Products – 4Ps in Pulse Candy: Sustaining the Brand Differentiation

Case

4 Stages of Product Management as part of Marketing Process

Identification of Opportunity – Market research and customer research to identify the needs of the
customers that Pulse Candy can cater to with its present and acquired resources.

Design and Testing –customer value proposition, regulatory requirements, skills and resources,
opportunities for differentiated positioning, and profitability.

Pulse Candy Product Launch –pricing, communication strategy, distribution channel management,
and building infrastructure to provide post purchase services.

Product Life Cycle Management of Pulse Candy products – manage the life cycle of the product
through its various stages such as – introduction, growth phase.

Pricing: Depends on product, place and promotion. High Awareness, if innovative product then it can
add premium to price.
Marketing Mix of Pulse Candy: Sustaining the Brand Differentiation
– Definition & Explanation

Neil Borden of Harvard Business School first used the term “Marketing Mix” to explain the set of
activities that a firm uses to execute its marketing strategies. According to Neil Border, organizations
blend the various elements of marketing mix into a marketing strategy that helps the organization to
compete and developed a differentiated positioning in the market place.

The 12 core elements of Neil Borden Marketing Mix are -

1 - Servicing,
2 - Pricing,
3 - Packaging,
4 - Promotions,
5 - Channels of Distribution,
6 - Display,
7 - Personal Selling,
8 - Marketing Research – Fact Finding and Analysis,
9 - Branding,
10 - Physical Handling - Logistics,
11 - Merchandising – Product Planning ,
12 - Advertising

Consolidation of 12 elements of Marketing Activities into 4Ps of Marketing Mix

Jerome McCarthy consolidated the 12 elements of marketing mix and other critical component into a
simplified framework – 4Ps of Marketing Mix.

What are the 4P’s of Marketing Mix

The 4Ps of Marketing Mix are -

1. Product – The products Pulse Candy is making or are in the pipeline to capture potential markets.

2. Price – Pricing strategy that Pulse Candy is pursuing in various customer segments it is operating in.
3. Place (Channels of Distribution ) – Distribution mix of Pulse Candy has taken a new dimension with
the emergence of Online Retailing & domination of players such as Amazon.

4. Promotion (Communication Strategy of Pulse Candy) – The emergence of social media and online
advertising has changed the landscape of Pulse Candy communication mix and communication
strategy.

Products – 4Ps in Pulse Candy: Sustaining the Brand Differentiation

Case
In marketing strategy, product is not viewed as a tangible product, but the source of value to be
delivered to the customers. Value to the customers of Pulse Candy can be delivered in numerous
ways such as – priming and pre purchase education provided by sales staff, installation and repair
services, physical product , point of sale equity, quality assuring brand name, word of mouth
references, financing plans to purchase the products, convenience of availability etc.

These numerous ways to understand product concept provide marketing managers of Pulse Candy an
opportunity to differentiate its overall value proposition from that of the competitors.

4 Stages of Product Management as part of Marketing Process

Identification of Opportunity – Market research and customer research is done to identify the needs
of the customers that Pulse Candy can cater to with its present and acquired resources.

Design and Testing – Product is designed based on the value proposition that customers are seeking
and one that Pulse Candy can deliver. The key consideration regarding product design and testing are
– customer value proposition, regulatory requirements, Pulse Candy skills and resources,
opportunities for differentiated positioning, and profitability.

Pulse Candy Product Launch – It includes decision regarding pricing, communication strategy,
distribution channel management, and building infrastructure to provide post purchase services.

Product Life Cycle Management of Pulse Candy products – Once the product is launched the
company needs to manage the life cycle of the product through its various stages such as –
introduction, growth phase, cash cow stage, and finally decline stage.

Product Line Planning Decision

There are three major product line planning decisions that Pulse Candy can take – Product Line
Breadth decision, Product Line Length decision, and Product Line Depth decisions. Some of the
considerations that marketing managers at companyname need to take while making product line
decisions are –

1. Will the product will be viewed completely different from the existing products of the firm and how
much is the risk of cannibalization of the present brands by a new brand.
2. Does the product launch or product extension launch satisfy potential customer needs and wants
in a way that can deliver profits to the firm.

3. How the new product brand launch will impact the overall brand equity of the Pulse Candy present
brands and products. For example often launching a no frill product may end up impacting the image
of the company as an innovator in the field. This is one of the reason why Apple stopped selling its
plastic phones as it negatively impacted the image of the company as a deliverer of superior
hardware products.

Product Line Breadth Decision for Pulse Candy

As the position of Pulse Candy in its industry well established it can expand to the adjacent segments
where the customers are using complimentary products from other brands to get the maximum value
out of the products.

Product Line Length of Pulse Candy

The decision regarding product line has to be balanced between complexity of the present products
and service required, and available niche space available in the market place. From my perspective at
present Pulse Candy should stick with the present merchandise mix rather than launching new
products to expand the product line.

Product Line Depth of Pulse Candy

These are decisions regarding how many different Stock Keeping Units (SKU) of a given product. For
example Apple has its iPhone in various colors even though the hardware and software is the same.

Product - Broad Recommendations

1. Pulse Candy can stop selling the products that are either not profitable or not creating enough
differentiation from the existing products.

2. Pulse Candy can think of ways - how features and value can be added to existing brands that help
them in consolidating and increasing their market position.

3. Pulse Candy can try to reposition the products from the existing brands within one line.

4. Pulse Candy can introduce a new brand in the existing product line or it can strive to establish a
whole new product line.

Pricing – 4Ps of Marketing Pulse Candy: Sustaining the Brand

Differentiation
Pricing is a highly complex activity and we will cover only a very limited aspect of what goes into
pricing decisions. To a large extend pricing depends upon the other 3Ps of marketing – product, place
and promotion. Conceptually perceived value is the maximum price a customer is willing to pay for
Pulse Candy product in the given competitive context.
Cost Base Pricing
Under cost based pricing strategy – Pulse Candy can work out what it takes to produce the product
and put a markup based on profit it wants earn. In a highly competitive strategy with dynamic pricing
the strategy may not be feasible. For example Uber running losses in billions can provide lower prices
and sustain compare to individual taxi service provider who is not backed by private equity and long
term strategy.

Value Base Pricing

Value Base Pricing is a pricing strategy which is based on customer perception of value. It inculcates
put the number on both tangible and intangible benefits with a clear understanding of elasticity of
demand and competitive pressures.

Market Penetration Pricing

Pulse Candy can employ this pricing strategy where it launch a new product either at loss or at very
low margin to get a foothold in the segment.

Market Skimming Pricing

For certain well established brands, Pulse Candy can increase the prices as customers can pay higher
price.

Good Value Pricing

Offering right mix of product features, quality, and service combination at fair price. For example
offering a limited frill option - customers can have initial product experience at an accessible price.
GoPro use this strategy extensively.

Competition Based Pricing

The pricing strategy is based on the competition in the market. Under this strategy Pulse Candy focus
is to match the prices of the competitors and focus on reducing the cost of operations to increase
profitability.

Pricing Recommendation
Based on the evidences at hand – we can choose the following pricing strategy

High Brand Awareness – The brand of Pulse Candy is well respected in the market so it can fetch a
slight premium over the other competitive brands.

Innovative Product – With advanced features the product is perceived as innovative in the current
market context. A slight premium price will not only emphasize the features of the products but also
stops other players entering into the present segment. A high premium price may attract new
entrants and thus lower the profitability.
Place – Distribution Channels - 4Ps in Pulse Candy: Sustaining the
Brand Differentiation Case
Place or Distribution Channel is a set of processes through which Pulse Candy delivers its products to
the customers. Distribution & Marketing channels fulfill various purposes such as – providing product
quality assurance, providing extensive product assortment using product line – breadth, length, and
depth, reducing purchase lot size thus enabling opportunities for individual customers to buy
products, logistics, enabling product customization options at the point of sales, easy availability of
the products to end consumers , providing customers information about the products ,and after sales
services and installation services.

Designing Channels of Distribution for Pulse Candy

There are two major Channel of Distribution related decision criteria –

1. Channel Design
Pulse Candy needs to choose whether it wants to implement a distribution system which is – Direct,
Indirect, or Both. The channel design decision involves - understanding of customer value
proposition, current customer convenience points, length breadth and depth of Pulse Candy product
line, and competitors’ distribution systems.

Direct Distribution System – Pulse Candy putting its own direct distribution channel and reach directly
to the customers. It can be through opening its own stores or just selling all the products online.

Indirect Distribution System – Pulse Candy including channel partners such as wholesalers, retailers,
logistics companies, and distribution agents.

Hybrid Distribution System – Pulse Candy should implement a hybrid model where the critical aspect
of distribution system are managed by Pulse Candy, and secondary functions such as logistics,
warehousing, store management etc are delegated to various channel partners.

2. Channel Management
Channel management is about managing various power centers within the delivery system and
managing them based on bargaining power of each player in the value chain. The channel
management from marketing perspective can be done considering three critical aspects –

Per Unit Cost of Stocking – If the cost is high then Pulse Candy needs channel partners which can
pool in resources. Otherwise Pulse Candy can do the operations on its own.
Customer Willingness to Search & Travel to Purchase Good – If the customer willingness is high then
company has a strong brand awareness and brand loyalty. Pulse Candy can design favorable channel
policies vis a vis channel partners.

Market Development Requirement – One of the most prominent functions of channel is market
development. If Pulse Candy needs higher market development efforts then it is sensible to include
channel partners who have know how and skills to expand into new markets.

Promotion - Marketing Communication

Promotion Mix or Integrated Marketing Communication strategy is a mix of various promotion tools
that are at disposal of Pulse Candy. They are – Advertising, Sales Promotion, Personal Selling,
Public Relations, and Direct Marketing.

Pulse Candy can use all these five communication tools to persuasively communicate to customer –
existence of the product, price of the product, differentiating features of the product, places where
people can buy the products, and finally how consumers can effectively use the products or services.

6M Model of Marketing Communication Strategy for Casename

With the increase importance of online advertising and social media role in product promotion, 6M
Model of marketing communication has become a critical marketing tool in hands of marketing
manager and promotion strategist to measure marketing efforts impact. The 6M of Marketing
Communication Strategy Model are –

Market – The target segment – current or potential, at which the marketing communication efforts
are aimed at.

Mission – What are the goals and Key Performance Indicators of the marketing communication
strategy.

Message – What are the specific aspects – brand awareness, product features etc, that Pulse Candy
wants to communicate to its target customers.

Media – Which are the most effective media vehicle that Pulse Candy can use to convey its message
to its target market.

Money – Like all other organizations, Pulse Candy has limited marketing resources so it has to figure
out how it needs to spend to get the best outcome based on specified objectives.

Measurement – How is the promotion campaign impact is measured. It can vary from brand to brand
within the organization. For example – new product campaign can be measured on spreading brand
awareness, while existing product marketing campaign can be measured on repeat purchase or
product recall.
Email Marketing for Pulse Candy
Email Marketing is form a direct marketing approach that Pulse Candy can take to directly reach out
to its potential customers. Email Marketing can help the Pulse Candy to reach out high probability
prospects based on the data collected by the company using its kiosks, trade marketing, and
customer survey.

Search Engine Marketing

Another popular form of advertising vehicle that has emerged in the last decade and half is search
engine marketing where advertisements are shown to the customers based on their search history
and browsing history. Like email advertising this can result in relevant advertising to high potential
prospective customers who are already interested into products and looking for information
regarding it.