Product- it is essential for the product to appeal to as many people as possible in order for it to be successful unless the company attempts to establish a niche market (this is a specific segment of a large market which will often only appeal to a select range of people and it is often priced fairly high e.g. organic foods) the product must meet the demands of customers in order to appeal to them. The company will have to decide on what the function the product will do and the design the product will have.
Market orientated research will also have to be carried out (primary & secondary) in order to have knowledge of what will appeal to the customers. My initial idea for the product is to produce a chocolate/fruit flavour energy bar; my product will establish a niche market. Product range which is when a different design of a basic product attracts different market segments, should be kept in mind as in the snack market this has proved to be successful in cases such as Cadbury's buttons.Price- the price of a product is an important selling point, as the customer will want to be able to buy a product of high quality at a low price. In order to compete with similar products the price of the product will have to be reasonable and the product still needs to give the customer an impression of a maintained high standard this is known as value analysis. The price will also have to make a profit, as well as being competitive.
Discounts and price discrimination have to be kept in mind, if it is relevant to the product.Discounts may be used for loyal or favoured customers or customers who buy in bulk or customers who choose to pay in cash this may be relevant for prices snacks plc. Price discrimination is when a different price is charged to different market segments i.e.
a hairdresser may charge lower prices to OAPs and children to attract customers, this isn't relevant to prices snacks plc. However pricing such as penetration pricing where the product is initially priced low to gain a foothold in the market, prices can be raised once the new product is established in the market may be useful for the company.Promotion- the product will need to be promoted in order to reach the attention of potential customers; therefore this includes advertising and other schemes such as trial prices and a certain amount of the product extra for free which is often used in the snack market e.g. Yorkie give 50% of the chocolate bar free.
This will help the product seem as if it has qualities, which the other competing products do not have. Merchandising such as free gifts and other promotions which are aimed at a specific group of customers are also important in order to pull the consumer to the product specifically. Something that also helps with promotion is public relations, through public relations a company tries to promote a good image for itself, and to influence people to think favourably about the company and the product,And a good public image can help with promotion of a product or company.Place- The place of sale of your product is very important as you will need your product to be sold at a place your target market will be located and a high number of people will be visiting. The place of sale for your product will also have to be in an area where there is a lot of publicity and can be easily located in order to have a high rate of sales.
An element of the marketing mix which comes under place that is very important is channel of distribution which relates to how a business gets its product to the consumer. This involves both the trading (e.g. buying and selling the product) and the physical route (e.g. how a product is actually transported or how a service is provided).
It is important that the channel of distribution is the most simple, convenient and in some cases cost effective method of distribution to the consumer. The product can be distributed to a wholesaler who then sells it to the retailer, who then sells it to the consumer, or straight to the retailer or even the consumer. Some companies choose to do all 3 in some cases e.g.
a product may be able to be bought from a shop (distributing using a retailer or a retailer and a wholesaler to sell to the consumer) and can be bought through direct services such as the internet (distributing the product direct to the consumer).That concludes the four P's of the Marketing Mix.Why?It is important for prices snacks plc to carry out market research as it helps to make marketing decisions. The research may be from secondary data (previously collected) or it may be primary data (collected first hand e.g.
surveys and questionnaires), either way market research helps a company to develop a profitable and successful product as they will have an idea of how successful the market is as well as how successful similar products are and it will also help the company make important marketing decisions. The market orientated approach which is being taken in this case, will help us to meet consumer demands and also help identify any competition in the market as well as showing us whether or not similar products have been successful in the market.
