Marketing is an important tool for retailers as it provides them with a medium through which to communicate with customers (Boone, 2007). It is vital for producers to use the right marketing strategy as it has a direct impact on the sales of their products. Consumers are not the same and can be divided into different categories depending on their age, preferences, and financial status.
The main advantage of categorizing consumers is that retailers can use different marketing strategies to target them in different categories to maximize sales. Retailers face competition from other retailers. For this reason, producers must take into consideration consumer behavior when marketing their products. Analysis of consumer behavior by producers is important as it provides reasons as to why consumers buy a particular product (Solomon, 2013). Tiffany & Company is an American luxury jewelry company that retails in many parts of the world. In 2016, it launched the Crown Key Necklace to the global market.
Brand Recognition
Tiffany & Company’s brand deals with luxury and expensive items. The company perfected its marketing skills to create a recognizable and respected global brand (Loring, 2008). One of its most important brand attributes is the blue box in which the company packages its jewelry. Twenty-first-century cultures through movies, music videos, and television series have made Tiffany’s blue box an iconic product. Studies indicate that Tiffany & Company brand is considered as one of the most prestigious jewelry lines by consumers (Loring, 2008).
The Crown Key Necklace
The Crown Key Necklace is a solid sterling silver necklace with a key pendant. The product targets females between fifteen and forty-seven years of age, but any individual can purchase and wear the necklace. The necklace features a simple, classy design and is set to retail for around four hundred dollars. It will be withdrawn from the market in December 2017.
Marketing concept
A marketing concept is a vital philosophy that producers follow to ensure customer satisfaction from the consumption of their products. The production and the sales concept were the initial philosophies that manufacturers used. They changed to the marketing concept after the customer became the determinant factor in sales. The marketing concept can be used to ensure that the marketers’ products attain sufficient demand.
Implementing the Marketing Concept
In the case of The Crown Key Necklace application, the marketing concept is vital in ensuring its success. Consumer research is the first phase of the marketing concept. Research is conducted to understand the population demographics and consumer behavior. Once population demographics and consumer behavior are understood by Tiffany & Company, the next phase of market segmentation will begin. Market segmentation involves breaking up women in the market into groups representative of the income the women make. The next phase will be the identification of the segments the organization wishes to target and the appropriate marketing strategy for each. The final phase of the marketing concept involves differentiating the product from its competitors by strategically positioning it and communicating the benefits of buying the product.
Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behavior is the analysis of the psychological process customers go through before purchasing a product (Solomon, 2013). In minimizing failure, there is a need for the integrati,on of consumer behavior into the marketing strategy of the product. The Crown Key Necklace is a relatively expensive luxury good, meaning a customer needs to be to be highly motivated to buy the item. The motivation to buy the necklace can be either external or internal. The internal influences or motivation for a consumer to purchase the product will have to be emotions, personality, and perception. The consumer will need to have the understanding that the product relates to their personality and also feel an emotional connection with it. The external motivation for an individual to buy the product will be popular culture, social status, and marketing activities.
Consumer Decision Process
There are three types of consumer decision processes namely nominal, extended and limited consumer (Solomon, 2013). The one associated with the Crown Key Necklace is the limited decision-making process. The necklace is a generic product with few attributes and rival products. Primary information on the necklace is directly available from Tiffany & Company. When it is combined with product’s attributes, it results in a limited consumer decision process.
Problem Recognition
The Crown Key Necklace is a well-designed and produced product but has one main flaw that may negatively impact both the consumer and producer. The main issue with the necklace is that it fails to feature any branding. Tiffany & Company has a strong and prestigious brand that consumers embrace. The lack of branding means that one can easily imitate the necklaces with the original producer losing millions in revenue. Consumers may also easily buy a fake Crown Key Necklace.
Conclusion
Crown Key Necklace is a unique and potentially profitable product for Tiffany & Company. To ensure the success of the product, Tiffany & Company needs to use consumer behavior analysis and a good marketing strategy.
Recommendation
In light of the conclusion, Tiffany & Company needs to use the three-phase marketing strategy stated in the report to ensure adequate demand for the product. The product should also be launched and marketed during a public holiday to increase sales. Tiffany & Company also needs to include branding on the necklace to prevent imitations and increase brand recognizability.
References
Boone, L. E. (2007). Contemporary marketing. Toronto, Canada: Thomson Nelson.
Loring, J. (2008). Tiffany style. New York, NY: Abrams Books.
Solomon, M. R. (2013). Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.