Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors - Assignment Example

Report Reference The report is prepared for the Chief Executive Officer of ‘Fizbiz’ so as to evaluate the feasibility of introducing new product. The company would like to introduce new packaging format for their soft drink and move from ‘can’ to plastic bottle. Procedures Our team had conducted a research to find out; The benefits of using plastic bottles for fizzy soft drinks. Conducted survey for market segmentation based on age and preferences. Most effective means of creating awareness of the soft drink in new packaging and popularizing it amongst the people. Findings It was found that soft drink in the plastic bottles was more popular because fizz could be retained for a longer period of time as it has ‘re-sealable top’. The plastic bottles fitted with the lifestyle of younger more mobile customers as the drink could be kept ‘fizzy whilst customers are bizzy’. The young clientele like children and young executives preferred plastic bottle to can because it was cheaper and was reusable. Advertisements significantly impact the popularity and awareness of the drinks. Conclusions New packaging in plastic bottle would greatly improve the sale of the soft drink Mixed marketing would be highly suitable format of creating and popularizing the drink in the new packaging. Recommendations Strategic marketing plans are crucial part of promoting products and services of an organization. The market plans are focused around 4Ps (product, prices, place and promotion) and a good market strategy always takes these points on a priority basis (Porter, 1980). It is equally important that while planning appropriate market strategy, proper use of SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis is taken up. Awareness of strengths and weaknesses in the company’s resources facilitate and match the opportunities and threats so as to provide a competitive edge to their rivals. SWOT analysis must therefore be carried out to up grade internal strengths of the company to meet the external opportunities and exploit them in a manner that would provide the company with cutting edge advantage over their rivals. Strategic marketing plans are crucial part of promoting products and services of an organization. Segmentation of market therefore, becomes one of the most important criteria of developing appropriate strategy for introducing and marketing products. Segmentation basically refers to group of people with certain homogenous characteristics who could have the potential of becoming future buyers of the product. This becomes the first step for broadly defining market imperatives, especially for new products that are to be introduced. Fizbiz needs to launch its soft drinks in the market and within the market it needs to identify the segment that would best help to create a market position. The market strategy of the products involves an in-depth study of the changing preferences of the people and segmentation of the market so that appropriate market strategy for the product can be developed for the identified target customers. The new products are thus introduced for the pre-defined customers as per their requirements with competitive pricing. Montgomery has asserted that strategy needs to be dynamic to encompass the changing paradigms of the times (Montgomery, 2008). Indeed, it is not only relevant but essential in the contemporary environment of competitive business. The plastic bottles are more suited to the contemporary lifestyle of younger generation and would greatly enhance the appeal for the soft drink. The fast changing socio-economic paradigms and advancing technology has tremendously changed the dynamics of market strategies. In the contemporary times, the customer has become much more informed and technology has provided him with more options within the similar product lines, but produced by different companies. In such a highly competitive environment, Fizbiz needs to base the market segmentation according to psycho-demographic pattern so as to maximize the initial impact and create a creditable position within the market. Psycho-demographic is chosen as the focus area primarily because of the fact that the competition within the industry demands a creation of a niche market for Fizbiz to become a success. Fizbiz faces stiff competition from the already established brands like Pepsi and Cola Cola. Psychographic or lifestyle pattern categorizes the market according to which people exhibit a well defined way of living, maintaining a set of standard and display a typical purchasing behavior. Demographic segmentation would further split the market and Provide better tool to develop strategies. Of the various demographic characteristics, the most useful would be the income and age-wise identification of the group that could be targeted through intense media blitz and other market techniques to attract them and make them a committed user and purchaser. The mixed segmentation is hugely popular in the contemporary times and gives a big leverage to the companies to plan its market strategy in a more flexible manner and successfully introduce their products in a new market. The technological advancements have brought forth an explosion of information that is easily accessible to public through the internet and other media like television, radio, mobile phones etc. The internet has made it easy for the customers to become aware of the product details including its availability at competitive prices which has precipitated the need to develop a whole new perspective for a new marketing technique. Shultz say that it is the end-users who now control the markets rather than the marketers (Shultz, 2001). Fizbiz needs to understand the compulsions of the contemporary times and adopt innovative and mix market strategy for its soft drinks to meet the challenges from its rival companies in the global market. ‘In cognitive learning, the individual learns by listening, watching, touching, reading or experiencing and then processing and remembering the information’. (Think Quest, 2008). Theory of cognitive learning is important because it implies that that through various means of learning processes, people are able to retain the information in the memory and apply it as and when required. When applied to advertisements, this theory becomes highly relevant. The impact of those visuals and the textual contents are reflected in the behavioral pattern of the people who may or may not become their client. In some cases, the low impact advertisements are known to even divert the committed clients. Hence, effective communication through appealing visuals and informative textual contents are important not only for retaining the old customers but they must also be able to attract new one. The internet has made dissemination of information a very pertinent aspect of internet marketing. The Fizbiz website needs to facilitate easy access to information that brightens the scope of retaining the old customers. Indeed, “we realized that the ‘objects’ of strategy – such as business units, industries, supply chains, customer relationships, organizational structure, and so forth – are held together by a ‘glue’, and that glue is essentially information” (Evans, Wurster, 2000). With so much choice in the open market, the website must give the unique advantages of the products and their usefulness to draw in new customers while keeping the old. The feedbacks give the company opportunity to keep up with the constantly changing requirements of the consumers, while at the same time, an updated and informed website becomes an invaluable source of asset for the consumers at large. In the era of rapidly advancing technology and globalization, the traditional approach to development of new products has undergone dramatic transformation. Speed and flexibility have become extremely important ingredients for the products so that the organizations can timely and efficiently meet the fast changing preferences of the customers. The new product development requires an integrated approach to creative learning that may result in the development of new products. The company must expedite the process of bringing in the soft drink in new packaging at the earliest. Advertisements are the most prolific example of segmented marketing where the contents of advertisements are decided by the target group. Fizbiz’s advertising needs to be focused on young clientele who are upwardly mobile. The highly innovative and segmented advertising would help Fizbiz products to attain an enviable positioning in the soft drink market. The company must also use the promotion technique of viral marketing. Viral marketing can be broadly classified as the unorthodox techniques of emerging new marketing strategies that are low cost and have potential to reach to a larger audience. It has great potential of exponential growth through diversity of new approaches and initiatives in its market strategies. Using posters, balloons, pamphlets, sponsorship, use various distribution channels tickets, carry-bags to advertise its products, blogs, internet messaging and various other gizmos for its promotion. In the recessive trends, this type of marketing becomes highly relevant for Fizbiz. (1445) Reference Evans, Philip & Wurster, Thomas S. (2000). Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy. HBS Press. Porter, Michael, E.(June 1, 1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. NY: Free Press 1998. Montgomery, Cynthia A. (2008). Putting Leadership Back into Strategy. Harvard Business Review, January. Shultz, Don E. Bid Farewell Strategy based on old 4Ps. Marketing news; Feb 12, 2001; 35,4; ABI/INFORM Global. THINK QUEST, (2008). Understanding Human Behaviour: Cognitive Processes. Available from: Accessed 20 August 2009 Read More