Running Head: Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Success Pen Pal
Marketing Handbook
Bryan Chau
Published by Bryan Chau at Success Pen Pal
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2013 Bryan Chau
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
© 2013 by BRYAN CHAU
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 9781301779475
Learn more information at: www.successpenpal.com
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 – Definition of Marketing
Chapter 2 – The Importance of a Marketing Plan
Chapter 3 – Market Research Methods, Approaches, and Tools
Chapter 4 – S.W.O.T.T. Analysis
Chapter 5 – Marketing Mix (4P’s and 6C’s)
Chapter 6 – Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
Chapter 7 – Public Relations (PR)
Chapter 8 – Final Thoughts
Appendix I – New eBook
Appendix II - Credits
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Preface
The Success Pen Pal’s Marketing Handbook is dedicated to people
who have a passion, or interest, in marketing but lacked the

opportunity to learn more about this lucrative topic. Rather than
charge for this eBook, I truly believe that we live in the Land of the
Free where people have the option to choose their own destiny, along
with having the political right to communicate one’s opinions and
ideas. While “Freedom of Speech” is protected by the First
Amendment to the United States Constitution, not too many people
are advocating for the “Freedom to Teach.” Instead, many people
miss out on a good education because they’re unable to afford going
to college to get a degree of their choosing.
In fact, at the time of this writing, I’m still working to pay off my own
school loans for my Bachelor’s degree in Business and Marketing
from an accredited university. Although I come from humble
beginnings, and am unsure of when I’ll be able to fully repay my own
student loans, I’ve decided to share the valuable knowledge and
lessons gained with everyone because I truly believe in the “Freedom
to Teach.” The keyword here is FREE, hence why I’m giving this
eBook away free of charge.
The goal of this eBook is to provide people who have limited
resources with detailed valuable information on business marketing as
if you went to an accredited university yourself and got a four year
degree in marketing with the exception of my debt!
Just in case you’re wondering, this is one of the main reasons why I
started Success Pen Pal. To provide people, like yourself, with a
platform where you visit daily to absorb as much free information
about personal and professional development pertaining to a variety of
topics. Topics such as business, marketing, writing, earning passive
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
incomes, and we even include success quotes and videos that will help
get you “wired and inspired” for success.
By reading this eBook, you’re already taking another step in the right

direction.
To Your Success,
Bryan Chau
Founder
Success Pen Pal
www.successpenpal.com
www.bryanchau.com
Twitter: @BChau22
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Introduction
Many people have different interpretations of what marketing entails.
For some people, marketing is considered a tool used by organizations
to promote and sell products and services. Other people believe that
marketing consists only of advertisements for products and services
placed in newspapers, television, magazines, and the Internet.
Prior to getting my degree, I was under the impression that marketing
consists of not only building a brand name but also offering a variety
of promotions that aid in drawing attention to the products and
services offered by a particular firm. That organizations use a variety
of different media platforms to promote attractive sales and discounts
in an effort to entice more consumers to those goods. In actuality,
marketing encompasses much more than what was stated and is a vital
component to achieving business success.
Without marketing, the world would lose the spark that provides
businesses with creativity and growth. Milan Kundera, a renowned
author and poet, once stated that a “business has only two functions –
marketing and innovation.” Through proper marketing and creative
innovations, businesses are equipped with the necessary tools to create
new products and services that customers love, thus generating
additional revenues for the firm. In addition, effective marketing

would also enable companies gather crucial feedback from consumers
about the products and services offered, along with ensuring that
consumer demands are met.
With this in mind, it is imperative that people, especially business
owners, realize the importance of marketing and the affect that
marketing has on the success of any business. So without further ado,
let’s begin. By the time you finish reading this eBook you’ll have a
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
thorough understanding of what marketing entails, along with using
this handbook to achieve business marketing success!
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Chapter 1
Definition of Marketing
The definition of marketing could vary, depending on the source of
the information. Some scholars believe that marketing is the
performance of activities that seek to accomplish an organization’s
objectives by anticipating customer or client needs and directing a
flow of need-satisfying goods and services from producer to customer
or client. That organizations use marketing to engage in a list of
activities that aid in meeting consumer demands for goods and
services in an effort to achieve organizational goals and objectives.
By accurately forecasting consumer trends and demands, companies
could accurately anticipate the type of goods and services to produce
that tailor to client needs, along with knowing the right amount to
produce to meet those demands.
Other scholars believe that the scope of marketing is larger and
encompasses much more than just the activities required for
anticipating consumer trends and meeting consumer demands. These
individuals believe that marketing is a process of planning and
executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of

ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual
and organizational goals. This particular definition not only includes
the innovation of new products and services but also the exchange of
ideas relating to a variety of other factors, such as pricing, and
promotions.
Regardless of the variations in definitions for marketing, people are
cognizant of the importance of marketing for achieving organizational
success. So how do you use marketing to achieve success? It all
starts with creating an effective marketing plan.
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Chapter 2
The Importance of a Marketing Plan
A marketing plan is a written document that summarizes the
company’s marketing objectives and helps direct and coordinate, its’
marketing efforts through efficient use of company resources. With
an effective marketing plan in place, organizations could define their
target markets; identify customers and competitors for goods offered;
outline the requisite marketing strategies required for achieving the
firm’s marketing goals and objectives. The ultimate goal is to use the
marketing plan as a roadmap for achieving the company’s mission and
vision.
To me, an effective marketing plan is one of the most crucial elements
of having a successful business. Without this, organizations would
lack the ability to understand their marketplace, environments,
customers, competitors, trends, along with anticipating the changes
that may affect their business. In essence, a business marketing plan
is like a compass that helps to guide your business in the right
direction. Without this plan in place, many business owners would
lose sight of the necessary steps required to reaching their end goal of
success.

To ensure that the marketing plan is effective in achieving the
organizational goals and objectives set forth, it is vital that companies
include the following key components: market research methods,
approaches, and tools; S.W.O.T.T. analysis; marketing mix; integrated
marketing communications (IMC); public relations (PR).
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Chapter 3
Market Research Methods, Approaches, Tools
Successful organizations understand the importance of market
research. Market research refers to the planning, collection, and
analysis of data relevant to a company’s marketing decisions and
strategies, including marketing communications. Through proper
market research, businesses could determine target markets for
products and services offered, along with consumer demand for those
goods in an effort to generate additional sales, revenues, and market
share.
For those unaware, target marketing consists of three main activities
which include market segmentation, market targeting, and market
positioning. Companies must first segment the market to the point
where the firm could easily identify the target markets for the
company’s products or services. Organizations could identify target
markets through demographics, psychographics, lifestyle, and even
buyer behavior. Once the target markets are determine, organizations
must develop marketing strategies and tactics that enable the firm to
deliver their goods and services to that specific geographic location
where the target market resides. Please note that unless companies
identify, define, and profile their target markets for products or
services offered, these entities would lack the ability to make
consistent decisions pertaining to advertising and marketing messages,
product assortment, pricing, service levels, and even store décor.

Therefore, for businesses to thrive would require a thorough
understanding of the firm’s target markets, including an effective
execution of target marketing.
To conduct market research effectively, it is vital that business owners
understand the types of market research. Market research is generally
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
categorized as primary or secondary research. Typically, primary
research delivers more specific results for organizations because these
entities are investigating an issue of special interests. Through
primary research, and by gathering new primary data firsthand,
businesses are working to address a specific research objective. For
example, some of the different market research tools used in primary
research include surveys, focus groups, field tests, experiments, and
even interviews. Because primary research is new data that delivers
more specific results for organizations, it could become quite costly to
conduct this type of research. As for secondary research, it refers to
the data and information gathered from previous studies by
government and regulatory agencies, trade associations, private
institutions, etc. Secondary research is easier, and less costly, to
conduct because much of the information is already available. For
instance, organizations could gather secondary data from library
resources, business websites, government (federal, state, and local)
agencies, newspapers, and even magazines.
In addition to determining the type of research to conduct, it is also
important for companies to select the approaches used when doing the
market research. To ensure that the market research conducted is
fruitful, organizations must determine if a qualitative approach,
quantitative approach, or both approaches should be used. A
qualitative approach refers to research where the findings are not
subject to quantification or quantitative analysis. Whereas a

quantitative approach refers to research that uses mathematical
analysis. Because different approaches serve different purposes, a
market researcher will often use several approaches in sequence so
that the results from one approach could be used by another.
Once all the market research data is collected, the next step would be
to determine what type of measurement scales to use for the data
obtained. Professional marketing researchers understand the
importance of measurement scales. Like a variety of other professions
that require the use of specific tools for addressing certain problems,
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
marketing researchers also require specific tools for answering certain
research questions. To ensure that the market research data obtained
is accurate and honest would require the use of measurement scales
tailored specifically for addressing the research questions. Although a
variety of measurement scales exists, market researchers must select
the most appropriate scaling method that would aid with measuring
attitudes, application, and statistics. In gist, there are four main types
of measurement scales: nominal scale; ordinal scale; interval scale;
ratio scale.
In a nominal scale, the objects are assigned to mutually exclusive
labeled categories but this does not mean that any relationship exist
among those categories. Typically, marketing researchers nominally
scale variables such as marital status, geographic location, or even
gender. Doing so would assist researchers with developing an easy
method for counting the results of each variable. For instance, using
the nominal scaling approach, marketing researchers could easily
count the number of males versus females within a geographic
location.
As for ordinal scale, it is obtained by ranking certain objects or by
arranging them in order with regard to some other common variable.

Please note that this particular scaling method is incapable of defining
the differences between objects, hence why many marketing
researchers use this mainly for determining the arithmetic operations
of median, or mode, instead of mean.
If business owners are interested in measuring differences between
objects, it would be more beneficial to use the interval scaling method.
For this particular scaling method, the numbers used to rank the
objects also represents equal increments of the attributes being
measured. Not only could the interval scale distinguish the
differences between objects but also be used to determine an
arithmetic sum, and mean. One important attribute to remember about
interval scales is that it has no natural zero point, hence why several
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
objects may have different zero starting points. This concept is
similar to the concept between temperature measurements, such as
Celsius, and Fahrenheit.
As for ratio scale, it is considered a special type of interval scale that
does have a natural zero starting point. With a ratio scale, marketing
researchers could determine the ratio between one object versus
another. For instance, using ratio scaling would enable researchers to
determine how many times greater one object is compared to another.
To illustrate, imagine that a market researcher has conducted
sufficient market research to determine that the average income of
males is $50,000.00 compared to females who earn an average of
$25,000.00. Using ratio scale, the market researcher could state
accurately that the average income of males is twice that of females,
thus determining the ratio of average incomes between both genders.
Remember, the goal of market research is to collect enough data to
answer a specific question or to solve a particular concern.
Regardless if the issue pertains to increasing sales, reducing the cost

of production, or increasing market share, there are necessary steps
required for business owners to take when conducting market
research. Steps, such as defining the problem, analyzing the situation,
getting problem specific data, along with interpreting the data sets to
come up with the most efficient and effective methods for solving the
concerns at hand. Zora Neale Hurston, an American writer, once
stated that “research is formalized curiosity and it is poking and
prying with a purpose.” With this in mind, business owners must
ensure that their market research serves a purpose and that the correct
market research methods, approaches, and tools are selected and used.
The goal is to confirm that the market research data obtained is
accurate, reliable, and useful for achieving organizational goals and
objectives.
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Chapter 4
S.W.O.T.T. Analysis
To truly have an effective marketing plan, business owners must also
include a detailed S.W.O.T.T. analysis. A detailed S.W.O.T.T.
analysis will assist with identifying the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, threats, and trends associated with a particular
company’s environment or marketplace. By conducting the
S.W.O.T.T. analysis, the organization would have a list of items
highlighting areas that are in its favor along with other areas where
improvements are needed. If business owners do not take the
necessary time to conduct an S.W.O.T.T. analysis, the firm may be
offering the wrong products or services due to a lack of resources,
knowledge, etc. To illustrate, let’s take a closer look at each portion
of the analysis.
Strengths (S)
When speaking of strengths, I am referring to areas where a company

has identified a successful application of any competency, such as
great customer service, etc. Strengths could also be considered an
element, such as a unique product or service, which provides the
company with a distinct competitive advantage over other firms
within the marketplace. To understand your company’s strengths, you
must consider which areas are working well for your firm, along with
your assets and other unique factors for your business that provides
that competitive advantage for your organization.
Weaknesses (W)
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
On the contrary, weaknesses refer to the unsuccessful competency of
the organization. These are the areas where the firm must work on
improving as soon as possible because it diminishes a firm’s
competitive advantage and limits the company’s full potential. One
easy way to determine where your company’s weaknesses are is to
track where you’re losing money at. It could be because of a poor
product design or even insufficient customer service, etc.
Opportunities (O)
Opportunities refer to the external conditions that could assist with a
company’s performance, or competitive advantage, provided that the
firm takes positive action to maximize on those opportunities. To
determine some of the opportunities available to business owners,
they must look at key trends, or niches, that the company could get
involved with that would aid with improving the organization’s
performance or competitive advantage.
Threats (T)
As the term entails, threats could be very devastating to a company if
it fails to take action to prevent those threats from occurring. Not only
could threats negatively impact the organization’s performance but
also weaken the firm’s competitive advantage. Some examples of

threats could be another competitor entering the marketplace nearby
that’s taking some of your clients from you. Or it could even be
where your employees are quitting at a rapid pace and going to your
competitors to work because they pay better wages. Therefore, it is
critical that threats are addressed immediately or else the company
may face undesired consequences that could be detrimental.
Trends (T)
Trends could be identified as the latest craze that’s popular among
your customers, or within your marketplace. For instance, social
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
media has been a trend for several years now, hence why many
businesses now include this as part of their marketing plan with their
own sites on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. To ensure that your
company doesn’t miss out on profiting from the latest trends, it is
important to sit back and analyze what trends are approaching that
your firm is not a part of that are profitable and then work on a
marketing strategy to get involved with those trends.
Once the S.W.O.T.T. analysis is completed, the company could
determine where their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats,
and trends reside. Remember, the goal is to have not only more
strengths than weaknesses but also to work on effective strategies for
minimizing threats while maximizing on trends.
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Chapter 5
Marketing Mix (4P’s and 6C’s)
For those unaware, a marketing mix refers to the controllable
variables that organizations compile to satisfy a particular target
market. The main elements of a marketing mix, also known as the
four P’s, is product, place, promotion, and price.
Product consists of creating a new product or service that addresses

the needs of the target market. Place is concerned with how the
business will position the goods offered in the right target market. As
for promotion, this consists of effective advertisement that allows
people to learn more about the products and services offered in an
effort to generate additional visibility and sales for the firm. Last,
price involves setting the right price for the products and services
offered that would enable the firm to remain competitive and
profitable.
In addition to the 4P’s, it is also important to note the 6 C’s of
marketing: customer; consistency; creativity; culture; communication;
change. Please note that the 6 C’s of marketing does not replace the
4P’s. Instead, it’s used as another approach to expand on areas
pertaining to consumer marketing.
When speaking of customer, it refers to how businesses must create
their marketing mix, or strategies, around the customer. By
understanding their target customers, including their needs, desires,
and motivations, organizations become more customer-focused, thus
building better relationships with their target audience while creating
better products and services. As for consistency, it states that
companies must be consistent in their marketing messages across the
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
board. From their advertisements to their promotions to even the
firm’s packaging of goods and services. I can’t stress enough how
important creativity is for businesses. With all the marketing clutter
out there, people are constantly bombarded with information overload
to the point where many businesses fail to attract the attention of their
target market. This is where thinking out-of-the-box comes in
because by standing out from the rest, companies increase their
chances of having their marketing messages heard. Remember, the
more creative and unorthodox a company’s marketing is, the more

likely it’ll attract attention and be memorable.
Culture embraces the fact that all marketing requires cross-cultural
research and communication in order to be successful. By
understanding the various cultures out there, businesses are equipped
with tailoring their goods and services to that specific demographic
and geographic location. As for communication, it relates to the way
organizations communicate with their target audience. Rather than
being marketed to, people would prefer if organizations communicate
with them to the point where it seems more personable. Last, change
pertains to the fact that marketing is a process that consistently
changes because of the evolution of global societies. Instead of being
afraid of change, companies must embrace change because it’s
inevitable and organizations should never be afraid to try something
new. As mentioned previously, marketing, along with innovation, are
the keys to business success.
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Chapter 6
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is the coordination and
combination of all the different types of communication tools
consolidated into a seamless program that aids with maximizing the
impacts on end-users at a minimal cost. With IMC, organizations
could use communication disciplines, such as sales promotion, general
advertising, direct response, and even public relations for relaying the
firm’s intended message. With technology advancing at such a rapid
pace, many organizations are using the Internet for getting their
marketing messages to end-users for a fraction of the cost compared to
traditional marketing. Please note that traditional marketing focuses
more on advertising through older mediums, such as television, radio,
newspapers, and magazines.

Integrated marketing is also valuable for a variety of other reasons.
With integrated marketing, organizations could produce stronger
message consistency and greater sales impact. In addition, integrated
marketing also aids companies with not only unifying various brands,
including its messages, but also improving on the company’s ability to
reach its target markets with the firm’s intended message at the right
time and place.
Unlike, traditional marketing that focuses only on a few areas of
marketing, integrated marketing provides organizations with a more
holistic view of marketing. Through the use of various media
vehicles, such as the Internet and social media, companies could
develop effective IMC programs that aid with efficiently reaching
target markets with the firm’s intended marketing messages. The
primary objectives of integrated marketing are to develop a variety of
effective methods for persuading people to purchase products, or
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
services, from a particular company. The message must be clear,
concise, and discuss products or services their target markets would
listen to and care about. With various mediums in place, businesses
must also ensure that the marketing messages being relayed in their
IMC campaigns are consistent across the board. Failure to do this
could result in lack of interest, or even worse, confusion between
target audiences, thus negatively impacting sales, revenues, and
market share.
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Chapter 7
Public Relations (PR)
As we’re aware, a picture really is worth a thousand words – if not
more. Therefore, it is vital that organizations do their best to paint a
positive picture to global societies about the firm, its brand, and the

products and services being offered.
One of the best ways to achieve this feat is through positive public
relations. Karl Marx, a renowned philosopher, wisely stated that
“society does not consist of individuals but expresses the sum of
interrelations, the relations within which these individuals stand.” In
essence, we are all connected to one another, especially with
technology advancing at such a rapid pace and with the use of the
Internet. Because of this, organizations must incorporate effective
public relations strategies that aid with painting a positive picture
about the firm in an effort to achieve true success. Probably the best
definition that I’ve found for public relations (PR) came from
the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) who defined PR as
the following:
“Public relations is a distinctive management function that helps
establish and maintain mutual lines of communication,
understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization
and its public; involves the management of problems or issues; helps
management keep informed on and responsive to public opinion;
defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve
public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively
employs change, serving as an early warning system to help
anticipate trends; and uses research and sound and ethical
communication techniques as its principal tools.”
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
The rise of the Internet and social media has offered companies
unparalleled opportunities for communicating and interacting with
large numbers of individuals globally. For instance, organizations
could reach and interact with customers, including potential
customers, through RSS feeds, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, Webcasts,
YouTube, etc. Through these different technologies, and with the

assistance of social media conglomerates, such as Facebook and
Twitter, mass communications is enabled to global societies.
Although many benefits are associated with mass communication,
people must also be conscious of the organizational and societal
implications of using this medium that may lead to negative PR.
Implications like appropriation, publication of private information,
intrusion, and false light which are all considered invasion of privacy.
To me, this is why so many successful organizations have multiple PR
professionals that help them paint a positive picture to global societies
through PR campaigns involved with volunteer work, donations, food-
drives, etc. This is not to say that these entities do not care about their
communities. I’m just stating that doing these good deeds creates a
win-win situation because it also helps companies with positive PR,
thus increasing the companies bottom-line in parallel because it
highlights the firm’s goodwill and corporate social responsibility
endeavors. So if you own a business, my recommendation is to start
painting your masterpiece now by getting involved with positive PR
activities that will highlight your firm’s goodwill and corporate social
responsibility.
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Chapter 8
Final Thoughts
I trust that the best practices contained herein have not only educated
you but also inspired you with new ideas for achieving business
marketing success. If you own a business and have not created an
effective marketing plan that includes the key items mentioned in
previous chapters, my recommendation is to create one immediately
since it’s critical for achieving organizational success.
You, my dear entrepreneur, are the future of our economy. You are
the captain of your own destiny. Through your business, you will

help to provide many jobs, including other products and services,
consumed by global societies. If you honor your customers with great
products and services, they will continue to reward you by supporting
your business.
In the end, there are many resources online that could help you
implement any of the marketing strategies listed. If you have any
additional questions, or would like my assistance in helping you,
please feel free to contact me by visiting my sites below.
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed reading the Success Pen Pal’s Marketing
Handbook and found the lessons valuable to achieving your business
goals. If so, please feel free to share this book with every
entrepreneur on the planet.
I would also appreciate it if you took the time to provide me with your
honest review after reading this book!
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
You have my permission to redistribute this eBook to anyone,
provided you share it at no cost and do not alter the contents. You
also have my permission to reprint the entirety of this book, or any
excerpted portion of this book, on your blog, website, or social media
platforms, provided you credit the author and include a live hyperlink
to Success Pen Pal at www.successpenpal.com where readers could
also download their free copy. In no instance may you create the
impression that someone must pay you to receive this information. In
no instance can your use of this eBook be portrayed to your
customers, or clients, as an endorsement from Bryan Chau or Success
Pen Pal for your own products or services.
Congratulations on taking another step towards fulfilling your dreams!
To Your Success,
Bryan Chau
Founder

Success Pen Pal
www.successpenpal.com
www.bryanchau.com
Twitter: @BChau22
Success Pen Pal – Marketing Handbook
Appendix I
New eBook
For those unaware, I am working on a new eBook that’s coming out
shortly. The eBook will assist with providing valuable information to
help parents guide their children, including other loved ones, towards
a path of success based on my personal and professional experiences
throughout the years. Not only will readers have a guide for achieving
success but also a list of activities that they could incorporate daily for
attaining their goals in life. Plus, I also share a personal experience
that is very dear to my heart within this new eBook.
For additional information on the actual release date and for your
copy, please visit www.successpenpal.com and subscribe to our FREE
newsletter.