Marketing Coursework

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Task 2 - Definition of Marketing

Marketing is the process of interesting potential customers and clients in your product or a service that you are offering. It is also fundamental to the growth of any business. Marketing is mistaken as just simply advertising. This is not the case as there are four main aspects of marketing (the four P’s). These are price, promotion, place and product. This is also called the marketing mix.  There are also other aspects of the mix that are less important; which extend the mix. These include things such as people and the process involved.

The price segment is based on how much customers are willing to pay for the product. This would vary and depend on the quality of the product and the value for money. It also includes how much the product/service costs to produce. The main aim is to keep your costs as low as possible so that you can maximize your profits. Also, you need to know and research the prices that competitors are charging for the same or similar products. Then that would mean you could price your product/service appropriately.

There are various different pricing strategies. Different businesses use different strategies. This depends on how they want to approach the market. For example, a new business would use penetration or competition pricing. This would ensure that their products are at or cheaper than the competition which would give them a better chance of selling. More established companies would use strategies such as skimming and destroyer pricing. Skimming would emphasize the quality whereas destroyer pricing will eliminate the competition.

Promotion is the part of the marketing mix that mainly concentrates on advertising. It comprises of the many methods that are used to bring a product to the attention of the potential customers. This will widen the appeal of the product meaning more sales and inevitably more profit. Promotion is quite vital to a successful product. A quality product may not survive without good advertising but less revolutionary products could still do well with a good advertising strategy.  

Various advertising and promotion methods are available for use in the present day. Common advertising methods include: television, newspaper (local or nationwide depending on the size of the company) internet and advertising on billboards. Promotional offers such as BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) and offers of the same sort (for a limited time period) could also be introduced to encourage sales.

The place is also a vital part of marketing. You need to ensure that your product is in the right place at the right time. If this is not achieved, then the product might suffer as it is being sold in an unsuitable place. If this is fulfilled however, then the product has a greater chance of selling. In the previous decade, products were mostly sold by retail (in shops). However in the present time, more and more people are using other mediums such as shopping online. A business needs to sell the product in a place which is the most suitable for it whether it is online or sold in shops.

Even within the category retail, there are many different types of retail outlets where the product can be sold. There are shop types such as department stores, supermarkets, discount shops and chain stores. A company will need to find the right type of store (or blend of stores) for their product to be sold in; otherwise it might not sell or live up to its potential.

The final “P” of marketing is product. This is essentially the most vital part of the marketing mix as without a product, money can not be made at all. The product can be described as the foundation of a good marketing campaign. There are many factors that influence how successful a product is. These are: packaging, efficiency, reliability, quality and a unique selling point. The more of these factors that can be provided in the product, the more likely it is to sell.  

Market research is the first thing that a company would conduct when launching a product. This would highlight the consumer’s needs and wants for that particular genre of product. The product must then be made to reach these standards.

All of these different components are part of the marketing mix. If every one of these aspects are addressed (or even most of them) then this will create a successful product. If the marketing doesn’t follow this plan or isn’t as well done or as in detail, the product will be less likely to survive. Marketing is what essentially makes every product that you can think of. Without it, these products wouldn’t survive.

A target market is a defined segment of the market which is the focus of a business. It is also aimed at specific group of consumers that your product is trying to appeal to. A target market can be categorized in quite a few different ways. The main ones are: gender, age, income, location and interests. All of these different components can be taken into account when you are trying to decide on your target market.

Gender - As my shop is a sports shop, I am going to aim my products at generally a male audience; with a few products for females. This is because, on the whole, more people of the male gender play sports. This will mean that they are more likely to buy the products.

Age - The age category that I am trying to appeal to is really most ages. This is because sports are played by people of any age. Even though more active sports such as football are played in ones youth, sports such as golf are widely played by people over the age of 50. There isn’t really a general age for my shop but obviously different products will appeal to different age categories.

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Income - My shop is going to be aimed at consumers, mainly working class. The products would be affordable by both high earners and low earners and the shop itself is more middle class orientated. This is because a lot of working class citizens play sport and are more likely to buy the products from the shop.

Interests - It is obvious that my shop is going to be aimed at consumers who have an interest in sport.

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