Millennium Pest Control Service - Research Paper Example

Running head: A MARKETING PLAN OF MILLENNIUM PEST CONTROL SERVICES A Marketing Plan Marketing Plan Introduction Millennium Pest control Service is a firm that manufactures and retails pesticides that helps farmers to curb pests from attacking their crop. Other auxiliary services offered by the company are advising the farmer on various issues concerning farming beside other consultancy services. The firm is located in London along Queen Elizabeth's Street just behind the famous Hilton Hotel. Their plant and offices are housed on the first, second and third floor of Justas Towers. Currently, the firm has employed one hundred and twenty staff on full-time basis and thirty of them on part-time basis. Unlike other firms in the pest control services, Millennium Pest Control Services has a distinctive characteristic that make its product prevail in the market since they have field officers who visit farmers in their farm. The firm specialises in controlling pests that affect wheat and as a marketing manager, I will discuss the marketing plan that will be used by the firm in order to ensure it achieve its organisational goals on controlling pests that affect wheat. Market Target Identification In any business venture, marketing research is an importance task that ought to be carried out first. The main aim of market research is to carry out an investigation the market in order to find out what others who are in business are offering in your industry. For this case, a marketing research will be crucial in order to know what businesses in pest control services are offering to the market. By carrying out market research, Millennium Pest Control Services will be in a position of understanding the behaviours, preferences and whims of wheat farmers in the market. During the market research, we will examine business environment at large. We will not only carry out the financial analysis of companies but will examine the government regulations, the competitors, economic treads, market structure and technological advances. We will use a number of marketing research methods and types while carrying out a marketing research for our firm. Understanding the consumer behaviour is essential as it brings the understanding of how consumers buy, what they buy, when they buy and why they buy a particular product. This knowledge would be very essential as Millennium Pest Control Services will be in a position of understanding the behaviours of wheat farmers in order to understand how they, when they buy and why they buy the firm's pesticides. Since the firm specialises on manufacturing and retailing pests that affect wheat, we should identify our group which we will target and for this case, wheat farmers will be our potential customers. We need to understand their behaviour so as to respond to them using marketing strategies that are appropriate in satisfying the different preferences of the wheat farmers. The above strategy improves marketing effectiveness and as a result, there is increased customer satisfaction. This also makes advertising effective since the target group is already known hence advertising results are improved. Our target market for wheat pesticides will be defined geographically since in our targeting strategy, we have identified our customers which we will service and these are the wheat farmers. On the other hand, since we manufacture our products in large quantities, we can also use other small scale retailers that deal with sale of seedlings. We will have a number of products to offer to farmers depending on the kind of pest they want to control. The distinct characteristics that are unique with the Millennium Pest Control Services that will make their products prevail in the market are enhanced customer care, distribution of their products to the grass-root level, free consultant services to their clients, visit of field officer to clients farms and loan facilities it gives to firms. These unique services are rare among the competitors in the industry and this will create brand loyalty for Millennium's products. The marketing plan will include a number of variables that will be used for segmentation and they include:- Demographic Variable Occupation Demographic variable is one of the factors we will use for market segmentation. Since our products are pesticides for controlling wheat pest, we will target wheat farmers. Demographic means population characteristics hence on the occupation factor, we will target those practicing wheat farming as an occupation. By the use of our field officers, we will visit all wheat farmers in an effort to know what kind of problems they are experiencing in wheat farming. Since there is a specific pesticide for each and every pest that affects the wheat, we will recommend the best pesticide for their crop. By so doing, we will not only make a sale on that particular farmer, but will have created goodwill to that particular farmer and we are ensured of repeat purchase in future from that particular customer. By so doing also, we understand the customers' whims and preferences as far as wheat pesticide products are concerned. Geographical Variable Since our products are used by wheat farmers, we need to ensure that we target them where they are located. Most farmers are located in semi urban and rural areas and for this case our target market should concentrate in these areas. By targeting the semi urban and rural areas, Millennium Pest Control Services will achieve its organisational objectives since they will be targeting the right target market for their products. Millennium Pest Control Services will not be restricted to restricted by geographical boundaries in marketing its products. It will go beyond it locality and market its products to even overseas countries. Behavioural Variable Brand Loyalty In marketing, brand Loyalty is one of the greatest assets to the firm as it shows that customers are extremely satisfied with the products of the firm. This ensures that a customer will repurchase that particular product even if sold at a higher price than those of another company. At some situations, customers are willing to pay higher prices for products with brand loyalty even if another company is supplying the same product at a cheaper prices and the product might even be of high quality. Millennium Pest Control Services will be looking forward on how their products will have brand loyalty. This will be exhibited when the customer has a repeated purchase of the same product again and again. Brand loyalty can be exhibited whereby a customer recommends Millennium's products to their friend. For this case, the firm should ensure they do a vigorous marketing and produce their products according to the tastes, preferences and whims of their customers. Psychographic Variables Altitude Altitude is an important aspect as far as marketing is concerned. Altitude may be positive or negative and it influences one's behaviour. The way a product is perceived by consumers determines how it will prevail in the market. For this case, a product has to be perceived by consumers in the market in order for it to prevail in the market place. For this case, we ought to ensure that Millennium Pest Control Services produces their pesticides according to their customers' tastes and preferences as this determines how they will be perceived positively by wheat farmers as this determines the success or fail of the firm. If the customers have a positive altitude toward Millennium's products, there is no doubt that the sales will increase and the firm will achieve its organisational goals. On the other hand, if their products are perceived in the negative way by their customers, low sales will result and eventually the organisation will not achieve its organisational goals. Conclusion Millennium Pest Control Services will be a success if it implements the above marketing plan. Marketing research is very important task as the firm will have already known what is offered by their competitor in the market and their customer's tastes and preferences. It is from there they would intensify their study on the consumers' behaviours in order to understand their purchasing behaviour. The plan integrates all factors that are required in marketing and it will not only ensure that the organisation achieve its organisational goals, but also create brand loyalty. Success in any given business venture comes as result of implementing a marketing plan that is suitable for that particular product in the right target market. Bibliography Brown, S. (1993): Post-modern Marketing European Journal of Marketing Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 19-34 Brown, S. (1998): Post Modern Marketing 2 - Telling Tales", Thomson Business Press. Jones, M. A., Mothersbaugh, D.L and Beatty, S.E (2002): "Why Customers Stay: Measuring the Underlying Dimensions of Services Switching Costs and Managing Their Differential Strategic Outcomes," Journal of Business Research, 55, 441-50. McKenna, R. 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