Marketing planning and strategy (organizations or individuals) 1

27th February, The Role of Consumers in Marketing A marketing plan refers to a blueprint which is comprehensive and outlines the overall marketing efforts of an organization. However a good marketing plan requires a foundation which is a solid marketing strategy. According to Gilligan (2012) marketing strategy refers to a process that enables an organization to use its resources while taking advantage of opportunities with the aim of increasing sales and achieve suitable competition in the market.
A consumer’s role in marketing is more important as compared to the marketer’s role for a marketing process to be effective. A consumer is more important to the marketer since the marketer takes into account the disliking and liking of the consumer to produce goods and services in that regard. Studying consumer behavior is important in reference to research conducted by Gilligan (2012) on factors that influence purchase decisions made by consumers such as social influences, cultural influences, psychological factors and personal factors.
Furthermore, Pride and Ferrell (2006) noted that these factors are especially vital when applied as marketing strategies. Some of the cultural influences that concerns marketers in marketing are religion, nationalities and lifestyle of the targeted consumers. Psychological considerations include how consumers feel, reason, think and select different alternatives.
Also, Sorger (2011) stated that customer service considerations after marketing products, builds strong relationships between the organization and the consumers and enables companies to gain valuable information that helps in designing future marketing efforts that are more effective. Sorger (2011) further noted that social influences are values and norms that are held by the community that is marketed and they vary by ethnicity, way of life and race. If a marketer has the capability of analyzing these features of their potential customers, then they can tailor their marketing strategies.
The understanding of utilizing information obtained from consumers is the key to a successive organization. Marketers can then utilize this information to focus on producing services and/or products that the targeted markets are specifically interested in and also figure out ways of developing effective campaigns.
References
Gilligan, R. (2012). Strategic Marketing Planning. London: Routledge.
Sorger, S. (2011). Marketing Planning: Where Strategy Meets Action. London: Pearson Education.
Pride, W. M., and Ferrell, O. C. (2006). Marketing: Concepts and strategies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.