Marketing Strategies faced by Pepsi Co-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Evaluate the Marketing Strategies facing the Marketers of the Pepsi Co Company. Answer: Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to provide an overview about the marketing mix and evaluate the marketing strategies facing the marketers of the Pepsi co Company. The application of 8P marketing mix on one of the product offerings of Pepsi is discussed in this report. PepsiCo Inc is one of the biggest American multinational beverage corporation headquartered in New York. The organizations beverage portfolio provides several choices to their customers and hence drives enhancement in productivity as well as new capabilities. Their product portfolio includes near about 22 brands, which in turn generates around $1 billion in annual retail sales. In fact, their product brand is available across the globe. The purpose of this company is to create healthier relationship between customer and product while continuing to expand their business. The marketing mix signifies the set of varied marketing tools that the entity utilizes for pursuing its objectives of marketing. The firm uses it as s trategic tool for formulating development plan as well as promotion of their product (Armstrong et al., 2015). 8p marketing mix aids the firm to review their business problem that affects their marketing strategy of the commodities. In addition, this kind of marketing mix also helps this company to realize the synergy and dynamics, which are included among some of the vital elements. This study also focuses on the contemporary issues that affect the marketing strategy of this organization. The last section of the study focuses on the recommendations for aiding Pepsi co to face these issues. 8p marketing mix concept 8P marketing mix signifies the model that aid to assess the business marketing strategy through some approaches. It is basically flexible for adapting all kinds of business selling goods and service as well as involving the role of customer service (Baker Saren, 2016). This kind of marketing mix is also taken into account as significant framework that aids the firm to analyze their competitors and plan their strategy based on this. The components of this 8P marketing mix involves- Product-One of the core value of the marketing effort is the good that the company produces based on the target customers. Most of the firms apply product testing method before launching the product in the market. The main reason behind adoption of this method is to attain trust of the customer and achieve success in the marketplace (Baker, 2014). This testing thereby facilitates them to make important decisions regarding the product such as designing, giving brand names, packaging etc. In some situation, the company faces difficulty in selling the new products owing to less demand. However, the integration of this tool might help them to increase these products demand in the competitive marketplace. PepsiCo provides huge product range under different brands including Pepsi, Pepsi Diet, Pepsi Max, 7up, Diet Pepsi Lime and so on. Price- Price usually covers the amount paid by the consumers for purchasing the product. This generally represents the total unit basis, which the company obtains from marketing of the products (Hanssens et al., 2014). The marketing department of the organization generally concentrates on the certain objectives of pricing as well as the factors impacting product price. Moreover, if the product being launched attains positive customer value, then the organization strategizes to set higher price. This in turn helps them to gain high profit margin. In addition, price of few commodities also gets influenced by the companys distribution plans, competitors goods price, markups and its value chain cost. However, it is necessary for the firm to make proper marketing strategy in order to mitigate price challenges arising in the competitive business environment. PepsiCo applies price discrimination strategy for maintaining pace and meet the requirement of customers. Promotion- Promotion of a particular commodity generally encompasses sponsorship, advertising in social media, personally selling, hoardings, public relations etc. With the help of promotional mix, the company makes aware of the product to their target audience (Chaffey Ellis-Chadwick, 2016). This method influences the customers decision making of purchasing the commodity. Apart from this, the firms usually make their contact with their consumers through these promotional efforts. In addition, these promotional activities also increase the expectations of the consumers and also drive total sales of the entity. One of the important marketing as well as promotional tools used by Pepsi is making strategic alliance with several other partners around the world. Other promotional strategies used by this company involves introduction of new flavors, low pricing, seasonal advertisement and so on. Physical evidence- All tangible as well as visible traces of business encountered by the customers that precedes buying of commodities are termed as physical evidence. Some of the important sections of physical evidence in the entity involves advertising, signage, brochure etc. These physical evidences are generally used by the firms in order to gain competitive advantage against their rivalries and improve their brand image in the market. They have also packaging philosophy that is- reduce, reuse , recycle and renew. Partnership-The organizations seeks for making new partners and administers their existing business partners for perking up their marketing operations. In addition, partnership also facilitates them to increase their level of profitability and enhance the performance in business. PepsiCo partners with SODA (Soda Stream International) for driving sales of certain beverage products. However, this entity expanded their business in the globe by using their strategic partnerships. Process- Every organization designs the marketing process in such a manner by which they can provide full satisfaction to their customers (Gilligan Hird, 2012). Few problem arises while conducting this process including process elements, which in turn place convince of provider ahead of consumers. The process used by Pepsico involves removal of high fructose from the traditional. The filled bottles are shipped for wrapping and sealing for protection, cartons, labels etc. Trained technicians performs quality control audits during manufacturing sequence. Lastly, as rinsed cans reaches filler, it is reinverted, filled and closed with lid. Product distribution- Distribution of product refers to the method applied by the organization to reach their products to customers. Effective product distribution is important for the entity for attaining their marketing target (Boone Kurtz, 2013). There are basically three types of strategies used by most of the firms for distributing the product based on its characteristics. These distribution strategies involves- selective, exclusive and intensive. Extensive distribution refers to distribution of highly priced commodities, which in turn requires details of sales from the mediator. Selective distribution is used when the manufacturers needs high geographical spread. Additionally, intensive distribution is applied for distributing low priced goods. PepsiCo has huge extensive distribution network across the globe, which ensures that the Pepsi products are available in each locality especially where the target market is situated. People-They are mainly the staffs of the company who contact with the customers directly and hence define service (Thaichon, Quach Lobo, 2013) One of the important business operations used by the companies includes selection, recruitment, and retaining people for doing the work involved in marketing operation process. The staffs involved in marketing operations of PepsiCo have standard uniform and maintains friendly service with their customers. Applying the component to the Mountain Dew The Pepsi Co entity has developed many products of different flavors and launched them across the globe. One of the product brands that have gained good reputation in the global market is Mountain Dew. This product is carbonated soft drink brand manufactured and owned by this entity. The 8P marketing mix of Mountain Dew is explained blow: Product- Mountain Dew has been one of the famous beverages that has its existence across the globe. This product has citrus flavor, high levels of caffeine and less carbonate content. This brand has implemented commodity adaption strategy since in some nations this product has less caffeine levels. Over the last few years, this brand has expanded their product portfolio by manufacturing hygienic drinks including Diet Mountain Dew, Raspberry Citrus, citrus orange etc. Price- This product brand has implemented competitive pricing strategy owing to competitive soft drinks market across the globe. This brand also revises its price based on the geography as well as competition in the market. The main purpose of implementing this pricing strategy is to increase market share by reducing their profit margin each unit and gain profit by applying economies of scale. They also applies discounted prices for promoting new product. Promotion- The target segment of this product brand is young customers and so their promotional strategy aims at placing product as sports inclined customers choice. In fact, 360 degree marketing has been used by this brand through ATL (Above the line) and BTL( below the line) platforms. In ATL campaign, the product are usually promoted through print media, TV advertisement and billboards (De Mooij, 2013). Furthermore, they also uses social media for promoting the advertising theme. On the other hand, in BTL campaign they have started Green Label Gaming program for extending their sponsorship to top vedio game designers. In addition, Physical evidence- The logo of Mountain Dew and several methods of promotional campaign facilitates them to attract large number of customers around the world. Product distribution- This brand has widespread as well as strong distribution network owing to its manufacturer PepsiCo. It involves services of retailer and distributor for reaching their customers through restaurants, supermarkets, discount stores etc. Process- The condensation process is used for bringing droplets and shiny luster in the product. This procedure results to sublime nature in the product. In fact, the packaging procedure involves creative bottling and labeling of drink. They mainly focuses on the designing bottles in order to attract more young aged customers in the global market. Partnership- This brand partners with three main esports company including Splyce, Team SK gaming and Team Dignitas. These partnerships provide gamers across the globe, which in turn improved the brand image around the world. People- The staffs recruited by them are provided training for dealing with the customers while marketing the product. However, this helped them to increase the sale of product and achieve success in the market. Contemporary issues facing the marketers The contemporary problems facing the PepsiCo marketers are given below: Corporate social responsibility (CSR)- CSR is defined as the commitment made by the business for improving the well being of society through certain discretionary practices and resource contribution (Tai Chuang, 2014). There are some areas of CSR interest such as- environmental protection, welfare of workers etc. Some of the problems that this company marketers faces in the recent era involves- This company faces several criticisms for their products as these are viewed unhealthy and its packaging contributes to huge waste. The CSE ( Centre for Science and Environment ) has claimed water used for producing the product contained toxins. However, the toxins included pesticides, which in turn affect the health of many people across the globe. The company has been given the allegations that they use groundwater for making their operations that makes the farmers harder to grow crops in effective way. Social media Interactions- In the present decade, the marketers of the organization face several problems regarding social media interactions owing to absence of guiding principle given by the respective government of nation (Garrigos-Simon, Lapiedra Alcami Barbera Ribera, 2012). While interacting with the customers through social media, the companies sometimes face inadequacy of data (Constantinides, 2014). This in turn adversely affects their total productivity. Furthermore, at times socially insensitive messages discourage the employees working in Pepsi Co. As a result, this negatively affects their reputation and financial performance. Globalization- Globalization refers to intensification as well as acceleration of mechanisms, activities and procedure, which helps to promote global interdependence. Few evidences reflect that globalization creates several issues for the organization marketers in recent decades. The companies face immense competition in account of product pricing as well as its distribution method due to globalization. PepsiCo faces political as well as social problems due to this globalization. In fact, they faces huge competition regarding pricing and quality from Coca- Cola company. Technological advancement- Although technological advancement eased the operations of marketers, they faced many problems including direct interactions with their customers, provide training to other staffs for innovating new products. Since one of the vital components of marketing is to target foreign customers, some companies face several issues regarding identification of the persona of varied purchasers. Introduction of new technology reduces the efficiency of workers in PepsiCo, which in turn leads to lower productivity level. Moreover, it also affects their designing and packaging of the products. Ethical concerns- The marketers of the organization face ethical problems relating to promotional campaigns since it sometimes targets the children. The Pepsi Co Company has been linked to the Child labor, low wages and exploitation of employees. There are several workers in this company who paid less despite fulfilling their working conditions (DesJardins McCall, 2014). This beverage organization has also been accused of continuing violations of human rights as well as union practices relating to anti-trade regarding existing factories of some nation. This organization has been given the allegation of wasting water and using harmful ingredients in producing the product. This in turn adversely impacts on their reputation in the market and also decreased their sales. Impact of contemporary issues on marketing strategy of Pepsi Co All the contemporary issues stated above negatively impacted the marketing strategy of the Pepsi Co. Owing to the CSR issues, this organization has lost the trust of their customers and also in certain situation faces long legal procedure. In addition, the allegation given to this company regarding CSR activities also badly influenced their overall sales of products and reputation in the global marketplace (Reisch, Eberle Lorek, 2013). Globalization has also influenced the marketing strategy of the management of most of the companies. It adversely affects four areas of marketing of PepsiCo that includes- their brands, marketers community, their customers and academic area of marketing. Owing to these problems, they revise as well as introduced new marketing strategies for sustaining in the competitive business environment. The marketing managers of this entity adopt strategic alliance as market entrance strategy (Cartwright Cooper, 2012). They even increases exporting more products , which in turn results into worldwide economic integration. They even adopted licensing as well as franchising strategy that involves less commitment of total resources on the international marketer. Not only this, the marketers of Pepsi Co adopted counter trade for increasing their export of products especially with the developing nations. With the integration of this strategy, this entity has gained entrance in USSR. The promotional campaigns used by PepsiCo also creates conflicts between marketers and society, which in turn negatively affected their target customers as well as pricing policy of the product. Owing to advancement in technology, some unskilled laborers left their job. Some of them also lowered their efficiency level and this affected their performance. For this reason, the marketing department strategized to provide training and development to the marketers for mitigating with this challenge. As social media interactions affect their customers decision making in bu ying the products, they revise their strategy of disclosing all product features. They also planned to attain feedback from customers after launching and try to produce new product based on their requirements. Recommendations The recommendations provided should be considered by the marketers of this company to improve their operations and achieve success in future. One of the important marketing strategies that this company should continue in future is mergers and acquisitions (Cartwright Cooper, 2012). For continuing their growth in business, this entity should continue to make effective mergers and acquisitions of bottling and beverages. As PepsiCo has several brands that contributes to their overall income, their marketing department should spent huge amount of money on advertising as well as marketing campaigns. However, it is predicted that successful campaigns will help them to increase market share over the competitors. Since globalization creates branding problems for PepsiCo, it is necessary for their marketers to adopt new marketing strategies (Gilligan Hird, 2012). These might include- different slogans for varied products and designing new bottle for new product in order to improve their bra nd image and maximize profitability. Opportunity in growth is also found in the rise in demand for consumers. However, this company should not only expand their product categories but also produce the products with lesser amounts of calories as well as sugar. This in turn will help them to drastically increase their sales and attain higher revenue. In addition, this organization should also adopt responsible marketing in order to avoid ethical issues. Responsible marketing means that the entity should design their advertising as well as marketing campaigns in socially sustainable manner (Von Schomberg, 2013). Furthermore, they should also include moral values while making advertising campaign for creating positive impact on their customers. It is also suggested that this firm should focus on their pricing decisions. It has been seen from the recent study that the price of PepsiCO products are generally lower as compared to their rivalries. This in turn might translate to lower produ ct quality to their customers. Therefore, it is recommended that this firm should increase their prices for matching their rivalries. As this organization has been found using tap waters in the bottled drinks and selling it to their customers, this created issues in CSR activities. Therefore, the entity is suggested to eliminate utilization of deceptive marketing practices and be more transparent to their customers. Conclusion The conclusion that can be drawn from the above study is that effective implementation of marketing strategies help the organization to attain higher profit margin and achieve success. It also facilitates them to gain competitive advantage over their competitors. PepsiCo gains competitive advantage through their innovative product line. As this company has been reliant on franchise bottle organization for distributing their product, they face issues since some franchises oppose to introduce new products. Moreover, other contemporary issues also affect the marketing strategies of this company. Additionally, the strategic marketing plan should be made by the marketers of the company by focusing on their business strategy. 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