Marketing in the World as We Know It

It is important to understand the principles of marketing in today’s society. In order to be competitive in the market place, an organization must analyze its marketing plan on a routine basis. I am most familiar with the military and Resurrection Life Church and will discuss how we market what we do to bring people to their respective organizations

To start out, we must first define marketing as it applies to the society’s demographics, manner of thinking, and competitive intelligence. It is not the logical plan to sell something to someone that lives a thousand miles away, but to try to focus on those who are within one hundred miles. An organization must also consider if people are going to need or want the product or service that is to be offered, and if it will be reasonable to produce efficiently without ‘going in the hole’. According to Kerin, Hartley, Berkowitz, & Rudelius, (2006), “Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its shareholders.” Marketing: 1. the act of buying and selling in a market, 2. the total of activities by which transfer of title or possession of goods from seller to the buyer is effected, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling (Urdang & Flexner 1973).

One of the most effective tools that can be utilized is a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, and Trends (SWOTT) analysis. SWOTT analysis highlights the advantages and disadvantages associated with an existing product or service. It is important to try increasing sales by selling existing products in new markets. An organization must consider the 4 P’s: a product that is need-satisfying, a price that is competitive for the quality of product, a place that is in the right location and right quantities, and a promotion that will best communicate information to the consumer by the seller.

The military is conducting an ongoing effort to establish a better means of recruitment of personnel that have not had the experience of serving in the United States Armed Forces (USAF). Five main components exist in the USAF. They include the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Each component has its own reserve forces, otherwise known as inactive military, and each state has its own National Guard. The National Guard provides protection not only to the state in which they live in, but nationwide and at many times voluntary service abroad around the world.

Military recruitment is at an all time low due to the on-going efforts in the Middle-East. The problem that exists with recruitment is convincing the parents of and the applicants the importance of people to service in the military during the war-time effort as well as peace times. After Desert Shield/Storm in 1990 and 1991, recruiting increased dramatically.

As military members and recruiters, it is our responsibility to encourage eligible applicants to Aenlist@. To reassure applicants and their parents, we rely on their patriotic sense of duty. People are attracted to the public media, and they learn of the necessity to serve not only their country, but other countries desiring the freedom that we take for granted. People are inspired by the acts of military personnel that perform such humanitarian acts, such as search and rescue of hostages and capturing known fugitives.

Now, the military offers more incentives to new enlistees and prior service members to maintain a career in the military. One of the incentives includes an additional bonus pay for enlistments of six years of fifteen thousand dollars. Another is increased college tuition reimbursements. And another is to give out bonuses to those individuals who bring potential recruits into the military.

Resurrection Life Church (Rez Life) applies marketing by helping people connect with God through a relationship