Question

1. (a) Explain four ways to position a product of your choice.
   (b) Identify and explain the intermediaries involved in performing the functions required to avail photocopy papers in a university and indicate clearly the functions performed by each intermediary you have identified.
   (c) Explain for pricing strategies that you would apply to launch a new product in the market.

Answer 1

1)Firstly one must segment the market. Before positioning the product, one must know who is the target market. For example, if we talk about Maggi, it's target customers are bachelors, working mothers, children.USP of Maggi is "It's two minutes noodles" rich in iron. Second in order to sell your product the target market must know who you are. Target marketing is required to spread the information. It can be done through sample selling, advertisement, etc. Third, every product has a USP which segregates it from others in the market create that niche for the product as if we take the case of Maggi it was targeting it's a segmented audience with it's USP in focus i.e, two minutes noodles. Fourth know your competition. When you know what the others are selling then only you could make any strategy. Pricing is a very strong tool for positioning. Market reading can easily help one to understand what type of pricing strategy need to be followed to get hold in the market. Skimming or penetrating or any other.

2)In order to avail photocopy papers from university, the intermediaries involve is the person at the photocopy shop.Since it does not involve any big system the intermediar may be one or two.Like for any agriculture product the intermediaries will be manufacture,distributor,retailor.But here the person having those copy is the intermediary whom you are required to contact.

3)Pricing strategy is based on the market one is targeting its product. The pricing of any product is being built around the core value of the product. Pricing strategies can be of a different kind:

1)Penetrating pricing:

This pricing is keeping the price of the product initially low in order to grab the attention of the customers. Low pricing helps to capture the market. Penetration pricing works best where the product can achieve economies of scale since high volume has to compensate for the low price of each unit.

2)Skimming pricing:

This pricing is basically related to luxury items. It is quite opposite of penetrating pricing. Here the high price is being charged in order to skim the market. Regardless of quality higher price is being associated with high quality. For example BMW, Rolex, Swiss watches, etc.

3)Freemium:

Firstly providing with a free version of your product and then charging for it. For example, various music apps such as Spotify is free for the first year to the new users after that it charges fees.

4)Value-based pricing:

When product and services are far better than the customers then the organization charge a high price for it. For example , Apple I phones. The manufacturing cost is much less than the market value but no competitor offers features as Apple does.

Hence pricing strategy totally depends upon the nature of the product and the customer segment one is targeting.