MARKETING TAKE HOME

TEST 1
By Jake Tredoux, ST10082026, MAKT5112

OCTOBER 4, 2022
VARSITY COLLEGE
Question 1
“A car cannot function without an engine. It will not start, and it will not move.”
If we compare marketing to a car engine it would be appropriate to describe the exchange
between customers and businesses as the fuel of the engine. The engine being marketing
while a valuable component being the fuel (The exchange).
Exchange is the main component of the marketing process. Exchange is defined as all
activities associated with somebody giving up something in order to receive something.
Many envisage money as being the medium of exchange, this is simply not true. An
exchange can occur with various items not only money.
The exchanges between customers and businesses acts as a fuel to power the engine
(Marketing) which in turn drives economic activity (Which could be compared to the car).
Question 2
Yes, Vodacom is aligned with all four principles of the marketing concept. They demonstrate
this in various ways:
Customer Orientation: Firstly, their purpose is stated as “To connect for a better future”,
this demonstrates concern for their customers. Vodacom have pledged to “Improve the
lives of the next 100million customers and to halve environmental impact by 2025” 1 which
shows Vodacom’s interest in their customer satisfaction. Their 5th strategic ambition “World
class loyalty and customer experience”1 is an indicator that they value their customers
satisfaction and loyalty highly.
Profit Orientation: Their main strategic position is to be Africa’s leading communications
company; this demonstrates their ambition to grow which is fuelled by increasing profit
margins and gaining market share. Their purpose is to connect people which is the main
service they provide hence promoting their product to increase sales and in turn increasing
profit.
Systems Orientation: Vodacom’s strategic positions involve various departments which in
turn demonstrates its marketing departments connection with various other departments.
From its financial department (“Scale financial and digital services”) to its marketing
department (“Trusted brand and reputation”)2. This indicates that Vodacom has a cohesive
environment with regard to their interdepartmental relations.
Social responsibility and green marketing: Vodacom show their social interest via their
purpose of providing digital educational platforms to empower businesses and to create
jobs. Vodacom have also pledged “to improve the lives of their next 100 customers and to
half their environmental impact by 2025”, this demonstrates their concern for the
environment as well as their customers social wellbeing.

1
https://www.vodacom.com/our-purpose.php
1

22
https://www.vodacom.com/our-strategy.php#:%7E:text=Above%20all%2C%20we%20value%20inclusivity,is
%20rooted%20in%20our%20purpose.&text=We%20aspire%20to%20be%20a,with%20the%20least
%20environmental%20impact.
Question 3
3.1)
Product: Skateboards
Price: R3000
Place: Online
Promotion: Instagram Page
3.2)
The No.1 provider of unique imported skateboards that are of the highest quality, the most
manoeuvrable boards that exist worldwide.
3.3.1)
The technological environment is one of the fastest changing environments, as new
products are being invented and developed at a rapid rate. This has an impact on Phile’s
business as he must keep his store updated with the newest technological advancements in
skateboarding to maintain relevance.
3.3.2)
Social trends can have a direct effect on marketing strategies used by Phile’s business, as
trends determine consumers needs and purchasing decisions.
Question 4
4.1)
Need recognition: “She needs to purchase a new car for herself to use to work, drop off her
five-year-old child at school and to run errands.” This is when Sally recognized and became
aware of the need.
Search for information: Sally got assistance from Samantha. This is Sally doing research to be
more informed on the topic at hand (Cars).
Evaluation: Sally has reduced the options down to 3 choices and weighed up her options
against affordability and size to make her decision. She has looked at various options and
made comparisons.
Purchase decision: Sally went to a specific dealership with her husband and purchased the
car of her choice. Thus, she has decided what car dealership to purchase the car from and
has made the purchase.
Post Purchase evaluation: “It has been 3 months and sally is happy with her choice”. This
indicates that she has evaluated since the purchase and is happy with her decision. 3
4.2)

 She needs the car to get to work.

 She needs the car to drop her five-year-old son off at school.

33
Marketing Management, A South African Perspective, 3rd edition, MC CANT & CH VAN HEERDEN (EDITORS),
M MAKHITHA (CONSULTING EDITOR).
Question 5
5.1)
Segmentation is the division of large unspecified group into smaller, specified groups that
are easily identifiable. For example, clothing brands can divide their consumers/customers
into subgroups either based on age or even based on gender.
The act of deciding which consumer group/groups to pursue. Essentially deciding the target
market. For example, a clothing brand may select their target group as teenage women, or
men etc.
Positioning is the formation of a specified image of a product in the eyes of the target
market, via means of advertising and other marketing techniques. A Children’s clothes
company would use advertising in a specific manner in order to create the ideal image to
appeal to their target market.
5.2)
Demographic segmentation: Gender (Ladies and Men’s)
Behavioural segmentation: Membership/loyalty, indicated by the sign in option and the
promotions on offer.
5.3)
Differentiated marketing. As Mr Price appeals to multiple target markets these include
Women, Men, Children, School kids etc.
5.4)
Price positioning. This is indicated by the displaying of prices throughout the advertisement.
These prices are displayed next to clothing items to show the inexpensive nature of the
product. The Question in the centre of the advertisement, “fill up for less?”, indicates that
the consumer can potentially save money as well.
Question 6
6.1)
Core product:
The core product that Mr Price RedX is identifiable fitness attire that can be worn while
exercising by men.
Tangible product:
The tangible product of Mr Price RedX is the fitness clothing itself. The clothing is
distinguished by the label RedX which indicates that it is fitness clothing.
Augmented product:
This includes the physical clothing itself as well as other non-physical attributes. For Mr Price
RedX the main non-physical attribute they offer is online shopping as well as delivery (At an
additional fee).
Potential Product:
A potential product for Mr Price RedX may be fitness shoes/sneakers. This is appropriate as
they supply fitness attire for the rest of the body and could expand on their market if they
released shoes.
Product image:
Consumers view this brand as Mr Price intended. It is viewed as an affordable fitness brand.
6.2)
Image 2:
Shopping products. The product price range is from R129-R189 which is more expensive
than most convenience products. The clothing is also at a price rage where you would still
compare it with other brands before making a purchase, hence you must shop to find the
best option.
Shopping products are further split into two separate categories namely uniform and non-
uniform products. Clothing falls under non-uniform products which means the supplier (Mr
Price) must have wide array of products to satisfy different consumer wants and needs. 3
Thus, based on all this these are shopping products.
6.3.1)
Mr Price should expand their product mix via means of unrelated diversification. Mr Price
which was originally purely a clothing brand has previous experience with unrelated
diversification. This is demonstrated from their expansion into Beauty, School gear and
Novelty Products.
33
Marketing Management, A South African Perspective, 3rd edition, MC CANT & CH VAN HEERDEN (EDITORS),
M MAKHITHA (CONSULTING EDITOR).
As a brand that has a broad target market (Women, Men, Children, Pets etc.), Mr Price has a
large customer base to appeal to. Thus, entering new fields may be risky however, there is a
high chance that a group of consumers will be interested in it regardless.
Mr Price has also shifted to be more of a convenience store and has done so by adding
products that most of their consumers will need at some point in their lives. Thus, they can
further take advantage of this via unrelated diversification.
6.3.2)
They could sell groceries and food (In other words become a grocery and food store).
References:

Textbooks:
 Marketing Management, A South African Perspective, 3 rd edition, MC CANT & CH VAN
HEERDEN (EDITORS), M MAKHITHA (CONSULTING EDITOR).

Websites:

 https://www.vodacom.com/our-purpose.php
 https://www.vodacom.com/our-strategy.php#:%7E:text=Above%20all%2C%20we
%20value%20inclusivity,is%20rooted%20in%20our%20purpose.&text=We%20aspire
%20to%20be%20a,with%20the%20least%20environmental%20impact.
 https://www.mrp.com/en_za/mens
 https://www.mrp.com/en_za/mens/mens/redx