Marketing Mix & Marketing Mix Planning with Nutritional Supplements - Assignment Example

Marketing Mix and Marketing Mix Planning with Nutritional Supplements Marketing Mix and Marketing Mix Planning with Nutritional SupplementsIntroductionA marketing mix plan involves a combination of tools and strategies that business people make use of in marketing their products and services (Evans & Wurster, 1997). The development of an effective marketing mix plan depends on the type of the product or service available. According to Doole and Lowe, in marketing, products and services are classified into either consumer products/services or industrial products/services.

Consumer products/services include those that are purchased by customers for final consumption while industrial products/goods are those bought by customers for further processing or further business activities (Doole & Lowe, 2005). All in all, in marketing their products and services, business people should develop marketing strategies that are based on crucial and effective marketing considerations and decisions.1.) Identify the type of product/service (convenience, shopping, specialty, unsought), and explain in your own words what marketing considerations need to be made for my product/service (Nutritional Supplements) based on this product classification.

Based on the criteria of how consumers go about in purchasing them and how they are marketed, consumer products can be classified into four main types. To start with, we have shopping products which involve products that are bought by consumers less frequently (Doole & Lowe, 2005). Secondly, there exist convenience products which entail those that are frequently purchased by customers (Evans & Wurster, 1997). Thirdly, we have specialty products. These include products with unique features or brands and those that catch the attention of a particular class of customers who are willing to make a special buying effort (Taylor, 2009).

Finally, we have unsought products which involve products that are not known to the consumer or if known, the consumer has never thought of purchasing them (Evans & Wurster, 1997). Using this classification, nutritional supplements can be said to belong to the category of specialty products. There are four main marketing considerations that can be made by nutritional supplements marketers and marketers of specialty products in general. The first consideration is the customer’s buying behavior.

Here, buyers go in for strong and appealing brands. These consumers are normally loyal to specific brands and they are usually less sensitive to prices (Doole & Lowe, 2005). The second consideration is the price. According to Taylor, like in the case of most specialty products, the pricing of nutritional supplements can be high (Taylor, 2009). The third consideration is distribution. Specialty goods are usually distributed selectively and through a limited number of outlets (Evans & Wurster, 1997).

The final consideration is promotion. According to Doole and Lowe, in marketing specialty products, both producers and suppliers carefully target promotions. Examples include prizes and discounts (Doole & Lowe, 2005). 2.) Determine the most important decisions you will make in developing your product/service (nutritional supplements) compared to your competition (product attributes, branding, packaging, labeling, product support services).There are several important decisions that marketers of nutritional supplements can use in developing their marketing strategies in a competitive business environment.

To begin with is the decision about product attributes. This entails defining the benefits that can be offered by the products (Taylor, 2009). According to Evans and Wurster, these benefits can be communicated to the consumer through the quality, features, style and design of the product. Product quality is based on the level and consistency of a product in performance of its functions (Doole & Lowe, 2005). Features are based on the varying attributes and characteristics of the product (Taylor, 2009).

Design and style are based on the general make up and appearance of the product (Evans & Wurster, 1997). The second decision that marketers of nutritional supplement can make is anything to do with branding. Branding involves selection of a brand name which should be based on desirable characteristics of the nutritional products (Doole & Lowe, 2005). Thirdly, the decision about packaging is essential and it involves manufacturing and designing the wrapper or container for the nutritional supplements.

According to Doole and Lowe, decisions made here involve the choice of the size, shape, color and text of the products (Doole & Lowe, 2005). Fourthly, labeling of nutritional supplements is another important decision that needs to be made. Labelling involves attaching tags and other valuable graphics to the package (Evans & Wurster, 1997). Finally, product support services are also worthy consideration. These include those services which may accompany the marketing of the nutritional supplements.

The services include transportation, communication and advertisement among others (Taylor, 2009).3.) Explain how this supports your marketing strategy.The above decisions are important tools that can be used in supporting marketing strategies applied in the marketing of nutritional supplements. Starting with product attributes, product quality enhances customer satisfaction while product features differentiate a business company’s products from those of its competitors (Doole & Lowe, 2005).

Design and style attract customer attention, reduce production costs and give the product a competitive advantage over its competitors (Taylor, 2009). Branding enables consumers to identify products that are of great benefit to them and learn about their quality (Taylor, 2009). Branding also helps in market segmentation by providing a variety of brands for different customers (Taylor, 2009). A brand name helps in protection of a product‘s unique features that might be copied by potential competitors (Doole & Lowe, 2005).

Packaging contains and protects the product during marketing and transportation (Taylor, 2009). It also attracts customer attention and describes the product in terms of its manufacture (Doole & Lowe, 2005). According to Evans & Wurster, labeling identifies the product or the brand and describes when, where, how and who made the product (Evans & Wurster, 1997). As Doole and Lowe argue, a label might also promote the product through its attractive tags and graphics (Doole & Lowe, 2005). Product support services enhance service quality, high productivity and competitive differentiation (Taylor, 2009).

Conclusion In order to survive in the face of business competitors, an effective marketing mix plan is essential. It is important for business managers and business people to develop marketing strategies and tools that give there businesses a competitive advantage. These involve tools and strategies based on important marketing decisions touching on the attributes of the product, its packaging, branding and labeling. Furthermore, the marketing strategies and tools chosen should take into consideration the price of the product, its distribution, promotions and the behavior of the customer among other marketing considerations.

ReferencesDoole, I. & Lowe, R. (2005). Strategic Marketing Decisions in Global Markets. London: Thomson Learning.Evans, P. B. & Wurster, T. S. (1997). Strategy and the New Economics of Information, Harvard Business Review, 75(5):70-82.Taylor, J. (2009). Developing an Effective Marketing Mix Plan. New York: Cambridge University Press.