The internet can provide a good range of information about every thing even businesses. Many people advertise from different companies and businesses in the internet some people pay and put the advert in the first page but there is also the free page where you can advertise. Bigger companies have their own websites whereas, smaller companies will have to use and advert their business there. This again will be a great form of advertising because many people research their needs on the internet so therefore, many people will respond to Errol.
For each type of appropriate media stated, I will now critically analyse the benefits and drawbacks of the marketing media, linking my analysis to Errol Anderson Motors.
There is always going to be drawbacks and advantages while doing some thing for a business. In Errol’s case I have found out all the drawbacks and advantage of the marketing media I thought was suitable for Errol Anderson.
The advantage of leaflets is that it isn’t very expensive to make as it only takes £50 to make 100 () they are ideal because they are cheap and quick to make and distribute; and their distribution can be controlled to a certain area, example Harrow.
It also contains a lot of information for the people to read such as contact information, address, striking and carefully selected images (easily memorable), etc. without the potential customer losing interest because of too much writing. Colours, writing, formatting, and images must be choose with outmost care, as it must immediately attract those latent customers. It is easier for more people to notice it as it is given free and through people doors. The disadvantage of leaflets is that many people think that it is a trash and before they get to read it, it goes straight to the bin. Others might feel that the leaflet looks boring because of the unattractive colours or because there is too much writing. Another disadvantage is that many businesses advertise by using leaflets so therefore, there is competition which is bad for Errol.
Business cards would be a very appropriate marketing media for Errol Anderson as it is extremely useful and handy for promoting the business further to first time customers, or to just professionalize the image of the business. Where ever Errol goes it would be easy for him to distribute the business cards as it is small and contains vital amount of information such as telephone number, address, name and many more. .This is very use full so that people can go to the place.
Business cards is that they are small and easy to fit into any bag, so it’s easier to carry it every where. Another advantage is that it isn’t very expensive as it is only £8.99 to make 100 (). Lastly, many people will notice it because it can be handed to them in the streets or even through their doors as it is free. However, if the business cards are all jammed up together then this can cause problems because the writing would be to small and therefore many wouldn’t be able to read it or either it can look boring and this can lead to it being thrown away. Another disadvantage is that many businesses advertise by using business cards so therefore, there is competition.
News papers and magazines, he can only advertise this for a small amount of time like the harrow monthly council magazines. These are the types of places that local people will look in when they need a local service like a garage. After Errol advertises for a couple of months he’s bound to get some costumers and his business will start to get better so, when Errol goes though his boom period he can invest more money on advertising on newspapers etc. The advantage of magazines is that they contain lots of information more information the any other marketing media. Some magazines are free like the monthly borrow magazines i.e. harrow. One disadvantage is that not everyone looks into them which means loosing potential costumers. Some that read it might not get attracted by it because of there is too much advertisement therefore there is going to be a lot of competition.
Transport media, it is essential for Errol to have a van for his line of business as he has to carry equipments etc. so therefore, if Errol had a company’s logo, address and phone number in the van then it can lead to attract more costumers as he’s driving up and down harrow. This way the potential costumers would know about the presence of Errol’s company. Errol should also go around harrow and make announcements through the microphone. This would be cheap and reliable because there would be no cost for it except for the loudspeaker itself. The disadvantages of having graphics in the cars are that it is very expensive as it costs £1500 to colour the car and it would be more useful to spend that much money to make things like leaflets, posters and business cards etc. Another disadvantage is that if Errol or his worker drives the car badly and is seen doing something which is illegal then they will get in trouble and also he will have a bad repetition causing less people to come to his garage.
Errol and Anderson Motors may want his business to be widespread because although the initial reader may not be interested in Errol’s business but people know people who know people who live in Harrow and Wealdstone. For this, the internet is a good place for Errol to advertise his business on a website at . However, these are free and will therefore have a lot of businesses such as Errol on it, so there is a large chance unfortunately that people may not view his advert so the probability is very low. As well as this, the internet is worldwide so it will be a waste of time of someone in Spain looking at Errol Anderson Motors. It is free however and if there is a chance that someone in Harrow will look at his business so this can only be a positive thing.
The advantages about yellow pages are that it is not very expensive it costs around £460 for the entire year. It is a reliable source when help is need because it is free and nearly every one has it in their homes. It can also be easy to flick through because the businesses are listed alphabetically. The disadvantages about yellow pages is that it is very big and there is a lot about there business as well so people might get carried away and not look through Errol’s businesses. Another reason is that not ever one flicks through yellow pages. Another disadvantage is that yellow page doesn’t give any information except name address and number it doesn’t contain no prices or lists of any services. The advantages of using an intenet are that it contains a lot of information. It is also free and easy to use. The disadvantage of using the internet is that some people may not have access to it. Another reason is that other business will also be competing.
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From my list of appropriate marketing media for Errol Anderson motors I will now evaluate showing reasoned judgement for my decisions. In the beginning I will advise Errol to use three different types of marketing media and these are; posters/banners leaflets and internet (yell.com). The reason I have picked these three forms of marketing media is because it would be cheaper and reliable for Errol to use these three forms of marketing media. After, a year or so Errol can do more advertising on yellow pages, and even get graphics on his vehicle because by this time he will have more money.
I think that posters/banners will be appropriate because they are of low-cost and swift to create and allocate and we can control the distributions within the area e.g. harrow. I believe that it will attract many latent costumers attention because poster and banners are quiet large and eye catching. As long as Errol uses big bold fonts and beautiful eye catching colours and pictures there would be no problem with getting his potential costumers awareness. Another, reason I think this media suits Errol is because it is cheap, all he has to do is go to the shops and get few papers/clothes/plastics and colours/paint etc. and make posters and banners. To do this he can ask few of his friends to help him as well. This way it will benefit Errol because the banners and posters are attracting costumers and it won’t cost him a lot to make.
Leaflets are also a suitable marketing media for Errol because it is small sheet of paper which is handy as we can carry it anywhere. It contains important details such telephone number, fax number, email address and address. I think that leaflets are appropriate because it can be shared out to a large number of people in the area this can help Errol because some of these people can be his potential costumers. I also believe that not all people throw leaflets away in the bin as I always read mines even though it’s inappropriate to me for any shape or form and this sometimes helps my dad, mum, aunt, uncle and friends. This is because my mum or dad might need to go to a cheap garage or something like that and I can advise them to go to Errol’s garage. This way Errol will get more costumers. I also believe that leaflets are cheap because all Errol has to do is go to the computer and make a leaflet and then just print like hundreds of it out. Its will cost him around £50 because one leaflet will cost around 5 pence.
Lastly, I believe a cheaper and reliable way of media is internet. Internet is where we can find nearly every thing. If Errol advertises in the internet it will benefit him because it won’t cost him nothing and his potential costumers will be looking for him by surfing the net. It also saves up his time because he won’t need to spend his day and night giving out leaflets and business cards. All Errol has to do is advertise his garage in . I believe this website is reliable because many people who go to it to get their questions answered as it helps different costumers in different needs. In Errol’s case a person in harrow might need a cheap garage to go to but couldn’t find one, so he/she goes to ask.com and finds that Errol’s garage is suitable for him/her. I also believe that many people in harrow have access to the internet and it is easier to find resources in the internet then in the yellow pages.
Now that I’ve stated the advantages I will now state the disadvantages that Errol may find while using these market research. Using posters and banners can have some disadvantages for example: many people might not notice it so therefore; Errol needs to situate it in a place where the whole community can see it. Another disadvantage of posters can be that it can get destroyed very quickly by wind or rain. So it will be best for Errol to advertise his business using laminated paper because it is waterproof and stronger. He should also stick in the poster in using strong glue. The disadvantages of leaflets can be that many people do not take notice of it. So therefore, Errol should do quota sampling while sharing the leaflets. He can do this by putting the leaflets in people car. This way many people who own a car will notice it because they might think it’s a parking ticket. There can be a social problem in this because many people chuck the leaflets in the floor and there can be complains to Errol Anderson because it is causing hazard as children can pick it up and eat it. Another disadvantage is that if people don’t take notice of the leaflets then making it is going to waste. This is environmentally unfriendly because to make papers trees get cut down. So to decrease this Errol can cut down the number of copies he makes. the disadvantages of internet is that there will be many businesses advertising, so to increase the probability of Errol gaining more costumers he’s got to advertise in the front page. Another disadvantage of the internet is that it is very big and therefore it will take quiet a bit of time for people to find out about Errol. So therefore, Errol should advertise his link in the in internet.
To conclude, I believe that the most appropriate form of marketing media should be poster/banner, leaflet and internet. These three come under the category ‘printed’ and ‘visual’. The reason I have picked these is because it is cheaper and reliable then the other marketing medias.
Task 2
The Market Research Errol Anderson could undertake to help decide upon a Marketing Campaign
The different types marketing media is now aware to Errol Anderson. So therefore, Errol should now decide upon the different types of marketing research methods which will help him form a marketing campaign for his car garage.
What is the term market research? Well, according to Edexcel GCSE Business studies text book the term Market research means the collection of information about existing or potential products. There are two type of market research and they are primary and secondary research. Primary research means collection of information by first hand and secondary research means looking at information that has already been gathered. So therefore, Errol needs to carry out market research to uncover many things in relation to his potential costumers. Some questions he needs to think about is: are the people in harrow prepared to visit a garage for cars? (Majority of people travelling in busses means that there is no need for cars). Errol has also got to think about, what type of costumers will he get? The other think he needs to think about is his ‘competition’ Errol needs to make sure that he is out smarting them and do better then their business. Lastly Errol needs to think how much his potential costumers are willing to pay for the service and product and also a feed back on how the product or service can be improved. In addition, only market research can give the best customer contentment; remaining within the range of competition and have an idea of the most proficient promotion methods.
To obtain the information that Errol wants there are many ways, as said before there are two methods which are usually used for market research by businesses and there are primary and secondary researches. These two methods are completely opposite ways of gathering information because Errol may use the internet to find out about his competitors whereas he will be using questionnaires to find about the needs of his potential costumers. Primary research is when information is collected first hand or directly. Another way of calling it is field research and on the whole involves going away and discovering new information. Secondary research also now as desk research is used to obtain information needed as it’s already found. There are different things that Errol might want to find out so therefore, he might find a particular market research easier then the other. However this can vary on what Errol wants to find out for e.g.; using internet can be easier to find out the wages as a whole of the population in harrow. Then using surveys as people can be offended asking personal questions in questionnaires. So therefore, Errol needs to ensure that his research methods are linked to gaining more information about costumer and competition
To gain the most reliable information Errol should use primary research as its up to date and to gain the most information about his costumers. This way Errol can find out exactly what he wants to know about his costumers relating to the business.
The different types of primary research techniques available to Errol Anderson are surveys, interviews, focus groups, consumer panels, observation, questionnaires, random sampling, quota sampling and questionnaire. The types of secondary research available are internet, newspaper, directories, text books, and specialist magazines.
Survey is by providing people with a set of questionnaire in order to reach a certain conclusion. Questionnaire is the most common form of surveys. This is a list of questions which are carefully planned to find out what customers think. A questionnaire can be carried out in the street, by telephone, by post, by email or though newspaper. The two different types of question can be closed or open questions. Closed questions are short and have an easy answer. It allows people to tick or circle the answers. However, in some cases many people might not give opinions because they might not agree with the options available. Open questions give opinions. This is a fantastic way of finding out about Errol’s potential costumers feelings. However, every answer has a different meaning and will take up Errol’s time to put it inn graphs and also interpret it. Surveys can be one of the best ways of finding information about Errol’s potential costumers as he can create graphs and chars to see what Errol needs to work on and also be able to get personal feed backs.
Interviews are used for primary research to find out whether a member of the public liked a Errol’s car wash. The interviewer will have a set of ready prepared questions to ask the interviewee, many of which will be open questions to allow them to express their own opinions.
Focus groups are where a group of people meet together to provide information about a product or service that they have experienced. An example might be that they help Errol get feed backs about his service. The group would contain a range of individuals and they would be asked questions prepared by market researchers. This is cheaper than conducting individual interviews, but there is the possibility of people being swayed by the opinions of others in the group.
A consumer panel is where groups of consumers give their views about a product or service over a period of time. Most television and radio stations make use of consumer panels to monitor the popularity or otherwise of their programmes. Panels may also be asked to give their views on new products. For example, before an advertisement is presented to the general public, it may have been viewed by a consumer panel who will give their views on it first.
Observation is often used by retailers who observe the behaviour of customers in their store. They may watch how customers wander around the store and how long it takes them to make a decision on buying a product. Errol can see how many people react his advertisement. They may also want to know whether a display attracts their attention.
If Errol wants to find out more about his competitions then secondary research will be more useful. Also finding about family expenditure that government took the survey of can help to find more potential costumers needs. Newspaper articles and specialist magazines can help Errol to look at his competitors and the new gadgets that his potential costumers might want and need.
Internet is an effective form of secondary research because the internet contains about any item imaginable. There are immense amount of information and the best thing about it is that Errol can easily find information about his competition in the market in . To use the internet Errol will have to:
- Get internet access and visit yell.com
- From here he will be able to search for other garages in a number of ways the
- easiest is through the search engine where he can type the following;
Search for:
e.g. couriers, pubs, florists, taxis, plumbers, restaurants
and/or company name:
e.g. Yell or as much as you know followed by *, e.g. Yel*
located in:
Show results on a map
- Then on the screen a list of other garages in Harrow will be displayed showing their location as well as what they offer eg;
333, Pinner Rd, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 4JR
Tel: 0208 427 8808
Classification: Garage Services
• Collection and Delivery • Ten% Disc if • Car Bought Here • Courtesy Cars Avail • Highly rated for cust serv • We Fit Tyres at Great Prices
786, Kenton Lane, Harrow, Middlesex HA3 6AG
Tel: 020 8954 4392
• M.O.T Testing Class 4 & 7 • Accident Repair Centre • New Tyres, Most Leading Brands • Wheel Balancing, Tracking Etc • Local Family Business Est. 196 • General Servicing & Repairs
239, Kenton Lane, Harrow, Middlesex HA3 8RP
Tel: 020 8907 6024
• Most Car Parts For Most Cars • Wholesale Of Bodywork Material • Plugs From £1, Filters From £2 • Batteries From £19 • Brake Pads Form £8 • Best Prices, Service & Value
Classification: Garage Services
MERCSTAR LONDON LTD
Unit 61, Phoenix Ind.Set., Rosslyn Crescent, Harrow, HA1 2SP
Tel: 0208 863 9940
• 23 Yr Main Dealer Experience • Expert Servicing & Repairs • Cut running Costs By Up To 50% • Automatic Gearbox Specialists • Official MB Star Diagnostics • Free Collection & Delivery
Classification: Garage Services
From this Errol could research his competition seeing who the nearest garage is and seeing what they might be offering that’s giving them an edge over his garage. As there were over 80 responses Errol could also perceive the state of the market was stable as the amount of garages was relatively high.
Newspapers contain information about the recent happenings. The local newspaper also contains advertisement of the houses, cars, garages Errol can learn from the other business advertisement and improve his own etc. Directories are usually published annually and distributed for free to all residences and businesses within a given coverage area. Businesses can put up their advertisement in the yellow page by paying. There will be a lot of garages advertising there to. This is another way of Errol finding out about his competitors. A specialist magazine such as auto trader (car magazine) also contains a lot of information about cars such as new gadgets as said before.
For each type of research technique stated, I will now critically analyse the benefits and drawbacks of the marketing research techniques in relation to Errol Anderson Motors.
A successful questionnaire will contain clear questions that cannot be misunderstood. It should also have few questions which is precise with questions in a common sense order. It also contains open questions which contain answers that are more precise and has opinions. It can also contain closed questions which are usually ticking or yes or no with less choice. The benefits of questionnaire are that Errol can decide exactly which questions he wants to ask. It would also be easier to make as everyone is asked the same questions. If the subject is asked the questions over telephone or used face-to-face the two way communication helps to makes sure that the respondent understands the questions. Lastly, it is also easier to analyse the replies using the information technology especially for closed questions. The disadvantage of questionnaires is that they often do not allow a person to express their opinions which means that Errol cannon get the full view of his potential customers. The questionnaires are also very brief and impersonal suggesting again that Errol will not be able to see the full picture of his potential costumers needs and wants. Another disadvantage is that there is a very low return rate for postal and newspaper questionnaires because many people just cannot be bothered to fill it in and send it. Lastly, it can be very expensive and time- consuming. This is because if people do the questionnaires in the streets then they are likely to get paid for it and it can take a long time to ask the subjects questions as many people do not like wasting their precious time on surveys.
Interviews are used to find out if the member of the public liked something in Errol’s case he can ask the interviewee about the type of services the subject might want in the garage etc. As usual there are going to be benefits and drawbacks for interviews. One of the advantages is that its is easier to obtain detailed information about the person’s views, as the interviewer will understands the persons views and can also see his/hers facial expressions, this can tell if they are lying or not. Lastly, if the questions are difficult to understand than the interviewer can explain it to them. This means that that the answers will be more accurate and it can help Errol to understand his potential costumers more correctly. The disadvantage of interviews is that it is an expensive way of gathering information, because they are time-consuming to conduct. This shows that more money is being spent and so is more time and people do not like these factors. The interviewer may have to travel some distance between one interview and the next, taking up time and costing money. Errol cannot afford to do these types of interviews because it will bring loose to him.
The advantages of random sampling is that everyone has equal chance of being picked which means that Errol can get the true sample of the population. The disadvantage of random sampling is that it is time consuming - because Errol needs to find out the random people he’s going to interview/questionnaires etc. another disadvantage is that in random sampling the person that Errol might ask series of questions might not be the type of person Errol is looking for i.e. he/she might not even drive.
Quota sampling is just selecting a group of people who Errol thinks would be his potential costumers. So therefore, he will only ask a small group of people who meet his criteria. This means he may pick around 200 men and 200 female all aged between 18 – 70. The advantage of this is that it is much cheaper then random sampling as it is more defined and also it is far easy to complete as it would be more specific.
The internet has many advantages the main one being it is the widest source of information available in existence. It will be easy to find all types of information about Errol’s competition and the state of the market quickly and cheaply. Disadvantages of the internet include the fact that it is available for every one including Errol’s competition. As using secondary research doesn’t involve talking to a potential customer Errol wont need to worry about how it affects his business socially. Ways in which to improve on secondary researches downsides could include if Errol finds it hard to use the internet he can use directories instead.
Errol Anderson can use a number of different techniques for collecting market research. Example; primary techniques would be questionnaire. After collecting this information its Errol’s duty sort them out and put them in charts or graphs allowing him to see his results clearly. An example can be that 135people out of 400 said that they want better costumer service and after service. Errol should make sure that he’s friendly to his costumers and they inter and depart from his garage. He should also give after service such as helping his costumers to use the new gadgets that he’s put up. This way Errol’s garage will be welcoming. Somme questions above are open this is a great way of finding out the publics thoughts on improvement.
Before choosing the best use of market research Errol should take in account all of the market research available. Personally, I consider that the two best form of market research Errol should use is surveys and internet (yell.com). The reason I have picked these three forms of marketing research is because it’s a great way of going inside the costumers mind and also a great way of finding information about Errol’s competitors.
The advantage of surveys over the other types of market research is that the question that the business needs is answered through it. Errol will also need to help some people to understand the questions more. While the costumers explain their thoughts and views to Errol it will give insight information and understand the needs and wants of his potential costumers. Also every one is asked the same question and with the growing rise of technology such as databases analyzing the information will be faster than other types of market research and this is a big plus for Errol as he doesn’t have much time to spend. Even though interpreting the data is relatively fast the process overall is time consuming and costly; this is the main drawback. Other drawbacks include the low return rate when handed out by post. Further more surveys are usually brief not allowing people to express their opinion and they are impersonal. To solve these drawbacks Errol can quota sample the amount of questionnaire he will do. This way it will still give information about Errol’s potential costumers and also save time.
Socially Errol needs to make sure that the questionnaire he makes doesn’t offend anyone by any shape or form. Errol can also post the questionnaires to his potential costumers. However, the disadvantage of this is that many people do not fill in the questionnaire form. The way round this problem can be giving out free gifts to those who answer the questionnaire. Financially, surveys can be quite costly and it will also take up Errol’s time to analyse it. This is the biggest drawbacks of surveys as there are very few things that can be done to minimize costs and save time. Some things that can help include using ICT to process the information shortening the time taken and to cut costs Errol could send his questioners through e-mail and hand them out on the street instead of using the phone or newspaper as these cost more money. Errol could improve his survey by using a variation of closed and open questions to get developed opinions from the open questions while still keeping peoples attention and making it easier to analyse from closed questions.
What can we not find in the internet? So, obviously the biggest advantage of using internet as a form of market research is that Errol can see all the things his competitors are trying to do gain costumers. So Errol can try to do better then them, ma be put the prices down and make the garage more friendly. However, there is a disadvantage as well; we do not know if Errol knows how to use the computer because looking at his background he left school in a very small age. But we can go round this problem by telling Errol to go to cyber café or even get his own computer and maybe ask one of his friends to teach him. However, Errol is short of money and he might not be able to afford a computer and his friends might not be willing to help him.
In conclusion, there are many different types of marketing research available to Errol Anderson giving him a vast amount of information helping him greatly. I think that Errol should use both primary and secondary types of research techniques. This way it leads to a chance of understanding his costumers. However, this also means that his money is going to be tight in his pocket. I think the cheapest primary research suitable for Errol Anderson is questionnaire and the cheapest form of secondary research available is internet.
Task 3
Marketing including promotions and advertising
The prime propose of promotion and advertising is communicating with the customer to tell them what the product or service is where they can buy it and how much it costs. In order for the costumer to know that Errol exists he needs to do some kind of advertising. There are types of promotion that people are familiar with and this is below the line promotion and above the line promotion. Below the line promotion is the promotion of a product through activities such as sponsorships, trade promotions, free gifts and competitions e.g.: buy one get on free, buy ten and get a £5 voucher. These are all techniques which directly encourage consumers to buy by tempting them on the spot. They are often short term and therefore, will have an influence on buying habits for a limited period of time. Advertising is otherwise known as above the line promotion. This is the promotion of products through the use of media such as television, magazines, newspapers, internet and radio. This kind of advertising can be informative or persuasive. Informative advertising means that it gives information for e.g.: a car manufactures produce informative advertising about the cars they make. This will give the specifications o the car, so that the prospective customer knows exactly what the performance of the car is. On the other hand, advertising can be persuasive. This means that it tries to influence the potential customers and convince them that they ought to buy the product or service. Errol can use make his advertising both persuasive and informative. He can make it persuasive by giving below the line promotion techniques such as price reductions and he can also make it informative by telling his potential costumers what he offers at his service such as washing the car to mending the engine.
The different types of advertising methods available for Errol Anderson can be split into two categories. Below the line and above the line, Price reduction, free gifts, point of sale display and after sales service all go under the category of below the line. Local newspapers, car magazines, leaflets, directories, internet and posters all go under above the line.
Price reductions is reducing he price or offering money – off coupons are both ways of tempting consumers to try a product that they might not otherwise buy. Price reduction can be used by Errol to attract more costumers who are looking for bargains. He can use this technique to sell gadgets in the car. Free gifts are regularly given away in magazines and cosmetics like a free CD with music magazines. However it can also come to uses for Errol such as buy-one-get-one-free (BOGOF) for example Errol can advertise saying get your car serviced three times in two months and get a free wash. Points-of-sale display, this is when products are placed at a point where products are sold, example Errol’s garage. The attractive displays are used to exhibit and promote a product so that it stands out amongst the rest. Errol can put mechanical tools, tires, hi5 system. By this more costumers get attracted. Many businesses also have free samples so that people can see the taste of how effective the product or service is. Errol can give the first few people who come to his garage free car wash. After-sales service is what companies sometimes provide to reassure the customer that if anything goes wrong with their product, friendly help and advice will be given by the business. This is particularly important when the product is expensive or highly technical such as cars or computers. So therefore, this is one of technique that Errol should be familiar with because he will be mending and fixing his costumers cars and therefore, his costumers might not know how to use the hi5 (radio) for instance so, Errol has to guide them without getting paid.
Local newspapers such as Harrow Observer serve a certain area of the country and the advertising can be linked into local events and conditions. These local newspapers are usually delivered into our homes weekly containing adverts. Errol can use this as a advertising media because lots of people flick through local newspapers. Magazines usually have a clear target audience, such as car enthusiasts. Therefore, it is easier to target advertising to the relevant readership group and also to the link advertising to the features in the magazines. For example, in a car magazine it will only talk about the featured cars and its companies. There will also be some advertisement about garages, so therefore if Errol advertises in specialized magazines it’s most likely that his costumers will find him. Leaflets can be given out in the street, which means it is impossible to target a particular segment of the population. However, it contains a lot of useful information such as details of the service. It would be a great way of advertising for Errol as it’s reliable. Internet is available to nearly everyone around UK; it is also relatively cheap compared to the large amount of information being put on the website. Errol can advertise his business in the internet and the potential costumers will find him. Errol can also use directories such as yellow pages and Thompson’s directory to advertise in these publications. Here again all Errol has to do is advertise and his costumers will come looking for him.
For each type of advertising methods I will now critically analyse the benefits and drawbacks for six different methods. An advantage of Errol using price reductions as a below the line technique would be that Errol would hope to attract more costumers. He would attract more costumers as people in general like to think that they are getting value of money. People spend time looking around at different garages for a bargain or a cheaper price. Errol may intentionally have price reductions to attract a particular market segment, maybe people on lower incomes or OAP (old aged people).
Errol can use free gifts to attract more costumers and they may feel that the business is friendly and social. He would captivate more costumers because some times people like getting some things for free and like to think that we don’t need to pay for every thing we get. So therefore, Errol can use BOGOF to persuade customers buy a particular brand or product. Errol may deliberately have free gifts to attract a particular group of people such as men that do DIY work at home.
Using point of sale display can attract more costumers because these are attractive displays used to exhibit and promote a product so that it stands out amongst the rest. By making a particular product such as stereo or a tire stand out outside Errol’s business can charm more costumers to see Errol’s business. This is because people are attracted by what is shown in the outside (window). Errol can purposely do this so that he gets more costumers.
Companies sometimes provide after-sales service to reassure the costumer that if anything goes wrong with their product a friendly help and advice will be given by the business. This can attract more costumers because this service brings connection between costumer and business and if a business does a good job then more people are likely to try the business. This is because people tend to tell other people through the word of mouth about the business that gives them quality.
Posters are excellent for short, sharp messages, and can contain eye-catching colour and features. Because they are situated where they will be seen by motorists and passengers on public transports, who will only see them briefly, they have to communicate their message very quickly. This means that more costumers get attracted. He would attract more costumers as people in general are charmed by bright and bold things as it catches their attention. Errol will intentionally put up posters because he knows that its will catch peoples attention.
Commercial radio stations such as virgin radio carry advertisements that employ sound to communicate their message. They often make tunes, known as jingle to grab the attention of the listener. Errol can do this to again grab the listener’s attention.
Hello my name is Errol Anderson. I own a garage in harrow. My aim of this questionnaire is to find out what my potential costumers want out of my garage and what type of marketing media they are fond of. I hope you will fill in the boxes below. Thank you!
Please tick one box for the following questions!
Gender
Male female
How old are you?
18 - 22
23 - 28
29 - 34
35 - 40
45 - 55
55 – 65
65 - OVER
Please tick as much boxes as you wish from the questions below.
Do you own any vehicle?
Car van bike
Any other ……………… (Specify name)
What promotional media do you respond the most to?
Leaflet yellow pages newspaper
Advert on vehicles T.V Radio
Internet billboards
What attracts you to an advert?
Colour design lay out
Pictures font
Which other factors attracts you in choosing what garage you will use?
Special offers price
Friendly service efficient
Trust reliable
Location word of mouth
What makes you use a new garage?
Special offers price
Friendly service efficient
Trust reliable
Location word of mouth
Hello my name is Errol Anderson. I own a garage in harrow. My aim of this questionnaire is to find out what my potential costumers want out of my garage and what type of marketing media they are fond of. I hope you will fill in the boxes below. Thank you!
Please tick one box for the following questions!
Gender
Male female
How old are you?
18 - 22
23 - 28
29 - 34
35 - 40
45 - 55
55 – 65
65 - OVER
Please tick as much boxes as you wish from the questions below.
Do you own any vehicle?
Car van bike
Any other ……………… (Specify name)
What promotional media do you respond the most to?
Leaflet yellow pages newspaper
Advert on vehicles T.V Radio
Internet billboards
What attracts you to an advert?
Colour design lay out
Pictures font
Which other factors attracts you in choosing what garage you will use?
Special offers price
Friendly service efficient
Trust reliable
Location word of mouth
What makes you use a new garage?
Special offers price
Friendly service efficient
Trust reliable
Location word of mouth
Now I will analyse my findings using the 20 responses that I have gained.
What gender are you?
How old are you?
Do you own any vehicle?
What promotional media do you respond the most to?
This is a line graph; it is highlighting what attracts Errol’s potential costumers to an advert. Unfortunately, the graph is unclear. This has made it very difficult for me to read. However, based on the information from the tally chart I see that it showed internet was the most favourable promotional media being used. Errol should use this information to help him decide what form of promotional media he should use. Therefore, Errol must make sure that he advertises in the internet (yell.com or his own website) as his market research shows that most people look at the internet. I think this will help Errol because many people will look at it. The reasons for this could have been that it is easier to find what you need in the internet; it’s also cheaper and reliable. The reason the graph is so difficult to read is because the line are in a zigzag format and also it doesn’t specifically show us which media has the most peoples views.
What attracts you to an advert?
As you can see from my graph, more people are attracted to colour of the advert. I think this is because bright colours stand out and it captures the potential costumer’s attention. Based on this primary research, I would recommend to Errol that he should put lots of bright colours as more people are attracted to it. This means that Errol will get lots of costumers as his advert captures their minds.
Which other factors attracts you in choosing what garage you will use?
What makes you use a new garage?
This pie chart illustrates what attracts Errol’s potential costumers to using a new garage. As you can see from the chart, most people compare at the prices of different garages before using a particular one. I think this is because people do not like to pay too much for the goods they buy (time is money). Errol should use this information to help him decide which service to offer for e.g. BOGOF. Errol should also make sure that he doesn’t charge too much for a product as the costumers can get put off by it, or charge too little for the product as the costumers will think it is of a poor quality. Therefore, Errol should make sure that the prices he puts up should be of a reasonable price so that more costumers are attracted.
The purpose of constructing this questionnaire was for me to find out the percentage of people that had cars, the most common method of media used by Errol’s potential costumers, what Errol’s potential costumers found attractive, the age and gender of his potential costumers and the number of vehicles Errol’s costumers have.
I expected to find out that word of mouth would drag a costumer into using a new business because word of mouth is more reliable and trust worthy as someone I know has already tried the product or service. Therefore, if someone I know well tells me that the product or service is good then I will believe it as I trust them. However, after competing the questionnaire I actually found out that price drags the potential costumers into using a new business. I also expected that more people are attracted to colour in an advert and after completing the questionnaire I was right as I found out that more costumers were attracted to colour. The reason for this could be the fact that people are attracted to bright colours as it drags their attention. As expected the most popular promotional media turned out to be ‘internet’ as more and more people use internet when they are in need.
After completing the questionnaire I actually found out that more people look at the price of a product, like bright colours for advertisement, prefer internet as a form of advertisement and like special offers. This information will help me advise Errol with his marketing plan. Based on this information (evidence) I can now recommend that Errol should make sure that he should make the prices of the product reasonable (therefore, not too high or low) if Errol puts the prices up too high then less people will buy his products or use his service and this means that Errol will make a loss as his income will be low. However, if Errol puts the prices too low then many people (potential costumers) may feel that the service or product is of low quality. I will also recommend Errol to use bright colours as it grabs the potential costumers’ attention and so more potential costumers will come to Errol’s garage. As many people are familiar of the internet I advise Errol to make his own website for his potential to explore his garage. I also recommend Errol to advertise his garage in yell.com as many people search there for their needs there. Lastly, Errol should make sure that he gives out special offers as people are attracted to these marketing strategies. So, if Errol gives out special offers he will get more costumers.
POSTER
I have created an advert for Errol Anderson motors using ICT skills regarding the promotion of the garage. The plan to of this poster is to communicate with Errol’s existing costumers and to inform the area that Errol exists. I have also used below the line technique in order to persuade more costumers to come forth to Errol’s garage. Errol will issue the posters out within the local community as it saves up cost expenses and also meet Errol’s need by attracting more costumers. Posters are easily made by using programs such as Microsoft publishers and also word. They cost is also very low as the printing price is only 5p per page Errol can print 100 posters for only £5.
The reason I chose to promote ‘Errol Anderson motors’ using a poster is because posters are usually eye-catching and contain a lot of short and sharp messages. I will also deliberately advice to put up posters regarding his business because people get attracted by them. The poster made should be laminated because harrow’s weather is the English weather. So therefore, there will be a lot of rain and if the poster is laminated and it’s less likely that it will get damaged by wind and rain. Errol should then put the poster up where nearly every one around his garage can see it may be in the residential area near his garage. This way his potential costumers know that he exists.
The observation by the pubic see by this advert towards Errol could be seen as a pleasant local business. The picture of the fairies washing the cars happily gives an image of co-operation, friendliness and a warm welcome to Errol’s garage; this might help give of the image of Errol Anderson Motors being the pleasant local garage. However, the two different types of car are shone in the poster which looks very unprofessional. To improve I’ve got to put the same car but in one picture dirty and dull and the other shiny and bright. This way the costumers will be able to judge for them selves if Errol Andersons garage is worthy or not. I could also improve the poster by putting prices up and how much do a car wash charge and many more. This way the costumers will already know how much they will pay for their service before coming to the garage. I also think that the poster looks too plain as the back ground is white, so to improve I should put a bright colour like red or green to grab the potential costumers attention. When I asked my parents if my poster was relevant to them they said it needs a bit of work; this tells me that older people will not be attracted by it so therefore, I need to make my poster relevant to especially people over the age of 23. This is because though many people under the age of 23 have cars they do not yet have jobs as they will be doing further study. Therefore, their parents will be paying if the car gets broken and so my advert has to capture their parents’ attention in order for them to come to Errol’s garage.
In conclusion, I believe that my poster will be successful although there are some changes that can still be made.
Financial and social implications
If Errol were to implement my as mentioned above, this would have some implications. These implications could be financial and social. The financial implication would be a rise in costs, a rise in revenue and knock on effect of special offers.
A rise in costs would occur for Errol because he would have more customers using his garage as a result of the advertising campaign this will result in a rise in costs for Errol because he would need more materials in order to advertise i.e. more papers, more ink in order to make more posters. The more advertisement Errol does more costumers are likely to come to him therefore, Errol may need hire employees to help him with his work, this will cost him money as well as he has to pay the employee wages.
A rise in revenue would mean that Errol is gaining more income and so more money is coming into the business. This type of financial implication is good Errol because the advertising campaign is working and business is becoming more and more successful each day. He will gain extra revenue because Errol is meeting the needs of the costumers and also gaining costumers from other businesses and so my advise is correct.
As a result of the questionnaire, it shows that Errol may use special offers to attract new costumers. This will have a financial implications, Errol will loose money on materials as two products are being sold for the price of one (BOGOF) this can bring the business down as the costs of the product is lower. However, there are benefits to special offers; more costumers will come to Errol’s garage so, he will be popular and in future his costumers may still continue coming to his garage. More costumers mean that more products and services are being sold so therefore, more revenue is being made.
Social implications
Some of the social implications of Errol becoming busier would be a negative effect on the local residential area, pollution issues and increased traffic congestion. In a residential area it is usually quite and clean if Errol becomes busy he will use more petrol’s, gas and raw materials. When he uses these resources more frequently he will face more danger, if one of the costumers leave their lit cigarette on the floor where are there is petrol then the whole business will burn down, the residence living there will also have to suffer the consequences (i.e. the fire in the battery factory in Wembley). Errol should also make sure that too much nose pollution isn’t made by his work in the garage as people in the residential area like a peace and tranquil atmosphere. If too much noise pollution is made than there will be complains and therefore, Errol will have a bad reputation. Errol should also make sure that his garage isn’t up till very late at night so that residents around his garage can have a peaceful sleep. This is because if Errol’s business is open till late than his costumers will make noise and therefore disturb people in the houses around Errol’s garage. Lastly, if more costumers come to Errol’s garage than these costumers need a place to park their car and so they will use to park their cars on the road where Errol’s business is. This can have a very harmful effect on the people living on the street because they will not have enough space to park their cars. All these negative points can bring Errol’s business down because residents around him will not be very happy with him, therefore I advise Errol to take in account the disadvantages for being too popular.
To stop businesses from providing misleading information about or selling faulty goods or services, the government has passed number of laws to protect consumers.
The trade description Act (1968) makes it a criminal offence to describe goods and services incorrectly. If a shoe is described as being pure leather, then it should be pure leather. Therefore, Errol needs to be aware of this act of law so that he doesn’t describe any product or service incorrectly for i.e. saying that all products in his garage is10% off but, in reality only few things get 10% off. If this happens then Errol can get into a big trouble with the ASA.
A sale of good acts (1979) protects the costumers as the goods they buy must be of a satisfactory and merchantable quality. This means that it must be as described, they must not be damaged or broken and must be able to do what they are supposed to do. If a pair of boots is described as being pure leather, water strong enough to last for 1000miles, they should be made of leather, keep your feet dry and last for that distance. Errol needs to be aware of this act of law because ………………………….
The advertising standards authority (ASA) is responsible for monitoring advertisement in the UK. This aim is to sure that advertiser’s obey the rules of the British code of Advertising, sales promotion and direct marketing. This is voluntary agreement which stresses that advertisements and promotions must be legal, decent, honest and truthful. Also they must not cause widespread offence. It covers newspapers, magazines, cinema adverts, leaflets, brochures and posters, but not radio or television advertising.
The above article tells us that Dr Gillian McKeith is forced to take out the ‘Dr’ from the books as she isn’t a medical doctor though she has a degree as she did her PHD. However, the ASA thought that ads were misleading because the college was not accredited by any educational authority when she took the course. Therefore, because Gillian McKeith has broken the trade of description act as she describes herself incorrectly. So, Errol must make sure that he doesn’t break the trade description act or the sales of good act while running his business or else he will go into a lot of trouble.
