Houzits SWOT Analysis - Case Study Example

MARKETING PLAN TASK 2 Name Course Instructor’s name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive summary 2 1.0SWOT analysis 3 2.0Marketing objective 5 3.0Strategies 6 4.0Implementation 7 References 9 MARKETING PLAN OF HOUZIT Executive summary Business plans are essential for the success of any business. Houzit’s SWOT analysis highlights on how it enjoys the availability of a dedicated, skillful and knowledgeable workforce that is equipped with top-notch skills and experiences on housewares as one of its strengths. On the contrary it has a weakness in regards with its budget and this often hinders its operations. However, the presence of a high growth market in Brisbane presents Houzit with an opportunity to expand its market share by attracting new customers as well as maximize on profits. Additionally, a major concern for Houzit is the stiff competition they experience in Brisbane from other industry players. In regards to its marketing objective the company seeks to maintain a direct cost on marketing expenses, that is 45% or less of its total overhead cost in order to compete effectively and remain sustainable. To effectively implement its marketing strategies and objectives Houzit will rely on an in-house communication team which has the prowess and knowledge on home ware equipment to help it advance its ideas. The home-ware industry in Brisbane is not fully utilized and thus this marketing plan can offer Houzit opportunities that will be crucial in maximizing sales and increasing its market share. 1.0 SWOT analysis Strengths Houzit boasts of the availability of a dedicated, skillful and knowledgeable workforce that is equipped with top-notch skills and experiences on housewares. Houzit also benefits from retail space that is appealing to customers due to is presentable front space and layout. It benefits from the availability of a number of returning customers and a wide customer base margin. In line with this, it also boasts of the loyalty of its customers. Houzit’s existence in this industry over the years has helped it acquire the essential experience and techniques needed to succeed in this industry. Houzit also boasts of a wide range of assortment of offerings that exceeds its competitor’s offerings in quantity accessibility, range and quality (Khalid and Habib, 2014). Weakness One weakness that Houzit has suffered from is limited marketing budget which has inhibited the ability of the company to foster its brand awareness due to critical mass and core cover. Houzit has struggled to sustain the continued long-term repayment plan that has been taken out by its customers. Opportunities One significant opportunity enjoyed by Houzit is the presence of a high growth potential in Brisbane this means that there is an ever increasing number of potential customers and target market that is not entirely aware of the company’s products. The other opportunity is the availability of the customer pool that can be developed into a niche and be incorporated in the company’s long-term plans. Threats One significant threat is that the operation of the competitors; local independent retailers might contribute to falling prices of products due to their overhead cost prioritization tendencies. Stiff competition from the increasing number of national retail chains moving in Brisbane. Economy slump which has impacted the spending habits of customers on housewares. 2.0 Marketing objective The most significant marketing objectives, is that company seeks to maintain a direct cost on marketing expenses, that is 45% or less of its total overhead cost. In line with this objective, it also seeks to maintain a gross margin of its marketing expenses of 55% or greater. The company also seeks to maintain all operating expenses directed towards marketing to equal or less than that of its initial plan. The company through its improved marketing plan also seeks to generate total revenue of $626,000 in Year One. Its marketing objective is also keen to develop the company’s own internet presence in a duration period of one hand a half years. In line with the company’s internet presence objective, it also seeks to push forward its internet presence to e-commerce in a period of two and a half Years (Koo, 2003 pp.42-71). Additionally, through the company’s improved marketing program it also seeks to maintain the quality of product an aspect that gives it a competitive advantage over the other competitors in the market. Though this improved marketing program, the company also seeks to maintain the uniqueness of product an aspect that has gained the company a lot of reputation and fame over the past couple of years. The company also seeks to realize an annual growth rate of 30% in a period of one year and an annual growth rate of 20% in two Years. Most importantly the company’s marketing objective also is to achieve the largest market share in Brisbane home ware market. 3.0 Strategies A significant share of the target market in Brisbane is not aware of Houzit Company and its undertakings. Thus, the strategy to develop this marketing opportunity is to increase the relevance of Houzit products and its offers in the entire Brisbane market. In this case, the company will adopt a marketing strategy where it will focus its efforts on improving its online presence through taking up strategic social media advertising. This would be tasked to the company’s in-house communication team that boasts of the prowess of skills in social media management and advertising (Jensen, 2013 p.51). The communication team, in this case, will carry out an analysis of the target market and social media activity in order to get a particular strategy path to follow. In this case, the communication team will carry out research on the social media pages that this target market follows and those that they visit frequently. The communication teams will then strategically post social media advertisements in these pages in order to ensure that they are seen by these target market. Similarly, another strategy will be contracting a reputable and well-established advertising agency that would be tasked with conducting its billboard, posters, and radio and television advertisement. These advertising agencies will carry out a market research of the company’s target market with a focus on the areas they frequently visit and their television watching and radio listening behavior (Mazaira, González and Avendaño, 2013 pp.227). Based on this research the advertisement agency will strategically place the billboards and posters advertisements in the notable areas where these target market frequently visits. Consequently, based on the noted target market radio listening and television watching behavior the advertisement agency would air the company’s advertisement in prime time in order to attract many customers as possible. 4.0 Implementation The reason behind choosing the in-house communication team to carry out the company social media advertisement is because this team has the prowess and knowledge on home ware; therefore, it is easy for this team to generate tailored content that is appealing to its target customers on the social media platform. For the choice of contracting an advertising agency this choice will help mitigate the complexity around this form of advertisement. On the tactic where the in-house team decides first to carry out research on the social media behavior of its target market in regards to the pages they frequently visit is meant to enable these team strategise on where to position the social media advertisement in order for them to be viewed by a significant number of potential customers. On the choice of the advertising agency team to carry out research on the areas where the target market frequently visits and their radio listening and television watching behavior is meant to enable this team to build a strong advertising strategy. In this case, the research findings from this particular research will enable the advertisement agency team to note the best time to air this advertisement and on which specific radio station or television as well as time slots (Jensen, 2013 p.62). One the other hand through the research findings received the advertising agency will also be able to strategize its billboard and poster advertisements by strategically placing them in the areas where these target audiences frequently visits. Performance on the company’s social media advertisement will be reviewed by the number of likes and visits that the company’s social media pages get. For the billboard, posters, radio and television advertisement, their performance will be reviewed by the sales performance of the company’s product in a duration of three months. References Jensen, D. 2013. Your Personal Marketing Plan. Science. Khalid, D. and Habib, P. (2014). ANALYSING THE IMPACT OF STORE-BRAND SHARE ON RETAIL MARGINS. ELK Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Retail Management. Koo, D. (2003). Inter‐relationships among store images, store satisfaction, and store loyalty among Korea discount retail patrons. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 15(4), pp.42-71.Top of Form Bottom of Form Mazaira, A., González, E. and Avendaño, R. (2013). The role of market orientation on company performance through the development of sustainable competitive advantage: the Inditex‐Zara case. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 21(4), pp.220-229. Read More