The Unique Combination of the Four Instruments in Marketing - Coursework Example

The unique combination of the four instruments in marketing which include the product, price, place and promotion is also called the marketing mix (Strydom2004:10). Marketing management uses these four instruments to deliver its “need-satisfying package” to the customer. This mix of four Ps is going to be used to answer the following questions related to use of the paper that would normally be thrown away from a hole-punch. Question 1 (Product) a) This paper can be used to make an assortment of products depending on the type of product desired. Normally, the waste paper that is usually thrown away is recycled and introduced into the value chain again as a new product and it must be noted that this takes less energy than using unprocessed raw materials. Paper normally thrown away from a hole punch is pulped using manual methods and it is made into different products which include stationery and document holders, artifact related products such as decorative frames depicting various pictures, paper vases, bags as well as paper towels among others. Stationary holders or vases can be skillfully made used recycled paper which is first pulped to take another new from. These holders can be molded into different shapes depending on the desire of the artists. These holders are more suitable for housed hold or official use where they are kept on desks where movement would be limited. In most cases, these vases would also serve the decorative purpose. Other products which can be made using recycled paper include decorative frames that can be hanged on the walls either in homes, offices or other public buildings such as halls or churches. Manually recycled paper often produces hard card boards which can be easily used as wall or picture frames. These frames are either decorated with various pictures depicting different artifacts or different messages can be inscribed on them. Holding bags of varying sizes can also be made from recycled paper as well. b) These products are likely to be in demand as a result of the fact that they would have been skillfully made in such a very attractive manner. In most cases, these products from waste paper are meant for decorative purposes meant to display artistic prowess by different artists. Art is used for different purposes in life hence, there would be likely chances of products being demanded by those who naturally admire hand made crafts. Indeed, artifacts are used for various purposes and there is need for the artist to first identify different things that can interest as well as satisfy the needs of the customers. Products which depict life are often in great demand if they are beautifully made. These products are likely to be in demand as a result of the fair prices that would be attached. Normally, there are no costs incurred particularly when recycling waste paper since manual methods would be employed. Thus, lower production costs often mean that the prices would also be lower (Kotler 1999). By virtue of being affordable, the products would certainly be in great demand since they would be meant for luxury in most cases. Basically, if the products are attractive and are fairly priced, there would be likely chances of high demand since these are the major factors that influence demand. Question 2 (Price) a) Given that the paper is free, there would be need to be very economic not to incur unnecessary costs in the production of whatever product that would be manufactured using the free material. The paper can be pulped using water mixed with different natural colorants which are not expensive to obtain. These natural colorants can also be obtainable free of charge and recycling the paper can be done manually using motor and pestle. When the material being recycled is thoroughly mixed, then it can be used to make different shapes desired by the artist. This process does not require sophisticated machinery hence there would be no costs incurred. Having ensured that there is no cost incurred in the processing of free material provided, chances of maximizing profits would be quite high since there would be no need to put pricing regimes that are also meant to recover the costs incurred during the manufacturing process. The price is decided by the market forces in most cases. By comparing the prices of other similar luxury products already in the market, chances of coming up with a fair price would be higher given that these products would have to be priced slightly lower that other industrially manufactured products. It can be noted that the price of home made products from recycled paper is determined by the market price of other similar products where there is need for pegging reasonably lower prices than the other market products of the same nature. Question 3 (Place) a) These products can be sold in market stalls or art galleries. Since these products would not have been commercially produced, it may be difficult to sell them using commercial methods since the chances of failure would be very high. Artists or vendors are often allocated market stalls in street or in different parts of the town where they can sell their assortments of wares to the general public. Various products with lower prices can be found in these stalls in the street and that chance that many people would pass by would be very high. Since there would be many people passing by, some of them can be simply attracted by certain products and simply buy even when they would not have planned to make that purchase. Selling these products in open areas where they can be seen by everyone like in the street would be very ideal since the chances of attracting many customers would also be very high. Another advantage is that there would be no costs incurred in terms of rentals which can negatively impact on the profitability of the products. Exhibition or art galleries can also be used as places to sell these products. These places are specifically designed to be used as market place for artifacts like the products made from recycled paper which could have been lost. Artists can showcase their products in specially designed places such as exhibition centers where it would be common knowledge that the people who visit these centers would be potential customers since they would go there with an aim just like someone who goes into a supermarket with the aim of buying bread. Question 4 (Promotion) a) Possible target markets can be identified using observation methods where the seller would need to observe the buying behaviour of the people in a given area. In some cases, visiting the up market places like restaurants can be a very good idea since these areas are also closely related to luxury life where the patrons found in these places often have surplus money to spend on luxury products. Tourists are also found in restaurants and they can be easily fascinated by very simple artifacts and this would be one of the wisest methods of identifying possible markets. Another possible way of finding possible markets is scanning through busy shopping malls or where there are flea markets as there would be highly chances of meeting a lot of people from different backgrounds who may be fascinated by the artifacts. b) Unlike commercial marketing which employees the promotional mix to tell the customers about products being sold, communication with the target markets in this case is primarily concerned with personal selling where the buyer and the seller engage in face to face contract when exchanging information about the product offered in the market. Such small products cannot employ commercial tactics like advertising since it would be very expensive for them to manage to meet the costs. The buyer can also use the advantage of the other customers who in turn can also attract potential customers to buy the products. The method of communication employed ought to ensure that there would be no expenses incurred as this would mean losses for the seller. On the other hand, I would try to offer various promotional incentives as a way of trying to attract more potential customers. Since the products sold are mainly home made, promotion through lowering prices on specific occasions is likely to attract more customers. In the process, product awareness would be promoted which would spruce up its chances of drawing the attention of many clients. When this strategy works in favour of the product, it can be used as the center stage of establishing the product onto the market in the event that it would have the support of the people. The objectives of marketing communication are mainly dependent on what the marketer wants to achieve. On the other hand, the goal of personal selling is building primary demand for the product hence the communication plan must be tailored in such a way that it appeals to the customers at primary level. The other goal is major goal is to develop as well as comprehend the sales of the product through increasing awareness. In this case, public relations (PR) is another effective communication tool that can be used when communicating with the customers while selling hand made crafts in a bid to attempt to make loyal customers through the provision of relevant information and knowledge to the customers. Cant (2000) define PR as the sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill between an organisation and its publics. In actual fact, all communication efforts are meant to create brand awareness through providing relevant information to the clients. References Cant M.C. (2000), Marketing Management, 4th Edition Juta and Co Ltd, SA. Berry T. & Wilson D. (2001), On Target: The Book of Marketing plans. How to Develop and Implement a Successful Marketing Plan. Palo Alto Software, Inc USA. Kotler P. (1999). Kotler on Marketing: How to create, win and dominate Markets. London. Free Press. TreeHugger (01.01.05). Top five- Recycled paper products. Available at: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/01/top_five_recycl.php#ch01 Accessed on 21 April 2010 Strydom J. (2004). Marketing. 3rd Edition. Cape Town. Juta & Co Ltd. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Read More