Gouranga Patra & Prithvish Bose, Author at Adamas University

Marketing Analytics – A New Dimension in Marketing

Introduction:

Marketing is a process which fulfills human and social needs. The core concept of marketing is to satisfy customers. Recent trends are driving this concept into a more integrated format. Once there was a time where innovation, information, ambitions, specifications, preferences, choices, opportunities were limited and markets were able to function with limited numbers of marketers and their ideology. This concept is facing change on the one hand with unprecedented growth and the potential impact of MSME’s, especially startups in the market. All this is impacting the way people consume. Starting with the core proposition of marketing and the product-based framework of the 4Ps morphing into 7Ps for services, other marketing paradigms such as holistic marketing, societal marketing, cause related marketing have emerged. The simplistic premise that satisfying customers by supplying good products, reasonably priced and with a strong distribution network will no longer help a marketer retain today’s customer. There is a need for continuous evaluation of the customers and their movement and marketing therefore becomes more customer-centric and customized than ever before. To survive in this competitive market, the marketer of today has to be constantly on his toes, trying to develop competitive advantages and core competencies. Today’s customer is fickle, and rarely stay with the same brand for long, and customer attrition is threatening to overtake customer retention, and the market is increasingly turning volatile in nature. It is thus not surprising that in certain contexts the strategies used by today’s marketers fail to display a deep understanding of the market and its customers. In this situation marketing analytics can play a huge role in gauging the market ad enable reliable predictions for the future.

Marketing Analytics overview:

Marketers of yore were highly dependent on market information and research outcomes for taking their business decisions. But in today’s world there are colossal sources of information from different perspectives and each one has their own potential use and impact. It is quite difficult for a marketer to delve into each area and glean critical information without the use of specialised tools and lagging behind in this area may doom them to failure. Marketing analytics, which is a process of manipulating and interpreting data, which offers a way out to take better marketing decisions. It helps marketers to understand the dynamics of their business, anticipate market shifts and assess risks. When marketer takes any kind of business decision, there is a dire need to anticipate the outcome of this decision. To do that there is a need for judgment using past activities as the benchmark and understand the impact of changes in the immediate, medium term and long term future. The challenge is to match these three and anticipate the direct and indirect effects in the marketing outcomes. These are usually categorised as descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics. Descriptive analytics helps the marketer to understand to what happened in the past and alerts the marketer regarding the actions needed to minimize the negative impacts. Predictive analytics is perhaps the most important tool to identify what will happen next and carry out ‘what if’ analysis. These two questions can be effectively addressed by using predictive models and randomized testing. Thus, if we reduce the price of a product can it lead to increase in customer buying or if marketer increases the price, or promotion through different media or reduction in some content what could be the effect on business? The major advantage of analytics is to handle the market data coming from different sources and in different formats. It enables the marketer to clearly distinguish between past, current and future trends, allowing him to forecast consumer behavior before it actually occurs. By using audience profiling data in terms of geographic, demographic, behavioral categories, it proceeds to predict what customers want, allowing marketers to be proactive, upselling products, creating long-term relationships with consumers and determining market shifts before rival brands. We can summarise that marketing analytics as below.

Data driven market prediction and decision.
Gives alerts marketer based on past records (Descriptive analytics).
Helps to take decision looking into current trend and policy implementation (Predictive analytics).
Helps to identify best possible opportunities through trial and error (Randomized effect),
What is the best that can be done (Prescriptive analytics)?
More focused decision making by using different characteristics of market/ consumer data.
Helps to improve business forecasting.

Major Functional areas of Marketing Analytics:

Day by day the role of analytics is expanding in different areas of business, led by large corporations who applying analytics to their decision are making process as never before. They see this process as much more efficient compared the traditional way of prediction and precautions in business decisions. The major areas, where analytics is finding use are development of branding in term of brand personality, brand equity and brand architecture. The other areas of deployment are customer management, product design, price strategy, distribution system, and promotional development, and customer service. Companies are thus using analytics to enable faster and fact based decision making and this is turning point for he marketer to enjoy competitive advantage in market. Data driven decision making helps organizations not only to make better strategic decisions, but also enjoy high operational efficiency, improved customer satisfaction, and robust profit and revenue levels. In terms of customer acquisition and retention, the analytics provide a huge positive impact improving customer profitability and reduce churn. Thus, marketing analytics helps marketers to

Develop effective branding strategy
Identify prospect in terms of customer management
Enable faster and fact based decision making
High operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Right decision in right time.

Vocal for Local – A cutting edge opportunity for Market Development of Small Firms

Introduction:

In the past one decade, the industrial growth was not significant in India. Major impact was observed in the performance of core manufacturing industries, and despite several corrective measures taken by the government for sustainability of large firms, successes were few and far between. To boost the economy, more emphasis was given to service sector after observing the huge contribution of services in developed economies. Another peculiarity of the Indian market was the dominance by a few large players in almost every sector. These large players were, in effect, cannibalizing the small firms since they were not in a position to compete with large firms in terms of innovations, market share and policy framework. But COVID-19 changed all the calculations, people lost their jobs and incomes fell leading to reduction of buying capacity. As a result of that performance of large firms went down the line and people expressed a clear preference for products which are local made and available in nearby market. In India, rural markets present a great opportunity because of the saturation of urban markets. Therefore, the pandemic has presented a great opportunity for local players to establish their brands and markets with limited resources which they failed to do in the pre-COVID-19 era.

Concept of Vocal for Local:

The Indian market comprises of urban and rural and there is a significant differential nature of buying pattern, customer preferences, liking etc. The rural market and industry mostly depends on agriculture and allied industries. But in different studies and debate, it says that there is a need of rapid revolution in the rural product and rural market. As a result the overall development of the country will amplify. The VOCAL FOR LOCAL concept emerged recently in India and the moto is to be self-reliant. If this succeeds than we will get all round positive changes in countries economic, socio-cultural scenario. If we look into government initiatives, they mainly try to promote MSME which are the key drivers of country’s economic growth in recent years. MSME mainly operate by looking into local resource availability, combined with entrepreneurial skills and also limited market coverage. In this regard the small firms need to develop the brand which is required by a particular geographic region. Initiatives such as dairy firms, food processing units, restaurants, bakeries, jewelry manufacturing units, packaging industries, horticulture and many more which can emerge from local resources where people does not require high skill, promotion and pricing strategy. In this present situation, it is very much possible for the small firms to develop their business strategy by looking into the needs and demands of the local market and in terms of resources, it is easy to get the resources which are available in the surroundings. India is a country where people have a tendency to prefer branded products and also foreign made product. But this thought is going through a change now and people are developing their mindset to buy local products. There are so many industries such as FMCG, Electronics goods which are experiencing higher demand for locally designed products which have taken into account specific local requirements. If we follow Porter’s five force model which states that there is a big hurdle for market entry of local firms, suppliers were working under the constraint of market dominance by big brand. Local products were not getting proper leverage due this dominance by established brands, but now the door is open to small firms to operate without taking help of the larger firms because lot of initiatives and benefits are provided by the government in terms of finance, technology and also training support. The VOCAL FOR LOCAL concept also emphasizing the root of development which is more connected with rural India resources.

How to develop the market:

As we know that in skills, competency, strategy, financial capability, distribution systems etc., the large firms are miles ahead as they operate both at national and international levels, and thus it is big challenges for the small firms to follow them and their structure. So the small firms need to do an analysis of how the other small firms are operating in the market and what is their Unique Selling Proposition. Apart from that, small firms need to design products which are best suited in the local market. The market segmentation can be done for a particular geographic region. Resources should be sourced locally which can help them to restrict their price. Firms have to follow a different line of communication to reach the people and also indentify the most convenient way of promote their product. As a small firm has limited market coverage the distribution system should be designed such that a customer can get the products as and when required. Product development can be done not by following the large corporates but with the smell of local touch because it can make sentimental differences to the consumers to purchase the product. The basic ideas of vocal for local is to promote small firm with limited resource and try to develop small market which can reduce price burden of the consumers, accustom with the more locally made product which can grow the economics of the country and dependency towards large branded product will be less. Therefore we can say that there are few areas the small firms must consider to develop market.

Small level of segmentation where firm can give more focus.
Products can be design on identification of specific local needs and wants.
Development of products based on local touch and smell but of good quality.
Pricing should not be comparable to large firm.
Technology can be adopted but aligned with affordability.
Smooth and faster delivery system
Traditional methods of promotion can work but attempt should be to leverage digital to the maximum extent possible
Development of organic products present a great opportunity.

BBA as a Career- A Multidimensional Opportunity

Selection of Career:

In today’s scenario, it is a very challenging task for students and parents to select an option for study after the completion of higher secondary. The job market is very volatile in nature, and is highly competitive. It therefore requires an individual to acquire specialized knowledge and skills in their field of operations. Hence, it is essential that an individual starts developing comprehensive domain specific knowledge early on in his/her academic life. The scope in government sectors is decreasing and at the same time, using modern technology, industries are moving from manual to automation. As a result, the importance and the requirement of huge manual forces are reducing. The core sectors are not performing well all over world and in India as well. If we look at the last five year’s economic and industrial growth in India, it was not significant enough to give hope to the young generation. If we look at the present, it is clear that all over the world, the job market has been affected because of COVID-19 and it will take a long time for it to recover. On the other hand, it also observed that some new areas are emerging and creating huge employment opportunities and that is mostly in the service sector. If we look at the developed nations, they have great strength in the service sector and India is also following the same path. The government is also promoting some areas such as entrepreneurship, skill based programs and self sufficiency programs, where the next generation will not only be looking for job, but rather, will develop the creativity to generate jobs for others. Thus, in the present situation, the students have to take very careful steps before selection of any program after higher secondary because it is very difficult to predict future trends. So we should focus more on multi dimensional career approaches rather than single outcomes.

Unique Selling Proposition of BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration):

Looking into the above facts, modern day students are increasingly opting for this program which offers them a multidimensional approach in terms of knowledge, ability and skills. At the same time, this is the reason why, in the present scenario, many colleges and institutions in India have realized that only academic engagement cannot solve the problem. There is a need for academic blending that make the students industry ready, productive, efficient and employable (even self-employable) when they start their careers and step into the industry. It is a program covering various aspects of capability enhancement courses, skill enhancement courses and general courses which helps students understand about economics, statistics, accounting and finance as well as different subjects covering wide aspects of management like HR (Human Resources), Marketing, Finance, Banking and Insurance, Industrial Relations, etc. Not only that, the program also teaches technical skills to the students which help them to remain up to date in this area. Further, it emphasizes on the skills which are required by the industry. This BBA program is highly appreciated by the industry because they get a multi-skilled workforce with a good overview of how industry works, and as the program is multidimensional in nature, they can put the students, as per requirement of the industry, under different departments.

Multidimensional Career Opportunities:

A few specific areas where BBA students are getting opportunities and also getting opportunities to develop skills are as below.

Becoming a financial analyst- there are different areas of Finance being covered in this program which may help the students to choose a career as a financial or investment analyst. In the current situation, most of the banking and insurance organizations are recruiting a huge number of people from BBA courses.
Becoming a marketing and sales executive- this is an area where BBA students get huge opportunities in comparison to other graduates. Companies also prefer to recruit BBA students as executives in the entry level positions.
Opportunities in Back office operational jobs- Companies like HSBC and TCS hire BBA students to work as a back office operational executives for their foreign clients.
Opportunities in Market research firms- Most companies have separate market research consultant teams where they recruit BBA students for doing different market research activities.
BBA graduates get hired in leading consulting firms such as IBM, Accenture and Deloitte. Consulting firms provide access to individuals with subject matter expertise who can help them take right decisions. Being part of consulting firms allows one to gain experience across a diverse set of industries.
Opportunities in Human Resource departments- BBA students get fundamental knowledge in different aspects of human resource management. Because of that, they can get opportunities in the companies in various functions in the HR department such as hiring activities, placements and performance evaluation.
Opportunities as a Logistics Manager- this is also a big area of opportunity in the present market where BBA students are in demand and most industries like FMCG, Automotive and Retail hire BBA students to manage their distribution networks.
Career as Customer Relationship Managers in Banks – the basic job is to maintain the relationship with the customer by providing them various services like grievance compliance, tele-calling and service support.
Opportunities in startup ventures – BBA student work under different disciplines like Growth Hackers, Marketing Specialists and Product Managers.
Build a career as a Cost and management accounting specialist- in the BBA program enough scope is there for students to clear ICWA or CA.
Build a career as an Entrepreneur- This is an emerging area where most BBA students are starting their career because this program gives enough knowledge which is essential for entrepreneurship.
Explore opportunities in the Government sectors- Though the course covers different aspects of general studies and management areas, there is a high chance of the students joining as Bank Probationary Officers, Civil services or other government jobs through Staff Selection Commission (SSC) etc.
Doing a BBA would help an individual who aspires to do an MBA and get greater preference by industries in their managerial positions.

In short, a BBA is seen today as a preferred vehicle to launch one’s career, given the enormous scope it offers to those graduating in this area.

MBA in Pharmaceutical Management- A Prospective Professional Career

Pharmaceutical industries- An overview of growth

In the recent time especially in India is a big challenge for innovators to design a concept which can be unique. As we know that most of industries are not showing growth in terms of market return and all the core industries are running under losses as a result unemployment increases. So it is a big challenge for the young graduates to get a good job in the corporate world and there is a need to provide directions for solution of this problem. But if we look into the pharmaceutical industry the picture, it is a different scenario in terms of market growth, prospect and demand. Looking into the nature of household buying, these products also have same demand like regular commodities of the household. From the study of different reports (especially IBEF), it is obviously a sector enjoying high growth and can boast of huge level of investments. The industry is one of the major contributors to a nations GDP and, in case of India, to its export basket. In India more than 2000pharmaceuticalmanufacturers operate produce more than 50000 drugs. The nature of disease is changing, and companies investing money to develop new medicines to match the demand of the country and outside. On the other side, growth of insurance sector is increasing and at the same time government also taken lot of initiatives to access health services in the different level of communities. This may be up gradation of medical services, and also insurance scheme. As a result, country like India is now in a good position to provide heath service and people also maintaining taking these opportunities. At the same time this is sector generate huge scope of employment in the area of research and development, hospital services, community service but the huge scope in the marketing of pharmaceutical products. So above fact helps us to understand the icebreaking growth of pharmaceutical industries in India and also have a very strong competitive market in India.

Why MBA in Pharmaceutical Management:

The above discussion makes us clear that the growth of the pharmaceutical industry in India is huge. When a sector grow, it is obvious that the surrounding market condition also improves. If we go back few year ago there are few companies operating in the market with some specific drugs. But now the scenario changes, local player are entering in the market with different drugs as a result of branded companies are facing difficulty to meet the challenges with local players. The local players are designing all their marketing strategy by looking into market environment of this region and in the country. Now the market is very much competitive, so the workforce used by the companies earlier may not be effective for longer because of competitive nature of the market. Now industry requires different level of skill set who can generate and create market with effectiveness and efficiently. In this connection, I found the candidates from MBA in pharmaceutical management program will play a huge role to bridge the gap between market and companies expectation because they will be able to manage the market with knowledge of products, industry and strong professional skills. That helps the companies to implement a good marketing strategy which may protect them from market declining position.

Uniqueness of MBA in Pharmaceutical Management

The course has been designed with the specific requirements of pharmaceutical industries. Skill sets have been drawn up to fit the industry requirements. There are few areas which make the program more in demand, including a strong knowledge of pharmacology, intellectual property, how pharmaceutical organisations should operate to cater to international markets. Maximum emphasis has been given to market research as a result, it will help the organisation to understand the market properly and help to take right strategic decisions. This will lead to development of strong competitive advantage in the market, and as this industry is always concentrating on new product development and modification, it is a distinct advantage. Similarly, to assess market breadth, it is very important to know market economics, investment patterns and develop the right managerial skills. Thus, this course will help the students develop the skills which are required by the industry in the current context.

Prospective professional career dimensions:

It is well known that the government is encouraging pharmaceutical industries for foreign direct investment and the number of manufacturing units are introducing new drugs/pharmaceutical products regularly. In terms of job prospects pharmaceutical companies offer several opportunities related to development of molecules, apart from marketing.

Pharmaceutical companies are looking at different skill sets compared to other industries since the marketing of pharmaceutical products is quite different from that of other industries and relies on conceptual marketing. This industry also has some specific requirements, such as more preferences given to pharmacy, science, bio-science and a recent trend is that of most of the companies are preferring candidates who possess specific skills of selling of pharmaceutical products. In a study (Business Line in 2017), it was projected that an additional 54000 job will created by the pharmaceutical industry by 2025. Thus, in terms of job prospects, it is very large in comparison to any other sector. Not only that there are more than a thousand companies operating outside India, and students graduating from this course with specialised knowledge about both domestic and global pharmaceutical operations are likely to be preferred. A few of the areas where MBA in Pharmaceutical Management candidates are required are mentioned below.

Sales Manager and Marketing Manager
Market Research Analyst of pharmaceutical companies.
Customer Relationship Manager in reputed pharmaceutical companies
Logistics managers of pharmaceutical and other allied products
Leadership in Product management department
Opportunities as an export/ import managers
Quality assurance manager.
Pharmaceutical Purchase managers and few others area.

Reference:

https://www.ibef.org/industry/pharmaceuticalceutical-india.aspx. retrieve from Google on 04.20
Consolidated FDI Policy, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Press Information Bureau (PIB), Media Reports, Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council, AIOCD-AWACS, IQVIA, *Top 10 companies as per research by HDFC Securities
Pharmaceutical sector to create 58,000 more jobs by 2025, feel experts, The Hindu Business Line 28 February 2017.