LG Marketing Mix and Suggestions on How to Deal with Marketing Mix - Case Study Example

LG Marketing Report Name: Course: Course code: Tutor: Date: Table of contents Table of contents 2 Introduction 3 Product Description 3 Target market 4 LG Marketing Mix 4 Product in the LG marketing mix 4 Placement in the LG Marketing Mix 4 Promotion in the LG’s Marketing Mix 6 Price in the LGs Marketing Mix 7 Summary of the marketing mix 9 Product Lifecycle 10 Suggestions on how to deal with Marketing Mix 11 Self-Assessment 12 References 14 Introduction LG Electronics in a multinational Company that deals with electronic goods based in Seoul South Korea. The company has several networks across the globe and was founded way back in 1958 with the aim of meeting the needs of the domestic consumers. The company has come a long way from a domestic company to an international company with its products being felt in every family across the world. The company is currently being rated as the second manufacturer of TVs in the world and is amongst the top hundred brand names across the globe. The company’s competitors in the TV product line include Sony and Samsung. LG company has over 83, 000 employee located in over 128 branches located across the globe. It is a global leader when it comes to technology innovation especially in consumer electronics like home appliances, mobile communication, home entertainment, Vehicle component, air conditioning and Energy Solutions. Product Description LG product under study is LG 65 inches 4K Ultra HD OLED 3D capable smart curved TV with silver or black color. This product has some distinctive features that have an impressive performance with OLED technology with perfect amazing and vivid colors. It also has some self-lighting pixels that that allows a consumer to switch on and off when there is a need and also has the ability to adopt into any room whether bright or dark. It has a slim and curved design with increased motion clarity, wide viewing angle and also light in weight approx. 21 kgs. Other distinctive feature of this product is that it has a magic remote, smart share, it’s a time machine and is also a dual machine where it can perform split screen gaming etc. Target market LG targets its market based on the products they offer to its consumers for instance, it targets upper class segment, upper end, those consumers who value lifestyle and also those consumers who value quality. In addition, the company targets those consumers whose major concern is safety and health issues. It is also considering the middle class segment and have intentions of reaching a mass market. LG Marketing Mix Product in the LG marketing mix As mentioned earlier, the product in consideration is the LG 65 inches 4K Ultra HD OLED 3D capable smart curved TV with silver or black color. The product has some distinguishing features with impressive performance in OLED technology with vivid and amazing colors. . It has a slim and curved design with increased motion clarity, wide viewing angle and also light in weight approx. 21 kgs. It also has some self-lighting pixels that that allows a consumer to switch on and off when there is a need and also has the ability to adopt into any room whether bright or dark. Other unique feature of this product is that it has a smart share, magic remote, it’s a time machine and is also a dual machine where it can perform split screen gaming etc. Placement in the LG Marketing Mix LG electronics has a global market with five business units in over one hundred locations in the world. The company has an intention of growing its market and penetrating into new markets and the only way to achieve this is through globalization. The company started its international operations with USA. LG electronics has partnered with various distributors who are tasked with the responsibility of distributing the company’s products in an efficient and timely manner so as to reduce some fuss that might arise during the distribution. For instance in India, the company the company has realized that it has to be very innovative so as to remain competitive and capture the market. As a result this, the company came up with a strategy of sending vans with company logo to several parts of the country covering over 500 km a month so as to increase the awareness of its brand The company has also opened various branches in various parts such as Bhopal, Noida etc. The company in conjunction with various distributors has adopted direct sales strategy to distribute and sell its products. LG has opened over 45 branches that directly work with various distributors. Not only that, the company also has maintained a policy of regional distribution where they strictly follow the stock rotation policy. It has its own showrooms in various parts of the cities across the globe that offers customer services to its customers. The company’s products are also found in leading supermarkets and malls in various countries. With the presence of new technology, LG products are found online at every shopping site. The company’s exclusive showrooms have been seen as the most profitable for the distributors and retailers due to LG’s product depth. Some of the success of the placement element in the marketing mix of LG Company emanates from excellent distributers and the ability of the company to focus on its distribution channels The table below is an illustration of the company’s distribution network Promotion in the LG’s Marketing Mix LG has always believed in promoting its products through various advertisement platforms. The company also believes that having a direct communication with its customers is a spice added to its marketing strategies. It is therefore important to note that the company advertises its product throughout the year through such platforms as TVs, newspapers, magazines, and the internet. The company has also adopted a strategy of offering special discount to distributers and retailers who continuously advertise and also to those open LG exclusive shops. Advertisements in this case are purely meant for those products that are newly introduced in the market (Bateson 2012). As a way of maintaining its brand name, LG has from time to time invited famous celebrities and media personalities from various fields such as sports and entertainment. For instance, in China, Kim Tae-Hee, who is a celebrated actor, has been chosen as a brand ambassador, while in India, Akshay Kumar, who is a one of the famous Bollywood actor, has been chosen to act in company’s commercials. LG has also sponsored various sport activities for instance, it was the first brand to sponsor world cup cricket in 1999 and 2003. LG has also sponsored Formula-One and the ICC Awards for a period of five years from 2009 to 2013 Advertisements through such platforms as TVs and magazines are very effective in terms of cost and can also reach potential consumers within a very short period of time. Some adverts are also very appealing which acts a way to persuade undecided consumers into trying the product. One of the disadvantages of advertisement is that the message may be distorted by the targeted consumers which may do more harm to the brand than good. Some of the advantages that accrues to the company as a result of the use of direct marketing is that it saves time, reduces costs and also it makes an experience pleasant and personal. On the contrary, direct marketing comes with the costs tied to it which might affect the profit margin of the organization. The company’s participation in such activities such as sponsorships enhances the company’s image and it is most likely to be perceived positively. A company that is positively perceived is most likely to have high sales turnover. In contrast, sponsoring such programs such as sports is expensive and the management may also be accused of losing the focus from the main objectives of the organization i.e. to make profits Price in the LGs Marketing Mix The company adopts a pricing policy of “cost plus fixed markup” meaning that the prices comprises of costs of producing a product and some profits in it. The company has come up with a special team that that researches on the prices of similar products in the market. The competitors’ prices are researched together with the consumer’s thoughts before coming up with a price. In a country like China, when the company was launching the product for the first time, the prices were higher but it was later reduced after a manufacturing unit was established (Yeshin 2012). The following is a consumer perception map of the company According to the map, Samsung TV is seen to have high functionality and is priced higher and located near the ideal perception points of a customer segment A. Both LG and Samsung target high functionality and high price. Their competition is neck to neck as far as customer perception is concerned. Other competitors such as Sony targets segment B that is far away from LG’s target market are not most likely to be threat to LG that much Summary of the marketing mix After careful analysis of the above mentioned marketing mix of LG company, it is worth noting that the product falls under consumer products since the consumers less consume this category of product since they are expensive and has psychological benefits to the buyer such as social standing in the society. The target market of these consumer goods is smaller since the consumers are purchase less frequently and are also willing to travel to window shop and compare prices. In most cases the marketers of such products are choosy when it comes to best channels of distribution. In most instances, the company uses distributors as part of channel of distribution (Lowe 2007). Product Lifecycle It is a very important concept of marketing since it shows all the stages that a product passes through from the time it is introduced into the market until it is removed from the market. It is very important to note that not all the products passes through same lifecycle as some will gradually grow while others will rise and fall Product lifecycle comprises of the following stages Introduction stage- researching, developing and launching takes place at this stage Growth – sales starts to grow immediate a product is introduced in the market Maturity – sales are at pick but growth rate starts to decline as a result of other new entrants Decline – it is the last stage of the product lifecycle where sales starts to decline LGs product lifecycle The company is at its maturity in its product lifecycle where its sales have started to decline as a result of competition from other manufactures such as Samsung and Sony. In order to remain competitive in the market and outdo the competition, the following marketing mix should be adopted Product- features should be changed for the purposes of differentiation Pricing- lower the prices as a result of new entrants Distribution- offer more incentives to distributors and retailers to encourage more usage Promotion- adopt differentiation strategy Suggestions on how to deal with Marketing Mix i. With the growth of technology, the company should consider making use of social media to promote its brand identity that appeals to the younger target market segments ii. The aspect of celebrity has been seen as an effective way of promoting the company products that are as a result of culture and desire especially among the youth. It is therefore paramount for the company to use sports men and women as the endorsers during the Olympics to promote the their products iii. The company should come up with membership program that can allow consumers to sign up so as to receive newsletters and prior notices on what offers are there, invitation to special events etc. iv. The organization should come up with loyalty programs that allow the consumers to earn points every time they make a purchase of a certain amount and redeem them for free merchandise or more products and services. By rewarding the loyal customers who purchases from the company, it will encourage them buy more from the company rather than the competitors. v. The company should create some alliances that can provide value added or complementary services to the customers vi. It could be good if the company look at the long term view of the demographic trends. Not only should the company target the younger segment but also come up with products that meet the needs of the older generation. Life expectancy is increasing in some other countries with lots of aged people looking for products to keep them health. It should design TVs that has Health programs that can increase the life expectancy of the old Self-Assessment How did you use the feedback from assessment 2 to help you improve?   The feedback from the assignment 2 will help me understand on how to communicate effectively and follow the required instructions. It will help me provide relevant sources with the correct writing format and style. It will also assist me in applying the correct theory and provide information that is duly referenced and acknowledged What do you consider were your strengths and weaknesses in completing the assignment? Strengths Good at grammar Fast while writing Weaknesses Not good at referencing Can’t remember some correct vocabulary It becomes difficult for me to put into paper some points that I have been thinking What is your learning style and what things you learnt about yourself by doing this assignment that might be helpful for future assignments. By doing this assignment, I have learned that it is always good to do a lot of research and read extensively so as to increase my knowledge concerning the problem at hand You should also consider the material/ research you used to compile the assignment (what type of resources did you use and how did they help with writing this assignment). The information used in this assignment were from online libraries while others were from distinguished writers in the field of marketing References Bateson, JEG 2012, Services Marketing: Concepts, Strategies, & Cases, Cengage Learning. Doyle, P 2009, Value-based Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Corporate Growth and Shareholder Value, John Wiley & Sons. Horngren 2010, Marketing Management, FK Publications. Lowe, R 2007, International Marketing Strategy: Contemporary Readings, Cengage Learning EMEA. Percy, L 2014, Strategic Integrated Marketing Communications, Routledge. Rogers, SC, Marketing Strategies, Tactics, and Techniques: A Handbook for Practitioners, Greenwood Publishing Group. Rutherford, DG 2011, Marketing Management and Operations, John Wiley & Sons. Yeshin, T 2012, Integrated Marketing Communications, Routledge. Read More