Integrating All Four Ps – discussion
Help me study for my Marketing class. Im stuck and dont understand.
Integrating All Four Ps – Watch the video, Integrating All Four Ps , and answer the following questions:
Question One:
- Describe a company that you believe represents the 4Ps well. Using ALL of the Ps, provide specific examples of why you believe this company is successful.
Question Two
- Describe a company that you believe does not do well at putting the 4Ps into practice and provide two examples of why you believe they struggle with it.
Question Three
- What recommendations would you give the company who is struggling with their 4Ps?
- Search the Internet for an article that supports your position and post the link in your discussion, using APA formatting, for everyone to read.
Notes from my professor:
Marketers
As the news has broken of Forever 21 filing for bankruptcy, this is a perfect opportunity to look at which of the four Ps might have been their biggest challenge.
Starting with each of their Ps, their product appears to be relatively straightforward. Forever 21 focuses on fast fashion for a younger target audience that is looking for the latest style. The clothing offered in their store changes on almost a daily basis. As a result, it would seem that for the consumer that is looking for inexpensive trendy clothing, this is an excellent opportunity.
Looking at the P of pricing would lead to the same conclusion. Fast fashion typically has a lower price point, and Forever 21 is consistent with this pricing strategy. Their clothing is typically inexpensive, and the quality of the fast fashion product tends to reflect that. The pricing strategy, however, does seem to make sense as the clothing is continuously updated to meet consumer desires for on-trend merchandise.
The P of placement, or location, maybe part of their issue. According to Isidore and Meyersohn (2019), most of their stores tend to be located within malls and foot traffic in malls is decreasing. Has Forever 21 given their targeted consumer a sufficient reason to come into the store and shop? And, how interesting and on-brand is their website in encouraging shopping behavior?
Finally, the P of promotion appears to be problematic. In recent years, there has been little promotion to support the Forever 21 brand. There is significant competition in the fast fashion market space, and the lack of promotion has not kept this brand top of mind with their targeted consumer in all geographies (Teo, Nik, & Azman, 2019). Has Forever 21 ignored the basic idea of communication and forgotten who their target audience is and where to find their target audience?
The P of promotions may not be the only reason that this brand is suffering, but it is certainly a problem that could be easily fixed.
What are your thoughts on this issue? I look forward to more conversation.
Dr. Amans
References
Isidore, C., & Meyersohn, N. (2019, September 30). Forever 21 files for bankruptcy and will close up to 178 US stores. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/29/business/forever-21-bankruptcy/index.html
Teo, B., Nik, N., & Azman, N. (2019). Making sense of fashion involvement among Malaysian Gen Y and its implications. Journal Of Emerging Economies And Islamic Research, 5(4), 10-17. doi:10.24191/jeeir.v5i4.6236
Example from one of my peers:
Integrating All Four Ps – Watch the video, Integrating All Four Ps , and answer the following questions:
Question 1:
- Describe a company that you believe represents the 4Ps well. Using ALL of the Ps, provide specific examples of why you believe this company is successful.
The company that represents the 4 P’s well in my estimation is Verizon Wireless. The company has been around and been an industry leader since its inception, and has had staying power even with the advent of multiple pay as you go budget service providers. The company is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a wireless telecommunication provider. Verizon masters its use of the 4 P’s as follows:
Price:
Verizon consistently has had a higher price point for their services compared to other carriers. While some may see this as a major drawback, Verizon has built this price difference into the competitive market by consistently touting and improving its network. They are the “premium” option when it comes to wireless service. Customers often expect to pay more for their experience on the “nation’s largest, most reliable network”, and are willing to pay a higher price point to get the benefit of that service. Verizon has never wavered from this stance that you get what you pay for and therefore has always been able to set their margins higher.
Product:
Verizon also executes masterfully when it comes to providing a top-notch product that is wanted by the public. Their wireless network service routinely wins JD Power and Associates awards for its network quality and has been the highest-rated through an independent study of network performance for multiple years running. Not only has their technical product been exceptional, but their overall support of their product has also been great as well, consistently winning awards for their customer service.
Placement:
In this current business climate, it is essential to be available to place your products in different workspaces where customers would expect to find them. For a wireless company, this equates to, essentially, any and everywhere. For maximum efficiency in reaching customers, Verizon’s retail locations are placed in high traffic foot areas for maximum sales opportunities, manifesting in sleek, state of the art, high tech, clean, cutting edge stores, replete with individuals dressed to match, ready to assist you on tablets and mobile work stations. Additionally, they also have retail partners in indirect stores to cater to those individuals who may not feel comfortable in a high tech world, or who are not near the epicenter of the population. Lastly, they meet the customer where they are. In this age, that means online. Verizon maintains not only an online website and store but also keeps an active profile for engaging current and prospective customers through social media such as Twitter and Facebook. The company is consistent in ensuring the placement of its product where its customers would expect it to be.
Promotion:
Verizon does a tremendous job of promoting its service to current and prospective customers in places that a customer would expect to see it. Verizon maintains exclusive partnerships with the NFL, Indy Car Racing, Amazon Web Service, and others. They maintain a specific workgroup called Verizon Media Group, which allows them to be promoted through standard entertainment channels such as cable television and the highest rated viewed weekly programming on TV, the NFL. However, it also earns them the flexibility to deliver the promotion of their services through online ads, as well as exposure through massive events such as the most-watched event each year, the Super Bowl. These partnerships, along with shrewd marketing campaigns, such as the test man saying “Can you hear me now? Good”, has enabled them to deliver promotion to the masses.
Question Two:
- Describe a company that you believe does not do well at putting the 4 P’s into practice and provide two examples of why you believe they struggle with it.
The company that does not do well at putting the 4 P’s into practice, in my opinion, is CVS. CVS rose to prominence as a drug store touting “Convenience”, “Value”, and “Service”. It was meant to be a one-stop-shop for beauty products and drug prescriptions. The two areas that CVS struggles with are Price and Product.
Product:
While CVS value stores were originally branded as a drug store, the retail locations are not certain of their identity and their product has suffered. The chain was once a “go-to” for prescription filling and health and beauty items. With giants like Walgreens and Walmart in their product space for prescriptions, CVS has had to adopt new products to attempt to compete and to attract the customer types that would visit their competitors to fill prescriptions and shop. However, this fails due to the design of their retail space. It makes the store layout of its retail locations inconsistent and unappealing. There is no logical organization in the store. There are 1-2 aisles of grocery items, 1-2 aisles of books/magazine, and a central pharmacy, and many other various items such as clothes and scarfs, and even a toy aisle. There is no continuity. The streamlined product of prescription filling and meandering about the store are gone and it is a jumbled mess.
Price:
Due to the change in the approach of the product, the store has had to integrate different inventory, such as toys, as mentioned previously. To keep the inventory that would make them viable against their competitors, they fall into a trap on pricing. Because their competitors have much more retail space and a massive separate pharmacy, they can stock these items separately for sale, while CVS must incorporate them into the store design. Due to the lack of foot traffic comparatively, the items can take up shelf space longer. As a result of the items not moving as quickly, and the need to have the items available to compete, their pricing structure is set much higher than the normal. As an example, one gallon of antifreeze at Walmart was 7.99. However, at CVS it was 13.99. This is a great example, as a drugstore is forced to carry antifreeze simply to compete in the marketplace, and the price is nearly double their competitor.
Question Three
- What recommendations would you give the company who is struggling with their 4Ps?
The four P’s are significant; however, I believe that a focus first on the product allows a business to then set up the other 3 P’s based on their understanding of the product. Just as with any struggling business, the first step that CVS needs to focus on is finding its identity. What is the product that the company is wanting to provide the customer? What product is the company known for? What do they want the customer to think they are known for when they hear the name CVS? In this case, I believe a return to the focus on drugstore and health partnerships would be best. It seems as though the company has lost its way in remembering what product made them successful, and returning to those roots would be a good step to change their loss of direction. Doing this may be difficult as some retail space would be required to be closed due to their underperforming, however in the long term, being recognized as a leader in the health/prescription industry is the more profitable future.
- Search the Internet for an article that supports your position and post the link in your discussion, using APA formatting, for everyone to read.
References
Whiteman, Doug (2019, December 13). 2020 Store Closings Will Include CVS, Office Depot and New York & Co. Retrieved from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chains-already-announced-store-closings-153026428.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEW-5mYmu1muSCFkc8txf0A2vJyVL_3lFz5t95MSxTlDjNVXTEVT_lIuY9cTREqk2JpRb9LQAloWdC3-HJHBtY1K3wnhkdOkY0a4BrFW1KLbp98eJOPuV-81i-TpssIJFbr3Qd0tW8Lrvb_nH5Domw_9ztUoFfJIjnyujuzsQ69R
