PRODUCT

Marketers have four tools to use to develop an offering to meet the needs of their targeted customers. Collectively they are called the marketing mix. These variables are known as the marketing mix or the 4 P's of marketing. They are the variables that marketing managers can control in order to best satisfy customers in the target market. The firm attempts to generate a positive response in the target market by blending these five marketing mix variables in an optimal manner.

Product
The product is the physical product or service offered to the consumer. In the case of physical products, it also refers to any services or conveniences that are part of the offering. Product decisions include aspects such as function, appearance, packaging, service, warranty, etc.

Price
Pricing decisions should take into account profit margins and the probable pricing response of competitors. Pricing includes not only the list price, but also discounts, financing, and other options such as leasing.

Promotion
Promotion decisions are those related to communicating and selling to potential consumers. Since these costs can be large in proportion to the product price, a break-even analysis should be performed when making promotion decisions. It is useful to know the value of a customer in order to determine whether additional customers are worth the cost of acquiring them. Promotion decisions involve advertising, public relations, media types, etc.

Place
Place (or placement) decisions are those associated with channels of distribution that serve as the means for getting the product to the target customers. The distribution system performs transactional, logistical, and facilitating functions. Distribution decisions include market coverage, channel member selection, logistics, and levels of service.

We must remember that Marketing is fundamentally about providing the correct bundle of benefits to the end user, hence the saying Marketing is not about providing products or services it is essentially about providing changing benefits to the changing needs and demands of the customer.

The vegetarian burger menu consists of the McAloo Tikki Burger. It is a vegetable burger with potato, peas, and spices, tomato, onion, and a vegetable-tomato mayonnaise. McVeggie is another Vegetarian burger on the menu. It looks similar to the above McAloo Tikki Burger, but is made from mixed vegetables, peas, and spices, lettuce and veg mayonnaise (referred to as Veg Sauce in India). Another new Menu Item added is the McSurprise burger. It contains a patty, onion, Italian mayonnaise.There is also a Pizza McPuff, consisting of a puff pastry stuffed with peas, sliced cheese etc. McDonalds concentrated on studying the Indian culture, its value-systems and its influence in food consumption decision making. It found that although a substantial proportion of the populations were non-vegetarians, they stuck to mostly fish, mutton and chicken. Muslim took beef but though pig meat to be dirty; Hindus preferred neither beef nor pork; Christian took both beef and pork. McDonalds decided, for the first time in their business history, to drop ham and beef burger from their menu. Two years back, they even excluded mutton burgers from their offerings. McDonalds developed a menu especially for Indian with vegetarian selection to suite Indian taste. It introduced products like McTikki Aloo for the Punjabi taste buds. McDonalds has also re-engineered its operation to address the special requirements of a vegetarian menu. The cheese and cold sauces used in India is 100 % vegetarian. McDonalds are committed for giving customers wholesome, healthy, and delicious food. They ensure that the cooking area as well as cooking equipment for vegetarian products is visibly segregated from the non Vegetarian sections. Whats more- their crew members cooking vegetarian food items are identifiable by their green aprons.

Price
Pricing is the only mix which generates a turnover for the organization. The remaining 3ps are the variable cost for the organization. It costs to produce and design a product, it costs to

distribute a product and costs to promote it. Price must support these elements of the mix. Pricing is difficult and must reflect supply and demand relationship.

The customer's perception of value is an important determinant of the price charged. Customers draw their own mental picture of what a product is worth. A product is more than a physical item; it also has psychological connotations for the customer. The danger of using low price as a marketing tool is that the customer may feel that quality is being compromised. It is important when deciding on price to be fully aware of the brand and its integrity. A further consequence of price reduction is that competitors match prices resulting in no extra demand. This means the profit margin has been reduced without increasingsales. The physical evidence factor of all the McDonalds centers are the signboards, golden arches, buildings, interiors, colours combination of yellow and red, clean facilities, visible food preparation section etc. the site shown in the picture is 52 years-old and is the oldest in the worldwide chain of 20000 restaurants and the last one with red-and-white stripped tile exterior. After opening in 1953, it immediately became the standard for the fast food franchises across the country. The building and its 60-foot high neon sign with Speede the Chef are eligible for listing on the national register of historic. A very popular punch line of Mcdonals-Aap ke zamane mein, baap ke zamane ka daam. The main reason of this price strategy was too attract the middle class & the lower class of people in India. After this not only the upper class prefers going there but all class of people go there. Value Pricing Happy meal small burger ,fries ,coke+toy Medium Meal Combo- burger ,fries,coke-veg Rs:75 ,Maharaja Mac Meal Rs: 95 Family Dines under Rs: 300 Price lower than Pak ,Srilanka ,50% lower than U.S.

Promotion

A successful product or service means nothing unless the benefit of such a service can be communicated clearly to the target market. An organizations promotional mix can consist The promotions aspect of the marketing mix covers all types of marketing communications. The methods include advertising, sometimes known as 'above the line' activity. Advertising is conducted on TV, radio, cinema, online, poster sites and in the press Key objectives of advertising are to make people aware of an item, feel positive about it and remember it. The more McDonald's knows about the people it is serving the more it is able to communicate messages which appeal to them Messages should gain customers' attention and keep their interest. The next stage is to get them to want what is offered. Showing the benefits which they will obtain by taking action, is usually sufficient. The right messages must be targeted at the right audience, using the right media. You Deserve a break today, so get up and get awayTo McDonalds

The above break commercial was one of the initial commercial themes adopted by McDonalds United State which became the best known commercial song on television and, in fact, the most identifiable advertising themes of all time. Needham was one of the first advertising agencies of McDonalds which made many revolutionary advertisements for the company. Needhams advertising formula became know in McDonalds as Food, Folks, and Fun and it remains the backbone of all the chains advertising $25 billion, making the ninth most valuable brand in the campaigns. world. McDonalds is now, one of the worlds mightiest consumer marketers. Its brand valuation is DDB Needham and Leo Burnett are the advertising agencies of McDonalds are worldwide. Hence, when they came to India, The subsidiary of both the companies pitched for the account and Mudra the Indian partner of DDB Needham got the account. Since the very beginning a debate Mudra and has been the on advertising the new agency of McDonalds to be India. adopted. The Mudra team meets up with McDonalds marketing team on a regular basis and they have discussion strategies McDonalds uses various Medias like television, hoardings and bus shelters. They are almost outofprintads. Even the paper Mats on the trays at the McDonalds are designed as per the ongoing Marketing Strategy of McDonalds. For e.g.: During the French fries issues, all their Paper mats had description of the burgers, how the vegetarian products are made etc, to regain the

confidence of the customers. The placing of the pamphlets, banners in and around the outlets is decided upon by the area sales manager and the operations manager, in co-ordination with the restaurant manager. For e.g. : currently they have the Bugs Life Theme going on wherein they give free Bugs Life toys with the happy meal. All the outlets are decorated with the pictures of the toys and even the paper mats have pictures of the toys on them. The hoardings around The the 80-20 outlets carry Menu the same Boards theme.

Even the menu counters in the outlet are a marketing tool for the company. They have to be designed such that they catch the attention of the customer and tempt him to order the product. So McDonalds have menu boards that are descriptive as well as visual. They call it the 80-20 menu board eighty percent visual and twenty percent descriptive. Under the recent research conduct by McDonalds they found that the consumers would have a clear remembrance of the 80-20 Board. This board also helps give a feel of the product before it is purchased. Reconnecting with customers throcontemporary global marketing direction Im loving it. I am loving it refers an attitude we want your employees to embrace & reflect in their services. Their other lucky Promotion strategies were like : Collaboration with coke, M Tv, Hungama .com, Sony Music, etc. Scratch cards on large jumbo meals. Prices- caps, T-shrit, internet card, CDs, Free tickets to Lucky Alis contest. Purchase of 2nd meal in a month qualified for Opel Corsa/ NZ trip.

Place
Refers to how an organisation will distribute the product or service they are offering to the end user. The organisation must distribute the product to the user at the right place at the right time. Efficient and effective distribution is important if the organisation is to meet its overall marketing objectives. If organisation underestimate demand and customers cannot purchase products because of it profitability will be affected.

Positioning is about communicating your unique selling advantage or proposition to your target audience in everything you do. Marketing, sales, customer service. The consistency helps your customer remember. Can't articulate your unique selling proposition in less than 10 words? Maybe you lack clarity about positioning. Our marketplaces have lots of choices. Too many, perhaps, for the average consumer to evaluate logically. With hundreds of choices in any given locale, many people simply look for a referral to a product or with professional services: a company that their friends trust. Those who shop around, consider two or three options and take the best of the three. With hundreds of choices, and with products and services that most consumers find hard to differentiate, how do you set yourself, apart from the crowd? Positioning allows a marketer to think about why a customer would want to do business with them. What do you offer that the other producers don't? What does a potential client get by doing business with you, that will serve their needs. Positioning has three components:

What are your strengths? Your distinctive competencies? What about your offerings provide value to your customers?

Who is your target customer? What about them, makes them an ideal fit for the value you offer?

How are you different from your competitors in ways that your customers and potential customers will value? In other words, what is your unique selling proposition? Your competitive advantage?

When all three are put together, you have a positioning statement. Positioning statements are the basis for all marketing messaging, sales scripts, and at a corporate level: branding. So here are the things you need to know to be able to develop your own market positioning:

Who are you? As a company? As a sales rep? What is your firm or known for? (Ask people what they think. It may not be what your internal talk says it is. Is it prompt claims? Or telling it like it is? Or it might just be everyone knows you.)

What do your customers appreciate about your products or services? (Ask your colleagues and your customers. Again, it might not be what you think. Maybe you are known for high quality. Or perhaps for returning calls promptly or your problem solving ability. Maybe it is just that you are convenient. )

What are you particularly strong at? (These are your core competencies.)

What are you better at, than anyone else in your business? As a company? As a professional? As a sales rep? (Quality? Innovation? Cost effective choices?)

Who are your most satisfied customers? What is it that they value most about what you have to offer?

Based upon your sales goals and annual plan, who is your target market? The key here is the fit between what you do well and who or what type of business needs what you are good at.

What value can you bring your customers that they will value the most, based upon your unique strengths?

At a company level, can you articulate this competitive value for your target, best customers? Does your branding reflect this? Do your communications use this messaging as its foundation?
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Are your web, collateral, and sales force attuned to this value? Do your services focus on this value? Does your customer service reflect this value? Does your customer service reflect the promise of the brand? Or are customers continually shocked that the customer service is not like the brand image at all?

Your customers are bombarded with hundreds - perhaps thousands - of commercial messages each day. Believe it or not buying your product or service is probably not their most important priority. So, in the end, it comes down to relationships. Does your vendor understand your needs? Thus, positioning is EVERYTHING, because, positioning is that unique value you offer, to that target market you seek, in ways that are better, more effective, more amazingly meeting your needs than any of your competitors. And, the customer service, and employee relationships need to MATCH or be INTEGRATED with the market positioning.