Marketing Management - the Issue of Obesity in America - Essay Example

Marketing Management Identifying and understanding trends in the marketing environment The issue of obesity in America has been one of the thorny issues in the nation. This has been due to the health effects that come along with obesity. After reviewed this article it is evident that majority of those who are overweight and obese wants to lose their weight. Therefore the industries that would benefit most from this are those which are directly linked with the issue of obesity. In this case the health industry which is mostly concerned with giving advice on how to lose weigh it likely to gain more as more an more people are likely to seen advise on how to lose weight. The health and safety industry which manufacture exercise equipments is also likely to gain since there will be more people who will be seeking to purchase the equipment to engage in exercise. According to the survey on the trust of professional in America, it gives a good idea of those who are trusted most by the people and therefore the one who they would like to be associated with. For the purpose of marketing I would use the most trusted professionals like teachers and priest in order to associate the products with. This is because the trust that these people have on these professionals would be translated to the trust that they will develop on the products that are being sold. Therefore in order to market properly, I would target the input of the most trusted professional in adverting the products and services. This means that the consumer would end up buying the product based on the fact that it is associated with the most trusts persona since they will take them as their opinion leaders. The survey on the leisure activities gives the most preferred activity as reading and watching TV. In this case this data can be used to give a good marketing idea since it gives the most used and engaged in leisure activity. If most of the people engage in reading, then it means that books and other related material are likely to be in high demand. Therefore marketer can make good sales from this. It also means that marketer can also take a marketing approach in which they will try to associate their product with the leisure activity that is mostly used by the people. Ethical issues and overweight Here there is an ethical issue about the health of the population and the amount of profit that these food companies are making from the people. In this case MacDonald's and other restaurants have found that it is more profitable to offer people super size fries and drinks which contain more calories in order to make more profits. In this case they have been deceiving the consumers that they are getting more while in the real sense it is the restaurants that are making more. This has had an effect of increasing the number of overweigh Americans. The rate of growth of lifestyle conditions and disease can therefore be directly attributed to the action of these restaurants to bundle meals and make more profits since customer perceive that they are begin give a good deal on the meals. These restaurants have also targeted the most vulnerable groups which is the children and the young people who are not aware of the health effect of junk foods. They have started selling junk food in schools. The food industry has also been using huge amount of resources in order to advertise for these junk foods. This is aimed at attracting more people to the each processed and convenience food despite the health effects that is associated with the food. There is an ethical issue concerning the need for the restaurant to make huge profits and the health of the people. The effects of junk food are very well understood by all people. But on the other hand you have people who are pressed by busy routine schedules in their work. They have little time to prepare quality meals and therefore they are likely to eat what is provided by restaurants. Seeing financial attitude in a cloudy sky Market demand is a description of the consumption of a product or a service in the market. In this regard market demand describes the way in which products and service are need in the market. Market demand affects the supply of production in the market and therefore the price of the product in the market. Market demand, market potential and sales forecasting are related concepts in the market. Market demand determines the market potential. If the market demand of a product is high then that particular product has a high potential in the market. Market demand is important in predicting the future forecast of the market through the potential of the market. Market demand can be used to forecast the sales that are likely to be realized in the market. In this case market demand determines market potentiality and therefore the sales that are to be realized in the future. Once you are sure of the quantities that satisfy your consumers, one is likely to forecast the future demand of the market and therefore the amount of sales that are likely to be made in the future. This is all dependants on the potentiality of the market in the future based on the relative changes that are likely to take place. One of the factor that affect sales of a product in the market is the number of consumers the market. The population of the domestic market affects the local market. The higher the population, the higher the domestic market and therefore the higher demand of the product. If the population of Australia is decrease and the international market is not growing then there will be decreased market for the company. This is because the demand of the product is directly dependant on the local market. Decrease in population may affect the revenues and earning of the company in the future unless it takes steps to expand outside the Australian market. Ansoff product/market expansion is a grid that shows how a company can achieve higher sales and higher profit through diversification of product and the market. In this case a company is likely to make more profit if it provides more varieties for consumer to choose from and at the same time penetrate new market which means it will acquire new consumers. Qantas can apply the same strategy by diversifying the services it offers e.g. providing a variety of classes, and at the same time venturing into new market outside the Australian market. This calls for development of new products and diversification of new market. This is an important strategy especially in the volatile air market since it will give the company other alternatives rather than the air market. Acquiring new routes will help the company to venture into other routes which have more customers unlike the local Australian market which has been recording a decline in the number of consumers. The "It" Car for Gen Y Scion is a car that has designed and position for the target market. In this case the car is designed such that it is meant for the Gen Y which is defined as the general that was born from 1977. In this case the care has been fitted with features that are likely to make it attractive to that general the design come with some of the following features which are meant for the ge4nerotn: air condition, six-speaker premium pioneer AM/FM/CD sound systems which is satellite ready and compatible with MP3, power windows which have a one touch auto down button, power door locks, and a cover of three wheel cover designs. Scion has been manufactured with a specific target to the generation that was born from 1977. This has an advantage in that it has been instrumental in helping the car become popular among that generation. The design of the car has been able to identify with the demand of the generation sine it has been able to meet their needs. This manes that the design of the car has been simple and easy as it has been aimed at meeting particular demands of the generation. In this regard the company has used been able to concentrate on design the care to meet the needs of that particular generation. But this strategy also has some disadvantages. In this case it has limited the market appeal of the brand to other customers since it has concentrated on the demand of the market segment alone. Instead of coming up with a brand that meets the needs for all people it has limited the market segment for the car since it is only the young who are likely to purchase the car. (DSS, 2004) There are various social market elements that can be identified in Scion. In the product the design of the car has been made to reflect the savvy and sporty life of the generation. It has come with speakers an FM enhancive which give top music which attract the market segment. It has tried to internet the modern life and demand of the generation. The pricing has been cut such that this generation can afford the price. In this case it has held the pure price policy which means that the price of the product is the actual price of the dealership. There has been also funding through the same company in order to ensure that majority can afford it. The product has also been position well within the reach of the generation. In this case it has been advertised to the areas where the young people are likely to be found. This means the positioning of the product has been aimed at the right segment of the market. In advertisement there has been massive advertisement through the u-tube and other channels which are mostly liked by young people. Marketing spotlight - Microsoft There are various elements that are evident in the Microsoft market strategy for the Xbox 360. Firs Microsoft has been looking at breaking the old golden rule of unveiling a new product in the market. In this case broke the rule and unveiled the product six months before shipment which was a gesture of the good will with the demand that has crowning the video game industry. This has been as a strategy which has been aimed at ensuring that it creates a new brand appeal in the market. There is also a spoiler strategy which is seen to appeal to switcher. This has been aimed at giving the company a lead in the market. The strategy is different from the earlier one in unveiling a new game in the market in the sense that the company has come up with a complete new unveiling method. Instead of unveiling the product in the presence of partners and developers, Microsoft has unveiled the product to the consumer first and six months before shipping. Microsoft can be considered as one of the success stories of the marketing in the 1990s since it has been able to market its products well in the market in this case though the company has been suffering from the low sales of computers, the company has succeeded due to aggressive marketing and product innovation. Therefore it can be considered as a success story. The new Microsoft strategy doesn't contradict with any future strategy. In fact it has provided the new way that other companies should be preparing to follow. What Microsoft has done is to revolutionize the market so that other company can actually learn what they are supposed to do in order to overcome the growth barriers that have been holding the industry back. (News.com, 2008) Positioning errors and product differentiation There are a number of positioning errors that can affect the strategic marketing plan. These errors have been to lead to a drift of a strategy. In this case there are many positioning errors that affect the planned implementation of the marketing strategy. The most important error that has to be avoided includes under positioning and doubt in the introduction of the product in the market. In this cse under positioning refers to that aspect of marketing the product below its market value or beyond the reach of the target customers. This has an effect as it can affect the way the marketing strategy works as it may lead to low sales. This weakens the marketing strategies that are adopted. This affects the overall penetration of the product in the market. Rickest Heating an Air can use the service in order to differentiate it heating system. In this regard it will need to invest in technology in order to develop a system that will lead to product differentiation in the market. This means that there have to be systematic development of products and service that will ensure that there is a new appeal in the market. Price sensitivity Price sensitive is the percent of the demand volume of a produce change when it price of the product change. Therefore it can be defined as the sensitivity of the market as far as the price of product and service are concerned. For example when the price of flower is low in the market more customers are likely to buy but when the price increase most of them are not likely to buy. As far as it concern Pricelines customer, there are more sensitive to the price of the product that re offered by the company. In this case they are likely to respond to a slight change in price which may saw recorded low sales of the product. (Jim, 2006) In case the company change the price of the travel and mortgage services, they are likely to seen the product and service as low in value compared to others. At the same time if the company increase the price there is likely o record low sales as they seek alternative price elsewhere. The company low-cost loan guarantee affects the perception of the customer about the products values. In this cse the company has portrayed its product as more valuable and at the same time affordable. However, customer has been attaching low value to the cost of the product due to the price it is retailing at compared to others. Price Price should be constituted or the cost that is involved in the production of the good and service and the profit margin that is supposed to be made from the trade. In this cse price should not be set at what the customer are willing to pay. This is because in many instance customers are exploited when the price is left to the demand in the market. There is different segmentation of the consumer in the market. In his case the lower cost consumer may be obliged to pay for higher price for a product just because it is a basic need and they cannot do without it. In this case it is morally wrong to exploit the lower market segment and make them pay higher priced just because the upper segment of the market is willing to pay that high price. Therefore in order to ensure that there is integrity in the market and that customers are not exploited there should be fixing of price based on the cost of the production and a reasonable profit margin to be made. People bank Poeples.com is playing a crucial role in the distribution of the insurance produce for the product. In this case it is giving customer a chance online in order to apply for insurance product from the bank. It is a channel of communication between the bank and the customers. The bank has a long length of the channel that is used distribute account checking products. In this as it is providing a 24 hours access for touch tone telephone and internet banking services. (United Bank, 2008) Channel positioning of the people bank is an innovative way that has helped to reduce the gap between the bank and the customers. It has also saved time for the consumers as they don't have to go and queues in the bank for baking services. A unique selling proposition is an articulation of the thing that is about product, services or a company that compels prospect and other consumer to buy from you and onto from other competitors. (Quantum, 2008) Channel There are several ways in which a business can benefit from increase channel. In this case increased channel of distribution are important as they help in meeting the aims of marketing. Increased distribution channel helps the product to reach the consumer in time and it also help to reach a wide number of consumers at the same time. When dealing with the members of the channel, it is usually advisable to motivate them there are several source of power that can be used in order to motive them. One of he most important source of power to motivate these people is the amount of discount that you can be giving them. Another source of power can be the performance of the product in the market. TV adverting TV advertising is perhaps one of the most used forms of mass media advisement. It forms a unique way to reach customer. It has been one of the most effective ways of advertising based on the fact it create a strong audio visual message. Therefore it is suited for all forms of mass media communication. It is also simple to use compared to other. However it is expensive and it has potential of confusing viewer because there may be many products of the same nature that may be advertised at the same time in the same channel. But compared to other means of mass medial, the cost of advertising may be justified owing to the effect that it is likely to create on the viewers. TV advertisement is also likely to be effective since TV has been shown as one of the more important mass media with many following. In this case there are more people who watch TV as compared to those who reads the new paper or those who listens to a radio station. Therefore TV advertisement is one of the most effective methods of advertising. References DSS, (2004). Scion. Retrieved from http://www.driveandstayalive.com/info%20section/what's%20on/auto-show-and-vehicle-reports/x_scion.htm on 22nd May 2008 Jim, K. (2006). Price sensitivity. Oxford University News.com, (2008). Microsoft Xbox 360 spin. . Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/Commentary-Microsofts-Xbox-360-spin/2030-1069_3-5706144.html on 22nd May 2008 People United Bank, (2008). Working together. Retrieved from http://peoples.com/on 22nd May 2008 Quantum, (2008). Be Unique. Retrieved from http://www.iquantum.com.au/unique-selling-proposition.htm on 22nd May 2008 Read More