MKT550 Global Marketing : Solution Essays

Question:

Task

This assessment requires you to develop the remaining sections of a comprehensive international marketing plan for your selected organisation in the new Asian country target market.

The aim is to recommend a marketing mix strategy that will enable the organisation to achieve its objectives in the new market. This includes:

  • objectives for the first 12 months of your plan;
  • strategic recommendations for the 4Ps (or 7Ps), including the extent of standardisation vs. adaptation with respect to domestic or other international marketing plans already in place; and
  • plans for managing, measuring and controlling the international marketing effort.
 

Answer:

Woolworths has selected Bangladesh to expand its business due to high customer base. The company, before entering into the market of Bangladesh, has conducted a thorough analysis of the market and address the issues that a retail company can face in that market. The customers, as well as managers of the existing retail companies in Bangladesh, are interviewed to gather information about the market response. Three different types of strategies are evaluated to enter into the market, which includes direct exporting, partnering and purchasing a company. Buying a company will be the most suitable mode of entry into the new market for the firm. The target market selected for the company is middle and high-income group falls between the age of 15 and 55. Multi-segmented marketing will be used for the chosen target market. The flexibility positioning strategy would be the appropriate positioning strategy for Woolworths because it enables the firm to manufacture products with new features that help to obtain competitive advantages in the foreign market.

Marketing Mix 

Woolworths will use different marketing strategies to market its products in the new market. It is considered as one of the leading retailers in Australia and offers a variety of products to the customers. It will target the middle and high-income group people, along with the people comes under the age of 15 and 55. Hence, it will use different marketing mixes for each target market.

Product Strategy 

PLC

Product Life Cycle is an essential part of marketing that explains the various stages through which a product moves (Pulker, Scott & Pollard, 2018). Four phases in the product life cycle which includes introduction, growth, maturity along with decline. It is seen that Woolworths product is in the growth stage in PLC currently. At the growth stage, the firm sets a product line and improves its product quality. The maturity stage shows innovation in the product and sales are at a peak to maximize profitability. Decline stage represents the fall of demand for the product in a market. However, Woolworths will introduce its goods in the target market and establish the brand. It means the company is in the introduction stage as it capturing the market of Bangladesh.

Branding

Branding strategy is the action plan that will be used by the organization for differentiating its products from the competitors in the foreign market (Makhitha, 2016). Brand positioning strategy will be used by the organization to position its brand in the minds of the target audiences. The company will position the brand on product qualities such as quality, design and size. Moreover, the firm will position the brand on beliefs and values by engaging consumers on an emotional level.

Packaging

It is the other important strategy that will be used by Woolworths for marketing the products in the new target market (Kienzler & Kowalkowski, 2017). Packaging will be used to motivate the target customers to buy the product. Woolworths will use this strategy to transmit information to the consumers about the product. The company will use numerous types of packaging products like cartons, bottles, containers, boxes, cans and bags. The most important use of packaging strategy is the protection of the products from environmental factors. It will assist the company in attracting many consumers in the new market.

Labelling

Labelling is crucial for the company to promote the product. The organization will use the labelling strategy for the recognition of the products and also give detailed information about the products. It helps the target customers to make buying decisions easily and quickly. Labelling communicate the way of handling or using the product to the consumers, and it means written information on the packages of the products (Davcik & Sharma, 2015).

Quality

It refers to the perception of the degree to which the products meet the expectations of the consumers (Cant, Wiid & Sephapo, 2016). Woolworths will improve the quality of the product to satisfy the target consumers. It is analyzed that if there is an absence of quality, then the company will not satisfy the customers. By improving product quality, Woolworths will fit its products as per the desires and expectations of the customers in the target marketplace.

Product Mix

It denotes to the total amount of product lines that a firm offer to its clients (Kireev et al., 2016). It consists of four components such as width, length, depth and consistency. Width means the enterprise needs to offer the quantity of product lines. The product mix of Woolworths is more than four products wide. The length is known to the total sum of products in the mix that means Woolworths has 6 production lines and 12 goods each for product lines and thus, the length will be 72 (Sultan, Wong & Sigala, 2018). Depth means the number of products within the product line. For instance, Woolworths has the number of products under the clothing product line. Consistency means the close connection of the products with each other.

Segments

Product segments refer to the strategy in which the business pull its product to appeal to the different market (Hollender, Zapkau & Schwens, 2017). It will help the company to work with the dynamic attributes of the products. Woolworths will make minor variations in some of the products and market the same to the target consumer group. Product segments will enable the organization to meet the necessities of the target crowds in the new market.

Augmented services

It is the strategy in which the company adds value to the product without paying any premium (Kotabe & Kothari, 2016). Woolworths will offer discount coupons for purchasing the product to market its goods in the new market. The augmented product refers to the non-physical part of the product.

 

Pricing Strategy 

Penetration pricing strategy will be used by the company for attracting target customers to a different brand or product by offering a low price on the product. The primary motive behind this strategy is to attract buyers to try a new product and develop market share with a hope of retaining the new clients (Mahmood, 2018). Woolworths will advertise a buy one get one free campaign for attracting the clients to the retail store. Penetration pricing strategy will also help the company in gaining competitive advantage by selling products at a low cost.

Factors

Justification

Average income

Maximum people are in the category of income and the buyers are seen to be more price sensitive and thus, the average income should be considered.  

GDP

GDP refer to total market value of the offered goods and service but the firm and thus, it is import to include while considering pricing strategies.

Tax

It can exploit the price sensitivity of the buyers and can promote the sales in particular geographic locations.

Currency exchange rate

Reduce supply in the market place and boost currency value

Average Competitors Price

Select strategic price for the products

Cost:

– Production

Control the production process

– Distribution

Average distribution cost

– Labor

Determine overhead costs

– Material

Put control on the usage of materials

– Marketing

Enhance demand and improve competition

-Insurance

Improve bottom-line

– Travelling

Target the budget travel and control fluctuation of capital

– Shipping

Increase the price of the product

– Inventory

Manage the inventory and increase the running costs

– Advertising

Connect with number of consumers and improve customer loyalty

Place 

Channels

Marketing or distribution channels are the ways through which products are obtained by the consumer from the producer (Sv?tlík, 2017). Woolworths will use social media channels and business to consumer channel along with intermediaries for selling its products to the target group. The middlemen will help the firm to reach to the consumers and distribute the products over the large area. The place is considered as one of the critical parts of the marketing mix.

Preferred Intensity of Distribution

The selection of the level of intensity of distribution of products is affected by various aspects such as pricing policies, dimension of the target market and production capacity (Valos, Haji Habibi, Casidy, Driesener & Maplestone, 2016). Since the size of the target market is large, the company will use intensive distribution strategy for its products. The organization will use the intensive level of distribution because it enables the marketer to supply the products to all the target market.

Place of Retailers

Place includes operating hours, space and location of the stores. Woolworths will set 12 hours of operation in an offline store and 24 hours of operation in online stores for the customers. It will also select an area that can easily attract consumers.

 

Communication Promotional Mix

IMC

Integrated Marketing Communication is known as the integration of all promotion communication tool that increases the impact on consumers (Bailey & Alexander, 2019). With of help of IMC, the company will bring a range of diverse communication tools to convey the note to the target clients.

Woolworths use the promotional mix through various ways which include TV, internet, direct mail, radio, outdoor and press classified. Several kinds of communication tools will be used for promoting the brand as well as the products, which comprises advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, direct and digital marketing (Bogomolova, Szabo & Kennedy, 2017). Woolworths will use advertising tool to promote the adoption of products in the target market. Because advertising assists in creating as well as maintaining brand equity that increase competitive advantages.

People 

Training

The personnel are an essential component of every organization. Woolworths will require several workforces for its stores in the new foreign market. As the company entered into a new market, it will provide effective training to the employees. Because the customers will face the workforces for purchasing a product and training will help the staffs to maintain quality of service. The personnel will be trained by visual aids, programs, teamwork and mentoring. Training will enhance the skills and knowledge of the workers to perform a particular task (Mani, Gunasekaran & Delgado, 2018).

Recruitment

It is the process of finding candidates, reviewing applicants and selecting effective personnel for the firm (Amendolagine, Presbitero, Rabellotti & Sanfilippo, 2019). Woolworths will recruit trained as well as skilled staffs for the retail stores in the market of Bangladesh. It will also employ candidates from the local areas of Bangladesh because they would have enough knowledge regarding the market behavior of the consumers. Moreover, the company will hire those employees who possess strong relationship management skills and communication skills.

Occupational health and safety laws

The primary law related to the occupational health and safety in Bangladesh is the Bangladesh Labor Act 2006 (Tasnim, Rahman, Rahman & Islam, 2016). The occupational health and safety laws are significant because it prevents injury along with illness in the workplace. Woolworths will abide by the act in order to promote the health and safety of the workers.

Economic Evaluation

The objective of Woolworths is to obtain a 10% market share in 5 years. Therefore, the calculation of the total market is provided below:

Bangladesh has a total people of 163.05 million. Woolworths will mark initial adopters and innovators in the first two centuries and then, target the initial majority in the next year. Therefore, the entire market in the first two years is 163.05 million times (2.5% + 13.5% = 16%). It means 26.08 million is the whole market for the first two years. Woolworths will achieve 10% market segment so that the total market will be 26.08 million * 10% = 2.608 million.

The expected revenue is $26.08 million that the company will receive after five years.

In the first year, the corporation will have a 5% market share is equal to $13.04 million. In the second year, the firm will have 8% market share is equal to $20.864 million. In the third year, the firm will have a 10% market share, which is $26.08 million.

Ways to reduce the cost that could be acquired in the start-up

Costs

Reduction/Monitoring Process

– Production

The cost will be reduced by decreasing the material cost and eliminating non-value added processes (Rahman & Samiha, 2019)

– Distribution

It will be reduced by increasing efficiency

– Labor

Minimize overtime and invest in efficient technology

– Material

Eliminate unnecessary products and leverage suppliers

– Marketing

Adopt a strategic approach and analyze data

-Insurance

Raise the deductibles and decrease risk

– Travelling

Tighten up the corporate travel policy

– Shipping

Use online shipping

– Inventory

Ignore minimum order quantity and implement JIT inventory system

– Advertising

Create a focused advertising program

 

 

Implementation and control 

Activity

Responsible

July

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Market research

PESTLE

Marketing team

ü 

 

 

 

 

 

Market Survey

 

ü 

 

 

 

 

Research Analysis

ü 

ü 

 

 

 

 

Production Plan

Sourcing local producers

Production team

ü 

ü 

ü 

 

 

 

Sourcing local dealers

 

ü 

ü 

 

 

 

Production sampling

 

 

ü 

 

 

 

Analyzing the sample outcome

Production & Marketing team

 

ü 

ü 

ü 

 

 

Marketing Plan

Market Analysis

Marketing team

ü 

ü 

ü 

 

 

 

Competitors Analysis

 

ü 

ü 

ü 

ü 

 

Distribution research

Sourcing effective local distributors

Marketing team

 

 

 

ü 

ü 

 

Recruitment

Local employment

HR team

ü 

 

 

 

 

 

Training

Training program

HR team

 

ü 

ü 

ü 

 

 

Communication Plan 

Activity

Responsible

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Promotion Plan

Event sponsor scheduling

Marketing department

 

ü 

ü 

 

 

 

Social media creating

 

 

ü 

 

 

 

Sale promotion planning

ü 

ü 

ü 

 

 

 

Budgeting

Costs Analysis

Financial team

 

 

ü 

ü 

 

 

Pricing

Estimating Price

Financial team

 

 

 

ü 

ü 

 

Product Launch

Launching the Product into the market

Marketing manager

 

 

 

ü 

ü 

ü 

Feedback

Gathering feedback of customer satisfaction and sale

Sales and marketing team

 

 

 

 

ü 

ü 

Annual report

Giving essential information for Annual report

Product manager

 

 

 

 

 

ü

 

 

Monitoring of Action Plan 

Activity

Measurement

Responsible

Activity completion date(s)

Memo

Market Research (PESTLE)

Regulate macro-environmental opportunities that will benefit the company

Marketing Team

One year before release date

Opportunities must be reliable with company objectives

Market survey

Evaluate the wants and expectations of the consumers

Marketing team

One month

Meet the needs

Market Research and survey Analysis

Control demand for the products

Marketing team

Two months

Consistent with the product demands

Sourcing local manufacturers

Provide opportunities to make new contract with other businesses

Production team

Two months

Align with the company’s goals

Sourcing local suppliers

Develop better relationships and enrich local culture

Production team

One to three months

Develop better relationship

Production sampling

Determine the proportion of time spent in production

Production team

Six months

Constant production process with simple technique

Analyzing the sample result

Check the accuracy of the production process

Production and marketing team

One month

Meet the accuracy of outcomes

Market Analysis

Determine the attractiveness of the market

Marketing team

Three months

Constantly produce products to attract market

Competitors Analysis

Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of competitors

Marketing team

Two to three months

Grab competitive advantages

Sourcing effective local distributors

Consider the supply chain costs and bring revenue

Marketing team

One to two months

Distributing products efficiently

Local employee recruitment

Determine the marketing knowledge and opportunities

HR team

Six month

Skilled employee with expertise knowledge

Training

Evaluate skills and experience of employees

HR team

Three to four months

Enhance marketing skills

Marketing plan for Event sponsor,

Social media and

Sale promotion

Capture customers interest and establish measurable goals

Marketing team

Four to five months

Promote selling of products

Budgeting

Determine the performance of business

Financial team

One to two months

Set financial budget

Pricing

Determine the overall costs

Financial team

One month

Estimate low price for the products

Product launch

Evaluate the coverage of the products

Marketing manager

Two year

Cover the features

Collecting Feedback

Analyze the opinions and views of the consumers

Sales and marketing team

Six to seven months

Positive response

Annual Report

Determine the financial position and cash flow of the year

Product manager

One year

Strong financial position

Contingency Plans 

Activity

Possible Issue

Prospect of occurrence

Modification

Sourcing local manufacturers

Quality

Miscommunication

Increase communication skills

Sourcing local suppliers

Poor communication  

Poor communication skill

Enhance negotiation

Production sampling

Inadequate data

Inappropriate use of technique

Using advance technologies

Local employee recruitment

Less knowledge

Hiring wrong candidate

Selection of right candidates

Training

Lack of equipment

Insufficient supply

Use advance equipment

Budgeting

Lack of financial costs

Low budget

Set high budget

Product launch

Quality features

Improper planning

Advanced planning

Exit Strategy

Losing control

Misunderstanding

Keep control

 

 

References 

Amendolagine, V., Presbitero, A. F., Rabellotti, R., & Sanfilippo, M. (2019). Local sourcing in developing countries: The role of foreign direct investments and global value chains. World Development, 113, 73-88.

Bailey, A. R., & Alexander, A. (2019). Cadbury and the rise of the supermarket: innovation in marketing 1953–1975. Busin

Bailey, M. (2016). Marketing to the Big Middle: establishing Australian discount department stores. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 8(3), 416-433.

Bogomolova, S., Szabo, M., & Kennedy, R. (2017). Retailers’ and manufacturers’ price-promotion decisions: Intuitive or evidence-based?. Journal of Business Research, 76, 189-200.s

Cant, M. C., Wiid, J., & Sephapo, C. M. (2016). Key Factors Influencing Pricing Strategies For Small Business Enterprises (SMEs): Are They Important?. Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR), 32(6), 1737-1750.

Davcik, N. S., & Sharma, P. (2015). Impact of product differentiation, marketing investments and brand equity on pricing strategies: A brand level investigation. European Journal of Marketing, 49(5/6), 760-781.

Faertes, D. (2015). Reliability of supply chains and business continuity management. Procedia Computer Science, 55, 1400-1409.

Hollender, L., Zapkau, F. B., & Schwens, C. (2017). SME foreign market entry mode choice and foreign venture performance: The moderating effect of international experience and product adaptation. International Business Review, 26(2), 250-263.

Kienzler, M., & Kowalkowski, C. (2017). Pricing strategy: A review of 22 years of marketing research. Journal of Business Research, 78, 101-110.

Kireev, V. S., Nekrasova, M. L., Shevchenko, E. V., Alpatskaya, I. E., Makushkin, S. A., & Povorina, E. V. (2016). Marketing management as the realization process of research, production and sale activity of the enterprise. International Review of Management and Marketing, 6(6S), 228-234.

Kotabe, M., & Kothari, T. (2016). Emerging market multinational companies’ evolutionary paths to building a competitive advantage from emerging markets to developed countries. Journal of World Business, 51(5), 729-743.

Mahmood, S. M. (2018). Building strong brand equity through developing and implementing the strong brand strategy: in perspective of Bangladeshi supermarkets. South Asian Journal of Marketing & Management Research, 8(1), 19-34.

Makhitha, K. M. (2016). Marketing strategies of small craft producers in South Africa: practices and challenges. Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR), 32(3), 663-680.

Mani, V., Gunasekaran, A., & Delgado, C. (2018). Supply chain social sustainability: Standard adoption practices in Portuguese manufacturing firms. International Journal of Production Economics, 198, 149-164.

Pulker, C. E., Scott, J. A., & Pollard, C. M. (2018). Ultra-processed family foods in Australia: nutrition claims, health claims and marketing techniques. Public health nutrition, 21(1), 38-48.

Rahman, M. N., & Samiha, N. N. R. H. Z. (2019). An Evaluation of the Factors Influencing Customers’ Experience in Supermarkets of Bangladesh. Agora, 13, 22.

Sultan, P., Wong, H. Y., & Sigala, M. (2018). Segmenting the Australian organic food consumer market. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 30(1), 163-181.

Sv?tlík, J. (2017). Integrating online advertising into integrated marketing communications.

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