Marketing Process and Techniques

This assignment delves into the crucial role of marketing within organizations. It defines various marketing techniques and explains their applications. The document also highlights relevant legislation governing marketing operations. A SWOT analysis of Starbucks is presented, followed by an elaboration on the marketing mix.

Introduction to Marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1- Describe how marketing techniques are used to market products in two organisations......1
P2 Describe the limitations and constraints of marketing...........................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
P3 Uses of marketing research to contribute to the development of its marketing plans...........3
P4 Use marketing research for marketing planning....................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
P5- Explain how and why groups of customers are targeted for selected products....................5
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................5
P6 Develop a coherent marketing mix for a new product or service.........................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
In the modern era, marketing is a process which plays important role in every
organisation. Marketing helps to increase awareness of company's products and goods in
competitive market place. It is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,
communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients,
partners, and society at large. Marketing is used to create, keep and satisfy the customer. With
the customer as the focus of its activities (Palmer, 2012). It can be concluded that Marketing is
one of the premier components of Business Management - the other being Innovation. This
research project will be discussing about marketing techniques as well as major limitation and
constraints of marketing. In the addition of this, use of marketing research in the context of
marketing planning will be discussed. Moreover, will be produced coherent marketing mix for
launching a new product in market place (Malhotra and Malhotra, 2012).
TASK 1
P1- Describe how marketing techniques are used to market products in two organisations
Marketing is the process of meeting the necessities and wants of customers. Most
businesses today are having rivalry towards generating the most profits as there are a lot of
competitors in the business world.
Starbucks is one of the largest coffee house in the world with more than 20,000 stores
globally. Starbucks opened its first store in America by three business partners and they were
inspired by another coffee businessperson that sells high-quality coffee beans and equipment.
Starbucks Marketing Techniques
Branding- Branding is the process that is included in making a unique name and image
for the products in the customers’ minds. Starbucks use branding to meet its target customers.
For example, customers can easily recognise what a Starbucks coffee house looks like because
the logo of Starbucks can be seen so branding is a useful asset to meet its marketing objectives
such as market penetration and raising the customers’ awareness (Molesworth, Scullion and
Nixon, 2010).
Brand Extension- Brand extension is a technique of launching a new product by using
an existing brand name on a new product in a different category. Starbucks used to sell only
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coffee products but they expanded their businesses by taking the risk of producing new products
such as making tumblers and mugs. This made Starbucks to expand more of their business
products because brand extension has helped them in meeting their marketing objectives.
Nintendo is a successful organisation in the field of gaming business industry and it was
founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi and the name of the business used to be known as Nintendo
Koppai until they adopted the name Nintendo. He started his business 23rd September 1889in
Kyoto, Japan with playing cards as their first product and the playing cards were handmade.
Nintendo’s playing cards soon gain popularity and they had to hire assistants to keep in the
demand of the customers.
Nintendo’s Marketing Strategies
Nintendo is a successful business over many years because of the marketing strategies
that they did to keep up with the demand of their customers so that they will retain the trust of
their customers. One of the marketing strategies of Nintendo is the growth strategies and it is
divided into four different categories (McKenzie-Mohr, 2011).
Growth Strategies : Growth strategy is the strategy that most businesses use to expand
their customers’ market for the products of the company which was developed by Ansoff in
1941. Ansoff’s growth matrix helps most businesses to plan their products their market growth
strategy. It also proposes that business’ tries to increase on either a business needs to market new
or present products in new or present markets. Growth strategies are strategies that seek growth
in the business and it consist of:
1. Market Penetration: by marketing present products to the present market
2. Market Development: by developing new market for the present market
3. Product Development: by marketing new products for the present market
4. Diversification: by marketing new products for new market
P2 Describe the limitations and constraints of marketing
Consumer laws are rules that must be adhered to. Companies must make sure that they
comply with consumer law this means that they are legally obliged to keep up to date with them.
These consumer laws include – Sale of goods act, consumer protection from unfair trading
regulations, consumer credit acts, consumer protection regulations, and data protection.
Sale of goods act 1979 – requires businesses to sell goods as described and of a
satisfactory quality, for example a business cannot sell an 11-inch laptop as a 15-inch laptop and
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the laptop itself must be new and undamaged if advertised in this way. It is required to ensure
that business people to not ‘rip off’ consumers. The aim of it is to stop people from abusing their
position of power over the consumer. Businesses can comply with the terms by ensuring they
don’t lie about the products they are selling.
Consumer protection from unfair trading regulations 2008 – this means that business
cannot use contentious selling techniques which could be perceived as aggressive and obtrusive.
They cannot be dishonest behind the causes of them doing certain activities, such as they cannot
have a closing-down sale if they are not actually closing. It is required so businesses do not push
people into spending money that they don’t want to spend and the aim is to stop people from
being pressured into buying something or thinking that they are helping by spending money.
Consumer Credit Acts 1974 and 2006 – Businesses must have a license if they want to
sell goods on credit or sell loans. The act sets out a list of requirements such as they must update
their customers on their accounts and if they fall behind on payments. This is to protect people
from forgetting and then years later getting a large bill from the company and demanding them to
pay. This is required to stop businesses from taking advantage of consumer (Louviere and et.al.,
2013).
TASK 2
P3 Uses of marketing research to contribute to the development of its marketing plans.
Research is an important tool, it helps organisations to discover what is happening in
their marketing environment. There are many examples of organisations failing because they did
not respond to changes in their marketing environment. Organisations need to be proactive and
change in line with their marketing environment.
Primary research will benefit Starbucks because it’s the collection of first hand
information. For example, Starbucks may choose to hand out questionnaires in order to find out
what customers think about their product or service. Questionnaires are beneficial because it is a
relatively quick way to collect information, therefore Starbucks don’t need to waste time trying
to obtain information from various different sources. However, questionnaires might not be trust
worthy because customers may not have the time to answer the questions correctly. Another
example will be to conduct interviews with customers because responses from interviews are
usually based on personal experience.
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Secondary research will benefit Starbucks because it’s the collection of second hand
information, therefore Starbucks can find out about their competitor’s performance in the market
through various links such as newspapers, internet etc. This will enable them to know what kind
of what market their getting into, and also the type of competition they will face. Secondary
research will develop Starbucks marketing plans, because it can enable them to find out what
style is currently in fashion, and what customers are craving for. It can profit their business
because they can also find out about competitors prices of similar products, and they may choose
to lower their prices, in order to generate sales (Anda and Temmen, 2014).
P4 Use marketing research for marketing planning
Strengths Weaknesses
 The main strength of Starbucks is its
strong financial performance which has
resulted in the company occupying the
number one spot among coffee and
beverage retailers in the world
 The company is valued at more than $4
Billion which is a key strength when
compared to its competitors
 The company is heavily dependent on
its main and key input, which is the
coffee beans and hence, is acutely
dependent on the price of coffee beans
as a determinant of its profitability.
 The company has come under fire in
recent times for its procurement
practices with many social and
environmental activities.
Opportunities Threats
 The company has an opportunity to
expand its supplier network and expand
the range of suppliers from whom it
sources in order to diversify its sources
of inputs and not be at the mercy of
whimsical suppliers.
 The company has a huge opportunity
waiting for it as far as its expansion
into the emerging markets is concerned.
 The company faces threats from the
rising prices of coffee beans and is
subject to supply chain risks related to
fluctuations in the prices of this key
input.
 The company is beset with trademark
and copyright infringements from
lesser-known rivals who wish to
piggyback on its success.
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TASK 3
P5- Explain how and why groups of customers are targeted for selected products
Market segmentation is an idea of how the market is made up of different groups
(segments) of people. These different segments include different groups with the same wants,
purchasing power, geographical location, buying attitudes or habits. Segmenting a market helps a
business to design products that these different segments want to buy to ensure that they can get
the maximum profit possible, they also can figure out how much they would be able to sell the
product for which would increase demand (Clayson and Haley, 2013).
There is a typical way that businesses may segment their market and this is by dividing
the consumers into geographic, demographic, psycho graphic, socio-cultural. Geographic is to do
with the location of the customers, is either to do with rural or urban or regional/national
boundaries. Demographic is to do with age, sex, race, economic status, and so on. For example, a
business that offers rejuvenating creams that (targeting older people). Psycho-graphic is about
the lifestyles or beliefs of their customers. For example, a business can target groups of people
that are unable to eat gluten or dairy by providing product that do not contain this. Socio-cultural
is mainly to do with the class of the customers.
TASK 4
P6 Develop a coherent marketing mix for a new product or service.
Marketing mix consist of the 4ps which are price, promotion, place and product. These
are the ideas to consider when marketing a product.
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Illustration 1: Marketing mix,
2017
(Source- Marketing mix, 2017)
Product: A product is an item that is built or produced to satisfy the needs of a certain
group of people. The product can be intangible or tangible as it can be in the form of services or
goods. It must ensure to have the right type of product that is in demand for your market. So
during the product development phase, the marketer must do an extensive research on the life
cycle of the product that they are creating (Lynch Jr, 2011).
Price: The price of the product is basically the amount that a customer pays for to enjoy
it. Price is a very important component of the marketing mix definition. It is also a very
important component of a marketing plan as it determines firm’s profit and survival. Adjusting
the price of the product has a big impact on the entire marketing strategy as well as greatly
affecting the sales and demand of the product.
Place: Placement or distribution is a very important part of the product mix definition.
Company have to position and distribute the product in a place that is accessible to potential
buyers. This comes with a deep understanding of your target market. Understand them inside out
and you will discover the most efficient positioning and distribution channels that directly speak
with your market (Jones, 2010).
Promotion: Promotion is a very important component of marketing as it can boost brand
recognition and sales. Promotion is comprised of various elements like:
 Sales Organization
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 Public Relations
 Advertising
 Sales Promotion ( Gummesson and Mele, 2010).
CONCLUSION
From the above mentioned this research project it is concluded that, marketing process
played very eminent role in every organisation. It has been defined several marketing techniques,
with the helped of them effectively complete marketing activities. In the addition of this, has
been explained various legislations which essential for manage and control all over marketing
operations. It has been described SWOT analysis of Starbucks as well as marketing mix has been
produced.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Anda, M. and Temmen, J., 2014. Smart metering for residential energy efficiency: The use of
community based social marketing for behavioural change and smart grid introduction.
Renewable Energy.67. pp.119-127.
Clayson, D. E. and Haley, D. A., 2013. An introduction to multitasking and texting: Prevalence
and impact on grades and GPA in marketing classes. Journal of Marketing Education.
35(1). pp.26-40.
Gummesson, E. and Mele, C., 2010. Marketing as value co-creation through network interaction
and resource integration. Journal of Business Market Management. 4(4). pp.181-198.
Jones, B., 2010. Entrepreneurial marketing and the Web 2.0 interface. Journal of Research in
Marketing and Entrepreneurship. 12(2). pp.143-152.
Louviere, J., and et.al., 2013. An introduction to the application of (case 1) best–worst scaling in
marketing research. International Journal of Research in Marketing. 30(3). pp.292-303.
Lynch Jr, J. G., 2011. Introduction to the journal of marketing research special interdisciplinary
issue on consumer financial decision making. Journal of Marketing Research. 48(SPL).
pp.Siv-Sviii.
Malhotra, N. K. and Malhotra, N. K., 2012. Basic marketing research: Integration of social
media. Boston: Pearson.
McKenzie-Mohr, D., 2011. Fostering sustainable behavior: An introduction to community-based
social marketing. New society publishers.
Molesworth, M., Scullion, R. and Nixon, E. eds., 2010. The marketisation of higher education.
Routledge.
Palmer, A., 2012. Introduction to marketing: theory and practice. Oxford University Press.
Online
Introduction to Marketing Concepts, 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/marketing/>. [Accessed on 16th August 2017]
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