There is still not much of a letup in the amount of reading and video viewing in this subject. Still, we march onward towards the end and revel in the details of marketing strategies. Although I have been involved in marketing in one way or another for much of my life, I hadn’t given much thought to the amount of detail that could be involved.
Price
As already discussed, there are 7 Ps of Marketing. Price is best described as the price point at which the product will be charged. Price involves an exchange of value. That may be money in exchange for a product or even barter. One of the other interesting factors about Price is that it is the only component of the 7 Ps that produces income or revenue. All the rest produce costs! Personally, I have always been an advocate of selling on value, not on price. Consumers can tend to generate quality by price which is usually a very false indicator. Educating consumers on the value of a product can go a long way to getting a higher price for a product and generating a loyal following as well. Whilst I can appreciate the theory behind the pricing of consumer goods, it is not an area in which I have any experience. I have always dealt with intangibles and services.
I did feel that the below video on how Lidl changed price and value perceptions to be excellent. It is a great explainer video of these issues. This was based on the phenomenon of Excess Share of Voice. This has most definitely given me a few ideas for a few non profits.
Place
Place has also become an even more important consideration with the pandemic of recent years. So many bricks and mortar shops have rushed to go online in order to try and maintain sales. Like anything done in a rush, some of this has been done poorly. The shopping experience should be seamlessly integrated for customers. This can extend to such subtleties as shop colours and web site colours.
In addition to these factors, Place also refers to the Marketing Channels a manufacturer oversees and maintains. There is delicate balance in establishing the right mix here as every component of a marketing channel brings its own costs.
Assignment 1
Assignment 1 has been finally graded and distributed. Suffice to say I am very happy with my mark. There is one thing I do find amusing in the comments however and that is where the Online Learning Facilitator has made a comment along the lines of, “you could of expanded further on this”, or “more detail would be a good idea”. Why do I find it amusing? Simply because of the word limit on these assignments. Every time you write one you are making a judgment call on the amount of information you include and what you leave out. Personally, if I expanded on everything, my assignments would end up more like novels!
Conclusion
Another week down and very pleased that Assignment 1 is out of the way and marked. I always feel I have a better sense of what examiners are looking for after seeing a marked assignment. Unfortunately, I haven’t got as much done this week as I would have liked. My back is still recovering and I have been experiencing a fair bit of pain as the nerves heal. Still, as each day goes by, it’s another day closer to being fully healed I trust.
