buying

ORGANIZATION BUYING

The bulk buying process of an organization is called organization buying. This process is carried out for manufacturing or retail purposes.

Services and Services Marketing

   

                                  SERVICES AND SERVICES MARKETING

SERVICES:

According to the American Marketing Association, services is defined as Products, such as a bank loan or home security, that are intangible or at least substantially so. If totally intangible, they are exchanged directly from producer to user, cannot be transported or stored, and are almost instantly perishable. Service products are often difficult to identify, because they come into existence at the same time they are bought and consumed. They comprise intangible elements that are inseparable; they usually involve customer participation in some important way; they cannot be sold in the sense of ownership transfer; and they have no title. Today, however, most products are partly tangible and partly intangible, and the dominant form is used to classify them as either goods or services (all are products). These common, hybrid forms, whatever they are called, may or may not have the attributes just given for totally intangible services. 2. Services, as a term, is also used to describe activities performed by sellers and others that accompany the sale of a product and aid in its exchange or its utilization (e.g., shoe fitting, financing, an 800 number). Such services are either pre sale or post-sale and supplement the product, not comprise it. If performed during sale, they are considered to be intangible parts of the product.

A service is a non-material equivalent of goods . A service provision is an economic activity that does not result in ownership and this is what differentiates it from providing physical goods. It is claimed to be a process that creates benefits by facilitating either a change in customers, a change in their physical possessions, or a change in their intangible assets.

Characteristics : 

Intangibility: Services are intangible and do not have a physical existence. Hence services cannot be touched, held, tasted or smelt. This is most defining feature of a service and that which primarily differentiates it from a product. Also, it poses a unique challenge to those engaged in marketing a service as they need to attach tangible attributes to an otherwise intangible offering.

1. Heterogeneity/Variability: Given the very nature of services, each service offering is unique and cannot be exactly repeated even by the same service provider. While products can be mass produced and be homogenous the same is not true of services. eg: All burgers of a particular flavor at McDonalds are almost identical. However, the same is not true of the service rendered by the same counter staff consecutively to two customers.
2. Perishability: Services cannot be stored, saved, returned or resold once they have been used. Once rendered to a customer the service is completely consumed and cannot be delivered to another customer. eg: A customer dissatisfied with the services of a barber cannot return the service of the haircut that was rendered to him. At the most he may decide not to visit that particular barber in the future.
3. Inseparability/Simultaneity of production and consumption: This refers to the fact that services are generated and consumed within the same time frame. Eg: a haircut is delivered to and consumed by a customer simultaneously unlike, say, a takeaway burger which the customer may consume even after a few hours of purchase. Moreover, it is very difficult to separate a service from the service provider. Eg: the barber is necessarily a part of the service of a haircut that he is delivering to his customer.

         Some other characteristics are Ownership,Service in Performance, Simultaneously, Quality    measurement, Nature of Demand, Consumer, a part of production process

SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Services Marketing refers to the marketing of services as against tangible products. Services are inherently intangible, are consumed simultaneously at the time of their production, cannot be stored, saved or resold once they have been used and service offerings are unique and cannot be exactly repeated even by the same service provider.

Importance of Marketing of Services

Given the intangibility of services, marketing then becomes a particularly challenging and yet extremely important task.

• A key differentiator
• Importance of relationship
• Customer Retention

Distribution

DISTRIBUTION

Whirlpool of India is an82.3% industry of Whirlpool Inc, US. The company manufacturer its products in 13 countries and markets them in more than 170 countries under brand names such as Whirlpool, Kitchen Aid, Estate, Ignis, Laden, Inglis, Brastem and Consul.Whirlpool is amongst India's leading home appliance company.It manufactures and markets washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners and microwave.

WIL has its main plant in Faridabad for refrigerators and another recently opened near Pune. For washing machines, however, the manufacturing plant is in Pondicherry.

Product Mix

 PRODUCT MIX


Product mix, also known as product assortment, refers to the total number of product lines that a company offers to its customers. For example, a small company may sell multiple lines of products. Sometimes, these product lines are fairly similar, such as dish washing liquid and bar soap, which are used for cleaning and use similar technologies. Other times, the product lines are vastly different, such as diapers and razors. The four dimensions to a company's product mix include width, length, depth and consistency

Width

The width of a company's product mix pertains to the number of product lines that a company sells. For example, if a company has two product lines, its product mix width is two. Small and upstart businesses will usually not have a wide product mix. It is more practical to start with some basic products and build market share. Later on, a company's technology may allow the company to diversify into other industries and build the width of the product mix.

Length

Product mix length pertains to the number of total products or items in a company's product mix, according to Philip Kotler's textbook "Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control." For example, ABC company may have two product lines, and five brands within each product line. Thus, ABC's product mix length would be 10. Companies that have multiple product lines will sometimes keep track of their average length per product line. In the above case, the average length of an ABC Company's product line is five.

Depth

Depth of a product mix pertains to the total number of variations for each product. Variations can include size, flavor and any other distinguishing characteristic. For example, if a company sells three sizes and two flavors of toothpaste, that particular brand of toothpaste has a depth of six. Just like length, companies sometimes report the average depth of their product lines; or the depth of a specific product line.

Consistency

Product mix consistency pertains to how closely related product lines are to one another--in terms of use, production and distribution. A company's product mix may be consistent in distribution but vastly different in use. For example, a small company may sell its health bars and health magazine in retail stores. However, one product is edible and the other is not. The production consistency of these products would vary as well.

Product Market Mix Strategy

Small companies usually start out with a product mix limited in width, depth and length; and have a high level of consistency. However, over time, the company may want to differentiate products or acquire new ones to enter new markets. A company can also sell the existing products to new markets by coming up with new uses for their product.

The image below is the product range of Whirlpool White Magic. It gives the different varieties of White Magic Washing Machine.



     PRODUCT RANGE

Customer Value Heirarchy

Customer value hierarchy

Core benefit:

This is the most primary level in the customer value hierarchy. It is the essential benefit that the customer is paying for. There are no frills attached, just the core utilization for the customer is looking. Here the customer is looking for a medium through which one can wash clothes (not manually)

Basic Product:

 The next level in the customer value hierarchy is the Basic product. these are the fundamental components of your customer value package required just to be in business. The core benefit has to be converted into a product. In this case, the market needs to provide for a washing machine that will wash the clothes.

Expected Product:

The level after this is the expected product. Herein the company seeks to provide what the customers consider "normal" for you and your competitors. There are a certain set of conditions and characteristics that the customers are seeking for. In this particular case, the customer requires a basic washing machine that will have a water filling system, wash the clothes in a hygienic and clean manner, and drain out the water all in a given span of time. Also it should be convenient to manage.

Augmented Product:

At the fourth level of the hierarchy comes the augmented product. Added-value features which the customers know about and would like to have but don't necessarily expect because of the current level of performance of your competitors. This is the first level of possible differentiation and superiority over your competitors. In Whirlpool case it offers consistently friendly and responsible after service, accurate and honest information about the product, best stain removal ability with stain wash, different settings for different kinds of clothes. 

Potential Product:

At the fifth and last stage comes the potential product. Here come added-value features that go well beyond the learned expectations and desires the customer brings to the experience of doing business with you. In whirlpool case It may be unusually fast turn-around,  an  unusually  confidence-inspiring  guarantee, unusual expertise on the part of your  employees, advanced merchandise feature, etc. These are "surprise" features that can set you apart from your competitors and win the loyalty of  your  customers.