exploring the marketing mix assignment
TRANSCRIPT
Part I
Introduction:
The following pages constitute the findings and research of the marketing mix assignment. This
case study is comprised of 3 (three) parts. Part I has a basic introduction and includes an abstract,
summary, contents list and cover page. Part II deals with an essay relating to the difference of the
marketing mix of two selected products, and Part III comprises of three sections, each dealing
with a posed question. At the end, there is a bibliography with relevant references.
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Contents List:
TitlePage Number
Title Page 1
Part I (includes summary and content lists) 2
Part II (includes essay part) 5
Part III (includes question part) 12
Bibliography 16
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Part II
Comparison of the marketing mix
Definition of Marketing Mix
The marketing mix of a product is an important tool to be used when marketing a product. It is
often important when assessing the product or services marketing point, and it is also divided
into the 'four Ps':,'promotion' ‘product’,'place', and 'price'
The classification proposed by E. Jerome McCarthy is used widely among marketers.
Product
A product is the item or service which satisfies the customer’s needs and wants. It is a tangible
good or a service which is intangible. Services which are intangible such as medical industry,
hospitality industry are called intangible products. The products which can be seen are called
tangible products. An example of tangible products is telephone or mobile phone. Products also
can be classified into different types depending on their use.
All products have a certain life span, which starts off in a growth stage which is called the initial
stage, followed by a stage of maturity and the last stage is called the period of decline where
sales start decreasing.
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Marketers must take close attention on the different life cycles of the product and put their
attention to solving the problems faced during the different stages. Marketing efforts change
during each stage of a product's life cycle.
The next step is considering and evaluating the marketing mix of the product. The products mix
can be extended by adding on extra number of product lines or by increasing the number of
products available under the line. The sellers or market analyst should also think about how to
market the product, how to promote the brand name, how to make optimal use of the brands
resources and how to adjust the mix so that different products complement the others. Product
development strategies are also necessary.
Price
This is the amount that the buyer pays for the specific product or service. It is very important
because the price of the product is important in determining the profit of the company, and by
extension, its survival. The price of the product is influential in determining the strategy of
marketing, as well as changing the demand. A price that is harmonious with the remaining
elements of the marketing mix should be set by the marketer.
The price of a product normally determines whether a customer will buy it, and the quantity that
he will buy.Nowadays, buyers are also influenced by non priced factors. Buyers who are more
affluent may be attracted to buy because of brand image, product popularity, attractive packaging
and so on.
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Whiledeciding the price, the dealer must be conscious of the buyer perceived assessment for the
merchandise. Three essentialpricestrategies are: market skimming pricing, marketing penetration
pricing and unbiased pricing.
Promotion
It describes all of the ways of contact that a salespersonmightemployin the direction ofmaking
available information to diverse parties concerning the item for consumption. The different ways
one can promote a good include advertisement, promotions, personal selling and awareness
programs.
There are 4 main factors in determining the promotion mix and they include the type of product,
push vs. pull strategy, buyer-readiness stage and the product life cycle. Marketers today
recognize the importance of promotion. Depending on the product categories they’re marketing,
different emphasis is put on the different marketing tools.
Place
This refers to distributing the productat a place convenient enough for the consumer to access.
Place means the same as distribution. Strategies which can be as varied as intensive distribution,
exclusive distribution, and selective distribution and franchising can be used by the marketer to
complement the other aspects of the marketing mix.
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Now that we have covered the basics of the 4P’s, let have a look at the difference in strategies
between two products.
In order to contrast the marketing mix of two different products related to technology, I have
chosen a cell phone based product which is Nokia 3310, and a Smartphone, the iPhone . A
comparison will be done on the 4 P’s of each product in terms of product, price place, promotion
and how they relate to the product, consumer and the market.
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Firstly, we take a look at product.
Product
The main variable of product mix is variety. The Nokia 3310 is a dual band GSM900/1800
mobile phone. Released in the fourth quarter of 2000, it replaced the popular Nokia 3210. Nokia
3310 has a mix of variety, as it comes in several models such as Nokia 3315, 3320, 3330, 3350,
3360, 3390 and 3395. Nokia gained brand personality and market shares of 35% because of its
quality. The next variable is design. The 3310 is a small, heavy and durable phone with few
features. The Nokia 3310 is shaped in a rectangle shape, which fits snugly in the palm, and
operated by buttons one can press.
The features of Nokia 3310 include a calculator, Nokia network monitor, stop watch and a
reminder function. It has four games, Snake II, Pairs II, Space Impact, and Bantumi.
The iPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was
and released on June 29, 2007.
When we compare the product to the iPhone, we can see that the iPhone combine three products-
a mobile phone, wide screen iPod, into one smart phone. The iPhone also is very varied, and the
different versions include iPhone 2, iPhone 3, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4s. The Apple Company also
does brand extension by marketing iPod, iPad, which combine features from the iPhone.
The design of iPhone is very sleek and modern, and includes a touch screen on all models which
is aliquid crystal display with scratch-resistant glass. It can be used by a bare finger, or multiple
fingers for multi-touch sensing. There are many features included with the iPhone, and they
include an in built camera, mp3 player, video player, calendar, calculator, notepad, and widgets,
or mini-applications.
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Price
Nokia 3310 uses a pricing strategy that best suits the product. It had affordable prices at about
$150 onwards during time of launching. As such, it was cheap enough to suit all class of people.
Poor people like farmers were able to buy a cellphone due to the low price and convenience.
Now the Nokia 3310 is available for a fraction of its original price due to the time period it was
released in. It uses skimming price strategy. Due to the affordable price and durability, it had
become one of the highest selling phones in the world, as the target range was a very wide group
of consumers.
The iPhone, on the other hand, is priced at a very high cost. Due to the modern design and
extensive features, the iPhone is one of the costliest phones in the market. It is designed as a
luxury product and targets high class individuals. The iPhone 4 GB version sells for $499 and the
8 GB version sells for $599. Monthly phone service charges starts at 59.99 and you have to sign
up for a 2 year service agreement. Due to its luxury brand status and excellent features, the sales
of the iPhone have been high, notwithstanding the prohibitive pricing. Analysts estimate that
during the first weekend of sales, between 500,000 and 700,000 phones were sold. Apple plans
to sell 10 million phones in 2008.
Recently, Apple seems to have moved away from the idea of selling an extremely prestigious
and exclusive phone, as the price has been lowered with all future iPhone releases. This is
because Apple is known to improve its other products in relatively short intervals adding new
features or improving performance while keeping the prices constant rather than dropping them.
Promotion
Nokia follows the AIDA strategy of promotion. AIDA Model, a well known marketing
communication model is an integrated approach generally adopted by advertisers to stimulate a
purchase decision in the minds of the consumers through a linear progression of steps. The steps
are Action or Awareness, Interest, Desire andAction aimed at fulfilling the promotional
objectives of the advertisers.
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Nokia advertisestheir products through TV, sign boards, bill boards, radio and newspaper,
Broachers, Posters Dummies and display stands. This phone sold extremely well, being one of
the most successful phones with 126 million units sold.
Apple Inc. normally gives an announcement for its new products around the time of release.
However, for the iPhone, they decided to do aggressive promotions which started some six
months before the actual release of the iPhone. Due to the impact of Apple’s previous product,
the implosively popular iPod, iPhone managed to garner intense self promotion and also created
an existing consumer base of loyal customers.
According to a study, up to 2010, a quarter of all iPhone consumers are 25 and below while 46
percent are under age 35, which means that iPhone users are generally young and, according to
additional AdMob statistics, affluent. And iPhone users are 57 percent male. The overwhelming
majority of iPhone ad viewers come from North America. Advertising products and services that
appeal to members of these groups is among the most efficient ways to advertise on an iPhone.
Apples target segments include professionals, students, corporate users, and entrepreneurs.
The smart phone market is still relatively small compared with general phone market.
Place
Nokia 3310 was sold widely, in almost all countries in the world. It is available throughout the
world. It was a popular phone in India due to its low cost. Due to its wide availability,it was one
of the highest selling phones in the world. Nokia is sold at the retail outlet Nokia priority as well
as many authorized dealers at various places. Nokia products are available at Nokia gallery, as
well as established mobile phone dealership such as Carphone warehouse & Link and Retailers
like Dixon & other electrical products suppliers. Nokia is more of an intensive distribution
product as they try to make Nokia phones available in as many places as possible.
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AT&T is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the US. What is novel about the phone service
activation strategy is that consumers sign up for AT&T cellular services via the internet on
iTunes. Phones are sold in AT&T stores, Apple retail stores, and Apple online store. The carriers
are generally given full power with regards to the price of the cellphone, the marketing strategy
and the services they plan to offer. Thistime Apple defined the 16 services that the iPhone has
and of course the sign up method on iTunes instead of through AT&T. iPhone usually carries out
exclusive distribution as they are sold at the iPhone showrooms or exclusive outlets.
As we can see, these are different marketing strategies of two products. Marketing mixes are
useful because through understanding and careful planning, your marketing initiatives can work
effectively together to ensure you keep leads in the pipeline and make the sales you need to
increase your profits and grow your business.If the product is not desirable no market will want
to purchase it. Without a suitable pricepoint that meets the target market's expectations the
purchase will not take place. Only through adequate promotion, will there be effective
knowledge about the product or service. If the placement and distribution is not appropriate for
the market, no one will know where to find it.
Therefore all of the basic four P's, product, price, place and promotion are important in a
business.
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Part III
a)
Product:My product is who I am. I am xx .I have vast potentials of ability. My skills are
variable in nature, and I excel in team leadership, productivity. My skills include:
Being positive & staying cool. I am always positive and determined in the face of any problem.
Without communication I cannot prove my worth to others. So having strong communication
ability in any situation is a must. However in this skill, I can find myself lacking as I am shy by
nature. Perhaps intensive training and classes would be of help.
Now and then there may be situations when work pressures increases. In such conditions a
candidate should not stick to office hours! Working in coordination to deliver any project is
always counted as one of the greatest qualities of an ideal employee!
Price:My price is the salary that I expect and the profits I bring to my company. It's also the
price my employer must pay to receive the job product. I can prove this part by proving that I can
make profit for the company. This is not merely showing up for work on time. It's all of the
requirements. If you require me to complete all paperwork neatly, state it. Let me know your
after-hours on-call requirements.
As for my salary, I am flexible and willing to put up with lower salary than my expectation.
However I will expect to be fairly compensated for my work. Rip me off and you lose an
employee. If I am paid fairly, you can expect to get quality work out of me. I would appreciate
perks and benefits as well; they would motivate me to work harder. It’s okay if I get my
paycheck late every now and then, I can understand the problems a business might face. Do it
once too often and you’ve lost me, though.
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Place: As for place, this shows how flexible I am to adjust with the demands of location. How
far am I willing to commute to my job? Can I do this every day?
This also includes how willing I am to relocate to a far location for my job. Can I give up the
comforts and convenience of my current location in order to pursue my dreams?
No siree, a homebody am I, and no amount of prodding and nudging will make me leave my
bastion in search of greener pastures. I will look for a job that is located near my house and one
that is easy for me to commute to and fro. I will be stubborn on this issue. However I am willing
to embark on far foreign business trips, as traveling is ingrained in my nature. All in all, I am
slightly rigid when it comes to the issue of plan, so it may prove to be a bit of a short coming.
Promotion:In order to promote myself so that my skills can be known by prospective
employers, I have written up my resume and posted it up to various job sites.I have a page on my
website with information for potential employers? I also use Facebook, Myspace, and other
social media websites so that I canlet my prospective employers have means to communicate
with me.
I also promote myself by astounding my friends, family and acquaintances with my superb skills.
This word of mouth advertisement is very important, and as such, must not be glossed over.
Thus I analyzed myself in terms of 4ps, and one can come to the conclusion that I am a strategic
go getter, and motivated team leader. This would be of immense help advantage to my future
employer and I am sure that everyone will be waiting in a line to employ me.
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b)
Dependability/Discipline:
Reliability is a very essential trait that must be inculcated from childhood and hurdles such as
inexperience or immaturity just by coming to work on time and doing the work assigned to them.
A sign of discipline is being able to work without someone constantly supervising you. So is
having to be told not to make personal phone calls, surf the Internet or constantly text and
tweet.Traits that are related include honestly, reliability and work ethic. If an employer can count
on you to turn up, work in a focused manner, and not steal; whether it be through physically
stealing or by stealing company time, you will be sought after. A 1999 survey by Northern
Virginia Community College revealed that work ethic ranked as the No. 1 employee
characteristic sought by employers.
Taking Initiative/Responsibility:
Taking initiative of a situation gone wrong is an important character employees look for in a
worker. Do you immediately rectify the situation or hide, waiting for someone else to take
control? Being responsible and mature and admitting to your mistakes and shortcoming will aid
you in your workplace in the long run.
Attitude:
Even dependable and responsible employees may not have the most cheerful dispositions. A
mere smile is not enough to do the job, but being positive and having a disposition that is
pleasant and cheerful will make you into a well rounded employee A smile alone won't get the
job done, but a positive outlook and a pleasant disposition will make you into a well rounded
employee. You must also be flexible and enthusiastic in order to have a good attitude.
Communication Skills:
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Whether it is writing, speaking or using computers, communication skills are essential in
virtually any job. You must also need to be a good communicator in order to fulfill ‘promotion’
part of the marketing mix. Is your idea known to the world or do you have brilliant plans and
never share them? How many contacts do you have in order to develop and hone your
communication skills? One must be willing and able to open up to various people in order to
become successful in their job.
Flexibility:
Flexibility is what employers look for in prospective employees, be it flexibility to accept salary
offered, flexibility to change in locations or place, whether one is able to adjust to their work or
being flexible even in the face of difficulties. Are you flexible enough or do you stand hard like a
rock and not change yourself? A little bit of flexibility goes a long way for your job and your
family.
c)Produce a short outline of the gap and how you will fill the gap.
There is a gap existing in the market. It is a gap between sellers and buyers. The shouting tactics
used by marketers in the past do not work anymore.
The gap analysis also can be used to analyze gaps in processes and the gap between the existing
outcome and the desired outcome. This step process can be summarized as below:
Identify the existing process
Identify the existing outcome
Identify the desired outcome
Identify the process to achieve the desired outcome
Document the gap
Develop the means to fill the gap
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