Business and Marketing – Page 8

Implementation Plan, Strategic Controls, and Contingency Plan Analysis

Strategic Plan: Implementation Plan, Strategic Controls, and Contingency Plan Analysis

Introduction

Netgear is a global American networking company dealing with delivery of goods to service providers, businesses and consumers. The company engages in three different business segments including commercial, retail, and service provider. Most of its products are proven technologies including Ethernet, power line and wireless-Wi-Fi. The products distributed by the company are usually reliable and easy to use. The company has over 28,000 retail shops all over the world with its headquarters in San Jose, Calif (Mandy, 2015).

Implementation, strategic controls, and contingency plan

Netgear requires new methods of growth, revenue sources, and product distribution. The implementation plan will identify the best course of action that will steer the business forward including, set objectives action plans, milestones, task and task ownership, resource allocation and tactics. Financial projection with breakeven analysis chart is included in the implementation plan.

The strategic implementation plan is essential because it gives the company as the sense of direction that will lead to its success. An implementation is a strategic option where it gives reasons to draw closer to customers, get a competitive advantage and pursue growth within the organization. It helps in setting dimensions to be followed to achieve the desired outcome (Mandy, 2015).

Planning is the first step in implementing a strategy. This involves contracting the advertising company for them to run the advert. Communicating the change to employees is an important step to ensure that they fully understand what is going on in the organization. Motivating employee especially those that will be involved will ensure the success of the plan. The management of workload that come with change will ensure that employee is not overwhelmed by contracting external resources to assist with other activities especially the advertising company (Mandy, 2015).

Objectives

Objectives, as describe by many authors, refer to measurable, achievable outcomes that are meant to be reached in less or within one year. Goals are usually simple to be easily communicated to all employees from those in top management to those at the lower level. Short term objectives enable those responsible for the company desired needs to break down long-term needs and make them a reality (Mandy, 2015).

Goals are usually broken down into time frames typically from weeks, months, to below one year. Netgear primary objective will be to grow its pool of customer to ensure the increase in sales, maintain customers already in the system by coming up with more reward systems to provide revenue increase and overall growth. The marketing campaign includes giving incentives and rewards to get more clients and to maintain those already in the system (Peter & David, 2014).

Functional Tactics

Functional tactics are statements detailed with activities that the company will use to achieve its short term goals while establishing a competitive advantage. The key activities that to be undertaken in each area include; marketing, finance, and operations that will give the company opportunity to provide services to its clients. Within the organization, corporate managers, business managers, and functional must all agree to come up with a unified strategy and functional tactics that will lead to the achievement of organizational goals (Mandy, 2015).

Outsourcing

Implementation process would then be followed by the outsourcing of different services. Outsourcing is the process of assigning certain jobs traditionally handled by company employees to outside source to take care of it. Outsourcing services is a strategy applied by most companies to help save money and time. Netgear will outsource the services of the best advertising company for them to market our products and services to reach our target audience (Mandy, 2015).

Policies

Policies give guidance to employees on action to be taken that will benefit the organization. Netgear Company, therefore, needs to establish a set of policies that will drive the implementation of the strategy designed. Systems usually control the actions of employees and assigning the right personnel to the task and coming up with strategies that will be used should a problem arise during the implementation process. Policies help the organization to have a clear line of operations through assigning the right employees to take up the job. The set policies include giving Netgear employees actions that are expected to be done by them to ensure the success of set objectives (Mandy, 2015).

Compensation

Payment plans are used to reward employees for their good deeds or for going an extra mile to do tasks assigned to them. This happens when the company set policies to be followed by employees and those who follow them are rewarded for their actions. Netgear Company seeking to improve its overall sales will give incentives and commissions to employees who meet targets given to them as a measure to encourage everyone within the organization to go an extra mile to improve the company sales hence boosting revenue (Peter & David, 2014).

Marketing Operations

Netgear Company will resort both to internal and external marketing to promote products and increase its overall revenue. The main aim of marketing will be to get the customers to know about us and to gain their trust through providing quality services. Marketing activities will be done through TV advertisement and social media platform to ensure broad audience coverage. Those in the company front end will also be encouraged to speak freely with walk-in customers to tell others about Netgear product and services (Peter & David, 2014).

Action items

Action plans are processes carried out within or outside the organization to achieve set strategic goals. Netgear strategic goals are focused on revenue growth, increased sales and marketing activities. Action plans aim at getting customers to trust us more than our competition to ensure their continued support. Contracting an external company to brand our advertisement will be the next step in our action plan. Company employees will also be trained on our new marketing strategies to make them equipped with the knowledge to explain to customers about our new and improved products and services (Mandy, 2015).

Milestones

Milestones are objectives set by a business at a particular span of time assess its achievements. Milestones play a role in reducing investor risks regarding marketing activities, reward systems and time. Netgear corporation marketing segments will be for a span of six months at most depending on the amount to be used on a daily basis and the money quoted by the advertising company. However internal marketing will be carried out up to ten months. After all the general activities the company will then assess the impact of both internal and external marketing to determine if it was a success (Mbaidheen & Alawneh, 2017).

Task and Task ownership

Advertising Company will design the advert and to run it on TV and social media. Front end employees will be trained to equip them with skills that improve business sales. Those assigned with tasks will foresee that it’s complete as they are rewarded (George & Yimin, 2017).

Resource allocation

Netgear Corporation will allocate enough funds to meet its advertising needs and rewards for performing employees. Training of employees to give them required skills will be budgeted for.

Implementation

Successful implementation will be possible through following the set objectives and tactics. The plan will involve looking into the long term strategies and breaking them into manageable short-term goals, functional tactics, Marketing, outsourcing, setting policies and compensation. Following the plan of contracting an advertising company and training internal employees will increase our sales and ensure business growth (Mbaidheen & Alawneh, 2017).

The process of implementation

All the key employees will be engaged or included in the plan and the process of implementing change. Different employees will be assigned specific tasks to work on. They will provide their insights, their fears, challenges and concerns. The next step will be to communicate to them the strategic implementation that the company will be undertaking to make them understand and to feel to be part of the decision. The last step will be to implement the changes once everyone is on board. That is running the advert both with the advertising company and with the help of front end employees.

Risk Management

Netgear Corporation will select the best advertising agency to develop the advert that will ensure growth or increase our customers. Once the advert has been rolled out its impact will be analyzed based on growth of customers immediately and over a period of time. Three month into running the advert; it it’s not successful then the company will reconsider its other option of using internet advertisement.

The verification of strategy effectiveness will be analyzed based on response collected from customers. The marketing strategy will possibly work because of Netgear competitive advantage of having a global brand name which will trigger new customers and those already with us to start taking note of the company and plan to buy from us (Mbaidheen & Alawneh, 2017).

The plan, however, may face the challenge of not reaching a wider market during advertisement since the mediums used may not be effective. The risk will be avoided by contracting efficient advertising company even if we will spend more money. Employees may not be motivated, but we will reward them more to ensure their continued support in internal marketing (Mbaidheen & Alawneh, 2017).

Performance analysis chart for the period 2014-2019

The series 3 represents profit and loses posted; Series 2 represent Company spending while the first series represent growth in customer numbers. The growth in customer number will be high during the first year of implementing advertising activities however the trend will stabilize once all the potential list of clients has been reached hence there will be no big different in our client list over the years.

The company spending will be a bit high in the first two years from rolling out the strategy because it means more resources will be allocated than the normal budget. However, the situation will stabilize later and the budget will go a little bit down. The company during its first two year of implementing the strategy will get little returns in terms of profit but once the number of customers buying from us increases the company will post more profits over the year (Canadean Company Reports, 2013).

Financial position of Netgear

	Year Ending Dec 2016	Year Ending Dec 2015	Year Ending Dec 2014	Year Ending Dec 2013
Assets
Cash and Equivalents	240.47M	181.94M	141.23M	143.01M
Receivables	313.84M	290.64M	275.69M	266.48M
Inventories	247.86M	213.12M	222.88M	224.46M
Total Current Assets	962.78M	821.14M	822.97M	800.11M
Property, Plant & Equipment, Gross	123.49M	126.54M	118.59M	98.94M
Accumulated Depreciation & Depletion	104.02M	104.15M	88.89M	71.75M
Property, Plant & Equipment, Net	19.47M	22.38M	29.69M	27.19M
Intangibles	37.90M	48.95M	66.23M	84.12M
Other Non-Current Assets	7.98M	7.93M	9.38M	26.59M
Total Non-Current Assets	221.67M	229.43M	225.72M	293.82M
Total Assets	1.18B	1.05B	1.05B	1.09B

Netgear Company has experienced increase in cash flow for the past four years. The subsequent increase is attributed to growth of its business right from increased number of client who subscribes to the company services. For example the company received 143.01 Million dollars in the year 2013 but the cash flow by the year 2016 has risen to reach 240.47 Million dollars. From the financial report Netgear is expected to post increased cash flow this year (Netgear, 2017).

Key Success factors, budget, forecasted financials and break even chart.

The company marketing estimates are 300, 000 thousand dollars for the nine months advertising period.

This excerpt taken from the NTGR 10-Q filed May 7, 2009

Break even chart

Sales and Marketing


	Nine Months Ended
	March 29, 2017			Percentage Change			November 30, 2017
	(In thousands, except percentage data)
Sales and marketing expense	$	25,902			(21.6	%)		$	33,028
Percentage of net revenue		17.0	%						16.7	%

During the first month of implementing the strategy the company will use 25,902 dollars in its spending to get 17.0% net Revenue. In the following months the company will post an average of 21.6% net revenue while spending 33028 dollars monthly in sales and marketing.

References

Canadean Company Reports, (2013). NETGEAR Inc. – Company Capsule: Basingstoke. Dec 18, 2013.

George, G., Yimin, L., (2017). Innovation: Analytics, innovation, and organizational adaptation. Organization & Management; Abingdon19.1. pp. 16-22.

Mandy, L., (2015).Tackling uncertainties in plan implementation: lessons from a growth area in England. The Town Planning Review; Liverpool86.1.

Mbaidheen, M., Alawneh, A. R., (2017). Assessing the Risk of Corporate Strategic Change: The Development of a Framework to Assist the Risk Management Process Adapted By a Contracting Company. International Journal of Information, Business and Management; Chung-Li9.1. pp. 45-57.

Netgear, (2017). Financial Statements. Retrieved From http://investor.netgear.com/financials-Statements.cfm

Peter, W., David, B., (2014). Why, how and to what effect do firms deviate from their intended marketing plans? Towards a taxonomy of post plan improvisations. European Journal of Marketing; Bradford48.3/4. Pp. 453-476.

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Glocalization

“Glocalization”

Introduction

This paper intends to develop a critical assessment of “Glocalization” concept. Furthermore, the paper intends to illustrate how “Glocalization” and the “standardization-adaptation debate” relate.

Part I

Critical Analysis Regarding Relevant Literature

Definition

“Glocalization” is a term used to demonstrate a concept in which, products which are marketed globally are able to adapt to different local markets. Therefore, “Glocalization” refers to a concept in which, within the global market, a given product or a given service, has a higher likelihood of succeeding, when it gets customized according to the culture or the locality where sales of that product are made (Bantimaroudis 2017).

Additionally, based on the “Glocalization” concept, products are designed for the benefit of a specific local market, whereas a simultaneous development of the same products occurs, with the aim of distributing the products globally.

“Glocalization” context in reference to Globalization

“Glocalization” is a term developed from a combination of two broad terms which are the term localization and the term globalization (Drori, Höllerer, and Walgenbach 2014, pp.85). Globalization refers to the global movement regarding interaction or integration by diverse people, different companies, along with governments from dissimilar nations (Frenkel 2014, pp.133).

In contrast, localization refers to the adjustment of original output by different companies within their domicile countries sense. Localization also refers to the suitability of a perception using another language or a different culture (Küster 2016, pp.203). Thus, “Glocalization” results from both the forces of localization, along with the forces of globalization.

The driving idea of “Glocalization” is creating an initial product with a precise foreign marketplace in mind. However, “Glocalization” is more effective and efficient in companies that employ decentralized authority. Notably, employing decentralized authority is a force of globalization.

“Glocalization” presents many benefits to companies, along with the communities utilizing the products developed by the companies involved, or the services offered by the companies. Thus, companies that employ “Glocalization” are able to attend to a bigger market which they have targeted (Akgün, Keskin and Ayar 2014, pp 610). Conversely, the community benefits from increased market competition, which results in a drop in the product prices.

Therefore, “Glocalization” effectively reduces the gap of inequality, whereby individuals who previously could not be able to afford certain products due to the market being controlled by the local monopolies, get the capability of purchasing the products at a cheaper cost.

Therefore, when the term globalization is used, it implies all activities that place globally such as services offered companies available, and people, all being connected globally. However, “Glocalization” describes both global activities along with local activities (Apetrei, Kureshi and Horodnic 2015, pp 1520). Thus, “Glocalization” involves simulation of global activities to the locals. Globalization is thus assumed to be a significant phenomenon globally.

Furthermore, globalization interrelates with post-Fordism. Through globalization, social impacts along with economic impacts are achieved. Therefore, a difference in power or the ability of a company results in uneven social development along with economic development. Consequently, the development of “Glocalization” from globalization is significant in forming both a socioeconomic reality along with a political reality (Asseraf and Shoham 2016, pp 492).

Before the emergence of “Glocalization” people understood the nation state as an acceptable scale for understanding sub-national processes along with international processes. As the nation state faded, then “Glocalization” emerged.

“Glocalization” is characteristic of frequent economic implications, institutional associations along with socio-cultural implications (Hatzithomas, Fotiadis, and Coudounaris 2016, pp1099). Furthermore, it is also evident that scrupulous manifestations regarding global processes may also be witnessed in existing localities, while the supposed duality linking global processes to local processes is not literal.

Notably, “Glocalization” is a combination of the globalization process and localization process. Localization processes involve human beings, single subjects, different organizations, and diverse communities (Japutra, Nguyen and Melewar 2015, pp 102). In contrast, globalization is influenced by the planetary developments. However, global processes are influenced by concrete localities. Thus, “Glocalization” can be interpreted to refer to the act of thinking globally but acting locally.

Markedly, “Glocalization” thus, demonstrates the capability of human beings in mentally overcoming different territorial scales. Considering the economic perspective, global processes are described as turbulent and also volatile. Furthermore, economic subjects that constitute the process of globalization are accessible in specific localities. Therefore, companies are concurrently strongly local and hugely global.

Notably, the reduction of scales used in regulating work, along with scales of social replica corresponds to the increasing scale relating to economic organization and production forces (Magnusson et al 2013, pp 45). “Glocalization” processes along with territorial re-definitions are dominant within the system of finances.

For instance, reports show that the “Speculative foreign exchange market” raised from $15 billion in the year 1970 to above $2 trillion currently (Matusitz 2015, pp84). Notably, to appropriately allocate the flow of finances, the space available and the location to be used are significant. Thus, “Glocalization” becomes significant in attending to the system of finances.

Moreover, “Glocalization” is constantly applied within large economic units. Companies tailor their products along with services based on interests shown by local markets in diverse parts of the globe, which are strongly differentiated (Meyer and Su 2015, pp150). Thus, pecuniary interests play a significant role in “Glocalization” processes. Within a standpoint of an institution, making the authority of a state weaker implies transferring activities to global levels along with local levels.

Reflection on how “Glocalization” concepts transmit to “Standardization-adaptation Debate”

Globally, the debate regarding the significance of standardizing the marketing mix used by multinational corporations or adapting to the local setting has taken over five decades. The debate is however affected by global technological changes and the international economic crisis (Qureshi 2016). The past four decades were characteristic of research regarding “standardization-adaptation debate”.

Notably, research conducted in the 1980s focused on the necessity of companies following adaptation strategies for individual national markets as opposed to having standardization within every national market (Romanov and Kononenko 2014, pp 436). The discussions revealed that while an increase in market similarity was witnessed, and homogenization of markets emerged, companies gained the advantage of marketing similar products or services globally using programs of marketing, which are standardized.

However, critics of the view above dispute that disparity in culture, politic or economics among nations gets underestimated in the view above. Thus, questions develop regarding standardization feasibility. Consequently, other researchers focused on the “contingency approach”, which pays more attention to the desired degree of standardization along with feasible standardization (Roudometof 2016, pp391).

Moreover, due to the modern information developments along with technologies used in communication the debate on standardization-adaptation has increased. In addition, there has been an increase in globalization stream along with the volatility of economic conditions (Roudometof 2014, pp18). The debate, therefore, aims at providing an appropriate framework that exhibits the dynamics associated with adaptation selection or standardization range in elements of a marketing mix that affects how a firm performs.

The framework to be developed is aimed at influencing the advancement of business internationally. Generally, the debate on standardization or adaptation of the strategy for marketing started as an argument on homogenization of world markets, influencing companies to put more emphasis on the match between consumers globally (Schmid, Grosche and Mayrhofer 2016, pp536).

The debate further developed to reveal that the advancement of technologies used in communication and technologies used in transportation influenced market strategies standardization, which also includes a promotion mix. Afterward, there was an increase in agreements regarding multilateral trade, goods, services, information, along with capital started flowing freely.

Thus, globalization was accelerated, which resulted in support towards standardization approach (Some and Issa 2017, pp 925). There was a further reduction in cost influenced by the economic balance in activities of production along with marketing, transfer of experience, utilization of resources in a better way, development of global brands along with company images as part of the benefits realized from having standardization.

Other literature developed the assertion that standardization of the practice of global marketing. Furthermore, the focus was directed on the degree of effects which related to standardization based on the fact that it was understood that when costs are low, there would be an increase in profits (Sudarevic, Radojevic and Lekovic 2015, pp 2740).

However, the debate also develops views claiming that appropriateness of standardization relies on the influence standardization levels have regarding financial performance. When a firm enters international markets, it has to adapt or standardize in their market mix. Elements of a market mix include product, price, promotion and place. Since the 1980s there have been debates whether to choose a strategy of adaptation or standardization (Bantimaroudis 2017).

Standardization can be defined as activities of the market coordinated in many countries that integrate standardized goods and serviced, products of similar brands, corresponding products presented in the markets and advertisement messages that are similar and are usually carried out in numerous countries at the same time (Virvilaite, Seinauskiene and Sestokiene 2015, pp106).

For those scholars who supported standardization, they argued that standardization leads to a greater volume of sales, increased profitability, low cost of production and integrated image worldwide. For adaptation, it was necessary when a firm wants to reach out new sectors of the market or rather when a firm wants to be a leader in the market.

In standardization strategy, there is centralized management of international operations, tastes and preferences of consumers are homogeneous and they completion is global while in adaptation strategy, the management is decentralized with its own country, consumers tastes varies since they are heterogeneous and they compete locally(Apetrei, Kureshi and Horodnic 2015, pp 1521).

A product is anything that a market offer for use or for consuming that satisfies utility. The product is the easiest to standardize in the market mix elements. Product standardization is whereby a company can export their goods and services without changing the product. This is due to homogeneity of products on the market. International companies make sure they develop a global product that can be accepted worldwide.

By choosing standardization strategy, organizations consider that they take into account the needs and demands of local people (Küster 2016, pp.204). Product adaptation strategy comes in when a firm fails to modify the product into a specific market. Products have to be differentiated by branding, changing the design and different packaging.

Distribution channels can be defined as a set of connections of agencies and institutions that link buyers and sellers in a market. Sellers need to understand the channels of distribution for it is a major contributor to company’s success. With a clear understanding of distribution channels, a firm can easily be a leader in the market (Bantimaroudis 2017).

The decision whether to standardize or adaptation depend on various factors such as product, culture and the consumers. Standardization of product is quite difficult due to large variations in distribution channels. Each country has different places of supply and different distribution channels. Places of supply can be supermarkets or even shops or internet (Some and Issa 2017, pp 926). Therefore, distribution channel can be easily adapted since a country differs in distribution infrastructure, habits of purchase and disposable income.

Thus, standardization may be compared to promotion adaptation. Promotion consists of marketing tools used by a firm to persuade consumers to buy the good or service and also builds relationships with customers. Promotion can be achieved through advertising, personal selling, public relations and sales promotion (Bantimaroudis 2017).

Promotion standardization means that firms will use the same promotion worldwide without changing it. By doing so the firms ensure that they minimize costs. Advertising is usually affected due to language barriers, religions, laws, availability of media and difference in the economy all of these factors creates a need for adaptation strategy (Bantimaroudis 2017). Adapting strategy can be done by modifying the advertisement such that each region has its own way of advertising. However, this could be costly.

Standardization can thus be judged against pricing adaptation. Price is the monetary value of a good or service. The decision whether to choose standardization strategy to depend on factors such as preferences of consumers, market competition, inflation and exchange rates and regulations imposed on trades e.g. tariffs and duties. Price standardization means that the centralized office is in charge of fixing the price and the price is applied to all international market (Apetrei, Kureshi and Horodnic 2015, pp 1521).

This strategy ensures risks are minimal but also the profits are not maximized here. In Price adaptation strategy, the price is decentralized to local regions and managers set up price depending on international markets and revenues from consumers (Bantimaroudis 2017). Prices differ from one region into another. This is advantageous because a company can take advantage of the difference in price and sell their products where the prices are high.

Advantages along with drawbacks of the different strategies of Global Marketing

Notably, “glocalization” is developed from the concept of a sphere of cooperation in development and the continuity of processes relating to post-millennial goals (Bantimaroudis 2017). Therefore, “glocalization” does not only imply an essential principle of execution, it also refers to the factors influencing how communities develop, along with having a balance in development globally. In contrast, standardization occurs when there are a variety of products to be exported.

Moreover, the products being exported based on standardization measures should be of acceptable quality (Frenkel 2014, pp.134). Thus, standardization is characteristic of the existence of life cycles. Due to standardization, product changes may be witnessed along with brand changes. Furthermore, standardization is expected to observe various approaches of promoting exports.

“Glocalization” is an efficient tool for developing diverse interest groups along with entire communities. Outstandingly, “glocalization” facilitates the improvement of skills possessed by representatives of diverse communities in simultaneously thinking globally and acting locally, at the time when they are making decisions that relate to activities conducted daily within the community (Akgün, Keskin and Ayar 2014, pp 611).

Consequently, “glocalization” has the potential of creating a society, which is coordinated. Additionally, “glocalization” processes assist in the expansion of development of local along with global communities, which are civic coordinated. “Glocalization” also aids in the creation of a balance in development (Bantimaroudis 2017). Thus, “glocalization” effectively reduces gaps that may exist between individuals and the community, a country and a city, Countries who are members of the European Union and countries having different development levels globally.

Therefore, “glocalization” addresses the aspect of standardization through developing theoretical stops along with viewpoints that relate to the longevity of daily life and the improvement of cooperation (Bantimaroudis 2017). Additionally, “glocalization” addresses adaptability by influencing topicality in the field of politics, topicality in education, topicality in community development along with society development, and topicality on daily life.

Thus, “glocalization” is a significant tool in the achievement of Millennium goals of development along with sustainable goals of development (Akgün, Keskin and Ayar 2014, pp 612). Furthermore, “glocalization” influences global education and existence of development cooperation. Due to “glocalization” processes, there is diversity in experiences along with comprehension improvement. Consequently, “glocalization” is able to demonstrate what good practices are and how the society can efficiently improve the practices.

In standardization, market drivers constitute the following, products that are homogeneous, global channels and customers and transferrable markets. “Glocalisation” helps to improve access to these drivers. This leads to firms benefiting from economies of scale in production, marketing, management, and distribution hence firms maximizes their profits. Due to producing homogenous product or services firms reduces competition in the international market (Some and Issa 2017, pp 926).

There is also the advantage of improved customer fondness which can be attained by increasing appreciation and serviceability globally, increased quality of product and services which are achieved by concentrating resources on a small number of products (Bantimaroudis 2017). However, there are a number of setbacks such as there is a possibility of increasing currency risks, there might also be legal restrictions in some countries due to trade barriers.

Part II

Analysis of how Starbucks Company uses “Glocal” Marketing Strategies and how Costa Company uses “Glocal” Marketing Strategies

The extent of Starbucks Company’s “Glocal Strategy” application

Notably, Starbucks Company creates all its physical locations in a way that accommodates local nuances and cultural nuances. For instance, in China Starbucks Company introduced beverages, which are coffee-free, since there is a local detest of coffee in China (Qureshi 2016). Starbucks also designs its stores in a way that accommodates large groups. Thus, Starbucks creates a seating arrangement, which consumers can adapt more too. Furthermore, Starbucks has a digital strategy, which is “consumer-centric” (Qureshi 2016). Starbucks also incorporates online interaction with offline experience.

The extent of Costa Company’s “Glocal Strategy” application

In contrast, Costa’s most renowned “Glocal strategy” is engaging in partnerships with local companies. Furthermore, Costa relies on the negative publicity of prospective competitors as its “Glocal strategy” (Virvilaite, Seinauskiene and Sestokiene 2015, pp107). In China, for instance, Costa Company entered into a partnership with “Yueda Group”, which is Chinese Company. Thus, Costa Company is able to gain knowledge regarding the local Chinese market from the knowledge “Yueda Group” has regarding customers in China.

Difference in Starbuck’s “Glocal Strategy” and Costa’s “Glocal Strategy”

Starbuck focuses on creating all its physical locations in a way that accommodates local nuances and cultural nuances. In contrast, Costa relies on engaging with local companies in order to conduct its businesses. Thus, Starbuck is more global compared to Costa since, it relies on local nuances along with cultural nuances when creating its physical locations (Some and Issa 2017, pp 927).

Furthermore, Starbuck also penetrates more in the local markets compared to Costa since it conducts its own business without partnerships, hence relies on its own research. Additionally, Starbuck also uses a digital strategy, while Costa relies on strategies employed by its partners such as “Yueda Group”.

Reflection on Starbuck’s “Glocal Strategy” and Costa’s “Glocal Strategy”

Starbuck employs standardization in its “Glocal strategy” by developing theoretical viewpoints relating to the longevity of daily life. For instance, Starbucks creates a seating arrangement, which consumers can adapt more too. In contrast, Costa employs standardization by improving their cooperation with local companies in their target markets.

Furthermore, the “Glocal strategy” employed by Starbuck is influenced by the advancement of technologies used in communication and technologies used in transportation influenced market strategies standardization, which also includes a promotion mix. For instance, Starbuck has a digital strategy, which is “consumer-centric” (Qureshi 2016).

Conclusion

“Glocalization” is an emerging phenomenon in the business world. The paper above has developed a critical assessment of “Glocalization” concept and illustrated how “Glocalization” and the “standardization-adaptation debate” relate. From the paper, it has been clear that through “Glocalization” products which are marketed globally are able to adapt to different local markets.

Furthermore, the essay has revealed that standardization leads to a greater volume of sales, increased profitability, low cost of production and integrated image worldwide. To present a detailed analysis, the essay has considered the case of Starbuck Company along with Costa Company.

Reference List

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Roudometof, V. (2014). Nationalism, globalization and “Glocalization”. Thesis Eleven, 122(1), pp.18-33.

Schmid, S., Grosche, P. and Mayrhofer, U. (2016). Configuration and coordination of international marketing activities. International Business Review, 25(2), pp.535-547.

Some, Y.A. and Issa, M.A., (2017). The success of Brand Extension in “Glocalization”: A Mediation and Moderation Analysis. Pakistan Business Review, 18(4), pp.924-942.

Sudarevic, T., Radojevic, P., and Lekovic, J. (2015). The standardization/adaptation dilemma in agri-food exporters marketing strategies. British Food Journal, 117(11), pp.2739-2756.

Virvilaite, R., Seinauskiene, B., and Sestokiene, G. (2015). The link between standardization/adaptation of international marketing strategy and company performance. Engineering Economics, 22(1), pp.106-117.

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Price Cuts: Case Study

PRICE AND MARKET (WOOLWORTH SUPERMARKET)

MICROECONOMICS ANALYSIS: Price Cuts

Introduction

Significantly, under this section the main object will be to analyze how a certain economic phenomenon by a business is likely to impact on the targeted group and consequently ascertain the end result of such undertakings. Thus, microeconomics gives us an insight of what is likely to be anticipated when certain changes are instigated with regard to the operations of a company and this is important because it can further aid in making proper decisions and initiating sustainable operating strategies.

For this section, the microeconomic issue identified is the cutting of prices of products or equally giving of offers by business. The table below briefly illustrates on the tangible issues that will be further discussed.

TOPIC	QUESTION	TOOL
PRICE CUTS/OFFERS	Why do businesses provide price cuts/offers on products?	Competition Boost sales Brand promotion Market dominance Economic recession Market failure

PRICE CUTS

Undisputedly, the pricing of a certain product eventually determines on whether it is likely to guarantee higher sales or losses. Ordinarily, customers are sensitive when it comes to the price of s product that they want to purchase because if it is not a pocket friendly price, then a majority will opt to buy an alternative product that will equally serve the same purpose but at a reasonable price (Dogan, et al 2013).

Similarly, when operating under a certain field competitors are bound to be present. This means that for one to outsmart them they have to come up with effective strategies to lure more customers to buying their products as compared to the rival’s and subsequently gain a large market share ( Pauwels & D’aveni, 2016). Hence, pricing seemingly plays a vital role under such circumstances.

Important to note is that before a business embarks on an initiative of providing price cuts on its products, there are certain essential factors that must be considered. This is so because not all price cuts may work for the advantage of the company. In fact, it is assumed that most price cuts tend to lead to low profit margin for the concerned business and this may hurt the overall operations of the business.

Among the things to be considered includes the long term implications of price cuts. For instance, one a price cut has been made and new customers have joined the bandwagon of purchasing it, increasing such a price thereafter may lead to loss of these customers as such a business must put in place other plans such as improving the quality of the product so as to demand a higher price because without such modification the initial price cut may end up hurting the business.

So as to answer the critical question of why do various businesses offer price cuts, the subsequent section of this paper will dwell on analyzing the various tools identified in discussing the economic issue.

Competition

Foremost, competition is one of the key features of any market. However, stiff competition may force a business out of the market as only the dominant participants get to have the larger market share. To mitigate such an event occurring, businesses are inclined to offer price cuts to their products so as to retain a fair share of the consumers in the market.

By giving such price cuts, it means that such a company can compete fairly in the area of operation. Accordingly, one can argue that consumer would often resort to buying products at reasonable prices, hence if one of the competitors is offering the same product at a higher price it is highly likely that they will lose buyers to the company that gives relatively cheaper pricing. In such a situation, to promote a fair competitive market, prices will thus be relatively proportionate as a result leading to a fair share of each participant in terms of customers and the market place.

Sales

Significantly, when a product does not sale it may eventually cause the business to succumb to losses. Thus, the concept of sales can be boosted in a twofold channel. First, for new products that have been introduced to a market it is imperative that price cuts are given so as to entice customers into buying the products.

On the other hand, when there are low buy outs of products, then a company may opt to initiate price cuts all in a bid to try and revamp the product. Generally, price cuts that aim to boost the sale of a commodity have to address a certain deficiency. In this way, having reduced prices serves as an effective tool in enhancing the purchase power of consumers towards a specified product.

Brand Promotion

Particularly, for new products that are unknown to consumers, it is vital that price cuts are provided. This is so because, often consumers may refrain from interacting with new products in the market based on aspects such as having a preference of the already existing ones. Such circumstances may impair the emergence of new businesses in that market. Thus, when price cuts are offered as incentives for customers, it id then highly likely that new consumers will indulge in buying the given product based on its reduced pricing.

Market dominance

Naturally, for businesses that operate in the same field of operation the market share that one has over the other largely matters. The market share determines the profit that a company expects to acquire from its sales. Hence, companies are motivated to initiate strategies that would put them at an advantage position over their rivals. One of the ways of doing this is by providing price cuts on the products of the business. Price cuts as aforementioned in the discussed sections are an allure for new customers.

When one business obtains new customers that belonged to a rival company it subsequently means that the former company acquires a large market share. However, such an undertakings has its downside in that it forms a platform for emergence of a monopolistic market structure whereby there is only one dominant player. When this happens, consumers are put in the liberty of that dominant player in the market because such a business has all the power and keys of controlling how that particular market will operate.

Economic recession

Notably, the economic state of a country determines how consumers of products will purchase and spend on products. In the case where the economy is booming and businesses are not financially constrained, consumers are highly likely to purchase products without much limitations or considerations such as on pricing. In this scenario, offering price cuts whereas fellow competitors are not may harm the business because consumers may not give too much concern about their spending.

On the other hand, when there is an economic slump, in that businesses are not doing as well as they would normally do this thus calls for effective measures to retain and attract customers so as to continue operating.

Under an economic recession situation, consumers would preferably want to spend less. To match with such changed dynamics, then one would argue that price cuts on the products of a business are the most viable solution to follow.

Market failure

Considering market failure is a concept that occurs as a result of inefficient allocation of certain resources within the market of operation, then such a situation is consequently likely to affect the operations of the company (Fabella, 2015). For instance, a monopolistic market structure may be deemed as a market failure ingredient based on the fact that new businesses will find it hard to compete in a market that is largely dominated by one player.

Nonetheless, in such a situation a company may opt to provide price cuts on its product so as to try and mitigate the market failure effects which if not diminished will certainly curtail the operations of the other businesses.

Government failure

Significantly, the government is duty bound to make sure that businesses operate in a fair and friendly environment. To do this, certain limitations must be imposed and constraining barriers broken down. For instance, take a situation whereby the government fails to monitor the operations of businesses through relative agencies, in such a situation certain business may drain consumers by instigation undertakings that would solely serve their own interest. One of such an undertaking may be over-pricing on the produced products.

However, such an undertaking may not suit all the businesses within the market as such prompting the need to lower prices of similar goods so as to counter the other business competitors.

SECTION SUMMARY

Nonetheless, there may exist factors that may affect this equilibrium price such that a business may be forced to make adjustments. This is of essence because without such alterations, a business is likely to operate under losses. The aspect of price cuts maybe one of the ways that business may use to reach certain equilibrium.

By giving price cuts it fundamentally indicates that a company aims at first increasing its sales and similarly obtains new customers. Importantly, aspects such as the profit margin that the business aims at must be considered before making such a move. In doing this, prior research is essential because without having knowledge of such information then a business may orchestrate its failure.

CONCLUSION

Foremost, markets are placed that are guided by certain distinctive features that must be observed and preserved so as to allow business to operate efficiently. For instance, without embracing the concept of fair competition between rival businesses, then one may triumph over the other leading to unfair labor practices.

Significantly, the importance of government intervention in market practices cannot be ignored. The government plays a key role in regulation of various aspects of the market so as to facilitate proper co-existence between the firms themselves and the consumers that they serve. Without such an intervention, evidently every business would seek to protect their own interests putting aside all other basic requirements such as offering quality products.

When it comes to the various macroeconomic issues that may affect the operations of markets, first it is important to note that such issues may have a direct effect on the activities of consumers and as a result end up curtailing the operations of the business in the end. Microeconomic issues should be looked at from a wider scope. Their particular effects should be analyzed in depth so that the right techniques are initiated to mitigate on their possible hazards.

Significantly, these issues should never be ignored before they may have adverse effects on the operations of the company as such creating the need to find way to move around them and benefit the business.

Finally, without fair market practices, not only does firms suffer but consumers too share in the same suffering. This calls for proper market practices that protect both the interests of the businesses and consumers so that none is inclined to spear-head their own interests on the expense of the other. Where unfair practices may emerge, it is imperative that even the firms themselves take personal measures and approaches to meditate on the negative consequences.

Reference

Boyd, T. (2015, Nov 28). Woolies crisis to go for years.The Australian Financial Review

Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1736670877?accountid=45049

Dogan, Z., Deran, A., & Koksal, A. G. (2013). Factors influencing the selection of methods and

determination of transfer pricing in multinational companies: A case study of United Kingdom.International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 3(3), 734-n/a. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1392996149?accountid=45049

Fabella, R. V., & Fabella, V. M. (2015). Re-thinking market failure in the light of the imperfect

state. St. Louis: Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1698893264?accountid=45049

Pauwels, K., & D’aveni, R. (2016). The formation, evolution and replacement of price-quality

relationships.Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 44(1), 46-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0408-3

Shazad, M. M., & Miniard, P. W., 2013. Reassessing retailer’s usage of partially comparative

Pricing. The Journal of product and brand Management, 22 (2), 172-179. http://dx.doi/10.1108/10610421311321077

Spillan, J. E., & Ling, H. G. (2015). Woolworths: An adizes corporate lifecycle perspective.

Paper presented at the, 13 1-11. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1731519564?accountid=45049

Sprothen, V. (2016, Mar 11). Investors start to turn on ‘treasure island’; doubts grow about

Australian companies’ ability to keep offering big profits and high dividends.Wall Street Journal (Online) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1772148989?accountid=45049

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Rentall Trucks Case Study

Introduction

This paper will provide an analysis of the case study of Rentall Trucks using Markov Analysis. The problem statement of the case is about legal issues that surrounded the operation of two main competitors in the truck renting industry Rentall and Rentran. The scope of a problem is the extent of perception, action or inquiry of a concept. In our case study, the scope is an omission in the contracts leading to the sale of Rentall Trucks that could cost the firm millions of dollars according to Jim Fox. (Render, Stair, R. Hanna, & Hale 2015). The critical decision issues to be addressed by Rentall Trucks include how to increase the competitive edge and maintain a large market share in the industry.

Analysis

One of the critical elements of the Rentall Trucks case is the fact that during its sale, the contracted law firm omitted a clause that would prove costly in the long-run. Folley, Smith and Christensen failed to include a clause that would prevent Bob Renton from competing directly with the firm. This led to the creation of Rentran. The case provides another critical element in which Rentall faces stiff competition from Rentran, despite the fact that it is only a few months into its operations.

In six months, Bob has succeeded in convincing and poaching a number of key executives from Rentall into his company, Rentran. The firm managed to acquire a market share of approximately 5% in the first few months of its operation while Rentall had 80% and National rentals, another competitor, had 15% (Render, Stair, R. Hanna, & Hale 2015). The Market share determines the portion of a market controlled by a particular firm (Rego, Morgan, & Fornell, 2013).

It is the percentage of total sales in a given market earned by a company (Gale, 2014). Pete Rosen, the president of Rentall Trucks, got concerned about the situation and decided to conduct research to determine future projections of the firm and the market. His concerns were that his firm would be incapable of maintaining 50% of the market in the future.

The case has provided a clear set of facts on the current scenario facing the firms. These facts were established after a research company hired by Pete Rosen conducted an analysis on truck rental customers. The sample size was 1000 potential and existing customers. Of these, 800 were Rentall customers, while 60 and 140 were Rentran and National customers respectively. After one month, the sample was analyzed again.

It was found that 200 Rentall customers switched to Rentran, 80 switched to National, 3 Rentran customers switched to rental, six switched to National, and finally, 14 National customers switched to Rentall and 35 to Rentran (Render, Stair, R. Hanna, & Hale 2015). An in-depth review of the essential issues is offered by these facts.

Solution

In addressing the main points outlined in the case, various recommendations are needed to solve the problem statement. According to Jim Fox, Rentall Trucks could do nothing to correct the problem of the costly contract omission by the law firm Folley, Smith, and Christensen. The only applicable solution would be to formulate and implement effective business strategies.

These strategies would provide a framework through which counter measures would be adopted to prevent Rentran’s activities and market advancements. The policies adopted would be to curb Rentran’s ability to lure away both customers and investors from Rentall. Three areas would require to be reviewed and appropriate changes made. These areas are advertising, rental policy, and product line.

The issue of rental policies would require that truck rental business is made easier and faster. This would necessitate the implementation of some of the policies used by car rental agencies like Hertz. To attract more customers, changes in the product line would have to include comfortable and easy to drive trucks, trucks fitted with automatic transmission, air conditioners, quality radio and stereo tape systems, comfortable bucket seats and cruise control (Render, Stair, Hanna, & Hale 2015). Zenetti and Klapper (2016), state that advertising promotes sales by influencing the behavior of potential customers.

This showed that additional advertising was required to be aggressive and immediate. A good company had to be contracted and advertising in journals and the television increased. Implementation of these strategies would give Rentall Trucks a chance of maintaining their close to 80% market share. Changes in the advertising strategy would ensure that a bigger target audience is reached and their market behavior influenced to opt for Rentall Truck products and services. This would increase the number of new customers. On the other hand, changes in the product line and rental policies would help maintain a loyal customer base for the firm.

Justification

The recommended course of action is justifiable since policy makers and scholars alike agree to the effectiveness of the stated strategies. The above recommendations have been applied elsewhere and hence, are tried and tested. The justification for the recommendations is that:

1.) Advertising is a proven strategy to help convince more customers to trust the products and services being offered by a company as explained by Buil, Chernatony, & Martínez, (2013). Rentall Trucks is justified in increasing advertising, especially in television and journals.

2.) Changing a product line constitutes to rebranding. The strategy of rebranding helps a company in that it proves to doubtful customers that the brand has reinvented itself andwill, therefore, be in a position to satisfy their tastes and preferences more that before (Todor, 2014). To Rentall Trucks, changes in the product line will ensure that those customers who had switched to their rivals are more convinced about its service and product quality and will be motivated to switch back.

3.) Reviewing of rental policies will revolutionize the whole industry. This is due to the fact that if Rentall are successful in simplifying the processes involved in renting trucks, they will set a standard to be followed by all competitors. Setting standards will make them stand out as market leaders and will therefore have that largest market share.

Summary

This case study provided a case scenario of Rentall Truck Company seeking to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors, Rentran and National. The companies were competing for the market share in the truck renting industry. Rentall faced stiff competition from Rentran, a company owned by its former founder. They found themselves in this situation due to a blunder of omission of an important clause in its contacts. To retain its customers, Rentall recommended changes in its advertising strategies, product line and rental policies. The strategies were justifiable through since they were tried and tested. The justification was further improved by the market research conducted by Meyers Marketing Research firm.

Calculations

1. What will the market shares be in one month if these changes are made? If no changes are made

Rentall – π_{1 =}0.8

Rentran – π_{2 =}0.06

National Rentals – π_{1 =}0.14

Tree diagram (Month 1 with no change)

0.65 0.25 0.1

P = 0.05 0.85 0.1

0.65 0.25 0.1

π (1) = π (0)P

0.65 0.25 0.1

= (0.8, 0.06, 0.14) 0.05 0.85 0.1

0.65 0.25 0.1

= 0.52+0.003+0.091, 0.2+0.051+0.035, 0.08+0.006+0.014

= 0.6, 0.29, 0.1

= 60% 29% 10%

Market share without the changes will be:

60% for Rentall

29% for Rentran

10% for National Rentals

Tree diagram (Month 1 with change)

0.85 0.125 0.025

P = 0.15 0.75 0.1

0.2 0.25 0.55

π (1) = π (0)P

0.85 0.125 0.025

= (0.8, 0.06, 0.14) 0.15 0.75 0.1

0.2 0.25 0.55

= 0.68+0.009+0.028, 0.1+0.045+0.035, 0.02+0.014+0.077

0.72, 0.18, 0.1

72%. 18%, 10%

Market share without the changes will be:

72% for Rentall

18% for Rentran

10% for National Rentals

This shows that Rentall will have a larger market share if the actions suggested are implemented. Rentall’s market share will remain high while Rentran will grow at a slower rate. National Rental’s market share remains the same.

2. What will the market share be in three months with the changes?

π (n) = π (0)Pⁿ

π (3) = π (0)P³

0.61 0.002 0.00002 3

(0.8, 0.06, 0.14) 0.003 0.42 0.001

0.008 0.27 0.17

= 0.6, 0.3, 0.1

Market share after 3 months will be:

60% for Rentall

30% for Rentran

10% for National Rentals

3. If market share remains the same, what market share will Rentall have in the long-run?Ho does this compare to if the changes were not made.

If the market conditions remain the same, the market share for Rentall in the long-run would keep reducing, though at a lower magnitude than if Rentall did not make the changes. The new market shares are shown in the tables below. The market share moves from 80% to 72% in month 1 to 66 % in month 2, 61% in month 3, 58% in month 4 and 56% in month 5.

If the changes were not made, Rentall’s market share would have deteriorated quite fact, moving from 80% to 61% in month 1, 48% in month 2, 40% in month 3, 35% in month 4 and 32% in month 5. This would be a significant loss to Rentran, which would have 58% of the market by the fifth month. Therefore, it can be concluded that the changes will reduce the rate at which the company loses its market share to Rentran. However, Rentall still continues to lose its market share and better strategies are required to enhance competitiveness.

After Change (Excel calculation)
Probabilities			Current Market share
0.85	0.15	0.2		0.8
0.125	0.75	0.25		0.06
0.025	0.1	0.55		0.14

Market share
		Month 1	Month 2	Month 3	Month 4	Month 5
Rentall	0.72	0.66	0.61	0.58	0.56
Rentran	0.18	0.25	0.29	0.32	0.34
National	0.10	0.09	0.09	0.10	0.10

Before Change (Excel calculation)
Probabilities			Current Market share
0.65	0.05	0.65		0.8
0.25	0.85	0.25		0.06
0.1	0.1	0.1		0.14

Market share
		Month 1	Month 2	Month 3	Month 4	Month 5
Rentall	0.61	0.48	0.40	0.35	0.32
Rentran	0.29	0.42	0.50	0.55	0.58
National	0.10	0.10	0.10	0.10	0.10

Reference

Buil, I., De Chernatony, L., & Martínez, E. (2013). Examining the role of advertising and sales promotions in brand equity creation. Journal of Business Research, 66(1), 115-122.

Gale, . (2014). Market share reporter. Place of publication not identified: Gale, Cengage Learning.

Rego, L. L., Morgan, N. A., & Fornell, C. (2013). Reexamining the market share–customer satisfaction relationship. Journal of Marketing, 77(5), 1-20.

Render, B., Stair, R. M., Hanna, M. E. & Hale T. S. (2015). Quantitative analysis for management. (12^thed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Todor, R. D. (2014). The importance of branding and rebranding for strategic marketing. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov. Economic Sciences. Series V, 7(2), 59.

Zenetti, G., & Klapper, D. (2016). Advertising Effects Under Consumer Heterogeneity–The Moderating Role of Brand Experience, Advertising Recall and Attitude. Journal of Retailing, 92(3), 352-372.

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Consumer Insight Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The consumer insight research conducted focused on exploring more on the impact of the social media posts about lifestyle and dining on the outcomes of marketing communications and the responses given by the clients. The study focused on identifying the effects of the creative marketing communication strategies for the lifestyle or restaurant services.

The male vs. female Instagrammer and the male vs. female consumer were used in the collection of the essential information. The visual stimuli experiment method was used following a randomized fashion.200 participants aged between 18-59 years were used in the study (Pitt et al, 2017).

A summary on the participant’s passion about foods, brand attitude, and foodie consumer was conducted on part one followed by an experimental study. The major finding is that envy influences the brand attitude of the Instagrammers. In this case, it should be considered as an essential marketing aspect of various products and services.

EVALUATION OF FINDINGS

Based on the results acquired it was found that the Instagram post factors do not impact the response of the consumers. Envy was also not influenced by the consumer segment or the sex of the Instagrammer. Envy is not seen to be influenced by most of the factors of interest. The brand attitude is influenced by various factors of interest that were used to test the relationship.

Envy was seen to have a little influence on the brand attitude while Instagram post attitude influenced the brand attitude in a significant manner (Pitt et al, 2017). Despite envy having a marginally small significant influence on brand attitude, the influence is said to be positive in nature which implies that it can be used as a predictor of the post or brand attitude while also considering other factors simultaneously.

The consumer segment also has an effect on the influence of envy on the post attitude and brand attitude as found through Instagram. Based on the result after carrying out a multiples regression model, the foodie consumer segment was said to have more envy on the Instagrammers as compared to the non-foodie consumers. Since envy has a positive influence on the brand attitude, consequently brand attitude also increase among the segment of the foodie consumers.

Envy has a major role when it comes to predicting the attitude of the particular consumers towards a particular brand (Pitt et al, 2017). In this case, social media marketing should consider it as a crucial aspect when it comes to assessing the attitude of consumers towards various products or services which form the brand. Because the influence of envy on brand attitude increase based on the segments, it would be advisable to consider different marketing strategies for particular target consumers.

Communication and advertising strategies can be useful in evoking envy through the promotion strategies which would try to sell the positive benefits of brand attracting more consumers to test irrespective of their segment (Yeung, 2014). Marketing communications research is essential on campaign developments. Through marketing communication, the focus on the particular segment of consumers is made possible while it offers the perfect chance to transmit the benefits of a particular brand accurately.

RECOMMENDATIONS

It is important to adopt the best marketing strategies to ensure the brand’s name is well promoted to all the potential consumers. Based on the results and findings acquired from the research study, better insight about the marketing communication has been efficiently gained. Factors such as envy and source liking are found to have some great influence on the brand attitude. I would recommend that the right and specific marketing strategies such as the right communication channels are adopted during campaigns for different brands (Shen et al, 2016).

The specific marketing strategies based on the particular target consumers of interests is necessitated by the fact that the brand attitude and envy vary based on the segment of consumers. Other factors such as post attitude and the consumer preference should be considered during the social media marketing. The consideration of the factors and different aspects that influence brand attitude is essential in designing the right marketing communication strategies.

REFERENCES

Khan, M. Y., Iqbal, M. F., & Ghouri, A. M. (2016). Consumer Insight on Dietary evidence in Restaurant set of Choices: An Empirical Study. International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies, 3(2), 22-33.

Pitt, J., Singh, C., and Ang, L. (2017). MKTG204 Investigating the effects of social media posts with branded information on consumer responses: Assessment Task 2B, Session 1, 2017 Consumer insights survey results. North Ryde: Macquarie University.

Shen, G. C. C., Chiou, J. S., Hsiao, C. H., Wang, C. H., & Li, H. N. (2016). Effective marketing communication via social networking site: The moderating role of the social tie. Journal of Business Research, 69(6), 2265-2270.

Yeung, H. F. (2014). Consumer Food Safety Insight: Pre-and Post-Survey Analysis of Consumers Receiving In-Person versus Web Based Food Safety Training (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Davis).

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Marketing Campaign: KFC Case Study

Media Objectives

To increase sales of the sale of fried chicken by 100% through media

The marketing campaign aims at achieving a 100% increase in the sale of fried chicken around the globe. By the end of the year, KFC should have achieved a 100% sale in fried chicken. The sales will be increased by conducting a comprehensive marketing campaign that will reach the young adults and teenagers. The company is identifying the need to become health conscious. It will ensure that it that they provide customers with healthy fried chicken by offering free salads. The marketing campaign will not concentrate on marketing fried chicken but also encourage healthy eating habit and brand the organization as a health-conscious organization.

To increase the market share by 10%

In terms of market share, McDonald’s is ahead of KFC in the globe market. A survey on which fast food chain provides the best burger and fries concluded that 34% of the respondents noted that they prefer McDonald’s and 10% choose KFC (Lang & Heasman 2015). On burgers, KFC was the most preferred choice with 15% followed by McDonald’s at 10%.

When it comes to globe market share of the MacDonald’s takes the lead with a market share of 17% followed by KFC with 10.8% (Lang & Heasman 2015). KFC should focus on increasing market share to become a leader in the global market share. The company intends to attract teenagers and young adults who are the main fast food consumers. The marketing campaign should increase market share by 10% to put KFC ahead of McDonald’s and make it the leading fast food company in the globe.

To increase awareness about KFC products on burgers, and fried chicken

KFC must create awareness about products it is offering. Market analysis indicates that Starbucks and McDonalds have managed to make products known around the globe. KFC must generate interest in their products mainly the teenagers and adults. The marketing campaign will focus on creating awareness and improving KFC brand awareness in the globe.

To create brand loyalty

KFC campaign aims at retaining 80% of the target market. In the past, KFC has employed various media marketing strategies that have increased the market share, but this time the company will also be looking for a way to retain market share. They will heavily rely on using various forms of media to reach this objective. The marketing campaign will focus on showing the customer experience and explaining to customers why they should continue visiting KFC. The marketing campaign will introduce KFC loyalty cards which will be used to reward customers who visit KFC many times.

Media Mix

Media mix uses various communication channels to achieve the marketing objectives. Using a combination of media channels enables accompany to effectively communicate products. An effective media mix ensures that the right message gets to the right audience (Babin & Zikmund 2015). In marketing, a company identifies the target market. For instance, the main strategy audience for KFC is the young adults and teenagers.

It is important to use media mix to ensure that the company reaches a maximum number of the target market. An effective marketing mix aligns with buying stage of the consumers. Once a company creates rawness of products it must convince consumers to make the buying decision. For instance, KFC can create awareness by placing an advert on movies but can further influence the buying decision by providing detailed information about products in the fast food magazines.

The main media channel that KFC will use is placing advertisements on various Netflix movies. The channels will be used to reach global consumer since Netflix is online television that is watched by consumers around the globe. KFC will use social media to market products.

The company will establish interactive shows on YouTube to provide young people with an opportunity to ask questions about the products. The company will increase presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, and Twitter. It will use fun video and photos to attract young people to read posts about the company and attract many people to like the pages as well. The social media will be an effective way of reaching out to young adults and teenagers. Research indicates that young adults and teenagers are likely to access the social media at least once per day (Babin & Zikmund 2015).

KFC will employ various marketing strategies to reach out to teenagers. The company will use various advertisements channels that have been successfully used by companies such as Apple (Pelsmacker & Kitchen 2014). The company will use student media to market products. Various schools have their own media channels.

The company will start working together with media of various schools to place advertisements on high schools newspapers and college radio stations. KFC can also start supporting various activities in high school and colleges. For instance, KFC can start supporting high school football and use these platform to market its products. The company will further place flyers in places that are frequently visited by students such as coffee shops, and record stores.

The company can use the opportunity to interact with young people and acquire contact information. The company can further use mobile phones to text young people and communicate with them directly on announcement and offers. Research indicates that the young people like texting hence the company can use texts to further influence the purchasing decisions of the young adults and teenager (Pelsmacker & Kitchen 2014).

Media Schedule

Scheduling is used to show the patterns of time in which advertisements will run. Scheduling is used to allocate time slots to ensure that an advertisement reaches the target audience. There are three main models of scheduling that are used in advertising continuity, flighting and pulsing. Continuity model is used for advertisements that run throughout the year (Licciardello 2013). The flighting model advertises products in intervals. For instance, advertisements activities are increased during the season that the demand for the products is increasing.

The pulsing model employs the continuity and flighting schedule aspects. KFC will make use of the pulsing model. It will use heavy advertisement during the peak period. KFC will make use of heavy advertisements such as placing adverts on movies during peak periods such as festive period but also use social media and high school media to advertise products through the year.

Media Scheduling Table

Media	Time	Duration/Space	Frequency
Adverting on Netflix	Summer Period (June and September). Fast food thrive during summer period	The advertisement will run for one minutes	The advertisements should run in all popular shows.
	Festive period (December) Festive periods cause a decline in fast food sales hence it is important to advertise to attract more customers during festive periods	One minute advertisements	The advertisements should appear on every commercial break
High School Advertisements	May-June during football season	Whole Day	KFC will interact with students and hand them flyers throughout the day
High School and College publications	January-December	One page	Once per month
Social Media	January-December		Update social media pages everyday

Budget Allocation

The company will mainly use three channels of advertising the social media, supporting high school football and advertising on Netflix. The estimated average cost of advertising using the Twitter is $ 3000 per month, and Facebook is $ 2500 per month (Percy 2015). The average price of advertising on Netflix is $ 350 per day. However, the costs of advertising on Netflix will vary depending on the duration of time the advertisements will take place and on the shows that the company chooses. The budget allocations are indicated in the table below

Media	Estimated Costs
Advertising on Netflix ( placing advertisements in popular shows and advertisements run for 1 minute)	$ 12,000,000
Social media	$ 160,000
Supporting High school football	$8,000,000
Other advertisements such as putting flyers in high school and colleges and advertising on high school and college publications	$ 8,000

Media Evaluation

Media evaluation determines the effectiveness of the media tools that are used by a company. Media evaluation determines if the media that was used to communicate the message was effective in getting the message to the target audience.

KFC will make use qualitative and quantitative media evaluation to measures the effectiveness of campaign (Christensen 2015). Qualitative media evaluation will involve conducting a survey to determine if the media campaign had a positive influence on the target market.

The survey will be conducted at the end of the year, to determine if the message was received by target market and how it influenced the target market. The quantitative media evaluation will involve measuring the success of the campaign through the company revenues and advertising costs. Increase in sales will indicate that the campaign was successful

References

Babin, B.J. and Zikmund, W.G., 2015. Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning.

Christensen, M. 2015. Be a Network Marketing Superstar: The One Book You Need to Make More Money Than You Ever Thought Possible. Sage.

Lang, T. and Heasman, M., 2015. Food wars: The global battle for mouths, minds and markets. Routledge.

Licciardello, S. 2013. MLM Success Secrets- NLP techniques for multilevel marketing success. London: Sage.

Pelsmacker, P., & Kitchen, P. J. 2014. Integrated Marketing Communications: A Primer. Oxford: Psychology Press.

Percy, L. 2015. Strategic Integrated Marketing Communication: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge.

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Dell Case Study

Case Analysis: Dell Case Study

Major facts

Major facts, in this case, include Dell’s strategies involving direct sales, product customization and stakeholder engagement and the changing competitive environment. These are strategies that have worked for Dell in its quest to provide customers with the highest quality products. A focus on direct sales has ensured that Dell can reach its clients and meet their needs better.

Engaging suppliers as important stakeholders of the organization have enhanced Dell’s manufacturing strategy of mass customization by ensuring that supplies are made just-in-time and with short lead times. Dell utilizes focused mass customization where a limited number of common platforms are manufactured and then customized to meet customer needs. This has created more demand because customers demand unique products. Despite the success in strategy, downward price pressure, competition and a weakening market position challenge the company’s survival.

Major problem

Dell faces a weakening market position, perpetrated by the intense competition in the marketplace, combined with downward price pressure.

Possible Solutions

Dell has various options that it can consider in increasing its market share and absorbing downward pressure as follows.

New products: Diversification can be a viable option for Dell and may involve developing more advanced computers and laptops to meet competitors such as Apple. It could also invest in new products such as smartphones whose demand is currently high in the market. This has the advantage of attracting a larger market share but may be expensive to implement (Hans-Ruediger, 2014).

Cost-cutting measures: To increase profitability and counter falling prices, Dell can revise costs in its production system by reducing wastage, streamlining processes and automation. The advantage of this strategy is that it increases returns through reducing the company’s production costs. However, it may impact on process quality when important aspects are eliminated or downsized. Ethical issues may also arise from some steps such as employee layoffs and automation which creates unemployment (Ciravegna, Fitzgerald & Kundu, 2013)

Increased Marketing: Dell could increase its market position through increased advertising of its products. This will ensure that more customers are aware of their products and capabilities, thus improving the market (Kotler & Armstrong, 2015). This has the advantage of increasing product visibility and increasing market share. On the other hand, it may be very costly to implement.

Invest in more advanced research and development: Technology is changing rapidly, and to benefit from the growing market, companies must provide clients with unique products that meet their needs. This calls for investment in research and development to promote the development of advanced products (Ciravegna, Fitzgerald & Kundu, 2013). While new products will increase the company’s market position, research and development are very costly, especially where customer demands keep changing.

Choice and Rationale

New product development is chosen as the best choice of strategy for Dell to pursue. This is because the current customer is increasingly demanding more sophisticated technology and companies that take the opportunity to satisfy this demand will capture a large market share.

Dell should invest in more advanced computers to serve different customer needs. I did not choose cost cutting as the best strategy because Dell has already implemented cost cutting measures before including the laying down of staff. The company may not be ready for more cuts as it would impact its performance. Increased marketing and research and development would come automatically if Dell chooses the new product strategy.

To succeed in new product development, Dell would need to invest in research and development to ensure the production of sophisticated products, which would later be followed by marketing to promote sales (Kotler & Armstrong, 2015).

Implementation

New product development will be achieved using the following plan.

New Product Development Implementation Plan
Objectives	Develop ten new computer models in the next yearIntroduce a smartphone range with ten new models in the next two years
Strategies and procedures	Appoint a marketing research team to explore the market on new technology trends and demandsFund the research and development unit to conduct research on new technologies Train the team on new technologies and aspects of the smartphone marketDevelop new products based on the research and development team’s recommendations
Timelines	July 2017 – July 2019
Person(s) responsible	Chief Executive OfficerResearch and Development ManagerInformation Technology Manager
Budget	$ 130,000,000

References

Ciravegna, L, Fitzgerald, R. & Kundu, S. K. (2013). Operating in Emerging Markets. A Guide To Management and Strategy in the New International Economy. Pearson: FT Press.

Hans-Ruediger, K. (2014). Handbook of Research on Managing and Influencing Consumer Behavior. Hershey, PA: IGI Global

Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2015). Principles of Marketing. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.

Appendix

Case questions

Question 1: Fundamental reasons for Dell’s success

Some of the most fundamental reasons for Dell’s success include direct sales, focus on partnerships and product customization. By focusing on selling direct to the customer, Dell had an opportunity to interact with its clients and thus understand their needs better. Building effective relationships with suppliers and linking them to production systems ensured that Dell could implement its production strategy, which included the just-in-time supply of components to save time and warehouse costs. Product customization played a role in increasing demand by providing products that met customer expectations (Hans-Ruediger, 2014). Mass customization was also effective I saving costs.

Question 2: Maintaining competitive advantage and viability of business model

As customers’ needs continue to change amidst increasing competition, Dell should invest in research and development and leverage the social media strategy to maintain its competitive advantage. Research and development will ensure that the company can come up with innovative products to meet the needs of its customers (Ciravegna, Fitzgerald & Kundu, 2013).

Social media is the novel platform that contemporary organization must maximize on to reach existing and potential customers, given the advancement in technology and potential to reach customers across the globe. As part of the organization’s strategy that involves direct customer sales, Dell could reach more customers to increase its sales while engaging them directly to get feedback about its products.

Question 3: Will Dell formula work elsewhere?

The Dell formula is highly successful and can be replicated elsewhere. Customization is a growing trend, informed by customer demand to have products that meet their unique needs. By adopting customization, companies could gain a higher market share. It is notable that creating good relationships with customers and stakeholders can yield great outcomes through better quality products and efficiency.

However, the just-in-time formula and direct sales may not work for all companies. Businesses that thrive on mass production, for example, require regular supplies and warehousing is necessary to meet demand. Direct sales may not work for most consumer products because there need to be middlemen to connect geographical boundaries and enhance availability in locations nearer to the customer. Direct sales would also be costly for the organization (Kotler & Armstrong, 2015).

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Marketing Concept

Question 1

According to Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick (2012), marketing is the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships to capture value from customers in return. The marketing concept can be defined as the strategy that companies implement with the aims of satisfying customers’ needs, increasing sales, maximizing profits and overcoming competition in the business environment.

The marketing concept is a function of the marketing. Marketing can thus be said to be a department of management that is charged with the responsibility of trying to design strategies that will build profitable relationships with the target customers. Marketing is essential to every firm as it defines how well a firm will conduct its business to succeed. It shows the manner and way in which the firm is willing and able to go to fulfil the needs of their clients.

The product concept is one of the marketing concepts. This concept is mainly focused on the design and quality of products. With this concept, it is believed that customers will automatically buy products that are of high quality. Consumers are known and believed to favor products that offer the most quality, performance, or innovative features. With this concept, research and development is an essential element.

It is important for firms to invest in research and development to ensure that they sell the products that are believed to be the best to the consumers. Firms do not bother to study the market and consumer in depth. The main belief with the product concept is to the consumers. The consumers are believed to more likely be loyal if they have more options of products or if they get more benefits from the products of the firm.

Marketing concept: Limitations

Despite the advantages of product concept, it does have its limitations that may hinder the efficiency of the firm in trying to satisfy its customers. The first limitation arises from the fact that firms rely on the product to “sell itself” based on its quality, performance, and reliability. This, however, can result in negligence of some audiences from the advertising. In the market, there may be some potential consumers who would have bought the product.

Failing to advertise this product to the real potential consumers means that they will not be aware of its launch or availability. This reduces the firm’s consumer reach, market share, revenues and overall profitability. Another disadvantage arises if the firm fails to carry out a detailed research about its target audience. This means that the firm will miss the essential advertising opportunities. Additionally, the firm will not be able to supply the product specifications for the audience’s desires and needs.

Question 2

The current business environment is changing, and this means that marketing is changing too. Some of the reasons that lead to a change in the business environment are globalization and technology. Currently, a successful marketing strategy is where a firm lets its customers find them through strong search engine presence or through discovering the value of the firm’s service.

With the changes in the business environment, there is the rise in international marketing and firms need to keep up with is to be sustainable and competitive. According to Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick (2012), international marketing is defined as identifying needs and wants of customers in different markets and cultures, providing products, services, technologies and ideas to give the firm a competitive marketing advantage, communicating information about these products and services and distributing and exchanging them internationally through one or a combination of foreign market entry modes.

The modern market is characterized by inbound marketing. With the increase in technology and globalization, consumers are searching for and purchasing services and products online. The firms have thus shifted their focus on content creation, social media, search engine optimization and landing pages. Currently, marketing is centered on content, and this means that firms are required to attract and maintain customers with information and content.

With technological advances, there has been the increase in the use of social media as a marketing strategy to influence consumers and customers. Several firms are on social with Facebook accounts, twitter handles, Instagram as well as LinkedIn accounts. The reason behind social media is that it is a great tool for cultivating relationships with customers and sharing contents. Firms effectively distribute their content to potential clients through social media as it allows them to immediately see if people like, commenting or sharing its content. The better the content of the firm is, then the more likely the firm will gain new customers.

In the modern marketing environment, marketers combine inbound marketing with the outbound promotion. Despite the fact that inbound marketing is cost effective, it cannot however fully substitute outbound promotion. Additionally, modern marketing strategies leverage iterative execution and optimization by exploring new channels as well as adopting innovative tools and technologies. The best way to maximize marketing efficiency is through technology and optimization in the modern market.

Efficiency is enhanced through elimination of manual tasks, the establishment of communication workflows, centralization of data reports as well as facilitation of events. Additionally, modern marketing enables firms to adapt to market shifts as well as to outdo the competition by improving creative strategies and solutions. Finally, it is important for firms to measure and analyze their performance. This will enable a firm to determine the marketing strategies that are working and improve them.

REFERENCE

Jobber, D, and Ellis-Chadwick, F., 2012. Principles and practice of marketing (No.7^th). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

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Understanding Consumer Behavior

Consumer behavior can best be understood by recognizing that each individual has unique tastes and preferences. In marketing, consumer behavior plays an imperative role in designing marketing strategies, through an understanding of consumer psychology, consumer decision making process, implications of consumer knowledge on decision making, and motivation associated with the purchase of different products (Johnson et al, 2014). This way, marketers can effectively improve their marketing strategies and campaigns to ensure that they appeal to the customer.

In making a decision, customers go through a process that involves need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase and post-purchase evaluation. To influence demand for its products or services, a company must ensure that it maintains quality to meet customer needs and provides adequate information about its products and services.

A useful strategy in understanding consumer behavior is to remain in the limelight so that when customers are in the process of decision making, the company’s product or service comes to mind. Through advertising, marketers can promote brand awareness, reinforce attitude on brands and influence external searches. A company that has successfully achieved this is Proctor & Gamble, which is considered the world’s largest advertiser. Its constant advertisements on television, online, social media and printed media has ensured revenue growth to a great extent.

The #LikeAGirl Always sanitary pads advertisement for example has over 64 million views. The Smell Like a Man, Man advertisement featuring Old Spice products also became widely famous as well as ‘Best Job’ that sought to recognize the importance of mothers. These advertisements by Proctor and Gamble could have easily influenced decision making among customers.

To take advantage of the customer decision making process, companies must design marketing strategies that capture the attention of consumers and thus invoke interest in the program ((Johnson et al, 2014). Coca Cola remains one of the products that has managed to consistently capture the attention of customers. Most of Coca Cola advertisements are a call to action and this plays a major role in influencing decision making. In the advertisement catch phrases ‘Taste the Feeling’, ‘Share a Coke with a Friend’, ‘Obey your Thirst’, all these are aimed at encouraging customers to buy Coca Cola beverages.

Organizations in designing their marketing strategies must establish which of the three types of decision making the consumer is likely to make. Cognitive decision making is a deliberate, sequential and rational process and the effort put towards decision making depends on the degree of involvement. To enhance decision making, companies should design and advertise their products in such a way that it catches the attention of the customer.

In purchasing a car for example, the process of decision making is cognitive and this explains why brands such as Mercedes, Volkswagen, Nissan and Toyota ensure high quality and performance of their cars, given that the customer is likely to check specs and the experience of other users before purchasing. This differs from habitual decision making where the process is mostly unconscious, behavioral and automatic and hence lack evaluation or information search (Ciravegna, Fitzgerald & Kundu, 2013).

Examples include everyday use products such as toiletries and food supplies. While companies may not spend much on advertising for such products, there is need to ensure customer satisfaction because it determines customer retention capability.

Marketing – STP

Customer needs are unique to each individual and no particular product can satisfy everyone, hence the growing importance of segmentation, targeting and positioning (Ciravegna, Fitzgerald & Kundu, 2013). Large conglomerates such as Coca Cola, Walmart, Dell Inc., Apple Inc., Amazon, L’Oreal, H & M, Louis Vuitton, Rolex and Rolls-Royce among others attribute their success to effective market segmentation.

This means that in order for organizations to effectively meet customer needs, they must tailor their products and services to meet different groups of customers. This is known as segmentation and is defined as the process through which a company identifies individuals and organizations whose characteristics are similar; in order to base their marketing strategy on such information.

Segmentation is an important aspect of marketing because it ensures effective identification of target markets, development of marketing mix to suit market characteristics, identification of differentiated marketing strategies and an opportunity to take advantage of marketing opportunities (Kotler & Armstrong, 2015). Rolls Royce, Rolex and Louis Vuitton for example target high end customers who are lovers of luxurious products and are willing to pay high prices in order to gain prestige.

Accordingly, such companies must ensure that their products are expensive when analyzing consumer behavior and that not everyone can afford them. Failure to do so would lead to loss of customers because it is no longer prestigious to own their brands. This means that customer segmentation has helped them in designing a marketing strategy and a marketing mix that works for its customers.

Identifying customer segments may be based on various approaches including geographical segmentation, demographic segmentation, behavioural segmentation and psychographic segmentation. Subway and McDonalds target families, thus indicating demographic segmentation; Target aims at reaching people in urban areas, thus demographic segmentation; Nike targets sports personalities which represents interests and is therefore psychographic segmentation; Mercedes targets brand loyalty and is thus behavioural segmentation.

Customized marketing is growing in popularity and locomotive companies, airplane manufacturing companies and design companies have taken a lead. Customized marketing is used in markets where individual customers have sufficient purchasing power to warrant the design of a unique marketing mix for each (Kotler & Armstrong, 2015).

Ferrari for example specializes in the development of tailor-made cars to provide their clients with unique cars that match their personality. ‘Build your own Ferrari’ is a mantra of Ferrari’s Personalization Programme, which seeks to give a personal touch to all customers (Ferrari, 2017). To achieve this, customers can choose their own fabric, colors, wood, leathers and finishes to suit their individual tastes and desires.

References

Ferrari 2017, Ferrari’s personalization programme, Retrieved from

http://auto.ferrari.com/en_EN/sports-cars-models/personalization/

Ciravegna, L, Fitzgerald, R & Kundu, SK 2013, Operating in Emerging Markets. A

Guide to Management and Strategy in the New International Economy, Pearson, FT Press.

Johnson et al 2014, Exploring Strategy: text and cases, 10th edn, London, Pearson.

Kotler, P, & Armstrong, G 2015, Principles of Marketing, Harlow, UK, Pearson Education.

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