Product, Price, Promotion & Placement Essay

Product, Price, Promotion & Placement Now that we have analyzed our marketing research and we have identified our potential target markets as being in the young adult to middle age adults and from the lower middle class and upward income bracket it is time to develop our plans to reach into these markets and grow IPT. How we target these markets is a series of techniques known as product, pricing, promotion and placement. We also know from the research that 35% of our customers would buy from a store front, 30% would order online or from a catalog, and our business customers would place direct orders. Product In the 4 â€Å"P’s† product is the lead element because this is what we sell and what we need to put in front of our customers. Our best products are always those that are unique or have a special niche market that does not have as much or less competition in the market. We have a special patented coating for our popcorn that sets us apart and this will be our lead product. Packaging of our product is especially important with a food related product. We want to emphasize the uniqueness and we want it to show, so we will use a clear bag with an Old Fashioned label that will be very appealing and desirable, our popcorn will look good unopened sitting on someone’s counter or table at home or in the office. Pricing Because our product is unique we can demand a higher price than the other run of the mill popcorn producers. As a premium product we also establish IPT as the premier high end popcorn treat producer. Our pricing will also stay well within the range of other high end products. The rest of our product lines will be priced within the average range of other similar treats. Bulk business orders will be discounted and our sales to the national flower and gift basket company will be wholesale allowing for mark up on resale. Promotion Promotion of our products will be three fold and very targeted. First we will increase the number of store front locations in the areas with the best demographics and remember the most important rule for a retail business location, location and location. This will put IPT solidly in the market area and the presence will give our brand the brick and mortar support as is done by Barnes & Noble, Inc. From all of our storefront locations we will promote the IPT website for online ordering and placing orders with the national flower and gift basket company to send our products to friends and relatives across the nation and beyond. We will have to set up a strong website and we will use a professional hosting service to product the secure ordering, catalog creation and other site marketing features such as printable coupons for ordering that can be used at the brick and mortar store fronts. The website will also allow our business customer to place their orders and track the shipment. We w ill be utilizing search engine registration and promotion to make sure we â€Å"pop† on all searches with key words like popcorn, gifts, treats, cookies, sweets and coated to name a few. Placement Getting the product in front of or visible to the consumer is essential, the old saying is that if you have a great product then you must be able to supply that product when the customer wants it and where they want it. Customer service and product availability are everything to the customer. We will expand into each market area such as Philadelphia by establishing a storefront and a small warehousing operation to handle the daily ordering, shipping and support for the market area. The store fronts will produce the product locally for retail and shipping within their market area so the product is fresh and doesn’t age. Our warehouse will stock mainly supplies for the production lines at the store front. A good example is Krispy Kreme, Inc. which uses each location to bake the donuts and then deliver to local vendors such as convenience stores, restaurants, events and other functions. We must be able to support the markets we are targeting. Consumer Characteristics From personal experience and as reflected in our market research most consumers prefer to purchase perishable consumables at a local store and we will need to entice our targeted consumers to come to the store fronts or to order online once they have tasted and enjoyed our products. Much like Starbucks whose coffee shops sell a lot of items not related to coffee we must consider adding the intrinsic items that our customers would find interesting such as free wireless internet access from each storefront. This feature would also help us promote our website and expand our customer base. We must continue to collect feedback from all of our market areas and customer to make sure we keep our product fresh and exciting. Distribution and Growth impacts As we grow we must make sure we have the infrastructure to supply our new markets and that our suppliers are aware of the expected increases in quantities we order and that they are able to keep up. We should also expect discounts for high volume orders. Centrally we will supply the national flower and gift basket company and the local market place. Our store fronts will supply their local markets to include internet orders, business orders and retail sales. Summary We will use all of this information provided today to continue our development of the marketing plan for IPT. I hope we have answered your questions and put to rest your doubts. If I can be of assistance in answering any other questions you might have please let me know as soon as possible. References (Pereault William D McCarthy E Jerome 2006 Essential of Marketing: A Global-Managerial Approach)Pereault, William D., & McCarthy, E. Jerome (2006). Essential of Marketing: A Global-Managerial Approach (10th Edition ed., Rev.). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.