Igot Marketing Igot: A Marketing

Igot Marketing

Igot: A Marketing Plan for High-Priced Item Vending Services

The manner in which a company positions itself in the marketplace is generally and accurately thought of as contingent upon the identity which the company wishes to establish of itself. The culture and orientation of the company will direct such decisions as its target audience, the channels through which it advertises and the overarching mode through which it pursues the presentation of its product or service. However, through a consideration of two interesting chapter studies in Marketing Management by Kotler & Keller, we can see that in fact, external factors impacting far broader and more sweeping realities such as socioeconomic patterns, geopolitical schemes and technological transitions will have a determinant impact on organizations across broad swathes of industry and interest. The discussion here considers Igot Vending Services, a high-end electronics vending opportunity that attends to the heightened demands, interests and conveniences implied by the fast-paced and mobility-driven technology and communications markets while simultaneously remaining intuitive to the humanist implications which allow a retail outlet to succeed without sales personnel or individual client support. Naturally, this implies a specific challenge to the way that a product or service must be marketed, with the ability of human interaction at the point of sale being removed and thus reducing ability of the company to rely upon this level of the marketing mix for success.

Therefore, we enter into the discussion in consideration of Igot's first major initiative for integration into the Las Vegas travel and tourism concerning the design, management and communication of its modest to high-cost product. Considering the broader marketplace, demographic properties and competitive realities effecting the Igot's outlook, we can begin to refine a distinct avenue by which to expand upon its marketing mix as it exists presently. This will include pricing, promotion, distribution and sales support details that can be expected to characterize the retail experience for the intended consumer.

In its marketing mix, we are given cause to consider the outlook uniquely facing Igot, as it must address these characteristics in determining how best to approach its goals. Therefore, we note that Igot is a high-end consumer outlet which will specifically target both business and leisure travelers of the means and demographic interest to purchase either electronics or electronics accessories out of either the want or need for mobile capabilities. It is sensible to define Igot and the role which it intends to fulfill in the marketplace.

A vending machine which is constructed, presented and distributed in a fashion not unlike the traditional vending machine which has typically housed and retailed candy, beverages or cigarettes, the Igot is differentiated by that which is contained inside. Rather than house small-ticket items in the range of one or two dollars, the Igot is intended to presume a similar impulse or incidental marketing premise with more significant, permanent and pricier items. Specifically, the Igot will contain a variance of iPod or MP3 playing devices, laptop computer batteries, cell phone chargers and a host of other electronics or communications devices and peripherals that are typically demanded by people in travel.

Traditionally, marketing and sale of such electronics has been a human sales-personnel bound operation. Such is to say that the retail shelves in brick-and-mortar stores such as electronics stores, travel boutiques and duty-free shops, as well as department stores and malls, have been the primary destination for most commercially-priced items within this category. Therefore, the successful sale of the products intended to appear in this distinctly novel contexts is heavily dependent upon its physical visibility as well as its apparent availability and ease of use for those otherwise unfamiliar with the localities in which such machines would be strategically placed.

As a modestly-sized organization geared toward a higher priced market, the company ultimately projects itself to be distinctly large and decentralized, relying on an extensive chain of manufacturers, distributors and regions in order to achieve its economic needs and aims. As we can see from the study by Kotler & Keller though, where distinguishes itself is in the fact that the leadership and staff required to monitor, maintain and update the operation's marketing approach is decidedly modest in scale and, therefore, minimal in terms of cost of operation.

This is important because even as we recognize that the items intended for marketing are specifically higher in price amongst conveniences and accessories which are often required for travelers, it will be important to reduce the cost of such items as much as possible. At present, there is no direct competition facing Igot within the context of its specific and unique marketing and distribution approach. Its visibility in places such as airports and hotels will make it, according to our intended approach for expansion, the only such manner in which to purchase any of the items contained there within. Instead, most competition can be expect to emerge from more traditional outlets. Among the greatest hurdles to overcome in terms of marketing will be the issue of pricing. Indeed, though it is expected that more fiscally able consumers will be the normative target, there is an inherency that the cost structure for all such items will be at a higher fixed rate than might be possible in a more traditional outlet. With the understanding that the Igot will be featured to consumers who are driven to a greater degree by convenience than cost, the notion of using this quick, easy and hassle-free way to make a larger purchase instead of searching an unfamiliar locality for the item(s) helps to overshadow what will most certainly be something of a convenience tax.

This does induce consideration of our chosen venue for the first foray into assessing and exploring the marketing mix. Las Vegas is among the most ideal contexts through which to conduct such an endeavor, providing an atmosphere in which the probability of consumers fitting this mold is demonstrably high. A world capital for both business and recreational travel, Las Vegas is a city that has something considerably lesser than one million residents, and yet draws over 37 million visitors annually. Its importance as a destination for a vast array of conventioneers, business entrepreneurs, party groups and tourist packages large and small makes it a context where travelers are numerous and more often then not prepared to spend money in a more liberal manner than elsewhere. The core monetary nature of Las Vegas attractions denotes a strong likelihood of drawing both businesspersons and recreational travelers with a means and willingness to abide the conveniences offered by the Igot.

This is why the Las Vegas International Airport and the lobbies of the remarkably elaborate and grand hotels of the Las Vegas strip are self-evident points of entry into such a market for Igot, offering a captive context in which demographics with a demonstrable interest in spending and recreational or convenience acquisition will extend to such items as those relating to music playing devices, computers, cell phones, personal organizers and a host of other objects which for many have become absolutely necessary aspects of traveling. For those who travel for business reasons especially, the importance and centrality of Las Vegas is reinforced by the implications of its prosperity to those who do conduct business there within. Vegas is among the best contexts in which to succeed as a retail outlet in light of the spending philosophy that tends to accompany individual or group behavior there.

An additional marketing mix consideration denotes that it will be a major overarching objective of any marketing plan to help establish an organization which is capable of exponential growth, extensive profitability and industry-wide competitiveness. This requires an ascendancy to best practices in terms of pricing, presentation and the effectiveness with which goals of expediency and reliability are met, with the airport serving as an observable marketplace by which an inherent interest in expedience and the diminished requirement to navigate unfamiliar localities in search of high-priced convenience items help to make the price-premium products that much more attractive. This is to say that in the evaluation of the marketing mix promoted by Igot, we can see that there are indeed opportunities present in appealing to such a marketplace given the demographic consideration that such buyers do exist. Where many consumer interest sites function specifically to offer product price comparisons, the ability to buy Igot products with immediacy, without waiting in line, without being detained by unwanted personal interaction and without any of the legwork involved in either locating a store, an item on a shelf or awaiting its shipment via online or catalogue ordering all denote that the products can be sold at a cost allowed only by the inherent accessibility advantage within such contexts.