Arts Management 2020 - Session 7

Today's session was an introduction to Marketing Management.

Marketing management is the process of identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs and wants. Simply put it is ‘need satisfaction.

There are two components-

•       Need(Demand)

•       Satisfaction(Supply)

Needs and Wants

Needs are what one needs to survive, necessities - Clothing, Food, Water, Shelter, Transport

Wants are when one starts to exercise choices among their needs, desires - Branded Clothes, Eating out at Fancy Restaurants, Colas,  Large houses, Private Cars

Both 'Needs' and 'Wants' create various markets for the marketer.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A quick look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs gives us an idea about how humans go about their needs and wants. At the bottom of the pyramid is what everyone needs - 

• Physiological Needs (Food, Clothing, Shelter)
• Safety Needs (Personal security, Health, Property)
• Love and Belonging (Family, Friendship, Intimacy, Sense of Connection)
• Self Esteem Needs (Respect, Achievement, Status, Freedom)
• Self Actualisation (The Highest Potential One Can Be) 

Art would cater to the higher levels of needs - Self-esteem and Self-Actualisation.

Marketing Strategies Using the Marketing Mix

The Marketing Mix comprises of 4Ps (here we have combined Positioning and Place as one) 

1. PRODUCT
2.  PRICE
3.  POSITIONING/PLACE
4.  PROMOTION

Every marketing problem can be analysed through these 4Ps to find the ideal marketing mix that works for the marketer.

1. PRODUCT

First, identify the need so the right product can be offered. (Market research helps to identify the need of the customer)

Creating the product to satisfy the need

a)       Conduct a SWOT Analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat)

b)       Find your Unique Competitive Advantage (gives you best chance to maximise potential)

c)        Be clear about your value proposition, your promise to the customer, your deliverable

2. PRICE

Price is linked to perceived value

Pricing Strategies

A) Cost-Plus pricing (Your cost plus a percentage)

B) Competitive Pricing (Charge as Competitors are Charging)

C)Value-based pricing (Charge as per perceived value)

D)Price Skimming (Charge high initially and then reduce)

E) Penetration Pricing (Charge low to gain entry and then increase the price)

3. POSITIONING

The purpose of a positioning strategy is to gain a competitive advantage over competitors by using the strengths and weaknesses of the product, needs of the customers and the position of the competitors.

Positioning Strategies

A) Comparative (Position with the majority)

B) Differentiation (Try to break away and differentiate from the majority)

C) Segmentation (Segment the market and pick a niche that works for you best)

PLACE - This is about the point of distribution and one can choose high end or low-end points of distribution depending on the positioning strategy one has adopted. For example, a high-end school would be located in a high-end area while a low-end school would be located in a low-end area. By choosing the place consciously, the marketer has already decided the numbers, the price and other elements of the mix.

4. PROMOTION

1. Traditional and online advertising (newspapers, social media, websites)
2. Personal selling (one-to-one promotion)
3. Direct marketing (Presentations, Performances)
4. Public relations (Networking, Groups, Mentors, Forums, Blogs)

By using the marketing mix, one can get a fair understanding of the market, how to develop the product, how to price, position and promote it to reach its market effectively.

As an artist, many feel that marketing is demeaning to art, that it is selling, which is considered cheap. However, there is nothing cheap about the process of identifying what the customer/patron wants, refine the product and give the customer/patron a fine experience. By marketing effectively and reaching out to many, the artist would only be doing justice to her potential and to the art form.

Exercise:
Apply the 4Ps to yourself as the artist and try to identify a marketing strategy using the marketing mix, to launch yourself successfully. You can also attempt to use the same principles to launch a dance school successfully, using the marketing mix.