PEPSI COLA For Pepsi Cola Ltd, marketing opportunity analysis is a continual and ongoing process. Pepsi have used the new- product strategy to realise their ambitions to both defend their current market position, and reinstate their position as a product innovator. Pepsi wishes to create a clear cola that is 100% natural, low in sodium, caffeine-free, and still maintains the flavour of its original cola. They will call it Pepsi Au Naturel.
Pepsi’s hope is to usher in a new era, and to give them a clear-cut advantage over their rival’s, Coca-Cola. By following closely the six steps of the new-product development process, the company could expect such benefits as: improved teamwork, less re-working, earlier detection of likely failure, and higher success rates. (Rix, Peter, 2001, Marketing, A Practical Approach). Stage One: Generating New-Product Ideas The first step for Pepsi Cola to undertake is to generate ideas for the new product. There are many different alternative ideas available to help Pepsi through this process.
They should use input from their Sales team, customers, and suppliers to help with new-product ideas. Brainstorming is possibly the best method known to man to devise ideas or strategies. Their customers would also have proven an extremely useful source of information and ideas, as they ultimately are the ones who you are trying to satisfy. Stage Two: Screening and Evaluating Ideas This is where Pepsi would have evaluated all of their ideas, in order to determine the viability of further study of each respective idea, in this case, Pepsi Au Naturel. The process of screening eliminates all ideas that are not viable due to unacceptable levels of competitive, operational or legal risk, or ones that simply don’t comply with the company’s overall position or strategy.
Stage Three: Business Analysis If Pepsi Au Naturel should survive to this stage, it must now be developed into a concrete business proposal. Management should undergo Concept Testing, or Pre-Testing of the product idea (Rix, Peter, 2001, Marketing, A Practical Approach). This consists of three steps: identifying product features; estimating market demand, competition and the product’s viability; and establishing a program for which to further develop the product. Management must now assign more responsibility for study to further examine Pepsi Au Naturel’s feasibility.
Stage Four: Prototype Development Pepsi Au Naturel will now be developed into a physical product. Prototypes or pilot models should be manufactured, along with laboratory tests amongst other technical evaluations to further determine product feasibility: can Pepsi Au Naturel be made to meet the quantity and quality standards required of it? Stage Five: Market Tests Pepsi Au Naturel must now face it’s last test before it has made the cut and can be officially launched. Pepsi will run a series of market tests to examine consumer interest in the product. They will conduct strategic marketing ploys including product sampling, where samples of Pepsi Au Naturel are given to the public at sample stalls, and Test marketing where Pepsi Au Naturel shall be placed on trial sale in certain geographic areas. Any necessary fine-tuning of the design and production variables, due to results of the Market Tests shall now be conducted, and Management are now faced with the question of whether or not to proceed to market Pepsi Au Naturel commercially. Stage Six: Commercialisation In this, the final stage of the new-product development process, production and marketing programs are put in place, and Pepsi Au Naturel is now ready to be officially launched and released to the market.
It is no longer at the mercy of Management, rather to the external competitive environment which shall manipulate and control the destiny of Pepsi Au Naturel. Word Count: 606
