Class 25: Managing in Marketing and Service Industries (chapter 13)

What is an overview of the marketing process?

1. Perform market research to understand opportunities

2. Define value proposition and strategy

3. Develop & deploy marketing program

4. Engage customers

How do engineers fit into marketing?

• The marketing process isn’t much different from EDP

• Technical competency helps understanding of opportunities

• Partnerships make the process work

  • R&D

  • Design

  • Technical Sales

What is the marketing mix?

• Product - quality

• Price - value

• Place - channel

• Promotion - strategies

What are the Types of Products and Services?

• Installation

• Accessories

• Raw Materials

• Process Materials

• Component Parts

• Fabricated Items

• Maintenance/Repair/Operations

• Service

What is installation?

• Big, capital-intensive stuff

  • Buildings and equipment

  • Kilns, converters, silos, stacks (refining)

  • Assembly lines, conveyors

• Custom, one-off

• Depreciation may take decades

How are engineers involved in installation?

• Design support through proposal to go-ahead

• Supervision of aspects of the job

• Technical consultation

• Technical support after delivery

What are accessories?

• Office equipment

• Computers and LANs (IT)

• Vehicles and transport devices

• Mostly off-the-shelf stuff with minimal customizing

What are raw materials?

• Crude” products of agriculture and extraction

  • Crops such as corn, wheat, tobacco

  • Fish, cattle, sheep, hogs on way to processing (sic)

  • Coal, ore, stone, aggregate

  • Scrap metal, plastic, waste

• Prices often set by auction procedures

What are process materials?

• Basic manufactured goods that get made into components of a product

  • Sheet metal

  • Copper ingots

  • Polycarbonate sheets

How are engineers involved with process materials?

• Material specifications

• (Both ends) quality of product, substitutions

• MRB (Material Review Board)