MKT 5301 Unit IV: | Management

AdvancedMarketingMKT5301UnitIVJournal.docx 2 Advanced Marketing MKT 5301 Unit IV Journal This journal measures ULOs 3.5 and 4.1. The objective of this journal is to analyze how the 4Ps (product, price, place, and promotion) influence the strategic decisions of a global customer brand. Additionally, you will apply the consumer buying decision process to a new product launch, providing a concise yet comprehensive understanding of both theoretical and practical marketing applications. Select a well-known global brand (e.g., Apple, Coca-Cola, Nike, Samsung) that operates in multiple international markets. Remember, not every global company is a brand. For example, Proctor and Gamble owns over 80 brands. 4Ps Analysis: · Briefly discuss how the brand tailors its product offerings to meet the needs and preferences of different international markets. Focus on key aspects such as product design, features, and quality. · Provide an overview of the pricing strategy. Discuss how pricing varies across different markets and the factors influencing these decisions. · Evaluate the distribution strategy. Highlight the main distribution channels and logistical considerations for ensuring product availability. · Assess the promotional strategies used by the brand. Discuss how promotional tactics are adapted to fit cultural norms and media consumption habits of different countries. New Product Launch: · Identify the consumer needs or problems the new product aims to address. · Discuss how consumers might seek information about the new product. · Analyze how consumers evaluate the new product against competing products. Examine the factors influencing the consumer’s decision to purchase the new product. · Explore how the brand plans to ensure customer satisfaction and foster loyalty after the purchase. Begin with an introduction. Support your journal with at least one source. Your journal must be at least two pages in length, not counting the required references page. Follow APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. UnitIVStudyGuide.pdf MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 1 Course Learning Outcomes for Unit IV Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 3. Analyze the use of marketing strategies in the management of global customer brand equity. 3.1 Examine how the four Ps (product, price, promotion, and place) impact the marketing strategy of a global customer brand. 4. Compare the development of innovative new products on competitive product strategies. 4.1 Apply the consumer buying decision process to a new product. Required Unit Resources Chapter 6: Identifying Market Segments and Target Customers—Read the following section: • Marketing Spotlight: Chase Sapphire Chapter 7: Crafting a Customer Value Proposition and Positioning—Read the following sections: • Developing a Value Proposition and Positioning • Choosing a Frame of Reference • Identifying Potential Points of Difference and Points of Parity • Creating a Sustainable Competitive Advantage Chapter 10: Building Strong Brands—Read the following sections: • How Does Branding Work? • Designing the Brand • Brand Hierarchy Chapter 20: Tapping into Global Markets Unit Lesson In this unit, we discuss how brands connect or do not connect with customers. Think of a brand that you purchase frequently and one that you never purchase. What drives polar opposite reactions to these brands? Think about how acquaintances of yours have totally different reactions to these same brands. Why does this happen? At the core of these decisions is the segmentation process. Kotler et al. (2022) define this process as dividing the population into sections or segments based on a defined set of criteria or characteristics. The criteria typically includes demographic, behavioral, psychographic, and geographic information. The first automobile commercial done by Audi compares its excellent performance to a professional competitive racing scenario. This might appeal to the consumer interested in a high-performance vehicle. Conversely, Honda takes an entirely different approach by basing the commercial on the theme from the popular movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and by appealing to the consumer who is interested in fun. The second segmentation criteria might be psychographic, which takes into account personality, values, and interests of the consumer. This looks into the inner workings of the consumers by understanding exactly what internally motivates them. An example of this might be cultural values, religious beliefs, political party alignment, or even a high work ethic. UNIT IV STUDY GUIDE Creating Strong Brands in a Global Competitive Marketplace MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 2 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title The third segmentation criteria uses the demographic aspects of the consumer. This might include income level, sex, age, family size, family life cycle, occupation, education level, social class, and even ethnicity. A company such as Coca-Cola used a commercial to demonstrate how segmentation criteria is used to reach and resonate with a certain segment of the population. You may wish to use your search engine of choice to search the Alden & Maine Go Out on a Date video to identify how this was done. The final segmentation criteria is geographic, which suggests that the population is divided based on a region of the country, neighborhood, or even the size of the city. Think about preferences of people in different countries or even differences within the United States. Compare the South with the Midwest, and compare the East Coast with the West Coast. Segmentation allows a marketer to completely understand the population and, specifically, the consumers who are truly interested in the product or service. This strategic grouping of consumers will provide the company’s marketing team with a clear understanding of their customers’ respective needs. The idea of understanding the target market’s value proposition ties into solid segmentation practices. Once a marketer has segmented the market based on these four criteria, the marketer is now able to more clearly identify the target market of a company. Marketers use the knowledge gained from the segmentation process to define the target market. Kotler et al. (2022) define the target market as a fairly homogeneous or similar group of customers to whom the company wishes to appeal. Marketing departments do not have an unlimited marketing budget; therefore, it makes economic sense to focus marketing efforts on those who are the most interested in the product or service. Many companies have multiple target markets and will choose to focus certain advertising campaigns toward certain groups during select times of the year. In other words, companies like Nike do not have a target market of everyone. Instead, they have one target market that is defined one way and another target market that is defined another way. For example, target market #1 might be 20- to 30-year-olds who have an interest in running competitively and who live in the Midwest. Target market #2 might be 60- to 70-year-olds who enjoy wearing Nike sportswear for everyday wear and who live in the Southwest. Nike might focus on target market #1 with a marketing campaign in quarter 1 and focus on target market #2 in quarter 3. The marketing content used in each campaign should reflect the target market’s age group and interests. Additionally, the media used should align with the media the target market tends to use. As a marketer is using segmentation and identifying the target market, it is important to understand the role of digital analytics in this process. Holistically, digital marketing requires a more quantitative and thoughtful approach to marketing strategies. Digital analytics suggests that a company is using this quantitative research toward understanding exactly who the target market is and how the company can improve the marketing experience. This is done by gathering, measuring, analyzing, and interpreting digital data of consumer behavior on websites, mobile applications, etc. Through examination of this behavior, marketers generate leads and create both digital and traditional marketing content to reach consumers. Differentiation is the process by which a marketer compares the offerings of their company with that of their competitors. This can be in the form of product or service quality, pricing strategies, distribution methods, communication strategies, marketing strategies, level of brand equity, or a host of other offerings as determined by the value proposition of the target market. Marketers look to differentiate or demonstrate how the product or service offering is different than that of the competitors. Another important area of concern for a marketer is that of the competitive advantage, which suggests that a company is better than its competitors in certain areas. For instance, Walmart has a competitive advantage with respect to pricing because it offers some of the lowest price offerings relative to its competitors. On the other hand, Nordstrom does not have a competitive advantage with respect to pricing because it has a high- pricing strategy. It does, however, have a competitive advantage with respect to its product or service offerings because it provides the consumer with high-quality products and a high service level. Another example is Apple, which certainly has a competitive advantage with products or services but does not have a competitive advantage with its pricing strategies. Disney World has a competitive advantage with its unique product or service offerings at its parks, but it does not have a competitive advantage with respect to its pricing model. Through this discussion, we realize that a company can have a competitive advantage in one area and not in another and still be a highly successful company. MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 3 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title Positioning is yet another important concept involved with effectively reaching the target market. According to Kotler et al. (2022), positioning is how the consumers think about the brand. Marketers use market research to understand how their brand is currently perceived and follow that with marketing to reach those consumers and/or modify the perception of the brand. At the end of the day, marketers are always looking to create a high level of brand equity. In Unit III, we discussed the advantages of creating long-term loyalty relationships through the brand. Kotler et al. (2022) define brand equity as the preference of a brand over another by the customer. This brand loyalty can be as simple as a buying preference or as complex as an advocate that actually helps market the brand to other consumers. Advantages of a company maintaining this high level of brand equity are detailed in the graphic below. Think about how a company should look to differentiate its product or service while offering to maintain a competitive advantage that leads to this brand equity. As the world continues to become more global in nature, the need arises for companies to not only understand the consumers within their country but also understand the consumers in other countries. This involves developing an understanding of the differences in buying practices among these foreign consumers. Several factors influencing these buying decisions in each country are culture and religious beliefs, the political arena, enforced laws, technological advancements, educational levels, and economic stature of the country. While marketers cannot control these external factors, understanding and working with them will enable companies to remain competitive within a continuously changing global marketplace. Fast-food restaurants are looking to maintain a certain brand identity. Understanding and adhering to customer preferences in each country is of the utmost importance. This can be the difference between a profitable global expansion and a complete failure. Disney is a great example of an organization that initially attempted to bring Westernized ideas to foreign countries. The company brought an alcohol-free policy to France, not understanding that French citizens have a deep-rooted cultural practice to drink a glass of wine with their meals. With this realization, Disney quickly changed its way of doing things in their park in France (Bricker, n.d.). Global companies understand that people in different countries have different taste preferences. The Kraft Foods company provides an excellent example of this with its famous Oreo cookies, which has unique modifications to the product itself as well as how it is packaged. For instance, in the United States, consumers shop in large stores and are comfortable purchasing larger, 18-ounce packages of cookies. Alternatively, smaller packaging formats are made available in some countries to include kiosks in Brazil, self-service convenience stores in China, and street vendors in Venezuela. Stores in these countries do not have the shelf space, and consumers do not have the pantry space in their homes to accommodate the larger package sizes. Additionally, the actual Oreo cookie product is modified in some countries. These adjustments include a MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 4 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title lightly sweetened version in China and a milk chocolate version in Venezuela because people in those countries tend to prefer a less chocolatey flavor. Another area of adjustment is in the presentation of marketing campaigns in different countries. For example, in China, Kraft advertises heavily on television because television is considered more credible. In Venezuela, outdoor marketing is more effective because people are constantly on the go. Kraft Foods understands the various customer needs in different countries and works hard to fulfill these needs. Ultimately, this should lead to a higher level of brand equity and reaching a competitive advantage in more areas that are important to the consumer. References Bricker, T. (n.d.). Guide to drinking at Disneyland Paris. Disney Tourist Blog. https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disneyland-paris-bars-guide/ Kotler, P., Keller, K. L., & Chernev, A. (2022). Marketing management (16th ed.). Pearson. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780135887035 Suggested Unit Resources You are encouraged to read the rest of Chapter 6 for more information on segmentation and target market identification. The chapter can provide you with a better understanding of the consumer and value proposition. You are also encouraged to read the rest of Chapter 10, which provides additional insight on brand management and brand equity.