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STANDARDIZING AND GRADING
Standardization means establishing a standard based on physical properties or quality of any product. It is the whole process of setting specification or standard to which all products made must conform to size, colour, appearance and chemical contents.
Grading is the sorting of products into classes made up of units possessing similar characteristics of size, quality, colour, shape and any other specification. Grading may be fixed or varying variable.
TYPES OF GRADING
(i) FIXED GRADING
This refers to the process whereby the same standards are used year after year. Wheat and cotton are graded in this manner.
(ii) VARIABLE GRADING
This refers to the process whereby specifications are required to be changed in accordance with the quality of goods produced from year to year. Fruits and vegetables are graded in this way.
ADVANTAGES OF GRADING
- Reduces the cost of advertising and marketing.
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The cost of advertising graded goods is low since the goods are well known to the customers.
- Wider market
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Graded goods can easily be sold to distant parts of the market as buyers can order the goods by grade.
- Selection by customers
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Grading shows the consumers from spending a longer time in selecting the goods. Moreover since prices are fixed, consumers spend little time in negotiating prices.
- Helps in future grading
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Grading helps in transaction where delivery is to be done in future as buyers are assured of the quality of goods received.
- Simple and cheaper financing
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A seller are graded goods can easily obtain loan from financial institutions as the value of goods can easily be assessed.
PRICING
Goods cannot be marketed until the cost of the given products is known. Pricing can be defined as the process of setting a price for a specific commodity being offered for sale in a market. Price is the amount of money or other consideration exchanged for the purchase or use of the product, ideas or service. Price also can be defined as the amount of money that a customer has to pay for a product.
PROMOTION
Is the marketing communication process utilizing personal means to remind, inform and persuade buyers to buy the organization’s products being offered for sale in a given market. It is made possible by the promotional mix which includes advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and publicity.
PLACE (nglish-swahili/distribution” target=”_blank”>distribution)
After goods have been manufactured, they have to be taken to a place closer to the customers.
Distribution refers to the movement of goods and services from suppliers to the customers with the aim of satisfying consumer’s needs. It involves a channel of nglish-swahili/distribution” target=”_blank”>distribution and physical nglish-swahili/distribution” target=”_blank”>distribution.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Product development refers to the creation of products with new or different characteristics that offer new or additional benefits to the customer.
Product development may involve modification of an existing product or its presentation or formulation of an entirely new product that satisfies a newly defined customer want or market niche.
Note:
The above are the marketing mix also known as 4Ps of market that means price, promotion, place and product.
MARKET RESEARCH
Is an investigative activity which is carried out to establish the consumers demand for a product.
OR
Is a systematic way of collecting and analyzing information related to market activities particularly advertising, product and sales marketing research.
Market research is undertaken before production is launched.
AIMS OF MARKETING RESEARCH
- To find out if there is a market for the goods to be produced.
- To establish the suitable method and channel of nglish-swahili/distribution” target=”_blank”>distribution for the product.
- To determine the most attractive form of presenting the product to the consumers (packaging ).
- To assist one in knowing the most suitable effective, cheap and convenient method of promoting the product.
- If done before production, it will determine the best price of the product for the advantage of the consumer.
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METHOD OF CARRYING OUT MARKET RESEARCH
- Field investigations
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This consists of either person interview or by use of questionnaire. A questionnaire is a list of questions to be answered by a group of people for the purpose of getting information. It is not reliable unless the facts given are supported by evidence from other sources.
- Statistical data collection
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The entails obtaining information from statical data compiled by the government analysis and research, trade organizations and the chambers of commerce.
- Testing the market
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If a product is new in the market, a small amount of the product is produced and supplied to a limited geographical area to test the response of customers. If the response is good, the product is produced and served to a wider area.
- Feedback from distributors
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Distributors are always in a good position to receive the customers say about product. This may be in the form of complaints or recommendations. This information helps the products to take the appropriate action.
STEPS IN MARKETING RESEARCH
- Definition of the problem
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The researcher must make clear his or her objectives and the problem that he or she is researching on before setting out for investigations.
- Source of secondary data
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These include data obtained from the documents within and outside the company. These are internal and external sources. Internal documents includes the company records while external documents are obtained from libraries and other institutions.
- Source of Primary data
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Primary data comprises of the first information collected by the researcher directly from the field. There are three major ways of collecting primary data these are:-
(i) Observation method
Here the researcher observes various aspects of the targeted market by visiting the place such as market centres, depots and shops depending on the objectives.
(ii) Survey method
Here researcher may use face to face interviews, design, questionnaires, take photographs, tape or record information according to his or her research objectives.
(iii) Experiment method
This involves test marketing in selected areas. The research introduces free samples to the actual areas.
(iv) Compiling and analyzing data
At this stage the researcher summarizes the data, compiles a report, makes the conclusion and hands the report to the management for action.
ADVANTAGES OF MARKETING RESEARCH
- Market research enables producers to find new markets for their products.
- Market research contributes a lot in reduction of prices due to cheaper but appealing method of packing.
- Market research helps to improve the quality of the products.
- Active market research eliminates wasteful advertising campaigns and improves on the useful ones.
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DISADVANTAGES OF MARKET RESEARCH
- Some researchers may not show the expected results if the research methods used were inappropriate.
- Market research is expensive to undertake.
- Information collected from interviews and questionnaires depends on the moods, honesty and reliability of the respondent.
- A selected population sample may be too small to adequately represent the entire population. This may result to get biased information.