Marketing Strategies Which UNE Life Can Adopt during the Different Phases of the Product Life Cycle - Business Plan Example

Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary 2 2.0 Introduction 4 3.0 Product Life Cycle 4 4.0 New Market Entry 5 5.0 Growth Strategies 7 6.0 Shake-out Stage 8 7.0 Mature Stage 9 8.0 Decline Stage 10 9.0 New Economy Market 11 10.0 Organizational Structure 11 11.0 Marketing Plan 12 12.0 Marketing Metrics 14 13.0 Marketing Audit 15 14.0 Conclusion 16 15.0 References 17 1.0 Executive Summary The paper provides a detailed strategic marketing strategy for UNE Life based on the different stages of the product life cycle through which the overall business dimensions can be shaped up. UNE Life works in a niche market and offers its customers something unique which has thereby enabled them to ensure differentiation from other players in the market. The paper highlights that UNE Life is presently in its growing phase and having different business ventures and options has limited and diversified the overall risk. The model which UNE Life has selected ensured that the niche market penetration suits them. UNE Life can look to act as a market leader and determine the expansion strategy which they need to follow. This has to be matched by fortress strategy where the work on their core strengths and ensure that the business pillars are developed based on it. The different phase helps to look at different options during the different stages of the product life cycle. During the growth cycle the business has to look at being aggressive and market their products so that constant demand can be generated. During the decline phase the business has to aim towards following harvesting and niche strategy where they look at deeper penetration and market expansion so that overall needs are better met. In a similar manner during the shakeout stage and new market entry strategies have to be formulated which suits their different needs and requirements. The organizational structure highlights that the business is oriented towards a functional form of organizational structure which has limited their style of working and adopting a hybrid model of organizational structure would be more beneficial for the overall growth of the business. In addition to it the marketing metrics brings forward the different opportunities which UNE Life has and the audit helps to understand the past performance thereby chalking a path through which the future needs can be better met and strategies can be developed to achieve the different wants. Thus, UNE Life has to look at different strategies during the different phases and based on the changing and evolving markets strategies have to be developed which will help to meet the different needs. This will ensure better penetration and service level which would thereby help to meet the different needs and requirements of students. 2.0 Introduction The present report forms part of the previous report which focused on highlighting the marketing strategies which were being used by UNE Life. This is a more detailed report and brings forward the marketing strategies which UNE Life can use during the different phases of the product life cycle. This will thereby help to understand the mechanism which UNE Life can follow and bring the required change so that overall working dimension can improve. The paper is divided into different parts and segment and tends to provide the different marketing strategies which UNE Life can adopt during the different phases of the product life cycle. In the beginning it provides the strategies which UNE Life can use during the growth stage which is followed by other strategies which can be sued during the shakeout phase, the decline phase and maturity phase. The paper also provides information pertaining to new market entry and the organizational structure which they are using and the ones which they should use for effectiveness. Lastly, the paper provides different information related to marketing metrics and marketing audit which helps to understand the actual performance and the manner in which the future performance will be better improved. This will thereby help UNE Life to enhance their working mechanism and bring about the required change through which better decisions would be taken. 3.0 Product Life Cycle This denotes the stage where the product or service is currently positioned and helps marketers to determine the strategies which they can use so that business model improves and better results are achieved. There are different stages in the product life cycle and the phase where the products are determines the strategy which they can use. UNE Life at the moment is positioned in the growth phase as the products and services which they are offering is ensuring faster growth rates and opportunities through which the different needs of the customers are better met (Cook & Dave, 2004). UNE Life is witnessing growth in revenues, addition of new customers, retaining old customers and increased penetration which has helped them to ensure that they are able to quantify the different core areas through which overall performance is better shaped up. This provides an opportunity for UNE Life to ensure that they cover all the expenditure that has been made and look towards different promotional mechanism which will help in retaining customers and grow their business (Canhoto, Clark & Fennemore, 2013). The continuous growth and opportunities that the phase can provide will help to deal with the different fundamentals and ensure better use of resources and help to achieve the overall goals. 4.0 New Market Entry This section corresponds to the strategies which organization tend to adopt when the move away from their market to other markets. This can be in the form of either moving to a different market, providing different services to the same market, adding new facilities and brining about the required change in which organizations work so that customers are able to witness something new and are thereby able to reuse the services again (Chawla, 2003). UNE Life during this period can look towards improving their service quality and standards so that they work on the differentiation strategy and are able to grow their market. UNE Life has to look forward towards determining the target population and based on it developing marketing strategies. This process should match with having measures which looks towards meeting the different needs of the customers so that the offerings are accepted by the customers. Having line extension or new product or improving their present mechanism of working by ensuring better service level will help to bring the required change and would result in shaping the mechanism through which different activities are carried out. UNE Life during the period can adopt either a pioneer or a follower strategy. The business model and area of operation which UNE Life looks to carry out being a pioneer and coming up with new services and facilities which meets the different needs of consumers will be better (Chen, 2003). The pioneer strategy will ensure that they continue to work as leader and are able to develop different products and services which are according to the needs of customers. This will help them to be better placed and bring about the required changes through which different process are done. UNE Life can look to adopt the following strategies during the period Mass Market Penetration: This will be characterized by one where UNE Life looks to attract all type of students by having certain offerings for all. Instead of having products and services for a certain section of students the offerings will be aimed towards the mass. This would provide a bigger market and wider opportunities as UNE Life will be able to cater to a large audience. This strategy will help to reduce the risk and improve their business horizon thereby ensuring that business potential multiplies and overall effectiveness is better garnered. Niche Penetration: This will be characterized by one where the business looks towards a selected segment of students where they offer them something unique. This will act as a point of differentiation and will provide certain section of the society with more and more options through which the different needs will be better met (Clegg & Walsh, 2004). Since the business model which UNE Life is presently employing matches the niche penetration model so continuing with the same model will increase their chances of success and multiply the overall gains for them. Skimming and Early Withdrawal: This will be characterized by one where UNE Life looks to provide certain facilities and services for a certain time interval and slowly removing them. This strategy will aim towards planned removal of the product or services after a certain time interval which has been identified in the beginning (Doole and Lowe, 2001). This mechanism will help to ensure that students always look what UNE Life has to offer and the new offerings will find easy take away. The overall process would help UNE Life to grow their revenues and multiply the opportunities which is presented before them. UNE Life based on the different options which is available to them should look forward towards being a market leader where they develop pioneer strategies and work in the niche market. This will provide them an opportunity to act as a differentiator in the market and stay ahead of competition. The process would also entail towards providing a first mover advantage and will bring about the required changes in the dimensions through which overall performance would be shaped up. 5.0 Growth Strategies UNE Life presently is in the growing phase so they should look towards having a sustained growth which can be achieved to a large degree through innovation and being the market leader. This will provide them an opportunity to act as a differentiator in the market and stay ahead of competition. The process would also entail towards providing a first mover advantage (Daniel, Charls & Joseph 2003). UNE Life during the growth phase would thereby be able to work on market fundamentals and develop the business in such a way that different needs are better met. The present working mechanism of UNE Life reflects one of a market leader which increases the different options which the management can choose so that better results can be achieved (Brassington and Pettitt, 2001). Already being a market leader where they develop pioneer strategies and work in the niche market provides them an opportunity to choose from the different options among market expansion, flanker, confrontation, fortress and contraction strategies or a combination of one or more of such growth market strategies which would be the most beneficial for them. UNE Life based on it can adopt the model which suits them and can look forward towards the following options Market Expansion: UNE Life can increase their business by moving into other universities and expanding their business. This can also be looked as one where they add new facilities and services to the present market so that customer finds something new being offered to them. This will help them to attract more and more customers towards them (Duncan, 2008). UNE Life through the market expansion strategy can look to turnaround the needs and requirements of the students and can focus towards finding out the path which would help to maximize their opportunity of growth. Flanker Strategy: UNE Life has to instigate the case of repeat purchase which can be achieved by having a pool of loyal customers. This can be achieved by offering quality service and ensuring that the needs of students are met at the most competitive price. This will attract students and ensure that during each semester and every year they look to use the same services which would reduce the cost of marketing and multiply the overall opportunities. The process would help UNE Life to ensure that they will be able to suffice the different needs of the customers and will be able to define the different dimensions through which the different needs will be met. 6.0 Shake-out Stage This stage is characterised by one where the business is at its peak, the big players are dominating the market, the rate of growth is high and there is barriers to enter the market given the high cost associated with entering the market (Chrisan, 2001). UNE Life at the moment is in the growth stage but needs to identify the different strategies which they can use during the different stages and has to thereby look at the following options which will improve their working mechanism Competitive Advantage: UNE Life has to continue to work with the same strategy of being a pioneer and targeting the niche market. The business model which UNE Life employs will give them a competitive advantage as they will be able to differentiate their offerings and services from other players. Pursuing the same strategy and acting as a differentiator will help to gain competitive advantage and would thereby revolutionize the overall framework of working and carrying out different activities. Transition: UNE Life can further look at making changes to their existing products and services. This can be achieved by either adding new product, product line extension, adding new facilities to the present services, reducing cost and bringing the required changes through which students’ needs are better met (Drummond and Ensor, 2001). This will help to sustain their business and would lead towards multiplying effectiveness in carrying out different activities. Market Share: UNE Life can look at different options like acquisition, merger and alliance so that they are able to grow their market share. This will also provide an advantage as it will provide a ready market which can be catered and will thereby help to meet the different needs of customers. Increasing the market share would help them to improve their brand image and would thereby revolutionize and change the manner in which different business decisions are taken. 7.0 Mature Stage This is characterized by one where the product or services is at its peak and starts to fall from here (Berkman & Gilson, 2001). UNE Life during the period has to look at different mechanism which will again push them towards a growth path as otherwise the business will be difficult to sustain. This would require working on different core areas and identifying the framework which will help to maximize the gains and ensure better operational activities. Market Expansion: UNE Life can increase their business by moving into other universities and expanding their business. This can also be looked as one where they add new facilities and services to the present market so that customer finds something new being offered to them. This will help them to attract more and more customers towards them (Duncan, 2008). UNE Life through the market expansion strategy can look to turnaround the needs and requirements of the students and can focus towards finding out the path which would help to maximize their opportunity of growth. This can also be matched by identifying new partners and entering into joint ventures with them so that a ready market which can be catered is identified. Increased Penetration: UNE Life has to increase their reach and look forward towards more and more penetration so that they are able to reach to even a wider student based (Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2007). This can be achieved by having something for each student which is unique and thereby able to attract more and more students from different corner and reach so that sustenance becomes better. 8.0 Decline Stage This is characterized by one where the product or service ceases out from the market and is replaced by something else. The customers start to move from the old product to the new ones and thereby the market shrinks and the business is no longer able to experience gains and results in losses. UNE Life during the phase has to identify the different options which are available before them and can look forward to Harvesting: This will be characterized by one where UNE Life looks to provide certain facilities and services for a certain time interval and slowly removing them. This strategy will aim towards planned removal of the product or services after a certain time interval which has been identified in the beginning (Doole and Lowe, 2001). This mechanism will help to ensure that students always look what UNE Life has to offer and the new offerings will find easy take away. The overall process would help UNE Life to grow their revenues and multiply the opportunities which is presented before them Niche: UNE Life has to increase their reach and look forward towards more and more penetration so that they are able to reach to even a wider student based (Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2007). This can be achieved by having something for each student which is unique and thereby able to attract more and more students from different corner and reach so that sustenance becomes better. 9.0 New Economy Market This is characterized by one where based on the changing need and demands of consumer changes are being made in the style of working. UNE Life has to understand the manner in which the business environment is changing and based on it has to look at changing their style of working. The process would require making changes in the business style but continuing with the same business model as it provides a degree of differentiation which has helped to gain a competitive advantage (Hill & Jones, 2004). This can also be looked as one where they add new facilities and services to the present market so that customer finds something new being offered to them. This will help them to attract more and more customers towards them (Duncan, 2008). The stage would also require that UNE Life spends on different promotional activities so that awareness can be generated which would thereby help to meet the different needs and multiply the overall mechanism through which different activities are being carried out. 10.0 Organizational Structure The organizational structure which UNE Life is presently using is a functional form of organizational structure. This form of organizational structure has helped UNE Life to establish the responsibility, authority and accountability relationship (Stone & Woodcock, 2013). Despite the manner in which the functional form of organizational structure has helped it has still created issues associated with coordination and communication. This can be solved to a large degree by adopting the matrix form of organizational structure which is a hybrid form of organizational structure. This will help to improve the overall functioning and will determine the manner in which the business effectiveness is increased. This would also lead towards ensuring that gains will increase and the process of carrying out different business fundamentals will be better shaped. 11.0 Marketing Plans The SWOT analysis helps to chalk out the different options which UNE Life has and the manner in which it will contribute towards their growth Strengths Strong brand name Increasing base of students Clear and realistic goals Differentiator and market leader First mover advantage Weakness Lack of innovation No new products being up graded Low barrier to entry Opportunities Increase in students needs Growth in number of universities Threats Low disposable income Increase in competition This brings forward the different core areas which UNE Life can focus on as it will help to improve the quality of service and would provide with an opportunity to improve their business performance. The overall dimension would help to bring about the required changes in the manner service is provided. UNE Life has to look towards analyzing the cost and benefit as on the whole the gains outweighs the cost. This would thereby prove beneficial for UNE Life as they will be able to meet the different needs of students. UNE Life also has to identify the contingency and back up plans in case certain things goes wrong. This will help UNE Life to be able to garner the required resources and will be able to determine the manner through which overall performance will be shaped and the different dimensions of carrying out business would be better understood. 12.0 Marketing Metrics UNE Life has been doing well in its other services offered which certainly provides a positive impact for its new gym services. In a general recent survey conducted it was found over 90% of its members are highly satisfied with high quality services provided by UNE Life. Furthermore, customer retention rate which has been quantified as customers retained/ Total customers at the start of the year *100% is found to be 83% which certainly demonstrates its success and large pool of loyal customers. Majority of its revenue is generated from outdoor and indoor gaming facilities while gym services look to contribute 18% of its total revenue generation which is higher than its anticipated ROI of 16%. The profitability has increased by 1.22 times in 2014 when compared with 2013. Net marketing contribution has been found to increase from $2.8 billion in 2013 to $3.7 billion in 2014 which again demonstrates large demand of its new gym services. Furthermore there has been significant rise in over 2000 members to an overall increase of all services provided. 13.0 Marketing Audit Marketing audit has certain similarities to financial audit as it helps in review or appraisal of existing marketing activities. Strategy Audit UNE Life major objective is not of profit maximization but ensure wellbeing of all its members. It follows a competitive strategy with different contingency plans for each of its stage of product life cycle. Strategies are developed on basis of market needs and changes and suitable amendments are made as per requirements. 14.0 Conclusion The paper provides the different marketing strategies which UNE Life can adopt during the different phases of the product life cycle. In the beginning it provides the strategies which UNE Life can use during the growth stage which is followed by other strategies which can be sued during the shakeout phase, the decline phase and maturity phase. The paper also provides information pertaining to new market entry and the organizational structure which they are using and the ones which they should use for effectiveness. Lastly, the paper provides different information related to marketing metrics and marketing audit which helps to understand the actual performance and the manner in which the future performance will be better improved. This will thereby help UNE Life to enhance their working mechanism and bring about the required change through which better decisions would be taken. 15.0 References Berkman, H. & Gilson, C. (2001). Consumer Behavior Concepts and Strategies, Kent, Boston Brassington, J. and Pettitt, M. (2001). Principles of Marketing, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall Chrisan, P. (2001). Marketing: A Behavioral Analysis, McGraw – Hill. New York Clegg, C. & Walsh, S. (2004). Change Management: Time for a change. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 13 (2), pp. 217-239 Chen, I. (2003). Understanding Customer relationship management: people, process and technology. Business Process Management Journal, 9 (5), 672-688 Chawla, A. (2003). Marketing Management for Service Industry. Workshop on Marketing of Educational Institute, Programme and Services Cook, D. & Dave, D. (2004). Structural element of service quality product. International Journal of Business Performance Management, 6 (2), 189-207 Canhoto, A., Clark, M. & Fennemore, P. (2013). Emerging segmentation practices in the age of the social customer. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 21 (5), 413-428. Doole, I., and Lowe, R. (2001). International Marketing Strategy. 3rd Edition, Bedford Row, London, Thomson Daniel, C., Charls, L. & Joseph H. (2003). Marketing, 5th edition, south-western. New York. Duncan, T. (2008). Principles of Advertising & IMC, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Drummond, G. and Ensor, J. (2001). Strategic Marketing, planning and control, 2nd Edition, Butterworth Heinemann. Daniels, J.D., Radebaugh, L.H. & Sullivan, D.P. (2007). International business: environment and operations ,11th edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education Hill, L.W.Ch. & Jones, R.G. (2004). Strategic management: An integrated Approach. (6th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company Stone, M. & Woodcock, N. (2013). Social Intelligence in Customer Engagement. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 21 (5), 394-401. Read More