Template for Strategic Marketing Assignment (Ver 3.0)  where Applicable: Consider your own organisation and the business environment iScenario n KSA.

 

Answer

 

SCENARIO: My organization is XYZ and we do business in the retail cosmetics industry. The company markets its products in the KSA and products are supplied to customers through its own retails outlets in all the Cities in the KSA…..

 

 

Task 1

 

Q1.1- Evaluate how marketing techniques and tools can support the strategy of an organization? and how this impacts on the marketing plan (1.1)
Critically evaluate a range of marketing tools, techniques and principles’ that can be deployed to support general organisational strategy.

 

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Guidelines:

Red indicates                           : Comment/Instruction/Guideline

Black indicates                        : Information provided to understanding the matters.

Blue indicates                          : Matter to included but re-rewritten in students own word.

 

-Steps Provided (like 1, 2, 3 etc) are meant only for the thought process to arrive at an answer

 

-Expected Word: 1000-1500 Words per TASK

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Answer

Our company, which offer specialized beauty Products, uses focus strategy, to target salons, which in turn serve the ‘high end of market’ .

 

Organizational Strategy	Marketing Techniques	Evaluate how marketing techniques can support the strategy
Focus Strategy		Relationship marketing is highly effective in supporting the company’s focus strategy.   We used avenues like Clubs of Yachting and Golfing and Events like Horse races to develop relationships and these led to higher customer retention rate, better loyalty and gain of new customers within the high-end market segment; thus, strongly supporting the focus strategy.
	Diversity Marketing	Salons that cater to high-end market are our customers. Their clients primarily comprise of Arab, European and American communities’, have their specific needs based on cultural differences, expectations, beliefs.   Therefore for and within these groups, we use diversity marketing, to achieve our Focus Strategy of targeting high-end and highly successful, to retain or develop the base,  by promoting and packaging  products in line with their cultural and social characteristics.
	Seasonal Marketing	Seasonal marketing can be used but not so effective for focus strategy since………

 

Highlight, how these tools/techniques have impacted the marketing plan.

 

Marketing Techniques	Impact on the Marketing Plan
Relationship Marketing	Relationship marketing had very high impact on the marketing plan of our company. The Relationship marketing was handled by product specialists, expert in the field who would, talk to and advice the beauticians and other professionals in the salons thereby establishing consultative relationship, seen essential by client. =>So, the marketing plan had to be elaborate and sensitive enough to accommodate their needs. However, this created a burden on the market plan budget, due to the increased human resources requirements in form of specialized experts.
Diversity Marketing	Since Diversity marketing is highly influential in satisfying our customers’ special needs by taking into account their cultural uniqueness, therefore it has high relevance and high priority in making of the market plan.   The direct impact of it, is the increase in the market plan budget, due to the added cost involved; like:  advertising and promotional materials in English and Arabic, use of bilingual promoters etc.
Seasonal Marketing

 

 

Q1.2– Determine marketing methodologies and approaches that contribute to a marketing plan within complex organizations (1.2)

Determine how key marketing methodologies and approaches contribute towards marketing planning within diverse organizations.

 

Answer

The key methodologies considered are Selling, Marketing and Societal Marketing, to determine their contribution towards the marketing plan.

Selling Approach / Concept   

This concept follows the approach to sell what the company makes rather than making what the market wants.

My organization does not use this Selling approach and therefore, it does not have much affect on our marketing plan.

 

 

However, in companies like Tesco, Virgin, Dell, Halifax use Selling Concept to a high level of success.

 

Also, Life Insurance companies, Encyclopedia Publications etc. relies on selling concept. These companies use of ‘hard sell techniques’ is based on identifying the needs of customers and motivating them to buy.

 

Therefore, the marketing plan has to be developed, incorporating lot of advertising and promotional activities, to enable large-scale selling. Accordingly elements like strategies or budget need to be tailored.

 

 

Marketing Approach / Concept

Marketing concept relies on building long-term, profitable customer relationships and not on aggressive selling programs.

Our company uses the Marketing approach.

Since knowing the needs and wants and Satisfying the Customers is the key, the Marketing Research will feature prominently in the Marketing plan.

Competition would be addressed in detail, various strategies would have to be in place, Other aspects like customer relationship and technical support will also have strong impact in the marketing plan. But ‘Hard Selling’ takes a back seat.

 

 

Other companies like Apple, Samsung etc. also use this approach. However Microsoft and Coca Cola, in addition to marketing concept, use Societal marketing.

 

Societal Approach / Marketing Concept

With this approach companies deliver value to customers and improve both the consumer’s and society’s well-being.

 

My company has just begun to switch to this approach.

 

But Companies like Nike and McDonalds started practicing societal marketing long ago.

They have to do sustainable marketing that is  socially and environmentally responsible, the marketing plan, has to additionally allocate budget and resources to social and environmental aspect…  and….

 

Examples:

Nike

(In 1996, NIKE’s European headquarters in the Netherlands integrated the indoors with the surrounding environment, which ultimately support society’s well being).

 

MCDONALDS

(In April 2008, McDonald’s announced that 11 of its restaurants in England started using biomass trial that had cut its waste and carbon footprint by half, that is directly linked to the society’s future well being).

 

Q1.3– Address risk associated with the marketing plan. (1.3)

 

1.Detail the component parts of the plan.

2. Perform a risk assessment.

 

3. Put in place a contingency plan to address identified risk (Ideally, include within this an action statement)

 

The component parts of the plan

The components of our company’s marketing plan are:

Market Research, Competition, Market plan strategies, Marketing plan budget, Marketing goals and Monitoring of the marketing plan results.

 

Market research:

Our market research department conducted the research for market in the KSA.

Some objectives of Research to know about:

Market Segments, Influencers & Decision makers, competitors, Trends in Advertising & Promotion and Sales volume per segmented Market & Customers.

 

(i) Salon market in the KSA

Total Sales Revenue: SAR 150 million

Total no. of Customers: 3000

Customers details in each Class (based on sales revenue):

Class A- 270 (Sales Revenue of SAR. 2,000,000 and above)

Class B- 1230 (Sales Revenue between SAR. 1M K and SAR. 2M)

Class C- 1500 (Sales Revenue between SAR. 500 K and SAR. 1M)

 

(ii) Target Market Segments:

American Community:……………..

European Community:………………

Arab Community:……………..

Asian Community:………….

South East Asian Community:……………….

African Community:…………………….

 

(iii) Target Customers…………….

 

(iv) Influencers & Decision makers…………………………..

 

(v) Competitors………………………………

 

(vi) Sales volume per segmented Market & Customers………………………………

 

Competition:

The competitors of my company are AA, AB, AC …..

 

Market plan strategies:

 

Marketing plan budget:

 

Marketing goals:

 

Monitoring of the marketing plan results:

 

Risk assessment.

Based on the planning of each of the components (ie. Market research, Competition, Market plan strategies, Marketing plan budget etc.) of the marketing plan, the risks related to branding, demand, concentration, pricing, promotion, distribution, customer experience, product development and sales; result in potential loss and failures in marketing.

 

Risks	Assessment of Risk
Demand	if the demand forecasted is higher than the actual, and the estimated possibility is to a tune of maximum 25%, then resource allocated would be underutilized, thereby loosing opportunities from other streams of revenue.
Concentration	There exists moderate Concentration related risk since the market plan is based on targeting three communities and any major decrease in their buying power could drastically put the company in peril.
Customer experience
pricing	Price related risk has moderate impact on our market, since the products are generally considered not price sensitive.

 

Contingency plan to address identified risk

 

Risks identified	Contingency plan to address the Risk
Demand	To mitigate the risk of under utilization, plans are placed as follows: –       Almost 5% of the staff hired new are on a temporary basis. –       Cars for some staff are procured on rental.
concentration	Although this risk is only moderate, but still protective measures are in place such as: – The market Research included the study of needes and wants of the Asian community, in case of switch to these community, the switch could be fast enough – Also, some of the Key staff, were hired having the experience of that market
Customer experience	…………………………………………….
pricing	………………………………………………

 

 

 

 

Task 2:

Q2.1– Critically analyze the components of a marketing plan and the levels of importance of each component to the achievement of strategic objectives (2.1)

 

Q2.2– Address mitigation strategies for high risk components of the plan (2.2)

 

Answer

Typical components of a marketing plan are:

Market Research: Analysis and Importance:

Since Market Plan Objectives, Strategies to be adopted are all depend on the accuracy of the market research done, and therefore it is a very important stage for the development of marketing plan further.

 

Completion: Analysis and Importance:

 

-But unfortunately, the Competition Analyses was not accurately since neither the Sampling size nor the Data Analysis Tool were apt.

 

-However the market Size and Segmentation were done exactly well, a very important aspect in the market plan which is very helpful to achieve the main Strategic objective to increase the market share to 40% from the current 30% with 2 years  ..

 

Market plan strategies: Analysis and Importance

 

Marketing strategy is an important component in the market plan because it will articulate how the company deliver the products customers and satisfy them. The Market strategies used by our company was found to be………………

 

Complete the Marketing plan component (budget, goals and Monitoring)

 

– Address mitigation strategies for high risk components of the plan (2.2)

 

The Market Research, Competition, and Market Budget are identified as high-risk components for our company in the current economical situation.

 

Market Research fails to address the economic growth of the country:

In this situation, the risk is that the company will fail to take advantage of the opportunity to increase the revenue.

 

Mitigation of Risk: Compare Research Conclusion with Expert reputed western Research Companies that have at least 5 years of Researching history in the Middle East and consider their results to reduce risk.

 

Competition and its Mitigation:

Various Process are in place to address competition

E.g.: If any competitor reduces the prices of their products, the Marketing and Finance department have room, to work out a new pricing policy to address the issue, without incurring loss to the company.

 

Market Plan Strategy fails ….

 

Q2.3– Develop a marketing plan that will achieve strategic objectives for a complex organization (2.3)

– Develop a marketing plan that will achieve strategic objectives for a complex organization (2.3)

 

Presently, our company uses focus strategy, which concentrate on high-end market segments, which cover American, European and Arab communities.

 

The following is the new market plan developed by me for our company.

 

1. Market Research

Market research primarily based on SWOT and PESTEL Analysis are as follows:

 

Findings:

Total Market Value: SAR.150 million

Total no. of Customers: 3000

Customers details in each Class (based on sales revenue):

Class A- 270 (Sales Revenue of SAR. 2,000,000 and above)

Class B- 1230 (Sales Revenue between SAR. 1M and SAR. 2M)

Class C- 1500 (Sales Revenue between SAR. 500K and SAR. 1M)

 

Market Growth rate: @10% per annum

Company’s Present Market Share in Value: SAR. 45 million

No. of Customers: 700

 

Customer Class	No. of Customers	Annual Sales revenue
Class A	100	25 million
Class B	330	15 million
Class C	270	5 million

 

2. Marketing Strategy

 

Executive summary

This market plan is in line with our company strategic Objective to increase our present market share from 30% to 40% within a period of two years.

 

Aim:

Through the implementation of this market plan, the company should tap the markets segments, which include the high-end Asian communities.

 

Marketing Objective: To expand the number of high end customers served from the present 700 to 800 in the first year, followed by an additional 200 to make it 1000 in the year two.

 

Strategy:

Keep the Company Strategy as the same, Focus Strategy

Use of Diversity Marketing tools to communicate and serve the specific high-end Asian community.

 

Key Points of Marketing Action Plan:

Sales visit planned to the selected high-end salons based on salon classification.

 

Salon Class	Frequency of Sales person Visit per week	Frequency of Technician’s Visit per week	Frequency of Sales Manager Visit per week
Class A (Sales Revenue of SAR. 200K and above)	5 days	3 days	1 day
Class B (Sales Revenue between SAR. 100 K and SAR. 200K)	3 days	2 days	Periodical
Class C (Sales Revenue between SAR. 50 K and SAR. 100K)	1 day	1 day	Monthly

 

3. Competitors

 

Competitor	Strategy used	Target market Segment	No. of Customers	Total Sales Revenue per annum	Market share
Ahli & Bro	Focus Strategy	Asian Community	600	SAR. 22 million	15%
Naz Co.	Cost Focus Strategy	Arab Community	410	SAR. 30 million	20%
Medina Beauty	Differentiation Strategy	KSA market	800	SAR. 35 million	24%
Gulf Cosmetics	Focus Strategy	High End American & European Community	300	SAR. 20 million	7.5%

 

4. Marketing Budget

 

Market Projections

Proposed plan for Year-1:

Company’s Projected Market Share in Value: SAR. 55 million

Projected No. of Customers: 800

Projected market share- 34%

 

Revenue Projected:

Customer Class	No. of Customers	Annual Sales revenue
Class A	150	29 million
Class B	360	19 million
Class C	290	7 million

 

Expenses projected for Year-1

 

Expense Type	Annual Budget	% to the Sales Revenue
Human Resources	SAR. 6,600,000	12%
Marketing Expenses (Advertising & Promotion)	SAR. 5,500,000	10%
Distribution	SAR. 2,750,000	5%

 

Proposed plan for Year-2:

Company’s Projected Market Share in Value: SAR. 73 million

Projected No. of Customers: 1000

Projected market share- 40%

 

Revenue Projected:

Customer Class	No. of Customers	Annual Sales revenue
Class A	200	38 million
Class B	475	25 million
Class C	325	10 million

 

Expenses projected for Year-2

Expense Type	Annual Budget	% to the Sales Revenue
Human Resources	SAR. 8030,000	11%
Marketing Expenses (Advertising & Promotion)	SAR. 8760,000	12%
Distribution	SAR. 2920,000	4%

 

5. Marketing goals:

By the year 2 of the market plan the company shall be able to serve all the major high-end customer communities.

 

6. Monitoring of the marketing plan results:

The following table portrays the monitoring plan and it shall continue on a cyclical basis, till the two-year period is complete.

 

Period	Monitoring Criteria	Role of Marketing Manager	Role of Finance Manager	Role of General Manager
One Month	Monthly Sales Target	Assess & take Corrective Action	Evaluation of Sales Target	Assessment of the progress
Three months	No. of Customers	Assess & take Corrective Action		Assessment of the progress
Six Months	Both Sales Target & No. of Customers	Assess & take Corrective Action	Evaluation of Sales Target	Assessment of the progress
One Year	Market Share	Assess & take Corrective Action		Assessment of the progress

 

 

Task 3:

 

Q3.1– Discuss how the plan supports strategic objectives (3.1)

 

Q3.2–  Develop an approach to gain agreement for the marketing plan that will change organization actions and methods to achieve strategic objectives (3.2)

 

Q3.3– Critically evaluate and provides review measures for the agreed plan (3.3)

 

• Discuss how the plan supports strategic objectives (3.1)

 

Answer

The company’s market plan is developed primarily to achieve the company’s objective of achieving 40% market share in two years.

 

The strategy is to target the high-end Asian community, which was not served by the company earlier. In order to serve the Asian community, the market plan propose to recruit Asian origin sales people and Technicians and Sales Managers.

 

Market plan imagines in promoting the company, its quality products and above all its technical support and prompt delivery to the Asian community in order to achieve the sales forecast and the number of customers in the two years.

 

Market plan is developed to achieve sales of 55 million in the first year and 73 million in the second year.

In the first year the market plan will ensure that the market share of the company increase to 34% and 40% in the second year, which is the company’s strategic objective.

 

–  Develop an approach to gain agreement for the marketing plan that will change organization actions and methods to achieve strategic objectives (3.2)

The following approach is used for gaining agreement for the market plan that will change organisation actions and methods to achieve strategic objectives:

 

In our company the Market plan is initiated by the Marketing Manager with inputs taken from all stakeholders.

 

Marketing Manager identified the key stakeholders as follows based on their Area of Work, Authority, Influence etc.

 

General Manager, Finance Manager, Human Resources Manager, Sales Mangers, Product Technicians.

 

Following is Classification (Order of priority) depending on the Interest and Influence level of various Individuals:

• 1 – High priority (High Interest, High influence)
• 2 – Medium priority (Low interest, High influence)
• 3 – Lesser priority (High interest, low influence)
• 4 – Low priority (Low interest, low influence)

 

Key Stakeholders matrix based on order of priority:

 

Stakeholder	Priority	Approach to gain agreement
General Manager	Very High	Constantly update and involve the person at all crucial decision-making Stages. Have prioritised, multiple and efficient ways of communication
Finance and Sales Managers	High	Constantly Consult and Involved- for all crucial financial and Sales related issues. Have multiple and efficient ways of communication.
Experts (Internal or External)	High- Medium	Consult when necessary.
Product Technicians and HR Manager	Medium	Consult on need basis for important technical matters Have 1 to1, efficient ways of communication.
Other Staff	Low	Kept Informed and Occasionally Involved at specific issues. Use mass communication system like email, whatApp

 

Based on the above approach the Marketing Manager can take inputs, built on and monitor the progress of market plan.

 

• Critically evaluate and provides review measures for the agreed plan (3.3)

 

(Do Yourself)

 

 

 

Approaches to gain agreement for Marketing Plan

• Approach to gain agreement for the market plan to achieve strategic objectives:

Steps to be followed:

1. Initiate the draft of the Market Plan
2. Identify and classify the stakeholders based on: Internal / External, Area of Work, Authority, Hierarchy, Power in decision making & interest level
3. Identifying stakeholders’ Interest and the Influence or Power
4. Map Stakeholders based on power in decision making & interest level in business.
5. Develop engagement strategy based on various types of stakeholders
6. Monitor the progress of the stakeholder involvement
7. Develop the Market Plan with the Agreement of all Stakeholders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCE (EXAMPLE)

 

1. Graeme Drummond, John Ensor & Ruth Ashford, (2001), Strategic Marketing Planning and Control 2nd Edition, Burlington, USA.
2. Philip Kotler (2001), A Framework for Marketing Management, Prentice-Hall, Inc .A Pearson Education Company, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey

 

3. Free management books 2018: Market Development Strategy, http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/faqst/ansoff-03.htm [Accessed on 11 March 2018]
4. Wikipedia 2018: Diversity marketing, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity_marketing, [Accessed on 11 March 2018]
5. Hitesh Bhasin (2018) Concepts of Marketing, https://www.marketing91.com/concepts-of-marketing, [Accessed on 11 March 2018]