Price

Marketing means managing markets to bring about profitable customer relationships. However, creating these relationships takes work. Sellers must search for buyers, identify their needs, design good market offerings, set prices for them, promote them, and store and deliver them. Activities such as consumer research, product development, communication, distribution, pricing, and service are core marketing activities PAGE 9 For the pricing in general, its incredible important to not price too high and of course not too low. What exactly do people believe are a reasonable price to pay for whole-grain pancakes? And since they are whole-grain with blueberries, are they going to expect to pay a little extra? If so, are they willing to pay that cost? In positioning its product, the company first identifies possible customer value differences that provide competitive advantages upon which to build the position. The company can offer greater customer value either by charging lower prices than competitors, or by offering more benefits to justify higher prices. But if the company promises greater value, it must then deliver that greater value. Thus, effective positioning begins with differentiation—actually differentiating the company’s market offering so that it gives consumers more value. Once the company has chosen a desired position, it must take strong steps to deliver and communicate that position to target consumers. The company’s entire marketing program should support the chosen positioning strategy PAGE 53 The price must be just right so that I could gain a profit off it and also be able to donate some of the money made to provide for the hurricane victims in the Philippines. So somewhere, the people purchasing the pancakes and I are going to have to meet in the middle so that everyone benefits fairly, without causing too much strain on either side of the coin. When figuring out the price I should keep in mind about the people who are concerned and believe that anything slapped with a healthy notation, it manages to deter them away from buying it because either one; it costs too much and two; it probably tastes bad. The pricing must be as fair as possible, not a single cent off but it also has to help me out on my part and as well as those in the Philippines who were affected by the hurricane. This is why I find the sampling part (which you can read in the Promotion post) to be important, so that people can at least try it out before judging. Not only that, the box it will be sold in should be appealing.

Promotion

Finally, it must communicate with target customers about the offering and persuade them of its merits (promotion). The firm must blend all of these marketing mix tools into a comprehensive integrated marketing program that communicates and delivers the intended value to chosen customers. PAGE 13 Given that the idea of selling whole-grain pancakes sounding interesting on its own as a concept seems like a good promotion, just as a start. Another way of promoting my product is to offering some free samples to help boost its recognition. There could be a sampling stand inside of a Whole Foods (the ideal store I would like to be selling the pancakes) and it could be set up during the morning. It would make sense since people generally eat pancakes for breakfast. I think it will likely be a success to do my sampling in this way since people are in that frame of mind of breakfast so they’re be expecting foods that they typically eat in the morning. Often, consumers themselves don’t know exactly what influences their purchases. “The human mind doesn’t work in a linear way,” says one marketing expert. “The idea that the mind is a computer with storage compartments where brands or logos or recognizable packages are stored in clearly marked folders that can be accessed by cleverly written ads or commercials simply doesn’t exist. Instead, the mind is a whirling, swirling, jumbled mass of neurons bouncing around, colliding and continuously creating new concepts and thoughts and relationships inside every single person’s brain all over the world PAGE 137 But since some of the pancakes sales will be going to the relief fund for the victim in Philippines that were affected by the hurricane, it would be important to point that out to the consumer as well. Promoting the idea that they will be contributing to the desperate aide in the Philippines would be an effective tactic to gain some promotion, I believe. And lets face it: people do want to help others but they only want to do it in the most effortless way possible. That’s why there are Salvation Army donations you see outside of stores like Walmart since all they are having people to do is to drop a few coins and bills into the tin and suddenly they feel like a saint. So if people are willing to do that, then it would be easy for them to buy the whole-grain pancakes and yet at the same time provide some aid for the hurricane victims.

Implementation Evaluation Control

The company first develops company wide strategic plans and then translates them into marketing and other plans for each division, product, and brand. Through implementation, the company turns the plans into actions. Control consists of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing activities and taking corrective action where needed. Finally, marketing analysis provides information and evaluations needed for all of the other marketing activities PAGE 55 I think the most noble portion about selling these whole-grain pancakes are the fact that some of the fund made from selling them will be donated to provide some of the aid to those in the Philippines who were affected by the disaster caused by a hurricane. The consumer arrives at attitudes toward different brands through some evaluation procedure. How consumers go about evaluating purchase alternatives depends on the individual consumer and the specific buying situation. In some cases, consumers use careful calculations and logical thinking. At other times, the same consumers do little or no evaluating; instead they buy on impulse and rely on intuition. Sometimes consumers make buying decisions on their own; sometimes they turn to friends, online reviews, or sales people for buying advice PAGE 154. Associated the pancakes in the name of doing good will gain some positive reputation about the pancakes. Not only are the people buying the pancakes will be have… well some delicious pancakes, they will also be part of the good-doing. I think that is a way to help establish a connection or some sort of relationship with the pancake’s customers. Let them do their part on buying the pancakes and more good come out of it. Not only are they doing good for the hurricane victims, but they are also doing good for their bodies since the pancakes are actually whole-wheat. Eating whole-wheat pancakes provides so many benefits for the body and reduces many risks such as lower risks of heart attack and stroke. There is practically nothing bad about buying and eating these pancakes at all.

Distribution

Marketing intermediaries help the company to promote, sell, and distribute its products to final buyers. They include resellers, physical distribution firms, marketing services agencies, and financial intermediaries. Resellers are distribution channel firms that help the company find customers or make sales to them. These include wholesalers and retailers who buy and resell merchandise. Selecting and partnering with resellers is not easy. No longer do manufacturers have many small, independent resellers from which to choose PAGE 68 The location and even exact type of stores are very important to the distribution of whole-grain pancakes. To start off, a store like Whole Foods would be great. Whole Foods is already pretty reputable and sounds like a good place to start selling. Its a store that has greatly established itself for everyone’s go-to place to start buying raw, natural, and organic products. Whole-grain pancake would suit itself perfectly there. Also, I find that the location of distributing these pancakes would be easy and flexible, since anyone nearly anywhere can eat pancakes. Physical distribution firms help the company to stock and move goods from their points of origin to their destinations. Marketing services agencies are the marketing research firms, advertising agencies, media firms, and marketing consulting firms that help the company target and promote its products to the right markets. Financial intermediaries include banks, credit companies, insurance companies, and other businesses that help finance transactions or insure against the risks associated with the buying and selling of goods PAGE 68 The whole-grain pancakes are packaged as a dry food with only dry ingredients so its not like maintaining its freshness would be an issue as opposed to something like leafy green where those foods are easily perishable. The pancakes would also conceptually be distributing the idea of a healthy lifestyle. Promoting good health starts of with promotion of eating better, it being the case of choosing whole-grain over something that has been refined. Selling the product at Whole Foods would be great but it may be also a pretty big leap to take. That’s why I am also considering selling a few boxes a maybe farmer’s markets to really hand out the idea of this organic product.

Product

Strategic planning sets the stage for the rest of the planning in the firm. Companies usually prepare annual plans, long-range plans, and strategic plans. The annual and long-range plans deal with the company’s current businesses and how to keep them going. In contrast, the strategic plan involves adapting the firm to take advantage of opportunities in its constantly changing environment PAGE 39   The product that I am choosing to sell are whole-grain pancakes. It is to provide as a healthier alternative to have for breakfast. The pancakes absolutely MUST be whole-grain; none of the refined and bleached stuff. The whole-grain part of the product is the entire point of this sell, because it is supposed to showcase the benefits of eating whole-grain food. The whole-grain pancakes also have blueberries added to them for that fresh fruity taste without any added sweetness to it. The pancakes will also taste great and hopefully will debunk any myths or incorrect rumors about foods that provide healthier benefits, since anything that is diet is deemed as bland, tasteless, or just awful. And since eating whole-grain products is more than just enjoying a simple stack of pancakes for breakfast, I am hoping that it will introduce the idea of living a healthier lifestyle, as if the pancakes act as a gateway for a better life. At the corporate level, the company starts the strategic planning process by defining its overall purpose and mission (see Figure 2.1). This mission is then turned into detailed supporting objectives that guide the whole company. Next, headquarters decides what portfolio of businesses and products is best for the company and how much support to give each one. In turn, each business and product develops detailed marketing and other departmental plans that support the company wide plan. Thus, marketing planning occurs at the business-unit, product, and market levels. It supports company strategic planning with more detailed plans for specific marketing opportunities PAGE 39 This is the experience of choosing to eat whole-grain pancakes. Others will also benefit from the selection of whole-grain pancakes, which are those in the Philippines who are in need of relief from the disaster caused by a hurricane. Not only the customer will be receiving something positive for themselves, but also to those who are less fortunate.

Target Market Strategy

In positioning its product, the company first identifies possible customer value differences that provide competitive advantages upon which to build the position. The company can offer greater customer value either by charging lower prices than competitors, or by offering more benefits to justify higher prices PAGE 53 The marketing strategy I have decided to do is to target those who are looking for better options for their breakfast meals. There are many benefits when switching from regular morning hotcakes to the healthy alternative of whole-grain pancakes. If people were to start their day off with a more health choice, then they may succeed in making better choices for their meals for the rest of the day. Breakfast is an important part of starting off your day, so its almost ideal to make it a healthy breakfast. But if the company promises greater value, it must then deliver that greater value. Thus, effective positioning begins with differentiation—actually differentiating the company’s market offering so that it gives consumers more value. Once the company has chosen a desired position, it must take strong steps to deliver and communicate that position to target consumers. The company’s entire marketing program should support the chosen positioning strategy PAGE 53. I know that a lot of people tend to skip breakfast as a whole and think they will be fine as long as the make up for it around lunch time, but this is not the case. Its important that people eat a breakfast and as the saying goes, “it's an essential foundation of a successful day.” Say that there was someone who was following a diet and absolutely loved to have pancakes or waffles for breakfast mainly for the sweet element. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot of healthy options for them. That is where the whole-grain pancakes come in, with blueberries of course. Instead of having to resort to sugary stuff like most cereals or the ugly texture associated with oatmeal. And maybe if those who actually are not on a diet, they could be inspired to go for the alternative of whole-grain pancakes and start making healthier choices.

Week 10 EOC: What are the benefits vs. features

Facebook and Twitter alone have over a billion users. With social media you can you have eyes all over the world. Using social media you can know more about your target this is one of the advantages of using Facebook and twitter. You can talk among your audience in real time and get information like products, events, and services. Social media pays you.That's right. You get paid just to advertise your product. What I'm talking about is running ads on your Facebook page or on some kind of blog. Or if you can make a great advertising videos or a series, you can get paid by the number of views, followers, and likes. Answering question and leaving feedback. This is also a great way to give customer service. I actually was in this situation once. I remember having trouble logging into one of my favorite streaming sites. I wasn't sure if I was hacked or if the website was having issues. Instead of emailing someone, I contacted them through via Twitter. I got an intimidate response. I was very happy about this and that's why this is great for a business. These are the examples of what are the great features of using social media in the business world and how its different from what it was before. How I would use these to my advantage is start a YouTube series about my pancake product. I could create and record different recipes for my product and to tell people that you can get more out of our pancake mix. The comment section is great on YouTube because not only will I be getting feedback but I will also be getting ideas and suggestion on what should be in the next episode. How I would use twitter is for customer service. If any of my consumers were to have any issues, problems or concerns, they can use twitter to contact my company asap. I think this would provide great service.