Discuss About The Proposing A Sustainable Marketing Heritage.
Marketing is an essential part of the business operations and refers to the tactics used to entice customers. It has a direct impact on the sales and customer base of the organization. Theoretically, marketing mix is a set of proposition used to distinguish the company from other business organizations. In the present report, the marketing mix of Hershey has been examined. It is a leading company in the food products and confectionary items. The relative position of the organization in the market has been evaluated with the help of SWOT analysis. Further, the sustainable marketing techniques used by the organization have been evaluated. The company uses several methods for the sustainable operations such as waste management, minimal packaging and shunning the use of artificial flavors.
Hershey is a USA based confectionary brand with significant market share in other countries too. However, it has a largest customer base in the USA market due to its high quality products and brand equity. It has a long history in the USA, which has assisted the organization in developing a niche marketplace of the organization. However, the company is not able to make the same mark in other international markets. Several of its products such as Kisses, Twizzlers and Kit Kat are fairly popular in international and the USA market. The constant delivery of high quality product has developed a brand following and loyalty among the customers. The company has majority market share in the USA: however, with a few competitors such as Cadbury and Cargill. In the USA, the top competitor of the organization is Mars. Other than that, Cargill and Mondelez are also major competitors of the organization. In the recent years, the company has moved to several international markets by choosing the strategy of strategic alliance. Hershey enters the foreign market by making alliance with other local companies. With this strategy, the company acquires the market share of the local company and market intelligence, local to the market.
In its marketing strategy, the company applies micro-marketing concept, which means that it targets its strategy to specific customer sections. It not only targets large customer section, but also consumer sections, which are smaller in size. It develops customized products, which suits to specific customer taste. These products are specifically tailored to suit the needs of specific customers; therefore, they are higher in cost. Another element of the marketing mix of the organization is that the company focuses on holiday marketing. It means it designs its products in a customized manner and promotes them so that they are linked to the famous holidays (Hörisch, Freeman & Schaltegger, 2014). It increases the sales of the product by a higher volume.
Every business organization uses marketing mix to distinguish its product from that of the competitors. The product, price, place and promotional strategy of the company are discussed in this section:
Product Strategy: The Company emphasizes the development of high quality and delicious chocolates, candies and syrups. The raw materials are supplied from reliable and sustainable suppliers. High emphasis is placed for the quality and production of these materials. The company has a wide range of products, which encompasses chocolate, candies, syrups and sauces. The products are packaged in specially designed packages, which attract children. Hershey also assures that the products sold to the company are healthy and delicious in nature. Hershey provides chocolate and other products in different size and shape to attract its target customers of children. The packaging is also made attractive to attract these customers.
Pricing Strategy: Hershey has established a strong hold over the USA and European market. The company has established itself as a premium brand, with several high priced products. The company targets the affluent customers of the organization. By following premium pricing strategy, Hershey has established itself as a premium brand (Hershey, 2018). Other than that, the company has also introduced some products for middle-class customers.
Distribution strategy: The distribution refers to the places, through which the company distribute its products. The company sells its products through grocery stores, online mediums and vending machines. The departmental stores also distribute the product of the organization. The company has a large distribution network spread over many cities and countries. It has established local manufacturing centers in various markets, through which the distribution of the items becomes easy (MBA Skool, 2018). Hershey has manufacturing and distribution centers in different countries.
Promotion Strategy: Hershey has invested a lot in its marketing strategy. The company uses several mediums including television advertisement, magazines and billboards. It is a huge company and invests a lot in attaining market intelligence. It understands the current market trends and consumer preferences, and uses them in developing high quality products. It produces several brands, each of which suits a particular consumer segment. The company can also organize different public launch campaigns (Lee & Saen, 2012). It also maintains social media page and a website campaign, which attracts a large number of customers.
Each of Hershey’s brands is promoted through the use of unique marketing and promotional campaign.
The SWOT analysis identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and weaknesses of the organization. It is used to explore the opportunities to the organization, which can be used to grow the organization. In the present section, the SWOT analysis of Hershey has been conducted:
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Strength · Brand name and international recognition · Sound financial resources · Robust supply chain · Large portfolio of brands · Innovative brands (Wohl, 2018) |
Weakness · Majority of business through USA market · Reducing profit margins · Less customer services in comparison to the competitors (Hershey, 2009) |
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Opportunities · Opportunity to enter other developing markets · Developing products, which suit the needs of different customer segment (CSP, 2015) · Increasing the customer base of the organization by market penetration · Enhancing the distribution networking of the organization · Developing innovative, health-aware products |
Threats · High level of competition · Emergence of various of small companies · Intense competition from small and local companies |
In the above analysis, the strengths and weaknesses of the organization has been identified. The biggest strengths of the organization have been identified as its brand name. It has a diversified product portfolio and does not depend on a single product. It is famous for its customized products, especially tailored to appeal to the taste of the customers. However, the biggest weakness of the organization is its dependence on the USA market. The company should focus its attention to the foreign markets. It should develop products to suit the taste of local customers.
In the present context, most of the business organizations have realized the importance of sustainable operations. In the past, the business enterprises were continuously exploiting the natural resources. However, it has negatively impacted the nature and the quality of living. Therefore, most of the business enterprises have realized the importance of sustainable operations. The sustainable operations refers to the process, through which the business organizations exploits the natural resources in such a manner, that they are replaced by the natural resources of some or higher value. In the current context, the customers have also realized the importance of sustainable operations and try to buy products from these organizations (Schaltegger, 2011). The basic intent of the sustainable operations is that the needs of the future generations is not compromised.
The sustainable marketing refers to the use of sustainable operations as a marketing technique. The customers are attracted towards sustainable operations and prefer buying products from the companies, which abide by the sustainability operations. The business community maintains productivity by limiting the exploitation of the resources. The sustainable marketing is refers to several concepts such as production, marketing and distribution. It is commonly used to develop strong relationships with the customers, and henceforth promoting sales (Garza, 2013). The sustainable marketing refers to the concepts positively impacts the social environment and the natural environment.
It is the process through which the companies attain a core competency. In the present times, when sustainable operations have attained worldwide importance, the customers prefer buying products manufactured through sustainable techniques. The sustainable operations are important in creating equilibrium between the customers, social environment and the natural environment (Chhabra, 2009).
In the sustainable marketing, the companies create a niche customer base for themselves. They adopt or move to different strategies, which are not harmful to the environment. There are several challenges in the sustainable marketing process. In the business environment, the sustainable marketing refers to the process through which the company reduces the expenditure on the long run. In most of the cases, the company has to invest in switching towards sustainable operations; however, in the long run, it is a cost-effective measure. It enhances the brand image of the organization; therefore, the company can maximize its market share (Windolph, Harms & Schaltegger, 2014). The sustainable operations assist the marketing managers of the organization in better targeting and positioning of the product.
Hershey also has followed the trend of sustainable operations and adopted several sustainable approaches. It has created a sustainable supply chain, wherein the company cares about the well-being of the farmers and lower-level stakeholders. The lowest section of the supply chain is the cocoa farmers in developing countries. The company has invested a lot in uplifting their social and economic status. Hershey has developed various educational programs aimed at the farmers. Other than that, company has also pledged to reduce the use of artificial flavors in the chocolates and syrups (Formentini & Taticchi, 2016).
Hershey has used Information Technology (IT) to enhance the customer awareness. The users can check the use of sustainable techniques in the product development. They can go to the website of the company to check various sourcing options and production techniques. The extensive product information is also available at the product packaging and product stores. The company has started providing information related to the sourcing and manufacturing of the ingredients. There are certain other measures such as sustainability in the sourcing of various products and controlling greenhouse emission, which supports the sustainability vision of the organization (Mitchell, Wooliscroft, & Higham, 2010).
The company has launched various social missions for the nutrition and health of the children. It aims at providing proper nutrition to the children and offering them with healthy alternatives. Other than that, the company is also trying to provide better working conditions to the employees. The company is a participant of various human resource associations and provides better workplace opportunity to the employees (Salzmann, Ionescu-Somers & Steger, 2005).
In order to support sustainable operations of the organization, Hershey has implemented a shared goodness framework. This framework is used to evaluate the sustainable performance of the company by benchmarking it through its own standards. Various sustainable projects undertaken by the company aims to uplift the position of the employees and farmers. Its aim is to provide a better future to the employees (Lindell, 2017).
In the past, the company has been criticized for not adopting ethical cocoa purchase programs. However, it has adopted a series of programs to eliminate the forced and child labor from its supply chain. Furthermore, Hershey has also adopted a sustainable packaging approach, in which the company will reduce the waste emission of the company in the product packaging. It will also use more sustainable packaging in the chocolate and other product’s manufacturing (Mitchell, Wooliscroft & Higham,2010). Several products are packed using sustainable products which reduces the amount of waste generated in the product packaging.
Furthermore, the organization has created a positive work culture in the organization. The company adopts a transparent work culture in which the suggestions of each employee are invited. The company firmly believes that the efforts of each employee will individually contribute to the sustainable objective of the organization. Therefore, the suggestion of each employee for sustainable operations is listened and taken action upon. Other than that, the organization follows the corporate governance policies and tries to conduct its operation ethically (Azadi, Jafarian, Saen, Mirhedayatian, 2015). It has also adopted a transparent stance in determining and disclosing the remuneration of the top executives.
The corporate governance policy and other organization’s policies are strictly followed by the top executives of the organization. The code of conduct refers to the conflict of interest, fair trade laws and establishing a sustainable supply chain of the organization. As a part of the sustainable operations, the company promotes the principles of workplace diversity. It does not discriminate the candidates based on caste, creed, gender or other criteria. It creates a diversified workplace, with creativity and lots of idea generation. Other than that, the company also selects the suppliers and procurement managers based on talent. Several times, business gives work tenders to small business organizations (Johnson, 2017). The company is also dedicated to provide healthy versions of chocolate and other consumer products.
The company is dedicated to provide sugar-free chocolate, and product according to calorie and portion control. The company emphasizes on healthy lifestyle, weight control and exercise among the employees. In all of its products, Hershey provides information about the nutrition intake so that the consumers can analyze the amount of calories taken by them (Schuler, Rasche, Etzion & Newton, 2017). In sustainable marketing, the company also refrains from misleading information and unreliable information source.
Conclusion
Hershey has a long history in producing confectionary items, chocolate and syrups. The company has strong brand presence in the USA; however, its presence in other places is very limited. The company has a strong and loyal customer following. In terms of pricing, it has adopted the strategy of premium pricing, in which it targets the affluent customer action. The company has followed sustainable marketing principles in which it is striving to adopt sustainable practices in its operations. The company has used sustainability as a competitive advantage. The customers are attracted towards the business organizations, which adopts sustainability principles. In its sustainability initiatives, the company has adopted strategies to uplift the standard of low-level stakeholders of the organization’s supply chain. In its operations, it has adopted a recycling center and product packaging approaches. Though these approaches, the company can reduce the total amount of packaging used in product packaging. It has taken the corporate social responsibility at a global context. All its activities are focused to improve the basic nutrition and sourcing of the organization. In the recent years, Hershey has also tries to uplift the standard of supply chain. It is using certified and sustainable cocoa for its global brands. The company has also adopted several training and educational programs to enhance the cocoa production in a sustainable manner. It is also launching educational programs for the children of farmers.
References
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