P1
In this assignment I am going to be describing different marketing techniques of 2 very different types of business, a private sector business and a voluntary sector business. I will be comparing and contrasting these 2 types of businesses, and how even though they are different, they all use the same marketing techniques.
A private sector is a business, not run or funded by the state whose main aim is to make profit from the product/s they are trying to sell. Some examples of these businesses are, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Marks and Spencer. The business I will be focusing on in this sector is Starbucks Coffee House.
On contrast, the other type of business is a Voluntary sector or community sector. This is a non-profit organization, and like a private sector not run or funded by the state. Some examples of these types of business are Oxfam, RSPCA and the NSPCC. The business i will be focusing on in this sector is Oxfam charity.
4 Main Marketing Techniques used to market products
From Coffee Giant Starbucks, to the local coffee shop, a business whose aim is to expand and obtain numerous customers they will use 4 main marketing techniques to promote their business. The first marketing technique is Strategies to help the business grow (Growth Strategies). A growth strategy is used within a business to help expand the business by using short term earnings to maybe promote an offer or something; to then hopefully increase the overall market share. An example of this would be Oxfam would be opening some charity stores in ‘poorer’ areas as the cheap products would attract a wider audience.
The second Marketing technique is a survival strategy. A survival strategy is a way a business such as Starbucks will have as a backup just in case their business starts to decline in sales dramatically, or any other business threatening problems. An example would be if Starbucks were threatening liquidation, they would start offering unbeatable promotions like, ‘buy one coffee, get two free’ or something like this that will help the business get back on their feet.
The third marketing technique is Branding. Branding is a way of promoting a business by putting some form of logo or writing that will signify that the product is from a certain company. An example of this is that Starbucks put the logo of the siren on all of their cups and other products. When somebody sees this logo, they will automatically think Starbucks, which is very good for the business.
The final marketing technique is relationship marketing; this is a very important marketing technique as it is about the business trying to retain their customers by making them feel important to the business. This is very good as it works, as if the customers feels welcomed, then they will usually return to the business, and promote them through word of mouth promotion. An example of this is Starbucks put your name on your cup, so it almost signifies that they take extra care on your product, as it is being specifically made for you.
Ansoff’s Matrix
Returning to the first point about growth strategies, there is a very important and useful technique which a lot of businesses use to flourish. It is called the ‘Ansoff’s Matrix’ developed by Igor Ansoff (12th December 1918 – 14th July 2002) a Russian-American who believed that a business has the potential to grow by using one of four strategies. The diagram below is an example of this Matrix.
There are four parts to this Matrix, the first part being Market Penetration. This consists of promoting a current product, to the current market. This is classed as a low risk strategy, as the business already knows a lot about this product. An example of this is Starbucks promoting their cappuccino for 20p less. It is like a hard hitter as customers will think that they are saving money.
Product Development is where a new product is being targeted at the current market. This is classed as a medium risk