Fundamentals of Marketing

Meaning and definition of marketing; Understanding the marketplace and customer needs (customer needs, wants, and demand, market offerings-products, services, experience, customer value and satisfaction, exchange and relationship); Marketing orientation: the production concept, the product concept, the selling concept, the marketing concept, and the societal marketing concept; Managing customer relationship and capturing customer value: engaging customers and managing customer relationships; customer relationship management; customer satisfaction; customer relationship level and tools; Customer engagement and today’s digital and social media; Consumer generated marketing; Capturing value from customers; Creating customer loyalty and retention; Creating customer loyalty and retention; The marketing mix and its components.

Meaning of marketing environment; Types of marketing environment: the Micro environment: company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, competitors; Public and customers; The macro environment: the demographic environment, the economic environment, the natural environment, the political and social environment, and the technological environment.

Introduction of marketing information; Marketing Information System; Assessing Information Needs; Developing marketing information: internal data bases, Marketing intelligence, marketing research, analyzing and using information; Marketing research - Marketing Research Process and international marketing research; and Marketing information system in Nepal

Meaning of Consumer Market and Buying Behavior; Model of Consumer Buying Behavior;Characteristics affecting consumer behavior; The buying decision process; Meaning of business market and business buyer behavior; Model of business buyer behavior; Participant in business buying process; Major influences on business buyers; buying style; DecisionProcess of Business Buyer; Engaging Business Buyers with Digital and Social Marketing: e-procurement and online purchasing; Business to business digital and social media marketing.

Concept of Market Segmentation; Segmenting Consumer Market: geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, behavioral segmentation; Segmenting Business Markets: geographic, demographic, operating characteristics, purchasing approaches, situational factors, personal characteristics; Segmenting International Market: geographic location, economic factors, political and legal factors, cultural factors; Requirements for Effective Segmentation: market targeting, evaluating market segment; Selecting Target Market Segment: mass or undifferentiated marketing, segmented marketing- differential marketing, niche or concentrated marketing, micro marketing- local marketing-individual marketing; Choosing a Targeting Strategy; Differentiation and Positioning; and Market Segmentation in Nepal.

Meaning of Products and Services; Level of Product and Services; Product and Service Classification: consumer products, industrial products; Product and Service Decision :product quality, features product style and design, branding, packaging, labeling and logos, product support services, product line decision, product mix decision; Services Marketing: the nature and characteristics of a service; Marketing Strategies for services firms; Branding Strategy- Building strong brands: brand equity and brand value, brand positioning; Developing New Products: new product, the new product development process, and product life- cycle.

Meaning of price; Major pricing strategies: customer value based pricing, good value pricing, value added pricing; Other pricing strategies: cost based pricing: cost plus pricing, breakeven analysis pricing and target profit pricing, competition based pricing; and Internal and external considerations affecting price decisions.

The nature and importance of marketing; Channel design decisions; Retailing and wholesaling; Retailing trends and development wholesaling; Types of wholesalers; Channel management decisions: selecting channel member, managing and motivating channel members, evaluating channel members; Marketing logistics and supply chain management: nature and importance of marketing logistics; Major logistics functions: transportation, warehousing, order processing, inventory management, customer service; and Distribution in Nepal.

Concept and objectives of promotion; Marketing communication process and system communication mix; Advertising: concepts and objectives, Sales promotion: concepts, objectives, tools and techniques; Personal selling: concepts and relevant of personal selling; Publicity: concepts and objectives; Public relations: concepts and objectives; Online and social media; Events and experience; The need for integrated marketing communications; Selecting marketing communication mix or promotion mix; and Communication in Nepal.