09 Apr Post your response to one other student’s post which has not received a response by Apr 9 EOD. Include:discussion of your agreement or disagreement w

Advantages and disadvantages of different survey platforms

Gathering primary data is a vital step in the marketing research process, and “the most popular technique for gathering primary data is survey research, in which a researcher either interacts with people or posts a questionnaire online to obtain facts, opinion, and attitudes” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 162). There are many ways to conduct surveys. All offer benefits, but some have drawbacks that negate their usefulness in many modern marketing situations. In-home personal interviews and executive interviews—interviewing businesspeople in an office setting—can collect the most amount of data but have the highest cost. While telephone and main-in surveys are more cost-effective, but may not gather all the data necessary, owing to “respondent refusals to participate” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 163) in phone interviews and the inability to ask probing or follow-up questions as well as frequently not-returned questionnaires for mail in surveys. More and more, the internet has become the best way to conduct marketing surveys. Platforms exist that make creating surveys free and easy, and with minimal cost the ability to “use information from previous answers to determine where to go next…export [the] data…[and utilize] a wider range of question types…such as the ability to select multiple options in a drop down menu, star rankings, grids, and others” (Lamb et. al., 2021). Online surveys also allow marketers to access a much broader demographic—companies can send a survey to all current customers, post a link on social media for any to fill out, or coordinate with online panel providers to have a “ready-made sample population…[of] people who agree to participate in online market research surveys” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 172).

The importance of proper product packaging

Packaging plays a key role in “promoting the product and making it easier and safer to use” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 189). The colors, shapes, designs, and packaging materials are all important aspects of product promotion—the right combination catches a potential customer’s attention and influences their buying behavior (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 189). According to Lamb et. al. (2021), green packaging leads American consumers to believe that a product is healthy (although in some other countries green can be a sign of danger [p.192]), while servings per container and calorie counts printed in bold letters help consumers choose the foods that are actually healthy (p. 189). Packaging has practical functions, such as containing and protecting products, facilitating storage, use, and convenience, encouraging recycling, and reducing environmental impact (Lamb et. al., 2021, pp. 189-190). Difficult-to-open packaging can frustrate consumers and lead to complaints, “although some consumers want packages that are tamperproof or childproof” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 190) so knowing when to use sturdier packaging and when to use packaging that is “easy to handle, open, and reclose” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 190) is vital for marketers. Consumers also desire more and better labeled (Feber et. al., 2020) environmentally friendly packaging, and "60-70 percent of consumers…would pay more for sustainable packaging" (Feber et. al., 2020). The concept of greenwashing seeks to exploit consumers’ desire to purchase environmentally friendly products and packaging by self-declaring the greenness of a product or package. The FTC has stepped in to combat this greenwashing with regulations that require companies to mark the origin of their green certification, be it a third-party certification or one given by the company itself. The label is also a key part of any package. There are two forms of labeling: “persuasive labeling [which] focuses on a promotional theme or logo…[and] informational labeling, [which] is designed to help consumers make proper product selections and lower their cognitive dissonance after the purchase” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 190). As persuasive labeling is doing less and less to draw consumer attention, marketers should focus more on informational labeling that meets all local labeling requirements and is properly translated should it be globally marketed.

Understanding and accepting product life cycles

The product life cycle is “a concept that provides a way to trace the stages of a product’s acceptance, from its introduction (birth) to its decline (death)” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 205). Different types of products have different lengths of life cycles. Fad items can cycle through all the stages very quickly, while others “stay in the maturity stage for decades” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 206). There are four stages in the product life cycle: the introductory stage, the growth stage, the maturity stage, and the decline stage. Graphs of both the sales and the profits of a product in regard to time resemble decay graphs, with the peak in the maturity stage–though with proper implementation of strategies such as "promoting more frequent usage…[and]developing more varied usage among current users…creating new users…by expanding the market…[and] finding new uses for the basic material" (Levitt, 1965), firms can create an upward-trending graph as extensions of the life cycle are created (Levitt, 1965).

The introductory stage is “the full-scale launch of a new product into the marketplace” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 206). Marketing, advertising, and production costs are high at this stage and profits are often negative. The focus should be on making consumers in the target market aware of the product and stimulating their demand. In the next stage, the growth stage, “sales typically grow at an increasing rate, many competitors enter the market” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 207), and larger companies may look to buy out the small firm that developed the product. This stage is where distribution starts to really matter, since “without adequate distribution, it is impossible to establish [and maintain] a strong market position” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 207). Next comes the maturity stage, in which sales are still increasing, but at a much slower rate as the market becomes saturated. For many products, this is the longest stage, “service and repair assume more important roles as manufacturers strive to distinguish their products from others” (Lamb et. al, 2021, p. 208), and product design changes are aesthetic. Prices drop and profits slow, and “heavy consumer promotion by the manufacturer is…required to maintain market share” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 208). The maturity stage can also help a product or firm find its niche market. Lastly is the decline stage, signaled by “a long-run drop in sales…[and] governed by how rapidly consumer tastes change or substitute products are adopted” (Lamb et. al., 2021, p. 208). At the end of the decline stage, the product is pulled from the market. Accepting the “death” of a product is an important part of the product life cycle. Removing a product from the market frees up capital and man power for the creation and production of a new product for the firm to enter into the market, beginning the cycle again.

References:

Feber, D., Granskog, A., Lingqvist, O., & Nordigården, D. (2020, Oct. 21). Sustainability in packaging: Inside the minds of US consumers. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/paper-forest-products-and-packaging/our-insights/sustainability-in-packaging-inside-the-minds-of-us-consumers

Lamb, C., Hair, J., & McDaniel, C. (2021). MKTG13: Principles of marketing. Boston, MA: Cengage.

Levitt, T. (1965, Nov.). Exploit the product life cycle. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1965/11/exploit-the-product-life-cycle