Marketing Mix Recommendations

Executive Summary

For any company to be successful there is the need of effective means of reaching the different groups of consumers. Companies like Gap should use a well-planned way of enticing the consumers to go for their products.  Most of the commercials and adverts for Gap are done through the use of print and broadcasting through the television.  The company also uses other techniques to reach out to its customers. Some of the different methods by Gap Inc. include contests which are used occasionally by Gap Inc. in the United States of America. For example in 2008, Gap Inc. organized a contest in San Francisco where hundreds of babies and kids were to choose new faces for BabyGap and GapKids. The prizes included featuring their photo in store windows, a year’s supply of clothing from BabyGap or GapKids and photo gifts worth hundreds of dollars. In the United Kindgom, there was no any contest. Gap also uses coupons as means promotion used to effectively influence customers to buy.

Gap Inc. has also employed the use of rebates. The customers are given 10 dollars for each 200 points in their card. This acts as a motivation to the customer to buy the products from Gap Inc.

Introduction

Every business should take care of consumers and that it uses effectively the principles of consumer behavior. Marketing mix involves the four P’s which are product, price, place and promotion. Any business organization has to come up with a marketing strategy and a marketing mix for its products. Marketing mix can be defined as a clear statement about how marketing professionals are intending to present their products to the consumers. Their presentation of the products takes into account several different factors including the benefits of the product to the public, the target audience and marketing methods and other factors. Marketing mix development is done systematically. Some of the steps used during its development include:

• Definition of the unique selling proposition for the organization. At this point, the benefits of the products are defined to the consumers. The claim being made for the product is outlined and strong points to convince the consumer why they should go for the product and purchase it.
• The target audience should be then analyzed and described. The expected consumers of the product should be visualized in the mind and the marketing campaign should be shaped around the description.
• The product then is described in details outlining the specific values and the qualities of the product. Being unique and avoiding obvious points is important. The unique features of the product should be outlined and showcased in the marketing campaign (Naik, Raman & Winer, 2005).
• The marketing professionals should create a pricing strategy for the product. Research is important to ensure that the product is not overpriced or underpriced.
• Also identification of the market and place where the product is promoted is good. This will go beyond the geographical regions.
• Lastly, definition of promotional techniques that are used for the product.

Company overview

Gap is a clothing and accessories company based in San Francisco. The company was founded in 1969 by Donald and Dorris Fisher. The company has outlets mainly in United State and Unite Kingdom. All over the world the company has 3465 stores. Other places where Gap stores are found include Canada, France and Ireland among others.

Marketing Mix

Gap Inc. has been to a great extend using the marketing mix effectively. The company has defined the importance of the product well to the consumers. For example, by stating that it is helping people to express fashion and style throughout their lives is a way of giving the importance of the products they are offering to the consumers (Miles & Munilla, 2004).

Gap Inc. has defined their target market and done market segmentation. Although the target market is composed of different groups of people, the company reaches all of the groups in a special way. The company has clothes and accessories for both men and women. Also products for kids and youths are also available at the stores of this company. There are promotions aimed at making the sales of each product to rise.

Gap provides a wide range of clothes for kids and adults as well as youths. The products are of unquestionable quality and are affordable. There are clothes for kids, both male and female.

The Gap Inc. has identified market in some many geographical regions. Some of the areas include United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Ireland and Canada among other places in the world. In all these areas, there needs to be a given way to promote the products in the different areas where the stores are found. Different considerations are made which include the different cultures found in the different localities. The culture in the United States may be different from that of the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, France as well as Ireland. Also ages determine the way the products are promoted to the different target audiences.

In the promotion of the products there are different promotional techniques used. These different ways ensure that the message about the products reaches the target audience well and in good time. In the past and up to the moment, Gap Inc. has mainly been using print and broadcasting as the main methods to send information to the consumers. For example, Gap  in 2005, launched a print and television advertising campaign, “Favourites” in 2005 with the participation of acclaimed musicians, including Brandon Boyd, Alanis Morisette, Liz Phair, Joss Stone, Keith Urban and others, where each musician performed an original remake of their favorite song wearing their favorite Gap jeans.

Segmentation

There are different groups which are the target market for the products of Gap. The company takes care of mature men and women, youths and little children. All the different groups really need different market strategies used. Use of television and print is ideal for the mature. For youths, what I think they need is social media commercials (Lloyd, 2005).

The outer packaging of the product is very important and Gap is using it to improve its brand recognition and increase the sales of the products. This always improves the performance of the company.

Also Gap Inc. uses billboard in both United States of America and United Kingdom. These are great ways to reach out to the different groups of people who are the target audience.

There are Point-of-Purchase displays which are found in the stores and are aimed at contributing to the consumers’ buying willingness. This is an advertisement tool which involves the display of items at the point of purchase that is convenient for the consumers to add them to the shopping cart. This influences the decision making process of the consumer for them to buy the items.

For creation of brand awareness, the logo and the name of the company are important. Brand recognition comes from repeatedly giving the consumers information regarding the company.

Different tactics are used by the company to attract its customers from the different zones. Some of the tactics which are used include use of sales promotion which aid in increasing the sales and profitability of the company. Occasionally, Gap Inc. organizes some contests and events such as the kids’ event which was in held in San Francisco. This always increases the brand loyalty and the performance of company.

Gap Inc. has several direct shopping avenues rather than just using the stores, Gap offers online shopping. Rebates are useful in collection of points which can be used later by someone to do shopping. Use of coupons by Gap in both United States and United Kingdom is another method.

Gap is a competitive company and its products are exceptional. The company has a competitive edge over its competitors. There are things the company has done such as ensuring that they offer both online and store shopping.

Getting a good market share in today’s clothing industry is not easy and it calls for some efforts from the management of the company.

The package of has played its role in ensuring brand recognition and this automatically works to ensure that the company’s brand name.

 

Recommendations

I would like to recommend that the company should use more online tools because they are doing online business. For example using social media for the promotion of the products can be a good way to boost the fortunes of the products.  Adding to the list of media channels used for the promotion of the products is an important factor.  There are several media for advertisement and I think the company can add to its list by including use of brochures, booklets, directories and reprints. Being more consumers oriented is very important for the organization.

It is important for the company to apply market segmentation instead of using the group as a homogeneous group, there is the need of identifying the needs of the different groups of consumers based on interest by identifying the groups. For instance, men and women have different tastes, also youths and kids have different needs when it comes to clothing. Segmenting the consumers in terms of demographics will yield more fruits. Doing industry research, collecting consumer data, having giveaways and outsourcing is so important.

Each consumer should feel that the product that the company is providing for them is so important to them. The company has to value its consumers and based on their gender and  age, Gap should treat them well and provide them with products of their tastes.

Pricing has a direct impact on the company’s cash flow. Prices have a significant effect on the company’s revenue. Gap should set the right price to ensure that the company succeeds in its business. The importance of pricing is that it represents the marketers’ assessment and valuation of the product.  Pricing has a direct impact on how the consumer perceives a product and adjusting prices can have impacts on the marketing strategy (Kotler, 2011). This always depends on price elasticity. Prices are a trigger of first impression and an important part of sales promotion. It is important for the company to set the right prices for it to be profitable and attract more customers.

Product positioning is an important aspect for marketing. This is a process used by marketers to most appropriately communicate the best features and attributes of the product to the consumers based on their needs, competitive pressure and available communication channels. Different groups of consumers have different needs (Thomadsen, 2007). Males and females wear different types of clothes and for this matter; there is need of Gap communicating the best features of the products well to the different groups. There is a need for the marketers to understand consumer needs and the right communication channel. Being more specific is good at this point. Also considering the pressure from the other competitors is a good point to note.

Choice of communication channel is a very important thing as it is the one to determine whether the message will reach the target audience or not. The main communication channels for Gap are broadcasting and use of print. There is a need for the company to utilize much more channels of communication. For instance, use of social media will help the company to get information concerning the customers’ feedback and also advertising products in social media can send information about a certain product in a short time to so many people. Different types of communication channels which can be used include YouTube, Pinterest, twitter, Facebook, Google+ among other channels. The company should not stick to the traditional ways of promoting the products (Mattila, & Wirtz, 2004).

For distribution of products, the company needs to have some form of partnership in order to be able to reach more of its customers. For example even if a company does not use resellers, there is a need for them to partner with other companies. Gap has to ship its products to different areas in the world and this calls it to partner with other organizations such as FedEx for easy shipping. This will aid in cost saving, convenience and reduction in exchange time. Also resellers are able to buy in bulk and sell the products in smaller packages hence increasing sales. They also offer market information to the company so it is important for a company like Gap to use the resellers.

            Conclusion

In conclusion, the company has done well in its efforts to ensuring that the promotion of the products and definition of their target audience. Although the company has tried   its bid to come up with a strategic plan on how to create adverts, there is the need of using more media. Social media is very good for making advertisements and reach the target audience in the fastest way.  The company has to ensure that all its consumers are comfortable with the way they communicate and there should be some channels where the consumers can air their grievances to the company. Creating a marketing strategy will be good for both the company and the consumers. There is a need to set prices which can make the consumers perceive the products as quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Naik, P. A., Raman, K., & Winer, R. S. (2005). Planning marketing-mix strategies in the presence of interaction effects. Marketing Science, 24(1), 25-34.

Miles, M. P., & Munilla, L. S. (2004). The potential impact of social accountability certification on marketing: a short note. Journal of Business Ethics, 50(1), 1-11.

Lloyd, J. (2005). Square Peg, Round Hole? Can Marketing-Based Concepts Such as the ‘Product’and the ‘Marketing Mix’Have a Useful Role in the Political Arena?. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 14(1-2), 27-46.

Mattila, A. S., & Wirtz, J. (2004). Consumer complaining to firms: the determinants of channel choice. Journal of Services Marketing, 18(2), 147-155.

Thomadsen, R. (2007). Product positioning and competition: The role of location in the fast food industry. Marketing Science, 26(6), 792-804.

Kotler, P. (2011). Reinventing marketing to manage the environmental imperative. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 132-135.

 

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