Marketing 2 | EssayIvy.com

Title: Marketing

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Introduction

The success of every business relies on the consumers or the customers. How they feel about the

product, what they know about it, how much willing they are to buy the products produced by a

business among other factors. To determine these factors, the consumers require learning about

the commodity they need to buy. This makes the business of an initiative to tell the customers

why they should buy their products. This is referred to as marketing. Therefore, we can define

marketing as a process or way of informing the existing customers and the future possible

customers the reasons why they should buy the business’s products or services and not the

competitor's product. However, marketing is not performed anyhow and anywhere. To make it

more effective, a business markets its goods and services to the groups of people they feel

requires the products being sold. For instance, companies that manufacture beer and alcohol will

target people who have attained the right age limits and not everyone in the society or in the

country. This is because if they market their goods to the people who have not attained the right

age, the company will incur the marketing cost and at the same time expect zero returns as this

underage individual will not purchase the product (LAKE, 2017).

To ensure proper and efficient Marketing, a business must set or lay out a strategy on how they

will pass their products information to their target market. As a result, marketing applies a simple

principle that is commonly referred to as marketing mix. The principles entail the combining or

bringing together certain marketing variables. These variables are the right products, place of

marketing, time, processes, and promotion of the product, the price of the product, target market,

the people and the physical environment. The marketing mix is commonly practiced based on

several concepts. The commonly used models are the 7P’s model and 4P’s model. However, the

7P model is an extension of the 4P model. (Marketing mix, n.d.)

7P marketing mix model and how it is used by KFC and McDonalds

The 7P model involves the product, the price of the product, promotion of the product, the place

that the product will be distributed to, the process to be used in the marketing of the product, the

physical environment of the product and finally the people to buy and use the product. When

combined, these factors will complete the full process of marketing and the best results or the

marketing goals will be achieved. These 7P are as discussed below.

1. Product

Products the various items that are produced, manufactured or built meet the consumer needs.

The consumer could either be an individual or a group of several people. For the marketing

process to successful, there must be products being produced and these products satisfies the

needs of the intended people. To have the right product, a business should consider various

things such as the main aim of the consumer when buying a product, the manner in which the

consumer will use the product, the location of the consumers, the various sizes that a consumer

may afford to buy, the final look of the product, the name of the product among other things

(Michael J Baker, 2010).

On the marketing strategy of KFC, the company offers a variety of products such sauteed

chicken pieces which are made through a well-established procedure. The company is involved

in chicken selling which is either in the form of salad or packed meat. The company also targets

to soon introduce new products like verge-burger and the verge wrap. On the other hand,

Mcdonald's strategy is to replace the product that has on the market for long with new ones that

will easily fit in the modern fast-changing society.

2. Price

In marketing, the price can be described as the set amount for which one should pay to acquire

the possession of a product or a service. Prices of the products produced to determine the

existence of a business in that it is a major factor in determining the profit that the company will

earn. Also, the manner in which prices are changed either by reducing the prices or increasing

them also determines the number of products that the user or consumer will manage to buy at a

particular time. It helps the buyer decide if they should buy the business's products or the

business competitors’ products. This is because it builds a perception in the buyer's eyes

especially where window shopping is used commonly. The prices are determined by things such

as the production cost, consumer perception of the possible value, competitors’ prices among

other things.

KFC have set their prices well within the range of their customer's ability. The company that

mainly targets the middle class sets the price of the fast moving product is a friendly and

affordable level. This is so as to ensure that the product caters to other products that are not fast

moving. Also when the company introduces new products, it sells them at a low price so that the

customers can have a chance to feel, test and taste the new product. As a result, the new products

start getting customers who will be buying the commodity regularly. On the side of MacDonald,

the company categorizes its products as per their branding, pricing and the affordability. On

some other occasions, they categorize the products according to the consumer's perception

toward a particular product of the McDonalds. This enables a buyer to easily get the product they

wish to buy at a cost price that suits their pockets.

3. Place

This is where the goods of the business are expected to be distributed to. This will, therefore,

require the business to position its products in places where the buyer can easily access them.

The various ways of distributing the products are franchising, intensive, exclusive and selective

distribution. Distribution is determined by among other factors the consumers go to buy the

product, need to sell the good through retailers or through online and if there is a need for the

business to use a particular channel when distributing the goods.

To ensure reduced costs of distribution and time taken before a product reaches the consumers,

KFC has in the previous year’s been opening the company’s branches with the number currently

standing at 500 branches countrywide. This has ensured that many customers have been reached.

Also, it has made it possible for the consumers to buy the products directly from the company

itself with no middlemen being involved. On the other hand, McDonald, have set up branches

throughout the country. It also has established drive-ins along the major and busy roads allowing

customers to buy goods in a convenient manner.

4. Promotion

Product promotion involves advertising, sales promotions, and organizations, word of mouth and

also the public relations by the company. The mode that a company uses to promote its products

is mainly determined by the financial ability of the involved business. Advertising involves the

use of media to pass information to buyers and also potential buyers about a particular product.

On the other hand, public relations involves the communication of by a company about its

products through unpaid channels. These include sponsorship of events such as marathons on

issues affecting the society, or through seminars, press releases and through exhibitions. In

deciding the best way of product promotion, a business considers things such as what

communication model will meet more people being targeted by the business, the various

strategies being employed by the company’s competitors, how many people are likely to meet

through the chosen channels among other things.

To promote its products, KFC applies channels such as television advertisements, radios,

internet, social media, templates, newspapers among other channels. To attract more customers,

the company places its advert mainly on the cover page of the most popular newspapers such as

The Star. Mcdonald Corporation uses toys and cartoons when branding foods prepared for

children. This makes the kids to always have the food items bought for them. The company also

holds competitions which for one to be eligible to participate, they must have a product related to

the company. This makes the customers, both the adults and the kids to buy the products

regularly and large quantities so as to increase their chances of being declared the winners of the

competitions.

5. People

The people are the various individuals who play any role in the marketing process of a

company’s products. These include the people who become the customers of the products

produced by a company. It also involves the business employees who play the role of marketing

the goods. When marketing, a company should evaluate whether the people it is targeting as its

possible customers are enough to keep the company in business. When a business wins the hearts

of a number of people who are convinced that the company’s products fit their needs, the

employees feel encouraged and motivated to work harder so as to get more customers.

KFC requires that its staff be neatly dressed and appropriately when attending to customers. This

is so as to ensure that the customers do not feel embarrassed or mishandled or even create a bad

perception towards the company. At McDonald's, have a company’s uniform to ensure that they

are easily identified by the company and the clients who want to be served at a particular

moment.

6. Process

These are the different models and systems used by a company to market its products. The

processes used in marketing are of great importance as they determine the amount that will be

used in the whole process. KFC allows the customers to inquire about the processes used to

prepare the various type of food. McDonald’s too allow the customers to access the procedures

followed in preparing the foods.

7. Physical evidence or environment

This is the physical information that a company has about the progress of its commodities in the

market. It also consists of the perception the consumers have towards both the business and its

products. This factor determines how the business will brand its commodities. Both KFC and

McDonald put a lot of emphasis on the cleanliness and the hygiene of the product's environment

that is the people who handle the food, the apparatus used to prepare the foods, the general

environment cleanliness among other things.

Roles and responsibilities of marketing functions.

Roles may be described as that one common thing that one must do for remain relevant. The

marketing functions are comprised of 7Ps discussed above. Each of this functions has a certain

role that it must play during the marketing process. These roles may or may not be the same for

two different functions. These roles and responsibilities are as described below.

To begin with, products in marketing serves the role of explaining to the customer the various

features of the product. They also inform the customers what benefits they stand to gain after

using the business products. In addition, a consumer gets enlightened on the various reasons why

they should forego the competitors’ products for the company’s products. For instance, during

the promotion. Red Bull Energy Drinks uses the distinct taste of its commodities while

marketing

The second role and responsibility of the marketing function the place function clearly outlines

where the products are to be sold. It also defines how the goods are to be sold. In addition, this

function allows illustrates the strategies to be followed by the company to achieve its target.

Another marketing function, place plays the role of determining the prices at which the products

are to be sold. This is after consideration of the factors in the production cycle. Taking the case

of Red Bull Energy Drinks, the company sets up many outlets to ensure more people are reached.

Many companies will tend to reduce the prices below that of their competitors while others such

as Red Bull Energy Drinks increases the prices due to the quality of their products (Business

Case Studies, n.d.)

In addition, the function promotion is another key function. It helps in determining the best way

of reaching the intended customers. It also helps to budget for the marketing process and also

determine whether promoting the marketing process will add any value to the business or not.

This function also helps explore the new and innovative ways of promoting the products. These

ways may include doing adverts with activities related to the consumer and which will create an

impression in a customer and which will last for a while.

How the wider organization context is affected by responsibilities and roles of marketing

Marketing in businesses plays a major role that can go unmet. Many believe that if a business

ignores marketing, it will be taking itself to the grave due to low sales resulting in little or no

profits at all. This may then make the company exit the market sometime after it was started, to

avoid this, businesses are advised to market their goods and services for various reasons. But

what really are the roles and responsibilities of doing marketing to an organization? Below are

some of the roles discussed in details.

First among the many roles of marketing to an organization is that marketing helps in building a

new and friendly relationship between the organization and the consumers. As a result, the

organization is able to establish the major needs of the consumers and the manner in which the

needs can be met. Also, it boosts the confidence of an organization in its customers. This enables

the organization to gain more confidence in introducing new products in the market.

Marketing also helps in making an organization remain relevant in the market. This is because,

with the high competitions in the market, the organization that does not market itself and its

product may be forgotten which would make its comeback in the future an uphill task. Therefore

marketing helps to ensure that a company does not become irrelevant in a market whether it is

making profits or loses.

The success of most businesses depends on the amount of profit the company makes. Therefore,

the more sales a company makes, the more profits it will earn. To increase these sales, an

organization has to employ a robust method of reaching new markets and also retaining the

existing market. This is achieved through proper marketing of the products to the customers.

Thus marketing helps in determining the profits an organization makes.

Marketing is an important way of branding an organization. How the company conducts the

marketing process dictates what perception the consumers are going to have towards the

company. For instance, a company that uses public activities for its advertisements stand to gain

more than a company that applies activities that do not really relate to the consumer. Through

these activities that have a personal touch with the consumer, the company is able to receive

first-hand feedback on the possibilities of introducing new products either in the same market or

a different market (Mahea, 2014).

For an organization to meet its goals whether long term or short term, the organization must

ensure a solid base of customers for its products. It must ensure that the organization's products

get illuminated through marketing. Marketing breaths life to a business. It gives the company a

chance to move to another level greater than it is currently. Therefore, organizations must

embrace the art of marketing for them to thrive.

How marketing mix is applied in the process of strategizing the marketing of products by

an organization

There are different ways in which an organization applies the marketing mix to develop a plan

and strategy for the whole marketing process. This strategy is a statement that outlines how the

marketers will present the commodity to be marketed to the intended customers by applying the

market functions. In other words, the strategy must contain the 7Ps in its plan. When the strategy

combines the marketing functions, a clear focus on what a company wishes to achieve. Below

are some ways in which the marketing functions can be applied in planning the whole marketing

process.

First, the marketing functions can be applied to define a suitable or ideal target customer. This is

done by writing down a simple description of who would make a good customer for the product.

This can be based on factors such as gender, age limit among others. This will then be helpful

when drawing the strategy to meet new customers.

Another way that marketing functions can be used to help in marketing planning process is by

establishing the company’s goals and financial ability to conduct the marketing process.

Considering functions such as place one can determine the amount of budget required to conduct

a successful marketing process. With this, an organization is able to weigh its ability to conduct

the marketing process given the factors concerned. The organization will then have a descriptive

model of a plan within the company’s ability. This will then enable the company to hit it's which

as a result will motivate the organization towards higher goals and targets in the future (Liu,

n.d.).

Marketing functions also allow the company to identify the various tactics it can apply to meet

its target customers and also identify which tactics will help the company achieve its objective

quickly. These tactics may include the use of print media, mass media, social media, and word of

mouth among others. With multiple possible tactics, an organization is able to choose a tactic or

tactics which it can apply to meet its objectives hence apply the same in the planning process.

Also with the marketing functions, a company is able to determine what prices the company for

use during the marketing process. It can be applied to differentiate the prices of a company’s

products with those of the competitors. This will avoid the business from placing it prices high

above those of the competitors. This proves how helpful marketing functions can assist during

the planning process. As a result, an optimum price will be set. Also, the sales and profits

objectives of the company will be outlined in a manner that they will be achievable (Lorette,

n.d.).

Basic marketing plan for an organization

A marketing plan is a blueprint in which the marketing plan by the organization for a particular

period of time are outlined. These include the things such as what media to use in the

advertisements, the time for advertisement, the cost of an advertisement in that particular period

of time. The marketing plan also lists the objectives of carrying out the marketing process. As a

result, a company is able to set aside the resources required to conduct the marketing process.

A marketing plan comprises of various things such as the target market, industry trends, goals of

the company, strategies to achieve the set goals, the company’s budget for the stated period,

marketing mix, the company’s strengths and weaknesses and the tactics a company will employ

to penetrate the market. Below is a basic marketing plan McDonald’s corporation.

1. 4P description of the McDonald’s Corporation

McDonald’s Corporation is a renowned food retailer company worldwide which is located in the

United States. Its headquarters are situated in Oak Brook, Illinois. The history of the corporation

dates back to the year 1954. Currently, the company is operating it more than 34000 branches

and outlets in 120 countries and approximately 69 million customers

2. Mission statement

The company’s mission is to become the most desired place for their customers and also to serve

their customers with high professional quality services and skills, cleanliness and on time.

3. Vision statement

The company’s vision is “be the best quick service cafeteria and experience supported by a set of

core values and guiding principles”

4. Strengths of the McDonald’s

McDonald’s corporation has a huge geographical area than its competitors hence more customers

and higher returns. Also, due to its financial ability, the company has a consistent and sustainable

economic growth, unlike its competitors. This has largely enabled the company to continuously

expand its geographical base.

5. Weaknesses of the McDonald’s

The McDonald’s corporation has not invested largely on innovations. Also, despite its huge

financial muscle, its rate of growth in terms of the market is very low.

6. Opportunities for the McDonald’s

With the current social media and technology advancements, the company can utilize this to

market itself and its products. In addition, the company can take product diversity as an

opportunity for itself.

7. Threats facing the McDonald’s

Being operational in many countries means that the company relies on the market stabilities of

all these countries. If either of the markets becomes unstable or fluctuates, it will pose a threat to

the company

8. Competitors of the McDonald Corporation

The company faces competition from various companies it has ventured into. These companies

include the Starbucks which 27000 outlets across 75countries, Yum Brands Inc. which has

44000 outlets in 175 countries. Other competitors include Chipotle, Subway, Panera and

Wendy’s

9. The target market the McDonald’s Corporation

The McDonald Corporation targets every person. However, due to the different varieties of the

products they offer, the company categorizes its customers depending on their ages

10. Strategies that the McDonald’s Corporation aims to apply

To ensure that the McDonald’s Corporation, the management plans to get into new markets and

also penetrate deeper into the already existing markets. This will be made a success through the

introduction of various ways of promoting the corporation and its products. The corporation also

wishes to implement the customer's wishes and also attend to their concerns.

11. Budget the McDonald’s Corporation wishes to use in marketing

According to (Hume, 2014) the McDonald’s Corporation, spent around $988 million on

marketing. However in the data of the current year is unavailable

12. 4M’s of the McDonald’s Corporation

The McDonald’s Corporation offers food item to its customers who are people from all walks of

life. That is people of all genders, races, class, age, among other categories. The company then

uses various Medias such as television, newspaper, internet and other Media to pass the message

of its products. The message mainly entails a simple product description of the foods sold by the

company, usefulness of the foods to the consumer, the prices of the foods offered, the location of

their outlets among other things.

D2 marketing plans of the McDonald’s Corporation

The company target every person to become their customer. However, it puts more emphasis on

children aged 11 years and below (Doyle and Stern, 2006). This is after realizing that the

purchasing goals of many parents are to buy products that will please their children and also

meets the children needs.

To evaluate Sales analysis, one considers determining the company’s sales and the number of

customers involved. One also considers the particular products sold in a certain defined location.

This will help the business to understand the places where targets have been achieved and where

they have not.

The market share evaluation is done by examining the sector share, relative share, annual

fluctuations and the market share. This will help a company understand the market stability.

The company should analyze various ratios involving the company such as gross contributions,

and net contributions to evaluate the company’s monetary inquiry

To analyze the expenditure of the company, one should consider the marketing expenses to sale

made ratio. This enables the business to understand if it is making profits or loses.

Conclusion

Marketing is an important variable in every business or organization. It is a way of informing the

customers about various aspects of a good while the marketing mix is a combination of the

things involving a certain product such as price, place, customers, promotion, product, process

and the physical evidence. These marketing mix factors are applied to develop a market plan.

The marketing plan is the blueprint of how an organization will undertake its marketing program

and the resources it may require to develop the plan. A marketing plan is an important thing in

marketing as it ensures efficiency of the marketing programs.

References

Business Case Studies, n.d. The role of the marketing function. [Online]

Available at: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/red-bull/engaging-consumers-through-word-of-

mouth-marketing/the-role-of-the-marketing-function.html

[Accessed 2018 march 2018].

Hume, S., 2014. McDonald's spent more than $988 million on advertising in 2013. [Online]

Available at: https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Bite/2014/0330/McDonald-s-spent-

more-than-988-million-on-advertising-in-2013

[Accessed 18 march 2018].

LAKE, L., 2017. A Beginner's Guide to Marketing. [Online]

Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-marketing-2296057

[Accessed 17 Mar 2018].

Liu, I., n.d. How to Identify the Marketing Mix for a Marketing Plan. [Online]

Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/identify-marketing-mix-marketing-plan-30451.html

[Accessed 28 march 2018].

Lorette, K., n.d. How to develop a marketing strategy and marketing mix for a product. [Online]

Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/develop-marketing-strategy-marketing-mix-

product-3284.html

[Accessed 18 march 2018].

Mahea, T., 2014. The Role of Marketing in Organizations –. [Online]

Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140915080650-84228363-the-role-of-

marketing-in-organizations-by-timothy-mahea

[Accessed 18 March 2018]

Marketing mix, n.d. Marketing Mix Definition of the 4P's and 7P's. [Online]

Available at: http://marketingmix.co.uk/

[Accessed 17 Mar 2018].

Michael J Baker, M. S., 2010. business and economics. In: marketing theory. s.l.: sage

Doyle, P. and Stern, P. (2006). Marketing management and strategy. Harlow: Financial Times

Prentice Hall.

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