Portobello Road was a large open market. Venders
with all different ethnicities lined the street selling goods. The marketing
mix played a huge role in which vendors had full booths, and which vendors had
empty booths. What I enjoyed most was the variety of products offered. I saw
everything from original Rolling Stones records to the best “Jam Cream Do Nuts”
I have ever eaten.
Product: If a vender was selling something in high
demand they had more customer interest. High interest goods included food and
clothing. I bought a lot of food while walking around. Meat stands had more
people on line than vegetarian stands. Meat was more desirable and people were
willing to wait for it. One stand that attracted a lot of attention was a coconut
juice stand. It was run by a man with lots of enthusiasm trying to sell an undesirable
product. After receiving an order he would split open a large coconut with a machete
and put a bright colored swirly straw and paper umbrella in it. I stood with a
crowd of other potential customers watching him at work as he filled the few
orders placed. I believe that if he had a better product more people would but
it. For example, if he used oranges I would have gotten one. The pastry stand
that sold me my Jam Cream Do Nut had a broad and deep product mix. Their Do Nut
product line included frosted, powdered, sprinkled, jam creamed, gustard, and plain
Do Nuts. Their muffin product line included chocolate chip and blueberry
muffins. Offering even more products there was something for everyone, and
everyone got more than one.
Place: Where a vendor’s stand was located proved to
be very important. I noticed many of the food stands were near each other. A
hungry consumer had many options to choose from when deciding what to eat.
Venders with less exposure from the street attracted less attention. When
looking for food I went to an area with a high volume of food venders to
compare their products and prices. I didn’t bother looking for hidden food
stands away from the main group. People are very picky when it comes to food. One
small difference between two similar vendors will be the difference between a
sale and watching someone walk away. It is important to have a competitive edge
in an open market with similar goods. An environmental factor that goes into
place is location cleanliness. I wouldn’t go near booths with garbage and dirt lying
around them. If a clothing booth had old food wrappers on the ground I walked
until I found a clean one.
Price: If two vendors located near each other were
selling similar products in high demand the stand with the lower price had more
business. Most of the food vendors sold water. Since water is a commodity, the
stand with the cheapest water sold more. Low priced water made money because
vendors sold in high volume compared to high priced water where venders made
money on their profit margin. I saw the same sized waters priced anywhere
between one and three pounds. Many vendors had special deals which enticed
customers to spend more money. Special deals included offers such as “buy one
get one half off” or “but two get one free.” Another offer was “£1.20 or 3 for £3.”
I wasn’t willing to spend a large amount of money on a single item because no
returns could be made at the open market. All sales were final and as is so I
made only low risk purchases.
Promotion: Self-promotion is essential in an open
market setting. Vendors who were full of energy yelling at potential customers
invoked more interest. When I walked down Portobello Road I heard venders
calling out what they were selling and what it was priced at. With so much
going on at once it was difficult to look at every booth. If I heard something
I liked I would follow the vender’s voice until I saw them. Almost every
non-food booth I went to let me touch the merchandise. If I touched a shirt
with a nice feeling material I was more open to buying it. I like to feel
products because it helps to better assess their value. For me, high quality
means high value.
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