17 Jun DISCUSS THE ETHICAL ISSUES CONCERNING MARKETING
Using the Waters Bottling Company in Module 1, continue to build the Marketing Plan Sections for the product you have selected/ invented/ created. Complete the following in MS Word: Be concise but complete in your analysis of each plan element. Your employer wants to know you have left nothing out in your analysis.
This assignment represents Section 3 of the Marketing Plan. Use the guide to identify the sections of the Marketing Plan and the marketing elements contained therein. This assignment will focus on Section 3– Product & Price (Module 3).
Section 3 – Product & Price (Module 3 LASA 1)
The Product Product Levels: Core, Actual, & Augmented (Packaging) Product Life Cycle BCG Model Services Marketing Price Determination & Pricing Strategies Supply & Demand Competition Objectives and Strategies You will create a complete Marketing Plan by the end of the course. You will write the third section of the Marketing Plan for this assignment. Use the Marketing Plan guide to identify the sections of the Marketing Plan and the marketing elements contained therein. This assignment will focus on Section 3 – The Product & Pricing (Module 3).
Relate all responses using the WBC scenario and the product you have selected to market in Module 1.
Create a 4- to 6-page Word document for your Marketing Plan Section. Apply a standard business writing style using the Market Planning Guide sections as your (headers/ sub heads/ bullets) to your work. Be sure to cite your work in the APA format.
Use the following file-naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.doc. For example, if your name is John Smith, your document will be named SmithJ_M3_A2.doc
1. The role and function of marketing for WBC
The market for bottled water is very large because people of all ages, gender and ethnicities need to drink water on a daily basis. The Water Bottling Company seeks to enter into this market and offer a refreshing choice of bottled water to the population in a bid to promote healthy living. To do this, the company would require an intensive marketing strategy since it is venturing into this field for the first time. The marketing campaign would enable the company to create awareness of its products in order to promote its suitability to target groups. By so doing they will be assured of profitability and a dynamic business perception based on their advert’s message (Brei & Tadajewski, 2015).
2. Creating a product for WBC to market and explaining the Marketing Mix for this product
The Water Bottling Company would market its brands of bottled mineral water under the name Crystal Clear through a number of marketing techniques. The mineral water would be divided into Crystal Clear sparkling mineral water and Crystal Clear sparkling drinking water. The sparkling water was chosen since it accounts for a smaller percentage of the overall bottled water market and therefore competition would not be as stiff in this sector. To ensure that this products become a success, the 4 components of a marketing mix should be adopted to define the company’s marketing options based on price, product, place and promotion (Westwood, 2011).
The marketing mix will be very simple to implement since it requires that a company creates a unique product which has a great appeal to a certain group of people in the society. Upon accomplishment of this first phase, it is then required to deliver the product to the market and put it on sale at places that the targeted group of people visit on a regular basis. The price however should be a representation of the value that these people will derive from consuming the product. Proper execution of these four steps is bound to result in success (Westwood, 2011).
3. Analyzing the Marketing Environment
As was outlined earlier, the market for bottled water is quite vast and therefore the likelihood of pushing the product into becoming a success here would be very high. Both the young and the old need to drink water in order to survive and therefore lacking customers will not be an option. Retail stores, convenience stores, groceries and even filling station shops offer various brands of water in huge amounts to cater to the large number of thirsty customers. The Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC) reported that approximately 11 billion gallons of bottled water was consumed in the U.S in 2014 alone and only 1.5% of this was imported (“Statistics | IBWA | Bottled Water”, 2016). This goes to show that the availability of market for the product would not be an issue as long as the right marketing and distribution channels are used.
4. The marketing function and its relationship with the other functional areas of the WBC
The marketing function details the marketing activities, the period of time when they will be conducted, the rate of development and the resources to be used in their execution. The relationship between marketing and the other functional areas of a business therefore cannot be downplayed as it plays an integral part in the company’s overall performance. The Water Bottling Company’s marketing plan would have to be liaised with its goals and objectives through coordination with the finance departments, production departments, procurement departments and the personnel departments. This is because the plan would involve financing and the input of the production team in its formulation (Navarro, 2009).
5. Defining the strategic marketing planning process
A strategic marketing plan would enable the Water Bottling Company to attain its marketing objectives. The strategy provides an opportunity for the organization to link its marketing techniques to its overall success. In this case, the Water Bottle Company would utilize two strategies:
a. Price-based marketing
The organization will utilize a price-based strategy where it will have to set the price of its products at a reasonable level so as to gain competitive advantage over its competitors. The price should not be too low as it would have an adverse effect on the cost of production and it should not be too high as this would drive away potential customers (Westwood, 2011).
b. Differentiation-based marketing
This method of marketing enables a company to obtain relative advantage over its rivals as a result of producing a slightly differentiated product. The Water Bottling Company’s advantage here would be packaging of Crystal Clear in re-usable bottles. This would enable customers to use the bottles long after they have depleted the original contents.
6. Establishing an organizational level strategy and including goals and objectives
The Water Bottling Company is keen on ensuring that the general public gets access to refreshingly clean water while making efforts to reduce environmental pollution by packaging the water in recyclable containers. The company’s mission is to “provide perfectly clean drinking water for healthy living.” Its vision is to “ensure that it becomes the water bottling company of choice with great focus on quality and integrity in provision of its services as well as maintaining an unpolluted environment for forthcoming generations.” The mission and vision will be instrumental to the achievement of its goals, both financial and non-financial as described below (Westwood, 2011):
a. Financial goals
I. Ensuring the company attains projected levels of profitability within the next three years.
II. Increasing the Returns on Investment thereafter through solid marketing techniques.
a. Non-financial goals
I. Building solid relationships with both new and existing customers by providing the most refreshing and healthy bottled water in the United States.
II. Growing the support of wholesalers and retailers in order to gain valuable shelf space and develop suitable business relationships.
7. Discuss the ethical issues concerning marketing
Any company that is serious about its marketing strategy should have ethical policies that guide its research, advertising, pricing, and competitive strategies. The strategy should ensure that the consumer does not only get value for their money on purchasing an advertised product but that he/she is also treated fairly by the seller. Ethical marketing strategies therefore should be crafted to take into account the needs of business partners, suppliers and ultimately customers. Unethical practices in the form of deceptive marketing have the ability to dent the image of a company and so care should be taken to prevent inclusion of puffery and propagation in the strategy. Emerging business trends suggest that customers show preference for companies that are deemed to be ethical and therefore ethical behavior is in itself a selling point (Navarro, 2009).
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