Marketing Draft of Haier Group - Essay Example

Marketing plan of Haier Group Purpose and Mission Haier Group Company is out to provide s in China and all over the world with electronic products that it classifies as white, brown and IT products. Having been operation since 1984, it has grown from supplying refrigerators in China to supplying its products to at least 100 countries in the world. The company provides the customers quality products at affordable prices. The company is known for its quality god across the world and being socially responsible in China as well. The company works on the philosophy of combining people and orders in order to attain success. It presses towards creating resources that earn it a global reputation. Situational analysis Current products Haier group mainly manufactures appliances that are used in homes. They are manufactured to meet quality needs of customers all over the world. Heir classifies its products into four: white, brown, client solution business and manufacturing group’s equipment components. The classification facilitates departmentation and focus in the company. The white products include refrigerators, water heaters, washing machines, air conditioners and kitchen appliances. Brown products include computers, mobile phones and colored television sets. Client solution business products involve medical equipment, interior kitchen decoration, integrated kitchen, intelligent home appliances and central air conditioners. Manufacturing group equipment component include electronic control integration and metal and plastic product plate production line. To increase their market, the products will have their quality increased and manufactured in technologically competitive way in order to attract customers. Current Target Market In the year 2008, Haier was in command of 30% of China’s local electronic market of its products. The company aims at getting the market share to over 50%. The product air conditioners’ market in the same year was 145, way below that of its competitor named Media and Gee that was 47%. The company has divided China into five sections of the market in order to enable it win over the competitors. The products’ market across the world are fair, facing competition from the local products. With increased products’ quality, the sales of the products in the target markets are expected to increase with up to 20% upon execution of the marketing plan (Stapleton 1982). Current Distributor network Haier Group Company has its headquarters at Qingdao. The company has established 11976 service centers, 56 trading centers and 38000 sales offices in the areas that it distributes its products. They are able to get the products ordered from the sales offices and delivered in the quantities that they are ordered. The many branches across the world are coordinated using the SAP ERP software that enables them to manage inventories and control the orders of products to be distributed across the branches. Current competitors Haier’s main competitor in China is the Media and Gee Company that at times manages to take a greater market share of the local market than Haier Group. Media and Gee mainly compete against the air conditioners tat Haier supplies. International competitors include Whirlpool Corporation and GE appliances and Lighting. The countries that Haier Group exports to have their local producers who despite their relatively uncompetitive quality take a large market because of their low prices, considering that they are faced by less costs than Haier in reaching the local markets (Makens 1985). There is also information asymmetry between the firms and Haier Group which is international. Financial Analysis Haier Group obtains revenue at 13,61%. Its debt to equity ratio is 17.99% and has an Earnings per share ratio of 17.12% which makes shareholders prefer to invest with it. Heair’s Group has a current ratio of times 1.8. The company also has a price to sales ratio of 1.7. External Forces Haier Group is faced with factors like inflation, competition and government policies. Inflation results in their facing high production costs, while increasing the prices of their products stands risky as it gives their competitors an advantage over them (Kotler 1980). Competition forces them to sustain their products at a high quality and selling them at a price that results in normal profits only. The government demands tax from them, so that on average, the company pays taxes worth 2.2 billion RMB. The quickly changing technology is an external factor to the company as well as it has to keep in trend with the changes, lest its products will lack market. SWOT analysis Haier Group has various strengths that stand as an advantage in its marketing of products. Firstly, the company trains its employees in such a way that they acquire quality skills and master the operations of the firm so that they are able to give the best towards the productivity of the company. They are always motivated due to the good remuneration and reward for good performance that they receive. A large financial base for Haier Group enables it t invest in quality research and therefore development of the company’s products. The research, especially on the market enables the company to understand the trends in the market among the consumers and competitors. The company will maximize on the strengths that will enable it to keep and attract more customers in the market (Wood 2003). Sometimes the company is not able to capture the actions of its competitors till they beat them in the market. The company, therefore reports losses for the reason. The company will direct effort into analyzing the historical performance, actions and reactions of competitors in order to forecast their actions that may affect Haier Group in future. The firm’s technology quickly gets replaced which shakes the company financially. The company due to its high quality products has the ability to penetrate the world market easily. Its main weakness is competition from firm that may especially know more about the markets that Haier Group ventures in that it does. The company will hire people to analyze its potential markets in other countries for months. Marketing strategy and Objectives To attain success, Haier Group has partnered with various organizations which gives it a way into the markets that the partners have. It also increases the market power for Haier Group. Such firms include Sanyo and New Zealand Corporation Fisher and Paykel. Another marketing strategy used by the company is use of other firms’ patents, which it leases for twenty four years, thereby getting the permission to establish in markets that it have otherwise not. Haier Group has embraced takeovers as a marketing strategy. The strategy is aimed at expanding the company (Hopkins 1972). It therefore, is able to acquire market power which it combines with that of the company that it takes over and colonizes the market of the area in which the two were operating. The strategy results in greater profit due to increased sales, acquiring of high quality manpower from the firms that Haier Group takes over as well as increasing the awareness of people about the company’s products in the market. The Haier Group has had a takeover with the Meneghetti Equipment Company which has resulted in expansion of the market for Haier Group, which meant attainment of its objective. Haier Group will seek more partnerships and take-overs with many companies all over the world The strategy will enable it to expand its market. Tactical Marketing Programs Haier Company aims at being a giant international manufacturer of electronics. The position is aimed at getting attained through provision of quality products at fair prices (Coen 2009). Expansion of the range of products is also going to be executed. The market seems to be generally on the favor of Haier Group’s products due to its quality. The company is therefore going to maximize on the quality of the products though using quality materials to manufacture them, advertising and offering customers after-sale services like warranties. The refrigerators are aimed to being the highest sold commodity given that they earn the company high profits and were it original product. Since the refrigerators earn the company 20% of its profits among its 15000 products, the company aims at increasing the sales figure by up to 10% and increases its profits. The quality of the other products is to be looked into as well. Product promotion through advertisement, personal selling and public relations is going to have great a great emphasis and is expected to bring in a 10% increase in sales if given more attention. The mass media is going to be used. Changes in the distribution network are also to be done (Makens 1985). The indirect channels of marketing will be expanded in number while the market coverage is going to be intensified. The pricing of the company is going to meet customer expectations and match the price, despite its current geographical variations. The same is to continue and vary with the size of the purchase, where the customers are to be accorded discounts for the company to meet its market expansion objective. Additional Considerations Currently, the services that are offered to support customers include service desks and online enquiries for all customers. The company will improve the services to fit the kind of customers that they handle, so that a potential customers and current customers are given specific services. Customer clienlette is expected t result (Bayne 2000). Haier Group is currently undertaking market research though contracted arrangements in the areas that it supplies. The company is going to retain the move as well as start up research projects of the countries whose markets it purposes to enter. The projects are expected to consume 1% of the firm’s profits, which will be expected to give back on a 100% level. Budgeting, Performance and Implementation The marketing plan is expected to consume at least 10% of the firm’s profits. This will mean a reduction in the same ratio. With accurate execution, however, the plan will give the company back more than 100% of the cost of the investment, as from market research, the execution will meet a current market niche (Nykiel 2003). The marketing plan is to be carried out by the research and marketing agents at different points across the world and get achieved by July, 2015. Bibliography CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF TOURISM. (1987). Marketing plan. [Sacramento?], The Office. BAYNE, K. M. (2000). The Internet marketing plan: the complete guide to instant web presence. New York, Wiley. BLY, R. W. (2009). Marketing plan handbook: develop big picture marketing plans for pennies on the dollar. [Irvine, Calif.], Entrepreneur Press. COEN, W. A. (2009). Marketing plan. [S.l.], John Wiley And Sons. COHEN, W. A. (1995). The marketing plan. New York, Wiley. HIEBING, R. G., & COOPER, S. W. (1992). The 1-day marketing plan: organizing and completing the plan that works. Lincolnwood, Ill, NTC Business Books. HIEBING, R. 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