Holistic Marketing

Holistic Marketing refers to a marketing strategy that is developed by thinking about the business as a whole, its place in the broader economy and society, and in the lives of its customers. It attempts to develop and maintain multiple perspectives on the company's commercial activities. It is a concept based on the development,design, and implementation of marketing programs,processes and activities that recognize their breadth and inter-dependencies. Holistic marketing realises that  "everything matters" with marketing and that a broad,integrated perspective is necessary to attain the best solution. Four main components of holistic marketing are: Relationship Marketing, Integrated Marketing, Internal Marketing and Socially Responsible Marketing.

Maggi 2-Minute Nooldes has now become a part of our daily lives. This light snack has made its way right to the top and has gained temendous popularity due to its high quality, convenience and nutrition. Maggi dominates the estimated Rs. 1300 crore instant noodles category in the country with 80% share, according to Nielsen data. Maggi was among the most trusted brands in 2012 and was ranked 9.Maggi's biggest achievement is that despite a lot of struggle in its initial years Maggi has managed to establish itslef as a household name. Maggi truly practices holistic marketing.

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning(STP) and Marketing Strategies

The STP process is an important concept in marketing. The letters STP stand for segmentation, targeting and positioning.

The STP process demonstrates the links between an overall market and how a company chooses to compete  in that market. It is sometimes referred to as a process with segmentation being conducted first, then the selection of one or more target markets and then finally the implementation of positioning. The goal of the STP process is to guide the organisation to the development and implementation of an appropriate marketing mix.

Market Segmentation : Market Segmentation is defined as the process of splitting a market into smaller groups with similar product needs or identifiable characteristics for the purpose of selecting appropriate target markets.

Market Targeting : Market Targeting refers to an organisation's proactive selection of a suitable market segment(or segments) with the intention of heavily focusing on the firm's marketing offers and activities towards this group of related consumers.

Market Positioning : Market positioning is the target market's perception of the product's key benefits and features relative to the offerings of competitive products.

                                              STP of Maggi 2-Minute Noodles  

                      

Marketing Strategies of Maggi 2-Minute Noodles

1997-1999- Nestle changed the taste of Maggi noodles but it proved to be a failure. In 1999, Maggi reintroduces the old formulation and revived sales with the punchline- " Fast to cook Good to eat"

2000: Maggi noodles became the leader in instant noodles space

2005: Marketing strategy to keep Maggi's brand fresh and as a 'health product' the tagline "Taste Bhi, Health Bhi" was used with the launch of Maggi Atta Noodles

2009: Maggi celebrated 25 years of Maggi nooldes with "Me and Meri Maggi" campaign and the launch of Maggi Pazzta. This campaign invited consumers to share their Maggi moments. As a part of this promotional drive, Maggi launched a website where consumers could upload their Maggi moments and their  favourite recipes or stories would get a chance to be featured on Maggi packets or ads.

2012: Maggi has generally stayed away from celebrity endorsements. In general, mother and child have been celebrities for Maggi for the longest time. With an exception when Preity Zinta promoted the Rs. 5 Chotu Maggi and the family packs. Recently Amitabh Bachchan has been made the brand ambassador of Maggi. Maggi's "Do Minute Mein Khushiya" was launched with Amitabh Bachchan in 2012.

Organisational Buying Behaviour

According to the definition given in Marketing Management by Philip Kotler- " Organisational buying is the decision making process by which formal organisations establish the need for purchased products and services and identify, evaluate, and choose among alternative brands and suppliers".

Organisational buying behaviour deals with the purchasing decisions made by a business or other type of organisational entity. While sharing some characteristics with the buying behaviours of consumers, the purchasing habits of an organisation are often influenced by a number of factors that are associated with the culture of the entity as well as the nature of the industry in which the organisation functions.

FORCES AFFECTING ORGANISATIONAL BUYING BEHAVIOUR

The organisational buying behaviour is influenced by a wide array of forces both inside and outside the organisation. These forces include environmental, organisational, group and individual forces:

1. Environmental Forces -Everything is influenced by its environment and so is organisational behaviour. Organisational buying behaviour is affected by changing business conditions, new invention of technology and creation of new law.

2.Organisational Forces- Individual decision maker can be influenced in different ways. Every organisation has a set of different personalities and thus all the employees should be conscious about the culture of the organisation.

3. Group Forces- The organisational buying behaviour consists of a complex set of smaller decisions influenced by several individuals.

4. Individual Forces- Individual makes buying rather than organisation. Each individual involved in the buying decision have different organisational functions and perceptions for achieving personal and organisational behaviour.

The retailers or the franchisees or the mom-and-pop stores are the organisations that buy Maggi in bulk in order to sell in their shop. Bulk buying helps in getting the buyer better and cheap prices for that product.

Sales Management

AMA defines Sales Management as "the planning, direction and control of personal selling,including recruiting,selecting,equipping,assigning,routing,supervising, paying and motivating as these tasks apply to personal sales force". The term Sales Management includes managing of all the sales related activities including below the line advertising, sales promotion, physical distribution, pricing and product merchandising Sales Management involves an understanding of the effort that goes into the management of the sales force and the various processes of sales.

Sales Management entails numerous objectives which are executed by sales managers. There are mainly three such objectives:

1. Sales Volume
2. Contribution to profits
3. Continuous growth
4. Market Share
5. Corporate image

The sales of Maggi 2-Minute Noodles are typically in the retail stores. The consumer just has to ask for the product in some mom and pop store or if its a super market he just has to locate it and buy it.

Distribution Decisions

Distribution is the process of moving a product from its manufacturing source to its customers. Maggi follows the distribution channel of Nestle. Nestle has two distribution channels. One for Chocolates and the other for Maggi range, Nestle dahi, Aquafina etc. The distribution channel of Maggi is as given below:

Wholesalers are not a part of the formal structure of Nestle India’s distribution network for NCR.They make bulk purchases from the distributors directly thereby leveraging on the margins.

Today, Nestlé India has presence across India with 7 manufacturing facilities and 4 branch offices spread across the region.

Nestlé India’s first production facility, set up in 1961 at Moga (Punjab), was followed soon after by its second plant, set up at Choladi (Tamil Nadu), in 1967. Consequently, as Nestle launched Maggi Noodles, it set up factories in Nanjangud (Karnataka), in 1989, and Samalkha (Haryana), in 1993. This was succeeded by the commissioning of two more factories - at Ponda and Bicholim, Goa, in 1995 and 1997 respectively. The seventh factory was set up at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, in 2006. The 4 branch offices in the country help facilitate the sales and marketing of its products. They are in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The Nestlé India head office is located in Gurgaon, Haryana.

ATL and BTL

Maggi adopts a combination of Push and Pull Strategy, where more focus on Pull Strategy is observed. Maggi's campaigns were revolved around its "fast to make and Good to eat” qualities. Ready in “2 minutes” was a proposition that was well received by the market. The various tools used for Promotion are as follows:

ABOVE THE LINE(PUSH STRATEGY): ATL is a type of advertising through media such as television, cinema, radio, print and out-of-home to promote brand or convey a specific offer. This type of communication is conventional in its nature and is considered impersonal to customers.The ATL Strategies for Maggi are as follows:

•  TV Ads
•  Ad in newspapers
•  Shelf  Displays
• Free samples distributed in schools
• 4 in 1 pack
• For every 4 in 1 pack of Maggi masala, get a small Dal Atta pack free worth Rs. 5
• Trade promotion for new variants in Maggi – Will increase retailer’s margin from 9% to 9.5%

BELOW THE LINE(PULL STRATEGY): BTL sales promotion is an immediate or delayed incentive to purchase, expressed in cash or in kind, and having a short duration. It is efficient and cost-effective for targeting a limited and specific group. The BTL Strategies for Maggi are as follows:

•  Bright Yellow colored packaging
• Maggi Symbol
• Maggi’s interactive Website
• Sponsoring school sports events
• Me and Meri Maggi Contest
• Guess the Flavor Contest
• Organizing Maggi painting competition, for school children till std 7th
• Introducing Maggi newsletters for teenagers every month
• Moving Van, painted about Maggi, near colleges and shopping places which would provide cooked Maggi
• Nestle Fun Points in Schools
• Nestle Maggi outlets on Airport

Integrated Marketing Communications(IMC)

Integrated Marketing Communications(IMC) is an approach to achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign through a well coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other. As defined by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, IMC "... recognizes the value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines- advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion and combines them to provide clarity, consistency and maximum communication impact."

IMC is designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time. The IMC planning process has been compared to composing a musical score. In a piece of music, while every instrument has a specific task, the goal is to have them come together in a way that produces beautiful music. It is the same in IMC, where advertising might be your violin, social media your piano, public relations your trumpet and so on.


WHY IMC?

Five major shifts in the worlds of advertising,marketing and media caused an increased interest in IMC. These include:

A SHIFT FROM                                             TO

Traditional Advertising                             Digital/Interactive Media

Mass Media                                            Specialized Media

Low Agency Accountability                       High Agency Accountability

Traditional Compensation                        Performance Based Compensation

Limited Internet Access                           Widespread Internet Availability

These shifts are focusing organisations to look at the whole marketing picture, re-aligning their communications and seeing things the way the consumer sees them as a constant flow of information from indistinguishable source.

                            MAGGI'S IMC STRATEGIES

Market Scenario:New Entrant(1990s)

• Broadcasting during popular soap opera in doordarshan
• Communication through print ads that Maggi is a fast food
• Free samples in schools for promotion
• Gifts for sending 5 Maggi logos cut from packs

Market Scenario: Established Product(1990s)

• Ads highlighting different flavors
• Ads targeting children by conducting Maggi Quiz

Marketing Scenario: Dominant Product in Indian Noodles Industry(2000s)

• Creating curiosity among the customers about the new variety-Guess the taste
• Meri Maggi Campaign