Methods Used in Marketing Mix - Essay Example

John Q. D Marketing 344 29 April Marketing Mix The marketing mix is based on target s. It varies from one organizationto other depending on available resources and objectives. The four methods used in marketing mix are- Product - The Pet Orphans of Southern California offers a complete package of services and the main product offered are pet animals. The associated package includes life time care of pets. The organization provides - pet products for veterinary care, grooming and boarding ,the volunteer programs is provided for training and follow ups and pet matching is also facilitated on demand. It offers many products and services but the highest earnings are made through unrestricted donations for the pet care programs. The organisation can start special veterinary care programs by hiring specialized vets who can provide many forms of medical services to pets. The hired vets can provide new creative solutions to resolve problems faced by pet owners, which will differentiate the organisation from regular pet orphanage and attract adopters, pet owners and donors. Price - The price of adopting orphaned animals from the organisation depends on many factors. The organization charges $255 for dog adoption, whereas, the cost is just $100 at county shelter. The cost $255 includes the cost of after service .Furthermore, county shelter do not provide the care and after-service after dog adoption. The Pet Orphans of Southern California provides boutique like facilities at animal shelter and it charges for providing the extra care. The target buyers are people who wish to help the animals to re-socialise and interact with people. Mainly, families and women below 45-years belonging to white middle class are targeted. The price around $250 is not very high for middle class women but the price of services and care can be modified to offer discounts to encourage customers to buy more number of animals from the shelter. Value pricing, discount in medical treatment, discount on second buying and various other pricing features can be added. Price can be reduced for services or promotion of shelter program. Channels of Distribution - Distribution channels provide method for consumer to learn about, use, purchase and return the services or products. The best methods of distribution for Pet Orphans of Southern California are - local distribution and online distribution. The customers of Pet Orphans of Southern California, who are locally located, can be given service through direct interaction. The direct method of marketing provides options to gives various considerations and works through direct customer interaction. Telephonic conversation can be used to give service at local and national level. The main purpose should be to educate customers about pet adoption. Direct marketing has the capability to change strategic business model. It can be done through financial, telephone information technology, and travel, which is supported through one-to-one relationship marketing. Email marketing and internet is trendy interactive channel of communication. Direct marketing can be utilized to assess the demand and buyer’s preference. E- Services are also helpful in interacting with customer located at different geographical locations. 2 -level distribution can be adopted where the customers can be accessed through selective distribution centre such as local veterinary office, pet stores etc. Integrated Marketing Communications - Currently, the organisation has no specified advertising. The promotion strategy involves fund raising events such as Halloween Event. The organisation has a webpage and the products are promoted online through the website, newsletters, Facebook and twitter. Human Education programs are conducted in schools. The website is used to send newsletters and other information. Most of the visitors/clients are able to reach and know about new developments through the Internet. The organisation aims to target buyers who care about adopting orphans and care to know about animals. Integrated Marketing Communication has three dimensions - Identity, mobilisation and integrated contact management. Personalized letters can be used for direct marketing. The organization need to identify the customer’s needs through various programs. For example -Amazon uses certain algorithms, reviews and various other programs to identify consumer interests. Identifying consumer’s interest through online surveys is a tool used to design future marketing strategies. The website design needs to be modified to look comprehensive and to allow visitors to post views on pet adoption. An interactive social networking forum can be created to know about latest demands. The discussion panels provide opportunity to contact new customers. The whole system can be integrated to payment gateway mode to allow users to place order online for products. The website can be used to track number of hits and online survey can provide information about customer’s and fund raiser’s interests. Awareness programs can be promoted related to the availability of adoption facility to promote wide distribution on internet, which can be used to contact people. Local and global pet stores can be equipped to provide information about pet adoption. Good Samaritan programs to assist pet owners and community group teaching can be promoted through various channels. Budget and Financials The company is non-profit organisation dependent on fund raising for offering services and care to pet orphans. On the basis of data given for Sep 09 to Aug 10, it can be concluded that on the total income / receipt of $7,22K, the organization incurred a loss of $ 1,78K annually. Furthermore, for Sep 10 to Aug 11, on the total income / receipt of 12,05K, the organization posted a net profit of $87K. The data have been analyzed and projected costs have been regrouped into variable costs and fixed costs for doing the break even analysis. On analysing the data of unit and dollar sales, costs and gross profits, it has been found that the break even sales (income / receipt) come around $890K. In the calculation of break even analysis, the basic assumptions are The marginal cost remains constant per unit Investment in fixed assets remains unchanged Selling price does not change during the period Sales mix remains constant Productivity remains constant The data shows 80% of the income comes from donations (unrestricted donations 76% and restricted donation 5%). As such for break even, the organisation should get at least $700 K from donations. The Pet Orphans of Southern California gets highest earnings through unrestricted donations, which include adoptions, grants/foundations, trust donations (recurring) and trusts/estates (non-recurring) .Currently, the organization has sufficient resources to cover the cost. More than 50% of cash outflow goes to personnel wages administration and wage programs. 25% of the cash outflow goes into Kennel management, and 10-15% is spent on facilities such as building permit, insurance, pest control, property taxes, telephone, water electricity and gas. Company Analysis and Customer Analysis Financial and Human Resources There are total 500 volunteers workings with the organization that take care of pets. The total income / receipt are 12,05K and the expense on maintenance of human resource is 4,42K, while, on volunteers only 7K (data given for Sep 09 to Aug 10) is spent. The organization makes major expenses on human resource management; while, it is hugely depend on low cost volunteers for animal care and promotion. Clients Marketing Communications According to the data for Sep 09 to Aug 10, the expense on marketing is 86K that is less than 10% of the total expenses. The website is linked to social networking accounts at Facebook and Twitter to provide customer service online. The website can use service of online shops to market products. Channels of Distribution The website is used as a platform to update information related to current events, future plans, services and products and it can be used as tool to provide service at national level. The website can serve as channel of distribution, if it is integrated to online payment and delivery mechanism. A relationship needs to be created with local pet stores and veterinary offices to deliver products online and to encourage pet adoption. Pricing With Regards To Product And Services An organisation can lose money if the price is not designed to exceed the cost. In the current non-profit organisation the business faces indirect and direct costs. The price charged to adopt pet dog is $255. The pricing of services can be reduced and made variable depending on the change on financial climate. During recession, discounts can be offered to promote adoption. Smart pricing is the fundamental strategy, which can help to differentiate the products and services. Customers’ Values and Needs The ageing population in US will increase by 20% in 2030 .This will be wealthiest generation which can adopt and take care of pets. The upper social class has higher chances to adopt pets because of higher income and stable jobs, whereas, people living in rented house tend to abandon pets because of instability in their lifestyle. Industry Analysis Pets industry is a multimillion dollar industry. The relationship between pets and humans is considered positive for enhancing life expectancy, life satisfaction and illness recovery (James et al., 2004). Pet companionship is a growing in trend, where it is estimated about 63% of the households owned one or more pets in 2008, which represents 71 million homes. 45 million households owned a pet in 2008(Martin and Farmichelli, 2008). The pet industry itself shows huge profits, where the spending on pet increased 15% (Salzman, 2000). Competitors’ Strengths and Weaknesses Competitors of the organization focus on targeting a class of customers. County pet orphanage provides low cost pet adoption but specialized after -services are not provided by county pet orphanage. The target customers of Amanda Foundation are celebrities and the organisation dominates the upscale market. The price of buying pets is high as compared to adoption of orphaned pets. The competitors do not provide additional after-sale support and pet care. The Best Friends Animal Society has huge customer base and large retails offer monetary product and services to the community. Additionally, these companies provide possibility of adopting animals whenever, they go for campaign. Niches in the Market Offering specially trained pets or affiliate care with the pet will cater to niche market. The organisation has a different approach involving a social cause of promoting abandoned pets in the society and this theme is its strength. Buyer /Supplier Power Martin & Formechelli (2008) stated women make most pet purchase decisions and women subscribe more in numbers to pet magazine .Women try to get more education on pets and pet products. The target buyers are middle aged earning women and the families who are settled, lives in metropolitan, earns a decent income within in the range of $40,000 and has one child, is the primacy customer (James, McMellon & Torres- Barumgarten, 2004). The pet owners consider themselves to be mom and dad of pet and are ready to make huge expenses towards the welfare of pets. The Pet Orphans of Southern California offers various other services such as cat trap refund, teeth cleaning and pet grooming. The product includes t-shirts and pet pavilion. Works Cited James, William, McMellon, Charles A., & Torres-Baumgarten, Gladys. Pets and Cats Rule: A New Insight into Segmentation, Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 13(1), 70-77, ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 735681741), 2004 Kotler, Philip, & Keller, Kevin Lane, A Framework for Marketing Management. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009 Martin, W., & Formichelli, L. Its Raining: Cat and Pet Lovers. Target Marketing, 31(2), 53-55, ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1424026851), 2008 Salzman, Marian. Pet Trends: the State of The Pet Industry. Vital Speeches of the Day, 67(5), 147-153. from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 65935778), 2000 Read More