Differences in Two Distinct Product Categories

Soft Drinks and Smartphone Apps Product Categories
Introduction
Product categories allow marketers to classify products into meaningful categories that assist them in deciding on the appropriate strategies and methods that will assist them in promoting a particular product. Product categories are the primary method for grouping products that have similar features. Each category will have a distinct marketing strategy and even if the target market might be similar. This is because each category will be geared towards a different aspect of an individual's life. The two categories we are discussing are soft drinks and smartphone apps. These two categories will have different marketing strategies because they target different aspects of the consumers’ needs and wants. Understanding the product category for a brand is vital for marketing because each category will require a different marketing approach. There are glaring differences between the two categories especially because one is considered to be mature and the other is still growing. Therefore, there will be differences in pricing, advertising, and distribution methods applied to the two categories.
Market Differences Regarding Consumers and Competitors
For the soft drink category, a majority of consumers tend to pick a particular soda and will generally ignore the other flavors. This has nothing to do with the taste of the particular drink, but rather due to the subtle marketing that accompanies the soft drink. Competition in the category might be fierce since each brand is fighting to increase its market share. However, the most effective method for reaching out to consumers is by calibrating every aspect of marketing a particular brand in order to create an identity around the product. This ensures that an individual is able to identify with a particular brand and will, in turn, ignore the other brands.
However, for the smartphone apps category, it is very different. Consumers will only install an app that they feel will make their life easier in a particular manner (Wang, Xiang, Law, & Ki, 2016). Considering that there are numerous options out, smartphone app marketing has to be tied to how the particular app will be useful to the consumer. Smartphone app consumers need to test out the application to determine its fit in their life. Therefore, offering free versions of the app is one of the ways to allow consumers to test a particular app. Since there are numerous apps attracting consumers is not an easy task. Smartphone apps marketers have to ensure that their apps offer value above those of the competitors. This is beneficial to not only attract new users but to also retain them for future activity.
Decisions on Price, Advertising, and Distribution Channels
The soft drinks category can make use of direct salesforce and wholesale relationships to increase their distribution channels. However, the smartphone apps category has to rely heavily on the app marketplace in order to distribute their apps. It is also possible to make use of social media and other online resources owned by the company to distribute the company's apps. Pricing for the soft drink’s category is competitive and there is no room for increasing prices. Therefore, brand managers have to ensure that they maintain the price of the product to match that of their consumers. Pricing on the smartphone app is based on the features that a consumer desires to have or use (Wang et al., 2016). Additional features are charged differently based on what the features offer the consumer/user. Advertising for both categories is vital and while soft drinks would be advertised both offline and online. Smartphone apps are mostly advertised online especially on social media and other online advertising platforms.
The family life cycle is important to marketing because it allows a marketer to understand the stage a particular person is in life (Bernini & Cracolici, 2015). This is also beneficial in that marketers are able to push for their products in order to target particular groups of people based on where they are in life. Having a targeted marketing strategy will ensure that a brand is able to reach out to all individuals in the different stages of life.
Conclusion
In order for a brand manager to effectively push for their particular brand, they need to ensure that they understand the category that the brand falls under. This will ensure that they also know their consumers and competitors. The soft drinks and smartphone apps categories are very different and they both require different marketing strategies in order to reach out to the potential consumers. Competition is fierce in these two categories and each brand should ensure that it is able to remain relevant and attract new consumers. Pricing, advertising, and distribution in the two categories are very different because they have different offerings for the consumer.


References
Bernini, C., & Cracolici, M. F. (2015). Demographic change, tourism expenditure and life cycle behaviour. Tourism management, 47, 191-205.
Wang, D., Xiang, Z., Law, R., & Ki, T. P. (2016). Assessing hotel-related smartphone apps using online reviews. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 25(3), 291-313.