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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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Canadian honey in the Korean market

Question 1

The Korean honey market is having a challenge giving their customers quality honey. The market is flooded with poor quality honey and this does give the Korean Food a chance to penetrate the market if they focus their production on quality honey. The cost of quality honey in the market is also so high reaching a price range of $ US 100. The introduction of cheaper quality honey from the Korean Food company will increase their market share in the industry (Lee et al., 2010, p. 25).

Moreover, the Korean’s who have visited Canada often send to their families 20 to 30 kilograms of honey when they visit (Tavares, 2014, p. 22). This is an indication of positive reception of the Canadian honey by the people in Korea. It therefore, means that entry into the market will work in favor of the Korean Food as they already have a ready market for their product.

On the unfavorable aspects, the Korean government still has a restriction on open trade policy, especially when it comes to the agricultural sector. This policy does make it hard for the company to venture into the country, despite the optimism that the Korean government is considering withdrawing the restrictions (Hayakawa et al., 2013, p. 499). Moreover, the Korean honey producers have enjoyed a monopoly in the market and may place a lot of hurdles that will make the market unfavorable for Korean foods.

Question 2

The uncertainties in the strategy arise from the fact that the company has limited experience in the export market in Korea. This does pose a huge challenge for the company as they need to conduct an intensive market research before they step into the country. This will cost them a lot of finances, considering that the maximum amount of profit that they are to make from this venture is by a margin of 20%. The Korean market is centered on their culture where most of the consumers consider honey as a medicinal rather than a food product (Sydkorea, 2017). This will pose a challenge for the company when it comes to extending their market share from the hotels to selling the products to the consumers.

Additionally, the Korean market does work on the perspectives that the company will require an intermediary to be able to penetrate the market (Yoon, 2017, p. 387). The involvement of the middleman does pose an uncertainty on the manner to ensure that the company does achieve the objective of making a profit. The company has been working directly with the suppliers, and the changes of the operations structure to relying on the middlemen to foster their agenda will force affect the management of the company.

Lastly, despite their being hope that the Korean government will open up the agricultural market to allow imports, there is uncertainty on the resistance of the Korean honey producers (Hayakawa et al., 2014, p.499). The Korean honey producers have a monopoly in the honey market and they, therefore, have the strength to influence the government not to open up the honey market (APHIS’ website, 2017). Moreover, they might consent the opening of the market, but place a lot of hurdles for the new entrants an aspect that will uneven the competition making the market unfavorable.

The uncertainties can be reduced by identifying a company in Korea and entering into a joint merger to enable them to penetrate the market. The merger will be a shield for them as they understand how the market operates and will provide them the needed information to venture into the market (De Mooji, 2013, p. 36). Additionally, it will enable the company to navigate any hurdles that will be posed by the Korean honey producers in a bid to protect their influence in the market. Furthermore, the merger does reduce the cost of market research that the company will have to incur in their bid to penetrate the market.

I believe that the company has an opportunity to achieve immense success if they apply the suggested solutions in reducing the uncertainties. The company will be able to increase their margin and market share from a maximum of 20% and 60% respectively. This is an opportunity that will be effective for the company.

Question 3

Canadian honey: Marketing

In looking for ways to improve the marketing plan to make it acceptable to all the management team members, the 3 phases that form the foundation of the plan will be evaluated. In the first phase, the distribution strategy needs to be altered to involve using the networks established by the company they decide to merge with to penetrate the hotels. The local company has been in operation in the country they, therefore, have connections in different sectors of the economy like the hotels. This will make market entry easier for the company instead of having two salespeople positioned in Seoul (Lee et al., 2015, p. 32).

Additionally, the advertising strategy in the first phase will cost the company a lot of finances. To ensure that the company saves money, the use of free samples to the hotels coupled with media advertising is sufficient. The provision of recipe booklets and carrying out person-to-person advertisement will cost the company a lot of money.

In the second phase, the company needs to focus on regulating the prices of the honey with time as they extend their control of the hotel honey market. The penetrating price strategy is used to enter the market but needs to be readjusted to ensure that the company can make more profit from this sector (De Mooji, 2013, p. 12). The minimum price is an introduction to the Korean hotel industry to the purity of the Canadian honey. Increasing the price will not alter the purchase, as they would have managed to create a customer base in the industry that is attracted to the new flavors of the honey.

Additionally, the distribution channel is effective, but the involvement of the company that they will merge with will inject efficiency in the operation. The partner comprehends the Korean honey distribution network this will, therefore, ensure that the products can reach the target customers on time.

Furthermore, the company needs to concentrate more on introducing the Canadian honey as food rather than a medicinal product. This will play a role in increasing their target market more effectively. The Korean’s already have had a negative conception of honey due to the poor quality that is present in the market. Their culture compounded with the bad honey experience has made them consider that the product can be used only as a medicinal product (Lee et al., 2010, p. 18). Emphasizing on the other uses of honey will not only revolutionize this perception but also provide them with mileage in the industry.

In the third phase, introducing different qualities of honey in the market will cast doubt on the type of honey that the customers are purchasing for medicinal purposes. It will cast a shadow on the qualities of the Canadian honey that the company is introducing in the market, hence reducing their penetration. The company needs to concentrate on high-quality honey solely to get the customers goodwill in their product (Tavares, 2014, p. 25). I will recommend the company to use the warehouse of their partner as this will save them the cost of setting up one. They can then capitalize on the sales representative of their partner to increase their market penetration in the country.

Question 4

Kevin Lee at the beginning of the case study identifies pertinent issues that are linked to the difference between their way of operations and the new marketing plan. The company has immense knowledge in importing business and limited knowledge in the exporting business. They have managed to comprehend the needs of the North Americans when it comes to the Asian foods which have enabled them to raise the business to $30 million. The exportation of the Canadian honey to Korea is a new business venture as they do not know how to navigate the Korean industry with its restrictions (Anania, 2013, p. 25).

Additionally, despite the fact that the Canadian honey is loved by Korean visitors who send it to their families, this is not a guarantee that they will penetrate the market with ease (Tavares, 2014, p. 12). On the other hand, the Asian product is loved by North America and the company has managed to create a customer base that loves their products (Shaw, 2017). The company encountered challenges but managed to establish a reputable brand. Contrariwise, the only similarity is that the company has dealt with Korea on an international business level as discussed in the essay.

References

Anania, G., 2013. Agricultural export restrictions and the WTO: What options do policy-makers have for promoting food security. Draft paper prepared for informal ICTSD policy dialogue on, 25.

APHIS’ website. (2017). Korea Product Brief: Honey. [online] Available at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/products/ [Accessed 9 Sep. 2017].

De Mooji M., 2013. Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes. Sage Publications, 2013.

Hayakawa, K., Kim, H., and Lee, H. H., 2014. Determinants on utilization of the Korea-ASEAN free trade agreement: margin effect, scale effect, and ROO effect. World Trade Review, 13 (3), pp.499-515.

Lee, M.Y., Hong, I.P., Choi, Y.S., Kim, N.S., Kim, H.K., Lee, K.G. and Lee, M.L., 2010. Present status of Korean beekeeping industry. Korean Journal of Apiculture.

Lee, Y.K., Kim, S.H., Seo, M.K. and Hight, S.K., 2015. Market orientation and business performance: Evidence from franchising industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 44, pp.28-37.

Shaw, M. (2017). Korea Food Trading | Canadian Business Executive. [online] Canadianbusinessexecutive. Available at: http://www.canadianbusinessexecutive.com/food-drink/case-studies/korea-food-trading-expanding-asian-foods-market-a-non-traditional-audience [Accessed 9 Sep. 2017].

Sydkorea. M. (2017). Korean Business Culture. [online] Available at: http://sydkorea.um.dk/en/the-trade-council/korean-business-culture [Accessed 9 Sep. 2017].

Tavares, A., 2014. Statistical overview of the Canadian honey industry 2013. Government of Canada, Canada.

Yoon, S. J., 2017. Cultural Brokerage and Transnational Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs in Beijing’s Koreatown.” Korea Observer, 48 (2), p.387

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Competitive Advantage: Case Study

Competitive advantage

The new product that is being introduced as part of Whirpool production will be marketed along the market chains that the company has used and has competitive advantage over other products in the market. The company will concentrate on marketing the product in the Western nations, followed by the Asian countries and lastly the African nations based on the sales margin of their earlier products (Chakraborty, 2017).

Customers in the industry have expressed the problem of having their refrigerator doors not tightly closing when they are shut.The company GE appliances that is one of the competitors has admitted to the existence of the problem on their website, but they have only provided a limited number of solutions (Refrigerator-Freezer Door Pops Open, 2017).

In the industry, none of the companies have come up with a long-lasting solution like the new invention. The product will provide the company with a competitive advantage in the consumer home appliances. The company does sell their products in over 170 countries, and by the first quarter of 2017, they had a market share of 34.33% (Whirlpool Corp Comparison to its competitors, market share, and competitiveness by Segment-CSIMarket, 2017).

How to Achieve a Competitive Advantage

In order to succeed in any market a company has to decide which strategy is more appropriate to use, which means identifying the sources of a potential competitive advantage such as skills or resources. Superior skills in creating a special product can represent the element that is setting the company apart from its competitors. That is easily translated into a very good quality of the products.

Reference List

Chakraborty, A. (2017). Leverage Analysis: A Study on Whirlpool LTD. Nopal Institute of Management Studies-Department of Management.

Refrigerator-Freezer Door Pops Open. (2017). Products.geappliances.com. Retrieved 15 September 2017, from http://products.geappliances.com/appliances/gea-support-search-content?contentId=16979

Whirlpool Corp Comparison to its Competitors, Market share, and Competitiveness by Segmet-CSIMarket. (2017). Csimarket.com. Retrieved 15 September 2017, from https://csimarket.com/stocks/compete-glance.php?code=WHR

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Marketing Strategies

In today’s business environment, obtaining well-planned and flawlessly executed marketing strategies is vital for prosperity, attracting, and retaining more customers.

Marketing Strategies

In today’s business environment, obtaining well-planned and flawlessly executed marketing strategies is vital for prosperity, attracting, and retaining more customers. Although marketers have, in the recent past, shifted to one-to-one strategies, Nunes & Merrihue (2007) argue that such approaches may be insufficient. Their insufficiency is based on the fact that they require a considerable upfront investment, including implementing software applications for managing customer relations. Additionally, Nunes & Merrihue (2007) indicated that such marketing approaches are time-consuming and necessitate coordination of multiple parts of the organization.

These requirements can be daunting for companies that seek to remain highly reactive to a rapidly changing environment and have been associated with disappointing results due to improper integration of their use with the corporate strategy (Nunes & Merrihue, 2007). Nonetheless, several alternative solutions exist that may boost company sales, feature product value, and facilitate a brand’s growth. Among these solutions are mass marketing strategies that companies should use to grab the attention of the customers.

The first mass marketing strategy that companies should use in grabbing the consumers’ attention entails leveraging social media and other online platforms. Using social media and online marketing platforms, companies would have an environment in which they share pictures and videos regarding their products and further engage their customers through comments and feedback. This engagement with customers would foster building brand loyalty and further elevate customer service (Indeed Career Guide, 2020). For instance, by posting videos of the production process and images of the finished product, companies would grab the consumers’ attention and urge them to check out other varieties available in their outlets in distinct locations

Close to social media marketing, blogging would serve as a second strategy suitable for organically attracting customers online and delivering high-quality and educational content. Companies should provide relevant content/details to help their customers make appropriate buying decisions or learn about other services offered.

Similarly, guest blog writers may be featured to authenticate and confirm the value of the products offered within a specific company (Indeed Career Guide, 2020). Alternatively, companies can write posts that address questions from the most technical to the most fundamental issues and showcase practical answers for their readers. For instance, when introducing a new product/solution to the market, a company may write a blog, including pictures and videos, on how it works and the problems it is intended to address.

SEO Marketing Strategies

The third option that may be appropriate for mass marketing in today’s business environment entails applying and maximizing Search Engine Optimization (SEO). When consumers search online for a specific product, keywords and phrases facilitate locating the item, availability, price, and other relevant information. Therefore, companies should ensure that their websites or product pages feature keywords and phrases that place them in the first few pages of search engines such as Google.

The effective use of keywords in their website or product page would suffice to answer the consumers’ inquiries, provide test titles that pique user’s interests, offer comprehensive material, and further inform the audience about more products or details (Indeed Career Guide, 2020). For instance, a company selling a unique beauty product online should use specific keywords in creating content about the item, which allows consumers to learn about its availability, uses, price, and other relevant details.

Even though other unique and equally effective mass marketing strategies exist, these three approaches would play a fundamental role in reaching a large population of potential consumers and retaining them based on their customer service contentment.

References

Indeed Career Guide. (2020, December 22). 10 marketing strategies to attract and retain customers. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/marketing-strategies-attract-retain-customers Nunes, P. F., & Merrihue, J. (2007). The Continuing Power of Mass Advertising. MIT Sloan Management Review, 48(2), 62-72. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-continuing-power-of-mass-advertising/

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