Principles of Marketing - Book Report/Review Example

Part 1: Theoretical review of marketing Kotler & Armstrong, (2014) define marketing as a fundamental management function whose key mandate is to determine the product for a particular product or service. The definition implies that marketing is a vital function that influences the profitability of a product or service. Commercial companies must always have effective marketing teams capable of carrying out extensive market researches and analyses with the view to establishing substantial market shares for a product or service. Introducing a new product in an already existing market is a daunting task that requires marketers to carry out extensive research and analyses of the market. In doing this, the marketers must investigate the nature of the market thereby introducing a product that has value in the market and would therefore claim a share of its own in the market. Marketers use various effective marketing tools and strategies in achieving profitability and longevity for their products and services. Key among such tools is the marketing mix. The marketing mix provides marketers with four vital elements they must consider when positioning a new product. The four are the product, promotion, price and place. The four factors influence the profitability of a product and are therefore vital in marketing a product. Launching a new product is more difficult and therefore requires the marketers to employ such strategies systematically and with both caution and information about the market thereby ensuring that every activity enhances the profitability of either the product or service. STP is yet another marketing tool that enhances the launch and creation of a successful brand. It refers to segmentation, targeting and positioning. Such are vital marketing endeavors whose success contributes to the success of the product. Promotion refers to the process of raising market awareness on the existence of either a product or service. A product requires adequate visibility in a particular target market. This way, the target market recognizes the product or service thus purchasing it from the stores. Advertising is the surest way of enhancing the awareness of a particular product in a particular market. Marketers use various media to advertise their products. Such media include the traditional media and the new media. The traditional media consists of the television, radio, newspapers and magazines among many others while the new media consists of the internet and its inherent features such as the social media and websites among others. Such are vital platforms that enhance the process of creating awareness on the existence of a particular product or service. Lodato, (2008) asserts that new products require more advertisement in order to position them strategically in the market. Rolling out a campaign plan is a fundamental process in the launch of a new product. As explained earlier, every product targets a particular market niche. As such, the marketers must identify the niche based on the uniqueness of both the new product and the target markets thereby develop effective media campaigns to enhance the reputation of the new brand. The media plays an integral role in enhancing the profitability of a new product or brand. The marketers must always use the most effective media both in advertising the new product prior to its launch and during the launch. Using the conventional media such as television and radio are vital since they all enjoy their strengths in reaching the target audience. Additionally, the marketers must use effective online marketing platforms such as the social media and the website among many others. Targeting the ideal customers is among the key strategies of enhancing the profitability of a new product. This implies that marketers must understand their target market thereby position the product strategically with the view it enhancing the access of the product. Such is a basic function that requires the marketers to employ the STP tool appropriately. As explained earlier, the tool helps managers segment their markets, target the very market and positioning the product strategically in order to enhance its profitability. Segmenting the market is vital. It refers to the process of splitting the market based on the features of the product since every product targets a particular niche (Miles, 2013). Splitting the market enhances the marketing processes such as advertising since it ensures that a marketer develops and uses an appropriate message in the process of advertisement. A marketer must therefore understand both the product and the market. This way, it becomes easier to split the market thereby understanding the appropriate marketing techniques such as advertisement to use in reaching the market. Targeting is the process of introducing the product to the selected segment of the market. After analyzing the features of the product and understanding the section of the population the product endears to, the marketers must target the specific segment by introducing the product strategically. This requires the process of positioning the product. Positioning refers to the process of building particular values and perceptions about the product. This way, the appropriate segment of the market recognizes the value the new product offers thereby identifying with specific features and values of the product. A marketer must understand such intricate features and role of marketing with the view to enhancing the profitability of products. The STP model is always essential in the process of introducing new products. Marketers must understand both their products and their target markets in order to enhance the profitability of the new products (Simms & Trott, 2013). In retrospect, marketing is among the most vital processes in any commercial organization. The function has two basic functions, which include determine new markets thereby growing the company’s market share and sustaining the existing market. Both functions are vital since they influence the profitability of the company. Introducing a new product is among the ways that companies enhance their profitability. New products are ways of diversifying the products of a company. This way, the various diversifies products target new markets. The success of each of the diversified products contributes to the success of the company. However, the marketers must carry out their functions dutifully when launching new products in order to safeguard the profitability of such. This requires extensive market researches and analyses coupled with the use of the various marketing tools such as the marketing mix and the STP techniques among others in establishing a particular introductory niche the new brand would use in establishing itself thus growing its market share and that of the company. Part 2: Marketing application by the company Cadbury is the second largest confectionary manufacturer in the world. Headquartered in Uxbridge in Greater London, the British company has the second largest share of the confectionary market after Wrigley’s. The company operates globally with presence in more than fifty countries throughout the world. The success of the company and its various brands is a portrayal of the successful marketing strategies the company uses in marketing and introducing new products. The company has a team of dedicate marketers who carry out extensive market research and analyses thereby influencing the profitability of the company. The company has numerous brands of products including Dairy Milk, Caramel, Crunchie, Boost and Picnic among many others each of which enjoys relative profitability. The numerous brands outlined above portray the company’s strategy of diversifying its products thereby enhancing the profitability of the company. Each of the brads above enjoys substantial market shares. The cumulative effect of the profitability of each of the brands contributes to the profitability the company enjoys every financial year. The marketers of the company just as any other marketers use various marketing strategies in enhancing the profitability of the company. They strive to grow the company’s market share in order to safeguard the company’s profitability and longevity, which are the primary objective of any marketer. Among the latest product brands the company introduced was Crispello, a brand that targeted women. Just as is the case with the launch of a new brand, the company’s marketers employed various appropriate marketing strategies in order to enhance the profitability of the new product. Just as the name suggests the company’s marketers employed the various tools including the marketing mix and STP technique in introducing and marketing the product (Jayachandran, 2004). Such strategies were vital and enhanced the success of the brand that targeted women. The brand was a result of extensive market research and analysis that led to the determination of a niche of the market the new brand would occupy. After such a determination, the marketers concentrated in developing an effective brand to occupy the niche thereby enhancing the profitability of the company. By targeting women, the marketers carried out segmentation of the market. They selected women out of the population. Selecting women is a form of segmenting the market thereby concentrating on the unique features of the target group thereby developing an appropriate brand that promises to satisfy the demands of the segment. Women love chocolate. They constitute the largest section of the population that consumes chocolate. Cadbury recognized and developed a product that would appeal to the segment of the market. After segmenting the market, the marketers concentrated on targeting the specific market. Targeting is the processes and activities Cadbury employed in marketing the product to the women. They made the product appeal to women by raising their awareness on the existence of the new product. Additionally, the product had specific features that would endear to the women. Brand positioning is an equally important element that Cadbury engaged in extensively in order to make the product appeal to women. The features of the product would endear to women thereby developing specific values and perceptions the marketers wanted to create about the new brand. Among the key features of the new brand that enhanced its positioning was a unique packaging technique. The new brand had three packages that offer the user to reseal thus consume later. Such was a unique type of packaging that sought to enhance the efficiency in the consumption. The marketers argued that women are busy and may not always consume a bar of chocolate at once. As such, the company introduced the new brand of chocolate that considered the busy schedule of women thus creating a new brand they would consume for long. The marketing mix is yet another marketing tool the company’s marketers used extensively in marketing the new brand. As explained earlier, the marketing mix offers marketers four vital elements whose consideration is vita in the process of introducing a new product and sustaining its profitability. The elements of the mix include the price of the product, the product, promotion and place. The company employed the four elements strategically with the view to enhancing the profitability of the new brand. Price remains a significant feature in a product. The company therefore introduced the new brand strategically by considering the price. They made the price competitive to the other existing brands of chocolate in the market. Additionally, they manufactured and packaged the new brand in various sizes each of which sold at a relative price thereby enhancing the affordability of the new brand since it played a significant role in enhancing the profitability of the new brand. Promotion was yet another fundamental marketing function the Cadbury’s marketers engaged in extensively. Promotion just as discussed earlier increases the awareness of a product (Zarrella, 2010). A new brand such as Crispello required adequate awareness and visibility in the market in order to enhance the profitability of the new brand of chocolate manufactured by Cadbury. The company used various media in increasing the awareness of the new brand. Key among such media was the television and radio as the company ran numerous adverts on the media. The adverts were creative and targeted a wide audience. The audience of the advert included women and men most of who buy chocolates for their women. The messages in the adverts were enticing and sought to increase the awareness of the product by promoting the value of the new brand of chocolate. Additionally, the company used the new media. The company used its website and the various social media accounts in advertising the new brands. The messages were strategic and sought to increase awareness of the new products. The company used the packaging of the new brand to enhance the promotion. Such is the most cost effective way of marketing a product. Every individual who purchased the new product enhanced it awareness by spreading its packages. References Jayachandran, S. (2004). Marketing management text and cases. New-Delhi: Excel Books. Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2014). Principles of marketing. Boston: Pearson. Lodato, M. W. (2008). Management of new product launches and other marketing projects. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. Miles, C. (2013). “Persuasion, marketing communication, and the metaphor of magic”. European journal of marketing Vol 48 issue 11/12 pp 2002-2019. Simms, C & Trott, P. (2013). “Conceptualizing the management of packaging within new product development: A grounded investigation in the UK fast moving consumer goods industry”. European journal of marketing Vol 48 issue 11/12. Zarrella, D. (2010). The social media marketing book. Beijing: O'Reilly. Read More