Target Marketing Strategy & Marketing Mix (4Ps)

Published in Services category by MBA Skool Team

Marketing Strategy of Target analyzes the brand with the marketing mix framework which covers the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). These business strategies, based on Target marketing mix, help the brand succeed in the market. Let us start the Target Marketing Strategy & Mix to understand its product, pricing, advertising & distribution strategies:

Target Product Strategy:

The product strategy and mix in Target marketing strategy can be explained as follows:

Target is one of the leading retail brands in the world. Everyday essentials have a dominant demand in the market all the time. Target provides the shopping service for all products those products which are considered essential in daily life. The product variety is broad which leads to the concept of one-stop-shop for customers. Target supplies commodities required every day and even provides variety in that too.

Target also offers REDCard Service for household essentials, fashion and accessories, Pet supplies, Groceries at discounted prices in their retail stores or through their digital sales channels. There are also pharmacies located into their stores which increases the breadth of the product line. Other than Target Pharmacy, the company also has Walk-in Clinic, Optical, Photo Centre and other stores. This covers the Target marketing mix product strategy.



Image: flickr-photos/jeepersmedia/


Target Price/Pricing Strategy:

Below is the pricing strategy in Target marketing strategy:

Target offers remarkably price- differentiated products that no other retailer in the industry has been able to match. Target provides goods at discounted prices.

The company offers the “Target Visa card” which allows the customers to shop on credit. Packaging Pricing policy of Target provides a variety of deals including buy one get one free deals, buy 2 get 1 free, etc. Target Corp competes with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com. The tough competition is one of the reasons Target has to come up with brilliant pricing strategies. Target aims to match price offered by online retail giants. It offers discount for all online purchases. It also offers discount during the holiday seasons on shipping charges.

Target Place & Distribution Strategy:

Following is the distribution strategy in the Target marketing mix:

This is an extremely important part of Target’s marketing process. One of the major goals of the firm is to become a one-stop-shop for customers. Target distributes the vast majority of merchandise distributed to the stores through a network of distribution centres. It provides general merchandise through its Website, Target.com and Target stores.

Common carriers supply general merchandise to and from the distribution centres.


Target Promotion & Advertising Strategy:

The promotional and advertising strategy in the Target marketing strategy is as follows:

Target’s catch phrase ‘Expect more, pay less’ focuses on higher quality product at low prices. Target has many promotional strategies which include commercials, flyers, special offers and coupons. The company also relies heavily on newspapers and television commercials. Target circulars are delivered to 50 million households every week. Their weekly ad is also posted on the Internet. Target has a digital presence over Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, Instagram and other social media platforms. Target also sends direct mails to their loyal guests. Target has tried different promotional strategies. For example, the company applied “Black Friday” promotional strategy. The company has also announced a “10 Days of Deals” promotion, offering daily discounts on electronics, kitchen ware, toys and more.


Since this is a service marketing brand, here are the other three Ps to make it the 7Ps marketing mix of Target.


People:

Target has employed approximately 340,000+ full-time, part-time and seasonal employees, referred to as "team members." Brian Cornell is the Chairman and CEO of the company. The company's employees focus on serving the customers at all the retail outlets.


Process:

Target has a strong distribution network. Vendors and third party distributors deliver the merchandise directly to the retail outlets. Digital sales channels employ common carriers to distribute the merchandise. The strong distribution ensures product availability and reduces delivery times and shipping costs.


Physical Evidence:

Target distributes the products through a network of 40 distribution centres. There are 1,700+ retail outlets located across the US. The company has executive offices in 1000 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company website also gives an insight to all the services offered by the company. This covers the marketing mix of Target.


About Target:

Target Corporation is one of the largest discount retailer and mass merchandiser in the United States. It offers everyday essentials at discounted prices. The company was founded by George Dayton in 1902 and was called “Goodfellow Dry Goods” at that time. Target is headquartered in Minnesota. The company’s retail sector includes the discount store Target, the hypermarket- “Super Target”, and flexible format Target stores and Target Express which are merged under the Target branding.

The company refers to its customers as ‘guests’. The company’s mission is to enhance the guest-experience and deliver value to them in every purchase.

This article has been researched & authored by the Content & Research Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

Browse marketing strategy and 4Ps analysis of more brands similar to Target. The Marketing Strategy & Mix section covers 4Ps and 7Ps of more than 800 brands in 2 categories.

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The names and other brand information used in the Marketing Strategy & Mix section are properties of their respective companies. The companies are not associated with MBA Skool in any way.

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