Marketing Mix for Products - Essay Example

?Marketing Mix for Products (4Ps)-Literature Review According to Kemmer and Boden p. 6), the success of any business depends on the satisfaction level of its customers. The business environment has become very competitive today. As such, every company is doing its best to attract new customers and ensure that customers it already has remain loyal. This usually calls for strong marketing strategies, which ensures that customers are provided with the right products, at the right price, place, and time. However, research has shown that marketing mix plays a big role in ensuring that the needs of customers are effectively met. The marketing mix commonly referred to as the 4Ps includes product, price, place, and promotion. It is noted that for a company to satisfy the needs of its customers, it must ensure that products of the right quality and quantity are developed, charged reasonable prices, found at the right place, as well as ensuring that the existence of the goods is made known to customers through promotion. This paper will discuss the marketing mix (4Ps) as well as the importance of the augmented product model with reference to the real world examples (Gitman and McDaniel 2008, p.13). Product The 4Ps of the marketing mix consist of the product, price, place, and promotion. The poduct is one of the most fundamental elements of the marketing mix that managers must take into consideration when making marketing decisions. The product in this case is the physical service or good that a company offers to customers. The basic elements of a product include function, packaging, appearance, and warranty among others. Therefore, the product that a company intends to deal with should satisfy the customer’s requirements in terms of quality, quantity, and appearance. Ensuring that these basic elements of a product are met will make a company competitive because of the fact that many customers will prefer the company’s products to those of other competitors in the market (Lamb, Hair, and MacDaniel 2008, p.56). Samsung is one of the electronic companies that operate in a very competitive environment. As such, the company understands that to remain competitive, it must offer products that compete favorable with other companies. To achieve this, Samsung has focused on manufacturing high quality products that satisfy the needs of its customers. Most of Samsung’s products are said to be of high quality with regards to proper functionality and appearance. In addition, the company provides a warranty of not less than one year for all its products. For example, one of the company’s latest iPhone 5 is just amazing in terms of quality and functionally. The company reveals that the iPhone 5 started receiving orders even before its launch because of its quality and functionality (Page, 2013). General Motors is another company that performs very well in the automobile industry due to the high performance of its products. General Motors operates in a very competitive environment. As such, the only way to remain relevant is to concentrate on the manufacture of cars of high quality that satisfies the need of customers. According to Tehrani (2008 p. 8) a product is best described in three concentric circles namely the core product, augmented product and the Uber product. He observed that the core product is found at the center of the concentric circle and is meant to satisfy the pressing needs for which the product in developed. Then there is the augmented product consisting of the core product and other features that ensure that the product become more functional. Finally, there is the Uber product, which consists of all other intangible features added to the product such as the brand promise. The concentric model of a product can be illustrated using the mobile phone marketing. In this regard, the mobile phone becomes the core product while the augmented products will include other features such as the product warranty and after sales services. The Uber product in this case could include the customization of the product for global usability (Richter 2012, p. 94). Using the mobile phone as an example, it becomes apparent that the augmented product of a mobile phone is very important as far as customer satisfaction is concerned. This is because, apart from just selling the mobile phone as the core product, customers usually look at the augmented features such as warranty and after sales services. A warranty as an augmented product gives customers an assurance that the company is willing and ready to assist in case of any default that may occur in the course of using the product in question. This may include replacing the product in case it develops faults or the company may repair the product all together within a stipulated time (MacDaniel 1998, p. 12). In fact, many companies, particularly those dealing with industrial and electronic products augment their products by providing a warranty. The warranty for most companies falls within six months to one year while others extend to two years. Taking Samsung as an example, the company usually augments its product by providing at least one year of warranty for its electronic products. This has helped increase its customer satisfaction and loyalty because the warranty assures customers of the commitment of Samsung to their needs (Wenderoth 2009, p.101). After sale service is also another element of product augmentation, according to Bowman and Gatignon (2010, p. 25). After sale, service usually entails aspects such as providing transportation services to customers to their places of business. This is very important and is likely to increase sales because it helps in reducing the transportation cost that would have otherwise been incurred by customers in transporting the product. Augmenting products through after sale services also shows the company’s commitment to ensuring that customer needs are met. This helps in increasing customer loyalty, thus increased sales. In fact, Samsung has been able to benefit from the after sale services it normally offer its customers who purchase products in bulk. Indeed this is part of the reasons why Samsung is commanding a huge market in electronic industry today (Bowman and Gatignon 2010, p. 25). Price Price is the second element of the marketing mix that is also crucial in decision-making. Price in this case is the amount charged on a given product in the market. Customers are usually very sensitive to prices charged of a product. Therefore, it is normally very crucial for managers to take in consideration the prices charged for the products on offer. In making pricing decisions, managers are always advised to take into consideration the profit margin it intends to generate and the response it is likely to receive from competitors for making such a pricing move (Lamb, Hair, and McDaniel 2011, p. 51). The prices charged for a product not only consist of the list price, but also other aspects such as financing, discounts and leasing options. This implies that managers must ensure that customers are given different options of buying the product. Nevertheless, the prices should generally not be too low or too high. This is because low prices are likely to bring suspicion among customers who might think that the product may to be of low quality. On the same note, prices need not be too high as this will make customers shift their loyalty to the competitors (Griffiths, and Grover 2006, p. 28). Samsung is indeed one of the fastest growing electronic companies in the world currently. The growth of Samsung is based on its strong marketing strategy, which includes its pricing decisions. In this regard, apart from the fact that the company manufactures excellent products, it also charges prices that are affordable to its customers. This indeed has increased its customer satisfaction, thus resulting in increased sales volume (Aaker 2004, p.41). Promotion Promotion plays a vital role as far as customer satisfaction is concerned. Promotion in this case implies creating awareness of the existence of the product to customers. This is important because for customers to buy a given product, they must be made aware of the existence of the product otherwise they would not buy it. Tehrani (2008 p.11) noted that Proctor and Gamble was the first company to promote its products to customers through advertisement in 1880s. Since then, promotion has become a norm for every company. In fact, companies nowadays spend billions of dollars in promoting their products. Effective promotion, according to L'Etang (2007, p. 31), ensures that the company’s brand is placed in front of the public, as well as attracting new customers. Many companies employ more than one strategy while others use different tactics for different purposes. Nonetheless, regardless of products and services dealt with, a company must ensure that there is a strong set of promotional strategies and tactics that can help make the company attract new customers and maintain current customers. Contest is one of the most frequently used promotional strategies. L'Etang (2007, p.31) indicates that most contests do not need a purchase. Instead, the idea is to promote the company’s brand and place the company’s logo before the public, but not to make profits through hard-sell campaigns. Findings show that many people like winning money. As a result, sponsoring contests help draw attention of consumers to the company’s products and services without covertness (L'Etang 2007, p. 32). The effectiveness of these promotional tactics depends on the number of new customers it draws to the company and the loyalty it builds with the already existing customers. Television is also a widely used promotional tactic. Cottle (2008, p. 854) noted that many companies today promote their products on television. This is because many households today have televisions at home and offices. As a result, it hardly takes more than ten minutes before a TV program gets interrupt for commercial adverts. This is attributable to the fact that many companies believe on the power of television advertisement as a promotional strategy. Technological advancement witness over the last few decades has also revolutionized promotional tactics employed by companies. Most notable is the impact of the internet on product promotion. Cottle (2008, p. 854) claims that the emergence of the internet has culminated in the emergence of social media websites where companies can promote their products. Tehrani (2008, p. 9) reveals that many companies have taken advantage of the power of social media to connect and promote their products. Some of the social media sites widely used by companies for promotional purposes include facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Google+ and YouTube among others (Tehrani 2008, p. 11). This is a direct promotion at its best. Social media give companies the opportunity to connect with potential customers all over the world that can view the products and services on offer. The good thing about social media as a promotional strategy according to Tehrani (2008, p. 12) is the fact that it gives a company the opportunity to engage the customer at a personal level. This helps in building a close and strong relationship between a company and its customers. This also puts the company at a more appealing and familiar brand of the company. Wenderoth (2009, p. 14) noted that some companies promote their products trough product giveaways. Product giveaways afford potential customers the opportunity to test the products on promotion before making an informed choice on the quality of product on offer. This tactic is often used during product launching and at a time the sales volume appears to experience a downward trend. Wenderoth (2009, p. 68) argued that the strategy is effective since it gives a customer the chance to have a taste of what the product and service are in terms of quality and other vital features. Mail order marketing is also another widely used promotional tactics for products and services. Griffiths and Grover (2006, p. 24) suggested that customers coming to buy a company’s products and services need not be overlooked by the company. This is because such customers have decided to buy the products offered by the company, which is crucial for the success of the company. Therefore, companies need to gather information from these customers to enable them strategize on how best to win more customers, according to Griffiths and Grover (2006, p. 24). To do this, companies need to offer such customers free products or services in swap for information. Findings show that many companies have effectively used this marketing tactics to lure customers to the company’s products thereby resulting in increased sales revenue. Another promotional tactic used widely by companies is the customer appreciation events. Most companies have the habit of promoting their products by organizing an in-store customer appreciation event where customers are offered free refreshments and door prizes (Richter 2012, p. 94, p. 19). This strategy helps in drawing customers to the company’s store. This promotional tactic is normally carried using cheap products such as soda, and pizza among others. Other companies opt for road shows as a means of promoting their products (Griffiths and Grover 2006, p. 29). This normally involves moving from one town to another with samples of the products or services being promoted. This has proved effective since it brings the products closer to people who can have a chance to test the product at their doorsteps. Customers are then persuaded to continue purchasing the product or service based on tested quality and quantity. After-sale customer survey is another promotional strategy employed by many companies. The strategy involves contacting the customers on the phone or via mail to obtain the feeling of a customer regarding the quality of products or services provided (Wenderoth 2009, p. 16). Making a follow-up on customers’ feelings shows the importance of customer satisfaction to a company. Marketing experts claim that skilled salespersons make follow-up calls on their customers as a means of gathering information that can be employed later for marketing. Doing this serves the purpose of promoting the company as one that cares about feelings of customers and one that always endeavor to provide its customers the best quality products and services (Cottle 2008, p. 37). Causes and a charity have also proved an effective promotional strategy. The strategy involves promoting a product while at the same time supporting a cause. This may involve sponsoring certain events such as sporting activities, giving a company a chance to promote its brand. Richter (2012, p. 94, p. 27) consider this strategy a win-win situation. In this regard, the company gets customers while at the same time marking the brand while customers get products they can use, as well as the sense of assisting the cause. Page (2013) claim that many companies today provide sponsorships to various activities as a way of marketing their brand. Emirates, for example, has sponsored Arsenal football club for a couple of years now. The same applies to Samsung that has sponsored Chelsea football club. This gives companies the opportunity to promote their products to football fans that are many worldwide. Richter (2012, p. 58) noted that customer referral incentives have also proved effective promotional strategies employees by companies. Incentives can be in the form of big discounts, free products, cash rewards, or after-sale services. These incentives help leverage customer base resulting in increased sales volume. There are quite a number of promotion methods adopted by companies today the most common being television advertisement. Many companies today spend billions of dollars carrying out promotion through television ads. This is because marketers know that many people today watch televisions. Therefore, the best way to get several audiences is by conducting a television advert. In fact, televisions today are full of breaks for commercial ads, in which five minutes seldom passes before a television program takes a short break for a commercial advert (Page, 2013). Other commonly used promotional techniques include radio, direct sales promotion, road shows, billboards, and the internet that just emerged recently. In fact, promotion has helped drive sales of many companies. Samsung is one of the companies that believe on the power of promotion as a means of creating awareness of its products. As such, Samsung has developed a very vibrant promotion strategy on the print, internet, television, and billboards as a means of creating awareness and persuading customers to buy its products. In fact, several customers have been persuaded to purchase Samsung products based on its vibrant promotion of its quality products (Bowman and Gatignon 2010, p. 25). Promotion also entails ensuring that the product is branded so as to differentiate the company’s product from the rest. This is very important because customers must be able to differentiate the company’s product with ease so as not to mistake another product from the company’s product. For example, Samsung company’s products are branded as “Samsung” making it easy for customers to identify the product (Aaker 2004, p. 41). Packaging also forms a basic element of promotion. Customers usually tend to judge a product by looking at how well or bad it is packaged. Therefore, it is very crucial for managers to ensure that a product is packed in an appealing manner since this will help in attracting customers towards buying the product (Richter 2012, p. 61). Samsung is one of the giant electronic companies that believes on the power of promotion as a means of reaching out to its loyal and potential customers. As such, Samsung has developed a very vibrant promotion strategy on the print, internet, television, and billboards as a means of creating awareness and persuading customers to buy its products. In fact, several customers have been persuaded to purchase Samsung products based on its vibrant promotion of its quality products. For instance, Samsung reportedly took advantage of the publicity of the iPhone 5 launches to inform the potential buyers of iPhone 5 of the features of their Galaxy S3 and S4 smartphones through social media and the mainstream media (Tehrani 2008, p. 44). Samsung also understands that for its products sell well, it customers must be able to differentiate the company’s product from the rest. This is very important because customers must be able to differentiate the company’s product with ease so as not to mistake another product from the company’s product. Therefore, Samsung has adopted its household brand name “Samsung” to make it easy for customers to identify the product (Richter 2012, p. 76). Place Getting the product to customers is very important. In fact, the main purpose of producing a product is to sell it to customers. However, not all customers will be able to get the product at the point of manufacturing rather the products must be distributed to the target customer at the right time. Therefore, once products have been produced, mangers must then establish the distribution channels so as to ensure that the products reach its target customers. This usually calls for making decisions regarding logistics and methods of transport to adopt to ensure that customers get the products safely (Bowman and Gatignon 2010, p. 36). In fact, research indicates that about a fifth of cost of a product is normally spent distributing products to customers. The actual cost incurred, however, varies from one product to the next. Nonetheless, distribution is a very vital aspect of the marketing mix, which must be factored in when making marketing decisions (Lamb, Hair and MacDaniel 2008, p. 61). Different companies adopt different techniques of reaching their customers. McDonalds, for example, adopts franchising system as a means of reaching out to its customers distributed all over the world. Franchising has enabled McDonalds operate in several different geographical areas. Samsung, on the other hand, distributes its products through independent business ventures spread in different countries all over the world. 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