Company G 1-year Marketing Plan

Introduction

Company G has a well-positioned brand position in the world of development, manufacturing and distribution of the high-quality electronic devices and appliances. It is a stylish company that has a huge product line that comes as a result of the innovative solutions that aim at making the consumer’s life more comfortable and easy. Thus, it has been recording substantial growth after every financial year which is associated with building of strong business relationships as well introducing reliable products that meet customer’s expectations and needs. With the help of organization’s experienced and talented engineers and designers, it is now launching a new product known as the electronic food processor. It is a small kitchen appliance that shall be used in both chopping and blending. Hence, the user shall have a better experience as its application in preparation of food will be faster and less tiresome. The food processor will allow the consumers to improve quality when they blend and chop food products at their convenient time.

Product description and classification

Product description and Support of the mission

The food processor is a small kitchen appliance which facilitate the repetitive tasks during food preparation. Its primary functions shall include chopping or slicing vegetables, grinding items like the nuts, meat, seeds and dried fruit, grating or shredding cheese, pureeing and mixing and kneading the doughs. It is a high quality product with unique features that meet the increasing demand for the fast food processors. It is designed in a way that it has motor in which a vertical shaft turns around and a bowl which fits into the shaft. The end-user places the cutting blades at the bottom of the bowl which allows easy blending or chopping. Company’s mission statement indicates that it aims at providing innovative and high-quality product solutions that improve consumers’ quality and convenience of life. Therefore, through effective market research Company G, it decided to design and develop that solve the inconveniences faced by majority of people contributed the very busy life in this competitive world. As the proportion of women in the working class continuously increases, they have little time to be in the kitchen. Therefore the launch of the food processor can help them save time spent in the kitchen and utilize it in concentrating on the economic activities to improve their standards of living. Thus, the new product shall enable Company G to create high value and focus on satisfaction of the existing and prospective customers in the target market. Hence, they can live the desired healthy lifestyle without having sacrificing much of their leisure, family, work or study time.

Consumer Product Classification

Consumer products can be classified under convenience, shopping or speciality goods. The food processor falls in the category of shopping products. It is because the buying behaviour of this product shall depend on comparison with other different brands. Moreover, before making a decision on whether to buy they compare the quality, price and value creation of the available substitutes. Such product require planning in advance and will not be purchased frequently since it is durable. The consumer factors include planning the time involved in the purchase of the product as consumers will plan on what to buy. Secondly, there is infrequent purchasing frequency and the convenience is little of significance. Thirdly, the consumer shall make a comparison of the quality and price. The marketing factors include the product is somewhat pricey, normal distribution channel length, the seller’s image is very significant and selective number of the sales outlets. Effective advertising and promotion will be crucial to reach the market. Moreover, consumers shall take into consideration the free repair services, discounts and warranties before they make a purchase (Win Marketing, 2016).

Target market

The target market for the food processor will be segmented as explained below. In demographic segmentation, the gender and income level shall be essential. The marketing strategies should target middle class women who want to save their time in the kitchen and utilize it in economic development. When it comes down to geographic segmentation, the company should focus on the nations such as Australia and Italy where they prefer fast food as the appliance will enhance preparation of the fast food dishes. Hence it calls for the marketing team and managers to concentrate on creating awareness in the emerging economies where the electronics industry is still young so as to become profitable (Dibb & Simkin, 2012). In psychographic segmentation, there is need to target the working women who are struggling to have a balance between workplace and home activities. Moreover, Company G should target the healthy conscious individuals who would use the appliance in instant blending of fruit and vegetable juices. There is need to target households, restaurants, and the food chains since it is an appliance used in the kitchen.

Competitive Situation Analysis

Analysis of Competition using Porter’s Five Forces Model

Competitive rivalry:  There is stiff completion among the electronics companies as they strive to gain a large market share through the use of advanced technology and innovative strategies to improve quality of products. Therefore, Company G food processor shall face competition from brands such Hamilton, Oster and Cuisinart that have already launched such device into the market which have a global acceptance by the customers. Thus, it is evident that the rivalry among the competitors is high.

Potential new entrants: The electronics industry requires huge investment, sophisticated technology and high innovations. Therefore, new firms may find it hard to operate in such environment given that companies such as G have a large market share and they utilise economies of scale and apply the cost leadership and the differentiation strategies to continue expanding their product lines. Only companies that can meet the necessary capital can enter and remain competitive. Hence, potential new entrants is comparatively low.

Bargaining power of buyers: Since there are a various alternatives of food processors available to the buyers, they can bargain on several factors like the quality, price and service. Hence, they can seek for large volume of discounts as the switching costs for them will be low. Therefore, there is a high bargaining power of the buyers, particularly in the category of the food processors.

Bargaining power of suppliers: the high credit rating and excellent relationships with the suppliers of Company G makes the bargaining power of the suppliers to be relatively minimal. There are many suppliers with few electronics companies which force them to provide the raw materials and the spare parts at low prices which gives the company an opportunity to continue providing the new products at cheaper rates.

Substitutes: There is a high threat of substitute products as many electronic companies are designing, developing and manufacturing newly innovative food processors that offer solutions to the inconveniences faced in the kitchen. Furthermore, the customers have been performing it manually without using any electronic. The alternatives available include blenders, pie crust and the dough to process fruits and vegetables when performing the kitchen tasks.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis of the Company G aims at identifying the strengths, opportunities, threats and weaknesses that need to be acted upon as a way to achieve success when launching the food processor into the market.

SWOT analysis of Company G

Strengths

The high brand image and logo is a core competency for the company G gives the new product a competitive edge in the electronics industry. Thus it will become easy to expand its existing business. Consumers always prefer products which are recognized and have a better shopping experience.

Efficient human resource is also a core competency to Company G since it enhances the design and development of innovative products with unique features that meet the customer needs and preferences. Company G has team of intelligent designers and engineers who come up with high quality products that remain competitive market.

The low debt-equity ratio enables is a strength which enables the company to maintain better relationships with suppliers and other stakeholders at large. It can also manage its finances efficiently and seek funding during economic as a way to maintain its competitive edge at all times.

The large product portfolio of the small appliances gives the organization an opportunity to benefits from the economies of scale. Hence forth, it can provide quality products at relatively cheap prices. It also facilitates expansion into emerging markets where it can offer a wide range of products to the customers.

Weaknesses

As the marketing department of the company is less efficient, they cannot develop profitable marketing strategies that aligns with overall goals and objectives of the organization. Hence, there will be no extensive market research which can provide customer’s needs as well as identifying the market opportunities to exploit. As a result there will be no product development through identification of gaps and suggesting features to be included in the new product (Business Victoria, 2015).

High dependency on the suppliers for raw materials and component parts is a weakness. Since the dynamic business environment is uncertain, high reliance on the external parties may cause great harm to a company especially if the relationship gets negatively impacted by unpredictable natural events.

The limited product line denies Company G significant advantages such as low cost of production, loyal customer base and meeting the needs and expectations of different market segments. Furthermore, it cannot operate on a low cost structure. Hence, launching of a new product into the target market may be costly and difficult to implement the necessary changes.

Opportunities

The changing life style gives the company an opportunity to design and develop new products that can serve the taste and preferences of the customers. The company’s ability to segment the market and predict the frequent changes in the customer behaviour can help it to respond to the ever changing demands. Hence, offering it several opportunities to grow in the emerging markets.

There is an opportunity to enter into the large electronic appliances market. Over the past years, Company G has been focusing on the small electronic appliances which has made it familiar with all industrial practices in the market. It can utilize this opportunity to grow and start manufacturing large electronic appliances.

International expansion offers great opportunity for Company G to expand overseas and attain a global presence of its brands, image and reputation. As it is dealing with the appliances which make people’s lifestyle comfortable, it can easily expand its business across the border. Henceforth, it will get access to more customers and new suppliers of quality raw materials at discounted rates.

Threats

Intense competition both nationally and internationally in the electronics industry makes it hard for the firm to capture a significant market share. Hence, it has to pull up the market efforts, invest on technology and innovation to achieve a competitive edge.

The technology advancement makes some products of Company G become outdated. With time it will negatively impact the company’s ability to gain potential benefits that it expected after high amount of investment in the technology and innovation.

Changes in government policies that result from the negative political culture, regulations, interest rates and taxation. Such policy changes may lead to increased competition, more demanding customers, loss of the budgetary support and privatisation of the company.

Market objectives

Product objective

Selling the company’s innovative and most recent product, food processor, to increase the revenue by 5% and record 50000 inquiries within one year.

Price objective

Focus on profit maximization potential for the food processor product in a year and the price target should be $ 49.9.

Place objective

Launching the product in more than 20 cities for the experiment purpose within six months and introduce it in five states in five months later.

Promotion objective

Increasing the awareness regarding the existence of the new product in the target market by 40% in nine months.

Marketing Strategies

Product strategies

Necessitate that the research team focus on ensuring that the product development stays abreast of the competitors. It shall enhance the fascinated design of the food processor to improve assurance of the quality.

Compel the marketing and research team to establish new additional features of boiling food as a way to attract more customers who tend to be health conscious.

Establish a team of programmers who shall process the product ideas and continuously keep the product ahead of competition as well as increasing the sales in one year.

Price strategies

Selling the food processor at $ 49.9 with the monthly fee of $ 5.44 to achieve profit maximization potential and also maintain its new features and updates.

The re-sellers have to make sure a minimum price of $ 40.0 is maintained and the consumers pay the monthly immediately after activation.

Collaborating with the middle payment gateways such as the PayUMoney who facilitate provision of various discounts. It shall enable Company G to reach the target market of the middle income level families.

Place strategies

Create the customer care team that will develop and maintain strong relationships with the target audience. This strategy will be facilitated by developing and implementing an effective telephone order system.

Establish a distribution channel in which the interested customers can get access to the sales team.

Utilize the E-commerce website and the virtual stores such as the E-bay to supply the products to the required cities and states within the specified time. Supermarkets, retail shops and local vendors can enhance this distribution strategy.

Promotion strategies

Advertising on the television during the prime-time and day-time hours on the five major networks to spread awareness regarding existence of the new food processor with unique features and quality.

Offer discounts at the initial stages in direct mail marketing and social networks as a means to attract more customers. Utilizing the sales promotion tools is quite beneficial.

Exhibit the product at different expos that contain a large number of middle class women in more than twenty states. This strategy is estimated to increase awareness by 5% over one year.

Explanation of strategies

These marketing strategies are the best towards attaining the objectives outlined in the marketing mix as they focus on ensuring delivery of the right brand message, better shopping experience and appropriate interaction channel. The strategies will facilitate clear definition of the target audience, drive the campaign decisions basing on the integrated analytics and establishment of a loyalty program by analyzing the consumer behavior. Therefore, it will be easy to close the gaps between the sales and marketing objectives to drive the expected significant results. Combination of the multiple marketing strategies will increase awareness, enable the company to reach the targeted market (Business Victoria, 2015). As a result, it will be easier to achieve the suggested time frames as well as responsibilities assigned to each individual in each objective and the action plans to be discussed in the implementation stage.

Marketing Implementation

Product Action Plan

Price Action Plan

Place Action Plan

Promotion Action Plan

Monitoring procedures