INTRODUCTION

Definition of Marketing:-

According to Philip Kotler, Marketing is a process of social and managerial activities in which groups and individual obtain their wants and needs through the process of Creating, Offering and exchanging the products of value with others.

Meaning of Marketing:-

It is an economic

process in which

goods and services

are exchanged

between producers

and consumers. Its

values are

determined in terms of money.

Marketing involves various activities such as identifying the customers need and satisfy their needs and development of products and motivating the potential buyers to buy the same product.

Consumer satisfaction is the key to the survival and

growth of the organization. So the marketing is concerned with satisfaction thereby they earn profit.

Evolution of Marketing:-

Philip Kotler categorized the five major marketing eras that have evolved throughout time. Some of the concepts developed in each era are still around today, and marketing concept remnants from each era compete with each other as organizations conduct their marketing activities.

i. Production Era: One of the oldest concept eras, it holds that consumers will favour those products that are widely available and low in cost. Managers of production-oriented organizations concentrate on achieving high production efficiency and wide distribution.

ii. Product Era: This era brought about marketing beliefs that consumers will favour those products that offer the most quality, performance or innovative features. Marketing managers focus on making superior products and improving them over time.

iii. Sales Era: During this era, the primary marketing concept belief held that consumers if left alone would not buy enough of the organization’s products; therefore, the organization must undertake an aggressive selling and promotion effort.

iv. Marketing Era: Evolving from and challenging the first three concept eras of marketing, this era holds that the key to achieving organizational goals consists of being more effective than your competitors in integrating and coordinating marketing activities toward determining and satisfying the needs and wants of your target markets.

v. Societal Marketing Era: The newest to evolve, it holds that the organization’s task is to determine the needs, wants and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumers’ and the society’s wellbeing.

Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix is a business tool used in marketing and

by marketers. The marketing mix is often crucial when

determining a product or brand's offer, and is often

associated with the Four Ps: Price, Product, Promotion,

and Place.

PRODUCT

A product is seen as an item that satisfies what a

consumer demands. It is a tangible good or an intangible

service. Tangible products are those that have an

independent physical existence. Typical examples of

mass-produced, tangible objects are the motor car and

the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous

mass-produced service is a computer operating system.

Every product is subject to a life-cycle including a growth

phase followed by a maturity phase and finally an

eventual period of decline as sales fall. Marketers must

do careful research on how long the life cycle of the

product they are marketing is likely to be and focus their

attention on different challenges that arise as the

product moves.

PRICE

Price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The

price is very important as it determines the company's

profit and hence, survival. Adjusting the price has a

profound impact on the marketing strategy and,

depending on the price elasticity of the product, often it

will affect the demand and sales as well. The marketer

should set a price that complements the other elements

of the marketing mix.

When setting a price, the marketer must be aware of the

customer perceived value for the product. Three basic

pricing strategies are: market skimming pricing, market

penetration pricing and neutral pricing. The 'reference

value' (where the consumer refers to the prices of

competing products) and the 'differential value' (the

consumer's view of this product's attributes versus the

attributes of other products) must be taken into

account.

PLACE

Place refers to providing the product at a place which is

convenient for consumers to access. Various strategies

such as intensive distribution, selective distribution,

exclusive distribution and franchising can be used by the

marketer to complement the other aspects of the

marketing mix. In other words, distribution channels for

the product is a system process. Generally, majority of

the product need a retail shop. But place also can be a

telephone call center or a website. Hence, the place

turns into another major element in marketing mix.

PROMOTION

Promotion comprises elements such as: advertising,

public relations, sales organisation and sales promotion.

Advertising covers any communication that is paid for,

from cinema commercials, radio and Internet

advertisements through to print media and billboards.

Public relations are where the communication is not

directly paid for and includes press releases,

sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or

trade fairs and events.

Importance of Marketing

Marketing in itself is a huge world. The importance

of marketing in today’s world the most important.

Some of them are:

i. Marketing Helps in Transfer, Exchange & Movement of Goods: Goods and services are made available to

customers through various intermediaries’ viz.,

wholesalers and retailers etc. Marketing is helpful to

both producers and consumers.

To the former, it tells about the specific needs and

preferences of consumers and to the latter about the

products that manufacturers can offer.

ii. Marketing Is Helpful in Raising & Maintaining the Standard of Living of the Community: Marketing is

above all the giving of a standard of living to the

community. Paul Mazur states, “Marketing is the

delivery of standard of living”.

By making available the uninterrupted supply of goods

and services to consumers at a reasonable price,

marketing has played an important role in raising and

maintaining living standards of the community.

Community comprises of three classes of people i.e.,

rich, middle and poor. Everything which is used by these

different classes of people is supplied by marketing.

iii. Marketing Creates Employment: Marketing is

complex mechanism involving many people in one form

or the other. The major marketing functions are buying,

selling, financing, transport, warehousing, risk bearing

and standardisation, etc. In each such function, different

activities are performed by a large number of individuals

and bodies.

Thus, marketing gives employment to many people. It is

estimated that about 40% of total population is directly

or indirectly dependent upon marketing.

iv. Marketing as A Source of Income & Revenue: The

performance of marketing function is all important,

because it is the only way through which the concern

could generate revenue or income and bring in profits.

Marketing does provide many opportunities to earn

profits in the process of buying and selling the goods, by

creating time, place and possession utilities. This income

and profit are reinvested in the concern, thereby earning

more profits in future. Marketing should be given the

greatest importance, since the very survival of the firm

depends on the effectiveness of the marketing function.

v. Marketing Acts as A Basis for Making Decisions: A

businessman is confronted with many problems in the

form of what, how, when, how much and for whom to

produce?

In modern times, marketing has become a very complex

and tedious task. Marketing has emerged as new

specialised activity along with production.

As a result, producers are depending largely on the

mechanism of marketing, to decide what to produce

and sell. With the help of marketing techniques, a

producer can regulate his production accordingly.

Concepts of Marketing

There are five important concepts of marketing. They are:

i. Production Concept This concept is the oldest of the concepts in

business. It holds that consumers will prefer

products that are widely available and inexpensive.

Managers focusing on this concept concentrate on

achieving high production efficiency, low costs, and

mass distribution.

ii. Product Concept Product concept is the understanding of the

dynamics of the product in order to showcase the

best qualities and maximum features of the product.

Marketers spend a lot of time and research in order

to target their audience.

iii. Selling Concept Selling concept, which places the focus on sales

rather than what people actually need or want.

The product is misrepresented which results in

high customer dissatisfaction.

iv. Marketing Concept Marketing concept, this focuses on what people

need and want more than the needs of the seller.

This concept is about the importance of satisfying

the customer’s needs.

v. Societal Marketing Concept Societal marketing concept, not only uses the

same philosophy as the marketing concept, but

also focuses around the products benefit to the

betterment of society. Greater emphasis is put

on environmental impacts, population growth,

and resource shortages and social services.

I’s of Marketing

Intangibility Intangibility is used in marketing to describe the inability to

assess the value gained from engaging in an activity using

any tangible evidence. It is often used to describe services

where there isn't a tangible product that the customer can

purchase, that can be seen, tasted or touched.

Inconsistency Inconsistency is the second most important characteristic.

Since there is no standard tangible product, services have

to be performed exclusively each time.

Inseparability Inseparability of services makes it difficult to separate a

service from the service provider. The production and

consumption of a service can occur simultaneously, making

it impossible to produce and store a service prior to

consumption.

Inventory Inventory cannot be maintained for services. Inventory

carrying costs are more subjective and lead to idle

production capacity. When the service is available but

there is no demand, cost rises as, cost of paying the

people and overhead remains constant even though the

people are not required to provide services due to lack of

demand.

Marketing

research

Marketing

research is the

process or set

of processes

that links the

consumers,

customers, and end users to the

marketer through information. Information is used to

identify and define marketing opportunities and problems;

generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor

marketing performance; and improve understanding of

marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the

information required to address these issues, designs the

method for collecting information, manages and

implements the data collection process, analyses the

results, and communicates the findings and their

implications.

An organization or economic system where goods and

services are exchanged for one another or for money.

Every business requires some form of investment and

enough customers to whom its output can be sold on a

consistent basis in order to make a profit.

Businesses can be privately owned, not-for-profit or state-

owned. An example of a corporate business is PepsiCo,

while a mom-and-pop catering business is a private

enterprise.

Characteristics of Business

Creation of Utilities: Business makes goods more useful

to satisfy human wants. It adds time, place, form and

possession utilities to various types of goods. In the

words of Roger, "a business exists to create and deliver

value satisfaction to customers at a profit".

Dealings in Goods and Services: Every business

enterprise produces and/or buys goods and services for

selling them to others. Goods may be consumer goods

or producer goods.

Consumer goods are meant for direct use by the

ultimate consumers, e.g., bread, tea, shoes, etc.

Producer goods are used for the production of consumer

or capital goods like raw materials, machinery, etc.

Continuity in Dealings: Dealings in goods and services

become business only if undertaken on a regular basis.

According to Peterson and Plowman, "a single isolated

transaction of purchase and sale will not constitute

business recurring or repeated transaction of purchase

and sale alone mean business." Therefore, regularity of

dealings is an essential feature of business.

Sale, Transfer and Exchange: All business activities

involve transfer or exchange of goods and services for

some consideration. The consideration called price is

usually expressed in terms of money.

Business delivers goods and services to those who need

them and are able and willing to pay for them.

Profit Motive: The primary aim of business is to earn

profits. Profits are essential for the survival as well as

growth of business. Profits must, however, be earned

through legal and fair means.

Element of Risk: Profit is the reward for assuming risk.

Risk implies the uncertainty of profit or the possibility

of loss. Risk is a part of business. Business enterprises

function in uncertain and uncontrollable environment.

Economic Activity: Business is primarily an economic

activity as it involves production and distribution of

goods and services for earning money. However,

business is also a social institution because it helps to

improve the living standards of people through

effective utilisation of scarce resources of the society.

Objectives of Business

Profitability: Maintaining profitability means making

sure that revenue stays ahead of the costs of doing

business, according to James Stephenson, writing for the

"Entrepreneur" website. Focus on controlling costs in

both production and operations while maintaining the

profit margin on products sold.

Productivity: Employee training, equipment

maintenance and new equipment purchases all go into

company productivity. Your objective should be to

provide all of the resources your employees need to

remain as productive as possible.

Customer Service: Good customer service helps you

retain clients and generate repeat revenue. Keeping

your customers happy should be a primary objective of

your organization.

Marketing: Marketing is more than creating advertising

and getting customer input on product changes. It

understands consumer buying trends, being able to

anticipate product distribution needs and developing

business partnerships that help your organization to

improve market share.

Growth: Growth is planned based on historical data

and future projections. Growth requires the careful

use of company resources such as finances and

personnel, according to Tim Berry, writing on the

"Entrepreneur" website.

Types of Business Organization

A business can be organized in one of several ways, and

the form its owner’s choice will affect the company’s

and owner’s legal liability and income tax treatment.

Here are the most common options and their major

defining characteristics.

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP

The vast majority of small businesses

start out as sole proprietorships.

These firms are owned by one person,

usually the individual who has day-to-

day responsibility for running the

business. Sole proprietorships own

all the assets of the business and the

profits generated by it. They also

assume complete responsibility for

any of its liabilities or debts. In the eyes of the law and

the public, you are one in the same with the business.

Advantages of Sole Proprietorship

Easy formation: Easiest and least expensive form of

ownership to organize.

Independent decision making: Sole proprietors are in

complete control, and within the parameters of the

law, may make decisions as they see fit.

Yields complete profit: Profits from the business flow-

through directly to the owner’s personal tax return. Easy to close: The business is easy to dissolve, if desired.

Disadvantages of Sole Proprietorship:

Unlimited liability: Sole proprietors have unlimited

liability and are legally responsible for all debts against

the business. Their business and personal assets are

at risk.

Shortage of funds: May be at a disadvantage in raising

funds and are often limited to using funds from

personal savings or consumer loans.

Requires more effort: May have a hard time attracting

high-caliber employees, or those that are motivated by

the opportunity to own a part of the business.

PARTNERSHIP

A partnership is an

agreement between

two or more people to

finance and operate a

business.

Partnerships, unlike

sole proprietorships,

are entities legally

separate from the

partners themselves.

In a general partnership, however, profits and losses flow

through to the partners’ tax returns.

Each general partner has equal responsibility and authority

to run the business. Each partner should be involved in day-

to-day operations of the business, and should make

management decisions. Any partner may represent the

business without the knowledge of the other partners—the

actions of one partner can bind the entire partnership.

Advantages of Partnership:

Easy formation: Partnerships are relatively easy to establish.

Mutual skills: A partnership may benefit from the combination of complementary skills of two or more people. There is a wider pool of knowledge, skills and contacts.

Cost effective: Partnerships can be cost-effective as each partner specializes in certain aspects of their business.

Disadvantages of Partnership:

Unlimited liability: Business partners are jointly and

individually liable for the actions of the other

partners.

Conflicts: Since decisions are shared, disagreements

can occur. A partnership is for the long term, and

expectations and situations can change, which can

lead to dramatic and traumatic split ups.

Restriction on number of partners: There is a restriction on the number of partners, and hence contribution in terms of capital investment is usually not sufficient to support large scale business operations.

JOINT STICK COMPANY

A company is an association of persons formed for carrying

out business

activities and has a

legal status

independent of its

members. The

company form of

organization is

governed by The

Companies Act,

1956. A company

can be described as an artificial person having a separate

legal entity, perpetual succession and a common seal.

Advantages of Joint Stock Company

Adequacy of Capital: Generally, a Joint Stock Company

has the opportunity to raise huge capital than other

types of business. If the company needs money it can

sell its shares to the public.

Limited Liability: The liability of a shareholder is limited

to the face value of the shares he holds. He has no

further liability if he has paid the full value of the

shares that he has agreed to pay.

Perpetual Succession: Perpetual succession is another

important advantage of joint Stock Company. A joint

stock company survives, even if all members are

willing to shut down the company or if all members die

in natural calamities.

Disadvantages of Joint Stock Company

Lack of Control: The buying and selling of shares of a

company is the only real control an owner has. Since

the number of shareholders is determined by the

number of shares of a company, control by the Board

of Directors is difficult.

Complexity in Formation: The formation of a company

requires greater time, effort and knowledge of legal

requirements and the procedures involved.

Lack of Secrecy: A company must provide each

shareholder with an annual report. When a large

number of reports are issued, the reports become

public. Hence the secrecy is lost.

JOINT HINDU FAMILY BUSINESS

The Joint Hindu Family Firm is the next non-corporate,

group ownership form of family business operative in India.

It is governed by the Hindu Law. In the Hindu Law, there are

two schools: (i) Dayabhaga, which is applicable in Bengal

and Assam; and (ii) Mitakshara, which is applicable in the

rest of India.

Advantages of Joint Hindu Family

Stability: The existence of the Joint Hindu Family firm

does not come to an end by the death, insanity, or

bankruptcy of any coparcener.

Liability: Except the Karta, all other members’ liabilities

are limited to the extent of their share in the ancestral

property.

Credit Worthiness: Compared to the Sole Proprietor, the

credit worthiness of the family business is more.

Disadvantages of Joint Hindu Family:

Limitations of Management: Like sole proprietor, the

Karta may not be possessing all the management skills

required in the fields of production or purchasing,

marketing, personnel and industrial relations,

financing, and other enterprise functions.

Short Life of Business: The life of the family business is

shortened if family quarrels take precedence over

business interests.

COOPERATIVE SOCIETY

The word cooperative means

working together and with

others for a common purpose.

The cooperative society is a

voluntary association of

persons, who join together with

the motive of welfare of the

members. They are driven by

the need to protect their

economic interests in the face

of possible exploitation at the hands of middlemen

obsessed with the desire to earn greater profits.

Advantages of Cooperative Society:

Easy to Form: The formation of a cooperative society is

very simple as compared to the formation of any other

form of business organisations. Any ten adults can join

together and form a cooperative society.

Limited Liability: In most cases, the liability of the

members of the society is limited to the extent of

capital contributed by them. Hence, they are relieved

from the fear of attachment of their private property.

Economic Operations: The operation carried on by the

cooperative society economical due to the

eliminations of middlemen. The services of middlemen

are provided by the members of the society with the

minimum cost.

Disadvantages of Cooperative Society:

Limited Resources: Cooperative society’s financial

strength depends on the cap contributed by its

members and loan raising capacity from state

cooperative banks. The membership fee is limited for

which they are unable to raise large amount of

resources as their members belong to the lower and

middle class.

Inefficient Management: A cooperative society is

managed by the members only. They do not possess

any managerial and special skills. This is considered as

major drawback of this sector.

Canon Inc. is a Japanese multinational corporation specialized in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders, photocopiers, steppers, computer printers and medical equipment. It is headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.

Canon has a primary listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the TOPIX index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. At the beginning of 2015, Canon was the tenth largest public company in Japan when measured by market capitalization.

The origins of Canon date back to the founding of Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Japan in 1937 by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda. During its early years

the company did not have any facilities to produce its own optical glass, and its first cameras incorporated Nikkor lenses from Nippon Kogaku K.K.

Canon manufactures consumer imaging products including printers, scanners, binoculars, compact digital cameras, film SLR and digital SLR cameras, lenses and video camcorders.

The "Business Solutions" division offers multi-functional printers, black and white and colour office printers, large format printers, scanners, black and white and colour production printers, as well as software to support these products.

Lesser known Canon products include medical, optical and broadcast products, including ophthalmic and x-ray devices, broadcast lenses, semiconductors, digital microfilm scanners and handy terminals.

snaps of canon store at Dubai mall

Interview with Manager

Q1. When was the company founded?

Ans: The Company was founded on August 10th, 1937.

Q2. How many stores do you have in UAE?

Ans: Currently we have 30 stores operating in UAE.

Q3: For how long have you been with Canon?

Ans: I have been working with Canon since 4 Years.

Q4: Does Canon offer allowances and special service for employees?

Ans: Yes! We do! We get Paid Annual Leave and Air Tickets. Canon has Employee Referral Program, Employee Recognition Award and a lot more.

Q5: What is Canon’s aim?

Ans: We want to deliver our product to anyone who has the passion for this industry.

Q6: Who are your biggest rivals?

Ans: It’s mainly Nikon & Panasonic.

Q7: Which is your newest product? Do you think it’ll make a place in the market?

Ans: Canon 5D MIV. It has already made a place.

PRODUCT catalogue

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The product life cycle is an important concept in marketing.

It describes the stages a product goes through from when

it was first thought of until it finally is removed from the

market. Not all products reach this final stage. Some

continue to grow and others rise and fall.

The different stages of Product Life Cycle are:

Introduction

Researching, developing and then launching the product.

Growth

When sales are increasing at their fastest rate.

Maturity

Sales are near their highest, but the rate of growth is

slowing down, e.g. new competitors in market or

saturation.

Decline

Final stage of the cycle, when sales begin to fall.

INTRODUCTION STAGE

The first of the four product life cycle stages is the

Introduction Stage. Any business that is launching a new

product needs to appreciate that this initial stage could

require significant investment. This isn’t to say that

spending a lot of money at this stage will guarantee the

product’s success.

Any investment in research and new product development

has to be weighed up against the likely return from the new

product, and an effective marketing plan will need to be

developed, in order to give the new product the best

chance of achieving this return.

Example: Samsung Quantum Dot Display TV

SUHD is Samsung’s brand name behind its new range of 4K

Ultra HD TVs. Just like 4K Ultra HD TVs, SUHD TVs have

around four times as

many pixels as standard

1080p Full HD TVs packed

into the display panel.

Quantum Dot means, in a

nutshell, that the colours

presented to you are

more lifelike than

Samsung's older 4K Ultra HD TVs with an LED backlight.

GROWTH STAGE

The growth stage is typically characterized by a strong

growth in sales and profits, and because the company can

start to benefit from economies of scale in production, the

profit margins, as well as the overall amount of profit, will

increase. This makes it possible for businesses to invest

more money in the promotional activity to maximize the

potential of this growth stage.

Example: 4K Curved TVs

As the 4K ultra HD TV market grows, new standards and

new design trends are

starting to take firm root. One

of these, at least so far, has

been a tendency towards TVs

with a gentle concave

curvature to their screens.

The big questions, which have

also spawned some debate

among consumers, tech watchers and manufacturers as

well are whether curved TV designs are superior to their flat

screen counterparts, if they’re worth buying and in case

they’re worse or better, than by how much and in which

ways.

MATURITY STAGE

During the maturity stage, the product is established and

the aim for the manufacturer is now to maintain the market

share they have built up. This is probably the most

competitive time for most products and businesses need to

invest wisely in any marketing they undertake. They also

need to consider any product modifications or

improvements to the production process which might give

them a competitive advantage.

Example: LED TVs

An LED display is a flat panel display, which uses an array of

light-emitting diodes as pixels

for a video display. Their

brightness allows them to be

used outdoors in store signs

and billboards, and in recent

years they have also become

commonly used in

destination signs on public

transport vehicles. LED

displays are capable of

providing general illumination in addition to visual display,

as when used for stage lighting or other decorative (as

opposed to informational) purposes.

DECLINE STAGE

Eventually, the market for a product will start to shrink, and

this is what’s known as the decline stage. This shrinkage

could be due to the market becoming saturated (i.e. all the

customers who will buy the product have already

purchased it), or because the consumers are switching to a

different type of product. While this decline may be

inevitable, it may still be possible for companies to make

some profit by switching to less-expensive production

methods and cheaper markets.

Example: LCD & CRT TVs

SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF PLC

Following are the three special categories of Product Life

Cycle:

STYLE FASHION FADS

STYLE:

A style is the manner in which a product is presented and certain styles come and go. The current style for mobile phone is touch screen and this style will last until a new technology style appears. So the shape of a style product life cycle is like a wave, as one style fades out, another appears.

FASHION:

A fashion is a current trend or popular style in a particular field. A fashion can have a long or short life cycle. Certain clothing fashions last for a short period and the product life cycle will decline very rapidly, whilst others will decline slowly or even turn into what is known as a timeless classic.

FADS:

A fad is a product that is around for a short period and is generated by hype. As you can see (in the graph below) for a fad product sales peak very quickly, as this product has a very short life cycle. Sometimes a product may follow the standard product life cycle but have one stage of the cycle which has a fad type of unusually high peak in sales.