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A. Match each item to its definition

1. after-sales service a) a company or a person that provides a particular type of product
2. guarantee period b) help, advice or free repairs that you get after you buy a product
3. retail c) a person who tries to be more successful than you
4. wholesale d) the selling of goods to business, usually in large quantities
5. supplier e) time when the seller repairs or replaces a product free of charge
6. competitor f) the selling of goods to the public, usually through shops

B. Complete each sentence with a word or phrase from part A

1. Lantex never delivers on time. We have to look for another ……………..

2. Our products are available in department stores and other …………….. outlets.

3. Sales are very good, but our main …………..’s sales are also going up quickly.

4. 10% discount and a two-year ………….! That’s really a very good offer.

5. We are in the ………………. Trade and sell our clothes to retailers and fashion houses.

6. If you have a problem with the machine, just contact our ………….. department.


SUPPLEMENTARY READING

 

 

TEXT 1: MARKETING STRATEGIES NOWADAYS

Originally marketing was meant to help to avoid overproduction. Now marketing is considered to be a system of all business activities of a company in respect of coordinating supply and demand for the goods produced.

Before producing and selling the goods, it is necessary to do a lot of market research. Useful information for this purpose can be obtained from embassies, consulates and foreign trade representatives, from trade magazines or from specialized consultant agencies, which will do a professional market research job for a certain fee.

The information needed is whether there is any demand for your goods, what is the market potential, what sort of competition is to be met (that is what price of the goods, including those produced locally, is considered to be competitive), what domestic preferences, local trading customs and seasonal factors should be taken into account.

Actually, marketing covers not only market research, but also planning the assortment of goods, price policy, advertising and promotion of sales, controlling the sales and post-sales servicing. So nowadays general marketing strategy includes such essential elements as planning, market research, new product development, sales, communications and advertising.

Planning. While speaking of marketing planning, one should think first of all of the so-called controllable and uncontrollable factors. The controllable factors are the following: product, price, place and promotion; the uncontrollable ones – environmental factors. Both these types are very important when one starts analyzing the market situation.

Research. Market research is concerned first of all with product choice study and the study of competitors interests and their claims. The most popular methods of conducting marketing research are observation, survey, experiment and public opinion polls through different channels.

Production. Attitudinal research should affect the product to be produced, so production is inevitably based on marketing intelligence study. Marketing investigates stages before, during and after production and also the stage following sales.

Sales Sales are always involved with customers’ service of all kinds. Markets for consumer products are segmented on the basis of demographic and psychographic data research.

Communications and advertising. The communications mix comprises advertising, public relations, direct mail and special events such as product shows, conferences and exhibitions. Advertising is an important means of promoting the goods that have been produced already, as well as new lines in business. Nowadays there are special departments and agencies dealing with advertising. Different kinds of mass media – TV, radio, newspapers, cinema, magazines, posters – are used for advertising aims. Special leaflets, booklets and other printed matter with the information about goods may be published for the same purpose. The choice of media for advertising depends oh the kind of goods and on the local conditions and people’s habits.

From the Internet

 

Text 2: VIRAL MARKETING

Viral marketing is a marketing strategy that relies on individuals rather than traditional campaigns to pass along a message to others. It usually refers to marketing on the Internet. Viral marketing is so named because of the tendency for messages to use "hosts" to spread themselves rapidly, like a biological virus.

The term "viral marketing" first became prominent when used to describe a marketing campaign for the e-mail service Hotmail.com. When the company launched, every outgoing message contained an advertisement for Hotmail and a link to its website at the bottom of the e-mail. As people e-mailed their friends and colleagues, they were also advertising the service. Recipients could simply click on the link and sign themselves up, and as they e-mailed friends from their new account, the message spread within existing social networks and was passed along with little effort from the company.

This example demonstrates all the key elements of viral marketing. Its cost to the advertiser is minimal. Instead, it takes advantage of existing resources by making everyone who uses the product an involuntary spokesperson. It exploits common behaviors, such as sending an e-mail.

Viral marketing uses communications networks that are already in place. In the case of Hotmail, it implies endorsement from a friend. People who received an e-mail from a friend using the service learned that the product works and that their friends use it. And most importantly, viral marketing offers the ability to spread a message exponentially faster and to more people than conventional third-party ad campaigns.

There are different types of viral marketing, all using the same fundamental principles. Pass-along messages encourage users to send them along to others, such as e-mails with instructions to forward at the bottom or humorous video clips. Incentive-driven messages offer rewards in exchange for providing e-mail addresses. Undercover viral marketing presents messages in an unusual page or false news item without any direct incitement to pass it along, in the hopes that word-of-mouth will spread the message. Gossip or buzz marketing seeks to get people talking about something by creating controversy.

From the Internet

Text 3: ONLINE SHOPPING

Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time over the Internet, without an intermediary service. If an intermediary service is present the process is called electronic commerce. An online shop, eshop, e-store, internet shop, webshop, webstore, online store, or virtual store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services in a shopping mall.

In 1990 Tim Berners-Lee created the first World Wide Web server and browser. It opened for commercial use in 1991. In 1994 other advances took place, such as online banking and the opening of an online pizza shop by Pizza Hut. During that same year, Netscape introduced SSL encryption of data transferred online, which has become essential for secure online shopping. Also in 1994 the German company Intershop introduced its first online shopping system. In 1995 Amazon launched its online shopping site, and in 1996 eBay appeared.

In order to shop online, one must be able to have access to a computer, a bank account and a debit card. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly, or do a search across many different vendors using a shopping search engine. Once a particular product has been found on the web site of the seller, most online retailers use shopping cart software to allow the consumer to accumulate multiple items and to adjust quantities, by analogy with filling a physical shopping cart or basket in a conventional store. A "checkout" process follows (continuing the physical-store analogy) in which payment and delivery information is collected, if necessary. The consumer often receives an e-mail confirmation once the transaction is complete.

Online shoppers commonly use credit card to make payments, however some systems enable users to create accounts and pay by alternative means, such as:

Billing to mobile phones and landlines

Cash on delivery (C.O.D., offered by very few online stores)

Check

Debit card

Direct debit in some countries

Electronic money of various types

Gift cards

Postal money order

Wire transfer/delivery on payment.

From the Internet

 

Text 4: YOU, THE CONSUMER

Each one of us is a consumer, or customer. A consumer is one who buys or uses products and services. As consumers we play an extremely important part in the economic system.

Each year business firms spend billions of dollars to get us to buy their products. They run advertisements in newspapers and magazines, on billboards and posters, over radio and television. They think up clever slogans they hope we will remember. They know that some of us will buy the product whose slogan appeals to us. Often the slogan has nothing to do with the quality or the usefulness of the product.

Some shoppers are impulse buyers. They buy just because they see something they think they want. They like the slogan or the advertising skit on television. So they buy the product. They buy without thinking about the price or about the real usefulness of the product. Other people buy intelligently. Anyone can learn to buy intelligently.

Learning where and when to buy

There are a number of ways in which consumers can get the most for their shopping dollars. For example, wise food shoppers study the food advertisements in the local paper. They find out which stores are having special sales. At certain times of the year, chicken may be priced very low. At other times, certain fruits and vegetables may be bargains.

By watching for sales, you can often buy suits, dresses, coats, shirts, blouses, neckties, and other articles at reduced prices. Some people never pay the full price for an article. They stock up when the price is low.

A low price on an item, however, does not always mean the item is a bargain. Furniture, automobiles, television sets, and even houses are often advertised as bargains. Yet a bargain is not a bargain if it is something you cannot really use or if it is poorly made. It is not a bargain if the one you already have is just as good as a new one.

How to judge price and quality

Wise shoppers must be able to judge the quality of a product. They also must know how they plan to use it. Of the many goods and services available, shoppers must make sure that they choose those that are best suited to their own needs. Many consumers solve the problem by shopping only at well-known stores that guarantee the quality of anything they sell. Others learn how to shop at various stores and look for real bargains.

Many people buy articles by brand name. They trust certain business firms. They believe that all products bearing the brand names of these firms must be of good quality. This may or may not be true. Large nationwide firms sell their products under brand names. They spend billions of dollars making consumers aware of these names. One way to be sure of the quality of a product is to study its label carefully.

 

From the Civics

 

Text 5: HOW TO STUDY LABELS

 

Labels are placed on foods, clothing, and other articles in order to protect you, the consumer. Governments require that certain kinds of information be included on these labels to help consumers judge the quality of the products.

There are a number of federal laws on labeling. For example, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act provides that all packages of food, as well as drugs and some cosmetics, must state all the things these products contain. The Wool Products Act requires that the label on clothing state how much wool it contains.

Manufacturers must also state the name of the fabric in every garment, whether wool, cotton, or artificial fiber. They must also tell how to clean it. The Fur Products Labeling Act orders the maker of a fur garment to state from what animal the fur was taken and from what country the fur came.

Some of state and local governments require that every package of meat carry information about its contents. If it is hamburger, for example, the package must name the part of the animal from which the ground meat comes. It also must state whether anything besides meat has been added.

Many products, such as bread, milk, and cheese, must be stamped with a date. This is the date by which the product must be sold. Dating a product ensures that it will be fresh when purchased.

Some laws require unit pricing. That is, the price tag must show how much money is being asked a unit - for an ounce or a gram, for example. A 10-ounce (283-gram) can of peaches would be a better buy than a can at the same price with only 8 ounces (227 grams). Also, a can with fewer peaches and more syrup would not be as good a buy as one with less syrup and more peaches, even if the weight marked on the can was the same.

Unless people are able to read labels intelligently, the labels will be of no help to them. Beware of a term such as "highest quality." These words sound good. Yet they often have no real meaning. A label stating that a piece of clothing is "pre-shrunk" means little. The label does not tell you how much the piece of clothing is likely to shrink when it is washed. If the label says "Sanforized," however, you know the clothing will not shrink more than 1 percent. The word "Sanforized" is a standardized term that has this meaning in the clothing industry.

From the Civics

TEXT 6: FRANCHISING

Franchising means granting a formal right to the manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer to produce or to sell the company's goods or services in a special area for a specified period of time. This way of doing business is widely used in the market economy. 40% of all sales in the USA go through franchising which makes $1 billion as annual volume of sales. These figures are presented by International Franchising Association. Franchising in Great Britain is supported by government. The banks give loans to businessmen, and the government guarantees 80% of the loan.

Purchase of a franchise is a simple way of starting business. Reliable scheme of doing business, a promoted brand, product of high quality - all these things increase chances of a beginning businessman for success. For a stable company it is a good way of expanding markets. These are great advantages of franchising.

According to Russian Franchising Association, the number of franchises in Russia does not exceed two dozen. In other words, it is not developed in our country.

History of franchising in Russia dates back to 1993, when Baskin Robbins sold the first franchise in our country. Later, some Russian franchises were sold, among them a chain of shoe stores "Ekonika", fast food "Rostics", "Teremok", "Russkiye bliny", "Niam-Niam", filling stations LUKoil, TNK. But still we can't say that franchising is highly developed in Russia. Legal, administrative and financial problems are in the way of its development. Our laws don't operate the notion "franchising". One of the main things in the process of selling franchise is transfer of a brand name. According to Russian laws, brand name can't be transferred. Another serious problem is responsibility of subsidiary company. For example, if franchisee in Siberia violates standards of franchisor in Moscow, the consumer has a right to make a claim against low quality of goods or services. Open joint-stock company LUKoil which sells franchises for setting up filling stations, has special departments in the areas where its franchises operate. In order to develop this kind of business laws on franchising should be passed.

 

From the Internet

 

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