В. Reread the text. Divide it into logical parts and make up its outline. Use it to speak about marketing.

7. General Comprehension

Read the dialogue between Ann, a first-year student, and Steve, a senior student, and answer the following questions:

1. What is the subject of their conversation?

2. What components does the strategic phase consist of?

3. What does tactical marketing involve?

Steve: Hi, Ann! How's your economics test?

Ann: Hi, Steve! Thanks to your help I did very well.

Steve: Glad to hear that. Is there anything else 1 can do for you?

Ann: Well, maybe we could discuss marketing strategy; everything seems to be so much clearer after a conversation with you.

Steve: No problem. Moreover, it's the topic I like most of all. So, what would you like me to explain to you?

Ann: As far as I know the marketing process is divided into a stra­tegic and a tactical phase. What's the difference between the two?

Steve: OK, so, the strategic phase has three components — segmen­tation, targeting, and positioning or "STP" as they are sometimes called. The company must distinguish among different groups of customers in the market, that's segmentation. And then choose which groups it can serve effectively, the process is called targeting. However, a key step in marketing strategy is positioning, which involves creating and communicating a message that clearly positions the company or its brand in relation to competitors.

Ann: I guess 1 know what you are talking about. Volvo, for example, has positioned its automobile as the "fastest", and Daimler-Benz, manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, has positioned its car as the best "engineered".

Steve: Right. You are quick on the uptake. But what must be kept in mind is that although some products may be positioned as "outstanding" in two or more ways, claiming superiority along several dimensions may hurt a company's credibility because consumers will not believe that some company can do better than others in all dimensions.

Ann: I see. And what about marketing tactics?

Steve: Having developed a strategy, a company must then decide which tactics will be most effective in achieving strategy goals. Tactical marketing involves creating a marketing mix of three main components — product, price and place.

Ann: I know something about it. The lecturer told us last time that it is the marketer's role to communicate customer desires to the engineers who design the product. This is in contrast to past experience, when engineers designed a product based on their own preferences, interests, or expertise and then expected marketers to find as many customers as possible to buy this product.

Steve: Ann, you are pretty well familiar with the subject. What do you know about the second marketing mix, the price?

Ann: Well, a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, for example, is generally considered to be a high-quality automobile, and it therefore can command a high price in the marketplace.

Steve: Yeh, but on the other hand, in order to gain market share, some companies have moved to "more for the same" or "the same for less" pricing, which means offering prices that are lower than those of their competitors.

Ann: That's interesting. And what about the third element, the place?

Steve: So, when a product moves along its path from producer to consumer, it is said to be following a channel of distribution, which includes, for example, food-processing plants, warehouses, wholesalers, and supermarkets. Some marketers may decide to skip steps in the channel and instead market directly to buyers through direct mail, telemarketing, door-to-door selling, shopping via television, or factory outlets.

Ann: Thank you, Steve for your help. Now I feel as if I were an expert in marketing.

Steve: That was a pleasure to help you.

8. Word Study

A. Write down the expressions which are used in the dialogue in the following functions:

1) to express gratitude; 2) to reply to someone who has thanked you; 3) to offer help; 4) to suggest doing sth; 5) to express agreement.

 

 

В. Match English terms and expressions with their Russian equivalents.

 

1) segmentation	а) канал товародвижения
2) targeting	b) занять позицию
3) positioning	с) перескакивать
4) to communicate	d) проектировать
5) to position	е) сегментация
6) to engineer	f) сбывать
7) superiority	g) позиционирование
8) dimension	h) превосходство
9) credibility	i) сообщить
10) goal	j) сторона, аспект
11) marketer	к) торговая точка
12) channel of distribution	1) вера, доверие; правдивость
13) processing	т) специалист по маркетингу
14) to skip	п) определение цели
15) to market	о) цель
16) outlet	р) переработка

C. Give Russian equivalents to the following word combinations:

a strategic and a tactical phase; to create and communicate a mes­sage; to position the company or its brand in relation to competitors; to be positioned as "outstanding"; to claim superiority along several dimensions; a company's credibility; to create a marketing mix; to gain market share; "more for the same" or "the same for less" pricing; to decide to skip steps.

D. Give English equivalents to the word combinations:

ловить на лету; реализовать стратегические цели; сообщить о желаниях покупателей инженерам; вопреки прошлому опыту; разрабатывать продукт, полагаясь на свои предпочтения, интересы и опыт; быть знакомым с темой; высококачественный; запросить высокую цену; продвигаться по каналу товародвижения; сбывать товар непосредственно покупателям.

E. Find words and expressions in the dialogue with the following
meanings:

1) a product or group of products that has its own name and is made by one particular company; 2) a company that sells the same goods or services as another company; 3) qualities that a company

has that make people believe or trust it; 4) the percentage of the total amount of sales of a particular product that a company has; 5) a big building where large amounts of goods are stored; 6) someone whose job is to sell large quantities of goods to shops or small businesses; 7) advertisements that are sent by post to many people; 8) a method of selling things in which you telephone people to see if they want to buy something; 9) visiting each house in a street or area, to sell something; 10) a shop or place where a particular product is sold.

9. Grammar Focus

Complete the sentences by using one of the words on the left and combining it with one of the prepositions on the right. Prepositions can be used more than once. If necessary, change the form of the words on the left.

 

order	communicate	base	difference	via to
contrast	familiar	thanks	quick	between
	check	relation		with on

1.......... successful advertising campaign, the sales of the product

were raised. 2. Unemployment here is high in......... national levels.

3. He's........ the uptake. It takes him a very short time to understand

things. 4. Can you somehow....... him that we're just not interested?

5. Her views stand in stark........ those of her colleagues. 6. Are you

....... this type of machine? 7. It's easy to... your bank account...

the Internet. 8. Taxation is...... income. 9. In........ measure the flow

of supply and demand, a measurable value is needed. The oldest and

most commonly used is price. 10. What's the....... a strategic and a

tactical phase?

Diving Deeper

A. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give your arguments.

1. The strategic phase is made up of two components. 2. Segmen­tation is the act of dividing something into smaller parts. 3. Target is an object, person, or place that is deliberately chosen to be attacked.

4. Positioning is the most important component of the strategic phase.

5. Volvo puts emphasis on the safety of its automobiles. 6. A com­pany should highlight as many good points in its product as it can.

7. Marketing tactics are connected with the right marketing mix.

8. Engineers design a product based on their own preferences, interests, or expertise. 9. Recognized companies can command a high price for their products. 10. It is impossible for marketers to sell products directly to buyers.

B. Answer the questions.

1. What are the phases of the marketing process? 2. How many components does the strategic phase consist of? What are their characteristic features? 3. How have Volvo and Daimler-Benz positioned their automobiles? 4. Why isn't it advisable to claim superiority along several dimensions? 5. What is developed first: marketing strategy or tactics? 6. What does tactical marketing consist in? 7. Who decides what product to design? What was the past practice? 8. Why can Mercedes-Benz command a high price in the marketplace? 9. What do some companies do in order to gain market share? 10. What is a channel of distribution? Do all the marketers follow all its steps?

7 7. Speaking

A. Tell a novice in business about:

• Marketing strategy:

- the components of the strategic phase and their peculiarities;

- the importance of positioning.

• Marketing tactics:

- the importance of a marketing mix;

- characteristic features of the marketing mix components.

B. Define the following words and expressions:

• segmentation, targeting, positioning;

• a marketing mix: product, price, place, promotion;

• "more for the same" or "the same for less" pricing;

• a channel of distribution;

• direct mail, telemarketing, door-to-door selling.

Role-Playing

Act out the conversation between Ann and Steve.

Integrated Language Skills

A. Study the following words and expressions which will help you to understand the text in point B:

intermediary — посредник; remotely — отдаленно; discounted price — цена со скидкой; psychological — психологический; facili­tator — помощник; contractual — контрактный; handle — управ­лять; обходиться, обращаться.

В. Read the text and think of a suitable title for it.

The elements that play a role in the marketing process can be divided into three groups: customers, distributors, and facilitators. In order to understand customers, certain questions must be answered: Who constitutes the market segment? What do they buy and why? And how, when, and where do they buy? Thus, a remotely situated wholesale store may use discounted prices to lure customers away from the more conveniently located shops. Customers can be divided into two categories: consumer customers, who purchase goods and services for use for themselves and by those with whom they live; and business customers, who purchase goods and services for use by the organization for which they work. Four major types of factors influence consumer buying behaviour: cultural, social, personal, and psychological. Many producers do not sell products or services directly to consumers and instead use marketing intermediaries, such as middlemen (wholesalers, retailers, agents, and brokers) and distributors. Distributor is a company or person that makes wholesale purchases from the producers of finished products to become available for people to buy. It is quite a large company having its own warehouses and establishing active contractual relations with manufacturers. Because marketing functions require significant expertise, it is often both efficient and effective for an organization to use the assistance of independent marketing facilitators. These are organizations and consultants whose sole or primary responsibility is to handle marketing functions. There are four major types of marketing facilitators: advertising agencies, market research firms, transportation firms, and warehousing firms.

C. Divide the text into logical parts and think of a suitable
subtitle for each part.

D. Write 6 questions about the issues raised in the text, then ask
and answer the questions in pairs.

E. Role-Playing.

Student A: You are a first-year student who needs help: you are to sit a marketing test and you still don't understand certain terms you

are to know. Ask a five-year student questions about marketing, its customers, distributors, and facilitators.

Student B: You met a first-year student who doesn't understand certain marketing terms and needs help. Answer his/her questions.

Making a Presentation

A. Complete the text of the commercial presentation of the Pulse Meter watch with the words from the table.

timer modern

read use

bargain model

cost health

displays unique

The Pulse Meter Watch

...And now, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to show you our new (1)..., the Pulse Meter watch. The Pulse Meter is a watch for people who care about their (2).... Like other modern watches, it's light and easy to (3).... It has a simple, (4)... design, making it easy to (5).... It can be used as a stopwatch, a (6)..., and an alarm. But the (7)... feature of the Pulse Meter is this: it measures and (8)... the number of heartbeats per minute.

I'm sure you'll agree, ladies and gentlemen, that at a (9)... of only

$39.99, the Pulse Meter watch is a real (10)....

B. Read the presentation of a multilingual pocket translator and choose the right option to complete the sentences.

1) The pocket translator can translate... from one language into
another.

a) words b) sentences

2)... business people buy the pocket translator, a) Only b) Mainly

3) The pocket translator is... a phrase book, a) the same size as b) smaller than

4) The pocket translator contains... words, a) 8,000 b) 80,000

5) The retail price of the pocket translator is... $50. a) exactly b) about