The secondary research for this product will consist of previous marketing and sales regarding the sales of soft drinks and there popularity with consumers. This will include statistical data more than a consumer opinion it will also provide background information on past market and consumer trends. With the appropriate primary and secondary research chosen for the tropical Ribena and a conclusive analysis can be made and decisions can be taken.
Primary research
Focus groups
Aims of focus group
- To get consumers to drink different flavours of Ribena and a prototype version of the new flavour.
- The get them to discuss with each and other about the disadvantages and advantages of the products
- Talk about what improvement can be made on the product itself
Improvements that could be made:
- Less sweeter than already is
- Change the prices to a price which would catch my market
- Redesign the design the packaging
Information analysis
After the focus groups were conducted, this valuable information to GlaxoSmithKline Company as it identifies the problems of the product that need to be fix such as packaging and the actually quality of the drink itself. The consumer suggestion is very important to the company as it will indicate what the consumers will want in the product and they improvement on it.
As the consumers in the focus group are between the ages 8 and 30 this will be our initial main target market. GlaxoSmithKline would also like to target older than our actual age range market, 45+.
By using this relevant primary research information, GlaxoSmithKline can take into account all the factors needed for improving the Ribena drink. By combing the focus group research and the results form the consumer questionnaires that should be distributed at an appropriate venue.
Questionnaire
Peoples views on GlaxoSmithKline is important due the fact that they strive to offer the best soft to you as the consumer, by giving a few minutes of your time id like you to answer these simple questions on the behalf of the company. This is for the business’s primary market research and helping identify what your needs will be.
The purpose of a questionnaire is:-
- Any consumer trends
- Consumers views on the pricing of Ribena
- Impact on the market given by competitors
- To find out the market situation
- What is your age group (Please Tick)
- What is your Gender? Male or Female (Circle One)
- Do you drink soft drink regularly? Yes Or No
- If Yes… What is your Favourite Brand (Please Tick)
- If you did not select one of the one of the above then state what brand you like :________________________________________
- If No… Why? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- If you did not select Ribena… Please Specify why you selected the other brands: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- If you selected Ribena… Please tick your favourite flavour:
- If Ribena was to make a tropical flavour would you buy it? Yes Or No (If Yes skip to question 11)
- If No, please specify why you wouldn’t buy the Ribena tropical flavour: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- What price would expect to pay for the Ribena tropical? (Please Tick)
Questionnaire results
Below are some of the results that of the questionnaire that was distributed. These are results that are an important part of GlaxoKlineSmith’s primary research as it will help identify if its similar or different to previous research that has been done. And it will be used to find information that can be useful to the company. The Questionnaire was answer by 111 people.
According to the graph above, the age of the people who answered the questionnaire was very similar to the people who did the focus group. This indicates that GlaxoSmithKline should put a strong marketing emphasis for the 16 to 20 age group. Other age groups such as the 21 to 25 and 10 to 15 can also be incorporated in the marketing strategy.
This is one of the really important questions in the questionnaire, as it tells GlaxoSmithKline their consumer’s opinions on the possible price of Ribena. From this graphs it shows that the product should be priced between 45p-50p. The company can use this information to incorporate the pricing aspects of the marketing mix for the product. The company also has to price this range in order to satisfy their target market for the tropical Ribena. Based on the primary market research direct to from the consumers, they could implicate pricing strategy such as psychological strategy in their marketing mix. They could also price the tropical Ribena at 49p so that it seems like a suitable price to assure customers that it’s a valuable price.
The information for gender isn’t a fundamental need for the company but is relevant to see what sex is influenced the most by the brand. 68 out of 111 which is 61% of males claimed they liked Ribena, which is good for marketing so the company can aim their product at the males side more so than the female.
Secondary market research for GlaxoSmithKline
Overall Soft Drinks Consumption
In 2008 due a tough year which saw another wet summer and the credit crunch. Despite this, soft drinks maintained their resilience registering a 1% value increase and a marginal volume decline of 1.1% to stand at £13 billion and 13905 million litres respectively. (Source: Zenith International)
This graph (Source: Zenith International) presents the annual rise and fall of soft drinks from 2002 – 2008. As you can see the fruit drinks market has plummeted into the minus which mean a decrease in the income towards that market. GlaxoSmithKline will try to change this aspect of the market and rise the percent in that market.
With volume sales up just under 1% to reach 1380 million litres, 2008 proved another bountiful year as retail sales increased by 0.8% to hit £1684 million.
This shows the rise in consumption from 2002 – 2008. Each year the consumption of soft drinks has increase. This will be a good incentive for GlaxoSmithKline as the consumptions will mean more profit in company business.
Unit 3 - Marketing Mix
A Marketing Mix is the combination of product offerings used to reach a target market.
The marketing mix consists of:
- Product – what the actual offering comprises
- Price – the price of the product
- Promotion – the means of communicating that offering to the target audience, promotional mix
- Place – the means of having the product offering available to the target audience
It is important that GlaxoSmithKline devise a solid marketing mix for the Ribena, as it can help get the product to the correct target market and achieve the company’s marketing objectives. By producing a marketing mix, it can show the company what marketing actions to take and which are not suited for the company to use.
Ribena tropical marketing mix
Product – it is an important element in the marketing mix as it plays a major role in the entire marketing strategy of the business.
The tropical will be in positioned into a relatively competitively soft drinks market with competition from Coca-cola and Pepsi. We will try to differentiate our product form competitors by targeting different marketing segments through the product development such as what colour the product might have.
The product theme will be focused on the drink being leading soft drink in the market so that maybe the company will have to sponsor certain organisations. This will show the quality and image of heritage of the drink in which celebrities and the average person will drink. This in turn will raise a lot of awareness which is a marketing aim for GlaxoSmithKline.
The tropical Ribena is a competitive product by GlaxoSmithKline that produces a range of different other products. This product is categorised as the competitive product produced by Spalding and is another creation in their product rang which can also attract consumer attention.
Product Portfolios and the Product Life Cycles
Product portfolios are the range of products a company has on the market. If a product is seen as too much of a risk and fails in the first instance, it can be quickly identified and taken away from the product portfolio. GlaxoSmithKline like other company has diverse product portfolios in different markets.
Multi products have their own Product Life Cycle and a business has to arrange their products at different stages.
Example of Product Life Cycle below (QuickMBA.com)
Product development - At the preliminary stage is R&D (research and development). Sufficient R&D must be taken before the product can be launched.
New product development requires substantial investment within the marketing research, technical research and testing phase and the study of current product development and their markets. It is important that a successful launch takes place so that the business can recover from the expense of the development.
Launch – This is when the product is introduced on to the market. This is probably the most important stage for the organisation as it can determine if the product is the success or a failure. The product launch involves the cost of extensive promotion and the distribution of the product itself.
At the product launches. GlaxoSmithKline has intensive promotion and the distribution of the item is the main focus during the product launch. It is imperative that this is successful to cover from R&D expenses during the development of the Ribena.
Growth – if the launch is successful, the demand for the product increases and sales usually follow this pattern. The business will focus on promoting the product and raising awareness among customers that can help increase sales which in turn can lead to more profits which is a key objective to the company.
However, the fast rising sales will begin to decrease as the level of anticipation and demand goes down. Sales will continue to rise but new customers are hard to find in this instant.
Maturity – when the product reaches this stage; it is in the business’s intentions to keep the product here for as long as it is till very profitable. The product’s life length can vary from months to years.
Decline – this is the end of the product’s life itself. Sales will begin to plummet as newer, improved products are released on to the market. Usually at this period products will be withdrawn. This could be because the business wants to update their image or it is not practical to produce a small production of the product.
Revamping
This mean the re-launching of the product with improved some features or new look to it. This is typically done if the product is losing to the competition or is heading for decline. Changes to the product might involve such things as a redesign or just involving some new packaging.
The Boston Matrix
The Boston Matrix is an analytic matrix and used by organisations to help them analyse products within their portfolio. This illustrates whether the product is practical or not. This is used by business in conjugation with the Product Life Cycle and indicates to a business to keep or withdraw the product from their range.
Stars - Stars are associated with the growth stage of the Product Life Cycle. Sales of the product are increasing, and the star could become a product leader in the market. This is what most business hop for with all their items in the product portfolio
Cash Cow – Products in this category sell well and have good market shares, but in a mature market that has low growth. These types of products provide profit and cash for the future development of new products.
Question mark – this is when a product has low market share in a growing market. IT is called a question mark because it could be seen either to be a successful new product in a growing market or alternatively a less promising and struggling product.
Dogs – this type of product linked with decline stage of the Product Life Cycle and may be withdrawn if it is unprofitable.
Ribena in the Boston Matrix
Ribena can be classified as a question mark as it has a low market share in the growing market but with many still drawn to the original version as it is very popular.
Enhancement of the product by introduction new give away and prizes could make it a Star within the soft drinks market, which is one of GlaxoSmithKline’s objectives.
GlaxoSmithKline can use both the Product Life Cycle and the Boston Matrix to judge if the Ribena and other new flavours introduced of it will continue to maintain initial dominance within the market in the future
Price – is an important element of the marketing mix. The price has to be correct as it can determine if a consumer buys the product or not. The price of a product is chosen through a pricing policy within the marketing mix.
Important aspect of market research
Prices for various products in different markets will vary. It is important market research has been carried out by the organisation to find out the consumer’s budget and their willingness to spend money on certain products. The research can also identify other facts about consumers such as if the target market is price too high or sensitive.
GlaxoSmithKline has carried out both primary and secondary market research to find out more about the market and the consumers.
The organisation has to take the consumer market research into consideration when pricing the Ribena tropical juice, as the target market seems to be price sensitive.
Pricing Strategies
Businesses can employ different pricing strategies for their products. The strategy that is chosen depends on some extent on the long-term aims of the company. GlaxoSmithKline will have to evaluate the most suitable pricing policy before making decisions.
- Skimming – High prices for new products which have little or no competition. This pricing strategy helps recover the expenses from research and development.
- Psychological – Setting a price which the consumer seems to be as value of the product. For example 45p or 85p. The business gets into the consumer mind psychologically to convince them it is a good price for the product.
- Penetration – this is the setting of a low price to penetrate an existing market. This is typically used by new businesses to establish them in the market.
- Price discrimination – This is when business charge different consumers different prices for the same product. An example of this is house prices.
- Cost Plus – This pricing of a product by adding a profit to a margin its cost.
- Competitor based – Products are priced similar to the competition this makes the market more competitive and a stronger focus is given to the actual product.
- Destruction – This when a business sets a low price to knock out the competitors sales
Choosing a pricing strategy for Ribena tropical
After looking at possible pricing strategies for the Ribena tropical, GlaxoSmithKline has to consider which is suitable and apply it to their product. As the target market appears to be price sensitive it is important that the company chooses the right strategy.
Psychological pricing is the most suitable policy for the Ribena. This method has been chosen because GlaxoSmithKline can psychologically make the customer believe that product is cheaper than it actually is. This price scheme should attract interest from consumers. This raise in awareness would help achieve key objectives. The drink will be priced at 49p. This new price has been decided as consumers did not seem to want to pay 70p or more for the product, but were ready to pay between 45-50p. So 49p is an appropriate price for the product.
GlaxoSmithKline could also introduce a cost-plus pricing strategy. As the company carried out more than 15 months of research and development to enhance the product and its features, a small percentage value would be added to the product to cover the previous expenses of R&D done for GlaxoSmithKline. Quite alike to psychological pricing, if the company can use cost-plus at the consumer’s expected buying price, it will attract interest, which can lead to an increase in profits, which is a key objective of GlaxoSmithKline.
Other pricing strategies would not be practical for the Ribena. Skimming is not a good idea because firstly our product is not for very high value and this will not attract sales. And secondly GlaxoSmithKline is as in a market with strong competitors.
Penetration pricing is not needed as the company is not a new business and does not need to penetrate as the company is already well comprised into the soft drink market. Similar to this destruction price scheme for the Ribena would be impractical because expenses would not be covered if such a low price were offered, if even there was an increase in sales.
Promotion – regardless if the product being offered it is important for a business to promote their product to the target market. Promotion involves media techniques which create awareness and persuade the consumer to buy the product.
It is important communicates to their customers. With communication, the company can promote their product.
Promotion involves: -
- Advertising – The use of different media such as TV, newspapers + magazines, posters and the internet.
- Packaging – The way the product is presented to the consumer.
- Branding – Promoting a certain brand image of the product or business which becomes recognisable by consumers.
GlaxoSmithKline should take all there promotional into account. The organisation has to invest in an effective promotion campaign. By incorporating their segmentation strategy and having a solid promotional campaign for the Ribena this should help the company achieve their marketing objectives.
Advertising
This is when the company has to choose which way it will use to promote their product across to their target market. There are many different types of media which are available. Additionally it is important that the company choose the right media to promote the product across to their consumers. But in choosing the right media it is also important for the business to identify the right markets before they start their advertising campaign.
They should also consider some of the following mediums:
- Motion pictures – Initially GlaxoSmithKline would use TV commercials to raise awareness of the Ribena. Channels such as Five or Cartoon Network could be used to help reach the target market during cartoons which young kids are more incline to watch.
- Print – This is a good media form to us as it can help reach the target market and could open new markets globally. GlaxoSmithKline could place adverts in magazines such as Nutz or Zoo magazine where the majority of readers are males and findings from the primary research shows that more males drink the product than females so this would draw in more of our male consumers.
As mentioned before in the segmentation strategy, the business will be separated by gender, age and social groupings.
Magazine advertising is a traditional method that GlaxoSmithKline can use. Different magazines create separate segments within the reading market. The company could target magazines such as Nutz and Zoo to reach their target market. Separating the company promotion scheme to the different segments will ideally helpful the company during the advertising phase. This form of medal the most cost effective form of advertising is disturbed to consumers and readers in all continents there allows GlaxoSmithKline to target the Ribena to consumers in new countries in the world.
The most effective media for the company to use is television. It’s very important that GlaxoSmithKline place the commercial at the right time. They can target their main market during peak watching times (i.e. such as show like the X Factor or Cartoons). In production terms the advert has to be memorable and not too long. Predominately during breaks the adverts will be shown. The right image has to be given when promoted using this medium as millions of people will be watching nationally, this establishes new markets.
A medium that hasn’t been mentioned is New Media. GlaxoSmithKline should develop this form of media promotion for future. More people shop online using the internet than they ever have before. GlaxoSmithKline could use this service to promote the Ribena Tropical to a wider target audience around the world. Additionally through their own website they could launch an e-commerce programme and sell Ribena product including the Ribena tropical online this can generate sales which is one of the business objectives of the company.
Branding
Branding is a method in which identifying a product by creating a name, slogan, designs or logo which make the product different and unique to others. Effecting branding can fix itself in the consumer mind and separates the company from their competitors.
One of the benefits of branding is that it saves on future advertising costs. The product will become more known on the market. The consumer will know the name of the product and identify the quality of the product and in turn attracts more interest. It also can create brand loyalty from their customers, knowing that they can trust the products and the company.
GlaxoSmithKline has to brand the Ribena tropical in such a way so that it is memorable and better than all other brands in the soft drinks market. By using different promotional strategies such as motion images (e.g. magazine) which can help the company brand the product to reach and break the target market.
Packaging
This is a major aid to the promotional campaign and product presentation. Nevertheless there are too main differences that should be taken into consideration.
- Packing is the wrapping for the product – it protects the product from damage
- Packaging – is the total appeal to the customer and is part of promotion to attract the customer attention particularly at the point of sale
The tropical Ribena will be packaged just like the original Ribena in cartons. This will promote and sustain the image of Ribena in all factors. This will also promote the product and maintains achieving the objective of consumer satisfaction.
The business has to make sure that it is legally covered and it is important that they do this. On the back of the carton, GlaxoSmithKline must ensure that legal information is printed and details including nutritional information are also published. One negative aspect could be that consumer group and their advisers could monitor this product and if there a problem, GlaxoSmithKline could face legal indifferences
Place – this is the fourth P of the marketing mix. This is the method of getting the products to the customer.
This is when the goods are sold to customers. The provider of the goods usually requires the customer to come to the selling outlets to get the product.
There are two main ways the business can sell to their customers:
- Direct sales – this is when sales are made directly from the producer to the customer. This can be done through direct marketing e.g. selling through direct response advertising or using direct personal contact (e.g. telesales or door to door selling).
- Indirect sales – selling by indirect methods by using intermediaries such as retailer or agents. Goods are sent through national and international distribution channels before they reach consumers. The most common example of this is selling through a retail outlet.
Direct sale methods
- E-commerce – Direct sales could also be achieved through the organisation’s website. Encouraging such sales through the business’s promotion.
- Event Sales – Potential sales could also be made by making sure that there is sales stand for consumers to be able to purchase the Ribena Tropical.
- Telesales – Enquires for purchasing could be encouraged through the company’s advertising to create another channel for direct sales.
- Catalogue selling - The manufacture sends a catalogue to the chosen market segment having built up a database to target the appropriate market. Details about the product, the price and details of how to order are contained within the catalogue.
Evaluating direct selling
Consumers will feel highly satisfied by purchasing directly from GlaxoSmithKline. They feel that the product being bought in this form is a genuine purchase backed by the guarantee manufacturer.
Furthermore this method of selling involves employing a specialist sales team and can have cost, stocking and distribution implications.
Indirect selling
- Manufacturer to retailer to consumer – this is where GlaxoSmithKline is able to supply the Ribena Tropical directly to retailer, this would be more attractive as they would be acting as the wholesaler as well, therefore increasing their profit margins substantially. GlaxoSmithKline would be able to control sales by supplying and differentiating to target stores such as Sainsbury’s, Asda and Tesco to reach the target markets in different countries.
- Manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to customer – this indirect selling involves using the middle intermediary to distribute and stock the product and also supplying the goods to the consumer. To help establish new markets such as overseas this method may be only successfully to the Ribena Tropical. They business may have to appoint established soft drink sellers as their agents to promote GlaxoSmithKline’s product.
Evaluating indirect sales
The most common method used by manufactures where sole distribution rights are granted with a view to provide the product to the target markets. GlaxoSmithKline would ensure that their distributors would be good to their marketing strategy and guarantee that stock levels meet the demands.
Negative drawbacks to this would be quality control, communication of the final selling place e.g. retailer or reliability. GlaxoSmithKline would also be heavily reliant on third parties to implement their marketing plan which could lead to conflict in the chain and finally to sales.
Achieving placement objectives
GlaxoSmithKline will have to use a mix of direct and indirect selling. Wherever possible they would keep control of selling to the consumer and relying on third parties where this would not be possible. For example in the UK and US GlaxoSmithKline will able to sell directly to consumers but may need to appoint sales agents in other smaller markets.
Unit 3 – Assessment Evidences Task 4
In the planning phases and period of the marketing mix, its essential that a business should take all possible constraints in to reason.
There are 2 types of constraints in business:
- Internal – Factors affecting the company based internally. An example of this could be the budget available for marketing purposes and the availability of expertise in designing plus the implementing the marketing mix.
- External – Factors that affect the firm from outside the business, such as if the market is growing or declining
GlaxoSmithKline Must consider positive and negative factors during the marketing mix for the Ribena and make decisions accordingly, which will help benefit the company and meet the marketing aims and objectives.
The business should carry out a SLEPT analysis to search for any potential limits that may arise.
The SLEPT analysis is comprised of:
- Social – This can include trends such as marketing growth and decline. Other factors, which come into under this title are environmental concerns such as the form of which the product is packaged
- Legal – All laws which the business must follow for instance meeting the safety standards. Consumer protection laws would have to be also found in this section of the analysis.
- Economic – These are factors which relate to the economy. For example the unemployment rate may be important because it could be potential in the market segment. Other issues such as retail sales can affect the value of products.
- Political – Issues which are in this are associated with political factors such as posters or billboards that are used for political campaigns can limit availability of advertising space for the business.
- Technological – These are factors that combine with the development and advancement of technology. An good example would be the level of mobile phone ownership and the level of development of mobile phones.
If they want to justify their marketing mix for the tropical Ribena, GlaxoSmithKline should perform a SLEPT analysis to recognise the factors, which can cause certain constraints and make a decision based on an examination.
Internal constraints
As mentioned before a business can be pressurised due to internal factors within the organisation. It is important the GlaxoSmithKline acknowledge these potential issues early to ensure an effective and efficient planning process for the marketing mix.
Internal constraints that could affect the marketing for the Ribena tropical could be:
- Distribution – A key factor that is needed to be recognised in the distribution of the product itself. Mentioned earlier as part of the business’ placement scheme Ribena would sell directly to supermarket stores such as Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. However the company may not be able to dispatch the product to similar stores in other countries or other regions where the market segment can be located. The business could really lose out on sales if they cannot cover valid areas.
- Time – Timing is crucial. It’s very important that GlaxoSmithKline do not market and promote the Ribena tropical at the wrong time. With 16 months spent on research and development on the product this puts more emphasis, as they would want to promote and market the Ribena tropical shortly after the product is created/made. The business must consider when the product should be released; it can be during the winter season (November to February) or the summer season (March to August). This puts time constraints on the department within the company such as the production department who have to produce more products in small amount of time, therefore has implications on the cost effect of the campaign. Also if the business wishes to improve the product by releasing new versions of the Ribena every 3 years, this could give an opportunity for competitors to develop a new product.
- Costs – All business’ wish to minimise their expenses. The company should review the budget available in order to produce, market and promote the Ribena before the marketing mix. Certain expenses cause constraints, such as promotion in the form of media that is chosen by the company. Example being moving picture, i.e. such things as television advert is an expensive medium not only on mainstream channel like ITV and Cartoon Network and the time of which the commercial is placed for example during cartoon movie breaks which was also said in the marketing mix. Another factor is production values in order to make the adverts memorable to the audience.
Analysis of internal constraints
After looking at internal constraints it’s necessary that GlaxoSmithKline know these factors and take them into consideration to make decisions appropriately. It appears that cost would not be the biggest issue for the company but time and distribution will need to be checked of how to overcome these issues. The efficiency of dealing with the internal issues can affect the overall outcome of the marketing mix.
Summary on internal factors for GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline should attempt to minimise the expenses, however at the same time promote the Ribena tropical as extensively as possible. This includes the different forms for media which include television adverts. This raises a lot of awareness and links back to the activities of the marketing mix that helps achieve the objectives of the business.
In contrast to this if a poor unmemorable advertisement is made then it could have a negative impact on the impact on the target segment, as they will not remember the name of the product or company. This is ineffective spending on a promotional basis for the Ribena tropical and does not meet the original plan in the marketing mix.
Time was another key element that needs to be considered. The advantages of promoting during summer because most things are spend outdoors in the sound so a high proportion of customer will buy drinks to keep them cool and this can lead to good sales figures. If GlaxoSmithKline releases the Ribena tropical at the wrong time the consequences could be detrimental to the life cycle of this product, as it could be time consuming in terms of planning for the products’ marketing, promotion and development. This can also implicate cost in such ways as production costs.
In general, the internal factors are not a major problem to GlaxoSmithKline and cannot halt the Ribena’s marketing strategy. The company should spend the budget appropriately on the marketing mix for the Ribena tropical and ensure that their standards meet the aims and objectives of the business.
In the marketing mix, it stated that different forms of indirect and direct selling would have to be used for the Ribena. The company must ensure that they employ different forms of distributing their product to all recognisable stores. By using these stores, they can reach their target segment; this leads to an increase in sales, which is a fundamental objective of the organisation.
If they fail to do this, they could miss opportunities such as filling spaces in new areas in the world and in the country where the new customers of the target segment could be situated.
External constraints
These types of factors happen outside the business and they cannot stop them from happening. Examples of the external problems are competitors and the economy. All efforts, GlaxoSmithKline cannot avoid these constraints that could affect the marketing mix.
For this part, SLEPT analysis will be used to help the company discover any potential or inevitable external constraints.
Analysis for the external constraints
In contrast to the internal factors, GlaxoSmithKline cannot avoid these external constraints that could affect their marketing mix.
The business must keep track of new issues such as new flavours and developing this further, with effective promotion towards that segment of the business. However they must not also lose track of the development of rival drinks companies’ products such the Coca-Cola Enterprise. GlaxoSmithKline must ensure that they market and promote the Ribena Tropical effectively to ensure they meet the objective of increasing sales.
Evaluation of external factors
GlaxoSmithKline should keep track of the social factors that may affect the outcome of the marketing mix for the company. They will have to adapt the element of the marketing mix such as the product itself to keep with changes in society. Although the business can stop rival competition such as Coca-Cola using social factors of the industry to place their products on the market. The company can also find the segment’s target in other areas around country and the world which could help rise sales for the drink; this will meet objectives of the marketing mix.
To ensure that their marketing mix fits around legislation that protects the competitors and the consumers. The company should acknowledge all law that are introduced and obey all of the current ones such as the Sales of Good Act which defends buying rights of the consumer.
They also have to make sure that the product respects all national and international buy legislation as well the form of promotion and packaging. This will have cost effects that may limit other areas of the market strategy but it will also help the marketing mix adapt to the legal procedures of the business promoting the image of GlaxoSmithKline as an honest company and will hit all marketing objectives.
Political factors can alls influence the marketing mix indirectly. The business has to be prepared to put a lot of money into the advertising and TV commercials because if there are political campaigns, party may be willing to pay a higher price to for the air time or even to collaborate with the company.
The Ribena tropical’s marketing mix has to adjust to the economic changes within the soft drinks market. This marketing is expanding and GlaxoSmithKline needs to be aware of this and execute their plan effectively and efficiently. Marketing research has shown that people believe that 80p is too expensive for the product. GlaxoSmithKline may have to reconsider the suggested price of the GlaxoSmithKline to increase sales and which is the main objective.
This is quite a competitive market with many products to benefit on the consumer. Businesses like Coca-Cola have their own agendas and products with unique features. GlaxoSmithKline must keep track of product developments and keep re-developing the Ribena tropical with improved taste and flavour and promote this to the target segment.
