Woolworth’s Marketing Analysis Samples for Students †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Woolworths Marketing Analysis. Answer: Mission and Vision The firms mission is to deliver to customers the right shopping experience each and every time. In so doing, the firm provides customers with quality, value, and everyday low priced products in its retail business while ensuring the safety of the customers and its staff. Woolworths vision is to maintain and enhance its retail business, offering top quality to customers, greater convenience, value for money, a wide range of products, low price and high-end services (Woolworths, 2016). The company achieves this by committing to deliver unique and best quality of products to its customers. Anyone coming across the brand name of the firm relates it to the quality delivered and therefore attracts customers and retains them in its retail business. Situation Analysis Woolworths SWOT Analysis Strength The firms strong brand name as a market leader in the Australias retail industry gives it the ability to compete favorably with the rest. At the same time, the firm enjoys a strong resource base of technological and human resource in the industry. The firm uses cost-effective and efficient means of reducing packaging thus reduces waste. Weakness The firms growth strategy has a focus on the global scene thereby limiting its growth at the local level. Opportunity The retail industry in the country is promising coupled by the development in the supply chain, increased consumer expenditure, and increase in population presents opportunity for the firm. The availability of multi-option enables the firm to cope up with diversified needs of its customers. Threats Competition from high end retailers such as Cole Supermarkets presents a threat to the market dominance of the firm. At the same time, the government intervention by enacting competition policies reduces the marketability for the firm as it opens up competition from other small-scale retailers. Customers Customers remain a valuable asset for the retail firm, who base on convenience and savings. Therefore, the firm serves a huge base of customers from all ages and has outlets in diverse locations thereby capturing a significant number of customers. Suppliers Timely and effective supply is important in the retail industry where suppliers deliver goods for the firm. Woolworth has a wide network of suppliers who help deliver goods for the customers each week that find themselves on their shelves. The firm has a good inventory system where products are ordered before diminishing thereby maintaining ready products at the shelf. Competitors The firm faces some competitors in the industry with new entrants to the firm as well as the existing ones. Some of the major competitors include Wesfarmers Limited, Alde and Metcash Limited. The competitors set the firm on the motion in efforts to reward customers in a bid to draw loyalty and long term relation with the buyers. In turn, the customers receive utmost services and high quality goods. PESTEL Analysis The category involves other factors affecting the firm in the retail industry. Political The political environment affects the operations of the company in the country as well as the region. For instance, the launch of the policies on competition eliminating competition limits the growth and dominance of the firm since it increases the number of players in the sector diluting the target market. Economic The economy of nations and the international scene affects business productivity. In this respect, a decline in the economic market reduces the number of customers visiting the store thereby limiting the profits of the company. At the same time, the fluctuation in the currency rates affects the importation of goods. Social Woolworth as a business is tasked to remain socially responsible to its environment where customers become accustomed to businesses that are responsible, in this respect, the firm has to contribute to the society to remain profitable in a given area of operation. Technology Technology plays a significant role in the retail industry where it affects the supply chain positively depending on the method applied. Woolworths uses technology in its supply chain management and refrigeration system increasing its storage facility and capability. MarketingResearch Information Marketing is a concept that needs a close analysis to determine how and when to approach a given market for a particular product in increasing the attainment of the target population. Information on consumer patterns can be obtained from a variety of sources. For instance, the firm obtains most of its information from the marketing bureau, observing consumer purchase patterns, online media, surveys, and advertisement response to the actual sales (Hair and Lukas, 2014). The firm carries out a survey on social media on its customers on the preference and adjusts its marketing efforts to suit the needs of the customers. Besides, it uses the market performance statistics on different firms performance in the end year results to ascertain its competitors in the industry. Once the firm determines the inflow of customers, it becomes easy to determine whether a firm is thriving or being set down in the retail sector. Through the medium, the firm can evaluate its competitors according to the profits and customer retention ability. The context of the business is changing with the invention of the social media marketing where most of the customers exist. Therefore, the market target has shifted to theonline marketing and bears a huge meaning to the market research and intelligence needed by Woolworths. The fan pages on the social media for different businesses form a useful tool essential for gathering statistical information on the preference patterns of individuals. Through this, the firm can develop strategies to implement similar or alternative measures to combat the competition offered by the competitors and improving on the strategies that work for the organization (Zikmund, Babin, Carr Griffin, 2013). Customers issue their queries and likes based on the services and products delivered to the clients. In this respect, the firm can gather information on the products with a huge following and make necessary requirements to push the non-performing products through marketing. Aldi and Metcash Supermarket are the largest competitor of the firm where it sales similar products and marketing strategies that attract a huge following by its customers. There are other small retail outlets in the region but lack a strong brand name and presence to push its products. The three firms are the largest in dominance in the retail sector which keep competing for the ever growing population. Therefore, the firm puts in efforts to avert the competition posed by the firm. The collaborators assist firms in determining the sales potential of different firms since some of the collaborator's supply products in diverse outlets in the retail sector. In this respect, the collaborators assist in determining the competition level by relaying information on the sales of different firms to the investors thereby enabling Woolworths to determine where to increase its marketing. At the same time, the information relayed can be used to know the potential threats and implement the necessary strategies to overcome the crisis. Suppliers play a huge role by advertising their products while disclosing the location of stores where the products remain available. In some cases, some goods up for an introduction to the market are advertised from the Woolworths stores thereby growing the brand recognition for specific products. On the other hand, the suppliers enjoy product marketing through the wide stock existent in the Woolworths stores. Developing Market Strategy Target Market Market development refers to the efforts incurred in increasing sales by promoting the sale of current products to a new target market. The goal of a marketing strategy is to identify and cease a target market for its products and services. In this case, one has to select a target market that attracts the largest batch of individuals using the four ps of marketing such as product, place, price, and promotion. There are three core strategies that the firm can use in selecting the target market. Since the firm sells general products that can be used and consumed by a diverse group of people, it can use the three strategies to tap into the Australian Market. The Multi-Segment Targeting The strategy is essential in achieving a large target where the individuals on focus come from a different market segment (Diamond, Diamond Litt, 2015). The strategy offers a variety of benefits to the firm since it reaches a wide target of individuals thereby promoting the same firm by increasing its brand name. Woolworth has a large target market featuring both the vegetarian and non-vegetarians where it has to cater for the needs of both groups. In this case, it conducts separate marketing efforts to achieve a large customer base of both the vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Since an overall advertisement fails to appeal to both parties at a go, the firm has to carry out a separate target market segmentation to capture the loyalty of both groups. However, the method involves huge finance since the management has to engage in separate research efforts to yield benefits for the firm. Undifferentiated Targeting According to Babin Zikmund (2015), target marketing strategy involves the use of a single marketing channel reaching a diverse group of people. Since the firm trades in general goods useful to a diverse group of people such as youths, children, and the elderly, a single strategy is essential in this case. Products such as drinks appeal to a diverse population and can go without bias. Therefore, it is essential to use a single method in advertising the products that appeal to the general population. The firm enjoys the strategy in reaching out to a population that consumes drinks regardless of their differences. Concentrated Targeting The approach is centered on the selection of a specific target market such as the youth and focuses on the needs of the group and satisfies them through product offering (Boone, Kurtz, 2013). Focusing on a single segment enables the firm to select the needs and carry out a marketing research on the product that can satisfy the group (Kotler, Burton, Deans, Brown Armstrong, 2015). Therefore, the firm uses the strategy in targeting the older population who have a like for the farm fresh products with less chemical composition and offer the same in their store. Value Proposition to the Target Market The firm prides itself in the provision of fresh food to its customers coupled with the excellent customer focused services at the sales point. In this case, the firm caters to the needs of the buyers and treats them well both while making orders and when being served at the on location stores. In its marketing, the firm uses the same to propel its name and services to the population and therefore promises the same in its marketing efforts. The firm, in its marketing message, promises a return of the fresh products for the fresh food people coupled with top-notch customer services which increase value to the lives of the customers (Woolworths, 2016). Customers at Woolworth remain a central focus towards its growth and therefore use a diverse set of options to attain the same. Attaining a new target population requires an explanation of the benefits that the new market shall derive and value remains one of the most beneficial avenues towards capturing a wide target market (Gordon, 201 2). Positioning Statement As a firm focused on the grocery business among others, Woolworths uses a strong statement, Fresh Food People which appeals to a wide population especially those opposed to the factory produced foods. In this case, health concerned individuals would find themselves being loyal customers to the shop since its business deals with bringing back fresh food people. The world is full of factory produced food raising health concerns leading to the demand for fresh food to the population. In this case, the strong brand name sells in the market attracting a diverse group of individuals to the business. The statement captures Woolworths essence of uniqueness and greatness through its legacy right from the suppliers, those rearing, and the staff who serve who fresh food to its clients. The firm uses the statement on the media, online, street adverts and promotion, as well as in the mainstream media. Marketing Mix Strategies Woolworths utilizes all the four elements of marketing using the product, price, place, and promotion to make its brand more relevant in the market. In the process, each element is used separately or interconnected to yield the desired results to the firm. Product Product refers to how best a commodity has been prepared to meet the needs of the customers. Woolworth focuses on offering high-quality products to the clients by positioning the products as either healthy or wholesome product hence appealing to the target market. The firm has clearly identified the needs of the consumers and catered for the same through the provision of quality products. For instance, the grocery department caters for the needs of the health-conscious buyers in need of fresh food and delivers the best quality. At the same time, the products are of high quality and cost effective to the clients. The superior quality control on its products is responsible for the great value it delivers to the clients (Jager, 2007). Since customers desire to have value for their money, the right product enables a return purchase situation essential for a firms growth. Therefore, the firm uses a strong product as a marketing tool for its products in the market. Pricing Pricing is a marketing strategy aimed at attracting more customers to a business segment. Price and quality are single factors that can attract a large client base to a given firms product and hence have to be catered as marketing tools (Jager, 2007). Woolworth makes good use of pricing strategy and monitors and changes the same according to the prevailing economic conditions. During promotion activities, the firm lowers the price of selected products up for sale during a given period or season. Creating discount on price through price reduction broadens a customer base thereby resulting in a high revenue experience (Pride Ferrell, 2016). The firm compares several outlets and uses the pricing strategy to remain profitable as well as attracting new clients to its business model. Woolworths believes in creating value to drive the success potential through a large population scenario. The innovative strategy shall help the firm to create, retain, and ensure a repeat purchase coupled by its high-quality goods. Therefore, pricing is a necessary factor to be considered while making marketing decisions. Place Place is a marketing tool that relates to the area that a product has been placed for sale. Choosing the right location for a product guarantees a quick response and attracting new and existent clients (Jager, 2007). Woolworths is strategic in the location of its outlet stores as it places them in convenient areas for the customers who remain accessible and easily located by by-passers. At the same time, the stores are located on high traffic location areas to attract the largest number of people. Customers learning of the stores from an advertisement have an easy time locating them since the direction is clear and stores at a convenient place. In addition, the firm has gone digital and invented online stores where clients can make a series of orders and have them delivered to their address or make a collection after the required products have been packaged according to customers preference. In addition, the firm has developed an application where customers can check for products and make inquiries on a product before making a purchase. All these efforts point to the possibility of marketing the firm against its competitors who evolve every day. Promotion Promotion is a real-time marketing tool that increases information on given products or services on sale by a firm. Promotion can be done through product bundling where less known goods are packed with selling products as long as they match in the use. At the same time, promotion can be done through advertisement over the media and the online media where a multitude of people are reached. Customers making purchases experience promotion where free giveaways exist on selected purchases according to the season. Reward to customers through offering caps, t-shirts, and pens branded with the firms slogan or logo acts as a marketing tool for the firm (Crouch Housden, 2012). The firm conducts selected promotion activities to increase the knowledge of its stores and brand. As customers wear the caps, it helps spreads the word in diverse locations of residence thereby increasing awareness of the stores attracting more to the business Recommendation Woolworth is a popular retail chain that has the potential of thriving even in the wake of the recent competition. Therefore, I recommend the firm to increase its product quality and never compromise on quality to its customers. Quality delivers value and increases the probability of attracting and retaining new target market. Besides, the use of promotions such as road shows and participation in social events would increase the brand recognition of the firm and attract a new target market to its business. The firm has a well-placed location of its stores offline with the invention of the online store. In this case, the firm has to ensure quality interaction and response to customer query for the online model to increase such purchases. Lastly, the firm has to remain alerted of the price changes and utilize the strategy well in attracting customers who are focused on value for money which is evidently present in the selected store. By so doing, the firm shall attain a large target ma rket, promote value to the clients, and yield profits for its business. References Babin, B. J., Zikmund, W. G. (2015). Essentials of marketing research. Nelson Education. Boone, L. E., Kurtz, D. L. (2013). Contemporary marketing. Cengage learning. Crouch, S., Housden, M. (2012). Marketing research for managers. Routledge. Diamond, J., Diamond, E., Litt, S. (2015). Fashion retailing: a multi-channel approach. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. Gordon, R. (2012). Re-thinking and re-tooling the social marketing mix. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 20(2), 122-126. Hair Jr, J. F., Lukas, B. (2014). Marketing research. McGraw-Hill Education Australia. Jager, W. (2007). The four P's in social simulation, a perspective on how marketing could benefit from the use of social simulation. Journal of Business Research, 60(8), 868-875. Kotler, P., Burton, S., Deans, K., Brown, L., Armstrong, G. (2015). Marketing. Pearson Higher Education AU. Pride, W., Ferrell, O. C. (2016). Foundations of marketing. Nelson Education. Woolworths. (2016). Woolworth Supermarkets. Retrieved from https://www.woolworths.com.au/ Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods. Cengage Learning.