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The first P of the marketing mix is product. Product is the good or service that is to be manufactured and sold to the final consumer. It is important to identify what are the customers’ needs and wants and whether the product which is being sold will satisfy it. The key features of the product such as the color, brand, name, looks and cost will have to be met in order to have the product. A product must also have certain features that will differentiate it from its competitors (Investigated, 2010). Subsequently, price is the next P of the marketing mix.
In order to appraise the reduce or service, it is important to know what the value of the product or service to the buyer is. The price of a product depends on several factors such as the cost, market demand, elasticity of demand for the product and other direct and indirect factors. Producers have to know if consumers are price-sensitive and whether a small decrease in the price of product will help the business to gain extra market shares (Investigated, 2010). There are different strategies when it comes to pricing.
However, pricing can also be used as means of differentiation in order to stand out from their monitors (The Economic Times, 2014). Moving on, the next P of the marketing mix is place. “In every industry, catching the eye of the consumer and making it easy for her to buy it is the main aim of a good distribution or ‘place’ strategy. “(The Economic Times, 2014). Where do buyers look for the product or service? In a local store, supermarket or shopping mall, or will it be through methods such as online shopping (e-commerce), catalogues and so on.
Having a good place for the business will ensure customers’ convenience which will increase their willingness to purchase the good. The place of the business must also be accessible to the few distribution channels of the product before it reaches the final consumer. The fourth and final P of the marketing mix is promotion. Promotion includes every aspect of advertising. The best promotion method is essential in telling where and when the marketing message can be get across to the target audience (Middleton. Com, 2014). Different methods such as the media, pamphlets and brochures, billboards, mails, or even PR can be used.
There also has to be a right time to promote a product. Cases such as seasonal products will only require promotion when the product is in season. For example, winter Jackets will only be promoted when the winter season is approaching instead of during the summer. It is also crucial to find out the ways the competing firms are doing their promotion and how that might influence our own promotional activities. Kellogg has been a world renowned food manufacturing company for over a century that specializes in the production of cereals.
Kellogg vision is “to enrich and delight the world, through foods and brands that matter” and Kellogg has implemented different strategies into their marketing mix (4 AS). The first P, is product. Kellogg has introduced the Crunchy Nut Oat Granola (CONGO) in 2013 to their audience targeted from the age range 18-45 years old. Kellogg came up with the Crunchy Nut Oat Granola after researching and concluding that there were consumers that were “adult taste seekers” that eat a range of breakfast cereal. Therefore, Kellogg has met the consumers’ needs and wants by coming up with this product.
Secondly, being a superstars, Kellogg is able to charge a premium price thou worrying about the effects on demand due to the brand and product quality (Fastidiousness’s. Co. UK, 2014). Moreover, Kellogg distributed over 8000 50-p off coupons to their customers in the hopes of creating awareness for their new product and increasing consumer demand for existing customers. Next, the third P of the marketing mix is place. Kellogg chose a very strategic location for their Crunchy Nut (CNN) restaurant in 2012. It was located at Manchester Randall shopping centre.
A shopping centre is a place which is able to attract a lot of different target consumers angina from young to old, therefore making their good and services easily accessible. Kellogg also had a very unique idea where the restaurant was an outdoor experience and the customers had the opportunity to taste new products and actively engage with the Crunchy Nut brand. The last P is promotion and Kellogg implemented both above-the-line and below-the-line promotion. An example of Kellogg above-the-line promotion would be running a Twitter competition and letting customers leave their feedbacks via social media channels.
This method resulted in increase in media value, product awareness and also enabling the company to run more diverse research on the market. Kellogg initiative for below-the-line promotion would be having a 2-stage-door-drop sampling campaign for their new product which is the Crunchy Nut Oat Granola (CONGO) to selected postal areas. The impact of this promotion was new customers trialing the product as well as an increase in repeat purchases which caused an increase in market shares. Besides that, Kellogg also had in-store campaigns to drive brand awareness.
An example would be a five week sampling tour at Tests across stores in I-J. This method not only increases product demand but also giving the brand a chance to engage with their customers. As a conclusion, Kellogg has implemented the 4 As of the marketing mix into their strategies of obtaining their business objectives. Kellogg strategies have been nothing short of successful as proven in the last decade when they became a world renowned cereal brand. Kellogg has become a role model and example to other businesses for ways to maximize profit and minimize cost as well as ways to promote the business.