Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

The term marketing mix refers to a unique blend of product, place, promotion, and pricing strategies designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanged with a target market. The heart of the marketing mix, the starting point, is the product offering and product offering and product strategy.

Product may be tangible good or services. For Whole foods market, product sold in the market is tangible goods. There are different types of consumer product such as convenience products, shopping products, specialty products, and unsought products. The products in Whole Foods Market are convenience products because they are relatively inexpensive item that merit little shopping effort. People buy products such as foods and flowers in Whole Foods Market everyday without much planning.

Whole Foods Market sells variety kinds of product. In order to organize the product item well and make convenient for customers shopping in the market, Whole Foods Market uses the product line to classify products. For product mix width, the numbers of product lines in Whole Foods Market are organic vegetable, fruit, body care, and supplements. For product line depth, Whole Foods Market also provides different product items in products line. For example, the products in body care line in Whole Foods Market are lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and soap.

Branding is the vital tool marketer use to distinguish their product form the other competitors. For Whole Foods Market, they use the family brand because they market several products under the same brand name- Whole Foods. For example, Whole Foods Market markets bread, yogurt and beverage under the same brand – Whole Foods Market.

Moreover, Whole Foods Market also cares much about the package. As marketers, package makes an important role in the process of selling. Beautiful package is no doubt can attract more customers’ attention.  Whole Foods Market expands green packaging, beging with private lable. Whole foods markey has implementes new responsible packaging guidelines for its 2100 body care and supplements suppliers, and is leading the charge toward change by switching to post-consumer recycled content bottles for several of its store brand supplemnets and body care products.

Ch. 18 - Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

Sales promotion is marketing communication activity that motivates consumers purchasing a good pr service within a short-term. And sales promotion is usually targeted toward either of two distinctly different marketers. Whole foods market does use different tools for consumer sales promotion.

Coupon is an effective tool to promote the selling. A coupon is a certificate that entitles consumers to an immediate price reduction when they buy the product. Whole foods market provides several special coupons on their official website; consumers can print out the coupon and get price deduction when they use them. There are supplement coupon, cleanser coupon, and foods coupon which is no surprise that they would satisfy different customers need and attract more customers.  Moreover, Whole foods market also uses the sampling to attract more customers. Sampling allows the customers to try a product risk free. When we go in to Whole foods market, there are usually several sampling displayed in whole foods retail stores for customers to try their production. I can directly say that sampling is a really excellent way to promote consumer purchasing. I have that experience that when I try the sampling in Whole foods market such as snacks that really incentives me to buy that production if I like that taste.

For personal selling, Whole foods market realize that personal selling is as whole food employees. For some types of productions, personal selling is a critical tool especially for some new productions. Employees can explain the new production to their customers which is vital for customer to understand their productions well. A competitive advantage can sometimes be created by personal selling, or based on the extend and diversity of channels of distribution. Because the most important advantage is that personal selling is considerably more effective than other forms of promotion in obtaining a sale and gaining a satisfied customers.

                                       

Ch. 17 - Advertising

As the marketing competition becomes more and more fiercely, advertising becomes more and more important for companies to maintain brand awareness and market share. Whole foods market is leading market for selling natural and organic foods. Because of the high quality of these foods, their prices are also higher than normal foods. Many people do not realize the benefit from eating these organic foods so they prefer to spend less money on the normal foods. And the target market is just limited in educational college residences. However, Whole Foods Market realizes the advertising is a good way to improve people the awareness of the benefits from eating organic and natural foods.

Moreover, Whole Foods Market is also focusing on the product advertising. The product advertising promotes the benefit of a special goods and service. In the Whole Foods Website, it has the advertisement shows that the 365 everyday product. It says that their product can fill customers pantry without empting their pocketbook. It also advertise that this kind of production are formulated too meet all their quality standards, come in both natural and organic selections.

Whole foods market is also focusing on the advertising strategies. Advertising strategies are typically organized around an advertising campaign. And advertising campaign is a series of related advertisements focusing on a common theme, slogan, and set of advertising appeals. As the summer time is coming, whole foods markets advertises the summer meals and outdoor meals for this special period-summer time.

                                 

 

Ch. 15 - Retailing

Whole Foods Markets are all retail store that all activities related to the sale of goods for personal use. For the retail operations, whole foods markets retail stores are classified as a chain store because the whole foods market is owned and operate by whole food markets. Under this form of ownership, many administrative tasks are handled by the home office for the entire chain. Whole foods markets have many retail stores that located in different states such New York, California, and Alabama.

For retail operation, whole foods market is defined as supermarket. Supermarkets are large, departmentalized, self-service retailers that specialized in foods and some nonfood item. Whole foods markets mainly sell organic and natural foods. The characteristics of supermarkets are low level of service, broad of product assortment, moderate price, and low gross margin.

Whole foods market also use retail marketing strategy to make great profit such as m-commerce. Whole foods market mobile website is eCommerce Enable ans allowes to search, browes and order products using their smart phones. Customers are getting comfortable with mobile commerce-brands needs to keep up.

CH.7-BUSINESS MARKETING

Business marketing is the  marketing of goods and services to individual and organizations for purpose other than perosnal consuption.

The internet is playing an inportant role in business marketing nowdays.It is 2011 and mobile websites have become a "must have" for retailers. Customers are walking with their internet enables mobile phones in their pockets. Making customers' information and storefront available to customers' anytime/anywhere is criticle.Whole Foods moblie website is eCommerce Enable ans allowes to search,browes and order products using their smartphones. Customers are getting comfortable with mobile commerce-brands need to keep up.

Whole foods market also focus on the relationship marketing and strategic alliance

Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

Customers are the foundation for the companies of the development of productions. In order to make a proper marketing mix, companies have to understand consumer behaviors. There are several stages for marketers to make well decision for making profits.

The first stage in the consumer decision-making process is need recognition. for this stage, we need to know the Want and Stimulus for customers to buy the productions. For Whole Foods Company, the Want for customers to buy food is that customers want to eat healthy natural and organic food. For the Stimulus for customers to buy foods in Whole Foods Market, there are internal and external stimulus. For the external stimulus, customers buy food in the Whole Foods Market because the influence of the advertisements.

After recognizing a need, customers search for information about various alternative available to satisfied it. there are two information search: internal information external information search. For the internal information search is that people to buy the foods in whole foods market again because their experience direct them to buy these foods. For the external information, customers buy their productions because of the other people recommend them to buy these things.

The third stage is evaluation of alternatives. Whole Foods Market is a leading foods company focus on selling organic and natural foods. After the recognition and collecting of information, customers may decide what productions they would buy. Because the high standard of Whole Foods production, customer prefer to buy the more healthy foods in whole foods market.

The fourth stage is the action of purchase.

The final step is the postpurchase behavior. According on the whole foods annual report, productions from whole foods market satisfy and delight the customers so much.

Ch. 5 - Developing a Global Vision

Whole Foods Market is the leading foods company focusing on providing natural and organic foods in American society. As the target markets throughout the world, global market has become an imperative for business, and Whole foods market consider to trade abroad now.

Whole Foods Market has subbranches in Alabama, Arizona, California, and New York. As the global market plays an important role in the companies’ economic development, Whole Foods Market expands their shops abroad. Right now, Whole foods market has stores in Canada and Unite kingdom. As time goes on, Whole Foods market will open more stores in these two countries.

What is more, Whole Foods Market also provides job opportunities to the other countries people. And they also provide special foods into Canada and United Kingdom’s market in order to make profits.