Developing an international marketing plan for an organisation - Assignment Example

?Developing an International Marketing Plan for an Organization Table of Contents Background 3 1. The Industry 3 2. The Company 4 2. Situation Analysis 4 2.1. Business Environment 4 2.2 Market Analysis 6 2.3. Competitor Analysis 7 2.4. Organizational Capability 7 2.5. SWOT Analysis of J&J 8 3. Marketing Strategies 8 3.1. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 8 3.2. Target Market and Segmentation Strategy 9 3.3. Positioning Strategy 10 3.4. Marketing Mix Strategy 10 4. Company Objectives 12 5. Economic Evaluation 12 5.1. Planning Assumptions 13 5.2. Forecast Sales and Costs 13 6. Marketing Implementation & Control 14 6.1. Action Plan 14 6.2. Budgets 15 7. Monitoring & Control Mechanism(s) 16 References 17 1. Background The primary purpose of this report is to propose an effective marketing plan emphasizing on different marketing attributes and strategies for a new product of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in the existing medical equipment and pharmaceutical industry of Australia. The proposed plan will be focus on developing health supplementary drinks for mothers, especially targeting to the growing Australian market. Moreover, the proposed marketing plan will focus on implementing adequate marketing tools and techniques which can enable the company to gain adequate knowledge about the international Australian market and prevailed opportunities. 1. 1. The Industry In the present medical equipment and pharmaceutical industry, the organizations or market players can be observed to seek to develop their business position through initiating new products/services into the market applying a differentiation or diversification approach. In order to create new customer segments for the newly launched products, the marketers tend to practice extensive marketing strategies and activities. Concerning the industry structure, it can be stated that the medical equipment and pharmaceutical sector is dominated by few major marketers including J&J that has been long serving the customers. Threats of substitutes as well as new entrants are also observed to be low in this industry owing to high degree of regulatory interventions, capital intensiveness and greater dependency on customer as well as stakeholders’ trust (Giudice, & Bolduc, 2006). 1.2. The Company J&J can be regarded as one of the renowned brands in the global medical equipment and pharmaceutical industry. The company was founded in the year 1886 and is well known for its enduring performances of delivering quality based medical devices and diagnostic products to the global consumers (Johnson & Johnson, 2013). The organization also seeks to embrace adequate research and development initiatives through the integration of innovative ideas which ensures the empowerment of health as well as wellbeing of its wide range of global consumers. The products offered by J&J principally involve maternity kits, childcare products, fast-aid equipments and surgical apparatuses among others (Johnson & Johnson, 2012). Therefore, diversifying by extending its product line through serving a nutrition drink for mothers can contribute towards the brand recognition of the company along with increasing its market share in the Australian medical equipment and pharmaceutical industry. 2. Situation Analysis 2.1. Business Environment The present business environment in the medical equipment and pharmaceutical industry depicts fierce competition among the handful of dominant marketers in Australia, concerning their wide range of products and/or services as well as market share. In order to successfully launch the health supplementary drinks for mothers in the Australian market, understanding the political and legal factors of the respective market is one of the major decisions as these factors are apparently observed to impose strong influences on the operations of marketers such as J&J (University of Wollongong, n.d.). The following discussion tends to reveal the political and legal conditions of Australia in terms of launching a nutritional drink as a new product by J&J. Political Factors The political scenario of the target market can be considered as a major influencing factor that can give rise to different constraints for the marketers when launching new product for a particular market. In accordance with the political condition of Australia, it can be observed that the country possesses diverse regulations and principles concerning the product type, quality and its importance offered by the marketers of the pharmaceutical industry to the potential users. In this regard, the political influence have minimum amount of impact for J&J in terms of offering supplementary health drinks for mothers in the Australian market. Owing to the fact, the adequate quality of supplementary health drinks along with well-built brand image of the company can also support J&J to successfully market its new product in Australia (University of Wollongong, n.d.). Legal Factors This particular factor signifies the legal guidelines and policies concerning marketing and advertising, health and safety, employment law along with other similar attributes (Grabosky & Braithwaite, 1993). In the current scenario, the pharmaceutical industry is guided and strongly influenced by particular regimes including the conditions and provisions mentioned in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between United States and Australia, the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). J&J is supposedly to get strongly influenced by such interventions owing to the fact that it is a US multinational (Hamilton & et. al., 2013). 2.2 Market Analysis The market analysis for promoting mother’s health drink in the Australian market by J&J will be focused on identifying the different segments of customers and their consumption trends which can be profitable or give rise to challenges witnessed by the organization. Characteristics The market for the proposed product, i.e. mother’s health drink, will be characterized into two broad customer segments such as the nursing institutions which tend to serve mothers in the maternity wards and the retail customers including housewives. Forecasts In relation to the gradually increasing birth rate in Australia, a continuous growth for the products proposed to be launched by J&J in its Australian pharmaceutical dimension can be forecasted. Notably, as per the statistical reports regarding the fertility rate in Australia, almost 0.7% increase was observed from the birth rate registered in the year 2009 to 2010 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013). Trends The population of the country has been following a growing trend of rendering adequate care towards physical stability of the newly motherhood women. Moreover, this segment of Australian population is highly prioritized in terms of their wellbeing during the post birth period. Therefore, a feasible growth in terms of demand for mother’s health drink product within the Australian market can be identified where the brand value of J&J shall contribute substantially (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2012). 2.3. Competitor Analysis Competitor analysis provides an important insight to the marketers in terms of building long-term sustainability in any particular market (Arab British Academy for Higher Education, n.d.). Well-built brand image and reputation of J&J in the global medical equipment and pharmaceutical industry can be stated as the major strengthening aspect which can influence the success of the new product proposed to be offered in the Australian market. Moreover, the minimum availability of substitutes for mother nutritional health drinks in the Australian market as compared to the brand value of J&J can also provide adequate opportunity to the company to achieve substantial growth in the respective market (Johnson & Johnson, 2013). 2.4. Organizational Capability J&J is one of the reputed brands in its respective industry which can be regarded as a major strength of the company and can be used to capture a large number of customers in the Australian market comprising of mothers and nursing homes. Moreover, adequate resources along with continuous research and development process of the company can also bring potential success for its newly developed product in the Australian market (Johnson & Johnson, 2013). 2.5. SWOT Analysis of J&J 3. Marketing Strategies 3.1. Foreign Market Entry Strategy An effective entry strategy significantly incorporates various strategic decisions in relation to the various influencing factors of the host country (Kotler, 2001). In order to attain a larger consumer base for the mother’s health drink in the Australian business environment, the initial stage of the strategy will be focused on analyzing the present trend and demand of the consumers. In this regard, an effective consumer analysis will be executed which can enable the organization to identify the desired needs and preferences of the target customer group in the Australian market. The product will be marketed through the flagship of the parent company i.e. J&J which can enable it to collect a larger group of Australian customers at its introduction stage with minimum hurdles of customer skepticism and weak brand recognition for this particular product category. Additionally, the admired brand image as well as extensive group of customer reliability will be an effective strength for the proposed product which can grasp the attention of the consumers in the long-run. 3.2. Target Market and Segmentation Strategy Targeting appropriate group of customers along with segmenting customers can be regarded as an effective strategy which can facilitate the marketers to attain a competitive position (Goi, 2009). In relation to introduce health drinks for mothers in the Australian market, the target market and the corresponding segmentation strategies to be applied by J&J will be focused on differentiating consumers into two broad segments. Firstly, the nursing and healthcare institutions of the country through which the product can be marketed to a large group of potential customers will be targeted as the wholesale customer group for the product. Secondly, the product will also be distributed through retail channels, i.e. through retail pharmaceutical stores which can also attract a large group of potential individual users in different locations within the Australian market. 3.3. Positioning Strategy The product positioning strategy can be defined as a process of communicating the product features concerning the promotion of the brand image in that particular segment (Karadeniz, 2009). In the context of positioning mother’s health drink in the Australian market, the strategy of adequate communication actions will be incorporated for improving the physical stability of mothers throughout and after their pregnancy phase. Moreover, the communication process during positioning the product will also encompass different nutritional elements which are highly required for a woman in the post pregnancy phase as per the requirement of individual mothers. Additionally, the ingredients along with various dietary elements which are merely important for the new mothers will also be communicated to the different groups of customers within the Australian market by involving the veterans in medical practices which can promote the product in a much reliable manner without any possible threat for message distortion. 3.4. Marketing Mix Strategy Product Product can be regarded as one of the core attributes for any organization which depicts the image of the company and also ensures to predict its future growth in a respective industry. In relation to the proposed product for J&J in the Australian market, the strategy will be highly prioritized relating to its quality, ingredients and its effectiveness which can facilitate adequate diet for the new mothers. Price The pricing strategy of a new product can further be considered as an essential factor which can enable an organization to attain its desired financial goals in the competitive market (Kotler, 2001). In relation to the mother’s health drink in the Australian market, the price of the product will be focused on value based pricing strategy at the initial stage and further it will aim for penetrating strategy in accordance with the demand and conveniences of the consumers. Place The place for the new proposed product for J&J will be distinguished into two major segments such as nursing institutions and pharmaceutical retail stores. In this context, the places where the product will be made available through different pharmaceutical wholesalers and distributors, within the different locations in Australia mainly comprising of nursing institutions and pharmaceutical retail shops. Promotion The promotional strategy of the proposed product for J&J will be implemented in accordance with the flow of products in the Australian market. In relation to attain a greater customer loyalty and build sustainable customer satisfaction, the labeling process will be considered with significance by J&J. The labels of the products will convey information regarding various ingredients and dietary elements used in the production of the drink on the basis of the elements’ contribution to regain adequate physical stability for the mothers during and after pregnancy. 4. Company Objectives The primary objective of the mother’s health drink product to be offered in the Australian market will be focused on obtaining adequate reliability and building loyalty among the consumer groups at the initial level of the product launch by J&J. In accordance with the enduring performance of the other products offered by J&J, the company has been able to gain substantial numbers of loyal customers in the global market. The endurance of adequate quality along with reliable product lines of the company has also achieved considerable value in the global medical equipment and pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, the proposed product ‘mother’s health drink’ will be highly prioritized on building adequate sustainability concerning its quality and effectiveness in the Australian market. Moreover, the objective of the company in introducing mother’s health drink will further extent to achieve substantial growth on its efficiencies which will be obtained through analyzing the feedbacks obtained from the customers. 5. Economic Evaluation Evaluating a valid and appropriate financial plan can be recognized as one of the essential steps for any organization in order to manage and efficiently accomplish its different operational processes. An effective arrangement of financial analysis significantly involves different attributes such as financial goals, financial resource(s), and income statement with the intention of attaining a feasible outcome from the overall business operations intended during the launch of the new product (Ministry of Small Business and Economic Development, n.d.). 5.1. Planning Assumptions In order to attain feasible financial return from the launch of the new product, mother’s health drink in the Australian market, the financial goal of the company will be aiming towards attaining at least AUD 85,000 in the initial year. After commencing the business operations, the strategy will be focused on maintaining adequate control of the expenses associated with different marketing activities. The financial assumptions of the proposed health drink for J&J will further focus on increasing the annual sales of the product by 15% on a year-on-year basis. 5.2. Forecast Sales and Costs The forecasted costs and expected sales of the mother’s health drink have been depicted in the following statistical representation. 6. Marketing Implementation & Control The implementation and control process is also an important factor which signifies the rationality and viability of the overall marketing plan. In this context, the implementation processes in the proposed marketing plan for mother’s health drink will be focused on executing adequate activities in order to successfully enter into the Australian market and avail the opportunity of growth demand due to the increasing fertility rate. Therefore, the following action plan and budgetary plan will demonstrate and identify the amount of the relevance and viability of the overall marketing plan. 6.1. Action Plan Action How Sensible Measurable Achievable Realistic Time Analyzing the current statistics of mothers health in Australia Through examining reports of the healthcare and nursing institutions It would enable to identify the required nutritional levels for improving mothers health It can be measured by changing physical condition of the mothers after giving births` With the help of the healthcare department of Australia Within a feasible and affordable cost 1 Month Promoting mothers health drink Through the alliance of healthcare institutions and communities It would facilitate to target a large group of potential customers It can be assessed by involving different governmental and commercial institutions Through obtaining the support from different nursing institutions Within a feasible cost 1 Month Launching mothers health drink In healthcare institutions and pharmaceutical retail/wholesale stores It would facilitate the customers to easily purchase Targeting a large group of customers through community healthcare centers and commercial institutions Through the support of the community, government and commercial institutions Within a feasible cost 3 Months 6.2. Budgets 7. Monitoring & Control Mechanism(s) In order to accomplish the predetermined objectives of offering mother’s health drink in the Australian market, it is also important for the organization to incorporate adequate mechanism of controlling and monitoring the performance of the product in the respective market in the post launch session. Therefore, an effective process of analyzing the feedbacks received by the customers after consuming the products will enable it to clearly identify the performance of mother’s health drink in the Australian market. Moreover, the process of analyzing the outcomes can also facilitate J&J to effectively plan its various future initiatives and therefore reward the company with the opportunity to continuously improve the product in accordance with the consumers’ tastes and preferences. References Arab British Academy for Higher Education, No Date. Chapter 8. Marketing, Strategy, and Competitive Analysis, pp. 145-169. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013. Births. 1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2012. [Online] Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1301.0~2012~Main%20Features~Births~51 [Accessed May 23, 2013]. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2012. Australia’s Health 2012. Measuring Australia’s Health Performance. [Online] Available at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=10737422169 [Accessed May 23, 2013]. Giudice, P. & Bolduc, K., 2006. Assessing Performance at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: A Case Study. The Center for Effective Philanthropy. [Online] Available at http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org/assets/pdfs/CEP_RWJF.pdf [Accessed May 23, 2013]. Goi, C. L., 2009. A Review of Marketing Mix: 4Ps or More? International Journal of Marketing Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 2-15. Grabosky, P. & Braithwaite, J., 1993. Business Regulation and Australia's Future. Australian Studies in Law, Crime and Justice. [Online] Available at: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/9/B/F/%7B9BF180DD-6CD2-4D62-9AA1-33BE5BE44BBF%7Dbusiness.pdf [Accessed May 23, 2013]. Hamilton, C. & et. al., 2013. Barrier to Trade or Barrier to Profit? Why Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Worries U.S. Drug Companies. Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 373-386. Johnson & Johnson, 2013. Our Timeline. Our Company. [Online] Available at: http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/company-history [Accessed May 23, 2013]. Johnson & Johnson, 2012. 2012 Business Segment Highlights. Annual Report 2012. [Online] Available at: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/JNJ/2492856147x0x644760/85FD0CFF-2305-4A02-8294-2E47D0F31850/JNJ2012annualreport.pdf [Accessed May 23, 2013]. Karadeniz, M., 2009. Product Positioning Strategy in Marketing Management. Journal of Naval Science and Engineering, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 98-110. Kotler, P., 2001. Marketing Management, Millennium Edition. Prentice Hall Inc. 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