Discuss about the Introduction to Marketing for the Power of Customers.
The marketing plan of a company focuses on increased brand image as well as reinforcement of the product in the mind of the customers. It is formulated to boost the levels of sales of a certain range of product of a company. However, in this study, marketing plan of 3M gloves will be discussed in a detailed manner. In the gloves range of 3M, Refinishing Gloves are selected for re-launch in the Australian market. 3M has huge varieties of products with a high brand reputation all over the world. The company is known for its quality and innovation in the market. 3M sells more than 4000 products in different countries of the world. The report will formulate a marketing plan for the re-launch of Refinishing Gloves in the market of Australia. It is found that the Refinishing gloves do not have popularity compared to same products of the competitors. The new plan will cover many aspects such as SWOT Analysis, micro, macro and internal environment analysis along with a detailed description of the marketing plan. Apart from that, the new marketing plan will be formulated in an innovative way so that it can accomplish the marketing goals and objectives of the product at the strategic level. The target market chosen for formulating the marketing plan for is Australia.
Macro Environment Analysis
Macro Environment Analysis for 3M Refinishing Gloves illustrates PESTEL Analysis.
Political factors: Politically Australia is safe in nature. The multinational companies are investing in Australian subcontinent. The adaptability of the country to tackle the tough economic conditions is ranked first globally. The high rate of transparency and efficiency is maintained affecting business operations.
Economic factors: GDP and per capita income of Australia is very high. Australia ranks the second position regarding average wealth. Switzerland holds the first position with the high market economy. Hence, it can be said that it is a wealthy country. 3M has the massive scope of re-launching its Refinishing gloves in the Australian market as the country is witnessing high economic growth last year (Papadopoulos and Heslop 2014).
Social factors: As it is earlier mentioned that Australia is a wealthy country, people spend more for buying their necessary things. Social factors include culture, nature of the population of Australia. This environment is beneficial for the company for increasing the revenue by a substantial amount of sales of the Refinishing gloves.
Technological factors: Australia is very developed regarding technical dimensions. The country has many companies in IT sector that have introduced many technical systems that improved the technical dearth in the nation. 3M can take this as an advantage in expanding its business operations all over Australia. These technologies will help in manufacturing and distribution of the products in the market (Zeriti et al. 2014).
Environmental factors: Change in weather conditions, climate, and temperature, includes the environmental factors. Apart from that, pollution and global warming is a burning issue that can affect the productivity of 3M in their facility plants. However, there are many environmental protection acts that can create a positive impact on the profitability of the Refinishing Gloves of 3M (Ryan 2014).
Legal factors: Trade laws and other tax laws are for the foreign companies. The government of Australia has given much leverage to the multinational corporations that have helped them in flourishing their trade across different parts of Australia. However, laws and regulations in certain circumstances can create an impact on the spending nature and buy behavior of Australian consumers. Laws of age discrimination and disability discrimination somehow create a negative impact on the business operations of 3M (Armstrong et al. 2014).
The microenvironment of 3M Refinishing Gloves refers to customers, banks, people, suppliers, competitors, employees, distributors, media and trade unions. Trade unions of 3M have a dominant role in the manufacturing facility of 3M Refinishing gloves. Customers include the target customers for the specific product of the company. People include external public of Australia. It is the responsibility of the company to maintain a good reputation among the public of the country. The needs and demands of the public should be satisfied by Refinishing Gloves of 3M (Kotler et al. 2015). Quality and innovative products delivery to the customers is the main responsibility of the company towards its clients. Suppliers are vital for any business to run. The providers are responsible for the supply of raw materials to the facility site of the gloves of 3M. Banks are the financial institutions that help in financing the business of the company. The suppliers-company relation must be good so that the productivity will be increased. It is the responsibility of the gloves division of 3M for giving privileges to the suppliers and distributors so that they remain loyal to the company (Warren 2015). Apart from that, competitors play a vital role in developing an effective marketing plan for the selected products. Media partners, in this case, play a critical role that helps in the promotion of the product in the Australian market. The company must select good media partners that are responsible for the promotion of the Refinishing gloves among the target market.
Internal environment analysis includes Mc Kinsey’s 7S model.
Strategy: It can be divided into long term and short term strategy. However, the marketing plan of 3M refinishing gloves is short term in nature.
Structure: Structure describes the organization chart of the company. 3M has the clean structure of reporting to the immediate supervisors. The marketing department can report to the strategic team or the senior management if any changes are required in the re-launching plan of the product in the market (Gonzalez-Padron et al. 2016).
Style: It refers to the leadership style followed by the leaders within the company. The enterprise is known for its famous leaders that manage its innovation. Leaders of the business, especially in the marketing team, will follow participative leadership so that everybody can take part in formulating the plan for re-launch of the product in the Australian market.
Staff: The employees of the marketing team along with the other department are competent enough for the formulation of the marketing plan. 3M is a global company with a high brand reputation (Chernev 2015).
Systems: The business processes included in the enterprise are termed as systems that are responsible for effective performance in the workplace.
Skills: It includes various technical, interpersonal, management, leadership and intrapersonal skills that will help in driving the team towards better productivity.
Shared Values: It refers to the values of the company that must be incorporated among the employees of the company (Berman 2016).
Strengths: Employee base of 3M is very strong. The diversified products of the company serve in many countries around the world. The refinishing glove of 3M has the strong financial condition. Apart from that, the strong brand image is one of the most strength of the company which will help in a boost of the sales of the gloves.
Weaknesses: Environmental and litigations issues of the company are responsible for the ill brand image and profitability of 3M refinishing gloves. 3M is the market leader in its domain. Wrong steps in the marketing approach would diminish the reputation of the brand (Crespy and Miller 2015).
Opportunities: The market of Australia is economically very stable. Effective marketing strategies will help in attracting more customers towards the product. The global image of the company will assist in strengthening the brand of the refinishing gloves. The innovative product will indeed hit the market.
Threats: The competitors of the company are considered as a threat to the enterprise in the market. It can cause a loss of the market share in Australia. Price sensitive customers may switch the brand if the competitors provide better facilities at a low price.
Marketing Goals
The objective of the marketing plan is to perform all the activities within a stipulated budget. Proper time and budget allocation is the primary key to success of the plan formulated for the refinishing gloves of 3M. It is seen that the previous marketing plan of the product is not effective. The brand awareness of the product is very little. The pricing strategy of the product is premium pricing which should be incorporated in the re-launch plan of the refinishing gloves of 3M in the market. The strategic goals include profit, price, sales, brand awareness, and product objectives. Added benefits are included in the section of product objectives that will help in increasing the demand for the product among the target market (S. Whalen and M. Boush 2014). The refinishing gloves do not belong to niche category like the other products of 3M. Hence, the company has to introduce various traditional methods of advertisement techniques in the goal setting aspect of the marketing plan. However, it is the responsibility of the marketers of the product to convey the goals and objectives of the plan to the people associated with the plan for gaining insight into the effectiveness of it in the long run.
Product: Refinishing Gloves is the product that is selected for formulating the marketing plan. This is a unique commercial product that is very beneficial for the customers of Australia. The gloves will protect the hands of the user from stains and polishes. It will offer reliable and comfortable protection at the time of refinishing the surfaces of furniture. The added benefits that are provided with the product as the product objectives are flocked cotton lining, puncture resistant and textured palm regarding gripping purpose. Customers can avail many benefits if they use it properly (Tugut et al. 2015).
Price: Premium pricing is the universal pricing strategy that is adopted by 3M throughout their all product categories. Customers are willing to pay premium charges for their products due to the high brand reputation in the market. Premium decoy pricing can be done in this case to collect revenue from other categories of gloves of 3M. It is the best pricing strategy for re-launch of a product (Paliwoda and Thomas 2013).
Place: Re-launching of the product will be commenced in shopping malls, trade fairs, retail shops, company-owned stores of 3M, etc. Marketing of the gloves in these areas will attract a huge customer base. It would result in an increase in sales. The enterprise has to maintain a good relationship with the suppliers and distributors that help in the smooth flow of products in the retail outlets (Hsu et al. 2016).
Promotion: It is the most vital part of the re-launch of refinishing gloves as the previous marketing plan did not provide desirable results. This time, the company has to focus on the promotion of the gloves. 3M is known for its low traditional development of its products. The budget that is allocated for the whole marketing plan should be utilized maximum in the promotional activities of the refinishing gloves. The traditional channels of advertisement include print ads, radio promotion, newspaper ads, television, etc. Apart from these, the company also focuses on different online media marketing channels for tapping more customer segments regarding the re-launch of the refinishing gloves of 3M (Pearson 2013). However, in-store promotions such as point of purchase, point of sales, offers, discounts should be done in the preliminary stage to drag the attention of the shoppers towards the product i.e. refinishing gloves.
Conclusion
The study illustrates a detailed description of the marketing of an existing product of 3M i.e. refinishing gloves. There are many other types of gloves that the company is manufacturing. This product needs re-launch in the Australian market. A marketing plan along with situational analysis is provided in the report. It will help the marketer to commence the marketing mix for the gloves in an efficient manner. The marketing department will utilize the budget that is allocated by the strategic management department of the company so that the product can enjoy the successful high brand image. The product on successful marketing campaign will have increased sales. It would lead to improved productivity. Refinishing Gloves of 3M will be able to earn a good brand image in the Australian market.
References
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Berman, B., 2016. Referral Marketing: Harnessing the power of your customers. Business Horizons, 59(1), pp.19-28.
Chernev, A., 2015. The marketing plan handbook. Cerebellum Press.
Crispy, C.T. and Miller, V.V., 2015. Toward a Taxonomy of Marketing Strategies: Issues and Evidence. In Proceedings of the 1985 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 261-265). Springer International Publishing.
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