Transcript PowerPoint-Präsentation

e-learning session
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Purpose of this e-learning session
Respecting the time restraints project managers are subject to, the DEEP.com
project has developed for this target group a succinct, but significant tool kit,
which contains all essential aspects for the successful utilisation of results, such
as a marketing strategy, appropriate marketing mix and support tools for
implementing a complete marketing action plan.
This document mainly covers an actual introduction into the basics of
marketing and dissemination strategies, plus it contains a comprehensive
overview, covering some specifics of marketing and dissemination of European
projects, as well as some useful tools, templates and examples of their use.

This document is not meant to act as a complete and comprehensive guide to marketing, but more
as a practical, user friendly insight into marketing strategies and procedures. For the deeper study of
marketing, some fundamental publications are recommended within the references section of this
document. Following the logic of basic steps for creating a marketing strategy and a functional plan,
more detailed information is given when appropriate for European project marketing needs.
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1. Utilisation of Results
1.1 Framework of Marketing,
Dissemination and Utilisation
1.2 Marketing & Dissemination Policy
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1.1. Framework of Marketing, Dissemination & Utilisation
DEEP.Com is suggesting a comprehensive approach to marketing of projects and
project results, where the strategy towards utilisation of results is the wider objective,
and marketing itself is a part of this overall strategy, which may be called then a
marketing/dissemination strategy.
Experience and literature support the need for a conceptual framework for the
dissemination and utilisation processes. There are several elements to be applied in the
practice of utilisation of results, where marketing and dissemination strategies and
actions must be closely linked and supporting each other.
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With
references
to
already
existing
knowledge
in
this
context
(e.g.
see:
http://www.researchutilisation.org/), we suggest you some kind of a useful summary:
•
First of all, it is suggested, that to understand marketing and
dissemination as a process requires a balanced match among:
a) the creation of products or knowledge, and the context of that creation,
b) the target audiences, and
c) the content (formats and language used in getting the outcomes into the
hands (and minds) of those target audiences.
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The goal of all marketing and dissemination activities should be the utilisation of
results. This may mean different things to different members of a target audience.
It is evident, that for the successful utilisation the research outcome must be
critically and thoroughly digested, in order to be coherent with the prior
understandings and experience of potential user.
•
The effective way to increase utilisation is to engage relevant stakeholders as
potential users in planning and implementation of the project itself.
•
Effective marketing,dissemination and utilisation require an understanding of the
change process.
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Experts in marketing and dissemination incorporate ideas about communication as a
two-way process and, as a result, extend the job of dissemination to necessarily
providing support for actual understanding/consideration of concepts and possible
implementation of changes as an intended result of dissemination activities.
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1.2. Marketing & Dissemination Policy
organisation. Policies serve as a foundation for the implementation of procedures and
often address areas that are regulated by legal requirements. In this instance a
marketing and dissemination policy:
•
Helps to clarify the objectives and values placed upon marketing and
dissemination.
•
Describes what steps you will take to ensure that the general public is aware
of the availability of your results.
•
Provides an opportunity to consider the impact of marketing &dissemination,
and decisions reached about it.
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Facilitates
an
interest
of
the
intended
groups
of
users
for
the
information/knowledge or product developed by you.
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Provides an opportunity to clarify how yourmarketing and dissemination
facilitates the accomplishment of the organisation's or project’s mission.
•
Clarifies the extent to which you will communicate your dissemination policy to
the public, reinforcing awareness of the availability of accessible, timely
information, and technical assistance to support its utilisation.
•
Provides an opportunity to describe how the impact of your marketing and
dissemination actions will be evaluated.
A dissemination policy can be a very effective and low-cost method of addressing
issues of dissemination and utilisation.
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2.
What is Marketing
2.1 Ten elements of effective Marketing & Dissemination
2.2 Context, Goals & Objectives
2.2.1 Context
2.2.2 Do market research
2.2.3 Set up your goals
2.3 Strategies
2.4 Target group(s) users
2.4.1 Action lines/steps for efficient stakeholder involvement
2.5 Content
2.6 Actions and Tools
2.7 Channels and Medium
2.8 Access and Distribution
2.9 Barriers
2.10 Impact
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2. WHAT IS MARKETING?
The definition of marketing is simple and based on PUTTING THE RIGHT PRODUCT IN THE
RIGHT PLACE, AT THE RIGHT PRICE, AT THE RIGHT TIME.
You just need to create a product that a particular group of people may want, put it
on sale at some place that those people visit regularly, and price it at a level which
matches the value by customer; and do all that at a time they want to buy.
In order to be successful in your project we suggest you t consider several steps
before you start offering your products.
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Context & Goals
Objectives
Strategies
Target Groups/Users
Context & Goals
Content
Actions and Tools
Channels and Mediums
Access and Distribution
Barriers
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Impact
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2.1 Ten elements of effective Marketing & Dissemination
After you have developed your marketing and dissemination policy statements, you
are ready to turn your attention to more specific marketing and dissemination
planning.
Remember that your planning should start at the beginning of your research activities,
not at the end. In the case of EU projects, while some details of the dissemination
effort will be suggested in your original proposal and refined as you progress through
your research, your dissemination plan goals and objectives should be clarified at the
beginning of your project.
This approach will allow you to meet your dissemination challenge in a timely manner.
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1. Context & Goals: Determine and document the goals of your marketing
and
dissemination effort for your proposed project/product. You must know the context of
your work and understand your “market”.
2. Objectives: Associate each goal with one or more objectives that clarifies what
you are trying to accomplish through your dissemination activities.
3. Strategies: When you know your goals and have formulated your objectives, it´s a
time
to
identify
marketing
and
dissemination
strategies,
specific
to
your
project/product. For this, you must define your users.
4. Target Groups/Users: Describe the scope and characteristics of the "potential users"
that your dissemination activities are designed to reach for each of your objectives.
Don´t forget also about stakeholders, if relevant to your project.
5. Content: Identify at least basic elements of the main content you have to suggest
to each of the potential user groups identified.
6. Actions and Tools: Identify actions and tools for promoting awareness of the
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availability of your results.
Create your visual identity and presentations. Make a
communication plan, including list of communication actions and tools.
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7. Channels and Mediums: Identify main channels and sources that each potential
user group is already tied into or most respects as an information source. Consider
possible ways to partner with these sources in your marketing and dissemination
efforts. Describe the medium or media through which the content of your message
can be best delivered to your potential users and describe the capabilities and
resources that will be required from potential users to access the content for each
medium to be used.
8. Access and Distribution: Describe how you will ensure access to your planned
results, under what conditions and costs it will be accessible, how you will archive
information that may be requested at a later date.
9. Barriers: Identify potential barriers that may interfere with the targeted users' access
or utilisation of your information and develop actions to reduce these barriers. E.g.
classical SWOT analysis is a very useful tool to help you in this process.
10. Impact: Describe how you will know if your marketing and dissemination activities
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have been successful. If the evidence (data) of your marketing/dissemination
activities is to be gathered, describe how, when, and who will gather it.
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2.2. CONTEXT, GOALS & OBJECTIVES
2.2.1. Context
Before you start to define your goals, you may need to think about the overall
context of your business or project.
Is it local, national or pan-European?
Would you need to consider some demographic or geographic specifics for
realisation of your activities?
Maybe your idea, as well as your final product, need to be verified for different
cultural contexts. You must know your market and to estimate your place and role in
it. If you need to know it better – do market research.
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2.2.2. Do Market Research
A business that understands its customers and their buying habits can sell more
effectively, compete with other suppliers, target new customers and identify new
opportunities. One way to achieve this is through market research, which assists in
discovering what people want, need, or believe. It can also involve discovering
how they act. Once that research is complete you can use it to determine how to
market your specific product. Market research is a key factor in gaining advantage
over competitors. Market research provides important information to identify and
analyse the market need, market size and competition.
Market research includes social and opinion research, [and] is the systematic
gathering and interpretation of information about individuals or organisations using
statistical and analytical methods and techniques of the applied social sciences to
gain insight or support decision making.
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Be careful, market research and marketing research are two different terms.
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As it was stressed above, it is useful to take into account the importance of cultural
issues when entering a foreign market. Even a familiar market of European countries
can be surprisingly different to your own country market.
Do you know the business and socio-cultural characteristics of your target markets?
Below in chapter 3.1.2.1 Licensing & Franchising you can find some useful information
about the licensing strategies and policies in DEEP.Com partner countries.
Research should allow you to reject markets that are too complex or difficult, or that
carry too many risks for your business.
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How to do a market research
Collect Information with one or more of the following research methods:
Literature searches:
review all relevant and accessible reading material.
a. Use search engines to find e-books and articles related to your industry
and product.
b. Visit your competitor's sites to see how they are marketing their products
c. Participate in discussion lists or online chats that focus on your industry
and/or your product.
d. Subscribe to newsletters that discuss your industry.
e. Read newspapers for current information.
f. Read books for past information and to get a feel for trends.
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g. Enter community webs and groups focused on your industry.
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Survey/Interview - the survey is probably the quickest and cheapest method of
research. It is ideal for small business.
There are many ways to conduct a survey and the next article will discuss survey
design and gathering techniques.
•
Experiment: Conduct "marketing experiments."
Try one method and change one variable at a time to see if it will improve your
sales. More on this will be forthcoming as you can try out various marketing
strategies.
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Organise and Analyse Your Information
In any type of research situation, you want to have a methodical process to collect
and store information. When you have chosen your research method, implemented
your research, and stored the information in an organised way, you will see how you
can use that information.
If you know nothing about statistics and if you don't have the time or if you don't have
the money to pay someone to do your statistical analysis, then we recommend that
you use a "qualitative research methodology". You can still do market research and
learn important information about your target without statistical analysis. For small
business people, with more limited resources, using a qualitative survey is the most
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efficient tool to learn about target markets.
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2.2.3. Set up Your Goals.
What do you want to achieve?
Your marketing goals may deal with many different elements of your business. You may
wish to increase sales, increase awareness of your product, increase visitors to your
web site or get more repeat clients. You may have several goals or you may start out
slowly with one overall goal.
Brainstorm what you really want to get out of your business during next few months. It is
very useful to be able to write down these three things:
1.
Your goal & marketing objectives
2.
The strategy to achieve the goal.
3.
How you will measure the success.
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Your marketing objectives should be based on understanding your strengths and
weaknesses, and the business environment you operate in. They should also be linked
to your overall business strategy.
SWOT analysis might be a helpful tool in this case.
You can find more in chapter 3.2 SWOT analysis. For example, suppose your business
objectives include increasing sales by 10 per cent over the next year.
Your marketing objectives might include targeting a promising new market segment
to help achieve this growth. Objectives should always be SMART.
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SMART Objectives:
• Specific - for example, you might set an objective of getting ten new customers.
• Measurable - whatever your objective is, you need to be able to check whether you
have reached it or not when you review your plan.
• Achievable - you must have the resources you need to achieve the objective. The
key resources are usually people and money.
• Realistic - targets should stretch you, not demotivate you because they are
unreasonable and seem to be out of reach.
• Time-bound - you should set a deadline for achieving the objective. For example, you
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might aim to get ten new customers within the next 12 months.
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Make conclusions and write them down:
•
Your goals - what you wanted to find out about your market.
•
The method that you used to find answers to your questions. Why you chose
that method.
•
The conclusions that you came up with after you did your market research.
•
How these conclusions will influence the way you will promote your product.
Tip: If you have sufficient resources you may consider professional services and
organisations. You can review a directory of research providers at:
http://www.theresearchbuyersguide.com/.
Possible threats to be considered:
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2.3. STRATEGIES
When you know your goals and have formulated your objectives, it´s time to identify
marketing and dissemination strategies, specific to your project/product.
Your marketing and dissemination plan outlines basic elements.
You also need a strategy to implement your plan's basic elements. This strategy
should be conceptualised in terms of how you will address specific issues related to
ensuring that your dissemination efforts support utilisation.
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Your strategy should also be complete enough to frame certain requirements for
implementation of your plan that usually involve staff time and budgetary resources. In
certain cases, your strategy may also involve third-party assistance from graphic or
World Wide Web designers, printers, or others with special expertise.
For this reason, your plan should include a description of your strategy for
implementation and the resources that are projected as necessary to be successful.
The most successful strategies for implementation of your dissemination and marketing
plan will be broad-based and developed in such a way that unexpected "surprises" do
not cause it to fail.
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The focus of your strategy should be to communicate the benefits of your products and
services and how they can meet your customers' needs. This can help you to develop
a long-term and profitable relationship with them.
Your strategy should be flexible enough to respond all significant changes in customer
perceptions and demands.
It may also help you to identify potential new markets that you can successfully target.
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Marketing strategies serve as the foundation of specific marketing plans designed to fill
market needs and reach marketing objectives.
Plans and objectives are generally tested for measurable results. Commonly, marketing
strategies are developed as multi-year plans, with an action plan detailing specific
actions in the current year.
Time horizons covered by the marketing plan vary by industry, by nation etc., however,
time horizons are becoming shorter as the speed of change increases.
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Key elements of a successful marketing strategy
The overview of literature concerning marketing and dissemination strategies lead to
the perception that to be effective, such systems need the following characteristics:
• They are oriented toward the needs of the user, incorporating the types and levels of
information needed and the forms and language preferred by the user.
• They use varied marketing and dissemination methods, including written information,
electronic media, and person-to-person contact.
• They include both proactive and reactive marketing & dissemination channels - ,
they include information that users have identified as important, and they include
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information that users may not know to request but that they are likely to need. Clear
channels are established for users to make their needs and priorities known.
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•
They recognize and provide for the "natural flow" of the four levels of
dissemination that have been identified as leading to utilisation: spread,
exchange, choice, and implementation.
•
They draw upon existing resources, relationships, and networks to the maximum
extent possible while building new resources as needed by users.
•
They include effective quality control mechanisms to assure that information to be
included in the system is accurate, relevant, and representative.
They include sufficient information so that the user can determine the basic principles
underlying specific practices and the settings in which these practices may be used
most productively.
For more detailed information you may refer to the following publications:
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Mace-Matluck, 1986; Pollard, 1989; Pollard and Rood, 989; Westbrook &Lumbley, 1990.
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Your existing and potential customers fall into particular groups or segments,
characterised by their 'needs'. You can then create a marketing strategy that makes
the most of your strengths and matches them to the needs of the customers you want
to target. For example, if a particular group of customers is looking for quality first and
foremost, then any marketing activity aimed at them should draw attention to the high
quality of your products or service.
Target segmentation and selection is described in previous chapters.
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Once you have created your marketing strategy, you must then decide which
marketing activity or activities will ensure your target market know about the products
or services you offer.
There are many ways to achieve this - such as various forms of advertising, exhibitions,
public relations initiatives, internet activity and an effective 'point of sale' strategy if you
rely on others to actually sell your products.
But try to limit your activities to those methods you think will work best, to avoid
dispersing your budget.
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Monitoring and evaluating how effective your strategy has been is a key element, yet
often overlooked. This control element not only helps you see how your strategy is
performing in practice, it can also help inform your future marketing strategy.
A simple approach is to ask each new customer how they heard about your business. It
is recommended to use internal (inside your team) and external assessments (e.g.
Advisory Committee from external experts).
If you are preparing a project, include the evaluation of the overall dissemination
strategy into the work with main stakeholders from the early stage of the project.
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2.4. Target Group(s) users
In order to be successful in utilisation of results of any business or research process,
including results of the EU projects, it is essential to define
your potential
users/customers.
For EU projects, it is necessary to define and involve all relevant stakeholders from the
early stage of the project planning and implementation.
Steps for stakeholder involvement and the practical example of successful stakeholder
map are explained in details in chapter 2.4.1 Action lines/steps for efficient stakeholder
involvement.
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So, in general, your tasks are:
1. To identify the set of people who you want to target as potential customers / users,
either individuals or groups of users.
2. Understand the needs and expectations of the potential users or individuals in the
respect to the target market (see market research).
The target audience must have similar needs, interests and expectations. Similar
products and brands should entice the individuals comprising the target market. With
a clearly defined target audience, it is much easier to determine where and how to
market your company. Many businesses say they target “anyone interested in my
services.” Some may say they target small business owners, homeowners or stay-at2
home mums. All of these targets are too general.
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To select a proper target group, it is essential to take into account several factors.
1. Look at your current customer base
Who are your current customers, and why do they buy from you?
Look for common characteristics and interests.
Which ones bring in the most business?
It is very likely that other people like them could also benefit from your
product/service.
2. Check out your competition
Who are your competitors targeting?
Who are their current customers?
Don’t go after the same market. You may find a niche market that they are
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overlooking.
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3. Analyse your product/service
Write out a list of each feature of your product or service. Next to each feature, list the
benefits they provide (and the benefits of those benefits). For example, a graphic
designer offers high quality design services. The resulting benefit is a professional
company image. A professional image will attract more customers because they see
the company as professional and trustworthy.
So ultimately, the benefit of high quality design is to gain more customers and make
more money.
Once you have your benefits listed, make a list of people who have a need that your
benefit fulfils. For example, a graphic designer could choose to target businesses
interested in increasing their client base. While this is still too general, you now have a
base to start from.
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4. Choose specific demographics to target
Figure out not only who has a need for your product or service, but also who is most
likely to buy it. Think about the following factors:
• Age
• Location
• Gender
• Income level
• Education level
• Marital or family status
• Occupation
• Ethnic background
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5. Consider the psychographics of your target
Psychographics are more personal characteristics of a person including:
• Personality
• Attitudes
• Values
• Interests/hobbies
• Lifestyles
• Behaviour
Determine how your product or service will fit into your target’s lifestyle. How and when
will they use the product? What features are most appealing to them? What media do
they turn to for information? Do they read the newspaper, search online or attend
particular events?
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6. Evaluate your decision
Once you’ve decided on a target market, be sure to consider these questions:
• Are there enough people that fit my criteria?
• Will my target audience really benefit from my product/service?
• Will they see a need for it?
• Do I understand what drives my target audience to make decisions?
• Can they afford my product/service?
• Can I reach them with my message?
• Are they easily accessible?
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Don’t categorize your target audience too much!
Consider if your marketing message should be different for each target category. If
you can reach both categories effectively with the same message, then maybe you
have categorised your market too much.
Also, if you find that there are only 50 people that fit all of your criteria, maybe you
should re-evaluate your target group/s.
The trick is to find that perfect balance.
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You may be asking, “How do I find all this information?”
Try searching online for research others have done on your target audience. Search for
magazine articles and blogs that talk about your target market or that talk to your
target market. Search for blogs and forums where people in your target market
communicate their opinions. Look for survey results, or consider conducting a survey of
your own. Ask your current customers for feedback.
Defining your target market is the hard part.
Once you know who you are targeting, it is much easier to figure out which media you
can use to reach them and what marketing messages will resonate with them.
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For different kinds of EU projects it is necessary to define and involve all relevant
stakeholders from the early stage of the project planning and implementation.
Particular steps/action lines for stakeholder involvement and the practical example of
successful stakeholder map is provided below.
In the work with stakeholders it is essential to apply the appropriate combination of
communication mechanisms, e.g., the application of consultation and deliberation
techniques may be used for enhancing project visibility and for consultation purposes
based on:
• particular stakeholders involved,
• the urgency for response,
• the sensitivity of the content,
• the impact and the flow of the information.
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2.4.1. Action lines/steps for efficient stakeholder involvement
For most EU projects it is essential to involve potential stakeholders in the early stage of
the project realization.
a.
To identify users and specify stakeholders grids. The most significant groups
of users, relevant for the topic of the project, being placed in stockholder’s
grids according to the fields of their activities and responsibilities.
All of them to be informed about the developments of the project and
sharing their expertise and their visions for the future.
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b.
To consider levels of engagement and influence of stakeholders. The
appropriate level of involvement is a fundamental criterion. We can’t
expect and suggest the same forms of engagement from academic
researchers, consultants, Government Executives, companies, taking into
account their interests and responsibilities.
Different levels of stakeholder participation or involvement are consequently
supported by different techniques and mechanisms. In this context, a
structure composed of different levels of engagement for different profiles
has to be prepared, coming across above mentioned grids of stakeholders.
c.
To ensure the feedback of a wider community. The widest group of potential
users are the general public with an open profile (any interested participant)
for a wide dissemination of the project results. The same kind of feedback
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will be made available openly for contribution by the wider community, but
this feedback mechanism will not be proactively looked for.
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d. To document properly the expectations, needs, responsibilities and planned
responses. Use the most advanced and available means to record, analyse and
utilize the responses of different stakeholder groups. You may use surveys,
questionnaires and on-line tools. The stakeholder’s expectations and needs
should be timely acknowledged during project start-up. Communication and
the exchange of opinions, interests and expectations are of the utmost
importance. In practice some issues rise when trying to facilitate this process;
which stakeholders also need to be contacted and which level of involvement
is desirable.
e. To choose proper techniques for stakeholder involvement. Stakeholder
involvement techniques usually can be applied to a broad range of issues, but
no “one size fits all” list of criteria can be offered. For these reasons, a definitive
matrix matching techniques to criteria therefore does not exist, although there
are handbooks and manuals do describe different techniques in terms of
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generic criteria (such as level of involvement, scale of consultation – intensive vs.
extensive, representative character, inclusiveness, deliberative qualities…).
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f. To apply the appropriate combination of communication mechanisms. It is
recommended to apply consultation and deliberation techniques for
enhancing project visibility and for consultation purposes based on:

particular stakeholders involved,

the urgency for response,

the sensitivity of the content,

the impact and the flow of the information.
Example: Stakeholders´ involvement in CROSSROAD project (FP7-ICT-248484,
www.crossroad-eu.net)
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General Users and Stakeholders Map
The diagram below represents a general picture of all possible users and stakeholders
that could be involved in cooperation and communication, who would be the target
audience for your marketing.
Public Administrations Reserach Centers
Industry EC Iniciatives
ICT 7.3 Network
Experts
Scientific
Committee
CROSSROAD
Partners
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Going into details with different levels of engagement for different types of
stakeholders, the structure for different profiles has to be further elaborated, and it is
described below.
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Project partners
Project partners will ensure that the core group of users and stakeholders are involved in
the internal communication flow. Information sharing between partners is supported by
the project web.
Expert Scientific Committee
An expert scientific committee is mostly used for ensuring the independent inputs and
evaluation of your results. It may be composed from domain experts or multi-disciplinary
experts. It is evident, that you may already have contact with such experts or you may
need to seek additional support through relevant existing contacts or via other
channels, including social networks Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin.
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Validation Community
A Validation Community may be needed for some kind of projects. These are
composed of different stakeholders, whose feedback on draft products through online
interaction will be proactively looked for. Set the main platform, tools and channels for
communication with this community and ensure it is carefully managed as supported to
offer real benefit.
As soon as the list of members of the Validation Community are established, the
communication flow will be organised as more focused through the mailing list.
General public
Tools and channels to reach the wider general public encompass those mentioned
above. You must carefully create your messages for this mixed group.
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Possible threats to be aware of while setting the target groups
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2.5. CONTENT
Identify at least basic elements of the projected content you have to create
in order to disseminate to each of the potential user groups identified.
Content management is often an underestimated part of the marketing
and dissemination work, especially in EU projects. Quite often no special
budget line for content management and creation is established for EU
projects, and later the implementation of the project can suffer without the
necessary visibility.
In projects like this only a limited number of users know
about the results available.
While working with your texts, messages and appeals, creating marketing and
p ro mo ti o nal bro c hu re s , y o u sho ul d thi nk a b o ut y o ur ta r g e t a udi e nc e .
T he c o nte nt o f y o ur m a rk e ti ng a nd di ssemi na ti o n m a te ri al s sho ul d b e
adapted for different target groups and should „speak their language“,
which is different for business people, politicians or scientists. Fulfilling the
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goal of knowledge spreading and disseminationimplies developing
appropriate public information materials, which will be useful only if they
can be understood and interpreted by their intended audience.
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What is knowledge translation?
A more comprehensive understanding of dissemination and utilisation is couched
within the concept of knowledge translation or KT. The term KT involves both
dissemination and utilisation of research findings however KT is distinct in at least two
areas:
•
KT emphasises the importance of the quality of
research that will be
disseminated and applied
•
KT involves adapting research so that it becomes contextually relevant to
practitioners or consumers.
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The last point merits special focus for marketing and dissemination work, because the
use of too professional language and terms for all kind of users is very dangerous and
non-productive. The content of your marketing and dissemination materials, as stated
earlier, should be adapted to meet the needs of your different target groups.
Remember is should seek to .„speak their language“.
To learn more about the concept of knowledge translation please refer to Focus
technical brief no 5 available at:
http://www.ncddr.org/kt/products/focus/focus10/ .
Possible threats to be considered while working with the content
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2.6. ACTIONS AND TOOLS
Identify actions and tools for promoting awareness of the availability of your results.
Action planning provides an opportunity for marketing and dissemination goals,
strategies, and activities to be conceptualised and carefully considered.
In your planning process, it is important to remember that training events, such as
conferences, workshops or training are primary tools that may or may not help you reach
your goals with certain target audiences.
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The example of the template for gathering such kind of information is attached.
Dates, place
Event
Target audience
Organised by
April 21, 2012, Prague (CZ)
Project workshop
(Validation Community
building, dissemination and
engagement)
Government Executives,
academic researchers, IT
business experts
EPMA/all
Online Gap Analysis
Validation Workshop
Thematic experts
EPMA
September 2012
Brussel and internet
Etc.
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A thoughtful marketing & dissemination plan allows you to move beyond the simple
listing of events and products as your dissemination strategy.
The most effective dissemination outreach efforts are not designed in broad-brush
fashion to equally reach any and all of your designated target audiences through a
single training event or product.
An effective dissemination planning process will select from the wide range of
available tools
one or more that are "tailored" to promote achievement of your
dissemination goals with each specific group within your target audience.
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Create your visual identity and presentations as supportive means to the main goals
and objectives. Don´t forget to include the list of communication actions and tools
into your communication plan.
The list of most common materials and communication materials and actions:
Communication materials (to deliver the content)
• Main visuals, including logo and layout of main documents, e.g. project reports,
PowerPoint presentations)
• Website
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• Leaflets and brochures
Actions (to meet users)
• Newsletters
• Conferences
• Press releases
• Workshops
• Public reports
• Training courses & demonstrations
• Journal and media articles,
• Meetings
• Video and photo documentation
• On-line discussions
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Possible threats to be considered
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2.7. CHANNELS AND MEDIUM
Identify main channels and sources that each potential user group is already tied into
or most respects as an information source. Consider ways to partner with these sources
in your marketing and dissemination efforts.
Describe the medium or media through which the content of your message can best
be best delivered to your potential users and describe the capabilities and resources
that will be required of potential users to access the content for each medium to be
used.
For each medium estimate the audience (how much, who) and compare to your
target groups.
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The use of Web 2.0 strategy to stakeholders’ involvement (two-ways conversation
rather than “push” dissemination) is recommended. In order to ensure continuous
communication with key stakeholders the project may consider setting up several key
channels:
1. Project web for structured web/based collaboration.
2. Project blog for on-going conversation.
3. Facebook fun page for support of promotion of actions and marketing in
general (see more detailed info on this later).
4. LinkedIn group for expert discussions and Exchange of views.
5. Twitter account, of relevance to the project strategies.
6. Community group at epractice.eu (European portal, supporting thematic
exchange of information)
7. Contact lists, created from project partners contact databases
8. Web- based solutions for sending out newsletters and leaflets.
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The use of different tools and channels for the need of the dissemination and
stakeholder involvement may differ according to the character of the dissemination
material and to the objective.
You can start for instance at www.mailchimp.com
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Communication flow
Internal communication is also a part of the communication process and specific tools
may be selected for it. In general, the information flow within the project may be
ensured by:
 The exchange of internal technical and business documents.
 Notification of relevant new publications in the literature, or by the standard
bodies.
 Reports from external meetings.
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Using the same approach for external communication, should be reviewed and take
account of the different target groups. It is useful to set the key platform (tools and
channels for external communication and marketing), e.g. it may be the web site, email and Social Networking tools and applications.
The appropriate combination of communication mechanisms is used for enhancing
project/product visibility and for consultation and validation purposes based on the
stakeholders involved, the urgency for response, the sensitivity of the content, the
impact and the permanency of the information. Further information regarding the
internet as a channel and Social media is provided later in this document.
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Possible threats to be considered
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2.8 ACCESS AND DISTRIBUTION
Describe how you will ensure access to your planned results, under what conditions
and costs it will be accessible, how you will archive information that may be requested
at a later date.
See more on this point in the chapter 3.1.4 Place & Convenience.
For efficient dissemination, the project may establish the ways of accessibility of results
and specify technical assistance to support its utilisation, e.g. through the project
website.
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It is useful to consider, if you share and allow requests for information through multiple
means, for example, telephone, fax, mail, e-mail, and other modes upon request.
In accordance to your strategies, you may plan, if your project information will be
available in full-text format through the Internet or not.
You must think about general terms of accessibility (WAI recommendations) if
supporting inclusive policies and providing results available “for all.”
You may consider also licensing policies in different countries which are mentioned in
chapter 3.1.2.1 Licensing & franchising.
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2.9. BARRIERS
For each point of the marketing & dissemination plan it is recommended to identify
potential barriers, e.g. identify potential barriers that may interfere with the targeted
users' access or utilisation of your information and develop actions to reduce these
barriers and check your results, replying suggested questions mentioned in chapter 4.
Write your marketing plan.
E.g. classical SWOT analysis is a very useful tool to help you in this process. See chapter
3.2 SWOT analysis”.
Another quite popular in marketing tool is the method of GAP analysis, but this is more
related to business, then to the EU project cooperation.
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2.10. IMPACT
Describe how you will know if your marketing and dissemination activities have been
successful. If the evidence (data) of your marketing/dissemination activities is to be
gathered, describe how, when, and who will gather it.
In order to estimate the impact of your project and dissemination activities, several
qualitative and quantitative aspects must be evaluated.
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Qualitative aspects
Speaking about qualitative aspects of dissemination, we may refer to the main goals
and objectives that were to be fulfilled, and ways in which these dissemination
activities were successful in supporting the objectives. You must be able to explain:
• What was produced and presented from the point of dissemination;
• How, when and where was it presented and distributed;
• To whom were the results disseminated (users);
• Who was participating in the collaborative work (stakeholders).
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With regard to the impact of dissemination, several components need to be taken into
account:
From this point of view, you must provide the detailed evidence of Activities
performed, Outputs achieved, and even some immediate Outcomes, although it is
evident, that deep and comprehensive evaluation of longer term Impacts of any
project may be done seriously only in a longer time frame after the project end.
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Furthermore, in order to create an “impact map” some specific tools for measuring and
assessment may be required.
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At the end you must be able to reply:
1. If the main objectives of the project are achieved (including main
Products/Deliverables);
2. If the quality and effectiveness of the support mechanisms and associated
work packages is approved (according to the methodology presented);
3. If relevant supportive marketing and dissemination materials are produced
and distributed;
4. If basics for the sustainability of the project main outcomes are created.
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Quantitative aspects
Indicator
1.
Number of actions (workshops, specific events), directly organised by the
project
2.
Number of third parties events, used for a general promotion of the
product/project
3.
4.
Overall number of participants of those events
number
X
XY
XXY
Number of marketing and dissemination materials created and distributed
(articles, leaflets, posters, etc)
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In order to capture the effectiveness of communication, the combination of criteria or
feedback mechanisms may be used to measure the effectiveness of each
dissemination activity. What follows are some examples of combined criteria, which
may be used for the description of dissemination results:
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Website: Google Analytics setup and measurement of the number of (unique) visitors
per day / traffic to the portal / source of traffic and amount of time spent on the site;
SEO: Position of your product and other selected key words such on various search
engines;
Focus Links: The number of sites linked to the your website, the number of link
exchanges; liaison with similar project objectives or product;
Newsletters: The number of newsletters issued & the coverage of distribution lists;
Press Releases: The number of releases, timing & coverage of potential audience, list of
media and online platforms for dissemination;
Project Leaflet/Brochure: Coverage and audience, downloads
& events with
distribution;
LinkedIn: Validation Community growth;
Twitter: Number of comments/followers (participants);
Facebook: Group membership and number of posts;
Publications: Number of publications and presentations & type of audience covered;
Events and Conferences: Number of events covered & type of audiences involved;
Liaison with other projects: Level of collaboration with other projects, number of joint
events.
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3.1
3.1.1
3.1.1.1
3.1.2
3.1.2.1
3.1.3
3.1.3.1
3.1.3.2
3.1.3.3
3.1.4
3.1.4.1
3.2
MARKETING MIX
Product & Consumer
Branding
Price & Cost
Licensing & franchising
Promotion & Comunication
Developing your promotional strategy
Timing and measuring your campaigns
Promotional mix
Place & Convenience
Ways of distribution
SWOT ANALYSIS
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3. MARKETING TERMS & TOOLS
3.1. Marketing mix
One of the most common tools used for determining your steps in commercialisation
planning is a marketing mix.
The marketing mix helps you to define the marketing elements for successfully
positioning your market offer.
"Marketing mix" is a general concept to describe the different kinds of choices
organisations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or service to the
market.
The marketing mix is a good point to start when thinking about your plans for a product
or service, it helps you to avoid mistakes.
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One of the ways of defining the marketing mix is the 4Ps approach.
The 4Ps model is just one of many marketing mix lists that have been developed over
the years.
This model has been developed and extended over the years to include 7Ps,
sometimes called the extended marketing mix, which include the first 4Ps of Product,
Place, Price, Promotion, plus People, Processes and Physical layout decisions.
Product
Place
4Ps
Marketing mix
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Price
Promotion
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Another marketing mix approach is called the 4Cs, which presents the elements of the
marketing mix from the buyer's, rather than the seller's, perspective. This system is
basically the four Ps renamed and reworded to provide a customer focus. The 4Cs
Model provides a demand/customer centric version of marketing management.
4Ps → 4Cs
Product → Commodity
Price → Cost
Place → Channel
Promotion → Communication
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We suggest using 4Ps model when you are planning a new venture, or evaluating an
existing offer, to optimise the impact with your target market.
The marketing mix model can be used to help you decide how to take a new offer to
market. It can also be used to test your existing marketing strategy. Whether you are
considering a new or existing offer, the following steps below will help you define and
improve your marketing mix.
Each category of the 4Ps approach and some specifics that might be useful for
European projects are described in the following sub-chapters.
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Develop your own marketing mix by following these three steps:
1.
Start by identifying the product or service that you want to analyse.
2.
Now go through and answer the 4Ps questions – as defined in detail below.
3.
Try asking "why" and "what if" questions too, to challenge your offer. For
example, ask why your target audience needs a particular feature.
What if you drop your price by 5%?
Why sell through direct channels rather than wholesalers?
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The four P’s - product, price, place, and promotion - should work together in your
marketing mix. Often, decisions on one element will influence the choices available in
others.
Selecting an effective mix for your market will take time and effort, but these will pay
off as you satisfy customers and create a profitable business.
Once you have a good marketing mix - the right product at the right price, offered in
the right place and promoted in the right way - you will need to continue to stay on
top of market changes and adapt your marketing mix as necessary.
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Find some supportive questions that will help you understand and define each of the
four elements. Check through your answers to make sure they are based on sound
knowledge and facts. If there are doubts about your assumptions, identify any market
research, or facts and figures that you may need to gather.
Once you have a well-defined marketing mix, try "testing" the overall offer from the
customer's perspective, by asking customer focused questions:
1. Does the product meet their needs? (product)
2. Is it easy to find a shop? (selling place)
3. Would they consider it's priced favourably? (price)
4. Would the marketing communications reach them? (promotion)
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Keep on asking questions and making changes to your mix until you are satisfied that
you have optimised your marketing mix, given the information and facts and figures
you have.
Review you marketing mix regularly, as some elements will need to change as the
product or service, and its market, grow, mature and adapt in an ever-changing
competitive environment.
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3.1.1 Product & Consumer
“Product” refers to the goods and services you offer to your customers. Apart from
the physical product itself, there are elements associated with your product that
customers may focus upon. If you are considering starting a new business or adding a
new product, then make sure the product bundle will fit your business’s strengths and
weaknesses, and that it will provide an acceptable risk/return trade-off.
For instance, if your business is very good at offering a timely response to customers,
then timely service should be an important part of your product bundle.
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Think long term about your venture by planning for the ways you can deepen and
broaden your product bundle. For instance, you may be able to take advantage of
opportunities to add value through processing, packaging, and customer service.
Other future growth may allow you to offer your product to different customers. Start-up
businesses are most successful when they concentrate their efforts on one product or
one market, like a restaurant or a car service centre.
Later growth may occur in the same location or may be in different geographic
regions. A different type of growth would be a diversification of products, with your
business offering related products. Offering a whole range of products is most successful
if the raw materials, production processes, and distribution methods are similar, which
means you do not have to acquire new suppliers, skills and equipment, and distribution
methods.
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Questions to be raised while considering Product/Service:
• What does the customer want from the product/service?
What needs does it satisfy?
• What features does it have to meet these needs?
 Are there any features you've missed out?
 Are you including costly features that the customer won't actually use?
• How and where will the customer use it?
• What does it look like? How will customers experience it?
• What size(s), colour(s), and so on, should it be?
• What is it to be called?
• How is it branded?
• How is it different from your competitors?
Can I offer added value?
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• What is the most it can cost to provide, and still be sold at a profit?(See Price, below).
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Unique selling point
What sets your product or service apart from your competitors?
What is your unique selling point or USP? You need to be able to describe why a
customer would purchase the product or service you offer. Focus on both the end
user and your immediate customers. For example, if you sell to a distributor, think
about the advantages for them and their customers. What competitive advantages
does your product or service offer your customers?
USP’s can also be called your unique selling proposition, as stated it describes what
sets you and your business — or you as an individual — apart from your competition. It
can be an actual fact or a perceived difference or specialty. Every business needs
one.
Your USP may be expressed as a summary of what you do and how you do it better
or differently than others. Often, a USP can be summed up in just a few words that
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become something of an advertising jingle, catch-phrase or marketing strap line. No
matter how you express it, your USP should focus on how it benefits the customer.
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3.1.1.1 Branding
To create a successful promotional strategy, you need to create brand awareness
amongst your customers. Brand awareness relates to how well your specific
product is recognised by current and potential customers. If you think only big
corporate names need to think about things like brand names, think again!
Your brand says a lot about you and your business, and that's as true for a sole trader or
micro business as it is for a multinational conglomerate.
Branding of European project results is very often underestimated. Projects and its results
are not approached as a subject of commercialisation but as a subject of
scientific research or something very complex and mysterious. But the fact is that
the simpler your ideas and results are, the better will your potential customer
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understand them.
Once the customer is attracted, he/she can always go deeper.
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What is brand?
Your brand is more than just the logo on your letterhead and business cards or your
business name. It is your corporate identity. An effective brand tells the world who you
are, what you do and how you do it, while at the same time establishing your
relevance to and credibility with your prospective customers.
Your brand is also something more ethereal. It is how your business is perceived by its
customers. If your brand has a high perceived value, you enjoy many advantages over
your competition, especially when it comes to pricing.
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Why do I need to create my own brand?
 Differentiation
The main reason for creating your own brand is to differentiate yourself from your
competition.
New websites are a ‘dime a dozen’. So are home-based businesses. You need to
constantly be looking for ways to set yourself apart from your competition. Your brand
can play a key part do that for you.
 More Effective, Efficient Marketing
Another good reason for creating your own brand is to make your sales force (even if
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that's a sales force of one - you) more effective and efficient.
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Imagine if you didn't have to spend the first 50 % of your time with a new prospect
explaining who you are, what you do and how you do it. What if your brand had
already communicated that for you? You can spend 100 % of your time focusing on
sales rather than educating your prospects about your business.
Another benefit of branding is that the efforts you expend increasing your brand
awareness through promoting and marketing your brand to your target market
automatically transfers to your products and services. So, even when you're advertising
your brand, you're indirectly also marketing your products and services.
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How do I create my own brand?
Your brand needs to say who you are, what you do and how you do it. It needs to do
all these things at the same time as establishing your relevance to and building
credibility with your prospective customers.
Needless to say, it is absolutely essential, if you are to build your own brand, that *you
yourself* are absolutely clear on who you are, what you do and how you do it.
=> Write A Mission Statement
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So, let's start by creating a mission statement. What is the mission of your business?
A good place to begin thinking about your mission is to put yourself in the shoes of your
customers. Put yourself in their target market.
When you create your brand, you need to keep the who, what and how firmly in mind
but also use the brand to establish your relevance to your target market and build
credibility with that market.
=> Describe What You Are Branding
List out your business's key features and characteristics, your competitive advantages
and anything else that sets you apart from your competition.
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 Identify and Describe Your Target Market
Decide whether you want to target the entire webhosting community or only a
segment of it. Describe your market.
 List Names that Suggest the Key Elements from Your Mission Statement
The key elements from your mission statement were reliability, cost-effectiveness and
customer service. List names that are suggestive of these elements.
Don't limit yourself to real words, though. A coined name with no obvious meaning is a
perfectly legitimate name provided it conveys something about your business.
You will find coined names easier to trademark and secure domain names for too - a
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definite plus!
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How should I use my brand?
 Create a Logo for Your Brand
Your logo is NOT your brand but your logo should allow your brand to be instantly
recognised by those familiar with it. To this extent, your logo helps create and reinforce
brand awareness.
The logo you create should be able to be used consistently in a variety of different
media. It should be suitable for corporate letterhead and business cards, as well as for
your website and corporate signage (if any).
You do NOT want a confusing mishmash of logos and banners. Everything you
produce needs to use the same, consistent style of logo so that, over time, your logo
becomes synonymous with your brand. Instant recognition is what you're going for
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here, so don't dilute it by using several different logos for different purposes.
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 Consistent Usage of Company Name, Logo and Tag Line
To establish brand awareness, this branding needs to be used consistently and
frequently in everything your produce, whether that be letters to clients, business cards,
brochures, quotations, invoices, advertising, promotion, on your website, on the front
door of your principal place of business and on your products. And don't forget to be
consistent in your use of colour schemes. These can be powerful brand reinforcers.
 Marketing and Promotion of Your Brand
Once you've created your brand, you need to market and promote it, in addition to
your products and services. This is how you establish your credibility and relevance to
your target market. You can hopefully see why your brand needs to be suggestive of
your mission statement. If, at the same time as you're selling your products and services
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you also push your brand, your brand becomes synonymous with your products and
services and vice versa.
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A properly descriptive brand and high brand awareness amongst your target market
will allow you to more easily introduce a wider range of products and services when
they're developed without having to start by again selling who you are, what you do
and how you do it first.
Your brand has already presold YOU.
Your job then is to sell your products and services.
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3.1.2. Price & Cost
“Price” refers to how much you charge for your product or service. Determining your
product’s price can be tricky and even frightening. Many small business owners feel
they must absolutely have the lowest price around. So they begin their business by
creating an impression of bargain pricing. However, this may be a signal of low quality
and not part of the image you want to portray. Your pricing approach should reflect
the appropriate positioning of your product in the market and result in a price that
covers your cost per item and includes a profit margin.
The result should neither be greedy nor timid. The former will price you out of the market;
pricing too low will make it impossible to grow. As a manager, you can follow a number
of alternative pricing strategies.
In the next column are eight common pricing strategies. Some price decisions may
involve complex calculation methods, while others are intuitive judgments. Your
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selection of a pricing strategy should be based on your product, customer demand, the
competitive environment, and the other products you will offer.
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Questions to be raised while considering PRICE:
• What is the value of the product or service to the buyer?
• Are there established price points for products or services in this area?
• Is the customer price sensitive?
Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share?
Or will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin?
• What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments
of your market?
• How will your price compare with your competitors?
• What are my overheads and production costs?
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3.1.2.1. Licensing & franchising
They include sufficient information so that the user can determine the basic principles
underlying specific practices and the settings in which these practices may be used
most productively.
Licensing and franchising may be important factors when considering two aspects of
the marketing mix, namely Product and Place.
Licensing is the formal granting of permission by an individual or a business who owns
the rights to a product or service to another individual or business who intends to use
them. Without a license agreement in place legal consequences come into play.
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In many ways, a license under an intellectual property right is like many other
contracts, but while many contracts in respect of real property are simple and
straightforward, and do not vary very much with the type of property concerned, the
same cannot be said for intellectual property.
Thus, the underlying contract to purchase an article is very much the same whether
you are purchasing the article from an individual or a company and whether the
article in question is a pencil, a motor car, a sculpture, or even an animal.
In intellectual property, however, there is very often a need for licensing arrangements
to be worked out specifically to suit the particular transaction concerned, in particular
to reflect what it is the licensee has in terms of intellectual property and what use the
licensee is permitted to make of that intellectual property.
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While licensing generally represents a single right, e.g. a patent, trade mark or design,
franchising arrangements are essentially those of enabling the copying of a "business".
Copying a complete business clearly requires permission to copy all of the aspects of
that business and, in particular, the intellectual property rights associated with the
business.
Franchising arrangement may then include license components for trademarks – the
name of the business - for copyright - the paperwork, business forms, publicity or
marketing materials - and for knowhow in terms of the detailed knowledge and
experience of how to run such a business successfully.
Additional components, though they tend to occur less frequently in franchising
arrangements, can cover the use of particular designs, or the use of patented
methods or processes.
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3.1.3. Promotion & Comunication
Promotion refers to the advertising and selling part of marketing.
It is how you let people know what you’ve got for sale. The purpose of promotion is to
get people to understand what your product is, what they can use it for, and why they
should want it. To be effective, your promotional efforts should contain a clear message
targeted to a specific audience reached via an appropriate channel.
Your message must be consistent with your overall marketing image, get your target
audience’s attention, and elicit the response you desire, whether it is to purchase your
product or to form an opinion. The channel you select for your message will likely
involve use of a few key marketing channels.
Promotion may involve advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales
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Questions to be raised while considering PROMOTION:
• Where and when can you get across your marketing messages to your target
market?
• Will you reach your audience by advertising in the press, or on billboards?
By using direct marketing newsletters? Through PR? On the Internet?
• When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market?
Are there any wider environmental issues that suggest or dictate the timing of your
market launch, or the timing of subsequent promotions?
• How do your competitors do their promotions?
And how does that influence your choice of promotional activity?
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3.1.3.1. Developing your promotional strategy
When you have determined your target audience, pricing etc. you should decide
what message you are trying to get to them in your marketing.
If you have more than one target market, this message could be different depending
on the potential customer. It may also focus your marketing in different ways.
There are a number of forms of advertising which you can use to create brand
awareness within your customer groups. Issues to consider include:
*See also chapters Strategies and Channels and medium.
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• Advertising – e.g. business directories, magazines, newspapers,
billboards, radio or TV
Mass media
Public relations
• Press releases, launches, events or tours sales-based methods – e.g.
coupons, competitions, discounts, gift vouchers, loyalty incentives for
existing customers
• Sales letters, email, mail order catalogues, packaging designs or
point of sales displays
Direct marketing
Social
networking
• You can offer special promotions for online customers and provide
other news and information
Events & Exhibitions
Selling to existing
customers
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• You could also consider attending dealer or showroom events,
exhibitions or trade shows to take advantage of any sales
opportunities that may present themselves there or if your target
audience may also be attending them.
• You may be able to increase awareness of your product or service by
marketing it to your existing customers. If you understand your current
customers - particularly those that deal with you often or spend highly
- you should be able to develop ways to target them and increase
your brand awareness.
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3.1.3.2. Timing and measuring your campaigns
Whatever promotional strategies you use, you should time your activities to reach your
target customers when they are most receptive. You should develop strategies that
combine both long and short-term activities – e.g special offers or competitions.
The best time for dissemination planning is during the proposal development process,
when you have to plan and to allocate staff time and resources. You can predict what
you think might be learned and the audiences that would potentially benefit from
knowing outcomes. You must know, in which phase of the project to affiliate with other
organisations, associations, and institutions; to organise and develop information
sharing with key target audiences; spend more budget for public awareness
campaigns and other strategies to successfully reach target groups.
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Consider the timing and effort, related to the production of marketing/dissemination
products and materials, such as Websites, leaflets and brochures, press releases, etc. A
thoughtful dissemination plan allows you to move beyond the simple listing of events
and products. An effective dissemination planning process will select from the wide
range of dissemination tools that are available and identify one or more that are
"tailored" to promote achievement of your dissemination goals with each specific
group within your target audience.
Measuring the effectiveness of your strategy is also important. This can include asking
new customers how they heard about you, or using surveys before and after every
marketing campaign. You could also monitor your website traffic and use individual
promotional codes for specific sales or offers. These can help you determine what is
and isn't working and show you where you can improve your campaigns.
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See chapter 2.10 Impact.
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3.1.3.3. Promotional mix
A business' total marketing communications programme is called the "promotional
mix" and consists of a blend of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public
relations tools.
Here, we describe the four key elements of the promotional mix in more detail. It is
helpful to define the four main elements of the promotional mix before considering
their strengths and limitations.
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Advertising
Any paid form of non-personal communication of ideas or products in the "prime
media": i.e. television, newspapers, magazines, billboard posters, radio, cinema etc.
Advertising is intended to persuade and to inform. The two basic aspects of advertising
are the message (what you want your communication to say) and the medium (how
you get your message across).
Personal Selling
Oral communication with potential buyers of a product with the intention of making a
sale. The personal selling may focus initially on developing a relationship with the
potential buyer, but will always ultimately end with an attempt to "close the sale".
Sales Promotion
Providing incentives to customers or to the distribution channel to stimulate demand for
a product.
Publicity
The communication of a product, brand or business by placing information about it in
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the media without paying for the time or media space directly is known as "public
relations" or PR.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Element of the Promotional Mix
Mix Element public relations
Disadvantages
*Good for building awareness
*Effective at reaching a wide audience
*Repetition of main brand and product
positioning helps build customer trust
*Impersonal - cannot answer all a customer's
questions
*Not good at getting customers to make a final
purchasing decision
Personal Selling
*Highly interactive - lots of communication
between the buyer and seller
*Excellent for communicating complex /
detailed product information and features
*Relationships can be built up - important if
closing the sale make take a long time
*Costly - employing a sales force has many
hidden costs in addition to wages
*Not suitable if there are thousands of
important buyers
Sales Promotion
*Can stimulate quick increases in sales by
targeting promotional incentives on particular
products
*Good short term tactical tool
*If used over the long-term, customers may get
used to the effect
*Too much promotion may damage the brand
image
Public Relations
*Often seen as more "credible" - since the
message seems to be coming from a third party
*Risk of losing control - cannot always control
(e.g. magazine, newspaper)
what other people write or say about your
*Cheap way of reaching many customers - if
product
the publicity is achieved through the right
media
Advertising
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Advantages
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3.1.4. Place & Convenience
“Place” refers to the distribution channels used to get your product to your customers.
What your product is will greatly influence how you distribute it. If, for example, you own
a small retail store or offer a service to your local community, then you are at the end
of the distribution chain, and so you will be supplying directly to the customer.
Businesses that create or assemble a product will have two options: selling directly to
consumers or selling to a vendor.
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Questions to be raised while considering PLACE:
• Where do buyers look for your product or service?
• If they look in a store, what kind?
A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both?
Or online? Or direct, via a catalogue?
• How can you access the right distribution channels?
• Do you need to use a sales force?
Or attend trade fairs?
Or make online submissions?
Or send samples to catalogue companies?
• What do you competitors do, and how can you learn from that and/or differentiate?
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Distribution Intensity
Distribution intensity refers to the number of intermediaries through which a
manufacturer distributes its goods. The decision about distribution intensity should
ensure adequate market coverage for a product. In general, distribution intensity
varies along a continuum with three general categories: intensive distribution, selective
distribution, and exclusive distribution.
Intensive Distribution
An intensive distribution strategy seeks to distribute a product through all available
channels in an area. Usually, an intensive distribution strategy suits items with wide
appeal across broad groups of consumers, such as convenience goods.
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Selective Distribution
Selective distribution is distribution of a product through only a limited number of
channels. This arrangement helps to control price cutting. By limiting the number of
retailers, marketers can reduce total marketing costs while establishing strong working
relationships within the channel. Moreover, selected retailers often agree to comply
with the company’s rules for advertising, pricing, and displaying its products.
Where service is important, the manufacturer usually provides training and assistance
to dealers it chooses.
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Cooperative advertising can also be utilised for mutual benefit. Selective distribution
strategies are suitable for shopping products such as clothing, furniture, household
appliances, computers, and electronic equipment for which consumers are willing to
spend time visiting different retail outlets to compare product alternatives.
Producers can choose only those wholesalers and retailers that have a good credit
rating, provide good market coverage, serve customers well, and cooperate
effectively.
Wholesalers and retailers like selective distribution because it results in higher sales and
profits than are possible with intensive distribution where sellers have to compete on
price.
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Exclusive Distribution
Exclusive distribution is distribution of a product through one wholesaler or retailer in a
specific geographical area. The automobile industry provides a good example of
exclusive distribution. Though marketers may sacrifice some market coverage with
exclusive distribution, they often develop and maintain an image of quality and
prestige for the product. In addition, exclusive distribution limits marketing costs since
the firm deals with a smaller number of accounts. In exclusive distribution, producers
and retailers cooperate closely in decisions concerning advertising and promotion,
inventory carried by the retailers, and prices.
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Exclusive distribution is typically used with products that are high priced, that have
considerable service requirements, and when there are a limited number of buyers in
any single geographic area.
Exclusive distribution allows wholesalers and retailers to recoup the costs associated
with long selling processes for each customer and, in some cases, extensive after-sale
service. Specialty goods are usually good candidates for this kind of distribution
intensity.
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3.1.4.1. Ways of distribution (physical, electronic)
Physical Distribution
Logistics has the objective of delivering exactly what the customer wants —at the right
time, in the right place, and at the right price. In planning for the delivery of goods to
customers, marketers have usually looked at a process termed physical distribution,
which refers to the activities used to move finished goods from manufacturers to final
customers. Physical distribution activities include order processing, warehousing,
materials handling, transportation, and inventory control. This process impacts how
marketers physically get products where they need to be, when they need to be there,
and at the lowest possible cost.
In logistics, the focus is on the customer. When planning for the logistics function, firms
consider the needs of the customer first. The customer’s goals become the logistics
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provider’s goals. With most logistics decisions, firms must compromise between low
costs and high customer service.
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The Internet as the Distribution Channel
By using the Internet, even small firms with limited resources can enjoy some of the same
competitive advantages as their largest competitors in making their products available
to customers internationally at low cost.
E-commerce can result in radical changes in distribution strategies. Today most goods
are mass-produced, and in most cases end users do not obtain products directly from
manufacturers. With the Internet, however, the need for intermediaries and much of
what has been assumed about the need and benefits of channels will change.
In the future, channel intermediaries that physically handle the product may become
largely obsolete. Many traditional intermediaries are already being eliminated as
companies question the value added by layers in the distribution channel.
This removal of intermediaries is termed disintermediation, the elimination of some layers
of the distribution channel in order to cut costs and improve the efficiency of the
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channel.
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3.2. SWOT ANALYSIS
A SWOT Analysis is an analytical tool commonly used to analyse various factors that
have great influence on the survival or profitability of a business. Traditionally, it is used
in conjunction with the preparation of marketing strategy.
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The SWOT
analysis provides a good outline for reviewing and assessing the strategy, position and
direction of a company or business proposition, or any other idea. SWOT analysis is a
good starting point for your marketing strategy document. The core idea of SWOT
analysis is classification and assessment of four factors mentioned above.
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SWOT Analyses can be used to "kick off" strategy formulation, or in a more sophisticated
way as a serious strategy tool. You can also use it to get an understanding of your
competitors, which can give you the insights you need to design a coherent and
successful competitive position.
When carrying out your SWOT Analysis, be realistic and rigorous. Apply it at the right
level, and supplement it with other option-generation tools where appropriate.
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Modern SWOT analysis in business and marketing situations are normally structured into
a 2x2 SWOT matrix.
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Strenghts
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
External origin
(attributes of the
enviroment)
Internal origin
(attributes of the system)
Helpful
To achieving objetive
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Strengths could include:
• What advantages does your organisation have?
 good customer service
 special product features or benefits
 specialist knowledge or skills
Weaknesses could include:
• poor cash-flow or a lack of capital
• lack of an established reputation
• inefficient accounting systems
What could you improve?
What should you avoid?
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What are people in your market likely to see as weaknesses?
What factors lose you sales?
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Opportunities could include:
• increased demand
• using the internet to reach new markets
• new technologies that allow you to improve product quality
• changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes and so on
• local events
Threats could include:
• new competitors
• more attractive or cheaper versions of your product or service
• new legislation increasing your costs
• a downturn in the economy, reducing overall demand
What obstacles do you face?
What are your competitors doing?
Are quality standards or specifications for your job, products or services changing?
Is changing technology threatening your position?
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Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems?
Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business?
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Having done your analysis, you can then measure the potential effects each
element may have on your marketing strategy.
SWOT analysis is a very flexible tool. Its use is not restricted to business and marketing. Be
mindful that when SWOT is used in situations outside of business and marketing, strict
categorisation of the SWOT dimensions (according to 'internal' and 'external' factors)
can be limiting, and so a more open interpretation of the model can be helpful in such
circumstances, especially when assessing Opportunities and Threats.
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Be aware that if using the SWOT analysis model only as a 2x2 matrix, which assumes
the categorisation of internal and external factors (and notably limiting the
assessment of threats and opportunities to external factors only), that it is very easy
then to miss certain threats and opportunities that can exist (internally) within the
company/organisation.
Be mindful therefore that the 'simplified' SWOT 2x2 matrix 'internal/external' method is
not a reliable tool alone for identifying all threats and opportunities within
organisations, or indeed any other situation.
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4. Your Marketing Plan
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4. YOUR MARKETING PLAN
A marketing plan outlines the specific actions you intend to carry out to interest potential
customers in your product and/or service and persuade them to buy the product and/or
services you offer. The marketing plan represents implementation of your marketing
strategy.
The marketing plan is the specific roadmap. A marketing plan may be developed as a
standalone document or as part of a business plan.
N.B. Marketing plan is often confused with marketing strategy or business plan.
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General tips before you start (i)
• Stay focused on your target markets. Do not disperse your efforts. This is especially
important for directing a particular marketing strategy to a specific group.
• Be persistent. Marketing projects are the sorts of things that often need to be repeated
over and over before permanent change is achieved.
• Be prepared to revise your plan as you learn what works and what doesn’t.
• Do not be afraid of failure. When a strategy fails, view it as part of trial-and-error that
you can learn from, and as a natural part of the process.
• Marketing plan should be living document. Try to review your marketing strategy every
week.
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General tips before you start (ii)
• Use your calendar, decide which promotional activities you're going to do when. You
can break your marketing plan down by month or by quarter, but be sure you include
not only a description of the activity or event, but also a reference to which marketing
objective the promotion activity or event is related to, and a cost estimate.
• Whatever marketing objective you set, be sure it's realistic; you need to be able to
achieve the marketing objective if it's going to motivate you or serve as a good
benchmark to evaluate your success.
Try to fill in the marketing plan template by using information from previous chapters and
tools such as “SWOT analysis” (free)and Social media (upon registration)
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5.
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
Social Media & Marketing
Main Marketing features of Social Media
Social Media tools overview
Tips
Marketing Principles that apply to Social Media
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5. SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING
Social media marketing is a new phenomenon, which evolved thanks to increased
interactivity of Web 2.0. Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining
website traffic or attention to your company/product through social media sites.
Unlike older forms of electronic marketing such as newsletters, company website etc,
social media allowed two-way communication with customers, personification and
target group analysis.
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Social media marketing usually tries to create content that attracts attention and
encourages readers to share it via their social networks. It also ensures the
company/product is being promoted continually over the time and keeps attention of
your target groups. A corporate message spreads from user to user and presumably
resonates because it appears to come from a trusted, third-party source, as opposed
to the brand or company itself.
Social media has become a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet
access. Increased communication for organisations fosters brand awareness and
often, improved customer service. Additionally, social media serves as a relatively
cheap platform for organisations to implement marketing campaigns.
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5.1. Main marketing features of social media
Considering all the marketing features listened above, we can sum up that marketers
use social media generally for three activities.
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1. Listening
Companies have a great opportunity to talk with customers in person. Listening to your
customers and prospects will help your organisation learn from their opinions and
feedback. > Identify fans and influencers. Ask them for input.
2. Talking
This containsannouncement of new products, promotions and special offers, sales,
contests, etc. Before you start “broadcasting” information, you should consider setting
the guidelines you want your employees to follow. Below are several rules you should
definitely stick to if you want to be a successful marketer*:
•
•
•
•
•
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Do not lie, or exaggerate things
Act quickly & watch activity
Explain & communicate
Be informal but polite
Do not criticise
*Compare your rules with online social media principles of big companies:
Intel: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/legal/intel-social-media-guidelines.html
Coca-Cola: http://www.viralblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/TCCC-Online-SocialMedia-Principles-12-2009.pdf
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3. Supporting
•
Help and interact with your customers.
•
Create community forums where customers can get answers on product
and business questions
Do not!:
•
Spam – community will recognise it
•
Duplicate your website content – social media should give more than
another broadcasting channel
•
Violate rules –
•
Act without strategy – don’t be a loose cannon
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5.2. Social Media tools overview
See below for a deeper insight into categories and tools of social media. The most
popular social media is as are follows:
Social networks: Facebook, Google+, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, kontakte*
Live webcasting: justin.tv, Ustream, YouTube
Video sharing: YouTube, Vimeo
Picture sharing: Flickr, Picasa
Location based networks: Google Latitude, Foursquare
Blogging systems: Blogger
Presentation sharing: Prezi, Slideshare
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*Successful equivalent of Facebook in Russian speaking countries.
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5.3. Tips
Tip 1: Define success metrics
As in your marketing efforts, establish metrics that align with your strategic goals and
are relevant to activities in a social channel.
Potential goal/metric combinations for social media:
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Tip 2: Online free listening tool Google.com/alerts
Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.)
based on your queries.
Enter a search query you wish to monitor. You will see a preview of the type of results
you'll receive. Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
• monitoring a developing news story
• keeping updated on a competitor or industry
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Tip 3: Social media tools for B2B marketers
Marketing tools determined for social media analysis:
http://mashable.com/2010/04/08/b2b-marketing-tools/
Tip 4: Facebook improvements
You can upgrade the appearance of your Facebook page by using many plug-ins
and applications. A catalogue of Facebook plug-ins and other resources about
Facebook marketing is available at: http://www.allfacebook.com/
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5.4. Marketing principles that apply to Social Media (AIDA)
AIDA stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action this is a simple formula that relates to
Social media marketing. Understanding the flow of tools and tactics will also help you
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to get your measurements and analytics in line with your goals.
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Awareness
Awareness is getting people to know you exist and that you can provide a product,
service or solve a problem.
At this level, conversations, interaction and content are key.
Interest
Bolster reasons why you are better than your competitors.
Include features and benefits to help kick browser interest into gear. A few metrics you
want to view are CTR (click-through-rate), retweets and specific content surrounding
your brand or products.
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Desire
Increase desire through communication and browser engagement, but to convert
browsers desire to buy, you need to have a site that is modern and includes search
optimisation. Take the browsers from interest to desire with an efficient calls-to-action
and feature rich listings. Some of the web metrics to focus on are bounce rate, time on
site, pages viewed and referred links.
Action
Calls-to-Action on your site is a key element, and while social media can influence the
action through the previous levels, it’s not going to have the same influence here. You
need to make it easy and obvious for your customer to complete your desired action
(purchase, sign up, lead form, etc.).
AIDA is not a perfect model, but then nothing is. But keep AIDA in mind as you shape
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your social marketing strategy. It should help you generate results and prioritise your
goals for success.
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6. References and recommended reading
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6. References and recommended reading
Atkinson C. (2007). Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® 2007 to
Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate, and Inspire.
Badenhope J. (2010). Social Media Marketing Goal Setting and Results Measurement.
Slides presented at the 2nd Annual Internet Marketing Conference on July 21, 2010 in
Stockton, CA. Available on WWW: <http://www.slideshare.net/jaybadenhope/socialmedia-marketing-goal-setting-and-results-measurement-2010-07-21>.
Beckwith H. (1997). Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing.
Blasiotti E. L. (1992, March). Disseminating research information to multiple stakeholders:
Lessons from the experience of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research. Knowledge Creation, Diffusion, Utilisation, 13(3), 305-309. Sage Publications.
Carnigie D. (1990). How to Win Friends and Influence People.
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Gallafent R. (2002). Role of licensing/franchising of intellectual property rights and
other technology transfer agreements in business partnerships and strategic alliances
for enhancing the competetivness of products and services of SMEs. Available on
www:<http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/sme/en/wipo_ip_mow_02/wipo_ip_mow_02
_10.pdf>.
Hague P. (2002). Market Research: A Guide to Planning, Methodology and Evaluation.
Hawkins I., Best J., Coney K. (2004).Consumer Behaviour: Building Marketing Strategy,
9/e, (with DDB Needham Data Disk.)
Kotler P. (1999). Kotler on Marketing: How to Create, Win, and Dominate Markets.
Kotler P. (2009). Marketing Management (13th Edition).
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Marčišák P. (2010). Internetový marketing a sociální média. Přednáška Internetový
marketing
a
sociální
média
pro
ESF
MU.
Available
on
WWW:
<http://www.slideshare.net/PetrMar/internetov-marketing-a-sociln-mdia>.
Prahalad C.K., Hamel G. (1994). Competing For The Future.
Stein D. (2002).How Winners Sell: 21 Proven Strategies to Outsell Your Competition and
Win the Big Sale.
Westbrook J.,LumbleyJ. (1990, Spring). Consumer-driven supported employment: A way
to improve supported employment services and outcomes. Bulletin of the National
Model for Supported Employment and Independent Living, Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory, Austin.
Westbrook J., Botterbush K. (1989). Characteristics of technical assistance in the
provisions of technical assistance for vocational rehabilitation, 16th Institute for
Rehabilitation Issues. Menomonie: University of Wisconsin-Stout.
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Weblinks:
http://www.businessballs.com/
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk
http://www.danex-exm.dk/aida.htm
http://sbinfocanada.about.com
http://www.nzte.govt.nz/
http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/promotion_mix.asp
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7. Legal Disclaimer
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7. Legal Disclaimer
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4. Legal validity of this disclaimer
DEEP.Com
Dissemination and Exploitation of EU-Projects: Transition to Commercialisation
511705-LLP-1-2010-1-AT-KA4-KA4MP
This disclaimer is to be regarded as part of the internet publication which you were
referred from. If sections or individual terms of this statement are not legal or correct, the
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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which
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Written by: Bejdák Radek, EPMA
Presentation developed by: Luisa Ardizzone, CESIE
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