In launching the new soft drink, the primary target market relates to the elderly and the individuals involved in sports. The soft drink will be unique to this group of customers in terms of their energy and health needs. In order for the marketing plan to be effective, one of the considerations in preparing the plan with regard to the new product is in relation with the consumer buying behavior. The soft drink will help the consumers in the identification of their energy and health needs. The soft drink will be produced from fresh fruits to ensure that it has no chemicals that might harm these consumers. The soft drink will be easily absorbed into the blood giving the consumer instant boost of their energy requirement.
The decision making process of these consumers will be influenced by two main factors. One of factors that will determine these consumers’ buying behavior is with regard to the price. This is due to the fact that consumers are price sensitive and hence the price of the soft drink will have be a key factor they will consider.
The psychological factors will also influence these consumers. The psychological aspect that they will consider is the motive of consuming the soft drink. This is due to the fact that their consumption of the soft drink is due to their motive of ensuring that they are energized and their energy boosted. The result is that the perception of the consumers with regard to the product will be positively influenced.
The product market for the soft drink is composted of soft drink manufacturing. The soft drink to be produced by the firm will be in the category of the non-carbonated drinks. According to a survey by the NAICS, the following information was obtained with regard to the US soft drink industry for the period 2007-2008
From the table it is evident that there is potential of the soft drink succeeding in the market considering that it is in the category of the non-carbonated drinks. This is due to the fact that there is a trend amongst the consumers preferring the non carbonated drinks over the carbonated.
in analyzing the consumers various the management will consider various information.
Rating:
- 5= most important,
- 3= important,
- 2= relatively important.
The following table illustrates the competitive edge of the product amongst the consumers
Since the product in new in the market, it is in the introduction stage of the product life cycle. This means that the management of the firm will have to invest a lot in ensuring that the product goes along the product lifecycle effectively. This makes it very important for the firm to conduct consumer analysis.
In order to improve the sales revenue, the management will invest more on marketing of the firm product. This will be with regard to conducting advertisement for the firm’s products. It will also undertake constant value addition to the product which will be incorporated in the pricing of the firm’s product.
The firm will also incorporate product innovation so that it would be possible for the firms’ products to be differentiated from those of the consumers.
The management will consider various marketing mix strategies to ensure that the soft drink penetrates the market. At this stage, the firm will invest in intensive product promotion in order to create awareness amongst the consumers. This will help in facing the other competitors in the soft drink industry. It will also involve itself with ensuring that the product is distributed effectively in the market to all the consumers. Since consumers are price sensitive, the firm will use penetrative pricing strategy for the soft drink.
With regard to the product packaging the firm will use plastic bottles that can easily be recycled. The soft drink will produced in various brands in terms of color and flavor.
In order to ensure customer retention, the firm will develop an internal marketing program. This would ensure that the firm’s sales force delivers the firms promise to the consumers. The program will involve people management which is a formal motivation of the employees. The employees will also be provided with the necessary working facilities. The firm will also integrate rewards to the sales force and all the employees in order to motivate them promote the product. Internal marketing would also be conducted by ensuring effective communication amongst the employees.
The firm will also conduct constant audit of the consumers. This will ensure that product delivery to the consumers is satisfactory.
The main points of interaction with the consumer are in relation to the price, quality of the product and the possibility of product resulting into customer satisfaction.
Price 
quality 
level of satisfaction
With regard to inconsistency in delivering the service, the management will ensure that the product meets the needs of the consumers by conducting a market research.
With regard to inseparability the firm will ensure that it establishes a strong relationship with the consumer by being the only firm that delivers quality products in the market. Through effective distribution channel, the management will ensure that the soft drink demand of the consumers is met. The soft drink would be supplied to the market for consumers to buy it themselves in various retail outlets. This means that the soft drink is tangible.
Pricing objective
The price of the soft drink would also be a sign of the high quality of the products to the consumers.
The firm is also aimed at maximizing the sales revenue by setting a price that will be attractive.
Constraints
Despite these objectives, the pricing objective of the firm will be affected by the competitive nature in the soft drink industry. This is due to the fact that the forces of demand and supply will be used to determine the price
Other constraints will also result from the legal environment since the government might impose price controls
The pricing objective would also be limited by the nature of elasticity of demand in the market.
Possible prices setting strategies
The firm will use various strategies in setting the price. These include:
- Cost –plus strategy where a certain margin is added to the cost of production.
Psychological pricing strategy since the product creates a perception of quality the consumers. Alternatively the firm can use target pricing so that it can achieve a return on its investment.