Discuss about the Article for Marketing and Management of Creative Strategies.
The marketing plan is the most important document for growing a particular brand. This is especially important in the initial period of the organization. Union Family First operates in the “Assisted Living Business Facility” industry (Miller, 2014). This paper discusses the various marketing strategies of the company including the branding, pricing, distribution and differentiation. It also identifies the major competitors of the company along with their strengths and weaknesses. The social media tools that would be used by the company are discussed along with the development of an integrated marketing communication. The report would also discuss the monitoring methods that would be used by the company to measure the effectiveness of the marketing plans.
This process involves the creation of unique name as well as the image of a particular product in the minds of the consumers through the medium of advertisement. Union Family First must establish a suitable branding strategy for the organization so that the brand can grow as well as mature in the already saturated marketplace. A good marketing strategy would help the company to communicate effectively with the market and interact more with the prospective customers. The brand strategy involves competitive positioning and also involves the creation of brand equity (Kapferer, 2012). This comprises of the amount of budget possessed by the customers their willingness to pay for the particular brand. The company must consider several factors while formulating a brand strategy such as images that the company wants to portray, messages delivered on the campaigns/websites, the way of interaction of the employees with the customers and the opinion of the customers regarding the brand (Kapferer, 2012).
The company must consider the following three points while designing a successful brand strategy-
Identify Unique Selling Proposition- The Company must identify the unique component of the products or the services that they are offering and highlight the benefits provided by it to the customers (Ashley & Tuten, 2015). The intangible advantages of the company should be communicated well to the customers to enhance the brand value.
Knowledge about the target customers- The Company should be aware of the demographic information of the target audiences (Kapferer, 2012). This would help the company to determine the demands of the target customers.
Design the best brand strategy- The best strategy should be designed after taking into consideration the USP of the company and the knowledge about the target customers.
This is one of the important components of the marketing mix and should be done in an intelligent manner. The pricing of the products determines not only the profit generation of the company but also the goodwill of the brand (Spann, Fischer & Tellis, 2014). It should encompass factors such as the cost of the design of the product, costs of distribution of the products and the associated costs with the promotional activities. The various factors that should be considered while designing the price of the products are- fixed costs, variable costs, objectives of the company, positioning strategies and the willingness of the target market to pay for a particular product (Kotler et al., 2015). Union Family First should consider the following points while formulating the price of a new product-
Development of the marketing strategy that involves the marketing analysis targeting, segmentation and the positioning strategy.
Formulation of the marketing mix decisions which involves defining the distribution, product, and the promotional activities (Sharma & Lambert, 2013).
Calculation of the fixed costs and the variable costs that is associated with the product.
Estimation of the demand curve involves the understanding of the variation of the quantity demanded with the price.
Understanding of the environmental factors such as actions of the competitors, legal constraints, and others (Sharma & Lambert, 2013).
Union Family First must design a suitable distribution strategy to make its products available to the retailers, customers, and the intermediaries (Berthon et al., 2012). The distribution strategy is concerned with the location of the target market, storage of the stocks and the transportation of the goods (Berthon et al., 2012). This is an important component of the marketing mix which would help the company to expand and subsequently grow its revenues. The company should consider the following steps while designing a distribution strategy-
The potential channel partner should be approached and the value of the partnership should be identified (Mols, 2013).
It is required to establish the goals, reporting requirements and the service requirements.
Delivery of the inventory and the corresponding sales materials.
Implementation of the promotional activities to support the partner
The various channels of distribution are illustrated with the help of the following diagram-
Figure 1: Distribution Channels
Source: (Created by author)
The major competitors of Union Family First include Allendale, East Windsor, Bordentown, Matawan and Ocean Township (Perkins et al., 2012). There is tough competition between the major players in the Assisted Living Facility in the New Jersey area of USA. The first three competitors can be classified as the “intra competitors” and the last two business entities can be classified as “inter competitors”. There are several strengths of the competitors. The “Allendale Community for Senior Living” comprises of a highly equipped memory unit and an advanced rehabilitation center (Tabakin, 2014). The Bordentown “Clare Estate Assisted Living and Respite Care” make sure that the residents get all the luxury such as chef-prepared meals, laundry, recreation and others (The Clare Estate, 2016). There are several weaknesses associated with the competitors such as lack of skilled manpower to handle the aged population, financial crisis, lack of vision, lack of understanding of the competitor’s strengths and lack of differentiation strategies.
It is important for Union Family First to develop services which identify the unique attributes as perceived by the customers. The company should implement services which fulfill the preferences of the target customers (Curley & Slocum, 2016). The company must also take into account the strengths of the competitors and design the differentiation strategy accordingly. The differentiation strategy of Union Family First should consider the following points-
Inductions of trained manpower that can take care of the differently abled people and provide care compassion and quality services in a safe environment (Curley & Slocum, 2016).
The introduction of affordable housing facilities which promotes the independence, health and the social interaction of the people suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Creation of a huge pool of skilled workers which would lower the compensation given to each employee.
Revising the pricing structure of the company which would foster affordability and enhanced visibility in the market.
The introduction of value added services to residents that would increase their satisfaction level.
Union Family First intends to be the market leader in the assisted living industry. It aims to create exceptional, nurturing and supportive work environment to the elderly people with the help of newly formed beautiful homes (Aaker, 2012). It aims to provide extra healthcare facilities to the elderly people. The company would take extensive promotional activities to build its brand value in the market (Aaker, 2012). These efforts are taken by the company to occupy the topmost position in the market.
The social media is a powerful tool used by the modern-day marketers. This is a wonderful tool to spread the awareness of the company within a short span of time. The promotional activities of the Union Family First should be carried out through the use of Facebook and YouTube (De Vries, Gensler & Leeflang, 2012). Facebook is an effective platform that helps likeminded people to communicate with each other all across the world (De Vries, Gensler & Leeflang, 2012). It has millions of users across the globe which presents lucrative opportunities for the marketers. The users express their opinions and needs, which make the company aware of the demands of the target market. YouTube is also another excellent platform for the purpose of promotion of new products (De Vries, Gensler & Leeflang, 2012). The website witnesses millions of views for a particular video message, which can be used for effectively promoting a new product. This media tool would help the company to penetrate into the market within a short time (De Vries, Gensler & Leeflang, 2012). It builds the brand value of the company in a short span of time.
It is important to create integrated communications plan that is an expansion of the traditional as well as modern marketing strategies to ensure the communication of a consistent marketing message (Blakeman, 2014). The broad steps in the preparation of the integrated marketing communications plan are described below-
Identification of the target market- The primary target audience of the organizations are mature adults in between the age of 45 and 55. The secondary target market includes the senior citizens aged above 70 years. The company should aim to understand the health concerns of the target market with the help of market surveys (Blakeman, 2014).
Determine clear objectives- The clear objectives of the company would help them achieve the marketing goals easily.
Design the marketing campaign- It is necessary to create the marketing campaign with traditional as well as modern methods. The traditional methods must include display ads, local television channels, billboards, personal selling and others (Blakeman, 2014). The modern communication methods would consist of the social media such as Facebook and YouTube (Blakeman, 2014).
Define a positioning strategy- The positioning of the new products should be done with the help of extensive market research methods and the creation of a perceptual map (Blakeman, 2014).
It is very essential to determine the effectiveness of the implemented marketing campaign. The Assisted Living industry needs certain specific monitoring tools to fulfill the long-term marketing objectives (During, 2016). The marketing activities should be analyzed by measuring attributes such as social media used, the timing of the promotional activities, the cost of the marketing campaign, return on investments, sales generated, responses generated and the number of customers exposed to the promotion (During, 2016). The cost-benefit analysis should be done which measures the benefit of the campaign in comparison with the expenditure involved. The various evaluation approaches that can be used by the company are market share analysis, quality controls, ratio analysis, marketing information system, cash flow statements, customer relationship management systems, activities of the competitors, performance of the promotion campaigns and the acceptance of the product pricing (During, 2016). These activities are suitable for the Assisted Living industry and can address the needs of the industry.
Union Family First is a relatively new company which needs to build a strong foothold in the industry. The company should focus on increasing the brand image of the company by undertaking various marketing campaigns. It should increase its visibility in the social media. It should try to give lucrative “early bird” offers to the customers who would make it a favorable company in the eyes of the public. It is necessary to create an excellent differentiation strategy by leveraging the strengths as well as weaknesses of the close competitors. The company should engage in extensive advertising as well as promotional activities, especially during the initial phases.
Conclusion
The assisted living accommodation is a booming industry in the USA. A high level of competition exists in the industry, which makes it mandatory for the new entrants to design a suitable marketing plan. The company should aim at building trust in the community. It should use powerful marketing tools such as social media and also use the word of mouth publicity. The primary intention of the company is to gain visibility in the market within the shortest possible time. This study presents the future path of action for Union Family First and identifies the core marketing activities that should be undertaken by the company. The methods of the evaluation process are also identified which needs to be implemented in a strategic manner. This marketing plan would surely enhance the success of the company and improve the organizational effectiveness.
References
Aaker, D. A. (2012). Building strong brands. Simon and Schuster.
Ashley, C., & Tuten, T. (2015). Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1), 15-27.
Berthon, P. R., Pitt, L. F., Plangger, K., & Shapiro, D. (2012). Marketing meets Web 2.0, social media, and creative consumers: Implications for international marketing strategy. Business horizons, 55(3), 261-271.
Blakeman, R. (2014). Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to implementation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Curley, A., & Slocum, J. (2016). Organizing a Startup Business According to Differentiation Strategy and Virtual Design.
De Vries, L., Gensler, S., & Leeflang, P. S. (2012). Popularity of brand posts on brand fan pages: An investigation of the effects of social media marketing. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(2), 83-91.
During, S. M. P. (2016). Monitoring and Evaluation Research. Social Marketing Research for Global Public Health: Methods and Technologies, 139.
Kapferer, J. N. (2012). The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking. Kogan page publishers.
Kotler, P., Keller, K. L., Manceau, D., & Hémonnet-Goujot, A. (2015).Marketing management (Vol. 14). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Miller, R. M. (2014). Minnesota Nice Assisted Living Memory Care (Doctoral dissertation, THE COLLEGE OF ST. SCHOLASTICA).
Mols, N. P. (2013). The Internet and the banks’ strategic distribution channel decisions. International Journal of Bank Marketing.
Perkins, M. M., Ball, M. M., Whittington, F. J., & Hollingsworth, C. (2012). Relational autonomy in assisted living: A focus on diverse care settings for older adults. Journal of Aging studies, 26(2), 214-225.
Sharma, A., & Lambert, D. M. (2013). Segmentation of markets based on customer service. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management.
Spann, M., Fischer, M., & Tellis, G. J. (2014). Skimming or penetration? strategic dynamic pricing for new products. Marketing Science, 34(2), 235-249.
Tabakin, E. (2014). Stability is the Key to Self-Sufficiency: Creating a Lease-to-Own Program for Baltimore’s Public Housing High Rises. MUP Capstone.
The Clare Estate. (2016). The Clare Estate. Retrieved 31 August 2016, from https://www.theclareestate.com
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