After I have conducted my primary research, I will search the internet to see what current marketing schemes are being conducted by competitors, and I will also do research on what the population of Dubai is like, to see how the product can be marketed to obtain maximum revenue. Finally my textbook will be an essential source of research, as it gives me a lot of information on different types of marketing ideas.
Marketing Mix
The marketing mix consists of the “Four P’s”. It is a concept that is aimed at creating a good marketing campaign for a product. When using the marketing mix you must consider the price, product, promotion and place of sale.
Product
Product is the first P that I am going to talk about, this is because it is seen as the most important in the marketing mix. A product is what the business is going to try and sell. Some businesses, usually smaller ones try to target particular market segments with their product. Other businesses create a product range to try and tap in to many different market segments. When a business is developing a new product they can either create a product that is market led or product led. If I product is market led, then this product was made because a business identified there was a need for a certain product in the market. If a product is said to have been product led, then this means that the product was a totally new idea, and that it would be the first of its kind in the market. The product part of the marketing mix is seen to be the most important as if the product doesn’t achieve that markets intended use’s then even if it is promoted well, priced cheap and distributed in a good location its sales will not be very high.
Price
Price is also an important part of the marketing mix, as if the price is too high then sales may be low, and if the price is too low then profits will be to a minimal if made at all. There are many ways in which a business prices its product, one of which is Cost-plus pricing. This is the most common way businesses set prices. This is when they add up how much the product costs them to make including labour costs and finally add on the profit which is usually a percentage of what it costs them to make. Another way a business prices its products is by Competitor based pricing. This is where competition between businesses helps set the price. For example if two businesses sold products that are very similar to each other, and the products both achieved the same purpose and were off the same quality then consumers would compare prices to see which one to buy, and usually consumers would buy the cheaper one due to them making a saving.
Promotion
Promotion is by means a business informs potential customers of what products it is retailing. A form of promotion is advertising, forms of advertising include classified, informative, persuasive and generic advertisements. The biggest way products are advertised is through the media. Examples of this are television, radio and cinema. Also many advertisements are now in forms of printed media, examples of this is newspapers, magazines, trade magazines, posters and billboards. Bigger companies use specialised advertising agencies to advertise their products. These companies will produce an advanced campaign.
Place
The final P is place, this is where the product is to be sold to the final customer. It is also about how the product will get to the final destination before being sold to the customer. Businesses must choose the right channel in which their products should be distributed, the right method in which they are distributed and finally choosing the right sales outlet to be the most successful in the place part of the marketing mix. The chain of distribution is where a product is sold in very large quantities at a reduced price from the producer to the wholesaler who then sells it at a higher price than they got the product at to the retailer, who finally sells its to the consumer at the recommended retail price (rrp).
Questionnaire
I am considering creating a new alco-pop for sale in the United Arab Emirates, can you please spare a few moments out of your time to answer a few questions? Thank you, your co-operation is appreciated
- What Gender are you?
▢Male ▢Female
- How Old are You?
▢21-25 ▢26-30 ▢31-35 ▢36+
- Would you like to see A new Range of Alco-Pops in Dubai?
▢Yes ▢No
- What type of Promotion attracts you the most? Please only select one
▢Buy One get One Free ▢Coupons ▢Money Off ▢Free Gifts
- What form of Advertising attracts you the most? Please only select one
▢T.V ▢Radio ▢Magazines ▢Billboards ▢Posters
- Do you Drink Alco-pops regularly compared to other Alcoholic Beverages?
▢Yes ▢No
- What Bars/Clubs In Dubai do you Visit Regularly? Please only select One
▢Jimmy Dix ▢Trilogy ▢Hard Rock ▢Left Bank
▢Scarlet ▢Harvesters ▢The Lounge
▢Other (Please Specify………………………..)
- If a new range of Alco-pops was introduced, what flavours would you like? Please only Select your favourite
▢Strawberry ▢Lime ▢Lemon ▢Mango ▢Cranberry
▢Watermelon ▢Blackberry
- Where would be an Ideal location for a new Bar?
▢Jumeriah ▢Sheik Zayed Road ▢Airport ▢Jebel Ali
- Do you Visit the Airport Regularly?
▢Yes ▢No
Questionnaire Responses
- What Gender are you?
15 Male 15 Female
- How Old are You?
14 21-25 6 26-30 6 31-35 4 36+
- Would you like to see A new Range of Alco-Pops in Dubai?
30 Yes 0 No
- What type of Promotion attracts you the most? Please only select one
21 Buy One get One Free 1 Coupons 7 Money Off 2 Free Gifts
- What form of Advertising attracts you the most? Please only select one
13 T.V 9 Radio 1 Magazines/Newspapers 6 Billboards 1 Posters
- Do you Drink Alco-pops regularly compared to other Alcoholic Beverages?
24 Yes 0 No
- What Bars/Clubs In Dubai do you Visit Regularly? Please only select One
4 Jimmy Dix 11 Trilogy 7 Hard Rock 3 Left Bank
0 Scarlet 3Harvesters 2The Lounge
0 Other (Please Specify………………………..)
- If a new range of Alco-pops was introduced, what flavours would you like? Please only Select your favourite
5 Strawberry 8 Lime 7 Lemon 1 Mango 2 Cranberry
7 Watermelon 0 Blackberry
- Where would be an Ideal location for a new Bar?
12 Jumeriah 10 Sheik Zayed Road 6 Airport 2 Jebel Ali
- Do you Visit the Airport Regularly?
22 Yes 8 No
Questionnaire
I conducted my questionnaire at the Mall of the Emirates. I wanted to conduct it in a bar, but due to being under the age of 21, by law I am not allowed to enter a bar. I gave my questionnaire to random people walking by that looked of non Arab decent. This was because as previously stated Muslims are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages. I followed this up by asking people whether they were Muslim or under the age of 21, if either of their answers to these questions was yes then I wouldn’t give them the questionnaire to fill in as their opinions wouldn’t be worthwhile. In total I gave the questionnaire to 30 suitable candidates, as I felt that this was enough to start off with and to obtain a rough idea.
Promotion
Promotion is the ability to inform potential customers that your product actually exists, and convincing them to buy it. Hence promotion include informing customers about what products and services you as a business have to offer, informing customers why your product and services are beneficial to them, and persuading the customer to buy your product.
Advertising
Advertising is the main method in which the public come to know of a product of a service. Depending on the product or service and the amount of capital available advertising can be as small as an add in the local paper to a full blown advertising campaign. Advertising are aimed at a certain market segment (target audience) although there is no way of knowing whether they have been reached.
There are four types of advertising, the first of which is Classified advertisements, which are usually small ads offering goods or services locally. The second is Informative advertisements, which are simply announcements giving information. The third method of advertising is Persuasive advertisements which are aimed at influencing people. The final method of advertising is Generic advertisements which are usually produced by a whole industry.
Broadcasting Media
One of the most expensive media to advertising on is the television screen. Prices keep rising, along with the costs of making the advertisement there are also the television stations fees which even on smaller stations can start at £1000 per second in peak time. Although it costs a lot it can be expressed as the most effective form of advertising as it can be targeted to reach the intended target audience.
Another form of broadcasting media is the radio, with more and more commercial radio stations opening up, prices to advertise on radio have seen a recent decline, which can range between £10 to £20 per second. Radio advertisements like television advertisements can be aimed at particular market segments, which can be great at making sure an intended market knows about the product.
Cinema advertisements are becoming ever popular with local businesses. They usually tend to be slide shows or short videos made semi professionally.
Printed Media
Newspaper and magazines advertisements are growing and it is predicted that they account for more than half of all the expenditure on advertisements. There are many types of newspapers, which range from local one to national ones. Local newspapers can be useful for local businesses to advertise in as they are cheaper and they only reach a local area. Where as bigger businesses may prefer to advertise in nation newspapers such as The Mirror. Who charge £27500 per a full page advertisement.
Posters and billboards are usually put up on the side of busy roads to attract the eye of drivers.
Advertising is a big thing in the UK, and advertisements are popping up on the sides of buses, in train and bus stations, on football shirts etc. They are literally everywhere you look, people are being creative and thinking of new places that will catch the eye of as many people as possible.
Agencies
Bigger business tend use specialist advertising agencies to put together full advertising campaigns. The agency will be asked to product a campaign which will include a slogan and storyboard ideas.
Advertising Standards Authority
It is the role of the advertising standards authority to ensure that all advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful.
Public Relations
Many bigger businesses have actual parts of their company which are responsible for public relations. They are to make sure that products are seen well in the public eye, and that reputation is kept high. This is because reputation can be lost very easily but it is very hard to gain, and can be costly to a company.
Customer relations ensure that customers are treated well with courtesy and politeness, and are given a good image of the business. They also enforce certain pledges that will be beneficial to the customer, to help increase the publics view on the company.
Bigger businesses use celebrity endorsements to increase the companies images. By getting celebrities to say good stuff about a product that gets the public to go out and try a product as celebrities opinions are viewed highly in the publics view.
Promotional Questions
As previously stated promotion is a major part of creating a successful product. It allows people to learn of the existence of a product, which in my case is my new range of alco-pops. Without people knowing of its existence sales would be low. There are many different methods of advertising, and depending on the location various different methods work for different reasons. To find out what methods work in Dubai, I asked in my questionnaire what form of advertising attracted that individual. The results of this question are shown below
My results show that television is the most favoured form of advertising, with 13 out of 30 selecting it. Television has proven to be a very successful form of advertising because if put in between a particular program, then a certain market segment can be targeted. Also it can be put in peak television time, this is when many people are watching television and therefore many people will see the advert. Although these are very successful methods, it is also very expensive to advertise on television in peak time, and I feel that I wouldn’t have enough capital to start off with to afford television advertising.
My results show that radio is the second more favoured form of advertising. This could be because that unlike the United Kingdom Dubai is very spread out and not cramped together, this means that people have to drive almost everywhere. Thus with so many cars on the streets a lot of traffic is created, causing for journeys to take a while, and people getting bored in the car and listening to the radio for entertainment. With so many radio stations coming up and targeting specific audiences, it would be very easy to choose an appropriate station that would reach the intended market segment. Radio advertisements are also considerably a lot cheaper than those of the television, and I feel that I would be able to afford a radio advertisement. Although I feel that a radio advertisement wouldn’t work for promoting a new range of alco-pops. This is because with the radio, there is only sound and thus people wouldn’t be actually able to see the drink. As it is a drink, its main selling point will be its taste, and it would be very hard to persuade people to try it with just sound.
In third place was Billboards. Billboards are proving to be very successful in Dubai because as previously stated there is a traffic problem in Dubai, and therefore cars will be move slowly, causing individuals in the car to look more outside, and therefore Billboards would be seen by many people. Many companies have already realised the potential of billboards in Dubai, and they are seen to be popping up all over the place in Dubai. I feel that billboards would be an effective form of advertising for the drink, as taste is sub consciously linked with appearance. Therefore as long as the billboard makes the drink look attractive with an eye catching picture and slogan it will be very efficient. Even if viewers don’t take much notice of the billboards the viewers brain will automatically remember them, this is known as passive learning, therefore billboards can be easily installed into peoples brains. Billboards advertisements aren’t even that expensive and therefore a lot of capital wouldn’t be required. Below are a few pictures of billboard advertising being used in Dubai.
In fourth spot were magazine and newspapers advertisements, newspaper advertisements can be very successful in Dubai. This is because there is a particular newspaper named 7 Days, that is free and delivered to the majority of houses in Dubai on a daily basis. As it is free and is delivered to peoples houses, its convenience causes for many people to avidly read it. Many different companies advertise in 7days as it seems to be a cheap and effective way to advertise. Two examples of different companies advertising food are displayed below.
As stated previously I don’t think I would be able to use television advertising to start off with, and radio wouldn’t be effective. Therefore to start off with I will use Billboards and newspaper/magazine adverts. Eventually if the business hits off and we create a profit I will consider using television adverts.
Apart from advertising, product sales can also be increased with special promotions. For insistence a business can give a free gift with there product, though they will profit less, it will attract people to come and try and there product, and in the food and drink industry, if they like the product they will buy it again. There are many different types of promotions that businesses uses and these vary depending on the targeted market segment, although the principle behind it is always the same, that by giving customers some think that they would be interested in, they will buy the product. To find out what types of promotion potential customers in Dubai like, I asked this question in my questionnaire, the results are shown below.
My results show that most people were attracted to buying one drink and getting another free. In my opinion this is favoured due to most people drink alcohol socially, and usually when in a group of two and more the first drinks are bought by one person and then the second are bought by another and so on, therefore it can be quite costly depending on the amount of drinks bought. Thus people would like to get one free, as then they could end up paying half of what they should have. Buy one and get one free offers can be quite costly for the business, and I feel that if we were to run this offer it would be for a limited time, just because it would ensure more people would gain a chance to try it. This is because people will see the offer and then buy it because of the discounts, so if more people try it, they we maybe able to gain more customers.
Although money off discounts on drinks is in theory the same thing as coupons, my results show that there is a big difference in peoples view on them both. People prefer money off discounts over coupons and this is because that although they maybe of the same value, people prefer just to get the discounts because with coupons they first have to obtain them and there is a chance they could lose them. To a business money off discounts cost them more that coupons, this is because that everyone is entitled to the money off discounts, whereas only people who are able to present coupons are entitled to that discount.
It is a known fact that humans like free gifts, therefore if there was a free gift that came with a drink that potential customers were attracted to they would buy the drink over other drinks. If I was to use this form of promotion I wouldn’t give a free gift with every purchase of a drink instead, I would give a free gift for the amount of lid tops collected. This would encourage people to buy more and more drinks as after they have bought a certain amount they would be rewarded with a gift, thus increasing our sales. I would make it so that the more they collect the better the gift was, but that they were still able to cash in on there lids even if they didn’t have very many and obtain a cheap gift. The gifts that I would give would be wallets, clothing and bottle openers. They would all be branded with our logo, so that other people would be able to see this merchandise and it would promote the drink. I would make the merchandise exclusively available though this scheme therefore making people feel unique with these goods. To obtain the gifts customers will have to send the lids off to us with a filled in form, this form will request peoples address’s for the gifts to be sent to. Once we have these addresses as long as they agree on the form we are able to keep them on record and keep details on of our customer base. Having these details will be helpful as every so often we are able to mail them with new promotions and advertise new products.
After evaluating each form of promotion I have decided to use them all. To start of with, I would use Buy one get one free offers as this would encourage more people to try the drink at bars, although this offer would only last for a few weeks. After this I would run a money off discount scheme. Both these forms of promotion will encourage new customers to try the drink. Again this scheme would only last for a few weeks after the buy one get one free offer. These two are only to be run for a short time as they are very costly, and are only used to create an initial customer base. After they have finished I would introduce coupons that could be rewarded for discounts against the drink, bout would be placed in newspapers and magazines and discount books. A month after that had been introduced I will finally bring in my free gifts scheme, which in itself is giving customers gifts that promote the drink. I feel by having this advertising campaign we will be able to create a large client base that would regularly buy our drink.
Place
Place is a major part of the marketing mix. The place that a product is sold is very important to getting as many sales a possible. A business must choose the right channel of distribution, right method of distribution and the right sales outlet.
A business that’s product is distributed well ensures that the product arrives at the final destination intact and undamaged. This is done by using good packaging and choosing the right form of transport a product will take.
New technologies introduced by ICT have made distribution a lot easier. With the invention of stock control systems, it has become very easy for stock levels to be checked and once stock gets down to a certain level more stock can be ordered all automatically. The system knows when a product is being sold as when its bar code is scanned at the till it automatically decreases stock levels.
Chain of Distribution
The chain of distribution is the journey a product will take before reaching a customer. Usually this is from the producer to the wholesaler who then sells it on to the retailer and finally the consumer buys it.
The producer produces the products is very large quantities. And if it is a big business then sells the goods on to a wholesaler in large quantities at a reduced rate. If it is a local business the product is usually sold directly from the business to the customer.
Wholesales buy products in bulk, and the majority of the time spend a lot of money providing both transport and a storage site for the goods. Wholesalers then usually open cash and carry stores, these are usually where wholesalers sell goods to retailers. The price of these goods has increased from what the wholesaler paid for them as they have to recoup the transport and storage costs. Also retailers buy products in lower quantities than wholesalers.
Once the retailer has bought the goods from the wholesaler they then sell the products at retail outlets. This can be anywhere a consumer can purchase goods. Nowadays there is a big difference in the range of shops, as they can range from the local corner shop to the giant chain superstores.
Small Retailer
All the time big retails stores open up, and some can be on every high street in the UK. Although these shops can afford to reduce the prices on many products they still have a lot of competition from small retailers. One of the reasons for this is that many customers prefer the personal service offered by these shops. This means that usually small retailers build up relationships with their customers both on a business and personal level, this ensures that each customer is personally served. Another reasons for small retailers still being successful is that they are usually very convenient, this is because they are normally very close to peoples homes and are usually open till later hours than the superstores.
Some families in the Uk are on benefits and therefore sometimes run out of money and must wait till their benefits come in before being able to make purchases. If the relationship is strong enough small retailers sometimes give credit to these people and allow them to pay at a later date.
Retailers and wholesalers both break bulk, this terms means that they both buy in large quantities and sell it in smaller quantities.
A new concept to come to Dubai, that has shown to be successful in the United States of America, is the shopping mall. These usually are huge building that include many shops in, that are linked together under one roof. All sorts of shops are placed these malls from the big chain super markets to your local retailer providing food. In the Uk these can also be found, but not on the same size as those in the USA or even Dubai, although in the Uk there are also out-of-town shopping centres. These are very large sizes that are based out of town where a lot of space is available to build these shopping centres.
International Networks
Some of the bigger distribution run internationally. While a lot of money is to be made from import and export there can be a lot of hassle making sure products clear customs and excise. Also these businesses must make sure they comply with shipping laws and regulations.
The law in the United Arab Emirates states that alcoholic beverages are only to be sold in licensed bars in hotels. Therefore I can only select for my drink to be sold in bars part of hotels. To start off with I have decided that I will sell my drink to bars in the UAE and then eventually with retaining my profit I will open up a bar in a hotel. As the majority of hotels in Dubai already have bars in them, I have come to the conclusion it will be best to plan to open the bar in a hotel not yet built yet. There are hotels opening up all over Dubai, and therefore I need to find the ideal location to place my bar. To do this in my questionnaire I asked where would be the ideal location for a new bar, the results are listed below.
The majority of people stated that they would like to see a new bar open up in Jumeirah. Jumeirah is probably the most expensive part of Dubai, and there is a lot hotels there, this would mean if I was to place my bar their, I would have a lot of bars in direct competition with mine. This could prove to be quite costly as if some of the bars there are already very well established and to be able to take their regular customers would be very hard.
A lot of people also expressed that they would like to see a new bar open on the Sheikh Zayed road, although I feel that this was a bad option to put as the Sheikh Zayed road is very big and goes through the whole of Dubai, therefore I cannot really tell where the customers wanted the bar on the Sheikh Zayed road. In turn I will discard this selection.
A few people stated they would like to see the bar open at the airport. I feel that the airport would probably be the best option as there aren’t that many bars around there, so competition would be low, and also Dubai airport is one of the biggest airports in the world, and many people stop over in Dubai for a couple of hours before flying elsewhere. Hence it would be a good idea to open a bar near the airport as then these people who are seen to be in transit can spend their time in the bar instead of getting bored in the airport. This would definitely increase sales, also by targeting it towards tourists, when these tourists go back to their homes, if they liked the bar they will recommend it to their friends, so that when they come to Dubai, they can also visit it too.
Jebel Ali was the least favored place for a potential bar to be opened, I feel this is because Jebel Ali is on the side of Dubai. Although Jebel Ali would be an ideal place to place the bar due there being virtually no other bars there, but I feel that not many expatriates live there, and therefore it will have largely Muslim population, who will not visit the bar.
After analyzing the opinions the people who conducted the questionnaire and weighing up the advantages and disadvantages I have come to the conclusion that I will open my bar at the hotel. Apart from the factors already expressed for the airport another factor in aiding my decision was from an article in the newspaper. It states that a new type of hotel will be opened near the airport, and I feel that this new concept could revolutionize the hotel industry and could attract a lot of customers. I also feel that the modern look and will be the same touch that I want to add to my bar. The article is over leaf. In the long term as more and more people move to Dubai it is my belief that Jebel Ali will expand, therefore if eventually I am in a position to expand I would like to open a bar there.
To create enough profit to be able to open the bar I must sell my drinks to bars in Dubai, but I have decided to do a deal with certain bars and only give a selection of bars the rights to be able to sell my drinks. This is because I want to make the drinks exclusive as this will create a certain excitement about the drink and will make people want to try it even more. It also allows me to create good links with bars that we will be competing with when my bar opens up, this will be good as that way we will be able to work with each other to generate the most amount of profits possible. To decide what bars to sell my drink at I asked in the questionnaire what bars and clubs people visited regularly, this was because I wanted to decide which bars to allow to sell my drink. The results are below
The majority of people stated they visited Trilogy the most, Trilogy is a big club situated in the middle of Jumeirah, it is located as a prestigious hotel, and therefore the majority of its customers are tourists. By allowing that club to sell the drink, I can ensure our name gets known on the international front, so if we ever- expand to sell the drink world wide our name will already be out there.
4 people stated they visited Jimmy Dix often, Jimmy Dix is located in Bur Juman, which is a town that is expanding and a lot of investment is being spent on it, therefore I feel that Jimmy Dix as a bar will grow too, and could be become one of the biggest bars in Dubai. Therefore making strong link with the management of that bar at an early stage will be very worthwhile.
Hard Rock is an internationally renowned bar that has opened up all over the world. It is very successful, and because of its high reputation guarantees a lot of customers. It is located near the marina and probably the biggest bar on that side of Dubai. Again by selling my drinks at that bar it allows for our name to get known on the international side.
Left bank got 3 votes, Left Bank is a nice bar, although it mainly targets the older population. My questionnaire has shown that older people tend not to drink alco-pops and instead drink liquors. Hence I feel that this bar wouldn’t be suitable to sell my drink at.
Harvesters is part of the Crowne Plazza hotel, and therefore it gets a lot of customers both from visitors of the hotel and from people living in Dubai. It is in a very popular part of Jumeirah and it received three votes. I feel that it would be good bar to sell my drinks at.
Scarlets is very close to Harvesters, and is a nice bar although didn’t receive any votes as it isn’t as popular as the others. I have decided against allowing them to sell my drink for two reasons one of which is that we are selling it at Harvesters which is in direct competition with Scarlets and also as it isn’t that popular.
All together I have decided that it will be sold at Trilogy, Jimmy Dix, Hard Rock and Harvesters. I have tried to chose bars in different locations of Dubai, and ones that are very successful. By having them spread out I can be sure that my drink is reaching various different markets who live in the different areas.
