Situation Analysis - Wedding Barn - Case Study Example

SITUATION ANALYSIS STUDENT NAME: I.D: TUTOR: DATE DUE: WEDDING BARN Introduction The assignment below will focus on the topic on “WEDDING BARN”. This area of business is grown in the area and as such, Peter Bachelor and his wife Monica Engago will require this information for marketing forces. The information below starts with giving brief information regarding the overview of the business. This includes the size, growth and the various factors that lead to a success in the industry. This information will help us gain a brief introduction and knowledge about the wedding business. This will assist the couple in strategizing their marketing plan. This information is subsequently followed by a brief discussion about the uncontrollable environment that the business faces during its day to day activities. These are the PESTEL factors; that is the political, economic, socio cultural and technological and the legal factors. This information is very important when creating a marketing plan for your business. This information also contains the macro-environmental competition factors as well as the type of competition that this organization is exposed to. This information falls under the competitor analysis category which also contains the levels of competition. The customer or client analysis is also vital to carry out for marketing purposes. This information explains how large the target market is, the demographic shifts as well as where they are located. This information discusses the target market segments for the organization, their characteristics and how the target market and market segments were selected. We shall then conclude by discussing the SWOT analysis of the business. Company overview Peter Bachelor and his wife Monica Engago have enherited a rural property about 60 minutes from Canberra. They have a large farmhourse with a barn which they have renovated to seat 200 guests plus an outdoor area which seats another 200. The barn can also be configured to just seat 50 -100 guests. The venue is close to a large dam which provide great options for romantic photos. They have bought 400 chairs and 50 tables at an auction for $ 10 000 and crockery, cuttlery and cushions and table cloths for another $8000. they have build a pavillion for $15 000. They intend to hire decoration for the weddings. Industry overview The wedding industry was recently started after the World War 2 in America since most people were settling down with their families. When searching for information on the size of the wedding industry, we note that, even though there is a lot of cash in this industry, gowns denote only one section of the industry (Francine, 2002). It is a business that is made up of numerous smaller initiatives like dresses, caterers, wedding consultants, photographers, various beauty suppliers (hair, makeup), music, favors/bridesmaids gifts, honeymoon related, etc. While the business as a whole signifies a lot of cash, each of the element parts is however, much smaller some smaller than other parts (Julie, 2001). The growth of the wedding industry has been influenced by various factors. Access to resources such as labor and capital is one of the main factors that lead to success of an organization in the wedding industry. Research by David, (2009) suggests that they make it easy for the organization to expand hence more profitability. It is also important to consider the needs of the consumer because the weeding are a one day event that the customers do not want to forget. Therefore, proper consideration of the consumer needs leads to success to an organization. Uncontrollable environment The uncontrollable environment represents the forces that are out of control of the organization in the industry. Johnson, Scholes, and Whittington, (2008). This is also considered as the PESTEL analysis and it is simply an effective tool implemented in situation analysis to classify the macro environment level forces that may affect a business. The following are the PESTEL FORCES. Political forces- The political forces involve how the government policies influence the marketing of a firm`s product. Some of the political forces are Political stability that is when a country is politically stable, the businesses are able to do their business effectively and the customers will be able to buy goods and services offered. (Dina, 2006) Therefore a politically stable country is better than a country which is unstable politically. The various government policies of a country are meant to protect the consumers from being exploited by the businesses. Research by Johnson et al., (2008) therefore suggests that, it promotes equality to all participants in the wedding industry.Taxation agreements are the agreements with the government on what amount of taxes to pay. Most governments propose a 15% tax rate on the returns made in the wedding business. This is one crucial aspect that the couple should put into consideration. (Dina, 2006) Economic forces - The economic forces highly influence the marketability of a business. The following are the main aspects to consider when examining the economic forces influencing the marketability of a wedding venture (Johnson et al., (2008). Economic growth which is the rate at which the economy grows highly influences the success of a business in the wedding industry. A rising economy leads to consumers having much to spend and hence leading to growth as a result of more sales (David, 2009). Consumer confidence – in the wedding business, the consumer should feel confident when consuming a certain product. In the wedding business, the level of consumer confidence should be high so as to maintain high returns. Thompson and martin, 2010 concluded that the other factors include the income and saving levels of the consumers, availability of credit, exchange rates and unemployment levels in a country. Sociocultural forces- The sociocultural factors are very important to consider when creating and executing a strategy for marketing in a firm. (Rothaermel, (2012). They have varied effects on consumer decisions.Religionin the wedding business, you must consider the religion of most citizens in the market. Most weddings are usually religious and should therefore be prepared in a way that suits the people. Subculture- the subcultures of the people is also important to consider because it helps one to have a sense of belonging and makes it easier to identify the various needs and wants of the consumers or clients. Dina (2003), focuses on attitudes- the attitude of the clients towards the business is also of importance. Therefore, the employees in the business should treat the consumers nicely so as to create a good attitude towards the business. Technological forces- The technology has been frequently changing over the last decade and this has highly influenced the marketing strategies used by various firms in the market (Rothaermel, 2012). Improvement in technology has enabled quality production of goods as well as increased supply. The technological forces in the wedding industry has enables better lighting, videos and photo shoots as well as better sound systems. (Dina, 2006) Legal forces- The legal forces involve equal opportunities, health and safety, rights and laws for consumers, safety of products and product labeling. This is according to David (2009), For an organization to make it in the wedding industry, it should follow the legal forces that are required in the Acts. The Trade practices Act and the international conventions and agreements should be followed strictly (Rothaermel, 2012). Competitor analysis The wedding industry in the region has very many participants and as such, competition is stiff. However, Mr. Bachelor has a nice location which he can use it as a competitive advantage over the other players in the market (Johnson et al., 2008). Considering he has not yet started the business, he projects to grow quickly since his initial capital is high. Therefore customers will be interested in what he will offer. Customer analysis. It worth considering that according to Thompson et al., (2010) the needs and wants of the consumers change with time and thus, the couple should be able to also change to their customer`s preferences. The main consideration is to offer the consumers more than what they need. Mr. Bachelor mainly targets the people who are in a relationship but not married yet. Most of his customer base will be people of 25-35 years old who are financially stable. (David, 2009) SWOT ANALYSIS This analysis helps us to evaluate the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat which takes place in the marketing project of a firm. Strengths A wedding organizer must first ascertain the strengths of the corporate before being in a position to interpret these advantages to growth of business. In our case, Mr. Bachelor and his wife have placed their business in a place with a nice view and this may act as the strength of the business (Thompson et al.,(2010). Therefore, they should both come up with a strategy that they can present to their target market. Weaknesses It is natural for a business to be having weaknesses. For a wedding organizer, you might realize that you have a reduced staff than the other local wedding organizers, or you might have a high charge point than the others. (David, 2009). These are not essentially effects that are needed to be changed in your corporate model, but being conscious of them will assist you to expertise advertising provisions that moderate these possible weaknesses. A good example is that, you could turn "small staff" into the "personal attention," which offers the likely weakness a positive suggestion for the customer. (Johnson et al., 2008) Opportunities A good opportunity that the couple have is that the region is quickly embracing outdoor wedding venues and as such they should invest in the venture so as to yield high returns. By recognizing an opportunity in the market, you can adventure that opening by conveying your posts to the target markets. (Johnson et al., 2008) Threats The threats are different from the weaknesses of the business because threats are external while weaknesses are internal. Awareness of possible threats can assist you to plot for them in your plan and marketing strategies (David 2009). References Thompson, J. and Martin, F. (2010). Strategic Management: Awareness & Change. 6th ed. Cengage Learning EMEA, p. 86-88, 816 http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/pest-pestel-analysis.html Rothaermel, F. T. (2012). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, p. 56-61 http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/pest-pestel-analysis.html David, F.R. (2009). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. 12th ed. FT Prentice Hall, p. 104-114 http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/pest-pestel-analysis.html Johnson, G, Scholes, K. Whittington, R. (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy. 8th ed. FT Prentice Hall, p. 55-57 http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/pest-pestel-analysis.html Dina El Boghdady (May 25, 2003). "For Love and Money Amid Economic Sickness, Bridal Industry Radiates Health," Washington Postretrieved from: http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/wedding/ Read More