Marketing techniques
Marketing is one of the most critical activities all companies apply, regardless of their sizes and directions, to communicate a specific message to customers in a manner that benefits organizations. Because of the significant number of competing companies in the global marketplace, marketers spare no effort in developing cunning strategies allowing for bringing a competitive advantage in the target segment. This essay aims at discussing the most widespread techniques used in marketing to entice customers and impose artificial needs.
The initial and core goal of marketing is to help consumers and manufacturers find each other. Nevertheless, in recent decades, marketers are inclined to generate artificial needs to spur buying activity. They use many ingenious practices to encourage potential consumers to think that a particular product is of a real necessity for them. In this regard, the primary marketing instrument utilized by many firms is bright and catchy advertisements. For instance, various fast food companies, including Subway, McDonald’s, or Coca-Cola, make appealing commercials that show friends or families spending an excellent time together. Their ads especially target children, containing entertaining content with happy youngsters, clowns, Santa Claus, or other famous heroes. Herewith, it is a well-known fact that foods these companies manufacture and sell have excessive sugar and processed fat, which is highly unhealthy.
Many advertisements also use messages that contain a typical mix of words and phrases that provoke people to consume more. These phrases can include “buy two get one free,” “free consultation,” or “money-back guarantee.” Such examples are usual but powerful stimulants in most marketing campaigns. Some companies, especially in the modern perfumery market, resort to deliberate deception, selling products that are positioned as “containing pheromones.” Such manufacturers claim that its use enhances the attractiveness of the opposite sex on a subconscious level. However, no reliable evidence is provided by any company or research.
Another tactic that commercial organizations apply to induce consumers’ wants is the use of celebrities or other famous persons to market their goods. Illustrative examples of such companies can be those involved in the clothing industry, such as Adidas, Nike, Puma, or Reebok that contract many sports megastars. For instance, Nike contract Michael Jordan to launch a massive marketing campaign. The company aims at creating the illusion that if individuals wore Michael Jordan’s sneakers, they could bounce as high as him and play basketball better.
Annotated Bibliography
- Vien, Chin Vi, Choy Tuck Yun, and Pang Looi Fai. “The Effect of Celebrity Endorsement on Brand Attitude and Purchase Intention.” Journal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship, vol. 1, no. 4, 2017, pp. 141-150.
The given study examines the impact of endorser likeability, endorser credibility, brand credibility, and brand image on purchase intention and brand attitude. The authors support the idea stated in the initial essay that celebrity involvement in advertisements considerably affects customers’ desire to buy. - Wang, Yue. “An Exploratory Study of Brand Strategy in Fast Fashion Brand – Using Zara as an Example.” 3rd International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2018). Atlantis Press, 2018.
In the given study, the authors take Zara, one of the fast-fashion industry leaders, as an example to show how marketers can create an artificial deficit of a specific product to increase its price and realization. Specifically, Zara propagates a climate of scarcity when goods are updated twice a week, thereby impacting the frequency with which clients visit their stores. Although most people, especially those engrossed in shopping, do not need such a tremendous quantity of garments, the company manages to boost consumption activity. Thus, this work describes additional enticing practices used by many firms, especially in the clothing industry. - “Introduction to Marketing.” Lumen. n.d. Web.
The article in-depth examines marketing essence, including its definition, role in business, strategies and practices, processes related to customers’ preferences, and other aspects. In particular, the article states that “the specific role of marketing is to provide assistance in identifying, satisfying, and retaining customers.” Thus, this resource can be used in the revised essay to oppose against or contrast with the main argument and unfold the topic more comprehensively.
References
“Introduction to Marketing.” Lumen. n. d. Web.
Vien, Chin Vi, Choy Tuck Yun, and Pang Looi Fai. “The Effect of Celebrity Endorsement on Brand Attitude and Purchase Intention.” Journal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship, vol. 1, no. 4, 2017, pp. 141-150.
Wang, Yue. “An Exploratory Study of Brand Strategy in Fast Fashion Brand – Using Zara as an Example.” 3rd International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2018). Atlantis Press, 2018.