Marketing : YV Co. Ltd - Business Plan Example

Marketing Plan II YV Co. Ltd. is a plastic manufacturing company that aims to provide all kinds of plastic products to suit the individual needs as well as those of larger groups such as businesses, schools, hospital and other institutions. Some examples of products include food containers, non-food containers, plastic slider bags, disposable plastic utensils, instruments, chairs and so on. Since the company is also involved in the production of high quality synthetic polymers, it specializes in creating superior quality plastic goods that are resistant to heat and that are built to last. The company also has an R&D (Research and Development) department which is the key to its continuous success and competitive advantage. The R&D department is involved in scientific research so as to enhance the quality of their plastic products with better attributes and also to look for new synthetic polymers that can fulfill their objectives better. The most commonly used synthetic polymer manufactured by the company is called Polimr, which is also the trademark of the company. Almost all of its products are made out of Polimr, including containers, instruments, disposable plastics, and so on. The difference in between the various different products is in the polymer consistency which is reduced or increased to fit the need. In order to maintain its brand identity among its consumer groups, it pays serious attention to the color of its product labeling, which is essentially green. The cardboard sleeves are also printed in the same green color through which customers identify it with. All plastic products are packed in cardboard sleeves for a collective of 6 plastic items, which are then further boxed, where each box contains 12 such cardboard bounded plastic goods. Since YV Co. Ltd. is a plastic manufacturing company itself, it has the advantage of providing a wide scale of plastic products to its target consumers. Its market offerings range from solutions for industries till basic consumer usage products. The market has been segmented according to psychographic variables including lifestyle and personality. Those who have a taste for trendy, neat, yet reasonably priced products will find the products appealing as it is made keeping that chunk of the market in mind. Apart from this, for industry related solutions, the company has chosen to segment the market according to different industries. For instance, the company offers reasonable packages for the education industry, which constitutes schools and colleges, which offer desks, chairs, plastic office supplies, and so on. For hospitals, the company has to offer syringes, and other plastic products. Besides that, the company also aims to cater to the needs of the home users who want to store their left-over food, take their lunch to school or office, or simply want to keep things in a neat way to save space. Like any other business, the company is likely to be met by giant competitors in the industry who have been in the industry since quite a while to justify their own expertise. One such competitor is the famous Ziploc. However, the company does not seem to provide industry solutions for business markets, unlike YV Co. Ltd. Having said that, YV Co. Ltd. has its own R&D department, which is striving to get the best products into the market to satisfy customer needs. The pricing forms an important component of the whole marketing strategy. Being one of the four P’s, they are sacred to the marketing mix with a lot of emphasis paid onto the marketing variable in order to obtain a greater share of customer’s wallet. Kotler and Armstrong (2001) have mentioned that two factors influence the pricing strategy of any company – internal and external. Product positioning as well as target marketing is an important element in deciding upon a pricing strategy. Many companies decide upon the pricing strategy to suit their objectives among which are market share leadership, product quality, survival, and so on. Competition is also a very important consideration whereby a price war is initiated where the target markets are price sensitive. Marketing mix strategies which looks at the products, price, place, and promotion methods also impact the pricing decisions as positioning may depend upon price. Another important determinant of price is the costs, which sets the price floor below which selling becomes unprofitable. External factors majorly include the type of marketing it is in which the company is operating. In a competitive market, the market demand and supply plays a major role in the determination of price. Apart from that, consumer perceptions also play a vital role as it affects the image of the product and company they have in mind thereby reflecting its evaluation of value. Lastly, the external environment can influence pricing in unanticipated ways where global happenings have a deep impact as it affects the macro-environment in which a company operates. The target market for YV Co. Ltd. has been divided into business customers and consumers. In terms of these two categorizations, the distribution system for both markets differs from each other. The marketing channels provide a great instrument to marketers wanting to disseminate information and physical goods. Distribution channel is how the company’s products and services will be delivered to its customers (Kotler, 2001). Since two categories exist, the distribution channel is specifically tailored to provide business customers with bulk delivery while the standard consumer delivery involves the use of transportation networks to local retail stores. Many of the home usage products offered by YV Co. Ltd. are available in various retail stores for consumers. For the business customers, YV has its own series of packages among which the prospective customer can choose from to suit their institutional needs. Warehousing, transportations, and trade channels constitute players in the distribution channel of the company’s plastic products where distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, are also involved. Supply chain considerations such as delivery of raw materials as well as the delivery of the final products are important marketing channels. In the case of YV, the environmental impact of polymers is important as the company tries to be socially responsible. Most polymers are non-bio degradable thus recycling such polymers forms an important part of how they are processed and used up again to make products. In the presence of stiff competition with current plastic manufacturing giants, YV Co. Ltd. will have to employ fierce promotional strategy so as to appeal to the customer factions. Sales promotion along with advertising can help YV to compete in the market with the already established brands on the scene. These include other plastic manufacturing companies such as Ziploc, Riordan, and so on. One of the aims of the company is to provide the best quality products to its customers thereby becoming the leader in product quality. Thus, continuous efforts in research and development as well as advertising can disseminate messages t the potential customers thereby informing them about the company’s products and goods. Sales promotion must be carried out along with advertising so that they are more effective ways of appealing to the target customers. Social media presence also helps in building a brand image although the cyberspace is also prone to negative electronic word of mouth (e-WOM). Customer engagement over the internet costs relatively less as compared to other options and can generate positive customer response rates which are profitable in the long run. Marketing campaigns can also be initiated online so as to engage the audiences and this can help earn a positive brand image. Also, customer feedback is a necessary component which must not be downplayed as this can lead to customer dissatisfaction. In order to compete in the market, YV Co. Ltd. will have to adopt a stiff strategic plan, particularly in the areas of supply chain. The area can be exploited very well in order to provide the company with a competitive advantage. Moreover, with many other companies providing roughly the same range of products with only a few differences, the differentiating factor is less enabling the customers to be price sensitive. With a much smoother supply chain and seamless operations, the costs can be reduced in order to cater to the target market needs at reasonable prices. Also, for the growing success of the company, innovation and creativity is vital to the company. Since the company uses the same polymer, registered as Polimr, it is sensible to involve creative designs to appeal to the home user, schools, institutions, and other potential customers. This includes different kinds of product designs for greater convenience, and comfort as well as other innovative thinking to produce better designs. The company needs to foster an environment where the internal employees are promoted to identify needs and sense information from their surroundings so as to employ them for developments. These are particularly important for identifying trends and responding in a way that benefits the company. Lastly, to carry on research would be the key as the plastic industry has historically been benefitted by discovery of newer synthetic polymers that are useful for different purposes. Today, many such polymers have acquired the status of either patented products or registered trademarks. So, the success of the company lies in effective marketing from the supply chain to continuous innovation and research. References Kotler, P. (2001). Marketing Management, Millenium Edition (1st ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Custom Publishing. Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2001). Principles of marketing (9th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Read More