Health Nutrition And Food Demand – Importance Of Market Auditing

The Steps Involved in Market Auditing

Diascuss about the Health Nutrition and Food Demand.

This is the most integral part of understanding the business landscape and its viability. All the potential clients and potential competitors are reviewed and the internal environment is analyzed. This gives the management an understanding of the possible success or failures of the business. This analysis is important in the development of marketing strategy that enables the business to establish values that would focus on achieving its goals and objectives. It gives the management a basis to make conclusions’ and decisions regarding its customers and the market viewpoint (Graham, Uesugi, & Olson, 2016).It can be noted that Germany has recorded a constant increase in the baby food market. The HiPP baby foods need to establish a fact-finding mission on the ability of its customers to understand their products and their attitudes towards them. It is insightful as the organization could make its objectives and goals suit the market needs.

There are important steps that are followed during the process of market auditing they include: the SWOT analysis, client analysis, competition analysis, external environment and internal environment of the organization. To begin with, the SWOT analysis is done both through the clients and the organization’s viewpoint. The organization should be able to identify some of the weakness and strengths from the clients’ perspective and be able to manipulate those concerns to their advantage (Jain, 2008). The client relationship is important as it is the most crucial channel for marketing their products. The organization should be able to identify the opportunities presented and be able to maximize them. Threats posed to the organization should be minimized as possible to avoid market loss and eventual failures that organization may face.

Research on clients’ provides information on product reviews which is crucial in understanding market dynamics. It gives an organization details on why a product is being bought by a certain section of the population and why it performs poorly in some markets. It gives useful information on the likability of the company’s’ product. This information is crucial to the company’s performance and product improvement. It gives an insight to clients’ views on the product and the company.

Competition is an important factor in the marketing of products. The HiPP baby foods are not the only baby food products in Germany. Therefore the company should identify the uniqueness of their products for clients to distinguish them and be associated with them. Competition could provide a favorable environment for a product to flourish or could also provide a tough market penetration which could lead to losses. Research done to evaluate market competitors is key to understanding the various aspects of marketing and how a company could avoid stiff competition from rivals.

SWOT Analysis

The internal marketing environment analysis creates and understanding of the business landscape. It identifies the important aspects of sales and marketing that include the various resources within the company. These resources include labor and budgets that a company relies on to achieve its purpose. It analyses the need for marketing tools and when and how they could be used favorably. Clients’ information is broken to assimilate into the company’s goals and objectives. This analysis also gives suggestions on the improvement that could be done on the clients’ databases. Any communication tool is scanned to ensure that its effective and key information is provided to the customers. Analysis on these sites gives information on their performance and shows how best they could improve the company’s performance.

The external marketing environment analysis underpins possible factors outside the company that may influence the product performance (Pllana, Miftari et al., 2015). Analyses of external factors are grouped into two categories: competition and economic environment. Within the competitive environment, it identifies competitors and their activities. The economic environment constitutes political, economic, legal, social and technological factors. These factors are important in understanding the various aspects of the company’s production and marketing costs.

The market audit, therefore, is an important element in developing a marketing plan for business. It gives a broad view of both the internal and external markets and how they could be maximized to increase profits.

According to Prof .Dr. U. Hamm (2007), there is growing demand for organic food products in Germany. Therefore; the HiPP baby foods are best suited for the market in Germany. The Company faces both local and international competitions from companies that produce the same product. Being one of the oldest baby food manufacturing companies, it has for a long time been on the market, and with the recent advancement in technology, more companies are being set up to produce the same product. For the company to hold onto its market share, it must respond to market trends. 

The steady decline in birthrate in Germany forced the company to explore new markets internationally, such as in Asia, Europe, and the America. Although it has been on the market for long, competition has been inevitable. There are other various baby food production companies in Germany which include the German Baby food company, Holle baby foods are the main competitor having almost similar characteristics with HiPP. The HiPP is rooted in family values as it was founded by the Hipp family (Backhaus, Bu?schken, &Voeth, 2006).

Client Analysis

Companies /competition elements	Elements considered by customers in purchase of the baby food products
Palm oil	Alluminium issue	LCP oil	Organic practice	Prebiotics	Sugars
HiPP	Has effect on bone density Contained in the products	Low content Most preferred	Contained in products Positive element Most preferred	Produce organic-based products	Lacks	Uses Lactose which is the best option Preferred choice of sweetener
Holle	Contained in the product	High content Alarming to consumers	Lacks in the products Less preferred	Produce organic based products	Contained Preferred element in foods	Uses maltodextrin Compared to lactose it lacks quality sweetening effect on products

From the table above, HiPP wins most from the elements in which customers look before purchasing a product. To avoid competition from Holle, HiPP needs to work in a customer-oriented production environment. Giving attention to what customers prefer would win more customers over time.

The competitive analysis gives information on the uniqueness of the product and how a company can maximize the uniqueness to attract potential clients. During the evaluation, competing companies are placed against each other so that the company can strategize on how they can maneuver through the challenges and emerge the winner. A company should make a graphical representation of the competitor’s growth pattern, marketing activities, strategies, profits, and range of their products. In this step, strengths and weaknesses of the competitors should be identified to aid in market strategies. A company should identify their target market, market share and the marketing tools available.

Identifying the competitors market positioning strategies which include the pricing of their products and their ability to hold on to customers. It is important to look at the uniqueness of their products and also aspects of their marketing that make them stand out (Seidel, Kahl et al., 2015). Technology has become an important tool in communication which has made many companies rely on them to market themselves. It is important therefore to evaluate their social media marketing experience. Any niche should be exploited and also protected from being influenced by other market players.

Prices of products are crucial elements in the marketing of products. New players in the market may find it hard to make a profit at the initial stages due to pricing challenges. A company may give lower prices to products a  move that can cause them to make losses even after large sale volumes or put a higher price which leads to fewer sale volumes. The HiPP is a trendsetter in the German market for baby foods because it has been on the market for decades. The emerging competitions may not make its grounds shaky, but it has to hold on to its market share.

Companies are constantly seeking improvement, and this gives it an advantage over its competitors by keeping up with new trends in the market. Companies should be able to spot areas in which they ought to make changes so as to suit the demands of the clients. In analyzing competitors, it gives a company an upper hand in identifying sections of the company that requires improvement. A niche can be identified within the elements of the competitors’ markets share, and this could be important in conquering new markets. All information about the competitors should be thoroughly scanned to identify possible gaps that could be filled.

Competition Analysis

Social media has become an important marketing tool in this age. Many people use social media to get information. Social media is, therefore,  a crucial platform in availing information to potential clients. It is an important platform because clients, prospective clients, and managements can interact freely (Mintel, 2015). Identifying how companies operate within social media is important, the language used and relations created outlines the ability of the company to sell. By analyzing this, a company should be able to understand how best clients can be attracted and their possible responses.

Analyzing competitors’ content enhances the filtering of relevant and irrelevant information. Identifying the various searches relating to the creation of specific content could prompt an organization to create and adopt a content that would direct a user to their information site (Molska, et al., 2014). This would give it more clicks and create traffic to their content. For search engine optimization, a company has to identify favorable page titles, content and conspicuous links within the text.

According to Mintel International Group Ltd (2007), content differences are important as clients could understand what makes companies different. A company should identify the competitors’ content inclination and list the differences and lack information. Content given to clients is important as it creates an illusion of the product on the potential user’s mind. It is sensitive on how information is created and how best that information could instantly make a difference between products. Depending on how companies create content, the underlying aspects is the ability to understand and make sense of the information.

The market plan is a detailed process on the how a company could attract its target customers. Many entrepreneurs do not realize how this is important for the success of a company yet they continue ignoring it. It is a strategic move for a company’s success that involves the use of facts and numbers(Paliwoda, 2013). There are steps followed in the development of a marketing plan.

The first step is the assessment of the current company situation. These include the current budget, competitors, internal and external factors that are intertwined to make the company function as expected (Tirkkonen &Baiamonte, 2015). The organization’s SWOT is identified to assess the ability of a company to withstand challenges both contemporary and in the future. The company can understand its space in the market and how it could expand it.

Identification of target market helps in outlining of methods that could be used to attract more customers. The HiPP Company has its target market being parents with younger children; therefore, marketing of such product will mostly feature in parenting sites and also electronic media. Identifying the demographics of the target audience is useful in creating content and communication of the company’s information. The HiPP Company is run by a family making it be family oriented, therefore, more appealing to the clients. Its history is captivating, and any reader will be willing to try its products,(Oishi& Graham  2010).

All the goals and objectives should be outlined so that there is a framework that could be worked on. A company should have some sense of direction and that’s why it is important to have clear goals and objectives. This would also aid in developing the company’s values and how best they could be achieved.

A communication plan is also part of the marketing plan. All information about the product and organization’s activities should be availed to the clients. This aids in decisions making and also getting clarity to information. The final step is the making of a budget. This identifies the resources and how finances used could be recouped. It also outlines the timelines of production to consumption of the products. It outlines possible losses or profits that could be made.

References

Backhaus, K., Bu?schken, J., &Voeth, M. (2008). International marketing. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Cadogan, J., Michaelidou, N., & Reynolds, N. (2015). Cross-cultural and cross-national consumer research.

Chern, W. S., &Rickertsen, K. (2003). Health, nutrition and food demand. Wallingford, U.K: CABI Pub.

Datamonitor (Firm). (2008). Baby food in Germany. New York, NY: Datamonitor.

Graham, M., Uesugi, K., & Olson, C. (April 01, 2016). Barriers to weight-related health behaviors: a qualitative comparison of the socioecological conditions between pregnant and post-partum low-income women. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 12, 2, 349-361.

Jain, S. C. (2007). International marketing. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western.

Mintel. (2015). Marketing to Baby Boomers – UK – February 2015. Mintel.

Mintel International Group Ltd. (2007). Baby food, drinks, and milk; consumer attitudes to food safety;Italian foods; organics, rice. London: Mintel.

Molska, A., Gutowska, I., Baranowska-Bosiacka, I., Nocen?, I., & Chlubek, D. (2014). The Content of Elements in Infant Formulas and Drinks Against Mineral Requirements of Children. Biological Trace Element Research, 158, 3, 422-427.

Paliwoda, S. (2013). International Marketing. Routledge.

Pllana, M., Miftari, I., Bytyqi, N., & Hyseni, V. (April 01, 2015). The Market of Eggs, Consumption, and Consumer Behavior. International Journal of Sustainable Economies Management (ijsem), 4, 2, 15-24.

Oishi, S., & Graham, J. (January 01, 2010). Social Ecology: Lost and Found in Psychological ScienPerspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 4, 356-377.

Seidel, K., Kahl, J., Paoletti, F., Birlouez, I., Busscher, N., Kretzschmar, U., Sa?rkka?-Tirkkonen, M., … Baiamonte, I. (February 01, 2015). Quality assessment of baby food made of different pre-processed organic raw materials under industrial processing conditions. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 52, 2, 803-812.