Marketing Mix Elements of Boost Company - Essay Example

Introduction Boost Company is a company that is the manufacturer of juice drinks and snacks. It started as a single and small retail outlet but expanded its operations and up to now it’s operating in more than 14 countries. Among the products of the company include fruit flavored Slushie concentrates, juice watermelon, green apple and orange squeeze (Boost Company 2012). The aim of this paper is to present the results of the marketing audit I did at Boost Company about its marketing mix. Marketing mix is the combination of 4ps which are the product, place, promotion and price (Dev & Schultz 2005). For any organization, marketing mix is the basic element that should be considered when managing the performance of the organization. In the modern business, the degree of competition for the market share is high among the organizations of the same industry and therefore every organization is much concerned on it can gain the competitive advantage. Marketing mix serve as a tool for marketing managers to design the objectives of marketing and how to achieve them. It further aims at finding a solution to customers’ demands, the customers cost, convenience and communication of the product between the manufacturer and the customers. Therefore in this report I will discuss on the four marketing mix elements of Boost Company and how it has helped the company to be unique in the market and gain competitive advantage. Further, I will discuss what the company is doing different from the competitors in terms of marketing mix to improve its performance. The marketing mix The product As stated above, Boost Company manufactures and distributes bottled drinks in the Australian market and other countries. The products include orange squeeze, juice watermelon, green apple and bottled drinks among many others. The product as a marketing mix include the features like quality of the products, their features, their design, style, the products’ packaging, innovation of the product and the labeling of the products (Randall 2001). Boost Company manufactures and distributes quality products to the customers than the competitors and this has enabled the company to maintain its market share. Customers are conscious about the quality of the products they buy and compare the satisfaction they derive from the product and their expectations. In this regard the boost company has been able to meet the product quality requirements which has attracted and retained many customers thus the company is able to compete effectively for the market share. Boost Company manufactures products of different features to meet the different customers’ needs. For instance the color for the green apple is different from color of the juice water Mellon being Mallon. Therefore these different features have met the customer different demands and likes. This is because customers purchase products according to the different features thus the boost company meets the different expectations of customers in terms of features (Dev & Schultz 2005). Packaging of the products of the boost company helps to attract and maintain customers. The packaging of the products is done in different sizes that is small, medium and big sizes to meet the different customer requirements of the customers. The customers aim at maximizing their income and therefore will purchase the product in line the budget constraint. Furthermore the packaging is done attractively by drawing beautiful and attractive features on the package container for instance the bottle for boost water is written love life which attracts the attention of the customer to have a look at it and in the process he or she may decide to buy it. The products of Boost Company are also well labeled to differentiate one product from another. This labeling is as a result of innovation of the employees (Randall 2001). Each package bottle is labeled Boost so that the customer will differentiate the company’s products from other products in the market. The labeling is attractively made to attract the attention of the customers for instance the juice is labeled boost juice melon which implies that the juice is made of watermelon. This first glance gives the customer an opportunity to know what the juice is made of thus make a decision to further look at it. In the process the customer can be influenced to buy the product and this labeling innovation has enabled the company to attract and maintain more customers. On the other hand, boost company brand name is stands out in the market. For a long time now the company has been known to offer good quality products which meet the customer demands and this image has helped it to maintain its market share (Randall 2001). All the products of the company are labeled Boost which is a favorite company for many customers. The brand name Boost itself is attractive because it attracts the eyes of the customers to take a step and know about this boost product and in the process maybe influenced to buy and thus the brand name has enabled the company to increase its sales. The place The place of the product is the physical distribution of the products. It is concerned with delivering the product to the customers’ disposal and at the right time in the right quantity. Boost Company has been able to achieve competitive advantage through the physical distribution of the products. The company has managed to use channels of distribution that meets the customers’ demands as well as adding value. Boost Company uses channels of distribution involving agency which ensure that the customers get the products at the right time. The company has made marketing decisions which have helped to gain competitive advantage in the market by using selected retail outlets which then distributes the products to consumers. Boost Company uses channels of distribution which involve middlemen. There are some specific retail outlets through which the company distributes its products (Ahmed & Rafique 2002). For instance there is retail outlet at Riverside at Bruce cafe and Riverside new agency. There is another retail outlet at Delran at Bagel’s café, Mike’s pizza and Bella pizza. These outlets ensure that the product is readily available to customers to meet their demands. This channel of distribution has enabled the company to stand out in the market because the Competitors products are not readily available in the market and customers travel to look for the product which is inconvenience. The Boost Company practices effective inventory management to ensure that they don’t run out of stock and that customers fail to get their products as per their needs (Lings 2000). Through forecasting, the company has been able to project the demands of the consumers early in advance and they have been able to maintain inventory in the stores which meets the customer demands in terms of quantity. In this regard they ensure that their products are available to at the right place and at the right time to avoid inconveniencing the customers. Furthermore, the company has been effective in the processing of orders by the customers. Sometimes the customers do make special orders of the products they want with the company for special occasions like the wedding occasions. Due to the company’s customer oriented strategies, they process the orders in agreement with the customers as well as delivering the products to the customers as stipulated in the agreement. This order processing has enabled the company to meet customer quality and quantity demands thus it has attracted many customers than the competitors because of their quality services delivery to customers. The transportation mediums used by Boost Company to transport the products are not costly. They use vehicles and trucks to transport the products to their retail outlets and this medium boost the convenience of the product to the customer’s exposure (Lings 2000). Costly medium of transport like the air transport could cost more than the road transportation and these costs are shifted to consumers. Therefore the transportation channels used by the company are economical and they don’t add costs to the customers. Pricing of the products The pricing strategy used by Boost Company is the competitive pricing. Due to the competition from other firms in the same production, the company adjusts its price for the products so as to be competitive (Baker 2000). The price is neither too high to make abnormal profits nor too low to make losses. The pricing strategy enables the company to make sufficient profits as well as attracting and maintaining many customers. For instance the Boost water Bottle costs $5.95 while the Boost 'enviro cup' costs $9.95. This price is not expensive and can be afforded by most customers (Dev & Schultz 2005). Further, the company prices the products differently according to quantity of purchase. The retail price is different from the consumer price and it is slightly lower. This pricing strategy helps to attract many retail outlets to the company’s product than the competitors and this improves the sales of the company through retail outlets. This retail pricing is competitive with firms which manufacture the same products (Dev & Schultz 2005). The company also offers the quantity discounts to retail and consumer customers. The customers are given some discounts when they purchase products in large quantities (Dev & Schultz 2005). These quantity discounts can be in financial or non financial. Trade discounts attract and retain customers in any organization and Boost Company is not exception. The buyers are conscious of their money and would like to maximize their income to satisfy their needs. Boost Company practices price flexibility strategy. This strategy of adjusting the price for the products caters for the financial needs of the customers. When the economy of the country is in recession, the company adjusts prices to meet the budget constraints of the customers and when the economy of the country is good, the company prices its products slightly higher than the actual price because the customers can afford to buy the products as they don’t strain with their income. This strategy attracts and retains customers because the company is perceived to cater for the financial constraints of the customers (Joseph 2011). Pricing description is another strategy used by the company. The target market has been segmented into different segments and each segment has its own needs and prices for the same products are charged differently in different segments. The market is segmented into high income earners who could be public servants and low income earners who work as casuals. High income earners pay high for the same product than low income earners and this pricing strategy helps to balance the overall pricing strategy of competitive pricing. Promotion of the products Boost Company has been applying various marketing strategies to promote their products. The company has used product communication channels as promotional strategies, advertising sales promotions, good public relations and personal selling decisions (Joseph 2011). Boost Company has been able to effectively communicate its products to the customers hence many customers are a ware of the company’s products. The company has effectively used the promotional strategies to communicate the existence of the products to its consumers (Joseph 2011). The company has used strategies like pull and push strategy to communicate the product and its features to the customers. These strategies have enabled the company to attract customers and maintain them because these strategies are not too costly to increase the price of the products. The company has been using various forms of advertisements to create awareness of its products. Advertisements are made in Televisions networks like the seven television network. Through this channel of advertisement, the company has been able to create much awareness of the products because a large number of customers can afford Televisions (Randall 2001). Further the advertisements are made through posters which are strategically located at places where the customers can be attracted to have a look at them and in the process they make decisions of buying the products. Personal selling is also used by the company to promote its products. The salesmen and women move around with the products to customers’ premises and create awareness of the products (Joseph 2011). The sales people give out free samples of the products and they sell some of the products at a lower price than the actual price. In this aspect the customers are made aware of the products and can make decisions whether to buy or not. This is the most efficient promotional channel because it gives the customers a chance to ask some inquiries like the contents of the products and they can have the opportunity to buy the products at a cheaper price. Finally, the company has been promoting the products by creating good relationship with the public. It has been concerned with the corporate social responsibility of the community by participating in the community welfares (Randall 2001). Through corporate social responsibility, the company creates good relationship with consumers who are then encouraged to purchase more of the company’s products therefore the company sales more products than the competitors who are not involved in the corporate social responsibility. Competitive advantage of Boost Company Boost Company has excelled in the market and has gained competitive advantage in the market because of the quality of products it offers to customers. It manufactures products with different sizes and brands. These different brands and sizes meet the different needs of the customers for instance the financial needs. The customers’ financial constraint is catered for and can buy the size of the product as per the income constraint. This helped the company to gain competitive advantage because most competitors manufacture standardized quantity of products which does not reflect on the customers needs (Randall 2001). On the other hand, the pricing strategy of the company attracts and maintains many customers. The pricing strategy is based on competitive pricing and therefore the company prices its products slightly lower than those of the competitors thus become unique in the market and sales more than the competitors. Further, promotional strategies used by the company are superior than those of the competitors thus the company creates awareness of the products to many customers. However, the Company still has to make some improvements in some areas. First, Boost company has to improve its promotional strategies like applying the after sale services to customers like the transportation of the products. Secondly, the Company should segment the target market into various segments like rural areas segment and urban segment (Randall 2001). Also the market should be segmented according to demographic factors like the male and female market segments. This segmentation will enable the company to meet the different needs of different customers like the brand of the products and size of the products to supply to each segment depending on the consumption rate. Conclusion Marketing mix consists of the price, the product, the place and promotion of the products. Boost Company has managed to gain competitive advantage in the market of its products by using appropriate pricing strategy which is competitive. Further, the product features attracts the attention of the customers like the quality, packaging and brands of the product. Distribution strategies on the other hand have been successful because they avail the products to the customers’ desired place where they can access the product with ease (Dev & Schultz 2005). Finally, the promotional strategies applied by the Company are effective by communicating the product to many customers which influences the buying decisions of the clients. References Ahmed, P & Rafique, M 2002, Internal marketing: Tools and concepts for customer Focused management, Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann. Baker, M 2000, Marketing Management and Strategy, London, Macmillan Business. Boost Company 2012, Retrieved on 30th May 2013 at www.boostjuice.com.au. Dev, S & Schultz, D 2005, Marketing Management, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 14, No. 2, p. 36- 42. Joseph, K 2011, Integrated Marketing Communication: A Catalyst for the growth of business management, The Social Sciences, Vol. 6, No. 2, p. 64-73. Lings, I. N 2000, Internal marketing and supply chain management, The journal of services marketing, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 27- 43. Randall, G 2001, Principles of Marketing, 2ed, London, Thomson Learning. Read More