Introduction
Marketing strategy allows an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities so as to increase its sales and achieve a competitive advantage over its competitors. Hydroxycut and Xenadrine have different marketing strategies. A good marketing strategy should have the users’ interests at heart. A company should not mislead the users on the use of a product in an attempt to gain more customers. Honesty leads to customer confidence and trust. The main aim of any marketing strategy is to have as many customers as possible and maintain the customers. However, if false information is presented then the customers may buy the product but once they realize they have been duped then they will tend to shy away from that particular product. In this research we explore the use of different marketing campaigns by Hydroxycut and Xenadrine and their pros and cons.
Hydroxycut
Hydroxycut is one of the most popular pills on the market. This product has however been marred with incidences of misinformation in their marketing strategies that resulted into the product being recalled. The price for the product was relatively lower as compared to other similar products in the market. Since this product has been very successful in the market, it has a big return and a big budget. This has enabled it to perform some advertisements which have in my opinion been very misleading to the users. In their advertisements, they claim the product is tried and tested and that it has been proved clinically that it is safe for use. However, research has revealed that the product causes some health risks.
Their marketing is a bit flamboyant and is mainly focused more on the expected results and not the proven ingredients. This is a frowned option since some of the ingredients which are used for making the product are not only ineffective but also hazardous. Overall the Hydroxycut have a pretty solid marketing campaign which can easily attract the users into purchasing the product. This may however not last for a long time since most frequent users of the product have raised concerns on the long-term effects of the product which have not been very good.
Another marketing strategy that the company uses so as to attract more customers is through pricing. Their products are retailing at an averagely lower price. The product has a big brand name with several advantages on the marketing campaign and we would expect that such a product retails at a relatively higher price. On the contrary, the product retails at an amount similar to other ordinary diet pills. A bottle containing 150 pills retails at $40 which is a very low price.
The company also employs the use of money back guarantee policy. With this policy, users are guaranteed on the performance of the product. They are using this policy to attract more customers and gain customer confidence. Their money back guarantee is only a 30 day money back guarantee which is not enough time for a person to realize the pros and the cons of using a particular product. However, it is a good undertaking as they have some form of guarantee.
The Hydroxycut supplement for weight loss has been in the market for some time now and contains a mixture of various substances. It was originally prepared using ephedra. Some of the products that are used for making the Hydroxycut do no have any weight loss capabilities. The latest advertising campaign for Hydroxycut features Brandy Flores. They chose Brandy Flores because she has a long career as a fitness competitor and a model. This as used so as to boost their marketing since the Hydroxycut is mainly meant for the achievement of weight loss.
Using Brandy Flores was a step so as to show the results that a person is likely to get when he/she uses Hydroxycut supplements. Hydroxycut keeps on telling its audience that Brandy Flores owes her great body to the weight formula provided by Hydroxycut. The ‘before’ print picture of Brandy Flores was taken just after she delivered a baby. However, this is not mentioned in the advert. Hydroxycut wants us to believe that Brandy Flores used Hydroxycut to gain her current body figure as a result of using Hydroxycut products while we know that Brandy Flores stayed focused on maintaining her diet and exercise plan so as to get her current body figure.
Hydroxycut Company wants people to believe that the professional model’s story with her gifted body and the training routine of a fitness competitor was a result of their products. This advert is aimed at convincing people that Brandy Flores who has never been out of weight in her adult life, got relief from the use of Hydroxycut products. In real sense, Hydroxycut people want the consumers to believe that the Hydroxycut products are supplements which have weight loss properties. This is a misleading advert as most of the ingredients used for making Hydroxycut do not have those properties.
The ingredients used for making Hydroxycut include:
Chromium Ploynicotinate – the Federal Trade Commission ha stated that since Chromium Ploynicotinate which is Hydroxycut’s main ingredient has not proven evidence to support weight loss effects, is engaging in unsubstantiated and deceptive advertising.
Hydroxagen Plus – Hydroxycut people claim that it results into weight loss yet there is conflicting data that has shown that it has no effect in either weight loss or gain.
Gymnema Sylvestre – Is extracted from some plant that is used for treating diabetes. There is no evidence that it helps in controlling either weigh loss or gain.
Other ingredients used for preparing Hydroxycut include the Glucomannan which is a dietary fiber for controlling constipation and Alpha Lipoic Acid used for treating diabetes. From this research it can be established that Hydroxycut products have about four ingredients which do not help in gaining weight loss. Therefore the results being shown by their adverts are totally misleading and this is a very poor marketing strategy for any company that is seeking to have its products consumed.
The marketing strategies being deployed by Hydroxycut has been seen to be misleading and some proponents have stated that there is no better place to apply the phrase “buyer be aware” than when referring to Hydroxycut. The Hydroxycut people have a lot of gall and celebrities like Flores should no taint their image by being involved in the dubious activities of Hydroxycut. The product is not as wonderful as the Hydroxycut people claim it is in their marketing campaigns. They are very sneaky in their attempts to convince the buyers that Flores post-partum weight loss is as a result of the product.
In conclusion, the product has aprofessional marketing strategy and this explains the high level of success. Considering the great price and a well founded professional company, Hydroxycut has been successful in attracting customers to purchase their products. However, their dishonesty has made the company lose a lot of money on the law suits that has been filed against the company. The company runs a lot of misleading advertisements which were accompanied by misleading photos. The company failed to address the following issues in its marketing campaigns which has made in lose public confidence and trust:
a) Failed to warn users on the potential risks of using the product. Research has proven that there are complications that develop as a result of using the products. Hydroxycut has not included warnings about the use of their products. It is a requirement that manufacturers need to warn the consumers on the potential dangers that may come along with the use of a given product. However, Hydroxycut has failed to enlighten the consumers on this aspect.
b) Lack of adequate instructions which could ensure the safe use of the product. The packagings of the Hydroxycut products do dot carry sufficient information that can guide the users on how to use the product. They have not included the dosage that should be taken in order to ensure optimum results in the use of the product.
c) Presentation of accurate information – The Company also made false claims about the effectiveness and false testimonies with photographs of those who had used the product. Most of the ingredients as seen above do not contribute towards weight loss or gain as claimed by Hydroxycut. The information being presented about Brandy Flores is also false since Brandy Flores is known as a fitness expert who strictly monitors her dietary intake and has a genetically gifted body. Hydroxycut takes this advantage to claim that Brandy Flores body shape has been as a result of using the Hydroxycut products.
Using false and misleading information may have long term effects in the performance of the company. Now that some of the Hydroxycut products have been recalled it is evident that they are not honest in their marketing campaigns. This leads to company’s losing consumer confidence and may impact negatively on their sales in the future.
Xenadrine
Xenadrine is also used as weight loss supplements. It does not reduce the weight directly but has some mechanisms that it uses in order to reduce the weight loss. It has some ingredients that aid in boosting energy in the body. Once the energy has been boosted, using a series of recommendations for body exercises and some form of checked dietary trend, weight can be lost as a result. This company uses both print media and online advertisements so as to boost their sales. It has been successful in marketing its products in the recent past due to the high level of sincerity in marketing. They give warnings to the customers on the potential risks of using the products and also indicate the right dosage for their products so as to ensure optimum results.
This company has a very good marketing strategy. They are not promoting Xenadrine as a weight loss wonder pill. It is being promoted as an energy supplement. Considering its use as an energy supplement, then it is a very good product for that purpose. This product is very good when being used as an energy supplement since it contains caffeine. As it is continuously being used as an energy supplement, it also helps in losing weight. The product should be taken with a combination of moderate exercise and a routine healthy diet plan by the user. Most of the customers are satisfied with the use of Xenadrine. This is a good way to advertise since the information being passed by the adverts is true. The ingredients used for making the product have been proven to provide the stated supplements.
Xenadrine supplements are ephedra fee and have an ingredient that acts as a fat burner. Most of the ingredients which are used in the preparation of Xenadrine have been clinically proven. This company also had some wrongful claims about their products but this was removed soon after the Federal trade Commission had litigated them.
The ingredients used for making this product contain caffeine that acts as a stimulant. The stimulant will result into more fat breakdown and more water intake. In the process some fat will be burnt down thus resulting into some significant weight loss.
There are a lot of positive Xenadrine reviews from the customers. This means that most of the states capabilities of the supplements are true. More than 65% of the customers who are using the product are satisfied with it. Almost every customer who used the pills ascertained that they felt some effects as a result of using the pills. It increased their energy level and a further reduction in the amount of fats in the body.
It is well stated in their packaging that the use of Xenadrine should be accompanied with a good diet and moderate exercises. This has been one of the major contributions towards weight loss when using the pill. This is a positive result which can be seen as a result of using the pills. The packages also include instructions of dosage. Proper dosage results into brilliant results and this has also been a positive marketing strategy for the Xenadrine. It is also stated in the packages that for a user to achieve the best results, he/she should accompany the use of the supplements with a sensible diet and an exercise program.
The manufacturers of Xenadrine have indicated the side effects of using Xenadrine. These side effects are as a result of the presence of caffeine in the supplements. The effects include nervousness, sleeplessness and some occasional rapid heartbeats. These have all been stated clearly and the manufacturers are not trying to hide any information from the consumers with an aim to boost their sales. This has contributed towards gaining consumer confidence thus boosting their sales in the recent past. Xenadrine uses the Jersey Shore star Ronnie Ortiz for advertising their products. The advert is very entertaining. In the advert, they tend to show how using the pill can boost a person’s body looks. There is some message that comes out of the advert about addiction where the star states that he planned not to fall in love alone but given Xenadrine he cannot control it. This message is attributed to the fact that using Xenadrine may make a person addictive but usually has positive results. Most of the information that is carried in the advertisements for Xenadrine are honest and represent the true picture of the product. Apparently, they ran some adverts that carried false information but the trend changed after a court suit was filed against them by the Federal trade Commission. There have not been serious cases of negative effects of Xenadrine.
Conclusion
The manufacturer has well indicated that a person should not take more than four tablets in an eight hour period. This is a very good warning which shows that the company has the consumers’ interests in mind. This is different from the marketing strategy being deployed by Hydroxycut that does not take the users interest. They do not warn the users on the potential risks of overdose and do not advise the users appropriately on how they should take the supplements. I would recommend the use of the Xenadrine to Hydroxycut since it has several health benefits and most of the ingredients which are used for making Xenadrine have been clinically proven to produce excellent results. I prefer the marketing strategy being employed by Xenadrine to that of Hydroxycut since Xenadrine are very honest with information about their products. The users are sufficiently warned about the use of the product as opposed to the misleading information which is provided by Hydroxycut that their product is clinically tested and proven. The presentation of false information to the public usually has some dire consequences as it results into users/customers losing trust on the product being advertised.
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