Introduction
The following is a description of the four elements of marketing mix and their application in marketing a particular product. The product of choice in this case is Heineken, which is a beer brand of the Heineken Company located in Netherlands and is a major exporter of beer brands all over the globe. The company has remained competitive in the market since 1980 due to its choice and balancing of its marketing mix as well as its consistence in the quality of its product.
This essay provides the details of the marketing mix applied by the company. The essay discusses how the four elements affect the development of the organization’s marketing strategy. The second part of this essay describes how each of the elements is implemented within the company to ensure successful marketing that result into high sales volume and continued brand loyalty.
The product
The product of focus is Heineken beer brand, which is an alcoholic drink manufactured by Heineken Company that has established markets globally. Heineken beer was first manufactured in 1890 and has ever since been in the market. The product is made up of barley, sugar, 5% alcohol, and malt.
The company has strived to maintain the quality of the beer using the original ingredients that its founder used. The product has a worldwide acceptance due to its high quality, low alcohol content as well as the customers’ perceived value that they have on the beer. The beer company has an objective to be the producer of the best beer in the market with a niche in the emerging markets such as China and Brazil.
The price
The pricing of the product is a key component of the marketing mix because the price affects the perceived value that the consumers have on the product. Although the product was initially designed for mass consumption, the beer has never been sold at low price compared with other alcoholic products in the market.
Heineken beer brand has cut a niche in the market, which is perceived to have a higher value than most of the existing beer products because of its ability to maintain consistency to the consumers for a long period by not changing the initial contents of the beer brand. The consistency builds trust where those who consume the product can pay any price for the beer.
The beer price is higher in comparison with other beer brands. Currently, a 500 milliliter bottle costs $50 in the United States of America as the retail price, which communicates the value of the product. Maintaining the perceived value of the product is an important element of marketing as it makes the product competitive.
Promotion
The other element of marketing mix is promotion, which is imperative in marketing and any marketing strategy cannot be effective without it. It is the process of creating awareness about the product. The intention of promotion is to arouse desire in the prospective consumers for the product so that they can buy it (Armstrong & Kotler 2011).
It is communicating the value of the product and its benefits to the potential consumers to create positive perception in their mind about the product. The contribution of promotion to the Heineken Company is critical as it deals with activities such as advertising and public relations.
The marketing and promotional activities of Heineken beer spend a third of the company’s budget because the company has to promote its products in the new markets. Since the 1950’s the company has been expanding its export market and currently three quarter of the company’s profits emanate from the exports.
This shows that the company must continue reaching out the global markets. Currently, the company advertises using the electronic media especially cable television and mainstream television. The company also sponsors activities such as the NBA seasons, which enables it to interconnect with the different players in the market. The company in its promotional activities has also been using social media such as face book and twitter to interconnect with people who are in different places (Hartley, Kerin, & Rudelius, 2011).
Place
The element of place is also critical to the marketing activities that Heineken Company does to promote its brand. The company has a good distribution networks globally, which will enable the potential consumers to access the beer conveniently. The place as an element of marketing mix contributes positively to the marketing strategy by providing a mechanism on how the company will take its products to where the consumers are.
Previously the company has been using the traditional places of selling beer such as pubs and restaurants where people drink for leisure. However, with increased rise in family shopping experience, the retail stores have provided another distribution mechanism where the company can place its products. The place enables the consumers to access the product conveniently.
When dealing with place it is imperative to define it in terms of the country. In this case, the country of choice is the United States of America where Heineken has a huge market share. The rules and regulation pertaining to taxation, licensing, and regulations affect the marketing activities of the company. For instance, the regulation pertaining to advertising of alcoholic products may affect the advertising strategies as well as promotional activities of the company (Armstrong & Kotler, 2011).
How the company implements each element
The company has a pricing method, which applies differently to different countries. For instance, in countries that have their breweries the prices are lower in comparison to countries where the company exports the beer directly. The company applies price as a marketing strategy therefore creating a perceived value by selling the product at a higher price than the existing beer brands and then communicating the value of the product to the consumers (Kotler & Keller, 2012).
Customers perceive better value when the price of a product is higher than the existing similar products in the marketing. Lower prices diminishes the value of a product by creating high demand for the mass market, yet consumers of Heineken product consume it due to its uniqueness, high price and the class that it offers to the consumers.
In applying the product into the making strategy, the company has maintained a constant recipe for the Heineken beer brand for a long period therefore creating loyal customers. Any change to the ingredients of the brand would disappoint loyal consumers who have consumed the drink for a long time.
The company uses this longevity and constant recipe of the product to create loyal consumers who the company can rely on at a time when the beer industry has become very competitive and difficult to have loyal customers due to the sophistication of the consumers (Hartley, Kerin, & Rudelius, 2011).
The company has also not compromised on the marketing campaigns, as managers are critical in successful marketing and brand positioning in the market. The promotional activities such as advertising have enabled the company to communicate the value of its product to the consumers. Communicating the value of a product involves telling the benefits of the brand to the consumers.
Heineken brands itself as the beer of best quality as well as a stimulating beer that has the lowest alcohol content of 5% whereas other beer products have alcohol content of 15%. It also communicates its resonance and responsibility to the community through its acts of charity and energy conservation initiatives. This gives the company publicity and avenues of brand positioning in the market.
About the place, the company has consistently used the distributers and retailers as its mode of distribution by focusing into bars and restaurants, which are places of leisure. However, lately the company has changed this mechanism to accommodate the retail stores as part of distribution (Hartley, Kerin, & Rudelius, 2011).
Conclusion
With increased competition in the beer industry, companies that will thrive must carefully analyze their marketing mix and integration into their overall marketing strategies. To market and promote the product successfully Heineken has incorporated marketing activities in every aspect of the company’s operations from production to point of sale by ensuring that the product meets the specified standards and that it is promoted creatively. The product is also well priced to beat the competitors and available to the consumers at their convenience.
References
Armstrong, G., & Kotler, P. (2011). Marketing: An introduction (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Hartley, W., Kerin, A., & Rudelius, W. (2011). Marketing (10th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Keller, L., & Kotler, P. (2012). Marketing management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.