Mrkt 5000
Assignment 1 – Week 1 Case Assignment - Montgomery Ward: The Rise and Fall of an American Retailing Icon
1.) Did Aaron Montgomery Ward understand the marketing concept?
I believe Aaron Montgomery did understand the marketing concept. He developed a catalog to provide for customers needs and at the same time it allowed him to open up a whole new market which in turn grew his company into one of the most successful franchises for it’s time. He used customer satisfaction as a building block to developing his company and that in itself is a major focus of the marketing concept. His catalogs offered a way for the company to grow for the long-term while at the same time meeting the needs of the customer by providing a value, which was the ability to buy goods that were hard to find in rural communities. He further satisfied his customer’s needs by offering more and more products to fulfill the company’s goals while meeting the needs of his customers.
2.) Describe the marketing mix of Montgomery Ward at the turn of the nineteenth century.
To understand the marketing mix of Montgomery Ward at the turn of the nineteenth century will need to break it down in to its four elements, which are product, distribution, promotion, and pricing. The product (more appropriately a service) that Montgomery Ward’s offered in the nineteenth century was that of a broker. They offered customers a way to purchase products that had not been readily available in their markets. They served as a whole seller for goods and in turn met the customer’s needs by providing a valuable service. The distribution network that Montgomery Ward’s used was railroads, which offered them away back in the day to provide the goods to their customer in a timely manner. This was also a value to the customer in that they would not have to wait a long duration until they received the goods that they had ordered. The promotion that Montgomery Ward’s used was that of “Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your
1.) Did Aaron Montgomery Ward understand the marketing concept?
I believe Aaron Montgomery did understand the marketing concept. He developed a catalog to provide for customers needs and at the same time it allowed him to open up a whole new market which in turn grew his company into one of the most successful franchises for it’s time. He used customer satisfaction as a building block to developing his company and that in itself is a major focus of the marketing concept. His catalogs offered a way for the company to grow for the long-term while at the same time meeting the needs of the customer by providing a value, which was the ability to buy goods that were hard to find in rural communities. He further satisfied his customer’s needs by offering more and more products to fulfill the company’s goals while meeting the needs of his customers.
2.) Describe the marketing mix of Montgomery Ward at the turn of the nineteenth century.
To understand the marketing mix of Montgomery Ward at the turn of the nineteenth century will need to break it down in to its four elements, which are product, distribution, promotion, and pricing. The product (more appropriately a service) that Montgomery Ward’s offered in the nineteenth century was that of a broker. They offered customers a way to purchase products that had not been readily available in their markets. They served as a whole seller for goods and in turn met the customer’s needs by providing a valuable service. The distribution network that Montgomery Ward’s used was railroads, which offered them away back in the day to provide the goods to their customer in a timely manner. This was also a value to the customer in that they would not have to wait a long duration until they received the goods that they had ordered. The promotion that Montgomery Ward’s used was that of “Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your