Aspects of marketing applied to an engineering company

Abstract

The 1973 oil crisis set off a wave of further crises which included material and energy shortages, rampant inflation, economic stagnation, rising unemployment and dying industries. Current and long term indicators point to harsh trading conditions with high levels of unemployment, foreign goods infiltrating domestic markets and high levels of insolvency. Against this background there is a growing recognition of the fact that industry should adopt a more systematic approach in the application of the marketing concept to modern business problems. Specifically a number of key areas have been highlighted and include: improved market research and customer liaison: more detailed research and development based on market needs and better marketing and promotion of industries products and capabilities. Although classical marketing texts would suggest that the marketing concept is widely utilised research into the small engineering sector has revealed that management seem more interested with production than with customers, unaware of the value of market information, lacking in forward planning and ignorant of marketing tools. Investigations into the adoption of the marketing concept were undertaken at the Leicestershire site of Marwin Cutting Tools Limited. The work involved an assessment of the status of marketing within the company and the identification of areas where there seemed major deviations from the classical marketing model. The research concentrated on introducing more rigorous techniques in the collection and dissemination of market information. Central to this work was-the introduction of a computerised marketing information system which could quantify and qualify the level of demand for the company's products. This detailed analysis of the marketplace allowed the company to segment the market and select an overall strategy. The system also allowed the company to analyse its market image and re-evaluate its promotional mix strategy.