Connecting with customers is a strategic effort to create relationships beyond the initial transaction. It involves communication, but it is so much more. Connecting with customers is important because connected customers tend to become repeat customers, and repeat customers are vital to business success.

You have been appointed as the Marketing Manager at Cell C $-$ taking the above into consideration, discuss the processes that you would embark on to connect with Cell C$’$s customers.

Smart companies try to fully understand customers$’$ buying decision process which involves all the experiences in learning, choosing, using, and even disposing of a product. The consumer typically passes through five stages during a buying decision. Discuss these stages using a practical example of your choice.

There are many ways to introduce a new product in the market, and there's no single way that works for every business. The organisation can create a detailed and sophisticated new product launch framework, or it can use a lean start$-$up strategy, investing little and learning as it goes. Whatever approach is used, it should be consistent with the company's overall mission, direction, and style.

When developing a new product, the organisation needs to go through a number of stages.

You have been appointed as the Marketing Manager at Tiger Brands and need to introduce a new product in the Canned Vegetables category. Explain how you would go about managing the development process. Include each step in your discussion.

A marketing intelligence system is a set of procedures and sources that managers use to obtain everyday information about developments in the marketing environment. The internal records system supplies results data, but the marketing intelligence system supplies happenings data. Marketing managers collect marketing intelligence by reading books, newspapers, and trade publications; talking to customers, suppliers, distributors, and other company managers; and monitoring online social media.

A company can take eight possible actions to improve the quantity and quality of its marketing intelligence. Discuss five of these actions using practical examples of your choice for the discussion.