Discuss about the Marketing Strategy Development for Organization and the Industry.
The organisation, ASDA has been taken for complete analysis of the marketing strategies. It is one of the leading supermarket retailers that is operating in UK. It is selling a variety of products in its store. It has a general assortment of products, electronics items, garments and food items. The company is the second largest retailers after Tesco. The company also has a section that offers Financial Services to its customers. It also has a mobile phone business. The company has nearly 500 stores across the entire country with a combined workforce over 175,000. (Liu and Ko, 2014)
The mission of ASDA is to become the best retailer in terms of value and not only meet but to exceed the needs of their customers on a regular basis. The purpose of ASDA is to help people save money by offering the products at the lowest possible price.The company is committed to its objectives to meet the challenges in the course of its business. They are careful that the quality that is offered is in no way affected by the adversities that they face in their business. They work on a continuous basis to offer the best products to the customers which are sustainable in nature.
Marketing is the method of promoting the products of the company for sale. It is only through the sale of the products or the services that a company earns its revenue. Every company takes certain strategies for marketing to maximise the sale of its products. The most unique selling point for the products of ASDA is the pricing policy. The company maintains one of the lowest prices to attract its customers.(Ododo, et.al, 2015).It is committed to give the products lower than any other player in the retail market. As per its declaration, it gives products at rates cheaper to the extent of 10% in comparison to that of its competitors. The cost comparison can be done online also. The comparative prices can be obtained during the time of online shopping. One can know the prices at the rival stores by sitting at home. The low pricing factor is the main reason behind the voluminous sale of ASDA.
The branding of a company helps in easy identification of a company and its product. After the takeover of ASDA by WalMart in 1999, there has been a thrust on the branding exercises which form an important part of the marketing strategies.(Stobart, 2016).ASDA is offering food, apparel, household items, books, music CDs, etc. It has also added sections selling medicines, optical, ornaments, etc. The food items are being sold with the branding of being low cost items. The new businesses have incorporated the similar messages that have led to an easy identification with the customers.The company has also introduced financial services. The company focuses on its low pricing with quality as part of its branding and promotion exercises. (Zentes and Morschett, 2013)
Strength: The Company deals with multiple products and services. It also has a strong marketing campaign in place. The Company is very good at maintaining the contact with its customers. It wants feedbacks from the customers for bettering its products and services. It does its best to meet the customer satisfaction levels. The Company has a strong image of a responsible corporate citizen. It undertakes various CSR activities to remain committed to the community. (Metzger, 2014)
Weakness: ASDA has its presence majorly in the U.K.
Opportunity: There are huge scopes for the Company in the newly added areas of pharmaceuticals, jewellery, photography and opticals. The Company can explore growing markets in countries such as China and India. (Pancholi, 2014)
Threats: There are threats of pricing from rivals. Maintaining low pricingbecomes a pressure at times. Some Government policies also create challenges.
For the best marketing of the products and services, there needs to be a market research carried out. ASDA has to determine what the actual need of the customers is. Only if it can match the requirement of the customers, it will be able to stay in the competition with its rivals. Retention of the customers will be possible through this. Questionnaire forms and feedback sets from the customers can provide an insight into the actual requirements of the customers. The changes have to be made accordingly so that these issues are addressed and the customers are retained. The customers are very sensitive to their requirements. The Company keeps a close watch on its competitors and the way they are marketing their products. The competition in the retail market is very stiff. The major competition is in keeping the prices down and within reach of customers. The Company tries to maintain the lowest price ranges to retain the market share. (Zikmund, et.al, 2013)
The companies such as Tesco and Sainsbury are closes competitors. The Company maintains a close watch on the offers that these companies are making to attract the customers. Accordingly, a change in the promotional approach has to be done. The maintheme is to keep the customersattracted to the Company’s products. (Hair Jr and Lukas, 2014)
The collaborators such as the suppliers also play a major role in the maintaining of the market position. If the suppliers are not punctual and regular with the delivery of their products, the Company will have to suffer. It has to be ensured that the suppliers are in close contact and are equipped to provide the supply as per the requirement. If there is a shortage of supply, the customers will not wait. They would prefer to go to the stores of a rival Company to collect the product of their choice. Also, the availability of variety should also be there so that customers are free to make a choice as per their discretion. (Ogilvie, et.al, 2016)
With the widespread popularity of the digital media, online shopping has caught up. Many people prefer to do their shopping by sitting at home on the online shopping page. A proper e-commerce page is necessary where the products should be highlighted properly so that online sales pick up. The range of products has also increased. The customers have a wide range of options. If the offer is not attractive enough with low pricing, there is every possibility that a customer can shift to a product from a rival brand. Competition has become stiffer and customers have become more conscious of quality. (Fullerton, 2014)
ASDA can go for dividing the market according to specialised areas. It will be easier to address the customers in the segmented manner. Relevant advertisements can be made that will be more appealing to this segment of potential customers. The company can also keep in contact with this target segment in a better way. The market segment can also be done on the basis of age. All [products do not appeal to people of all ages. If the promotions can be done in a way that appeals to the age segment, the sales figures are bound to rise. (Simkin, 2016).The ads made targeted for the youths will have different language and presentation compared to those which are for relatively aged people. The Company can also go for opening smaller stores in different parts of the country. The operating stores are generally large supermarkets that are in larger cities. With smaller stores spread out over the land, the reach will be increased to a much bigger number of customers. This will result in higher sales figures which will lead to a growth in the profits. This will pose a barrier in case any new entrant plans to come into the market. The loyalty of the customers is bound to get enhanced with this option. (Hoang, 2016)
As ASDA has been taken over by Wal Mart, it has now got the experience and expertise of the food and the fashion field. The Company has now a much better quality of products to offer.The Company is committed to offer the best quality at the lowest prices. The Company is always on the lookout for lowering its prices. The major threat is from the Competitors. The only way to stay ahead of them is to offer the customers something different that would seem more beneficial to the customers. ASDA has to actively keep a watch on the offers that are being brought out by the rivals. (Ododo, et. al, 2015).It needs to offer schemes that will make a greater saving on the part of the customers. This unique feature needs to be stressed on the promotional activities and the advertisements. The different ads must appeal to the emotions of the customers. If they are so and are eye-catchy, people will tend to buy from ASDA. The Company should always position its products as per the target segments. It must keep on a continuous survey to catch hold of any developing requirement of the customers. If any point is found that has to be addressed immediately. If the chance is missed out, it may be capitalised by one of the rivals. (Daniel, 2015)
For the best effects of the marketing results,a marketing mix of the 7Ps needs to be carried out. None of them can be ignored as they are dependent on each other. (Hamzah and Sutanto, 2016)
Product:The Company must always have the products in its focus. There should be ample variety for the customers. They should meet the needs of the customers. The requirements of the customers tend to change. The Company must keep track of the needs so that ASDA may be able to meet these requirements and the customers feel attracted to buy these products.
Place: The ready availability of the products at the stores is necessary. The larger stores house a larger variety of products. But, these supermarkets are there only in the big cities. If smaller stores are developed that are spread out over the country, larger people can have access to the different products that are sold by ASDA. The chances of greater sales revenues are increased. (Sethna and Blythe, 2016)
Price: Pricing is one of the most sensitive parts of business. In a retail store like ASDA, people want to get the best quality of the products at the lowest price. Most of the customers will buy only when they are satisfied with the pricing. They can only be wooed if the pricing is kept low without decreasing the quality of the products.
Promotion: Promoting the products in the most catchy and innovative manner can boost the sales of products. ASDA should engaged different innovative advertisements to catch the attention of the customers. Different offers should be provided that can help customers get the feel of saving money which in turn increases sales such as ‘Buy one, get one free’. Collections of points over purchase and redeeming them into money or gifts can also be attractive ideas. (Datta, H, et.al, 2016)
People: The employees of ASDA play a vital role in the business. People who are employed should be efficient at their jobs. The ones who are dealing with the customers directly should always try to make the customers satisfied. This is the key to increase customer loyalty. The approach should be friendly and no customer should go back with any kind of grudge.
Process: The shopping experience for the customer has to be made as smooth as possible. There should be no hitches faced by the customer. This is applicable to the stores as well as the online shopping. The display of the products and the billing and payment should all follow a smooth process.
Physical Evidence:The different products have to be kept properly displayed by ASDA. The physical evidence creates a significant impact on the buying behaviour of the customer. The customer should be able to have a demonstration of the use of the product if so desired. (McCann, 2014)
The proper use of the 7Ps will create the most effective marketing tactics for ASDA. None of them are to be dealt with independently. A proper mix of them can create the desired results.
Reference
Liu, G. and Ko, W.W., 2014. An integrated model of cause-related marketing strategy development. AMS review, 4(3-4), pp.78-95.
Stobart, P. ed., 2016. Brand power.Springer.
Zentes, J. and Morschett, D., 2013. Retail Branding–Concept, Effects and its. Strategic Management: A European Approach, p.161.
Metzger, K., 2014. Business analysis of UK supermarket industry.
Pancholi, K., 2014. Retail stores of the UK and determinants of their customers’ satisfaction. The Business & Management Review, 5(1), p.220.
Seaton, J.S. and Waterson, M., 2013. Identifying and characterising price leadership in British supermarkets. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 31(5), pp.392-403.
Dey, K., 2016.Customer Loyalty in the UK. What Causes Consumers to Be Disloyal to Big Supermarket Brands?
Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C. and Griffin, M., 2013. Business research methods.Cengage Learning.
Hair Jr, J.F. and Lukas, B., 2014. Marketing research.McGraw-Hill Education Australia.
Ogilvie, J., Lindsey, K., Reynolds, K. and Northington, W.M., 2016. Examining Reactive Customer Engagement Strategies in Online Shopping Cart Abandonment: A Regulatory Fit Perspective.In Rediscovering the Essentiality of Marketing (pp. 755-756).Springer International Publishing.
Fullerton, G., 2014. The moderating effect of normative commitment on the service quality-customer retention relationship. European Journal of Marketing, 48(3/4), pp.657-673.
Hoang, T., 2016. Market research and marketing plan to enter the United King-dom food supplements market. Case Danapha.
Daniel, H., 2015. The impact of the marketing environment: Greggs. Docs.school Publications.
Hamzah, S.B. and Sutanto, J.E., 2016.The Role of Marketing Mix (7P) for Consumer Buying Decision Pastry Cake in Malang City.
Sethna, Z. and Blythe, J., 2016. Consumer Behaviour.SAGE.
Datta, H., Ailawadi, K.L. and van Heerde, H.J., 2016. How Well Does Consumer-Based Brand Equity Align with Sales-Based Brand Equity and Marketing Mix Response?. Journal of Marketing.
McCann, S., 2014. An investigation into the value of product names, their impact on consumer behaviour and subsequent marketing tactics. An investigation using low-involvement purchases within the Irish retail sector (Doctoral dissertation, Dublin Business School).
Ododo, C., Mulholland, G. and Turner, J., 2015, November. Can Discount Pricing Be A Comeptitive Brand Strategy? An Evaluation of Aldi.In International Conference on Marketing and Business Development (Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 241-251).Bucharest University of Economic Studies Publishing House.
Ododo, C., Mulholland, G. and Turner, J., 2015, November. Can Discount Pricing Be A Comeptitive Brand Strategy? An Evaluation of Aldi.In International Conference on Marketing and Business Development (Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 241-251).Bucharest University of Economic Studies Publishing House.
Simkin, L., 2016. 11 Segmentation. The Marketing Book, p.271.
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