Marketing Audits - Coursework Example

?Marketing Planning Assignment Table of Contents Marketing Planning Assignment Table of Contents 2 Task Marketing Audits 5 Changing perspectives in marketing planning for Parcelforce 5 Parcelforce Appraisal for capability for planning its future marketing activity 5 SWOT Analysis 6 Strengths 6 Weakness 6 Opportunities 6 Threats 7 PESTLE 7 Political 7 Economic 7 Sociological 7 Technological 8 Environmental 8 Legal 8 Porter’s Five Forces Model 8 Bargaining Power of Buyers 8 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 8 Threat of New Entrants 9 Threat of Substitutes 9 Competition among Existing Players 9 Task 2 – Barriers to Marketing Planning 9 Main barriers to marketing planning for Parcelforce 9 McDonalds Ten S Approach 10 Strategy 10 Situate 10 Shared 10 Structure 11 Scan 11 Summarise 11 Skills 11 Systematise 12 Sequence 12 Style 12 Task 3 – The Marketing Plan 12 Situational Analysis 12 Objectives 14 Strategy 14 Marketing Mix 15 Budgets, Implementation and Review 16 Relationship between corporate, business and marketing objectives at operational level 17 Techniques for New Product Development 17 Recommendations 18 Factors Affecting the Plan 18 Task 4 – Ethical Issues 18 Ethical issues influence marketing planning within Parcelforce 18 Response to Ethical Issues 19 Consumer Ethics 19 Conclusion 19 References 20 Task 1 – Marketing Audits Changing perspectives in marketing planning for Parcelforce The age of globalisation and competition has spurred up the need to ensure more planning and effective strategies in order to counter the threats of competition prevailing in the markets. Business environment in the present date is characterised by cut throat competition among the market players that are engaged in attaching strategies like predatory pricing and ambush marketing to attack competitors. The industry due to high competition is characterised by low margins that has severely changed the business dynamics and has also ensured change in marketing planning tactics so as to ensure sustainability in the market (Global Express Parcels, 2011, p.1). Parcelforce Appraisal for capability for planning its future marketing activity Parcelforce is one of the largest courier and parcel delivery companies operating out of UK and has operations in numerous nations with a cutting edge technology and an effective service delivery mechanism. The company should use its technological advancements and the good brand image of the company owning to its long association with the industry to derive competitive advantage. The company should try to use its massive global presence and couple it with innovation in service delivery mechanism so as to generate competitive advantage. All its marketing efforts must not only be solely directed towards attracting new customers but focus should be made on CRM approaches that can help in not only attracting new customers but also in retention of the existing customers. The efficient technological base of the company along with a team of qualified and talented employees can help generate greater value for the customers. Spending must also be induced in the research and development aspect so as to generate innovation as it is the only way in which the company can distinguish itself from its competitors in the market and generate competitive advantage. SWOT Analysis SWOT stands for Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats and is used to analyse the internal environment of an organization. The SWOT analysis for Parcelforce is stated below: Strengths The main area of strength for the company includes its long association with the industry as well as a formidable presence across UK. The company also has an effective brand image and has been associated with the royal mail service. Strengths also emerge in the areas of efficient use of technology and effective logistics management and also a good reputation for quality service delivery among the customers (Parcelforce, 2012). Weakness Certain areas of weakness for the company include a limited offering to the customers that is matched by many of its competitors in the industry. This leaves little room for diversification leading to considerable weakness in the company. Opportunities Opportunities mainly arise in the areas of the growth in demand for the services of the company that had taken a hit with the recession in the market. Opportunities also arise with the growth of e-commerce business where courier and parcel companies play a pivotal role. Threats Threats to Parcelforce arise mainly on account of increased market competition that has considerably reduced profit margins as well as macro-economic conditions that pose serious challenges to the organization. PESTLE PESTEL is a tool that is used to analyse the external environment for a business organization and includes the elements of Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological and Legal aspects prevailing in a particular market. Political UK has a stable and democratically elected government that plays an active role in ensuring a favourable business environment. The government has been promoting industries and businesses so as to ensure favourable business environment. Economic UK represents one f the most developed economies of the world with a GDP of 2.25 trillion US dollars as of 2011. The economy has started showing signs of growth after a period of recession that makes it a good destination for business (CIA, 2012). Sociological UK represents one of the most cosmopolitan cultures and has a population that has a good level of disposable income making it one of the most attractive for business organizations. Technological UK has been the birthplace of the industrial revolution and has considerable edge in technology. This has helped companies like Parcelforce to come up with technological innovations in service delivery to add value to customers. Environmental UK has an effective policy of promoting environmental stability and is a signatory of various treaties and aims to reduce its carbon footprint by the end of the decade. Parcelforce has an environmental sustainability programs that can help match this strategy of the government. Legal UK has an independent an impartial judiciary that provides justice on equal grounds. The nation also accepts the jurisdictions of the International Court of Justice. Porter’s Five Forces Model The five forces model proposed by Michael Porter can be used to assess the prevailing competitive environment for a particular industry in a specific market. Bargaining Power of Buyers The courier and parcel industry in UK is characterised by a large number of market players that intensifies the market competition. Customers in the presence of low switching costs and large number of players have a high bargaining power in this industry segment. Bargaining Power of Suppliers The suppliers for courier and parcel companies include the carriers such as roadways, railway and other transport agencies. These have a medium bargaining power owning to presence of quite a few market players but the aspect of higher switching costs makes the force medium in influence. Threat of New Entrants The industry requires considerable expertise in logistics handling where costs are also high. This ensures high entry barriers making the threat from this force low in the industry. Threat of Substitutes There are not many substitutes available for courier and parcel industry. However the aspect of sending written communication, the internet including e-mails emerges as a strong substitute for mails. However the inability of electronic web based mails to deliver tangible articles makes the threat low for his industry. Competition among Existing Players This force is the most challenging aspect for the industry with the presence of numerous players including the government mail service. The industry is characterised by predatory pricing that makes the threat of this force high in ht industry. Task 2 – Barriers to Marketing Planning Main barriers to marketing planning for Parcelforce The main barriers for marketing planning include aspects like culture, behaviour, cognitive, procedures and systems and finally resources. The analysis of the business of Parcelforce shows that most of these impediments are absent. However the aspect of resource may generate certain issues in the planning process. This is mainly because of the strained margins due to increased market competition as well as drying up of credit markets due to effects of recession in the European region. These aspects are crucial because innovations are the key to long term sustainable development and that innovation requires availability of funds. The company also needs to have resources in the form of human capital so as to provide an innovative edge to the company. This is perhaps the only way in which Parcelforce can create a niche for itself in the market and generate long term competitive advantage. Hence careful planning and proper management of financial strategies need to be in place to ensure availability of resources for marketing planning process. McDonalds Ten S Approach The ten S approaches of McDonalds for Parcelfrce are stated below: Strategy In this part Parcelforce needs to strategise it financial planning so as to ensure that adequate financial resources are available. This includes searching for alternative routes of financing to fund new projects. Situate The company in this aspect must ensure that its current operational aspects are not affected by lack of financing. It should ensure that the sales team delivers adequate funds to maintain operations. Shared The company must ensure that all its marketing strategies are purely ethical and do not violate the competition laws of the land. Structure Parcelforce must concentrate upon the UK market where it has considerable expertise. It should try to focus its strategies in this region so as to ensure collective growth. Scan Parcelforce needs to analyse the external environment that would mainly include analysing the political and economic aspects. This is because the main constrains in the marketing planning for the company lies in the aspect of resources and hence the two external effects need to be analysed. Summarise Other than the analysis of the external environment Parcelforce also needs to analyse the internal environment. In this regard the SWOT analysis can help in identifying the areas of internal strengths and weakness of the organization and the external opportunities and threats. The company should try to use its strengths to leverage the opportunities and minimise the weakness and eliminate the threats. Skills Knowledge management is another important area as innovations are largely dependent on the learning curve and the skills of the employees. Hence career development, training and attracting talented individuals souls be given top priority by the organization. Systematise This would involve improving the process mainly handling of logistics and improving the total turnaround time o as to ensure competitive edge in the market. All the innovations must be focussed on creating faster service delivery so as to generate advantage in the market. Sequence Parcelforce needs to formulate a clear set of quantifiable objectives so as to ensure clear achievable goals. Using a SMART framework in setting up goals can help generate good feedback and control for the process. Style Effective cultural aspects need to be considered that includes setting up a good culture where employees feel satisfied and motivated so as to generate greater organizational efficiency. Task 3 – The Marketing Plan The new service that should be implemented by Parcelforce, is the vending machine service. The machine would be totally automated. One part of the machine would tell the sender about the weight of the parcel (the price of the service would be as per the weight of the parcel) and the customer has to pay through his credit card or the debit card. Then the customer would put his parcel in the machine. After that it is the responsibility of Parcelforce to deliver it to the right place and notifying the sender. Situational Analysis SWOT Analysis Strength Improved Supply Chain The cost would be much lower Weakness System breakdown can hamper the service in a specific place. Opportunity Target a larger base of customers. Threat Some people can find it tough to use this modern technology. Porter Five Forces Analysis Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Bargaining power of the suppliers is low for the product as the switching cost is lower. The company can get number of suppliers of vending machines in the area they are operating. Bargaining Power of Customers: The bargaining power of the customers is low as the system is automated and there is no company which is providing this kind of service in this industry. Threat of New Entrants: The threat of new entrants is higher. The competitors of Parcelforce which includes UPS, FedEx and DHL Express can start this service after it is implemented by Parcelforce. Competitive Rivalry in the Industry: As this kind of service is not implemented by any company at present, so Parcelforce would certainly get an edge in the competition. Threat of Substitute Products: The threat of the substitute products is low. The new service is an innovative one, which is suggested by the user. So there is limited chance that the service is get affected by the substitute products. Objectives The objective of implementing the new service is to provide more convenient service to the customers that also cut the operating cost of the company; thereby the profit would also increase. As the vending machine is automated so there is no need to employ a permanent employee, only periodic service is needed. But initially an employee is needed so the customers get acquainted with the system. The service would be more convenient for the customers as the machine takes a smaller place and the availability would be more. Strategy The analysts use the Ansoff’s matrix to develop the market growth strategy of their company. For achieving the growth through existing products in the existing market the management generally takes decision related to market penetration. While they want to achieve growth in new market based on the existing product, they have to take the market development strategy by promoting their product aggressively. For developing of new products in the new markets the company should take the diversification strategy and while implementing new service in existing markets that is called the product development strategy. In this case the company should take the product development strategy as they are implementing the service in the existing market. The company should develop the product as per the customer requirement and promote that in the existing market. Figure: Porter Generic Competitive Strategies Data Source: (Institute for Manufacturing, n.d.) The figure represents the competitive strategies designed by Michael Porter. Parcelforce is holding a good market share in the industry but the industry is extremely competitive. So they have to take the cost leadership strategy to gain more market share. The service of Parcelforce is covering most countries in the world, so they have to take a strategy for reducing the operating cost and increase the profit. Marketing Mix The company should consider the 4p s of marketing for preparing their tactics. That should be as follows. Product: The service offered by the company is new in the industry, so it should be customer friendly. The product should be designed considering the customer requirements. Price: The operating cost of the company would be low as the service is automated. So the company can make the price lower than their manual services. The customer will get attracted as the service is both convenient and of low price. Place: The Company should install the vending machines in such place where the pedestrians are more. Then more customers would come to know about the service and they would start to use that. Promotion: As the company is promoting a new service in the existing market so there is no need to do the aggressive marketing. They should promote their product through their website, by notifying their loyal customers personally by mail or through mobile. Budgets, Implementation and Review The cost of implementing the service includes the cost of the vending machines. The price of the vending machines is different in different countries. For implementing that service in a specific country the company may import the machine from another country if it is needed. The cost of the new service also includes the training of the employees about how to operate the machine. Though the machine is automated but at the preliminary stage of implementing the service the customers need the assistance of the employees of the company. Also the employees need to get training about the automated system as they have to collect the parcels for delivering those to the right person. The vending machine would be in the areas where the probability of getting the customers is more at the first phase of implementation. The service would cover broad areas after it gets popular. There would be feedback forms where the customers can provide their feedback about the new machine. Using the balanced scorecard technique the company should evaluate the feedback and implement the necessary changes. Relationship between corporate, business and marketing objectives at operational level In the postal service industry, there is intense competition between companies like Parcelforce, DHL Express, FedEx and United Parcel Service. So for retaining the market share the companies need to implement some innovative service so that the customers get attracted to the service and the company. By implementing the new service the company will get connected with more customers in a lower cost. The first stage implementation should be in the areas where the people are well aware about the modern technology. Then the area of coverage should be increased. The business of the company gets expanded as they are able to provide the same service to the customers in a lower cost. After the implementation the company is planning to employ the company representatives for the help of the customers. But after a period there would be no representative as per the plan. But then some customers may find it difficult when there would be no help of the company employees. Techniques for New Product Development For developing a new product a company should do the internal and external environment analysis of the company using the analyzing tools like SWOT, PESTEL and porter five forces model. Market research is needed to identify the customer need and expectations from the product. Then the company management have to identify the path for generating more market share and to have the competitive edge. They would analyze the opportunities in front of them. The management has to screen the ideas revealing from the brainstorming process. A concept is selected and the new product will be developed by the research and development team through the processes like testing of the product. After the initial product development, when the product is ready then the company has to do the market testing process. The company has to do any required change if that is needed to get success in the market. When the product is in the market commercially, also then the product can be changed as per the feedback of the customers. Recommendations As the cost of the new service is lower so the company can fix the price lower than the existing manual service to attract the customers. They should promote their product through the website and inform personally to the important customers about the offer. The service should cover the metropolitan cities at first and then it should be spread in the outskirts of the city. Factors Affecting the Plan Parcelforce has average market share so it would be the right time to implement the new service, through which they can gain more market share. The barriers for implementing the system are the question mark on people’s ability to get acquainted with the system. The marketing cost is not higher as the company is offering the service in an existing market. Task 4 – Ethical Issues Ethical issues influence marketing planning within Parcelforce When a company is there to implement a new product or service then the decisions about that should be taken after considering many factors. The stakeholders’ interest should be taken in consideration as the long term strategy of the company is shareholders’ wealth maximization. Along with these in time of marketing of the product should be abiding by with the company’s culture. The pricing should be reasonable, that would help the company to retain the market share for long time. The media messages should convey the actual offerings to the customers, any false message about the service would be harmful for the reputation for the company. Response to Ethical Issues The service of Parcelforce should be transparent. If they do any fraud then their reputation would get hampered and effect can be on revenue also. As the proposed system is fully automated, so there lies a chance of system breakdown. The company should respond in an effective manner so that the customer remains satisfied in those situations. For controlling these situations along with the honesty in the company management an effective controlling system is needed. Consumer Ethics For ensuring an effective trading process; along with the company the customers should also maintain the business ethics. The customers should not claim any false things to the company. For ensuring that the company’s responsibility is to implement the service which is user friendly and transparent; as well as the management has to promote awareness in the people. An effective trading only comes to existence if the customer and the company are working in collaboration. Conclusion In the postal service industry the competition is intense between the companies like Parcelforce, FedEx, UPS and DHL. Parcelforce has average share in the market. In modern days every company is looking for implement some innovative service to gain more customers, and thus increase the revenue of the company. The postal service industry is not an exception. The researcher has proposed a new service that should be implemented by the company to increase the market share. Parcelforce should start the vending machine service which is automated and more convenient to the customers. As the operating cost of the company is low so they can offer the service in a lower price to the customers. The customers would get attracted as the service is more convenient than before and also they have to pay lower price. The company should install the machine in the metropolitan areas at first where the people are more aware about technology. After that they can install it in other areas. They should promote the service through their website and by personally notifying to the important customers. After all by remaining transparent and maintaining good relationship with the customers the company can sustain in the long term run with a more than average market share. References CIA. (2012). The World Factbook. [Online]. Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html. [Accessed on February 2, 2012]. Global Express Parcels. (2011). Transport Intelligence. [Pdf]. Available at: http://www.transportintelligence.com/assets/files/Global-Express-Report-2011-Brochure.pdf. [Accessed on February 2, 2012]. Institute for Manufacturing. (No Date). Porter's Generic Competitive Strategies (ways of competing). [Online]. Available at: http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/dstools/paradigm/genstrat.html. [Accessed on: February 3, 2012]. Parcelforce. (2012). Our company. [Online]. Available at: http://www.parcelforce.com/help-information/about-us/our-company. [Accessed on February 3, 2012]. Read More