Marketing Mix Recommendations for Mintel - Essay Example

? Marketing Mix Recommendations Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Product Recommendation 4 Price Recommendation 5 Place Recommendation 6 Promotion Recommendation 7 Works Cited 7 Executive Summary For every single business, whether it is small or big needs to have a sound marketing strategy in order to meet the objectives of business. The aim of the study is to shed light on the marketing strategy of Mintel and to offer them recommendations for restructuring their marketing mix. The target customer group of the company is the family unit hence in order to cater to that segment product strategy is highly focused. Hygiene is one of the important factors within the food industry and consumers give highest priority to it. Therefore it is highly recommended that the company should only sell hygienic and fresh foods. The pricing should be done on the basis of cost plus pricing method and market penetration strategy can be followed to grab more market share. Regarding the promotional aspect, the company can effectively use television and newspaper advertisement as both the media have mass reach. Finally regarding the distribution, the company can appoint distributors and target food marts to distribute and sell their products. Memorandum Date: 18th October, 2012. Subject: Organic Food for the family Unit To: The Big Boss From: Consumer Research Department To maintain sustainability of a business, it is extremely important to keep hold on the present market share. However after a certain point of time it becomes essential to focus on the ways by which market share can be increased. Greater market share helps in increasing the brand recognition. There are some interesting facts about increasing market share. Increasing market share is important only when the company is earning more profits. However it does not have any importance when the market share has increased but the company is losing money. Now in the context of project, Mintel can increase the market share for organic foods and drinks market by considering modifications in their marketing mix. Hence following are the recommendations to Mintel for the primary rationale of attaining more market share. Product Recommendation For an organization to get success in the market place it is imperative to give highest priority to its product stagey (Mcgrath 1-5). Similarly for food industry product is the ultimate element for which a customer pays to the company. Study reveals that among 2000 people, 30 % of the respondents are highly concerned about the safety of foods. Hence for Mintel product strategy should be considered as the central business strategy. Also the product strategy of an organic food company plays an important role in managing and handling the competition. Furthermore a sound product strategy will be responsible for exemplifying the path of success for Mintel. Now in the context of the study the target group of the company is the family unit, thus in order to cater to that segment the product strategy is vital. The study also reveals that among 181 people, who are living with a partner, 33 % respondents are highly aware of food security. Similarly among the married people 31% of them have high concerns and 47 % have average concern over the food hygiene. Therefore based on the available data, it is highly recommended that the company should only sell hygiene and fresh foods, which will also help them to build an unique selling proposition (USP). Price Recommendation In simple words price is the amount paid by the customer for gaining the ownership of a product from the seller (Kotler and Armstrong 282). Although the concept of price is very simple, but when it comes to actually value a product or service the notion does not exactly remain the same. A pricing strategy is defined as a course of action or an approach in order to achieve the marketing objectives of the company (Pride and Ferrell 318). Hence pricing strategy is crucial towards the acceptance of the product or service in the market place. It is highly recommended that Mintel should also price their products according to their cost of production or a follow a cost plus pricing method. As employing this method will allow the company to keep the desired profit margin and also to keep control on the total cost of production. Study reveals that 48 % people are average conscious and 30 % are highly conscious about food security, but this does not mean that they are price conciuos. For this reason Mintel should price their commodities in such a way that it offers value and also remains affordable to the potential customers. The primary rationale behind going with the aforementioned strategy is that it represents a fair and competitive price by calculating the full cost of production. This implies that the results will be best if the Mintel makes use of penetration pricing strategy. Lowering the price will surely allow the company to grab more market share. Place Recommendation Distribution is the process or the way by which companies deliver their goods to the customers or makes it available for the potential customers (“Fulfilling online orders”). Physical distribution is an integral part of marketing mix and the distribution channels which is chosen plays a crucial role in making the product available to the potential buyers. It is recommended that Mintel should consider appointment of distributors, as distributors have mass reach. Even the rural market can be catered effcetively. Each distributor must have a specific assigned territory for carrying out the operation. It is recommended that while appointing the distributors Mintel should look after their storage facilities and a temperature controlled car which will be needed for the delivery of products to the Shoppe. As the product is perishable item, maintaining its hygienic features will be important. There can be another unique way of selling i.e. through the large food marts. Now in the context of a rural market the company should consider a different strategy. Since rural places do not have access to large arcades, retailing can be done with the appointment of stockiest. The Cost associated with distribution channels includes the cost of logistics, the cost of storing the products. Also logistics play an important role in the overall distribution process. In order to accomplish all these activities the company needs to create a strong logistics department who will be looking after the transportation of products at the right place and right time. The logistic department needs to work closely with the sales and marketing department for timely delivery of products to the shops and other operating areas. Promotion Recommendation Promotion is one aspect of the company which is responsible for communicating about the products of the company (“Promotional strategy and convey the benefits of the presence of the product”). A number of studies highlights that sales promotion nearly accounts 3/4th of the total marketing budget of a company. Now in the context of the study the promotional tools that can be undertaken by Mintel are advertising which includes TV commercials as well as newspaper advertisement and Sponsorships. Television is a strong medium of promotion and has mass reach. Therefore the company should effectively make use of this media. Since it’s a food product, newspaper can be an essential medium for promoting the products. The top newspapers which can be used for advertisement are “The New York Times”, “USA Today” and “Daily News”. The reason for going with the aforementioned tools is that the reach of both the medium is quite large and appeals to a mass section as compared to the other forms in the society. However the cost which has to be incurred in both the tools is on the higher side, advertisement and sponsorships both are the higher end of promotion, but there is no getting away from the fact that the return on investment is always much more compared to other tools. However, online media should also be considered for promoting the product. There are millions of people who spend hours in social platforms. Some of the platforms which can be used for promotional aspect are Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Badoo, Fantage and LinkedIn among others (“Social media”). Works Cited “Fulfilling online orders.” Nationalarchives. n.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. Kotler, Philip., & Gray Armstrong. Principles of Marketing. 12th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2008. Print. McGrath, Michael E. Product Strategy for High Technology Companies. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2000. Print. Pride, William M., and O. C. Ferrell. Pride-Ferrell Foundations of Marketing. 2nd ed. Connecticut: Cengage Learning, 2007. Print. “Promotional strategy and convey the benefits of the presence of the product.” Irishgenius. n.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. “Social media.” Macmillan. Macmillan Cancer Support, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. Read More