Generally speaking, marketing inefficiencies are due to one or more of three reasons:
1. Lack of interest in or understanding of the sometimes fickle customer.
2. Improper blending of the four Ps caused in part by overemphasis on internal problems as contrasted with a customer orientation.
3. Lack of understanding of or adjustment to the marketing environment, especially what competitors do.
Perhaps, lack of concern for the customer is most noticeable in the ways the four Ps are sometimes combined or forced into a marketing mix. This can happen in many ways.
Too many firms develop a new product to satisfy some managers pet idea not to meet the needs of certain target customers. Or they see another company with a successful product and try to jump into the market with another me-too imitation without even thinking about the competition they'll encounter. Often they don't worry about quality. In fact, until very recently, most U.S. manufacturers lacked any quality control procedures even in the production of goods or services. The idea of using total quality management to implement marketing plans to meet customers requirements was foreign.
Some marketing managers don't pay attention to getting needed support from middlemen. Too many producers don't even consider the possibility that a big retail chain may see better value for its customers and greater profit potential in someone else product.
Firms often ignore demand and set prices on a cost-plus basis. While margins are fairly definite, managers can only predict volume. So they choose high margins which may lead to high prices and reduced volume.
If a product is poorly designed or if a firm uses inadequate channels or pricing that isn't competitive it's easy to see why promotion may be costly. Aggressive spending on promotion doesn't make up for the other types of mistakes.
Top-management decisions on company objectives may increase the cost of marketing unnecessarily. Seeking sales growth for growths sake, for example, often leads to too much spending for promotion and poor profits on what is sold.
Another sign of failure is the inability of firms to identify new target markets and new opportunities. A new marketing mix that isn't offered doesn't fail but the lost opportunity can be significant for both a firm and society. Too many managers seize on whatever strategy seems easiest rather than seeking really new ways to satisfy customers.
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