FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF MANAGEMENT STUDY(MMS) SESSION II 2011-2012

Submitted to: MISS. SWAPNILA NAGE Submitted by: SUMIT MHAMUNKAR SAMEER SHAHU M.M.S. ii sem (2011-2012)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It gives immense Pleasure & Happiness to acknowledge my deepest sense of gratitude towards all those who helped me in successful completion of this project. First of all I would like to thank GOD almighty for everything, I am also grateful to our Mam Miss. Swapnila nage, Special thanks to my project guide Miss. Swapnila nage,, My Family & Friends specially My class students, for their continuous guidance, support & motivation without them my project report would not have been completed.

Sumit mhamunkar Sameer shahu M.M.S. 2ND SEM

CONTENTS

Preface Executive Summary Objective of the project Research Methodology. Literature Review Company Profile Trade Profile Marketing Plan Management Hierarchy Comparison with other business Govt. policies related to business About the topic (Market Potential) Findings And Analysis Limitation Summary/conclusion Suggestions/Recommendations Bibliography Questionnaire

PREFACE
To start any business the success entirely depends on the marketing research done about the particular and the consumer attitude towards the product. Marketing research plays a vital role in a business to make it success. We have tried to put our best effort to complete this task on the basis of skill that we have achieved during our studies in the institute. We have tried to put our maximum effort to get the accurate statistical data. However we would appreciate if any mistakes are brought to us by the reader.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
After going thick on the things, now time is to make a complete picture. While making a product a SKU (stock keeping unit) of the shop retailers think about the GMROI (gross margin return on investment) and they promote the brand which provides them highest. They expect return in the form of profit margin, company schemes, window display and reference of the shop. Among these, company schemes make the difference and are the highest sources of motivation after profit margin. Retailing demands a constant push from the company. Marketer needs to use advertising and brand building strategies to address the discerning buyers and retail push to in different buyers. The manufacturer should understand consumer behavior because retailers cant help quality and price. It is only up to manufacturers to deliver what consumer wants. I need to stress on it because 58% retailers said that it is demand why they sell Britannia. 61% agree that at retail shop it is brand popularity, which determine the purchase of biscuit. There is a greater need to understand the retailer behavior. Considering them as a team, working for the company may help them to be attached to the company. There should be a feeling of belonging to the company in inner of the retailers. This can be done by setting values club for retailers so that they may exchange views with the company and help in understanding consumer behavior.

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR

Understanding the buying behavior of the target market is the essential task of marketing management under marketing concept. The consumer market consists of all the individuals and households who buy or acquire good and services for personal consumptions. The buying behavior tries to find out the answers for the questions, who buys? How do they buy? Where do they buy? Do they buy? (A) FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR There are four major factors that influence the buying behavior such as cultural factors, social factors, personal factors, and psychological factors. i. CULTURAL FACTORS: Culture is the most fundamental determinant of a person wants and behavior. Values, perceptions, preferences, and behavior are the main variable under culture of an individual. Each culture contains subculture like nationality, religious group, geographical area, and linguistic divisions etc. ii. SOCIAL FACTORS: A consumer behavior is also influenced by social factors such as the consumer reference group family and social roles and status. iii. PERSONAL FACTORS: A buyer decision is also influenced by his or personal characteristics, notably the buyers age, lifestyle, occupation, economic circumstances etc. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS: a person buying choice is also influenced by four major psychological factors such as motivation, perception, learning belief and attitudes. (B) BUYING DECISION PROCESS It includes buying roles, types of buying and steps in buying process.

I.

BUYING ROLE

The buying role could be classified into four parts. These are initiator, influencer, decider and buyer.

II. TYPES OF BUYING BEHAVIOR Consumer decision taking varies with the type of buying decision. There are four types buying behavior such as Complex buying behavior, Habitual buying behavior, Variety seeking buying behavior. III. STAGES IN BUYING DECISION PROCESS Here are five stages in buying decision process namely problem recognition search, evaluation of alternatives purchase decision and past purchase behavior. NEED RECOGNITION The buying process starts with the buyers recognition of a problem of need. The buyer senses a difference between his actual state and desired state. INFORMATION SEARCH There are different sources from where a consumer can gather information like personal sources commercial sources, experimental sources. EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES After gathering information about different products the customer will be in a fuss as to choose which product among the mainly alternatives consumer usually evaluate the alternatives on traditional basis, on the basis of utility function etc. from the many alternative consumers at last choose the best one for him

PURCHASE DECISION A consumer who decides to execute purchase intention will be making up to five purchase decisions. POST PURCHASE BEHAVIOR After purchasing the product and services the consumer will experience some level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the product and services that will influence subsequent behavior. If consumer is satisfied he may show the probability of buying the product the next time, satisfied customer will say good thing about the product, proving the statement that "satisfied customer is the best advertisement. A

dissatisfied customer may take some action against it. They may try to reduce the dissonance by abandoning returning the product. Understanding consumer needs and buying process is the foundation of any company. By understanding how buyers go through problem recognition, information search evaluation of alternatives, the purchase decision and post purchase behavior marketers can pick up many clues as to how to meet buyers need.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Marketing Marketing is a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering and freely exchanging products and services of value with others or other wise it is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods, services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. Marketing Strategy Marketing strategy is a set of objectives, policies and rules that leads the company's marketing efforts. It is the marketing approach to accomplish the bread objective of the marketing approach to accomplish the bread objective of the marketing plan. The various process of marketing strategy are given below. 1. Selecting largest markets segmentation 2. Positioning 3. Product 4. Price 5. Place 6. Promotion 7. Research and development 8. Marketing research

Market segmentation and selecting target market It is an effort to increase a company's precision marketing. The starting point of any segmentation discussion is mass marketing. In mass marketing, the seller engaged in the mass production, mass distribution and mass promotion of one product for all buyers. Market segment consists of a large identifiable group within a market with similar wants, purchasing power geographical location, buying attitudes or buying habita. It is an approach midway between mass marketing and individual marketing. Through this the choice of distribution channels, and communicaton channels become much easier. The researchers try to form segments by looking at consumer characteristics; geographic, demographic, and psychographic. After segmenting the market then target market selected. 2. Positioning:- The positioning is a creative exercise donw with an existing product. the well known products generally hold a distinctive position in consumer's minds. The positioning requires that every tangible aspect of product, price, place and promotion must support the chosen positioning strategy. Company should develop a unique selling proposition (USP) for each brand and stick to it, PPL consistently promotes its DAP fertilizer by Higher yield at lower cost. As companies increase the number of claims for their brand, they risk disbelief and a loss of clear positioning. In general a company must avoid four major positioning errors. Those are under positioning over positioning, confused positioning and doubtful positioning. 3. Product:- A product is any offering that can satisfy a need or want. The major types of basic offerings are goods, services, experiences, events, places, properties, organizations, information and ideas. The company gives more importance in quality, packaging, services etc. to satisfy the customers. The products has it's life cycle. The product strategies are modified in different stages of product life cycle. 4. Price:- It is the most important aspect in company's point of view. Price of the product will be decided by the company according to the competitor's price. 5. Place:- This plays a major role in the entire marketing system. the company emphasis on it's distribution network. Proper distribution network gives proper availability of the product.

6. Promotion:- Promotion is the one of the major aspects in marketing strategies. By adopting various promotional activities the company create strong brand image. It also helps in increasing the brand awareness. It includes advertising, sales promotioins and public relations etc. 7. Research and Development:- after testing, the new product manager must develop a preliminary marketing strategy plan for introducing the new product in to the market. The plan consists of three parts. The first part describes the target market's size, structure and behavior. The second part out lines the planned price, distribution strategy and marketing budget for the first year. The third part of the development describes the long run sales and profit goals and marketing mix strategy over time.

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MARKETING MIX
Target Market

Product Product variety Quality Design Features Brand name Packaging Sizes Services Warranties returns

Price List price Discounts Allowances Payment period Credit terms

Promotion Sales promotion Advertising Sales forces Public relation Direct marketing

Place Channels Coverage Assortments Locations Inventory Transport

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HISTORY OF BISCUITS
Sweet or salty. Soft or crunchy. Simple or exotic. Everybody loves munching on biscuits, but do they know how biscuits began?

The history of biscuits can be traced back to a recipe created by the Roman chef Apicius, in which "a thick paste of fine wheat flour was boiled and spread out on a plate. When it had dried and hardened it was cut up and then fried until crisp, then served with honey and pepper."

The word 'Biscuit' is derived from the Latin words 'Bis' (meaning 'twice') and 'Coctus' (meaning cooked or baked). The word 'Biscotti' is also the generic term for cookies in Italian. Back then, biscuits were unleavened, hard and thin wafers which, because of their low water content, were ideal food to store.

As people started to explore the globe, biscuits became the ideal travelling food since they stayed fresh for long periods. The seafaring age, thus, witnessed the boom of biscuits when these were sealed in airtight containers to last for months at a time. Hard track biscuits (earliest version of the biscotti and present-day crackers) were part of the staple diet of English and American sailors for many centuries. In fact, the countries which led this seafaring charge, such as those in Western Europe, are the ones where biscuits are most popular even today. Biscotti is said to have been a favorite of Christopher Columbus who discovered America!

Making good biscuits is quite an art, and history bears testimony to that. During the 17th and 18th Centuries in Europe, baking was a carefully controlled profession, managed through a series of 'guilds' or professional associations. To become a baker, one had to complete years of apprenticeship - working through the ranks of apprentice, journeyman, and finally master baker. Not only this, the amount and quality of biscuits baked were also carefully monitored.

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The English, Scotch and Dutch immigrants originally brought the first cookies to the United States and they were called teacakes. They were often flavored with nothing more than the finest butter, sometimes with the addition of a few drops of rose water. Cookies in America were also called by such names as "jumbles", "plunkets" and "cry babies".

As technology improved during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, the price of sugar and flour dropped. Chemical leavening agents, such as baking soda, became available and a profusion of cookie recipes occurred. This led to the development of manufactured cookies.

Interestingly, as time has passed and despite more varieties becoming available, the essential ingredients of biscuits haven't changed - like 'soft' wheat flour (which contains less protein than the flour used to bake bread) sugar, and fats, such as butter and oil. Today, though they are known by different names the world over, people agree on one thing - nothing beats the biscuit!

Some interesting facts on the origin of other forms of biscuits: The recipe for oval shaped cookies (that are also known as boudoir biscuits, sponge biscuits, sponge fingers, Naples biscuits and Savoy biscuits) has changed little in 900 years and dates back to the house of Savoy in the 11th century France. Peter the Great of Russia seems to have enjoyed an oval-shaped cookie called "lady fingers" when visiting Louis XV of France.

The macaroon - a small round cookie with crisp crust and a soft interior - seems to have originated in an Italian monastery in 1792 during the French Revolution.

SPRING-uhr-lee, have been traditional Christmas cookies in Austria and Bavaria for centuries. They are made from a simple egg, flour and sugar dough and are usually rectangular in shape. These cookies are made with a leavening agent called ammonium carbonate and baking ammonia.

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Britannia
The story of one of India's favorite brands reads almost like a fairy tale. Once upon a time, in 1892 to be precise, a biscuit company was started in a nondescript house in Calcutta (now Kolkata) with an initial investment of Rs. 295. The company we all know as Britannia today.

The beginnings might have been humble-the dreams were anything but. By 1910, with the advent of electricity, Britannia mechanized its operations, and in 1921, it became the first company east of the Suez Canal to use imported gas ovens. Britannia's business was flourishing. But, more importantly, Britannia was acquiring a reputation for quality and value. As a result, during the tragic World War II, the Government reposed its trust in Britannia by contracting it to supply large quantities of "service biscuits" to the armed forces.

As time moved on, the biscuit market continued to grow and Britannia grew along with it. In 1975, the Britannia Biscuit Company took over the distribution of biscuits from Parry's who till now distributed Britannia biscuits in India. In the subsequent public issue of 1978, Indian shareholding crossed 60%, firmly establishing the Indianness of the firm. The following year, Britannia Biscuit Company was rechristened Britannia Industries Limited (BIL). Four years later in 1983, it crossed the Rs. 100 crores revenue mark.

On the operations front, the company was making equally dynamic strides. In 1992, it celebrated its Platinum Jubilee. In 1997, the company unveiled its new corporate identity - "Eat Healthy, Think Better" - and made its first foray into the dairy products market. In 1999, the "Britannia Khao, World Cup Jao" promotion further fortified the affinity consumers had with 'Brand Britannia'.

Britannia strode into the 21st Century as one of India's biggest brands and the preeminent food brand of the country. It was equally recognized for its innovative approach to products and marketing: the Lagaan Match was voted India's most successful promotional activity of the year 2001 while the delicious Britannia 50-50 Maska-Chaska became India's most successful product launch. In 2002, Britannia's
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New Business Division formed a joint venture with Fonterra, the world's second largest Dairy Company, and Britannia New Zealand Foods Pvt. Ltd. was born. In recognition of its vision and accelerating graph, Forbes Global rated Britannia 'One amongst the Top 200 Small Companies of the World', and The Economic Times pegged Britannia India's 2nd Most Trusted Brand.

Today, more than a century after those tentative first steps, Britannia's fairy tale is not only going strong but blazing new standards, and that miniscule initial investment has grown by leaps and bounds to crores of rupees in wealth for Britannia's shareholders. The company's offerings are spread across the spectrum with products ranging from the healthy and economical Tiger biscuits to the more lifestyle-oriented Milkman Cheese. Having succeeded in garnering the trust of almost one-third of India's one billion population and a strong management at the helm means Britannia will continue to dream big on its path of innovation and quality.

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PRODUCTS
Tiger Banana Britannia is committed to help secure every child's right to Growth & Development through good food everyday. Purposefully taking forward the credo of 'Eat Healthy, Think Better ', we have launched a new variant under our power brand TIGER - TIGER BANANA - power packed with IRON ZOR & and with the delightful taste of banana. IRON ZOR helps make mind sharper and body stronger. A Rs.4 pack has as much IRON ZOR as that in 1 kg of Banana. R&D in Britannia has spent considerable time to develop this nutritious and delightful snack for children. Britannia Tiger Banana packed with IRON ZOR and goodness of Banana is accessible to all, being available in convenient packs priced at Rs.2, Rs.4 and Rs.10. NutriChoice SugarOut Sounds like yesterday when people commented that healthy foods meant "compromising on the taste." NutriChoice SugarOut is the most novel product range to have been introduced in the market. The product is not just sweet but tastes great, and yet contains no added sugar.

This is because NutriChoice SugarOut is sweetened with "Sucralose," derived from sugar, which provides the same sweetness as any other biscuit, without the added calories of sugar.

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This range is available in 3 delicious variants namely Litetime, Chocolate cream, and Orange cream, targeted towards all health sensitive people. It is also relevant for consumers with sugar related ailments.

We are sure that you will be pleasantly delighted with its great taste and equally surprised to know that it has no added sugar.

Don't be taken for a ride when you read "Sugar Free" label on many biscuit packs marketed in India or abroad. Even with 100% no-added sugar, wheat-cereals in biscuits have their own natural sugar content. Britannia has chosen to represent these biscuits with "No Added Sugar" claim, as there is no added sugar in the processing of NutriChoice SugarOut.

Britannia 50-50 Pepper Chakkar The launch of the latest 50-50 variant left everybody guessing "What it eez?" From TV ads, radio, outdoor and in-store display materials to events, a website and SMS and email blasts, traditional and new media were blended synergistically to create excitement and curiosity about the unique taste of the biscuit. The tangy and distinctive pepper flavoured biscuit, that's thin and crispy and more like a snack, caught the imagination of a younger audience craving something to nibble on. The 5050 Pepper Chakkar launch is truly a case of leveraging the marketing mix to best advantage.

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NutriChoice Digestive Biscuit Nothing can be more difficult than making small efforts in our daily life towards healthy and active living. 24/7 we are engrossed in our busy schedules; skipping meals, missing walks, along with inadequate sleep and frequently eating-out, all take a heavy toll on our health.

At least with the new and improved NutriChoice Digestive Biscuit, we have one less thing to worry about. Made with 50% whole-wheat and packed with added fibre (10% of our daily dietary needs), these delightfully tasty biscuits are amongst your healthiest bites of the day. In your next visit to a shop just look out for its Goldengreen international carton pack. Try one and you'll know that you've made one smart choice - NutriChoice. Treat Fruit Rollz All kids who have relished the yummy creamy treasures of Britannia Treat in exciting flavors, have yet another reason to celebrate! Britannia Treat launches the amazingly yummy Treat Fruit Rollz!! These tasty soft rolls are filled with real fruits and provide a healthy yet mouth-watering treat to the kids. Fruit Rollz comes in four masti fruit flavours - Juicy Apple, Strawberry Surprise, Tangy Orange and Delicious Dates! Want to know a little secret? They make the best tiffin treats! So during snack time what better than to munch on the delicious and healthy Fruit Rollz and discover the yummy fruit flavor from within the shells. Keeping up with Britannia's platform of 'taste bhi, health bhi', Fruit Rollz is indeed a yummy snacking option for kids, while keeping the Moms assured about the goodness provided by the fruit filling. So go on and treat yourself to the lip-smacking snack!

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New Britannia Milk Bikis

Milk Bikis, the favourite growth partner of Kids, now brings greater value and delight to all with its new product and pack design. Recently re-launched in its existing Southern & Eastern markets, and extended across India, the new Milk Bikis is all set to add excitement and appeal to nutritious food. Whoever said that good food needs to look dull and boring, will just have to take a look at Milk Bikis. With a unique and attractive honeycomb design and an enhanced product experience, the new biscuit prompts the Kids will love it reaction amongst mothers. The milk goodness in the recipe is now enhanced with SMART NUTRIENTS 4 vital vitamins, iron and iodine, proven to aid mental and physical development in growing kids. The premium packaging, besides appealing to kids, also ensures that the biscuits remain fresh and crisp. So, whether its breakfast time or snack time at school, rest assured that kids will look forward to munching these crunchy, milky biscuits which even helps in their development. And yes, adults wont be far behind in reaching out for a pack

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Financial Analysis Britannia's gross sales turnover increased to Rs 18,179 mn in 2005-06 from Rs 16,154 mn in the previous year, registering a growth of 13%. Operating profit at Rs 1,763 mn increased by 7%, profit before tax and exceptional items at Rs. 1,958 mn declined by 19% against 2004-05 , impacted by the profit on sale of long term investments that accrued to 'other income' last year.

[Fig- 2.1: Gross Sales of Britannia]

The Company achieved these results despite significant increases in input cost, particularly sugar, fuel and oils, coupled with aggressive pricing in the industry. Your Company's focused initiatives on commercialising market place opportunities, supply chain efficiencies and overall cost management resulted in its top line growth and profitability. Operating margin at 10.3% in 2005-06 compared with 10.9% in the previous year was impacted by the inflation in input costs.

Despite stiff competition, your Company stabilised and held its overall market share at 31.7% in volume and 38.8% in value for the last year.

Exports turnover during the year was Rs 111.71 mn against Rs 71.65 mn in 2004-05, a growth of 56%

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[Fig 2.2: Earning per Share of Britannia]

1550 1500 1450 1400 1350 1300 1250 1200 Opening High of the Day Low of the Day Closing
28-o1 29-01 30-01 31-01 01-02

[Fig 2.3: Graph of Share Movement of Britannia Industry on the BSE]

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INDUSTRY
Biscuits derive its name from a French word meaning twice backed bread; Biscuits in general have a good shelf life, which is higher than all other snack items available in the market. India is the second largest producer of biscuits in the world after the U.S.A. but still the per capita consumption is only 2.3 kg/year of developed countries. As per the latest survey done by N.C.A.E.R., 49 biscuits are consumed in rural areas. The penetration of biscuits into households stands at an average of 83.2% with the rural penetration at 77% and urban penetration at 88%. Biscuits are reserved for the small scale sector but there are strong possibilities of the industry being deserved in line with the government policy of liberalization. The net effect thus would be greater choice for the consumer as well as a check on the costs. The country production of the biscuits during 2004-05 was 18.6 Lac tons of which 1/2 were manufactured by the organized sector. The industry turn over was 5322.7 Crores of which organized sector contributed 2519.3 crores. Britannia, makers of Britannia biscuits, doubled capacity from 25 tonnes a day to 50 tonnes and plans to be a national brand soon. In an aggressive mode, the North dominated biscuit player has increased its ad budget to Rs. 5 crore this year from Rs. 3 crore last year. Britannia has also recently invested about Rs. 5 crore in the modernization and expansion of its production and packing its production capacity of 40 tonnes per day to 100 tonnes per day by next year. The aim: to take the current turnover of Rs. 50 crore to Rs. 100 crore by the year. The low priced brand claims to have a 15 per cent market share in the North and is aggressively eyeing a bigger bite of the Rs. 2,500 crore biscuit industry. The brand plans to gain a 40 per cent market share in the North by the year of. The company's strategy has been to attract new consumer segments and widen its consumer base with its well packaged low priced offerings. Britannia's success has also come from its formidable.

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It gives me great pleasure to introduce the Summer Training Report. It is based on the survey conducted in East Delhi region on Biscuit industry. The applicability of various branding strategies play crucial role in marketing in product. the applicability has grown due to the liberalization, competition and technological changes taking place in corporate world. In this project the various branding strategies adopted by the company has been studied and compared on the basis of current market scenario. It gives the idea about the market share enjoyed by the different companies in the Biscuit Industry. It provides the adequate coverage of many issues related to biscuit industry. The objective of this report is to give the market share of Britannia biscuits in the Indian capital (New Delhi). It has been made possible by knowing the consumer's behaviour and by studying the patterns adopted by the retailers. It gives us very precise view about the existing demand of Britannia biscuits and demand of their products as compared to other competitors. It also highlights the changing market trends and consumer preferences, why they have shifted from finally pack to pouch pack. The annual growth rate of the industry is about 12.5%. However, the growth of cream biscuits, assorted or special variety is the range of 30-40%. The organized sector consists of large, medium and small scale biscuit manufacturers who produce packed biscuits. The major players in this sector are Britannia, Bakemans, and Parle, etc. the unorganized sector comprises of small bakery units, cottage and household type manufacturing plants. These units distribute their biscuits in the surrounding vicinity of their manufacturing locations of say 20-50 kms. The country production of biscuits during 2005-06 is estimated to be about 19.5 lack tons. Out of which 1/2 again is expected from unorganized sector.

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Financial Analysis Britannia's gross sales turnover increased to Rs 18,179 mn in 2005-06 from Rs 16,154 mn in the previous year, registering a growth of 13%. Operating profit at Rs 1,763 mn increased by 7%, profit before tax and exceptional items at Rs. 1,958 mn declined by 19% against 2004-05 , impacted by the profit on sale of long term investments that accrued to 'other income' last year.

[Fig- 2.1: Gross Sales of Britannia]

The Company achieved these results despite significant increases in input cost, particularly sugar, fuel and oils, coupled with aggressive pricing in the industry. Your Company's focused initiatives on commercialising market place opportunities, supply chain efficiencies and overall cost management resulted in its top line growth and profitability. Operating margin at 10.3% in 2005-06 compared with 10.9% in the previous year was impacted by the inflation in input costs.

Despite stiff competition, your Company stabilised and held its overall market share at 31.7% in volume and 38.8% in value for the last year.

Exports turnover during the year was Rs 111.71 mn against Rs 71.65 mn in 2004-05, a growth of 56%

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[Fig 2.2: Earning per Share of Britannia]

1550 1500 1450 1400 1350 1300 1250 1200 Opening High of the Day Low of the Day Closing
28-o1 29-01 30-01 31-01 01-02

[Fig 2.3: Graph of Share Movement of Britannia Industry on the BSE]

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CONCLUSION
After going thick on the thing, now time is to make a complete picture. While making a product a SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) of the shop retailers think about the GMROI (Gross Margin Return On Investment) and they promote the brand which provide them highest. They expect return in the form of profit margin, company schemes, window display and references of the shop. Among these, company schemes make the differences and are the highest source of motivation after profit margin. Retailing demands a constant push from the company. Marketer needs to use advertising and brand building strategies to address the discerning buyers and retail push to in different buyers. The manufacturer should understand consumer behavior because retailers can't help quality and price. It is only up to dealers said it is demand they sell Britannia 42% agree that at retail shop it is brand popularity, which determine the purchase of biscuit. There is a greater need to understand the retailer behavior considering them as a team working for the company may help them to be attached to the company. There should be feeling of belonging to the company in inner of the retailers. Setting values club for retailers so that they may exchange views with the company and help in understanding consumer behavio

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The Marketing Mix and 4 Ps

Understanding how to position your market offering

What is marketing? The definition that many marketers learn as they start out in the industry is: Putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time. It's simple! You just need to create a product that a particularly group of people want, put it on sale some place that those same people visit regularly, and price it at a level which matches the value they feel they get out of it; and do all that at a time they want to buy. Then you've got it made! There's a lot of truth in this idea. However, a lot of hard work needs to go into finding out what customers want, and identifying where they do their shopping. Then you need to figure out how to produce the item at a price that represents value to them, and get it all to come together at the critical time. But if you get just one element wrong, it can spell disaster. You could be left promoting a car with amazing fuel-economy in a country where fuel is very cheap; or publishing a textbook after the start of the new school year, or selling an item at a price that's too high or too low to attract the people you're targeting.
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The marketing mix is a good place to start when you are thinking through your plans for a product or service, and it helps you avoid these kinds of mistake. Understanding the Tool The marketing mix and the 4 Ps of marketing are often used as synonyms for each other. In fact, they are not necessarily the same thing. "Marketing mix" is a general phrase used to describe the different kinds of choices organizations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or service to market. The 4 Ps is one way probably the bestknown way of defining the marketing mix, and was first expressed in 1960 by E J McCarthy. The 4Ps are:

Product (or Service) Place Price Promotion

A good way to understand the 4 Ps is by the questions that you need to ask to define you marketing mix. Here are some questions that will help you understand and define each of the four elements: Product/Service What does the customer want from the product/service? What needs does it satisfy? What features does it have to meet these needs?

Are there any features you've missed out? Are you including costly features that the customer won't actually use?

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Place

Where do buyers look for your product or service? If they look in a store, what kind? A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both? Or online? Or direct, via a catalogue?

Price

What is the value of the product or service to the buyer? Are there established price points for products or services in this area?

Promotion

Where and when can you get across your marketing messages to your target market?

Will you reach your audience by advertising in the press, or on TV, or radio, or on billboards? By using direct marketing mailshot? Through PR? On the Internet?

The 4Ps model is just one of many marketing mix lists that have been developed over the years. And, whilst the questions we have listed above are key, they are just a subset of the detailed probing that may be required to optimize your marketing mix. Amongst the other marketing mix models have been developed over the years is Boom and Bitner's 7Ps, sometimes called the extended marketing mix, which include the first 4 Ps, plus people, processes and physical layout decisions.

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Tip: Check through your answers to make sure they are based on sound knowledge and facts. If there are doubts about your assumptions, identify any market research, or facts and figures that you may need to gather.

4. Once you have a well-defined marketing mix, try "testing" the overall offer from the customer's perspective, by asking customer focused questions: 1. Does it meet their needs? (product) 2. Will they find it where they shop? (place) 3. Will they consider it's priced favorably? (price) 4. And will the marketing communications reach them? (promotion) 5. Keep on asking questions and making changes to your mix until you are satisfied that you have optimized your marketing mix, given the information and facts and figures you have available. 6. Review you marketing mix regularly, as some elements will need to change as the product or service, and its market, grow, mature and adapt in an ever-changing competitive environment.

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