Posted: March 20th, 2017

Reflection Essay on Marketing Mix

According to Eddie Robinson, “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential…these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. ” In this competitive business world, it is imperative that business owners’ develop and create unique products in order to be differentiated from its competitors. Business owners can use a set of tools called the “Marketing Mix” to provide the unique quality that the item for consumption is a need.
This tool is made up of a set of controllable factors that can be adjusted until the precise combination is established to satisfy the needs or wants of consumers in a particular target market while generating a profit. The Marketing Mix is made up of four factors. They are product, price, place and promotion. The product can be referred to as the physical product or service that satisfies what a consumer wants or need. Price refers to the amount that customers will pay for a particular good or service after taking into account factors such as profit, competitor’s response, business survival and probable pricing.
The channel of distribution that serves as a means of getting the product or service in a convenient location to the target consumers is referred to as place. Promotion represents the methods of communication used to provide information of a particular good or service to its target market using various mediums. The proposed product we have decided to discuss in this essay is a self-cleaning bathtub. This product would satisfy the wants and needs of luxury hoteliers and people who are interested in living a luxurious life around the world.

Generally, majority of the people who perform cleaning services usually avoid the time of cleaning their bathtub because it is very tedious task and the effects of the noxious fumes from the cleaning products. The idea of a self-cleaning bathtub would solve these problems, while satisfying the many wants and in some cases, the needs of a wide cross-section of people. This product will be sold in two variations and will range in different sizes. These variations include free standing tubs and drop in tubs.
The self-cleaning bathtub boasts of its quick drain plus fast-action integral pump for rapid water changing, self-cleaning system that simultaneously removes surface debris and cleans the bottom of the hot tub with its built in vacuum. It also has premium LED lights that create ambiance and tranquility. It comes with an installation crew and technicians standing behind 10 years of warranty to give customers peace of mind. In addition, the economic theory asserts that in a free market economy the market price reflects interaction between supply and demand: the price is set to equate the quantity being supplied and demanded.
In turn, these quantities are determined by the marginal utility of the asset to different buyers and to different sellers. In reality, the price may be distorted by other factors, such as tax and other government regulations. When a commodity is for sale at multiple locations, the Law of one price is generally believed to hold. This essentially states that the cost difference between the locations cannot be greater than that representing shipping, taxes, other distribution costs etc.
In the case of the majority of consumer goods and services, the distribution costs are quite a high proportion of the overall price, so the law may not be very useful. In practice, it may well make economic sense to offer a product or service for sale at a higher price in a wealthy area than in a deprived area as the marginal utility of the asset for purchasers will be higher in the former. With that being said, several factors can be taken into consideration when looking to price an item such as this one.
Since the price of a product is normally the deciding factor in choosing one brand over another, it is a common area of the marketing mix that can be used to make strategic changes. The customer would not expect to pay the regular price of a regular bathtub. However, they may not expect a significantly high price. For instance, if you take the price of a regular bathtub, add on the cost of products and tools usually used to clean the tub, the customer will not expect to pay a price that is 50-100% more than the total of the two. They might as well decide to continue cleaning their tub on their own.
Smart retailers sell good items cheap, with small profit per item because cheap prices increase sales and overall profit. In other words, it is better to sell forty (40) items at ten dollars ($10) profit rather than five (5) items at forty dollars ($40) profit. This will ensure business survival for a very long time as long as the quality of the product in maintained. Competitor’s response will have no effect on this product as long as the affordable price and high quality is maintained. As long as the cheapest possible manufacturing method is utilized, the competitor will find it very difficult to compete.
Furthermore, it is important that the self-cleaning tub is available when and where the customer wants it. Distributing the product to its consumers will be done through direct channels for the customers who wants customized tubs and through dual distribution. This product will be accessible to customers with few obstacles. Moreover, mass marketing is a market coverage strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and go after the whole market with one offer. It is the type of marketing (or attempting to sell through persuasion) of a product to a wide audience.
The idea is to broadcast a message that will reach the largest number of people possible. The target market for this product would be very huge. Quite frankly, every single person who owns or lives in a home should be interested in a self-cleaning bathtub. However, the most strategic channel of distribution should be among person building or looking to build new luxury homes, apartment buildings or hotels. Many new business customers can be obtained since apartment buildings and hotels would want to utilize this product.
The benefits range from cheaper cost of janitorial service to additional attraction to apartments and hotel rooms for guests and tenants to choose from. In order to get all prospective customers interested in the product, public demonstrations will have to be made at strategic areas of business in the city or main towns. Invitations should be sent out to all hotels, luxury home owners and apartment building owners to attend this public event where usage of the bathtub will be demonstrated for all to see. Generally, promotion is communicating with the public in an attempt to influence them toward buying your products and/or services.
How does promotion differ from advertising? Promotion is the broader, all inclusive term. Advertising is just one specific action you could take to promote your product or service. Promotion, as a general term, includes all the ways available to make a product and/or service known to and purchased by customers and clients. Promotion of this item would be done through various mediums. These mediums include television advertisements, billboards, radio advertisements, newspaper advertisements just to name a few.
In summary, the success of the self-cleaning bath tub relies greatly upon proper marketing. The company must have the right combination of all the elements of the marketing mix in order to produce desirable sales results. The mix will include the variables and apparatus that the company will use to satisfy the business objective and the needs of the potential customers. The marketing mix is the foundation of a marketing strategy, unless a new theory is developed and can convincingly replace it will continue to serve that purpose.
The market mix is designed to accommodate the customer. Therefore, each aspect of the marketing mix is equally important. When the mix is being developed, all final decisions about the elements should be made at the same time. To summarize the marketing mix, a company develops a product that meets the needs and desires of customers. Then determines how the product will reach final customers. A promotion plan is then developed to inform the customer of the product. Finally, a price is established while ensuring the company earns a profit.

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