CHOICE BOARD

Choice Board

Product

Packaging

Market channel and distribution

Pricing

Promotions

Sales

ACTIVITIES

PRODUCT

The aim is to have a product the consumers will buy. The product characteristics, benefits, packaging type and size, brand and packaging aesthetics, product image and the final product proposition to be presented to the retailer or the industrial customer are identified and then integrated into the complete product description for the market plan. The services provided for the industrial customer need to be identified such as delivery, packaging, technical help.Some of the questions to answer are:• Is the product what the consumers want?• Does it have the benefits wanted by the consumers?• Does it have the desired characteristics wanted by the consumer (sensory,ease of use, safety, nutrition, psychological)?• Is it packaged correctly?• Is the pack the right size?• Is the pack attractive at the point of sale?• Are the product and the pack legal?

Packaging

The aim of packaging is to present a unique design which will stand out on the retailers' shelves and in the kitchen, encouraging consumers to buy and use the product. The packaging design consists first in choosing a brand and a product name, and then developing a graphic package design. In choosing the brand, there is the decision whether to use a family brand name or a product brand name or both. Products have been seen on supermarket shelves with three brand names, but this is confusing to the buyers! A family brand name gives recognition and reassurance to the consumer but must have strong associations with the new product.

Market channel and distribution

The aim is to make the product available at the right price at the right place at the right time. The type of market channel will have been identified but there is also a need to analyse the people/organisations involved so that the product can be sold effectively with control over and integration of selling and buying.

Answer the questions• Who will sell it?• How will it be sold?• How much will be sold?• How will it be transported?• How will it be stored?• How will it be displayed?• How will it be promoted by the retailer?

PRICING

The price aim is to have a product giving 'value for money' for the consumer but at a price that will produce the desired sales revenue and profit for the company. Company pricing issues include the list price, discounts, allowances, payment period and credit terms. The list price is based not only on the company costs plus the profit and the advertising budget, but also on external factors that affect price.

PRICING

The questions to answer are:•What price range will the consumer accept?• Does the consumer have any psychological attitudes to price?• What is the relationship between sales forecasts and prices?• How does the price relate to competitors' prices?• What are retailer and wholesaler margins, agent percentage?• What price specials, discounts may be needed?• What are the subsidies, the taxes, the exchange rate?• What are the basic company costs, the advertising allowances, the companyprofit? Do they vary at different levels of outputs and sales?

The aim of promotion is to make the consumers aware of the product and encourage them to buy the product at the rate of sales growth desired by the company. Promotion includes advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity. The questions to answer are:•Who are the target consumers?•What is the product image?•What is the message that has to reach the consumers?•What promotion is needed to convey this message?•What promotional methods are available?For a food innovation, the consumer is made aware of the product, educated about its use and benefits, and encouraged to try it. Although TV advertising is often used for new food products because it reaches a large number of consumers very quickly, it may not be the most effective choice.Demonstrations and tasting can encourage the consumer to try the product and to remove some of their doubts about it because of its ‘newness’.

Promotions

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Sales

The sales aim is to achieve the sales targets that have been predicted at the budgeted costs. This needs organisation of the sales areas and the sales personnel. Sales targets are set for the sales areas and the individuals, and the sales people are organised to achieve these sales.Training is provided before the market launch, so that sales people have knowledge of the product, the market research, pricing and promotion and know how to sell the product. Sales calls before the launch and merchandising (shelf display organisation) during the launch are needed to achieve the necessary shelf space for the new products. In the marketing plan the number of such special calls must be detailed to allow adequate planning by the area management.

Activities

Activity 1Choose a typical food product of your country and describe its process of commercialization, using the question you have been given for each step.

Activity 2On your opinion, what operating functions included in the marketing plan, are the most important? Why?

Activity 3What products do customers normally buy for sale?