Murphy's Saloon Marketing Portfolio - Case Study Example

MURPHY'S SALOON Marketing Portfolio BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANISATION HERE HERE HERE MURPHY'S SALOON: MARKETING PORTFOLIO What is Marketing' Marketing is the process of ensuring that a product is sold, by the desired consumer audience, using a wide variety of advertising, promotion, and through a sound distribution strategy. When an organisation produces a product or a service, there are only going to be specific consumers which are going to want to buy these items. For example, a saloon which provides nightly musical entertainment as part of their community focus would begin to consider how best to ensure that clients will pay to visit the establishment. This is when the marketing process actually begins when the business begins to think of different methods to build awareness of the night activities and ensure that profit expectations are met in terms of sales revenue or additional revenues which come as a matter of having a full saloon environment nightly during each musical entertainment event. Marketing has also been defined as the process of "planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create relationships which satisfy consumer and business objectives" (Boone, 2008, p.7). This recognises marketing as a rather complex series of activities which ultimately decide the entire direction which an organisation takes in order to become profitable or ensure high sales volumes of their products. For example, the saloon will need to consider how best to price the musical events in a way that is competitive with other companies offering nightly musical acts as well as satisfying what consumers would actually be willing to pay for these events. Creating relationships is another key factor of marketing which should be explored, especially for a saloon owner/manager because the business will rely on a great deal of return customers in order to be successful. Therefore, as part of marketing, the business leaders should consider the attitude of staff who tend bar or serve clients as part of the wait staff, as this is part of quality customer service which will determine whether many customers feel that the saloon gives them a good experience. With all of the above having been said, marketing is a complicated process which involves budgeting, people management, having a focus toward satisfying both the business goals and the consumer goals, and also ensuring that a quality product or service is delivered to the best of the business' ability. Marketing considers how best to get the product to the right customer markets and what type of message should be associated with product in order to build awareness and interest; and perhaps even long-term product loyalty if successful. Marketing and the Organisation Marketing within the saloon consists of first understanding what customers in the local region would actually be looking for when deciding on entertainment locations. Murphy's Saloon will provide regular live musical group entertainment, a small-scale restaurant environment with a limited menu, alcoholic beverages, and certain tournaments such as billiards. However, in relation to organisation, the saloon must consider certain budget issues and determine how much money the owner really maintains (capital) prior to laying out a marketing strategy. Costs, from the organisational perspective, are significant considerations as they will decide how much of the business' profit should be applied to promotion and advertisement and how much the saloon owner can actually afford. This is why having a solid marketing strategy is so vital because it recognises projected costs of marketing as well as the actual costs of historical marketing in order to give a better picture of financial capabilities and how to use different mediums in order to get messages across to potential customers about the saloon and its activities. Two marketing professionals flatly offer that product is "the single most important element of the marketing mix" (Wilson and Colin, 2005, p.21). This means that the saloon must consider that its musical entertainment is a product and work to create a positive branding philosophy for Murphy's Saloon where local customers trust the establishment and come to rely on the night club environment to satisfy their needs for entertainment and community togetherness. The saloon cannot simply operate on the idea that a few flyers distributed into the local community will create a long-term profit situation so the business must go much deeper to find out what drives local consumer attitudes and try to provide exactly what they might be looking for in night entertainment. From the organisational perspective, there are going to be certain strengths and weaknesses which should be recognised when deciding how advanced to make a marketing strategy. Using a certain strength, such as having a quality staff dedicated to customer service, can give a business a competitive edge simply through internal business practices and a staff of individuals who can effectively communicate with customers and one another in a professional manner. This shows how tightly connected marketing is to the organisation as it takes multiple plans, a sufficient budget, and a dedicated staff in order to make any marketing strategy work positively. Market Segments Market segments are specific groups of customers who will be most able and willing to buy a particular product or service. Segmentation is the subdivision of an existing market into smaller groups which have a commonality or similarity in how they perceive a product or would likely be best predicted to behave (Thomas, 2009). Within a local community, such as one where a saloon provides products and services, there is going to be a certain population volume. For example, in London, there might be approximately five million people in the vicinity. However, only a certain percentage of these people are going to be interested in nightly entertainment and drinking at a saloon. This is the first step in segmentation is to subdivide these groups, perhaps by demographics or lifestyle, and using marketing to focus on these groups so that unwanted markets are not being targeted. Once the subdivision of demographics or lifestyles occurs, these groups are further defined by specific values or beliefs, or lifestyle practices, in order to help find where they might have kinship with the saloon environment. There are likely risk-takers, achievers, or other groups which would utilise a night club environment to satisfy different needs. The saloon must recognise how best to target these different groups and provide the products or services which would best draw these customers into Murphy's Saloon. Lake (2009) offers that markets can be segmented in many different ways so long as the main objective of the marketing effort is to satisfy clients needs and wants. Thus, there does not seem to be any specific method to subdivide different consumer groups, only that the business must first consider their potential clients' needs and then determine which messages would be best suited to make profit expectations a reality. One way to compare segmentation to the saloon environment would be to describe demographics, such as gender. It is likely that both men and women will be attracted to night entertainment environments, therefore the business may wish to consider a different segmentation approach such as by lifestyle. The basic values and beliefs of different men and women are strongly influenced by the local culture in that region (Schertzer, Laufer, Silvera and McBride, 2008). Therefore, the saloon needs to consider lifestyle and individual values as a segmentation strategy rather than simply trying to create male-oriented or female-oriented promotional materials. Basically, segmentation requires simply understanding how to reach a desired consumer group and filtering out unnecessary consumer groups. Once these groups have been identified, then the more advanced aspects of the marketing mix can be considered, such as promotion. In a saloon environment, psychographic segmentation might be most appropriate as it has, as a marketing tool, provided very powerful market insights to tailor the marketing mix (Barry and Weinstein, 2009). Psychographics are closely related to lifestyle and the saloon will need to consider situations such as the type of music (loud, soft, or hard) when trying to advertise to local citizens. A harder group might draw a less sophisticated or rowdy consumer, therefore the message sent might be one of excitement and noise as part of the marketing strategy for this segmented target group. The Marketing Mix One expert in marketing offers that the marketing mix represents "controllable variables that an organisation can coordinate to satisfy its target market" (Lewis, 1999, p.17). They key word in this definition is controllable, meaning that the saloon has the ability to influence potential consumers in many different ways. The first thing which must be considered is the product, which in this case is the nightly musical groups and the regular bar scene which provides alcohol and other refreshments. At Murphy's Saloon, the product will be quite important, therefore the business must consider which musical acts are most likely to draw the largest crowds. The business owner will be considering issues such as reputation of the local musical groups, their awareness levels within the local community and abroad, or perhaps even the success ratios of these different groups. At the same time, cost is going to be a very important issue as some bands, based on their own brand reputations, are likely going to be much more expensive to book and will therefore require more marketing budget to get these acts to perform. Alcohol variety and different drink-maker talents is also going to be considered as part of the product, in the marketing mix for the saloon, as many customers are likely going to be drawn to these talents and tastes when deciding whether to return to the saloon. Does the business have an adequate variety of different alcohol products' Should the business be offering interesting drink combinations with their own brand names' The possibilities of product are virtually endless at the saloon and with some consumer research into preferences in this area, the saloon can provide a quality mix of alcohol products and bartender events which best fit the lifestyle values of the target consumer groups which were identified through initial strategic planning. Once the products have been identified and secured, the saloon now considers pricing which is likely to be very important for customers and for profit expectations. Certain musical groups, for a four hour performance, might charge '400 if their reputation is not superior whilst a more advanced and successful group might command upwards of '1500 for a short performance at the saloon. This is one inconsistency in product which will largely affect pricing. For example, a lesser-known musical group can provide music for a very small door cover fee and the costs of the entertainment will be absorbed through drink revenues and the small fee for entry. For more expensive musical talents, a much larger ticket price, such as '30 or '40 might be necessary. Pricing of the various drink products will be competitive and within industry norms. Certain types of drinks, such as more sophisticated products containing multiple alcohol products, will be priced higher for their costs to the raw materials budget and for the extra labour involved in the drink-master preparing the items. However, these prices will be clearly listed in the business' menu and signage. Place, or distribution, is also part of the marketing mix, however this is a significant advantage for the saloon. It will be located in a community center with a considerable local population as well as larger surrounding communities. As most of the products and services at the saloon are created in-house, there is no need for any distribution network to deliver products. In fact, customers will come to Murphy's Saloon, therefore the costs of distribution are virtually zero. So long as a quality product at a good price is offered, distribution is virtually unnecessary to consider except for the nature by which the business will receive its own raw products or musical talents. Promotion will be very important to the business. Forsyth (2002) offers that sales is one of the most important aspects in marketing. Promotion is a method to ensure sales and in order to let the local community know of events, a higher budget for advertising must be created. There will be considerable community flyers distributed in advance of musical groups with offers to book tickets now and save a small fraction off the ticket price. This is incentive marketing which offers customers an opportunity to pay less for acting quickly. This would also ensure higher booking rates and let the business know exactly, in advance, how many people to staff on certain nights to be more efficient and on budget. Local newspapers and low-cost radio advertisements will also be part of the promotional strategy, with the radio spots saved for more expensive and well-known talent. In addition, the limited menu which will be provided by the company will be promoted in the local newspaper and outside the building for passers-by looking for a quick meal. The Services Mix The services mix is an extension of the marketing mix which also involves people, physical evidence, and processes. In the saloon, service is going to be one of the main reasons to whether the customer returns for another visit. Therefore, the staff needs to be trained on how to effectively deal with different demographic groups and provide excellence and professionalism at the same time. They will require mingling with clients and giving them a quality entertainment experience (or food experience if desired). Physical evidence is establishing quality outdoor signs, such as an interesting neon sign showing the Murphy's brand logo or similar images, to give local communities a sense of interest in the saloon. This also shows serious professionalism and an outdoor environment which looks clean and inviting to interested potential customers. In terms of processes, the saloon must have a well-developed hierarchy of control and leadership so that each staff member knows their role, how far they can extend out of their roles, and how closely they should interact with the clients inside. There must be well-developed processes for dealing with large and loud crowds, such as having a security presence at each nightly event. There must also be a service philosophy and coordinated staff who can efficiently cook on short demand or provide continuous alcoholic (or otherwise) beverages to demanding clients. If these services begin to fall short, it is likely sales will decline and marketing will begin to fail and need readjustment as well as a change to internal processes. The whole point is to provide excellence in service for the services mix by using people and structures which work in a crowd or nightspot environment. Marketing Communications Building a solid brand is quite important and can be a valuable asset to a business (Martinez, Polo and De Chernatony, 2008). The brand is the business itself, in this case Murphy's Saloon, and should be promoted in a way that is consistent and clear to the targeted consumer groups. Wilkerson (2009) offers that many companies take branding so seriously that they even create their own branded events. This is something that the saloon will be doing, using local talents and the unique nightspot environment to build a strong brand whereby it is Murphy's who is long-remembered by the client rather than the musical acts which perform their. Therefore, brand building is important and this requires regular, professional, and interesting communications to the local communities. Marketing communications can also involve the ability to coordinate efforts with different competitors, such as other local nightspots, in order to help bring more people to the local community and help both businesses. Local owners can share different research information they have learned about different consumer needs and work together to create a more harmonious, competitive environment. By trading different advertising literature to be displayed in each competitor business would show how the local business owners work together to give a more entertaining environment to customers. This could give the positive community view of professionalism with a very consistent message being sent on the importance of partnerships. This business-to-business marketing philosophy is part of successful competitive relationships and will define the communications strategy of the saloon. Advertising Marketing communications can include internet promotions which use ad space at socially-similar websites to get consumer interest, it can include different advertisements and logo presentation and it can also include how the internal staff utilises public relations to speak to different demographic groups, such as in the form of a press release. One expert calls public relations "the Cinderella of the marketing mix" suggesting that public relations has evolved from a struggling concept to a vital component of modern marketing. The saloon will utilise public relations, such as providing assistance to local community charities with staff volunteers, in order to build up a strong brand reputation for community involvement. Direct marketing will also be used, such as coupons and promotions sent to clients who sign up their e-mail addresses with Murphy's staff, to get them interested in returning and brining friends in the process. These direct marketing efforts, along with a solid communications strategy and consistent messages, offer measurable feedback to whether this type of money is being spent appropriately (Valentine, 2009). This will give the business a chance to track whether their communications are being met favorably by the segmented groups by having physical evidence of response rates to different promotions. If some do not work, they will be abandoned and replaced with a message more suitable and favourable to potential customers. The costs of all advertising will be monitored regular to make sure all is within budget. Management Issues There are no significant management issues, other than ensuring that all staff remain focused on their individual and team-based tasks in the provision of quality customer service. There must always be management presence at each nightly event and during regular business hours, with a well-defined system of reward and punishment for exceeding expectations or breaking rules. These rules must be reinforced regularly to make sure that the saloon brand has the customer loyalty expected. Competitor businesses must also be respected and any drink trade secrets which might be developed or trademarked during business must be kept strictly confidential by having staff sign these agreements. Bibliography Barry, James and Weinstein, Art. 2009. 'Business psychographics revisited: From segmentation theory to successful marketing practice'. 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Marketing Week, London. 19 Feb, p.31. Wilkerson, Becky. 2009. 'Bringing brands to life'. Marketing, London. 18 Feb, p.35. Wilson, R.M. and Colin, Gilligan. 2005. Strategic Marketing Management: Planning, Implementation and Control. Amsterdam: London Elsevier. Read More