The Extended Marketing Mix - Assignment Example

The Extended Marketing Mix The marketing mix is designed to properly channel the various resources that are put into the production and marketing of a certain kind of product. The marketing concept forms the basis of this field. 1. Competitive Advantage Competitive advantage is something that every company strives to achieve in this ever competitive world. In an environment where there is an influx of new companies venturing into every domain possible, it becomes extremely important to make your product noticeable on the basis of its quality, appearance and image; so that your customers can distinguish your product with the competitors on the basis of something solid and intangible. In order for customers to recognize your product, it is required to differentiate your product to highlight it in the eyes of the customer. Differentiation can be done on any basis; depending on what is more highly rated in your potential customer. The company on since it started working in 1981 has been focused on providing the best quality for their product. Crosland employed the method of carefully manufacturing various electronic goods such as amplifiers, tuners, record disks, cassette players etc and imported speakers from a relatively smaller shop and branded them with their own name. Since it relied on quality and produced specialized electronic equipment; they differentiated their product on this basis only. They provided quality services to their customer; the price was not their competitive factor. 2. Distribution Patterns Distribution patterns are considered extremely important in marketing because no matter how beautiful and penetrating the marketing activities are, if the product is not available to the consumers when they ask for it, they will probably move to another product and start using it. Many products have failed due to the failure of the company to address the problem of proper and timely distribution of the product in the areas where there is extensive demand. The company under consideration was not paying enough attention to the changing marketing tastes and the ever changing consumer tastes and therefore, has started suffering in profits. The company had attained their advantage by providing quality products. However, because the world is becoming fast paced and the changes that are usually taking place in the minds of the consumers have dented the demand for their products. People are asking for more innovative products which are being provided to them by other competitive companies which have employed just in time production methods so that they stay in complete cohesion with the demand for their different products. The methods of the competitors have made them the market leader. Therefore in order to get their strategic advantage back, they need to employ such distribution methods that the consumers get timely availability of the product as and when they demand it. The improvement in their distribution channel should be done so that they can increase their customer base by increasing the customer satisfaction and convenience. They should improve their inventory management by increasing the introducing the just in time methods of inventory management; this method leads to quality improvement. Customers get better product in time and eventually they will be attracted to use the company's products due to timely availability and quality. As the company is already competing based on their quality, a little improvement in distribution patterns might help them in increasing the quality of their products and services to a much greater extent. Another strategy that they are using is exclusive distribution which in a way hinders the availability of product in all the markets (Elizabeth, 1996). Therefore, this reduces the probability that the customer will come to but the product to the specific shop if considering the current situation when the competitors are providing with better products. 3. Pricing Strategies Price is one to the most important and the basic variable that marketing managers manipulate, fluctuate and control in order to make their product more attractive, or elite to their customers, depending on the requirement of the product. Pricing is said to affect many other variables related to the profitability of the organization and the product. In the basic marketing mix, price is the only variable that reaps in profits and money; the others are considered to be money eaters, i.e., that they require money to effectively communicate the idea across. Whereas, the price that is set reaps in money for the organization. Therefore, the pricing strategy that is used should be in line with the mission and vision of the organization and the products that they anticipate to achieve and also the amount of finance that they put in, in the development of the product. Pricing is said to affect the internal and external factors that an organization has. Internal factors are the organizational facts such as the cost and business objectives. Costs that a company incurs have to be calculated and met in order for the company to function properly. External factors such as the competitors and the customer expectations are considered supreme and dominant (Elizabeth, 1996). As duly stated in many books, price should be the most attractive to the customer in order for the sale to be made. It is said, however, that the consumers and the industrial customers are willing to pay more if they are made sure that the investment that they are making will provide them with a better quality than others. In the case study it is stated that as new companies were entering the market, and were providing the consumers with the same quality as Crosland was, the company needs to decrease their price because they no longer are the sole presenters of quality. They can no longer bank on the competitive edge that they enjoyed; therefore they would have to reconsider their strategies in order to gain the market share again. 4. Promotional Activities Promotional activities are the basis of the marketing concept. It is the part of the marketing concept that is used to communicate the idea and image of the brand and the benefits of the product. In such a competitive environment, awareness of your product is very important because there are so many products already available in the market, you target market needs to know about the benefits of your product so that he or she can make a comparison and make an informed decision. the promotional campaigns have to be in line with the other marketing objectives that are needed to be met. Otherwise the consumer might get a confused set of information from the product and he or she may not want to use the product. Therefore, all the cues sent through the different components of the marketing mix have to convey the same idea. The more innovative and flexible is a company's promotional campaign, the more successful it might be with the customers (Kotler 2001). It might be able to make a better impact in a market which is already saturated with so many commercial messages. In the case study, they have not mentioned anything about the promotional aspect of marketing. The company has not found the need to advertise till 94 probably because they were the market leaders in their category of product. However, with the advent of new customers, it is necessary for them to understand the importance of promotion and advertising. The customer needs to know about the product in order to make an informed decision. 5. The Extended Marketing Mix Other components of the marketing mix which specifically gather importance when they are viewed keeping in mind a service. Services marketing are done differently because additional components add up that work as variables. The extended marketing includes the people, physical evidence and processes (Kotler, 2001). People are a very important aspect of the services marketing. There is no ownership of the product that is being offered in this case, therefore the people you hire to be a part of your services must be carefully chosen because they are representing the quality of your service. In this case, they are offering product to the customers, however the after sales service can come in handy because they will help enhance the credibility and good will of the company. Consumers and customers are satisfied when they have the surety that the product they are buying will be taken care of even after they have transferred the ownership to their own name (Kotler, 2001). The processes that are applied in this company should be more transparent and rapid. They should involve in innovation and cost cutting to maximize their profits. According to the case study, they have not paid enough attention to the services part of their product which can greatly hamper their position in the market. A. & B. In order to completely revitalize the position of Crosland in the market, the company needs to take drastic and important measures to changes their production and marketing practices so that they may be able to come at par with their competitors. In is important for the market leaders to understand that they have to constantly innovate in order to stay as the market leader, tap all the niche markets and keep up with the quality otherwise the can lose their position. Same happened with Crosland. The company should embark on a vigorous cost cutting and innovative strategy. They should conduct a vigorous market analysis in order to completely understand the position of their consumers and their needs and wants. Then they need to map their resources and work upon the different kinds of products in order to compete with their contenders. The company needs to realize the importance of innovation in today's fast changing environment. If they are successful in fulfilling the demands of their domestic consumers, they can move forward and tap the international market. The next step would be to enhance the production capabilities and employ just in time production techniques. These techniques help foster innovation and that is the only front a company can fight on in this technological era; technology at affordable prices. They need to improve their distribution technique as well. They are using exclusive distribution techniques that narrow down their shelf space when considering the whole market. In order to maintain quality they can continue using this strategy however, they now can also employ other retailers so that their products are available everywhere. They are within the reach of every individual who has gone into the market to buy an electronic product. The company needs to realize the wonders marketing promotional campaigns can work on any company. After improving their production techniques and increasing the types of goods they are producing for the market, they should now incorporate the promotional techniques in such a way that they enhance the image of Crosland and give the brand a personality. Since it is an electronic product, they can employ station branding techniques by installing their own devices in malls and restaurants where they can portray the quality of their products. The use of their products in public places will let the products speak for themselves and this will in turn let people know about your product. Extensive above-the-line (ATL) and below-the-line (BTL) activities should be carried out in order to gain back the position Crosland was once enjoying. Above the live marketing activities should portray Crosland as a household product for everybody because price elasticity has become an issue; people are increasingly being bombarded with new and innovative products at cheap prices and to reduce this clutter, Crosland should start a new marketing campaign that re-vamps the original position this company was enjoying. Another aspect that the company should look into is to develop their after sales services which can serve as a differentiating factor for them when it comes to the competitors. The company should bank of any aspect that has been untouched by fellow competitors and bank on it to produce better quality and services for their consumers. Premium pricing can be employed to bank on innovations that have been new in their domain; however, pricing should be done carefully to lure in customers. In the beginning, due to aggressive investment in research and development, the profitability will go down. However, the management needs to look at the bigger picture, understand the importance and need of this step today so that they are able to reap profits from it in the long run. Investment today will help the company extensively in the long run. Works Cited 1. Elizabeth Hill, Terry O Sullivan (1996) Marketing. US: Longman Publishing. 2. Kotler P (2001). Principles of Marketing 3rd European Edition. Prentice Hall. Read More