Marketing- Buisness Memo - Essay Example

Memorandum February 7, 2007 Here Your Boss’ Recommendations for Polo Ralph Lauren This memorandum is in line with your request of an analysis of Polo Ralph Lauren’s (Polo) marketing strategies and tactics. Recognizing that the operation of the business organization is largely driven by its internal strengths and weaknesses as well as the various external forces in its environment, I have opted to gather the as much data about the company and the industry where it operates. The analysis will encompass a strategic audit and will utilize various strategic management tools.

This will generally focus on the company’s marketing mix. The analysis will be organized as follows:Internal FactorsFirst, I plan to look at the internal operation of Polo. This will mean looking at the company’s current performance both qualitatively and quantitatively. It will also be important to look at the mission and vision of the business organization together with the goals and objectives that it wants to achieve in the short-run and the long-run. After identifying the goals, the marketing strategy employed by Polo will be examined.

The analysis will first focus on the target market of the company. The profile of the target market will be created and examined. This will be followed by in-depth examination of how it uses the four Ps (product, promotion, price, and place). In this section, I also plan to tackle if the four Ps complement each other and if it is deemed appropriate with the target market. Customers need and preferences will also be identified.External EnvironmentRecognizing that the primary driver of the strategies and tactics of a business organization are the trends and developments in the business environment, the analysis will also devote a section on how the current marketing environment is changing.

First, the general environment will be surveyed through the use of the PESTLE analysis which takes into account the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors which can affect Polo in the short run and long run.The different stakeholders in the environment will also be examined by employing the Porter’s Five Forces Model. I plan to examine the barriers to entry in the industry, the level of competition, the buyer of customer, the leverage of supplier, and the threat of other substitutes.

Competitor AnalysisIn forming recommendations for Polo, it is deemed very important to look at what other players in the industry are doing. This will enable the company to know its current position, its major rivals, as well as its competitive advantages and disadvantages relative to them. The analysis will also look at the different strategies employed by the competitors and their predicted strategies in the future.RecommendationsThe recommendations for Polo will be generated through a thorough analysis of the factors mentioned above.

With the aid of SWOT analysis, I plan to identify what the company is good at doing and what it lacks. The information on the external environment will give an insight on the future trends and developments which will be the basis for the opportunities and threats section.The recommendations will focus on matching the strengths of Polo and the opportunities present in the external environment. I will also be recommending strategies and moves on how counter the possible threats in the market and how the weaknesses can be minimized.

So far, I have gathered enough data on the internal operations of the company from its websites, published annual reports, and market research firms like Hoover. I have also done the same to Polo’s major competitors. What is still lacking are data on the industry but I have already delegated the tasks to some of my assistant. After identifying the target market of Polo, we will also be conducting surveys in order to determine their unique need and preferences.