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The surge of Marketing Mix and its significance!

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By: SYED MUSHAHID HUSSAIN

The marketing perspective is the process of presenting an integrated set of stimuli with the intent of evoking a desired set of responses within that target market and setting up channels to receive, interpret and act upon messages and identifying new opportunities. Marketing is the performance of business activities that directs the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer. It is performed within a certain environment which itself is always changing. Therefore its activities have to change in consonance with environment to be continuously effective.

Now-a-days marketing has acquired a central stage in the organizational setups and the overall success of the organization depends to a large extent upon the efficiency of its marketing department. It is the marketing department that links the organization with its customers .Therefore, the strategies of marketers should be designed in such a way that they would get a positive response from the market. Marketing strategy is a mix of different marketing elements like product, price, promotion and physical distribution. Each of these elements should be given proper focus before developing a marketing strategy. The marketing mix is the set of controllable variables that the firm can use to influence the buyers response. The marketing mix depends on a clear vision of the customer group and target market and the resources of the firm.

Most marketing mix is based on a mixture of intuition and research. As managers become more aware of the extent to which various variables are interdependent there is increasing interest in the method of designing the marketing mix. It has been suggested by some writers that quantitative approaches can be adopted to set the marketing mix for a particular firm at a given point of time. The aim of such analysis is to use estimates of pay-offs from specific combinations to arrive at marketing mix.

Marketing mix strategy is an overall marketing approach that is used to achieve objectives of strategy marketing plans. A marketer involves several factors while designing with marketing mix strategy-product lines, branding and packaging; price setting and strategies; channel design and selection and communication strategies.

The horticulture industry in the valley plays an important role in the economy of Jammu and Kashmir. Horticulture industry has become the hallmark of rural economy which provides employment to 40 lakh people in valley. This industry serves as the backbone to the economy of Kashmir. The major portion of our income is directly derived from this industry and keeping in view this fact and its essence, any negligence of it may be detrimental for the economy of the state which is already fragile.

Owing to the fact, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has adopted a number of measures to strengthen it. A remarkable step initiated in this regard was the launching of the “integrated Horticulture Project’’ by the state in collaboration with the world bank with sole purpose to provide the  growers all requisite facilities such as financial assistance for grading Packaging and marketing.

For the promotion of this essential industry, efforts are in progress to bring more and more or wasteland under the horticulture plantation. A number of new varieties, having the much more commercial utility, have been evolved and the research to explore more lucrative varieties are still going on with great zeal and zest. As the demand of juice is increasing in and outside the valley, the Jammu and Kashmir Government, with the help of horticulture industry, and (J&K Bank) established several private Apple juice factories. My study focus was on one of them i.e AJP Lassipora which is located at Industrial Growth Center (IGC) Lassipora in south Kashmir’s District Pulwama.

The plant has great potential in providing jobs to local youths. Undoubtedly it is making huge profits by supplying its products to outside markets but it can increase its production capacity so as to serve domestic consumer market also. The AJP is using the traditional way of fixing its price on the bases of costs only which has a number of limitations.

AJP Lassipora is supplying its products directly to industrial users. Its outside office does the role of an intermediary in channelizing the product to domestic market.This is because they receive big orders from few buyers which in values huge sums because of the limited plant capacity. The AJP Lassipora is making less use of promotional efforts.

Though it is a private organization but it is comprised of all those facilities which are available to a Government Industry. It is located on the road side so as to provide good opportunities for outsiders to visit. There are nearly about 100 Technical and Non-Technical laborers, including drivers, chokidars and peons etc. when there is any fault observed in the plant it is eliminated by the Technical wing available in the plant. When I met with the laboures of this plant, I asked them whether they were satisfied with their jobs and the wages. They replied, “This organization is our worship place because it provides us flour, frock, floor’’.

The project report leads us to conclude that Jammu & Kashmir State is fortunate enough to have such a plant which can provide judicious remedy to many of our current problems, such as unemployment which is a big issue before present government and poverty, judicious planning is made which can rightly harness all its potentialities. Though Government has been serious enough in this regard but still we need to find pout all those loop holes which have affected the growth potential of the plant.

Suggestions:

  • The AJP is presently serving the industrial market and give little response towards consumer market. Therefore, the AJP should target the consumer market also.
  • There is a need for establishing cold stores where apple can be preserved during off season. This will help in ensuring the smooth functioning of the plant throughout the year, the management will be immediately benefited by keeping the plant operational throughout the year which otherwise remains idle during off season.
  • The AJP should go for promotional measures so as to gain more market there by, creating more job opportunities for unemployed people of the valley especially the youths.
  • The AJP should change its policy of determining the price on the bases of costs to break-even analysis with anticipated demand. The break-even analysis with anticipated demand is more specific and flexible.
  • The study revealed that Apple juice plant has not any specific marketing research programme which is essential for the success of the business. The establishment of marketing research department will help the management in understanding the buyer’s behavior, product/ brand/ preferences, intensity of competition, which are the most influencing factors for a successful business.
  • Introduction of retail outlets in the country especially at public places like health resorts, Airports, bus terminals, railway stations will help in increasing the product awareness / sales.

The suggestions highlighted above, if implemented in right perspective will go a long way in providing high profits not only to company alone but also to growers and society at large.

(Syed Mushahid Hussain is  MBA in marketing having a Post-Graduate Diploma in Cyber Law from University of Kashmir)

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