Marketing

Institution

Student’s name

Course

Date

Marketing and PR

When it comes to marketing, there are a number of things which influence both the suppliers and the consumers. Some of them include the environment, financial status at the state level to the individual level, the need among other things. For this reason, it makes it important for the entrepreneurs to come up with ideas or rather the products which would be beneficial to them and also to the users (Armstrong et al 2015). Currently digital native has become one of the major factors which affect entrepreneurs today. Apart from that, it is not only about the products being made available to the market, but also the various strategies that are put incorporated in the supply chain in ensuring that the consumers are informed of various products as well as their benefits. Advertisements are one of the strategies that most sellers use in order to be able to survive the competitive market.

One of the products I am loyal to is the Red Bull, of the energy, drink highly purchased by most people due to various advantages it has. The outstanding marketing of the product is what has actually enabled the brand to remain on top despite much competition from other companies like coca cola and Pepsi. The marketing of this product actually affects my decision of consuming the product. This is because the brand does not rely on a traditional approach to mass marketing, but rather they focus marketing approaches which are innovative and in a position to adapt in the world content (Heirati et al 2016). The brand focuses more on creating products which match different lifestyles and even the audience. The value of the brand is one of the aspects which makes most people to purchase the product. The products are known for providing energy to the body when taken, one of the quality most people require in order to be in a position to carry on their daily activities well. Looking at the current society is evident that most people are encouraged to lead healthy kind of lifestyles and for this reason, it makes it relevant for people to determine the value of different products to their health before consuming them.

Marketing environment on the other hand also affects the consumers from using various products. Some of the factors which influence marketing include technology, culture among other things. Personally one of the major factors which influence my decision to use the Red Bull energy drink is Generation Z. This actually refers to the youths within society. As expected, the peer influence in most institutions especially in colleges makes most people go with what others do. It becomes difficult for one to keep leading a kind of lifestyle that people of their age are not (Heirati et al 2016). Basically, most people of this age consume this brand because they believe it’s modern and also has associated benefits. This prevents one from taking drinks which are common the Y or rater X generation. Generally the era we are living in and also the people we get associated to affect the lifestyles and also the activities we get involved in and the products we use.

We, therefore, realize that marketing plays a major role in determining the probability of having various goods being consumed by different people of different ages. The environment, culture among other things actually affects the consumers when it comes to making decisions on the products they need to purchase in order to meet their needs (Armstrong et al 2015). Other product factors like the value, price among others also determines whether the consumer would purchase the product depending on their personal needs. It is therefore important for the producers/sellers to consider all these factors in order to be competitive at the market levels and also meet all the customer needs effectively.

References

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2015). Marketing: an introduction.

Heirati, N., O'Cass, A., Schoefer, K., & Siahtiri, V. (2016). Do professional service firms benefit from customer and supplier collaborations in competitive, turbulent environments?. Industrial Marketing Management, 55, 50-58.

Marketing

[Student name

University

Subject]

Topic: Daily Sales Mix, and Average Check Calculation Organizational Design

Daily sales mix

GP: Gross profit GP%: Gross profit Percentage

No.

Offerings

Cost

price

€

Sale price

€

No. of servings

Revenue

GP

GP %

1

RASBERRY- BASIL VACHERIN

3

9

50

450

300

67%

2

TARTE AUX PÊCHES

5

8

70

560

210

38%

3

MATCHA- STRABERRY MOUSE CAKE

4

8

100

800

400

50.00%

4

DARK CHOCLATE BEET TERRINE

3

7

120

840

480

57%

5

HONEY LAVANDER YOUGART MILLE FEUILLE

2

9

90

810

630

78%

6

THEATER

5

7

40

280

80

29%

Total

470

3740

2100

53%

Average check: (per day)

= Total sales in € / no. of servings

= 3740 / 470

= 7.95 €

Organizational design:

Marketing

Charlaine Engineering Consultants

BUSINESS PLAN

Prepared by:

Charlaine Engineering Consultants57 East Paulson AvenueOakland, CA 94602

Contact: Jeff Charlaine, CEOPhone (555) 555-5555jeffcharlaine@cec.cengage.com

Contents

TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1.Executive Summary PAGEREF _Toc6199716 \h 3

2.Company History PAGEREF _Toc6199717 \h 3

3.Description PAGEREF _Toc6199718 \h 4

4.Background PAGEREF _Toc6199719 \h 4

5.Market Analysis PAGEREF _Toc6199720 \h 5

6.Income Forecast PAGEREF _Toc6199721 \h 6

List of Figures

TOC \h \z \c "Figure" Figure 1 Charlaine Engineering Consultants principles PAGEREF _Toc6199740 \h 2

Figure 2 Total hospitals in the United States PAGEREF _Toc6199741 \h 3

Figure 3 Projected hospital construction PAGEREF _Toc6199742 \h 3

Figure 4 Current state of potential projects PAGEREF _Toc6199743 \h 4

Figure 5 Projected income for five years PAGEREF _Toc6199744 \h 5

Figure 6 Projected income in Year 1 PAGEREF _Toc6199745 \h 5

Index

INDEX \c "2" \z "4096"

financing, 1, 2

investment. See financing

project management

engineering, 1

onsite, 1

Marketing

Marketing Assignment

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

The Consumer buying process

The consumer buying process consists of the following stages.

The Problem recognition:

This aspect shows the real need on the part of a customer. In order to start a purchase, the consumer must understand rather should identify that something is missing or required. The stage also includes the aspects where the customer sees himself or what he wants to achieve through a certain product. This perception is not actually reflected in the reality and this fact presents a problem for the customer. For the marketing representative it is an opportunity. The person has to assure the customer that there is a gap between the perception and the reality. Our refrigerator broke out and we recognized that there exists a problem.

Information Search:

After the problem has been realized, the process of searching the various alternatives begins. The customer now knows that the problem exists and he is on a search of solution. The customer will start searching the related market. E.g. if the customer wants to buy a TV, he will start looking at various options. The marketing representative here should have a product that leads the market currently. On the part of the firm or company, methods can be used such as engaging in partnerships with big names like Google and showing the same in the publicity materials. We searched through online sales sites and physically through visit to the vendors.

Evaluation of alternatives:

The availability of various partners or the fact that your company is a giant market leader will not necessitate that the customer will buy your product of buy from you. The easy access of information has made the comparisons much easier. The customer now makes sure that he has complete information regarding all the available alternatives. Due to the ease of comparison, despite knowing what they want, the customers will search to ensure that the decision is the best one. Keeping the customer at your counter to evaluate all the available options is a tough task on the part of marketing team. Samsung, LG and one or two others were assessed.

Purchase decision:

This is the center stage of the process. The customer has gone through a variety of options that were available to him. The customer also knows about the various aspects like what is the price, what would be the mode of payment etc. The y can even withdraw at this stage as well. It is the right time to accelerate the marketing efforts. The marketing representative should convince the customer that the purchased is safe and also to remind him why in the first place he wanted to make the purchase. We made the purchase decision by opting for the Samsung option.

Purchase:

At this stage there is a need to be satisfied, the appropriate research has been done, and the customer has decided to make a purchase. The marketing representative should be focused as the customer can be lost at this stage as well. The sole thing on the part of the marketing representative is to keep the things uncomplicated CITATION Say13 \l 1033 (Saylor.org, 2013). The online page should be checked to be working properly. We opted for vendor purchase.

Adoption process

The adoption process includes the following things:

Awareness

The major aim of the marketing or advertising to be precise is to create the awareness for a product. A huge amount of money is spent by the firms in this regard.

Interest

This aspect includes that the customer who is aware of some product will search the options available to him.

Evaluation

The various alternates that have been assessed will now be evaluated keeping in view the criteria set by the customer. The companies adhere to this stage by offering free trial packs to the people. This is to let them try the new or improved version of any existing product.

Adoption

The customer takes a decision and uses the actual purchased product.

Similarities in the Business and consumer buying processes

Both the processes start from the need recognition step. Both include the evaluation of alternatives available.

Differences between the business and consumer buying behavior

The major difference between the two is that the consumer buys the product for own use while the business buying process is undertaken to purchase a product for other’s use. The business buying process includes detailed documentation on the part of purchaser. This is npt the case with the consumer.

Maslow hierarchy of needs

The Maslow theory indicates the basic needs first CITATION DrN13 \l 1033 (Jerome, 2013) .The consumer may be more involved in purchase for satisfying basic needs as compared to the business. Both the business as well as the consumer can be equally involved in case of safety needs. Purchase of guns by individuals or by the business for their security guards can be considered as examples. The social needs encompass the social relationships. This is more appropriately connected to the individual buying process as businesses have professional relations rather than the personal relations. In the last two steps, only the business will be involved.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Jerome, D. N. (2013). Application of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory; impacts and implications on organizational culture, human resource and employee’s performance. International journal of business and management invention, 39-45.

Neubauer, M. M. (2010, June 10). https://muep.mau.se. Retrieved from https://muep.mau.se/bitstream/handle/2043/10565/TheCustomerBuyingProcessl.pdf?sequence=1: https://muep.mau.se/bitstream/handle/2043/10565/TheCustomerBuyingProcessl.pdf?sequence=1

Saylor.org. (2013). https://resources.saylor.org. Retrieved from https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/BUS203-PoM-Ch4.pdf: https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/BUS203-PoM-Ch4.pdf

Marketing

Distribution Channels

Name of the student

Name of tutor

The direct channel that we are going to use is the direct sale to the customers. The customers will come to our store to buy the product. The store will be set up in such a place that is easily accessible to all the customers. Further the place that is chosen will be in a market where there are stores nearby. This will benefit us in a way that the customers who will come to purchase other items will also come and look to the products that we are offering. The consumers will benefit from the direct selling as they will have a closer look at the products and services on offer. For the sellers it is beneficial as the people who want to earn a little extra will try and sell the product directly. However the seller must have all the possible knowledge about the product. The direct selling option helps to maintain a relatively lower price on the part of the company. This is because the company does not have to pay the margin charged by the retailers or wholesalers. In case of some technical product this method is better because the sales person from the company will have the best knowledge regarding the product. They can help the customer know each and everything associated with the functioning of the product. The direct selling option is expensive as the company has to hire various sales representatives. The area covered by these sales representatives will be limited. Thus the product of the company could be introduced to a limited audience only. The direct sale option is time consuming as the customer may or may not be available for meeting. In case of direct selling to the business customers, it can happen that they are not able to spare time from their busy schedules.

The company can also opt for indirect distribution channels. These may be the retailers, wholesalers etc. The company can choose a specific number of retailers to keep its products. The major advantage of this option is that the product can reach a larger number of customers. The expenses that the company has to make on the sales representatives are saved. Additional costs of targeting a new area are higher in case of the direct selling option. Further the direct sellers know a very restricted area of a city. Thus in order to successfully operate in an unknown area, the business needs local people. This option is provided by the indirect distribution channels. The stores selling your product will also have certain other products. Thus a combined advertising campaign can be launched with some other companies to attract more traffic to the stores. The company will not have to bear the whole costs of the marketing this way. The downside of these channels is that they are least bothered to sell the product efficiently. The skill required to efficiently manage the sales is generally missing.

After studying both direct and indirect channels, in our opinion the company should use a mix of both. The company can use the direct channels in the areas that have heavy snowfalls. The other most important factor is the availability of good sales representatives. The company can go for retail sales in the areas where the snowfall is a bit less. These areas can include those which are near to the stores. The choice of the retailers is another important aspect as not all the retailers are able to generate the required quantity and quality of the traffic for the sales to be higher. After assessing the feasibility over a period of time, the company can bring changes as suited.

Marketing 401 Course Project

Marketing 401 Course Project

Student’s Name:

Institutional Affiliation:

Marketing 401 Course Project

Environmental Analysis

Starbuck business environment, particularly in South Asia and the Middle East, is changing unpredictably and rapidly toward worse for the company because of the declaration of war on Iraq in 2003 by the US. In 2002, Arab students boycotted services and goods from America because of the close association of Israel and the US leading to the Starbuck sales dropping. The major environmental forces that affect Starbucks include economic, political, social and environmental factors (Aiello & Dickinson, 2014). The social, economic factors that affects the company include the level of education of the local market population, varying values in the community, variation in the population lifestyle, varying work patterns, preferences of the consumer, changing family patterns in Europe and USA. Environment scanning will done by tracking the occurrence and trends in the organisational external and internal environment that bears on its successes, in the future and present. Environmental scanning is essential in shaping strategies and goals.

Industry information

Starbucks is in the coffee industry. Coffee is among the preferred beverages in the US. The mean amount of money that is spent on coffee is about 21 USD weekly. Additionally, on average 21% and 26% of the coffee drinkers consume three to four cups each day, respectively. The growth of rate coffee consumption in the US was 7.8 between 2015 and 2016 while the retail coffee market was estimated at 12.8 billion USD in 2015 (Thompson & Arsel, 2016). There is an increasing demand for non-alcoholic drinks in the US. The market for non-alcoholic beverages is dynamic and competitive. Wellness and health are driving the increase in market demand. In US coffee was ranked 3rd after bottle water and carbonates among the non-alcoholic drinks in the market. Additionally coffee takes around 38% of the non-alcoholic beverages in the US.

The threat of the new entrant of the coffee industry is moderate. The industry barrier is not very high with the initial investment for starting the coffee brand is not also high. Saturation level in the industry is reasonably high. New entrants into the market can compete with stable brands like Starbucks at the local level (Fitter & Kaplinksy, 2001). Nevertheless, the possibility of remaining successful is moderate and low. Starbuck has been able to attract the more significant share in the market based on the product quality, efficiency and its infrastructure.

Competitor Analysis

From 1987, the coffee industry has come a long way in terms of competitive rivalry and product variety. Contrary to the early days when Starbucks competed against the local and small scale speciality coffee retailers, the industry has managed to grow internationally, and it is now competing with more prominent firms of different exposures and sizes. The rivals are serving the speciality coffees that are differentiated from the Starbuck coffee in different ways. The main competitor of Starbuck is Caribou Coffee (Geereddy, 2012). It creates a coffee that is also similar to the coffee made by Starbuck; however, it tries to create an upscale of the European atmosphere. Caribou coffee combines the American atmosphere to the coffee houses. Caribou coffee has established their coffeehouses after the rustic lodges of Alaskan. They also provide numerous fireplaces, soft seating and knotty pine cabinetry.

Corporate Mission

The mission statement of the Starbucks Company: "To nurture and inspire the human spirit one neighbourhood, one cup one person at a time.

Value orientation: Starbuck firm is a coffee company, and it is considered the primary representative of the second wave coffee is distinguishing itself from the rest of the venue of coffee serving in the US by customer experience, quality and taste while popularising the darkly roasted coffee (Thompson & Arsel, 2016). The company serves cold and hot drinks, snacks, espresso, instant coffee, whole-bean coffee. Most of its outlets set the pre-packaged food items, cold and hot sandwiches, appetisers and wines among others.

Corporate Analysis and Appraisal

Corporate appraisal involves the examination of the whole company from various angles. It provides the measurement of the readiness of the company internal culture to deal with the changes and external environment. The strengths of Starbucks includes its products are of high quality, environment-friendly and are consistent in the different locations; thus they afford to charge their products higher which most customers are willing to part with more money. They have reinvestments, and efficiency strategy plus they treat their employee well (Leigh & Pershing, 2016). It another main area is the management of the human resource that is the value-based approach for the creation of the stable external and internal relationship with the suppliers that drive the successful deployment of the business strategy of the expansion of the organisation in the global market. The company does integration horizontally through the smart alliance and the acquisition which maintains the long term, the objective of being mostly respected and recognised brands around the world.

Starbuck has the inside geographical presence all over the world, and it maintains a market share of 36.7% in the US, and it also has operations in other 60 countries. It is amongst the most recognised brands in the segment of coffee, and it is being ranked the 91st best in international brands in the year 2013. The other promotional strategy is the delivery of the coffee to the workplaces or offices without any restriction. There are fewer coffee outlets that are willing to do deliveries without any limitation or condition (Fitter & Kaplinksy, 2001). The company also provides giveaways. The customers are purchasing high-quality, expensive drinks that have personalised in-store experience that is enhanced by the trained employees. For example, the name of the customer is written on the plastic cup of the beverage that they order. And this assists the company to obtain the premium brand status and avoid high competition. Starbucks uses various types of positioning including the mono segment positioning whereby the coffee chain targeted the premium consumer segment the only test is the persons who are willing to pay more for the quality of services and products. Adaptive positioning is a result of the tendency of rising consumer health awareness.

The weakness of the company includes a high price and lack of unique products. Whereas the company strives to differentiate its products, the company has to convince the customer not to buy cheaper products and instead choose Starbucks products. The high prices pose as weakness in some of the developing countries. The high saturation and aggressive expansion is another weakness. Overcrowding in the market cause the self-cannibalisation and reduces the long term growth which Starbucks targets (Leigh & Pershing, 2016). Negative corporate image affects the company negatively. Just like any other significant cooperation’s, Starbucks has been under scrutiny, and they have had to invest in the cooperate responsibility and maintained the tight control on labour practices. The coffee culture of the American, European clash with the other nations is another weakness. The company might not be globally accepted in other countries as part of the global strategy. The past performance of the company can be measured by the size of the increasing or decreasing market base, the amount of revenue and customer satisfaction

Marketing Research Techniques Employed

At first, Starbucks targeted the young college students, neighbourhood and social classes which were ready to buy the coffee at the $6 and take time spent with the friends at the stores. With the growth and expansion, Starbucks targeted market increased rapidly to compromise each person of every age. In overseas countries, they started targeting the high way rest shops, ethnic neighbourhoods, rural communities and small towns (Fitter & Kaplinksy, 2001).In Singapore, the country increased its target from the workers in the offices who would need the coffee while going to work. After that, every person of different ages became their target. Nevertheless, in Singapore, it is seen that only the friendly, young and well aware of the right coffee hand out in the Starbucks stores. The elderly or family has rarely seen seating in the Starbucks for coffee.

The marketing strategy for the company included positioning the outlets as the place where the customers could spend time away from work and home. Every store was created to be relaxing and as comfortable as possible. Not just that they endeavour to make surer that it was accessible and available readily to the people who wanted to relax. For instance, the shopping malls where most people choose to hang out particularly the ladies (Fitter & Kaplinksy, 2001). Ladies are viewed as sophisticated people who wish to everything good and of top-class quality. The company was able to achieve comforts by providing relaxing music and comfortable furniture. In the past years, it has been able to include the offerings like complimentary books, handicapped access, wireless internet and areas for meetings. Whereas Starbucks stores are situated at the locations where the consumers spend their time in a comfortable setting, the product lines are placed higher in connection to the quality and prices.

Positioning Strategy

At Starbucks, the customers are purchasing high-quality, expensive drinks that have personalised in-store experience that is enhanced by the trained employees. For example, the name of the customer is written on the plastic cup of the beverage that they order. And this assists the company to obtain the premium brand status and avoid high competition. The specific selling idea supports the company to differentiate the product and the services plus gain a competitive advantage over the competition (Leigh & Pershing, 2016). The company is known for their excellent customer service and the in-store experience that the consumers are willing to spend more time in the shop and be able to benefit on the cosy and friendly environment with an internet connection. The customers are also able to purchase their beverage rapidly and be on their way. In all the cases, the consumer is meant to attain the best and unique experience. The particular selling concept is significant for the world that is fast moving where technology is becoming more, and the social interactions are decreasing. The consumers find human contact in the store in their everyday lives.

Starbucks is by far the leader in the coffee industry that they created. Various criticisms face the company concerning the way they approach the consumers. When the company first opened the new stores, it lost its magic, and the personalised service was not present (Thompson & Arsel, 2016). Consumers felt like they were neglected as the regular customer and this contradicted the selling proposition that is unique of the company that had laid out earlier during the creation of the company and the decreasing competitive advantage of Starbuck detained over the competitors.

Starbucks positioning, targeting and segmentation compromise of the market decisions that are directed to the identification of the appropriate group of people in among the general group as the future customers for business and targeting the segment through positioning the services and the products to resonate well with the wants and the needs (Aiello & Dickinson, 2014). Positioning is deciding the persons that the company wants to sell to and making the services and products available. Starbucks uses various types of positioning including the mono segment positioning whereby the coffee chain targeted the premium consumer segment the only test is the persons who are willing to pay more for the quality of services and products. Adaptive positioning is a result of the tendency of rising consumer health awareness. The company has created coffee beverages that have fewer calories like Iced Americano having 11 calories, Cafee Misto having 63 calories and Chai Tea Latte having 103 calories.

Product Analysis and Strategy

The primary strategy employed by Starbucks is the ability to leverage their product differentiation effectively by offering the premium product mix of high-quality snacks and beverages. The brand equity of the company is built on selling the most excellent coffee and the associated products and through the provision of the clients the Starbucks experience (Thompson & Arsel, 2016). The experience is founded on the high customer care service, well maintained and clean stores which reflect the culture of the people they operate in hence establishing the high degree of the customer care loyalty with a big following.

The company gives utmost importance to the quality of their products, and it avoids standardisation of the condition even for the higher quality output. The company’s stores are in the strategic and prime location around the works (Leigh & Pershing, 2016). The company targets high traffic, premium and high visibility locations near various setting compromising of the suburban and urban centres, office building, and retail centres and off-highway places. It has provided them with a significant advantage to penetrate the prime markets and be able to tap the consumer’s novice factor. The stores are appealing visually and have the cool factor added to it and viewed and environment-friendly.

The products sold by the company cater to all people in different age groups and demographic factors. It utilises mobile outlets and use technology and has its mobile application in android and apple softwares. Starbucks makes significant investments in technology for supporting the expansion of the company. It has customer base loyalty among the customers, and they have loyalty programs like the Starbucks card and Reward programs (Thompson & Arsel, 2016). It effectively leverages the rich brand equity through merchandising products and licensing uses the brand logo. The brand recognition and the strong market presence the company to attain significant competitive advantage in additional progressing to the global marketing the past years it has been able to achieve the considerable economies of scale with the preferred supplier relationship and distribution channels.

Pricing Strategy

The products from Starbucks products are priced higher compared to most of the other types of coffee because of the image that is carried. Nevertheless, the company knew how to get their prices and attract the targeted market to purchase their coffee without looking at other brands. It started with one dollar for a cup of coffee with the unlimited refills which cost nearly 50 cents less compared to the other products sold in the company (Aiello & Dickinson, 2014) They put in place the value strategies which emphasised on the expensive products instead of being perceived as the unaffordable to the consumers. When quality was the primary desire of the targeted market, pricing was no longer an issue, and this is the same case to Starbucks. It created a Starbuck experience which most of the times the customer goes back to it because of the great coffee, comfort and ambience even when the customers could get the same coffee at half the price in a different coffee outlet.

Promotion Strategy

Starbucks has applied various promotions to reach the targeted marker. The developments that Starbucks has utilised compromise the Starbuck Card. It is a strategy that provides the customers with the chance of promoting the products of the company through referrals. The customer referral impetus application is a method to induce modern-day clients to allude new customers in your save (Geereddy, 2012). Unfastened objects, sizable limits and money rewards are a part of the motivating forces that the company utilises. When the customer buys the gift card, it shows brand loyalty and provide the company with free advertisement and attracts new customers. The card is provided for the corporate sales that are used for the extrinsic rewards for showing the appreciation of the employee for the job well done

The other promotional strategy is the delivery of the coffee to the workplaces or offices without any restriction. There are fewer coffee outlets that are willing to do deliveries without any limitation or condition. The company also provides giveaways. Giveaways and allowing capacity clients to test an item are techniques utilised regularly through groups to give new nourishment and own family objects (Aiello & Dickinson, 2014). They also appeal to the diverse consumer base by offering international coffee and teas to accommodate the consumers who are away from home. Starbucks also aims at improving brand awareness and image to the consumers through web-based promotion, mail order advertising. Doing a good deed as the means of development is practised in Starbuck. It contributes to various organisations as a method of improving the brand image

Distribution Strategy

Starbucks mainly sells its products in the company retail shops. Addition to the sales through the retail shops, it also sells tea and coffee product through other distribution channels compromising the business units of Business Alliances. Through joint ventures, it sells and produces bottles of coffee drinks together with ice creams. Starbucks has strived to expand its brand outside the retail store environment by having a variety of channels (Fitter & Kaplinksy, 2001). The company has various stores in Colombia, Canada, North America, Thailand, Australia and the UK. It sells the coffee to the restaurants, retailers, airlines, hotels, healthcare and educational facilities. The company aims at reaching customers from where they travel, work, dine and shop through establishing an association with third parties which share the commitment and values of the company. The associations are of differing kinds compromising arrangements with the retail store licensing agreements, food service companies, warehouse club accounts, grocery channels licensing agreements, direct to the customer channels plus joint venture that are linked with the core business of the company.

The company make the related coffee products available continently to the customers through the online and mail-order. It publishes and distributes the mail-order catalogue with the catalogue of the business gifts, selection of the coffee making accessories and equipment’s, particular food items and it has the online store which permits the consumers to buy gifts, coffee over the internet (Geereddy, 2012). The firm has various initiatives which are connected with its main business for enhancement of the experience of the customer at the retail shops. For instance, the company has been implementing the internet access in the retail store and has also marketed sections of the tea products from the time of its acquisition.

The company has combined ventures that are not retail. The joint venture with the Pepi-Cola firm it has been able to develop the ready to drink products that are coffee related (Aiello & Dickinson, 2014).Thorough extension of the joint venture in the distribution of the coffee drinks in over 200,000 supermarkets, drug stores and in other locations in the Canada and US. The firm also has cooperation with the Dreyer's Cream for developing and the distribution of the companies coffee ice creams. In 2001, the association managed to distribute different varieties of ice-cream and other products in supermarkets all over the US.

References

Aiello, G., & Dickinson, G. (2014). Beyond authenticity: A visual-material analysis of locality in the global redesign of Starbucks stores. Visual Communication, 13(3), 303-321.

Fitter, R., & Kaplinksy*, R. (2001). Who gains from product rents as the coffee market becomes more differentiated? A value‐chain analysis. IDS bulletin, 32(3), 69-82.

Geereddy, N. (2012). Strategic analysis of Starbucks corporation. Harward [Електронний ресурс].–Режим доступу: http://scholar. harvard. edu/files/nithingeereddy/files/starbucks_ case_analysis. pdf.

Leigh, D., & Pershing, A. J. (2016). SWOT analysis. The handbook of human performance technology, 1089, 1108.

Thompson, C. J., & Arsel, Z. (2016). The Starbucks brandscape and consumers'(anticorporate) experiences of glocalization. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(3), 631-642.

Marketing And Communication

BSB52415

Diploma in Marketing and Communication

Student Name:

Student Assessment Booklet

BSBMKG514

Implement and monitor marketing activities

Table of Contents

TOC \t "Heading 1,1,Title,1,Document Heading,1" Table of Contents PAGEREF _Toc516154751 \h 2

Assessment Information PAGEREF _Toc516154752 \h 3

Assessment Instructions PAGEREF _Toc516154753 \h 5

Student Assessment Agreement PAGEREF _Toc516154754 \h 6

Assessment Task 1 Cover Sheet PAGEREF _Toc516154755 \h 7

Assessment Task 1: Written Questions PAGEREF _Toc516154756 \h 8

Assessment Task 1 Instructions PAGEREF _Toc516154757 \h 10

Assessment Task 1 Checklist PAGEREF _Toc516154758 \h 12

Assessment Task 2 Cover Sheet PAGEREF _Toc516154759 \h 13

Assessment Task 2: Marketing activities project PAGEREF _Toc516154760 \h 14

Assessment Task 2 Instructions PAGEREF _Toc516154761 \h 15

Assessment Task 2 Checklist PAGEREF _Toc516154762 \h 18

Assessment Task 3 Cover Sheet PAGEREF _Toc516154763 \h 19

Assessment Task 3: Marketing activities implementation and monitoring project PAGEREF _Toc516154764 \h 20

Assessment Task 3 Instructions PAGEREF _Toc516154765 \h 21

Assessment Task 3 Checklist PAGEREF _Toc516154766 \h 23

Assessment Task 4 Cover Sheet PAGEREF _Toc516154767 \h 24

Assessment Task 4: Monitor and review marketing strategies and tactics project PAGEREF _Toc516154768 \h 25

Assessment Task 4 Instructions PAGEREF _Toc516154769 \h 27

Assessment Task 4 Checklist PAGEREF _Toc516154770 \h 29

Assessment Information

The assessment tasks for BSBMKG514 Implement and monitor marketing activities are included in this Student Assessment Tasks booklet and outlined in the assessment plan below.

To be assessed as competent for this unit, you must complete all of the assessment tasks satisfactorily.

Assessment Plan

Assessment Task

Overview

1. Written Questions

You must correctly answer all written questions.

2. Marketing Activities Project

You must identify and prioritise marketing strategies and tactics from a Marketing Plan and brief their team accordingly.

3. Marketing activities implementation and monitoring project

You must implement marketing activities by writing an article for a local paper about the company and its products/services and then monitor the impact of the article.

4. Marketing performance report

You must review a case study including marketing performance data and analyse and report on the data provided.

Assessment Preparation

Please read through this assessment thoroughly before beginning any tasks. Ask your assessor for clarification if you have any questions at all.

When you have read and understood this unit’s assessment tasks, print out the Student Assessment Agreement. Fill it out, sign it, and hand it to your assessor, who will countersign it and then keep it on file.

Keep a copy of all of your work, as the work submitted to your assessor will not be returned to you.

Assessment appeals

If you do not agree with an assessment decision, you can make an assessment appeal as per your RTO’s assessment appeals process.

You have the right to appeal the outcome of assessment decisions if they feel they have been dealt with unfairly or have other appropriate grounds for an appeal.

Naming electronic documents

It is important that you name the documents that you create for this Assessment Task in a logical manner.

Each should include:

Course identification code

Assessment Task number

Document title (if appropriate)

Student name

Date it was created

For example, BSBMKG514 Briefing Report Joan Smith 20/10/18

Additional Resources

You will be provided with the following resources before you begin each Assessment Task.

Assessment Task 2

Briefing Report Template

Assessment Task 4

NatureCare Case Study

Performance Monitoring Report Template

Assessment Instructions

Each assessment task in this booklet consists of the following:

Assessment Task Cover Sheet

This must be filled out, signed and submitted together with your assessment responses.

If you are submitting a hardcopy, the Cover Sheet should be the first page of each task's submission.

If you are submitting electronically, print out the cover sheet, fill it out and sign it, then scan this and submit the file.

The Assessment Task Cover Sheet will be returned to you with the outcome of the assessment, which will be satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U). If your work has been assessed as being not satisfactory, your assessor will include written feedback in the Assessment Task Cover Sheet giving reasons why. Your assessor will also discuss this verbally with you and provide advice on re-assessment opportunities as per

your RTO’s re-assessment policy.

Depending on the task, this may include

resubmitting incorrect answers to questions (such as short answer questions and case studies)

resubmitting part or all of a project, depending on how the error impacts on the total outcome of the task

redoing a role play after being provided with appropriate feedback about your performance

being observed a second (or third time) undertaking any tasks/activities that were not satisfactorily completed the first time, after being provided with appropriate feedback.

Assessment Task Information

This gives you:

a summary of the assessment task

information on the resources to be used

submission requirements

re-submission opportunities if required

Assessment Task Instructions

These give questions to answer or tasks which are to be completed.

Your answers need to be typed up using software as indicated in the Assessment Task Instructions.

Copy and paste each task’s instructions into a new document and use this as the basis for your assessment task submission. Include this document’s header and footer.

If you are submitting electronically, give the document a file name that includes the unit identification number, the task number, your name and the date.

Checklist

This will be used by your assessor to mark your assessment. Read through this as part of your preparation before beginning the assessment task. It will give you a good idea of what your assessor will be looking for when marking your responses.

Student Assessment Agreement

Make sure you read through the assessments in this booklet before you fill out and sign the agreement below.

If there is anything that you are unsure of, consult your assessor prior to signing this agreement.

Have you read the assessment requirements for this unit? Yes No

Do you understand the requirements of the assessments for this unit? Yes No

Do you agree to the way in which you are being assessed? Yes No

Do you have any specific needs that should be considered? Yes No

If so, explain these in the space below.

Do you understand your rights to re-assessment? Yes No

Do you understand your right to appeal the decisions made in an assessment? Yes No

Student name

Student number

Student signature

Date

Assessor name

Assessor signature

Date

Assessment Task 1 Cover Sheet

Student Declaration

To be filled out and submitted with assessment responses

I declare that this task is all my own work and I have not cheated or plagiarised the work or colluded with any other student(s).

I understand that if I If I am found to have plagiarised, cheated or colluded, action will be taken against me according to the process explained to me.

I have correctly referenced all resources and reference texts throughout these assessment tasks.

Student name

Student ID number

Student signature

Date

Assessor declaration

I hereby certify that this student has been assessed by me and that the assessment has been carried out according to the required assessment procedures.

Assessor name

Assessor signature

Date

Assessment outcome

S

NS

DNS

Resubmission Y N

Feedback

Student result response

My performance in this assessment task has been discussed and explained to me.

I would like to appeal this assessment decision.

Student signature

Date

A copy of this page must be supplied to the office and kept in the student’s file with the evidence.

Assessment Task 1: Written Questions

Task summary

This is an open book test, to be completed in the classroom.

A time limit of 1 hour to answer the questions is provided.

You need to answer all of the written questions correctly.

Your answers must be word processed and sent to the assessor as an email attachment. 

Required

Access to textbooks/other learning materials

Computer and Microsoft Office

Access to the internet

Timing

Your assessor will advise you of the due date of this assessment.

Submit

Answers to all questions

Assessment criteria

All questions must be answered correctly in order for you to be assessed as having completed the task satisfactorily.

Re-submission opportunities

You will be provided feedback on their performance by the Assessor. The feedback will indicate if you have satisfactorily addressed the requirements of each part of this task.

If any parts of the task are not satisfactorily completed, the assessor will explain why, and provide you written feedback along with guidance on what you must undertake to demonstrate satisfactory performance. Re-assessment attempt(s) will be arranged at a later time and date.

You have the right to appeal the outcome of assessment decisions if you feel that you have been dealt with unfairly or have other appropriate grounds for an appeal.

You are encouraged to consult with the assessor prior to attempting this task if you do not understand any part of this task or if you have any learning issues or needs that may hinder you when attempting any part of the assessment.

Written answer question guidance

The following written questions use a range of “instructional words” such as “identify” or “explain”, which tell you how you should answer the question. Use the definitions below to assist you to provide the type of response expected.

Note that the following guidance is the minimum level of response required.

Analyse – when a question asks you to analyse something, you should do so in detail, and identify important points and key features. Generally, you are expected to write a response one or two paragraphs long.

Compare – when a question asks you to compare something, you will need to show how two or more things are similar, ensuring that you also indicate the relevance of the consequences. Generally, you are expected to write a response one or two paragraphs long.

Contrast – when a question asks you to contrast something, you will need to show how two or more things are different, ensuring you indicate the relevance or the consequences. Generally, you are expected to write a response one or two paragraphs long.

Discuss – when a question asks you to discuss something, you are required to point out important issues or features and express some form of critical judgement. Generally, you are expected to write a response one or two paragraphs long.

Describe – when a question asks you to describe something, you should state the most noticeable qualities or features. Generally, you are expected to write a response two or three sentences long.

Evaluate – when a question asks you to evaluate something, you should do so putting forward arguments for and against something. Generally, you are expected to write a response one or two paragraphs long.

Examine – when a question asks you to examine something, this is similar to “analyse”, where you should provide a detailed response with key points and features and provide critical analysis. Generally, you are expected to write a response one or two paragraphs long.

Explain – when a question asks you to explain something, you should make clear how or why something happened or the way it is. Generally, you are expected to write a response two or three sentences long.

Identify – when a question asks you to identify something, this means that you are asked to briefly describe the required information. Generally, you are expected to write a response two or three sentences long.

List – when a question asks you to list something, this means that you are asked to briefly state information in a list format.

Outline – when a question asks you to outline something, this means giving only the main points, Generally, you are expected to write a response a few sentences long.

Summarise – when a question asks you to summarise something, this means (like “outline”) only giving the main points. Generally, you are expected to write a response a few sentences long.

Assessment Task 1 Instructions

Provide answers to all of the questions below:

Discuss the concept of the marketing mix and its components, including the extended marketing mix.

Marketing mix refers to the set of actions or other tactics that are used to promote a product in the market (Chaffey et al. 2019). Major components of the marketing mix are

Packaging

Pricing

Placing

Promotion

Extended marketing mix refers to the combination of seven elements to achieve objectives of marketing strategy. These elements are

Pricing

Product

Place

Promotion

People

Process

Physical (Chaffey et al. 2019)

Outline each of the following three key pricing strategies:

Penetration pricing

A pricing strategy that is used by businesses to attract new services and products by offering some low prices in the beginning.

Skimming pricing

A pricing strategy that is used by businesses marked by relatively high prices in the beginning and lowered later.

Competition pricing

It refers to the setting of prices at the same level as that of competitors. It addresses competition-driven prices (Chaffey et al. 2019).

Explain the difference between push and pull marketing.

The difference between push and pull marketing lies in approaching the consumers. Push market is meant to promote products by pushing them onto the people while pull marketing is to establish a loyal following that drew consumers to the products (Chaffey et al. 2019).

Explain the three main distribution strategies for marketers.

Major distribution strategies are

Intensive Distribution

It is meant to penetrate as much of the market as possible

Selective Distribution

Selection of outlets in some specific locations. It is based on particular goods and fit within the store

Exclusive Distribution

It limits the outlets. It refers to anything from luxury brands to common things that are exclusive to special collections.

Explain the purpose of the Australian Consumer Law and give at least one example of the implications of the Act for marketers.

The Australian Consumer Law requires businesses to provide consumer guarantees for major services and goods that they sell.

Explain why marketers should take into account the Privacy Act 1988 when marketing to individuals.

When marketing, the personal information of individuals need to be protected at any cost. Any mistake may lead to destruction. This is why marketers should always take into account the Privacy Act 1988 (Chaffey et al. 2019).

7.Outline three examples of the type of information businesses should provide to consumers about how they will handle their personal information according to privacy law?

Under the privacy law, there is certain information that businesses need to tell their consumers. Firstly, how is the collection of information done, the reason for collecting the information and security measures to protect personal information.

8.Explain the purpose of the Do Not Call Register Act and its implications for marketers.

The Do Not Call Register is a form of database where both people and organisations can place number in order to stop receiving any unsolicited telemarketing faxes or calls. This hinders the ability of marketers to approach new customers (Chaffey et al. 2019).

9.Outline four practices that marketers must not engage in according to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Marketers should not engage in Price fixing, restricting supply and production chain outputs, allocations of territories, customers or suppliers and rigging of bids. 

10.Outline the purpose of the Australian Marketing Institute Code of Professional Conduct

It lays the basis for the principles, values and behaviour that is expected of all of their members in the form of a public statement.

11.Outline the objectives and key provisions of the Australian Association of National Advertisers.

It focuses on promoting and safeguarding the rights related to free communications with customers of its members. Secondly, it ensures that marketing and advertising communication is done responsibly and protects customers from advertisers in this way.

References

Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F., 2019. Digital marketing. Pearson UK.

Assessment Task 1 Checklist

Student’s name:

Did the student provide a sufficient and clear answer that addresses the suggested answer for the following?

Completed successfully

Comments

Yes

No

Question 1

Question 2 a

Question 2 b

Question 2 c

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Task Outcome:

Satisfactory

Not Satisfactory

Assessor signature

Assessor name

Date

Assessment Task 2 Cover Sheet

Student Declaration

To be filled out and submitted with assessment responses

I declare that this task is all my own work and I have not cheated or plagiarised the work or colluded with any other student(s).

I understand that if I If I am found to have plagiarised, cheated or colluded, action will be taken against me according to the process explained to me.

I have correctly referenced all resources and reference texts throughout these assessment tasks.

Student name

Student ID number

Student signature

Date

Assessor declaration

I hereby certify that this student has been assessed by me and that the assessment has been carried out according to the required assessment procedures.

Assessor name

Assessor signature

Date

Assessment outcome

S

NS

DNS

Resubmission Y N

Feedback

Student result response

My performance in this assessment task has been discussed and explained to me.

I would like to appeal this assessment decision.

Student signature

Date

A copy of this page must be supplied to the office and kept in the student’s file with the evidence.

Assessment Task 2: Marketing activities project

Task summary

This assessment task requires you to develop a briefing report and an action plan for the implementation of marketing strategies and tactics for a company of your choice.

You are also required to present the briefing report and action plan to your team to ensure that all team members understand their roles and responsibilities in implementing marketing strategies and tactics.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in the RTO.

Required

Access to textbooks/other learning materials

Computer with Microsoft Office and internet access

Briefing Report Template

Timing

Your assessor will advise you of the due date of these submissions.

Submit

Email with marketing activities briefing report attached

Assessment criteria

For your performance to be deemed satisfactory in this assessment task, you must satisfactorily address all of the assessment criteria. If part of this task is not satisfactorily completed, you will be asked to complete further assessment to demonstrate competence.

Re-submission opportunities

You will be provided feedback on their performance by the Assessor. The feedback will indicate if you have satisfactorily addressed the requirements of each part of this task.

If any parts of the task are not satisfactorily completed, the assessor will explain why, and provide you written feedback along with guidance on what you must undertake to demonstrate satisfactory performance. Re-assessment attempt(s) will be arranged at a later time and date.

You have the right to appeal the outcome of assessment decisions if you feel that you have been dealt with unfairly or have other appropriate grounds for an appeal.

You are encouraged to consult with the assessor prior to attempting this task if you do not understand any part of this task or if you have any learning issues or needs that may hinder you when attempting any part of the assessment.

Assessment Task 2 Instructions

Carefully read the following:

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You are the Marketing Manager for the company you will select from http://www.mplans.com/. You are required to implement a range of strategies and tactics identified in the company's Marketing Plan. As the marketing manager, you are responsible for marketing planning and ensuring the implementation of marketing strategies and tactics through planning and ongoing monitoring.

This involves developing a briefing report and action plan that you will present to the team (all of whom were involved in the original development of the marketing plan). The briefing report and action plan will be used to ensure that all of the team understand the marketing strategies and tactics that will be implemented and their role in this.

Assume the following resources are available in implementing marketing strategies and tactics.

Marketing budget as specified in the marketing plan.

Access to the following staff (all of whom contributed to the development of the marketing plan):

CEO is responsible for the strategic direction and key decision-making. Does not get involved in the day to day tasks.

Operations Manager is responsible for general operations, responsible for managing all staff and planning to ensure all required work activities are completed.

Marketing Officer assists with marketing activities such as marketing communications.

Finance Manager is responsible for financial management, including budget allocations.

Sales Assistant is responsible for general administration and customer service

Complete the following activities

Identify the company and marketing plan

Choose a company for which you can implement marketing strategies and tactics. You can view a range of marketing plans at the website http://www.mplans.com/.

You may also research the Internet for a Marketing Plan for a company that you are interested in.

The marketing plans you choose must include sufficient information in order to be able to complete this assessment. This means that the marketing plan must include business goals, target customers, marketing or branding strategy, sales forecasts, marketing budget and marketing metrics. Assume that all marketing activities are commencing from the time you are completing the assessment.

Before you start the assessment task, you should discuss your choice of the company with your assessor who will need to approve your choice before you start the assessment project.

For the purposes of this assessment, assume that you are the Marketing Manager of the company that you have chosen and that your assessor is the Managing Director. Assume that the location of the business is in the city or suburb you are living in. If you are having difficulty sourcing a suitable Marketing Plan, you should speak to your assessor who can assist you to source one.

Marketing Plan

For this assessment the chosen company that this marketing plan will focus on is Amazon. It is an online website for shopping that offers products to its customers both nationally and internationally. They have a broad range of products that they sell to their consumers including things as books, movies, furniture, beauty products, food, clothing and music. Amazon's vision and mission statement is focused on being the most customer-centric company on the face of the Earth. Furthermore, they are working on building a place where anyone can come and find what they are looking for. All of this is being done from the comfort of the client's home.

Target Customers

Anyone who wants to buy or sell something online is and can be considered as the potential or a current customer of Amazon. This gives them a huge breath of people to work with ranging from different ages, genders, races and ethnicities. Their target customer can go as low as a student who is shifting or searching through their website in order to buy a certain book. It can also include a mother who is looking to buy a new vacuum or a new piece of furniture for her house. Furthermore, their wide variety of products make their target customer range even wider and as access is open to everyone, more and more new customers sign up to it every day.

Marketing or Branding Strategy

Amazon's newest product is the Amazon Kindle, which is also one of its most popular products. The Amazon Kindle is primarily an electronic book reader but upon further analysis, it reveals that it has many other functions as well. It also has over seven hundred thousand apps, which includes apps for games, music and movies. The first generation of Kindle was put into the market in 2007, the came kindle fire HD on 2012 and the kindle fire HDX came out in the year 2013. In this small tablet, access to thousands of books is easily available, which makes it a convenient luxury.

There is a great variety in pricing in Amazon’s products. This is mostly because of the multitude of products that it sells on its online platform. Even its featured product also has a variety of pricing being used upon it. For example, the first Generations Kindle was sold at sixty-nine dollars, whereas the Fire HDX is sold at three hundred and seventy-nine dollars. The entry-level Kindle Fire HD has a higher sale than the Kindle Fire HDX version. The positive point for the Kindle is that it is much cheaper than Apple's iPad, however, Barnes and Nobles Nook is an even cheaper option to the Kindle. However, the Kindle beats the Nook in both collections of books and higher navigation and browsing capabilities.

The main portion of advertising for the products of Amazon is done on their website’s main page. The placing of the ad is done very strategically and is within the centre of the homepage. Amazon uses television ads considerable to promote its products other than their massive online and email advertisements. All the promotions highlight the best part of its products such as the Kindle. Each commercial focus solely on the individual features and qualities of the product. This is done in order to make current and new customers interested in their new products.

Sales Forecast

The sales of its products are forecasted to be at a high margin. This is due to certain factors such as access to a higher range of customers. Other factors such as low-priced quality products with low cost of production and fairly priced selling price. The additional benefits of owning their products such as the Kindle and its vast library of books, movies and music makes it easier for having high sales.

Marketing Budget and Marketing Metrics

The marketing budget is kept high by Amazon, in order to attract a huge number of people to its products. This usually occurs in the first quarter but in the second quarter, the marketing expenses are cut short. However, in the third quarter, the marketing budget is again increased. Marketing metrics such as KPI's could be used in order to check the progress of the marketing initiatives.

Review the marketing plan and prepare to develop the briefing report

Review the Marketing Plan for the company you have chosen to ensure that you understand the business objectives, customers and current marketing strategies.

The company that has been chosen in this report is Amazon, an online retailer with a multitude of products. It has a wide variety of target market individuals ranging from students to elders of any age. Its business strategy is focused on the central place for all online buying activities. Its marketing strategy focuses on the price, place, promotion and its different products. The most important people in implementing this marketing plan is of the marketing managers. Their involvement and commitment will allow for the successful implementation of marketing strategies. This is because they have a positive effect on the success of the organizations performance as well.

Primarily, the product is the first marketing strategy that is employed first. Then comes the price of the product, if the product is not priced well then customers would look towards the alternatives. Lastly, the placement and promotion of Amazon products are very important. This will be done within a month before the launch of the product. Within each strategy, the involvement of the marketing managers would be very imperative. Their performance would have a considerable effect on the budget as well. This is important so that the spending on marketing does not go further than the budgeted amount.

The measurement metrics for measuring the success of the marketing strategies would be carefully chosen Key performance indicators. These performance indicators will be very vital in understanding the areas where the marketing team has performed exceptionally well and where they have not performed well enough. Furthermore, in the implementation of the marketing strategies a mixture of online and in-person communication would be conducted. These would include office meetings and Skype calls with the team member who is deployed in various places in order to manage the implementation of the marketing strategies effectively.

Develop a briefing report and action plan

The company in question is Amazon, which offers a wide range of products to its customer. The marketing plan for these products is based on the pricing, which is kept low, the product that is supposed to be innovative. Other marketing strategies are Place and promotion which would involve physical marketing of the product.

Each marketing strategy is very important in their own regard. The pricing strategy revolves around a lower selling price. Whereas, the product strategy wants to introduce a multifunctional and innovative product. The placement and promotion strategy wants to introduce the best features of the products in comparison to its competitors.

An action plan that includes team member roles and responsibilities, as well as the timing of marketing strategies and activities as per the priority list. You should also explain your rationale for the allocation of roles and responsibilities for identified staff.

Marketing Manager would be the most useful and important figure. The market research expert will keep up to date with the latest trends in the market. The social media manager will handle the promotion of the product on all social media sites.

A major part of the budget would be allocated to the product itself. Then the placement and promotion strategies will get the second largest portion of the budget. Whereas, the pricing strategies do not require much budget to start with.

Communication would be done through both online and in person. Apps such as Skype and other video calling apps would be used to be in constant communication with each team member.

Social media views and customer feedback regarding the product would be the most effective way of monitoring marketing activities. This would also immensely help in analysing the marketing performance

Send an email to your assessor.

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment and ask for the place, date and time of a meeting to discuss your report with your team.

Attach your Briefing Report to the email.

Respected Sir,

I have written this email to seek support and guidance from you in terms of my briefing report. I have written this berating report on Amazon, addressing different sections such as overview of your company’s Marketing Plan, including marketing objectives and performance targets, outline of the each of the marketing strategies in the Marketing Plan and their priority, marketing tactics relating to each strategy, action plan that includes team member roles and responsibilities, the timing of marketing strategies and activities as per the priority list, budget allocation, communication plan and strategies for monitoring marketing activities.

I would be obliged if you can spare time to discuss with me the major elements. I am looking ahead for a time, place and time where we can discuss it. I have attached the briefing report for your information.

Thanking you in anticipation

Yours Sincerely

XYZ

Conduct a team briefing meeting

You are to conduct a meeting with the team members you have identified to be part of the implementation of the marketing plan (your assessor and a number of other students).

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss your recommendations as documented in your briefing report.

At the meeting, you will need to:

Provide a hard copy of your briefing report.

Provide an introduction to the meeting

Discuss key points from the briefing report, including marketing objectives, strategies and tactics to meet objectives, priorities, roles and responsibilities and budget allocation.

Discuss your proposed communication plan.

Seek feedback on the proposed marketing strategies and activities

Confirm proposed promotional objectives

Outline strategies for monitoring marketing activities undertaken and analysing marketing performance

During the meeting, you are required to demonstrate effective communication skills including:

Speaking clearly and concisely

Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding

Asking questions to identify the required information

Responding to questions as required

Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

During the meeting, you will be required to demonstrate the team-building skills that you researched prior to conducting the meeting.

Before the meeting is over, ask all attendees whether they have any questions, and answer these to the best of your abilities.

Conclude the meeting by thanking all attendees for participating.

Assessment Task 2 Checklist

Student’s name:

Did the student:

Completed successfully

Comments

Yes

No

Identify and report on marketing strategies and tactics from the Marketing Plan?

Identify and report on the order of priority for each marketing strategy based on the organisation's objectives as documented in the marketing plan?

Identify resources required for the implementation of the marketing strategies and tactics, including staff and budget?

Identify and brief staff on their roles and responsibilities in relation to the implementation of marketing strategies?

During the meeting, demonstrate effective communication skills including:

Speaking clearly and concisely

Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding

Asking questions to identify the required information

Responding to questions as required

Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

Brief staff on objectives, performance measures relevant to the implementation of the marketing strategies and tactics?

During the meeting, use team-building strategies to ensure staff responsible for marketing strategies and tactics work together?

Task Outcome:

Satisfactory

Not Satisfactory

Assessor signature

Assessor name

Date

Assessment Task 3 Cover Sheet

Student Declaration

To be filled out and submitted with assessment responses

I declare that this task is all my own work and I have not cheated or plagiarised the work or colluded with any other student(s).

I understand that if I If I am found to have plagiarised, cheated or colluded, action will be taken against me according to the process explained to me.

I have correctly referenced all resources and reference texts throughout these assessment tasks.

Student name

Student ID number

Student signature

Date

Assessor declaration

I hereby certify that this student has been assessed by me and that the assessment has been carried out according to the required assessment procedures.

Assessor name

Assessor signature

Date

Assessment outcome

S

NS

DNS

Resubmission Y N

Feedback

Student result response

My performance in this assessment task has been discussed and explained to me.

I would like to appeal this assessment decision.

Student signature

Date

A copy of this page must be supplied to the office and kept in the student’s file with the evidence.

Assessment Task 3: Marketing activities implementation and monitoring project

Task summary

This assessment task requires you to implement promotional activities for the same company from Assessment Task 2. You are required to write an article for the local paper about the company and its products and/or services in order to assist in raising awareness of the company.

You will also be required to devise a strategy that will be used to define the marketing metrics that will be used to measure the marketing performance of this marketing tactic.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in the RTO.

Required

Access to textbooks/other learning materials

Computer with Microsoft Office and internet access

Timing

Your assessor will advise you of the due date of these submissions.

Submit

Email with a newspaper article attached

Assessment criteria

For your performance to be deemed satisfactory in this assessment task, you must satisfactorily address all of the assessment criteria. If part of this task is not satisfactorily completed, you will be asked to complete further assessment to demonstrate competence.

Re-submission opportunities

You will be provided feedback on their performance by the Assessor. The feedback will indicate if you have satisfactorily addressed the requirements of each part of this task.

If any parts of the task are not satisfactorily completed, the assessor will explain why, and provide you written feedback along with guidance on what you must undertake to demonstrate satisfactory performance. Re-assessment attempt(s) will be arranged at a later time and date.

You have the right to appeal the outcome of assessment decisions if you feel that you have been dealt with unfairly or have other appropriate grounds for an appeal.

You are encouraged to consult with the assessor prior to attempting this task if you do not understand any part of this task or if you have any learning issues or needs that may hinder you when attempting any part of the assessment.

Assessment Task 3 Instructions

Carefully read the following:

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Assume that one of the marketing objectives for the company you choose in Assessment Task 2 is to increase awareness of the company and its products and services and that one of the activities identified is to get an article published in the local paper about the company and its products and/or services.

You will also need to ensure that the impact of promotional activities is monitored. You will need to define the marketing metrics that will be used to measure the marketing performance of the article and communicate this with the Marketing Officer.

Complete the following activities:

Develop a newspaper article

Using the company that you identified in Assessment Task 2, develop an article about the company and its products/services to submit to the local newspaper for publication.

Your article should follow the following format:

A headline

Amazon is one of the platforms that have brought products and consumers on the same board of easiness and facilitation

An opening paragraph (introduction) of about 25 to 40 words in length and provides the most important and interesting news.

Amazon is a company that focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing and digital marketing. It is an online retailer service provider that has promoted comprehensive and favourable shopping for people at different locations. It acts as one of the largest updated markets

Further short paragraphs of about 30 to 40 words, each one with the main idea and different fact. They may also include quotes from people involved or experts.

Amazon is one of the massive online retailers that is a market capitalization of June 2018. This capitalization has exceeded $268 billion. This store facilitates individuals and businesses to display and sell the products for selling them online.

Amazon is one of the most valuable internet retailers in the world because it offers goods and services along with the participation of customers in the cloud computing marketplace. Now Amazon has also contributed to banking.

Amazon is also one of the most valuable retailers that have already passed Wal-Mart back in 2015. It is counted as the fourth top company in the world that is positioned fourth to Microsoft, Alphabet, and Apple.

Amazon is used by both, common individuals and business. The website is available in different countries with different languages. Amazon offers not only products but also an app store that facilitates the availability of products.

A final summary of facts and opinions at the end of the article.

Amazon is a platform that has balanced and also mitigated the gap between the producers and buyers by bringing them close to each other and engaging them in a direct relationship of positive business attitude and customer satisfaction.

Your article should combine the following language features to inform, entertain and persuade as follows:

Clear and concise writing.

Encourages the reader to buy the company's products or services

Use of active or passive voice, depending on the focus and which is more engaging for the reader.

Should be factual and accurate.

May include quotes, comments, opinions, statements and observations from people involved or experts on the topic.

Give people labels so the reader knows who they are straight away, such as "the CEO, Mr Smith".

Must avoid racist, sexist or religious slurs.

Must be accurate and balanced.

Send an email to the Marketing Officer (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

Respected Sir, Amazon is one of the most effective and consumer attracting retailers that has billions of users and these users are using this website for shopping despite regional and geographic differences. The company is known as a hallmark of success and innovation guided by productivity. This email refers to the major facts and figures of the retailer that are guided by positive impacts that this company has brought to the overall market and consumers.

The effectiveness and authentication of the facts and figures can be understood and analysed by KPI. Another option is, uploading it to various social media websites and the other options where people could get in touch with the articles such as New York Times and the BBC. Also, it would be forwarded on Twitter and Facebook. After that, the reviews, views of the people in the form of comments, sharing and the number of views would help to get an idea of the effectiveness of the news article.

Following is the step by step instruction

Uploading of the article on social media websites

Analysing the number of likes

Analysing and evaluating the comments given by the people

Number of views even in the form of the glance

Reviewing shares

Also, I have attached the original article for your knowledge and attached. I am looking ahead for the feedback and comments.

Yours Sincerely

X.Y, Z

Assessment Task 3 Checklist

Student’s name:

Did the student:

Completed successfully

Comments

Yes

No

Implement promotional activity as set out in the marketing communication objectives?

Use clear, accurate and relevant language in all written communications?

Implement strategies for monitoring marketing activities and analysing performance?

Task Outcome:

Satisfactory

Not Satisfactory

Assessor signature

Assessor name

Date

Assessment Task 4 Cover Sheet

Student Declaration

To be filled out and submitted with assessment responses

I declare that this task is all my own work and I have not cheated or plagiarised the work or colluded with any other student(s).

I understand that if I If I am found to have plagiarised, cheated or colluded, action will be taken against me according to the process explained to me.

I have correctly referenced all resources and reference texts throughout these assessment tasks.

Student name

Student ID number

Student signature

Date

Assessor declaration

I hereby certify that this student has been assessed by me and that the assessment has been carried out according to the required assessment procedures.

Assessor name

Assessor signature

Date

Assessment outcome

S

NS

DNS

Resubmission Y N

Feedback

Student result response

My performance in this assessment task has been discussed and explained to me.

I would like to appeal this assessment decision.

Student signature

Date

A copy of this page must be supplied to the office and kept in the student’s file with the evidence.

Assessment Task 4: Monitor and review marketing strategies and tactics project

Task summary

For this assessment task, you are required to review and report on the information provided to you for a fictional company, NatureCare Products, in order to monitor, evaluate and report on marketing activities against defined objectives and modify marketing activities in line with new or emerging trends.

You are also required to meet with the company’s General Manager and two customers to discuss potential improvements to the marketing mix.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in the RTO.

Required

Access to textbooks/other learning materials

Computer with Microsoft Office and internet access

NatureCare Case Study

Performance Monitoring Report Template

Timing

Your assessor will advise you of the due date of these submissions.

Submit

Email with marketing performance monitoring and evaluation report attached.

Email with revised marketing performance monitoring and evaluation report attached.

Assessment criteria

For your performance to be deemed satisfactory in this assessment task, you must satisfactorily address all of the assessment criteria. If part of this task is not satisfactorily completed, you will be asked to complete further assessment to demonstrate competence.

Re-submission opportunities

You will be provided feedback on their performance by the Assessor. The feedback will indicate if you have satisfactorily addressed the requirements of each part of this task.

If any parts of the task are not satisfactorily completed, the assessor will explain why, and provide you written feedback along with guidance on what you must undertake to demonstrate satisfactory performance. Re-assessment attempt(s) will be arranged at a later time and date.

You have the right to appeal the outcome of assessment decisions if you feel that you have been dealt with unfairly or have other appropriate grounds for an appeal.

You are encouraged to consult with the assessor prior to attempting this task if you do not understand any part of this task or if you have any learning issues or needs that may hinder you when attempting any part of the assessment.

Assessment Task 4 Instructions

Complete the following activities:

Develop a performance monitoring and evaluation report

Review the NatureCare Case Study information, as well as the marketing data.

Based on your review, develop a report using the template provided by your assessor that address the following:

Outline the products currently provided by the company and options for expanding

The company currently provides skincare products and the options of expansion are both Online marketing and geographical localization.

Report on the promotional activities undertaken by the company.

The company has undergone different promotion activities such as social media and electronic media

Outline the extent to which promotional activities are meeting the objectives specified

The company is counted and termed as the heart of the market because of the success of promotional actives. The company is able to spend more at least $50,000 on marketing which asserts the attainment of specified objectives.

Outline the company’s current pricing strategy and identify options in response to the entry of the new competitor into the market.

NatureCare sells its products at a competitively high price to maintain its legacy of branding and effective products. Although some discounts are offered, still significant attention is given to the high price which ensures the best quality.

Outline the company’s current distribution strategy and its effectiveness based on the data provided.

Currently, the company is distributing its product through both online medium and through different stores located at different places. Based on the data provided, it is found that the distribution strategy of the company is effective and it is one of the reasons that the company is willing to invest in more areas of the market in order to attract more customers.

Provide an overall analysis of marketing performance based on the data provided.

Based on the data provided, it is highlighted that the product has an excellent market performance. The customers are satisfied with the progress of the company along with the effectiveness of the products that are given to the customers. Also, the company is expected to grow more in the future.

Provide an analysis of marketing spend versus budget.

It is analysed that the company has always tried to manage and accommodate its spending within the set budget

Identify and report on opportunities for improving marketing performance based on the data provided.

There are a lot of opportunities for the company on the data provided such as introducing products for men, introducing medicine-oriented products and proceed with overseas business.

Identify and report on opportunities to meet customer needs based on the data provided.

Based on the data provided, the opportunities to meet the needs of the customer are, opening multiple options for purchasing items and introducing products that can be used by men as well

Research and report on at least three new and emerging trends for the business and the industry within which it operates.

Latest and new trends for the business and industry are the online purchase of products worldwide, artificial intelligence and customization and go-green and vegan

Send an email to the General Manager (your assessor).

.

Respected Sir

It is hereby informed that I have critically evaluated and monitored NatureCare in terms of its products, pricing, branding, budgeting, trends, marketing and performance. I java collected some crucial facts and figures that can contribute to add to the existing knowledge regarding the product.

I would be obliged if you can spare time so that I can discuss it with you. It would be great if you will share the place, date and time for the meeting in which we can discuss it. I have attached the report for your knowledge and support.

Yours Sincerely

X.Y.Z

Participate in a meeting to discuss the monitoring and evaluation report

You are required to participate in a meeting with the General Manager (your assessor) to discuss your report and potential areas for improvement, as well as resulting changes to business practices and updates to marketing objectives and targets.

During the meeting, you are required to demonstrate effective communication skills including:

Speaking clearly and concisely

Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding

Asking questions to identify the required information

Responding to questions as required

Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

Your assessor will provide you with feedback during the meeting, which you will use to provide an updated report that includes recommendations for improvements, as well as changes to marketing objectives and tactics based on these changes.

Update your monitoring and evaluation report

Following the meeting, you should update your report as follows:

Add a section on opportunities for improving marketing strategies

Add a section on changing business practices to identified meet customer needs

Add a section on changes to marketing objectives and targets.

Save this document as Revised Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Report

Outline the products currently provided by the company and options for expanding

The company currently provides skin care products and the options of expansion are both Online marketing and geographical localization.

Report on the promotional activities undertaken by the company.

The company has undergone different promotion activities such as social media and electronic media

Outline the extent to which promotional activities are meeting the objectives specified

The company is counted and termed as the heart of the market because of the success of promotional actives. The company is able to spend more at least $50,000 on marketing which asserts the attainment of specified objectives.

Outline the company’s current pricing strategy and identify options in response to the entry of the new competitor into the market.

NatureCare sells its products at a competitively high price to maintain its legacy of branding and effective products. Although some discounts are offered, still significant attention is given to the high price which ensures the best quality.

Outline the company’s current distribution strategy and its effectiveness based on the data provided.

Currently, the company is distributing its product through both online medium and through different stores located at different places. Based on the data provided, it is found that the distribution strategy of the company is effective and it is one of the reasons that the company is willing to invest in more areas of the market in order to attract more customers.

Provide an overall analysis of marketing performance based on the data provided.

Based on the data provided, it is highlighted that the product has an excellent market performance. The customers are satisfied with the progress of the company along with the effectiveness of the products that are given to the customers. Also, the company is expected to grow more in the future.

Provide an analysis of marketing spend versus budget.

It is analysed that the company has always tried to manage and accommodate its spending within the set budget

Identify and report on opportunities for improving marketing performance based on the data provided.

There are a lot of opportunities for the company on the data provided such as introducing products for men, introducing medicine-oriented products and proceed with overseas business.

opportunities for improving marketing strategies

There are a number of techniques that can be used for improving the marketing strategies for the company. These strategies would be, getting quick feedback, asking for reviews, keeping customers on board and allow customers to intervene in the production of the desirable products.

changing business practices to identified meet customer needs

After adhering to the opportunities of improving the marketing strategies, initiatives would be taken to shift the business practices to the identified needs of customers, it will help to fulfil the needs of the customers rather than adhering to the set policy of the company.

Identify and report on opportunities to meet customer needs based on the data provided.

Based on the data provided, the opportunities to meet the needs of the customer are, opening multiple options for purchasing items and introducing products that can be used by men as well

Changes to marketing objectives and targets.

A lot of changes would be made to the objectives and targets in terms of the customer’s needs. The company will shift its ideology from the company-oriented opportunities and objectives to the customer-oriented actions and objectives that can not only enhance the marketing objectives but help to achieve those objectives. Also, it would help to achieve the targets more quickly.

Research and report on at least three new and emerging trends for the business and the industry within which it operates.

Latest and new trends for the business and industry are the online purchase of products worldwide, artificial intelligence and customization and go-green and vegan

Send an email to the General Manager (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

Respected Sir

It is hereby informed that I have critically evaluated and monitored NatureCare in terms of its products, pricing, branding, budgeting, trends, marketing and performance. I have collected some crucial facts and figures that can contribute to add to the existing knowledge regarding the product. As per the evaluation and the results of the discussion, I have made certain changes to the initial report. These changes are a section on opportunities for improving marketing strategies section on changing business practices to identified meet customer needs and a section on changes to marketing objectives and targets. I would be obliged if you can spare time to go through it once. I have attached the revised report for your knowledge and support.

Yours Sincerely

X.Y.Z

Assessment Task 4 Checklist

Student’s name:

Did the student:

Completed successfully

Comments

Yes

No

Provide a report on monitoring marketing strategies and tactics and that addresses all of the following:

Products currently provided by the company and options for expansion

Promotional activities are undertaken by the company.

The extent to which promotional activities are meeting the objectives specified

Current pricing strategy and identify options in response to the entry of the new competitor into the market

Current distribution strategy and its effectiveness based on the data provided.

Overall marketing performance based on the data provided.

Marketing spending versus budget.

Opportunities to meet customer needs based on the data provided.

Identify suitable opportunities for improving marketing performance based on data and discussions with staff?

Recommend and report on appropriate changes to business practices and update marketing objectives and targets accordingly?

Task Outcome:

Satisfactory

Not Satisfactory

Assessor signature

Assessor name

Date

Marketing Application Respone

Marketing Key terms

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

Knowledge Gap, p.411

In marketing, the knowledge gap refers to the distance between what the customer expected out of the service and what the actual service provider delivered. A lack of knowledge on the part of the managers or incorrect analysis of the customer needs may result in the emergence of this gap. The existence of this gap also means that the company is not trying to satisfy the need of the customers. A thorough market research is necessary to bridge the gap between what the customers expected and what the company originally delivered. Another aspect about the knowledge gap refers to how simple is the process of service delivery. If we take an example of a restaurant where a customer calls for reservation and the restaurant has made the process complicated by asking them to pay some extra amount per person, there is a knowledge gap. This is because the restaurant provides some entertainment features and perceives that these add to the value delivered. However the customer does not think this way. The person will find a restaurant in the same area that has kept the service delivery process much simple and they will reserve the place for the customers without any advance payment.

Delivery Gap, p.411

This type of gap occurs when there is a difference between the service actually delivered and the written practices and policies regarding the delivery of the service. In the hotel industry, the production and consumption of the service are simultaneous which makes it harder to keep the gaps shut. This gap can exist if the employees of the company do not have enough knowledge about the services offered. This also occurs when the teamwork in the organization is not united. This means that the efforts of the whole team are not coherent towards the delivery of service. In order to bridge this gap, the organization should train their human resource properly.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Nargunde, A. S. (2016). Service gaps. International journal of management, 123-131.

Raval, T. (2014). A perspective on service quality and closing service quality gaps. Indian journal of research.

Marketing Case Study III

Marketing Case Study III: Microsoft

[Name of the Student]

[Name of the Institution]

Marketing Case Study III: Microsoft

Introduction

Microsoft is a technology giant that produces software and hardware related to the IT industry involving Internet, computers, and mobile devices. It is a multinational company that has production plants in different countries of the world. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, it is headquartered in Washington. The company has employed 130,000 employees and it generates a yearly revenue of 110 billion USD. Windows Operating System is the most prominent product of the company, whereas it is engaged in developing other products as well, including MS Office Suite, Internet Explorer, Skype, Outlook, gaming consoles, laptops, and smart phones. The main competitors of Microsoft are Apple, Google, and Cisco.

Discussion

Microsoft’s marketing strategy has evolved moderately through all the working years of the company according to the needs of business environments. In a broader sense, the strategy is customer driven that enables the company to develop products to surpass customer expectations. Products are developed such that customers could integrate the products in their everyday life effectively, thereby making an enhanced connectedness with the company. At the beginning, Microsoft charged market skimming prices being the sole provider of the unique innovation, Windows (Foley et al., 2017). During the later years, the company continued to release upgraded versions of the software, which were all well-received by the users. Certain long gap of product release can be noticed in the company’s history before the release of Windows 7. This was a relatively low-yielding period. Microsoft sells its products through different channels of distribution including online stores. The promotion efforts focus on creating awareness of its products’ salient features and distinguishing characteristics. The billion dollar business of the company is backed by promoting efforts done on print media, electronic media, and direct marketing.

Several political issues were confronted by Microsoft during its history, however, most of them held trivial importance. Among those, the anti-trust issues held significance. The way Microsoft sells its software has been a topic of discussion in many circles (Haucap & Stühmeier, 2016). Besides, expensive political lobbying by the company has also been criticized. Though the company has ever been making profits on high scale, the loss incurred in 2007 during the financial crisis has affected the company to great extent. At that time, the company had to fire more than five thousand employees. Microsoft has proved to be a little slower in responding to the changing trends of the industry. For instance, it could not adapt to the emerging gigantic trend of smart phones. The company has still not developed a market-leading software for mobile phones due to its excessive focus on the computer products (Buckley, 2019). Microsoft lost another huge opportunity to succeed in continuing its affiliation with ‘Nokia’ because the latter could not yield expected profits due to incompetency of software provided by the former.

Apple was established much later than Microsoft, yet it has succeeded to achieve the top ranking in the industry. The reason is Apple’s vision of innovation and strategy to deliver highest possible value to the customers (Dolata, 2017). Microsoft’s business expansion by offering smart phones to customers is too late in the industry to create a significant impact. Google has surpassed Microsoft by implementing a strategy that is based on the concept that making ease for customers will enable the company to carry out best business practices. Google’s search engine has consistently been catering to the changing needs of consumers.

Conclusion

Microsoft has done well in the early periods through innovation and creativity. However, the company could not succeed in maintaining the same position over time due to its indifference to the changing industry trends. The company needs to revise its policies and preferences at the strategic level.

References

Buckley, A. (2019). A Strategic Audit of Microsoft.

Dolata, U. (2017). Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft: Market concentration-competition-innovation strategies. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Organisations-und Innovationsforschung, SOI ….

Foley, C. F., Mayfield, E. S., & Boland, F. K. (2017). The Transformation of Microsoft.

Haucap, J., & Stühmeier, T. (2016). Competition and antitrust in internet markets. Handbook on the Economics of the Internet, Edward Elgar: Cheltenham, 183–210.

Marketing Direct Mailing

Marketing direct mailing

Student’s Name

Institution

Date

\Marketing direct mailing

Marketing is an important component of an organization. It provides customers with insight of water a company offers. It also developed to increase sales, and build loyalty to the brand. However, in the case of Apple, direct mailing will be used to invite loyal and frequent customers to an event hosted by Apple to appreciate their loyally to the brand. It is therefore, the decision who to invite is made based on the analysis of the list of purchase of all customers in the last few months. The data of customers’ rate of purchase and the amount spend were analyzed using descriptive statistic and the customers with the highest average were invited for the event.

However, using Recency, Frequency, Monetary (RFM) strategy, the sales data were analyzed to determine, which clients should be invited for VIP event. Based on the analysis of the data, the following clients were found to be the suitable for VIP invitation to attend the event. The clients ID 69938, 65232, 47129, 48820, 11023, 61091, 95173, 97204, 60364, 21162, 95954, 41232, 44463, 92263, 71719, 63313, 45855, 60369, 83804, 36434, 25351, 21465, 38946, 32486, will be invited because in the last few months the client have purchased items worth more than $1500. Based on the analysis of the data, these clients have been with the company for several years. Again, in the last three months they have purchased items, which worth more than $1500.

It is important to note that data was also analyzed further to determine clients who are can be given discount of $ 100 on old iphone. The decision was based on frequent customers who have been with the company for a longer period of time. And based on the data, the analysis was based on the mode of the statistic analysis, therefore, the clients with id 87073,69442,42180, 88084,22348, 96654, 91719,29888,63811,85572,54119,40902,10866,67516,97672, 4642,48211,46550,64006,91892,4591.98850,86400,99145,59147,43433, 58041 were discovered to have been with the company for a longer period of time. The same time they are frequent customers. The company, therefore, will give them a discount of $100 as a token for appreciation for being loyal to the brand. It is therefore, means that 30 email will be directly sent to these clients to inform them of the offer for their next purchase. In order to make it effective, the selected customers will be given a choice to claim their discount in any Apple stores anytime within a period of two months.

The company will also decide on the customer to get $50 gift for new IPhone. It will be done based on recency. The recency depends on when a customer purchase a product. And in this case, the decision will be made on customers who have taken a longer period before purchase any Apple products. Therefore, the choice of whom to invite to pick the gift card will purely be based on clients who have taken long time before visiting our store. And based on the analysis of the data, these clients have taken a longer time before purchasing a new product and therefore, they shall be invited via email to pick gift cards of $50.

Therefore, after sending 110 direct emails to customers informing of products and gift given to them, the remaining clients will be emailed on the new products, clearance going on with old IPhones and the functions for only VIP being undertaken. The email intends to urge to purchase Apple products to stand a chance to be invited for a VIP treatment and also win a gift card. It will create awareness of the benefit of being loyal clients. It is important to state that this intends to attract many customers hence improve market share and sales of the company.

Marketing Group Brand Launch

Title page

Marketing and brand launch

Executive summary

The aim of the report is to determine the impacts of brand awareness and brand loyalty on the sales of Red Bull Ice Cream. It provides insights into the basic components of brand awareness that increase the possibilities of the company's success. The acceptance of the product is also dependent on brand awareness and brand image. It is assumed that brand awareness and image have a positive correlation with the purchase intention of the customers. The report highlights methods by which exited brand can be expanded. By creating strong brand awareness and brand image the company aims at extending business in a single geographic location within the period of twelve months. Significant information and marketing strategies are required for assuring safe extension. By improving the company's ranking, Red Bull manage to capture many customers. Social media marketing is another commonly adopted technique used by competitors.

Introduction

Red Bull Ice Cream aims at targeting a wider customer base that requires conducting research on brand awareness. The sales and the success of the company are directly linked to its ability to create brand awareness. Brand awareness and brand image are two main components without which the survival of a firm is not possible. The acceptance of the product among customers is also linked to these concepts. “Brand awareness is the probability that, consumers are familiar about the availability and accessibility of a company’s product and service” CITATION Muh13 \l 1033 (Malik, Ghafoor, & Iqbal, 2013). The definition states that customers have an awareness when they are familiar with the features of the product. The brand name is equally important because it influences the decision of consumers. When a customer is familiar with the name of the company or product he exhibits willingness to buy. Without brand awareness or image, it is not possible to reach potential customers. In the current report, the key aspects of brand awareness and image are identified. Effective marketing techniques are also determined that improves the likelihood of high customer base CITATION Asa15 \l 1033 (Karam & Saydam, 2015).

Target market

Red Bull Ice-Cream aims at targeting a single location of Victoria. The company will target customers of two age groups including children and adults. The purpose of including millennial is to focus on people who are spending more on food. millennial are spending more money on food and try new places and restaurants. By targeting youth and children the company would be able to create a brand image CITATION JRR14 \l 1033 (Rossiter, 2014).

Competitor analysis

Competitor analysis is crucial for analyzing the market position of Red Bull in response to its competitors. It is important for determining what makes a company unique and acceptable among customers compared to its competitors. Red Bull will conduct analysis by identifying its competitors such as the major ice-cream companies of Australia including Miller’s Ice-cream and Gelato. Both Miller and Gelato have a positive brand image in Australia and are in the business for the last decade. The analysis of the situation depicts that Red Bull will need to create a value proposition by offering a differentiated product or service.

Point of Parity (POP) and Points-of Difference are considered for creating a value proposition. POP identifies the features that Red Bull will offer and represent important prospects of the company. POD's are also included that define the features that are different compared to the competitors. The point of parity include; different flavours, slightly different pricing and different serving. POP is aimed at giving a reason to the customers for switching from the old brands. By identifying the point of differences the customers will be convinced to choose Red Bull Ice-cream due to low pricing and different flavours. POD also include a feature that will allow customers to choose their own ingredients like fruits, toppings and flavours for creating a fusion. Point of difference gives a clear reason for the customers for switching to Red Bull. POP and POD thus act as effective tools for creating purchase intention. This will also work for changing the perceptions of customers by offering low priced ice-cream compared to competitors.

1257300312420Serving in fresh fruits

00Serving in fresh fruits

2171700342900Different flavours

Low pricing

Different flavours

Low pricing

3771900182880Fusion

00Fusion

Marketing strategies

Due to the strong presence of competitors, significant efforts are required for entering the ice cream industry of Australia. Red Bull will adopt aggressive marketing for building a positive brand image in the period of twelve months. An effective strategy for targeting potential customers is online marketing. Personal branding will be used for building a positive brand image that will leverage a trustworthy relationship with the customers. This is a practical method for reaching millions of customers. The company will create its website and rely on Search Engine Optimization for targeting customers. SEO will increase the company's visibility on the internet and search engines. By improving the company's ranking Red Bull manage to capture many customers.

Social media marketing is another commonly adopted technique used by competitors. To build a strong brand positioning the company will need to invest in social media marketing. This will resize awareness among the viewers about Red Bull Ice-cream and its POD CITATION Cal18 \l 1033 (Calaranet, 2018). Social media marketing is an effective tool for capturing social media audience and graining significant brand visibility. This is a useful platform that will allow the company to share all information about its product to the customers. Red Bull will use colourful pictures of the ice cream with different features like prices and flavours.

Relevant branding theory

The theory of branding states brand is an image created in the mind of the customers. It suggests that the level of brand awareness is linked with consumer decisions and attitudes towards buying. A consumer having more awareness about the brand will exhibit high wiliness for its purchase compared to a customer who is lacking complete information. Brand image is crucial for creating brand loyalty among customer and is a practical tool for fighting with competing firms. The theory of branding states that a company having good brand awareness means that its products and services have a good reputation in the market. Branding suggests, "creating a strong brand image in the consumer's mind depends on creating an optimistic brand assessment, reachable brand approach, and a reliable brand representation” CITATION Muh13 \l 1033 (Malik, Ghafoor, & Iqbal, 2013). This reflects that the customer's decision to purchase is based on their previous knowledge and experience. Having a good image of a company or product will have a positive impact on his purchase decision. Similarly, a bad image of a company will discourage clients from purchasing its products in the future CITATION JRR14 \l 1033 (Rossiter, 2014).

Theory of branding states that brand image has a strong correlation with the loyalty of customers. The attributes the leads to the creation of brand image include the product's quality, price and features. A positive brand image leads to the creation of brand loyalty and increased the frequency of purchase. The theory also claims that a positive brand image is crucial for enhancing the sales of the company and getting premium price by retaining customers. Brand image is thus used for building long-lasting relationships with the customers. Purchase decisions of the customers are based on their awareness and information associated with a particular brand.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Calaranet. (2018). Missguided drives accelerated growth with AWS and Claranet. Retrieved 04 25, 2019, from https://www.claranet.co.uk/case-studies/missguided-drives-accelerated-growth-aws-and-claranet

Karam, A. A., & Saydam, S. (2015). An Analysis Study of Improving Brand Awareness and Its Impact on Consumer Behavior Via Media in North Cyprus (A Case Study of Fast Food Restaurants). International Journal of Business and Social Science, 6 (1).

Malik, M. E., Ghafoor, M. M., & Iqbal, H. K. (2013). Importance of Brand Awareness and Brand Loyalty in assessing Purchase Intentions of Consumer. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4 (5).

Rossiter, J. R. (2014). Branding' explained: defining and measuring brand awareness and brand attitude. Journal of Brand Management, 7 (8), 533-540.

Marketing Journal Post 10: Direct And Indirect Channel Strategies

Student Name

Teacher’s Name

Course Title

Date

Introduction

Direct distribution refers to the direct sale of products to the customers by the business. On a small level, a jewelry shop owner may opt to sell directly to its customers. If we talk about some big company, Apple uses a direct distribution channel to provide its products to the customers. There are advantages and disadvantages of using direct distribution strategy. A business will have complete control over the marketing and sales activities of its products CITATION Wel19 \l 1033 (Wells Fargo). The downside of this strategy is that the company may have a limited market coverage. In case of indirect distribution, the manufacturers sell the product in bulks to agents or retailers who will then sell the product to customers. This strategy will be less risky as the agents and retailers will have a better knowledge of the market. The down side of this approach is that a small share of profit will have to be shared with these distributors. There is less control on the product sales for the company in this type of distribution channel CITATION Jes17 \l 1033 (Mendiola).

Application

The product under consideration is popcorn which is something that is not a necessity. Thus, the company will be better off to use the direct distribution channel for this product. This will be beneficial because the company will keep a direct contact with its customers and will assess their needs and wants promptly. This will help the company to bring the necessary changes to its products as soon as there is a change in consumer’s tastes. Similarly, the company will be able to react to the actions of competitors in a manner that will benefit the company rather than the competitors. All the profits will be taken up by the company and no share of profit will have to be given to the distributors. From the following picture, the company will use the first distribution channel only.

CITATION Hit18 \l 1033 (Bhasin)

Works Cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY Bhasin, Hitesh. "https://www.marketing91.com/distribution-strategies/." 25 May 2018. https://www.marketing91.com. 10 September 2019.

Mendiola, Jessica. "https://ssfllp.com/direct-vs-indirect-distribution-channels/." 10 August 2017. https://ssfllp.com. 10 September 2019.

Wells Fargo. "https://wellsfargoworks.com/marketing-center/article/direct-vs-indirect-distribution-channels." 2019. https://wellsfargoworks.com. 10 September 2019.

Marketing Journal Post 11: The Macroenvironment

[Your Name]

[Instructor Name]

[Course Number]

[Date]

Marketing Journal Post 11: The Macroenvironment

Macro Environment

Macro Environment refers to the external environment in which a business or organization operates. Macro Environment is also defined as the major external and uncontrollable forces and factors that have an impact on the decision making the process of an organization or business. As well as they have an impact on the strategies, operations, and performance of a business. These factors/forces include;

Economic Factors/Forces

Natural Factors/Forces

Demographics Factors/Forces

Legal Factors/Forces

Social Factors/Forces

Political Factors/Forces

The specific examples of the factors of the external environment that affect an organization are; cultural tastes, competitors, fluctuation in interest rates, weather and climate, and government policies and regulations etc. (Samnani, p.p. 37-40).

Factors in the Macro Environment

After a marketing analysis of my product (Corona Suave 50/50 blend 3-inch Paint Brush), it has been concluded that all four factors in macro environment have impacts on it but the following three (3) have a higher impact on my product than the others.

Economic Factors

Economic factors involve all the determinants of the economy and states. As our product is more expensive than many competing products. So, very few changes in the economic factors such changes in interest rates, changes in buying behaviour, or variations spending rate of consumers put huge impacts on the price of Corona Suave 50/50 blend 3-inch Paint Brush. At the result, we would have to change the price range accordingly (Osborn, and James, p.p. 231-246).

Technological Factors

Technological factors also have enough impact on my product. It has impacts on my products because a bit of technological advancement and development dramatically affect the wants and preferences of consumers. So the offering of a bit technological competitive product by a well-established competitor can affect sales volume of my product (Babatunde, and Adebola, p.p. 64).

Demographics Factors

Demographics could impact my product up to an extent. It could impact my product because changes in the general population can lead to an increase or decrease in sales and demand for my product. Like, an increase in population can lead to higher sales and demand and household pattern changes may cause sales and demand in both a positive and negative way.

Work Cited

Babatunde, Bayode O., and Adebola O. Adebisi. "Strategic Environmental Scanning and Organization Performance in a Competitive Business Environment." Economic Insights-Trends & Challenges 64.1 (2012).

Osborn, Richard N., and James G. Hunt. "Environment and Organizational Effectiveness." Administrative Science Quarterly (1974): 231-246.

Samnani, Amina. "Macro-Environmental Factors Affecting the Secondary Industry." Science and quality management 31 (2014): 37-40.

Marketing Journal Post 1: Introduce Your Product

Writer’s Name

Instructor Name

Art 101

07 January’ 2020

Post 1: Introduction

Introduction to the Product

A breakfast cereal that is light and crunchy with delicious raisins is the Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch. It is rich in crunchy oat and sweet in taste. It is delicious with toasted bran flakes smoothened with a sweet taste for a good start to your day. It is made of whole grain and fibre and has no cholesterol in it (Agarwal et al.). It has essential minerals and vitamins and has no trans fat or high fructose syrup of corn. This ready-to-eat cereal in the morning for a fresh start is a good choice. It can be used as a late-night snack too.

It is prepared without cholesterol and therefore, has no trans fat in it. The presence of fats causes major health problems including cardiovascular disorders. The Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch is rich in fibre and is prepared without using fats and cholesterol, therefore, it is very good for the heart and body. Nutritional facts and reviews of cereal bran are satisfactory ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"rvCNkkvf","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Berndt)","plainCitation":"(Berndt)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1044,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/p8kwKNoG/items/PQZHUR39"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/p8kwKNoG/items/PQZHUR39"],"itemData":{"id":1044,"type":"article-journal","title":"BREAKFAST GONE BAD… the case of Kellogg’s rice Krispies®","container-title":"Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies","author":[{"family":"Berndt","given":"Adele"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Berndt). The presence of whole grain in it is also a good choice by the company. The use of cereal will essentially reduce the risk of cardiovascular disorders and obesity-related diseases.

Raisin Bran was first manufactured by many companies including Kellogg's. It was introduced by Skinner Manufacturing Company in 1962 in the United States. They prepared the original version of Raisin Bran but at that time, Skinner was the owner of the product for seventeen years ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"uxpZ2MML","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Kang)","plainCitation":"(Kang)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1045,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/p8kwKNoG/items/YAQLVK8N"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/p8kwKNoG/items/YAQLVK8N"],"itemData":{"id":1045,"type":"article-journal","title":"AN APPLICATION OF ‘BUILDING BLOCKS OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE’APPROACH TO THE US CEREAL MARKET LEADERS","container-title":"IJMS","page":"1-17","volume":"25","issue":"2","author":[{"family":"Kang","given":"Hyungu"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2018"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Kang). However, Kellogg’s and Post filed a cease and desist to keep the ownership of the product.

Works Cited:

Agarwal, Palak, Rahul Chhugani, and Vedant Wanchoo. "Analysis of brand valuation techniques for cereal brand: Kellogg." International Journal of Education and Management Studies 8.1 (2018): 31-34.

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Berndt, Adele. “BREAKFAST GONE BAD… the Case of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies®.” Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, 2019.

Kang, Hyungu. “AN APPLICATION OF ‘BUILDING BLOCKS OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE’APPROACH TO THE US CEREAL MARKET LEADERS.” IJMS, vol. 25, no. 2, 2018, pp. 1–17.

Marketing Journal Post 2: The Marketing Mix

Student Name

Instructor Name

Course Number

Date

Post 2: The Marketing Mix

Introduction A marketing mix is the combination of 4 Ps which represent product, price, place, and promotion. Product refers to the goods or services which a company provides to its customers. Price is the money value that customers pay for buying the product or service. It is the only factor in marketing mix which results in an inflow of revenue for the company CITATION Cla01 \l 1033 (Vignali). Place refers to the ease with which a product or service is accessible to the customers. Promotion refers to ways in which a company communicates with its customers. Communication relates to product features and various flavours available in any particular product CITATION DPi05 \l 1033 (D.Pickton and A.Broderick).

Application

The company provides its products to a large variety of customers based on geographic segmentation. There are many varieties of breakfast cereals generating huge revenues for the company. The product under consideration is a cereal which can be considered as a breakfast item. It includes wheat, honey, and raisins which makes it a complete diet. The pricing strategy for this cereal is competitive which means that the price is set after conducting market research regarding prices offered by other competitors. Another reason of charging such a competitive price is that the company product cannot be differentiated from its competitors’. The placement of product is done through store shops. The company makes sure that its product is available to customers nearest to their homes. A mass distribution strategy is adopted by the company to cover majority of its target market. Major markets include USA, Canada, UK, and Australia CITATION Hit19 \l 1033 (Bhasin). The nature of the product compels the company to follow a mass distribution strategy. Promotion activities include the ways used by companies to communicate features of their products. Electronic media will be the primary source of advertising because it is a mass media and enables reaching huge chunks of the population. The company uses people from almost all ages to make its advertisements.

Works Cited:

BIBLIOGRAPHY Bhasin, Hitesh. "https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-kelloggs/." 11 May 2019. https://www.marketing91.com. 7 January 2020.

D.Pickton and A.Broderick. Integrated Marketing Communication. 2nd. Prentice Hall, 2005.

Vignali, Claudio. "Kellogg’s – internationalisation versus globalisation of the marketing mix." British food Journal (2001): 112-130.

Marketing Journal Post 3: Corporate Social Responsibility

Student Name

Instructor Name

Course Number

Date

Post 2: Corporate Social Responsibility

Introduction

centerbottomIn the ever changing world, corporate social responsibility is an area which has received growing interest from both the academic and business worlds. The concept forces businesses to incorporate social, environmental, and health aspects into their policies. Another aspect of this concept requires that all the stakeholders should be considered while making any business decision. Traditionally, businesses cared for their profits and shareholders’ value while all other stakeholders were given secondary importance. The stakeholder concept was first introduced by Carroll who stated that a business has to fulfil the economic, legal, and ethical expectations of stakeholders in the society where it is serving CITATION Ben19 \l 1033 (Tran).

Application

The Kellogg’s company has taken up corporate social responsibility by getting involved in school meals. This initiative was taken by company to make sure that no kid is hungry. There is a huge number of kids who are provided lunch in their schools and some of them are also offered breakfast. To enhance these efforts, Kellogg’s and ‘no kid hungry’ have joined hands to award $5000 grant to schools who find better ways to induce eating habits CITATION Wen20 \l 1033 (Davidson). The company is also involved in a campaign to eradicate hunger from the world. The program is called ‘Better Days global signature cause platform’, targeting 3 billion people by the year 2030. Another aspect of social responsibility is a change in packaging strategy adopted by the company. The company aims at providing the best food to customers and working for a sustainable future for the whole society. An aim has been set by company to make sure that all materials used by company in packaging are 100% reusable by the end of 2025. 97 % of the content used in the company’s packaging comes from recycled or sustainable materials. This also includes the packaging used in Raisin Bran Crunch. More than 25 % of our plastic packaging content is also recyclable CITATION Nig20 \l 1033 (Hughes).

Works Cited:

BIBLIOGRAPHY Davidson, Wendy. "http://crreport.kelloggcompany.com/ElevateThePlate." 1 January 2020. http://crreport.kelloggcompany.com. 7 January 2020.

Hughes, Nigel. "http://crreport.kelloggcompany.com/sustainablepackaging19." 1 January 2020. http://crreport.kelloggcompany.com. 7 January 2020.

Tran, Ben. "https://www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=212116&ptid=206307&t=Corporate%20Social%20Responsibility&isxn=9781522573623." 2019. https://www.igi-global.com. 7 January 2020.

Marketing Journal Post 6: Product Life Cycle

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of Instructor]

Marketing and PR

[Date]

Marketing Journal Post 6: Product Life Cycle

Introduction

The marketing concept or concept of marketing is a business philosophy through which companies analyze the ultimate needs and wants of customers and then take relevant and appropriate decision for the purpose to satisfy those needs, wants and demands. Companies satisfy those needs, wants and demands of customers by offering products and services in the way that provide better value to the customers. In marketing, companies work satisfy customers’ needs better than the competitors. In the current time, most of the businesses and companies have adopted the marketing concept but it has not always been the situation/case. The main five marketing concepts are;

Production Concept

Product Concept

Selling Concept

Marketing Concept

Societal Marketing Concept

Application

Product Life Cycle (PLC)

In marketing, the product Life Cycle (PLC) is an important and crucial concept. It defines the stages a product goes through from it has been first brought into the market of until the product has been removed from the market place. The stage of PLC include Introduction Stage, Growth Stage, Maturity, and Decline Stage. Not every product or service reaches the very final stage of PC while some of the products grow as well as some rise and fall with time.

Stage of Starbucks Coffee

The product selected for this Marketing Journal Post is Starbucks’ Coffee. The product (Starbucks’ Coffee) is currently at Maturity Stage in the PLC. The product is at maturity because it has high and strong brand awareness among the customers and people, wider range of distribution, competitive pricings, and distinctive features. The product is also facing huge and aggressive competition from all large and small competitors in every market where Starbucks operates.

Time of Starbucks Coffee at Maturity Stage

The product had seen maturity stage for a long run (several years) and had not gone to Decline stage because the company put huge efforts to continuously keep the product improved, improve quality, and bring make it innovative and differentiated from the rest. Beyond that, competitors also seem engaged with the similar product as Starbucks so they had not cause and not causing it inversely too.

Coming Happenings Regarding Stages of PLC

The Coffee product of Starbucks is much far from decline because of new offerings and improvements. But, company is focusing to eliminate waiting line for customers and trying to offer coffee in few minutes. So in this case, the quality of Coffee might not be kept fine when preparing while fast food chain also entering to coffee market. So I guess that decline may happen if these things have not been considered, focused and monitored well.

Work Cited

Anderson, Carl R., and Carl P. Zeithaml. "Stage of the product life cycle, business strategy, and business performance." Academy of Management journal 27.1 (2004): 5-24.

Houston, Franklin S. "The marketing concept: what it is and what it is not." Journal of marketing 50.2 (2016): 81-87.

Starbucks Product Life Cycle. (2019). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/starbucks-product-life-cycle-essay

Marketing Journal Post 7: The Service-Product Continuum

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of Instructor]

[Marketing & PR]

[Date]

Marketing Journal Post 7: The Service-Product Continuum

Service product continuum describes the composition of goods/services that whether they are pure goods or pure services or something present in the middle of the continuum. The corners of this continuum show two extremes, one showing pure product and other showing pure services (Toukhy, pp. 1597). The goods/services fall between the continuum which describes the nature of the product (Kowalkowski, pp. 85). Product lies at the center of the continuum is the combination of goods and services. It is possible that offering of the company range from pure goods to pure services (Martinez, pp. 379). Act II company is a lower fat and low-calorie popcorn provider as compared to other salty snacks. It is easy to make popcorns in different flavors in a microwave. The company is providing a various variety of popcorns in butter, salted, black paper and strawberry flavors while butter flavor has a range of Natural, Butter and Butter lovers’ varieties. The salted flavor of Act II product includes Masala and Spicy Pudina flavors. The popcorns are very crunchy and light snack which are very famous in both national and global market. Popcorns are easily digestible because of their thin layer and light weight.

Act II product is present in between the continuum because it provides retail and wholesale services to its clients. The entire range of products and services provided by the company is meeting quality standards by using the latest equipment. The company is providing services in movie theaters, apartments, and hotels. There is an online system that will make sure that no customer has to wait long for his order to be delivered. The online payment is also accepted by the Act II company for the ease of customers.

Works Cited

El-Toukhy, Sherine, and Kelvin Choi. "A risk-continuum categorization of product use among US youth tobacco users." Nicotine & Tobacco Research 18.7 (2016): 1596-1605.

Kowalkowski, C., Gebauer, H., & Oliva, R. (2017). Service growth in product firms: Past, present, and future. Industrial marketing management, 60, 82-88.

Martinez, Veronica, et al. "Exploring the journey to services." Handbook of Service Science, Volume II. Springer, Cham, 2019. 377-407.

Marketing Journal Post 8: The Five Cs Of Pricing. Act II Popcorn

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of Instructor]

[Marketing and PR]

[Date]

Marketing Journal Post 8: The Five Cs of Pricing. Act II popcorn

Act II popcorn is the sweet and salty microwave popcorn which are very famous among people of North America. The sweetness in popcorn is provided by using sucralose in its composition, which gives sweetening effect in popcorn. Sodium chloride or common salt is used to provide sour taste in popcorns. Company is using the customer-oriented approach by applying modern pricing strategies. Customers demands the Act II popcorn due to its scrumptious taste and perceived benefit, which is higher than the cost. The product is selling in a large volume, which results in obtaining better economies of scale and it also leads to provide lower per-unit cost to customer (Brunetti, Büyükşahin & Harris, pp. 1547). The company is used to change the product specifications continuously according to the demand of customers which affects the price of Act II popcorn in the market.

Perfect competition in the market is another factor that may be driving down the price of popcorn, which may result in reducing the profit of popcorns on the arrival of high-quality competitor’s product in the market. It is also necessary for a business to drive down the prices to remain in competition with the product which comes with better quality in the market (Homburg, Jozić, & Kuehnl, pp. 380). It is also possible that the price of Act II popcorn can be affected by the collaborators, which help in making and selling of a product. Suppliers, distributors and alliance partner can also create a great influence on price of the product. The company may face a shutdown of a supply source which may result in scarcity of raw material it leads to high price of the product. It is necessary to have multiple suppliers in the market which could be helpful in reducing the cost of popcorns. The Government policies regarding import duties and taxation and other economic factors which includes inflation and higher interest rates may affect the price of the product (Knittel, & Pindyck, pp.89).

Works Cited

Brunetti, Celso, Bahattin Büyükşahin, and Jeffrey H. Harris. "Speculators, prices, and market volatility." Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 51.5 (2016): 1545-1574.

Homburg, Christian, Danijel Jozić, and Christina Kuehnl. "Customer experience management: toward implementing an evolving marketing concept." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 45.3 (2017): 377-401.

Knittel, Christopher R., and Robert S. Pindyck. "The simple economics of commodity price speculation." American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 8.2 (2016): 85-110.