Developing a Marketing Plan for a Healthy Soft Drink - Principles

This report details a marketing plan for a new healthy, sugar-free soft drink in Germany, focusing on market research, target market identification, and competitive analysis. It includes a PESTEL analysis, examining political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors affecting the product's success. The report also covers market segmentation, targeting health-conscious consumers of all ages, and positioning the product as environmentally friendly with reusable glass bottles. The marketing mix (7 P's) is analyzed, emphasizing product, price, place, promotion through social media, people, physical evidence, and process, to ensure effective market penetration and consumer engagement. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and resources for students.

PRINCIPLES OF
MARKETING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
SECTION-1.....................................................................................................................................3
Marketing planning process, marketing context and marketing orientation................................3
PESTEL analysis.........................................................................................................................4
7 P's of marketing mix.................................................................................................................5
SECTION-2.....................................................................................................................................6
Segmentation................................................................................................................................6
Targeting......................................................................................................................................6
Positioning...................................................................................................................................7
SECTION-3.....................................................................................................................................7
Marketing mix analysis................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
This report precisely discusses regarding the marketing of a new healthy soft drink. The
marketing planning process regarding the soft drink is provided below and also the role of
adoption of the marketing orientation is discussed below. PESTEL analysis for the product is
also done below. Segmentation of the product in different markets, targetting a particular group
of customer and the positioning of the product in the market is also discussed below. And lastly,
the marketing mix of the soft drink in particular are briefly discussed further in the report.
MAIN BODY
SECTION-1
Marketing planning process, marketing context and marketing orientation
Marketing plan of an organization refers to a document which lays the marketing
strategies or efforts of a particular business in a particular period (Chernev., 2020). The
components of marketing plan in relation to the new soft drink are as follows;
Market research — Research is the most important aspect before implementing a marketing
strategy. Research regarding the buying habits of consumers, market size, current trends, etc.
Target market — The target market is the individuals or the group of people that the company
focuses on for the sale of their product.
Positioning — In this case the product is positioned as a healthy, sugar-free drink in glass bottles
that can be re-used.
Competitive analysis — In this section the competitors of the company that are present in the
market are analysed, that are working in the same direction as that of the company. In this case,
the major competitors are Zevia zero calorie soda, Cola, Virgil's zero sugar root beer, LaCroix
and Perrier.
Market strategy — This section covers through which marketing strategy the product will cover
the marketplace. Like social media, events, email, direct mails, seminars, etc. In this case the
market strategy will be based on a social media campaign (Ferrell. Hartline. and Hochstein.,
2021).
Budget — This basically describes the amount of money to be put on the marketing of the
product.
Marketing context refers to putting the marketing messages that are in accordance to each
individual customer. Here, the target market of the company is people of all ages, and especially

the ones who opt for a healthy lifestyle. Also, the people with a good average income who are
willing to pay a little extra for the betterment of their health. This section states the position of
the company or product in the market. That is, in what way should the target audience see the
product's position in the market.
Market orientation is very necessary as it increases the loyalty and the satisfaction of the
customer. Being healthy is very demanded in the current market. And the market for soft drinks
is also huge. After the pandemic more and more people are inclined towards consuming healthy
foods and beverages (Kiessling. Isaksson. and Yasar., 2016).
PESTEL analysis
Political
Changes in any of the established laws or regulations by the government in aspects such as,
accounting, internal marketings, taxes and changes within the labour laws can affect the
company.
Economical
The high rate of export quota in Germany will affect the business of the new soft drinks. But in
the sector of trade location Germany is very good for beverage industry.
Social
More people will be inclined towards the company due to health preferences in the market in the
present times and also due to sugar free requirements of the people. The people will only be
concerned regarding the price range of the product, as due to the soft drink being health
conscious and environment friendly the pricing of the product will increase a bit. Also a large
population of the target market is on social media hence, the social media marketing will be
impactful.
Technological
The high pace of technological development throughout the world will make opting for
traditional approach time-consuming. And also adaptations to technology is a must for the staff
and for marketing purposes too. Also, because the marketing strategies is not according to the
traditional approach and according to the modern approach, everyone should have knowledge
regarding social media (Perera., 2017).
Environmental

The company has restricted the production of plastic bottles which will reduce the carbon
footprint levels on the environment, rather than plastic company is suing glass bottles that are
also reusable (Alanzi., 2018).
Legal
Any amendments in the laws will affect the company in many aspects. And also the marketing
needs to be according to guidance and code of conduct.
7 P's of marketing mix
Product
The product that the company is selling is a soft drink that is sugar-free and also healthy. The
packaging of the product is also done in an environment friendly manner.
Price
The price range of the product will be a little higher than that of other products as the company
has taken other environmental and health measures which will for sure increase the cost of the
soft drink which will further increase its price too (Friedman., 2021).
Place
The place of distribution of the product will be all over Germany. The product is not as famous
and people are unaware about it, hence, a start from low level is only preferred.
Promotion
The promotion of a product refers to the ways through which the people in the market will get to
know about the product. In this case the product will be promoted through social media
marketing as it is the most effective and budget friendly and available among most of the target
audience (Akhmetshin. And et.al., 2018).
People
The people that are targetted by the company's new soft drink as its major customers are people
or individuals from all age groups, who opt for a healthier lifestyle and are educated and have a
good average income to spend it on buying a soft drink.
Physical evidence
The products will be sold in all the retail stores throughout Germany. And also, on the website of
the company. Rather than that they will be sold on Amazon too.
Process

The products will be delivered through the delivery partners if ordered through the website. And
if purchased from other sites like Amazon the same process will be applied.
SECTION-2
Segmentation
Segmentation refers to a marketing strategy which focuses on segmenting or categorizing
the group of individuals within a market who will be the major customers of the company
(Camilleri., 2018). The group of individuals that will provide the most revenue generation and
the least according to the products of the company and the market trends and demands of the
customers. Majorly market segmentation is done in two sectors, which means the market is
divided by the company in B2B and B2C categories. These refer to selling the goods or services
of the company from business to other businesses only or to business to customers. The
companies can opt for both of the options too.
In the case of the new soft drinks the market will be segmented in the ratio of 3:2 among
the B2C and B2B sectors respectively. Which means the 100% production done by the company
will mainly be distributed to the customers directly with a 60% of it and the other 40% will be
distributed among the retailers, resellers and other selling partners of the company. A bigger ratio
and percentage is given to the B2C segment of the market because the target audience is bigger
in this case in comparison to the B2B target audience. The B2C market can involve many of the
potential customers. On the other hand, in the B2B segment a few clients only can make a huge
difference and more clients refer to more businesses connecting with the company which might
make things chaotic and decision-making time-consuming.
Targeting
Targeting is also called the multi-segment marketing. This aspect basically focuses on the
identification of the individuals or group of individuals within the market that are the target
customers of the product of the company (Zhang., Chen. and Lin., 2022). Companies basically
use this strategy to learn about the customers and accordingly create the marketing strategies.
The major customers of the product are the people who are conscious about their health,
or even the people who have some medical issues and can not consume sugar in their diets. The
individuals from all the age groups can be a customer of the product. Mainly the children and the
elderly people, because parents will be interested in investing in something that is healthy for
their children, and also adults that age are mostly financially stable too. And the elderly group

because it includes the people that are in their retirement period and only spend money on their
health related issues and necessities, these are the people from the age of 45 years and above.
These people have their own earning which they can spend and are also concerned about their
health. Also, the individuals that are financially sound and working towards or have a thinking
that is inclined towards the betterment of the environment.
Positioning
Positioning refers to the outlook of the customer regarding the product of service
provided by the company (Saqib., 2020). This section precisely focuses on the point that how the
consumer views the product or the service as compared to the competitors. This also describes
where the product of the particular company stands in accordance to other companies providing a
similar product in the market. Positioning of the product is done according to the company and
how it wants to present its product to the consumers in the market. An efficient positioning
supports in making the product unique as well as makes the users believe that using it is
beneficial for them.
In the case of the new soft drink the position it desires to portray in the market is a
healthy and sugar-free soft drink that can be consumed by people of all ages and most of the
dietary requirements are also fulfilled. The people who are concerned about their and their loved
ones health and are able to spend the amount that is required to buy the product, which means
have a good income and a better lifestyle, and also the people who are inclined towards
conservation of the environment. Also, the product is presentee as an environment-friendly
product which uses the glass bottles that are reusable rather than the plastic bottles. This will also
increase the cost of the product which will further increase the price. The two major concerns of
the society in current times, the health of individuals and the environment they live in are both
taken care of by the product.
SECTION-3
Marketing mix analysis
Product Product basically refers to the goods or the services that are sold by the
company to the consumers or to other businesses. In this case the
product that is sold by the company is a new soft drink that is according
to the major requirements of the society in the present times. The two
major requirements of the people are being healthy and also being

protective towards the environment to save it. This soft drink is healthy
and is sugar free as per the health related requirements (Išoraitė., 2016).
Place Place refers to the location or the area in which the products of the
company will be consumed or distributed. In accordance to the new
soft drink, it will be distributed all over Germany, and not more than
that. This is because the product is not so well-known to take an
international risk by the company and also the major concern of the
company is to make the soft drink recognizable within Germany, its
base country.
Price The price of the product refers to the amount that the consumers will
pay in return of the product to the company. In this case the company
knows that the product is not very affordable for all the classes of the
society but to make people aware regarding the product and also let
everyone taste it, so that even the people who are not interested in the
product become inclined towards it, the company will opt for
penetration pricing strategy to set the prices. Which means the price
will be low at the time of launch to make it accessible for everyone and
eventually the prices will be increased as per decided.
Promotion Promotion refers to strategies that help or support the company to make
the people in the market aware about the product they are selling. This
can be done through various ways according to the budget, time and
requirements of the company and the trends and demands of the target
market. The new soft drink will be promoted through social media
campaign. The campaign will be specially focusing on the customers
that are the target audience of the product. On the social media pages
and website of the company a poll will be done to understand the food
preferences of the people and in the end of the poll the individuals who
are considered to have the most appropriate answers will be given a
pack of the new soft drinks as a gift hamper (Pogorelova. and et.al.,
2016).

People The people that are the major target audience of the company are
individuals from all age groups but majorly the children from the ages
of 3 years to 15 years and the older aged people from the ages of 45
years onwards. This is because the individuals that are middle-aged and
have started earning or have other responsibilities to fulfil will not
spend the amount on a soft drink.
Physical evidence The product will be provided to the customers in physical as well as
online stores. The packaging of the drink is also done in glass bottles
that are reusable rather than using plastic bottles that are harmful for
the environment.
Process The process will be distribution of products through the retail partners
of the company and also to direct customers through physical stores of
the company or online website of the company too. Also, the drinks
will be available on Amazon.
CONCLUSION
This report describes the marketing strategies used by the company at the time of the
launch of a new soft drink in Germany. The major aspects of marketing that are marketing
planning, context, orientation, segmentation, targeting, positioning and marketing mix of the
product in particular are discussed above.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Akhmetshin, E.M. And et.al., 2018. Promotion in emerging markets. European Research
Studies. 21. pp.652-665.
Alanzi, S., 2018. PESTLE Analysis. Project Management.
Camilleri, M.A., 2018. Market segmentation, targeting and positioning. In Travel marketing,
tourism economics and the airline product (pp. 69-83). Springer, Cham.
Chernev, A., 2020. The marketing plan handbook. Cerebellum Press.
Ferrell, O.C., Hartline, M. and Hochstein, B.W., 2021. Marketing strategy. Cengage Learning.
Friedman, M., 2021. Price theory. In Price theory. de Gruyter.
Išoraitė, M., 2016. Marketing mix theoretical aspects. International Journal of Research-
Granthaalayah. 4(6). pp.25-37.
Kiessling, T., Isaksson, L. and Yasar, B., 2016. Market orientation and CSR: Performance
implications. Journal of business ethics. 137(2). pp.269-284.
Perera, R., 2017. The PESTLE analysis. Nerdynaut.
Pogorelova, E. and et.al., 2016. Marketing Mix for E-commerce. International journal of
environmental & science education. 11(14). pp.6744-6759.
Saqib, N., 2020. Positioning–a literature review. PSU Research Review.
Zhang, Q., Chen, J. and Lin, J., 2022. Market targeting with social influences and risk aversion
in a co-branding alliance. European Journal of Operational Research. 297(1). pp.301-
318.