Sustainable Marketing

Sustainable marketing is the adoption of sustainable business practices that create better businesses, better relationships and a better world. 

1. Embedding sustainable business practices into the business strategy

sustainable business practices should be embedded right into the business strategy – they are not an afterthought. Examples of sustainable business practices include:

•   Optimizing the performance of a functioning business entity.

•   Creating strong relationships with customers, other businesses, staff and communities

•   Balancing budgets and ensuring financial sustainability

•   Reducing carbon footprint.

2. Delivering marketing activities that create ongoing growth.

Businesses have limited financial, human and capital resources, so there is a constant need to focus and utilize these resources in the best way possible to create opportunities for growth in the future.

Building an authentic brand, and crafting an appealing story that attracts genuine interest from your target market. Collaborating with customers to develop more targeted products and to get to market sooner.

3. Promoting and supporting sustainable businesses to help them grow.

One aspect of sustainable marketing is the promotion and support of sustainable businesses and their products.

4. Influencing other businesses to adopt sustainable business practices.

As a business owner, we can create a big impact by influencing our staff and other businesses to adopt sustainable business practices. Minimize the use of resources in your day-to-day business operations.

Minimize your contribution to greenhouse gases by undertaking activities such as:

•   Print your business stationery using environmentally friendly inks and recycled paper

•   Reduce your use of direct mail: use online communications instead

•   Create online catalogues instead of printed catalogues

•   Use virtual communications such as skype, video conferencing and webinars

Analyzing business markets

growth of the matchbox market can be attributed to increase in rural population and to increase in smokers year on year. The biggest player in the Indian market is ITC with over 70% of market share in terms of cigarette sales per annum. Wimco, after being bought by ITC, now contributes to this growing market. 

Organizational buying refers to the decision-making process by which formal organizations establish the need for purchased products and services, and identify, evaluate, and choose among alternative brands and suppliers.

Challenges of business markets:

•Fewer, larger buyers 

•Close supplier-customer relationships 

•Professional purchasing 

•Many buying influences

•Multiple sales calls 

•Derived demand 

•Inelastic demand 

•Fluctuating demand 

•Geographically concentrated buyers 

•Direct purchasing

Buying situations include: Straight buy, modified re-buy and new task

•    Initiators 

•    Users 

•    Influencers 

•    Deciders

•    Approvers

•    Buyers

•    Gatekeepers

Ship matchboxes have been piggybacking on ITCs cigarette distribution network across India. The market in India is here to stay for time to come.  growth of the matchbox market can be attributed to increase in rural population and to increase in smokers year on year. The biggest player in the Indian market is ITC with over 70% of market share in terms of cigarette sales per annum. Wimco, after being bought by ITC, now contributes to this growing market. 

Organizational buying refers to the decision-making process by which formal organizations establish the need for purchased products and services, and identify, evaluate, and choose among alternative brands and suppliers.

Challenges of business markets:

•Fewer, larger buyers 

•Close supplier-customer relationships 

•Professional purchasing 

•Many buying influences

•Multiple sales calls 

•Derived demand 

•Inelastic demand 

•Fluctuating demand 

•Geographically concentrated buyers 

•Direct purchasing

Buying situations include: Straight buy, modified re-buy and new task

•    Initiators 

•    Users 

•    Influencers 

•    Deciders

•    Approvers

•    Buyers

•    Gatekeepers

Ship matchboxes have been piggybacking on ITCs cigarette distribution network across India. The market in India is here to stay for time to come.  

Branding

The end game to any product is the brand equity it creates. Why are Samsung devices costlier than Micromax devices? One might argue that their costs of production are higher as they use better quality parts in their devices and this might be true to some extent. the real reason why there is a difference in price of similar products from different brands is because of their brand equity. A Versace costs how much it costs because it comes with a tag of Versace. A brand reaches its pinnacle when customers associate it with quality. A brand reaches its pinnacle when it becomes a cult. Ship so far has not been able to accomplish this as it faces near perfect competition from other brands even through most other brands are also owned by ITC. 

Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning

Segmentation:


Market segmentation involves grouping your various customers into segments that have common needs or will respond similarly to a marketing action. Each segment will respond to a different marketing mix strategy, with each offering alternate growth and profit opportunities.




Wimco had segmented its market as follows:


1. Those who use matches to light a stove in their homes

2. Smokers - Rural & Urban

3. People who pray and light agarbattis




Targeting:


Wimco has applied a sort of undifferentiated targeting towards Ship as a brand. Ship sells throughout India, in most parts of India and for the same price. Its buyers include everyone from a small retail shop to smokers across India. 




Positioning:




Ship is positioned as a multipurpose matchbox. It operates in conditions that are akin to perfect competition and thus its positioning is of little relevance. The positioning of a product is relevant when it is recognized by its brand name. Matchboxes are such a commodity that have no brand recall for 99% of its customers and that makes positioning extremely difficult. 

Integrated marketing communication

IMC as the name suggests is a cohesive marketing and communication strategy that gels along with the various elements in it. 

1. Advertising:

For a low value product like Ship matchboxes, advertising would prove to be a disaster as demand is mostly inelastic. Besides, advertising for matchboxes could be considered as surrogate advertising for cigarettes and ITC would never take that risk.

2. Sales promotion:

For its long line of distributors, Wimco, now owned by ITC, provides many incentives to generate better sales. In fact this is one of the only ways in which ITC can promote the sale of its matchboxes. 

Incentives offered to distributors include:

vacations at exotic destinations for achieving sales targets. 

Discount on wholesale purchase

motivation to complementary products of ITC as a bundled package.

3. Direct selling:

this involves the direct communication with specific customers for placing specific orders and making the catalogue available to them. This form of communication uses telephone, fax, e-mail or Internet to reach the customers and obtain favourable responses from them. This is generally used for high value items and so not quite applicable to our product.

4. Personal selling:

This involves interacting with your consumer and ensuring that he or she is well parked with the idea of purchasing your product. This is the traditional role of a sales person who communicates directly with customers. This type of selling is also not applicable to ship matchboxes. 

5. Public relations:

Getting good publicity on todays dynamic media can make all the difference to the upkeep of any brand. Wimco had in the past participated in such activities by announcing to the world that they plant more trees than they cut down to make matches. Of late, there seems to be no PR coverage for ship matchboxes.

6. Experiential marketing:

This is the most innovative form of marketing where a brand can directly step up and have the potential consumer experience the brand. It presents itself in a tangible and physical form that people can see, experience and react to.