Question

Company CenterPoint Energy

Using the company and research sources from the Topic 2 assignment as a starting point, conduct additional research to acquire information related to consumer behavior, product or service, and price associated with the company you selected. In the “Research Summary” section, discuss how the company could use these types of research findings to develop a marketing plan in order to meet the company marketing objectives and business needs

Describe the customer segments and target markets.

Describe characteristics of the target markets that will affect product/service and pricing decisions.

Describe how the company differentiates its product and positions its brand.

Describe a consumer buying behavior model for this company and brand.

Describe the product mix.

Describe the product lines.

Describe the service processes.

Discuss physical evidence of service, service scape, and ambiance.

Discuss the roles of company employees in service delivery.

Define the company’s pricing objectives and discuss whether the objectives are profit- or sales-oriented.

Provide an example of current company pricing strategies.

Describe pricing tactics (discounts, etc.) that are used to drive short-term demand

In 250 words, discuss how the company could use these types of research findings to develop a marketing plan in order to meet the company's marketing objectives and business needs.

Answer 1

Describe the customer segments and target markets.	Customer segments is like a group of customers. Businesses cannot tailor make products for every customer. They segment their customers and products are prepared for a group of people having common characteristics. Target market is a market set for delivering services of a business. The target market will contain the customer segments for which a product is designed for.
Describe characteristics of the target markets that will affect product/service and pricing decisions.	Characteristics of target markets that affect product / service and pricing decision are age group of the people forming the target market, ethnicity of the market, income and education levels of people forming the market etc. These factors are crucial while pricing a product. For example, some ethnicities will have a bias for some product. Also, younger a market having more young people will have a bias for life style products etc.
Describe how the company differentiates its product and positions its brand.	Differentiation is a process in marketing in which companies make their product stand out from the products of competitors. You can find ways to attract customers by giving discounts, or if it is a store, bringing in more brands which are not available with others can attract people. Products can be refreshed or updated always to keep up a good feel.
Describe a consumer buying behavior model for this company and brand.	There are four main consumer buying models. The Economical, Learning, Psychoanalytical and Sociological models. Of all the four, in the sociological model social positioning of the customer is a driving factor. Now a days, a large percentage of the products can be modelled around this, especially life style products.
Describe the product mix.	Product mix is the number of items a company delivers to its customers. Having bigger product mixes are good as once customers builds confidence in a product, tendency will be there to try other products also.
Describe the product lines.	Product lines are several individual but alike products of a company offered for sales individually. For example, several beverages subjected to market individually.
Describe the service processes.	Service processes are the steps undertaken by a business to deliver its products to its customers.
Discuss physical evidence of service, service scape, and ambiance.	Servicescape and ambience are factors that can guide the buying decision of a customer. Service scape means the environment in which the service happens and ambience means the feel the customer gets while shopping. For example, people will prefer a calm shop against a crowded and noisy one.
Discuss the roles of company employees in service delivery.	Company employees are the ones who will be directly dealing with the customers in a service-oriented industry. They are the face of the business and issues from their side can be detrimental to businesses goodwill.
Define the company’s pricing objectives and discuss whether the objectives are profit- or sales-oriented.	Companies prefer sales oriented business, since as sales are boosted, profits will automatically be boosted.
Provide an example of current company pricing strategies.	Penetration pricing will be a good strategy as the company is dealing with relatively new products.
Describe pricing tactics (discounts, etc.) that are used to drive short-term demand	Discounts and other tactics are used by companies to drive short term demands. Customers can be made buy things by giving discounts.

A marketing plan is predominantly a plan on how to market a product. The factors that drive the sales or marketing of a product are its customers, its position in the market, appearance of the product, promotions, price etc. Marketing plan shall demonstrate the strategy of businesses regarding the roadmap to achieve targets.

For this, research on all aspects regarding the product and its driving factors are to be performed. Customer segments are the bunch of people who will be the end users of the product, if it is not apt for them then the product will never meet its targets. The market also needs to be studied carefully. One cannot sell jackets in summer season in a desert. Hence location of sale needs research. Market characteristics are another important aspect. Some markets will be biased to long standing products. In such cases, you will need to promote your product. For that information on the characteristics of target market needs to be analyzed. Positioning of brand is important as some brands may not be sellable in some markets. Like there is no point in marketing a luxurious car in a poor country. There, low cost models will be more sellable. If one product is selling successfully, other products of the brand may also be brought to the customers of the brand. For this, product lines, product mixes etc, are important. Service processes are another important aspect as customers will be concerned about the products that they buy. The role of company employees also needs research to better know how the strategy needs to be formulized. Pricing is a ‘the’ important factor while marketing a new product. One must position ones product along or at par with the competitors. Otherwise, it can fail.

Note: Like this, all things asked for in the question are important for the development of a good marketing plan. It is advisable to research the items stated in the question.