MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS

Marketing mix refers to a set of marketing tools a firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives
in a target market.
PRODUCT MIX
Product refers to anything of value which is offered to the customers. It is not just restricted
to the physical product a firm offers but it is also related to the overall customer experience
after using the product. When a firm offers any product to its customers then that product
primarily provides three types of benefits to its customers:
 Functional benefits
 Psychological benefits
 Social benefits
In our venture BusYatri, we propose to have different variety of buses which will move
across the Jammu city like the red line, blue line, yellow line etc which will be labelled
depending on the routes they run on. The number of buses per route will be determined by the
density of people travelling from those routes. The main focus of our company is providing
the customers a hassle free and safe ride to their destinations. The BusYatri app will help
people easily book their bus tickets as well as help them in finding the available buses on
their route. For daily commuters who take a specific route everyday there will also be a
provision of bus passes which will save their time as they would no longer have to book
tickets every day. We also plan on having a tourist line of buses which would be specifically
targeting tourists and would ensure that they are taken to all the best tourist locations and
food joints which reflect the culture of Jammu.

PRICE
Price basically refers to the amount of money paid by the consumers for the products offered
by the firm. Pricing is a very important element of marketing mix. If we talk about the Indian
market, it is extremely price sensitive. Thus, the firms have to strategically determine the
prices of their products. The pricing objectives of a firm may be based on different goals
which the firm wants to achieve. They may be as follows:
 Profit maximization
 Obtaining a greater market share
 Survival in a highly competitive market
 Attaining high product quality leadership in the market

Being well aware of the fact that the Indian market is price sensitive we plan to keep the
prices as low as possible to give people a good quality experience at a reasonable price. Our
focus would be to attain a higher share in the market and therefore it makes sense to have
reasonable prices. The prices would be decided based on the distance between two bus
stations and the frequency of travelers on that route. Since presently we are only focusing on
Jammu city so we do not really have to worry much about the competitors. The major
competitors for us will be the auto rickshaws and taxi drivers. But the prices charged by them
are quite exorbitant and so we are providing a very convenient, hassle free and economical
solution to the people in Jammu.

MARKET RESEARCH
Marketing research is defined as the systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of
data relevant to s specific marketing situation facing an organization. Most of the large
organizations have a separate research and development department which carry out the task
of collection and analysis of data. The marketing research process has various steps involved
in it:
 Defining what the problem is and defining your research objectives
 Developing a research plan for collecting the relevant data
 Implementing the research plan by collecting relevant data and analyzing it
 Interpreting the analyzed data

Need analysis of the product/service

Customer need analysis is a process through which the marketers try to understand what are
the requirements of the customers from a product or a service. Customers will make use of
only those products and services which they think add value to their purchase and are value
for money. Therefore, understanding the needs and wants of the consumers is of utmost
importance.
The requirements of the people may differ from one individual to another. For example, in
the context of our service BusYatri, the needs or requirements of the people for which they
choose our service over other services available in Jammu could be the following:
 People might be looking for economical alternatives to the high-priced auto rickshaws
and taxis.
 Some people might be attracted with the ease and convenience of travel which we at
BusYatri strive to provide.
 The ease of finding buses on all routes might appeal to someone
 While someone might be drawn towards our company due to a good and safe travel
experience.
 The kind of inclusive culture in terms of including the transgenders and the
LGBTQIA+ people in our workforce might make an impact in someone’s life and that
could be a reason why they think our company has something different and unique to
offer.
Demand Estimation
Demand estimation under marketing research talks about how the demand for the products or
services changes with a change in the price of the product or service or any other factor
impacting demand. Forecasting of the demand for the products or services helps a firm to
reduce their costs and plan their production optimally. A firm can undertake demand
estimation using various methods, each of which would have their own set of merits and
demerits. We at BusYatri plan to follow the following method to estimate the demand for our
service:
 Consumer Survey
In order to conduct consumer surveys, we will make use of feedback forms,
questionnaires and small interviews in order to collect data from the customers
regarding their overall experience, any inconveniences they may have faced or their
needs or requirements.
One of the challenges this method poses is to convert the qualitative information in
the form of feedback from customers into quantitative information in terms
implementing the changes in the processes involved in providing the service to the
customers.

 Online platforms for conducting experiments

In today’s day and age social media platforms are a very impactful tool when it
comes to positioning your firm’s products or services in the minds of the consumers
or to increase engagement with them. We will make use of platforms like Facebook,
intagram and twitter to conduct small experiments which will help us to understand
people’s requirements and we can accordingly design our service.
For example, if we are able to deduce through the experiments that people prefer to
have AC in the buses and don’t mind paying a slightly higher price for the same, then
we can accordingly equip our buses to be fully air conditioned.

 Regression Analysis
Another statistical tool which will help us in carrying out the demand estimation of
our product would be regression analysis. Regression analysis helps in establishing a
cause- effect relationship between dependent and independent variables. In order to
understand the demand for our services in the market, the demand here will play the
role of the dependent variable while the independent variables could be price, quality
of service, convenience, competitors services etc.
This method would help us in systematically deducing conclusions about the demand
for our services in the market and would aid the qualitative information we receive in
the form of feedback from our customers.