Holistic Marketing

            A marketing strategy that is developed by thinking about the business as a whole, its place in the broader economy and society, and in the lives of its customers. It attempts to develop and maintain multiple perspectives on the company’s commercial activities.

            The various dimensions of holistic marketing are

• Relationship Marketing
• Performance Marketing
• Internal Marketing
• Integrated Marketing. 

Relationship Marketing:

            The four constituents of relationship marketing are Customers, Employers, Marketing, Partners(Channels, Suppliers, Distributors). The basic idea behind the relationship marketing is to attract new customers and retain the existing customers.

             Lay’s maintains a customer relationship management being active on social media like Facebook, Twitter etc and also provides incentives to the distributors , retailers who hold the product so that the retailers buy the product on a regular basis.

Performance Marketing:

            Performance Marketing results in anlaysis of the results which are being carried out by various marketing activities and programs. The company involves broader concerns regarding ethical, legal, economic and environmental issues.

            A few years back Lay’s came up with a marketing strategy of using solar power for production in order to reduce the production cost and provide a eco-friendly environment, thereby protecting the environment from harmful emissions.

Internal Marketing:

                                 

            Internal Marketing is based regarding the internal employees who work for the company, Employee satisfaction towards his job is very important for the organisation to achieve this marketing approach. Internal Marketing involves in communication between the staffs about the overall mission and vision statement of the company and its steps involved in the future towards the company’s growth.

            In 2008, when the sales volume of Lay’s went reduced,they introduced a campaign called “Chalo Bazaar “, where  all the non-sales employees who were working inside the air-conditioned offices left their work place and got down to the streets and was interacting with all the retailers and their customers  enquiring about the product. Even the Managaing Director  got down to the market place to sell their products.      

SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING (STP MARKETING)

                        

Segmentation:

            Segmentation is the division of the market into various homogenous groups with similar needs and wants. The market can be segmented based on

• Geographical factors.
• Demographic factors.
• Psychographic factors
• Behavioral factors.

 Geographic Factors:

Region	South, East, North, West.
City	Tier  1 and Tier 2 cities with population more than 1 million.
Rural and Semi- Urban areas	Rural and semi Urban area where population less than (20,000-50,000).

Demographic Factors:.

Age	5-35 years
Family Size	Young Married with no children, Married with children,
Gender	Male, female.
Income	Lower Middle, class (40,000-80,000 P.a) Middle class (80,000-1,00,000 p.a), Upper Middle Class(1,20,000- 3,00,000). Affluent Class(above 3,00,000)
Ocupation	Workers, small scale business owners, Industrialists, Professionals,
Education.	School/ College  Students , Graduate/Nongraduate or post graduate.

           

Psychographic Factors:

Lifestyle	Cult ure Oriented, Sports Oriented, Outdoor Oriented,
Personality	Compulsive, Gregarious ,  Specific towards taste.

Behavioural Factors:

Occassions	Regular , Special, Snack time
Benefits	Quality, service( availability)
User Status	Non user, Repeated User, 1st time user, Loyal Users.
Usage rate	Heavy
Loyality Status	Strong
Attitude towards buying	Positive attitude

Targeting:

            Targeting is the next step carried out by the organization after the segmentation process are being carried out. The organisation now focuses on the what customers to target in order to sell their product.

 The various criteria that must is necessary for the market segmentation to take place are:

•   It must be scable enough to measure.
•   It must be large enough to earn profit.
•   It musbe stable.
•   It must reach potential customers, via the organisation promotion and distribution   channel.
•   It is internally homogenous.

            Lay’s  targets a majority people among the whole population. Their targeted customers mainly include the working class who are very busy and always wanted to have a tasty snack on the go. A large number of  young teenagers  from schools, colleges are also a part of lays target customers. Teenagers tend to enjoy tasty snacks which are easily affordable.

            Baked lay’s chips are targeted towards old age people who are either health conscious and /or weight conscious who are willing to have a tasty snack but are restricted towards it because of health problems.

           

 Positioning:

            Positioning refers to where the product has been placed in the market compared to others which provide similar products or services in the market place as well as in the mids of the customer.

             A good positioning makes a product unique and makes the users consider using it as a distinct benefit to them. A good position gives the product a USP (Unique selling proposition). A good position in the market also allows a product and its company to ride out bad times more easily. A good position is also one which allows flexibility to the brand or product in extensions, changes, distribution and advertising.

            Lays despite of its competitors in the market  has the maximum market share in the chips category. It provides seasonal and limited flavours which is available in almost all the shops in the rural and the urban areas.

Services and Service Marketing

Lays being a product in the snack category is a tangible product. The service provided by this product is that quenches hunger and has a wide variety of flavours.

            Lays has a consumer feedback website where the customers can lodge their complaints at

consumer.feedback@pepsico.com

and provides a toll-free number at 1800 22 4020 where the customers can call and express their inconvenience they faced while the consumption of the product.

Understanding Organisational Behaviour

ORGANISATIONAL BUYING BEHAVIOUR:

            Organisational behaviour is the study of organisations from different view points and different level of analysis about the actions that are being carried out within the organisation. 

                  For a optimum buying behaviour the organisation must establish a strong supplier-buyer relationship. An efficient supply chain must be managed between the suppliers and the buyers in the organisation.

            The major raw-material for the manufacture of Lays chips is that it is made from the finest quality of potatoes. Pepsi Co India has set up it potato plantation in the parts of Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Pepsi Co has partnered with Punjab Agro Industries is the major manufacturing unit of potatoes.

Consumer behaviour

       Consumer behaviour includes the  collective actions, including the searching, evaluation, selection, purchasing, consuming, disposing of products, taken by consumers in determining which goods and services hold the most value for meeting their wants and needs.Consumer behaviour  is influenced strongly by 3 factors.  

1.  Cultural Factor.
2. Social Factor and
3. Personal Factor.

·         Cultural Factors:  

            Cultural Factors are the fundamental determinants for consumer needs and behaviours such as values, perceptions, preferences differ from family to family, region to region and country to country. These factors affect the buying decision for a buyer and marketing decision as a marketer, as Lays is a snack food product and there are huge varieties available in the market for the customers. 

·         Social Factors:

            Social Factors like reference groups , family , roles and status affect consumer buying behaviour.Buying behaviour of customers towards snack product lays is affected by PRIMARY GROUPS  as buying of this product is influenced by interacting with family members and Co-workers etc.

·         Personal Factors:

          Personal factors such as Occupation and Economic circumstances, Lifestyles affect the purchasing of lays.

            ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES  such as spendable income, savings and market situations like recession brought down in sales of the product because people lost their jobs, cut off in salaries so the buying decision was greatly affected.

            LIFESTYLE is a pattern of living in the world as expressed in activities, interests and opinions, price conscious shoppers. (i.e) the ”whole person” interacting with the environment, so the buying decision is greatly affected.

Sales Management

           Sales management is the art of organizing and motivating people to sell. Also, there is a science of sales management that functions to provision and deploy the sales force to make those sales happen. Sales processes and tools exist to sustain the selling effort - to implement and support the art of sales management.

            Lays being a product in the potato based snack category , target the customers as a whole and doesn’t involve personal selling, and it being sold at all the retail outlets, super markets , bakery and due to its wide distribution channel it has penetrated even the un-organized vendors in the rural parts of India.

Distribution Decisions

                       Lays has got its distribution outlets in almost every parts of the country. Lays follows INTENSIVE DISTRIBUTION method in which manufacturers places the goods and services in as many outlets as possible. For these products the consumer requires a great deal of location convenience.

                             

              Manufacturers are constantly tempted to move from exclusive or selective distribution to more intensive distribution to increase coverage and sales .This strategy may help in the short term but often hurts long term performance.

                  Lays has extended its distribution channels even to the rural parts of India thereby attracting new customers, and provides an increase the market share. 

           

Promotion Decisions - The IMC Approach, ATL ,BTL.

PROMOTIONS DECISION – THE IMC APPROACH, ATL,BTL  :

            Promotions are a set of processes which are being carried out by the firm in order to reach the consumers and provide awareness about the brand value and the product value.

            Promotion activities are mainly being carried out by advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public relations.

                                         THE IMC APPROACH

                                             

Advertising :

            Advertising is the most effect form of promoting the product to the potential customers. Advertising is any paid form of representation of the product or a brand in any specific medium such that the idea or the value about the brand or a product reaches its target customers.

            Lays since the beginning of its launch in the year 1995 has come up various advertsing campaigns in different mediums like TV, Radio, Social Media platforms, Newspaper print ads etc. Starting from campaigns like  “whats the program” “No one can eat just one” are the famous advertisng commercials which made the people aware of its brand .

Sales Promotion:

            Sales promotions includes the marketing activities that stimulate the consumer purchasing and dealer effectiveness, such as promoting the product in a specific shows,and expectations , demonstration and various non-recurrent selling efforts which are not in the ordinary routine.

            Sales promotion mainly focuses on increasing the sales of the company by attracting new customers giving attractive gifts.

            Lays in the initial growing stages attracted the kids by providing a free gift called “Tazo”, featuring the famous cartoons watched by the kids in India

 along with each pack which made the kids buy the product and that campaign 

lead to the increase in sales and attracted a lot of kids consumers to the product.

         

Personal Selling:

            Personal Selling is a one to one communication between seller and customer.It generates  a direct contact between the prospects and the customers.

Public Relations:

            Public relation activities enable an organization to influence a target audience. Most of the time, public relation campaigns try to create a favourable image for a company its its products, or its policies. Companies give news releases to announce newsworthy developments about a company's products or services, distribution channels, facilities, operations, partners, revenues and earnings, employees, and events. Publicity is one tactic that public relations professionals use. This means bringing newsworthy information to the public.

            Lays famous campaign of “lay’s party packs”, made the company to interact with its consumers by its ambassadors Saif Ali Khan , with a specific set of people and created the publicity among the lay’s loyal consumers.

Branding

BRANDING:

            A brand can be a name, a term or a symbol , a design or a combination of them that are intented to identify goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers to differentiate them among competitors.

            The process of endowing the products and services with the power of the brand is known as branding.

            The differential effect that the brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand is known as brand equity.

            Branding process involves positioning your product in the market , devising brand strategy (how you will reach your goals), creating your name (your verbal identity), designing corporate identity or product identity (your visual identity), writing brand messaging (verbal and written tone), and setting brand standards (how you keep your brand consistent and strong).

           

            The various attributes of the brand of Lays carried out to the customers are:

1.      Delivering the nutritional value of the product to the consumers,Eg. 0%transfat.

2.      The chips are all 100% pure vegetarian.

3.      The chips are tasty enough that no one can eat just one.

4.      Social media marketing on Facebook, twitter, etc.

5.      TV commercials endorsing Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, and recently many lead cricketers

6.      Innovative Campaigns like guess the flavour , panga talent around by creating a prank which involves the loyal consumers can  be a part of the campaign.

Pricing

The price of the product is one of the important factors in generating the sales revenue and earn profit. Price of the product also determines the brand value to the customer. Pricing being the only revenue generating factor  among  the 4P’s of marketing mix. The pricing strategy followed by Lay’s is value pricing because of its quality compared to the all other unorganised sectors which produce the same product.

 Pricing Of Baked flavours

Quantity (gms)	Price (Rs)
30	15
67	30

Pricing Of Normal flavours

Quantity (gms)	Price (Rs)
12.5	5
26	10
56.5	20

  The various steps involved the pricing method are :

• ·         Setting the price objective
• ·         Determining the demand.
• ·         Estimating costs.
• ·         Analysing the competitor’s cost and offers.
• ·         Select the final price.

Lay’s also comes up with offer pricing options like providing redue price for larger quantities (family sized bags).

Product Mix

It refers to all the products offered by a firm. It should be differentiated from the product line, which refers to the group of products which are classified together for reasons of similarities on any one of the several criteria such as customer needs, market served, channed used, or technology used in manufacture.   

     

            Lays is India is being manufactured by Pepsico India. Pepsico India on the food and snacks product line manufactures snacks like Cheetos, Kurkure, Quaker Oats, Duke’s wafers and along the beverages product line manufactures soft drinks like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Aquafina,  Mirinda, Nimbooz, Slice and Tropicana.

Product Strength:

            The strength of the product is that it tastes so good, a quick snack to quench your hunger providing the widest choice of flavours in the potato-based snack category.

Product Depth:

            The depth of the product is the total number of variations and various categories in each variation. The variations can include size, flavour , method of preparation etc. Lays has variety of flavours and categories like Lay’s baked and Lay’s Stax.

Product Life Cycle

Each and every product irrespective of their category has a limited lifecycle in terms of the product sales and profits. Product sales pass through distinct stages facing different challenges and opportunities. Relatively the profits tend to raise and fall at different stages. Products need to require different strategies to acquire to the next stage in the life cycle.

            The four different stages in the product life cycle are :

1.      Introduction.

2.      Growth.

3.      Maturity.

4.      Decline.

Introduction:

            This is the initial stage of the development of the product when the product is introduced in the market and where there is no progress in the sales figures and profits. This is due to the production cost and other expenses with respect to the launch of the sales in the market.

            Lays was launched in the Indian market in the year 1995. It earned the brand value among the consumers due to its unique taste and providing a wide variety of flavours.  

Growth:

            This is the stage the product gradually shows an increase in the sales figures because of the acceptance in the market by its consumers.

             Lay’s started to show profit due to the introduction of the new flavours, advertising and packaging of the product.

Maturity:

             The phase where the profits generated by the product rise up to the maximum level and maintains at that level for a quite longer period of time  and slight reduction in the sales figures  due to the introduction of various competitors in the market. At the maturity stage the product must have acquired maximum market share. 

            Lay’s has now attained the maturity stage by capturing the maximum amount of market share.

Decline:

            This is the final phase where the sales volume generated by the product decrease at a very higher level and the profits begin to erode. Lay’s has not attained this phase because the consumers still tend to buy this product irrespective of the competition.