Strategic Management Degree - Case Study Example

The Company has started manufacturing some of the products such as dairy and baking items. The products available at Wal-Mart are a symbol of quality and variety. Price: "There is a very sensitive relationship between price and the placement of a product. Cheap is easy to sell, or so says history, but expensive can be easy to sell too" (Barac, 2005). Lower prices and discount offerings are the cutting edge benefits of the company. "The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost.

Wal-Mart's relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. (Fishman, 2003) Placement: The presence of the Wal-Mart stores at every important place in the country is the evidence of the effective placement of the stores. Wal-Mart is getting by having a dense network of stores is to facilitate the logistics of deliveries. People: Wal-Mart is famous for its effective recruiting and training of the staff. Although the company remains in news for its controversial policies sex discrimination and labour law violations but the customers are catered with efficient services and best knowledge provision by the staff.

The depth of Wal-Mart's management team allows the managers to tap into tremendous internal talent. Physical evidence: Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix, consumers will make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision which will have an impact on the organisations perceptual plan of the service. The environment at the Wal-Mart stores are clean and user friendly which adds to the uniqueness and competitive advantage of Wal-Mart.Word count: 418ReferencesBarac, R.

, The Marketing Mix: The 4P's, The Basics, 16 December 2005, retrieved as on June 13, 2006 fromhttp://www.marketingroots.net/p=4Fishman, C., (2003). Wal-Mart you don't know, Issue 77, December 2003, Page 68Q2: Compare and contrast promotional mixes or communications strategies of two companies. How can a change of positioning affect the effectiveness of the companies' strategies. Promotion is aimed at informing customers about the presence of the goods or services in the market and persuading them to buy these products and services.

For a promotional campaign to be effective it is important for the company to use most effective combination of the communication channel to reach the consumers. The best blend of these channel is Advertising, Personal selling, Publicity and sales promotion. Another trend, which is gaining importance, is the societal marketing concept. In this age of environmental deterioration, declining resources, increasing population and increasing economic and social issues, the awareness in the people is also increasing.

Most of the companies are now aiming towards satisfying the customers and improving the society's well being. The two