Marketing Strategy

• Product Mix is different products that a company provides.
• Product Range is different types of similar products
• marketing is the management process of identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer demand for profit.
• marketing strategy is methods used by a business to achieve their marketing objectives.
• Product Portfolio Analysis is looking at the range of products and brands that a firm has under its control
• The product life cycle is stages a product will go through in its lifetime.
• Product Life Cycle Stages:

  1. Development
  2. Introduction
  3. Growth
  4. Maturity
  5. Decline
• Development is where a product is designed and market research is analysed to produce a product which will satisfy customer needs.
• Introduction stage is production and promotion costs being high and research will be being tested before launching.
• Growth stage is products enjoying rapid growth in sales and profits.
• Maturity phase is sales stabilising but profits slowly falling
• Decline stage is products may be limited in production and profits/sales have fallen
• Extension Strategies:

  • Updating packaging
  • Adding features
  • Changing target market
  • advertising
  • price reduction
• Updating packaging helps because it is a way to communicate to customers that the product is still relevant and up to date so encourages them to still buy.
• Adding features helps as it may meet the changing needs/expectations of customers so it builds customer loyalty.
• Changing target market helps as it can make a product reach new segments which will increase customer base/market share/sales volume.
• Advertising helps as it encourages new and existing customers to buy more of the product.
• Price reduction will increase sales and it will maintain brand loyalty.
• How introduction phase effects 4 P's:

  1. product- initially one product.
  2. Price- Skimming/penetration.
  3. Place- Limited channels.
  4. Promotion- high promotion/advertising.
• How Growth phase effects 4 P's:

  1. Product- increased production/number of products.
  2. Price- more competitive.
  3. Place- building distribution/more channels.
  4. Promotion- focus on differentiation.
• How Maturity phase effects 4 P's:

  1. Product- Maximum number of products.
  2. Price- competition intensifies.
  3. Place- maximum number of channels for sales max.
  4. Promotion- brand advertisement rather than product advertisement.
• detailed analysis of product portfolio can provide insights into sources of company sales/profits/growth prospects.
• Boston Matrix is marketing planning tool which helps managers plan for a balanced product portfolio.
• Boston Matrix helps managers work out how much to spend on each product.
• 4 parts of Boston Matrix is:

  1. Star
  2. Question Mark
  3. Cash Cow
  4. Dog
• Examples of Star products:

  • tesla
• Examples of Question Mark products:

  • Ipad
  • Iwatches
• Examples of Cash Cow products:

  • Big Mac
  • Dairy Milk
• Examples of Dog products:

  • DVD
  • CD
• Characteristics of Sar product:

  • High market share
  • High market growth
  • growth phase
• Characteristics of Question Mark product:

  • Low market share
  • High market growth
  • introduction phase.
• Characteristics of Cash Cow products:

  • High market share
  • Low market growth
  • Maturity phase
• Characteristics of Dog products:

  • Low market share
  • Low market growth
  • Decline phase
• Benefits of Boston Matrix:

  1. good starting point when reviewing existing product line to decide future strategy and budget.
• Drawbacks of Boston Matrix:

  1. Products may not be low or high
  2. The matrix is too simple
• Marketing Strategies for different markets:

  • Mass Market Strat
  • Niche Market Strat
  • B2B Marketing
  • B2C Marketing
• Mass markets will use TV, Radio, Newspapers and mass media to advertise their products to a high target audience.
• Niche Markets will use specialised magazines, trade fairs, websites and leaflets to advertise products to a smaller subsect of a segment
• B2B marketing advertising needs to be informative rather than persuasive as businesses just deal with other businesses rather than consumers.
• B2C marketing need short advertising messages