Marketing Mix for Selling Power Tools Directly to Consumers

The Role of Product or Service and Place in the Marketing Mix

You are working as a freelance business consultant.  Shakti is the Managing Director of a medium-sized company called Hard Graft Tools, which produces power tools.  Hard Graft Tools currently sells its products to retailers.  In a change of strategy, Hard Graft Tools is now planning to withdraw from the retailers and sell the tools direct to consumers via new shops as well as online.  Shakti would like you to help the Senior Management Team (SMT) to understand how to start marketing the tools directly to customers.  Shakti invites you to visit the Hard Graft Tools head office to see the products and to have an initial discussion with the SMT.

Task 1

Shakti asks you to write a detailed paper for the SMT to read before you meet for your initial discussion.  Write a paper for the SMT about the role of the product or service and the role of place in the marketing mix.  The paper must be at a suitable level and in a suitable format for senior managers.

You must make sure you include the following topics:

• An analysis of how the features and benefits of a product or service can be used in the marketing mix
• A description of the use of the marketing mix at each stage of the Product Life Cycle
• An analysis of the role of direct and indirect distribution channels to move products and services from the provider to the buyer
• An analysis of the use of intensive distribution, selective distribution and exclusive distribution in the market coverage of products and services.

Merit task

To achieve a Merit, you must additionally include in the paper:

• An analysis of how a business can create lifetime value to the customer by using the Customer Life Cycle
• An explanation of the advantages of using a direct marketing channel.

Distinction task

You decide that it could be helpful for the SMT to see how another organisation has used product or service and place in its marketing mix. To achieve a Distinction, choose an organisation which you have researched or have experience of, and additionally include in the paper:

• An evaluation of the role of product or service in that organisation’s marketing mix
• An evaluation of the role of place in that organisation’s marketing mix.

Task 2

The meeting went well and Shakti said the SMT found your paper informative.  They would now like to find out more about the role of price and promotion in the marketing mix.  Shakti has asked you to prepare a presentation for the SMT on the topic of pricing strategy.  Prepare a presentation with an accompanying handout.  You must include:

• An analysis of the use of pricing to reflect the perceived value of the benefits of a product to the buyer
• An analysis of the use of pricing to offset the costs of product manufacturing and/or service delivery

Merit task

To achieve a Merit, you should analyse the effects of adjusting the price of a product or service. Shakti has asked that you include diagrammatic information in your analysis.

Distinction task

To achieve a Distinction, you must choose an organisation which you have researched or have experience of, and additionally include in the presentation and handout:

• An evaluation of the role of price in that organisation’s marketing mix

With regard to the promotion of products and services Shakti wishes to open a discussion with senior colleagues. Produce a paper to stimulate this discussion. This should include the following:

• An analysis of the aims of promotion in the marketing mix
• An explanation of how the success of a promotional campaign is measured.

Merit task

To achieve a Merit, you must include in the same paper an explanation of how promotional activities are regulated. You may use your own country or state.

Distinction task

To achieve a Distinction, you must choose an organisation which you have researched or have experience of, and additionally include:

• An evaluation of the role of promotion in that organisation’s marketing mix.

Task 3

The SMT interacted well with your presentation and the associated discussion and now want you to help them understand the role of people in the marketing mix.  Shakti asks you to produce a factsheet about the role of people in the marketing mix for the SMT.  Your factsheet must include:

• An analysis of the importance of recruiting the right people to become customer facing staff in businesses
• An analysis of the importance to businesses of training customer-facing and non-customer-facing staff.

Merit task

To achieve a Merit, you must include in the factsheet an evaluation of the use of Customer Relationship Management in businesses.

Distinction task

To achieve a Distinction, you must choose an organisation which you have researched or have experience of and include in the factsheet an evaluation of the role of people in that organisation’s marketing mix.

Task 4

The SMT found your factsheet useful.  Shakti asks you if there is anything else the SMT needs to understand regarding the marketing mix.  After a discussion with you, Shakti agrees with your suggestion that it would be useful for them to understand the role of process and the role of physical evidence in the marketing mix.  She asks you to prepare a briefing paper for the SMT about the role of process and the role of physical evidence in the marketing mix.  You must produce a briefing paper which includes:

• An explanation of the role of marketing processes which take place with the customer present
• An explanation of the role of marketing processes which take place before and after the customer interface
• An analysis of how the role of process in the marketing mix leads to customer focus
• An analysis of the role of physical evidence in the marketing mix

Distinction task

To achieve a Distinction, you must choose an organisation which you have researched or have experience of, and include in the briefing paper:

• An evaluation of the role of process in that organisation’s marketing mix
• An evaluation of the role of physical evidence in that organisation’s marketing mix.