Student Assignment Covering Form

Course/Unit Information
Course Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma
Unit No. Unit 2
Unit Name Marketing Essentials
Unit code R/508/0486
Batch SRG10-1710

Instructor Information
Name Zawahir Siddique
Phone +971559846050
Email zawahir@mywestford.com

Assignment Information
Full/ Part Assignment Full
Date Assignment Issued October 29, 2017
Date Assignment Due November 25, 2017
Turnitin Class ID 16674662
Turnitin Password ME1710

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 Student Declaration

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 Achievement Feedback Summary

Assessor’s Name Mr. Tausif Mulla

Grades Awarded (P1, P2, P3,
Pass Merit Distinction P4, P5, P6, M1, M2, M3, M4,
D1, D2)

LO1 Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units of an
organization.
M1 Analyze the
P1 Explain the key roles and P1Choose an item.
roles and responsibilities of
responsibilities of marketing in the
the marketing context of the
D1 Critically analyse P2Choose an item.
function. marketing
and evaluate the key
environment.
elements of the
marketing function
M2 Analyze the and how they M1Choose an item.
P2 Explain how roles interrelate with
significance of
and responsibilities of other functional
interrelationships
marketing relate to units of an
between marketing M2 Choose an item.
the wider organisation
and other functional
organizational
units of an
context.
organisation D1Choose an item.

LO2 Compare ways in which organizations use elements of the marketing mix (7Ps) to achieve
overall business objectives
P3 Compare the M3 Evaluate LO2 & LO3
ways in which different tactics
P3Choose an item.
different applied by D2 Design a
organisations apply organisations to strategic marketing

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the marketing mix demonstrate how plan that tactically
to the marketing business objectives applies the use of
planning process to can be the 7Ps to achieve P4Choose an item.
achieve business achieved. overall marketing
objectives. objectives

LO3 Develop and evaluate a basic marketing

plan
M3Choose an item.

M4 Produce a M4Choose an item.

P4 Produce and
detailed, coherent
evaluate
evidence-based
a basic marketing plan
marketing plan for an
for an organisation. D2Choose an item.
organisation

[To Achieve a PASS, all P grade descriptors

should be achieved; To achieve a MERIT, all P Click here
Over All Result/Grade Choose an item. and M grade descriptors should be achieved; To
to enter a
achieve a DISTINCTION, all P, M and D grade
descriptors should be achieved.] date.
Summative Feedback:

Overall Feedback on
Click here to enter text.
current work with
emphasis on how the
student can improve
and achieve higher
grades in future.

General Guidelines
(Please read the instructions carefully)

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of the student is marked in the declaration form.
2. All assignments must be submitted as an electronic document in MS Word to the
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 7. Submit the assignment in a MS Word document with the file name being:
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Mandatory Quick reference Checklist for the Students before submitting the
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5. Harvard Referencing System and Citations are strictly followed.

Marketing Essentials: Assignment Task-1

Marketing Concepts and Internal Relations;

Assignment title Marketing S trategy and Application.

LO1: Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units of an
organization.

LO2: Compare ways in which organizations use elements of the marketing mix (7Ps) to achieve
overall business objectives.

LO3: Develop and evaluate a basic marketing plan.

The assignment is based on a Group Task. Your group is expected to prepare a group
presentation (with a PowerPoint Presentation for 20 minutes followed by 5 minutes Q&A) and a
Group Report (4500-5000 words; with appropriate illustrations and relevant examples). The
group presentation and report should also clearly indicate and emphasize on the contribution
made by each individual member of the group. Please note that the content of the group
presentation and group report are the same (both versions are mandatory).
Scenario
You are a team of marketing professionals representing a consulting firm working on a product
launch in UAE for a yet to be introduced product in a new market. As part of your assignment
you are required to submit a report discussing the concept of marketing as well as its role
within the organization. Further to this you will have to explain how marketing interrelates
with other functions within the business. You have also been assigned to research the
competition (with another organization in the same industry) and produce a marketing plan
based on your findings.

The report should include:

1. Introduction to the concept of marketing, including current and future trends.

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 2. An overview of the different marketing processes.

3. The role and responsibilities of a marketing manager in the context of the

organization._

4. An explanation of how marketing influences and interrelates with other functional

departments of the organization.

5. The value and importance of the marketing role in the context of the organization.

6. The significance of having effective interrelationships between different functional

departments.
7. The comparison on how [insert organization name] and [insert competitor organization
name] use the various elements of the 7Ps marketing mix.

8. A marketing plan to meet marketing goals and objectives. The marketing plan should
include all elements of the 7Ps marketing mix, with an action plan and measures for
monitoring and evaluating progress and meeting of goals and objectives. _

9. Conclusion and Recommendations.

Your research should be referenced using the Harvard Referencing System. Please also provide a
bibliography using the Harvard Referencing System. The recommended word limit is 4,500–5,000
words. You will not be penalized for exceeding the total word limit. The submission on the LMS is
in the form of a group written report. This should be written in a concise, formal business style using
single spacing and font size 12. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs and
subsections as appropriate, and all work must be supported with research.

Note
Please ensure that the specific requirements of the M and D grade descriptors are addressed for
achieving higher grades. Remember that each of the M and D grade descriptors requirements
have to be addressed within each of the corresponding P criteria(s) itself while answering any
specific question(s) given below. DO NOT try and answer the M and D grade descriptors
separately as a separate task.

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 Marketing
Marketing is a process in which products or services transform from their concept phase
to the hands of the costumer. It helps identify and/or create the need or want in the market
for a certain product or service, then develops them according to the market research that
is done, determines the price for it, promotes it through various mediums before and after
launching the product, and selects logistical and distribution channels to make the
product reach the customer.

Marketing is different from sales; the sales dept. does not determine the price and design
of the product. It only deals with getting the customer to buy the product on the on a
negotiable or set price. Marketing is all about knowing the customer’s needs and
producing the product with an appropriate price. (HBR, 2006)
Marketing is best viewed as the function that manages connections between the
organization and the customer. The primary connections may be viewed as the customer–
product, the customer–service delivery, and the customer–financial accountability
connections. (Moorman and Rust, 1999)

Current and future trends

Traditionally marking was done mainly by using either print media like billboards, flyers
or/and newspaper ads, and television and radio commercials. Nowadays the internet has
replaced all of these methods as the dominant marketing platform. Due to the interest
shown by people towards high quality imagery and video, sites like Facebook, snapchat
and Instagram and YouTube are favorites for companies in advertising. According to
Scott Galloway (2014), professor of marketing at New York University's Stern School of
Business, latest studies estimate that 93% of prestige brands have an active presence on
Instagram and include it in their marketing mix. Marketers not only use these platforms
for advertising, but also ask their customers to post their product on these sites to create
attention to the brand.
Since the dawn of the digital mobile age in the late 2000s, there is a huge shift in the way
marketing could be ideally done. Due to mobile data from the consumers’ phones, its
very easy for companies to know what precisely each customer is interested in.
companies are increasing It also expands the scope of marketing from the original service
or product the company is selling. E.g. airline companies would like to market about how
they have lounge services and chauffeured cars to take them to the airport, rather than just
the air travel. Companies like Delta airlines have partnered with Lyft (online taxi) to get
their passengers from home to the airport, which is outside their aviation services. Airbnb
has a feature where travellers can be notified about what events are happening in the city
they are staying at. What the customers now need is companies to connect the dots for
them, so that their usage of their products and services are seamlessly connected with the
extra things they could do. (Forbes, 2017)

Marketing Process

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Figure 1 (Smartsheet.com)

From the above figure we can see the whole process in a nutshell:
1. Mission deals with the company wants to do, and the what it wants to achieve in
the market.
2. Situational analysis is a bunch of tools (shown in the figure) that help the
company analyse and identify the opportunities for making a product or service,
and what could the internal and external factors that would impact the proposed
idea.
3. Marketing strategy helps find the right customer segment (based on age, culture,
affluence and geography), then send the appropriate kind of message to the target
audience, and finally positioning the image of the product in the customers’ mind.

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 4. The marketing mix is where the company formulates a practical plan for the
product, wherein it designs it and sets the right price for it. The company also
creates events including product launches and press conferences to promote the
product. Finally, the company plans the logistics and distribution channels for the
product to reach the customer. (Economic Times, 2017)
5. Implementation and control phase is when the company monitors whether the
operations are going according to the business plan and are being financed
appropriately.

Roles and responsibilities

The role of a marketing manager is to practically apply a company’s marketing
operations. These operations include:

Conducting Market Research

Mangers conduct market research to get a good understanding of what the customers
want. The research identifies new opportunities for them to create and sell a product. It
also involves studying the company’s competitors and overcoming them. market research
is done using questionnaires, face-to-face interviews or analyzing the buying habits of
consumers. Live! Should do that with the meal supplement, asking people about what
kind of flavors they want and the pricing they would be comfortable with. ( Marketing
made simple, 2017) Although this would be a lengthy and time-consuming process, this
would help Live! Deal with the JIT process more effectively as the company would only
produce those products that are desirable by consumers

Marketing strategy development

Managers outline how the company much promote a product in the market and what new
segments and tastes should be considered in new product. Live! Manager would decide
based on the research on what kind of supplement would be released in the market.
Whether that wold be soup or a bar, and what pricing would be given to those products.

Customer Relationship Management

The marketing manager collects information from the company’s customer database to
learn more about the customers and develop practices that help in customer retention.
Live! Manager would be collecting data based on the online orders to understand which
better ways can the product be modified to suit the customers’ needs and how well the
order taking website can become more user-friendly. This is very important for Live! As
people in the UAE are mostly connected to the internet at all times (60%), which makes
the website of Live! Very critical to its image.

Identifying New Business Opportunities

Managers look at market trends to change their products or create new ones, and identify
new markets to sell their products. They also use sales forecasting to estimate future
performance of the company’s products. Also through market analysis and forecasting,
they can develop strategies to ensure the organization remains competitive. Live! Could
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look at new flavors that locals enjoy more than others. With more sales taking place,
Live! Could look at reducing the price to penetrate the market more and profit by the
economy of scale.

Relationship with other departments

Operations Dept.
The marketing dept. will specify how many goods to be produced based on the demand in
the market. They will also specify what kind of quality is expected and the design.
Although production dept would want more time to produce the product and make sure
that it is tried and tested to ensure that there is no health and safety hazard, the marketing
dept. will set deadlines to make sure that their product is reached first in the market. Live!
marketing would need the outsourced production to make the supplements on time,
because since the products have a very small shelf life, they will have to be made
according to orders and delivered to the customer in short time.

Finance Dept.
The finance dept. will be making the necessary allowance to pay for the research and
promotion that the marketing dept. does. While the marketing dept. would push for more
money to promote the product, the finance dept. would be more concerned about cost
cutting and returns on the investment. To finance events promoting healthy living, Live!
would need the finance dept. to spend more money, balancing the payments done for
producing the food supplement, with the money needed for product launches, press
conferences brochures, social media adverts etc.

Human Resources
Marketing would need HR to get them the best talents in marketing to do research and
promote. It would also expect more staffing to be done in other depts. Like production to
meet targets. However, the HR dept. would have to balance its obligations to marketing
in hiring and recruitment with those to other departments. Marketing is important for HR
because marketing will help the HR understand the culture of a company and employ
people relevant to that culture. Live! marketing would need to coordinate with HR in
hiring good marketers and analysts, by being part of the interview process and training.
(American Management Association, 2017)
For a company like Live!, marketing talent is key towards customer awareness of the
product, which is critical for an unknown startup like Live!

R&D
Marketing functions may be synonymous with R&D as it assists R&D throughout from
the idea of new products to its implementation. Marketing researches can provide inputs
to understand what kind of products and services are likely to be the most marketable and
understand what kind of features customers the company would like to have. If R&D is
given a free reign without the control of marketing, it would end up making all kinds of
expensive products which are not appreciated by customers, like how Microsoft did when
they removed the start button in windows 8. (HBR, 2014) As this is a sensitive product
with a lot of bad experiences among customer satisfaction and health, food supplement
companies like Live! should put a lot of emphasis on getting R&D and marketing
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together, as the marketing dept. should not advertise or design a product which happens
to be contrary to the findings of R&D, as customers could have health issues when
consuming it a way prescribed by the marketing dept. which happens to contradict the
findings and recommendations of R&D. as the UAE government is very sensitive to
public health and safety, this should be a core principle of marketing at Live!

Sales Dept.
Marketing could be called the guide map for sales. It helps making a good product for the
company to sell, and then promotes it so that the sales team doesn’t need to convince the
customer much, and sets prices for the sales team to negotiate on. Marketing also
provides all the information about the product that a salesman needs, and gives rear
support in providing extra information if the client needs it. Since Live! would be getting
their sales team to go to corporates and gyms to promote the product, they would need
the marketing team to give them accurate info on the product, its use and consumption.
The marketing team should also brief the sales team on the discounts the corporate
companies will get if they intend on buying bulk. This will help clear the usual
difficulties that happen in the communication between these two dept. (HBR, 2006)

Bibliography
1. Kapost.com. (2017). A Brief History of Digital Marketing Technology. [online]
Available at: https://kapost.com/history-of-digital-marketing-technology/
[Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
2. Shaw, R., Atkin, B. and Bell, J. (1991). The Sales and marketing systems report.
Shaw Consulting.
3. Moorman, C. and Rust, R. (1999). The Role of Marketing. Journal of Marketing,
63.
4. Forbes.com. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/o
nmarketing/2017/10/17/future-of-marketing-is-marketing-as-a-service [Accessed
11 Dec. 2017].
5. Marketing made simple. (2017). Marketing manager role explained - Marketing
made simple. [online] Available at: http://marketing-made-simple.com/marketing-
manager-role/ [Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
6. Busandman.com. (2017). Importance of marketing for other departments | Gulp!.
[online] Available at: http://www.busandman.com/?p=206 [Accessed 11 Dec.
2017].
7. Yachting-pages.com. (2017). [online] Available at: http://www.yachting-
pages.com/content/guide-six-ways-marketing-can-support-the-sales-process.html
[Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
8. Amanet.org. (2017). Interesting Bedfellows: Why a Teaming of HR and
Marketing Makes Sense . [online] Available at:
http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/interesting-bedfellows-why-a-teaming-of-
hr-and-marketing-makes-sense.aspx [Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
9. Harvard Business Review. (2014). Should Marketing or R&D Have More
Power?. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2014/07/should-marketing-or-rd-
have-more-power [Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].

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 10. Harvard Business Review. (2014). Put the “and” Back in “Sales and
Marketing”. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2014/10/put-the-and-back-in-
sales-and-marketing [Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
11. Harvard Business Review. (2006). Ending the War Between Sales and
Marketing. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2006/07/ending-the-war-
between-sales-and-marketing [Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
12.

(TASK 5)
Significance of Marketing
Marketing in today's world highly depends on how well it survives within the competitive
market. As of now, the competition is fairly high so, it all drops down to how well your
organisation is marketed. In order to proceed with this, marketing strategies need to be
implemented.
Our company, Live, focuses on targeting those customers that are into the whole fitness
lifestyle within the UAE. Therefore, our products are marketed based on age. This means
we focus on marketing our product to those who are above the age of 16 due to health
and safety reasons of our product.
Importance of Roles and Responsibilities in Marketing
Marketing play a big role in today's world. Every organisation be is a small or large firm
are continuously competing against each other for the exact same market. Overall, the
global economy has realised the significance of small companies and are increasingly
more giving them the much-wished help to sustain their growth. As a result, an
organization’s survival depends upon their sensible marketing efforts coupled via
economic operational among different functions inside their structure.
Marketing is a critical business function that is highly important to include within all our
business activities. Marketing is a tool which helps in locating potentially successful
products within the market. It then plays the part in promoting it. To go about this, we
must conduct a proper marketing research, our products plan, the development, how we
will promote it, the sales, finance, etc. The essential key responsibilities of marketing are
communicating, how we plan on distributing, promoting, and market research.
Marketing concept, future and current trends.

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There are five different marketing concepts. These evolve around the current and future
trends in order to obtain a successful marketing plan. The concepts include:
 Production – Based on customer perception.
 Product – How customers are retained through products and services.
 Selling – Mind set of customers.
 Marketing – Enhancing brand value of the organisation.
 Societal marketing – Needs and wants of target consumers.
Marketing of our product plays a huge role in producing a successful supplement line. It
all starts from our labelling. Labelling is the key to increase our sales, encourage repeat
sales and help in generating customer loyalty. An added benefit to this is we can craft a
targeted message through our label that can help in reaching the right customers. This in
turn, can come with a few downfalls which include having to differentiate our product
from our competitors. To tackle this issue, we developed a marketing strategy. A
marketing strategy will help us look into how we need to promote and further sell our
products within the market.
In terms of consumer demographics, our products cater to individuals aged 16 and above
due to health, law and safety reasons. We ensure our brand and labelling strictly mentions
all of the above as well as on our website as we are entirely online based as of now. After
conducting our research within the market, we figured an online set-up would be the right
idea as a start-up company due to online shopping being a huge trend these days.

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Packaging of our product plays a separate role towards the value and importance of
marketing. Often, people tend to get attracted by how well the product is packaged and
labelled. Our products here at LIVE include everything a consumer should know before
purchasing them from us which includes the value and offerings, benefits, nutrients, etc.
Alongside consumers differentiating products through packaging amongst other varieties
of similar products, they also consider the cleanliness and how clinical and vibrant they
stand. These are ways we have considered and used to attract our customers.
In terms of marketing, as we have mentioned, our company LIVE, is entirely online
based. We know that in today's society, having and building an importance for online ads,
social media is the key essential in building up followers. The opportunities we can get
from building through online digital markets are far more than what we can attain using
pricey advertising. Using social media carried a huge advantage for us that is, we can
look into finding our right key clients and customers, promote, and have a link directly to
consumer demands. Social media is a highly interactive place and stands higher against
other marketing channels. We not only use this platform to reach a captive audience, but
also use it to generate feedback given by our customers.
Our future marketing and promotional methods include the use of radio adverts, flyers,
banners, TV ads, etc. Keeping in mind, our main focus will be the product, its benefits
and characteristics that help make our brand differentiate from the others and standout. A
key element in helping our business grow will be to work with a knowledgeable
manufacturer for our product. Not only will this benefit us from a quality product but also
in effective marketing strategy for our meal supplements.
Marketing in terms of environmental waste. Often this is a concern to customers when it
comes to looking into how environmentally friendly is the marketing. After doing our
research on this, in the near future, our company Live will be looking into 'Going Green'.
This means that our packaging will be bio-degradable. This will then in turn will help in
potential future business opportunities.
Internal and External Forces
External – These are the uncontrollable forces outside our organisation which our beyond
our capabilities to control.
Some of these external forces are:
 Social and Cultural
This aspect focuses on the dynamics of every individual. We focus on the beliefs,
behaviours, lifestyle and so on. These can go a long way in effecting the
marketing of the product.
 Competition
This refers to the market capitalization and competitors. After conducting our
research, we found a number of various competitors all over the UAE. We don’t
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 aim to have a direct aim influence towards them but we will keep a track on the
activities which we will then use to design effective strategies.
 Demographic Change
Under this, we take account of the age, gender, occupation, etc. These are all
uncontrollable factors. So as marketer it's important to forecast the current and
future trends based on these segments for the product. For example, we will
specifically focus on age for our product.
 Government Policies
This refers to the rules and regulations of the laws within the country on terms of
your product. The government plays a role in a way for example, our meal
supplement contains ingredients that are not allowed within the UAE. Another
example is there are certain restrictions on the importation of various raw
materials to help in making out product. A marketer should always have a good
knowledge and understanding over these laws.
A business that is affected by these external factors only leads towards an opportunity to
another business. As a marketing team, it is required to plan well ahead in time, possibly
start forecasting the future and accordingly create and come up with strategic plans that
can help the business adapt to them.
Internal Environment
These are the activities happening within an organisation. There are pointers to keep in
mind such as decision that help in influencing the marketing department. We have further
explained all the points that come under the internal environment in our company's 7p's
analysis.

Further evaluating the criticisms that we could potentially face:

Effect on Consumers
When companies take part in false marketing, it in turn affects the customers. For
example, we'll take our company, Live, if we advertise that our product would help in
benefitting you with so and so, ways. And then we add onto the advertisement that if you
place order from us during our promotional period, you will then be eligible to receive an
extra box of meal supplement absolutely free. What we didn't mention here was that
when they purchase this deal they will automatically be enrolled onto our subscription list
which basically means that the first box is free after which each month they will be
charged as a reasonable price. What we also failed to mention is that the only way for
them to opt out of this subscription is when they write back an email to us and have us
get it verified.
 Overly advertising.
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We strive to make our online marketing as accurate as possible. Since our meal
supplement is only sold online and not physically in stores as for now, our main concern
is to be completely honest while advertising the branding of our meal supplement to
avoid the possibility of our customers being misled into purchasing our products due to
miscommunication through branding. This is strictly taken into consideration when we
share our brand through social media.

 Encourage customers to purchase unnecessarily.

This is another criticism faced by a lot of start-ups. Consumers often believe we market
our products to them whether they want it or not. This is a majority of the customers
belief that the sole purpose of a marketer selling a product is only to satisfy their needs
and not the customers. This is a well-known tactic that marketers often find easy to
manipulate customers into buying their products. We as a start-up online based company
know that this is not the right way to gain a loyal following of customers.
Conclusion
It's clear that marketing plays an important role in organisations. The responsibilities that
are carried out by marketers that include dealing with media related conflicts, promoting
products, and building a strong customer loyalty, etc. If these points are not paid attention
to we could easily see a downfall in profits and customers which could lead to the
business suffering a major loss.

(TASK 6)
Marketing relationships with other functional departments
Interrelationships between marketing and the other functions involved within a business
could be put together and further explained as, marketing is a part of every department
that is physically present in any organisation. They are in any case always linked to one
another. Marketing functions act as a backup by other various departments within the
company in hopes to provide effective performance. As previously explained, if our
company, Live, wants to plan on offering a great discount deal for example, products
when purchased in bulk. Our financing team needs to be notified through the marketing
department through means of effective communication, they may also include the
production team. By this we can conclude that marketing is an essential in helping us
boost our profits and sales. This can only be achieved when all the departments present
work together simultaneously. Below are how departments in our company, Live,
interrelate with other departments.
 Research and development
Marketing research is known to not always provide innovative ideas for products.
They can however, provide information on customers wants and needs and help in
assessing their reactions to newer product ideas and concepts. Practical
16
 expectations and an organizational climate which inspires the interface among the
two functions and stimulates innovation are critical components for successful
new product improvement efforts.

When looking into R&D we must look into two key elements:
1) Testing
When we look at research and development, we're not only looking as the
innovation aspect of our product but the entire process from selecting our
ingredients to how our product is packaged and labelled. The most important, or
rather major part of this entire process is testing. Its highly important to know
your product reaches up to the mark in terms of quality and reliability. To carry
out this operation, various methods are put forward such as taste testing, stability
and trial productions.
2) Development
When we look at our product in terms of the raw materials and the biochemical
processes we use, we can say that we are company that is continually evolving.
Our recipes are constantly being improved, developed and revised time to time.

 Production and Operations

The key elements this department will be focusing on is that proper research is
being carried out in terms of current and future customers wants and needs. They
will also be looking into whether our quality and design is being met by the
consumer demands as well as the monitoring whether the orders that we receive
due to marketing can be delivered as scheduled.
The interdependency among advertising and production is most obtrusive in
the improvement of latest products. The connection among the layout of new
products and production centres is primarily based on large market research based
estimates of the call for the new products, time and space distribution.
furthermore, when you consider that a new product can cannibalize any currently
existing product, estimates of the effect of this phenomenon need to be made to
modify the production agenda for current products.

There is a chance where both our marketing and production departments may
clash. The deadlines that a marketing department would agree to work on could
possibly be stretched out. The job of marketers is to lay the product onsite as soon

17
 as possible while the production department may still want to carry out tests and
ensure that its met both the health and safety requirements.

 Finance Department
After an immense period of constant researching, we came to the conclusion that
every finance department must always include a dimension. The decision made
within this department are known to be investment decisions. When we created
our product at Live, we took account for all the crucial financial instruments that
were required to evaluate the investment. This sort of evaluation should not only
be implemented towards the newer products that you introduce but should always
be considered when decisions are being made for the promotion, advertising and
distributing the products.
Our marketing department will work closely with the finance department to
closely look whether there is sufficient amount of budget that would meet the
needs for promoting our product, distributing and for research purposes.
Our finance department has an entire plan/brief, that will help ensure that our
business operates according to the financial capabilities which we have
established. Their aim is to make sure all out other departments are working
closely within the budgets that were discussed.
While our marketing departments key focus is trained to concentrate on building
market shares and increase sales volume while our finance department will work
closely towards paying back any investments made as soon as possible.

 Human Resource Department

As of now, we are a start-up company so we don’t have a human resource
department, but our company's futures plans include having an HR department.
We planned to ensure that the HRM department is working closely with the
marketing department to ensure that the correct staffing measures and skills are
being applied. With the help of the right people being hired, we can benefit with
having new future product ideas, meeting with our production targets and creating
a highly competitive team of sales. With our company being online, we want to
ensure that our workers will have a vast knowledge in managing online profiles,
dealing with customers feedback or complains, etc.

 Sales
This department cultivates the relation with clients and all the inputs offered in by
marketing can help in making it more profitable.
The goal is for our business to smoothly go along and achieve the overall
objectives which we have set. Every function in the business has a significant
impact towards customer satisfaction. When we look under our marketing
department, each other department needs to work closely together and to
18
 constantly remember that customer satisfaction is the key. It’s the job of our
marketing department to look into this. The VP of our company has two roles to
play, to look into the company's internal marketing and to coordinate both
marketing with finance, operation, etc.
We strive to create a balanced orientation where both the marketing as well as the
other functions join together to determine the best interest of our company.
Roles and Responsibility of Marketing
 Creating and developing of the market plan.
 Creating an effective strategy
 Identifying market segments
 Responsible for brand management
 Ensuring that there is effective communication internally
 Planning and working on promotional related activities
 Overlooking your companies marketing budget
These are the main points that help in creating awareness.

Key elements of marketing and interrelationships with different

organisational units.
 Research
Market research, as we know plays a big role. It's the highest priority in any
organisation. If failed to present a successful market research, any business can
fail. Having enough research done can help in attaining valuable information.
However, getting information such as finance, raw materials, along with other
prospects could only be gained through research. Hence, this being a high
priority.

 Strategy
After gaining all the knowledge from the research conducted, it is then all put
together to further figure out the strengths and weaknesses within the company.
The data collected can help us in finding out our strategies which can be
implemented into our company.

 Planning
After conducting a successful research, the next thing would be to begin the
marketing plan. Here is where the marketing department will include all the
19
 finance planning, forecasting, communication, etc. They go about a unique
timeline to figure major strategies to help achieve our companies goal.

 Tactics
These are small plans that help in attracting target customers. This includes
having limited offers that help boost in promotion within our marketing. These
could include buy get one free offers, etc.
All these marketing functions are in one way or the other linked to the other
existing functional business units within Live. An example could be it we take the
finance department and link it to marketing. The marketing unit requires inputs
which only the finance department can provide this could include planning,
research, and the overall evaluation of marketing strategies. All these inputs are
provided through the finance department of our company. A good mean of
communication is required especially in terms of communicating within various
departments as each input needs to communicated carefully. Similarly, other units
are linked with marketing in the same manner. An accurate description must be
provided to the marketing team, by the production unit in order to make the final
marketing plan.
Scope of Marketing
In terms of marketing scope at Live, our marketing department has a vast scope. It
covers a variety of area such as conception of business ideas to profits. Below are
a few points further elaborated.
1) Consumer Wants and Needs
We produce goods to cater towards the needs and wants of people. To further go
about this, we need to conduct a study which helps us in identifying what these
wants and needs are.
2) Consumer Behaviour
Another study which marketers conduct is the consumer behaviour study. This is
an analysis of the buyers behaviour. It helps marketers with targeting and
segmentation.
3) Product Plan and Development
This consists of everything such as the marketing research, quality and quantity of
our products, market segmentation, etc.
4) Branding
The aim is to make our product stand out from the rest. Decisions such as
branding policies, implementation programs are discussed amongst the marketing
department team.

20
 5) Packaging
Consumers often remember and identify brands though their logo. Hence why
packaging of a product is known to be quite powerful in the sense that it helps in
conveying the message to our customers as to why our product is unique and
different compared to the rest.
6) Channels of Distribution
Decisions as to how we plan on distributing our product to the public is controlled
by the marketing department.
7) Pricing Policies
This differs from product to product. It often depends on the current market
competition, goals, objectives, etc.
8) Promotion
The key to accomplishing a marketing goal is to keep in mind that we must
develop and create a powerful and effective promotional mix.
Nature of Marketing
 Customer/consumer orientated.
 Marketing system is made through inputs and outputs.
 Helps in guiding and controlling the business.
 Priority is to start and end with the customer/consumer.
Significance of having an effective interrelationship
A lot of trust and respect is gained throughout the departments so that in turn
helps them in having a better understanding of how to deal with their customers.
It will also bring a significant increase in customer services as interrelationships
help each department in collaborating with each other and work together towards
serving customers much more efficiently. Few of the main points are discussed
below:
1) Trust
An honest and accurate communicating between departments helps in building the
foundation towards gaining trust. When various departments learn and accept to
trust one another, it becomes far much easier to expect receiving reliable
information.
2) Customer Service

21
 If and when communicating within departments is poor, this can directly have an
impact towards customer service. An example could be, if our customers continue
to receive a bill for which they have already paid off and cleared, this just shows
that out accounting department which handles these concerns were not effectively
communicating. Efficiently sharing of information is highly vital to achieve good
customer service.
3) Efficiency
The smallest communication of a message could easily lead our business towards
loss. For examples, the group that manufactures our meal supplements was not
informed about an increase in demands of the meal supplements. This could end
up without company going through a loss of revenue. Information exchange is
important. It's always good to constantly remember and set a reminder to others
that communication is improves processes within the overall organisation.
4) Conflict
If communication at any point suffers due to any sort of barrier, conflicts can
arise. If our company fails to notify our shipping company of an important
priority package that needs to be delivered next day, that could lead to conflicts
within numerous departments within our company. This in turn could have an
impact towards the entire company.
Taking into consideration these variations within the perspective of marketing and
other capabilities of a business enterprise, it is crucial to systematically examine the
feasible consequences of such interactions.

1. The comparison on how LIVE and Soylent use the various elements of the 7Ps
marketing mix.

Marketing Mix:

The marketing mix is a tool that is used by businesses as well as Marketers that helps determine the product
and/ or brands offering. (Academy. P, 2017) It is referred to as a set of different marketing tools that an
organisation would use to pursue and achieve its marketing objectives and overall goals. It is a
“foundational model” in the aspect of marketing. (Marketing mix. Wiki, 2017)
There are 7 marketing P’s associated with the marketing mix, each of these P’s are an aspect or factor of
marketing and aiding the organisation in achieving goal. The original marketing mix created by E. Jerome
McCarthy was comprised of 4 P’s; this later evolved and further consisted of 3 additional P’s. (Academy.
P, 2017)

22
 Product Place Process People

Physical
Price Promotion
Evidence

(1) Product: This P is in regards to the product itself. A product is defined as an item that is created
to satisfy the needs and/or wants of the consumers; a product can be tangible or intangible.
(2) Price: This P is in regards to the pricing of the product, the amount that the customer pays for the
product. Although there is another aspect that is associated with price, the sacrifice that the
consumer is willing to make in order to acquire the product, this can include effort and time. The
product must be seen to represent a good value of money.
(3) Place: This P is in regards to the place in which the product is sold. It must be easily accessible by
the consumers.
(4) Promotion: This P is in regards to the marketing communication put forth in order to promote the
product. It allows for a communication pathway between the organization and the consumers to be
created.
(5) Process: This P is in regards to the different procedures and mechanisms, as well as the range and
flow or activities that are needed to produce, deliver, and maintain the level of quality of the
product.
(6) Physical Evidence: This P is in regards to the physical evidence that is involved in everything
from the product to the consumer. This includes the environment in which the services occur, the
space in which the consumers and the service personnel interact, tangible commodities, and the
artefacts that remind the customer of the service completion and performance.
(7) People: This P is in regards to the people that are involved in carrying out the services. These
include the people who represent the organisational values to the customers, interactions that occur
between the customers, and interactions that occur between the employees and the customers.
(Marketing mix. Wiki, 2017)

PROCESS:
- Monitoring and tracking PEOPLE:
PRODUCT: PLACE: performance - Staff recruitment
- Product design - Strategies - Analysis of resource - Uniforms
- Product assortment - Franchising requirements and - Scripting
- Branding - Market coverage allocation - Queuing systems
- Packaging - Assortment - Creation and measurement - Handling
- Services - Locational of KPIs complaints
- Guarantees and decisions - Alignment with best - Handling service
23
warranties - Inventory practices failures
- Returns - Transport and - Preparation of operations - Social
- Product life cycle logistics manuals. interactions
 PRICE: PROMOTION: PHYSICAL
- Price strategy - Promotional mix EVIDENCE:
- Price tactics - Message strategy - Facilities
- Price-setting - Channel/ media - Spatial layout
- Allowances strategy - Signage
- Discounts - Message frequency - Interior design
- Payment methods - Ambient
conditions
- Design of livery
- Artifacts

SOYLENT:
One of the main competitors that LIVE is up against is Soylent. Soylent is a complete meal replacement, it
was created to be healthy, easy, and affordable (Soylent, 2017)
Healthy: Soylent consists of various plant based macronutrients and micronutrient; this allows it to consist
the elements needed for a healthy diet without the additions of added sugars, cholesterol, or added fats.
Easy: Soylent follows the common trend of simplicity when it comes to meal supplements. It is offered in
two forms: Drink and Powder.
Affordable: Soylent is an estimated $3/ AED 11, per meal.
(Soylent, 2017)

Mission: Expand access to quality nutrition through food system innovation (Soylent, 2017)
Future Vision: Soylent’s future goal is to make eating easier through the use of science, technology, and
enterprise. (Soylent, 2017)

Soylent also focuses on aiding the world through the sales of its product to domestic consumers. Soylent
donates meals to those who are in need for nutrition all over the world. In 2016, Soylent donated over a
million meals to individuals in the U.S as well as around the world who were in need of greater access to
nutrition.
Soylent engages in a range of different programmes such as the World Food Programme USA, Food
Banks, Medical Applications, and New Product Development. (Soylent, 2017)

MARKETING MIX OF LIVE:

PRODUCT:
LIVE currently offers only one type of product in its product portfolio, this product is the Meal
Supplement Powder. Although there is one product type, the single product type has a further product
range in terms of flavour variety. At this current time LIVE Meal Supplement Powder is available in five
different flavours:
(1) Original – This flavour is the original mix without any additionally added flavouring.
(2) Vanilla These 4 flavours have a slightly
(3) Chocolate higher carbohydrate contents due to
(4) Strawberry the additional of fruits/ other natural
(5) Banana flavourings.

Product composition:
LIVE Meal Supplement powder was created with the aim of being a simple solution to have a quick and
easy meal with the needed nutrition that will be able satisfy one for hours. The product consists of all
24
natural ingredients that are all sourced (produced and or bought) within the Middle East. LIVE meal
supplement does not contain any added sugars, artificial colouring, artificial flavourings, or any artificial
preservatives. The flavour comes from 100% natural ingredients and the preservation aspect comes from
the additional of natural preservative such as honey and other foods.

Nutritional Information
Calories 300-375
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0g
Saturated Fats 0g
Sodium 0g
Fibre 7g
Micronutrients 29
Carbohydrates g35
Fats g21
Proteins g24
[Nutritional information is based off one serving of LIVE Meal Supplement].

Packaging:
The LIVE Meal Supplement powder will be offered in 3 different sizes:
(1) Individual Serv.: This size is equivalent to one meal. The packing for this size is going to be a foil
plastic packet.
(2) 30 Serv.: This size product is equivalent to 30 meals. The packaging for this size is going to be a
lightweight plastic cylindrical container.
(3) 90 Serv.: This size product is equivalent to 90 meals. The packaging for this size is going to be a
lightweight plastic cylindrical container.

The packaging for each of the sizes will consist of the logo, the production and expiration date, the
ingredients, nutritional facts and allergens, directions to preparation and use, the quantity of the product,
cautions and warnings, Generally recognised as safe (GRAS) and FDA approval, and contact information.

The image on the left

is a representation of

LIVE the LIVE logo that

will be present on all
the packaging.
Nutritional Benefits:
The benefits of taking LIVE Meal Supplement are:
- All the necessary dietary components are contained within the one meal.
- High concentration of vitamins and minerals.
- High protein content.
- Moderate carbohydrate content.
- Additional Branched chained amino acids (BCAA’s) are added thus aiding in muscle recovery.

Future plans:
LIVE has future plans to expand its product range in terms of meal supplements as well as other forms of
supplements.
Meal Supplements: Addition of new flavours and meal supplement types, such as bars and soups
Other supplements: Protein powers, protein bars, BCAA’s power and tablets, and other additional
nutritional based supplements.

25
 PRICE:
LIVE is using 4 different types of pricing strategies for the LIVE Meal Supplement product. The purpose
of using 4differenrt strategies is to use the most effective and efficient pricing strategy depending on the
current external situation (the growth of the organisation, the recognition and exposure of the organisation,
the current market status, and the customer growth).
The 4 pricing strategies that are going to be used are:
- Penetration pricing: This is where LIVE would use penetration pricing to enter the market as a
new competitor. LIVE is going to price the products lower that its competitors. By using this
pricing strategy it allows LIVE to enter the market a more affordable price therefore resulting in
sales as potential customers would view it as more accessible and affordable. This penetration
phase is where LIVE will start to gain its initial customer base and start to build its reputation.
- Economy pricing: This is where LIVE would price the products in relation to the current
competitors either by pricing them slightly above or slightly below the current competitors’ prices.
This is where LIVE has gained a recognition and a small-medium customer base.
- Psychological pricing: This is where LIVE uses specific pricing strategies to “deceive” the
customers, such as making products seem much cheaper than they actually are with the price
difference of AED 1-5. For example instead of pricing at AED 200, it would be priced at AED
199.
- Bundle pricing: This is where LIVE will be using bundle pricing to sell packages of multiple
products at a lower price than if the customer were to purchase them all separately.

The pricing strategies will be used in collaboration with one another.

Penetration pricing will be used on its own when the products are first entering the market.
Psychological pricing will be used alongside economy pricing, this allows for customers to favour
the price points of the LIVE products through psychological pricing even though they price points
will be extremely similar to those of the current competitors due to the use of economy pricing.
Psychological pricing will also be used alongside bundle pricing. Not only does bundle pricing
provide a cheaper, more convenient offer, but they addition of psychological pricing further
supports the customer’s attraction to the products.

Penetration Pricing
30 Serv. AED 380
90 Serv. AED 1,200
Individual AED 9/11

The diagram on the left shows the price points

that were chosen for the LIVE Meal
Supplement products to be sold at.
Economy + Psychological
Pricing The individual serving shows two price points,
30 Serv. AED 395
the first being the price point for the “Original”
90 Serv. AED1,249
Flavour meal and the second for the other
flavoured meals.
Individual AED 11/13
Along with this LIVE will also require a
minimum AED 30 purchase if the products are
selected to be delivered to the customer and not
to be picked up (this will be further discussed
in the “Place” factor).

26 Bundle + Psychological
Pricing
30 Serv. + 90 Serv. AED 1,599
30 Serv. + 30 Serv. + Shaker
AED 789
 Payment methods include:
- Cash on delivery or cash on pick up
- Credit card (online purchase or payment on pick up only)
- Debit card (online purchase or payment on pick up only)

PLACE:

In terms on location LIVE will have two different locations over the UAE, one in the emirate of Ajman and
one in the emirate of Dubai. These two locations were chosen to address the issue of customer convenience
for the pick-up of products they have purchased.
Ajman: The Ajman location will be comprised of a large warehouse in which the manufacturing and
overall production of the product will done (factory) as well where a storage space will be appointed where
all the finished products will be stored and awaited for either the delivery to the customer or customer
collection. Along with this, office space will also be included within this facility,
Dubai: The Dubai location will be comprised of a significantly smaller warehouse, in which only storage
holding and offices will be located.
In terms of market coverage, LIVE caters to all the seven emirates of the UAE. Future plans include
expansion throughout the GCC and Middle east, and then internationally worldwide.
The channel through which the products will be sold is online. This is the only way in which products can
be purchased at the current moment. Future plans for expansion include selling the products through
retailers such as nutritional pharmacies as well as eventually have LIVE’s own store where all the LIVE
products and potential partner products will be sold.
In terms of transportation, there will be 6 vehicles for transportation per warehouse, these vehicles are to be
used for organisational based errands and delivery.

PROMOTION:

LIVE is going to use a range of different promotional methods, the main on being promotion of the
organisation and its products through multiple social media platforms.

As said above, social media will be the

main way in which LIVE will be
Facebook Twitter promoting itself and its products. This is
because LIVE is an online organisation,
therefore online promotional strategies
would work more efficiently. Along with
this reason, online promotion,
specifically social media based
Instagram Snapchat promotion always for a relatively large
Social reach. Therefore through the use of
online promotional methods LIVE will
Media be able to have a large reach to potential
customers, allowing for the recognition
27
of the organisation to occur at a rapid speed. As well as these reasons, online promotional methods are a
cheaper alternative to other promotional methods, being a start-up company this serves as advantageous
due to the lack of additional funds.
LIVE will not only have its own social media pages where promotional will take place but will also use
paid advertisements on the social media platforms to maximise the reach to potential customers.

Along with the method of online, social media based, advertising, LIVE will also be producing and
distributing brochures and flyers on which all the basic company information and product range and
information will be displayed as another form of promotion. LIVE will also be using radio exposure as a
form of promotion to gather a larger reach of potential customers, although this promotional method will be
more costly that the other used being used.

Future promotional plans:

The diagram on the right shows the promotional methods that LIVE plans on
using in the future.
(1) Event collaboration: This promotional method involves LIVE Event
Collaborations
collaborating with fitness and nutritional events occurring in the UAE.
This method allows for LIVE to gain exposure through these events as
well as target the desired audience and market segment.
(2) Endorsements: Endorsements by other companies and or
Endorsements
individuals/groups allows for LIVE to gain a greater potential customer
reach. This method also aid LIVE in terms of reputation, as if the
endorsements are done through highly influential and positively viewed
parties then a similar viewing would be reflected onto LIVE.
(3) Television: Although this promotional method is high in cost, it allows Television
for great potential customer reach.
(4) Billboards: This promotional method is high in cost, but it allows for a
large reach towards potential customers and increases and improves
organisational recognition. Billboards
(5) Public Figures: this promotional method is directly linked to social
media. This is where LIVE would partner with “Public Figures” based
in the UAE (and the other markets that LIVE may be operating within
at the time) and would promote its products through them. Public
Public Figures
figures on Instagram and Facebook would be used. Those who are
linked to fitness and nutrition, along with those who are at the “young
adult” age demographic would be favoured individuals.

8. A marketing plan to meet marketing goals and objectives.

The marketing plan should include all elements of the 7Ps marketing mix, with an
action plan and measures for monitoring and evaluating progress and meeting of
goals and objectives.

MARKETING PLAN:
A marking plan is known as a comprehensive part of an overall business plan that focuses on the
advertisement and marketing aspects of the organisation. A marketing plan is comprised of different stages,
these include the mission stage, situational analysis stage, marketing strategy stage, marketing mix stage,
and the implementation and monitoring stage.

1. MISSION STAGE
Mission Statement:
“Ease the way in which people indulge in their meal. Be the easy, effortless, and quick to maximise
satisfaction. Incorporate innovation into the world of supplements.”
28
Future

SWOT ANALYSIS OF LIVE MEAL SUPPLEMENT POWDER:

29
A swot analysis is a situational analytical tool used to determine and evaluate four different aspects of an
organisation. It is an acronym of the four different aspects.

Strengths Opportuntities

SWOT

Weaknesses Threats

STRENGTHS:
(1) Live Meal Supplement is a relatively unique product. The idea of meal supplements is still
relatively new to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Along with this factor, the basis that most of
the competitors present within the same industry, providing similar products are only present
online, thus the combination of these two factors allows for LIVE to have great exposure due to
the lack of knowledge and presence of the product within the given market.
(2) Saves effort, time, and money. The overall cost of a series, selection, or bundle of LIVE Meal
Supplement powder would be cheaper than the collective cost of ingredients and overhead costs
(electricity and gas for stove for example) for making the equal amount of meals, therefore by
consuming the supplement the effort of preparing the meals is diverted, along with this money is
saved too. By replacing the meals with the supplement , time is saved as all that needs to be done
is the powder must be shaken with the water and the meal is ready, this eliminates the preparation
and cooking time of making the solid food meals.
(3) Useful. The LIVE Meal Supplement is useful for those who lack basic cooking skills or for those
who live very hectic lives where spending time preparing and eating meals is inconvenient.
(4) High in necessary daily dietary components. LIVE meal supplement is composed of different
carefully selected ingredients that result in a product that supplies the consumer with all of the
necessarily needed dietary components, this includes the optimum macronutrient ratio, a range of
needed micronutrients, and this is inclusive of a variety of different vitamins and minerals, and
high fibre content.
(5) Supported by extensive research and laboratory analysis that prove the wide range of
benefits provided by consuming the product, along with verifying the safety of consuming
the product. The product has gone through immense research and laboratory testing and analysis,
this includes the analysing and evaluation of the different ingredients, the manufacturing methods,
and the final product itself. This not only ensured and supported the stated benefits of the product
but also ensured that the product is 100% safe for consumption for those 16 years of age and
above (excluding those who have certain health issues).
(6) LIVE uses advanced technology. LIVE tries to use the most advanced technology available to it
for the manufacturing and processing of its product. As LIVE is an online based organisation,
using the most advanced and updated software allows for LIVE for optimum customer
satisfaction.
(7) Just In Time (JIT). LIVE uses JIT for distribution, this maintains the freshness of the product
and thus allows for the longest possible expiration time from when the customer receives the
product to when the product is said to expire.

WEAKNESSES:

30
 (1) Limited geographical presence. As LIVE currently caters only to the UAE, it has a limited
geographical presence where as many of its competitors have a larger geographical reach and thus
are able to gain a larger customer base. Soylent caters to the United States, Canada, and other
countries through programmes
(2) High substitute offerings available. As the product is a meal supplement there is a wide variety
of different substitutions available for consumers to buy instead. These substitutions include actual
solid food and other similar products, such as shakes and other meal supplements.
(3) Price of product is high compared to substitutes. Although LIVE has tried to ensure the lowest
possible price for the quality of product being offered, the price point is still higher for those who
don’t make a middle-class steady income. Along with this the price of substitutes can be much
cheaper, down to half of the price of LIVE Meal Supplement, for example a chicken burger from
McDonald’s would cost AED 6 whereas a meal from LIVE would cost AED 9-13.
(4) Over cautious public. When it comes to nutrition there is a lot of sceptical information and
reviews posted on the internet through different platforms. Much of this information is based on a
minute amount of factual information and more on opinionated based reviews; this can lead to the
public being very cautious about trying new products that are out of their regular routine and
regular daily exposure.
(5) Flavour Limitation. LIVE currently only offers 5 different flavours, where as in comparison its
competitors (other similar products or other forms of food provide a larger spectrum of flavours
and thus are able to cater to a larger spectrum of consumer preferences.
(6) No satisfaction of solid food. As the product is to be taken in liquid form, thus being a liquid
meal, there is no satisfaction of consuming solid food.

OPPORTUNITIES:
(1) Scope for expansion. As LIVE is considered a start-up organisation, there is great scope for
expansion in multiple fields. One of the fields being geological expansion where LIVE would aim
to expand its market and cater to a great range of markets, starting with expanding within the
GCC/Middle East first then looking to expand internationally.
(2) Flavour variety. As previously stated LIVE currently offers 5 different flavours, thus this allows
for the opportunity for LIVE to explore new flavours and incorporate them into their product
portfolio.
(3) Relatively new product. Being a relatively new product type in the UAE serves as an opportunity
as it means that the scope for immersing and expanding within this particular market for this
product is high. This also allows for LIVE to become a leading competitor in this specific product
industry through pursuing and implementing the right, beneficial, marketing strategies.
(4) Collaborations. The opportunity of increasing and improving LIVE’s exposure and reputation
presents itself through the act of creating collaborations. This can be done in multiple ways.
Collaborate with fitness and nutritional based events that take place in the UAE. Collaborate
through Instagram with UAE based “Public Figures” that are either within the fitness and
nutritional fields or that are of a young adult age with a large following.
(5) Expand product Range. LIVE currently offers only one type of product. This allows for the
opportunity to expand the product range. LIVE can expand its product range to other forms for
meal supplements such as bars and soups and/or expand its product range through the introduction
of different types of products such as protein shakes and bars.
(6) Expand online media base. As the internet is ever-growing and the percentage of individuals on
social media is increasing constantly, the opportunity for LIVE to increase its online media
presence is available. This would result in greater exposure and thus a larger potential customer
base. This can be done in multiple ways such as being present on a large number of different
social media platforms as well as uploading paid advertisements
(7) Growing interest in active lifestyle. Over the past few years the UAE has seen a significant
increase in the appeal of fitness and nutrition through its residents. The government has also
started to get involved and host active life events, such as Dubai 30 Day Fitness Challenge 2017.
As LIVE falls in the fitness and nutrition category, this increased attraction to an active lifestyle
serves as an opportunity.

31
THREATS:
(1) Increasing competition. Although the UAE is gaining exposure to the active life concept which
serves as an advantage, this also comes with the threat of increasing competition. As the active life
product and service industry expands and grows, the organisations involved within that industry
begin to introduce themselves and emerge within the market resulting in a greater numbers of
competitors.
(2) Government regulations for the manufacturing process. Changing governmental laws and
regulations serve as a threat to LIVE as there is no alternative to following them. For example if
laws regarding the certificates and permits needed to sell FMCG products changes then LIVE
would have to invest effort, money, and time to adjust to the change. Other examples would
include labour laws and taxation laws.
(3) Recession. Economic stability is usually unpredictable, or only predicable to a certain extent. If
the economy falls and recession hits, this would result negatively to large percentage of businesses
running in the UAE. During a recession many people lost jobs and there is less disposable income
for them to spend. Although the aspect of fitness and nutrition isn’t harmed to a great extent
during a recession as it an industry that is always present regardless of the circumstances,
additional accessibilities, such as gym memberships and supplements are no longer seen as
necessities and are let go of. Therefore at a time of recession LIVE is at risk of drastic sales drops.
(4) Cheaper alternatives and/or substitutions. As previously stated, LIVE is up against a wide
range of different competitors including those selling solid food, as well as those with similar
products. The UAE is known for ‘experience and luxury”, this includes the aspect of food and
drinks. The food industry in the UAE has rapidly grown over the past 5 years and continues to do
so, therefore this means that not only has the number of competitors increased and the number of
potential competitors continues to increase but also the challenge of having a vast selection of
various alternatives and substitutions has increased accordingly.
(5) Authenticity questionability. As previously mentioned the factor of a cautious public means that
there may be a negative outlook towards meal supplements. This is not only a weakness but also a
major threat. The threat that potential customers would start to question the authenticity of the
product regardless of the scientific backing and support remain inevitable.

Recommendations based on SWOT analysis:

LIVE has several different strengths in its favour and thus is able to use these strengths to its
advantage. Based on the strength it is shown that it is a customer preferable product in the
sense that this is a customer niche towards products in the field of which LIVE caters to. These
strengths are similar to those of its competitors but if executed in a manner that is different it
competitors it will be able to gain a sense of differentiation among its customer base. Although
LIVE has a series of different strengths playing to its favour, based on the SWOT analysis it also
has a range of different weaknesses that it must be able to find a way to counteract in order to
ensure its survival. In reference to the SWOT LIVE has a wide range of different opportunities
that are present for it to take advantage of. These opportunities will not only give them an upper
hand in terms of beating its competition within the UAE but will also allow for it to be able to
expand internationally. LIVE must find a way in which it can both market its organisation as well
as its products to counteract all the possible threats that is has.
Based on the SWOT analysis there a certain key factors that LIVE must factor in order to ensure
the survival and growth of the organisation, some for these points include:
- Marketing the products in such a way that potential customers would not go for cheap,
alternative products.
- Expand into different markets where there is scope.
- Play towards its strengths, finding a way in which each of the strengths can counteract a
weakness that is present.
- Expand the product range.
- Ensure that LIVE follows all the laws that set in place in the markets its operating within.

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PESTLE ANALYSIS OF LIVE MEAL SUPPLEMENT:

A PESTLE analysis is another analytical tool that is used to determine and evaluate different factors that
affect an organisation. A PESTLE analysis focuses on external factors that affect and influence an
organisation. PESTLE is an acronym for six different external factors.
P = Political.
E = Economical
S = Social
T = Technological
L = Legal
E = Environmental

POLITICAL FACTORS:
(1) Regulations: LIVE has to follow certain regulations for each of the aspects concerning the
production and selling of the product. These will be further discusses in the “Legal Factors’
section of the PESTLE analysis. Some of the regulations include those for ingredients and organic
and GMO foods.
(2) Shelf-space: This factor is in regards to when LIVE expands and starts to sell its products through
other retailers such as nutritional pharmacies. This factor concerns the policies of the retailer and
the shelf space that can be bought by LIVE to showcase its products, along with the product quota
that is accepted within individual stores.
(3) Political Stability of economies: The political stability of the economies in which LIVE operates
(currently only the UAE market, and therefore only the UAE economy) directly influences the
organisation as a whole and the sales of the products. When LIVE expands to different markets,
and starts outsourcing manufacturing and packaging services along with having overseas facilities,
the political economies of those countries/ regions would also directly influence the organisation
as well as the sales of the products.
(4) Improved intergovernmental cooperation: The current trend of intergovernmental cooperation
allows for the existence and ease of opportunities regarding global expansion.

ECONOMIC FACTORS:
(1) Economic stability: The economic stability of the economies in which LIVE operates is a
crucial factor to the survival and growth of the organisation. The more stable economy, the
more disposable income available amongst potential customers and thus more potential sales.
Changes in economic stability directly affect the businesses operating within that given
market.
(2) Recession: If recession hits in an economy that LIVE is operating in, it would have negative
repercussions. During a recession, companies are usually forced to cut back on their employee
number due to the circumstances, and thus the unemployment rate increases. As the
unemployment rate increases, the percentage of disposable income available decreases and
this in turn leads to a decrease in sales of items that are not necessities.
(3) Fluctuating overhead and transportation cost: Changes in overhead cost such as electricity
prices and rent can influence the overall revenue the organisation. If the overhead costs
increase then LIVE would have to put more money into addressing the overhead costs needed
to run the organisation. The same concept is followed through the aspect of transportation. If
the petrol prices increase then the overall costs for vehicle transportation would increase and
LIVE would have to invest more money into its transportation channels.
(4) Fluctuating labour costs: fluctuating labour wage laws/cost would directing influence LIVE,
for example if labour wage increases then LIVE would have to increase the wages for its
labour and thus would be reducing its revenue if the sales remained the same
(5) Rapid growth of economies: High economic growth rates serve as an advantage as they
provide an opportunity for expansion and growth.

SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS:
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 (1) Increasing cultural diversity: Based on middle-eastern culture, the concept of having proper
meals is expected; the act of finding alternatives and missing out on meals is generally frowned
upon. Over three quarters of the UAE’s population is comprised of expatriates, and thus there
is a collection of different cultures present within the UAE. In western cultures, the idea of
meal supplements and taking supplementations are more common. This concept of western
culture has begun to immerse itself within the UAE culture. This aids LIVE as it means that
more people are open to the idea of its products and this in turn means more potential
customers.
(2) Increasing wealth gap: An increasing wealth gap can affect LIVE in two different ways
depending on the situation. If the wealth gap increases then that means that the segregation of
classes becomes more evident, usually not in favour of the wealthy. The upper-class segment
decreases in size with the lower class segment increasing; this means that there are fewer
people who are able to afford the LIVE products as they are targeted to the middle class and
up.
(3) Increasing emphasis on a healthy lifestyle: The UAE is being increasing attracted to the idea
of a healthy and active lifestyle. This can be shown through examples such as the Dubai
governmental initiative, Dubai 30 Day Fitness Challenge. This is beneficial to LIVE as the
company would fall under the health and fitness industry.
(4) Increasing busy lifestyle: People have started to live more busy lifestyles therefore meaning
that their free time is minimised. LIVE is beneficial to people with busy lifestyles because it is
a quick and effortless product that will be able to satisfy the customers.

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS:
(1) Increasing R&D investments: In the fitness and nutrition industry, the R&D departments are
highly focused on; this serves as an advantage and a disadvantage to LIVE. It serves to be
advantageous in the sense that it means that there is a large amount of research available for LIVE
to use in its R&D department as well as he fact that there is a lot of scope in the field. It is
disadvantageous because of the fact that many other organisations are focusing on the same
innovations and developments therefore the chances of the other organisation reaching a similar
development first or developing the same or extremely similar product first is high.
(2) Improving knowledge management systems: As constant improvements in knowledge
management systems are taking place, LIVE can take advantage of this by exploiting the benefits
of using knowledge management systems in such a way that they support certain business process
that occur, such as strategic decision-making.
(3) Increasing the use of internet usage: There has been a significant increase in internet usage
around the world over the past few years. As LIVE is an online based organisation, the increasing
use of the internet serves as an opportunity as LIVE will be able to gain a greater reach to potential
customers through not only online based advertisements and promotional methods but also
through the chance of people unintentionally finding the website.
(4) Increasing mobile technology usage: Alongside the increase in internet usage, there has been a
significant increase in mobile usage. This allows for future plans such as LIVE developing a
mobile adaptable site version of the original website, as well the possibility of developing a LIVE
application which will be available in the GooglePlay and AppStore.
(5) Use of website based technology: There is an increase in the technology used for the production
of websites and online businesses, as well as constant advancements in the technology. LIVE can
use this to its advantage to ensure the highest possible quality for their website in terms of overall
site quality, customer satisfaction, and IT application.
(6) Advancements in storage and manufacturing technology: There is a constant increase and
improvement movement in the industry of storage technology as well as manufacturing
technology. LIVE can use this to its advantage by researching and adapting itself to fit the best
suited technology for its business operates as well as the best suited technology based on its
customer preferences.

LEGAL FACTORS:
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 (1) Environmental protection laws: Certain laws are put into place stating the regulations based on
the environmental protection policies that an organisation needs to follow within that specific area.
LIVE would have to ensure that it does not violate any of the laws set by the UAE government in
terms of manufacturing the products in a way which minuses and/ or eliminates any environmental
issues.
(2) FMCG laws: The UAE has very specific laws in regards to FMCG products, from packing based
laws and regulations to sells method laws. LIVE will have to ensure not to violate any of these
laws when producing and selling its products.
(3) Food and beverage laws: The UAE has very strict laws in terms of what food and beverages are
to be served within the country, along with this the emirates have different laws amongst them.
LIVE has to be able to ensure that none of its products go against the set laws of the UAE in terms
of the ingredients used to produce the products.
(4) Pollution laws: Certain laws against pollution have been put into place, laws such as those in
regards to carbon emission and waste disposal. LIVE uses plastic for the containers in which the
meal supplement powder is sold in therefore the organisation must include a suitable disposable
method on the packaging of the product. Along what that it needs to ensure the carbon emission
that is being produced through the manufacturing processes.
(5) Health and product safety regulations: Certain health and safety regulations are put into place
and must be followed, such as FDA approval. LIVE must ensure to have all the appropriate
certifications and approvals needed to sell its products within the markets it operates within.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS:
(1) Emphasis on business stability: They the appeal of organisations being environmentally
friendly and environmental based laws that are put in place, many businesses have started to
focus on emphasising sustainability and stability within their business operations, thus making
the organisation and its products more appealing to potential customers. LIVE must focus on
finding ways in which it can integrate the aspects of stability and sustainability into its
business operations.
(2) Global warming and climate change: Changes in climate change result in changes in the
growth of produce and the increase in investments into the growth of produce. As LIVE uses
all natural ingredients for the production of its products, this factor was directly influence the
organisation. If there are changes present in the growth or manufacturing of the ingredients
needed then LIVE would have to find a way to counteract the change, either by finding new
ingredients to use that are still in line with its values of using entirely natural ingredients and
finding new suppliers.

Recommendations based on PESTLE:

LIVE is still a relatively new organisation and is considered a start-up company, therefore it needs
to be able to place itself into the UAE market and future markets in such a way that maximises
the benefits of its introduction. Based on the PESTLE analysis that was carried out it is shown
that LIVE is presented with numerous opportunities for a various range of different fields,
including customer satisfaction and recognition, along with other opportunities regarding growth
and expansion plans. Although a large amount of opportunities are shown, the PESTLE analysis
has also proven to show a series of different threats that are present or possible facing LIVE.
These are inclusive of competitor based threats, manufacturing and production based threats,
along with various others. There are a certain key points that LIVE must be address in order to
ensure survival and growth based on the results of the PESTLE, some of the points are:
- Expansion into new markets, starting with the Middle East, as most of its competitors
operates in multiple markets.
- Business stability and sustainability.
- Supply chain diversification.
- Expanding the product range and portfolio.

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STP:
ON THE BASIS OF DEMOGRAPHICS
Age’
We will be selling our products who are 16 and above (basically teenagers and middle aged men and
women) we don’t sell it to children
Income
We will be targeting people that are middle class and above

ON THE BASIS OF OUR PHYSCHOGRAPHICS

 we specifically target individuals that live a healthier lifestyle or want to live a healthier life style.
We also target people that aren’t so price sensitive

ON THE BASIS OF LIFESTYLE

 the kind of people that we are targeting in the UAE as far as lifestyles is concerned is people who
are in to fitness and sport activities for instance soccer, football, basketball etc.
\

ON THE BASIS OF BELIEFS AND VALUES

 since we are targeting the UAE we are extremely cautious as to what is in the meal supplements
the UAE market is monitored by the government , so we cant add any pork or alcoholic based
ingredients with in the meal supplement because most of our future consumers will reject our
products due to their religious beliefs

ON THE BASIS OF LIFE STAGES

 we are expected of people in the UAE to be consuming our meal supplements until their between
60 to 66.

ON THE BASIS OF GEOGRAPHY

 We will be targeting the rural areas of the UAE market considering the fact that it is densely
populated.

ON THE BASIS OF BEHAVIOUR

 We will be targeting people that aren’t into home cooked meals considering the fact that most of
the workers In the UAE work for long hours and don’t have much time to prepare food for
themselves , so then they may buy our products because its less time consuming

ON THE BASIS OF BENEFIT

 our customers will gain nutriounce that will benefit them in so many ways like cleaning out the
digestive system. It carries zero artificial boosts as supposed other meal supplements

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