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Marketing, customer value and the relationship between the two

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Marketing, Customer Value, And The Relationship Between The Two, With Regards to Smiggle

Marketing Theory and Practice- MKF1120

Lecturer- Peter Wagstaff

Due Date- 30 March, 2012

Marketing is a management function which involves creating, communicating and delivering value for an organisation’s customers (Kotler, Brown, Burton, Deans & Armstrong (2010). Although many earlier academics define marketing as merely a process of satisfying customer needs in order to gain profits, more recent developments of the definition include its inherent connection with delivering superior value to customers in order to maintain ongoing relationships (Webster, 1992).
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Value is also perceived differently between customers, and is relative to the value customers perceive is available from market alternatives (Smith & Colgate, 1988). Customers may choose to shop at Smiggle over alternatives such as Kiki K because they may perceive Smiggle to have similar quality products at a lower monetary cost. Conversely, other customers may not place a high importance on colour and aesthetical appearance when shopping for a pen, and consequently may take their money to somewhere with more standard office pens, such as a newsagent. When assessing value, customers only factor in features of a product which they deem are important (Kotler et., al). Compelling value propositions must be created in order to entice customers and meet their specific demands (Smith & Colgate, 1988). Smiggle offers products that are functional, affordable and are creatively and colourfully designed to inspire fun in school and work tasks. Customers match their expectations to Smiggle’s value proposition, and if a customer believes the product does not hold the benefits it is supposed hold, the customer will be dissatisfied (Kotler et., el). Therefore, Smiggle must either meet or exceed customers’ expectations in order to satisfy them. This process is integral to the ‘mutual exchange’ characteristic of marketing, because companies must gauge demand and then deliver value in

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