Situational Analysis and Marketing Objectives for Big W Online Services - Case Study Example

Situational Analysis and Marketing Objectives for Big W Online Services 2011 [The paper looks into the situational analysis for Big W, by using different tools loke the 7P’s of marketing, the external analysis, competitor analysis, customer analysis and SWOT. This will help to find out the marketing objectives for Big W and ensure the future direction the company needs to follow.] Situational Analysis Executive Summary Big W is a retail store based in Australia which provides goods at discounted prices through stores and online stores. The company has worked on the model of ensuring low prices and has been successful in developing its business accordingly. The report presents the mission and product line Big W deals in. This helps to identify the long term opportunity that it has. The 4P’s of marketing helps to highlights the area Big W has worked upon and the areas that have acted as their success factors. This helps to find the internal analysis. The customer analysis deals with the buyer behaviour and the targeted audience which helps to provide the direction needed for the restaurant to market itself. The external analysis highlights the opportunities the restaurant industry provides to Big W. The report also has the competitors’ analysis which shows that it faces competition and despite it the restaurant has been able to sustain its customers. The SWOT analysis presents s the different opportunities the restaurant has. Thus, the report helps to find the various opportunities and areas where Big W needs to work upon to ensure that the services rendered by them helps them to earn customer. This is on the back drop that Big W needs to ensure that they are able to deliver quality service and products to ensure steady customers. Contents Introduction 4 Purpose of the report 4 Internal Environment Analysis 4 Background of Big W 4 Mission Statement 5 Brand Detail 5 Product Line 5 4P’s of Marketing 5 Target Customers 6 Unique Value Proposition 7 External Environment Analysis 7 Analysis of Retail Outlet Market in Australia 8 Analysis of Online Shoppers in Australia 8 Key Drivers for Online Shopping in Australia 8 PESTEL Analysis 9 Porter Five Force Model 10 Competitor Analysis 11 SWOT Analysis 13 Strategic Objectives 13 Supply Chain Analysis 14 Conclusion 15 References 16 Introduction The paper looks into the situational analysis for Big W, by using different tools look the 7P’s of marketing, the external analysis, competitor analysis, customer analysis and SWOT. This will help to find out the marketing objectives for Big W and ensure the future direction the company needs to follow. Purpose of the report To conduct an internal analysis for Big W To find out the external environment having an impact on Big W To find out the competitors and PESTEL for Big W To arrive at a SWOT analysis for Big W To find out the marketing objectives for Big W Internal Environment Analysis The analysis will help to provide the areas that the company is working on and the strengths for Big W. Big W by working on their strengths will be able to improve the performance and ensure better returns for the investors. Background of Big W Big W is one of the growing departmental stores in Australia and has over 165 outlets. Big W is a subsidiary of Woolworth and has it’s headquarter in New South Wales, Australia. The company has relied technology and ensure that online sales which has ensured that the goods are available both nationally and internationally. The company has also opened stores which has helped the company to multiply its sales rapidly (Big W, 2011) Mission Statement Big W works on the mission of providing goods at the lowest prices by ensuring that they have different promotional offers each day so that every section of the customer can be aimed at (Big W, 2011) Brand Detail Big W has looked towards increasing their customer base by increasing the number of offers offered to customer. This has helped the super market to grow since its inception in 1960 to 165 stores presently. Big W offers various services like lay-by, parcel collection, home delivery, online processing of photos. Apart from this Big W also performs as other retail outlets and ensures that the customers have a lot of option to choose from. Product Line Big W provides different types of products for the customer to choose from. The company has looked towards providing both branded and non branded products at discounts so that customers find it easy to purchase the product. 4P’s of Marketing This analysis will help to identify the marketing strategy that Big W looks to adopt in the market and the areas they need to work on Product Big W offers a wide variety of products for the customer to choose from. The company has looked towards providing both branded and non branded products at a discount. Big W has also ensured that the supply chain is sound so that the products are readily available both online and in the stores. This has ensured that impulse marketing is on a rise as people visiting stores have a habit of impulse purchase (Perner, 2008) Price Big W has worked on the model of providing low price everyday by differentiating the offer so that every section of the customer is attracted by offering something new each day. The industry is Australia has multiple price mechanism working according to the living standard. The industry in Australia offers “a mix of different pricing giving the service provider to tap the market in different cities as per the living standard” (Justin, 2008). This has helped Big W and ensured that they are able to work on their core strengths. Place Big W has focused on it and ensured that they have outlets at most of the places which includes New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and Northern Territory. Along with it Big W has focused on ensuring that the stores are developed at places which are at close proximity for the customers (Chaffey, Fiona, Johnston & Mayer, 2008) Promotion Big W has relied a lot on in store promotion where they highlight the different offers available to the customers. The company also looks towards using television, radio, billboards, newspaper, hoardings, and public relations, personal selling, direct mail and internet” (Justin, 2008) to promote their store. Also the use of internet and the availability of products through online sale have increased the popularity of the product. Target Customers Big W looks to target a lot of customer of different age groups because the store format provides different type of goods suiting each pocket and customer (Luther, 2011). This has helped the store to ensure that they are able to perform better and ensure better services and provide a wide array of products to choose from This helps to identify the target market of Big W as follows Targeted Segment Age Group Class of Customer Customer Needs Rural 5 - 70 years Premium Middle Class Lower Middle Class Providing quality product Superior taste fitting the pocket Semi-Urban 5 - 70 years Middle Class Lower Middle Class Quality product at a price suiting the pocket Urban 5 - 70 years Lower Middle Class Low priced product with good taste Businesses look toward identifying the strategy of the competitors so that they can identify the potential the market has and develop their own strategy based on it (Ireland, Hoskisson and Hitt, 2007, P. 162). This goes a long way to build a strategy which closely resembles to those of the competitors thereby helping to improve the efficiency of the marketing segment. This has been substantiated by a study which stats that identifying competitors helps to develop sound strategies (Bangs, 2002, p. 61). Unique Value Proposition Big W’s major marketing focus is on achieving price leadership in branded products, everyday. It is also focusing on integrated channel offering. This has helped Big W to ensure that they provide products used in daily lives at a lower price and at the same time ensure quality. This is a unique value proposition which the company has worked on and has helped the company to ensure that they are able to establish different establishment over the entire country. External Environment Analysis Understanding the external analysis will help to find out the manner in which the external environment have an influence on the working of Big W and will help to find the areas the company needs to look into for the smooth functioning Analysis of Retail Outlet Market in Australia The online industry in Australia is booming and is expected to reach $36.81 billion per annum by 2013. The online growth rate for shoppers increased in 2010 as various new similar online format stores were opened. This along with the increase in shoppers who prefer to shop online has increased. Also the growths of players who have both physical stores and online store have gone up. Travel and groceries however constitute up to 50% of the total Australian online retail Analysis of online Shoppers in Australia It is difficult to distinguish the type of shoppers Australia has because it has a mix of people from soci-economic background and demographics. About 35% of the shoppers in Australia come from rural background (Hills, 2011). Despite poor connection at the rural areas the growth of online purchase has increased (Chimhundu, Hamli, 2011). This has helped the business to be conducted despite the geographical barriers present. Key Drivers for Online Shopping in Australia Since customer can place order 24/7 while using the online shopping experience the section has seen growth and more and more people are using it as a medium to grow (Limbu, Wolf & Lunsford, 2011). Also the availability of different offers while shopping online has made many customers use it as a medium of shopping. PESTEL Analysis PESTEL Analysis forms an important aspect for Big W as it will help them to find out the different areas they need to look into and develop their marketing strategies accordingly The above chart highlights the manner PESTEL analysis which is having an impact on the business of Big W. Porter Five Force Analysis Analyzing the Porter Five Force Model will help to understand the manner in which it has brought about changes in the decision making process of Big W. This will help to draw inferences in the manner Big W was able to develop itself. This thereby will provide emphasis on factors which are critical for the success of Big W (McLoughlin & Aaker, 2010). The analysis of the Porter Five Force Analysis is as follows The above chart helps to explain the manner Big W is facing competition and the areas they need to work on so that the performance of the organization improves and they are able to ensure better performance. Competitor Analysis Big W faces stiff competition from other players in the industry. The increasing presence of global and local brands in Australia is making it difficult for Big W to develop strategies which differentiate them from their competitors (Wilson & Gilligan, 2005). With little or no differentiation between the products of one player to another makes it difficult to ensure that the competition level is putting pressure on Big W. Some of the key competitors of Big W are Kmart, Target and Wal-Mart Kmart Kmart is a global chain has 172 stores throughout Australia. The following services are offered by Kmart stores in Australia: photo equipments and development, sporting items, cutlery, stationery and confectionary, clothing, footwear etc. The company has worked on a similar model as followed by Big W which has intensified the level of competition and made it difficult to sustain a large market share. Target Target Australia is owned by Wesfarmers and there are 172 stores in Australia. Though it started as a typical discount departmental store it has now positioned itself as a stylish price performance alternative to specialty stores. The products they sell are very similar to that of Big W, Kmart or Wal-Mart. Target also has started products specific to baby care and home wares. Their price their products slightly above Big W and Kmart but promise superior quality. On the online retail space, Big W faces competitions for few other store within Australia. These stores and their specialty is mentioned below. Catch of the Day: This Company has the ‘one deal a day format’ where it sells one popular product for the best possible discount. Deals Direct: This is one of the biggest online department stores in Australia and has excellent marketing initiatives. It has the backing of Google and does very well in utilizing the social media. Dick Smith: The design of the site is very good and ranks high in usability factors. Users know exactly where to find what and get plenty of information on the site itself. A comparison of the competitors is provided below K mart Wal Mart Target Big W Aims at all people Aims at all people Aims at all people Aims at all people Offers variety at different prices Offers variety at different prices Offers variety at different prices Offers variety at different prices Strength Wide range of products Using online formats to sell the products Strength Wide range of products Using online formats to sell the products Strength Wide range of products Using online formats to sell the products Strength Wide range of products Using online formats to sell the products SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis of Big W will help to identify the areas where the company can work and strengthen itself into a better player. The following is the SWOT analysis for Big W Strategic Objectives Objectives for a business hold an important aspect as it helps to decide the future course of action that the company looks towards following so that the objectives of the business can be achieved (Cateora, Mary & Graham, 2009). This helps to identify the short and long term objectives of Big W which is shown below Short Term Objective No additional charges for home delivery and cash back on return of items within 15 days Continue price leadership – offer the best prices on some of the best known brands across the globe and offer this low price though out the year, every day Key Performance Indicator: The above short term objective will help Big W to improve their brand and will show the customers that Big W is considering to provide the products at the best competitive rates (Czinkota, & Ronkainen, 2004) Long Term Objectives Over 40% of Big W’s revenue to come from online services Big W will leverage on both the physical and online channels for delivery and thereby creating an integrated channel for delivery. With this every Australian can be a potential shopper Reduce online frauds on Big W to less than 5% Key Performance Indicator: To ensure that Big W is able to achieve its long term objective the company should ensure continuous feedback from the market and other associates at the same time ensure that they develop different promotional campaign which highlights the efficiency and benefits of the product. Big W objectives matches well with the mission statement and the steps the company is taking will help the company to achieve this feat. Big W can improve its brand image through analyzing their risk management strategy which will help Big W to deliver better services (Fletcher & Crawford, 2011) Supply Chain Analysis Big W needs to ensure that its supply chain is developed in a manner which ensures that the goods are available to the customers both in the stores and online at time. Along with it Big W needs to ensure timely delivery of goods when booked through the internet and ensure that all mechanism is developed to ensure that the store benefits and the brand image improve. Conclusion Big W needs to ensure that it is able to work on the areas that help to improve their brand image and at the same time ensure that they are able to grow. The company needs to ensure that they develop their marketing strategy accordingly so that they are able to work on areas which will highlight the different areas that will benefit the giant and ensure better returns for the organization References Bangs, D. (2002). The market planning guide: creating a plan to successfully market your business, product, or service, Sixth Illustrated edition, Kaplan Publishing Chaffey, D., Fiona, C., Johnston, K. & Mayer, P. (2008). Marketing of stores format business. 4th Edition, page 237-239, Pearson Education, India Chimhundu. 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