UKCBC unit 5 marketing principles 3

UKCBC unit 5 marketing principles 3

Task 2

Introduction

STP marketing is a three step approach which can be defined as segmentation, targeting and positioning which help in building the marketing planning (Turnbull, & Valla, 2013). This process helps the business in formulating a marketing strategy which is more focussed on customer behaviour and his or her expected buying behaviour (Turnbull, & Valla, 2013). This section will discuss in detail about the micro and macro environmental factors which influence the marketing decisions in Starbucks. This task will also discuss most appropriate segmentation criteria which can be applied to the company in different markets. Then this section will also discuss in detail about the targeting strategies and finally, this section will cover and understand the importance of buying behaviour which affects the marketing activities.

1: Start this task by analysing three micro and three macro environmental factors influencing marketing decisions in Starbucks.

Following are three micro environmental factors which influence the marketing decisions:

1. The supplier is very important part of the company since the coffee bean is not produced in the country but they are imported from countries like Africa, Arabia and South America. So the price of the coffee is highly dependent on the price of coffee beans which make it little expensive in comparison to the competitors like McCafe (Ferrell, & Hartline, 2012).
2. Another important micro-environment factor which influences the marketing decisions are its employees (Douglas & Craig, 2011). The company spent a lot in training the employees and the company are also known for its work culture. The company’s success highly dependent on the experience they provide in the form of the service and for which efficient employees are very important (Ferrell, & Hartline, 2012). The company make sure that the employees are happy and satisfied and that can be seen in their performance and happy customers.
3. The customer is another internal factors which are the most important factors and the basis of all the decision is the customer behaviour (Douglas & Craig, 2011) and their response towards the services and the product offered by the company.

As far as macro environment factors are concerned they are basically external factors like political, economic, social and technological factors. Following are three macro environmental factors which influence the marketing decisions:

1. First very important macro environment factor id economic factors and features like recession have made a huge impact on the company. The company’s growth slowdown like any other company in 2008 and the impact of the recession did hit the company performance. It was when the company decided to major changes in their marketing decisions.
2. A social factor is another which contributed the most to the marketing decision of the Starbucks (Ferrell, & Hartline, 2012). The company is the largest coffeehouse chain in the world and it is important to understand the culture before entering into the business in any country and the company exactly have to do that.
3. Competitors are other aspects of the coffee market which help the company to take many crucial decisions. The coffee market is booming and the competition is fierce so the Starbucks has to make strategies keeping in mind the actions of the competitors.

2: After that propose which segmentation criteria would be the most applicable for Starbucks to use for their products in different markets.

Segmentation is basically a process of dividing the market into different segments based on customer behaviourand needs (Weinstein, 2013). The company’s segmentation criteria are discussed as follows: –

1. Initially, the company visualised their potential customers in affluent people and well-educated customers but slowly they realised that coffee consumption is also very popular among youngsters and the less educated people (Ferrell, & Hartline, 2012). The company pushed their product among these segments also.
2. The company usually open they’re a store in big cities because according to the company coffee drinker is usually found in this area and that too in large number.

3: Thinking about a range of products and services Starbucks offer to choose a targeting strategy for a one of them and propose a positioning strategy for this product.

Following are the targeting strategy and positioning strategy for the product offered by the company: –

1. Since the local coffee market is getting very strong in many countries, the company mainly focuses on an amalgamation of two cultures by focusing on local taste and also promoting the American flavour of coffee all over the world (Ferrell, & Hartline, 2012). At the same time, they modify themselves according to the local taste as well.
2. The company believes in the effective visibility of the coffee houses that is why they choose the most premium location in the country and also focus on the infrastructure and architecture of the coffee house. Not only this, they never introduce all the flavours in one go. Rather they introduce it one by one and this way each product gets the much-needed visibility and each product gets the chance to establish themselves

4: Finish Task 2 by demonstrating how buyer behaviour affects marketing activities in different buying situations. Provide here two examples of buying situations which marketing managers in Starbucks should in your opinion especially consider.

Buying behaviour is mostly concerned with the process which involves people buying tendencies and usage of product (Kotler, 2011). Buying behaviour is directly related to the designing of marketing activities and it is a major factor which contributes to marketing decision making. Be it any type of business a multinational coffeehouse or a local coffee house, understanding the buying behaviour become crucial for everybody. Organisations indulge in various activities like market research and survey to understand the customer’s inclination and the pattern of their response to various things and, of course, it also directly affects the marketing activities.

Factors like pricing of the product, it’s advertising, the complete packaging and the way the whole product is marketed affect the consumer buying patterns. Following are two incidences which manager of the Starbucks must consider: –

1. Pricing: as discussed pricing to an extent is not in control of the company as it is impacted by coffee beans and dairy product and both these are outsourced (Kotler, 2011). The pricing of the basic coffee in Starbucks is higher than the premium coffee offered by McCafe. This does affect the buying pattern of the customers
2. Local competitors: there are many local cafés functioning in multiple countries that know the taste of local people and their menu suits the taste and preferences of the people. So, the manager should first invest some time in understanding the local preferences and then modify the menu as per customer demand. Also social media plays a crucial role these days so the company must increase its reachability to the customer through various social media network. This networking helps in changing the buying behaviour of the customer.

Conclusion

Understanding the market is very important before establishing the business. It became even more important for a multinational company because they have to work even harder to know the taste and preferences of the people (Kotler, 2011). Initial few months are the trial months because, in this time, the customer just try the product and decide whether they like the product or not. Starbucks is spread worldwide and it is so popular because of this reason. They spent time in understanding their targeted audience and bring modifications accordingly.Order Now