The Marketing Mix - Case Study Example

Research proposal Introduction Marketing is a wider dealing with numerous functions by giving stress for the accomplishment of the organizational objectives and providing utmost satisfaction to the ultimate customers. In order to achieve the stipulated objectives, it is essential to implement certain marketing strategies. Marketing mix is the mode in which the marketing policies should be put in to accomplish. Marketing mix is a combination of various tools and techniques of marketing, containing Four Ps in marketing, such as Product, Price, Place, and Promotion Through the practicability of a thriving marketing mix, it is possible to reach towards several consumers within the target market. “Marketing mix is a general phrase used to describe the different kinds of choices organizations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or service to market. The 4 Ps is one way – probably the best-known way – of defining the marketing mix, and was first expressed in 1960 by E J McCarthy.” (The Marketing Mix and 4Ps. 2007). Under this research proposal, giving stress for the impact of promotional measures in the success of a product in the market. Coca Cola is a brand that has benefited a lot from the promotional strategies. Its advertising strategy was very closely related to the American Culture and thus it gained wider acceptability in the market. It is necessary for an organization to give keen attention to the marketing mix concept and it’s Four Ps for ensuring that the entity is marketing the right product to the right customers at the right price in the right place and at the right time. Marketing is mainly focusing on providing good quality products at reasonable prices to its ultimate consumers. This research is dealing with Coca Cola Company of US. The research looks into how the promotional efforts have benefited and will benefit the company in the market. Coca Cola is a company that operates in the non-alcoholic drinks market with its varied range of products. This makes them necessary to create itself a separate identity in the market. Coca Cola has always been successful through its advertising campaign. “When discussing global advertising strategies and the effectiveness of global standardized advertising, time and again brands like Levi’s, Nike, and Coca Cola are used as examples of successful global advertising” (Mooij P. 26-27). The application of marketing mix is an appropriate concept, for utilizing the marketing strategies in a most suitable manner, through which it is possible to accomplish the goals of an entity. Marketing and marketing mix is interrelated to each other. Marketing the product refers to the publicizing the product in the market. Inorder to publicize the product in the market a company should employ various tools and those tools are collectively known as marketing mix. In short marketing refers to the effective implementation of the 4 P’s of marketing mix and therefore both marketing and marketing mix are interrelated. The concept of Product is very important, because product should be able to meet the consumer requirements with minimal affordable cost. An organization is said to be controlled effectively, only if there should be a proper balance between the actions of environment and competitors. As far as the Four Ps of marketing is taken in to consideration, it is relevant that product, price, place and promotion are playing a crucial role in an equivalent manner for attaining success of the entity. When the product variable is taken in to consideration, it is giving stress for the product quality, its brand, size, etc. Like wise, when the price variable is taken in to fact, it is necessary to provide keen attention for the discount and allowances. When the place variable is taken, distribution network, storage and warehousing etc. are playing a prominent role. Finally, the promotion variable is giving ultimate stress for the advertisement and various sales promotional measures. While dealing with the marketing policies and procedures, it is essential to give stress for the quality of the product. In addition to this, various pricing strategy is also playing an important role in marketing mix elements. Place refers to the distribution channels through which the ultimate products will be delivered to the door steps of the needy customers. In addition to this, storage and warehouses are also required to keep the goods and services which are in under work in process or finished goods. While undertaking several promotional measures, it is possible to maximize the sales volume of product, through which the profitability of the entity will increase. “Customers have to be made aware of the product. The two main considerations are target market and cost. A new business will not be able to afford to advertise on national television, for instance and would not wish to because its market will be local to start with. Leaflets, billboards, advertisements in local newspapers, Yellow Pages and ‘word of mouth’ would be more appropriate.” (Unit 3- The 4Ps of Marketing). Hypothesis In this particular research, it is necessary to consider the concept that ‘Product promotion is a sole factor that improves the quantum of sales of a product as in the case of the success of Coca Cola in the market due to the better promotional activities.” Recently, the role of advertising and sales promotion is increasing day by day, due to its effective impact on the overall improvements in sales and marketability (give an example that happened to the company that proved that advertisement improve give some facts). Advertisement is a factor that helps to make aware of a product whether it is new or existing in the market, or if there are any changes taking place in the existing product with some technological changes or improvements, the impact of which should be made known to the public is possible through promotional measures. Coca Cola operates in the market with its varied range of products. When the company introduces a brand new product in its product line the general public needed to be informed about it. At this instance advertising is the primary method adopted. Sales and marketing is playing a significant role, and the improvement of sales is mostly affecting through adequate promotional measures. When Coca Cola advertises about its new product launch the general public becomes aware of it and thus the product receives wider acceptance in the market. Product promotion is not only increasing the sales quantum, but also it is possible to enhance the overall marketability. Promotion is giving wider importance for the advertising areas, and also giving focus for packaging, sales methodology etc. The Coca Cola logo and the packaging are still considered as one of the best in the world. “Creative marketing comes from continually questioning the existing situation and looking for ways to change this marketing mix—the product, price, place and promotion. Creative marketing often involves adding new products or services or modifying existing ones. It may require changes in pricing, place of sale or promotional methods. Sometimes, marketing requires that you delete existing products or services, sell them at different prices, offer them in different places or promote them differently.” (Marketing 4Ps- Product Price Place promotion. 2005). Whenever the sales volume increases, due to sales promotional measures, which leads to increase the entire marketability and market share to certain extend. Enhancement of sales leads to maximize the profitability of an entity in an effective manner. The product promotion measures helps to maximize the overall development of the market avenues also. Aims and Objectives The research proposal is giving major stress for undertaking several sales promotional measures for capturing the leading market with a substantial profit. For selling out the manufactured product within a stipulated time period, it is necessary to undertake various sales promotional measures in an appropriate manner. An integrated marketing is standing on the lights of its effective functioning, the survival of a product in the market entity requires a continuous promotional impact, and then only it is possible to accomplish the stipulated marketing objectives effectively. Various sales promotion measures and brand debut programmes are effective for the successive marketing. The main objective of this research should be to undertake a detailed study regarding the promotional methods adopted by Coca Cola in retaining and expanding their market share. Being a cola brand the company has been facing major criticism from many countries for health hazards caused by the chemicals used in it. This becomes very much necessary for the company to frame a promotional tool that wipes away the attitude of the customers towards the product. Coca Cola also produces many other products in the category of health and sports drinks. “The company’s name brand products include Coca Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Mr.PiBB, Mello Yello, Ramblin root beer, Fanta soft drinks, Tab, and Fresca.” (Hagstrom P.146). So inorder to carve a niche of the market the company might have to concentrate more on the promotional tools. Coca Cola is also facing stiff competition from its major rivals such as PepsiCo, Cadbury Schweppes, Nestle, National Beverage Corporation, Leading Brands Inc etc. This stiff is another reason for the company’s higher focus on product promotion. Therefore, the research should be focussing on how well Coca Cola adopted the promotional tools inorder to differ its products from that of the competitors. The objectives of the research can be enumerated as follows: 1. To study impact of product promotion on the profitability of the Coca Cola Company. 2. To study the attitude of the product dealers regarding the sales promotion activities adopted by Coca Cola Company. 3. To study the relation between the promotion cost and the profitability of a product in the case of Coca Cola Company. The role of sales promotion is growing day by day, as far as the marketing is taken in to fact. Advertising is playing a leading role in this respect for the effective utilization of the market attainments. The cost of sales promotional measures are quiet expensive, then also it turns out to be a prominent factor in the present market scenario. “Sales promotion includes several communications activities that attempt to provide added value or incentives to consumers, wholesalers, retailers, or other organizational customers to stimulate immediate sales. These efforts can attempt to stimulate product interest, trial, or purchase. Examples of devices used in sales promotion include coupons, samples, premiums, point-of-purchase (POP) displays, contests, rebates, and sweepstakes.” (Sales Promotion. 2007). An organization’s corporate social responsibility and ethical factors are also taken in an effective manner while dealing with the marketing and its strategic issues. Sales promotion helps to boost up the sales and profits. Preliminary literature search In the literature research the researcher should write about product promotion and Coca Cola Company. Therefore, first the researcher should begin with mentioning the organisational profile. The company was established in the year 1894 in United States. The product was invented by a pharmacist in Georgia in the year 1886. Since the establishment of the company it grabbed itself a very distinctive name in the non-alcoholic beverage market. At present the company is one of the largest producers of non alcoholic beverages in the world. Its flagship product is the soft drink Coca Cola. The mode of operation of the company is that they produce the concentrate and distributes it to various franchisees who ultimately market the same after mixing it with water, sugar and other ingredients. Coca Cola carved this market niche through its effective advertisement and other promotional campaign. The Coca Cola logo and its contour bottle are very much famous in the market. This clearly describes the importance of packaging in the marketability of a product. The research is focused on gathering necessary information to study the impact and relevance of product promotion on the profitability of a product. The product promotion is an element of the marketing mix or the 4 P’s of marketing that is Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The literature survey should mention in detail about product promotion. Before that it is good to mention about the marketing mix as promotion is one of the elements of marketing mix. Marketing mix is the four elements that contribute to the success of a product. The four elements of marketing mix are Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Product refers to maintaining the quality and appearance of a product. Price refers to the price to be paid by the consumer’s in order to purchase it. Place refers to the market in which the product is to be made available or the potential market for the product. Finally, Promotion refers to all the activities done in order to make the product publicize in the market. Even though all the four elements are important for the success of the product promotion is more important as it is what makes the product move in the market. Product promotion is not a single activity. It is the some total of many activities that include advertisement, publicity campaign, free gifts, dealer sales promotion tools etc. There is lot of web sources that clearly states about the product promotion. The researcher can also rely on book resources too. Free management library is an online library that can give necessary information about the researcher topic. “Promotion keeps the product in the minds of the customer and helps stimulate demand for the product. Promotion involves ongoing advertising and publicity (mention in the press). The ongoing activities of advertising, sales and public relations are often considered aspects of promotions.” (McNamara 2007). Product promotion is the well planned activity conducted to record the features of the product into the minds of the consumers or users. The promotion activity of the company should be based on the overall objectives of the company. Product promotion must be done only after careful market analysis. The market study will be helpful in knowing the target market for the product. Advertising is the major promotional tools that will be used by all the organization. The advertising will be drafted in such a way that the targeted market is captured through the attractiveness of the ad campaign. Relevance to the research topic: Since the research topic chosen is the impact of promotional tools on the profitability and sales volume of a product it is relevant to know in detail about what product promotion is. A detailed literature review is imperative to know that how the promotional tools aid the success of a product in the market. The literature review will explain the various types of promotional tools that are used. One of the objectives of the research is to study the attitude of the product dealers regarding the promotion of a product. So it is necessary to gather the literature review regarding the various promotional tools that are employed by the organizations ate the dealer level. The major objective of the company is to measure the impact of product promotion on the profitability of a product. Therefore, the literature review should include information on how the promotional tools benefit the organization in terms of profitability. Methodology (give example of your company in methodology and but some survey) Rationale for the methodology chosen: The topic chosen for the research is the impact of promotional measures on the success of a product in the market. This research is aimed to find out how much the promotional aspect of the marketing mix affects the success of a product in the market. The hypothesis formed is the ‘product promotion is the sole factor that improves the quantum of sales of a product’. The research should be based on this hypothesis. In order to prove this hypothesis and to analyse the impact of the promotion element in the success of a product necessary research is to be conducted among the general public, the product dealers, personal sellers and other people who are involved in selling the products. The research should also look into many secondary sources in order to draft a conclusion. The research method and data to be used by the researcher and the sources from which the data is to be collected are given below. Primary research: Primary research involves the usage of primary data for the collection of data. Primary data are that information that is collected for the first time. “Primary research involves getting original data directly about the product and the market” (Marketing). The primary data is to be collected by conducting field research that involves face to face interviews, surveys, questionnaires and focused group interviews. The survey for this research is to be conducted among the personal sellers, consumers and product dealers as they are the best groups to give information about the importance of promotion in the marketability of a product. The data collected from these sources are to be analysed in order to draw necessary conclusion for the objectives of the research. Secondary research: Secondary research is the research that is based on the data that already exist or the data that has already been created by someone. “Secondary research is where you use information that other people have gathered through primary research.” (Girolami) The secondary data to be used for this research is the financial data of some companies in order to know the promotional expenses they have incurred and the profitability of the company. This will show the relation between promotion and profitability of a product. Sampling strategy: As this research uses more of primary data a proper sampling plan must be drafted. The focused group of respondents for the research is the consumers, product dealers and personal sellers or sales men. These groups are selected because the research objective is to study the impact of promotion efforts on the marketability of a product. Questionnaire must be used to collect the opinion of the respondents. The questionnaire must include questions that are relevant to the topic. A considerable sample size must be included for the study. A sample of 20 consumers selected randomly would be enough for gathering the consumers’ opinion. Likewise, interview must be conducted among a group of product dealers and salesmen. A sample size of 15 product dealers and 15 salesmen must be included. Therefore, a total of 50 samples should be used for the study. The sample size selected can thus be highlighted as follows: Consumers – 20 Dealers – 15 Salesmen – 15 Examples of questionnaire questions: The researcher should rely on relevant questions in order to gather proper information required for data analysis. Some sample questions which are to be asked to the consumers are shown below. 1) Have you ever bought a product after being impressed by its advertisement? 2) Would you buy a product that comes with good advertisement even when its price is higher? 3) Will you buy a product if you come to know that the product is offering any lucky draw coupons with it? 4) Will you buy a new soap than the one which you usually buy if the new one gives a hair comp exclusively free of cost? Yes and No options can be given after the questions in order to know about the ratings. Some of the questions that have to be asked to the dealers and salesmen are as follows. 1) Will you stock sufficient quantity of a product if the producer is not providing any benefits for the extra purchase? 2) Will you stock a product if its producers are not providing any credit facilities? These are some of the questions that can be asked to the respondents. The data collected or the ratings for each question must be analysed by using simple percentage. Interview proposals: In this research data is to be collected from the dealers and sales men through interview. Along with interview they should be asked to fill in the interview schedule too. The interview with the respondents must be focused on gathering qualitative information which cannot be gathered through the filling of interview schedule. Proposed time scales The assignment can be done on the basis of the following time scales. Date Activity Dec 10 – 15 Conducting Literature search Dec 16 – 20 Data collection through survey and interview Dec 21 – 30 Data analysis Dec 31 – Jan 5 Preparing the final report Bibliography Girolami, Mark. Secondary research. Msc projects. Last accessed 4 December 2007 at: http://cis.paisley.ac.uk/usor-ci0/projectLectures/secondary%20research.htm HAGSTROM, Robert G. The Warren Buffett Way: investment strategies of the world’s greatest investor. P. 146. Last accessed 24 December 2007 at: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=RndlqIkOEWcC&pg=PA146&dq=coca+cola+products&sig=AsTQa4VWZJqls5eldmrlJmCij6c Marketing 4Ps- Product Price Place promotion. (2005). Negocio.us. Last accessed 4 December 2007 at: http://www.negocio.us/internet_business/marketing_4ps/marketing_4ps_product_price_place_promotion/ MCNAMARA, Carter (2007). One definition of promotion. Basic Definitions: Advertising, Marketing, Promotion, Public Relations and Publicity, and Sales. [online]. Free Management Library. Last accessed 4 December 2007 at: http://www.managementhelp.org/ad_prmot/defntion.htm Marketing. Marketing research - Primary research, [online]. tutor2u. Last accessed 4 December 2007 at: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/gcse/marketing_research_primary.htm MOOIJ, Marieke K de. The role of advertising in global branding. Global Marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes. P. 26-27. Last accessed 24 December 2007 at: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=SlRlGVYRBWcC&pg=PA27&dq=marketing+mix+of+coca+cola&sig=mMroP0gMqt1RMdPMCBfiDnUbjo0#PPA27,M1 Sales Promotion. (2007). [online]. Dave Dolak. Last accessed 4 December 2007 at: http://www.davedolak.com/promo.htm The Marketing Mix and 4Ps. (2007). Understanding How to position your market offering. Understanding the Tool. [online]. Mind Tools. Last accessed 4 December 2007 at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_94.htm Unit 3-The 4Ps of Marketing. The Marketing mix. Promotion. Last accessed 4 December 2007 at: http://www.ngflcymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/bus_studies/gcse_m_smidman/unit3/4ps.htm   Read More