BMP4004 Contemporary Issues: Marketing Mix at Enterprise Cars

This report provides an analysis of the marketing mix and its importance within the marketing process, focusing on Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a case study. It begins by defining marketing and the marketing mix, followed by a theoretical explanation of the 4Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. The...Read More

BSc (Hons) Business Management
BMP4004
Contemporary Issues in Marketing
The nature and importance of the
marketing mix within the marketing
process
Submitted by:
Name:
ID:
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Contents
Introduction 3
An explanation of marketing 3
An explanation of marketing mix 4
A brief theoretical explanation of 4Ps marketing mix
4-5
Introduction of product/service
6
Application of 4Ps marketing mix to the selected
product/service 6-7
Product 6
Price 6-7
Place 7
Promotion 7
Conclusion 8
References 9
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Introduction
Marketing mix has a crucial role behind a successful business. It refers to a
set of tactics and strategies, used by businesses, for promoting their brand or
product in the market. It is a model which helps in making decisions especially in the
four areas of product, price, place and promotion (Stead and Hastings, 2018). The
decision taken in one area affects the decision in the other which means that these
areas are closely interrelated. Rent-A-Car is a business entity which let people hire
cars on rent and lease. Being the largest entity in the car renting industry, Rent-A-
Car have a fleet of cars. The customers have enough variety to choose and can pick
up the best model for their purpose. In this report, the concept of marketing and
marketing mix is explained in detail along with the 4P's of marketing mix. Further
application of these P's on the products/services of the entity is also being done.
An explanation of marketing
Marketing is defined as an activity, undertaken by the organizations, for the
purpose of promoting and selling their product or service in the targeted market.
Marketing is a wide concept which covers in its fold various activities such as market
research, advertisement, selling, etc. The objective of marketing is to target audience
of a certain market and make them aware of the products and services, the company
deals in. The ultimate objective of every business is to maximize its profits and
marketing is the bridge to it (Marasco and Et. Al., 2018). Hence, marketing is very
important for the co-ordination and the production of every aspect which represents
the business. Marketing is not limited to customers but also include investors and the
community. Marketing enables an entity to create a positive image and spread
awareness about the business it deals in. marketing enables the entity to
communicate the consumers about their product, uses and why they should choose
them. Unique features must be highlighted as they help to differentiate the
product/service from other products and gain competitive advantage over the
competitors. Marketing enables in establishing and maintaining good relations
between the entity and the audience (Viglia, Zaefarian and Ulqinaku, 2021).
Engagement of customer's opinion in the affairs of the company help the
management to know the needs accurately and serve the consumers in a better
way. Advertising, organic marketing, digital marketing, inbound marketing, content
marketing, social media marketing, etc., are some of the types of marketing for the
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optimization by an organization. Organizations have started using online medium for
the marketing of their products. For instance, enterprise Rent-A-Car has its own
website for the promotion of their services.
An explanation of marketing mix
Marketing mix refers to a set of marketing tools, used by the organizations in
order to achieve the goals aspired, in a certain market. Elements namely – product,
price, place and promotion are the soul of marketing mix and helps in promoting
products and services in the targeted market. It helps an entity to understand the
accurate and precise combination of different elements essential to meet the set
objectives (Saberi and Et. Al., 2019). For example – a company creates products
after studying the demand of consumers. Further, the company sets the price of its
products after considering purchasing power of the consumers who are willing to
purchase the said product.
A brief theoretical explanation of 4Ps marketing mix
As already mentioned, marketing mix has four elements, known as 4P's of
marketing mix. These P's help a company to perform better and achieve the desired
results. Product, price, place and promotion are the four P's implemented by an
organization to for the betterment and improvement of its performance in the market
and industry. In the early 1950s, the concept of four P's came in the limelight. Since
then, it has been followed by businesses to achieve the desired results as the
application of the concept is quite effective (Lahtinen, Dietrich and Rundle-Thiele,
2020). Organizations further extended the concept of four P's to seven P's and
added the elements – People, process and physical evidence. However, the
companies, generally, use the original concept of four P's which are discussed
below:
Product – Product is the main item in which the company deals. For a
product to be successful, it must satisfy the needs of the targeted consumers.
Product does not always mean the physical goods but also includes services
rendered by organizations. Thus, a product can be both, tangible or intangible. This
element help marketers to understand the needs and expectations of consumers
from their product/service (Eti, 2020). This is the first element of marketing mix
where the marketers start their marketing. It helps the organization to find answers to
various questions such as what do the customers expect from their product/service,
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if the product satisfy the needs, consumers' experience after using the product, etc.
All the queries related to the product comes under this head including the package
and design. The marketer introduces the product/service to the targeted audience in
order to make them aware of it, especially its unique qualities.
Price – Price refers to the amount the consumers are willing to pay in return
for the goods sold or services rendered to them. As per the law of demand, other
things remaining same, when the price of a good or service increases, the demand
for that good or service decreases and vice- versa. This shows that the demand of
the public, for the product/service, largely depends on the price of that
product/service. Demand for a product differ from person to person and sometimes
depend on the mentality of the citizens (Al-Dmour and Et. Al., 2022). Some people
increase their demand with an increase in price as they have a mentality that quality
products are always priced high. Hence, the price for the product is set after
considering all the necessary factors which may influence the demand for the
product/service. Factors such as – consumers' preferences, their need, desire, age
of consumers in the targeted market, income distribution pattern, etc. For example –
a cafe is likely to be established where the rate of young adults is high. This is
because the cafes are mostly used by them and it is necessary to target them for the
success of the cafe.
Place – Selection of a correct place for selling the product is necessary for its
success. Place refers to the location selected, the audience of which is to be
targeted by the organization. Place refers to both the online as well as offline
platforms where the organization can establish its stores for the purpose of
displaying the products. The locality or the area is selected, for the establishment of
stores, after studying about the audience and their preferences, residing in that area.
For instance – toy shops are likely to be established in areas where there are a
number of children, to get the most benefit. This increases the chances of that store
being successful and maximize their profitability. Display of products, at the right
place, plays a crucial role in selling the products/services.
Promotion – The last element of the original concept of four P's is promotion
of the goods and services. Promotion means making the consumers aware of the
products or services rendered by the organization. Personal selling, advertising,
direct marketing, public relations, etc., are some of the promotional strategies
adopted by companies to introduce their product/service to the market. Now-a-days
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online promotion of product/service is also added in these strategies. People spend
a lot of time on the internet and organizations are getting the most benefit by
establishing their stores online. This enables them to reach more and more people
within minutes (Strott, 2021). Online promotions have a far reach than the offline
ones while the offline promotions are more effective as they involve direct
engagement of marketers with their customers.
Introduction of product/service
Product/service is the element which is the soul of the business, the main item
an entity deals in. Renting and leasing services are provided by the enterprise Rent-
A-Car to its customers. Being the largest transportation provider entity in the world, it
has a wide range of transports available for its customers. Car sharing, local and
airport rentals are some other services provided by the organization. Customers
have a variety of options available to them and can choose the transport as per their
wish, need or purpose. They are free to select the most suitable transport for them.
Application of 4Ps marketing mix to the selected
product/service
Product
For Rent-A-Car it's services is it's product. They are offering certain services
by providing it's vans, cars, cargo on rental basis. It is most leading company in UK,
in terms of providing rental services. Providing rental services to it's customers at
nominal prices along which increasing customer satisfaction with it's products is main
motive of company. As per the customers choice they select services. They provide
facilities of truck loading, along with this for long road trips facility of luxurious cars
are also provided. A 8 passenger, 12 passenger and 15 passenger capacity vans
are also available with the company. By considering needs and wants of customers
as their first priority they are able to get competitive advantage.
Price
The company is involved in adopting pricing strategy. They are offering lot of
services at nominal prices. The prices of it's services depends on the location
customers wants to go, the services they want to avail and number of days they want
to avail it's facilities. By providing cars, vans and cargo of rent requires a huge sum
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of maintenance cost, which sometime make difficult for company to mange as, prices
kept by the company is fair enough to afford by large group of customers.
Place
The company is offering it's services across many countries. This leads them
in acquiring customer base and creating brand awareness. They are planning to
increase number of airports as it is providing a huge profit to company. It's expensive
to provide car and van services as it takes a huge maintenance cost, which affects
the profit margin of company. For airports, places where customer will exit is fixed,
where as for car, vans and cargo the place where the customers want to go is their
destination. Rental of airport facilities required huge cost which is not easy of other
competitors to avail.
Promotion
The promotional strategies used by Rent- A- Car is social media marketing,
referral and earn and email marketing along with attractive offers. The company is
sending or delivering important information or message to customers through email,
to be in touch with customers. With this, they are charging less prices from the
customers involved in government services or belongs to military. If a customer
share about company and the new customer avail companies facility then, the
existing customer has chance to earn point, which can be used by them to take
discount. Social media marketing is cost effective and can reach out to large
customers in a short period of time, this is why Rent- A- Car decided to use this tool
for promotion. They prepared an attractive content along with graphical poster and
published over every social media platforms like face book, Instagram, twitter or
YouTube. With this the company is using Search engine optimization in order to rank
it website at top of web page.
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Conclusion
From the above report, it has been concluded that marketing refers to the
promotion and selling activities undertaken by an organization to sell their
product/service. Hence, marketing mix plays a significant role behind making a
product successful in the industry. The 4P's of marketing- product, price, place and
promotion, helps the organization to know and understand the demand of their
audience in a better manner. These elements help an entity to study the targeted
market and expand the business by fulfilling the demand of the customers. The
chosen organization should try to minimize their costs so that everyone is able to
afford their services which will increase their profitability. Further, the organization
should try to serve more on airports to increase its customer base.
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References
Al-Dmour, H. and Et. Al., 2022. The role of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and
the marketing mix on women’s purchasing intention of children's dietary
supplements. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare
Marketing.
Eti, I. A., 2020. Theoretical Inspection And Rethink of Marketing Mix. Available at
SSRN 3685642.
Lahtinen, V., Dietrich, T. and Rundle-Thiele, S., 2020. Long live the marketing mix.
Testing the effectiveness of the commercial marketing mix in a social
marketing context. Journal of Social Marketing.
Marasco, A. and Et. Al., 2018. Exploring the role of next-generation virtual
technologies in destination marketing. Journal of Destination Marketing &
Management. 9. pp.138-148.
Saberi, A. and Et. Al., 2019. Designing of social marketing mix model to
development of sport for all. Sport Management and Development. 8(2).
pp.1-21.
Stead, M. and Hastings, G., 2018. Advertising in the social marketing mix: getting the
balance right. In Social Marketing (pp. 29-43). Psychology Press.
Strott, R., 2021. 4 Ps go green? Die Positionierung des Green Marketing im
Marketing-Mix. Der Betriebswirt. 62(1). pp.69-79.
Viglia, G., Zaefarian, G. and Ulqinaku, A., 2021. How to design good experiments in
marketing: Types, examples, and methods. Industrial Marketing
Management. 98. pp.193-206.
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