Principles of Marketing

Question: Discuss about the services provide by Blank Page. Blank Page is a training institute in Australia and is functioning over a period of seven years. The institute mainly gives training to the individuals and corporate. Answer: 1.0Introduction The blank page is a training institute which trains individuals in software skills and soft skills. The organization usually gives training to the corporate and in educational sectors. The organization also helps young individuals to crack interview processes. The organization was set up in Australia in the year 2008 (Blankpage.net.au 2016). The founder of Blank Page is Mr. Anton Porteus. He has been in the field of training industry since 1997 (Blankpage.net.au 2016). The training institute has expertise trainers who have experience of more than eighteen years. The organization is specialized in training software applications like Microsoft packages, Adobe packages, HTML, graphics design and soft skills. It is a home based Institute and is trying to promote its products through marketing. Marketing is essential in the 21st century because it will help the organization to communicate with its target customer. Moreover, a proper marketing strategy will also help the organization to ha ve a competitive advantage over other competitors. The objective of the organization is to be among the top ten training institutes in Australia. The researcher has thoroughly discussed the different marketing strategies which will help the institute to progress at a quick space in the future and reach its goal. 2.0 Objectives of Marketing Plan According to Adam, Denize and Kotler (2015), a marketing plan is a blueprint which helps an organization to know about the marketing procedures of the organization in the future. It also helps to set up the organizations marketing and strategic actions. Marketing mix strategies, target customers and probable marketing strategies are also clearly defined in a marketing plan. The marketing plan includes historical data, future predictions and strategies to achieve the goal of the organization. According to Asllani and Halstead (2015), objectives of the marketing plan are to identify the needs of the customer through market research and how the organization can meet the demands. In Australia, a number of corporate and training educations are established. The organizations need human resources, who are acquainted with the knowledge of latest softwares which are used in the industries (Arora 2013). Blank page meets this requirement by training the young graduates and make them ready for the organization. The marketing plan also said as a process which helps a company to achieve its goals. Marketing objective also helps to determine the strength and weakness of the organization. Along with strength and weakness marketing plan supports in finding out different actions. They are the budget, control and the goals of the organization. Specific marketing trend is also selected by the marketing plan (Babin et al. 2014). To give training to young graduates To be the top training institute in Australia To be a brand in the field of training and soft skill development 3.0 Positioning strategy of business and brand Positioning is defined as the place which a product or service holds in a market. Positioning helps a product or service to differentiate from its competitors. According to Dahl, Eagle and Low (2015), positioning is the action by which the image of the organization is set up in the mind of the target customers. This can be done by mentioning the features and benefits of the product or service. Blank Page is a training institute and provides different types of training. This helps an individual to get a job. On the other hand, organizations are also benefited by getting well trained human resources. In universities Training in corporate house Training in seminars 4.0 Product The blank page has given importance to the need and requirement of the individual and large enterprises to develop its product. The blank page is mainly a service providing organization. According to Entezari, Karimi and Kianfar (2014), a favourable market is established by Blank Page with the services they provide. The organization mainly gives training on Microsoft packages, graphic design and HTML. One new branch of training is also launched, in which blank page will train on Java and Android software. The employees of the organization are always trying to increase their level of service. The training session is divided into three different categories of individual one for the beginners, one for the professional and one for the corporate. In the case of beginners, the individuals are trained in a group of thirty and special care is taken to each. In professionals group, the primary focus of the organization is to teach about the latest softwares which are required in the software industry. On the other hand, while training the corporate, the schedule is followed as decided by the corporate clients. According to Lee, Kozlenkova and Palmatier (2015), this procedure has helped the organization to attract a different level of clients according to their requirement. Special training is also launched by Blank page in which the organization will train people over the internet with the help of special training module. This will be mainly for those individuals who are busy and can learn over the internet. There are seven different sections in this online training. On the end of each section, a questionnaire will come. The candidate can only go to the next section when the candidate correctly answers sixty percentage of the questionnaire set (Levy 2012). 5.0 Distribution Channel Distribution is an important strategy for any product or service. Distribution helps a product to reach its customer in an efficient manner. Blank Page takes help of direct channels to contact their customers (Luke 2013) directly. The organization has a knowledgeable sales team with a good network. The sales team visit different companies and educational institutes. There they give a demo of their projects and also gather the information about the requirement of the clients. Feedback from the present customers also helps them to collect information and act accordingly. According to Mousavian, Kheiry and Mirabi (2014), technology also has helped the organization in distributing their services. Details of the training along with time duration are posted on the website of the organization. These have helped the clients to get information about their services. Along with these, a new app has also been launched by Blank page to attract different customers. Newspaper, messaging and mail or ders are also important attract the attention of different customer (Rad et al. 2014). According to Scott (2013), Blank page has also signed an agreement with various colleges in Australia like Box Hill Institute of TAFE and Australian Catholic University to promote their service. Various seminars and workshops organized by Blank page have helped the training institute to promote its services. Agents like coaching institutes have also helped Blank page to spread information about their services (Talpau 2014). Collaboration with giant software companies like Computershare and Reckon has also promoted the distribution channel of Blank page. 6.0 Pricing Strategy According to Heidt and Quazi (2013), pricing strategy is one of the most important strategies for any service or product. Price is an important determinant which determines the success and failure of any service or product or business. Blank page sells their service to different categories of individuals at a different price. Blank Page has used market penetration pricing strategy to beat their competitors. The main aim of the organization is to educate individuals with different knowledge of software at a reasonable price (Wu et al. 2015). Blank page, however, follow different pricing strategy for three different sectors of customers. The organization has kept the price of the training relatively low for the individuals who are beginners. Blank page charges only 400 Australian dollars for the beginner level (Blankpage.net.au 2016). During this period, they will be trained for 30 hours. On the other hand in case of expert level Blank page charges 1000 Australian dollar for 40 hours ( Blankpage.net.au 2016). However in the case of corporate training, the price varies depending on the requirement of the corporate. The blank page has also kept a low price for the individual who will learn in their online mode of training. It has also been found that the price range of the Blank Page is competitive on its competitor engineering training institute Australia (Rad et al. 2014). 7.0 Communication Strategy According to Entezari, Karimi and Kianfar (2014), communication helps any product or service to create brand awareness in the relevant market. Marketing communication is a tool which provides any message of the organization to the desired clients. Blank pages use communication strategy to give information to the customers about their product and service. It also helps the training institute to retain its existing customers. According to Mousavian, Kheiry and Mirabi (2014), Blank page have a clear picture of the requirement of the customers and have given service accordingly. This has helped the organization to create a clear communication with the clients. The blank page has the potential to make the human resources ready for the required target market. This has been a great achievement for the organization to communicate with the clients properly. The logo and slogan of an organization is an important tool to give clear information about their activity to the target customer. Accord ing to Adam, Denize and Kotler (2015), Blank page has an objective to be the best training institute in Australia. So the organization is coming out with a new slogan Be the Best. The brand voice action also helps the Institute to communicate its message clearly with the target customers. The marketing mix is another tool with the help of which the training institute Blank page can communicate its message to the individuals. Technology has been a blessing in the recent century. Facebook and Twitter have also been used by Blank Page to communicate its message to the customers (Luke 2013). 8.0 Schedule to implement the strategy According to Entezari, Karimi and Kianfar (2014), marketing in the 21st century is important to strive in a competitive market. Marketing has to be carried out throughout the year to achieve an organization's target. The researcher has given tweleve-month marketing activities of Blank page. During these twelve months, Blank Page should promote its product through advertising in television, debates and cultural functions. The Internet is a valuable tool which will help Blank Page to communicate with the customers quickly. Advertising through Hoardings and flex in colleges and coaching centers will also give Blank Page a competitive edge. Here is the action plan of Blank page to achieve its competitive advantages. Actions Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Set up phase Premise Staffing Equipment Development phase Curriculum Material for business Test phase Support team Alternative processes Marketing phase Campaign Advertisement Positioning Pricing Table 1: Action plan for Blank Page After implementing the action plan, Blank page needs to control the plan in an effective way to achieve its short term goal. The training institute also needs to understand the different issues which are related to modern day training and act accordingly (Babin et al. 2014). Customer satisfaction is also another factor which will help Blank Page to implement different strategies properly. 9.0 Budget The budget of the Blank page is created by assumption created by the author. This budget is based on the financial year 2016-17. The blank page is a mid-level training institute in Australia on market share and revenue. The budget is completely done on Assumption basis. Primary Category Secondary Category Quantity Estimated Cost Research Web Research 2 $400 Research Independent Research 1 $1,000 Research Other research 4 $500 Research Promotional 5 $9,000 Communications Radio 1 $10,000 Communications Web 2 $20,000 Communications Internet 3 $8,000 Networking Membership 54 $7,800 Networking Affiliation 21 $8,000 Networking Subscription 10 $500 Event Meal 2 $400 Event Tax 1 $820 Event Other services 1 $780 Total =$77200 Table2: Budget of Blank Page 10.0 Conclusion Researcher has thoroughly discussed about the services provide by Blank Page. Blank Page is a training institute in Australia and is functioning over a period of seven years. The institute mainly gives training to the individuals and corporate. The objective of the organization is to be the best training institute in Australia within a short period of time. The organization have to take help of different distribution channel to promote its services, Internet and technology have also helped the promotion of the organization. The pricing strategy of the organization is also well placed to attract the different type of customers. The researcher has also discussed the budget of the organization which shows a positive indication. References Adam, S., Denize, S.M. and Kotler, P. 2015,Principles of marketing,6e. edn, Pearson Australia, Melbourne, VIC. Arora, A.P. 2013, "Marketing Management",Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective,vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 99-99. Asllani, A. and Halstead, D. 2015, "A MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION APPROACH USING THE RFM MODEL IN DIRECT MARKETING",Academy of Marketing Studies Journal,vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 65. Babin, B.J., D'Alessandro, S., Lowe, B. and Winzar, H. 2014,Marketing research,Asia-Pacific 3. edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne, Victoria. Blankpage.net.au. (2016).Home | Blank Page | Microsoft Training, Adobe Training, Consulting and Courseware. [online] Available at: https://www.blankpage.net.au/ [Accessed 19 May 2016]. Dahl, S., Eagle, L. and Low, D. 2015, "Integrated marketing communications and social marketing: Together for the common good?",Journal of Social Marketing,vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 226. Entezari, A.R., Karimi, B. and Kianfar, F. 2014, "Optimal production control and marketing plan in two-machine unreliable flexible manufacturing systems",The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology,vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 487-496. Lee, J., Kozlenkova, I.V. and Palmatier, R.W. 2015, "Structural marketing: using organizational structure to achieve marketing objectives",Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 73-99. Levy, S.J. 2012, "Marketing management and marketing research",Journal of Marketing Management,vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 8-13. Luke, K. 2013, "5 Steps to a New Marketing Plan",Journal of Financial Planning,vol. 26, no. 12, pp. 20. Mousavian, I., Kheiry, B. and Mirabi, V. 2014, "Survey on Impact of Public push on Sustainability marketing mix and Sustainability marketing mix on Sustainability marketing success",New Marketing Research Journal,vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 194-173. Rad, H.S., Akbari, Z., Ghorabi, M. and Motevaselian, M. 2014, "The Role of Brand and Advertising in Marketing Mix (A Review of Marketing Mix)",Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research In Business,vol. 6, no. 7, pp. 114. Scott, D.M. 2013,The new rules of marketing and PR: how to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, and viral marketing to reach buyers directly,4th edn, John Wiley Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey;Hoboken, N.J;. Talpau, A. 2014, "The marketing mix in the online environment",Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov. Economic Sciences. Series V,vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 53-58. Tania von der Heidt and Quazi, A. 2013, "Enhancing learning-centeredness in marketing principles curriculum",Australasian Marketing Journal,vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 250. Wu, J., Wen, N., Dou, W. and Chen, J. 2015, "Exploring the effectiveness of consumer creativity in online marketing communications",European Journal of Marketing,vol. 49, no. 1/2, pp. 262-276. Principles of Marketing Questions: 1.Justify and discuss the selection of two key Micro Environment and two key macro environment elements that are likely to affect the business referred to in this case? 2.Describe how the market for the product category of the business referred to in this case might have been segmented by this business? 3.Which elements of the extended market mix (i.e. all 7 elements) have been carefully managed by the business referred to in this case, and suggest one marketing mix element that might be better managed to deliver customer value, justifying your answer? Answers: Introduction Marketing and Distribution has evolved over the years and have crossed leaps and bounds to make a business popular across different geographic regions. Correctly marketed products can help the business in gaining market share in any region (Kotler, 2010). It also helps the company to establish its brand and focus on expanding the business over other territories. Distribution plays a key role over the success of the business. Correct logistics strategies helping in cutting down costs and thereby adding to the margins of the company. Thus, focused marketing coupled with strategic distribution plays the key role in the success of any product based company. This case is related to business which started the product for home use and later seeing the popularity, decided to launch it in commercial space. Leanne Preston started the product Quit Nits as a tool to remove head lice for her own child and then went on to commercialize it across Australia. Soon after receiving wide popularity in Australia, she focused towards international expansion with UK being the first region to explore. IN the meantime, she had started other naturally synthesized products like sunscreens, baby washes etc. under the parent Brand name Wild Child. After UK, she expanded the business to US and now have substantial market shares in head lice products in these markets (Mller, 1987). 1. Macro environment and micro environment factors play a very role in the development of any business. The macro environment factors or elements are the external elements which may have impacts on any organizations decision making. These cannot be controlled by the business. These may include demographics, legal factors, economic elements, social elements, technological changes etc. (Ginter, 1990). On the other hand, micro environmental elements are the ones present within the business area of operations and can have an impact on the daily operations and decision making of the business. These include the entire supply chain starting with suppliers, distribution channels, customers, competitors etc. Leanne Preston started her work on the product by hit and trial method for her own children. She got the inspiration when she saw that the products related to head lice removal were containing toxins and may be harmful for the children. She then decided to get a cure which will be home grown and free of any kind to toxins. Success in home procedure urged her to launch nationally and later internationally under the parent brand Wild Child. Strategic execution of techniques related to Macro Environmental factors have played a crucial role in the success of Wild Child in Australia and internationally. Demographics is one such macro environmental elements which needs to be studied carefully before trying to target a market either nationally or internationally (Coughlan, 2001). Leanne did her study on this part thoroughly. She learned that head lice removal product is being used by people right from birth till death. Each person faces the issue of head lice sometime during their life. Children are more prone to head lice. So, manufacturing of an organic head lice removal product would surely attract customers. This got her to work harder and rewarded her with success. Another macro environmental factor, Legal factors have a very important role to play in case the business is thinking to go international (Kotler, 1969). Leanne leant about the legal procedures which a pharma related product needs to follow while entering US and UK markets. She tied up with best-selling pharmaceutical stores in both US and UK to mark the Quit Nits presence in the both the regions. Pharma sector is very closely monitored for legal violations and Leanne didnt want to give the officials any reason to deprive her with such a great market (Smith, 2001). Customers are the ones which can make a product, a huge success. They must be provided with the value which can take the products to new heights. Leanne banked upon it when she launched her Organic Head Lice removal product Quit Nits. She wanted to make her customers happy and satisfied with an organic product. Developing a wide customer base is important to for any business to take on to external forces and later to launch in various other regions (Kotabe, 1998). When a business should look towards satisfying it customers by providing value to them, in the meantime, the business should also focus on staying on top of competition. The core competency of Leanne was the organic product and apart from the ingredients, everything else was secondary. A good business should always focus on the core competency. Leanne also did the same. She entered UK by partnering with Boots which resulting in wiping out competition from the largest manufacturer and seller of head lice product in UK. In US , as well, the same was done by partnering with another major pharmaceutical store. 2. Market Positioning Segmenting is a very important step for marketing a product. The segmentation of the market refers to lot of brainstorming activities which is needed to find out the potential market segments which the business should target (Soares, 2007). Customers market need to be segmented based on their age, caste, culture etc. The Product in the case is a Head Lice Removal product. It is used by people of all the ages. However, children are more prone to head lice. Thus, proper care is required for the children. The product need to be segmented based on the age groups and then smaller modifications need to be brought in the composition to suit all kind of age groups. For this product, demographics will be the one which will serve as the base for the segmentation. The segmentation will help the product to properly target the market and build a name for its brand in the market. Thus, the national as well the international market could be targeted effectively after strategic segmentation (Kent, 2 007). Describe the segments of this market targeted by the businesses. As discussed in the above section, the segmentation of the market refers to lot of brainstorming activities which is needed to find out the potential market segments which the business should target (Huang, 2014). The product need to be segmented based on the age groups and then smaller modifications need to be brought in the composition to suit all kind of age groups. For this product, demographics will be the one which will serve as the base for the segmentation. One of the segment will now be based on the age group as discussed above. Children will be the primary segment in this and adults the secondary. Apart from the age group, the product will be segmented in the Organic/Natural product category. Since, the product Quit Nits is free from any poisonous material, it will be put up with the Organic tag so that it will attract more customers. Generally, people are more attracted towards the product which offer them value without any kind of side effects which can be harmful for the m and their children. Thus, the segmentation as a natural product might be successful for the business. Explain the positioning of the business in the market for its product/service. Before the positioning of any product in the market, it first needs to be targeted successfully. The Targeting refers to the promotion of the product in different segments in a different manner (Assael, 1984). The campaign will focus on the targeting of different segmentations in different ways. Once, the targeting phase is completed then positioning will begin. Positioning means the aligning of the product or the brand in the target market. The main objective is to provide the customers with core values which they seek in the form of a product. Quit Nits will be positioned as an organic and all Natural product which is free from any toxin and is equally effective in removal of Head Lice. This innovative and cutting edge advancement over the competitors will help the business to create a position for itself in the market (Tian-yuan, 2001). 3. Marketing mix is a mix of certain elements of marketing which helps in launching a product in a successful manner (Borden, 1964). These basically include Product, Price, Place and Promotion. However, later Extended marketing mix was developed to bring in some more elements into the focus which also have an equally important impact during the launch of the product. The extended marketing mix includes Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical Evidence (Goi, 2015). The business in the case is a Head Lice Removal Product. The Product element of the marketing mix have been carefully researched and strategized in the case. The product has been prepared organically which will get enthusiasm from the markets and will also satisfy the customers by offering them the value which is required. The Place has been suitable selected by Leanne Preston. First, she launched the product in her native country Australia. Once it was popular in Australia, she expanded it to major markets like US and UK. The Place to launch the product is very essential for the success of any brand and its underlying products (Borden, 1964). Wild Child brand was successfully targeted to the markets of Australia, US and UK to cater to a wide market for the product related to Head Lice removal. Promotions are used to increase the brand awareness among the targeted customers (Kotler, 2010). People should be made aware about the upcoming product and some promotions like discount, offers etc. should be given so that the customers will try the new product (Vrontis, 2005). Leanne also gave away free samples to child care organizations, customers to increase the product awareness among the people. People element of the extended marketing mix involves the people working for the company (Grnroos, 1994). Right people need to be employed to get the maximum productivity out of them. Leanne also connected her business with Austrade which helped them in devising all strategies related to the expansion of the business nationally in Australia and internationally in US and UK. This partnership with Austrade proved to be very beneficial for Wild Child. One element of the extended marketing mix that Leanne Preston should have focused more was the Pricing of the product Quit Nits. The price of a product comes a deciding factor for many customers. Many customers belonging to different income group have different ways of purchasing the products. Some go for top notch quality irrespective of the price. Some settle for low quality product because of lesser price. However, most others will try to find a good quality product in the minimum price. So, Leanne should try to focus on a segment in which she should launch her product so that it could be beneficial in the long term. Thus, we have seen above that the extended marketing mix plays a very important role in the promotion and launching of a product. Every brand wants to launch its product in the favorable market place conditions at the best price by offering some promotions. Moreover, it should take right judgements on the people employed, processes executed and the physical presence of the brand. Conclusion Marketing helps in creating awareness of the brand among the consumers to increase the popularity of the product. It helps in leading the brand to be famous and the products to achieve success. In the above section, we have focused on the case of A Wild Child goes overseas in which Leanne Preston launched a product in native country Australia and then expanded to other countries like US and UK. We discussed various theoretical elements which impact the marketing process of the Wild Child. References Case Reference: Kaplan, M. 2008. Experts scratch heads. The Weekend Australian, 15-16 Assael, H., 1984. Consumer behavior and marketing action. Kent Pub. Co.. Borden, N.H., 1964. The concept of the marketing mix. Journal of advertising research, 4(2), pp.2-7. Coughlan, A.T., Anderson, E., Stern, L.W. and El-Ansary, A.I., 2001. Marketing channels (Vol. 6). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Ginter, P.M. and Duncan, W.J., 1990. 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