Customers, consumers and clients
There are a number of ways to talk about people who buy things.
Customers are individuals or organisations who buy things from shops or other organisations. Consumersare individuals who buy things, especially when considered as members of large groups of such people. Clients are individuals or organisations who pay for services provided by a professional person or organisation such as a lawyer or advertising agency.
A business may refer to its customers as its customer baseor client base.
Translate the following sentences into Russian:
● The customer is king. There is increased emphasis on the importance of customer and meeting customer's needs.
● Analysts suggest that while Digital has a strong customer base for
mini-computers, many of these users went to other companies when
shopping for personal computers.
Consumer combinations
Find combinations that refer to:
1. Things that people buy that last a long time, like refrigerators or televisions.
2. A period when consumers are spending a lot.
3. Refusal by consumers to buy things from a country or company that they disapprove of.
4. The feeling that people have about economic prospects.
5. The amount consumers spend, often referred to when discussing the economy as a whole.
6. The study of how, why, where, and when people buy things.
7. The resistance of consumers to things or organisations that they disapprove of.
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Competition and key players
Competitorsare organisations selling products or services in the same market, and they can also be the products or services themselves. Competitors compete with each other. The related adjective is competitive: commentators talk about the things that give one company or product its competitive advantage or competitive edge over others. Competitors in a market are players, and the most important ones are key players. Companies without competitors are monopolies.
Translate the following sentences into Russian:
● Despite the inevitable comparison with Compaq, however, Texas Instruments' new notebook won't be a direct competitor.
● In the words of one exporter, "If you want the competitive edge, you've got to get over there frequently and let your foreign partners know you care about them".
● Fisons has suffered a setback in its ambitions to become a key player in the pharmaceuticals industry.
● Telecoms is still widely associated with “natural" monopolies that competitive businessmen have to be kept away from in order to prevent chaos.
Competitive expressions
Complete these adjectives used to describe competition. They all mean "strong" or "very strong".
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Market and market orientation
A market for a product is the people or organisations who buy it or may buy it, or an area where it is sold.
Companies quick to respond to the needs of a market are market-driven, market-ledormarket-oriented.
These terms show approval, especially when used by organisations about themselves.
Translate the following sentences into Russian:
● Japan has tried to block imports of various uncomfortably cheap foreign products, claiming unique conditions in the Japanese market. French skis, for example, were not allowed in because it was said that Japanese snow was different from Alpine snow and therefore they could not function.
● The argument is that organisations that are market-oriented, i.e. those that track and respond to customer needs and preferences, can better satisfy customers and hence perform at higher levels.
Market partners
Read the examples and complete the commentary.
● ...the long and difficult task of building a market economy from the
wreckage of central planning.
● From now on, factories that work without getting paid will go bust.
Making that happen is the single most important step the government
can take to push Ukraine into a real market economy.
● It is sometimes argued that corruption oils the wheels of a hugely over-regulated economy such as India's, which would otherwise grind to a halt. There is something in this. A black market price, is, after all a market price.
● The newspaper made much of the fact that the Asterix Park did not sell hamburgers. Mr. de Schonen said market research showed that customers preferred not to sit down for meals.
A … is one where things are bought and sold freely and not under government control. In a market economy, prices are decided by …. , the factors that influence the demand for things, their availability, and consequently their price. … is used to indicate that a price has been "decided" by the market, and not in some other way, for example by the government. ... means the same as market. … is the gathering of information on markets, products and consumers: what people need, want, and buy; how and when they buy; and why, they buy one thing rather than another.
Doing some desk research
You work for Tortuga, in Madrid. Tortuga makes toys, and you are looking at the possibility of expanding into South-East Asia. You find some press cuttings. Read them through and find the words or phrases in these articles to tell you the following:
1.Prices will soon rise more quickly.
2. Share prices are expected to fall.
3. Highly-trained workers are difficult to find.
4. People with money to invest in new business tend to invest it abroad.
5. This company intends to go on growing.
6. The countries around the edge of the ocean will soon be the most productive in the world.
BANGKOK CATCHES COLD, TOKYO SNEEZES
Dealers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday were cautious in the face of rumours that Thai share prices might be threatened by inflation, now running at over 8% and expected to top 9% by the end of this year.
The Nikkei continued its slow upward trend, closing at 35,289 (up 37 on the day), but the market was bearish and expects a downturn. The growing strength of the Thai economy is shown by the fact that its short-term problems can affect the market in Tokyo. This may not, however, be much comfort to Thai finance managers, who struggle to cope with high interest rates, the shortage of skilled labour, and the migration of venture capital to neighbouring countries.
TUMBLEHOME ROLL ON TO THAILAND
Thailand may soon become Toyland if leading Tumblehome follow their announcement that they will set up their first South-East Asian subsidiary in Bangkok.
"Continued expansion is built into our company policy," a spokesperson for the company said at a press conference in San Francisco yesterday. "The Pacific Rim is the flywheel of tomorrow’s world economy, and South-East Asia is going to be the motor that turns it."
QUESTION MARK OVER SPANISH TOY FIRM
Rumours that Spanish toymakers Tortuga of Madrid may be going into liquidation were dismissed as "utter nonsense" by the firm's founder and chairman, Juan Figueras, last week.
"We struck a bad patch a year ago," he admitted, "when we failed to keep up with changes in taste and lagged behind on design and marketing. Since then we've invested heavily in new equipment, and
we've got new blood in the design and management teams.
Repayments on the new loans aren't due to start for another nine
months — by that time I'm confident we'll be paying our way and
back in profit."
Look through these articles once again and make a list of "Good news" and "Bad news" for your firm and answer the questions:
Would you try to enter this new market? What else would you like to know about the market? What would you do to get the information you need?
TEXT
Read the following text and summarise the information.
SURVEYING THE MARKET
It is very important to have the facts about how many potential buyers are in your projected sales area and to know their needs and wishes before you invest. It is better to have the facts than to merely have a feel for how your products will sell. This requires thorough study of the market you propose to serve.
The total marketing concept involves matching the firm's products or services with the needs and desires of those people who will buy them whether now or in the future. Marketing planning must include all the ingredients necessary to satisfy customers, including producing the product they want, picking the proper location for your firm, determining the correct promotion and advertising plans, and many other factors that lead to customer satisfaction. Marketing costs for small firms can be as much as 50 per cent of total business costs. Planners may employ an outside firm to study their suggested market; advertising firms and market research firms often specialise in such surveys.
Objective of a market survey is to determine a reasonably attainable sales volume in a specific market area for a specific type of business. This means finding out how many potential consumers for the planned merchandise or service there are in this market and how many of them can reasonably be expected to become customers of the firm under consideration.
The market or trading area for a particular firm is the area that it seeks'" to serve with its products or services. From the buyer's point of view, it is the area within which the buyer knows he or she can find desired goods and services at desirable prices. Sellers may desire to expand their market beyond the limits that are normally recognised by buyers. Market areas may change with the development of new shopping centres in adjacent areas. At any given time, a market has its limits set by the area within which the firm can economically sell its goods or services
The procedure* for making a market survey wilt vary from factory to wholesaler to retailer. In all cases, however, it will seek to determine the number of customers in the market area who may become customers for the planned business. For retailing the steps should include the following:
1) Determine the limits of the market or trading area;
2) Study the population within this area to determine its potential sales characteristics;
3) Determine the purchasing power of the area;
4) Determine the present sales volume of the type of goods or services you propose to offer;
5) Estimate what, proportion of the total sales volume you can
reasonably obtain.
One effective method for gathering market information is the use of «people surveys», which are made by surveying the population in a designated market area. Such surveys can rarely attempt to reach all persons in the area, instead the market researchers select a representative group of persons to be contacted. Even the highly important national
television ratings for example, involve the use of only about 1,200
homes.
Small firm planners may use 3 different types of people interviews. These are: 1) telephone surveys; 2) mail surveys; 3) personal interviews. Specific questions that will provide meaningful answers that can then be analysed should be built into each type of interview questionnaire. Each type of interview has characteristics that can be summarised as follows:
1) Telephone surveys. This type of interview offers the advantage of economy and speed in the collection of desired data. To be effective, telephone surveys demand short, clear, and easily understood' questions. A sound questionnaire, a truly representative sample group, and courteous telephone interviewers are the only requirements for gathering the key data, which are then analysed.
2) Mail surveys. Using the mail to gather basic data is more expensive than telephone interviews but still much less expensive than personal interviews, especially when a large market area is being studied.
The rate of return is the key to whether or not it is successful. Today a
40 per cent return on such mail survey is considered excellent.
Experience has shown that the shorter the interview sheet, the higher the rate of return.
3) Personal interviews. Personal interviews require much more time than other types and, accordingly are the most expensive kind of survey to conduct. But when a broad section of opinion is being sought they are usually considered the most reliable. They enable the interviewer to interpret questions, to explore the respondents' opinions, and to identify areas of information that although not anticipated may be valuable in the final analysis of data collected.
What concepts stand behind the following terms?
1) marketing planning;
2) marketing costs;
3) market survey;
4) market;
5) purchasing power;
6) people survey;
7) sales characteristics of an area
What do you think?
1) Compare telephone surveys, mail surveys, and personal
interviews for cost, coverage, and effectiveness. Which is the
most efficient? What does the choice of the "people survey"
method depend on?
2) What advantages would a professional market survey have, even
if it shows that the planned firm should not be established?
3) What kind of knowledge should one have to make a market survey? Do you think you possess this knowledge? If not, what should you study?
4) Would you like to work in the field of professional market research? Why (not)?
DISCUSSION
1) Could you give examples of a market with a fierce / cut throat
competition?
2) How do you understand the expression "market-oriented company"?
3) What does marketing planning involve?
4) What are the key-players in drinks market in St Petersburg?
5) What is your attitude as a customer to telephone surveys?
6) Could you plan a marketing program for Harper & Grant?