Segmentation is a strategy that the firm uses in marketing to group its customers into groups according to various factors like gender, age, income, and demographics. Targeting and segmentation are the methods used by firms like the Merry Company to get the right consumers and for the firm to meet the needs of these consumers. Therefore, segmentation is a strategy used to attain sustainable growth and profitability. Merry is a well-known brand, and its logo is recognizable. The company has divided its consumers based on their geographic and demographic basis primarily. For geographic segmentation, Merry Company has grown to become a leading fast-food firm in its local area. It presently has ten branches that serve all the three regions it operates in. It is estimated that fifty thousand consumers are served daily at the company premises. These consumers are mainly locals who are loyal customers. The demographic segmentation focuses on age, family size, and gender of the consumers. For age, a majority of the firm’s food products target young persons. For instance, there is the Happy meal that targets young children. Merry’s menu attracts the young person, and even its packages attract young persons since research done has determined that they are the fast-food sector, primary consumers. For the kids, the restaurants sometimes offer them toys, and this is to make sure that they remind their parents of the generosity of the restaurant next time that these parents want to buy food. Furthermore, there is food offered by the company that targets the whole family. The restaurant has the family size meals primarily provided during the weekends, and the family size meals on the menu were developed after it was determined that most parents bring the children to the restaurants. Therefore, in the process, they would like to order something for themselves. Thus, the company uses children to indirectly target their parents, and these parents are compelled to bring the children to the restaurant and become one of the consumers of the restaurant. Finally, when it comes to gender, both the two genders are equally important, but research has shown that a majority of the consumers are females. It is because even in families, it is the females who make the final decision about foods. Also, for young children, their decision to purchase at Merry Company is primarily influenced by their female parents.
Marketing mix
The marketing mix is a strategy that enables the business to address the concerns related to the company. It describes the strategy that the firm utilizes so that it can meet the needs of the consumers in terms of the 4Ps. The 4Ps are promotion, product, place, and price. The significance of the 4Ps cannot be underestimated since the effective implementation of the strategy aids in enhancing the performance of the company and also segmenting its competitive advantage. Also, the firm likens the 4Ps to those of its competitors, and this has been effective for making sure the firm retains its consumers. The first P is product, and as a food service business, the firm primarily has food and beverage products. Some of the corporation’s product lines include salads, hamburgers, sandwiches, beverages, chicken and fish, milkshakes, breakfast and snacks, and side. The products significantly impact the brand and corporate image of Merry Company. The company is well-known among the locals for its burgers, but it also has consumers who purchase other products. The diversification of the product line has enabled the firm to increase its revenue streams, spread risk in the business, reduce the firm’s dependence on one market segment, and satisfy the increasing market demand for fast foods. The innovation in the company has enabled it to frequently come up with new products that augment the stability of the business and, more importantly, attract and retain customers.
The next P is place, and it looks at the areas where the business was located. It determines if the locations are convenient for the consumers and how these locations impact the distribution processes. The firm has restaurants, and most of its sales happen at restaurants. These restaurants also manage drive-throughs, whereby they sell all the products offered in the restaurant. Furthermore, the company has created a mobile application which the customer can download for free. The mobile app acts as a virtual restaurant since the consumer can easily access any information about the firm’s products and even buy these products. The products are then delivered at the consumers’ home at no additional costs. The mobile applications can also be used in both the iOS and Android systems. Other information offered by the mobile application is restaurant location show long it takes to serve consumers, reviews about the restaurant provided by the company, and the firm’s financial reports that are public.
The third P is promotion, and it describes the strategies used by the corporation to communicate with customers. For example, it defines the strategies used to persuade customers to buy the products of the company. Advertising is the firm’s primary promotion tactic. The firm utilizes various channels of advertising, such as social media advertising, television, and print media. Sales promotions are similarly used to attract more consumers to physical restaurants. Further, the company has an effective public relations committee whose primary work is to maintain its good reputation. The committee also aids in promoting the firm to the target market through goodwill and strengthening the brand. Finally, in some instances, direct marketing is used, especially when the corporation is invited to corporate events. The last P is price, and price is important since it determines the sales volume of the company and, ultimately, its profit margin. Th business used two marketing strategies, and the primary one is the bundle pricing approach. It means that the business provides its products in bundles for prices that are discounted. It is more expensive to purchase these products individually. An example is buying a burger, salad, and milkshake together is cheaper than just buying a burger. The next strategy is the psychological pricing approach, and in this case, the firm uses prices that seem to be more affordable. For example, the price of a burger is 1.99 dollars, and the company has deliberately not rounded off the price to the nearest dollar to make the burger seem to be affordable. The pricing approach is important is it prompts the customers to purchase the products of the business based on the perceived affordability. Finally, the marketing mix is important since it leads to increased sales revenue and, ultimately, the profitability of the firm.