Marketing Plan for Lord Wolseley Pub situated in Sydney - Case Study Example

Marketing Plan Name Institution Course Date Executive Summary There is intense competition between pubs in Australia. Therefore, in order to gain competitive advantage, a pub needs to come up with strategies that will improve its operations. This study will review the marketing plan of the Lord Wolseley Pub situated in Sydney. First, the report will highlight the situational analysis in terms of market, customer, company and industry analysis. It will also identify the key issues to be addressed in the plan and the marketing objectives that need to be achieved. The report will offer action program detailing out what is to be done, by whom and the costs involved. The role of social media in rating the pub will be reviewed and a brief budget and profitability analysis will be presented. Lastly, the paper will highlight the monitoring and control technique to be used for the plan. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Situation Analysis 4 Opportunities and Issues Statement 5 Strengths 5 Weaknesses 5 Opportunities 5 Threats 5 Marketing Objectives 6 Marketing Strategies 6 Marketing Mix 7 The Role of Social Media in Lord Wolseley Pub 8 Brief Budget and Profitability Analysis 8 Monitoring and Control 9 Summary and Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction The competition among pubs in Australia is fierce and in order to be successful, a pub needs to position itself in a way that will allow it gain competitive advantage (IBISWorld, 2016). There are a number of marketing ideas and strategies that can assist any pub improve it business and attract attention of the customers. This paper will illustrate a marketing plan for The Lord Wolseley Pub in Sydney. It will first offer the situational analysis including market, industry, competitors and company’s information. The essay will also highlight SWOT Analysis of the Lord Wolseley, the marketing objectives to be achieved and marketing strategies to be used. It will also highlight marketing mix and the role of social media in rating the pub. Brief budget analysis of the plan will be presented and monitoring and control factors highlighted. Situation Analysis The Lord Wolseley Pub has been in business for a while now and marketing is necessary for its success. The pub offers a comfortable and person-meeting environment with fresh ales, open fire and plenty of food (Lloyd, 2016). The pub is organised to try to bring people who need a quiet and relaxing time and also it facilitates new friendships. The market trend for pubs in Sidney is directed towards a more sophisticated and stylish customer. The pubs are more sophisticated as they offer different quality foods, access to meeting people, and confortable environment to relax etc. (Lloyd, 2016). The global pub/restaurant market was estimated to be $24 billion in 1999 and has grown by 9 per cent over the years. The pubs and bar industry has low market share concentration. It is very fragmented with several small, independently owned businesses (IBISWorld, 2016). The industry has performed modestly but the revenue has dropped due to declining per capita alcohol consumption expenditure. The industry serves customers ranging from old people, middle class individuals, single people and people who appreciate enjoyment and fun (IBISWorld, 2016). Opportunities and Issues Statement Strengths The pub exterior is clean, presentable and tidy The prices are lower than some competitors The pub has excellent customer service It has a themed entertainment night The pub has strong relationship with the vendors It has additional items offered in addition to its drink menu Located in a prime location Weaknesses The pub does not advertise its pub often The pub has limited resources available allocated for marketing budget It offers products and drinks that are already in the market The pub is located in only one location Compered to its competitors the pub offers products at relatively high prices Opportunities The pub has the ability to reduce its prices through efficiency gains Increasing sales opportunity due to its brand recognition The pub has an opportunity to improve its quality through technological advancement The pub is within a growing market with some target market still unaware of its offerings Threats Intense competition from already established rivals A slump in the economy that threatens to decrease spending The issues that will be addressed in the marketing plan include product prices, opportunity for expansion, overcoming competition, and increasing sales and profits. Marketing Objectives Increase in its annual income by 4 per cent by the end of two years in order to double its revenue by 2018. Bring to the customers a portfolio of quality products that satisfy the customer’s needs and expectations. Maintaining quality management and product within the pub at all times in a friendly environment. Open up new pubs in other markets with growth potential before 2020 Maintaining well-trained employees who would serve the huge amount of customers every day. Providing good return on investment to all the shareholders and to uphold social and environmental sustainability. Introduce more nutritional and healthy foods in the pub by the end of the quarter. Continue to reinstate and build the relationship existing between the company and the customers in order to boost its competitive advantage. Reduce the price of its products and services for the average household. This can be done through cutting prices in some products and offering pub deals. Marketing Strategies The Lord Wolseley Pub’s value proposition should be to offer diverse and high quality products and services to the customers. The pub should use differentiation strategy in order boost its competitive advantage (Johnson et al., 2014). The Lord Wolseley should establish itself as one of the well-known pub in Australia. It can do this by differentiating itself by spending large amount of capital in advertising and promotion to create a unique image of the brand (Christos, 2009). In addition, it can provide different products that are unique and different from the competitors. The Lord Wolseley can be positioned as the most luxurious pub in Australia offering quality for the money spent. The pub can offer different products that cater for all income groups. While most of the competitors cater for average level of income groups, the pub can be more focussed on offering premium products to cater for high earners and other products to cater for average earners (Christos, 2009). In order for an organisation to strive, it must have resources and capabilities that are rare, valuable, imitable and non-substitute (Barney, 2001). In terms of capability and resource framework, Lord Wolseley can establish strong and capable financial resource through partnership and merger and acquisition. With strong financial capabilities, it can go forward and create markets on a large scale in different regions, it can use the funds to build infrastructure, expand market as well as train its staff (Christensen and Kaufman, 2006). Marketing Mix In order to achieve the objectives, the staff should be trained, the pub should offer discount opportunities, the pub should form a partnership with another business which shares the same vision, and it should expand on is products offerings. Introduction of diverse products should take place before the end of the quarter through the support of the management and stakeholders. Employees should undergo training in the next financial year in order to enhance customer service. Expansion to other markets should be a long-term plan and should take place within 7 years and should involve all the shareholders. Offering discount opportunities and enhancing its promotional and advertisement activities should start immediately and should involve the marketing department. The Role of Social Media in Lord Wolseley Pub How people communicate has changed dramatically with the introduction of social media. Traditionally, brand stories were done through none-to-many marketing communications like advertising (Mulhern, 2009). Today, social media is one of the most used marketing media. Brand stories are communicated clearly and openly to audiences through the social media and this had enabled organisation gain competitive edge. Social media users share their information and knowledge as well as the experiences of purchasing of products and services provided by different stores and companies and this accelerate the construction of brand meaning. Social media can be used in rating the Lord Wolseley Pub. Rating includes social media authorship, engagement, reach and demographics (Mulhern, 2009). This will provide a comprehensive answer of how consumers respond to the pub’s products and services through social media. It will give an opportunity for the pub to make any changes needed in order to better their products and services. Brief Budget and Profitability Analysis The estimated profit after the implementation of some immediate plans will be about $180,000 for the coming year and this will increase to $350,000 for the next year. The number is expected to grow as a result of the implementation of other plans in the course of the coming years. Advertising and promotional activities will take about $10,000 of the overall budget and the training will account for about $7,000. Introduction of additional menu will account for about $9,500. Monitoring and Control Collecting evidences is a great way of monitoring. Collecting evidences to demonstrate the success of the implementation can be conducted through the following processes: gathering feedback from the employees of the company through either survey or anecdotal and conducting compliance audits regarding the plans (Passikoff, 2006). In addition, in order to carry out a proper monitoring, comparison should be made between the prior systems and the current systems put in place. Benchmarking is a great way of reviewing and monitoring the plans of Lord Wolseley Pub. The pub can compare its performance as a result of the new strategy with the performance of other pubs (Passikoff, 2006). This will enable the pub determine the effectiveness of the strategies. Summary and Conclusion The pub and bar industry is competitive and fragmented with several small players. Lord Wolseley is located in Sydney and offers diverse drinks and foods and has serene environment. In order to gain competitive advantage, there are a number of objectives to be achieved such as expansion, lowering of prices, and enhancing customer service etc. In order for these objectives to be achieved, the pub should use differentiation strategy and strengthen its financial capabilities. The staff should be trained, the pub should offer discount opportunities, the pub should form a partnership with another business, and it should expand on is products offerings. Implementation of these plans will enable the pub gain sustainable competitive advantage. In order to monitor and review the plans, benchmarking strategy can be used. References Barney, J 2001, “Is the resource-based “view” a useful perspective for strategic management research? Yes”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 41-56. Christensen, C. M & Kaufman, S. P 2006, Assessing Your Organization’s Capabilities: Resources, Processes, and Priorities, New York, McGrawHill. Christos, N 2009, The Sustainable Competitive Advantage and Catching-up of Nations: FDI, Clusters and the Liability (Asset) of Smallness, Management International Review, 49(1), 95-119. IBISWorld 2016, Pubs, Bars and Nightclubs in Australia: Market Research Report: Pubs, Bars and Nightclubs Market Research Report | ANZSIC H4520 | May 2016, p. 13-37 Johnson, Scholes, Whittington, Angwin & Regner 2014, Exploring Corporate Strategy, London, Prentice Hall. Lloyd, E 2016, The Best Old School Pubs in Sydney, Retrieved on 4th Sept. 2016 on https://www.timeout.com/sydney/bars/the-best-old-school-pubs-in-sydney Mulhern, F 2009, “Integrated Marketing Communications: From Media Channels to Digital Connectivity,” Journal of Marketing Communications, vol. 15, no. 2–3, pp. 85–101. Passikoff, R 2006, Predicting market success new ways to measure customer loyalty and engage consumers with your brand, Hoboken, N.J., John Wiley & Sons. Read More