ANALYSIS OF THE COMPANY’S 4P’S SUGGEST TWO

(2) COMPANIES.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MARKETING (MKT 420)

COURSE : BA242
SEMESTER : SESSI 2 2019/2020
NAME : SITI MUNIRAH BINTI MOHAMAD HISHAM
STUDENT ID : 202988081
GROUP : 1A
LECTURER : MDM. HARTINI ZUHAILA

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..................................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................4

FINDING AND DISCUSSION...........................................................................................................5

CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................9

REFERENCES..................................................................................................................................10

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to put my utmost gratitude to Allah S.W.T for the
wisdom He bestowed upon us, the strength, peace of our mind and good health in order to
finish this assessment.

I would like to express my deepest and sincere gratitude to Madam Hartini, MKT 420
lecturer for Universiti Institusi Teknologi Mara (UITM) Puncak Alam Campus for giving me
a good guideline for case study 3 throughout the phase of making it. I would also like to
expand my deepest gratitude to all those who have contributed directly and indirectly guided
me in writing this assignment.

Last but not least I want thanks and gratitude to myself whose have gone through
various sites, research books, journal article, websites to get the information analysis and
tried to find the best conclusions.

Finally, I wish to thank my parents for their support and encouragement throughout my study.

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 INTRODUCTION

In keeping with the company's business objectives, marketing attracts consumers’

attention and disposable income to drive profitable revenue. Marketing is the process of
getting a product or service from a company to its end customers from product development
through to end-of-sale and post-purchase assistance. The effective mix marketing can drive
the organization toward its goal and enhance the company's performance in the short term
and long term. An effective marketing strategy must direct an organization in which it wants
to be on a long-term basis, which is why marketing strategies are known as the ongoing
process.

Marketing strategies can be defined as strategies or plans by companies to

differentiate themselves from their competitors using the power to increase customer
satisfaction for their products or services. While by Philip Kotler “Marketing Strategy is the
marketing logic by which the business unit expects to achieve its marketing objectives.”
Marketing strategy has become a relevant tool for any organization to remain in the
competitive market environment and to become stronger than other competitors in the world [
CITATION Dan18 \l 17417 ]. To this end, marketing strategy consists of business goals, target
customers, marketing strategies, marketing tactics and related metrics.

Therefore, the function of marketing strategy is to decide in a specific situation the

type, power, direction and interaction between the marketing mix- elements and
environmental factors [ CITATION Dan18 \l 17417 ]. A broader understanding of marketing is
defined as a strategic and competitive plan implemented by top management supported by a
set of functional activities performed by a line manager and customer-based orientation
practiced by all members of the organization for the purpose of profitable relationships.

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FINDING AND DISCUSSION

Marketing mix is basically a combination of various elements, which is, overall, a

firm's marketing system. These elements are often described as 4 P‘s, which are Products,
Prices, Promotions and Places. Each of the four P’s is a variable to control in creating the
marketing mix that will attract customers in a business. This 4p’s model has been used for
tangible products in approach the needs of customer satisfaction. All of the marketing mix
elements need to plan and implement effectively to improve the quality of the product and
services and to increase customer satisfaction.

Product is defined as anything that can be offered to a market for attention,

acquisition, use, or consumption that might fulfil customer’s want and need (Kotler and
Amstrong, 2006). A consumer products bought for personal consumption by the end
consumer. Ideally, a product should meet an existing demand from the consumer. Or maybe a
product is so compelling that consumers think they need it and it will creates a new demand.
Product is the most important role of strategies marketing because it shows the image of
company. The company have to make sure the product must have a good impression from
customers and need to plan properly the effective strategy to increase sales and organizational
performance.

Product strategy refers to all the goods and services a company offers to the target
market to meet its needs. It also includes physical products, services, information, places,
organizations or ideas that may be offered for acquisition or consumption that might satisfy a
want or a need. Product strategy consists of elements of good quality, style, features and
design such as us packaging, branding label and product attributes. The company should
make the product outcome must give value to the customer, which means that the company
should give its customers what they want, not what they want. In addition, company must
adapt with the difference of customer’s needs and taste and customize the products aligned
with the local customer’s in those country [ CITATION Had19 \l 17417 ] . A product consists of 4
phases of the life cycle whereas the stage of introduction, development, maturity and decline.

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Besides, new product development leads to a range of products that affect attractiveness and
retention.

Secondly is price, the price is a tool used by the customer to pay for the products or
services offer by the company. Before seller put the selling price on the items, the price must
relate to the actual and perceived value of the commodity, but they must also consider the
cost of production, the seasonal discounts and the prices of the rivals. Business executives
can in some cases raise the price to give the commodity the appearance of luxury. According
to the researcher, the price of the service includes factors relating to fixed costs (overheads)
and variable costs including labour and material costs, the item is to determine the price
discount, the determination of the commission to channel cooperation and credit (term of sale
of goods and services)[ CITATION HSu16 \l 17417 ].

The Price strategies are the critical decision that the company should take carefully
since they have an impact on the organization's profitability. Based on the Porter’s generic
strategies the company has 4 separate approaches which are cost leadership, differentiation,
focus on cost and differentiation. Cost leadership is use to increase efficiencies and reduce
production cost to get below or average with the competitors. The organization can set the
price of their product with low price than the competitors to attract more buyers by offer the
lower price. Besides that, company can use differentiation strategy that will distinguish a
product or services from other similar product, offered by the competitors in market. By
using this strategy, company will focus in to upgrade their products in term of design,
features, quality of the products rather than focus on cost. So, company will set the higher
prices than their competitors because of addition value of the product.

Next, the place or location for business. It also called as distribution channel because
the method company uses to get products and services to different channels and networks
with objective to reach the end customer, either directly or indirectly. The place can include
company location, distributors, shopfront, possible internet use to place the product and
logistics which are important role for the company to have a good understanding of the
positioning or location of the company because it has long-term influence on the success of
the company. These elements help ensure that the firm provides customers a quality customer
service that has an impact on customer satisfaction. The product must be provided so that the
customer can find it in the right place where they can make a deal. Therefore, it is very

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important for the company to make sure that the product is available in the market in a
strategic location accessible to potential buyers.

Geographical location has a significant impact on the company's profit margins and
success. This may be due to availability and proximity of raw materials and labour, close
proximity to customers and competitors, infrastructure and transportation costs. According to
Kotler & Armstrong (2012) retailers should be located in close proximity to their target to
ensure accessibility. If grocery stores located far from their customers have a negative impact
on their purchasing intent as they reduce the frequency of customers visiting a store.

The last element of marketing mix is promotion. A promotion is about the actions or
strategies a company uses to communicate the value and benefit of your product to your
customers. Promotion also as a tool for companies to improve their sales performance and
attract more potential buyers. According to researcher promotions is a way for companies to
communicate what it does and what they can offer to customers. It includes activities such as
branding, advertising, PR, corporate identity, sales management, special offers and
exhibitions. Promotions must be attentive, engaging, delivering a consistent message and
above all else giving customers a reason to choose your product from others.

There has promotion strategies which called as push and pull strategies. Purposely it
is for promoting a product through word of mouth by the sales persons or intermediaries. In
other words, it sells a products based on one-on-one communication. Push Strategy: A 'push'
promotion strategy using company sales force and trade promotion activities to generate
consumer demand for a product. The manufacturers promote the product to wholesalers,
wholesalers promote it to retailers and retailers promote it to consumers. Here the product is
passed on to the end user hence the name- Push. In contrast, pull strategy: The "pull" strategy
is based on large ads and promotions activities carried out by manufacturers to create demand
for products. Consumers will attract products through compelling distribution channels
wholesalers and retailers to store it, hence the strategy of attracting names.

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 Tesco is the largest retailer of wholesale and general goods in the UK. It offers a wide
range of products and services, from fresh food and bread to financial and
telecommunications services. As for now, Tesco has many branches around the world. Tesco
is one of national retailers which offers a wide selection of products with a wide variety of
brands. In addition, many white label retailers out there have brands. Large retailers' national
distribution channels increase their purchasing power and enable them to purchase inventory
lower than their smaller competitors. In contrast to Tesco is specialty markets where typically
they have some products and brands that same with wholesaler, but their choice is usually
limited to the highest demand. Product differentiation occurs by offering special items and
categories of products that are hard to find which the wholesaler does not offer. For example,
Speed mart, 7-Eleven, News, etc.

Furthermore, Tesco has applied cost strategy across all of the product with offering
the product at minimum price and they use the concept of buying in bulk, therefore they offer
at minimum price of item. In addition, timely response to changing market conditions and the
introduction of new products, which guarantee the first mover advantage, also enable Tesco
to reduce costs. However, for convenience store the price of item is not usually possible to
offer the same discount type as wholesaler. However, for hard to find items often set prices as
they may be the only stores offering the product. The price might bit different as competitive
with others store. Such a few products like privately labelled brand like “slurpee” at 7-eleven,
the price might be higher. This is because the labelled products is limited because customers
can get this exclusively at this 7- eleven stores only.

The standpoint of Tesco is visible from the main street, and located near the
residential area for customer convenience. Tesco have different types of stores to handle
specifications from different locations, each with its own products and services. Tesco have a
team of professionals with the sole purpose of finding high quality high-traffic websites for
new stores. Inside each store, there is usually a large floor space. Higher margin products are
sold at higher prices on Tesco Express, while better and better deals are available at Tesco
Superstore. Although Tesco's 'brick-and-mortar' presence is strong, its position on various
digital platforms is not that great and should be paid close attention by management. Issues
such as dated apps and missing key functionality (e.g., scheduling) limit Tesco's ability to
effectively address its customers' needs.

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 However, 7-Eleven usually do not have a large budget and experienced staff from the
national chain. Therefore, when choosing a location, cost constraints are usually the most
important factor. Many specialty shops are located near or in the area where the main
customer lives. From a shelf perspective, these stores follow many of the same principles
used by most National Retailers, but Specialty stores should adapt to the size constraints
there.

Regarding the marketing mix promotion dimension, Tesco's brand image is based on
a low-cost idea, complementing its cost-leadership strategy. Tesco uses a variety of different
media types (such as print ads, TV ads, and YouTube ads) to advertise, forming a coherent
marketing system, emphasizing the price of brand competition. The cost leadership strategy
comes with Tesco's loyalty program, Club member card, which offers a variety of promotions
and discounts. This program enables companies to better manage their stock and segments
and target their customer base with customized offers. This means that Tesco should develop
a more progressive and innovative rewards scheme, specifically for repeat shipping, to win
customers and build strong brand loyalty.

The 7-Eleven store follows Omni's channel approach to its promotion strategy from
digital to physical store website promotion. The 7-Eleven company is able to increase their
sales through a 'shoulder' campaign for Slurpee products that reap the benefits of the
production beyond just the refresh. The company has also started celebrating 7-Eleven as a
promotional strategy to bring more customers to its store. Today the 7-Eleven store offers
free Slurpee from any of its stores. The company also started offering small Slurpee for fuel
purchases to attract more new customers. The company also offers gift cards, Universal 7-
Eleven Fleet Cards, Prepaid Cards to provide special offers to its customers.

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 CONCLUSION

Marketing strategies include the set of strategies that the company used to introduce a
potential customer to their product. The element of marketing strategies where product, price,
place and promotion are included in 4ps of marketing mix. This mix marketing element has a
business performance relationship which means that this strategy will affect the business,
whether in a positive or negative way.

On the above discussion, it shows that an effective product, price, location and
promotion strategy will help to improve business performance and increase business
profitability not only in the short term but also in the long term. Most of the successful
company nowadays, such as McDonald, Apple and Adidas, have developed a strong mix
marketing strategy for their product, which is why they can be a leader in their industry for
many years. Therefore it is important for local and small businesses to have a better
understanding of mix marketing to ensure that their businesses will be able to sustain
themselves in the future and expand their businesses in other countries.

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 REFERENCES

Daniel, D. C. (September, 2018). EFFECTS OF MARKETING STRATEGIES ON. 3(9), p. 9.

H. Suherly, F. A. (September, 2016). MARKETING PERFORMANCE AS THE IMPACT OF.

Hadi, H. (October, 2019). THE EFFECT OF MARKETING MIX ON ORGANIZATIONS PERFORMANCE.

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