Business To Business Marketing: An Introduction

Many people often use the term 'business to business (B2B) marketing,' but most of them do not know exactly what it refers to. B2B activity, both online and offline, involves the marketing of services and goods that help other companies operate. Manufacturers, resellers, the government and non-profit institutions are the most common examples of B2B markets.

Business to business marketing associates with five distinct concepts - the exchange concept of marketing, the turn of production concept, the product concept, the phenomenon of marketing myopia and the sales concept.

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Converting prospects into customers is an important objective of B2B marketing. A few B2B companies do make some money off a customer base. But most of their capital is made off other businesses. A non-profit institution is a good example. Its operations normally depend on private donations from individuals. The organization also makes the great mass of its money through government funding or from corporations. Due to this reason, a non-profit institution makes itself and its services or products attractive not just to the public, but also to other entrepreneurs.

Business To Business Marketing: An Introduction

A business to business marketing company normally focuses on relationship building and communication through marketing activities, producing leads that are fostered during the sales cycle. The decision to purchase is typically a multi-step process that involves more than one person. Therefore, companies use marketing strategies to teach various players in the target group. Components, equipment, raw materials, processing services and supplies are marketed. Since B2B marketers target only other businesses, they have considerably more targeted markets than B2C marketers.

B2B marketing is now one of the fastest developing fields of marketing. New technologies bring more businesses together; thereby companies start to court each other far more sharply. Technology also makes the world a smaller place. So it becomes essential for sales and marketing experts to understand and apply the principles of B2B marketing.

Business To Business Marketing: An Introduction

Business To Business Marketing provides detailed information on Business To Business Marketing, Business To Business Email Marketing, Business To Business Marketing Strategies, Business To Business Internet Marketing and more. Business To Business Marketing is affiliated with Network Marketing Opportunities.

4Ps & 6Ps - Marketing Mix

Marketing mix is one of the major concepts of marketing. According to the traditional base, there are 4Ps of marketing. These are referred to as the marketing mix. But in the modern use of the term, many more Ps have been coined. People have found six, seven even eleven Ps of marketing. In this article we will talk about the 4Ps and 6Ps.

Four Ps

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The four Ps of marketing mix consist of Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Product means the thing that you are selling. It can also be a service like the tourism industry.

4Ps & 6Ps - Marketing Mix

Price means the rate at which the product is being sold. A number of factors are involved in determining the price of a product. These include competition, market share, product identity, material costs and the value customers perceive of a product. In fact prices are also determined by competitor's products. If the competitors have the same product, then the price of a product will go down.

Place refers to the real or virtual place from where a product can be bought by a consumer. Another name used for place is called "distribution channel". Promotion is the way that a product will be communicated to the general public. There are four distinct ways in which this might be done- 'point of sale', 'word of mouth', public relations and advertising.

Somewhere down the line people felt that four Ps were not enough for marketing mix. It had to face a lot of criticism mainly on the grounds that it was extremely product focused. This was not enough for the economy which is based a lot on services as well nowadays.

Another criticism that marketing mix has to face is that it does not have a 'purpose'. So it should be looked upon as a tool that sets marketing strategy. Another criticism of marketing mix is that it does not discuss customers. This is why the concept of Six Ps of Marketing mix has achieved relevance.

Six Ps

The six Ps contain all the four Ps of marketing - product, price, place and promotion. In addition, it contains, two new Ps, namely People and Performance.

People include the potential and current customers of the business and how they make their purchase decisions. Market segmentation is also a part of this. It contains the features of market segmentation and the most attractive segments of this market.

The next P is Performance. This implies the performance of the business. The financial and strategic objectives of the business are dealt with here. It is also seen whether these objectives are achievable and realistic or not. The metrics of financial performance are also seen and appropriated in this division.

The six Ps of marketing mix help to overcome the criticisms of the four Ps. Hence the 6Ps serve to be a better alternative as compared to the 4Ps of marketing mix.

4Ps & 6Ps - Marketing Mix

more articles at CITYOFMARKETING.COM [http://cityofmarketing.com].

Marketing Plan Template: How to Quickly Create Your Marketing Plan

Your marketing plan is a key document that you will need to have assembled in order to successfully get new customers profitably and grow your venture.

You can quickly create your marketing plan if you understand the 12 key components of a successful marketing strategy. So in this article I'm going to walk through those 12 key components for you to follow so that you can quickly create your plan.

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The first section is to identify your target market and your target customers. If you haven't pinpointed the ideal target customer, for example, it may be females age 20 to 39 living in Kansas City that are in households with an annual income of over 0,000 per year. You just need to really identify who your target customers are.

Marketing Plan Template: How to Quickly Create Your Marketing Plan

The second part is going to be for you identify your USP or Unique Selling Proposition. Your Unique Selling Proposition defines why customers should buy from you. What makes your product and services unique versus the competition?

The third part is your pricing strategy where you must figure out what is the ideal pricing for all of your products and services. This includes possibly your regular versions of your products and also a premium or discounted versions.

The fourth section is your distribution plan. Your distribution plan is how customers buy your products. Do they buy it directly from you via your storefront or your website? Do you have partners that also distribute your products, etc?

The next section is your "offers." What are the offers that you're going to be making your customers to compel them to buy? For example, an offer could be we have a buy nine get one free, or that we guarantee our product for 90 days or your money back. You need to think through what is it that you're offering your customers that's going to compel them to take action.

The sixth part is to think through and put together your marketing materials. What marketing materials are going to be required for you to successfully execute on your marketing plan? Do you need brochures, business cards, flyers, a website, etc? You need to develop those materials.

The seventh section is your promotion strategy. How are you going to promote your products and services to prospective customers? There are tons of different ways. Are you going to do television advertising or radio or newspaper advertising? Are you going to use direct mail? Are you going to use telemarketing? Are you going to go door to door? There's a host of ways you can promote your company.

The next step is to think through how you're going to increase your conversions. Once you get those leads you need to have strategies in place to convert those leads into customers. You can do this through better sales scripts, etc.

The next step is to think through and identify joint ventures and partnerships and think through what other companies could you partner with to get more customers. Ideally you can think of the companies whose products or services your customers buy before they buy your products or service, and work with them.

The tenth section is your referral strategy. How will you get existing customers to refer more business to you? The eleventh part of your marketing plan template is figuring out how to increase your transaction prices and look at bundling products so that you can generate more revenue per transaction. Finally, the twelfth and final section of your marketing plan is your retention strategy. That is, how are you going to get customers to become customers for life and keep paying you and buying your products and services over and over again. If you can accomplish this, you can leverage all of the marketing costs and expenses that you incurred trying to attract those customers in the first place.

Marketing Plan Template: How to Quickly Create Your Marketing Plan

Are you struggling to create your marketing plan? Download this marketing plan template and start growing your business today!

Hotel Marketing Plan - A 6-Part Sample Outline

A hotel marketing plan is your action plan to fill the rooms of your new hotel. A marketing plan focuses on the four Ps (Product, Promotion, Price and Place), but doesn't neglect customer retention and key partnerships. All of these elements should be specific to your hotel's intended customers and the geographic area.  

1) Product - Your hotel's services  

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For every hotel, the basic product offered is the same service - use of a bed for a night. Beyond this similarity, there are endless ways to differentiate your service. Services can include entertainment (i.e., in-room cable, on-premises nightclub), food (i.e., chocolates on a pillow to a five-star restaurant), communication (i.e., free local calls, wireless internet), and health (i.e., a pool, fitness center, spa). Consider whether unusual services will be a draw for your customers or if you are better off providing the tried and true. Whatever you choose, present the information clearly and in just enough detail so that readers understand the level and type of service provided.  

Hotel Marketing Plan - A 6-Part Sample Outline

2) Promotion - How to get the word out  

Promotion is how you make your people aware of your hotel and its unique value proposition and convert them into guests. The promotional tools you use depends entirely on the customers you seek. Rather than thinking about how other hotels seek customers, think from the customer's point of view. How do your desired customers seek hotels? Make sure yours can be found where they are looking, whether this is in travel books, magazines, websites, or elsewhere. Remember that the most powerful type of advertising is the kind that money cannot buy - press. Consider whether a public relations strategy can help make this happen.  

3) Price - The right rates for your hotel  

Your marketing plan must show where you want your pricing to fall within the market's range. The choice of price ties directly to your hotel's profitability, but also to the brand you are trying to build in the minds of customers. If you bill your hotel as extremely upscale, but price it in the middle of the pack, customers may not believe your assertions that you are the next Ritz-Carlton. Pricing is about finding the right price to both represent what your hotel is and to cover costs, leaving room for profit.  

4) Place - Where customers and your services meet  

Place is more than the choice of location for your hotel. "Place" in this context means distribution, and this is the choice of how customers will book hotel rooms and receive other services you provide. This can be through websites, travel agents, or a dedicated sales staff, each of which have their own cost and benefit tradeoffs. Distribution of services continues inside your hotel and involves both your staff and your means to communicate with your guests (i.e., phone systems, TV ordering, even doorknob signs).  

5) Customer Retention  

Most of the cost of providing service to a customer is in getting them to buy for the first time. To keep a customer returning should be significantly cheaper than getting a new one so explain your retention strategy. For example, loyalty programs provide incentives for repeat visits and customer relationship management (CRM) software can save data on the preferences and activity of individual guests to make returning more enjoyable for them.  

6) Partnerships  

Finally, consider how you will work with your hotel's neighbors, local government, and other stakeholders to build business. There may be potential for you to either get guests from or send guests to many local businesses, improving the experience the overall experience for those customers. Consider mentioning a few key partnerships that will pay off because of their importance to both parties. Don't stretch yourself too think by proposing to partner with every business on your street. Describe any successful legwork you have done to inquire about the possibility of making those partnerships a reality.

Hotel Marketing Plan - A 6-Part Sample Outline

Growthink helps entrepreneurs develop professional business plans and raise capital. Are you looking for more tips on how to start a hotel or develop your hotel business plan? Call 800-506-5728 to learn how Growthink can help you build your hotel business.