Marketing Across Cultures - Essay Example

?Running Head: MARKETING ACROSS CULTURES Marketing Across Cultures Submitted by: XXXXXXX Number: XXXXXXX XXXXXXX of XXXXXXX Date of Submission: XX – XX – 2010 Contents Contents 1 Introduction: 2 Marketing Audits: 2 Marketing Plan: 3 I.Statement of the Marketing Goal: 3 II. Marketing Objectives for the Project 3 III.Initial Research: 4 IV.Target Market Segments 5 a)Identification: 5 b)Reasons for Selection: 5 V.Promotion and Marketing Strategies: 5 VI.Promotional Tools: 6 Recommendations: 7 References 9 Introduction: McDonalds has been known for the intensive marketing and excellent strategies that the company adopts across all of its locations around the world. The company has grown to become a major player in the industry and has been recognized for the excellence in its overall products as well as service. Here this report aims at developing a plan for the company to introduce a new product into the well established markets of Canada. The report will provide a detailed marketing plan for the introduction of the new product into the markets. Before moving into the explanation, a brief overview of the marketing audits has been discussed. Marketing Audits: Before moving into the actual marketing plan, it is crucial to gain a clear idea on the main elements of the marketing plan. These are as explained below. Main Elements of Market Planning: Description of the Markets: A very important aspect of every market plan is the basics like the demographics of the target market. Every strong marketing plan requires having a set of descriptions like age, sex, profession, income level and so on (Rudelius, 2008). Competitors: Learning and understanding the competition of any business is a must to have a strong marketing plan. Information like the market research data, direct and indirect competition, the SWOT of the competition, the Unique selling points of the competition and factors like the similarities and dissimilarities of the products offered by them and the own product is also an important factor (Peter & Donnelly, 2002). These have already been dealt with in the group paper. Products and Services: A strong marketing plan should also possess details of the product and the unique selling points of the product as well. These help the company gain an upper hand in the markets and also help in improving the overall Marketing Budget: Budgeting is also an essential element of all marketing budgets as it allows a controlled spending on advertising, promotions, and all factors including the advertisements and promotions (Peter & Donnelly, 2002). Pricing Strategy: Another essential element of a marketing plan is the pricing strategy to be adopted by the company (Kotler & Keller, Marketing Management, 2008). It is important to include aspects like the price lining, material costs, overhead costs and so on to ensure correct pricing of the products or services. Marketing Plan: I. Statement of the Marketing Goal: The main of the marketing plan here is to introduce a new product into the already stable Canadian market. Here the aim is to introduce the Pizza McPuff. This is a new product and has not been introduced into the Canadian markets. The product is only available in India currently. In order to do so the following marketing plan report has been devised. II. Marketing Objectives for the Project The marketing objective of the project is to develop brand awareness, and also to build the awareness of the new product being offered by the company. Here the main objective is to ensure that the target markets of the company are aware of the new product and are also aware of the new quality of the new product being offered. III. Initial Research: McDonalds needs to conduct a detailed analysis of the kind of market that the company is dealing with and needs to gain a clear idea of the market place as well as the needs of the customers. Secondly, it is best to draw up a strategy that is customer driven and which helps make the customers feel fully understood (Gronroos, 1994). The next stage generally involves the marketing programs. Here the four P’s of the company are focused upon. This is then generally followed by the actual marketing process. Here the main aim is to build profitable relationships and to also create customer delight (Rudelius, 2008). The last step generally includes the retention of the customers based on the products and the services. Here the initial research has been conducted and it has been found that the company is operating successfully in the Canadian markets and has also been able to develop a strong and effective menu for the country (Kotler, Kotler on Marketing: How to Create, Win, and Dominate Markets , 1999). However a small gap which has been left here is the link of the culture of the country to the French and the English. Hence keeping this in mind, the product of Pizza McPuff has been recommended to be introduced into the markets (Kotler P. , Keller, Koshy, & Jha, 2009). Here the basic target market segments and the possible promotional tools have also been included. Considering the company’s external and internal environment, it is clear that the company already has a well developed and well settled set of suppliers as well as the competition has already been dealt with in terms of the overall company (Kotler & Keller, Marketing Management, 2008). Here the inclusion of a new product can add into the existing product line and can be fit into the overall company menu as well. IV. Target Market Segments a) Identification: The identified group for the target market in the company has been selected to be including all the customers of McDonalds. The focus is also mainly on children and the younger audiences. b) Reasons for Selection: The main reason for choosing the above mentioned target market is based on the above reasons. Firstly, the new product is similar to a small snack and is perfect for children and younger members whose appetites are much smaller. Also, the target markets look for food which is more fun and innovative. Here the introduction of the new Pizza McPuff provides the target market with a new experience (Jobber D. , 2004). Also, with the innovativeness of the product, this can be both fun as well as a healthy meal for the younger target markets. V. Promotion and Marketing Strategies: Here the main aim is to discuss the promotion strategies that the company can use for the promotion of the Pizza McPuff. The company can adopt a very different approach here to promote the product (Gronroos, 1994). Considering that the country carries a hint of the England and France influences, hence here introducing the Pizza McPuff will prove to be a big hit. Here the company can opt to use a number of different marketing tricks and strategies like linking the food to the history of the country and to build a stronger bonding with the country as well as help the younger generation know more about the country’s history as well (Gronroos, 1994). As clearly has been understood “Food in the provinces of Eastern Canada shows signs of English heritage, except in Quebec where the influence is French. In the provinces of Western Canada, the cuisine reflects the explorers and settlers, who, like their southern neighbors in the United States, made simple, hearty meals from available ingredients” (Food In Every Country, 2011).  The marketing strategy here can be to use the product to bring out the link and importance that the company gives to the culture it operates within as well as to bring out the efforts of the company to link its products to the country and its history as well as to highlight the focus of providing the customers with food that they enjoy. Keeping in touch with the culture yet developing new innovative products can be the basic marketing point of the company here for this product. VI. Promotional Tools: The company can adopt the following tools for marketing. These have been explained along with reasons for the choice as well. Pamphlets and Flyers: Firstly, the McDonalds can use the pamphlets and flyers as a mode to market and promote the product. Here the company can focus on providing details of all the products with more focus on the new product. This will allow the company to attract the customers and also will permit a chance to gain more awareness of the product (Bearden & Laforge, 2003). Testing and Testers: McDonalds can provide the customers in the city centre with simple tester and small bites of the Pizza McPuff. This will allow the company to effectively lure the customers into the store as well as will provide a strong awareness about the product as well. This strategy is similar to that used by Starbucks across its locations as a means to not only interest the customers with new products but also attract them to enter the store to buy the product. The company can also adopt changing the homepage of the website for a few days and to include the Pizza McPuff as the main page product. The company can alternatively also include a special cultural day in the store. This can be used as a launch day for the product as well. McDonalds can also develop a number of small streamers which they can hang across the store as a marketing technique for their new product (Hakansson & Waluszewski, 2005). Considering the intense research in terms of the size of the markets, the buyer behavior of the markets it can be noted that with the number of stores that the company has in the country, there is a high demand for the products (Peter & Donnelly, 2002). Hence using these above mentioned marketing and promotional techniques will allow the company to build a strong bond across the country. Recommendations: Based on the company’s current position in the Canadian markets as well as based on the overall performance of the company, i.e. McDonald's Restaurants of Canada, Ltd., it is evident that McDonalds has a strong market. Here introducing the new product, i.e. Pizza McPuff will prove to be very beneficial for the company (Rudelius, 2008). The company can gain a higher market awareness and presence by linking to the country’s history and to introduce products and innovative additions from the different cuisines like the English and French. Considering that the country has a strong link to the French this will prove to be very beneficial. Hence it is recommended that the company introduce this product which has been well received in other countries like India as well. This will help in expanding the product line and will also prove to be beneficial in introducing more variety to the over menu as well. References Bearden, W. O., & Laforge, R. W. (2003). Marketing, Principles and Perspectives: Principles and Perspectives. Irwin Professional Pub . Food In Every Country. (2011). Canada. Retrieved January 11, 2011, from http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/Canada.html Gronroos, C. (1994). From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing – towards a paradigm shift in marketing. Marketing Journal , p322-339. Hakansson, H., & Waluszewski, A. (2005). Developing a New Understanding of Markets: Reinterpreting the 4Ps. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing , p110-117. Jobber, D. (2004). Principles and Practice of Marketing. Berkshire: McGraw – Hill. Jobber, D. (2009). Principles and Practice of Marketing. McGraw Hill Higher Education. Kotler, P. (1999). Kotler on Marketing: How to Create, Win, and Dominate Markets . Free Press. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2008). Marketing Management. Prentice Hall. Kotler, P., Keller, K. L., Koshy, A., & Jha, M. (2009). Marketing Management. Dorling Kindersley. Peter, J. P., & Donnelly, J. H. (2002). A Preface to Marketing Management. McGraw-Hill Professional. Rudelius, W. (2008). Marketing 9th Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education -A. Read More