Marketing Structure

Structure

Traditionally, marketing analysis was structured into three areas: Customer analysis, Company analysis, and Competitor analysis (so-called "3Cs" analysis). More recently, it has become fashionable in some marketing circles to divide these further into certain five "Cs": Customer analysis, Company analysis, Collaborator analysis, Competitor analysis, and analysis of the industry Context.
Customer analysis is to develop a schematic diagram for market segmentation, breaking down the market into various constituent groups of customers, which are called customer segments or market segmentation's. Marketing managers work to develop detailed profiles of each segment, focusing on any number of variables that may differ among the segments: demographic, psycho graphic, geographic, behavioral, needs-benefit, and other factors may all be examined. Marketers also attempt to track these segments' perceptions of the various products in the market using tools such as perceptual mapping.
In company analysis, marketers focus on understanding the company's cost structure and cost position relative to competitors, as well as working to identify a firm's core competencies and other competitively distinct company resources. Marketing managers may also work with the accounting department to analyze the profits the firm is generating from various product lines and customer accounts. The company may also conduct periodic brand audits to assess the strength of its brands and sources of brand equity.
The firm's collaborators may also be profiled, which may include various suppliers, distributors and other channel partners, joint venture partners, and others. An analysis of complementary products may also be performed if such products exist.
Marketing management employs various tools from economics and competitive strategy to analyze the industry context in which the firm operates. These include Porter's five forces, analysis of strategic groups of competitors, value chain analysis and others.Depending on the industry, the regulatory context may also be important to examine in detail.
In Competitor analysis, marketers build detailed profiles of each competitor in the market, focusing especially on their relative competitive strengths and weaknesses using SWOT analysis. Marketing managers will examine each competitor's cost structure, sources of profits, resources and competencies, competitive positioning and product differentiation, degree of vertical integration, historical responses to industry developments, and other factors.
Marketing management often finds it necessary to invest in research to collect the data required to perform accurate marketing analysis. As such, they often conduct market research (alternately marketing research) to obtain this information. Marketers employ a variety of techniques to conduct market research, but some of the more common include:

• Qualitative marketing research, such as focus groups
• Quantitative marketing research, such as statistical surveys
• Experimental techniques such as test markets
• Observational techniques such as ethnographic (on-site) observation

Marketing managers may also design and oversee various environmental scanning and competitive intelligence processes to help identify trends and inform the company's marketing analysis.

Marketing strategy

Main article: Marketing strategy

If the company has obtained an adequate understanding of the customer base and its own competitive position in the industry, marketing managers are able to make their own key strategic decisions and develop a marketing strategy designed to maximize the revenues and profits of the firm. The selected strategy may aim for any of a variety of specific objectives, including optimizing short-term unit margins, revenue growth, market share, long-term profitability, or other goals.
To achieve the desired objectives, marketers typically identify one or more target customer segments which they intend to pursue. Customer segments are often selected as targets because they score highly on two dimensions: 1) The segment is attractive to serve because it is large, growing, makes frequent purchases, is not price sensitive (i.e. is willing to pay high prices), or other factors; and 2) The company has the resources and capabilities to compete for the segment's business, can meet their needs better than the competition, and can do so profitably. In fact, a commonly cited definition of marketing is simply "meeting needs profitably."
The implication of selecting target segments is that the business will subsequently allocate more resources to acquire and retain customers in the target segment(s) than it will for other, non-targeted customers. In some cases, the firm may go so far as to turn away customers who are not in its target segment.The doorman at a swanky nightclub, for example, may deny entry to unfashionably dressed individuals because the business has made a strategic decision to target the "high fashion" segment of nightclub patrons.
In conjunction with targeting decisions, marketing managers will identify the desired positioning they want the company, product, or brand to occupy in the target customer's mind. This positioning is often an encapsulation of a key benefit the company's product or service offers that is differentiated and superior to the benefits offered by competitive products.^[  For example, Volvo has traditionally positioned its products in the automobile market in North America in order to be perceived as the leader in "safety", whereas BMW has traditionally positioned its brand to be perceived as the leader in "performance."
Ideally, a firm's positioning can be maintained over a long period of time because the company possesses, or can develop, some form of sustainable competitive advantage.^[8] The positioning should also be sufficiently relevant to the target segment such that it will drive the purchasing behavior of target customers.

Implementation planning

Main article: Marketing plan

The Marketing Metrickjjntinuum provides a framework for how to categorize metrics from the tactical to strategic.

After the firm's strategic objectives have been identified, the target market selected, and the desired positioning for the company, product or brand has been determined, marketing managers focus on how to best implement the chosen strategy. Traditionally, this has involved implementation planning across the "4Ps" of marketing: Product management, Pricing (at what price slot do you position your product, for e-g low, medium or high price), Place (the place/area where you are going to be selling your products, it could be local, regional, country wide or International) (i.e. sales and distribution channels), and People. Now a new P has been added making it a total of 5P's. The 5th P is Politics which affects marketing in a significant way.
Taken together, the company's implementation choices across the 4(5)Ps are often described as the marketing mix, meaning the mix of elements the business will employ to "go to market" and execute the marketing strategy. The overall goal for the marketing mix is to consistently deliver a compelling value proposition that reinforces the firm's chosen positioning, builds customer loyalty and brand equity among target customers, and achieves the firm's marketing and financial objectives.
In many cases, marketing management will develop a marketing plan to specify how the company will execute the chosen strategy and achieve the business' objectives. The content of marketing plans varies from firm to firm, but commonly includes:

• An executive summary
• Situation analysis to summarize facts and insights gained from market research and marketing analysis
• The company's mission statement or long-term strategic vision
• A statement of the company's key objectives, often subdivided into marketing objectives and financial objectives
• The marketing strategy the business has chosen, specifying the target segments to be pursued and the competitive positioning to be achieved
• Implementation choices for each element of the marketing mix (the 4(5)Ps)

Project, process, and vendor management

Once the key implementation initiatives have been identified, marketing managers work to oversee the execution of the marketing plan. Marketing executives may therefore manage any number of specific projects, such as sales force management initiatives, product development efforts, channel marketing programs and the execution of public relations and advertising campaigns. Marketers use a variety of project management techniques to ensure projects achieve their objectives while keeping to established schedules and budgets.
More broadly, marketing managers work to design and improve the effectiveness of core marketing processes, such as new product development, brand management, marketing communications, and pricing. Marketers may employ the tools of business process reengineering to ensure these processes are properly designed, and use a variety of process management techniques to keep them operating smoothly.
Effective execution may require management of both internal resources and a variety of external vendors and service providers, such as the firm's advertising agency. Marketers may therefore coordinate with the company's Purchasing department on the procurement of these services.

Organizational management and leadership

Marketing management may spend a fair amount of time building or maintaining a marketing orientation for the business. Achieving a market orientation, also known as "customer focus" or the "marketing concept", requires building consensus at the senior management level and then driving customer focus down into the organization. Cultural barriers may exist in a given business unit or functional area that the marketing manager must address in order to achieve this goal. Additionally, marketing executives often act as a "brand champion" and work to enforce corporate identity standards across the enterprise.
In larger organizations, especially those with multiple business units, top marketing managers may need to coordinate across several marketing departments and also resources from finance, research and development, engineering, operations, manufacturing, or other functional areas to implement the marketing plan. In order to effectively manage these resources, marketing executives may need to spend much of their time focused on political issues and inte-departmental negotiations.
The effectiveness of a marketing manager may therefore depend on his or her ability to make the internal "sale" of various marketing programs equally as much as the external customer's reaction to such programs.

Reporting, measurement, feedback and control systems

Marketing management employs a variety of metrics to measure progress against objectives. It is the responsibility of marketing managers – in the marketing department or elsewhere – to ensure that the execution of marketing programs achieves the desired objectives and does so in a cost-efficient manner.
Marketing management therefore often makes use of various organizational control systems, such as sales forecasts, sales force and reseller incentive programs, sales force management systems, and customer relationship management tools (CRM). Recently, some software vendors have begun using the term "marketing operations management" or "marketing resource management" to describe systems that facilitate an integrated approach for controlling marketing resources. In some cases, these efforts may be linked to various supply chain management systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), material requirements planning (MRP), efficient consumer response (ECR), and inventory management systems.
Measuring the return on investment (ROI) of and marketing effectiveness various marketing initiatives is a significant problem for marketing management. Various market research, accounting and financial tools are used to help estimate the ROI of marketing investments. Brand valuation, for example, attempts to identify the percentage of a company's market value that is generated by the company's brands, and thereby estimate the financial value of specific investments in brand equity. Another technique, integrated marketing communications (IMC), is a CRM database-driven approach that attempts to estimate the value of marketing mix executions based on the changes in customer behavior these executions generate.

Marketing management

Marketing Management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of marketing techniques and the management of a firm's marketing resources and activities. Rapidly emerging forces of globalization have compelled firms to market beyond the borders of their home country making International marketing highly significant and an integral part of a firm's marketing strategy. Marketing managers are often responsible for influencing the level, timing, and composition of customer demand accepted definition of the term. In part, this is because the role of a marketing manager can vary significantly based on a business' size, corporate culture, and industry context. For example, in a large consumer products company, the marketing manager may act as the overall general manager of his or her assigned product. To create an effective, cost-efficient Marketing management strategy, firms must possess a detailed, objective understanding of their own business and the market in which they operate. In analyzing these issues, the discipline of marketing management often overlaps with the related discipline of strategic planning.

Channel Management

Channel Management

Channel sales is the overall account liaison and is primarily responsible for selling product into distribution and the reseller channel (retail, VARs, system integrators).  Channel marketing is responsible for ensuring that product in distributor and reseller locations gets sold out. In essence Channel sales ensures sell-in, Channel Marketing ensures channel sell-through.
A Channel Marketing Manager is typically responsible for the sell-through function. There are cases where a Channel Marketing Manager handles all sell-in and sell through via the channel, and the internal sales people concentrate on selling direct--this may vary according to your organization.
This section of Chanimal is primarily for the Channel Marketing Manager who works in partnership with the head of Channel Sales to:

1. Establish a competitive reseller program (authorization, margins, levels, etc.)
2. Help recruit resellers
3. Prepare the proper reseller collateral
4. Create reseller kits (sell sheets, product slicks, catalogs, reseller pricing, NFR product, distribution part numbers, contact information, reviews, etc.),
5. Manage reseller database and Partner Relationship Management (PRM) software
6. Jointly invest the market development  (MDF) and Co-op funds to increase channel sell-through. 
7. This sell-through is accomplished through managing store, VAR and distributor promotions (spiffs, contest, rebates, specials, training, promotions, etc.),
8. Ensuring proper merchandising (retail only)
9. Ensuring adequate stocking levels
10. Running reseller education
11. Setting up motivational contest to reward sales
12. Manage seeding programs.

This person is also part of the marketing team and participates with Product Marketing, PR, the Webmaster (for the reseller portal) and Advertising to ensure that the specific reseller needs are met.
 

Channel Marketing

Channel Marketing

Often the question comes up, what is a channel?  A channel to market is the method of getting your product into the customer’s (the end user’s) hand. This can either be through direct sales, or through a reseller. Direct sales can occur in person, via the phone, the web or mail. Indirect, or channel sales typically refers to sales through a reseller. A reseller can order from you direct (one tier between you and the end user), or from a wholesale distributor--you would sell to a wholesale distributor and they in turn would sell to multiple resellers (two tiers between you and the end user (hence the common term “two-tier” distribution)).
Note: some companies or divisions (i.e., Motorola semiconductor, etc.) call the reseller the distributor (or disty)--this is correct, but not in the typical and more common two-tier distribution model. Hence, it is important to get the channel terminology down whenever talking about the channel--or you could be in violent agreement, and not know it.
A marketing channel is a set of practices or activities necessary to transfer the ownership of goods, and to move goods, from the point of production to the point of consumption and, as such, which consists of all the institutions and all the marketing activities in the marketing process. A marketing channel is a useful tool for management.

Which Channel to Use?

The first question to address is whether you should go direct or indirect. Often the answer is both--especially since the popularity of the Internet. The key, however is to avoid most of the channel conflict.
Channel conflict occurs when the vendor (you) and the reseller, or different reseller types (retail, VAR, mail order, Internet) compete for the same business.  I say “most” of the channel conflict, since it is fine to have some conflict--resellers may compete, and there may be some of the business that you can take direct .  For example, you might go direct with massive deals that are too big for a reseller to finance (such as a 1.3 billion deal overseas), or very small deals that don’t require any special training/installation/consulting--hence won’t provide margins for your resellers who make money on their ‘value added’ services.
To minimize conflict you could:

• Segment the products (different products are sold through different reseller types or channels)
• Setup exclusive or limited territories
• Sell direct at a higher price than the average street price
• Setup different promotions for different resellers--rotating so they all have advantages at different times
• Provide MDF/Co-op and let the resellers choose to establish their own competitive advantage
• Setup reseller levels--rewarding higher margins and support for higher authorization (the resellers choose whether they can be competitive)
• Setup a process to determine if a customer has worked with a reseller prior to taking the business direct (so you don’t steal business they cultivated), etc.

There are multiple ways that you can reduce conflict--the key is to be aware that it could exist and of your ramifications (short and long-term), and that you do something about it to keep your reseller and revenue targets satisfied. 
One vendor long gone, Ashton Tate, had a terrible problem with channel conflict (they would sell direct and undercut a prospect the reseller had cultivated)--as a result, their resellers hated them.  They still sold their products since they were so popular (dBase), but were rooting for a competitor to take them out--which happened.
It is also a problem if you have no conflict, since it usually indicates that you don’t have enough sales coverage--there could be parts of the market you are not covering (missing RFQ’s, not knowing about the opportunities, your product is not sold where the customers traffic, etc.).

Direct or Indirect?

The question to go direct, indirect or both is often determined by the following:

1. Ability to recruit resellers. If you cannot get your product into distribution, or find resellers, the answer is simple, you go direct.
2. Product type. If you are selling a product that requires a lot of training, installation and support, you may go direct until you get your resellers trained and certified--or, if you have a large enough sales force, you may stay direct. However, if you have enough sales people to only cover the largest customers (10 sales people to cover top 100 telcos, but not enough to cover the middle 5,000 telcos), you may wish to use resellers to cover the middle market--then segment your product line, one for direct and one for resellers.
3. Market dynamics. As the market technology adoption changes and products that used to require support become easier to use, and customers know what they want--you may go direct (like Dell (it was actually a modest model in the early days, since most users needed more support but became effective
4. Price point. High-end premium quality consumer products (such as expensive cookware, the best vacuums, etc.) are sometimes sold direct (and usually person-to-person) since the benefits (which are real, but not always obvious) must be sold. However, this does not mean that high-priced products can’t be sold via the channel (boats, planes, million dollar SFA products, etc.).
5. Customer requirements. Some customers require mandate a direct relationship with the vendor to ensure their needs are met.  In some cases, when an account insists on going direct, the reseller can still earn a bounty for delivering the qualified, pre-sold lead.
6. Ability to manage resellers. Much of the decision to go direct or indirect is also dependent on the companies ability to understand how the channel functions, come up with a competitive program, and manage the reseller programs and relationships.

The final decision on direct or indirect is based on your business model and how you address the questions above.
 

Marketing Practices

UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE MARKETING PRACTICES

Marketing practices are deceptive if customers believe they will get more value from a product or service than they actually receive. Deception, which can take the form of a misrepresentation, omission, or misleading practice, can occur when working with any element of the marketing mix. Because consumers are exposed to great quantities of information about products and firms, they often become skeptical of marketing claims and selling messages and act to protect themselves from being deceived. Thus, when a product or service does not provide expected value, customers will often seek a different source.
Deceptive pricing practices cause customers to believe that the price they pay for some unit of value in a product or service is lower than it really is. The deception might take the form of making false price comparisons, providing misleading suggested selling prices, omitting important conditions of the sale, or making very low price offers available only when other items are purchased as well. Promotion practices are deceptive when the seller intentionally misstates how a product is constructed or performs, fails to disclose information regarding pyramid sales (a sales technique in which a person is recruited into a plan and then expects to make money by recruiting other people), or employs bait-and-switch selling techniques (a technique in which a business offers to sell a product or service, often at a lower price, in order to attract customers who are then encouraged to purchase a more expensive item). False or greatly exaggerated product or service claims are also deceptive. When packages are intentionally mislabeled as to contents, size, weight, or use information, that constitutes deceptive packaging. Selling hazardous or defective products without disclosing the dangers, failing to perform promised services, and not honoring warranty obligations are also considered deception.

OFFENSIVE MATERIALS AND OBJECTIONABLE MARKETING PRACTICES

Marketers control what they say to customers as well as and how and where they say it. When events, television or radio programming, or publications sponsored by a marketer, in addition to products or promotional materials, are perceived as offensive, they often create strong negative reactions. For example, some people find advertising for all products promoting sexual potency to be offensive. Others may be offended when a promotion employs stereotypical images or uses sex as an appeal. This is particularly true when a product is being marketed in other countries, where words and images may carry different meanings than they do in the host country.
When people feel that products or appeals are offensive, they may pressure vendors to stop carrying the product. Thus, all promotional messages must be carefully screened and tested, and communication media, programming, and editorial content selected to match the tastes and interests of targeted customers. Beyond the target audience, however, marketers should understand that there are others who are not customers who might receive their appeals and see their images and be offended.
Direct marketing is also undergoing closer examination. Objectionable practices range from minor irritants, such as the timing and frequency of sales letters or commercials, to those that are offensive or even illegal. Among examples of practices that may raise ethical questions are persistent and high-pressure selling, annoying telemarketing calls, and television commercials that are too long or run too frequently. Marketing appeals created to take advantage of young or inexperienced consumers or senior citizens— including advertisements, sales appeals disguised as contests, junk mail (including electronic mail), and the use and exchange of mailing lists—may also pose ethical questions. In addition to being subject to consumer-protection laws and regulations, the Direct Marketing Association provides a list of voluntary ethical guidelines for companies engaged in direct marketing (available at their Web site at www.the-dma.org).

ETHICAL PRODUCT AND DISTRIBUTION PRACTICES

Several product-related issues raise questions about ethics in marketing, most often concerning the quality of products and services provided. Among the most frequently voiced complaints are ones about products that are unsafe, that are of poor quality in construction or content, that do not contain what is promoted, or that go out of style or become obsolete before they actually need replacing. An organization that markets poor-quality or unsafe products is taking the chance that it will develop a reputation for poor products or service. In addition, it may be putting itself in jeopardy for product claims or legal action. Sometimes, however, frequent changes in product features or performance, such as those that often occur in the computer industry, make previous models of products obsolete. Such changes can be misinterpreted as planned obsolescence.
Ethical questions may also arise in the distribution process. Because sales performance is the most common way in which marketing representatives and sales personnel are evaluated, performance pressures exist that may lead to ethical dilemmas. For example, pressuring vendors to buy more than they need and pushing items that will result in higher commissions are temptations. Exerting influence to cause vendors to reduce display space for competitors' products, promising shipment when knowing delivery is not possible by the promised date, or paying vendors to carry a firm's product rather than one of its competitors are also unethical.
Research is another area in which ethical is sues may arise. Information gathered from research can be important to the successful marketing of products or services. Consumers, however, may view organizations' efforts to gather data from them as invading their privacy. They are resistant to give out personal information that might cause them to become a marketing target or to receive product or sales information. When data about products or consumers are exaggerated to make a selling point, or research questions are written to obtain a specific result, consumers are misled. Without self-imposed ethical standards in the research process, management will likely make decisions based on inaccurate information.

Marketing Ethics

Ethics are a collection of principles of right conduct that shape the decisions people or organizations make. Practicing ethics in marketing means deliberately applying standards of fairness, or moral rights and wrongs, to marketing decision making, behavior, and practice in the organization.
In a market economy, a business may be expected to act in what it believes to be its own best interest. The purpose of marketing is to create a competitive advantage. An organization achieves an advantage when it does a better job than its competitors at satisfying the product and service requirements of its target markets. Those organizations that develop a competitive advantage are able to satisfy the needs of both customers and the organization.
As our economic system has become more successful at providing for needs and wants, there has been greater focus on organizations' adhering to ethical values rather than simply providing products. This focus has come about for two reasons. First, when an organization behaves ethically, customers develop more positive attitudes about the firm, its products, and its services. When marketing practices depart from standards that society considers acceptable, the market process becomes less efficient—sometimes it is even interrupted. Not employing ethical marketing practices may lead to dissatisfied customers, bad publicity, a lack of trust, lost business, or, sometimes, legal action. Thus, most organizations are very sensitive to the needs and opinions of their
customers and look for ways to protect their long-term interests.
Second, ethical abuses frequently lead to pressure (social or government) for institutions to assume greater responsibility for their actions. Since abuses do occur, some people believe that questionable business practices abound. As a result, consumer interest groups, professional associations, and self-regulatory groups exert considerable influence on marketing. Calls for social responsibility have also subjected marketing practices to a wide range of federal and state regulations designed to either protect consumer rights or to stimulate trade.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other federal and state government agencies are charged both with enforcing the laws and creating policies to limit unfair marketing practices. Because regulation cannot be developed to cover every possible abuse, organizations and industry groups often develop codes of ethical conduct or rules for behavior to serve as a guide in decision making. The American Marketing Association, for example, has developed a code of ethics (which can be viewed on its Web site at www.ama.org). Self-regulation not only helps a firm avoid extensive government intervention; it also permits it to better respond to changes in market conditions. An organization's long-term success and profitability depends on this ability to respond.

Specific issues in marketing ethics

Specific issues in marketing ethics

Market research

Ethical danger points in market research include:

• Invasion of privacy.
• Stereotyping.

Stereotyping occurs because any analysis of real populations needs to make approximations and place individuals into groups. However if conducted irresponsibly, stereotyping can lead to a variety of ethical undesirable results. In the AMA Statement of Ethics, stereotyping is countered by the obligation to show respect ("acknowledge the basic human dignity of all stakeholders").

Market audience

Ethical danger points include:

• Excluding potential customers from the market: selective marketing is used to discourage demand from undesirable market sectors or disenfranchise them altogether.
• Targeting the vulnerable (e.g. children, the elderly).

Examples of unethical market exclusion or selective marketing are past industry attitudes to the gay, ethnic minority and obese ("plus-size") markets. Contrary to the popular myth that ethics and profits do not mix, the tapping of these markets has proved highly profitable. For example, 20% of US clothing sales are now plus-size. Another example is the selective marketing of health care, so that unprofitable sectors (i.e. the elderly) will not attempt to take benefits to which they are entitled. A further example of market exclusion is the pharmaceutical industry's exclusion of developing countries from AIDS drugs.
Examples of marketing which unethically targets the elderly include: living trusts, time share fraud, mass marketing fraud and others. The elderly hold a disproportionate amount of the world's wealth and are therefore the target of financial exploitation.
In the case of children, the main products are unhealthy food, fashionware and entertainment goods. Children are a lucrative market: "...children 12 and under spend more than $11 billion of their own money and influence family spending decisions worth another $165 billion", but are not capable of resisting or understanding marketing tactics at younger ages ("children don't understand persuasive intent until they are eight or nine years old"). At older ages competitive feelings towards other children are stronger than financial sense. The practice of extending children's marketing from television to the schoolground is also controversial (see marketing in schools). The following is a select list of online articles:

• Sharon Beder, Marketing to Children (University of Wollongong, 1998).
• Miriam H. Zoll, Psychologists Challenge Ethics of Marketing to Children, (2000).
• Donnell Alexander and Aliza Dichter, Ads and Kids: How young is too young?
• Rebecca Clay, Advertising to children: Is it ethical? (Monitor on Psychology, Volume 31, No. 8 September 2000), American Psychological Association
• Media Awareness Network. How marketers target kids.

Other vulnerable audiences include emerging markets in developing countries, where the public may not be sufficiently aware of skilled marketing ploys transferred from developed countries, and where, conversely, marketers may not be aware how excessively powerful their tactics may be. See Nestle infant milk formula scandal. Another vulnerable group are mentally unstable consumers.The definition of vulnerability is also problematic: for example, when should endebtedness be seen as a vulnerability and when should "cheap" loan providers be seen as loan sharks, unethically exploiting the economically disadvantaged?

Pricing ethics

List of unethical pricing practices.

• Bid rigging
• Dumping (pricing policy)
• Predatory pricing
• Price discrimination
• Price fixing
• Price skimming
• Price war
• Supra competitive pricing
• Variable pricing

Ethics in advertising and promotion

Content

Ethical pitfalls in advertising and promotional content include:

• Issues over truth and honesty. In the 1940s and 1950s, tobacco used to be advertised as promoting health. Today an advertiser who fails to tell the truth not only offends against morality but also against the law. However the law permits "puffery" (a legal term). The difference between mere puffery and fraud is a slippery slope: "The problem... is the slippery slope by which variations on puffery can descend fairly quickly to lies."See main article: false advertising.
• Issues with violence, sex and profanity. Sexual innuendo is a mainstay of advertising content (see sex in advertising), and yet is also regarded as a form of sexual harassment. Violence is an issue especially for children's advertising and advertising likely to be seen by children.
• Taste and controversy. The advertising of certain products may strongly offend some people while being in the interests of others. Examples include: feminine hygiene products, hemorrhoid and constipation medication. The advertising of condoms has become acceptable in the interests of AIDS-prevention, but are nevertheless seen by some as promoting promiscuity. Some companies have actually marketed themselves on the basis of controversial advertising - see Benetton. Sony has also frequently attracted criticism for unethical content (portrayals of Jesus which infuriated religious groups; racial innuendo in marketing black and white versions of its PSP product; graffiti adverts in major US cities).
• Negative advertising techniques, such as attack ads. In negative advertising, the advertiser highlights the disadvantages of competitor products rather than the advantages of their own. The methods are most familiar from the political sphere: see negative campaigning.

Delivery channels

• Direct marketing is the most controversial of advertising channels, particularly when approaches are unsolicited. TV commercials and direct mail are common examples. Electronic spam and telemarketing push the borders of ethics and legality more strongly.
• Shills and astroturfers are examples of ways for delivering a marketing message under the guise of independent product reviews and endorsements, or creating supposedly independent watchdog or review organisations. For example, fake reviews can be published on Amazon.Shills are primarily for message-delivery, but they can also be used to drive up prices in auctions, such as Ebay auctions.

The use of ethics as a marketing tactic

Business ethics has been an increasing concern among larger companies, at least since the 1990s. Major corporations increasingly fear the damage to their image associated with press revelations of unethical practices. Marketers have been among the fastest to perceive the market's preference for ethical companies, often moving faster to take advantage of this shift in consumer taste. This results in the expropriation of ethics itself as a selling point or a component of a corporate image.

• The Body Shop is an example of a company which marketed itself and its entire product range solely on an ethical message, although its products were deceptively characterized and its history was marked by misrepresentations. "The Body Shop's only real product is honesty..." (Jon Entine in an ethics audit of the company). However the story of the Body Shop ended with increasing criticism of a gap between its morals and its practices.
• Greenwash is an example of a strategy used to make a company appear ethical when its unethical practices continue.
• Liberation marketing is another strategy whereby a product can masquerade behind an image that appeals to a range of values, including ethical values related to lifestyle and anti-consumerism.^[31]

"Liberation marketing takes the old mass culture critique — consumerism as conformity — fully into account, acknowledges it, addresses it, and solves it. Liberation marketing imagines consumers breaking free from the old enforcers of order, tearing loose from the shackles with which capitalism has bound us, escaping the routine of bureaucracy and hierarchy, getting in touch with our true selves, and finally, finding authenticity, that holiest of consumer grails." (Thomas Frank)

Marketing strategy

The main theoretical issue here is the debate between free markets and regulated markets. In a truly free market, any participant can make or change the rules. However when new rules are invented which shift power too suddenly or too far, other participants may respond with accusations of unethical behaviour, rather than modifying their own behaviour to suit (which they might not be able to anyway). Most markets are not fully free: the real debate is as to the appropriate extent of regulation.
Case: California electricity crisis, which demonstrates how constant innovation of new marketing strategies by companies such as Enron outwitted the regulatory bodies and caused substantial harm to consumers and competitors.
A list of known unethical or controversial marketing strategies:

• Anti-competitive practices
• Bait and switch
• Planned obsolescence
• Pyramid scheme
• Vendor lock-in / Vendor lock-out
• Viral marketing / guerilla marketing

Controversial marketing strategies associated with the internet:

• Embrace, extend and extinguish
• Search engine optimisation
• Spamdexing
• Spyware / Adware

Fundamental issues in the ethics of marketing

Fundamental issues in the ethics of marketing

Frameworks of analysis for marketing ethical

Possible frameworks:

• Value-oriented framework, analyzing ethical problems on the basis of the values which they infringe (e.g. honesty, autonomy, privacy, transparency). An example of such an approach is the AMA Statement of Ethics.
• Stakeholder-oriented framework, analysing ethical problems on the basis of whom they affect (e.g. consumers, competitors, society as a whole).
• Process-oriented framework, analysing ethical problems in terms of the categories used by marketing specialists (e.g. research, price, promotion, placement).

None of these frameworks allows, by itself, a convenient and complete categorization of the great variety of issues in marketing ethics.

Power-based analysis

Contrary to popular impressions, not all marketing is adversarial, and not all marketing is stacked in favour of the marketer. In marketing, the relationship between producer/consumer or buyer/seller can be adversarial or cooperative. For an example of cooperative marketing, see relationship marketing. If the marketing situation is adversarial, another dimension of difference emerges, describing the power balance between producer/consumer or buyer/seller. Power may be concentrated with the producer (caveat emptor), but factors such as over-supply or legislation can shift the power towards the consumer (caveat vendor). Identifying where the power in the relationship lies and whether the power balance is relevant at all are important to understanding the background to an ethical dilemma in marketing ethics.

Is marketing inherently evil?

A popularist anti-marketing stance commonly discussed on the blogosphere and popular literature is that any kind of marketing is inherently evil. The position is based on the argument that marketing necessarily commits at least one of three wrongs:

• Damaging personal autonomy. The victim of marketing in this case is the intended buyer whose right to self-determination is infringed.
• Causing harm to competitors. Excessively fierce competition and unethical marketing tactics are especially associated with saturated markets.
• Manipulating social values. The victim in this case is society as a whole, or the environment as well. The argument is that marketing promotes consumerism and waste. See also: affluenza, ethical consumerism, anti-consumerism.
• Marketing has a major impact on our self-images, our ability to relate to one another, and it ruins any knowledge and action that might help to change that climate.
• Marketing/Advertising creates artificiality and influences sexual attitudes.

Overall, people are spending tons of money and are usually more depressed

Evolution to global marketing

Evolution to global marketing

Global marketing is not a revolutionary shift, it is an evolutionary process. While the following does not apply to all companies, it does apply to most companies that begin as domestic-only companies.

Domestic marketing

A marketing restricted to the political boundaries of a country, is called "Domestic Marketing". A company marketing only within its national boundaries only has to consider domestic competition. Even if that competition includes companies from foreign markets, it still only has to focus on the competition that exists in its home market. Products and services are developed for customers in the home market without thought of how the product or service could be used in other markets. All marketing decisions are made at headquarters.
The biggest obstacle these marketers face is being blindsided by emerging global marketers. Because domestic marketers do not generally focus on the changes in the global marketplace, they may not be aware of a potential competitor who is a market leader on three continents until they simultaneously open 20 stores in the Northeastern U.S. These marketers can be considered ethnocentric as they are most concerned with how they are perceived in their home country. exporting goods to other countries. loosener Rhett

International marketing

If the exporting departments are becoming successful but the costs of doing business from headquarters plus time differences, language barriers, and cultural ignorance are hindering the company’s competitiveness in the foreign market, then offices could be built in the foreign countries. Sometimes companies buy firms in the foreign countries to take advantage of relationships, storefronts, factories, and personnel already in place. These offices still report to headquarters in the home market but most of the marketing mix decisions are made in the individual countries since that staff is the most knowledgeable about the target markets. Local product development is based on the needs of local customers. These marketers are considered polycentric because they acknowledge that each market/country has different needs.

Multinational marketing

At the multi-national stage, the company is marketing its products and services in many countries around the world and wants to benefit from economies of scale. Consolidation of research, development, production, and marketing on a regional level is the next step. An example of a region is Western Europe with the US. But, at the multi-national stage, consolidation, and thus product planning, does not take place across regions; a regiocentric approach. It should be noted that most companies that self describe their organization as multinational really are not entirely multinational. In fact, the definition of the multinational corporation itself is somewhat suspect. Simply calling a company a multinational corporation is not enough. A company must make adjustments to the ways it perceives its role in the international market place so that it might reap the rewards the multinational environment. Essentially there are three responses or behaviors that the multinational corporation can use in the international market place. These three orientations that a multinational corporation have been described as ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric. In ethnocentric company the culture of the home country pervades the organization. In the polycentric organization the host country begins to play more of a role but the company still treats each individual country unit as a some what disparate group with only a very small information flow back to headquarters. In the most mature stage of multinational development, geocentric, the company has truly started to act globally. The company can now begin to reap the benefits of the multinational economy. The somewhat parasitic nature of the previous types of multinational system are now replaced with the give and take of international relationships that involve the all important two way communications flow.

Elements of the global marketing mix

Elements of the global marketing mix

The “Four P’s” of marketing: product, price, placement, and promotion are all affected as a company moves through the five evolutionary phases to become a global company. Ultimately, at the global marketing level, a company trying to speak with one voice is faced with many challenges when creating a worldwide marketing plan. Unless a company holds the same position against its competition in all markets (market leader, low cost, etc.) it is impossible to launch identical marketing plans worldwide.

Product

A global company is one that can create a single product and only have to tweak elements for different markets. For example, Coca-Cola uses two formulas (one with sugar, one with corn syrup) for all markets. The product packaging in every country incorporates the contour bottle design and the dynamic ribbon in some way, shape, or form. However, the bottle or can also includes the country’s native language and is the same size as other beverage bottles or cans in that country.

Price

Price will always vary from market to market. Price is affected by many variables: cost of product development (produced locally or imported), cost of ingredients, cost of delivery (transportation, tariffs, etc.), and much more. Additionally, the product’s position in relation to the competition influences the ultimate profit margin. Whether this product is considered the high-end, expensive choice, the economical, low-cost choice, or something in-between helps determine the price point.

Placement

How the product is distributed is also a country-by-country decision influenced by how the competition is being offered to the target market. Using Coca-Cola as an example again, not all cultures use vending machines. In the United States, beverages are sold by the pallet via warehouse stores. In India, this is not an option. Placement decisions must also consider the product’s position in the market place. For example, a high-end product would not want to be distributed via a “dollar store” in the United States. Conversely, a product promoted as the low-cost option in France would find limited success in a pricey boutique.

Promotion

After product research, development and creation, promotion (specifically advertising) is generally the largest line item in a global company’s marketing budget. At this stage of a company’s development, integrated marketing is the goal. The global corporation seeks to reduce costs, minimize redundancies in personnel and work, maximize speed of implementation, and to speak with one voice. If the goal of a global company is to send the same message worldwide, then delivering that message in a relevant, engaging, and cost-effective way is the challenge.
Effective global advertising techniques do exist. The key is testing advertising ideas using a marketing research system proven to provide results that can be compared across countries. The ability to identify which elements or moments of an ad are contributing to that success is how economies of scale are maximized. Market research measures such as Flow of Attention, Flow of Emotion and branding moments provide insights into what is working in an ad in any country because the measures are based on visual, not verbal, elements of the ad.

Global marketing Advantages and disadvantages

Global marketing Advantages and Disadvantages

• Economies of scale in production and distribution
• Lower marketing costs
• Power and scope
• Consistency in brand image
• Ability to leverage good ideas quickly and efficiently
• Uniformity of marketing practices
• Helps to establish relationships outside of the "political arena"
• Helps to encourage ancillary industries to be set up to cater for the needs of the global player

The benefits of E-Marketing 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, E-Marketing 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. E-Marketing 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, E-Marketing k 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, in ways never before imagined, provide an immediate impact. Imagine you’re reading your favorite 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 E-Marketing, it’s easy to make that step as simple as possible, meaning that within a few short clicks you could have booked a test drive or 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. By closing the gap between providing information and eliciting a consumer reaction, the consumer’s buying cycle is speeded up and advertising spend can go much further in creating immediate leads.
Demographics and targeting
Generally speaking, the demographics of the Internet are a marketer’s dream. Internet users, considered as a group, have greater buying power and could perhaps be considered as a population group skewed towards the middle-classes. Buying power is not all though. The nature of the Internet is such that its users will tend to organize themselves into far more focused groupings. Savvy marketers who know where to look can quite easily find access to the niche markets they wish to target. Marketing messages are most effective when they are presented directly to the audience most likely to be interested. The Internet creates the perfect environment for niche marketing to targeted groups.
Adaptivity and closed loop marketing
Closed Loop Marketing requires the constant measurement and analysis of the results of marketing initiatives. By continuously tracking the response and effectiveness of a campaign, the marketer can be far more dynamic in adapting to consumers’ wants and needs. With E-Marketing, responses can be analyzed in real-time and campaigns can be tweaked continuously. Combined with the immediacy of the Internet as a medium, this means that there’s minimal advertising spend wasted on less than effective campaigns. Maximum marketing efficiency from E-Marketing creates new opportunities to seize strategic competitive advantages. The combination of all these factors results in an improved ROI and ultimately, more customers, happier customers and an improved bottom line.

 Disadvantages

• Differences in consumer needs, wants, and usage patterns for products
• Differences in consumer response to marketing mix elements
• Differences in brand and product development and the competitive environment
• Differences in the legal environment, some of which may conflict with those of the home market

• Differences in the institutions available, some of which may call for the creation of entirely new ones (e.g. infrastructure)

• Differences in administrative procedures
• Differences in product placement.

Creating a Competitive Advantage

Creating a Competitive Advantage

A little competition can be a healthy thing. Having a competitive edge means possessing an advantage over your competition. Before you can accurately identify your competition, it's crucial to first define and analyze your target market. Assessing your competitors openly and honestly will play a key role in helping you develop a competitive edge.

I. Gaining a Competitive Edge

A. Define Yourself

Before your customers can get to know you, it's important to first know yourself and your company's mission in the marketplace. In today's highly competitive world, it isn't enough to simply say, "I own a card shop." You must define the type of card shop. Are you a card shop for everyone with wall-to-wall generic cards that can easily be purchased at other stores? Or do you specialize in unusual cards, thus attracting those people who demand cards that are unique and not readily available at other locations?

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is my product or service unique, and if so, why?
• Is the way I operate my business unique?
• Do I service a niche market? Are there other markets that could benefit from my product or service?
• Are my employees a key asset that sets us apart from our competitors?

B. Define Your Competitors

Now that you have a clear understanding of who you are, you must make a list of all your competitors and track them on a regular basis. In order to compete, you should compile the following data about each competitor:

• What are their strengths?
• What are their weaknesses?
• What are their capabilities?
• Who is their customer base?
• What are their revenues?
• Are their profit margins growing?
• What are their promotional and marketing strategies?
• What are their current offerings?
• What are their future goals?

Gathering data on all of your competitors could, in itself, be a full-time job. To make it easier on yourself, you should realize up front that tracking each and every competitor every day of the week is probably impossibility. Therefore, you should break your competition into categories and prioritize them, asking yourself who poses the biggest threat. The following are suggested ways to categorize your competitors:

Priority #1: Head-to-Head Competitors

These are the companies that compete most directly with you. Your product is similar. Customers compare you to them in terms of price, quality and service. These companies should be tracked on a weekly basis.

Priority #2: First-Tier Competitors

These folks compete with you, but not for everything. They may try to woo a particular kind of customer from you, or they may be similar to you only in a certain area. This is an important group to stay on top of because they may decide to expand and compete with you more directly. You should track them at least one to two times per month.

Priority #3: Indirect Competitors

These competitors tend to be in the background. You only run into them occasionally. Their products usually serve as alternatives to yours. But make no mistake about it, these companies are still definite competitors, vying for business. They need to be watched because there is no telling what rabbits they might pull out of their hats when you least expect it. It's better to be prepared. You may want to review these companies three or four times a year.

C. Identify Your Customers

Once you have a handle on your competitors, the next important step is to clearly define who your customer base is. To clearly identify your customer base, ask yourself the following questions:

• Where do my customers live?
• Approximately how old are my customers?
• Are my customers primarily male or female?
• What is the income level of my average customer?
• What are my customers' needs?
• What motivates my customers to buy, i.e., price, quality, credibility, customer service, location, etc.
• When do my customers do their buying? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Annually? Seasonally?
• How much research do my customers do on a product or a service before spending money?
• What services or products are my customers willing to spend more on?
• What services or products are my customers willing to spend less on?
• What are my customers' buying trends and habits?

A good way to identify what your customers want is to talk with them and really listen to what they have to say. Customer feedback can be a cheap and invaluable tool in creating a competitive edge.

D. Personal Experience

Chances are, in any given week you reverse roles and go from business owner to consumer. You may visit the grocery store or the dry cleaner, or eat at a particular restaurant. Consciously or unconsciously, you make decisions about which businesses will get your own hard-earned money. Stop and analyze the choices you make.

Make a list of all your favorite companies and ask yourself why you enjoy doing business with them. What is it about them that attract you? Is it their prices? Their products? Their service? The fact that they know you by name? Do they clear up problems and correct mistakes in a timely, hassle-free fashion?

Now list the companies that you refuse to do business with. Again, ask yourself why. What has turned you off? Are their salespeople rude and unhelpful? Are their shelves scarcely stocked? Is their parking limited? Is the quality of their product or services poor? Are they overpriced? Do they not take your problems and complaints seriously?

Analyzing both the positive and negative personal experiences you have had as a consumer can significantly improve your own business. You may be able to implement similar policies of the things you liked and altogether avoid those that have steered you away.

E. Differentiation

In today's crowded marketplace, consumers have lots of choices. In order to gain a competitive advantage, you must give customers a reason to choose you over the competition. You must make it your business to see that your product stands head and shoulders above the crowd.  While lowering prices is certainly a viable way to reel customers in, there are other things you can do to make your company unique simply by using a little imagination and creativity. The following are ways to differentiate your product and/or company from your competitors:

• Look at what your competitor has to offer. What new spin can you put on it?
• Assess your product. Can you add any new features that might make it more desirable or useful than your competitors?
• Think of new uses for old products or new ways to package or bundle your offerings
• Analyze your marketing strategy. Are there ways to use your promotional campaign as an advantage?
• Make sure your products are user-friendly and easy to order. Make it easy to do business with you.
• Can you provide exceptional customer service, hours of operation, guarantees, etc.?
• Are there any special services you can offer your customers that your competitors don't?

F. Price

While there are those people who will spend top dollar on any given product, most people are price-conscious. Many folks are willing to shop around to see where their dollar will go the farthest. It is important to recognize that you may not always be able to be the lowest priced service and still maintain a healthy profit margin. However, there are still many ways to lure customers including some of the following techniques:

• Special offers for repeat customers and introductory offers
• Coupons
• Sales and discounts
• Financing packages
• Convenient return policy
• Money-back guarantees if customers aren't completely satisfied

G. Product

Here is the golden rule: Your product or service is everything. Without it, your business is nothing. It is what your entire reputation will ultimately be based on. You can have the nicest business location, the lowest prices and the best customer service, but if you don't have something people want to buy, your business will, more than likely, go belly up. Therefore, it's crucial to constantly place your product or service under a microscope, examine it and re-examine it carefully. Ask yourself the following questions about your product or service:

• Does my product perform?
• Is it durable?
• Is it reliable?
• Is it fairly priced?
• Does it consistently live up to its reputation?
• Am I known in my industry for producing quality goods or services?
• Is my product easily recognizable?

It is important to understand that your product has a life all its own. Like people, it goes through a life cycle.  First it is born, then it goes through a growth period; eventually, it may decline or die altogether. The following are ways to ensure that your product or service has the longest possible life:

• Create ways to ensure your product or service is in demand
• Make your product or service a trendsetter
• Think of innovative ways to encourage more people to buy your product
• Venture into new and different markets
• Add new features to your product
• Market a companion product

There may come a point where, due to circumstances beyond your control, your product is no longer in demand. Signs to look for include sharply dropping sales in spite of continued marketing expenditures, new technologies that have replaced those your product is based on, or changes in your customers' lifestyles or preferences. If that is the case, there is no point in continuing to supply your product. It is best to move on.

H. Marketing Strategies

Now that you have a fabulous product, it's time to take it out into the world. You would never think to venture into a blizzard without the proper snow gear. Why? You know you wouldn't survive. Likewise, you should never venture into the market without a specific strategy as to how you intend to sell your product. A good place to begin is with the competition. Look at companies with similar products and analyze how they have marketed them. In what ways have they succeeded? In what ways have they failed? You have the luxury of learning from their mistakes and benefiting from their triumphs. It's an invaluable tool. Don't overlook it.

You have heard the phrase, "nothing ventured, nothing gained." In other words, don't be afraid to try new things. There is something to be said for a fresh approach. Be inventive and come up with your own creative strategies. In devising your own plan, you may want to keep in mind the following:

• Remember to whom you are selling
• Focus on your product's or service's benefits rather than features
• Don't be afraid to toot your own horn
• Be sure your plan is attainable
• Have a back-up strategy in mind, especially if your primary one is risky
• Collect facts, figures and important data before you put your plan into action

There are many roads you can take when marketing your product. Ask yourself what your primary focus will be. Is it low cost? Is it product differentiation? Product uniqueness? Is it based on your reputation, having had success with other products?

These days, most markets are highly saturated. Without a clear marketing strategy, you will not be able to compete.

II. Maintaining a Competitive Edge

Congratulations, you have finally established a distinct edge over your competitors. That's the good news. The bad news is that you must now maintain it. Doing so can take a lot of effort and energy. Staying ahead of others in your field requires several key elements. First, you must monitor your competitors' capabilities. The following questions will help you determine how far your competition might be able to go:

• What is their customer base?
• Can they keep up with supply and demand?
• Are they in good shape financially?
• Are they expanding?
• How determined are they to conquer the market?
• Do they have the resources to eventually become number one in the market?

By analyzing your competitors' past and present through the data you have been tracking, it may be easy to see precisely what they might do in the future. In order to stop them in their tracks, you must be a step ahead, so figuring out their next move is key. Here are some areas it might be helpful to look at:

• Customer targets
• Revenue targets
• Customer service goals

III. Keeping Up With Changes

As if your everyday life isn't hectic enough, you must also worry about the future. Accurately forecasting new trends, as well as which trends are here to stay and which will be gone tomorrow, can give you a huge leg up on the competition. How do you forecast trends if you aren't psychic and don't have a crystal ball? The best way is to talk to experts in your given industry. Beyond that, there are some definite outside factors you should be aware of that will most likely affect your business in the future:

Lifestyle Trends

Lifestyles change with time. Trends come and go. Predicting what will be important in people's lives down the road is no small feat, but it is achievable and can make you very rich.

Technological Trends

Technology changes all the time and it is crucial that you keep up with it. Once some new and viable technology enters your industry, be sure to grab it because most likely your competitors will. Like you, they won't want to be left behind. If you can see the advances coming, and be the first to get in, you may be able to win over and keep your competitors' customers.

You can keep a few steps ahead of new technology by attending trade shows and conventions. Press releases on technology will also clue you in as to what's in store for the future. Also, it is a good idea to make sure your company is always ready to handle technological change.

Economic Trends

Some years are going to be better than others, because of economic conditions. This can be key in determining when to place your product on the market. For example, if your product is more luxury-driven, chances are it's not going to do well during a recession. Regular dialogue with financial experts, such as stockbrokers and bankers, can help you predict how people will be spending money in the future. The economy can directly change your customer base, and you should always have a contingency plan for how to combat it.

Government Trends

The government will be involved in your business to a certain extent. Thus, it's important to read the newspaper and keep tabs on what your lawmakers are up to. Things can happen that force government to react, and this can greatly affect your business.

IV. Evaluating Your Competitive Advantage

Once you have established a clear, competitive edge, the tendency might be to coast for a while. Picture yourself in the middle of the ocean floating on a raft surrounded by sharks waiting for you to make one tiny mistake so they can swallow you whole. That is precisely what your competitors are doing: circling around you, waiting for the moment you let down your guard just long enough so they can go in for the kill.

In order to stay at the top, you must continuously monitor and evaluate your competitive advantage. Constantly re-defining and re-inventing your company is essential. So how do you know when it's the right time to do this? Start by identifying specific changes in your marketplace, even subtle ones.

As you make changes and introduce new and innovative changes, don't be alarmed if your competitors follow suit. Remember, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery -- and it makes good business sense. If you are continually evaluating your competitive advantage, by the time competitors begin to copy your strategy, you will already be three steps ahead and onto a different approach.

Another good time to evaluate your position in the market is as trends and technological advances come and go. It is safe to assume that you won't continue to be a threat to your competitors if your business is stuck in time. Remember, everything changes with time, and what worked in your industry today may not work tomorrow. In order to stay successful and competitive, you must change and grow along with your industry.

Also, don't be afraid to ask your customers for a report card. Check in with them on a random basis from time to time just to see how you are doing. If you are slipping in places, it may be time to re-evaluate your approach to certain things.

Finally, don't automatically assume that because you are ahead of the gang now, you always will be. The truth is, just as easily as your business is on top of the world today, it could be wiped off the planet tomorrow if you aren't careful. Remember, you must always be seen by your customers and competitors as extraordinary. Anything less and you will have lost the competitive edge you worked so hard to create.