Maximum Marketing Opportunities For An Organisation example essay topic

MARKETING ASSIGNMENT 1 Q 1. Explain what is meant by the marketing concept and illustrate your answer by using an example of a market led organisation. A. The marketing concept is about matching a company's capabilities, with the wants and needs of the customer. The marketing concept is used by organisations in an attempt to satisfy this need. Marketing facilitates an exchange which satisfies the relationship between seller and buyer. Money, Credit, Donations Goods and Services A need is a basic requirement that has to be satisfied.

Examples of basic needs are food and drink. One good example of an organisation that takes advantage of one of these basic needs is Coca Cola. Coca Cola use peoples' thirst as a way of selling their products. One way that Coca Cola were led by market demand was that people became increasingly aware of the detrimental effects of sugary products and they are deemed to be unhealthy and fattening, Coca Cola addressed the situation with the launch of Diet Coke. Q 2. Compare and contrast the selling and marketing philosophies - using company examples of your choice.

The main comparison between marketing and selling is the exchange relationship. The marketing philosophy aims at fulfilling consumers' needs and meeting organizational objectives. The selling philosophy emphasizes aggressive selling techniques. By using a selling philosophy it is believed that consumers will not buy enough of a product if left alone to do so, therefore the organisation will undertake an aggressive selling and promotion effort in order to coax the consumer into making a purchase.

An example of companies that uses this approach would be those who supply double glazing. Very often they use 'cold calling' as a method of selling. Definition of 'cold calling' is calling a customer without prior appointment. Starting Focus Means Ends Point By using a marketing philosophy the provider believes the key to achieving success lies in giving the customer what they want by focusing on the needs of the customer and satisfying that need.

An example of companies that use the marketing philosophy would be the car manufacturers, in particular BMW. They target a specific type of consumer. They achieve success in retaining customers as there is evidence to suggest that a consumer will stay with a particular make of car throughout their lifetime. Q 3.

What is the marketing mix and explain why it is so important to marketers? The marketing mix is made up of the 4 p's. These are PRICE, PLACE, PROMOTION, and PRODUCT. Increasingly this has been expanded to a 5th p, PEOPLE. It provides an organisation with a decision making method on how to manage a customer relationship. The variables with these five principles need to be right in order to achieve the maximum marketing opportunities for an organisation, which is why they are so important to marketers.

Any organisation that wishes to satisfy the wants and needs of the people in their target market need to develop a marketing mix to ensure the balance of the variables are suitable. An extreme example of why the marketing mix is so important can be illustrated in the following way: - There would be little point for one of the major electrical retailers to open a chain of stores in a third world / developing country. The reason for this is that it is likely that most of the population would not be able to afford to pay (PRICE) for any of the goods available. Electricity is not readily available in developing countries (PLACE). It would be difficult for an organisation to promote their goods to the public since there is a lack of suitable advertising media such as television or radio and the majority of the population would not have access to them, (PROMOTION). People in developing countries spend all their time concentrating on basic needs like food and shelter.

Electrical goods would be classified more as a want and therefore the (PRODUCT) is unsuitable for the market. Conclusion to the marketers within the organisation is that this would not be an opportunity to market. Q 4. What is a marketing audit and the key elements contained within it? A marketing audit is an analysis of an organisation's, objectives, strategies and activities. A marketing audit is conducted to enable the organisation to identify problem areas and from this develop a marketing plan.

The key elements contained in a marketing environment analysis area as follows: - A Macro Marketing Environment. A macro marketing environment concerns itself with the external factors which can impact the organisation. These external factors are Social, Legal, Economic, Political and Technological. - SLEPT. Examples of what would be examined in each of these factors are as follows: Social - Demographics, Legal - Competition Law, Economic - Inflation, Political - Monopolies, Technological - E-business.

A Micro Marketing Environment. A micro marketing environment focuses on the forces specific the nature of the organizations' business. This would consist of, buyers, suppliers, competitors, marketing intermediaries, publics and the business. A SWOT Analysis would encompass both external and internal factors taken into account when performing a marketing audit. SWOT is made up from strengths and weaknesses which are internal influencing factors and Opportunities and Threats which are the external influencing factors. Q 5.

What is the purpose of the Marketing Plan? The purpose of a marketing plan is to allow an organisation to react to the internal and external forces which impact them. A marketing plan helps to establish, direct and co-ordinate an organizations marketing efforts. By having a marketing plan it forces an organisation to assess what is going on in the market place and how it affects the business. It will also provide a benchmark.

The benefits of having a marketing plan are control, co-ordination and development of the marketing activity. Control ensures that targets are met and provides a warning sign if things start going wrong which in turn gives the organisation the opportunity to rectify the situations. Co-ordination specifies what is expected and communicates this to staff. Development of a marketing plan analyses the macro and micro environments which will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation. This will help to identify the options available and allocate resource.

Q 6. What is customer segmentation? Give four examples of how marketers segment their targets. Customer segmentation is the selection of groups of people who will be most receptive to a product. By using segmentation a company can identify target customer groups. Examples of segmentation: - 1.

Demographics - age, sex, race, religion, occupation, family. 2. Geographic - country, region, climate, type of urban area and type of housing. 3. Socio- Economics - income, occupation, education and social class. 4.

Lifestyle - interests, activities, opinions. Q 7. For a company of your choice: define its target audience in terms of how it has segmented the market, state its targeting strategy and define where it is positioned on the perceptual map. The company chosen for the question above is John Lewis.

John Lewis has segmented the market place in a number of ways. 1. Demographically by age, gender, income, family life cycle. 2.

Geographically by geography. 3. Lifestyle by opinions and interests. This would lead me to believe that their target market is female, age 30 plus, middle class income, with a family home to run. John Lewis, tend to have department stores in the major cities, i.e. Southampton. They provide a range of goods from clothes and food to luxury items, thus opinion tends to be that they are a high quality provider of goods.

Pricing is a major factor as they can be considered expensive when compared with Asda, who provide food as a main selling point, however they have become increasingly diverse with the addition of clothing and household goods to their repertoire. Asda, however are viewed as 'value for money'. PERCEPTUAL MAP Q 8. Describe the components of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and provide examples of modern day products that reflect each level.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs helps us understand human motivation. The bottom of the pyramid shows our most basic needs. Only when the lower part of the pyramid has been satisfied are we concerned with the higher needs. Physiological Needs: - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep. Safety Needs: - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability.

Social Needs: -family, affection, relationships, hygiene Esteem Needs: - achievement, independence, status, prestige Self Actualisation Needs: - realising potential, fulfillment Examples of modern day products which reflect these needs are: - Physiological - Pizza Hut. Provide food which is a physiological need. Safety - Royal Sun & Alliance. Provision of a range of insurance, e.g. Medical, Life Assurance.

Social - Johnson & Johnson. Provision of hygiene products, e.g. talcum powder. Esteem - Estee Lauder. Provision of cosmetics, e.g. mascara Self-Actualisation - Southampton Institute. Provision of further education e. g., students obtaining higher education certificates.

Q 9. Produce a Macro and Micro analysis for Starbucks. Social: Investment in grower's community; protection of the environment; responsible neighbour and active contributor of surrounding community; commitment to treat all with respect. Legal: Data Protection Act; Health and Safety at Work; Environmental Health Policy. Economic: Exchange rate fluctuations; price of coffee; disease of crop, crop failure; inflation; seasonal (more people at the shops around Christmas time) Political: Fair-trade for farmers policy; provision of credit to farmers; conservation promotion.

Technological: Informational website; wireless shops in some locations; The internal and external factors influencing Starbucks using a SWOT analysis. Strengths - internal micro analysis Large global organisation; high quality products; good company to work for; attempts to produce social, economic and environmental benefits for the communities affected by them; wide range of products available; Weaknesses - internal micro analysis Customer trend towards low caffeine, low sugar, low fat diet; high costs; shops tend to be small, can get over-crowded; new wireless technology could impact customer turnover as people will stay in the shop longer but not necessarily buy more; Opportunities - external macro analysis To expand further, acquire more shops in more places; expand range of products; diversify into on-line merchandising; by investing in farmers able to lower the cost of coffee; Threats - external macro analysis Competition from other providers; disease of crop, crop failure; rise in inflation, customers less likely to be shopping;.