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Although the wireless phone services have been long considered as an essential device to communicate but it is only recently the potentials of wireless phone has been discovered and implemented as effective marketing tools. It is with the help of the mobile devices, the rate of responses for specific campaigns can be assessed accurately by the different brands and hence the success rate can be measured. This is how mobile marketing came into being.

 

In the past, it was only few traditional channels, such as, direct mailing services, telemarketing and others that the brands used to depend on generally. The mail campaigns used to create a sustained association with the subscribers. The mobile marketing approach initiated a means, which is more cost-effective and at the same time assisted to a great extent in developing a long drawn relation with the target audiences.

The consumers, who possess a mobile device, always remain connected and hence are available at all time. They indeed have a control over the entire mobile experience at all time. This signifies that although it is possible to have the target consumer from anywhere and anytime for the purpose of marketing, still in this case the customer is at the vantage point and can choose the time, when he wants to remain engaged. This also helps the marketer to judge that when he or she is most willing to buy.

Thus, the monetizing ability of the different channels involving mobile marketing turns out to be the major reason behind the success of the marketing strategy. It no doubt helps in development and strengthening of the relation between the marketer and the consumer. It enhances the money making potential of the consumer and at the same time offers an element of entertainment. Therefore, it happens to be a gain to both the ends.

Spam is one of the factors; all the consumers are scared of. Still the companies having mobile marketing schemes have established a specific set of guidelines in order to protect the consumer’s privacy. They have taken the lesson from the experience encountered over the Internet and therefore the means turned out to be a full-proof one. The published data also turn out to be credible enough in this way.

 

The marketers, who are well aware of the different marketing techniques prevalent, mobile marketing, will offer an overwhelming experience to them also. In order to launch a mobile marketing campaign successfully, one just needs to get familiar with a set of terminology, such as, MMS, WAP, SMS, PSMS and others.

 

So let’s have a look on the different terms associated with mobile marketing.

SMS: It is the acronym for ‘short message service’. More popularly, it is referred as text messaging service. This can be forwarded from person to person, from application to person and again from person to application.

 



PSMS: It is the service enabling one to pay an incremental fee and thus they can receive the different ring tones, wallpapers and other interesting attributes.

 

MMS: It is referred as ‘multimedia messaging services’ and with the help of it pictures and e-mails can be sent via the mobile device.

 

WAP: Its full form is, ‘wireless application protocol’. This enables the users to get connected to the Internet or other mobile devices.

 

Mobile Video: It is a simple application used for viewing television, commercials or music videos over the mobile phone.

 

Mobile Advertising: It is used to advertise a product or service within the range of a mobile device and include components, such as, SMS, MMS and WAP. It is somehow an application similar to advertisement over television or Internet.

 

 

 

Strategic Marketing

Introduction

- “Marketing is an organizational function and a set of process for creating, communicating, and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders” AMA (American Marketing Association’s, new definition of marketing 2004)

- “Marketing is a culture, an organizational function and a set of process for creating, communicating, and delivering value with customers and for interacting in relationships in ways that benefit the organization, its customers and other stakeholders” Evert Gummesson

The strategic marketing planning process flows from a mission and vision statement to the selection of target markets, and the formulation of specific marketing mix and positioning objective for each product or service the organization will offer. Leading authors like Kotler present the organization as a value creation and delivery sequence. In its first phase, choosing the value, the strategist “proceeds to segment the market, select the appropriate market target, and develop the offer’s value positioning. The formula – segmentation, targeting, positioning (STP) – is the essence of strategic marketing.” (Kotler, 1994, p. 93).

Market segmentation is an adaptive strategy. It consists of the partition of the market with the purpose of selecting one or more market segments which the organization can target through the development of specific marketing mixes that adapt to particular market needs. But market segmentation need not be a purely adaptive strategy: The process of market segmentation can also consist of the selection of those segments for which a firm might be particularly well suited to serve by having competitive advantages relative to competitors in the segment, reducing the cost of adaptation in order to gain a niche. This application of market segmentation serves the purpose of developing competitive scope, which can have a “powerful effect on competitive advantage because it shapes the configuration of the value chain.” (Porter, 1985, p.53).

The aim of this paper is to present Market Segmentation Strategy and the customer Relationship Management (CRM).

 

I-Market Segmentation Strategy:

 

According to Porter, the fact that segments differs widely in structural attractiveness and their requirements for competitive advantage brings about two crucial strategic questions: the determination of (a) where in an industry to compete and (b) in which segments would focus strategies be sustainable by building barriers between segments (Porter, 1985, p. 231).

Through market segmentation the firm can provide higher value to customers by developing a market mix that addresses the specific needs and concerns of the selected segment. Stated in economic terms, the firm creates monopolistic or oligopolistic market conditions through the utilization of various curves of demand for a specific product category (Ferstman, C., & Muller, E., 1993). This is an expanded application of the microeconomic theory of price discrimination, where the firm seeks to realize the highest price that each segment is willing to pay. In this case the theory’s reliance on price is broadened to include all 4 P’s of the marketing mix (Wilkie, 1990, P. 98). This application of microeconomic theory is particularly applicable to organizations active in product categories that are cluttered with competition. It is also useful where sufficiently large markets with distinct sets of value preferences are found, or when the organization chooses to proactively build a stronghold by creating value preferences among a set of consumers.

Segmentation as a process consists of segment identification, segment selection and the creation of marketing mixes for target segments. The outcome of the segmentation process should yield “true market segments” which meet three criteria: (a) Group identity: true segments must be groupings that are homogeneous within segments and heterogeneous across groups. (b) Systematic behaviors: a true segment must meet the practical requirement of reacting similarly to a particular marketing mix. (c) The third criteria refer to efficiency potential in terms of feasibility and cost of reaching a segment (Wilkie, 1990). In addition, Gunter (1992) recommends considering the stability of market segments over time and different market conditions.

 

I-1 – Segment Identification

The first stage of market analysis consists of segment identification. The analyst has the option of segmenting the market using different sets of criteria including personal characteristics of the consumer, benefits sought, and behavioral measures of the consumer (Wilkie, 1990, p. 101). Within these categories the options available are truly overwhelming and in many cases different segmentation approaches will steer strategy along very different paths. Utilizing multiple segmentation approaches is recommended by several authors (Porter, 1985; Gunter, 1992).

There is no recipe for choosing which variables to utilize when segmenting. The identification of segmentation variables is among the most creative parts of the segmentation process, because it involves conceiving dimensions along which products and buyers differ, that carries important structural or value chain implications.

Furthermore, “the greatest opportunity for creating competitive advantage often comes from new ways of segmenting, because a firm can meet buyer needs better than competitors or improve its relative cost position” (Porter, 1985, p. 247).

 

I-2 – Segment Evaluation

The second stage consists of evaluating the segments. The first element that needs to be defined is the criteria by which the segments will be evaluated.

Approaches vary with some suggesting a quantitative evaluation of the resulting segments (Sarabia, 1996), while others highlight other strategies for evaluation. A way to approach market segment evaluation is through the examination of a market structure by constructing a spatial model where similarities and dissimilarities are mapped. This representation of the market is then used in conjunction with demand estimating and forecasting models to determine possible positioning alternatives for a product (Johnson, R., 1995). This analysis can be enhanced by using a chi-squared trees analysis and correspondence analysis to generate compositional perceptual maps, which are “vital to understanding consumer brand positioning” (Bendixen, M., 1995).

Other elements should also be considered such as simplicity and potential adaptability of the segmentation structure across national boundaries. Kotler (1990) suggests considering three key factors: segment size and growth, segment structural attractiveness, and company objectives and resources. Porter (1985) proposes a similar approach but also recommends studying the firm’s resources and skills as reflected in the value chain, and their suitability to target market alternatives. Aaker (1995) bases his selection criteria on the SWOT analysis produced during the strategic marketing planning process. Berrigan & Finkbeiner (1992) propose a somewhat similar process that includes market structure analysis, market opportunity analysis, product portfolio analysis, resource capabilities analysis and competitive analysis.

 

I-3 – Targeting through marketing mix

The third stage of the market segmentation process is the creation of a specific market mix to fulfill the needs, as well as market conditions of each specific target

segment (Wilkie, 1990; Gunter & Furnham, 1992; Kotler, 1994). Although many authors limit the market segmentation process to market identification rather on the key elements of the entire process, most companies fail to give due importance to other stages in market segmentation such as product positioning and mix development (Sarabia
, 1996).

Once the firm has chosen a market segment it must choose a generic competitive strategy. At this point it is also necessary to review the selected strategy across segments and explore general strategic approaches. In some cases it might become apparent that a counter-segmentation strategy is applicable. In other cases, the development of distinct mixes for each segment uncovers inconsistencies or lack of resources at the corporate level and so it is necessary to revert to the segment evaluation stage.

According to Kotler (1994, p. 293) the only sustainable generic strategy in a segmented market is differentiation. He explains that the only other generic competitive strategy alternative (low cost) is not sustainable in a segmented market. In addition, a strategy successful at differentiating must generate customer value, provide perceived value, and be difficult to copy.

At this point in the process the company selects those ways in which it will distinguish itself from its competitors. In most cases the differentiation involves multiple elements. In fact, “most successful differentiation strategies involve the total organization, its structure, systems, people, and culture.” (Aaker, 1996). One way to differentiate is through brand equity building. A strategy based on brand is likely to be sustainable because it creates competitive barriers. A brand strategy permits the strategist to work with complex concepts and not limit the differentiation strategy to just a few competitive differences. This approach is consistent and reinforces the STP approach. A successful brand strategy builds barriers to protect the selected position by creating associations of the positioning variables with the brand name in the prospect’s mind.

 

I-4-Positioning

Gunter and Furnham (1992) prescribe that after selecting target markets the strategist should develop positioning objectives to then develop them into a detailed marketing mix. However, Aaker (1996) recommends developing the positioning objective only after the brand identity and value proposition have been developed. In exploring the latter, it is useful to understand Aaker’s definition of positioning is “the part of the brand identity and value proposition that is to be actively communicated to the target audience and that demonstrates an advantage over competing brands.” Kotler

(1994) refers to it as the unique selling proposition. Explained in other words, the positioning statement is the point where the bundle of attributes join to form one concept which aims at capturing the essence of that which the target audience seeks in the product category.

The benefit of following Aaker’s recommendation lies in the expanded range of position alternatives. Three places are suggested in looking for brand position elements: the core identity (central, timeless essence of a brand), points of leverage within the identity structure (an attribute, sub-brand, special feature, or service), and the value proposition (benefits that drive relationships with target audiences).

According to Brooksbank (1994), the positioning strategy should include three components: customer targets, which are the product of the segmentation study; competitor targets, which are a product of the analysis of external environment; and competitive advantage, which is also a product of the environmental analysis.

 

II-Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

 

Online customers are different from those who are able to contact you and deal with you directly. They have a unique set of expectations. Generally, they expect immediate service, either by finding what they need on your site themselves; or, they may expect that the goods or services be delivered without delay.

CRM is the broad category of concepts, tools, and processes that allows an organization to understand and serve everyone with whom it comes into contact. CRM is about gathering information that is used to serve customers-basic information, such as name, address, meeting and purchase history, and service and support contacts. In a supplier relationship it might be procurement history, terms and conditions, or contact information. This information is then used to better serve the clients.

Customers need to be able to find out about your products and services and be able to make purchases. You need to track each customer’s activity in order to make offers of complimentary products and new products that you may provide.

Investors will have needs that relate to the operation of the business and the performance of their investment. Making some of that information available on the web site will accomplish two things: (1) investors will be better informed, and they will be able to find out the information they require without making specific inquires that take time to provide; (2) investors will get the same information at the same time.

Suppliers and partners want to be connected with your organization. Creating special places where these strategic partners can participate is valuable. Providing them with information, such as product promotions, press releases, and advertising campaigns will build strong relationships.

 

II-1-CRM and the customer life cycle

It takes ten times more effort and costs ten times more money to attract a new customer than to keep an existing customer. This “statistic” alone should be enough for companies to invest in CRM. Finding customers is the first step and the faster you get through the sorting process of qualifying prospects into customers; the faster will be the returns. A web environment adds to this process in a very positive way. You can provide the means for people visiting your site to select whether they are indeed right to be customers. Good design and clear information will aid in this goal.

The process starts with finding customers. The Internet allows you to attract customers in two ways: (1) getting them to find you through search engines, links, and alliances with other sites; and (2), by proactively finding them and sending material electronically. The number one way people find online businesses is through search engines. There are a number of general-purpose engines where you can be registered, such as Altavista, Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. Because each of the major engines works differently in the way they index information, it is advised that companies engage a person or company that has experience in this activity.

It is also important to find the specialty search engines that focus on your specific industry. Whether you are in the oil and gas, tourism, or agriculture industries, there are search engines that specialize in information focused on these markets. And is also valuable to have your site linked from other complimentary e-businesses.

 

II-2-Building value for the Customer

Now that you have found your customer, it is important to find ways to add value to the relationship. Keep in mind that value is in the mind of the customer. Find out what they perceive to be valuable by surveying them either online, by phone, or by regular mail. Even though you are using online techniques, do not forget the many other ways to connect with customers.

Another way to add value is to produce newsletters that can be delivered online or by mail. Newsletters can be related to product or service announcements and contain general industry information. E-newsletters are simple and inexpensive to produce and deliver. A good rule of thumb is to keep the newsletter small and to discuss only two or three concepts.

As you build the relationship with your online customer you will be able to solicit and build more profile information. Information about product preferences allows you to offer complimentary products or give specials on items of interest to a specific set of customers.

 

II-3-E-
Loyalty

It is easy to get customers to visit your website for the first time. It is much more difficult to get them to return. You must create value for the return visitor.

As you gain more experience with online services you might use more sophisticated ways to build customer loyalty and strong relationships. Building customized or personalized sites for your customers to use will provide both added services and give customers a reason to return regularly to your e-business.

Ensuring you have good content can do this. Content can be unique articles about the industry or simply links to other sources of information. Content can also be tools that a visitor may find useful. Many real estate sites have mortgage calculators or home buying checklists that aid customers in using the service. Acknowledging the purchasing history of a customer and thanking them for the business when they return to the site can earn loyalty. One way to have customers return is to provide incentives for the second or subsequent purchases.

It is important to remember that an e-business is no different than a traditional business, when it comes to understanding the customer and delivering to expectations.

The first thing to get right is the creation of a web site that is easy for your visitors to use. It needs to be clear, concise, and include content that is appropriate for your visitor’s needs. Understanding your customers’ technology characteristics, including the type of hardware, software and connections they are likely to have, helps in the design of the site.

Online service can be as simple as FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions), or as complex as interactive text, voice, or video service delivered in real time. Here are a few ideas on how to deliver service and in what areas.

 

When in Rome…

We can’t tailor the same campaign to two uniquely different demographics so our international marketing strategies require fine tuning in order to cross cultures and language barriers. Fortunately most of the translation leg work is handled by the world-wide-web although the subtle nuances in verbiage can be embarrassing. The niche market we’re targeting isn’t confined by borders so how do we communicate clearly with the same message across the entire globe?

The Picture Worth a Thousand Words

When an image does the translating for us in a single picture ad it stands to reason that a series of pictures, without any words at all, can communicate volumes. Video is the new medium with the most momentum online. The video of this article will likely be published online before anyone has a chance to read these words. Brand new international marketing strategies are being redefined by an avalanche of new products and services to make video ‘come alive’ over the internet.

Blogs and Web 2.0

When we join both printed and video content in one place the only thing missing is interaction. Posting video responses, emailing video to say hello or explain a homework assignment, is slowly becoming very popular. Connecting live to our colleagues on the other side of the world for a conference, and recording it for those who were in bed, all point to video as the solution to global marketing today.

As fast as we can make videos, new hosting sites and software tools are popping up. In a few seconds an ordinary cell phone can capture and post a video to a distribution site. The international communications device of choice just became the most popular international marketing tool.

Microfinance: NGO vs Banking

Sadaket Malik**

The role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in microfinance (MF) needs reviewing from an operational perspective. Based on research of selective studies and experts’ opinion, selected literature on microfinance, and the author’s own experience over the last decade, this paper seeks to establish two main points. First, it asserts that with a few notable exceptions, the record of NGOs in mainstreaming microfinance is a modest one viewed from the context of NGOs as microfinance institutions (mFIs). When judged by the two criteria of success that much of the microfinance world has adopted – outreach to the poor and financial sustainability – the results are not encouraging [Nair 2001]. NGOs as mFIs have thus far had trouble achieving both objectives simultaneously. There is also little evidence of any aggregate impact on poverty reduction as the result of mFIs’ forays. The success of NGOs has however been laudable where facilitating and social intermediation criteria are applied. It is here that the author feels that the strategic partnership between banks and NGOs is poised to change the developmental intervention map of India. Second, the essay suggests that banks, for all their laudable work, will be making a strategic error in focusing on financial intermediation while ignoring partnership with NGOs. While microfinance is never easy for other types of institutions trying to practise it (e g, NGOs or credit unions), it is not, as will be explained, a field where a banker has natural advantages.

Why Partnership?

To the extent that banks incorporate NGOs’ activities in mainstreaming their self-help group (SHG) portfolios, they stand to gain. To the extent NGOs reorient their mission, vision and personnel towards the microfinance agenda, as a large number have done in the last decade, they risk drawing themselves away from work they are uniquely suited to do. Some of this work, moreover, would play a critical role in preparing the ground for mF among poor people. In other words, NGOs have to move away from pure financial intermediation to investing in human and social capital at the grass roots and bankers have to tap this invaluable experience of NGOs in mobilising, graduating and enabling rural communities. This will prepare the ground by enhancing credit absorption capacity of SHGs and enhancing their creditworthiness. The following account will explain how.In 1997, the World Bank’s Sustainable Banking for the Poor (SBP) project completed an ambitious survey. Until then those interested in microfinance had an intuitive sense of the movement’s growth, but no systematic attempt had yet been made to gauge its dimensions, nor look comprehensively at its results. The findings were unambiguous: NGOs acting as mFIs did not have any significant outreach vis-à-vis other financial institutions purveying microcredit.

Interestingly, commercial banks accounted for 78 per cent of the total number of outstanding microloans, and credit unions 11 per cent. NGOs accounted for only 9 per cent, and savings banks (which are not primarily in the credit business) just 2 per cent. Also, commercial banks accounted for 68 per cent of the total outstanding loan balance, savings banks 15 per cent, credit unions 13 per cent and NGOs 4 per cent. In terms of numbers of clients, commercial banks and credit unions showed significantly greater overall outreach than NGOs. While NGOs’ outreach, on average, was deeper, it was also narrow – NGOs reach some very poor people, but they do not reach many. On the other hand, credit unions and commercial banks also serve some wealthier clients so that their average outreach to the poor is not as deep. Still, the indications are that overall, credit unions and commercial banks serve more under-served poor clients than do NGOs.

This is not to rule out the role of NBFCs, NGOs with inchoate mFI activities or pure mFIs. The demand for financial services is high and as stated by the High Level Task Force on mF: “At least 25,000 bank branches, 4,000 NGOs and 2,000 federations of SHGs involving over 1,00,000 personnel of these institutions would have to be associated for scaling up and bank linkage of one million SHGs. Many of these NGOs will transform themselves into mFIs and will not only facilitate microfinancing, but will also themselves do the necessary financial intermediation. Similarly, many federations of SHGs will take on financial intermediation and act as mFIs.”

Indian TaleWe shift the focus to India.In the current context with over 4,60,000 SHGs credit-linked with banks, the SHG-bank linkage programme of microfinance has emerged as the biggest in the world. But besides banks, the major role played by NGOs in facilitating this transformation cannot be overemphasised. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) which plays a role in promoting and facilitating bank linkages while networking and coordinating the activities of all players in the field has underscored the crucial role played by NGOs as facilitators in purveying bank credit to SHGs..

The writing is on the wall. The success story has been to a great extent co-scripted by both banks and NGOs. However, it is pertinent to draw attention here to the vast network of rural banking outlets that precludes the necessity of a new breed of mFIs which as per experts’ opinion are ‘slow and expensive to develop’ [Harper 2002]. In fact as aptly put by Harper “the SHG system uses existing marketing channels, the banks, to bring formal financial services to a new market segment, the poor and particularly women”.

Relationship Banking vs Parallel Banking

The distinct bloodline of mF in India can be traced to this genre that is indigenously developed and called ‘Relationship Banking’ as opposed to the Grameen model of ‘Parallel Banking’ [Chavan and Ramkumar 2002]. The ground truth for SHG financing on a sustainable basis in India is that bank-linkage is the bottom line with exceptions proving the rule. Inherent to this success story but understated is the fact that NGOs have played a major role in effecting SHG-bank linkages. Relationship banking is the result of NGO-bank interface to leverage funds for SHGs. NGOs have achieved significant success as promoters (helping and enabling SHGs to access bank credit) and not as providers (direct purveyors of credit). This writer would juxtapose the SBP study’s evidence against NGOs in mF with their success as facilitators in India to make a case for NGOs as social scientists or change agents rather than financial intermediaries. The latter role is arguably the banker’s domain. Moreover, there are compelling institutional and regulatory factors which counsel against any such misadventures.

First and foremost there are legal constraints to NGOs acting as mFIs as noted by the Task Force: “Many NGO-mFIs are mobilising savings from their clients/ borrowers with the sole objective of inculcating a habit of thrift and savings among the poor and for enabling the use of such resources for acquisition of assets or linkage with credit from mFIs or banks. In the context of the amended Section 45 S of the RBI Act, the appropriateness of NGO-mFIs in mobilising savings is questioned. Although NGO-mFIs provide very useful financial services to the poor, including the opportunity to keep their very small savings safe, almost at their own doorsteps, they cannot convert themselves into other modes of constitution like NBFCs, banks or cooperatives due to various intrinsic constraints. Hence, NGO-mFIs may have to be given a special dispensation in regard to Section 45 S of the RBI Act. Accordingly, it is recommended that they be allowed to mobilise savings only from their poor clientele as part of the financial services provided to them and the same may not be treated as violation of Section 45 S of the RBI Act.”

The ‘intrinsic constraints’ noted above are not
difficult to guess. Moreover, some NGOs that are mobilising savings purely may also face other risks. The problem for NGOs in dealing with savings is that from a risk-bearing standpoint, savings mobilisation and microcredit are not the same. That is why the law treats them differently. From the client’s point of view, the risks of saving with an NGO are masked by their growing confidence as NGOs show that they are here to stay. But NGOs are not in most cases operating in regulatory environments that permit them to mobilise deposits; they do not benefit from deposit insurance nor can their operations be controlled by bank supervision agencies. And when covariant risk is high, as it is when group members are all from the same sector and necessarily from the same community or locality, the tenuousness of the NGO position is even more dangerous to the saver. Besides propriety and prudence, savings custodianship necessitates statutory provisioning and creation of reserves to cover liquidity and other risks.

Credit MinimalismWhile ‘savings only’ is a limited disaster story, the other side of the tale relates to NGOs who are employing ‘credit first’ or minimalist credit principles. When savings form part of the basis for credit in a financial institution, that institution does not have to take a problematic, often tortured, path to sustainability; it starts out on a more naturally sustainable path. But, NGOs have gone into microcredit with donor monies, and aim towards sustainability without, in most cases, the enormous benefit of voluntary savings mobilisation. In short, sustainability in NGO-run programmes is hobbled from the start. It looks as if the poor want its product (credit) less than they want savings, and all by itself, credit does little for productive asset creation.

The one-shot single dose attack on poverty is the sustainable development planner’s biggest nightmare. A case in point is CARE’s Credit and Savings for Household Enterprises (CASHE) project in India which is more of a lending programme than a sustainable financial institution. Unfortunately the credit and non-credit financial needs of the clientele community are expected to outlive the six year shelf-life of one of the most ambitious projects in micro-lending to hit Indian shores. The flawed-in-conception status is palpable from the fact that the CASHE budget does not include an income generating component for skill-building. The best intentions are to give a shove across the poverty line without imparting financial sustainability to households or providing for repeat finance.

The incompatibility between the tendency of NGOs to upscale (for sake of grant continuance) and financial sustainability is aptly summed up by William F Steel, World Bank consultant, according to whom, “Grant-based methodologies are poorly suited for financial intermediation, especially providing credit funds (for which recovery, not disbursement is most critical)”. The other type of NGOs turned MFIs with both credit and savings services have a limited success which as the SBP study has shown is nothing to write home about in terms of outreach or sustainability. Many are facing teething problems while a few have folded up.

These dysfunctional aspects are further highlighted by Kanta Singh (WISE Development Authority) during a CARE-sponsored case study of its CASHE programme: “Low size of loan and long cycle time for loan disbursement are reported to be the largest irritants. Many groups that have successfully managed loans in the past lose energy when they do not get subsequent (credit) linkages.” Absence of training and handholding on income generating programmes are felt to be a major gap in the CASHE design by SHGs. This need is also felt by (partner) NGOs who are trying to increase loan demand and the ability of SHGs to handle larger loans.In India the demand of the poor for safe and liquid savings instruments is very high. In fact, NGOs, with their sensitivity to the poor and intimacy with individuals, overcome the trepidation that illiterate and destitute villagers harbour about bank personnel (not known for their civility). The World Bank’s Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP), part of whose mandate is to help microfinance institutions improve performance, has concluded “…most microfinance clients want to save all the time, while most want to borrow only some of the time.”

However, NGOs face a dilemma when savings overstrip credit demand, i e, interest paid out drastically cuts the margin from interest income. Their limited expertise and avenues for investing elsewhere compound this problem. CARE/Guatemala’s Village Banking Programme fuelled by donor monies, expanded lending outreach heavily in 1994. As a result outstanding loan balance grew at an annual rate of 78 per cent between 1993 and 1995. By contrast, voluntary savings mobilisation grew during the same period at an annual increase of 215 per cent.

Trade-Off TribulationsThe record from the SBP cases (a score of which were NGOs) suggests that as NGOs in microfinance, often encouraged by donors, come to accept the two goals of sustainability (subject to tough measurements) and outreach, (measured increasingly by loan size as a per cent of GNP per capita) the following trade-offs and adjustments are observed:(1) Concentrating portfolio growth in high population density areas (thus focusing less on rural areas).(2) Emphasising rapid initial loan volume growth, leading to poor portfolio quality.(3) Keeping field staff salaries low (or alternatively raising the number of clients per loan officer) in order to control costs, thus tending to high turnover and low morale.(4) Moving towards the retail trade and service sectors with high cash flow that enable high repayment rates, thus tending away from manufacturing and fixed asset lending.(5) Emphasising short-term loans as a strategy for high repayment and loan size growth, thus eliminating cyclical sectors like agriculture.(6) Tending to move up the poverty scale away from the very poorest in order to maintain loan demand and repayment rates (75 per cent of the SBP NGO cases showed this ‘upward creep’).Competitive Advantage of NGOsNGOs have a crucial role in group formation, nurturing SHGs in the pre-microenterprise stage, capacity building and enhancing credit absorption capacities. Group-based forms of lending (e g, solidarity groups, village banking) originated mainly for the benefit of the lender as solutions to two problems faced by microcredit organisations: (i) the problem of lack of collateral, and (ii) the problem of high transaction costs involved in loan appraisal, monitoring and enforcement. In theory, the group serves as a set of co-guarantors operating through peer pressure and the group members’ incentive to keep each other solvent so that they themselves do not lose the opportunity to receive a loan. The group serves also as a way to get around imperfect information, since members of the group know each other. Thus the transaction costs involved in loan appraisal are reduced if not eliminated.

It is here that NGOs play the crucial role in transforming the atypical destitute village woman with two children to fend for into a responsible individual with group commitments and group resources. This is a fact repeated in village after village. Whether NGOs empower women in thrift and credit groups is a moot question but it is an empirical fact that such groups provide effective ‘coping mechanisms’. Peer pressure is the best collateral. The banker in India needs to recognise that high repayment rates of SHGs is not an inherent structural feature of SHGs but a commitment to group values. The role of NGOs in investing groups with values through human capital is an undeniable specialisation. In the words of economist Jagdish Bhagwati: “Those values (of civil society and of democracy) are better advanced…by the political and financial support of the numerous and growing NGOs, both here and abroad, that work ceaselessly to nudge the world in the right direction.” The banker must
accept that this is a role which the NGO, as a committed social engineer, is better suited to execute. This is not to deny qualities of empathy, humanism, social engineering to bankers. But the stark truth is that there is a need for a sensible division of labour. If bankers want to reach the poorest with financial services, they need to face certain realities. First, what they are doing is poverty lending and not economic development or enterprise development. Second, they should realise what the likely impacts may be. Changes in people’s lives will be immediate in terms of lightening the burdens of poverty, but small loans to the poorest will not bring them permanently out of poverty.Arguably, banking is more of a system than an art. Unarguably, working to facilitate the productivity of small businesses is really an art. And again, because of their grass roots orientation, because of their commitment, because they are less bureaucratic and encumbered than large development assistance organisations, NGOs are capable of overcoming a subtle but important barrier to successful facilitation – the ‘packaging of knowledge and skills’.

Once again, this is no case for discouraging NGOs from mF but to emphasise the role of emotional capital which will bring in an element of quality. The more NGOs, who are in microfinance, face the challenge of helping to bring about an increased articulation of the parts and the players in a local economy, the more they may need to get involved in such non-financial services. The effects of such services are difficult to measure in the short run. But NGOs can take on such tasks, many already do so.Thus, NGOs will fill up an important void in quality at the grass roots level which will help the poor not only to borrow but also to become good investments for banks. This will help boost business at rural branch level and cover up inadequacies and constraints that might hamper a banker with the conflicting demands of his workload. Many banks and FIs have recognised the role of NGOs and have effected suitable policy initiatives. A larger recognition of this need is reflected in the statistical evidence on linkage patterns, which we have cited earlier (see the table), which establishes NGO-bank partnership over the Indian mF spectrum. A truer recognition at individual banker level might lead to business sense replacing customary scepticism for NGOs. This will be the strategic turning point in making India’s relationship banking a showpiece and paradigm for the world’s NGOs and bankers.

The author is a freelance columnist based in Jammu and Kashmir***and can be contacted at sadaketmalik@rediffmail.com

As the concept of a global economy continues to develop, the demand for international market research will also increase.  This means that the services provided by U.S. market research firms will need to include international marketing research as an option for both its domestic clients selling products or services into foreign markets as well as non-U.S. clients selling into their own or other markets.  In many cases, the marketing research firm will be asked to deploy a survey instrument in multiple languages with sub-quotas for each country.

Effective international marketing research requires the use of a software platform that can accommodate foreign language characters for the survey itself as well as the email invitations, survey instructions, and respondent validations.  There must also be a reliable method for directing respondents to the correct language version of the survey instrument if not known in advance.  Vendors can accomplish this using keyboard recognition and/or language selection by the individual respondent. 

It is important to recognize the need for fielding international market research surveys in the appropriate language for a given country.  UK and even Canadian versions of a survey instrument may require translation and separate fielding from a U.S. version.  Certain countries might also have more than one dialect, and the survey should be translated as needed to reach the desired segments.  In most cases, the language(s) used by the survey panelists will govern this decision.

 

Delivery of survey results where multiple language survey instruments are used need not be a complicated undertaking if all of the questions are closed-ended (scales or other non-comment question types).  However, where open-ended comment questions are used, the final survey report usually requires language translation of the responses into a single reporting language, such as English.  Sufficient time needs to be budgeted for this process, particularly if verbatim coding is desired.

For example, if a U.S. company were evaluating a possible product offering into France, Germany, and Spain, the marketing research firm would field three different versions of the questionnaire.  Each version would have its own welcome and exit messages, respondent instructions, email language, and survey validations.  Typically, for reporting purposes, an English language version of the survey would also be created.  In the case of closed-ended questions, no extra translations would be needed – - the results would line-up with the English version.  For open-ended questions, the responses would be translated into English and included with the report “as is” or coded.

Effective international marketing research also requires knowledge and experience regarding country-specific response rates – - and there can be wide variations between different countries.  The same survey might produce a 20% response rate in one country and a 5% response rate in a different country.  Market research firms should be able to offer advice on this subject.

 

In summary, when considering the use of international market research, it is important to select a marketing research firm that can offer experienced advice on response rates and language requirements, as well as offer a robust survey platform.  Ask questions about the software used by the market research firm to determine which solution best meet your needs.   A properly administered multi-language survey can be a time-consuming process and is often best managed by a skilled supplier.

Business endeavors around the world must consider marketing within the operations of their firm. Marketing is much more than advertising, promoting, and selling. Marketing must be defined and compared against the numerous available definitions to determine the importance of marketing in organizational success. The business world supports marketing explanations by extending practical examples for examination.

Marketing Defined

            As a child, I loved to watch Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, Winnie the Pooh, and Where in the World is Carmen Santiago. I recall seeing many commercials staggered throughout the programming, advertising a variety of products and services. Cereals and toy commercials were my favorite as I decided on my new favorite items based on my visual desires induced by the advertisements. Television is considered big business and is a hub for marketers everywhere. Each television network is largely funded by marketers posting advertisements in the form of commercials. The goal of the marketers is precisely what my definition of marketing consists of… increased profits, consumer confidence, and brand recognition. According to David Stewart (2010), the average child “watches over 20,000 commercials in a year”.  The aforementioned statistic is a testament as to the quantity of advertisement exposure a child receives thus increasing brand awareness and increasing profit margins in combination with market share. In other words, marketing is created for organizations to make more money. Armstrong (2009) explains that “financial success often depends on marketing ability”; a direct relation to business profits.

            Nonetheless, marketing is deeper than my definition of a method for increasing profits, consumer confidence, and brand recognition; marketing has unambiguous fine points. Marketing is important to jobs because it effects innovation and standards of living. Perreault (2009) defines marketing as “the performance of activities that seek to accomplish an organization’s objectives by anticipating customer or client needs and directing a flow of need-satisfying goods and services from producer to consumer or client”.  Perrault’s definition seems to offer an explanation of marketing that does not include advertising, but rather a notion of product adaptation and need-based stimulants based on the offering of a good or a service. As stated earlier, marketing is in direct relation to business profits. “Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs” (Armstrong, 2009). Surprisingly, Armstrong’s definition of marketing is about meeting human and social needs and not concerning financial connections. Furthermore and most applicable to traditional thoughts of marketing is being “the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service” (marketing, 2010). The definition of suggesting that marketing is a process or technique can allow an organization to identify what efforts constitute marketing within their operations.

 Importance of Marketing

            Based on these definitions, the importance of marketing in organizational success must be discussed. First, marketing is essential to the financial success of an organization. Proactiv®, an acne treatment product, has been seen by television viewers nationwide. The skin product is not sold in retail stores and depends solely on print advertisements and television marketing infomercial efforts for sales. Without marketing, this organization would not have the exposure necessary for venture success. Marketing is not always handled by a marketing department and includes product packaging, endorsements, and other marketing channels to ensure a successful marketing campaign. I purchased the product based on a combination of my personal need, product endorsement and advertising, and price point. It is safe to assume that customers are the focus of marketing and a successful marketing plan will be based on the customer.

            Marketing is essential to brand recognition and consumer confidence of an organization. When Hyundai vehicles entered the market, the price point on all vehicles was tremendously affordable for the average American citizen.  Hyundai also offered the best warranty in the industry adding to the overall confidence and brand recognition of the start up company. Hyundai has continued to sell vehicles and has now increased their quality and price point as a result of the marketing efforts aforementioned. Brand recognition is why children want to go and play when they see Chuck E Cheese® or why Dallas Cowboys™  fans purchase paraphernalia from a retailer. More importantly is the reputation and confidence a consumer has in a particular product or service. Brand confidence is why many drivers purchase only Shell gasoline or teachers prefer Crayola® over other brands. Years ago, Jack in the Box® fast food chain was in the news for reportedly causing the deaths of many customers because of their meat contamination. In fear, most customers stopped eating at the once growing empire and ate elsewhere. Over the recent years, Jack in the Box® has created a powerful marketing campaign using a recognizable figure, Jack. The marketing concept and implementation caused Jack in the Box® to bounce back as a viable industry contender.

Conclusion

            Marketing takes on multiple definitions based on the mission of an organization and the product or service offered. Marketing is essential to organizational success through financial prosperity, consumer confidence, and brand recognition. We must apply the definition and success rationale to our individual organizations to determine the best marketing strategy and business motives.

 

 

 

References:

Armstrong, G. & Kotler, P. (2009). Marketing: An introduction (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

 

 marketing. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

      Retrieved July 26, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marketing

 

 Perreault, W. D., Cannon, J. P., & McCarthy, E. J. Jr. (2009). Basic marketing: A marketing strategy planning approach (17th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

 

 Stewart, David J. (2010). Television Statistics. Retrieved July 23, 2010, from          http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils in America/Hellivision/television_statistics.htm

                                                                                                                                 

 

 

Marketing plays a vital role in economic growth in the present global world.  It ensures the planned economic growth in the developing economy where the scarcity of goods, services, ideas and excessive unemployment, thereby marketing efforts are needed for mobilization of economic resources for additional production of ideas, goods and services resulting in greater employment.

• Marketing stimulates the aggregate demand thereby enlarges the size of market.

• Marketing in basic industries, agriculture, mining and plantation industries helps in distribution of output without which there is no possibility of mobilization of goods and services which is the key point for economic growth. These industries are the back bone of economic growth.

• It also accelerates the process of monetizing the economy which in turn facilitates the transfer of investible resources.

• It helps in discovery of entrepreneurial talent.

• Intermediate industrial goods and Semi-industrial products etc. essentially marketed for industrial purpose in order to develop the industrial sector with a view to economic growth.

• In Export trade and services like tourism and baking marketing plays eminent role in order to grow the economy.

Now days economic and social changes are necessary for bring about the development of a nation. Social changes are brought about in a planned manner through social marketing technology.  Social marketing can be defined as the design, implementation and control of programmers calculated to influences the acceptability of social ideas and involving consideration of product planning, pricing, communication, distribution and marketing research.

With the rapid growing marketing business, technology is playing a more important role in the demands of analyzing and utilizing the large scale information gathered from customers. To predict the consequent business strategy by using technology, it is required to evaluate the customer performance, discover the trends or patterns in customer behavior. For this purpose the in modern world using the technology at a maximum level by e-commerce, internet marketing and services etc.

Even though in several developing countries, Government involves in marketing efforts in order to provide equitable distribution at minimum social costs by setting ceiling and floor prices of foods grains and industrial raw materials, setting maximum whole sale and retail prices of scarce consumer products etc. which ensures the smooth flow of essential goods and even influencing the decisions pertaining to distribution and advertising. Even though the economic recession affects the market   at a larger extent, it plays major role in economic growth.

The end result will be the maximization of growth of the economy in order to provide higher standard of living for all and the development of a economic levels of the people that fosters entrepreneurialism.

Each market is different. An effective marketing strategy or techniques that can help to drive the bottom line results. And a good search engine marketing firm can give the best solution for any business to get success online. Today internet marketing is a booming industry. People often go for inter surfing in order to get informations about different products o services. So internet marketing can help your business to grow with leaps and bounds. In order to improve sales of your company’s product the best option is to hire a search engine marking firm that can ensure you to achieve your goals. There are many search engine marketing companies available in these days today that can help you to get your goals fulfilled. But in this regard charlotte marketing firms is worthy enough to mention. charlotte marketing company will not only increase the number of visitors but it will ultimately convert the traffics into customers at the end. Charlotte marketing firms will employ a number of methods in order to increase the company’s sell but the most common method is search engine optimization. In addition to the search engine optimization online marketing firms use methods like contextual advertising and paid placement. charlotte marketing firm will surely help you out to take your online business on the first page of search engine results. Moreover the mode of success of your company depends on the mode of its promotion and its reach to the targeted audience. Marketing company charlotte is, excellent firm that first understand the market and after that it implements an effective strategy in order to help customers visiting the website get converted into prospective buyers. Marketing generates business and brings huge returns on investment. To start a business it’s really necessary to have a strong determination in your mind. You need to be very conscious about your purpose and the needs of your target audience. Your business objectives can achieve its desired success through marketing charlotte. To start of a business you need to know about the demand of the market or understand the need of your niche market. To help you to achieve success the best option is hire charlotte marketing companies. It is a leading search engine optimization company that will help you to achieve your desired success. What is more important for a website is to get more and more traffic. Internet marketing firm will allow your internet marketing business to prosper. Charlotte marketing will use different techniques like paid placements, paid inclusion, and contextual advertisement. As a search engine marketing company we first find the right keywords, to make sure that your potential customers are targeted. Charlotte marketing company is a full sized marketing company which is a full brand marketing firm provides services that range from the strategic business and media planning to graphic design and web development. With 20 years of experience charlotte marketing understands the internal and external marketing as well as what drives a successful brand. Out team of experts will work to identify your needs and recommend a marketing strategy that will allow you to set up and launch a highly customized marketing program to produce real time results. For more info visit: http://www.charlottemarketingfirms.com/

Telfund International is currently operating 2 websites. The first is the main Telfund Website, and the second is the Huge Prelaunch website. The Huge Prelaunch website is there to gather leads for the reps, and the main website explains all the details of the program, like how much the company pays, what services they offer, their philosophies and ideologies, etc..

Looks like the California boys from Irvine, CA. control the Telfund domain, and it was registered in February 2009. The Huge Prelaunch website was registered in May 2009 in the Grand Cayman locale which could be an outsourcing company handling some of their marketing.

This company claims that the entire planet is their target market. They ask questions like how many people use a cell phone? How many need free international calling? How many people need to receive or send money using their cell phone. They answer is billions worldwide. I’m not quite sure that billions have cell phones yet, but I’d be sold on the fact that hundreds of millions definitely do.

The company contends that International Money Remittance is a Trillion Dollar Mega Industry and that Telecommunications is a 4 Trillion dollar per year market. The company has created and controls an exclusive International Communications and Financial Services Network. The services they offer are a Communications and Money Sending Social Network. They claim that no other company is currently doing this yet, and that they have first mover advantage in this arena.

They also state that no other company has the MLM Compensation Plan that they do. Their real time MLM Commission System breaks ground in the Network Marketing Industry. They claim that every call you make, every text email you send and every transfer fee earned and every new membership are paid in the most fair and simple MLM Compensation Plan ever to be devised by a company to date.

Telfund International (TFI) first believes in simplicity. If it isn’t easy, they won’t have a part in it. Many of the new high-tech network marketing programs being launched these days work under the principle of complexity. This tends to scare many new people who just want a simple comp plan they can work so they can know what they’ll be paid.

The Telfund International 2nd Principle they abide by is Unity by Membership. They accomplish this by saving its members money on the services they provide, in addition to offering their distributors a way to earn extra revenue through promoting their program. Their 3rd Principle is to ensure that all the MLM Reps get paid on time. They are offering a single line pay plan that the company guarantees can not change. They feel this gives distributors peace of mind knowing that all they have to do is build the business and the “check is in the mail”.

The overall mission of Telfund International is to create a huge global family of members who earn and save. In these times, you need a cell phone anyway. So why not refer a few people, and get it free using what you’d have to buy anyway. The company claims that it will create more millionaires than any MLM Company in history, but that remains to be seen.

CONFLICTS IN AGGRESSIVE MARKETING

I often wonder about the rising amount of conflicts in modern and sometimes aggressive marketing and who benefits from it. As you may see from my name I am not from the USA, and since this country is the leader of almost everything (you just name it) that being good or bad I choose to use this example to illustrate my views on a serious conflict of interests: McDonald’s versus The American Health System. I have chosen McDonald’s as a representative for the whole Fast Food Industry since this company is the largest in the world within said industry.

The full study of the marketing field is comprehensive as it involves economics related to private businesses as well as the execution of public policies. Marketing is integrated in our lives used by our communities as well as by companies producing or selling merchandise or services we need. In exchange we today pay for products with money and for the social services we pay with either money or contribute with other means to the development of the social structure.

Role Models

The role models are easy to identify: McDonald’s is a Company with the main focus on the maximum dividends to its shareholders; The American Health System (in general terms) needs to focus on assisting the citizens of the States to live as long and healthy as possible. So here is then the conflict. In order to ensure attractive salaries and bonuses to the top management and pay an acceptable dividend to the shareholders McDonald’s must sell as many burgers and related products as possible. Focused marketing campaigns convince the USA citizens that burgers are a must and we all know the result of a high-burger-intake:

Obesity and for sure the burgers win USA has the highest obesity rate in the world. Obesity means having too much body fat. It is different from being overweight, which means weighing too much. The weight may come from muscle, bone, fat and/or body water. Both terms mean that a person’s weight is greater than what’s considered healthy for his or her height.

Obesity occurs over time when you eat more calories than you use. The balance between calories-in and calories-out differs for each person. Factors that might tip the balance include your genetic makeup, overeating, eating high-fat foods and not being physically active. Being obese increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and some cancers. If you are obese, losing even 5 to 10 percent of your weight can delay or prevent some of these diseases. Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

The list of possible diseases is long:

Coronary heart disease Type 2 diabetes Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon) Hypertension (high blood pressure) Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides) Stroke Liver and Gallbladder disease Sleep apnea and respiratory problems Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint) Gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility)

Source: Department for Health and Human Services.

McDonald’s

Let us look at McDonalds Corporation and get the figures as correct as possible since the USA is a 100 % capitalistic society with limited focus on human aspects. The Corporation is very extensive and is the biggest chain of fast food restaurants in the World. As far as I have been able to access the figure for the operating profit this amounted to close to 4.0 billion US$ in 2007. The total of restaurants operated (either on a franchise basis or owned by the Corporation) is around 31.000 serving some 47 million burgers every day. Number of persons working is around 1.5 million which makes the Corporation one of the largest in the world. Regardless of the ownership of the restaurant (The Corporation only owns about 20 % of all) they all have to work on very stringent Business Models and rules laid down by the Corporation. In order to just to finish this issue McDonald’s financial involvements are widely spread and may vary from country to country, only one rule seems to apply to all sales outlets being that the supply and logistics of all raw materials are 100 % controlled by the Corporation.

We all know McDonald’s we have all been there. Maybe we love or we do not love the fast food products, but the fact is that from a business and marketing viewpoint the McDonald’s Corporation has done a great job. Almost everybody knows what the BIG MAC stands for.

In Denmark we had a well known writer and story teller by the name of H.C. Andersen. In one of his famous stories he tells us that if you are successful you are the target of envy and slander. McDonald’s have had its share. Criticism have come from all sides about the aggressive and manipulating marketing methods, about the working conditions and environment for the staff, , health and labor record, its business practices and culinary blandness.

The top management of the Corporation has cleverly reacted promptly to many of above mentioned issues among them the introduction of the “happy meal” product, other more healthy products and a change in the staff policy replacing low paid workers (called Generation X) with more motivated staff where this has been possible and changes in the supply chain has taken place as well.

The negative side of the success is that all fast food products contribute to obesity unless you take some appropriate actions like reducing the intake of fat, exercise regularly, avoid drinks with sugar but more importantly eating less. In Denmark the rate of obesity is much lower than in the States for the reasons just mentioned. I do agree however that there are many additional factors playing a vital role when we talk about obesity.

THE DEPARTMENT FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

The scope of any marketing campaign (regardless of form) from this important department must be to draw the attention to the negative effects of obesity and related diseases. I have not been able to establish the exact numbers of funds spent for this purpose but the reality is published by the department:

Unhealthy diet and physical inactivity can contribute to or aggravate many chronic diseases and conditions, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. During the past 20 years, obesity rates among adults have risen significantly in the United States. In 2005–2006, data from the National Center for Health Statistics show that 34% of U.S. adults 20 years of age and older—over 72 million people—are obese. In 2005, few adults met the Healthy People 2010 objectives for fruit and vegetable consumption; only 33% consumed fruit two or more times per day and even fewer (27%) consumed vegetables three or more times per day. Despite the proven benefits of physical activity, less than half of American adults in 2007 engaged in enough physical activity to provide health benefits. More than a quarter of children born in 2004 were never breastfed. The percentage of young people who are obese has approximately tripled since 1980. In 2003–2006, 16.3% of children and adolescents aged 2–19 years had a body mass index greater than or equal to the 95th percentile for age and sex on the CDC growth charts. Over one third (34%) of adolescents in grades 9–12 had a soft drink (not diet) at least one time per day during the previous 7 days. In 2007, 65% of young people in grades 9–12 did not get the recommended amount of physical activity; 35% watched television for 3 or more hours on the average school day.

The Cost of Obesity and Chronic Diseases

Among children and adolescents, annual hospital costs related to obesity were $127 million during 1997–1999 up from $35 million during 1979–1981. In 2000, the total cost of obesity in the United States was estimated to be $117 billion—$61 billion for
direct medical costs and $56 billion for indirect costs. In 1996, $31 billion of treatment costs (in year 2000 dollars) for cardiovascular disease among adults was related to overweight and obesity.

Source: Department of Health and Human Services

Being a marketing oriented person I like figures, but I do realize that they need some solid background. My question is actually this: What is the price for any society for repair of persons suffering from obesity and related diseases? If you use the total of all costs paid by the society for Health Services and calculate the percentage of these used, caused by obesity and related diseases the USA is in front with 6 %, the figure for Denmark is 3 % only. (Figures are from 2002). All right I do know that one needs much more solid statistics to produce the financial effects of all related effects, how to get the information?

Conclusion:

IF the USA Department for Health and Human Services could increase its marketing budget and reduce the total costs for above mentioned treatments from 6 % to 3 % who will benefit the most The USA Society (all relevant and related effects that cost money) or McDonald’s ? Or should I rephrase my question: If now President Obama imposed a cut of the total marketing costs in the USA for all fast-food-restaurants would that benefit the society? Or would it be helpful now that he is chancing USA into a democratic state to hand over the cuts from the marketing costs as mentioned to companies selling healthy food or to e.g. fitness centers?

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