Mkt 421 Week 4

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Marketing Mix Kevin Webb December 19, 2011 MKT/421 Ms. Duman When developing a marketing strategy, a business must keep its customers’ needs and wants as its primary focus. Some people think that a successful marketing strategy occurs when sales are high, and the business is booming. However, only when the customers’ needs and wants are met can a marketing strategy be considered successful. Businesses have four tools at their disposal to develop or change their marketing strategy. Each of these tools can positively or negatively affect a marketing strategy. All four tools must appeal to the customer, and if even one tool is off target, it can ruin a marketing strategy. These four tools are commonly referred to as “the 4 P’s of marketing.”…show more content…
Dunkin Donuts is an example of a company that had to reinvent their marketing strategy. Dunkin Donuts is a market leader in the coffee/snack industry. Dunkin Donuts started out in 1950 as a single store. By 1955, Dunkin had expanded to 16 stores and started to franchise. By the 1990s they had expanded across the nation and had almost 4,000 stores. Dunkin was primarily known for their excellent tasting doughnuts and marketed only their doughnuts. However, Dunkin fell on hard times as a market shift occurred and consumers were looking for a healthier snack alternative. Dunkin was forced to reevaluate its marketing strategy or risk more stores closing and possible…show more content…
Dunkin served coffee at its stores already and believed they had great tasting coffee. Dunkin reassessed its primary product and made the switch from doughnuts to coffee. Dunkin also had the edge in pricing on its competitors. Dunkin Donuts coffee is cheaper than the competitors that appeals to most people. However, Dunkin did not sacrifice the quality of its coffee in trying to make it even cheaper. Placement was another area that Dunkin reinvented itself. Dunkin stores were primarily stores that consumers had to walk inside to make a purchase. Realizing the convenience was also a vital component in a consumer’s decision to purchase, Dunkin started to build stores with drive-through windows. This eliminated the inconvenience factor. Dunkin also started to build “mini-stores” that offered their coffee along with a limited amount of food items. These stores started popping up in gas stations and malls where people could quickly get a coffee in markets Dunkin never accessed before. Dunkin also started packaging their coffee beans and marketing them at the retail level in mass merchants and grocery stores. Promotion shifted from the doughnuts to the coffee. When a Dunkin Donuts commercial is running on TV, they always stress the coffee product and minimally show doughnuts. As one can see, Dunkin’s entire marketing mix strategy focus shifted from its doughnuts to
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