The Role of Marketing
What comes to mind when you consider the term marketing? Whether you are familiar with the concept (perhaps working in the field) or have a vague idea of what it means (i.e., unsure how it differs from advertising), it is almost a certainty that marketing has a significant impact on your decision making as a consumer. Think about some of your favorite brands, products that you must have in your fridge or pantry, or services that fall into the “necessities” column of your budget. How did marketing play a role in introducing those products and services to you and in influencing your decision to purchase them? In this Discussion, you will consider the impact of marketing on consumers, including yourself.
To prepare for this Discussion:
- Review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider how consumers make decisions, as well as how marketing is used to condition consumers and affect their cultural mindsets.
Post an analysis of the role of marketing in consumer decision making, including the following:
- In your own words, analyze how marketing affects the decisions consumers make.
- Appraise the role of marketing in your life and how awareness can change the minds of consumers when buying products or services.
- To support your analysis, identify two or three examples of marketing.
Marketing for Competitiveness
Week 1: Learning Resources
Mindsets and Purposes
When you think of mindset and purpose, what comes to mind? Your mindset plays a critical role in determining how you cope with life's challenges. A person with a growth mindset tends to have a hunger for learning and a desire to work hard and discover new things. This often translates into academic achievement. What does it mean to have purpose? Purpose is the reason something exists, an intended end, an aim, or a goal. Purpose creates meaning, offers a sense of direction, and helps guide our paths, behaviors, and goals. Through these resources, you will examine the connection between mindset and purpose. Consider how you approach these two valuable tools.
· Centaur Media. (n.d.). Six ways consumer mindsets have changed since COVID-19 Links to an external site. . Marketing Week. https://www.marketingweek.com/six-ways-consumer-mindsets-changed-covid-19/
· Egol, M., & Khurana, A. (2020, September 30). Six building blocks for revitalized B2B marketing and salesLinks to an external site. . strategy + business . https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Six-building-blocks-for-revitalized-B2B-marketing-and-sales
· Gregg, B., Kim, A., & Perrey, J. (2020, April 23). Leading with purpose: How marketing and sales leaders can shape the next normalLinks to an external site. . McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/leading-with-purpose-how-marketing-and-sales-leaders-can-shape-the-next-normal
· McKinsey & Company. (2020, October 15). The evolving consumer: How COVID-19 is changing the way we shop Links to an external site. . https://www.mckinsey.com/about-us/covid-response-center/leadership-mindsets/webinars/evolving-consumer-how-covid-19-has-changed-us-shopping-habits
Making a Decision
When faced with a problem, how do you go about deciding how to solve it? Do you think about what you have always done and try to approach the problem using your experience to guide you? Or do you try to remove your preconceived ideas and think only about the situation at hand, considering multiple perspectives and working to “think outside the box”? In its simplest sense, decision making is a process; it’s the act of choosing between two or more courses of action. In the wider context of problem solving, decision making involves choosing between possible solutions to a problem. Decisions can be made either through an intuitive process or reasoned process—or a combination of the two. Using these resources, you will examine the decision-making process and how it involves both the consumer and the marketers’ thinking processes.
· Andriendko, O. (2015, November 11). Psychology and #marketing: What influences our decisions Links to an external site. . SEJ. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/psychology-marketing-influences-decisions/142368/
· Crespo, C. (2015, April 13). How do people make decisions online?Links to an external site. Good Barber . https://www.goodbarber.com/blog/how-do-people-make-decisions-online-a580/
· Mehrguth, G. (n.d.). 5 stages of the consumer decision-making process and how it’s changedLinks to an external site. . Directive . https://directiveconsulting.com/blog/5-stages-of-the-consumer-decision-making-process-and-how-its-different/
Conditioning and Culture
Cultural conditioning is a process through which we absorb and interpret the influences, norms, and messaging from our environment and translate them into what we believe to be acceptable behaviors. Each person absorbs the cultures around them through a different lens and interprets them in their own way. At some point in your life, you have likely engaged in conditioning, which is simply the process of interpreting and applying the influences in your environment. Through these resources, you will explore the effects of culture and conditioning on marketing.
· Belyh, A. (2019, September 23). Customer psychology frameworks Links to an external site. . Cleverism. https://www.cleverism.com/customer-psychology-frameworks/
· Ceruto, S. (2020, February 19). The psychological concept that can make you a more effective marketer Links to an external site. . Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2020/02/19/the-psychological-concept-that-can-make-you-a-more-effective-marketer/?sh=103c249021a4
· Fields, R. (2014, April 7). Culture as competitive advantage for marketers Links to an external site. . Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2014/04/07/culture-as-competitive-advantage-for-marketers/?sh=716d9d067a13
· Zoeller, S. (2021, March 15). How Apple uses consumer behavior marketing to winLinks to an external site. . Stephen Zoeller’s Marketing Blog . https://www.stephenzoeller.com/apple-consumer-behavior-marketing/
Leave a Reply