Role of the marketing management process
Essentially, the success of brand and product management depends on a proper alignment of a functional idea into the creation of flexible, involuntary, and quantifiable measurement of perception among the target audience. The marketing management process ensures that the product promotion approach goes beyond the image or content of a product. Rather, an ideal marketing management process aims at cueing the minds of a customer into accepting and believing that the products would effectively satisfy his or her needs (Finch, 2009).
Consumers are generally influenced by two factors: internal influences and external influences. Internal influences are personal feelings and thoughts that include self-concept, motivation, attitudes, emotions, and perceptions. These factors generally influence the perception, purchasing patterns, and attitudes customers develop towards a product or a service offered by a business. Besides, these factors are directly linked to internal and external social aspects that control the pattern of thought and expressed feelings. Through a critical marketing management process, a company is not only in a position to control the internal and external factors but also cluster the factors within different market segments (Finch, 2009).
According to Solomon (2009), “central to the theories of consumer behavior is the conviction that different consumers go through a markedly complex decision-making process that is influenced at different stages by a number of possible variables” (Solomon, 2009, p. 34).
The buying process normally begins with the need for a particular product or good. The need for recognition by consumers is an essential part of the buying process because purchase cannot take place without it. Therefore, a marketing management process consists of a topological structure of decision science, which functions between actual needs and perceived needs. The process is meant to act as the continuum of increasing the value of product acceptance as measured through data, information, and knowledge.
The Marketing Mix
How the elements align with strategies
Since the company sells coffee, it has outlined the place element in the marketing mix. The company has differentiated the Starbucks coffee product along consumer-based market segmentation to penetrate the competitive global beverage market. Specifically, the kiosk model uses the local media channels to keep in touch with the target segment. Apart from the TV channels, the company uses the personal advertisement channel to reach out to the market segment (Finch, 2009).
The 4Ps and the marketing strategies
Since the current distribution channel is already developed and the Starbucks brand preference stable, the 4Ps are very realistic since marketing resources (distribution patterns) are fully operational to facilitate market processes on target and segmenting position. Besides, there is the proper matching of the advertisement and distribution channels to promote the success of the product placement (Finch, 2009).
Room for improvement
Customer retention is achievable through the creation of a reliable, informed, and reliable marketing management process. Therefore, the Starbucks’ marketing mix should include a monitoring matrix that maps out potential customers and identify weaknesses and strength of the targeted clients. Moreover, the reporting criteria should reflect the success of the marketing management process (Solomon, 2009).
References
Finch, J. (2009). Managerial marketing. New York, NY: Wiley and Sons.
Solomon, M. (2009). Consumer behavior: buying, having, and being (8th ed.). New York, NY: Prentice Hall Higher Education.