Sample Thesis on Antecedents and Consequences of Marketing Innovation

CHAPTER 3: Antecedents and Consequences of Marketing Innovation

What is marketing innovation?

Marketing innovation can only be understood by clearly defining the two words involved, i.e. Market and Innovation. So, what is marketing? This is the process where the producers of a certain good or service create awareness to the target group of consumers. They give information about a certain product or service; its features and use. This is really essential since it’s a chance to explain to the consumers why they should purchase the product. On the other hand, Innovation is where new ideas are born so as to improve a business value. They can be either goods or services.

From the two definitions, it is therefore right to say that, Marketing Innovation is a process where new marketing concepts or strategies are implemented. These new ideas differ from the previously used ones. They involve a great change in product design, unique pricing, unique packaging, and its promotion. These changes lead to a search for new markets. However, it doesn’t change the product use.

Mainly there are two antecedents of marketing innovation –marketing imagination and marketing insight. Each of the two represents an ability of the firm to make solid contributions to the development and nurturing of their market innovation. However, the two antecedents are difficult for the firms to change due to their solid integration into the organization. For an organization to change or alter them, it requires great effort and time. A desire to change them leads to alteration of top management, corporate structure, and the corporate capital structure.

There are many sub-components of the two antecedents that contribute to marketing innovation. However, due to strong theoretical support for some specific sub-components in an attempt to explain the behaviors and conditions that precede market innovation, we shall discuss six. These have been selected and will be addressed individually. They are: –

1. Active scanning
2. Marketing department architecture.
3. Market research
4. Permissiveness cultivation from marketing imagination.
5. Market presentation from marketing insight
6. Lack of marketing myopia.

We shall look at each of the respective antecedent and their associated sub-antecedents below.

Marketing Insights

In the modern market, insights are considered to be the most vital for any organization. Instead of dealing with vague and undefined facts, there is the need to have clear insights. Marketing insights are basically the mechanisms that are used in unearthing important data that can be used in helping marketers engage in a fruitful venture. It is important for every marketer out there to acknowledge and appreciate the importance of insights before engaging in any given marketing campaign.

Speculation is when a firm or individuals takes a long or short position in an investment. It involves trading a financial instrument which involves high risk in both long and short terms. The sole purpose is to obtain profits as a result of flux in the market value of a tradable good, such as a financial instrument.

What is marketing insight? This can be described as the continuous ability to comprehend the market, industry trends, trajectories and patterns by using intuition, prior experience and other information. It also involves using the truth which previously….

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was not leveraged to generate income or revenue for the company. It is the company’s ability to use the new understanding of change to make a major difference in decision making, thinking and action. Organizations with marketing insights have a deep intuition and understanding of the occurrences in the current and future markets. Their effectiveness in recognizing the root causes of these changes makes them stand out. A great attribute of insight is the shifting of understanding, not dwelling on the obvious and going beyond mediocrity. This makes an organization to be creative rather than reactive to the market and industry trends. It gives them a competitive advantage. This is because they always come up with a unique product or service rather than a duplicate of a product already floated in the market. Organizations with a deeper marketing insight seek to be the market leaders, not followers. They seek to set the pace and not follow the trend already set by a competitor.  They have a characteristically consistent, deeper and accurate thinking. They seek to comprehend the real cause of the happenings in the industries. They recognize and identify the true challenge faced by the target group of consumers and move with speed to solve them. Market foresight and insight are very much co-related but also very different in their respective application. With the market foresight, a firm is able to identify a market phenomenon before its competitors or other participants in the industry. With market insights, it is more about the innovation purposes and taking action.

There must be a high amount of data and research done by the company to have a great market insight. Many kinds of analysis are done to create insights, and a lot of information is involved. Insight is basically a human mind product. Without human mind, you cannot have insight. One must possess creative thinking and unmatched ability to identify and solve problems. You have to be fully aware of some mind and data principles. Since the data keeps changing, an open mind to these changes is vital. All the insights must be challenged and considered as tentative.

A company can do all the research they want, but the power to stand out and make a difference entirely relies on how well the data is analyzed. Correct banalization, correct application and how well it is defined to action. Insights have to be generated, developed and created for them to unlock opportunities for the companies. True insights are a culmination of a series of extemporary qualitative research and not quantitative research. It is better for a company to have one insight than having 500 pages of analyzed data.

The success of a company is based on its ability to have a successful data collection, data analysis and insight creation. Good research answers the “is” question about things but a good insight always seeks to answer the “what or how” the things can become. A company cannot be effective in market innovation if it lacks in market insight. Lacking market insight can lead to a series of costly mistakes. It can also lead to erosion of consumer trust and confidence in the firm leading to a massive loss of revenue.

Reliable data can help turn insights into action. An enterprise should have in mind that marketing is not a battle of products but a battle of perceptions. It should have an ongoing understanding of the market functions, resulting to a real insight. It should also have a constant ear on the ground to monitor changes in behaviors and perception. The firm should possess an outstanding consistency in qualitative research that delivers only killer insights. An undying desire to be insight professionals.

The most vital sub antecedents of market insights relevant to market innovations are: –

Active Scanning-

This is continuous and actively collecting information from the external environment or the surrounding industry participants. The main objective is to have a better understanding of customer needs, technological changes that can provide new market opportunities and study competition. One can achieve this through various methods. Namely; –

Purchasing Intelligence-

This is where your buying team keeps a close tab on suppliers’ behaviour. A company can get invaluable information from the suppliers. Any change of demand for various items in the market can be an indicator of the competitors’ product that is doing well in the market. It can also be an indicator of a major product launch hence the need to plan. This could also be an indicator of change in consumers taste and preference.

Market research-

This is where various methodologies are used to get the information. This helps probe the market for new products, pricing trends and other factors that define the product strategy. Depending on the method used, this method can be very effective. There can never be a great product launch without a good research. Research identifies needs and gaps where the company should concentrate more on. Research also makes it easy to estimate costs of a product launch and helps make an informed decision.

Customer feedback-

This is where the feedback given by the customers is captured and used to evaluate any change in behavior. The capturing can be through surveys either online or otherwise. This information not only strengthens customer loyalty but also studies recent buying behaviours. This can go a long way in developing new products. This also helps in identifying the type of marketing that should be employed during the item launch. This will depend on the kind of clientele the product will target. Consumer feedback also helps in the pricing of the new product.

Through sales team-

Through direct interactions with the customers, the sales team can bring back vital information about a product. From their unique vantage point, they are in a position to learn about the competitors’ behaviors and products. Costumers feedback on various products can help evaluate a consumer need and come up with a product to meet the same. Market changes can also be captured by this important group of people. Having a convenient and easy way of capturing this information should be the core aim of an organization. The company can also introduce incentives for the team. This will boost a number of feedbacks got and also the density of the information. Rewarding the best member of the team based on accuracy and quality of the information rather than on quantity.

Market Experimentation-

These are the activities undertaken by the firm to gather knowledge and information through testing new ideas on the current and potential customers. This method has high ability to detect and respond to future market conditions in a timely, effective and efficient manner related to an organization either directly or indirectly.

It helps to find the best method to maximize the companies’ customers and revenue. Though testing a segmented market, new opportunities are discovered. Market experimentation is made up of 3 characteristics: –

• Experimental subjects- these are usually humans. They are divided into groups known as focus groups. They can be of different background, intelligent levels, age, and geographical area etcetera. This helps get an accurate data relating to each group. It also helps when it comes to product design and packaging depending on the target group. Feedback given at this level is vital since it will determine how well the product will be received. The feedback also helps a lot in knowing where the industry is and the direction it is taking.
• Independent variables- these are usually the conditions. They are manipulated and controlled by the tester. The organization should list all the variables it intends to control during the test. This ensures that the results got are true and reflect the true picture of the survey.
• Results or effects- these are the results also known as the dependent variables. They cannot be changed. For different results, the tester will have to change the independent variables. For the most accurate results, the tester must bear in mind the outside factors that can affect the dependent variables.

In summary, market insight is a valuable capability that has an immense contribution to the implementation of marketing innovation. Its capability to foresee the future market trends and respond to them is of paramount importance. The companies’ marketing insight have a huge impact on its revenue and customer base.

Fortunately, the market today has enough data that can be used in good direction for any organization. Over the years, companies have been so keen in keeping market records. They have worked hard in ensuring that some of the mistakes made in the past do not recur in the long run. The only way of ensuring progress is considered as having the right insights. Any organization, and in particular marketers, should be motivated by insights in performing their duties. With the correct insights, there are high chances of achieving goals in a shorter duration than when the marketers could be using vague and undefined path.

Conducting a preliminary market research is something that marketers must prioritize. With the help of the said research, it will be possible to achieve a number of things. It will be possible for the company in question to achieve the stipulated goals. It takes a thorough study to come up with insights that will be of help to the organization.

With the help of the right insights, a company is able to develop the best mechanism of communication. There is no doubt that communication is one of the vital pillars of marketing. In this regard, any marketer should aim at developing communication that will be of great help in popularizing the product in question. It takes the right communication to maximize profits for any organization hence that is exactly what marketers should prioritize. Upon conducting a deep market research and getting the required insights, it will be possible for marketers to employ the required formula for communication. This means that there will be guaranteed results of positivity ultimately.

Aside from that, marketing insights help marketers identify opportunities that can help in maximizing the profits of any company. Note that all this entails deep research in the market landscape. Any professional marketer will easily spot opportunities that can aid in giving any organization a competitive edge. The idea of unearthing possible opportunities in the market is important, especially for an organization that intends to usher in new products in the market. There is no doubt that before launching a new product, there will be the need to first engage in a deep study. Having understood what the market is all about, any marketer can go ahead and embrace new opportunities by generating products that will lead to growth and profits.

Risk mitigation is also part of the marketing insights. One of the prime roles played by insights is to help marketers understand the different risks that are in the market. There is no doubt that any marketer should account for the different risks such that the company in question will not stand to lose a thing. What happens when insights are used is that marketers get a clear picture of the marketing paths. They get to understand the channel that does not have the potential to instigate any negative implications. The marketer also gets to know how to avoid risks by adapting to strategies that are fruitful enough. In short, through marketing insights, it becomes possible for the marketer to decide on which action to take. For instance, marketers can take a study of a given location to which they intend to launch a new product. In the process of doing so, the marketers involved will get clear insights on some of the possible risks and if they can affect the progress of the company at hand.

There is nothing that beats the power of a pre-plan. The truth is that some of the best performing companies in the world have the tendency of putting a clear plan before any execution. Some marketers happen not to have an idea on what should be done to create a plan that will drive the company forward now and in the long run. It is as simple as embracing marketing insights. Studying the said insights instills the mindset of speculation in marketers hence challenging them to take the right path towards goal achievement. It is true that any company marketer can tell the likely turn of events upon launching a certain product in the market. Through that, a plan can be placed on the ground to facilitate positive achievement of the company even in the future. There is the need to operate within the confines of a plan since that is the only way goals are achieved. A company that conducts activities haphazardly stands high chances of losing. This is not what any company would want. It is important therefore to dig deep into insights and understand what a company needs to do to ensure that there is indeed a practical plan.

There is also great importance in understanding the trends that can be adopted for the purpose of driving any company forward. It is true that the dynamics of the market keep changing over time. It is also true that there are so many trends coming by and not all may work for a give company. It is for this very reason that market insights are needed. For the interest of any organization, only the right trends should be adopted. This is where marketing insights come in. The only easy way of understanding trends that can materialize and those that are in essence futile is by taking a deep scrutiny in what the market has to offer. It is absolutely necessary to distinguish between the practical and non-practical trends since that will facilitate easy and endorsable moves. The first thing that must be done by marketers is to consider the market as an on-going exercise. It is an event that is characterized by unfolding events. For any company or organization to benefit, then it must move by the tunes of the trends. It is absolutely vital to have marketers that understand what the market is all about hence able to move by the prevailing trends. Establishing new and effective trends means that the company stands the chances of growing towards its goals.

Establishment of marketing position is equally important in any organization. That is the only way the management of an organization realizes the most strategic positioning that can propel activities towards the right direction. The role of insights in this case is to help marketers identify the most strategic positioning of the organization in question. First, marketers should have ample data in regards to the internal affairs and performance of the organization in question. Doing so means that the marketers will be in a position to develop strategies that can eventually help in taking the organization forward. From internal insights, marketers are able to realize the current position or an organization. It becomes possible to also develop a roadmap that can improve position of the said establishment.

Marketing insights and general research also works positively in ensuring that the company or organization in question works towards delivering the promises given to the prospective and existing clients. It is true that marketers share a lot of promises with the clients. By offering the promises, the marketers work with the mindset of making sure that the promises are delivered ultimately. Failure to operate within the promises given will lead to a big disappointment in the part of clients. The aftermath may not be favorable for any organization when promises are not delivered. It is absolutely important to see to it that promises are delivered just as provided. Marketing insights provide companies with the opportunity to operate within the confines of the promises given. This means that they can scrutinize the company’s position and operate in that line just to make sure that promises are delivered. With insights, any marketer can track the performance of the company and implement the necessary strategies just to make sure that something yields eventually.

From all indications, there is great need in having reliable marketing insights. With the rapid growth in innovation and with the increase in competition, there is every reason to have the right mechanism. That is the only way goals can be achieved fast. However, in as much as insights are considered ideal for any organization, there is the need to focus on the right insights only. This is because some of the marketing insights may be misleading hence subjecting marketers to a futile mission. It is absolutely necessary to ensure that everything works and that only that can be possible is through the use of right insights.

It is considered vital to have the right team of marketers on the ground. There is no doubt that there is a lot of insights and data that marketers will come across. It is therefore very necessary to have marketers who can understand and comprehend what the insights are all about. There is great importance in dealing with professional marketers alone. Note that the results required must be achieved at all costs hence the need to have the right people working on that.

There is also the element of resources. Marketers can go ahead and understand what insights are all about and even have good strategies in place just to ensure that everything works. However, without the right resources, everything is bound to head for doom. Resources are vital and must always be considered as such. It is indispensable to ensure that the organization in question has the required resources for the purpose of tuning development towards the right direction.

There is the need to put the emotions of customers on scale. Marketers must aim at understanding exactly what clients will feel when they get in contact with a given product. The need to take into account the feeling of customers is motivated by the ultimate goals of the company in question. Needless to say, customer satisfaction is the main goal. It comes even before monetary gains. It is therefore important for any company to engage in marketing insights that have the capacity to prompt customer satisfaction. It goes without saying that if customers are not satisfied, then the ultimate result is reduced profits for the company.

The benefit of having goal-oriented insights is that marketing turns into an executable mission. It becomes possible to have all goals accomplished. It makes it easy for the company to launch new products in the market. It becomes even easier to ensure that the existing products attract high sales in the long run. We can therefore confidently say that marketing insights carry a lot of weight as far a company or organizational progress is concerned. We can confirm that without the necessary insights, chances of hitting the stipulated goal turns to almost zero. In this regard, marketing insights must not be disregarded for whatever reason.

Common Consequences of Marketing Innovation

So, what does any organization stand to gain upon endorsing and implementing innovation? Of course there should be results. Innovation as applied in marketing must be aimed at generating positive results only. After all, the essence of innovation in any business is to bring forth great results.

It is however important to acknowledge that positive results cannot be generated through negative means of innovation. This simply means that for any marketing endeavor to bring forth great results, the right avenues must be consulted. It is of essence to ensure that the strategies that have been put on the ground are indeed effective and with the capacity to command positive results in the end. The last thing that any marketer should expect is to record total wastage of resources in the name of innovation. It is therefore important to have the right mechanism in operation, just to ensure that the stipulated goals of innovation are reached.

It is possible to engage in a successful mission and it is also possible to have negative results. It all depends on the kind of approach that a marketer applies. Unfortunately, some marketers use misinformed strategies only to register results that are not appealing to the organization in question. It is the obligation of any company to ensure that the right approaches are put on the ground since that is the only way innovation will materialize.

The first and the most important consequence of innovation in any organization is creation of a competitive edge. There every reason why an organization should fight hard to achieve a competitive edge. There is no doubt that competition keeps escalating in ay business front. There is also no doubt that quite a huge percentage of companies have succumbed to competition hence attractive limited returns or no returns at all. It is therefore clear that a competitive edge and advantage is something that must always be a priority for a given company. The good thing about innovation is that it works towards helping a company achieve a competitive advantage. Note that innovation is all about implementation of new measures with the purpose of maximizing the returns of a given company. In this regard, the role of innovation must be fulfilled and this can only reflect through achievement of a competitive advantage. A company that is highly advantaged stands minimal chances of failing in its goal achievement process. A competitive advantage is almost a sure guarantee of boosting returns in any given company.

There are various consequences that come with market innovation. Considering is a new tactic that has never been employed before. The consequences include: –

Firms that undertake a successful market innovation will have a significant rise in customer retention and loyalty- This is possible due to the firm’s ability to identify a gap in service provision and maximize on it. Market innovation encourages a customer based research and through this, the specific needs of customers are met. This increases the number of customers either through referrals or through the marketing strategy employed. The existing customers will be satisfied with their needs being met hence promoting loyalty.

Increased revenue and cash flow- there will be increased revenue for the company hence increasing the cash flow. These will be as a result of the alternative sales channels. The evident increase in customer base will also have a direct impact on the increased sales.

Through the market innovations, the firm gets faster commercialization of the new products hence a fast sales takeoff. There is greater and faster acceptance of the newly launched products.

Market innovation seeks to improve the quality of the goods or services rendered. Through the research conducted, firms gain knowledge on the much-needed improvements. This makes it easy for them to come up with a more customer-centric product with an improved quality.

Brings forth positive competition in the industry. This is where the competition is based solely on meeting the rising prevalence of certain goods. Through innovation, new goods are introduced to the market which leads to the massive growth of the industry

Social media development ensures proper feedback to the company from the consumers. This is a great source of data. This data can be used by the firms to develop more products in future. It also reduces the cost for customer services and also gives real time solution to their consumers hence improve customer experience.  Lack of proper research or poor analysis of the right data collected can lead to a wrong product development. This can lead to serious losses and low customer satisfaction and trust. To avoid this timely, efficient, quality and professional decisions are a must.

Market innovation lead to a better understanding of the market. This does not only grow the product but it’s a fundamental step towards the growth of the company

It is important to note that differentiation and uniqueness in any company must go hand in hand. This means that for a company to enjoy operating something different from others, the strategy put on the ground should be unique. It is in the interest of any company to ensure that the kinds of strategies employed in innovation are unique and more so with the capacity to bring forth the stipulated results. One of the consequences that emanates from innovation is that the company is able to showcase unique qualities to others. It is possible to have a stand that does not exist in any other company. It is also possible to generate high gains from the unique position taken by a given organization. There is absolutely no doubt that innovation is all about creativity and authenticity. In this regard, companies are given the chance to establish a stand that is exclusively meant for them. The process of intellectual property development comes in handy as a result of innovation. It is in the process of innovation that one is able to come up with ideas that trigger unique memory in the minds of people. The idea here is to make people remember your business at all time. The bottom line is that uniqueness is part of the consequences generated by innovation.

Any company or organization across the globe is characterized by some problems here and there. This is the obvious nature of any business. It is through such problems that a company is able to establish mechanisms that will be in a position to solve everything. One way of bringing problems to a halt is through innovation. We cannot dispute the fact that innovation is such a diverse tool. This means that it encompasses different aspects of businesses. For instance, when innovation is applied in the production sector, it becomes possible to bring out highly unique products to the consumer. This solves the problem of quality compromise. In a different scenario, when innovation is applied in marketing, it becomes easy to reach out to prospective clients and compel them to make certain decision. In this case, the problem of ineffective marketing is solved. In short, innovation in marketing is expected to bring in results that help any company address internal and external problems. The idea here is to address problems before they aggravate. This is made possible through innovation. New ideas are generated hence giving maximum diversity in any company.

We cannot dispute the fact that productivity is a requirement in any company. At any given time, companies must keep registering high level of productivity. In fact, it is believed that any successful company keeps registering a rising trend in terms of productivity. One of the key achievements that innovation should usher in is high productivity. It is important to note that innovation gives room for new ideas. It helps in introducing ideas that have not been in existence before. The idea here is to make things easier than before. With easy operation, it becomes an easy walk for any given organization. When operations are made easy, productivity on the other hand grows. Innovation ensures that goals are set and that they are achieved successfully. The process through which goals are achieved turns totally friendly for any party. This means that marketers can even set more goals since the achievement process is easy. The ultimate result is improves productivity. This is certainly one of the key achievements and consequences of innovation as employed in marketing.

Another consequence of marketing innovation is creation of a conducive business environment. There is no doubt that for any business to prevail, the right setup must be in place. There is great need in ensuring that marketers too operate in favorable and above all productive environment. While this may be possible, there are cases that seem challenging hence limiting chance of any company to be among the leaders in the business arena. It is of great importance to ensure that marketing is done around resourceful and reliable environment since that is the only way great results will come in the end. One of the reasons why innovation exists is to provide the most conducive environment for a business. The environment in this case means all factors that work collectively in ensuring smooth flow of affairs. When innovation is prioritized, there comes the tendency of introducing new ideas. Remember that the bottom line in innovation is to usher in changes and to provide the organization in question with the right tools. There is no doubt, therefore, that the environment under which businesses exist should be commanding enough to bring in the much-needed benefits. Innovation, being one of the prime tools in today’s operation has a big hand in providing the environment that businesses badly need. Any business requires an environment that gives room to peaceful human resource operation. Any business should have a platform that advocates for peace among clients. Any organization requires an environment that commands profit and other added benefits in abundance. It is for this reason that innovation has been mentioned as a key priority to businesses today. Innovation plays a prime role in ensuring that businesses work ideally in a reliable, efficient, productive, and friendly environment.

There is nothing that beats the feeling of overcoming competition and holding the lead in the market. This is the ultimate achievement of any company out there. The truth is that the larger percentage of companies today do not have the capacity to beat competition. In fact, some of them have actually given up on competition. This means that there is a lot that has to be done just to ensure that competition is overshadowed. Strategizing is of essence at this juncture since that makes it easy for marketers to hit their target.

It is worth noting that innovation can either lead to success or stagnation of a company, as far as competition is concerned. It is for this very reason that the right strategies must be put in place to ensure that positive results reflect ultimately. The expected consequence of innovation in marketing in this case is the ability to go beyond competition and perform exemplary well. This is however achievable if the right strategies and mechanisms are put in place. There is the need to have a clear focus when implementing innovation in any business since that is the only way the stipulated goals are achieved.

Marketing Imagination

This is the second but also arguably the most important primary antecedent to marketing innovation. So, what is marketing imagination? This is the ability of a company to construct and visualize mental pictures of a product that has never been experienced before. It is also the ability to go beyond creativity. It must be logical and irrational. Logic is where it follows a predictable path relying on the causes and effects of a certain trend. It’s the unique ability to understand the customers’ problems and move to provide the solution. There is an understanding that people buy solutions, not things. Therefore, it is vital to making a difference between the obvious and meaningful. Satisfying the customers need through first identifying that need is the core objective.

It’s also the unique ability of a company to separate itself from the recent trends, waves, processes and activities so that it can build on visualizing what is absent or has never been experienced. Unlike creativity where new alternatives are developed, market imagination takes these alternatives to a higher notch through visualization and creating mental pictures.

For the company to correctly position itself, it must be capable of distinction. It must continually reinvent itself and repackage itself in a way that attracts and hold customers. Marketing imagination ensures that there is this constant reinvention.

There are several important components of marketing imagination. They have an important role in the creation and developing of market innovation in an organization. They include the following: –

• Market department architecture-

This is whereby the marketing professionals responsible for the creative ideas are separated from the rest of the marketing team. They are never burdened by day to day profitable operations and targets. They are treated separately on a nonprofit basis to ensure thy have ample time to concentrate on the key objectives. Their main aim is to generate fresh and creative ideas that are tailored towards specific customer needs. Organizations that place profitability these focused groups never get the real value out of them. This leads to stagnation and the company continues to operate in the current state. The company will never know how it is to operate in a fruitful imaginary future.

There is a great need for the firm to invest in this department. Having a budget set aside for them will help in meeting research goals. Working with professionals ensure maximum benefits are reaped.

• Marketing Myopia-

This is basically discouraging shortsightedness when it comes to opportunities. There should be extreme care and caution when defining the line of business. Lack of proper definition of purpose by marketing professionals can be disastrous. The organization should strive to be customer oriented rather than product oriented. Deeper customer behaviors should be studied and concentrated on. The day the company loses the customer touch and their respective needs, that’s the day the company fails.

Deep and focused research should be done on the customers’ trends and behaviours. This helps to avoid missing the opportunities to maximize on the customer base and the overall revenue. Failure to identify the emerging competitors and alternative goods lead to a series of losses. Therefore, marketing myopia can be a costly behaviour. However, when well used it can be a great contribution to marketing innovation.

When all possible solutions to customers’ needs are identified and catered to, there is an increase in getting solutions that are different from the normal norm

·         Market research-

This is simply a process of collecting valuable information on the prospective market. The information gathered helps in finding out whether there is an adequate market for the proposed goods. The research should be both objective and subjective. It should also be collected from both the prospective and the existing customers.

The data collected from the research and its interpretation helps in evaluating the market trends. The data also is a basis of creative thinking through converting the findings to useful information that meet the customers’ needs.

Important decisions on product design, the pricing and content can be made using the collected data. There are avenues which were previously not considered, in-depth research can reveal additional avenues where additional explorations can be done. This can be a great contribution to both revenue and customer base.

Another important goal of the research is to establish how a change of trend affects consumer behaviour. Market research can be divided into two categories.

• Consumer market research- this is whereby the research focuses on the consumer and the Behavioural change. It seeks to find how different factors affect the consumer. They can be either pricing or product design. The main objective is to find out where the marketing imagination should try and focus on. Remember customer satisfaction is one of the main objectives to meet. This is only possible if the data collected is accurate and quality.
• Business to business- this is where a research is done on other businesses in the industry and their goods. It seeks to find the different methods employed to make and market their items. This outlines the competition expected and the direction they are likely to take next. It also seeks to find the gaps left out in the customer satisfaction in a given industry. A keen focus is given to these areas when developing an imaginary picture of a future product.

This research also seeks to find what is there and what is not there in the market. This eliminates the possibility of launching a product only for it to be a duplicate of others out there. Business to business research also helps in identifying the costs that may be involved to launch a certain new product into the market.

Quality information of this could go a long way in eliminating unnecessary cost and save valuable time in product development

• Permissiveness culture from marketing imagination-

This is the other sub antecedent worth looking at. This involves the element of taking risks. It concludes that the internal marketing is similar to that of outside advertising agency. Taking risk is encouraged and the firm is encouraged to go beyond the obvious courses of action. There is an eliminated fear of reprimand in the case where the product fails to meet the desired results.   There is tolerance and freedom granted making it easy to be creative. An opposite of this tactic is production based purely on quality and quantity so as to avoid criticism. This eliminates the probability of creating a product that moves the market.

In summary market imagination is a powerful tool for creating a unique product. By this, products have been made that determine the next trend. It keeps companies afloat by coming up with products that replace its other obsolete items due to changing times. By clearly identifying a consumer need and preference and you become the solution to it makes you a pioneer at something. Needless to say, pioneers always have a chance of reaping big before others duplicate the idea.

The market keeps growing. That is a fact that we cannot dispute. In the midst of the great command coming from key competitors in the marketing from, some organizations succumb to competition and end up suffering major drawbacks. If an organization must prevail in the midst of the heavy competition, then there has to be a defined strategy on the ground. There is the need to have a mechanism that will drive the organization in question forward.

This is where marketing imagination comes in. In this case, marketing imagination is all about having a clear image of what that lies ahead. It is at this point that organizations and business establishments are engaged in marketing speculation. The future of any company is very important. In this regard, there is the need to strategize a plan that will help in driving the company in question towards the right direction.

Speculation is when a firm or individuals takes a long or short position in an investment. It involves trading a financial instrument which involves high risk in both long and short terms. The sole purpose is to obtain profits as a result of flux in the market value of a tradable good, such as a financial instrument.

The person or firm undertaking this is called speculator. The speculator does bring something important to the table in commodities. We must remember that producers of commodities must sell and consumers must buy.

However, often those producers do not necessarily wish to sell at times or prices that coincide with when consumers desire to buy.

The presence of the speculator in the market often bridges this gap. The speculator adds liquidity to markets and as long as they remain within regulatory rules, these participants bring a great deal to commodity markets. Liquidity is the degree to which an asset or security can be quickly bought or sold in the market without affecting the asset’s price. They are of two types; namely, marketing and accounting liquidity.

The liquidity provided by speculators serves to grease the wheels of markets causing them to operate effectively and efficiently for all players in the market. The interesting thing about the ongoing debate surrounding the advantages and disadvantages of speculation is that those who favor a curb on speculative activity in commodity markets, when prices are on the rise. Speculator makes raw material more expensive for the ultimate buyer, the consumer, by pushing prices even higher.

However, when prices move lower, the speculative presence in markets is Justas strong .As prices drop, speculative activity may temporarily push prices even lower which actually benefits consumers at the expense of the producers.

The role of the speculator in commodity markets is misunderstood. In a perfect world where commodity producers could sell directly to commodity consumers at all times there would be no need for speculators However, the world that is far from a perfect place.

It is imperative to understand that the effective functioning of modern day markets depend on this group of market participants. After all, without liquidity everyone, producers and consumers alike, will suffer increasing costs over time. Speculation may also be differentiated to that of a hedge position.

Hedging is often considered an advance investing strategy, but the principles of hedging are fairly simple.

It is an investment to reduce the risk of adverse price movements in an asset. Normally, a hedge consists of taking an offsetting position in related security, such as a futures contract which is a legal agreement.

The speculator benefits when the price of the investment increases, whereas the short speculator gains when the price of the investment decreases.

There is money in stocks. However, to make it, you must stop gambling with stocks. Both long and short positions are following the buy low and sell high concept except that the short speculator is reversing the time sequence of trades selling high and buying low if all goes well .

The best strategy is to fully understand the company whose stocks you are buying, and its growth opportunities. Speculating strategy is based on a price forecast that can come from various sources like company bulletin, financial reports and performance in the market. It is therefore imperative to differentiate between a speculator and an investor.

A number of investors’ decisions in the markets are closely related to trading money at the present moment against trading money in the future. In most cases, the amount of money that is to be obtained in the future remains unknown. Another key moment to be considered, when it comes to trading financial instruments is the availability of options and information.

Investors have a more substantive fundamental rationale to base their investment decisions on, contrasted to the speculator who makes a trade more or less as a gambler and would place a bet on the outcome.

This is not gambling but rather predicting stock price movements based on well-thought out externalities. For example, the interest rate law suppressed prices of banking stocks. If its review as predicted, these cheap based on this prediction, however, the speculator must be ready to lose if such predictions fail to come true.

A speculator would pay little attention to the essential value of a security and would instead focus entirely on the movement of prices.

Speculators may be classified as to type with respect to the time of their holding period. Speculators who invest in a position, long or short, for only a few minutes are called scalpers, for a day at a time are day traders, and for beyond a day are named position traders.

Whether speculation has a place in the portfolios of investors is the subject of much debate. The proponents of efficient market hypothesis believe the market is always fairly priced, making speculation an unreliable and unwise road to profits. Speculators believe that the market overreacts to a host of variables.

These variables present an opportunity for capital growth. Investors are essential to an efficient and healthy market, but what is speculation and why does it attract such passionate criticism?

Speculation is knowing the future of the industry better than the market itself. Instead of purchasing stock in what the investor regards as high quality company with long term upside potential, the speculator looks for opportunities where significant price movement is likely.

Opponent of speculating believe that investing money solely based on an event that may happen in the near future is gambling. Speculators argue that they use a large amount of data sources to evaluate the market where most gamblers bet purely on chance or other less statistically significant indicators.

These terms are more commonly used in the futures markets whereas the stock market would distinguish between short-term versus long-term speculators. Regardless of the category that speculators are placed in, their capital is placed at risk in an investment with the belief that the price will subsequently go up or down in order to make a profit.

Speculation has been attributed as the cause of some spectacular crashes in the markets over the years. Some of these speculative markets are referred to bubbles.

The approaches may differ as well, some speculator my instead of the passive investment strategy that most employees use for their retirement accounts, an increasing number of people have turned to speculating in an attempt to catch up on shortfalls in their retirement accounts.

Internet and financial media may encourage speculation, but that doesn’t mean you should follow the herd. Successful speculating takes a lot of skill, time and experience to master, that most people who work outside of the financial industry don’t have. A more passive approach is likely to yield better results once dividends and long term growth are considered.

The power of speculation and imagination in any company cannot be overlooked. It is through speculation that companies are able to reach out wide and far in effort to bring everything into total functionality. It is through speculation and imagination that companies establish a roadmap that will aid in beating competition now and in the long run.

What most people do not know that speculation is always done based on the past happenings and trends. In other words, for one to engage in speculation that is almost 100% accurate, there has to be thorough consideration on the past events and occurrences. From a view of things, it is possible to tell on what will and will not happen in the near future. It is also possible to tell if whatever that lies ahead is conducive enough for the business in question and what strategies should be put in place to avoid any drawbacks. The idea here is to have an extremely smooth flow of affairs in the organization in question. Without the right channel and smooth roadmap, it might prove really challenging to achieve the stipulated goals.

Innovation and marketing imagination is one and the same thing. With the rising innovation in the modern world, marketers are left with absolutely no choice other than making strides towards the modern trends. Innovation has proven to be overly effective since it ushers in the capacity to swing in regards to the current trends and to ensure that there is the right developments taking place. When marketers add imagination into their plans, it becomes totally easy to set achievable goals. It becomes easy to implement strategies that have the capacity to yield great returns in the long run.

Take for instance, when a company intends to have a new product in the market. In such a scenario, a speculative study must be done. There is every reason for the marketers involved to imagine what they want and put down measures that will aid in achieving just that. It is in the interest of marketers to first have a clear understanding of what that might transpire once the new product is launched in the market. It is in the interest of the marketer to consider past and current insights that might help in creating a roadmap that will make the product in question flourish.

The first thing that must be considered is the impact and benefit of the product to the consumers once launched. The marketers must aim at understanding if the product will spark any interest in the interested consumers. The marketers must understand if consumers need the product or not. This is all about speculation and imagination. At the end of it all, the marketer will be in a position to tell if the product will indeed be of interest to existing and prospective consumers.

The second consideration in market speculation and imagination is the pricing. There is no doubt that any consumer out there will pay close attention to the pricing of any commodity. This is for the simple fact that consumers operate on a budget. It is very important to ensure that pricing on new commodities is done considerately. It is important to give prospective and existing consumers the reason to buy the product that you have to offer. Any marketer can concur with the fact that customers ask about price first. This implies that there is the importance of having the right pricing model if the new product must make progress towards the right direction.

There is also a great need to consider the audience that the product is meant for. Before the product is developed, the marketers as well as the developers must first have a target audience in mind. Marketing imagination comes in handy. There is great need in ensuring that the audience is considered before venturing into the market. Having a clear picture of the audience that the product is meant for gives the marketer an assurance of engaging in successful endeavors in the long run. When the product is finally launched and released in the market, the marketer will be in a position to do everything based on what was speculated before.

Taking risks is one of the things that any organization cannot evade. This is because through taking risks, a company stands the chance of having things work for the right course. There are records that indicate huge earnings making way to organizations as a result of taking risks. In this regard, there is the need to take risk at one point or another. The question is…when and how should an organization take the risk. It is at this point that marketing imagination and speculations come in. It is worthwhile to have a mental picture of what that might come as a result of taking a given risk. Some of the risks may be too grave for an organization hence prompting chances of losses. There are other cases where the risk involved may be mild, yet with high potential of generating great returns ultimately. Through speculation, marketers are able to understand and identify some of the risks that are worth taking. They are able to evaluate if the organization can absorb any loss as a result of any potential underperformance of a given product.

With the help of effective innovation strategies, it becomes easy for any company to put in place the right measures that will help in mitigating risks in marketing. Today, there are tools that have been developed, with an aim of providing reliable indicators on what that lies behind. Marketers are advised to make use of such tools since that will be of great assistance in drawing a clear marketing roadmap.

The bottom line is that any organizations should have a way of bearing risks. There should be a platform that can help in keeping any company away from possible losses and risks. That way, it will be easy for marketers to work towards the right direction with the aim achieving the stipulated goals.

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