MARKETING

ASSIGNMENT

SUBMITTED BY SUBMITTED
TO

VIKAS.K.H MR.SURAJ KUSHE SHEKAR

2ND SEMESTER MBA RESEARCH SCHOLAR
DMS,PALAYAD DMS,PALAYAD
1. WRITE SHORT NOTES ON:
• Marketing mix variables

• Consumer buying roles

• Cognitive dissonance

• Marketing environment

• Variety seeking buying behavior

• Marketing myopia

• Strategic marketing planning

• Integrated marketing

• Marketing ethics

• Industrial market
MARKETING MIX VARIABLES
Marketing mix is the set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its
marketing objectives in the target market.

Before launching any product in the market or before starting any business
the company uses marketing mix strategies to know which product to
launch, at what price, where to launch and various other important things.

Marketing Mix Composition:

Marketing Mix comprises of basically 4 P’s:
• Price
• Product
• Promotion
• Place
As according to these P’s the company makes strategies about the new
product launch.
These P’s are all closely interrelated and we can’t individually see or check
any of the P’s components to decide about the business.

7 P’s Of Marketing:
• Price
• Product
• Promotion
• Place
• People
• Process
• Physical Environment

Describing All the P’s separately:

Price

What is price?
How much you charge for your Product or Services.

What should be the Pricing approach?

 Your pricing approach should reflect the appropriate positioning of your
product in the market and result in a price that covers your cost per item and
includes a profit margin. The result should neither be greedy nor timid.

i.e. The Price of product should be such that the customer will get ready to
buy the product. The Price should be such that the customer doesn’t feel
cheated before or after buying the product and it should comprise the
appropriate margin to the company.

Product

What is a Product?

“Product” refers to the goods and services you offer to your customers.
Product is something which the company provides to the customer. These
can be in terms of goods or in terms of services the company provides

The product bundle should meet the needs of a particular target market. For
example, a luxury product should create just the right image for “customers
who have everything,” while many basic products must be positioned for
price conscious consumers.

Promotion

“Promotion” refers to the advertising and selling part of marketing. It is how

you let people know what you’ve got for sale. The purpose of promotion is
to get people to understand what your product is, what they can use it for,
and why they
should want it. You want the customers who are looking for a product to
know that your product satisfies their needs.

Your message must be consistent with your overall marketing image, get
your target audience’s attention, and elicit the response you desire, whether
it is to purchase your product or to form an opinion.

Place

What Is Place?

The word "place" refers to the location where a product can be purchased. It
could mean a physical store on the street, or a virtual store on the Internet.
It's often called the “distribution strategy.”
Two basic type of distribution are :

• Direct: Where the company sell straight to the consumer.

Eg. The door to door salesman sells certain product such as EUREKA
FORBES do

An advantage of direct sales would be the contact you gain by meeting

customers face to face. With this contact you can easily detect market
changes that occur and adapt to them. You also have complete control over
your product range, how it is sold, and at what price.

• Indirect: sell through an intermediary such as a wholesaler or retailer

who will resell your product.
Eg. Normally everything which we purchase such as Electronic Gadgets.

Extended Three P’s of Marketing Mix Model

(Related to Service Industry)

People

An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate

staff and people. Recruiting the right staff and training them appropriately in
the delivery of their service is essential if the organization wants to obtain a
form of competitive advantage.

Staff should have the appropriate interpersonal skills, aptitude, and service
knowledge to provide the service that consumers are paying for.

The people that delivers the product or service and those that come in
between the customer and the manufacturer needs to know their job for the
strategy to work. They should have good salesmanship.

Eg. Suppose I want to sell the phone so I should know all the features of the
phone and should have good convincing power to the customer.

Process

Process refers to the systems used to assist the organization in delivering the
service.
Process means procedures, mechanism and flow of activities by which a
service is acquired. Process decisions radically affect how a service is
delivered to customers.
Eg. Banks that send out Credit Cards automatically when their customer’s
old one has expired again require an efficient process to identify expiry dates
and renewal .
Eg. Mercedes

Physical Environment

Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix, consumers

will make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision which
will have an impact on the organizations perceptual plan of the service.

Physical Evidence is the element of the service mix which allows the
consumer again to make judgments on the organization.

Eg. On an aircraft if you travel first class you expect enough room to be able
to lay down!

Extended Three P’s of Marketing Mix Model

(Related to Service Industry)

People

An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate

staff and people. Recruiting the right staff and training them appropriately in
the delivery of their service is essential if the organization wants to obtain a
form of competitive advantage.

Staff should have the appropriate interpersonal skills, aptitude, and service
knowledge to provide the service that consumers are paying for.

The people that delivers the product or service and those that come in
between the customer and the manufacturer needs to know their job for the
strategy to work. They should have good salesmanship.

Eg. Suppose I want to sell the phone so I should know all the features of the
phone and should have good convincing power to the customer.

Process
Process refers to the systems used to assist the organization in delivering the
service.
Process means procedures, mechanism and flow of activities by which a
service is acquired. Process decisions radically affect how a service is
delivered to customers.

Eg. Banks that send out Credit Cards automatically when their customer’s
old one has expired again require an efficient process to identify expiry dates
and renewal .
Eg. Mercedes

Physical Environment

Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix, consumers

will make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision which
will have an impact on the organizations perceptual plan of the service.

Physical Evidence is the element of the service mix which allows the
consumer again to make judgments on the organization.

Eg. On an aircraft if you travel first class you expect enough room to be able
to lay down!

CONSUMER BUYING ROLES

In order to function as a cohesive unit, purchase roles or tasks are assigned

and carried out by one or more family members. When trying to reach
families, therefore, marketers need to realise that a set of purchase roles exist
and come into play within the family. These roles can be identified and they
determine how families make decisions.

The important buying roles include:

The Instigator (Initiator): This is the person who first suggests the idea of
a product or service and initiates the purchase process, to begin with. The
Initiator can even be a stranger. For example, you may see someone walking
down the street, wearing a new style of sweater or shirt, and decide tilt you
would like a similar one. Or, you may go over to a friend's house and notice
a new stereo. Your friend (the instigator), turns it on to demonstrate the
sound quality. The matter is then discussed at home with your family
members (co-decision makers) and you decide whether the brand suits your
requirements.
The Influencer: This is someone whose opinion is valued in the decision-
making process. An influencer may b e a friend, brother, sister, spouse,
doctor or other influential person. All these persons have a direct or indirect
influence on the final purchase decision.
The Decider: This is the person who makes the final decision on what brand
or make to buy, after all aspects such as price, quality, servicing, have been
thought over.

The Purchaser (Buyer): This is the individual who actually purchases the
product, pays for it, takes it home or arranges for delivery. Very often, the
purchaser and the decider are the same person, particularly for big value
items.

The Consumer: He is the user of the goods or service.

Although these five buying roles are performed whenever a purchase is
made, the individual performing each role may vary from purchase to
purchase, and from family to family. The number and identity of the family
members who fill these roles thus varies. In any given situation, the
same.member may take on several or all roles. Thus, in some cases, a single
family member may independently assume a number of roles, in which case,
it is really an individual decision within a family context. In other cases, a
single role will be performed jointly by two or more family members.
Multiple roles, too, may be performed by one of the family

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

In 1956 the US psychologist Leon Festinger introduced a new concept in

social psychology: the theory of cognitive dissonance. When two
simultaneously held cognitions are inconsistent, this will produce a state of
cognitive dissonance. Because the experience of dissonance is unpleasant,
the person will strive to reduce it by changing their beliefs.

Festinger started with a very simple proposition. If a person holds two

cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent, he experiences Dissonance:
a negative drive state (not unlike hunger or thirst). Because the experience of
dissonance is unpleasant, the person will strive to reduce it—usually by
struggling to find a way to change one or both cognitions to make them
more consonant with one another. What Festinger achieved was the forging
a dynamic marriage between the cognitive and the motivational."

Cognitive dissonance most often occurs after the purchase of an expensive

item such as an automobile. A consumer who is experiencing cognitive
dissonance after his or her purchase may attempt to return the product or
may seek positive information about it to justify the choice.

MARKETING ENVIRONMENT

The marketing environment surrounds and impacts upon the organization.

There are three key perspectives on the marketing environment, namely the
'macro-environment,' the 'micro-environment' and the 'internal environment'.

The micro-environment

This environment influences the organization directly. It includes suppliers

that deal directly or indirectly, consumers and customers, and other local
stakeholders. Micro tends to suggest small, but this can be misleading. In
this context, micro describes the relationship between firms and the driving
forces that control this relationship. It is a more local relationship, and the
firm may exercise a degree of influence.

The macro-environment

This includes all factors that can influence and organization, but that are out
of their direct control. A company does not generally influence any laws
(although it is accepted that they could lobby or be part of a trade
organization). It is continuously changing, and the company needs to be
flexible to adapt. There may be aggressive competition and rivalry in a
market. Globalization means that there is always the threat of substitute
products and new entrants. The wider environment is also ever changing,
and the marketer needs to compensate for changes in culture, politics,
economics and technology.

The internal environment.

All factors that are internal to the organization are known as the 'internal
environment'. They are generally audited by applying the 'Five Ms' which
are Men, Money, Machinery, Materials and Markets. The internal
environment is as important for managing change as the external. As
marketers we call the process of managing internal change 'internal
marketing.'

VARIETY SEEKING BUYING BEHAVIOR

Some buying situations are characterized by low involvement but significant
brand differences. Here consumers often do a lot of brand switching. Think
about cookies. Consumers have some beliefs about cookies, choose a brand
of cookies without much evaluation, and evaluate the product during

consumption. Next time, the consumer may reach for another brand out of a
wish for a different taste. Brand switching occurs for the sake of variety
rather than dissatisfaction.

The market leader and the minor brands in this product category have
different marketing strategies. The market leader will try to encourage
habitual buying behavior by dominating the shelf space with a variety of
related but different product versions, avoiding out-of-stock conditions, and
sponsoring frequent reminder advertising. Challenger firms will encourage
variety seeking by offering lower prices, deals, coupons, free samples, and
advertising that tries to break the consumers purchase and consumption
cycle and presents reasons for trying something new.

MARKETING MYOPIA
The marketing myopia theory was originally proposed by Theodore Levitt.
The theory states that marketers should look towards the market and modify
the company and products accordingly rather than looking towards your own
company, its potential and then catering the market. The needs of the market
should receive first priority.

Implications of the Marketing Myopia theory - Marketing myopia can be

used by marketers as well as advertisers to determine whether or not they are
catering the right market. Should they adapt their products to cater a larger
market. What kind of advertising strategies should they use. How can they
bring about synchronization between the production capabilities of
companies and the demand in the market.

In Summary, Marketing myopia asks the companies to do the following

* Be more customer focused

* Innovate
* Be in control
* Understand customer desires
* Conduct marketing research programs
* Marketing strategy should be developed keeping feedback of
customers in mind.
Coco cola is a good example of which marketing myopia is absent and
Kodak is a good example in which marketing myopia was present.

STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING

Marketing practitioners often find themselves so preoccupied with the hard

work of running marketing programs, supervising staff and sales force, and
attending to the day-to-day grind that they lose sight of the Big Picture.
However, it is essential every once in a while to step back, gain a little
perspective, and engage in some serious strategizing.

The broad scope of strategic planing encompasses:

* All the products/services your company offers

* All the markets you serve
* Both environmental and internal variables
* Production, research, finance, and other organizational elements needed
for success

Strategic planning looks beyond the immediate circumstances, in the process

clarifying where you want to be in the future. This strategic perspective can
be contrasted to the tactical level (which looks at performance of specific
products or markets over a shorter time frame) and operational planning
(which focuses on the nitty gritty of getting the job done).

Start with a thorough analysis and clear understanding of the strategy and
objectives of your company. What is the corporate development strategy?
This broad understanding is essential for at least three reasons. First,
marketing expertise is required to implement abstract corporate strategy.
Second, key marketing decisions such as which market niches to address,
product distribution channels, and direct marketing tactics flow directly from
business strategy. And third, top management philosophy and mindset
should provide the foundation for developing the strategic marketing plan.

Begin by identifying your strategic business unit (SBU). This might be an

entire company, a division, a product line, or a single product, as long as that
unit is a separate entity for planning purposes (i.e., has its own management,
access to resources, competitors, positioning strategy, and customers). An
SBU must be large enough to be a meaningful unit for strategy formulation
and evaluation, yet small enough for effective planning and marketing
management.

here are four key elements to strategic planning at the SBU level:

* Identification of the business

* Situation Analysis
* Selection of strategies
* Establishment of controls

INTEGRATED MARKETING

According to the American Marketing Association, integrated marketing

communications is “a planning process designed to assure that all brand
contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or
organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.”

Integration is a marketing catchphrase of the moment. Its value propositions

seems unquestionably strong—the whole of a marketing initiative can be
greater than the sum of its multidisciplinary parts if those parts work tightly
together to assist one another.

While certainly capable of delivering on this promise, integrated marketing

is not without its inherent vulnerabilities. One area of definite risk with
integration lies in its rigidity—its inability to handle change and dynamic
competitive forces.

The need to coordinate a host of disparate marketing disciplines in a united

cause tends to slow integration's ability to make on-the-fly decisions and act
upon them. One can readily foresee situations where more maneuverable
competitors could take fierce advantage of the difficulties of an integrated
initiative to turn on a dime.

MARKETING ETHICS
Marketing ethics are ethical standards which pertain to marketing.
Marketing is a field which is often viewed as inherently unethical, but it is in
fact governed by law and standards of conduct just like any other field.
People who actively work in the marketing field are expected to study and
abide by the ethical standards of the industry, and academics interested in
the study of marketing also look at how ethics are applied. Awareness of
ethical standards is heavily promoted at many colleges and universities
which teach marketing practices, and some institutions even have student

associations dedicated to the development and promotion of ethical practices

in business, including the marketing field.

There are a number of areas of ethical concern in marketing. The purpose of

marketing is to sell products, services, and ideas to people, and this can be
done in a variety of ways, not all of which are ethical. Marketers have to be
careful about how they run campaigns to avoid running afoul of the law, and
to address ethical gray areas which may not be covered by the law.

For example, there are strict laws in place about marketing to children in
many regions of the world. Such laws are not in place to cover marketing to
minorities, some of whom can be very vulnerable to certain types of
marketing campaigns. Ethical marketers consider issues specific to the
populations they are marketing to in order to avoid misleading people.
Professional organizations remind members that they must incorporate
concepts like transparency, respect, fairness, and responsibility into their
campaigns.

INDUSTRIAL MARKET

An industrial market involves one business dealing goods or services to

another business instead of a consumer base. Also known as the business-to-
business market, this market encompasses three distinct variations, including
businesses selling goods, businesses selling raw materials and businesses
selling services. Each of these three happen in a variety of individual
businesses. There are many advantages of this type of market over the
traditional consumer market.

The industrial market focuses solely on the goods and services provided for
producing a separate end product. This is an organizational market with its
own advertising, distribution and sales. From automobiles to food, clothes
and more, consumer industrial products would not be available without the
industrial market first being utilized.

Many companies within an industrial market specialize in selling goods to

other industries in order to help them produce an end product. These
companies normally do not offer these products to the general public,
because there would be little use for them to an individual consumer. A
company producing an industrial loom for creating garments would be one
example of a company utilizing this market. Computer programs are another
example, especially networks or specialized programs that aid in the
production of goods and services.

The industrial market equally benefits from groups that sell raw materials to
other companies that use them to create end products. The selling companies

tend to have some products that would be useful to individual consumers,

but they generally sell goods in bulk numbers that are not practical for
consumers. Some of these companies focus a small portion of the business
on consumer goods but generally do only business-to-business deals. An
excellent example would be selling raw wool to the same company that
bought industrial looms, with that company using the wool and looms to
produce sweaters, socks and scarfs.

The third type of industrial market deals solely with selling services to other
businesses. These groups do not provide any physical goods but supply
manpower and expertise in particular areas. This can be a physical act, such
as cleaning up hazardous materials that are produced by industrial
machinery. It also can be more data-based, such as providing business
accounting for companies.
2. APPLICATION QUESTIONS
• Discuss the variables of the marketing mix as they might
relate to each of the following

 Automobile company
 Men’s clothing store
 Campus book store

• Choose an industry. Search for recent business news for

examples of influences of competitors, economy, politics, law,
technology, society and culture on marketing decision making.

• The consumer buying process consists of 5 stages and the

process does not necessarily conclude on purchase. Interview a
person about the last purchase he made. Report the stages used
and those skipped if any and present the findings
 Automobile company

• Maruti Suzuki

 Products
• Maruti 800 ,Alto
• Ritz, Zen, Wagon-R, Swift, A-star
• D ZiRE
• GrandVitara, Gypsy
• Omni, Eeco

 Price

Price of the Maruthi vehicles varies from 180000 to 17 laks.

Maruthi 800 is the entry level car of the stable and Suzuki Grand Vitara is
the high end one from the same family. Alto, Omini and Wagon-R are also
low price cars of the company but Zen,Ritz and Swift are mid priced cars.
The price of the car is decided according to its product variety, quality,
features etc..

 Place

6000 new car sales outlet covering 393 cities

265 ‘Maruti true value’ outlets spread across 166 cities
2628 Maruti Authorized Service Stations covering 1220 cities
Tie up with adani group for exporting 200000 units through mnudra port in
Gujarat.

 Promotion

• Advertisement
• Information advertising
• BTL
• TV shows
• Place advertising
• Sales promotions
 • Product warrantees
• Premiums
• Trade shows

• TOMMY HILFIGER
 Products

Tommy Hilfiger products include T-Shirts, Shirts, Casual

Apparels along with its after sales services

 Price

Price of Shirt varies from Rs.1000 to Rs. 7000. Price varies

according to the fabric material and model of the shirt. Price of the T-Shirts
are fixed differently for different geographical location considering the
difference in usage pattern as well as varying advertisement costs

 Place

The company uses various factors such as sales, communication and

contractual considerations. It has a long chain of wholesalers and retailers to
reach its customers.

 Promotion

• Salesman
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Radios
• Bill boards
• Television
 National campus bookstore
 Product

National Bookstore offers a wide range of products from the retail

sale and distribution of books to the sale of various school supplies. National
Bookstore’s products, specifically the school supplies, are mostly aimed for
the students’ and office workers’ consumption and needs. However, the
customers of National Bookstore are not limited to just students and office
workers. The company also caters to kids through the sale of toys, coloring
books, crayons and et cetera. Adults are also customers of National
Bookstore since they avail of the various selections of books that National
has to offer. Students and other consumers as well know that National
Bookstore offers products of good quality and of affordable prices that are of
great benefit to the consumers.

National Bookstore also offers branded school supplies and their own
product line named Best Buy which is more affordable than other.

 Price

Affordable pricing is one objective that National Bookstore has – every

product is of the best quality at the best price. National Bookstore wants that
students be able to afford to buy school supplies with their own allowance
that is why National Bookstore’s products are priced at affordable levels.

 Place

It is located in walking distance of universities and therefore expects to have

a large group of potential buyers.

 Promotion
The books will be on sale for the opening week of business, and will assume
normal pricing from there onwards. On select weeks discounts are offered to
students and promotional deals to the general public.

THE COKE INDUSTRY

 Coco-Cola

Competition

Coke’s major competitor is ‘Pepsi’ and there is no hesitation to say this.

Price is the major factor affected by the competitors. When a difference
occurs in the exact price it effects the consumption of the drink. When the
price is more, consumers switch on to Pepsi and when the price is low, they
think there is something wrong.

Economy

Coca-Cola operates in more than 200 countries. Because of the local nature
of the business, they are in the unique position to contribute to the economic
vitality of even the most remote communities around the world.

The total indirect economic impacts of the Coca-Cola system are

significantly greater. The Coca-Cola system has more than 900 plants
around the world. Their ingredients and raw materials are largely sourced
locally and the 92,400 employees represent thousands of communities and
many cultures. In addition, the company’s bottling partners employ
hundreds of thousands of people around the world and are committed to
supporting community investment programs.

They contribute to the economic success of each community by employing

local people; paying taxes to governments; paying suppliers for goods,
services and capital equipment; and supporting community investment
programs. Past independent studies on the economic impact of their business
in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe have consistently shown that for every
job in the Coca-Cola system, an average of 10 more jobs are supported in
local communities.

Politics
The battle for dominance in the cola market continues with Pepsi forever in
second place to Coke but definitely holding its own. Competition between
the two companies has been fierce in the US market and throughout the
world. For political reasons, Pepsi has held pole position in a few countries,
e.g. Saudi Arabia (because of Coke's marketing in Israel), francophone ]

Canada, and the old Soviet Union where it negotiated a monopoly. Both
companies use a raft of modern marketing and market research techniques to
hold their own.

Law

The coke company was asked for compensation as a result of environmental

harm and violation of environmental laws, by the company. The damage was
caused because of their bottling plant and it affected the people of a village
called Plachimada of Palakkad district. The company was closed following
sustained protests and stand taken by the government.

TECHNOLOGY

Coke started using PET plant bottles as a result of adapting the changing
technology. It has also been using sugar cane today, also exploring other raw
materials. The company has been looking out for advance technologies to
extract sugar from plant wastes for future generations of Plant Bottle
packaging.
• Interviewing a person regarding the purchase of an
eatable

When a person who has purchased an eatable of his choice was

interviewed, it was obvious that he has undergone through the first process
of the buying behavior, that is, awareness of a problem. Here the problem
recognized was hunger and the person looked out for ways that would help
him to solve the problem.
Next step was to search ways or information that would lead him to
solve his problem. The search was just internal. He did not depend on any
external source as the need was for food which needs to be fulfilled
immediately.
As he depended on very few information there was no problem of
evaluating each available alternative as there was no too many alternatives to
evaluate. So the third step of evaluating alternatives was not done and the
person went for selecting or purchasing the alternative.

Now there is no chance for dissatisfaction here as there were no much

options available and so the person is satisfied with what he consumed.

Findings

From the interview, it was found out that at least some of the purchase
decisions are not made undergoing through all the mentioned steps of the
buying process. When it comes to buying an expensive or luxury item, all
these steps may be considered. But when it comes to the case of consumer
goods, only a few steps are undergone as they are not very expensive.
NET INSIGHTS
• Services

The mentioned site provides a wide variety of services such as prepaid

cards, sms service, hosting services, gifts and so on. It helps in experiencing
quick services and in a much expected way by the customers.
Apart from this, the products offered also ranges from a single book to huge
decorative furnishers.

• Motivation of customers

Valence is related to the attractiveness of a particular product and these

retail sites are excellent in displaying the products with a high degree of
attractiveness visual appeal. The products are displayed in a 3-d format with
vibrant colors and designs which is surely an important motivating factor.
Individuality influences many of the purchasing decisions. Individual
preferences that are shaped by unique memories, experiences and
perceptions and also the need to be individual and to stand out from the
crowd motivates the customers to purchase online
Some people are still anxious about online security, but most people have
overcome their anxieties in order to make the most of the offers that are to
be had. This is one of the reasons why people are deciding to buy expensive
goods online.
People are clearly choosing to buy expensive items over the Internet
because they are less expensive online than they would be on the high street;
you can buy expensive goods directly from large online stores or from
individual sellers and save yourself a fortune.

Consumer buying process

While making purchase decisions, consumers are often unable to evaluate all
available alternatives in great depth and, thus, tend to use two-stage
processes to reach their decisions. At the first stage, consumers typically
screen a large set of available products and identify a subset of the most
promising alternatives. Subsequently, they evaluate the latter in more depth,
perform relative comparisons across products on important attributes, and
make a purchase decision. Given the different tasks to be performed in such
a two-stage process, interactive tools that provide support to consumers in
the following respects are particularly valuable: (1) the initial screening of

available products to determine which ones are worth considering further,

and (2) the in-depth comparison of selected products before

making the actual purchase decision. This paper examines the effects of two
decision aids, each designed to assist consumers in performing one of the
above tasks, on purchase decision making in an online store.

Competitive environment

In an ever evolving, intensely competitive online sales environment, online

retailers are constantly in search of ways to increase sales, reduce technical
costs, and acquire new customers. The result is market wide demand for
enhanced e-commerce technology, effective paving the way for a new breed
of hosted e- commerce solution