External Environment of Grand Company - Assignment Example

Grand Political The operation of the business if free from political influence There are not specific trade tariffs and laws affecting the business Economic High inflation rate Economic recession Increase in price of petrol Social Consumers were purchasing more frequently Consumers preferred local purchases Many people want celebrations Consumers keen on quality Cooking more meals from scratch Technology Poor technology and infrastructure leading delays in delivery of products Legal There are specific laws that relates to consumers that have side-lined the business Environmental Improved farming output What is happening to external environment? There are changes that are taking place in the external environment that are likely to affect the performance of the company. The difficult economic condition has led to a change in consumer behaviour. The increase in the rate of inflation has reduced the purchasing power of consumers. This means that the purchasing trends and preferences are slowly shifting in order to suit the consumers’ new way of life. The changes are slowly affecting businesses that have not put the prerequisite strategies in place. Most consumers now prefer to purchase goods regularly in the move they call reducing wastage. Threats or Opportunities The changes taking place in the external environment are causing threats. The economic downfall is a huge threat that must be strategically dealt with. In overall, the factors that have been changing in the external environment are causing difficulties in the overall operation of the business. For the business to effectively deal with such effects, there is a need to re-invent the new ways of doing business. In order to achieve these levels of business re-engineering, the company must make a financial sacrifice. The company must set aside funds that will be required to finance such operations. Business strategy and corporate objectives In a competitive market of this kind, the market positioning and other strategies must be always updated. The intention is to ensure that obsolete strategies and goals are replaced with efficient strategies. The same scenario is expected in this case if indeed the situation warrants. First, the business strategy must be reviewed to find out if it can stand the test of the current market. Where the need calls for, the strategies will have to be adjusted. For instance, the company banks on quality as the main market positioning tool. In the situation where the environment changes and many of our core consumers have changed their purchasing preference to products of lower prices, we will be forced to adjust appropriately (Malhotra & Birks 2006, p. 60). The same factors affect our corporate objectives. We have to keenly assess the contributions made by the corporate policies on the overall performances of the business. After that the necessary adjustments shall be made. SWOT Analysis Matrix Strengths Weaknesses Large market share Have information on consumer behaviour Strong core products Skilled staff Good reputation for participating in social responsibility Drop in sales volume in the company’s core product Opportunities Threats High growth prospects Target close links with farmers Economic downfall Rise in inflation Overall decline in sales volume for foods The matrix above illustrates the internal capabilities of the company. It highlights factors within the control of the management that affect the flow of the business (Baack & Harris 2012, p. 115). From a management point of view, one must assess all these factors and establish to what extent each factor can affect the performance of the business. This is very crucial in designing the best strategy to assist the company remain viable in the midst of surrounding factors. The first column of the matrix represents the positive side of the internal environment. It consists of the strengths and opportunities. On the other side of the matrix, there are the weaknesses and threats. From the information provided, there are some economic challenges that have affected the performance of the company in some ways. Nevertheless, it is very clear that the economic strength of the company cannot be easily shaken. The company has put in place measures that have made it remain strong in the midst of economic distress. It is true that the company has the ability to maintain profitability even in the midst of all this. The company has maintained its dominance in relation to its market shares. There are many other factors that point to the fact that the company has the goodwill to continue maintaining profitability. Main Areas of Concern Through SWOT analysis, we have managed to assess the internal environment that our business operates. The strengths and opportunities, weaknesses and threats are all crucial in setting the company’s objectives (Kerin, Hartley & Rudellius 2012, p. 60). From the main sectors that have been highlighted in relation to the analysis undertaken, we come to learn of the areas to improve and the specific elements that require to be maintained. From the analysis undertaken, there are a number of areas of concern from which the company’s objectives are to be drawn. The first area relates to sales volume. This is an area of concern to any business. The company ought to put measures in place to ensure that the business is able to deal with any competition in order to remain profitable. The main product which the company must focus upon keenly is in relation to food products. This is because of the decline that had been witnessed earlier on. The second area of concern is the social responsibility to the community. The company must view social responsibility as a marketing strategy that helps build long-term ties with the society around. The third area of concern is in relation to brand management. The company has a task of ensuring that it controls the market as much as possible. Dominating a competitive market has never been an easy task to any business. Considering that now it has a largest market share, it is still a hurdle to maintain the market share and the brand. It calls for the business to put in place all strategies required to ensure that they control the market. The last area that can be quite profitable to the company if well managed is the direct link with farmers. This will boost the company’s fresh food sector greatly. The direct links with the farmers will imply that the company has access to fresh food products. Market Objectives: To increase sales revenue from food products by 25% within a period of two years To strengthen the market share of the company in the midst of global economic crisis To establish long-term business relationship with farmers from the region To increase the overall contribution to social responsibility programs by 15% for the next three years. Market Strategy Businesses require marketing concepts that enables a business achieve profitability and other objectives. This enables the business to adequately meet the needs of the consumers. This is a way that businesses use to deal with stiff competition. The marketing strategy must be designed uniquely in a way that makes it better than what competitors are offering. The designing of such a marketing strategy considers all factors relating to the product and its environment. One of the marketing strategies is to produce and maintain quality products and services. A company may choose to bank its marketing strategy on the quality of the product. In such a case, quality will be the non-negotiable imperative to the business. Another marketing strategy is built on price factor. For such a business, the main focus will be ensuring that they sell their products at a lower price to attract customers. For such a business, the business must do everything possible to reduce the overall operation cost in order to reduce the selling price. In relation to Grand Company, I will prefer adopting quality as the business’ mantra. This is based on the nature of the company’s customers. From the study already carried out, it is very clear that the company’s core consumers are overly sensitive to quality. For this reason, compromising on the quality of products will simply mean an end to the business. Therefore, the company must do everything within its reach to ensure that the quality of the products is guaranteed. This is the only way that will guarantee customer satisfaction. Marketing programs This is a well-coordinated set of activities that assist one to meet their marketing objectives. The best marketing program for this company simply contains the 5Ps. This includes the product, price, promotion, people and placement. Every element of this program counts. The marketer must make use of every stage in the marketing process to ensure the set marketing objectives are achieved. The five elements that have been chosen represent a chain. They are interdependent in relation to the roles they play. These five elements are at the centre of every marketing strategy. Ensuring that they are executed appropriately will be one way of achieving customer satisfaction. Besides customer satisfaction, there are other objectives that will be achieved through this. Therefore, the five elements highlighted above have a crucial role to play in achieving the overall objectives of the company. References Baack, D & Harris, G, 2012, International Marketing, Sage Publications, Washington, DC, p.112-124. Gremler, D, Bitner, M & Zeithami, 2012, Services Marketing, McGraw-Hill, New York, p.134-192. Hill, C.W.L 2012, International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace, 9th Ed, McGraw-Hill, New York, p521-527. Kerin, R, Hartley, S, & Rudellius, W 2010, Marketing, McGraw-Hill, New York, p.56-65 Malhotra, N & Birks, D, 2006, Marketing Research: An Applied Approach, Prentice Hall, Edinburgh, p.57-65. McDaniel Carl, C & Gates, R, 2009, Marketing Research Essentials, Wiley, New York, p.98- 145. McKeever, M. 20 Page, R 2003, Hope is Not a Strategy: The 6 Keys to Winning the Complex Sale, McGraw-Hill, New York, p88-9. Solomon, R & Bamossy, G 2009, Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective, Prentice Hall, New York, p.29-39. 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