Learning Through Summer Internship Project

The trend has changed, now a higher percentage of graduates join in MBA for their PG program. They do have their ambition and goal to achieve through MBA. The project done in MBA is really giving upper edge to students while going to face interviews. It is advisable to work with passion and learning attitude in a project. It is being observed that students take casually the project and later faces problem in the company.A summer internship will always tell you about the company working style, strategies, culture, and attitude at work place and many more related to organizational behavior.Let’s take an example of MBA Marketing Project work. During the program student have lots of opportunity to learn from the market. While doing project marketing student can learn about Product, Price, Place, Promotion strategies and Marketing Research techniques. If the project work is done sincerely than it would be beneficial for company, college and student as well. The final report submitted by the student can be used by the company in doing market analysis, college can use it in clearing the concept to students as they have current data and students can use it while doing job.

It is important to do the project with utmost care. It is necessary for the college to help their students in their projects and make sure that they are going to learn something from the project while undergoing the project. Students themselves understand the importance of project and do properly.

Interview Tips

1.Be punctual: Reach the place 30minutes before the time and make yourself comfortable.

2.Prepare for the interview: Research the company and its products and services, and make sure you know the company’s correct name.

3.Relax and be yourself: Never stress yourself, be cool and enjoy the interview.

4.Smile and be friendly: An interview is not the time to be shy. A warm smile goes a long way toward establishing a good first impression and rapport with the interviewer.

5.Use a firm handshake and direct eye contact: A limp handshake or lack of eye contact can make you appear ill-at-ease and possibly less than honest.

6.Bring copies of your resume: Interviewers don’t always have a copy of your resume available and you will seem ultra-prepared if you have extras.

7.Look the part: You want your potential employer to be able to visualize you in the role. Good grooming and professional appearance are important. Even if you know the office is typically business casual, a well-fitting formal dress makes an excellent first impression.

8.Ask questions: Make sure you have prepared a few questions ahead of time. Typically, interviewers gauge your interest in the position by whether you ask questions.

9.Bring a planner or pad of paper and a pen: This way, you can take notes or even write down your questions if you tend to get nervous.

10. Write/ Say a thank-you note: Make sure you get business cards from every person who interviews you and send a handwritten note to each one. Make sure you spell their names correctly. So few people write/say thank-you notes that this alone will create a positive impression.

Importance Of Mentor In Life

1. A Mentor Will Get You Started
When you want to accomplish the goal in life, a mentor is going to kick start you on the path to achieve it.
2. Learn From Someone Who Walks the Walk
When you have a mentor, you are learning from someone who has already arrived at where you want to be. They know exactly what it takes to get there and what sacrifices need to be made.
3. Build Your Confidence
Mentor helps in building self confidence and makes us competent in worst situation.
4. A Resource for Life
When you have a mentor, they really become your mentor for life. It does not matter if you move up and on, that connection will still always be there. Once you have “made it” there never becomes a point where you know it all and don’t need any more help.
5. Show Appreciation
Any good (and smart) mentor is not going to take time out of their busy life to invest into you for free. You don’t have to pay your mentor financially, but you need to offer them some value in return for their time.

What Is the Best Type of Marketing Research?

According to American Marketing Association, “Marketing research is defined as the function which links customer, consumer, publics to marketer through information; Information used to identify opportunities and problems, generate, refine and evaluate marketing actions, measures marketing performance and improve understanding of marketing as a process.”

Many market researchers have their favorite research approaches or techniques, although different researchers often have different preferences. Some researchers maintain that the only way to really learn about consumers or brands is through in depth, qualitative research others contented that the only legitimate and sensible form of marketing uses quantitative research.

Every research is correct and important. Any one can use the any one type of research as per the situation demanded. As Exploratory research design is used when researchers didn't know much about the topic and literature was also not available. In this type of research has no time constraint. The same topic can be done by using Descriptive type of research in which researcher objective is just to know the answer of “ What”, “Where”, “When”, “Whom”. It can be done by using causal research too if researcher intention is to get the answer of “Why”.

Therefore none of the research is bad, it’s simply depends on the researcher objectives and hypothesis.

Is Product Marketing Differs From Services Marketing???

Product is defined as the tangible elements which we can see, touch, storable, repeatable, and measured output whereas services are intangible, perishable, and cannot be separable in nature.

Source:  Levitt,Kotler, Lovelock and Shostack.

 The product marketing differs from service marketing, as in the product marketing marketer’s concentrates on 4 P’s i.e. Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. But in services marketing, marketer’s more focus on 3 extended P’s i.e. People, Process and Physical Evidence.

The service marketing differs from product marketing .It is quite difficult for marketers to persuade the customers as they do marketing of things which are not present in physical. It also differs in terms of intangibility, inseparability, variability and perishability.

In service marketing, it is important to do marketing by providing better exterior and interior place, employees should be busy but there should be sufficient number of workforce to manage the workload, the equipment used must meet the standards , the communication material like printed material should be effective and speedy.

It is difficult to separate as in product physical goods are manufactured then inventoried then distributed and later consumed simultaneously. It is possible to do variability in service marketing as the quality of services depends on who provides them, when and where and to whom. Services are highly variable .e.g. Doctors have an excellent infrastructure for patients. As services cannot be stored, so their perishability can be problem when demand fluctuates.eg. Railways charged fees for ticket cancellation from passenger because service value exists only at the time of the reservation.

Is Consumer Behavior More a Function of a Person’s Age or Generation???

One of the widely debated issues in developing marketing programs that target certain age groups is how much consumers change over time. Some marketers pertain that age differences are critical and that the needs and wants of a 25 year old in 2013 are not different from those of a 25 years old in 1980.

         

Consumer behavior is more function of generation and marketers by their marketing activities changed the behavior. Many others factors like income, resource etc are responsible for the change, but the factors which is most important is generation. As due to change in generation, marketing activities were too changed.

Earlier in 1980’s products are sold on the basis of Mass production or selling concept where the marketer’s role was quite less. The need and want of 25 year’s old person was same in 1980 and 2013 but in 1980 they didn’t realize it and now due to marketers they realized that it’s their needs.

It is true that marketer’s helps in knowing about the product by their creativity which ultimately become want and helps to reduce the human effort and make life full of comfortable and enjoyable. Hence consumer behavior changes with time and generation.

Good Marketing Is No Accident

Marketing is defined as the understanding of customer needs, wants and fulfilling that particular needs and want by keeping organization objectives and goals into mind. Good marketing is no accident but a result of careful planning and execution of proper tools and techniques. It is generally said that company do better marketing because of customer response and it’s a just accidental action. But in real scenario it is totally different. Company do great marketing because of art and a science of marketers who strive to find creative new solutions to often complex situation. Due to this good marketing has become increasingly vital for success.

To do good marketing, marketers need to think about the prospects requirements and find the best solution in easy way. Good marketing is a mental exercise in which markets need to think of future at present.

Let’s consider one present example of Tata Chemical, Eureka Fobes and Hindustan Unilever’s introduction of low priced water purifiers that do not require electricity. Its shows that the good marketing comes with creative thinking and it’s not occur accidental.

Do Brands Have Finite Lives?

All brands have their day; implying brands have a finite life and cannot be expected to be leaders forever. It totally depends on the marketer’s skill and insight to make the brand live life long.

        

Let’s take an example, Nokia a Finland based company was famous not in India but also in the world. The brand name was so famous that it becomes impossible for competitor to compete the Nokia brand. But suddenly due to poor marketing activities and insights company was sold out to Microsoft @ 7.2 billion dollars.

It shows that brands lives depend on the marketing activities. E.g. Nokia was failed to bring touch screen mobile hence thrown out of the market.

Best Way to Craft the Brand Positioning

The best way to craft the brand positioning is offering represents the right kind of things in the minds of the target market. The brand positioning helps to reduce the gap between the company’s product and customer awareness and buying.

In today’s situation customers uses only that product which they see or positioned for them. Let’s take an example of Wills Lifestyle to understand. Wills Lifestyle positioned the brand for young and fashion oriented customers hence medium and high profile customers are persuaded through message and become ultimate buyer.

Due to importance of positioning in the market “MOOV” the pain relieving ointment from Reckitt Benckiser India Ltd. repositioned the product from relieving joint pain to backache specialist. Due to repositioning, MOOV become largest selling rubefacient brands in India and has been consistently featuring in the “100 Most Trusted Brands” (Source: The Economics Times).

The better way to craft the brand positioning is to identify the customers and competitors. It is advisable to the companies that they should understand the product and accordingly defines the targets, do better segmentation.

Competitor analysis is also important while crafting the brand positioning. Company can use point of difference to differentiate themselves from competitors. E.g. Apple uses point of difference technique (like design, ease of use, irreverent attitude). Nike uses performance, innovative technology and winning as a point of difference.

Another way of branding is Point of Parity in which companies describes the benefits of the product so as to attract more prospects. E.g. Dettol and Savlon. Savlon is highlighting their product as “No String Property” to counter the category perception and strong brand associations created by Dettol.

10 Ways to Reach the Target Customers

It is rightly said that for a new company to do business is one of the hard task, as every competitors will try to destabilize the market. To start the business and get the stability in the market it is very much important to inform, persuade and remind the customers.

1. Use of Internet

Marketers can use the internet to spread the Products/Services awareness among different geographical areas.

2.  Tap into social media to amplify the brand message

As most of the people are attached with social media hence to amplify the band message company can use social media as a communication tool.

3. Timely up-to-date the information of market, customers and competitors

To understand the customers requirement it is necessary for a company to always do marketing research and collect the information related to customers, competitors etc.

4. Focus on intensive marketing

Company should focus on intensive marketing like indoor and outdoor marketing.

5.  Move with mobile marketing

Using GPS technology, marketers can pinpoint consumer’s exact location and send them messages at the mall with coupons only that day, a reminder of an item on their wish list can also be provided

6.  Differentiated Goods/ Services

By selling differentiated goods/ services from Competitors Company can attract more customers and get stability in the market.

7.  Focus on purchasing, recruiting, training and internal and external communication

By focusing on internal as well as external communication company can able to reach the target customers.

8. Use of technology like intranet

To do fast processing and order Fulfillment Company can use intranet in which they can connect with each other internally.

9. Better distribution channel

Distribution channel helps to make the product available at right time at right place; hence better distribution channel is must for market stability.

10. More concentrate on Quality, Quantity, Price, Delivery, Services

By providing all the five parameters to customers company can achieve stability in the market.