1.

Now a days many companies have grown to embrace sustainability concept to

strengthen customer relationship. Provide a sustainability grid that companies can
use to gauge their progress toward environmental sustainability. Explain it with the
help of examples.

The sustainability grid that has shared above is followed by many of the organisation. They track
their progress towards the environmental sustainability. The example can be extracted from the
image shared above that is promoting sustainability follow internal and external ways that how
they can make their today green and tomorrow greener. They have set a bench mark which they
follow in order to support the environmental sustainability. The best example is of Starbucks.
They plan for internal and external and follows the grid in the same way. They focus towards
green marketing, making the things from recyclable stuff and promotes to do the same in order to
make tomorrow more greener.

2. Define the consumer market and describe the four major sets of factors that
influence consumer buyer behaviour. Which characteristics influenced your choice
when deciding your clothing for the family function? Are those the same
characteristics that would influence you when deciding what to wear at workplace
or your profession?
Consumer behavior refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and services for
the satisfaction of their wants.

Consumer s buyer behaviour is influenced by four major factors: 1) Cultural, 2) Social, 3)

Personal, 4) Psychological. These factors cause consumers to develop product and brand
preferences. The factor the influence me is known as psychological factor.

The Characteristics which influence one's choice while deciding the school is some basic factors,
for example family, lifestyle, financial and occupation, learning and experiences, and attitude
and beliefs.

Similarly, when I need to decide about what to wear, again factors like family, social role,
financial situation and experiences affect one's choices, that either what I want to wear depends
on the location or the area where I want to go.

3. There are six alternative marketing management orientation concepts under which
organisations design and carry out their marketing strategies. Choose any one well-
known company and identify its orientations you believe they are typically
employing? Why? Critically evaluate this orientation considering the various
advantages and disadvantages. suggest what you consider to be the best and worst
approach that could be adopted to maximise potential success.

Production concept

Companies who follow this approach run the risk of narrowing their attention very far on their
activities and losing sight of the true goal. The manufacturing definition will frequently
contribute to marketing myopia. Management is focused on increasing the quality of
manufacturing and delivery. The manufacturing principle is still a valuable theory in certain
cases.

Production Concept example:-

The market is saturated with low-cost Chinese goods on Amazon and in department shops.
Anything from China's low-cost plastic product is now in your shopping cart.
Vivo, a Chinese mobile manufacturer, is the perfect representation of the production concept.
Their phones can be used in almost any Asian nation. You can step into any Vivo store in Asia
and walk out with the newest and most advanced smartphone..

4. Perhaps the most distinctive skill of professional marketers is their ability to build,
manage and develop the brands. Explain the four different ways of developing the
brands with the help of real-life examples.

1. Decide about how you like to be used.

How do you expect your clients to describe their experience after they've used your product or
service? What do you like them to think if you run a restaurant, for example?

“Wow, this restaurant serves the most food in town. It's fantastic!”

“You have the distinct impression that you have been welcomed to a typical Italian family meal.
The recipes are straightforward so delicious!”

“The service is prompt, the food is adequate, but the price is unbeatable!”

Consider your brand as a commitment to your consumers that is distinct from that of your rivals.

2. Build your company on this pledge.

Keeping the pledge that distinguishes you from your rivals means that you're doing something
more than they are. For example, a restaurant that wishes to be known for its unbeatable rates
must figure out how to optimise the amount of customers served per table in a single evening.
The profit gain per consumer would be lower, but the amount of consumers would compensate.

3. Make your promise known.

Any of your marketing materials, from the colours in your emblem to the text on your website,
must be built around this pledge. What you post on Facebook or LinkedIn, as well as the way
you decorate your office, must all be consistent with this letter.

4. Maintain a level of consistency

You must remain clear after deciding how you want to be viewed, organising your company
around that perception, and expressing this promise. Apple, for example, is known for creating
goods that are both sleek and innovative; it can't afford to release an unattractive phone or a
technologically behind-the-times tablet because it will be breaching a commitment to its
consumers.

A well-managed brand eventually ceases being a business pledge and begins to become a
consumer desire. Although there are ten Italian restaurants in the area, there is only one where
customers may hope to have a typical Italian family meal. The brand of the restaurant is no
longer the name or logo; it is the hope of its patrons.

5. A company’s marketing should support the best long run performance of the
marketing system. Explain 5 enlighten marketing principles that should guide
company’s marketing activities.

Consumer oriented marketing

Consumer-oriented marketing refers to how an organisation approaches and organises its

marketing efforts from the perspective of the customer. It can make a concerted effort to detect,
represent, and meet the interests of a specific consumer segment. Include the following
illustration.

Richardson Sheffield, a British cutlery manufacturer, faced off stiff rivalry in a stagnant cutlery
industry in the 1980s by focusing on consumer satisfaction.

Innovative Marketing

The theory of innovative marketing dictates that the corporation search out genuine product and
marketing improvements on a regular basis. A business who ignores innovative and improved
forms of doing it will inevitably lose consumers to a competitor who has discovered a viable
solution. Consider the following scenario: Scandic Hotels' environmental owner, Ola Ivarsson,
has begun to revolutionise Europe's leisure industry by transforming the chain into an eeo-
friendly enterprise. Scandic Hotels also made design changes under Ivarsson's leadership that
have significantly minimised the company's environmental effects.

Value Marketing
The corporation should spend the majority of its money in value-building marketing investments,
according to the value marketing philosophy. Many items that marketers do, such as one-time
promotional incentives, small packaging adjustments, and advertisement puffery, can
temporarily increase sales. However, changes in the product's functionality, usability, or
convenience may bring more benefit. Consumer satisfaction is built over time by continuously
improving the benefit customers derive from a company's marketing bid, according to
enlightened marketing.

Dell, a computing manufacturer that invented mail-order personal computer sales in the late
1980s, is an excellent example of a value marketer. Dell bypassed the competition's conventional
retail networks and built a distinct selling point (USP) focused on its creative distribution
arrangements by selling directly to consumers. Many rivals adopted the strategy because it was
so popular. Dell has a direct partnership with customers today, allowing the organisation to listen
more, understand more, and adapt more quickly to their shifting and evolving needs.

Sense-of-Mission Marketing 

Employees feel happier about their job and have a greater sense of purpose when an organisation
establishes a social goal. The Go-operative Bank's goal, for example, can be described in limited
commodity terms as selling banking services, but the organisation has made a firm commitment
to promote a wider mission - to be an ethical bank, refraining from doing business with
businesses that indulge in so-called unethical business activities, ranging from fur traders to
tobacco product manufacturers.

Societal Marketing

An enlightened business, following the philosophy of societal marketing, takes marketing

choices by taking into account customers' wants and long-term needs, the company's criteria, and
society's long-term interests. The corporation understands that ignoring long-term business and
social desires is a disservice to both customers and culture. This is a critical issue. Customer
wishes, desires, and long-term preferences are always the same thing, and consumers are the
ultimate indicators on what is right for them. Customers, on the other hand, do not often make
the same choices. People like to consume fried foods, which are harmful for their health; some
people choose to smoke tobacco, ignoring the fact that smoking will destroy them and harm
others; and many people love consuming alcohol, considering its negative consequences. To
counteract any of marketing's possible ills, access to the media for the counter-argument — the
counter-argument against smoking, unhealthy goods, and alcohol — is needed. There is also a
need for self-regulatory, if not constitutional, legislation to avoid unsavoury demands.

Case Study Answers

6. Debate whether Coca-Cola is deliberately trying to deceive consumers into believing

that vitamin water is a healthy alternative to soda. Which psychological factor is
most affected by the product name and ad claims and might influence consumers to
purchase this product?

Athletes encourage the use of vitaminwater. "Kiss me, I'm safe," and a "healthy condition of
physical and emotional well-being" have been included in advertisements to encourage it. It's
called Vitaminwater, after all! However, it has no nutritional benefits; it is essentially all water
and sugar with a "penny's worth" of "vitamin." As a result, the Center for Science in the Public
Interest, a non-profit public interest organisation, is suing parent company Coke on the basis that
Vitaminwater's labels and advertisements constitute "deceptive and unsubstantiated statements,"
thereby breaching consumer security laws. Time put it this way: Vitaminwater's sugar content,
according to CSPI nutritionists, more than balances the advertised health benefits offered by the
nutrients in the drink. "They put supplements in garbage," says Stephen Gardner, CSPI's chief
litigator. "And it's all a shambles. Consumers do not have to presume that the label on the front is
misleading. You can't lie in large print and only say the facts later."

To put it another way, Coke's defence was that no one could really believe Vitaminwater was
anything more than glorified soda... Is it their responsibility if people behave badly? They don't
claim the drink is nutritionally useless (it isn't.) According to Robbins, How many people who
are overweight have mistakenly believed that things like Vitaminwater are nutritionally
beneficial and have no caloric consequences? How many people had assumed that drinking
Vitaminwater was a good way to lose weight? The word "Vitaminwater" implies that the
substance is all water with additional nutrients, obfuscating the reality that it's literally loaded
with sugar.

Question 7
 a) Explain the various segmentation methods that can be applied to Virgin America
segmentation strategy for airline industry. For each segmentation method, discuss
the criteria that are being applied by Virgin America.

Virgin America is one of the United States' newest airline companies. Virgin America began
operations in 2007, but has since continued to navigate one of the world's most dynamic markets
to generate a profit. Virgin America provides its passengers with the most comfortable,
luxurious, and technologically sophisticated hardware and software available. Virgin America,
for example, included a plush leather chair and fleetwide in-flight Wi-Fi, allowing passengers to
connect to the fastest in-flight network and watch on-demand videos. Virgin America's target
demographic consists of frequent flyers that are young, savvy, influential, and ready to pay a
premium for an airline that provides a luxurious and comfortable experience. Virgin America
satisfies its target demographic by having the most up-to-date hardware and apps on board such
that passengers can remain linked to social media.

Segmentation is the method of defining consumer segments and developing goods and mixed
strategies for each category. Market segmentation is the method of dividing a wide market into
smaller markets with similar demands, characteristics, and behaviours. Market segmentation
would enable a business's market plan to be implemented depending on the products and services
it has to sell. Business segmentation is used to make it possible for advertisers to create precise
and seamless mixed market campaigns.

Behavioural segmentations

Virgin America passengers are normally regular flyers that travel for work. Virgin America
airline has a convenient and luxurious experience as well as facilities for corporate travellers who
are happy to spend a little more to feel at ease and happy when interacting with their customers.
Virgin America has a comfortable leather chair and 12 separate lighting colours in the bathroom
to help its passengers relax.

Geographic segmentation

Virgin America segmentation is focused on demographic considerations. Virgin America's

offices is in Burlingame, California, only a few miles from San Francisco International Airport,
and the airline was headquartered in Silicon Valley. Using fliers from Silicon Valley founders
and executives as a target. In line with Virgin America's target demographic.

Psychographic Segmentation 

Virgin America supported in-flight Wi-Fi, a USB connection, and a 9-inch video touchscreen
with remote control for business travellers to stay connected to social networks and for
entertainment. Virgin America succeeds in dynamic markets by satisfying consumer desires,
characteristics, and behaviour while maintaining a high fare price.

Demographic Segmentation

The generation, life-cycle, schooling history, profession, and income of the fliers are all factors.
Virgin America fliers are young people who are involved in technology who are able to pay a
premium to fit their experience.

b. Which market targeting strategy is Virgin America following? Justify your answer.

As can be said, Virgin America's consumer targeting approach is targeted marketing, also known
as specialty marketing. Concentrated marketing refers to a marketing strategy that focuses on a
single consumer area or demographic. This occurs as Virgin America concentrates its selling
efforts on a limited portion of a broader market rather than big segments of a specific market.
Since they can clearly determine what the consumer's desires are, the brand can gain a good
market advantage by concentrated ads. As an example, Virgin America has done a decent job of
equipping planes with the most up-to-date hardware and applications. They have equipped the
planes' seats with advanced technology, such as a personal power outlet, USB port, and a 9-inch
video touchscreen, among other features, so that passengers have memorable interactions while
on board. As customers travel with Virgin America, they should expect to be fully fulfilled. We
will see from this that Virgin America will fulfil their key goal of "Customer First." Even though
concentrated messaging is dangerous since it is focused on a specific niche segment, if they will
leverage their experience and skills of consumer preferences and follow through with efficiency
and effectiveness, they would be able to meet the needs of their customers.