Unit 1: Marketing fundamentals
Survey of Apparel Marketing and Merchandising notes · PTU syllabus (BSTD 302-20)
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Unit summary
Fashion businesses succeed by understanding customers and choosing whom to serve. This unit covers the concept of marketing, the marketing mix, segmentation, targeting and positioning, and consumer markets and buyer behaviour.
After this unit you can
- Explain the concept of marketing and the marketing mix
- Segment, target and position fashion products
- Analyse consumer markets
- Explain buyer behaviour for apparel
PTU syllabus topics
- Definitions and concept of marketing
- marketing mix
- segmentation
- targeting
- positioning
- analysis of consumer markets and buyer behaviour
- 1Segment
By age, income, lifestyle, occasion
- 2Target
Pick the segments to serve
- 3Position
e.g. affordable fast fashion or luxury craft
- 4Marketing mix
Product, price, place, promotion
Topic 1
Definitions and concept of marketing
Marketing is the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return (Kotler). The AMA defines it as the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society. Nature: customer-oriented, a continuous process, exchange-based, goal-oriented and both an art and a science. Scope: goods, services, events, experiences, persons, places, ideas, organisations and information can all be marketed.
Topic 2
Marketing management philosophies
- 1Production concept
Consumers want cheap, available products — focus on efficient production
- 2Product concept
Consumers want the best quality — focus on product improvement
- 3Selling concept
Consumers must be persuaded — focus on aggressive selling
- 4Marketing concept
Find needs and satisfy them better than competitors
- 5Societal marketing concept
Satisfy needs while preserving consumer and society's well-being
Starting point
Factory
Market
Focus
Existing products
Customer needs
Means
Selling and promotion
Integrated marketing
End
Profit through sales volume
Profit through customer satisfaction
Topic 3
The marketing mix
The marketing mix is the set of controllable tools a firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market (Neil Borden; 4Ps by E. Jerome McCarthy).
| P | Decisions |
|---|---|
| Product | Variety, quality, design, features, brand, packaging, services |
| Price | List price, discounts, allowances, payment terms |
| Place | Channels, coverage, locations, inventory, transport |
| Promotion | Advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations |
| People (services) | Staff who deliver the service |
| Process (services) | How the service is delivered |
| Physical evidence (services) | Tangible cues: store design, uniforms, website |
Example
Apparel brand example — Product: kurta collection; Price: ₹1,299–2,499; Place: own stores, Myntra and multi-brand outlets; Promotion: Instagram campaign with a festive theme.
Topic 4
Segmentation, targeting and positioning
Market segmentation is dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers with different needs, characteristics or behaviour who might require separate products or marketing programmes. Need: better understanding of customers, efficient use of resources, competitive advantage and tailored offers.
Geographic
Region, city size, climate, urban or rural
Demographic
Age, gender, income, occupation, education, family size
Psychographic
Lifestyle, personality, social class, values
Behavioural
Benefits sought, usage rate, loyalty, occasion
Requirements for effective segments: measurable, accessible, substantial, differentiable and actionable.
Demographic
Age, gender, income, life stage
Kidswear, plus-size, premium womenswear
Geographic
Region, climate, urban or rural
Woollens for north India
Psychographic
Lifestyle, values, personality
Athleisure for fitness lovers, sustainable fashion
Behavioural
Occasion, benefits, loyalty
Wedding wear, office wear
Topic 5
Consumer markets and buyer behaviour
- 1Need recognition
Wedding, new job, season change
- 2Information search
Social media, influencers, stores
- 3Evaluation of alternatives
Price, fit, brand, fabric
- 4Purchase decision
- 5Post-purchase behaviour
Returns, reviews, loyalty
- Cultural
- Culture, sub-culture (regional dress), social class
- Social
- Reference groups, family, influencers, roles and status
- Personal
- Age, occupation, income, lifestyle, body type
- Psychological
- Motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes
- Fashion adoption: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards; theories — trickle-down, trickle-across, trickle-up (street style).
Key terms
- Marketing mix
- Controllable tools — product, price, place, promotion
- Segmentation
- Dividing a market into groups with similar needs
- Positioning
- Creating a distinct place for a brand in customers' minds
- Buyer behaviour
- How people choose, buy and use products
- Trickle-up theory
- Fashion moving from street styles to luxury
Quick revision
- Marketing concept and philosophies.
- 4Ps and 7Ps with apparel examples.
- Segmentation bases; targeting; positioning.
- Buyer decision process; cultural, social, personal, psychological factors; fashion adoption.
Important exam questions
Practice questions written to the PTU exam pattern for this unit's syllabus: short answers (Section A style) and long answers (Sections B and C style).
Short-answer questions
- Q1.Define marketing.
- Q2.Name the 4Ps.
- Q3.Give an example of psychographic segmentation in fashion.
- Q4.What is positioning?
- Q5.List the stages of the buyer decision process.
- Q6.What is the trickle-down theory?
Long-answer questions
- Q1.Explain the marketing mix with an apparel example.
- Q2.Explain segmentation, targeting and positioning for fashion brands.
- Q3.Explain consumer buying behaviour for apparel.
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