SBU Objective and Goals Analysis - Essay Example

?Contents Contents SBU Objective and Goals 2 Recommended Strategies 3 References 7 Bibliographies 8 SBU Objective and Goals Every organization has a long term plan which is called a Vision. To fulfill that vision, there are multiple missions that are designed by various SBU’s of the company in order to help the organization fulfill its vision. The mission focuses on the purpose and activities of the SBU’s1 (Planware, 2012). The following goals and objectives have been shortlisted for the 2 year period of December, 2013 for the SBU of Strongbow Cider: Promote and hold the brand Strongbow Cider in the UK market and maintain the existing market share. Reposition Strongbow Cider in the Australian market and try to capture market share of the particular segment by new product launches. Introduce the brand in the US and selected European market, which have a strong potential for this kind of product sales. Develop the brand in South Eastern markets like China and Malaysia by effective product penetration and repositioning the brand. Introduce Strongbow Cider in emerging markets like India which has a huge youth population. Recommended Strategies Recommendation of strategies is similar to envisioning the desired upshot for and organization or SBU in a perfectly planned and well designed manner2 (Jurgen C Schmidt and Martyn Laycock, 2011). The most important theory that comes in to play in this context is the Ansoff Matrix, which has been associated with designing organizational growth strategies with relation to identification and development of new and existing products and markets. A very crucial part of it involves around the development of new product in an effort to capture an existing market or even a market. At times, product development is needed to capture the minds of the customers and to promote innovativeness in the product. An innovative product which gives the company with some growth in product sales is worth the financial and manpower expenses that are associated with the product development3 (Queensland Government, 2011). Many a times, product innovation is promoted in response to market research that is conducted over a particular geographical area, region or location. At times, innovative ideas related to the product development originate even at the shop floors, which is then taken up for consideration by the top officials4 (Gary Yakimov and Lindsey Woolsey, 2010). Also another important factor is the price, when a new product is launched in a new market. Choosing the right kind of pricing technique in the strategic marketing and business plan is very essential when it comes to placing the product in a completely new market. In the UK market, the brand Strongbow has a high recall amongst the consumers and is continuously trying to connect with the target audience by promoting the brand strongly by using the social media like Facebook and Twitter5 (James Hall, 2011). So as a part of the recommended strategy for the UK segment, it is advisable to hold and retain the strong brand recall that the brand has in the market through continuous efforts of connecting with the young target audience by organizing various marketing and promotional campaigns. For the Australian market, which happens to be the home ground for the brand, it is recommended that a new variation of the product, which will be a part of the product development process, has to be introduced under the same brand as an effort to appeal to the consumers of the local market. It has also been point of discussion in various reports that Strongbow cider is available for distribution only in markets of UK, China, Malaysia and Singapore. So it can be said that the product is opting for selective market distribution and as a part of the previously designed strategy, the US and some of the key European markets have been left out. But in order to develop and position the brand in a global manner, and to increase the recall for this brand from consumers all over the globe, it is considered increasingly essential to promote the brand of Strongbow in the US and some selected major European markets like Germany, Sweden and Denmark. For the Southeast Asian markets like China, Singapore and Malaysia, Strongbow already has a presence in these markets. China with its huge population base and a high youth population has a high tendency to prefer and purchase western products. So, it is increasingly becoming very essential to reposition the product in China and re launch the brand in an effort to connect more with the young consumers who mostly dwell in the cities, and prefer branded western products6 (Tami Luhby, 2012). The focus should be on developing the brand in these south Asian markets in order to increase the sales and generate more revenue from this new and emerging economy. Another very effective strategy is to go for market development and penetrate the market in India with an effective product pricing strategy. India is another high potential market as recognized by various large corporations, and more and more foreign companies are increasingly looking towards the sales performance of their products in the Indian market, in an effort to beat the market slowdown that the Euro zone is facing in the recent times7 (Deepika Amirapu and Sagar Malviya, 2012). India’s consumer behavior is also somewhat similar like China, where the young Indian consumers are getting increasingly brand conscious and are turning to prefer more and more western products as they find that they are superior in quality and provides the consumers with a brand recognition and identity. So, it is very essential for Strongbow Cider to enter into Indian market. But entry into markets will be accompanied with tremendous amount of product development and significant changes in the product. The reason is because Indian consumers will prefer their drinks to suit their taste and needs. Also, there is a significant fundamental difference that is associated in this case. In Indian context, people drink alcoholic products to keep themselves cool and as a matter of fact, sales of alcoholic products shoot up during the summer season. Whereas in case of the other markets, consumers prefer alcoholic drinks to keep themselves warm. Also, Indian consumers are highly responsive to price elasticity. So effective and strategic product pricing is very effective in order to push this product in the Indian market. References “Key Steps towards a Strategic Plan.” Planware. 2012. http://www.planware.org/strategicplan.htm#2 Schmidt C Jurgen and Laycock Martyn. “Understanding the Theory and Process of Strategy Development: Theories of Strategic Planning.” Healthknowledge. 2011. http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/organisation-management/5d-theory-process-strategy-development/strategic-planning “New product development strategy”. Queensland Government. Last modified September 7 2011. http://www.business.qld.gov.au/marketing/product-service-management/new-product-development/new-product-development-strategy.html Gary Yakimov and Lindsey Woolsey. Innovation and Product Development in the 21st Century, 2010. http://www.nist.gov/mep/upload/MEP_advisory_report_4_24l.pdf James Hall. “Heineken plans to take Strongbow cider global.” The Telegraph. Last modified January 27 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8284822/Heineken-plans-to-take-Strongbow-cider-global.html Tami Luhby. “China's growing middle class.” CNNMoney. Last Modified April 26 2012. http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/25/news/economy/china-middle-class/?source=cnn_bin Deepika Amirapu and Sagar Malviya. “P&G to build largest Indian plant in Hyderabad.” Economictimes. Last modified Apr 20 2012. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-04-20/news/31374066_1_p-g-india-procter-gamble-health-unlisted-arm Bibliographies Ferell, O, C and Hartline, D, Michael. Marketing Strategy. USA: Thomson Learning Inc, 2008 Hooley, Graham, Percy, F, Nigel and Nicoulaud, Brigitte. Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning. UK: Pearson Education Ltd, 2009 Paley Norton. The Manager's Guide to Competitive Marketing Strategies. London: Thorogood, 2005 Read More