Mkt501 : Marketing Management : Assessment Answers

Chapter 5 – Consumer and business behavior

Chapter 6 – Segmentation, targeting and positioning 

Answer: 

Chapter 5 – Consumer and business behavior

Nike and Fuelbands

In the present business world, one of the most commonly noticed trends is the fact that the various business enterprises often take the help of diverse kinds of marketing as well as promotional campaigns. These are being used with the objective of effectively promoting the products or the services offered by them and also to create a need for the products or the services offered by them. A typical example of a business enterprise which took the help of promotional as well as marketing campaigns to create a new for the products or the services offered by them was Nike. The company Nike made the most effective usage of this particular process for the Fuelbands offered by them. For example, it was seen that the company took the help of various kinds of promotional as well as marketing campaigns wherein they emphasized the benefits that the customers can derive by staying fit and also the manner in which they can do it (Nike.com, 2018). The Fuelbands, which the company Nike offered, enabled the customers to measure the total physical activity that they have performed in a single day and also to compare it with others (Nike.com, 2018). Thus, it can be said that the concerned company by first creating the need for fitness and then providing a product which can help the customers to measure their level of physical fitness was not only able to create a need among the customers for the products that they offered but also ensure the success of their product.

Reference:

Nike+ FuelBand makes life a sport. (2018). Nike.com [online] Retrieved from https://news.nike.com/news/nike-fuelband-makes-life-a-sport

Chapter 6 – Segmentation, targeting and positioning 

 McDonald’s and brand image

The company McDonald’s, which was established by the McDonald brothers, initially focused on the sale of hamburgers and other kinds of traditional food items made by them and had only one business center, that is, in the city of San Bernardino (Mcdonalds.com, 2018). They insisted that the joint should provide the food items to the customers, which were manufactured from healthy means and also from the traditional means. However, Ray Kroc, who took over the reign of the company from the McDonald brothers not only expanded the business into the diverse parts of the USA but also of the world (Mcdonalds.com, 2018). In addition to this, changes were also made in the menu that the outlet offered to the customers depending on the location of the outlet and some of the local food cuisines were also included in the menu with the intension of enhancing the revenue earned by the outlet. Furthermore, various artificial food products and others were also used for the manufacture of the food items. The use of these strategies or tactics has significantly changed the image of the company from a small outlet in San Bernardino to one of the largest fast food chains of the world (Mcdonalds.com, 2018). The company needed to realign its image so as to send a clear message to the customers that the organization has undergone a change in leadership and was willing to make the required changes as per the requirements of the customers unlike in the earlier time when the McDonald brothers were unwilling to make any changes.  

Reference:

McDonald's: Burgers, Fries & More. Quality Ingredients. (2018). www.mcdonalds.com [online] Retrieved from https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us.html

Chapter 7: Digital marketing and social networking

Digital marketing strategies and its effective usage by Kate Spade

Chapter 8 – The power of branding

Sustainable Brand and competition

The objective of the various business enterprises of the present times has shifted drastically from the means to enhance the annual revenue gained by them to the process of attainment of sustainability (McDonagh & Prothero, 2014). This is important from the perspective of the various brands as well as organizations since in the present times it is seen that the number of choices or the options that are available to a customer is more than it was earlier times and this has significantly increased the amount of competition within the business world (McDonagh & Prothero, 2014). Thus, the various business enterprises of the present times look to attain the stage of sustainability. This is important since it enables the concerned organization to not only earn the loyalty as well as the satisfaction of the customers but at the same time ensures a steady flow of revenue because of the fixed customer base that they would have (McDonagh & Prothero, 2014). Thus, it can be said that the business enterprises which aim to attain the stage of sustainability have a better chance of gaining success within the present day business world rather than the other organizations which focus on revenue and other kind of options.

Reference:

McDonagh, P., & Prothero, A. (2014). Sustainability marketing research: Past, present and future. Journal of Marketing Management, 30(11-12), 1186-1219. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0267257X.2014.943263

Chapter 10 – Pricing decision 

Customer’s response to airline surcharges

One of the most commonly used tactics by the various airlines companies in order to attract a larger number of customers to the services offered by them is to provide them lost cost services wherein they would be required to pay just the basic amount of prices for the services that they have opted for (Greenleaf, Johnson, Morwitz & Shalev, 2016). However, at the same time it is seen that the customers are required to pay additional charges for the various kinds of necessities like luggage carriage, beverages, foods, fuel surcharges and others (Burman, Albinsson & Hyatt, 2016). The customers usually see these extra or additional airline surcharges charged by the airline companies to be totally unfair and at the same time unjustified because of the fact that they need to pay extra amount of money for travelling the same time amount of distance that in the earlier times they used to travel at a much lower charge (Burman et al., 2016). These additional airline surcharges directly affect the level of customer satisfaction that the customers used to have in the earlier times and thereby reduce the satisfaction level of the customers from the services that they get from the airline companies (Greenleaf et al., 2016). This often encourages the customers to change the airline company for the travels that they need to undertake and thus adversely affects the prospects of the airline companies.

Reference:

Burman, B., Albinsson, P. A., & Hyatt, E. (2016). One night or many? Effects of amenity charge transparency on consumer reaction. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 25(8), 1010-1033. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19368623.2016.1168334

Greenleaf, E. A., Johnson, E. J., Morwitz, V. G., & Shalev, E. (2016). The price does not include additional taxes, fees, and surcharges: a review of research on partitioned pricing. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 26(1), 105-124. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105774081500042X