HarperCollins Publishers International Marketing Strategy - Case Study Example

HarperCollins publisher’s international marketing strategy Marketing strategy review blog first thoughts HarperCollins publishers is an internationally know publishing company of English language books aimed at educating as well as informing readers. Founded in 1989, and based in the United Kingdom, the company has achieved several milestones such as having divisions in the newspaper such as the wall street journal and related publications in several other continents such as Asia. The outstanding publishing program of HarperCollins publishers came to my attention after the much advocated for literature by Steve Harvey “Act like a Lady, Think like a Man.” The recently published book leaves an impression in the lives of readers by revealing how men think and empowers women on strategies of how to domesticate the opposite gender. Personal research on the development milestones of HarperCollins publishers revealed that the company is an auxiliary of News Corporation. The company has experienced different acquisitions and mergers with the latest acquisition of Thomas Nelson, a Christian book publisher in 2011 (MüHlbacher, Dahringer & Leihs, 2006, p. 67). The company publishes a wide range of imprints that are either new or from earlier independent publishing companies. The most recent influential marketing strategy is the web approach whereby book sales and reach is achieved through the online market (Blythe & Zimmerman, 2005 p. 43). This strategy is advantageous whereby the consumers could access selected extracts from a book before purchasing. On the other hand, the downfall of the same is as a result of concern from other publishers who believe that the availability of books online could be exploited through file sharing. HarperCollins publishers have managed to maintain their competitive advantage by developing imprints that are unique from other publishing companies such as MacMillan and Random house. The company also has maintained a culture of open communication with their stakeholders via report sharing. The accountability process ensures that publishing activities run smoothly as well as identify areas that need reinforcement to ensure the company continues to stand out in the world. The company has also expanded its target market via the use of technology and diverse offers. The operating profits shown to have increased by over 100% indicated that the restructuring strategies in the past two decades were successful. Presently, HarperCollins publishers continue to explore innovative strategies to enhance its growth. Marketing strategy review blog 2: value HarperCollins publishers enjoy the business strength of publishing literature in spiritual and religious books, cookbooks, mystery and romance, literary and children’s books. With consumers spread all over the world, corporate value is a very vital concept in the development of the company. This review explores the extent to which customer relation can be implemented. The company offers customer value on a different basis. The readers have the satisfaction of pleasurable and affordable reading experiences. The authors on the other hand, have the satisfaction of their work being published by a globally reputable brand; enjoy editorial support and widespread marketing reach (Gay, Charlesworth & Esen, 2006, p. 89). The value proposition of customer satisfaction would enhance the company’s position in the global market that is increasingly becoming a village due to technological advancements. HarperCollins publishers have adopted the target marketing initiative in order to position their highly competitive products in the minds of the target consumers. Market segmentation adds value to customers by providing dynamic, user friendly and customized products (Hall, 1992, p 84). This has been achieved using different innovative mediums such as technology for example, the progressive expansion of the e-book collection developed the “HarperCollins 360” initiative that ensures that every book published in the different divisions is available in both print and digital formats. This implies that the international catalogue of books will be readily available to consumers in different formats. Customer relations are a process and would evolve depending on a series of interactions such as change in competitor activity and respond to fluctuations such as customer actions. Marketing strategy review blog 3: business environment HarperCollins publisher is a business operating venture and therefore has an internal and external business environment. It is important to understand the implications of the mentioned business environments in the existing marketing strategy. SWOT analysis reveals that HarperCollins publishing company enjoys the strength of being dominant in the publishing industry. Its wide range of operations has enabled the company penetrate into the huge market and different innovative initiatives have also enabled it to diversify further. HarperCollins publishers have developed a strong bargaining power over the years to be at the position to procure several classic and new manuscripts as well as new authors. The major weakness for the company is the focus on the target group which includes the general public and children in specific. This limits the area of interest for the consumers HarperCollins publishers explore the opportunity of having established a good reputation with customers all over the world and can therefore setup more publications across the world in nations with a reading culture. The major threat facing the company is stiff competition from different leading top publishes such as Random house. The company’s competitors operate in different lines of education and finance. These lines of operations have not been explored by HarperCollins publishers who therefore miss out on the potential customers. The disagreement that arises following the review of this blog is the differentiation is the separation of business environments of HarperCollins publishers during SWOT analysis. The business environment influences the company’s marketing strategy in different ways. For instance, following the demographic factor, the target group is the general population therefore; books available over the internet will cater to the wide range of customers from children to adults. The company also targets customer that are wide spread across the globe hence the use of a website accessible to customers at any time of day. Still on the same point, the company also operates in different countries and will therefore need to adhere to the state regulations in order to prosper in the identified market. From the technological perspective, HarperCollins is the most innovative publishers in the world with recent developments creating a platform that allowed for interaction with customers following a quick response to questions asked. HarperCollins publishers also conduct a market research to understand consumer needs from which they undersign author and thereafter publish the product. The company’s strategy against competitors is to constantly being innovative and lastly the company has engaged in the diversification of how to avail books for sale. Marketing strategy review blog 4: market entry The discussion is focused on HarperCollins market strategies about the market in which they operate their achievements and how market entry affects the company’s marketing strategy. As an international company, HarperCollins publishers have explored different modes of entry into foreign or emerging markets. Types of market entry include licensing, joint alliances, franchising and starting fully owned subsidiaries. HarperCollins publishers enter new markets via acquisitions and joint ventures whereby it operates through local distributors in several states while maintaining control over its marketing, brand positioning and product development at its headquarters in New York. Market entry strategies vary due to diverse political, cultural and economic conditions in different markets. The market entry strategy has been a success for HarperCollins publishers in areas such as New York where the population is aware of its existence and will choose it as a publishing company of their choice to as to expand their market. The strategy is equally successful in foreign countries such as Australia where the population is not exactly sure about their choice and would opt to have a joint venture so as not to bear the entire risk of making losses. At this juncture, product differentiation is important so as to meet the local taste and demographics of a particular country (Donovan & Henley 2010). Choosing the best market entry strategy is important for business organizations in order to measure the level of acceptance of the organization in a particular market which helps in determining further course of action required for the company to gain its market share. HarperCollins publishers have copied Ansoff’s model of marketing of using the internet in order to reach the maximum number. For this reason, the company has been able to stay on top of other publishing companies even though there has been no much progress in the market share. The laid out strategic steps by HarperCollins publishers are effective in reaching out to different age groups and help identify potential opportunities required to consistently keep the company growing compared to its competitors. Marketing strategies reviews blog 5: product, service and brand HarperCollins publishers operate a publishing business which involves the use of texts written by different authors to produce books for sale. A product is defined as any commodity available in the market for use, attention or acquisition in order to satisfy either a need or want. The development of economies across the globe has increased global markets and the customer is surrounded by different products, brands and other features that build up the actual value of a given product. The company also operates in the international market accommodating the production of a wide variety of books from different authors. While publishing books, the company adds their titles to its products therefore becoming part of their portfolio. The portfolio is usually found at the company’s website. The activities of the company have been recognized by peer and prestigious organizations which shows the prestige and quality of the business. From this perspective, it can be argued that the HarperCollins publisher has brand equity (Winters, 2005, p. 30). Although publishing charges may differ for different books, the author has the satisfaction that his book will be of high quality and well distributed in the market. The trusted and respectable stature of HarperCollins publishers has been developed over the following a portfolio of high quality products. This strategy to keep the product quality high is achieved via innovative activities such as making material available over the internet (Chaston, 1999, p. 67). HarperCollins publishers also offer consultancy, product customization and teaching services to its customers in order to have a competitive advantage against its competitors. HarperCollins publishers use the time factor in publishing their products so as to produce products that can survive in the market and dominate the market share against their competitors. Bibliography BLYTHE, J., & ZIMMERMAN, A. S. (2005). Business-to-business marketing management: a global perspective. London, Thomson Learning. CHASTON, I. (1999). New marketing strategies: evolving flexible processes to fit market circumstance. London; Thousand Oaks, Calif, Sage Publications. DONOVAN, R., & HENLEY, N. (2010). Principles and practice of social marketing: an international perspective. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. GAY, R., CHARLESWORTH, A., & ESEN, R. (2006). Online marketing: a customer-led approach. Oxford, Oxford University Press. HALL, E. T. (1992). The hidden dimension. [Gloucester, MA], Peter Smith Pub. LYMBERSKY, C. (2008). Market entry strategies text, cases and readings in market entry management. Hamburg, Management Laboratory Press. MÜHLBACHER, H., DAHRINGER, L., & LEIHS, H. (2006). International marketing: a global perspective. London, Thomson Learning. RANCHHOD, A., & GURAU, C. (2007). Marketing strategies: a contemporary approach. Harlow [u.a.], Financial Times Prentice Hall. WINTERS, A. A. (2005). The power of retail branding: innovative marketing strategies for achieving brandpower. New York, NY, Visual Reference Publications. Read More