Strategic Marketing Plan of Smart Lightning - Case Study Example

STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF SMART LIGHTENING PART 2 Follower Strategies Programs and Plans Programs that boost survival and preventing a newly established business from suffering intense competition, which may eventually wipe out Smart Lightening out of the market must follow up strategic marketing plan. For this reason, Intelligent Life Corporation must actively engage in serious marketing promotion and branding of their newly launched services and products in order to acquire a market share. This process of marketing entails building brands that is attractive to the customers. The brands must also be cheap and well packaged. It is therefore possible for the company to take advantages of the pioneer’s positioning mistakes. The pioneer company might have made errors in production of the products and the follower can rectify this. Marketing mistakes can also be rectified in addition to taking advantage of the latest economy. Smart Lightening products can be exported abroad to increase sales. The company can also engage in franchising to increase sales and reduce management problems. In addition to this, the company may decide to engage in contact manufacturing to spread their risks. Oversea direct investment is also another important way in which Smart Lightening products may be sold. Every company aspires to be creative in what they aim to promote. To create means to come up with a real thing that is unique and original. Advertising needs three facets in order for it to be creative. The most important facet is the process of creativity. The process requires a lot of attention and how a person remains focuses during the creation process is critical (Ailawadi, 2008). Second most important facet of creativity is the personality involved in the creation process. The characteristics and the personal traits of the person come into play in this situation. The individuals should focus and direct their achievement towards the intended purpose. There will be the need to conduct a SWOT analysis and identify the weaknesses of the pioneer product after which the follower can correct and take advantage. Strengths Weaknesses 1. Quality employees 2. Customer service approach 3. Pricing structure 4. Room for growth 5. Use of technology 6. Quality of advice offered competitors 1. Offer a friendly environment to train and communicate to the staff. 2. Improve on the customer care by introducing questionnaires. 3. Introducing different services that are pocket friendly 4. 1. Currently financed by loans 2. Small business 3. New brand 4. As an owner new to industry 5. location 6. facility How to prevent weaknesses 1. Plough back company savings to the business and only borrow the deficit. 2. Market the new brands by popularizing them more. 3. Seek advice from professional bodies and experienced individuals before making a decision. Opportunities Threats 1. Operate in an affluent suburb 2. Programs available for other niche groups 3. Offer product extensions such as supplements, gym wear 4. Australia’s growing obesity problem 5. Developed technology 6. Availability of supplies How will you explore and undertake opportunities? 1. Use technology as web sites and social pages as face book to reach more customers. 2. Ensure the company has the best and latest that the suppliers have to offer before any of my competitors. 3. Offer a solution to the obesity by developing a program to solve this problem specifically. 1. Philip’s Company 2. Council licensing fees 3. Economic down turn 4. Substitute products 5. High interest rates on loans 6. Hard How will you prevent threats? 1. Be unique in the equipment available and training programs. 2. Ensure that licencing fees are paid in advance for the whole year. 3. If the economic experiences problem reduce the prices and sell cheaper products or reduce the quantity of the product. After analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the pioneer product, it is necessary for the company management to use skimming and early withdrawal strategies to help overcome the barriers of entering the new market. In addition to this, the company my adopt Niche market penetration strategies which is appealing to small and distinct but profitable market segments. Importance of Growth Market Strategies for Market Leaders and Share Growth for Followers One of the importance’s of Performance management is to help an organization achieve set goals and objectives. Its achievement is through maximization of individual employee, a team or the entire organization, which is the function of human resource management. To help in share maintenance, there is need for Smart Life to retain current customers. This is mainly by ensuring customer loyalty by increasing the attention to quality and customer benefits in addition to focusing on advertising on stimulation of selective demand and sales force servicing. To enable employees to be focused and achieve the company’s business plan and objectives performance management and reward system must be there in any institution. It is an important tool in management because it enables individuals to attain self-actualization and strengthen the employee in line with achieving the company’s goals and objectives. It also enables the establishment to reward individuals based on their contributions in goal realization. There is also the need to encourage and simplify purchasing power of the customers. This can be achieved by expanding production capacity of Smart Life products, improving inventories, and capitalizing on distribution channels. There is also the need to develop automatic reader systems and periodic trade promotions, which will help, maintain a good customer base and improve share growth. For effective marketing in the current consumer industry there is a need for comprehensive integration of the application of all these forms media to market the company goods and services. The use of convergence marketing in the business environment will provided advantages to my company (Blackler & Kennedy, 2003). Reduction of attractiveness by switching or developing another brand and product through multiple line extension is another attractive way, which might lead to retention and growth in capacity in the company assets. It will definitely lead to merger that is not false but beneficial to the business as a whole. The marketing environment is constantly changing hence introduction of new product models is fundamental for maintenance of competitive advantage of the business. To achieve this, Smart LifeCompany has to introduce consumer hit constantly and one hit after the other. While marketing, it is important to consider levels of employment and income generations in the country’s economy and how these conditions can be able to sustain your business in the market. There will be need to consider whether household owners have an average high payment and alternative sources of income enough to sustain livelihoods and purchase products while marketing. In addition to this, Smart Life must consider the number of low-income families relative to their small contribution hence providing a large market base for goods and services provided. Finally, Smart Life must consider the number of individuals working part time in comparison to individuals working on full time basis. Considering this will allow the company to know how their different working conditions can influence the market conditions about your products and services (Rhodes, 2012). Every company aspires to be creative in what they aim to promote. To create means to come up with a real thing that is unique and original. Advertising needs three facets in order for it to be creative. The most important facet is the process of creativity. The process requires a lot of attention and how a person remains focuses during the creation process is critical (Ailawadi, 2008). Second most important facet of creativity is the personality involved in the creation process. The characteristics and the personal traits of the person come into play in this situation. They individuals should focus and direct their achievement towards the intended purpose. The last important aspect of creativity is the creative situation. Is the situation workable within any of the practical environmental condition? Some of the creative aspects of advertising include promoting a company’s objective and mission during the process of advertising. This makes the customer to be aware of the product and increase overall sales. The ability to repair a damaged reputation of a company is also a positive aspect that embraced by advertising companies. This helps in eliminating losses and ensuring that the company remains viable. Creativity requires that the product and services remains as relevant to customers as much as possible. The product should also remain promising to the customer mainly through creativity (Klososcky, 2012). In any business environment, we must encounter late adopters in the market. Intelligent Life Corporation through research and development must therefore ensure that it sets the prices low for the late adopters. There is also the need for head- to- head positioning against competitive offers. Using Flanker strategy,it is possible for the company to develop a second brand or products, which will be more appealing to the customers and aiming at a specific segment of potential customers in the market. In addition to this, confrontation strategies can be adopted. Smart Lightening products may be modified and improved in appearance, packaging, and sizes in order to beat superior competitive offerings in the market. This will help retain many customers since the products will be costing lower than the offers made by the competitors. However, during certain circumstances it will be logic and wise to engage in withdrawal strategies by contracting and reducing the number of the products in the market to reduce losses due to rapid competition. For the late adopters, it is necessary that multiple advertising and sales promotions are organized in order to capture their attention and target them specifically. Smart Lightening products may also be built and distributed using specific distribution channels that is mainly targeting late adopters in the market. In addition to this, the company needs to use differentiated positioning against competitive offers in the market in order to attract late adopters. There is also the need to develop multiple line extensions for different geographical location in order to expand the market. Strategies for Maintaining Competitive Advantage There will be need for regular promotions in orderto ensure that the company attains its sales objective as a part of a follow up plan for smart lightening products. Promotions will play a role in encouraging customers to participate in the new product. Promotions will also form a basis of enticing the customers to try the new brand at a lower cost. Current trends and advertisements in the world have become so stiff due to the internet services that are readily available globally. Most companies do their advertising through the internet since it is cheaper and readily accessible to most customers especially through their mobile phone. Social sites like Twitter, Facebook, Gtalk, and LinkedIn have revolutionized the advertisement industry. The rate at which information diffuses through the internet is rampant. The model of advertisement as a way of promotion is highly recommended because of its friendly nature to environmental control. The major aim of advertising a product is to persuade a customer or remind the client to purchase the product or the services. Adverting plays a major role within the marketing mix and promotional mix within the company. Without advertisement, many people would not be aware of the existing products hence advertising plays a major role in informing the customers of the existing products and services and their prices. Advertisement has also made it easy for customers to compare products and make decisions on what they are willing to purchase. Various competitive products are advertised and customers are able to make a comparison and choose amongst the best alternative. For example, in this case promotions will persuade customers to purchase Smart Lightening products rather those from Philip’s company. Below the line, advertising and sales promotion is a short time incentive that mainly aims at a specific customer. Below the line, advertising technique is useful when the target group is specific and small (Shaffer, 2005). This advertising technique as a tool for strategic management to reduce the costs since it is one of the most efficient way of communicating with large intended or target group. It is also important since it adopts specific channels of advertisement that are less conventional in nature as compared to above the line model of advertising. In this regard, it cut costs of mailing, public relations, and other sales such as sales promotion due to its direct nature. Under some circumstances below the line advertisement, generate trials, which become advantageous when it comes to getting customers feedback about the product. This technique also ensures that the brand of the product and important characteristic of the product highlighted therefore promoting the product at the same time. For products that people can touch and feel such as pens, use of below the line advertising strategy is embraced. Branding products from Intelligent Life Corporation will be a marketing strategy plan that will be rolled out for the next month. During this time, customers will come familiar with the new product. Product branding is one of the key techniques embraced by many companies in order to strengthen the customer’s relationship between the company and he product. It also makes the customer to be aware of the product in addition to increasing the customer’s loyalty. Research indicates that purchasing patterns tend to change when a customer’s identifies a brand and becomes loyal to it. Most of the managers attribute increased sales to product and service branding. Through brand promotion, it becomes very simple to identify, and introduce a new product into the market under the brand name. It became so simple for the Coca-Cola Company to introduce the sale of their bottled water product Dasani under their brand name. It is also becomes simple to introduce a new variety of food under McDonald company due to the loyalty it has created with its customers over the years. The branding of Samsung products has made it a major competitor in the production of smartphones overtaking Apple incorporation back in April 2012. While branding, it is important that you consider the following important aspects. Branding creates the first idea about the product in the customers mind. Branding aims at capturing the full attention of the customer. Secondly, ensure that the brand offers the customers perception of the real product. While designing a brand for an organization or a company ensure you include a good mission statement and objectives of the company. Finally, if the branding name satisfies the customer, the customers become loyal to the brand and this in return improve the turnover sales in a business organization. Keeping customers loyal to a brand is cheaper and more profitable to the company compared to attracting and retaining new customers (Ahmad & Buttle, 2001). Profits increase is due to the purchases of new customers who become loyal in the process. This will help win the investors faith in the business and encourage them to pump more cash into the business. The other benefit of loyalty is increase of spread of word of mouth increasing the client base of products and advertising the products of the company. This will lead to enhancement of the image and reputation of the company increasing the customer base and enticing new purchases of products (Kumar & Shah, 2004).Companies therefore create and initiate incentives not for enticing of customers but for increasing and sustaining brand loyalty. Through brand loyalty, companies gain and retain new customers for its products and services. The loyal customers spend more time with the company; they pass on information about the positive aspect of the company to others. These factors encourage and sustain purchases from the company hence profit creation to stakeholders. In order to keep healthy relationship with customers promises and high standards have to be kept. Benefits to the customer include economic advantages, risk reduction, and simplification in decision-making process. The functional benefits comprise of saving time, making best purchase decisions and convenience (Wirtz & Mattila, 2003). The social relationship is an indication of how comfortable the state of the relationship is. Designing Appropriate Organizational Structures and Processes Intelligent Life Corporation are under obligation to use a decentralized decision making structure in order to increase the amount of product specialization. In this case, product managers are responsible for obtaining cooperation from other functional areas but they do not possess any form of authority under these departments. Smart Life Corporations has the advantage of marketing a single product to a large number of markets where customers have varying requirements and preferences. With reference to the intermediary activities, it will be easy for Smart Life Corporations to sell their different products to diversified markets hence the need for different market managers. Organizational structure in other words is the method of leadership that is effective for attainment of organizational goals. All derivatives are not high-risk investments as viewed by many. However, if not properly understood, they can be misappropriated thus leading to negative results. The potentiality of securities is very essential and needs to be considered by management. It is important to collaborate with experienced professionals in opportunities, resources, returns, and risk analysis. Investors should know that any investments involve risks and therefore failure can occur leading to losses. Risk management is one of the most important aspects when it comes to management of any business organization. Risk management is done in all spectres of the organization starting from economic and socio-cultural effects that may arise in the business. In order to avoid risks, it is important the management of Smart Life Corporation to engage in serious planning of the organization’s activities. The reason behind success is due to the different strategies that companies use in different geographical regions. The agents of change usually affect the structural features. The performance of a particular organization depends on the proper understanding of the change process and its impact on the parties involved in the organization. Therefore, the drivers of change base on the formal and informal entities, authority structures, interests, and incentives in an organization. Characteristics of Sustainable Competitive Advantage These competitive advantages are inevitable for the organizations that want to achieve high performance with reduced risks. The advantages are not limited to external characteristics but compose of the expression of original value-added qualities and they are considered a result of a non-stop differentiation. The major characteristics include; Selection of improvement portfolios Organization of information Designing, execution, and maintenance of the strategic critical processes Marketing Metrics and Marketing Audit In order to remain competitive in the market firms should reduce operational time and ensure that the supply chain time is reduced to ensure effectiveness within a firm. The chain linking the production process to the customer should be as short as possible to prevent increase in price and other limitations. Dwell time is mostly associated with the ordering process where the client places an order before in order to reserve the materials and capacity. It may also apply when the customer requests to stop the transportation of the ordered goods for some time. This concept of dwell time applies to both upper and lower metric levels. Keeping supply chain data and metrics in one central position is vital since it allows for supply chain and stockbrokers to have an easy access to the latest information on the firm. The information can be used for marketing and future planning between the manufacturer, the marketing team and the warehouse or the retailer. The easy access to the information also facilitates the systematic update of out of stock levels and lost sales. In case of lost sales, an adjustment can be done without affecting the production processes. The out of stock information is also important during the decision making process. The cash to cash is a basic financial concept. It is described as the average time required to turn a dollar invested in raw material to the dollar collected from the customer. Cash to cash conversion can be used to determine the liquidity ratio of a firm’s valuation. It is also a universal measurement of the supply chain as it bridges the gap between the processes running in and out of a firm.It is therefore important to realize that supply chain management emphasizes the logistics-taking place through marketing and production. Supply chain activities require the proper coordination and collaboration to attain competitive advantage since companies compete based on supply chain management. Index Average Averaged index aims at discussion the financial capability of the group and why it was chosen. The projection for the group is able to sustain and maintain the business. This section aims at correlating the budgeted amount with what is actually going to be used by the company in form of training and the general maintenance of the company. Logistics management involves the process of making a product or a service valuable to the customers and suppliers. For this purpose, time and place utility are very important. Logistics management within the supply chain must therefore be a process adding value to the product or service (Larson, 2004). The rapid change and evolution in science and technology has seen logistics management play a major role in the management of a business organization. The emergence of e-commerce has allowed logistic management to place many firms strategically in order to exploit the potential chances available within the internet. However, despite the simplicity that logistic management provides to e-commerce, there is still a fact that goods and services must be transported from place to another.Perfect orders check include those areas where there is direct interaction with the customer including support areas (Esper, 2007). A perfect order measures the effectiveness of the overall logistic performance. Perfect orders integrate with all the supply chain and business partners. This component of the organization greatly depends on organization’s supply and purchase chain and is dependent on how the organizational supply chain is efficient. We can summarize perfect ratio as the ratio of perfect orders to the total orders of that supply chain (Mentzer, 2008). Oliver developed the theory of expectancy and disconfirmation in 1980 and it proposes that satisfaction level is a result of what the customer expects and what the customer perceives. According to Oliver, satisfaction will occur when the product or service is better than the way it was expected. Studies have indicated that customer satisfaction has a direct and indirect link impact on business results (Storey, 2006). Customer satisfaction is involved with meeting the customer’s expectations and not the real requirements. Customer satisfaction is also variable since what satisfy one customer does not satisfy the other. There has been a tendency of treating all customers equal but this is wrong. Logistics management is important in ensuring that businesses compete effectively to gain comparative advantage. Dwell time is mostly associated with the ordering process where the client places an order before in order to reserve the materials and capacity. It may also apply when the customer requests to stop the transportation of the ordered goods for some time. This concept of dwell time applies to both upper and lower metric levels (Willersdorf, 2007). Management with regard to shareholders and owners has become significant and broadly applied. The practice of this makes one be termed as an effective manager. The management should consider the stakeholders, their response concerning the company activities and even regulations on the stakeholders for efficiency. In order to understand the sole responsibilities of a company the following need checking: The goals of the management and stakeholders considering the existing company plans The goals of management considering the stability and maintenance of the company not liquidation The appropriate actions for the company’s success; the social responsibilities of the company within their particular society The management guidelines with operational activities and influence of the social entities surrounding the company The regulative objective for all companies should actually be the shareholders company value satisfaction. The implementation of this objective ensures that the interest of the company owners gets factored in appropriately. At times, this objective results into loss of jobs as the stakeholders act to benefit their economic interest. Consideration of owners and shareholders within a company is essential for any firm that wants to achieve economic success. Companies need to be able to make fast and accurate decisions all the time, the decisions include; ones between the company’s profits and market share maintenance. References Ailawadi, K. L. (2008). The Effect of Promotion on Consumption. Journal of Marketing Research, vol 35 390-398. Ahmad, R., & Buttle, F. (2001). Customer Retention:a Potential Potent marketing Strategy. Journal of Strategic Management , 29-46. Blackler, F. & Kennedy, A. (2003). The Design of a Development Programme for Experienced Top Managers from the Public Sector. Lancaster University: Working Paper Esper, T. F.-S. (2007). 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