Marketing Mix Elements Issues - Case Study Example

Running Head: Marketing Mix Element Marketing Mix Element Customer’s Name: Customer’s Course: Tutor’s Name: 31th March, 2012. Introduction This report sets out to describe the four elements of the marketing mix and then show how these four elements aspects are applied or used in the retailing of petroleum products in petrol outlets. The four elements of the marketing mix are promotion, product, price and place. When grouped together these four elements make up the 4ps of marketing and they are major aspects that are considered when marketing a product to the customers. This report will follow an organized structure in which every element will be discussed in terms of its definition and how its contributes to the effectiveness the overall marketing mix this will also be closely followed by the application of the specific marketing mix element in the retail of petroleum products. The last section will be a conclusion of the report and it is offer a brief overview of each of the elements and giving concluding remarks in regards to the topic. Promotion Promotion is termed as activities undertaken as well as efforts made by the products marketers so as to persuade the potential customers to purchase the product (Solomon, et al. 2011, p. 23). In essence the promotion mix is comprised of all those aspects that the marketer will use in persuading the customers to buy the product. The promotion mix is comprised of aspects such as direct marketing, personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, interactive marketing and public relations (Solomon, et al., 2011). Organizations with effective promotion mix attain more in terms of attracting customers. A communications model where the message is relayed from the sender to the receiver of the message (Solomon, et al., 2011).The successful completion of the communication process occurs when feedback is offered. A number of retailers are of the view that the feedback may come inform of order, brand loyalty as well as product awareness. The most commonly applied promotion in the retail of petroleum products is by the use of shopper dockets fuel discounts, the consumers are offered with a lesser cost per litre (Convey, 2011). The non-affiliated competitors have responded by slight adjustments in price of their petroleum products. Also there are other forms of promotion that are used such as selling other goods together with the petroleum product been bought. The customers are enticed due to the saved time as well energy. Price The price that which is charged on a product or service is termed as the amount the customers offers in order to have possession of the desired product (Solomon et al., 2011). Certain steps are vital to the successful planning and the steps ought to be followed in a logical manner so as to achieve the desired goals. The steps ought to follow the following structure: development of pricing objectives, estimation of the level of demand, determination of costs, evaluation of the pricing environment, selection of a pricing strategy to be applied and the development of the pricing strategy that is selected. The pricing objectives ought to support the overall goals of the organization. The petroleum industry has augmented level of competition and most of the customers have no brand loyalty (Convey, 2011) thus the likely pricing objective and goals are to gain short-term sales of the petroleum products. The other step to be adhered to is the estimation of expected demand. The retail demand for the petroleum products is estimated to rise (Convey, 2011).In the selection of the price to be charged the retailers ought to understand aspect related to both variable costs as well as the fixed costs. The major costs of the industry are the material costs and other costs associated to leasing, motor vehicle running costs, rent and any other miscellaneous costs. The evaluation of the market environment is essential to all marketers since it will assist them in knowing the external variables of the business this variable include aspect such as consumer trends, economy as well as competition (Solomon, et al. 2011). Based on the pricing objectives of the organization, the organization ought to choose a strategy that is more focused on competition the company ought to offer prices that provide value to the customer. The retailers ought to apply pricing tactics, despite the fact that retailers sell more than one product they are more inclined in pricing based on an individual product. Most retailers in the market use dynamic pricing approach which can be easily altered to meet any changes that may occur in the market (Solomon, et al., 2011). Product Products are termed as the most vital elements in a marketing mix. According to Kotler, products are anything either in terms of services or a tangible item that a marketer brings to the market and it gains attention, use as well as acquisition. According to Kotler a product has there levels namely: the augmented product, the core product and the formal product. the core product is comprised of the reimbursement that are been offered by the product to the customers, the actual product refers to the tangible good or intangible service that offers the preferred advantage and the augmented product refers to the actual product been offered coupled with other supporting features (Solomon, et al., 2011). A lot of revenue in the petroleum industry is obtained is derived from the sale of retails made both of petrol and diesel and other products that are offered with them. Petroleum products have an advantage in that it aid a great deal by enabling customers to move from one place to another and also move other machineries. The customer purchases are petroleum as well as the brand (Shell, Caltex, etc.). In reference to this the augmented product mainly comes in form of a petrol station or company accepting and implanting the use of credit card in their purchases and the use of friendly sales service. Petroleum is generally termed and categorized as a non-durable product since it offers the benefit over a short duration of time (Solomon, et al., 2011). Place Of all the element of the marketing mix, place is the only element that provide an opportunity for a competitive advantage (Solomon et al., 2011). The advantage or the disadvantage often comes through the organizations value chain there are five activities with each having a link to the chain and have a positive or negative effect on the value of the product that is eventually purchased by the customer (Solomon, et al. 2011). The five major steps in the value chain should be followed in a logical manner and they include: inbound raw materials, manufacturing, and allocation of finished products, selling the products and lastly offering of customer care services. Another vital aspect in relation to place is the supply chain and it is comprised of all entities that play part in ensuring that raw material are manufactured and turned to finished good to be consumed by the customer. In the petroleum industry the parties involved include refineries as well as the individual who offer transportation to the fuel and other categories of products that are designed for sale at the designated retail outlets. The location of the retailer has an important role in that it determines the failure or success of the retail outlet. The sales of petroleum products in Australia are affected by various factors such as population size, economic activity, concentration and many other factors and consequently required fuel vary in different states and territories. Based on the regional area large volumes of traffic mainly leads to higher sales and the retailers who are operating in these areas play a major role in obtained the required amount of fuels thus enabling viability. Conclusion This report has clearly described the four elements of the marketing mix that is products, price, place and promotion and how the four elements are applied in the retailing outlets. In the report the product has been defined as anything either in terms of services or a tangible item that a marketer brings to the market and it gains attention, use as well as acquisition. Product is said to have three levels that is: augmented level, core level as well as the actual level. The price that which is charged on a product or service is termed as the amount the customers offers in order to have possession of the desired product and this is best described inn the report by the use of the seven steps that assist in successful price planning. According to this report place is the only element that offers a competitive advantage. This report has described promotion as the set activities undertaken as well as efforts made by the products marketers so as to persuade the potential customers to purchase the product. The communications model was seen as best tool in ensuing success of the promotion selected and highlighted the various types of promotion that is used by the retailers. References Convey, K. (2011). Revenue roller-coaster: Industry performance has fluctuated due to volatile prices’, IBIS World Industry Report G5321 Automotive Fuel Retailing in Australia. Kotler, P. (2009).Principles of Marketing. New York: Prentice hall Solomon, M., Hughes, A, Chitty, B, Fripp, G, Marshall, G & Stuart, E. (2011). Marketing 2 Real People, Real Choices. Australia: Pearson. Read More