Example research essay topic: Product Or Service Nonprofit Organizations - 1,698 words

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When a new product comes onto the market, there are soon many companies selling it. By the time the market matures, there are usually very few companies left. Large sales volume leads to economies of scale which result in lower unit costs and reduced prices, driving competitors out of the market. This often allows the few remaining companies to exert more control over the prices they pay for raw materials and the prices that the consumers pay for finished products, thus increasing profits over the long run. For successfully leading of product at the market company has to create profitable strategy and promoting. For this goal every company create marketing mix: price, place, product, and promotion.

Some commentators will increase the mix to the 'five Ps', to include people. Others will increase the mix to 'Seven Ps', to include physical evidence (such as uniforms, facilities, or livery) and process (i. e. the whole customer experience e. g. a visit the Disney World).

Marketologs identified the four P's of the marketing mix: Product Defining the characteristics of our product or service to meet the customers' needs. The product is the most important aspect of the marketing mix. The product can be a service or even a holiday destination. Products have both tangible and intangible benefits. Tangible benefits include benefits which can be measured such as the top speed of a car. Intangible benefits are benefits that cannot be measured such as the enjoyment the customer will get from the product.

It is important that the product is changed as necessary to bring it up to date and prevent it from being overtaken by competitors. For nonprofit organizations, product refers to the programs and services that are offered. When examining the product your organization offers keep in mind that nonprofits are mission driven as opposed to product driven. However, many nonprofit organizations pride themselves on offering quality programs and services for their constituent base. In any way, for creating product and its elements e have to make some strategy, such as imagination, creation and presentation of product. In the nor-profit sector many companies make guarantees on their products in order to stress quality.

The same is true for some nonprofit organizations, which helps them distinguish themselves from other organizations in the same sector. Some examples are a college guaranteeing small class sizes of less than 15 students, or a world hunger organization guaranteeing that 90 % of monies raised will go directly to their cause. Price: Deciding on a pricing strategy. Even if we decide not to charge for a service, it is useful to realize that this is still a pricing strategy. Identifying the total cost to the user (which is likely to be higher than the charge we make) is a part of the price element. It is very important that the correct price is charged for a product.

If the price is too high consumers will avoid the product as they will believe it to be too expensive yet if the product is priced too low they may believe that there is something wrong with the product for it to be so cheap. Also if the company charges too low a price, it may not cover its costs. There are many different pricing strategies that companies can use to decide on a price for their product including market and psychological pricing methods. Price is an important element in the marketing mix because it establishes a perceived value for a program or service. At times we purchase a more expensive product if the perception is that it offers a greater value.

This relationship between price and perceived value also exists in the nonprofit sector. According to world before, we can conclude, that pricing demand the strategy too. So, it can be the SWOT strategy, which can analyses our main strengths, weakness, opportunities and treats. An example would be a school that has a large endowment and brings in substantial funds via contributions. This allows them to keep tuition costs at a minimum even though other schools in the area are raising tuition. However, incoming parents admit that price is a gauge of quality.

Therefore, in the community, parents perceive this schools academic programs as inferior. Once the product has been made and the price set, it is important that potential customers are told about the product. Promotion can also be used for reassuring the consumer that the product is of good quality and persuading them to purchase the product. Promotional methods include: advertising, direct selling, point of sale and incentives.

Promotion This includes advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, and atmospherics. Public Relations is included within Promotion by many marketing people. The fourth part of the marketing mix refers to process of informing your customers of our company's products. To make our customers aware that our products exist, there are a number of methods we may choose to use, they include: Media Advertising (television, magazines, Internet, radio) Personal selling (involving a sales person) Non-personal communication (persuasion advertising - competitions, free samples. Other promotional types include public relation exercises and free publicity. Promotion needs to be carefully planned, and it is usual to decide on a new promotional plan each year.

There should be one main objective to the promotion campaign and that particular emphasis should be projected during a certain time to a certain market segment. Place or distribution. Looking at location and where a service is delivered. Place decides where the product is to be sold. There are 3 main distribution channels to choose from: Traditional - selling the product to wholesalers who will then sell the product on to retail outlets. Modern - producers selling the product directly to the retail outlet.

Direct - the producer selling directly to the consumer such as door to door sales or over the internet. This element refers to the location where the product or service is available. Location is a key factor when you are attracting constituents to your organization for programs and services. If you are a social service agency serving inner-city youth and move your offices to a more affluent location many clients will most likely stop coming to your organization.

This impairs your organization's ability to accomplish its mission and goals. Using market research establishes who are the best market segments to aim our campaign towards. The message of our campaign must be focused towards the market segment and it must relate to the promotional objectives. Time our promotion, when and where is the optimum impact likely to be.

Which promotional technique we decide to employ must have a bearing on how best we can reach this segment and which technique would best put our message across favourably. This is an element that is sometimes overlooked by nonprofit organizations. Even if an organization offers some of the best programs and services, if the market they were intended for has no knowledge of their existence the programs will not be utilized to the fullest. This could be dangerous for a nonprofit since constituents are reluctant to support an organization with which they are not familiar or which isn't clear about its mission and goals and how they plan to achieve them. An effective marketing plan combines all of the marketing mix elements into a seamless program designed to achieve your marketing goals. The main principles of expanded marketing mix and the way of its using we can find on the Appendix 1 and 2.

Appendix 1. Appendix 2. Product Historically, the thinking was: a good product will sell itself. However there are no bad products anymore in today's highly competitive markets. Plus there are many laws giving customers the right to return products that he perceives as bad. Therefore the question on product has become: does the organization create what its intended customers want?

Define the characteristics of your product or service that meets the needs of your customers. Functionality, Quality, Appearance, Packaging, Brand, Service, Support, Warranty Price How much are the intended customers willing to pay? Here we decide on a pricing strategy - do not let it just happen! Even if you decide not to charge for a service (a loss leader), you must realize that this is a conscious decision and forms part of the pricing strategy. Although competing on price is as old as mankind, the consumer is often still sensitive for price discounts and special offers.

Price has also an irrational side: something that is expensive must be good. Permanently competing on price is for many companies not a very sensible approach. List Price, Discounts, Financing, Leasing Options, Allowances, Place Available at the right place, at the right time, in the right quantities? Some of the revolutions in business have come about by changing Place. Think of the internet and mobile telephones. Locations, Logistics, Channel members, Channel Motivation, Market Coverage, Service Levels, Internet, Mobile Promotion (How) are the chosen target groups informed or educated about the organization and its products?

This includes all the weapons in the marketing armory - advertising, selling, sales promotions, Public Relations, etc. While the other three P's have lost much of there meaning in today's markets, Promotion has become the most important P to focus on. Advertising, Public Relations, Message, Direct Sales, Sales, Media, Budget Worked Cite: Marketing for the Nonprofit Organization Agriculture Business Strategies: Developing a Promotional Plan The Strategic Use of Sales Promotion... Not Just for Consumers Katherine C. Pramataris, Adam P. Vrechopoulos, Georgios I.

Doukidis The transformation of the promotion mix in the virtual retail environment: An initial framework and comparative study J. F. Report and J. J. Sviokla. Managing in the Market space.

Harvard Business Review, 72, 6, 1994: 141 - 150. Shirley Light for The Record Promotion Mix Helps Breslau Business Ted Greiner, PhD The infant food industry: Why and how it promotes its products Howard CR, Howard FM, Weitzman M, Lawrence R. Antenatal formula advertising: another potential threat to breast-feeding. Pediatrics 1994; 94 (1): 102 - 104. George McKenzie To Get Attention From The Media, You MUST Learn The Difference Between Advertising And Publicity Joel Sussman Strategies for Winning the Marketing Race Susan M. Jacksack, J.

D. Setting a Marketing Budget

Research essay sample on Product Or Service Nonprofit Organizations