Business studies marketing coursework

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Name:                                Martin Cooper

Candidate Number:                2007

School Centre Number:                ?????????

Aim:

        My aim is to carryout my own research in order to decide which potato crisp snack should be produced and identify the most appropriate marketing mix to successfully introduce and launch it.

Plan of Action:

I have broken up my coursework into 20 separate tasks that I will perform over a period of 7 weeks

Week 1:

1)         Firstly I am going to construct a title page. The title Page will have the Title; “The introduction and launch of a new Potato Crisp snack.” I will include my name, my candidate number and the School centre number for Aquinas.

2)        Next I will construct a page with the my aim, which is to carry out my own research into the potato crisp snack, to develop the correct marketing mix etc

3)        After that I will draw up a plan of action; a detailed, step-by-step layout of what I will do in my coursework and when I will do it

4)        Subsequently I will make a list of how I will contact each manufacturer/ advertising company.

5)        I will then state and explain why I chose the methods I did to contact the manufacturers

Week 2:        

  1. I will assemble a list of manufacturers and advertising companies to write to, to get the information regarding the marketing of the potato crisp snack.

  1. I will contact the companies/ advertising companies on the list to get the information needed, using methods such as email.

  1. From the information I receive I will sort out the relevant and irrelevant information

Week 3:        

  1. I will briefly describe the marketing mix. Then I will analyse the product, the price, the promotion and the place, regarding the marketing of the potato snack.

  1. I shall summarise the information that I receive from the manufacturers and advertising companies.

  1. I will now point out the advantages of using a questionnaire, and give an example of such a questionnaire. Reasons why a questionnaire is a useful option for gathering marketing information, in comparison to other methods, will also be included. I will also include a method to use for sampling

Week 4:

  1. I will explain the reason behind the questions in my questionnaire

  1. I will then place these results in a database

  1. The results form the questionnaire will be explained, and the effect they have on the marketing of the snack

  1. At this point I will analyse advertising costs, using the information that I have gathered

Week 5:

  1. I will then compose a spreadsheet showing the advertising costs. I will analyse the spreadsheet, (Also pointing out the usefulness of using spreadsheets and other I.C.T technology and its advantages).

Week 6:

  1. I will construct a conclusion, to back up my analysis, and an evaluation relating to my initial aim.

  1. I will make recommendations for the future on how this product could be developed/ improved

Week 7:

  1. I will write up a bibliography of references used in this assignment.

  1. Finally, I will put together an appendix of letters. Emails that I sent and/or received and a draft of the questionnaire I used in my survey. I shall also include any other relevant information gathered

The Marketing Mix:

The Marketing Mix is made up of four factors;

  • Product
  • Price
  • Promotion
  • Place

Product:

Products are the goods and/ or services provided to customers by businesses and are defined as “the commodity, which the business is offering for sale”. Each product has a life cycle and goes through six Separate Stages;

  • Research and development
  • Introduction or launch
  • Growth
  • Maturity
  • Saturation
  • Decline

1) Research and Development:

A company would carry out research and development before a product is ever sold or even produced. A prototype could possibly be made to test how effective the product is. Here, no profit is made so the development of the product can prove very expensive for the business, depending on how long this stage lasts.

2) Introduction or Launch

At this stage, the producers focus on the marketing and promotion of the product(s). Depending on how much the customers want it, sales could be slow, and profit still may not be achieved, as the costs of research and development will still have to be paid.

3) Growth

Sales increase and previous expenses will start to be covered at this stage. Profits will grow, as the product would have gained a place in the market. Competition can be an big issue to a business at this stage.

4) Maturity

By now the product would have fully established a place in the market. Sales levels will be maintained; competition is a concern at this stage, but not to the extent that it was at the stage of Growth.

5) Saturation

This is when sales are at their maximum. No new customers can be found so profits cannot increase. New competitors are no longer a threat.  

 

6) Decline

At this stage, product sales have fallen and therefore it is either less or un-profitable. The product is taken off the market. A second product is then prepared to replace the old one.

The length of the products life cycle usually depends on the product itself.

Some strategies are used to extend the products life cycle, e.g.:

  • Reducing the price to attract more sales;
  • Altering the packaging to give a more persuasive image;
  • Exporting the product to aim at a wider market;

Legal constraints have been passed in order to protect the consumer and ensure high quality of the products they purchase, e.g.:

  • Sale and Supply of Goods and Services Act 1994
  • Consumer Protection Act
  • Food Safety Order 1991

Price:

Depending on the type of product being sold, there are many pricing policies that a business might use to sell it:

  • Market Led        
  • Cost based
  • Skimming
  • Penetration
  • Destruction Pricing

Market Led- This accepts the price the competitors are charging for a product and           prices it similarly to them

Cost Based - This is a simple formula of:

                            Total Costs + Profit 

                                        Sales

Skimming - This is when a product is placed at a high price, as there is no competition initially. This technique is usually used with a new and/or unique product.

Penetration – This is when a product is priced low in order to break into a competitive market and attract regular costumers. Used for a product with a lot of competition. Initial price will not always make a profit for the business. Price will be increased when product has a steady place in the market.

Destruction Pricing – Is usually a technique by large companies to put smaller establishments out of business; Price is reduced dramatically to lure the competitors’ customers from them and put them out of business.

Markets may also engage in a ‘Price wars’

- When this happens some companies drop prices to secure sales and encourage purchases of other products.

There are many factors that will affect the price of a product, and it is imperative for a business to sell their product at a price that will cover all the expenses in manufacturing it, such as:

  • Cost of production
  • Profit making
  • Competition
  • Price the Market could bear
  • Season of the year
  • Quantity of stock held

Demand in pricing is defined as “the quantity of goods which will be bought at a given price”. There are many factors that would affect the demand for products e.g.:

  • The price being charged for the goods by the business
  • Customer’s tastes/ interests
  • Potential customers’ level of income
  • Price of other goods
  • Advertising
  • Credit rates
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Promotion:

Promotion is the Process by which a company inform potential or existing customers about their products and encourage them to buy those products.

Methods of Promotion:

Sponsorship, Public relations, Advertising and Sales promotion are all methods of promotion:

  • Sponsorship; e.g. of sporting events, charity events or school events, where the business gives said event a set amount of capital, and n exchange they display the name o the business, a new product etc.

  • Public relations; Is ...

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