Marketing-Dasani Bottled Water

Place is one of the 4p’s of marketing which is essential in planning and analyzing the promotional strategies that marketing managers need to consider when selling their products. Place refers to the distribution methods that are used in getting the products to the final consumer. Place as used in marketing Dasani bottled water entails the extent of the market coverage, the channel members, distribution channels, the various transportation methods and the challenges faced in logistics.

The Dasani water company (USA) uses various ways in marketing its products following the place strategy. ? Channels of distribution Various agents are involved in the movements of the final product from the manufacturer to the consumer. “These various links to the consumer from the manufacturer are known as the channels of distribution (Perreault, Cannon & McCarthy`, 2001). ” Some of the activities involved in the various chain processes include: placing orders, storage, repackaging into smaller sizes, advertising, selling and information feedback (Rushton, Oxley & Croucher, 2000).

The various agents involved in the distribution of Dasani bottled water are mostly the suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers and the retailers who will eventually sell the final product to the final consumer. The supplier who is also the manufacturer acts as the channel leader in most cases but this role changes as the products passes to the various agents in the supply chain as they gain control. Channel conflict occurs once in a while in distributing Dasani bottled water because at times the wholesaler is not necessarily needed as the supplier can sell directly to the clients.

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For example when dealing with large corporate organizations, some of them make orders in advance how their deliveries will be made. In solving the conflict, Dasani manufacturers assign the retailers to other ventures so that they feel they are still useful. “The marketing managers must therefore plan better on their marketing strategies so that they can control the strong middlemen presence in some markets so as to avoid the marketing mix (Perreault, Cannon & McCarthy`, 2001). ” ?

Kinds of locations of Retail stores Most American households have water coolers and this is because delivering the bottled water is relatively inexpensive. This therefore means that Dasani water is distributed to most states especially in the cities as most consumers would choose to purchase the water in smaller gallons. This is because there are a lot of activities going on because of schools, corporate organizations and various construction works in progress. The water is also sold mostly around sports centers as the management targets the people who watch the various matches and also the players as well as those who regularly practice.

These locations will ensure that the stock in place keeps moving as there is high demand for the water. ? Type of market exposure used (intensive, selective, exclusive) Market exposure refers to the degree with which Dasani water has penetrated into the market. “This refers to the number of retail stores in a given market region (Stevens, Loudon & Clow, 2008). ” Intensive type of market exposure refers the acceptability of all stores to sell the product. Intensive distribution is usually used for those goods that consumers will spend little time and effort on getting them.

And bottled water is one of these commodities. Dasani bottled water is acceptable as a safe consumption product in the U. S and that is why it is sold in most retail stores. Selective involves selecting a few stores in a region to sell the product (Stevens, Loudon & Clow, 2008). Dasani water in some towns can be found in certain stores and not others especially when agreements have been made with certain supermarkets and not others for continual purchase. Exclusive is limiting the product to one middle man in a given areas.

Dasani water has not as such engaged much in this form of distribution. ? Transportation methods used (from producer to final end user purchase point) The method of transportation matters because it ensures fast delivery of Dasani bottled water to its customers. Some of the methods that are used are road because it is most efficient to move the product from the producers to the warehouses near the facility where they will be stored, repackaged into smaller quantities.

From here, they can either be transported via road, or rail to the retailer depending on their proximity. If they are far, rail transport will be appropriate. Other agents of distribution can also be used if the products are needed in far of areas as they will organize for either sea or air transport to states that are far away. From the different retailers, the water will then be distributed to individual stores via road where the consumer can purchase. Home deliveries as well as commercial deliveries can be made if orders are made.

Logistics’ challenges The Dasani Company aims at increasing its profits and to do this it has to attract potential customers in the untapped market. They need to do this while keeping their operational and distributional costs low. The location of a place matters in making logistic decisions. If an area is remote therefore Dasani water cannot reach there, the water is supplied to the nearest town with the hope that they will find ways of getting the goods to the market.

“This is useful in eliminating the time, energy and money that will be used in accessing the market (Rushton, Oxley & Croucher, 2000). ” The time taken to distribute the goods is of great importance. This is because sometimes they take too long on the road and this is an expense to the business because this will result in the slow movement of the water. That is why they have looked for alternatives such as air transportation to supplement other forms of transportation as well as increase the movement of the goods and reduce costs.

To conclude, place in marketing is very important as it exposes the marketing department at Dasani to various things before they plan their activities. This include: the importance of the chain of distribution, location, extent of market exposure and the transportation methods to be used to market the bottled water. They also need to look at the various logistics challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that the marketing strategies formulated work and the company continues to make profits.

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