Maharashtra HSC Bifocal Marketing and Salesmanship cheat sheet

Marketing is the whole system of business activities that identifies needs, creates value, and delivers satisfaction at a profit; selling is only one component of it.

Core marketing concepts: needs, wants, demand, products, value, satisfaction, exchange, transaction, and market.

Marketing mix (4Ps): Product, Price, Place, Promotion; extended to 7Ps by adding People, Process, Physical evidence for services.

Difference between selling and marketing: selling starts with the product and pushes it; marketing starts with the customer and pulls demand.

Selling concept focuses on volume and aggressive promotion; marketing concept focuses on customer needs and integrated effort for long-run profit.

Marketing functions: buying, selling, transporting, storing, grading, financing, risk bearing, market information, and standardization.

Salesmanship is the personal, face-to-face, oral presentation of goods or services to a prospective buyer with the aim of persuading purchase.

Features of salesmanship: personal communication, two-way interaction, flexibility of presentation, and relationship building.

Marketing is demand-oriented and broader; salesmanship is supply-oriented, narrower, and one element of the promotion mix.

Marketing environment = internal environment (men, money, materials, machinery, management) + external environment (micro and macro).

Micro environment: suppliers, customers, competitors, intermediaries, publics, and the company itself; directly affects operations.

Macro environment (PESTLE): Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental forces; affects all firms indirectly.

Demographic variables: population size, age structure, gender ratio, income distribution, education, occupation, rural-urban spread.

Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups, and organisations select, buy, use, and dispose of goods and services.

Buying decision process: need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behaviour.

Buyer roles: initiator, influencer, decider, buyer, and user; a single purchase may involve several different people.

Factors influencing consumer behaviour: cultural, social (family, reference groups, roles), personal (age, income, lifestyle), and psychological (motivation, perception, learning, beliefs).

Buying motives: product motives (rational and emotional) and patronage motives (price, quality, service, location, habit).

Segmentation = dividing a heterogeneous market into homogeneous sub-groups with similar needs and buying behaviour.

Segmentation bases: geographic, demographic, psychographic (lifestyle, personality), and behavioural (usage rate, loyalty, benefits sought).

Effective segment criteria: measurable, accessible, substantial, differentiable, actionable, and stable.

Targeting = evaluating segment attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to serve.

Targeting strategies: undifferentiated (mass), differentiated (multi-segment), concentrated (niche), and micromarketing (local/individual).

Positioning = designing the company's offer and image to occupy a distinct place in the target customer's mind.

Positioning bases: product attributes, benefits, price-quality, use occasion, user type, competitor comparison, and product class.

Positioning statement format: For [target segment], [brand] is the [frame of reference] that [point of difference] because [reason to believe].

Perceptual mapping plots brands on two key attributes to show gaps and repositioning opportunities.

Product levels: core benefit, basic product, expected product, augmented product, and potential product.

Product classification: consumer goods (convenience, shopping, specialty, unsought) and industrial goods (raw material, capital items, supplies).

Product mix dimensions: width (number of lines), length (total items), depth (variants per item), and consistency.

Product life cycle stages: introduction, growth, maturity, decline; each stage has distinct pricing, promotion, and profit patterns.

Brand = a name, term, sign, symbol, or design that identifies a seller's goods and differentiates them from competitors.

Branding decisions: brand or not, brand sponsor (manufacturer, distributor, licensed), brand name strategy, and brand repositioning.

Brand equity is the added value a brand name gives to a product; measured by awareness, loyalty, perceived quality, associations, and other assets.

New product development stages: idea generation, screening, concept testing, business analysis, product development, test marketing, commercialisation.

Packaging and labelling perform protection, identification, convenience, and promotion functions and carry mandatory legal information.

Pricing objectives: profit maximisation, target return on investment, market share, survival, status quo, and product quality leadership.

Cost-based pricing: cost-plus (mark-up) and target-return pricing; demand-based pricing: perceived-value and value pricing.

Competition-based pricing: going-rate and sealed-bid pricing; new-product pricing: skimming (high initial price) vs penetration (low initial price).

Price adjustment strategies: discounts and allowances, discriminatory pricing, psychological pricing, promotional pricing, and geographical pricing.

Break-even quantity = Fixed cost ÷ (Selling price per unit − Variable cost per unit).

Distribution channel = the set of interdependent organisations that make a product available to consumers.

Channel levels: zero-level (direct), one-level (retailer), two-level (wholesaler-retailer), and three-level (agent-wholesaler-retailer).

Channel functions: physical distribution, inventory holding, order processing, financing, risk bearing, and after-sales service.

Market coverage decisions: intensive distribution (convenience goods), selective distribution (shopping goods), and exclusive distribution (specialty goods).

Promotion mix elements: advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public relations, and direct marketing.

Advertising is paid, non-personal, sponsored communication; media include print, broadcast, outdoor, and digital.

AIDA model: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action - the sequence a promotional message should follow.

Sales promotion tools: discounts, coupons, premiums, contests, samples, trade fairs, and point-of-purchase displays; usually short-term.

Public relations builds goodwill through publicity, press releases, events, and community relations; it is unpaid and has high credibility.

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) coordinates all promotional tools so that the message is consistent across every touchpoint.

Push strategy pushes the product through channel members via trade promotion; pull strategy creates consumer demand through advertising.

Advertising budget methods: percentage of sales, affordable method, competitive-parity, and objective-and-task method.

Message effectiveness is measured by reach, frequency, recall, and conversion; the communication process needs encoding, decoding, and feedback.

Personal selling is oral, face-to-face persuasion in which the salesperson and prospect interact directly.

Steps in the selling process: prospecting, pre-approach, approach, presentation and demonstration, handling objections, closing, and follow-up.

Prospecting = identifying and qualifying potential buyers; qualifying checks need, authority, ability to pay, and readiness.

Objection handling methods: direct denial, indirect denial, yes-but, boomerang, and compensation; objections signal prospect interest.

Closing techniques: trial close, assumptive close, alternative-choice close, summary close, and urgency close.

Types of salespersons: order takers (inside, outside), order getters (creative selling), and support salespeople (missionary, technical, merchandiser).

Selling theories: AIDAS, right set of circumstances, buying formula, and need-satisfaction theory.

Essentials of a good salesperson: product knowledge, communication skill, empathy, self-confidence, and persistence.

Sales quota = a target assigned to a salesperson or territory; it may be expressed in value, volume, or activity points.

Sales organisation = the formal structure of roles, authority, and responsibility through which sales activities are carried out.

Line organisation: direct authority from top to bottom, simple and quick, but lacks specialist support.

Line and staff organisation: line managers carry authority; staff specialists (market research, training) advise.

Functional organisation: sales activities divided by function (advertising, sales promotion, credit); specialists give orders in their area.

Horizontal (geographical) organisation divides territory by region, zone, or state; suited to wide, dispersed markets.

Product organisation assigns a manager to each product line; suitable when products are technically complex and numerous.

Customer organisation groups salespeople by customer type or industry; suitable for specialised buyer needs.

Span of control = number of subordinates directly supervised; narrow span means tall structure, wide span means flat structure.

Delegation, unity of command, and centralisation vs decentralisation are the key principles of sales organisation design.

Sales force management covers recruitment, selection, training, motivation, compensation, supervision, and evaluation.

Recruitment sources: internal (promotion, transfer) and external (advertisements, campus, agencies, referrals).

Selection steps: application blank, preliminary interview, tests, in-depth interview, reference check, and medical examination.

Compensation plans: straight salary, straight commission, and combination plan (salary + commission + bonus); a combination plan balances security and incentive.

Motivation tools: quotas, contests, bonuses, recognition, promotion, and non-financial incentives such as awards and autonomy.

Sales force size can be estimated as total market workload ÷ workload per salesperson, or by the incremental method.

Sales forecasting methods: qualitative (jury of executive opinion, sales force composite, Delphi, consumer survey) and quantitative (trend projection, moving average, regression, time series).

Moving average forecast = sum of actual sales over the chosen number of past periods ÷ that number of periods.

Sales territory design aims for balanced workload and potential; salesperson performance is evaluated against quota, calls, and conversions.

Digital marketing channels: search engine optimisation (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), social media, email, content, and affiliate marketing.

E-commerce models: B2B, B2C, C2C, and D2C (direct-to-consumer); each changes the role of intermediaries.

Social media marketing uses platforms for brand awareness, engagement, community building, and influencer collaboration.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) uses data and software to manage customer interactions and improve retention and lifetime value.

Relationship marketing shifts focus from one-time transactions to long-term customer loyalty and repeat purchase.

Green/sustainable marketing designs products and communication around environmental responsibility and consumer welfare.

Rural marketing in India uses haats, melas, mobile vans, and local language communication to reach low-density markets.

Omnichannel retailing integrates physical stores, websites, and apps so that customers can move seamlessly between them.

Ethical and legal issues: misleading advertising, data privacy, price discrimination, and consumer protection under Indian law.