Strong marketing plans - Essay Example

?Analysis Essays Submitted by: XXXXXXX Number: XXXXXX XXXXXXX of XXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX Submission: XX – XX – 2011 Number of Words: 1389 (Excluding Bibliography) Introduction: Most of the successful companies owe their success to the strong marketing plans and marketing programs that they incorporate into their businesses. Here five companies have been chosen to study the possible improvements in their marketing programs. The aim of this paper is to identify at least two possible ideas that can be used by the company as a means to improve their marketing and their overall position in the markets. The suggestions made here are based on the promotional mix of the company as well as with a detailed view on the view point of the customers as well as the marketing managers. Rollerblade: Rollerblades is a well known company that deals with a wide range of roller-skates to meet the needs of all kinds of customers. The company has a website which has been developed with complete details of the retailers and the product range. One of the major areas that the company currently lacks is the use of an ecommerce website (Evans, O’Maley, & Patterson, 2004). Roller skates have a strong product line and this can be used to the advantage of the company. One of the first areas that the company can develop is an ecommerce website which provides the customers with an option to buy the products online. Secondly, it is important that the company invests in tools for better customer relationship management as this will help the company use the visits to the website as possible leads for revenue generating activities (Evans, Foxall, & Jamal, 2009). Using customer relationship management will prove to very beneficial for the company. As explained by McCabe & Wolfe (2000), “Making the Customer king is one way of improving sales. But a better one is making the right customer king. This discipline is called customer relationship management” (McCabe & Wolfe, 2000). Hence implementing the customer relationship management will help in identifying the potential customers and will also help in improved targeting as well (Evans, O’Maley, & Patterson, 2004). Specialized Bicycle Components: Specialized Bicycle Components is a company which deals with bicycle components and provides the customers with a wide range of bike accessories for specialized bicycle riders. The company presently caters to a wide range of customers across America, however clearly lacks a strong corporate strategy and strong marketing (Specialized Bicycle, 2011). Although the company has been able to develop a website, the website is not easy navigation and lacks the customer focus and user friendliness. The first suggestion to the company will be to focus on improving the website and making it more user friendly by improving the overall navigation style of the website and by ensuring that the website is search engine optimized (Specialized Bicycle, 2011). This will ensure that the company’s website is easily findable by the search engine which in turn makes it simpler for the customers as well. Secondly the company can focus on developing stronger marketing and promotion strategies that the company can use to improve the overall position (Jobber, 2009). This can include more advertising in games and other events or also including advertisements on television and the local radio. This will help the company improve the brand awareness and will also assist in improved overall performance of the company as well. Specialized Bicycle has a strong marketing mix and the company has a strong product line as well. The only area that the company is presently lacking in is the promotional activities (Kotler & Keller, 2008). Hence if there is a higher importance given to their area the company can improve the overall performance and also increase the overall revenues as well. BMW: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (BMW) is a world class car manufacturer which is known for the premium cars. The company deals with a wide range of cars and caters more to the higher end vehicles. The company has a number of strong brands and has been able to effectively develop itself in the markets. Considering all of the company products and their current market position, there is a scope for improvement here. BMW can improve the frequency of the advertisements and can develop more number of adverts for the televisions. This will prove to be beneficial for the company as it will allow better brand recognition and will also permit the customers to relate to the brand in a better manner (SDR Consultants, 2011). Secondly the company can focus on improving the overall customer experience by including newer and improved website. Here the company can implement new personalization options where the customers can visit the website and gain a whole BMW experience. The customers can be given the option to personalize the car online based on which the quotes can be provided (Evans, O’Maley, & Patterson, 2004). This will not only help the company attract higher number of customers to their website but will also have a major impact on the overall customer experience as well, thereby impacting the overall markets of the company as well. Starbuck Corporation: Starbucks Corporation has been in the industry for a long time and the company has a strong marketing program that it currently adopts. The company can improve its current market to a great extent by product extension (Jobber, 2009). This would include developing healthier options of drinks. These drinks can be less caffeinated and can be ideal for young adults as well. Also, the company can improve the product line by introducing low fat, low calories drinks which suits the needs of both health conscious adults as well as the younger audiences as well. Starbucks has very limited amounts of advertisements and promotions of the products which can cater to the entire family (Linn, 2007). Hence here it is important that the company introduces newer advertisements and promotional campaigns which can effectively bring out the company for what it is, i.e. a family destination. With the newer menu and improved and healthier products the company can develop newer adverts and promotions which cater to all members of the family and thereby opening up much wider markets for the company and its products (Kotler & Keller, 2008). Implementing these ideas will help the company cater to a bigger market. The company will also be known for the corporate social responsibility where the company focuses on the health of children as well as adults and provides a choice of healthier options unlike number of other companies, hence ‘serving more than Coffee’. Ken Davis: Ken Davis Barbeque sauces have been developed and the company provides sauces for all tastes. The company is a family owned business and hence is not marketed to a great extent. The company presently focuses on word of mouth and customer retention (Evans, O’Maley, & Patterson, 2004). However with the strong product that the company sells, there is a much higher and better scope for the company. Firstly, the company’s website can be improved and improvised to meet the current needs of the markets. In the current age where the internet has become a major source of information for most customers the company requires to have a strong, interactive, search engine optimized website (Evans, Foxall, & Jamal, 2009). This helps in improving the overall customer experience and thereby also behaves as a strong marketing tool for the company. Secondly, the company can without making too many changes to the philosophy implement better more customer oriented products. Here the company has a chance of receiving feedback from the customers in a more personalized manner and hence this can be used to the company’s benefit (Evans, Foxall, & Jamal, 2009). The company can take the feedback and introduce more customer friendly products. For instance, one of the changes is that the company has already implemented the new packaging (Ken Davies, 2011). Here the company can also introduce newer packaging like small sachets of the sauces, and also easy – to – hold bottles. Implementing such changes will help the company meet the growing need of the customers and also allows the company to tap into the customers based on their behavior on the website (Evans, O’Maley, & Patterson, 2004). Conclusions: In conclusion, it is clear that each of these companies have been able to effectively market their products using their strengths and weaknesses. However with a few minor improvements these companies can improve their overall market positions to a great extent. Bibliography Evans, M. M., Foxall, G., & Jamal, A. (2009). Consumer Behaviour. Wiley. Evans, M., O’Maley, L., & Patterson, M. (2004). Exploring Direct and Customer Relationship Marketing. London: Thomson Learning. Jobber, D. (2009). Principles and Practice of Marketing. McGraw Hill Higher Education. Ken Davies. (2011). About Ken Davies. Retrieved January 13, 2011, from http://www.kendavis-bbq.com/about.html Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2008). Marketing Management. Prentice Hall. Linn, A. (2007). Starbucks rethinks stance on young customers . Retrieved January 12, 2011, from MSN: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20608492/ McCabe, B., & Wolfe, M. (2000). Making the (right) Customer King. Global Telecoms Business , p42. SDR Consultants. (2011). Measuring Brand Value. Retrieved January 13, 2011, from http://www.sdr-consulting.com/branding3.html Specialized Bicycle. (2011). Globe Bikes. Retrieved January 13, 2011, from http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/home.jsp Read More