Discuss about the Introduction to Marketing for Legal Frameworks.
Identification of appropriate marketing strategy is the key to the success in the competitive world of business. Companies design their products according to the customer needs and the external requirements like socio-political norms or legal frameworks. Now, depending on the target market it has to define its marketing plan.
For the successful completion of this marketing plan, the author has chosen Starbucks and its three products. The discussion has been divided into five segments. After identifying three products, the author has identified the positioning of those products. Then he/she has identified the gaps in the products’ market and proposed some alternative marketing strategies for the company. Finally he/she has concluded the essay with the summery of the discussion.
For the successful completion of this marketing plan the author has chosen three popular products of Starbucks, i.e. Espresso Frappuccino, Earl Grey Tea and Creamy Egg & Baby Cos Sandwich (Starbucks Coffee Australia 2017). All these products are popularly available in the Australian market, mainly in the urban areas.
According to Qian and Xing (2016) depending on the product features and the preferences of the targeted customer base, the companies opt need to opt for a suitable positioning strategy. As mentioned by Tuan (2014) the positioning of a product is the image that a product occupies in the mind of the consumers. The companies try to position their products in the mind of the customers with the help of the product features, pricing strategies, the offerings of the competitors,
Starbucks has opted for almost a general positioning strategy for its products. The company has mainly targeted the high and middle income group and developed the products and the promotional strategies according to their preference and availability (Starbucks Coffee Australia 2017).
In the case of the three selected products, the company does not have a point of differentiation regarding the test or the composition of the products from its competitors. As discussed by Wirtz and Lovelock (2016) in the case of the impulse products, like soft drinks or the fast foods (both are the product offerings of Starbucks), the customers opt for the factors like availability and brand awareness.
In the case of creating the point of differentiation for creating a unique position in the minds of the customers the company has opted for the following factors.
The premium pricing: in the case of the products like Espresso Frappuccino, Earl Grey Tea and Creamy Egg & Baby Cos Sandwich, the company is not able to create much change in the products from its competitors. Mainly in the case of the sandwich, the product is essentially imitable to the competitors and the companies like McDonald’s is offering same kinds of products (Hota and Newlands 2017).
Hence, the company has opted for creating difference in the price of the products. For the products like Earl Grey Tea and Espresso Frappuccino the company has opted for the premium pricing. On the other hand, the price of the Creamy Egg & Baby Cos Sandwich is also higher than the similar products in the market (Tuan 2014).
Figure 1: The Perception map of identifying the positioning of the products
(Source: Starbucks Coffee Australia 2017)
The quality brand awareness: with the promotional tagline “Starbucks or Nothing. Because Compromise Leaves Really Bad Aftertaste”, and the mission statement “Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow”, the company is creating an image of high end product in the minds of the customers (Starbucks Coffee Australia 2017). It is being strategically supported by the premium pricing policy of the company. The quality of the products like Espresso Frappuccino and Earl Grey Tea is essentially high. Starbucks is denoting this “quality” as the value of this price. Moreover, branding itself as high end service provider Starbucks is creating a sense of differentiation among the customers (Steenkamp 2017).
As described by Boone and Kurtz (2013) identification of the gaps in the market of a certain product help the companies to develop strategies or design the products to address them and obtain a substantive level of competitive advantage.
As mentioned by Hota and Newlands (2017) with the identification of the internal and external forces those are influential in operational management, the company becomes able to identify the strength or weaknesses in the market. Here, a SWOT analysis will be able to identify the gaps in the products’ market of Starbucks.
|
Strength |
Weaknesses |
|
· Quality product · Strong brand image · High end service |
· Absence of delivery system · Lack on online ordering · The premium pricing policy · Lack of verity in the “food” section |
|
Opportunities |
Threats |
|
· Technological advancement · Changed customer preference · New market opportunities |
· Hugely competitive market · The imitable products |
Figure 2: SWOT analysis for Starbucks
(Source: Starbucks Coffee Australia 2017)
According to the above-discussed SWOT analysis Starbucks has a good level of strength in the market. In the case of the three selected products, the company obtains the same strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
As identified in the SWOT analysis the possible gap in the market of the products of Starbucks are revolving round the marketing mix mainly the “placing” of the products.
As identified by the SWOT analysis, the major gaps in the markets of the selected products are:
Depending on these gaps in the market of these three selected products, the company needs to revise its marketing strategy and opt for alternative marketing plans.
As mentioned by Chua and Banerjee (2013) the marketing strategies of a company largely involves the designing of the product offerings, the pricing strategy, the identification of the product distribution channels and the suitable promotional strategies to address the target market. Hence, creating change in any of these mentioned factors may bring alteration in the marketing strategy of the company. Here, the following alterations in the marketing mix can be made for addressing the gaps in the market of the three selected products of Starbucks.
As identified by Pastoll et al. (2014) the modern customer base of coffee chains like Starbucks in Australia is the young professionals. With the changes in the time and technological advancements, the customers are continuously being inclined to the online marketing.
In this competitive market, Starbucks needs to start attending the customers with the online channels. The company can start taking orders of the selected products with online ordering channels. On the other hand, for the products like Espresso Frappuccino and Creamy Egg & Baby Cos Sandwich the company needs to start delivery options.
For the products like Espresso Frappuccino and Creamy Egg & Baby Cos Sandwich the company needs to change the pricing strategy. The presence of strong competitors is restricting the market opportunity of the company (Taecharungro 2016). Hence, Starbucks needs to concentrate on lowering down the price of the products and approach a new segment of the customers i.e. the low income group.
As identified by Tuan (2014) the majority of the target customer base of Starbucks comes from the young enthusiasts. Moreover, the customers of the products like Espresso Frappuccino and Creamy Egg & Baby Cos Sandwich are the young students and busy professionals. Hence, the company needs to opt for the strategies like flat discounts. The company is now following “customer loyalty program” which is not much applicable for the impulsive buyers. Flat discounts will be helpful in this regard.
For the premium customers of the Earl Grey Tea the company can opt for the strategy of public relation. With the online and physical promotion the company can declare that a certain percentage of the price of the premium products like Earl Grey Tea will go for the philanthropic CSR of the company, and the customer will be provided a personal “thank you” note from the organization. This will address the psyche and emotion of the premium customers and they will support the sales of this product.
Conclusion:
In conclusion it can be stated that with the changes in the customer preferences and technological advancement the company needs to use the new operational opportunities for addressing the market gaps. Being a premium product company Starbucks is using a similar pricing strategy coupled with high quality for positioning of the brand in the market. However, with the changes in time the company needs to change its marketing plan by altering its placing, pricing and promotional strategies.
References:
Boone, L.E. and Kurtz, D.L., 2013. Contemporary marketing. Cengage learning.
Chua, A.Y. and Banerjee, S., 2013. Customer knowledge management via social media: the case of Starbucks. Journal of Knowledge Management, 17(2), pp.237-249.
Hota, M. and Newlands, D., 2017. Case Study 2: Starbucks Philippines: Brewing a Filipino-American Experience. In Services Marketing Cases in Emerging Markets (pp. 17-25). Springer International Publishing.
Pastoll, C., Rochwerg, T., Vlaar, B. and Compeau, D., 2014. Starbucks Canada: The Mobile Payments Decision.
Qian, Y.A.N.G. and Xing, T.U., 2016. Starbucks VS Chinese Tea—Starbucks Brand Management Strategy Analysis in China. International Business and Management, 12(1), pp.29-32.
Starbucks Coffee Australia. (2017). Home | Starbucks Coffee Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.starbucks.com.au/Home.php [Accessed 3 Feb. 2017].
Steenkamp, J.B., 2017. Global Brand Strategy: World-wide Marketing in the Age of Branding. Springer.
Taecharungroj, V., 2016. Starbucks’ marketing communications strategy on Twitter. Journal of Marketing Communications, pp.1-19.
Tuan, T., 2014. Taiwanese College Students’ Views on Starbucks’ Brand Loyalty Strategy and What Other Coffee Shops can Learn from it.
Wirtz, J. and Lovelock, C., 2016. Services marketing: people, technology, strategy. World Scientific Publishing Co Inc.
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