Marketing Reflection - Explaining the concepts of Value and Exchange for developing a marketing strategy.

Background

Reflective writing is the evidence of reflective thinking and reflective thinking is part of the critical thinking process where people analyse, evaluate and make judgements from new information and knowledge to ultimately arrive at an informed perspective. The practice of reflective writing will be introduced in this first assessment task. In this assessment you will be asked to prepare information for a business audience about the concepts of the value proposition and exchange.

The Task

At the heart of every marketing act - large or small - is something that is referred to as an exchange. An exchange occurs when something of value is obtained for something else in return. Thus the buyer receives something that satisfies their needs and the seller receives something that they are satisfied is of equivalent value.

For an exchange to occur at least two entities (people or organisations) must be willing to make a trade, and each must have something the other values. Both parties need to agree on the value of the exchange and how it will be carried out. Each party must also be free to accept or reject the other's terms for the exchange.

The concept of value refers to the sum of the tangible and intangible benefits perceived by the market. This is not to be confused with the term value proposition - which is what is communicated to customers about what they can expect to receive with the product or service offering. Therefore whilst the value proposition is what is being promised to the customer, the term value relates to the difference between a customer's perception of the cost versus the anticipated benefits realised. These benefits may encompass not only the direct benefits of reaching a desired goal (whiter teeth), but also the indirect benefits (ease of use). For this assignment you are required to consider the term value.

You have been asked to prepare a short commentary (500 - 700 words or equivalent 5 - 10 minute presentation) for a business audience explaining the concepts of value and exchange in such a way that business owners, who may have never had any formal marketing education, could understand the concepts and see how they are the fundamental building blocks of marketing activity and strategy.

Your commentary can take any form that would be acceptable to this audience (for example a blog, an article, newsletter item, a wikki, a short video presentation or slide share presentation). In your submission you are to conclude your discussion with at least one example of how a business could now incorporate or use this information to help them develop a marketing plan or to incorporate this approach into their marketing thinking - a sort of marketing in practice section.