By

the end of the lesson you will:

Identified the need for a marketing mix Analysis of the product and the influences on these for a business Identify how this will help with the assignment

 marketing:

the anticipating and satisfying of customers wants in a way that delights the consumer and also meets the needs of the organisation. This definition provides an introduction to the purposes of marketing: anticipating customers wants satisfying customers wants in a way that delights customers meeting the needs of the organisation

Marketing objectives may be categorised in the following ways:

size (e.g. reaching a sales target or certain market share) market positioning (e.g. targeting a particular market segment) innovation/product range (e.g. introducing five new products in the next 12 months) achieving brand loyalty/goodwill (e.g. attaining 75% repeat customers) security/survival (e.g. keeping customers in a declining market)

In small groups analyse the purpose of each of these objectives, write one purpose on each of the post its and put them on the board.

The first step in developing a marketing strategy is to understand your customers through market research. How is this done ? The second step is to produce a Marketing Mix. marketing mix: those elements of a firms approach to marketing that enable it to satisfy and delight its customers. OR The marketing mix gives a plan by which to operate, to influence and to satisfy the buyer/consumer.

Product and Packaging

Without a product, there could be no price, no promotion and no place! Products can have many different characteristics. Manufactures can produce a range of products to appeal to different kinds of customer. The product must satisfy a need. Packaging is the wrapping of a product, which can also be used for promotion and selling appeal.

Place
Place deals with the distribution process of the product. It depends greatly on the product itself. A traditional distribution method is from producer, to wholesaler, to retailer, to customer. However, some of these can be missed out depending on whether the product is a fast moving good, a perishable good, etc.

Place also looks at where the product is going to be available for customers to buy and making sure that products are in these places at the right time.

Promotion
Promotion involves four elements:

Marketing Mix

Price

Price can depend on a number of things. You need to cover your cost of production and also make a profit (cost-plus pricing). What are competitors prices (competitive pricing)? Has it cost you a lot of money to research and develop the product because of it being advanced in technology or unique(skimming - high price to skim the market, lowers as competitors copy product)? Are you entering a highly competitive new market (penetration pricing - low price at first)?

Sales Promotion: buy on get one free, 25% extra free, competitions, collecting tokens, trial prices, etc. Advertising: tv, radio, posters, billboards, leaflets, cinema, public transport, etc. Public Relations: distributing information about the business/product with the aim of improving its public image (ASDA and Children In Need). Direct Selling: door to door, agents/representatives visiting retailers to persuade them to stock their product.

Key terms
marketing mix: those elements of a firms approach to marketing that enable it to satisfy and delight its customers. product: the good or service provided by a business. product design: deciding on the make-up of a product so that it works well, looks good and can be produced economically. product development: when a firm creates a new or improved good or service, for release on to an existing market.

 The

features of the product must appeal to the consumer. The characteristics of a good product will vary according to the customer and according to the product.
Select 3 different products and identify six features that make it attractive to customers.

 The

key features influencing car purchase are listed below. How well do they compare to the product you chose in the previous activity?

reliability safety convenience of use fashion aesthetic qualities/appearance durability legal requirements

 Key

factors influencing the development of new products are:

Technology The internet competitors actions entrepreneurial skills of managers and owners

 New

technology can improve the quality of existing products. Technology can lead to the development of totally new products. Improvements in technology can bring products into new segments. Production technology has led to more costeffective production. Technology allows goods to be made to the consumers individual specifications. Technology has improved business awareness of consumer tastes.

The introduction of a new product by a competitor may encourage a business to introduce its own new product. New products from competitors can give ideas for a new product to a business. Changes in consumer tastes may be detected through the actions of a competitor.

In your groups give 5 other examples of business who have used their competition to excel

 Identifying

an opportunity. A skilled entrepreneur can be the first person to spot a gap in a market. Organisations may encourage and reward employees who come up with innovative ideas that lead to new products. Spending on research and development can lead to new inventions.
Try to think of a company who develops in the market in this way, what do you think the advantages and the disadvantages of this are?

Unique selling points (USPs)

unique selling point/proposition: a feature of a product or service that allows it to be differentiated from other products. In developing a new product or service, many firms will attempt to differentiate it from those of competitors. If a firm can improve customer awareness and goodwill by making its product different from rival products, it can increase both its sales volume and its price. Loyal customers are also less likely to stop buying the firms product.

Unique selling points (USPs)

Select two products and explain the way or ways in which they achieve a unique selling point (USP). Indicate which USP is most likely to add value and explain your reasoning.

Product portfolio analysis

Very

few firms rely on one product. In a multi-product firm (e.g. Kelloggs), the range of products is its product portfolio. Firms plan their product range to spread their risks. If one product has low sales, it may be supported by other, more successful products. An example of the way in which a business can carry out product portfolio analysis is the Boston matrix.

Product life cycle

Product

life cycle: the stages that a product passes through during its lifetime.
stages are:

These

Development creation Introduction birth Growth adolescence Maturity adulthood Decline death

In small groups and using the next slide, identify a variety of products at different stages of the lifecyclehow many can you think of?

Product life cycle

Strategic use of the product life cycle

In theory, a firm should aim to have as many products in maturity as possible, as these are the products that should generate most profit. However, to achieve this in the long run a firm needs to have a policy of new product development, so that it has products in the introduction and growth stages which will eventually enter maturity.

Conclusion

Firms attempt to have a balance of products under development and in the introductory and growth stages, financed by the profits generated by their mature products.

Assignment P4
Create

a handbook to describe the key benefits and opportunities presented by internet marketing activities for a business of your choice (not one you chose for P1 & P2) and explain how this has helped formulate and change the marketing mix for a business taking into account the 4 Ps (Product, price, place and promotion).

 Did

we:-

Identified the need for a marketing mix Analysis of the product and the influences on these for a business Identify how this will help with the assignment