The Partners of Veterans Association of Australia Incorporated - Case Study Example

Introduction Marketing is the process of preparation and execution of a strategy that will get goods and services to the potential buyers in the market, (Stolley & Karl, 2013). It is comprised of components referred to as the “the four P’s” (Product, price, promotion and place). First, product is the goods and/or services that a specific enterprise supplies; it is pigeonholed by quality, packaging, assortment and guarantees. Secondly, price is the value of the products and/or services. Thirdly, promotion is the way in which an enterprise creates awareness of the products and services it offers. Lastly, place (distribution) is how the products or services are brought to the customers; it constitutes of the wholesalers, retailers, sales representatives and multi-level marketers. These components of marketing are further defined as set of techniques and tools that societal enterprises adopt in order to attain their organizational objectives (Adcock, Halborg, Caroline & Ross, 2001). Consequently, choosing the correct product or service and marketing it to provide for The Partners of Veterans Association of Australia Inc. requires that one to carefully consider the factors revolving around “the four P’s” BACKGROUND STUDY The Partners of Veterans Association of Australia Inc. is company founded on 1999 with the aim of restoring hope, offering emotional support and friendship towards members of the family who had lost their loved ones but mostly in the line of duty. PVA’s primary perception is that there must always be a connection to signify this formerly neglected and at-risk team. Consequently, PVA considers it is crucial that no Associate ever seems abandoned, beaten or most of all, completely alone. This Organization provides assistance, relationship, details and knowing from individuals in the same situation. They are cautious in viewing for any changes that the got of the day may present that are damaging to you or your loved one's wellness, way of life and well-being. The association is a non charitable unit and an NGO’ (non governmental Organization). The organization is entirely run by volunteers. The group is not funded by the government. The Partners of Veterans Association of Australia inc. was the first company to acknowledge the needs of partners and family. The setting of the Partners of Veterans Association can be described as a community that is encumbered with risks such as retirement, medical and loss of life. Consequently, in a setting like the Partners of Veterans Association of Australia Inc. the best product to offer is an insurance policy. However, in order to come up with the precise product or service that will fit this type of setting, it is important to determine market objectives that will be able to steer the process of choosing the product, deciding the correct price, correct strategies for promotion and place. Determining marketing objectives Marketing objectives play the role of a steering wheel in a business setting. They define what you want to achieve in your marketing endeavors. When establishing effective marketing objectives, a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time specific also known in short as ‘SMART’, approach is applied for effectual management of marketing strategies (David, Wiley & Sons, 1988). . As a result, the marketing objectives for the insurance policy aspired to be introduced to the Partners of Veterans Association Inc. for the period ending January 2014 - January 2015 include: Raise awareness of the insurance policy by 50% Reach sale targets of £50,000 Sell more than 60,000 policies. Secure an average gross profit margin of 16% For successful marketing, the marketing objectives should touch on every aspect of the marketing mix. Subsequently, after modulating the precise marketing objectives, it is important to define the strategies that would be employed for each market mix. Below are several market strategies in correspondence to each market mix. PRODUCT STRATEGY Product/Service Feature and Benefits Rationale: The successful products and services are those that yield more benefits to buyers than the original costs. Therefore, understanding the features and benefits of the products and services assists in developing a stanch marketing campaign by stressing the aspects that are even more important to your buyers. In addition to a firm marketing campaign, it will also assist in creating a gap between the competitors and affect various pricing and positioning strategies. Features are the traits of a product or service that bring a benefit. They can be described by attributes such as size, model, color, design, functionality, brand, quality among others. Benefits are harder to point out as they are in most cases intangible. However, the most compelling benefits of a product or service are the ones that render either emotional or financial rewards or both. Subsequently, nurturing the correct insurance policy for the Partners of Veterans Association Inc. should be able to bring more benefits to the prospective customers despite its features. However, during the process of formulating ways of ensuring that there is more to benefits than the features of the insurance policy, it is important to check on factors such as the product life cycle and product position PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE Rationale: The product’s life cycle is the methodology through which an item enters, develops, immerses, and leaves the business sector. Throughout the life compass of the insurance policy, reformulating a promoting methodology a few times—not just as an after effect of progressions in economic situations or new contenders additionally according to changes in clients' investment and necessities for the deal. The four phases of an item's life cycle are presentation, development, maturity, and fester (David, Wiley & Sons, 1988). Each of the stages is stamped by particular attributes. PRODUCT POSITIONING Rationale: Positioning characterizes items and products with respect to competitions. Checking on the characteristics and profits of items or administrations against those of your rivalry helps you see where you might possibly have a similar playing point. Finishing a positioning activity is a piece of the expository methodology of figuring out the item modus operandi. The data got may lead to making particular changes to product characteristics, dispersion, or cost to addition a relative focal point against a certain competitor. Then again, if a competitor is especially overriding, you may utilize this positioning data to move out of a given business. Distribution Strategy The distribution (place) strategy expresses how you will get the products and services to the target customers. If your clients are entrepreneurs, distribution is an important component of easenning a general constraint the self-employed poor countenance—acquiring access to markets. A good submission technique should deal with efficacy, efficiency, cost, and customer support. Implication for distribution strategy: Focus on professional revenue agents as the main method for reaching retail submission programs. Sales employees will also take over a portion of institutional channels; other methods will complement the revenue employees. Price Strategy Pricing products or services is the linchpin of stability and, thus, one of the most important company choices you will create. The key is setting a cost your target buyers are willing to pay for your products or services that at a minimum gets back your costs and ideally produces a profit for your social company (Kotler, Philip & Keller, 2012). No area in the company strategy can be finished in total solitude, and this is especially true for cost. Expenses choices are based on your costs, the effect of competitors and the client's understanding of your items’ or service’s value and the amount they are willing to pay for it. This area provides a structure for creating a cost strategy for your company. The choices you create later in your recruiting and functions plans will also have a keeping on cost, which may require coming back to this area when you prepare your final business strategy. PRICE ELASTICITY AND SENSITIVITY Rationale: Understanding how sensitive your industry is to changes in cost helps you determine how much “wiggle space,” or price elasticity, you have to raise your costs. Aspects that influence cost flexibility are supply and demand: the accessibility to the products or services and of good alternatives, their specific costs, and the extent to which the products or services is desired. If ample provide exists through opponents and alternatives, which puts downward pressure on your cost (David, Wiley & Sons, 1988). On the other hand, if requirement is great for products or services, exceeding what can be supplied through opponents and alternatives, cost flexibility is great, meaning that you will have space to increase costs. Customer purchasing energy and endurance (ability to do without a given item or service) are other elements that contribute to cost sensitivity STRATEGIES FOR ESTABLISHING PRICE Developing a low cost on one or more products to create quick product sales that will support another item in growth. This technique improves income, even though it might mean a net loss for the period. Setting the cost to meet a preferred benefit or product sales objective, indicated in the marketing goals. Establishing a higher cost to create great earnings originally. This technique is used to restore research and growth costs or to increase product sales on an starting item before opponents get into the market. Promotion Strategy The overall purpose of your marketing technique is to play a role toward achieving the marketing goals. It is the vehicle for telling your focus on audience about your business and the items or solutions it is offering in the marketplace (Hochbaum, Centeno, Yelland, & Catena, 2011). Although many public businesses place significant focus on providing items or solutions appropriate for their focus on audience, surprisingly, few focus on increasing awareness of their existence once they are available in the marketplace (Kotler, Philip & Keller, 2012).. Gaining clients through marketing initiatives is a critical piece of the stability formula, and it requires cash. The original budget assigned significant cash to training and supplies but included zero sources for marketing. It is an error to assume clients will instantly become conscious of your items, and of the benefits they offer, without an organized strategy to provide these details (Guiltinan et al & McGraw, 1996). Since cash in public business forum is always limited, your marketing technique must be developed with care and creativeness. A promotion plan articulates: How to raise customer awareness of your products or services? What message to convey to your customers. Specific methods to use for delivery and reinforcement of message. How to secure sales. THE SALES PLAN The sales plan aligns quantitative targets with the sales forecasts in marketing objectives (Kotler, Philip & Keller, 2012). Annual sales plans are segmented by product and broken down into monthly or quarterly figures. Subsequently, monthly sales projections are made for individual sales representatives. Setting targets and accomplishing them are a function of your sales structure and strategy (David, Wiley & Sons, 1988). The sales plan requires giving thought to the division of sales territory; time for sales calls, new-customer acquisition, and servicing products; number of personnel; and seasonality of business cycles and capabilities of individual sales agents. Targets for individual sales reps should be delineated for a certain time period by product, revenue, volume, customers, or a combination thereof (Hochbaum, Centeno, Yelland, & Catena, 2011). Consequently, the above sales plan method will be applied in the Partners of Veterans Association Inc. setting. CONCLUSION Customers are increasingly important (Hochbaum, Centeno, Yelland, & Catena, 2011). Consequently, for any business to be successful, it is important to make sure that the wants of the prospective buyers are met. This can be done by critical evaluation of the target market, making sure that the benefits of your products surpass the features of the product, assuring the prospective buyers of quality of your product (Chekitan & Schultz, 2005). Subsequently, the insurance policy introduced to the Partners of Veterans Association Inc. will be successful if all the strategies of the market mix explained herein are adopted. The table below summarizes the market mix and segmentation. Marketing Stimuli Environmental Stimuli Buyer's Characteristics Buyer's Decision Process Buyer's Decisions Product Economic Cultural Problem Recognition Product Choice Price Technology Social Information Search Brand Choice Promotion Political Personal Evaluation Dealer Choice Place Cultural Psychological Purchase Decision Purchase Timing Post Purchase Behaviour Purchase Amount REFFERENCES Adcock, Dennis; Al Halborg, Caroline Ross (2001). "Introduction". Marketing: principles and practice. Developing Business Strategies, David A. Acker, John Wiley and Sons, 1988 Hochbaum, Moreno, Yelland, and R.A. Catena. Rating Customers According to Their Promptness to Adopt New Products 2011 Dev, Chekitan S.; Don E. Schultz (January/February 2005). "In the Mix: A Customer-Focused Approach Can Bring the Current Marketing Mix into the 21st Century". Marketing Management Kotler, Philip & Keller, L. Kevin (2012). Marketing Management. Pearson Education Limited 2012 Kotler, Armstrong, Philip, Gary. Principles of Marketing. pearson education. Marketing Management: Strategies and Programs", Guiltinan et al., McGraw Hill/Irwin, 1996 "Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning". University of Southern California. Retrieved 21 May 2013. Stolley, Karl 2013. "Primary Research". Purdue Online Writing Lab.. Read More