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UKCBC unit 6 marketing principles 3

Task 3 In task 3 you will start analysing marketing mix elements, which are in the heart of all marketing strategies. As before, think about Starbucks while addressing all the elements of this task.

Introduction The marketing mix is the heart of any marketing strategies. Marketing mix helps in putting the right product or service in front of the customer, at the right time, at the right place (Kotler, 2011). Companies spent a lot of money and hard work in deciding a basic and simple question; what customer wants?

All the elements should fall at the right place to change the mind of the customer and even if one element goes wrong, the complete marketing strategies will fail. The marketing mix is consisting of four elements or four Ps and these four Ps are product, placae, price and promotion (Kotler, 2011). This section of the report will discuss the various marketing mix and how marketing strategies of Starbucks is affected by this.

1: Start by explaining how products in Starbucks are developed in order to make sure that competitive advantage is sustained. You should focus here on the differences in products between Starbuck and different coffee shop. Provide at least two examples.

The USP of Starbucks is their unique taste and the quality of coffee beans. The company spent a lot of money in getting the best coffee beans making the coffee unique and very different from other coffee offered by other coffee houses. Also, the company also spent money in creating a perfect ambience for the coffee consumer where the customer gets the perfect atmosphere to have coffee with friendly staff (Ferrell, & Hartline, 2012). When people explain about the coffee of this company, they talk about the whole experience and that is what the main focus of the company is. The main motive is creating a perfect business environment with the perfect coffee so that people can sit and relax and have their coffee.

2: Next you are to explain distribution strategies used by Starbucks. Think about customers’ convenience and satisfaction in relation to distribution channels used.

The coffee houses are available all across the world and Starbucks coffee house is quite popular everywhere. It is quite obvious the distribution channel is quite strong (Ferrell, & Hartline,

2012). They import their coffee beans from specific countries like Africa, South America and Arabia. The company is also trying many manufacturers in various part of Asia as well so that the distribution channel can be strengthened.

Apart from this, the coffee beans and other products are also available in various retail store so that people can buy the coffee beans also to have the coffee experience at home. They have their existence all over the world and they specifically have worked on the visibility of the coffee houses at premium locations.

3: In the next part you are to analyse pricing strategies used by Starbucks.

Provide an explanation how prices are set in relation to company’s objectives and market conditions (competition, current economic situation etc.).

Starbucks is known for employing a value based pricing strategy which focuses on earning maximum profits. The company conduct proper research and analyses techniques to decide the price. The price is set in a way that will not affect the buying behaviour of the customers and even attract more customers (Ferrell, & Hartline, 2012). The company follows profit maximization policies and a company decides the price of the product and the output level which generate the maximum profits. Usually, a company follows a strategy where they cut the price to attract customer but there are rare companies who are based on deep analysis and calculating the real customer foundation (Gordon, 2012). Starbucks in its complete lifespan never decreased the price. The price of coffee only increased and the increase in price has not impacted the buying behaviour. The company is more dependent on those customers who have a strong taste of the coffee and liked the quality the company offered (Civi, 2013). Many customers obviously switched but many stayed because the taste is what matter to them not, the price. The company stick and rather reinforced the premium image of the brand. They also applied price hike on specific flavours and the sizes instead on the complete menu.

4: Promotional activity is a must for every organization and behaviour. Make a research into promotional activities of Starbucks and illustrate how promotional strategies used by this organization are integrated and related to marketing objectives of the organization.

The company promotional strategy is something to study for. They have very few promotional advertisements for Starbucks coffee in newspaper, magazine or television advertisement (Gordon, 2012). Starbucks mainly depend on word of mouth promotion technique where the quality of product and the perfect ambience speak for itself. The company promoted the best services and these strategies helped the company to a great extent (Civi, 2013). The employees are trained in a way that they now just make the perfect coffee but also provide a legendary service in their language to the customers. This strategy includes various things like: 1. Personalized service by knowing the customer’s names.

2. Customized and specific coffee preferences.

3. Knowing the customer’s work and nature of work.

4. Also indulge in customer’s personal information like family and friends.

5: Finally at the end of this task you were asked to provide a short analysis of additional elements of the extended marketing mix based on the example of Starbucks.

The additional elements of the marketing mix are physical evidence, people and process.

Starbucks provide physical evidence in the form of experience to the people which take back with them and this is the reason they come back to the same brand to have coffee. The company spent a lot on its people. They recruit and train the employees carefully. The company is known to be most ethical company and they make sure that the employees stay happy so that they can convert it into their performance. In the end process, include the perfect process which the company follow which the employees execute in making a perfect coffee and providing a perfect ambience to the customers.

Conclusion The marketing mix is an essential activity for any small business enterprise and Starbucks follow it in a perfect way (Gordon, 2012). They make sure that no stone remains unturned and they cover all the aspect of marketing mix perfectly.Order Now