(Insert Surname) 1

(Name)

(Instructors’ name)

(Course)

(Date)

Marketing Principles

The concept and process of Marketing

Effective marketing contributes a lot towards organization growth and success. The key

element behind marketing is that for a company to maximize on sales revenue, the company’s

products and services must be known by all the potential buyers. The process of increasing a

company’s products and services awareness is referred to as marketing which includes sales

promotion, public relations and advertisements. With the introduction of a marketing department

at Sleepwell, the company will significantly increase the sales revenue due the increased

customer awareness and will also create a good market reputation. It will be easier for the

company to promote a new product in the market and at the same time receive a high degree of

acceptability when the company decides to venture into new businesses in the future.

The marketing process is made up of four elements and each company must decide on

degree of application of each element in a manner that favors the company best. The first

element is the price where different prices can be set to achieve various goals. A company that is

seeking to increase its market share will charge low prices while high prices can be charged in

order to quickly recover an investment especially when it comes to fads. Sleepwell should set

high prices for the products supplied to comfort clients such as hotels and Concorde flights. Low

prices should be set for goods supplied to home users in order to penetrate the market. The

second element is place where after a company markets its products, they must be availed to
 (Insert Surname) 2

customers at convenient locations. Sleepwell should supply their products to supermarket stores

in various regions to bring the products closer to the consumers and at the same time establish

regional offices to handle various customer concerns. Product is the third element of marketing

process where a company needs to continuously make improvements on the current products in

addition to introducing new ones in an effort to retain the existing customers. Sleepwell should

invest in research activities in order to determine the current market needs and develop products

that match those needs. In promotion, companies provide incentives to customers to facilitate

first time purchases which in the long run lead to brand loyalty (Mamula, 49-61). Sleepwell can

take advantage of this element by providing price discounts to their mattresses during specific

seasons in the year.

This market orientation approach will result in a number of advantage top amongst them

being a competitive advantage. This will be achieved through the use low penetration price,

development of new products through research activities and promotional activities. Sleepwell

will also increase customer satisfaction by availing their products to convenient locations to the

customers and the introduction of regional offices. This will in the long run lead to consumer

loyalty. The increased degree of customer interactions will also lead to the provision of high

quality products as various customer inputs will be incorporated in the company products

(Mamula, 49-61). These interactions will also enable the firm to be the first to react to changes in

market demand and customers’ needs. The increased focus on marketing approach will result to

less concentration on other factors such as economies of scale which may negatively affect

profitability. Another drawback will be the reduced degree of innovation where the company will

be relying heavily on customers input. It will be difficult to know which product to invest in as
 (Insert Surname) 3

customers may not clearly define what they want and each customer may have their own

specifications.

The Concept of Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Micro and macro environmental factors affect the marketing decisions of all companies.

In McDonalds, competitors highly influence the marketing decisions of the company and this is

due to the fact that the company operates internationally. More restrictions are imposed on a

foreign firm which results to low prices for the local firms. McDonalds marketing therefore has

to justify their high prices. Another micro environmental factor that affects the company

marketing decisions is customers. Different customers in different regions of the world have

different needs and marketing activities needs to show how the company food products fulfill

their needs. The macro environment also influences the marketing decisions especially in the

demographic aspect. The firm receives a large number of customers who frequent the stalls

accompanied by children. To market the firm as a restaurant that supports family meals, the

company has established playing grounds to encourage families to frequent the restaurants with

their children. Social forces are other macro environmental factor that influences the marketing

decisions such as the social environmental consciousness. The company has invested in paper

and cardboard packaging made from recycled materials in an effort to remain in line with the

environmental consciousness of customers.

McDonalds can segment their market according to social cultural characteristics.

Considering that the firm provides food products and that different cultures have different tastes

and preferences, this type of segmentation is bound to be successful. For instance, in the United

States market where consumers have different cultural backgrounds, the firm can provide food
 (Insert Surname) 4

products that have a lot of flavors for the Asian culture customers. This will be different from the

flavors provided to Hispanic customers who like to incorporate tastes popular in their culture.

The happy meal is a product that has been prepared by McDonalds since 1979

specifically for children. The products is made up of a main meal item such as cheese burger or

chicken McNuggets, a side item such as French fries or salads, a drink such as milk or a soft

drink, and a toy. To increase the revenues from this product, McDonalds has specifically targeted

children and their strategy include the provision of a playing ground at the fast food store and the

availability of video games which the children can enjoy while consuming the happy meal. This

is a demonstration of how the buying behavior of the consumers affects the marketing strategies

of McDonalds with the increased desire for children to play causing the firm to set up play

supporting structures such as a playground and video games. In another example, McDonalds

target market also includes teenagers and young adults and this market segments spends majority

of their time on the internet. As a way of attracting this customer segment, McDonalds has

provided free Wi-Fi connections for these customers to use while consuming their meals at the

fast food stores.

With the provision of video games and playing field for children, the numbers of children

frequenting the fast food store have increased significantly. As a result the cashiers who are

supposed to thank the customers and establish good relationship with them find themselves with

limited time to perform these two tasks. Additionally, the level of service delivery has also

decrease. The organization has already acquired the market leader positions in terms of market

share and there is need to reposition itself as the leader in the provision of customer services in

order to maintain the current market share. This will be achieved by creating of new positions

that will focus on provision of support services such as the distribution of sauce packs and cups
 (Insert Surname) 5

and also provide juice boxes for the happy meals. To reduce the amount spent in the queue, the

food store can allocate a number to a customer order who first takes a seat and is notified via the

giant screen that his order is ready. These activities will help in creating a reputation of excellent

customer service and consequently manage to retain the current of market share.

The Individual Elements of the Extended Marketing Mix

Aviva PLC is a multinational firm that leads the market in the provision of life insurance,

general insurance and pension plans in the UK. To create and maintain a competitive advantage,

the firm highly focuses on the use of modern technology in daily operations. In product

development, the firm uses the OnBase insurance solution software which brings together

various documents together for analysis. The documents include emails, application documents,

faxes, industrial standard documents and other documents. The software is able to develop the

most appropriate product for different customers and at affordable prices (Maditinos

Zemlickiene, 365-374). With this software the consumers’ needs are quickly identified and the

right products developed thereby providing a competitive advantage. The use of technology is

also evident in the manner in which the products are availed to consumers at their convenience.

Consumers can apply and receive a cover for various products via the internet meaning that they

have access to company services while in the comfort of their homes. The company also has

branches and insurance agents scattered all across the UK making it easier for consumers to

receive consultation services.

While setting various premiums, the firm considers mortality rate, expenses and interest

rates where the higher the mortality rates the higher the premiums. In order to achieve the profit

maximization objective, the firm determines the cost of providing a policy such as commission

to agents, reinsurance costs and processing costs. A premium is then added on the total costs
 (Insert Surname) 6

depending on the firm desired level of profitability. In the interest rate factor, consumers are only

willing to invest in insurance policies when there are fewer returns from other financial

institutions. To maximize on sales, the company advertises through billboards, radio and

television adverts. The firm also runs online campaigns and provides loyalty discounts to

existing customers in order to attract new customers. Additionally, promotional packages are

used to attract customers from rival companies. The firm has also invested in other additional

elements of marketing mix such as people and process. The firm continuously provides training

programs to existing employees to ensure that they interact positively with clients and have also

set up a help line that is accessible by customers at all times. The use of the internet has also

made the process of receiving a policy fast, accurate and convenient for consumers. In physical

evidence, all the information about a policy is well outlined in the company website and sales

agents readily avail such information upon such a request.

Extended Marketing Mix to Different Marketing Segments and Contexts

Different segments have different needs and make their choices based on different

factors. For a multinational college, the two major segments are teenagers and the working class.

On the product, the teenagers will be provided with the undergraduate courses and other

educational lessons that will help them choose an appropriate career path that takes advantage of

their strengths. The working class will be provided with postgraduate courses such as Masters

and PhD programs in additional to other short courses such as management, leadership and

communication courses. Since the teenagers have some time to spare, their learning will occur

via classroom lectures which will require them to be physically present in the college campuses.

The working class is busy in their work places and the college will introduce online lessons in

order to save on time and make it convenient for the working class to enroll in college. The next
 (Insert Surname) 7

element is price where the working class will be charged high tuition fees since they have a

source of income and are looking to permanently increase on the current level of income. Low

tuition fees will be charged for teenagers who depend on their parents for assistance and have no

source of income. Promotional activities for teenage segments will include the provision of

sporting facilities such as swimming pool, football programs and other sports which will be

followed by the organizing of competition events with well known clubs and sportspersons.

Additionally, scholarship programs will be provided for the most deserving teenagers.

Promotional activities for the working class will be in form of discount loyalty programs where

those who have pursued at least two short courses in the past year will receive a discount on the

next course in the following year.

The business to business marketing has a number of advantages over the business to

consumer marketing. First, a college marketing its services to businesses will reach a large target

market (Ata, and Aysegul, 497-507). For instance, through marketing a company may view those

who have attended a certain college to have a competitive edge in their employment. More and

more individuals will enroll in that college to gain the competitive edge. Secondly, this saves the

marketing expenses for a company as it would cost more to reach the same number of customers

while marketing to customers as compared to businesses. Marketing to businesses also takes

advantage of the reputation of business in the market and may lead to better customer

relationships.

Domestic and international markets have a number of differences with the main

differences being the scope of activities. In an international environment there are a lot of

considerations to be factored in the decision making such as cultural differences, government

restrictions, political environment and state of the economy. There are also more benefits in the
 (Insert Surname) 8

additional benefits in the international markets as the reason why a company goes international is

mainly due to saturation of domestic market. The international market also provides an

opportunity through which a company can learn of new technologies.

Conclusions

It is important for a company to create a marketing department as it helps in creating

awareness of the company products. Marketing involves the investment in the product,

promotion, price and improving on availability of the product. In addition to marketing, macro

factors such as economy, demographic factors and competitors and micro factors such as

suppliers and customers should also be carefully considered. The business to business marketing

increases the sales and builds a better reputation of an organization.

Work Cited

Ata, U. Zeynep, and Aysegul Toker. "The effect of customer relationship management adoption

in business-to-business markets." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 27.6

(2012): 497-507. Print.

Mamula, Tatjana. "Role of marketing metrics in strategic brand management." Marketing 43.1

(2012): 49-61. Print.

Zemlickiene, Vaida, and Dimitrios Ioannnis Maditinos. "Marketing Strategy Formulation for

Innovative Product Development Process." Verslas: teorija ir praktika 13.4 (2012): 365-

374. Print.