Marketing Reflection Draft

8/13/2019 Marketing Reflection Draft

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AB1501 Marketing

Semester 2, AY 2012/13

COVER PAGE

Individual Reflection Paper

Full Name: Chen Jiehui

Matriculation Number: U1210092E

Tutorial Group Number: TCG18

Tutorial Group Instructor: MR. LIM BOON CHONGTeam Number: 5


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Content Page

1. Introduction ............................................... ...................................................... ............................... 1

2. Lessons and Insights ...................................................................................................................... 1

2.1 Importance of addressing customers needs ........................................................................1

2.1.1 Marketing Myopia ...........................................................................................................1

2.1.2 Case study of McDonalds ..............................................................................................2

2.2 Importance of proper Market Segmentation and Targeting .............................................3

2.2.1 Market Segmentation being too broad ...........................................................................3

2.2.2 Aligning Marketing strategies to Target segment ..................................................... .....4

2.3 Importance of effective pricing strategies............................................................................4

2.3.1 Low pricing may diminish novelty ................................................................................4

2.3.2 Low pricing may lead to cannibalization .................................................. .....................5

3. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 5

I, Chen Jiehui, U1210092E, declare that the work which I am submitting is original and that I have made

proper referencing and citations where appropriate and required.

Signature: _______________________


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1. Introduction

In this reflection paper, I would be discussing my main takeaway and insights from this module. I would

do so through reviewing the different issues and problems of the marketing reports, namely from team 1,

3 and 5 (my team) . Included would be more oversights of my teams marketing report as well as the

process of doing it.

2. Lessons and Insights

2.1 Importance of addressing customer s needs

After going through the whole module on marketing, I have realised the importance of having a

customer driven marketing strategy (Suttle, 2013). Although it sounds simple, it is not that easy to

design a good marketing strategy which focuses on creating values for the customers. There are many

issues we may face along the way.

2.1.1 Marketing myopia

One of the issues many of us faced is marketing myopia. In Theodore Levitts Harvard Business Review

piece (Lewitt, 1960) about marketing myopia, he introduced the most influential marketing idea of the

past half-century: that business will do better if they concentrate on meeting c ustomers needs rather

than on selling products.

Indeed, many of us were too focused on the product s special features and tried to sell it even if it does

not meet the needs of the customers. Initially, the products might appear to be an effective solution to

our customers problem . However, if we were to analyse carefully, we would realize the product might

not be a realistic solution.


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An example would be T eam 1s product: Ice Spark. It is a foam spray that is able to lower body

temperature with the layer of cool air of -9C released. Team 1 positioned its product as a precautionary

measure for heat related problems. This may seem to be a valid solution - with a temperature as cold as -

9 C, it is an effective way to bring body temperature down as fast as possible. However, on second

thought, Ice Spark might not be practical for customers to use directly after intense physical activities.

Drastic drop in body temperature after exercise may lead to muscle cramps as well as other harmful

effects. Researchers have warned athletes against the practice of plunging into ice baths after exercising,

claiming that it might pose a number of potentially serious health risks (The Guardian, 2012).

From their marketing report, Team 1 claimed that Ice Spark has an edge over its competitors. They

emphasized that their products cooling effect will be more observable by comparing the temperature in

air bubbles released by Ice Spark (-9 C ) and their competitors product (room temperature). Team 1 did

not realise that the rapid cooling effect in which they have been marketing, may not be what their

targeted customers really need. This illustrated marketing myopia where the team focused too much on

the selling the features of I ce Spark and neglected their customers needs for a practical prevention.

2.1.2 Case study from McDonalds

Building on my point on the importance of targeting consumer needs, I would like to discuss a case

study (Federick, 2012) of McDonalds which I came across while researching on this topic. When

McDonald's noticed a decline in milkshake sales, the company devised a strategy focused on their

targeted customers. McDonalds started by attempting to find out the reason customers buy milkshakes.It turned out that customers most frequently buy milkshakes in the morning on the way to work or to

please their whining children. In response to these findings, McDonalds recognized and focused on the


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needs of their customers by increasing the thickness of the milkshake so that it will not melt on the way

to work and added child size milkshakes.

McDonalds has successfully countered marketing myopia by making improvements which focus on

meeting customer needs. If they attempted to increase sales of their milkshake by introducing booze-

infused milkshake as offered by other burger restaurants (Raabe, 2012) , results may backfire. Such

booze-infused milkshake may be innovative. However, they would not be suitable for customers who

are driving to work and even more so for underage children.

2.2 Importance of proper Market Segmentation and Targeting

Another issue which many teams had problems with was market segmentation and selecting the right

target customers. Marketing segmentation is an essential part of any marketing plan as it enables one to

gain a better understanding of the customers needs (Kotler, 2011). As mentioned above, it is important

that we understand and target those needs. Without proper market segmentation and targeting, we may

risk wasting marketing efforts on a population who does not require or value our product/services.

2.2.1 Market segmentation being too broad

In my teams proposal presentation, it was pointed out that our market segmentation was too broad and

not specific enough. I realized that if the target segments are too broad, there is the risk of missing out

the key customers who are more likely to buy our product. Also, it may result in increased marketing

cost since the message has to be communicated to more audience, leading to an unprofitable venture

(Riley, 2012). By segmenting broad markets into smaller groups, the target customer can be reached

more easily and at lower cost. Our team has responded by narrowing down our target to women who

requires high heels frequently: business women and students who have to do a lot of formal

presentations.


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2.2.2 Aligning marketing strategy to target segment

Not only is it important to do proper segmentation and targeting, it is also essential that we align our

marketing strategies to target the specific segments. Even if we identified the correct target segments, it

would be useless if positioning of our product does not meet the needs of the target segments. In my

teams case, Cambiare Heels, offers 4 different categories, namely: Formal, Cute, Classy and Gorgeous.

Our marketing strategies seem to be targeting stylish and health-conscious women instead of the

segments in which our team had identified. Our identified target customers, Business women as well

students, would generally require only heels from the formal category. I feel that my team was too

narrow-minded during selection of target segment (business women) due to feedbacks from the proposal

presentation. We narrowed down our target segments too much and failed to identify other potential

customer segments such as fashionable-conscious women who also wear heels regularly.

2.3 Importance of effective pricing strategies

Lastly, pricing strategies was another major problem faced by many. If used correctly, pricing can be a

key strategic tool for creating and capturing customer value (Kotler, 2011). On the other hand, improper

use of pricing strategies may lead to problems such as diminished value and cannibalization.

2.3.1 Low pricing may diminish novelty

An example would be my teams pricing strategy. In view of our direct competitor, Camileon heels

($79.90-$129.90), we have decided to price our products at a $50 - $100 which is in the lower range of

Guesss shoes pricing ($50 -$500) to gain market share. However, by pricing our shoes too low, we may

diminish the novelty branding of Guess. Furthermore, my team did not take customer s perceived value

of our convertible heels into consideration. I feel that our team should have adopted customer value-

based pricing instead. After all, the customer will decide whether a products price is right (Kotler, 2011)


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and if they will buy them at that price. Since, our convertible heel has more feature , customers

perceived value of this new product line should be higher than that of normal Guess heels. Therefore, we

should price our product at a higher price, in alignment with customers perceived value.

2.3.2 Low pricing may lead to cannibalization

Similarly, Team 3 pricing strategies have raised the issue of brand dilution and diminish novelty. It has

also raised the issue cannibalization. They adopted a penetration pricing strategy where the price

charged for KOInstant is set artificially low to gain market share from the instant tea market. KOInstant

is priced at $8 per box of 12 sachets (approximately $0.70 per drink). This is too low compared to the

milk teas sold at KOI retail stores which are price at $2.40 for original and $2.90 for hazelnut flavoured.

Furthermore, team 3 emphasized that there is no quality differences between KOInstant and the milk

teas sold at KOI outlets. If there is no quality differences, KOInstant will become a strong substitute

product with a much lower price, encouraging customers to buy only KOInstant and not from KOI

outlets. This would erode profits from selling milk teas at existing KOI outlets significantly. Unless KOI

has intention to venture more towards the instant tea market and reduce number of their retail outlets,

KOIstant would not be a very feasible product line if priced at such a low price.

3. Conclusion

From the several issues mentioned above, we can see that most of our problems stem from our lack of

understanding of the marketplace and customer needs. As this forms the foundation of the marketing

process, we face problems at later stages of the process because of misconceptions and the lack of

information. Hence, it is important for us to perform the necessary research and understanding before we

proceed to the designing process. Also, during the designing phase, we would need to go back and

relook at our understanding of the marketplace from time to time to ensure that our strategies are always


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congruent with fulfilling customer needs. And only when we continually re-assess our understanding

then we can design a customer-driven marketing strategy to its best.

BibliographyFederick, L. (2012, January 13). Marketing myopia and Mcdonalds. Retrieved from

http://iuspringm510.blogspot.sg/2013/01/marketing-myopia-and-mcdonalds.htm

Kotler, P. A.-M. (2011). Principles of Marketing - An Asian Perspective. Singapore: Pearson.

Lewitt, T. (1960, July-August 1960). Marketing Myopia. Harvard Business Review, 38 , pp. 24-47.

Raabe, S. (2012, October 10). Booze-infused milkshakes boost Colorado "better burger" chains . Retrieved fromThe Denver Post : http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_21848620/booze-infused-milkshakes-boost-colorado-better-burger-chains

Riley, J. (2012, September 23). Market segmentation. Retrieved fromhttp://www.tutor2u.net/business/marketing/segmentation_why.asp

Suttle, R. (2013). Customer Driven Marketing Strategies . Retrieved from Chron:http://smallbusiness.chron.com/customer-driven-marketing-strategies-3227.html

The Guardian. (2012, November 8). Bathing in ice after intense exercise 'does not work', says new report. Retrieved from guardian.co.uk: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/nov/08/ice-bath-exercise-new-research

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