Marketing Plan for Harvey Norman Company - Assignment Example

? Marketing Plan for Harvey Norman Company Marketing Plan for Harvey Norman Company Market Situation Analysis Including Trends and Competitors and PESTLE The success of Harvey Norman Company is largely associated to the current demand of electrical products in the market. Despite Harvey Norman Company being multi-sector business selling different ranges and types of products, it has been forced by market demand to concentrate more on electronic products. However, the company still has some share in selling clothing, footwear and accessories that are shipped and marketed for different customers in both locally and internationally. Due to the high demand of electronic products both locally and internationally, Harvey Norman Company has opened different stores to cater for the different needs of their customers both locally and internationally. The market situation analysis for the company indicates that the company has increased its sales significantly over the last years despite the harsh trading conditions they have operated. However, their retail spending has been largely affected by debt they have accrued both internally and externally. This is negative to the grot of the company, since most customers have decided to shop online because of the readily available substitutes for the products produced by the company by other companies (Synnot & Fitzgerald, 2007). Harvey Norman Company faces stiff competition from other companies dealing in similar products because of its large scale production tendencies. There are many companies that form strong competitive force for Harvey Norman Company dealings. Theses are companies that also share similar market as Harvey Norman Company, therefore, are major competitors for the company as they also target similar customers like Norman Harvey Company. Most major competitors for the company originate from the United States. The competitors have packaged software and technical expertise which they use to their advantage. In addition, they have a strong marketing strategies which they use both locally and internationally to capture different audiences as their customers. Examples of these companies are David Jones Limited and Woolworths limited (Business review weekly: BRW., 1981). According to the PESTLE analysis, there are different factors affecting the operation of Harvey Norman Company. These factors range from political, economic, social and technological. Political factors affect the company’s operation in terms of regulations placed by the government to control various activities being conducted by the company. Harvey Norman Company is both affected by internal and external regulation. Despite some of these working towards the growth of the company, others create conflict within the company, therefore, making the company unable to achieve its goals and objectives. Harvey Norman Company is forced to take into considerations various clauses stipulated by the law so as not go against specific regulations set by the government in their course of operation within different countries. An example is the environmental clause which is there to protect the environment from toxic waste or substances produced by companies. Moreover, there are consumer laws also plays a significant role in determining the success of the company. This is because all companies dealing in the same or different line are always eager to achieve a competitive advantage of their competitors. Harvey Norman Company is forced to adopt different consumer laws in the different countries they sell their products in despite some of the laws being unfruitful to their profits. Harvey Norman Company has devoted its time in concentrating on the society and engaging in various ways that has played in improving people’s way of life. In its contribution to charitable organizations, the company has show to the world that it not only concerned about their profits, but to the welfare of all their stakeholders which forms the current Harvey Norman Company. In addition, Harvey Norman Company has plan within its operation that takes care of their workers need like providing medication for their workers when sick and also compensating them accordingly by not underpaying them. Lastly, Harvey Norman Company is very fair on its activities to the public, customers, stake holders and management. Harvey Norman Company has really achieved a lot in terms of economic growth both locally and internationally. This is witnessed through its expansion campaigns and advertising channels which they use to market their products and announce their new branches and stores. Despite the harsh inflation rate, the company has strived to retain their position in the market and has gone through various ups and downs, but it still amongst the leading companies renowned for their products they produce (Plays and players., 1953). Harvey Norman Company uses the best technology in the market as their products always meet their customers’ expectations. This means that the technology being used by the company is updated and has no room for defaults. The high level of technology used within the company is also associated to the high quality products and large number of customers witnessed at the stores. SWOT Analysis Harvey Norman Company has worked its way to the leading business of the world due a number of factors. However, its operations are also affected by several factors that if not closely monitored might lead to a reduction in the profit rate of its operations. SWOT analysis of the Harvey Norman Company reveals its strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in various sectors. Strengths Despite Australia having other companies focusing on electrical and entertainment products, Harvey Norman Company is the major producer of these electronic appliances, therefore, it has a large market share which expands abroad to capture other markets. Secondly, the company has branches in different parts of continent. This has made it to be diverse in its business operations and in the process it has developed a large client base for its products both locally and internationally. An increase the level of demand due to the ever increasing number of customers of the company has led to an increase in the profit margin for both products sold locally and internationally (Marquis Who's Who, Inc., 1989). Weaknesses However, despite Harvey Norman Company being the largest producers of electronic and entertainment products, it has some weaknesses in various sectors that have the ability to undermine its operations and profit margins. An example is that the company a has been rocked by cases of illegal practices ad these cases have ended in settlements courts with the company forced to compensate some of its customers who won the suits. This has negatively affected the company because of the tarnished image of illegal practices. Secondly, Harvey Norman Company is not the only compare enjoying the global market. There are also other companies which are ranked as performing companies and they offer stiff competition to Harvey Norman Company, therefore, narrowing down the market share expansion opportunities for Harvey Norman Company (Arens, Weigold& Arens, 2010). Weaknesses Harvey Norman Company has a competitive advantage over other companies dealing in similar products because they focus on the production of quality products which meet their customers’ needs. Conversely, most potential companies consider profit more than quality in their quest for achieving globalization (Sull, 2005). Opportunities Lastly, Harvey Norman Company has several threats which are always associated with prices being offered by the company. Their prices does not match their manufacturing cost since electronic prices are always decreasing and the company operates under the fear of making loss instead of profits. In addition, the increasing competition between companies has tremendously benefited the customers because majority of companies are producing quality at their expenses to market their brand name and attract more customers to purchase their products (Wood, 2001). Objectives The objectives for the marketing plan for Harvey Norman Company are (Buchan, 2013).; To offer quality products which will show their customers that they need them to support their operations? To improve on the quantity of products they produce by capturing both the local and the international market. To retain their existing customers and attract new and prospective customers to prefer their products over the others. To market their brand name in both local and international market. To build on customer loyalty thus increasing on the number of customers coming to purchase different brands of their products. To review on the goals ad objectives they have put in place to monitor their business operations. To improve on their sales thus increasing their profits annually. Segmentation, Targeting And Positioning Strategies Marketing segmentation refers to the grouping of customers into groups sharing similar concerns. To effectively address this, the company has put in place various segments within their operations to enable them attract and address their customers concerns. Harvey Norman Company is a major franchiser dealing in franchising operations. Its franchising department is responsible for offering franchises to different customers by applying an interest depending on the type of a products purchased by a customer. Secondly, the company has also been segmented into property section which makes different departments and allocates land which will be used by the company for future and present use. In addition, Harvey Norman Company runs other businesses which act as investments avenues for their different profits and backups. It offers financial services to majority of other external companies and third parties (Cox, 2012). Harvey Norman Company has deployed various targeting marketing and positioning strategies which has helped them a lot in remain successful and being the leading international company producing electronics and entertainment products. They have employed pricing strategies like price skimming which enables them maximize on the profits when introducing their new products into the market. They offer such things like discounts on their products before initiating new products into the market (Standard Rate & Data Service., 1993). They also perform a thorough launching of their new products into the market and this plays significant role in attracting new customers in purchasing their products. Through the various promotions they offer, Harvey Norman Company has attracted several customers by their products as they conduct their advertising in a continuous and repetitive manner to attract ad draw attention of all their customers. This creates awareness amongst their customers of their products into the market and into also convincing them into purchasing their products. In addition, they target diverse customers in various regions as they have strategically placed their products in different areas using the different stores situated in different parts of the country (Henderson, 2011). Harvey Norman Company has also moved to participate in the different types of competition. This enabled them to rely on other production approaches other than the production approach because the completion posed by other companies producing similar products is high. They have in turn developed other strategies s which is used to bring satisfaction to their customers while at the same time maximizing on their profits and reducing on their production costs (Whitaker, 1958). Harvey Norman Company has developed a strategy that allows them to easily relate with their customers. This has led to their success in the different lines that they deal in. Moreover, the customer, interaction strategy has created a positive image of themselves towards their customers and this has draws current and prospective customers to the products (Bottomley, 2007). Action/ Tactics The marketing plan will be beneficial to Harvey Norman Company because it outline for the company the strategies to use to attract more customers into purchasing their products. It will also assists the company to satisfy the different wants of their customers as they will be able to point out different areas and give information why different customers feel that changes should be done in specific areas. To continue and even improve on its success, I will recommend for Harvey Norman Company the following steps to take into the operation of their company (Leberman, Collins & Trenberth, 2005). Harvey Norman Company should identify a targeted group for their products. This is because the target market is always a large and many business are always faced with the challenge of identifying the accurate target whom they totally understand their wants and needs. An accurate identification of the correct target groups by the company will increase the company’s ability of expanding its shares and undertakings to maximize on their profits and also retain on their customers (Kirby & Drury, 2009). I also recommend the company to cater for different customers by their products. Laying attention on a specific group of customer will not yield so much profit fore the company because there will a section whose wants and needs will not be met. Catering on different types of consumers will open other different opportunities for the company and the company will be able to fully maximize on their potential and stay the leading company on the world’s market. In addition, this will also assist in their saving tendencies thus improving on their expansion plans. Branding being a major factor influencing the purchase of products, Harvey Norman Company should also change or renew its branding strategies to attract more customers with their products and improve on their sales. Good branding as the potential of attracting new customers. I will recommend for Harvey Norman Company to adopt the use of new technologies in their business operations. Changes in technology is associated to shift in customers taste towards a product and by changing to adopt new technologies in the manufacture of their electronic products, the company’s sales will significantly increase as more customers will be attracted towards their products. An example is that the world is going digital and by producing digital computers, Harvey Norman Company will stand to benefit a lot because of the high demand of electronic products existing in the market (The Illustrated London news., 1842). I would also recommend for Harvey Norman Company to adopt ethical and legal aspects into the operations. Customers are very sensitive and will opt for other products produced by other companies when then image of a company they value is tarnished. This will mean that the company will participate a lot in helping the society through such benevolent acts like fund raising and producing environmentally commodities (Dick, 2007). I will also recommend for Harvey Norman Company to promote franchised stores that deals with mobile phones and other readily available electronic products. They will able to conserve their production cost in promoting mobile phone recycling since mobiles are easily recyclable products. In addition, they should also assess companies and suppliers who market products online and try their best to provide them with packages made from recycled materials to save on their manufacturing or production cost. I will also recommend for Harvey Norman Company to incorporate sustainability into their existing and new policies to help make their production and marketing strategies effective and efficient. They should also establish intranet that will be a resource for information that is gathered from various sources and that have the capacity of achieving sustainable practices within the company. In addition, the company should also actively engage customers via the internet or internet marketing to collect different views of their customers regarding their products. This will a major step towards achieving their goals as they will be able to point at a different sectors that are lagging in production and make necessary changes to this sectors. Financial Outcomes (Profit And Loss) Over the years, Harvey Norman Company has posed a profit rise in its various dealings. This has involved the electronic appliances produced by the company ands sold to different customers. This is occasioned by the company’s strategy of catering to different demographic areas with their wide range of products. In addition, the growing cost of household services like electricity has significantly contributed to the increased profits because the company concentrates on producing different products which are cost effective and efficient to use for household purposes. This has forced the company to increase of the selling cost to match on their manufacturing expenses. The increased profits have led to employment opportunities amongst the citizens, lowered interest rates and increased property market for the company (Wood, 2001). However, in countable occasions the company has experienced loss in their operations due to the deflation experienced in the different countries in which they operate. This was also occasioned by the stiff competition posed by other companies trading on similar products (Samson & Daft, 2011). Monitoring, Evaluation and Control-Including Contingency Plans For Harvey Norman Company monitor, evaluate and control the marketing plan proposed for Harvey Norman Company and also includes the contingency plans, I will take the following steps (Pride, W. M. (2011).; The company will develop a financial forecast for their revenues. This is because most business environment are unpredictable and by using statistical approaches, data on previous sales and conducting surveys on consumers, the company will be able to figure out the promotion costs, develop their products to match the different taste of their consumers and also develop along term plan for their operation (Kidman, Feher & Walker, 2012). Secondly, Harvey Norman Company will also conduct a market analysis to determine the level of share they have in the market and make a comparison of their products performance and those of other companies. Harvey Norman Company will also conduct a profit analysis to measure the performance of their products in the market. This will also prove extremely useful in determining whether they are making profits or losses in their operations. Harvey Norman Company will also weigh its market strategies to monitor whether they are making profits or losses in the sales of the products. This will assist them in developing strong marking strategies that suits their different needs and wants. Executive Summary Harvey Norman Company will benefit a lot from incorporating an efficient marketing plan in their company operations. Being the most effective company dealing with products from home and offices, the company is amongst the most successful business in Australia and other parts of the world. A good marketing plan will link the company to both current and prospective customers. Marketing plays a significant role in the sales, interactions and retaining of customers to most companies and a bad marketing plan can be very disastrous to any business as it will lack the ability to retain and even attract new customers for their products. The aim of the report is to find an effective marketing plan that will serve the company’s both domestic and international goals, and enable it be a successful company based on the marketing plan and strategies they will deploy within their operations. References Henderson, S. (2011). Financial planning DIY guide. Richmond, Vic: John Wiley & Sons. Synnot, B., & Fitzgerald, R. (2007). The toolbox for change: A practical approach. Brisbane: Danjugah. Samson, D., & Daft, R. L. (2011). Management. South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning. Pride, W. M. (2011). Marketing principles. South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning. 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