Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program Paper

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I  certify that  the attached  paper is my original work. I am familiar with, and acknowledge my responsibilities which are part of, the University of Phoenix Student Code of Academic Integrity. I affirm that any section of the paper which has been submitted previously is attributed and cited as such, and that this paper has not been submitted by anyone else. I have identified the sources of all information whether quoted verbatim or paraphrased, all images, and all quotations with citations and reference listings. Along with citations and reference listings, I have used quotation marks to identify quotations of fewer than 40 words and have used block indentation for quotations of 40 or more words. Nothing in this assignment violates copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property laws. I further agree that my name typed  on the line below is intended to have, and shall have, the same validity as my handwritten signature. Student's  signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature): Dwayne Wilson Individual Assignment MKT 421 Dwayne Wilson 11/01/2011 Terry Booker Marketing definitions Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. Approved October 2007) 1: the act or process of selling or purchasing in a market b: the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service 2: an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer At its base, marketing is about the strategies and tactics you use to identify and cultivate the market for your products/services – so it would seem to be pretty important to overall organizational success. Personal definiti on My personal definition of marketing is where the producer attempts to discover a way for the consumer to agree to purchase their product. An exchange (if you will) of product for money. The Importance of Marketing in Organizational Success The degree of importance is arguable based on the industry, but I can't think of any business that can survive without giving some thought to the way in which they grow demand for what they're selling. In many businesses, marketing needs to be a core concern, and often the overriding concern when it comes to running a successful business. The importance of marketing in organization success is the competition that might occur, challenge, team player, co-operation, confidence, big thinking, and self-esteem. Marketing means the organizations needs to reach for certain goal to complete their organization To describe the importance of marketing, one need not look further than this quote from Regis McKenna, â€Å"Marketing is everything, and everything is marketing. † Everyone is exposed to marketing daily, even when they don’t know it. Billboards surround the nation’s roads. Logos appear everywhere from t-shirts to the center field of the â€Å"Tostitos† Fiesta Bowl. When a teenager is begging his dad to use the family car, he is in fact, marketing himself to his father for the exchange of the keys. And that is what marketing is about, trying to create exchanges that satisfy and benefit both parties. No consumer can escape from marketing campaigns, and no business should be operating without a marketing plan to identify potential customers, meet their needs and wants, and keep them coming back for more. You will hear about the 4 â€Å"P’s† of the marketing mix which are the important elements of a marketing plan. How your future customers are identified and place between the cross-wires with marketing research and target marketing. To get a specific message to a specific customer, one must be familiar with direct marketing. Internet marketing is one of more recent trends that many organizations are looking at. Overall this section should help you learn about the importance for small businesses to implement marketing plans It is important for marketing efforts to be customer-oriented. When marketing a product or service, the organization must be certain that the product or service that they are providing is one that the customer wants. Quite often marketing efforts fail when the organization developed the product/service first, then tried to convince it’s customer to buy it. One of the greatest marketing flops of all time was when the Coca-Cola Company decided to change it’s formula in 1985 and introduced it as â€Å"New Coke. † It was a disaster. Sales of the New Coke were very low and the Coca-Cola Company was receiving many phone calls and letters from angry customers who demanded the old formula back. The Coca-Cola Company brought back the old formula two months later. Reintroduced as â€Å"Coca-Cola Classic,† it was sold along with New Coke and outsold it by two to one in supermarkets. The Coke case is a classic example of what happens when an organization fails to conduct proper marketing research. The key for a successful marketing effort is maintaining a level of customer satisfaction while at the same time, creating a profit for the organization. Profits must be made in order for the organization to continue to do business. Marketing is a concept that is always evolving. New definitions of marketing are being written daily. Marketing plans are an inessential component for all businesses. All businesses that are successful have followed a plan. Their success did not happen because of luck, it happened because the success was planned. A marketing plan helps establish, coordinate, and direct marketing efforts. It forces the organization to take a good, hard look at the market of your field and what is currently happening to it. It’s a time to establish marketing goals and objectives, which can be later used for benchmarking yourself. Marketing plans helps keep the organization on the right track by following the guidelines it sets. It is also critical when trying to borrow money. When an organization plans to allow you to borrow money or invest in your organization, they require to examine your business plan. The marketing plan is a critical part of the business plan. Marketing Plan Elements: Executive Summary: brief explanation of what the organization does, its mission statement, the management’s infrastructure, and a short summary about the marketing objectives and the proposed plan. * Current Marketing Situation: provides information about the current location, the target markets, and competitors in the market. * Competitor and Issue Analysis: a more detailed description about the competition. Also includes potential challenges that could arise in the future due to business issue. * Marketing Objectives: where the marketing goals and financial objectives are set. Objectives should be challenging, yet attainable for the organization. * Marketing Strategy: plan for meeting the marketing objectives. Incorporates the marketing mix. * Action Programs: an explanation of the different tasks of the marketing strategy. What will be done? When will it be done by? Who will do it? What will it cost? * Budget: A more detailed look at the cost of the proposed marketing activities. * Measurements: sets levels to measure if objectives are being met. Sets timeline to meet these measurable objectives. * Supportive Documents: references to support the marketing plan. Includes the marketing research report. * Controls: monitoring system for the marketing plan. Monthly or quarterly checklists to insure that the plan is operating effectively. Also included contingency plans. Plans of action in the event of a crisis. It is important to regularly update your marketing plan. The market changes almost by the hour. The first marketing plan you create probably will not be effective in the future. Sources http://www. marketingpower. com/AboutAMA/Pages/DefinitionofMarketing. aspx http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/marketing