Telemarketing

Telemarketing is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services over the phone. Telemarketing is a method of selling products and services over the telephone. Telemarketing can also include recorded sales pitches programmed to be played over the phone. Telemarketing has come under fire in recent years, being viewed as an annoyance by many. It makes selling more efficient because you can get more selling done in less time. It is easy to generate leads using this method and lists of people's phone numbers and other contact information can be purchased. The results of telemarketing are highly measurable, so you can keep track of its cost effectiveness. Advantages/Merits of Telemarketing Cost Effective than personal selling It makes selling more efficient because you can get more selling done in less time. It is easy to generate leads using this method and lists of people's phone numbers and other contact information can be purchased. The results of telemarketing are highly measurable, so you can keep track of its cost effectiveness. Easy to Get to Customers it provides a way for you to easily connect with prospective customers. Telemarketing allows you to sell from a distance and expand your sales territory. You could potentially reach people on a national and global scale instead of just locally. Explain technical issues more clearly Generates leads & appointments Sell from a distance to increase your sales territory Reach more customers than with in person sales calls Sell to both existing & new customers Achieve results that are measurable Disadvantages/Demerits of Telemarketing It has a Bad Reputation

Customer Lists and Training Personnel can be Costly Task of script preparation An outside service provider can result in your losing control over your sales processes because the people doing the work are not your employees

E-Marketing
Very simply put, E-Marketing or electronic marketing refers to the application of marketing principles and techniques via electronic media and more specifically the Internet. EMarketing is the process of marketing a brand using the Internet. By such a definition, eMarketing encompasses all the activities a business conducts via the worldwide web with the aim of attracting new business, retaining current business and developing its brand identity. The benefits of eMarketing over traditional marketing Reach

The nature of the internet means businesses now have a truly global reach. While traditional media costs limit this kind of reach to huge multinationals, eMarketing opens up new avenues for smaller businesses, on a much smaller budget, to access potential consumers from all over the world. Scope

Internet marketing allows the marketer to reach consumers in a wide range of ways and enables them to offer a wide range of products and services. eMarketing includes, among other things, information management, public relations, customer service and sales. With the range of new technologies becoming available all the time, this scope can only grow. Interactivity

Whereas traditional marketing is largely about getting a brand's message out there, eMarketing facilitates conversations between companies and consumers. With a two-way communication channel, companies can feed off of the responses of their consumers, making them more dynamic and adaptive. Immediacy

Internet marketing is able to provide an immediate impact. Imagine you're reading your favourite magazine. You see a double-page advert for some new product or service, maybe BMW's latest luxury sedan or Apple's latest iPod offering. With this kind of traditional media, it's not that easy for you, the consumer, to take the step from hearing about a product to actual acquisition.

With eMarketing, its easy to make that step as simple as possible, meaning that within a few short clicks you could have ordered the iPod. And all of this can happen regardless of normal office hours. Effectively, Internet marketing makes business hours 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for every week of the year. Global access Flexibility Home delivery Easy payment gateway ( e.g. Internet banking) Comparison shopping becomes easy in online shopping

Services Marketing
Services Marketing refers to the marketing of services as against tangible products. service is any activity of benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product. Service is an act or performance offered by one party to another. The performance is essentially intangible. E.g. Telecommunications services, financial services, all types of hospitality services, car rental services, air travel, health care services and professional services Importance of services Given the intangibility of services, marketing them becomes a particularly challenging and yet extremely important task. A key differentiator

Due to the increasing homogeneity in product offerings, the attendant services provided are emerging as a key differentiator in the mind of the consumers. E.g.: In case of two fast food chains serving a similar product (Pizza Hut and Dominos), more than the product it is the service quality that distinguishes the two brands from each other. Hence, marketers can leverage on the service offering to differentiate them from the competition and attract consumers. Importance of relationships

Relationships are a key factor when it comes to the marketing of services. Since the product is intangible, a large part of the customers buying decision will depend on the degree to which he trusts the seller. Hence, the need to listen to the needs of the customer and fulfill them through the appropriate service offering and build a long lasting relationship which would lead to repeat sales and positive word of mouth. Customer Retention

Given todays highly competitive scenario where multiple providers are competing for a limited pool of customers, retaining customers is even more important than attracting new ones. Since services are usually generated and consumed at the same time, they actually involve the customer in service delivery process by taking into consideration his requirements and feedback. Thus they offer greater scope for customization according to customer requirements thus offering increased satisfaction leading to higher customer retention. Characteristics of a service Intangibility: Services are intangible and do not have a physical existence. Hence services cannot be touched, held, tasted or smelt. Heterogeneity/Variability Given the very nature of services, each service offering is unique and cannot be exactly repeated even by the same service provider. While products can be mass produced and be homogenous the same is not true of services. e.g.: All burgers of a particular flavor at McDonalds are almost identical. However, the same is not true of the service rendered by the same counter staff consecutively to two customers. Perishability Services cannot be stored, saved, returned or resold once they have been used. Once rendered to a customer the service is completely consumed and cannot be delivered to another customer. e.g.: A customer dissatisfied with the services of a barber cannot return the service of the haircut that was rendered to him. Inseparability The service provider and the service consumer are inseparable. The hairdresser needs to be physically present for this service to be consumed. Non-ownership The consumer can not secure ownership of the service.

Rural Marketing
The process of developing, pricing, promoting distributing the rural specific products & services leading to consumer demand satisfaction & also achieves organizational objectives. Rural marketing consists of marketing of inputs (products or services) to the rural as well as marketing of outputs from the rural markets to other geographical areas. Rural areas of the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture.

There are around 638000 villages in India. Problems in Rural Marketing 1. Underdeveloped people& Underdeveloped Market. Higher percentage of people in rural market is below poverty line & hence the market is also underdeveloped. Marketing strategies have to be different from those used in urban marketing 2. Low Literacy level Results in problem of communication. Print media has less utility compared to other media of communication. 3. Seasonal Demand: Demand may be seasonal due to dependency on agricultural income. Harvest season might see an increase in disposable income & hence more purchasing power. 4. Dispersed Market: Rural population is highly dispersed Hence requires a lot of marketing efforts in terms of distribution & communication Although all the above problems offer Challenges to the marketer , Marketers cannot afford to miss the huge opportunity existing in rural So marketers always tries to find out innovative & creative solutions to cope up with these problems 5. Storage & transportation: It is one of the biggest challenges in rural market No proper road linkage. This makes physical distribution a tough task. Many villages are located in hilly terrains & that roads. make it difficult to connect them through

Many marketers use tractors or bullock carts in rural areas to distribute their products. Storage is another major problem in rural market. 6. Ineffective distribution channels: Not very well organized Requires a large no. of intermediataries due to large no. of villages. Dealers are not easily available in rural areas.

Place- Rural Distribution Challenges Large number of small markets Dispersed population and trade Poor connectivity Low availability of suitable dealers Inadequate banking/ credit facilities Poor product display and visibility Poor communication of offers and schemes 7. Many languages & dialects: The number of languages and dialects vary from state to state region to region make difficult to handle rural customers. 8.Lack of communication systems: Internet Coverage, Computers, Fax etc 9.Spurious brands: Cost is an important factor that determines the purchasing decision in rural areas. A lot of spurious brands or look alike is available at lower cost. Many times the rural consumer may not be aware of the difference due to illiteracy. 10. Seasonal Demand: Demand may be seasonal due to dependency on agricultural income. Harvest season might see an increase in disposable income & hence more purchasing power. 11. Dispersed Market: Rural population is highly dispersed Hence requires a lot of marketing efforts in terms of distribution & communication Although all the above problems offer Challenges to the marketer , Marketers cannot afford to miss the huge opportunity existing in rural So marketers always tries to find out innovative & creative solutions to cope up with these problems