Cornfolower Blue - Assignment Example

Cornflower Blue A. Cornflower Blue is an extremely small organization. The key to survival would be a constant evolution of the products being metedout by this business entity. The development of the new products should aim at the “line extension”. This has two fundamental reasons- The reputation of the store is based on the established herbal products. The marketing apparatus of the firm is in a state of infancy. In order to stay relevant in the market; Cornflower has to adopt”NPD (New Product Development) policy”.

The development of the products can take place by two fundamental methods. They are – The generation of the new ideas of the product by the stakeholders (as it is a family run firm in essence). This involves the process of the idea design, the engineering of the idea and the detail analysis (Sviokla, 2004). The other process could be the introduction of a new product by the means of market analysis (The Marketing Manager can be entrusted with this duty). The extension of the line can be brought about by the introduction of new products in the herb based aromatherapy, body –care, culinary and the associated products (as for example, introduction of new type of herbal shampoo for children or culinary items for diabetics).

This shall help the firm in line extension without increasing the “product line depth” and “product line vulnerability”. B. The study of the current system of the distribution of “Cornflower Blue” products exposes a very serious lacuna in the distribution strategy. The organization has a very limited number of outlets (only five), spread in southern England and run by the family members. This hurts the existent business in two ways- Geographic visibility is very less. The products are very prone to customer sensitivity in the buying patterns (This can be attributed to the limited penetration of the product in the market).

The customers can also benefit from the re-configuration of the distribution strategy. The recommendations for the reconfiguration are as follows- The shift from an exclusive distribution mechanism to the method of selective distribution. This shall allow the selected “resellers” to sell the product. It encompasses more options to the consumer in terms of the buying of the goods (Mahajan & Venkatesh, 2000). It shall also allow the customers to gain greater accessibility to the product. The other option that can be contemplated is the setting up of an e-commerce website.

This shall help the consumers to directly interact with the firm. The viability of the products shall increase. It shall also help in retaining the “niche” nature of the products at Cornflower Blue. C. Cornflower Blue is running the operations at a very limited leverage from the functional point of view. They only have five retail outlets. The customers are mostly “word-of –mouth” and hence can be deemed loyal. The other reason for the sale of the products is also a “life-style shift” that warrants the use of these products.

Given the current situation; the pricing strategy that is best suited for Cornflower Blue is “Premium Pricing”. The products need to be priced at a very high level. At the kind of the market conditions and the need for the growth in the company, this kind of the pricing shall serve a number of important purposes. They are as follows- It shall help in the faster achievement of the “beak-even” due to the higher pricing. The profits shall be higher due to the increased variable component (Hofman, 2007).

This kind of the pricing shall help in attaching an “aspiration value” to the products of Cornflower Blue. The increased revenues due to the pricing shall fuel the expansion of the firm in new areas. So, this is the pricing strategy that has been selected for Cornflower Blue after the thorough analysis of the market and the growth objectives of the firm. D. There are a number of activities that can be designed for the promotion of Cornflower Blue. The promotional activities have to be fabricated based on a number of the considerations.

The attributes of the firm have to be taken into the perceptive. Cornflower Blue has only five retail outlets. The business is run by the family members. The marketing machinery is still in a stage of development. The company wants to pursue a period of growth. Taking all of these factors, a multipronged strategy has to be adopted in terms of the promotion (Wang, 2002). The mode of the internet advertisement needs to be initiated. This can be in the form of an e-commerce website or a stand-alone website for queries.

There is the need for a spate of newspaper advertisements in the local papers. The special events need to be organized for the recognition of the products. The advertisements on television may not be feasible, but the promotions on the local radio stations need to be pursued aggressively. These are the various kinds of the promotional activities that need to be conducted for the achievement of the marketing objectives. E. The other elements of the marketing mix that have not been mentioned, but of considerable importance in the future are process, the physical space and the evidence.

These aspects would have an eventual role to play in the future. Cornflower Blue is only located out of five different retail outlets. The concentration of the company is only in the southern part of England. The number of the retail outlets need to be increased by the opening of newer centres. The organization does not have a marketing arm; all the sales are generally a by-product of the “word-of mouth” phenomenon. The process of the sales and the marketing need to be streamlined for better operations in the future.

The branding exercise in the future needs to hinge on the physical evidence. This includes the specific dress worn by the employees of Cornflower Blue, the decoration of the stores, the colour schemes and the mannerisms of all the stakeholders. All of these elements shall form an important constituent of the marketing mix of Cornflower Blue in the future. REFERENCES Rayport, J.F. & Sviokla, J.J. (2004). Managing in the Market space. Harvard Business Review. 141-150 Mahajan, V. & Venkatesh, R. (2000). Marketing Modelling for E-Business.

International Journal of Research in Marketing. Hofman, D.L. (2007). A New Marketing Paradigm for Electronic Commerce. The Information Society: An International Journal. Patty, T, (2007). Mastering the Five P's of Marketing. Oxford University Press. Wang K.L. (2002). The Economic Characteristics Pricing Strategy of Products. China Soft Science Magazine.