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| washroom accessories - Markets tend to be segmented as each group calls for products suited to its particular tastes. Positioning the product that is, determining the exact segment of the population that is likely to buy a product, and then developing a marketing campaign to enhance the product's image to fit that particular segment requires great care and planning. This type of campaign is known as target marketing. Competition also has sharply intensified, as the number of firms engaged in producing similar products has increased. Each firm tries to differentiate its products from those of its competitors. Profit margins, meaning the profit percentages made by a business per dollar of sal_es, are constantly being lessened. Although costs continue to rise, competition tends to keep prices down. The result is a narrowing spread between costs and selling prices. An increase in a business's sal_es volume is necessary to maintain or raise profit. Another force affecting modern marketing is the influence of the consumer rights or consumer protection movement. This movement insists on safe, reputable, and reliable products and services. Both consumer groups and government agencies have intensified their scrutiny of products, challenging such diverse elements as product design, length and legitimacy of warranty, and promotional tactics. Warranty and guarantee practices, in | particular, have been closely examined. New legislation has generally defined and extended the manufacturer's responsibility for product performance. Environmental concerns have also affected product design and marketing, especially as the expense of product modification has increased the retail cost. Such forces, which have added to the friction between producer and consumer, must be understood by the marketer and integrated into a sound marketing program. Even the way a firm handles itself in public life that is, how it reacts to social and political issues has become significant. No longer may a corporation cloak its internal deci_sions as private affairs. The public's dissatisfaction with the actions and attitudes of a firm has sometimes led to a reduction in sal_es; conversely, consumer enthusiasm, generated by a firm's intentional establishment of a good public image or public relations, has led to increased sal_es. The success of specialized marketing developments has caused many older organizations to revise their operating methods. In recent years, for example, franchise distribution has become an important force in retailing. Under this plan, the retailer is given the right to sell, within a certain area, without competition from another retailer dealing in the same product. Many consumers now find it more desirable to rent products than to purchase them outright. |
