Marketing Metrics for UK-based SME - Essay Example

?Marketing metrics for UK-based SME Marketing metrics are the established measurements within business enterprises in regard to marketing. The importance of these measurements is to determine the performance effectiveness and efficiency of the business enterprise marketing strategy framework and the overall marketing program thus enhancing appropriate management of money spend on these programs. In choosing appropriate marketing metrics accompany should take into account its business model. The suitable marketing metrics for a UK based company can be as follows. Benchmarking This market metric involves comparison of marketing programs of firms and identifying areas that need improvements. Marketing strategies are identified and assessed against the profitability attributed to them among selected companies within the same industry to enhance reliability of this measurement. Benchmarked items include marketing costs, strategies, performance indicators and the effectiveness of the marketing procedures. This marketing metric gives an insight on specific areas that needs improvement for higher company profitability. Market Research This metric can evaluate marketing effectiveness at a strategic level. It involves assessment on the key strategies that a company has adopted and measuring individual performances in achieving marketing objectives. An example is whether the company has adopted effective price strategy and effective distribution channels. Brand awareness This evaluates the company marketing program to reach out potential and existing customers. Measurements are done on media impressions, the quality and quantity of media coverage and the value of the media program. Customer satisfaction This metric measurement assesses and evaluates the levels of customer’s perceptions on the goods and products of the company. This is determined by the quality of the service that a company offers to its clients and customers. Brand awareness will indicate how effective the marketing program in reaching out the larger mass audience in the long run. Market size and share This metric provides the dominance and the market share that a company holds. This measure is vital in achieving the marketing objective goals therefore its assessment will enable the company to know if the applied approach can deliver the objective. Evoked Set model Evoked set of model comprises of a pool of alternatives that consumer has when making decisions also known as consideration set. With the knowledge of available large number of products and brands consumers considers only a few to acquire at any given time. It is important for any marketing communication campaign to target determine the products and brands within evoked set before it is carried out. Consumers include brands in an evoked model through recognition in the marketing environment thus marketing communications can determine the evoked sets through brand awareness campaigns. Secondly is recalling of a product which is memory based which depend on consumer’s ability to recall brands marketing communication messages. The two can be summarized as stimulus-based attributed by brand recognition familiarity and in memory-based which is attributed by brand recall, all leading into inclusion in an evoked set model of a consumer where all are key important aspects in advertising and communication campaigns Brand familiarity and recognition Marketing communication campaigns mainly involves brand awareness and recognition to influence and induce consumers to purchase the brand. This implies that marketing communication campaign may influence a consumer in considering a brand in the evoked set. This depends on the marketing communication encoded information thus resulting into a consumer discriminating on brand over the other. Brand recall This is important in considering a product in an evoked model where a marketing communication campaign conveys a promotional message which encodes in consumers mind. This is recalled during the consideration of brands to include in an evoked model. The evoked set model can be used in a marketing communication campaign by ensuring that the campaign influence consumers to consider including brands with a high profitability in an evoked model to achieve its objectives. SWOT analysis comparison The two service organizations are the public service library and the health service organization. Both of the two organizations provide services to the community with a relative less fee charges as most of them are regulated by the government. In comparison they have different strategies to achieving their objectives. Strengths Public service library and the health service organization have a strong public image. They are all identified by the government as important sectors in the societal development. Public service libraries have a strong financial funding from its diversified sources of funding ranging from donors, government, sponsors and other organizational partners. This also applies to the health service organizations since the health sector comprises many stakeholders in the country. Weaknesses Public service libraries in UK have been characterized lower level of participation and engagement by the community due to the advancement of the new technologies. There are emerging other means of acquiring information especially through the internet. Healthy service organizations have not been able to fully transform the health sector due to lack of qualified staff and expertise. Also lack of commitment by the government to support fully their programs has significantly contributed to its weakness in service delivery. Opportunities Public service libraries have more opportunities compared to health service organization. They have the opportunities arising from the advent of new technologies whereby it can adopt online library services, further advance on mobile libraries reaching out the entire community they can also enhance their financial ability through increased partnerships. Health service organizations have the opportunity to enhance their research projects through partnership with other institutions such as universities. Threats There are a number of threats that public libraries are facing, notably is the rise of online books and libraries which have emerged posing a stiff competition. Another is the lack of reading culture and research among the young generation which is rendering this public service being considered irrelevant. Health service organization is facing the threat of increased demand for addressing health issues in the society but it lacks capability in terms of staff experience and also frequent cut-off of funds. Strategy Strategy is the initiation, planning, execution and evaluation of various decisions to enhance achievement of long-term objectives and set targets. This involves evolution of the various needs and requirements to meet the sustainability of the envisioned future in an entity or an organization. Organizational strategy Tools that can be used by an organization to think strategically include. Critical question analysis This is considered the most important tool in organizational strategy development which involves of questions that concerns an organization. The questions are: what are the objective and aims of the organization? This question enables the company to formulate strategies on how to achieve these objectives; what is the organizational performance in the industry? This facilitates evaluation of objectives achievements and ways in which the progress can be considered satisfactory; what should be done to enhance the optimal achievement of organizational performance? This result into to strategic development finally is what the internal and external environment of an organization is. Other applicable tools include: gap analysis where gaps existing are considered to be opportunities; product-market matrix in which give rise to the need for innovative products that can meet the customer needs and thus enhancing overall satisfaction; product life cycles where organization need to develop new strategies to market its product at different stages of product lifecycle; analytical frameworks such as SWOT analysis pushes the company to come up with strategies to address issues arising; industry analysis is important in developing strategies in an organization, external environment identified are addressed by the developed strategies. Issues in managing marketing channels Hot-point Company is an electrical and appliances company which has expanded its operations globally. Because of its area of coverage being fast, management of marketing channels has become an emerging issue in which needs to be addressed by the company at the various levels of operations from its subsidiaries up to the main company. These issues can be summarized as follows. Organizational change Hotpoint being a multinational company, its business operations are large and also the large numbers of employees that are located in the various parts of the world. Hotpoint employees are accustomed to a specific channel of marketing therefore it becomes difficult for them to adapt to the new marketing channels. The adoption of the new marketing channels requires new skills and knowledge hence the employees of this company may tend to be resistant to these changes and fear, uncertainty and doubt is created. To mitigate fear, uncertainty and doubt has become a major challenge to this company in adoption of the new channels of marketing. Technological challenges From the organizational change As Hotpoint company undergoes organizational structure changes there is possibility of technological changes in the channels of marketing. There could be emergence in the use of mobile and social media. The challenging issue arises where there is doubt on the response of the potential customers on the use of the new marketing channel that has been adopted. Customers may not be able to cope with the new technology hence the company may experience reduction in sales for some time. Ethical and best practices issues With the advancement of the new marketing challenges Hotpoint Company might face challenges in addressing issues dealing with the ethical and best practices in relation to the customer care management. The company has to lay down strategies to deal with this issue. How to present market planning The first step to present market plan is to have a clear definition of the goals and objectives of the organization to the interested groups; this enhances the understanding of the readers. This is vital for the staff of the organization as it lays a foundation on the minds of staff facilitating focus. Secondly is to discuss what the company is up to in the current periods which have led to its growth. Marketing and growth strategies are highlighted which have enhanced the achievement of specific goals. The tone has to be professional and presentation is made on the appropriate strategy that can deliver success to the company. Thirdly is to give suggestions on the way forward to improve the current marketing and the development strategies that are currently adopted by the company. Basing on the goals and the organizational framework the suggested changes are presented professionally with the justification of substantial information and the available data. Fourthly is to discuss practical issues which mainly involve prices, competitors and the feasibility of the presentation, the audience are given a precise detail on the possible challenges that are bound to arise in the implementation of the market planning and how they are going to be addressed and further details is given on how the company will fully utilize the financial resources which is a great area of interest to the major audience. The final step is to ask for the feedback from the audience. A successful market plan ensures that there is agreement and consensus of all the interested parties hence the feedback of the audience is of great importance in the implementation process. The audience is invited to give their opinions and to express their concerns. This will enhance engagement of both the audience and the presenter hence a common recommendation can be reached. Section B: Case study Barnet Public Library Barnet public library is an important facility in the region in the context of acquiring knowledge and access of information by the academicians and the overall community at large. From the establishment of this library its mission of being a successful suburb city library that provide home library services and other library related services to the community at large and putting the community first. The library goals and objectives are. To provide all the information that anybody in the community may require more specifically on those that can found in the books and this is facilitated by the Barnet book club. To provide the necessary computer services to the community and this involves provision for computer teaching and training by offering courses and also the provision of internet services. The aim to provide reliable and efficient digital library that will complement the normal traditional library thus embracing the use of technology They aim to provide exclusive and efficient home library service thus addressing the need for the promotion of leading culture in the homes. They aim to provide mobile libraries as a way of enhancing the accessibility of library services to the entire community. They aim at providing library services to the children thus imparting the virtue of reading culture among the young generation. The library staffs are qualified and have the relevant skills and have put together their efforts in order to achieve the set goals and objectives. This has attributed to increase in the number of the community members using the various library facilities hence the need to recruit more staff in and to further enhance the expansion of the various library services. Currently there are several strategies that have been adopted by the library to ensure there is effective and efficient provision of the library services. These strategies have enhanced the achievement of the various objectives that the company has set which includes notable success and progress made by the two strategies this proposal will provide more boost and support by allocating enough funding to the two initiatives and others to achieve further the goals and objectives of the library. The enhanced awareness on the public on the availability of these services has resulted in the increased use of these initiated services. Therefore this plan proposes the need to further enhance awareness on the available library services by conducting a series of campaigns. To enhance further growth the library should update the library available resources such as the books and information systems. Events for adult education and awareness has to be conducted exclusively, parents and children career advice and other relevant information should be available at the library this will be a way of enhancing social cohesion by conducting events such as career open day at the library facility. The required changes will need some investment by the library. The library will seek support and funding from the various sources in which they can easily get funds for this initiative. The identified sources for this plan includes funds from partners, donors, government agencies and other community charity organizations willing to promote the culture of reading and research in the society. Finally is to invite the governors to give their view on the proposal and the questions are discussed in dept to ensure that understanding and harmonization is achieved thus enhancing the chances this proposal to being approved. Read More