Marketing Strategy For Woolworths Limited

Description of Organisation

Discuss about the Marketing Strategy for Woolworths Limited.

Marketing Strategy is the plan which is made to achieve the marketing goals and objectives of a company (Hill, 2012). Strategies are carried out on the basis of market research. Marketing Tactics are the methods and steps that help to turn the strategies into real and they are the means to achieve marketing goals (Ekanem, 2016). The report prepares the description of the organisation, its mission statements and the industry to which it belongs.  The report will also briefly discuss its products, the 5Cs of the organisation, what all research the organisation does in order to collect the information. Further, market strategy will be developed and therefore tactics to apply the strategies which include the 7Ps of marketing mix.

Woolworths Limited popularly known as Woolies started on 5^th December 1924 in Sydney as a retail chain which provides everything to everyone all the good things on a cheap rate (Woolworths, 2017). The public company is listed on Australian Stock Exchange. It is the second largest retail chain across Australia and New Zealand. It is the largest liquor takeaway of Australia. The company is headquartered in Bella Vista in New South Wales, Australia. The major processes are of the supermarkets of brands Woolworths and Countdown in Australia and New Zealand respectively. The liquor market is operated under the brands named Dan Murphy’s and BWS in Australia. The discount stores serves under the brand name of Big W in Australia. The pubs and the hotel services with the poker machines for leisure served under the ALH Group. Slogan ‘The Fresh Food People’ was changed to ‘Fresh Food People’ with the change in the logo which was changed into all new dark green colour from that of the red colour in the brand campaign of 2014 by the famous Leo Burnett as it goes with idea of the company to serve people with the best of the fresh food (Ward, 2014). The mission statement of the company is to serve value and quality to each territory and state of the country (Woolworths, 2017). The products which are offered by the company are much diversified as they are into food, clothing, financial services and home ware also they maintain their own supply chain network (Woolworths, 2016). The objectives and strategy of the company is shown in the picture given below

Company- This aspect discusses the strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats of the company. The strengths are the variety of the businesses which the company deals in which diversifies the risks of the company and draws out good return for the company. One of the major strength of the company is the corporate social responsibilities in which they are concern for the environment, employees, customers and all those who play a part in the company. They possess a strong brand name as they are focusing on reducing the carbon emissions year after year and promoting the idea of zero food waste (Woolworths, 2016). The weakness of the company is that they are not so popular in comparison to its competitors like Aldi and Walmart. The reduction in the profits in the petrol business and increase in their operation costs because of large businesses (Woolworths, 2016). The opportunities for the company are the vast customer database which can be used for offering customised offers and facilities. The threats to the company are the intense competition with other players in the same industry.  The recession trends in the economy and also the government intervention with respect to the health diseases that occur because of the liquor business.   

The 5Cs of Organisation

Customers- The market segment of the company are the masses as they offer products and services which can be consumed by everyone and anyone. In addition, the company is constantly making efforts in order to bring in customisation for its customers. The typical behaviour of the customers and the company is same as they want to purchase value for cheap rates and the same is from the company’s end as they want to offer quality goods which are budget friendly.

Collaborators- Company has its own supply chain network which manages all the distribution and transportation activities of the company. Their very own distribution centres are responsible for supplying the goods to their stores. The reason behind their own supply chain management system is that it reduces costs and ensures the proper management of all the activities giving the best of quality.

Competitors- The competitor within Australia is Coles which is owned by Wesfarmers. Another major player who is on its toes to eat up the market share of all the other players is Aldi which is a German discount retail chain who is acquiring market share and attracting customers globally. It has also launched its store in Melbourne, Australia. Lidl is another German based supermarket retail chain. Tesco based in UK can be another emerging player.

Context- This part will explain the PESTEL of the company. The political aspect is that the Australian government is introducing policies to eliminate competition between the two major players of the market that are Woolworths and Coles. Basically, this step is taken up with the idea of encouraging new entrants in the industry. The economic aspect deals with the change in the Australian dollar taking place over the period of time which can affect a company’s economic growth. The social aspect deals with the concern of the company for its employees, suppliers and customers. It depicts the change in the customer’s needs and preferences in relation to the consumption of the food products. The technological aspect will deal with the advancement of technology in relation to that of its competitors. The company will search for organic technology to maintain the environmental sustainability and also it will store the perishable goods for a longer period of time. The environmental aspect directly hits the liquor business of the company which leads to various health diseases. The legal aspect talks about the regulations that are set by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission violation of which can result in the costs and liabilities (Woolworths, 2016).

Context

The company collects information from the huge database of their customers. They do customisation for their customers from the data they have of the previous purchase history of the customers. Customers’ wants are very basic as they want value for their money. They want products which are affordable and of good quality. The major competitor to Woolworths is Aldi, Germany which is emerging as a strong player of the industry. Aldi is focused on to have a global presence. One of the competitors in Australia itself is Coles who is a threat to the company. The context of the company was purely the retail store but now the company is much into other businesses like fuel, logistics, financial services, hospitality, liquor etc. Therefore; so much diversification is also hindering the central aspect of the company i.e. the supermarket. In addition to this the company’s fuel business is running into losses therefore; the company’s profits of different sector are also getting influenced by the fuel business which is into losses. The company has collaborated with number of people in order to promote the sustainable living. This is done by joining hands with people who are world renowned so that customers also get influenced and therefore; it is beneficial for them and the society as well. The company shook hands with the famous songwriter Pharrell Williams who is a Grammy award winner and at the same time a philanthropist (Mail & Guardian, 2015). South-African division of woollies is found to be one of the profitable entities. The company has chosen the best person to take the ideas of the sustainable projects of the company forward to people for their support. Another important collaboration of the company is said to be with its suppliers as they are the ones who improve the functioning of the company. The company especially being into the food business the role of the suppliers is significant because perishable goods are required to be delivered to the stores at the right time in order to reach out to the end users. In addition, the company promises quality to its customers therefore; the supply chain network has to be on its toes all the time. Collaboration with suppliers is important in order to achieve the sustainable goals of the company.    

The choice of the company for its target market is that they are shifting their business to consumer idea towards business to business (Williams, 2016). The reason behind the same is that they want to satisfy the needs of the businesses to buy foodstuffs. Grocery market in Australia is emerging at a rapid pace and the same the company wants to target by going for online expansion. Apart from this the company wants to change the perception of the brand from B2C. The company came up with idea as they found the need of their products and services at the business level. Businesses track different people for their needs of stationery, fruit and meat. Therefore; Woollies hit on the same need of the businesses so that they can get their fulfilments satisfied below one roof. Moreover, they are becoming more digital friendly so that businesses can save their time and money by just placing an order. The major advantage will be that they will become more renowned among the businesses as well.

Market Research

Value proposition refers to all the new, creative and innovative steps which are taken by the company to attract its customers (Osterwalder, et.al, 2014). The value proposition of the company was its various campaigns. The company’s advertising partner Leo Burnett created and ad campaign for their client which featured birds with a jingle of the Cheap Cheap campaign in which they cut down the prices of many necessities like bread which was brought to 85cents from $1 (Caroll, 2015). Another was Woolworths reward programs which convert their current customers into loyal customers. The motive behind the loyalty program is to collect more and more information by inducing customers through discounts and gifts in return. Apart from this the company is even more near to its customers as never before. The reward loyalty program has involved around 6.5 million loyal customers (Robin, 2013). One of the most innovative steps of the company is their African unit of their company it is all the more appreciated when they joined hands with the American philanthropist Pharrell Williams to spread issues like environment awareness. Also the company acquired David Jones which proved to be another milestone in company’s financial success. As a result of this acquisition the share prices of Woollies increased by 25 per cent in the capital market (Chibelushi, 2016).

Positioning refers to how the product is being perceived in the minds of the consumers. The statement is analysis of the target market, the value proposition and their benefits (Gospe, 2011). The company’s positioning statement is to become the brand which is devoted to its customers wholly and solely. The company also strives to make strong relations with its customers. They also want to provide value against the money and time spent by their customers (WHL, 2011).

Marketing Mix is the central role to be performed by the marketing professionals of the company. It includes the 4Ps of marketing which is extending according to the needs of the any organisation. The best suited combination which of the Ps can be studied or analysed by the company (Felicia, 2014). The marketing mix consists of product, price, place, promotion, people, processes and physical evidence. The product mix deals with the satisfaction of the customer needs and design the products accordingly. This depicts that how much potential the product has to fulfil the needs of the target market segment. The price which the company has adopted is the market penetration pricing to attain the maximum market share. The company sustaining into the industry with competitors should also adopt competitive pricing strategy in order to beat the intense competition. The place mix deals with where and with how much ease the customers can get the products they want. Therefore; the stores, distribution centres should be located at the places which are convenient from the consumer perspective. The supply and distribution network should be very good to reach out to customers as and when required. The promotion mix is related as to how the customers will come to know about the new offer, products and services of the company. So, the company should go for both the innovative and traditional mediums of marketing their company. They should also keep in mind that their target market should be easily tapped by their marketing efforts and strategies. They can go for marketing activities inside and outside their stores because this will fulfil both the objectives of retaining the existing customers and attracting new ones.

The people mix aspect is related to the people who are working for you and also for whom the company is working i.e. the employees, suppliers and the customers. The company has to make efforts to keep all of them happy and contended. The process mix aspect is for the procedure and policies that are followed by the company in order to give the best to its customers. The processes should be such that it moves in a flowing manner from manufacturing to reaching to the end user without any hurdle in between. In addition, if any hurdle occurs also then their back up plans should be very effective. The physical distribution is related to the tangible things which the company offers. Hence, company dealing in products they should take care of the packaging and quality of the products which will bring back their customers to them in turn of the experience which the company will provide. Therefore; the marketing mix will help to analyse the company’s performance and accomplishment of its marketing objectives.

Conclusion

From the above report it can be concluded that the company is following various marketing strategies and tactics but in order to survive in the industry they have to constantly strive for implementing new and creative ideas in their business and marketing plans which will result into the value addition of the company’s brand value. Company’s different promotional techniques have given them a competitive edge in comparison to its competitors. The quality products at cheap prices have made them a brand name in Australia. All the recommendations given to the company will ensure the future growth and success of the company. Target market of the businesses will give the company and edge to become the leader of their industry as they will be recognised by the not only their customers but also the business customers as well.

References

Caroll, L., 2015, Woolies new value proposition – supermarket axes Cheap Cheap, viewed 30 January 2017, from https://www.adnews.com.au/news/woolies-new-value-proposition-supermarket-axes-cheap-cheap.

Chibelushi, W., 2016, Woolworths South Africa: the art of innovation, viewed 30 January 2017, from https://www.africanbusinessreview.co.za/finance/2378/Woolworths-South-Africa:-the-art-of-innovation.

Ekanem, A., 2016, Marketing Tactics That Sell: Some Dirty Tricks, Lulu Press, Inc.

Felicia, S., 2014, The Marketing Mix Optimization. Annals-Economy Series, 1, pp.253-257.

Gospe Jr, J.M., 2011, What is a “positioning statement”. An excerpt). The Marketing High Ground: The Essential Playbook for B2B Marketing Practitioners Everywhere, CreateSpace.

Hill, M, E., 2012, Marketing Strategy: The Thinking Involved, Sage Publications, London, UK.

Mail & Guardian, 2015, Pharrell Williams collaborating with Woolworths, viewed 30 January 2017, from https://mg.co.za/article/2015-04-10-pharrell-williams-collaborating-with-woolworths.

Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G. and Smith, A., 2014, Value proposition design: How to create products and services customers want, John Wiley & Sons.

Robin, M., 2013, Why loyalty cards are Woolworths’ secret weapon in supermarket wars, viewed 30 January 2017, from https://www.smartcompany.com.au/people-human-resources/leadership/30125-why-loyalty-cards-are-woolworths-secret-weapon-in-supermarket-wars/.

Ward, M, 2014, Woolworths brings back ‘Fresh Food People’ positioning in first brand campaign from Leo Burnett, viewed 29 January 2017, from https://mumbrella.com.au/woolworths-brings-back-fresh-food-people-positioning-brand-campaign-leo-burnett-243805.

WHL, 2011., Our Customers, viewed 30 January 2017, from https://www.woolworthsholdings.co.za/investor/annual_reports/ar2011/integrated/executive/focus_areas/customers.asp.

Williams, A, 2016, How Woolworths reinvented its B2C model to meet the B2B market, viewed 30 January 2017, from https://www.cmo.com.au/article/595918/how-woolworths-reinvented-its-b2c-model-meet-b2b-market/.

Woolworths Group, 2016, Corporate Responsibility Report for the year 2016, viewed 29 January 2017, from https://wow2016cr.qreports.com.au/.

Woolworths Group, 2017, Our Brands, viewed 29 January 2017, from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us/our-brands/.

Woolworths Group, 2017, Strategy and objectives, viewed 29 January 2017, from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us/our-approach/strategy-and-objectives/.

Woolworths Group, 2017, The Woolworths Story, viewed 29 January 2017, from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us/The_Woolworths_Story/How_We_Were_Founded/.

Woolworths Limited, 2016, Woolworths Annual Report for the year 2016, viewed 29 January 2017, from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/icms_docs/185865_annual-report-2016.pdf.

Woolworths, 2016, Working For Woolworths, viewed 29 January 2017, from https://www.woolworths.co.za/store/fragments/corporate/corporate-index.jsp?content=corporate-content&contentId=cmp205067.