Category: Target Market

Target Market of My Business: Analytical Essay

Background

The name of my organization is Wil -Bek which will be found in Baastona –Accra, Wil-Bek is a company that manufactures and distribution of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages for now it’s a sole proprietorship but later due to circumstance I can change it to be a partnership.

The size of my organization is small since is a new company, will employ two labor workers in Will-Bek company, as time goes on, I will involve more personnel in the organization to reduce the unemployment rate in the community.

Wil-Bek produces nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages such as pitoo, zaka bitters, orange, apple pineapple juice, and sobolo. Wil-Bek base on natural resources to produce consumer taste and preferences.

The wil-Bek organization will offer customer services to my consumer’s loyalty and affordable prices that the rich and poor can purchase, consumers can meet their taste and preference of the commodity. The cost will be low demand will be high.

The key competitor of Will-Bek company which affect the operation at the market area are, Despites company, Kasaperko company Ghana, and Guinness breweries, due to business strategy and a new way my product will be manufactured and distrusted am going to overcome them all.

My market target or customer segments are the children for the soft drinks and adults 18 aged, birthday parties, festivals, and marriage ceremonies. My mission statement of Wil-Bek company is to provide individual vital and quality products to my customers and my vision is to deliver loyalty to the world.

Introduction

In my analysis, the choice of trading status was sole proprietorship. Firstly, there was a definition of sole proprietorship. Some of the impact are overall control of the business profit are not shared, set up cost are low. In how to contribute to the success of the organization (Wil-Bek) improvement in customer service, working attitude, benchmarking, using feedback, and innovating business idea. These are some of Wil-Bek organizational contributions to the local economy. Employment opportunity and community growth. In findings, there are growth strategies of my organization which lead to me exist strategic of my organizational analysis. In defining a target market, there are pestle analyses used in highlighting the target market and also their research method used in highlighting Wil-Bek target market.

Reason for choosing sole proprietorship into Wil-Bek organization

Sole proprietorship is a business owned by one person” the reason I choose sole trading is because it’s easy to operate without using a lot of money to set up/ start. (Davies 2017, P.4)

Overall control of the business: Sole proprietorship has an impact on the management of the business, is because am the boss in WIL-BEK company I can make a decision quickly without the requirement to consult others opinions, all-important decision and the day-day activities is based on me, On the other hand, partnership business decision is made by the managerial committee and other staff personnel, being a sole proprietorship help me to make a decision on time without wasting must time no like the partnership whereby decision making takes a lot of time before it will be accepted which cost the business loss, there is a saying time is money, so as of me being a sole trading in my organization (WIL-BEK) company brings me a huge impact. As propose by Woodruff (2019) Profit are not shared: Sole trading brings a lot of impact in the organization whereby the manager of the business owned all the profit in the organization, he does not share the profit are not shared by any other personnel. The profit I gain can be used for any other project which can generate more profit for me. I decide what to use the money for. Not like the partner were the profit are share by the owners of the business. According to Ayres (2016). Start-up cost are low: Roddick (2011), proposed that low start-up cost and simple taxation are significant advantages to a new business owner who is still unsure about his company’s prospects. These benefit help me as a sole proprietor of WIL –BEK company, for me to set up this business plan which does not need a lot money before I start it and since is my own business I can choose to expand it if I want my organization to be multinational company by give the business format to the franchisee to operate it for instance, McDonald’s restaurants. Which make me a highly successful entity for new business. Easy to change its structure: According to Ayres (2016). it’s easy to change legal structure later if circumstance change, as a sole proprietorship of WIL-BEK company I can choose to change my legal status if circumstance changes. For instance, I can indicate to join some who have a broad idea about my company and have all the experience of it to become a partnership company.

How to contribute to the success of my organization (Wil-Bek)

According to Finklestein (2006) contribution to the success of the business is the way an organization will come out with more ideas and business strategies that help the organization to achieve its goals and objective.

Customer services: one-way Wil-Bek company can contribute to the success of the business is the customer service which means, the way I will take care of customers by producing a good quality product for them to develop a strong taste for on it. Finklestein (2006) composed, that many companies integrate customer services into the business culture through training and a relevant business process. I as Wil-Bek company owner I need to plan dictates how to produce quality customer service.

Working attitude: how I will contribute to the success of Wil-Bek company, as owner of the business I need to ensure disciple and develop a positive attitude toward workplace, both staff managerial committee and the and employees, need to be motivated so that they can work willing as their own business and produce a very quality product to the consumers, developing the “can do approach” toward work I need to accept 90 percent of the responsibility for the result of the business when success is achieved, giving glorious credit to other within the organization. Finklestein (2006)

Benchmarking: means the process of comparing the performance of a company’s product and service to the other company’s best in the business. Using the benchmarking method also contribute to the success of the business, benchmarking is one of the method which help companies to achieve it success by comparing my company (Wil-Bek) performance to other competitor’s companies who have being existing for years and also produces the same product as me to achieve my success, example Kasaperko company. (James 2017, P.94) Using feedback: Foster (2017, P .15) says that asking for feedback is getting communication from prospective employer information that have be situated ineffective following an interview, another way Wil-Bek owner can contribute to the success of the business is by the use of feedback from customer. The use of feedback from customers of Wil-Bek company give vital information about the company product due to the quality and the cost which need to be changed so that can fit consumer can meet their requirement.

Innovating business idea: Finklestein (2006 ) composed that one way an owner can contribute to the success of the business is by innovating new business ideas to achieve the success of the organization by using the new modern tools and equipment to make working essay and faster and also employing professional personnel who have an idea about the business am operating. The news modern tools, an organisation can achieve its success base on the type of tools they are using to produce a product which also grow the success of the business.

Hire the right talent: an organization can be important when they have the good talented personnel to co-operate with the success of the business, they are like to be productive and

creative and make the organization achieve its goals and objective, an the owner of Wil-Bek company for my organization to be successful I need to hired the right talent people with soft and hard skills which also pay much attention to the workforce, recruitment process in such a way that I can fish out the good once fit to be working with. Finklestein (2006)

How my organization contribute to the local economy

Brown (2018) propose that the importance of small business to local communities is enthusiastically entrenched in the business of marketing, the smell firms in rural area brings economic benefits of shopping locally and it can only be the type that can persist while serving a reduced population.

Employment opportunity: the business contributes to the local economy by bringing growth and innovation to the community, Wil-Bek company which will be established in Baastona community will help to stimulate economic growth my providing employment opportunity in the community to people who willing to work, it will also help some people to develop their talent and get his / her daily bread which will reduce the unemployment rate in the country. Brown (2018)

Contributing to the local government: when a business is established and consumers patronize the product it is a need to pay taxes to the government, Wil-Bek company will contribute to the local government by paying of taxes and local property taxes to the government which will be used for developing social amenities like building of hospitals, roads, schools for the community which also help the growth of the country. Brown (2018)

Base on locally made product and service: another way which also help the business contribution to the local economy is when a business uses it local resource to produce a produce without not going waste. Wil- Bek company depend on the natural resource such as orange, apple, and honey bee to produce its product, due to this which will also motivate the local farmer to work hard so that we get the primary product and use it for those beverages.

Community growth: smell business contributes to the local economy by unique identity and elaborate locally, it also helps to build a logic of community which the business tends to be people’s businesses. For instance, Wil-Bek company has really help Baastona society to be known on newspapers and social media because is a new business operating and also meet the taste of the people which has make the community popular. Natter (2018)

Growth strategy of my organization

Growth strategies Is the way a company attractive a large market share and at the expense of a short- term earnings or is the method a company uses to expand its business in largely contingent upon its financial situation, the competition and even government regulation some common growth strategies in a business are market penetration, market expansion, product expansion, diversification and acquisition. Seidel (2019). Wil-Bek company have the plan to growth its business strategies growth strategy by:

Market penetration: according to Suttle (2019) one strategy in a business is market penetration because here focus on expanding sale of the existing product into an existing market within the same market and the only way to growth, using existing product and markets is to increase market share, according to small business experts. Market share is the percent of unit and sale a company holds within a certain market. One-way WIL-Bek company can penetrate by increasing market share in lowering the prices. for instance, in a market where there is little differentiation among products, a lower price may help WIL-Bek company to increase its share in the market.

Market expansion/development: a market expansion growth strategy, is by placing an existing product into an entirely new market. Wil-Bek company can do this by finding a new use of a product or adding more value to the new product. The several reasons why a company may consider a market expansion strategy is by competition may be such that there is no room for growth within the current market. If a business does not find new market for its product, it cannot increase sale profit. Wil-Bek company can adopt the use of the PESTLE review to consider new delivery channels by using the online approach. James (2017, P.99).

Product expansion strategy: is where a company introduces a new product into an existing market. Suttle (2019). product expansion is where a company adding up more value to the product to increase its sale and profit. When a company engage in a product expansion strategy they continue selling within the existing market and it often works well when technology start to change.

Growth through diversification: growth strategy in a business is one of the dangers because a smell company will sell a new product to new market. A smell company need to plan well when using this diversification strategy. Marking research is necessary because a company need to decide if the consumer in the new market will possibly like the new product. James (2017, P.102)

My exist strategy of Wil-Bek company Exist strategy, according to A. Hayes, (22 , 2019) is when an entrepreneur’s strategic plan to sell his or his ownership in the company to another company which gives the business owner a way to reduces her strake in business and if the business successful which make him a substantial profit and the business is the not successful it enables the owner to limit losses Wil-Bek company way of it exist strategy. Exist strategy is one of the ideas every entrepreneur needs to think about before actually going in a business because exist strategy can easily influence the development of the decisions such

as strategic acquisitions, management buyouts and an initial public offering. Choosing the factor of an exist strategic depends on the entrepreneur either how much control that I wants to hold in the business and whether I will want to endure the business to run in the same way or willing to see the change going forward as long as want to paid a fair price for ownership share. A certain aspect of Wil-Bek company in exist strategy is specialist and business valuation which help me to determine my financial fair value. As owner of Wil-Bek company my business exist is going to be exist strategy and liquidity which show the difference of business exist strategy and also offer the owners a different level of liquidity. Whereby I sell my ownership through acquisition. the exit strategy will depend on the market condition, for instance, an initial public offering may not be the best exist strategy during the recession and the management buyout which may not be attractive to a buyer when interest rate is high. But an important way the initial public offering will always be profitable for me as the owner and seed investor, share can be extremely volatile and risky for ordinary investors who will buy their share from early investors.

Target market of my business

According to Kenton (2019), A target market is where a company undertake a huge search or to study on its potential customers, knowing how to go by the market analysis which will help the organisation to know or figure out accurately who will market and sell to consumers. Example of an alcoholic beverage cannot be sold to any person but to people above 18 years, so as WilBek company I need to study the environment and my potential customers which I will target my product. According to Oketch (9, 2018), strong target market analysis helps Wil-beck management on market funds more effectively. This analysis identifies the most important characteristic and the information derived aid to promote my product and service directly. It also helps Wil-Bek company to connect with the individuals who frequently purchase the product and increase my sales and profit. Identify target market will also ensure Wil-Bek company to decide who they wish to target their product or services. For instance, Wil-Bek company produce alcoholic, non-alcoholic beverages which is recommended to target children from 6-16 years. For non-alcoholic drinks and alcoholic beverages to growth up from 18 years and above.

How to analysis the target market by the use of PESTLE analysis It is recommended of Will-beck management to analyze their target market by monitoring the environment of their workplace. Pestle analysis is used to critically evaluate their target market. A change in government can cause an organization to enter a target market-based area on the regulatory norms of the government. The state of economy can affect my company in identifying the target market. Behavior of customers and how Wil-Bek can understand the customers’ taste preferences will help the organisation on how to price the product based on an accurate pricing strategy this will help the organisation to identify it, potential customers, in a target market. For Wil- Bek company to segment a market to know their target market. Demographics plays a major role. Age, gender, population, educational background and marital status affect how Wil-Bek will target their market-based area. Increase affluence will increase the potential customers and also expectations. society where Wil-Bek want to operate which can become much more fragmented. The average consumer can become much more of a myth, as income, attitude and lifestyle have diverged at Will-beck company. (Davies 2017, P.27)

Research method is defined as the process where by a business gets information and data which help the organisation in decision making. There are two source of research which are, primary and secondary. Primary research is where by business conduct itself research by using customers and questions to get information about the business. Example face to face, surveys and questionnaire. on the other hand, secondary research is a research that has already been gathered or published by other. Example report and trade association. Harford n.d.

Using survey to target Wil-Bek market is essential technique. Demographic segment is included in the company’s survey gender household income, age range and the type of device used to take survey. To reach the target market for alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages of Wil-Bek company. Management need to know answer to glue story like, how often will prospective customers drink these beverages, how often will they be interested in a home delivery service.

From here the company can get to known the gender split, the ages, where they shop and the size of the market. The company can use sample size to figure the number of customers who drinks Wil-Bek product. The result of the survey can be done by using income level or age groups which all help the company in targeting customers and understanding the buying behavior of customers at the locality. (UK. Essays 2018)

Questionnaires. Wil-BEK targeting the affluent of the conventional area. Management needs to target specific group of people. With this will help management to use a customer screening question, this can aid to target specific group of people. With this it will help management to know the age and gender of the prospective customers and customers who drink the beverages daily or at least once a week. The management must be asking information about customers compliers of their product and service. (UK. Essays 2018)

Focus group. management of Wil-Bek be satiated with deeper conversation with follow-up and also feel comfortable making decision based on opinions or feedback from a large sample size before moving to segment the environment. The focus group helps in learning customers feedback in their own words of how the beverages taste. This will help employees or key team players at Wil-Bek to uncover ideas that comes up during discussion. (UK. Essays 2018)

Conclusion

This is about how to create my own business which is Wil-Bek company, my trading legal status is a sole proprietorship. The organisation produce both soft drinks which are for children from 6 to 16 and hard drink for aged people 18 and above. The success of the business may depend on my customers who will purchase the product. Wil-Bek has also contribute to Baastona society by paying of taxes and reducing the unemployment rate. My growth and exist strategies which show how Wil-Bek company becomes successful in the market system. My target market helps me to know the people I need to sell my products to, and information on my business plan to attract investors. My vision and mission statement are to provide invaluable service and quality products to my customers. And the company’s vision is to deliver loyalty to become the greatest brewery company and also be the leading producer of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to attract customers which will be a beneficial impact on the positive attitudes of internal and external customers. Productivity and differentiation are major impacts and a key indicators for the overall growth and success of the company.

References

1. Brown, J., October 15, 2018. small business. [Online] Available at: http://www.smallbusiness.chrone.com [Accessed 4 May 2019].
2. Essays, November 2018. Uk Essay. [Online] Available at: http://www.ukeassys.com/eassy/business/the-importance-of-rewardmanagement-bussiness-eassy. [Accessed 1 May 2019].
3. Hayes, A., 2019. Investopedia. [Online] Available at: http:/www.investopedai.com [Accessed 23 April 2019].
4. Kenton.W, 2019. investoppedia. [Online] Available at: http://www.investoppdia.com [Accessed 29 May 2019].
5. Oketch, C., November 9. 2018. wikiHow. [Online] Available at: http://www.wikihow.com [Accessed 16 May 2019].
6. Rick suttle, 12 February, 2019 . [Online] [Accessed 5 May 2019].
7. Robert, D., 2017. Identify how an organization can gain a competitive advantage in response to competitor analysis. In: H. Ltd, ed. Dynamic Business Environment. UK: ABE, pp. 99-102.

Executive Summary on Target Market Persona and the Marketing Mix Recommendations

Executive Summary

This report will focus on the Target Market Persona and the Marketing Mix recommendations. Discussed within the report are various marketing mixes, plans, strategies, tools and responsibilities in which RMIT University face while dealing with their target market and their consumers.

There are several marketing mixes used to provide recommendations as to the various ways in which RMIT must market their brand, they involve of; the 7P’s marketing mix, SWOT analysis, PESTLE, external environment analysis, competitive analysis and pricing & positioning.

Within this report, there will be theories, arguments and suggestions which is supported to why marketing management is important for the consumer targets of RMIT University.

The recommendations provided are suggestions as to how RMIT can manage their marketing and target market. The marketing management team will need to everything within its power to achieve greatness for the organisation to ensure that its brand quality and services are not achieved within their products.

Introduction

This report is discussing the various marketing mixes, strategies, responsibilities, recommendations and tools in which RMIT can use to market themselves better within the education industry to obtain more consumers and promote their brand. RMIT University is a high university provider within Australia, RMIT has many students who are international and domestic.

Written within this report, there will be discussions to the various key elements which goes into the target market persona, target segmentation, marketing mixes, strategies and analysis which plays a crucial element in which RMIT University connects with their consumers, stakeholders and the public.

Provided within this report, it is supported with crucial information and analyse information which RMIT aims in providing the best of services to their consumers who use their products, and how they can improve their services. The mixes will describe and analyse the tools, plans and strategies in which RMIT can market themselves better to compete with their competitors and improve their brand within the educational industry.

Within this report, various analyses will support this report is SWOT analysis, and POSTAL analysis, external environment analysis, competitive analysis and the 7P’s marketing mix. Provided within this report are various marketing mixes and analysing strategies that will assist RMIT with their marketing growth, target market approach and target segmentation.

The recommendations are suggestions which are to assist RMIT University with their future marketing tools and strategies which RMIT can promote their brand, products and services to their prospective clients and stakeholders.

Background

RMIT University is an organisation who provides educational services to their current consumers and prospective consumers who are wanting to obtain a graduate degree or a territory degree. RMIT University was originally established in 1887, but then later officially established in 1992.

RMIT University is a globally diverse education institute, with an academic body with more than 50 per cent made up of international origin. Having this diversity within RMIT University aids the students with diverse knowledge, experience global awareness and the cultural sensitivity in which the academic bodies can bring to their teaching methods.

When RMIT was originally founded, the market considered RMIT to be a private college, but when RMIT was finally established, RMIT was then considered a public university. RMIT is classified as one of Australia’s largest dual-sector providers within the education industry.

RMIT innovates and sustains their curriculum to their students and provides their students with many learning opportunities to have state of the arch learning facilities and educational techniques. RMIT also provides emphasis and pride in their educational services to ensure their students obtain the best learning outcomes possible.

With over 130 years of being within the educational industry, RMIT continues to thrive within the educational market and continues to listen to their consumers to meet their needs and wants plays a crucial element to RMIT’s market strategy.

The demand for education in Australia is endeavour growing and is one of Australia’s biggest markets. Australia’s education attracts students from abroad to attend to the various institutes due to the teaching methods and standards of the economics within Australia.

Target Market Persona

The consumers who are targeted by RMIT are the school leavers, who are aged between 17-25 years old or international students coming from abroad who wish to study on campus, the general international students aged between 20-30 years old. These consumer groups must be made clear before all bodies of the marketing team, so then RMIT can and ensure they are meeting the marketing needs for their consumers.

Avery, (2010) had stated that marketing strategies are formulated so then the business can have a strong understanding of all the external and internal factors, and how the organisation can analyse and collect data.

When understanding the target, it is important to consider the targets achievement factors to reach the consumers’ educational outcomes and post-graduate lifecycle. The 4P’s of marketing is crucial to identifying the personas of the target market.

The 4P’s – product, price, place and promotion, is an important tool for RMIT to understand their targets persona, which is an important aspect of marketing foundation. If RMIT breaks it down to through each step, they will determine how in a daily life their products and services will benefit their consumers.

Example of this is by breaking down the 4P’s, is by the following:

• Product – Educational services through undergraduate and postgraduate, with support of academic services and student services.
• Price – The price is based upon two aspects, competitor’s prices and the economy.
• Place – On-campus facilities, Online facilities, Student Agents.
• Promotion – Advertisement, Social Media, Word-of-mouth.

RMIT must be aware of how they can target to the school leavers and the international students, they will need to be aware of how they should market themselves and provide the right services for their consumers.

Lombart (2018) argues that topic modelling approach shows results for significant factors, which impacts the helpfulness of the consumer’s reviews.

The way they can ensure they target their consumers by various segments for both consumers, which can be involved:

School leavers

• Careers expo
• VCE expo
• Domestic prospectus
• Social marketing

International students

• OSHC
• Student agent partnership
• International prospectus
• Social marketing

Adams (2019) had suggested that using ERM can be a marketing tool for the concept of research findings for the marketing leveraging resources, which can be situated outside the organisation’s boundaries.

Consumer Markets

The consumer markets are segmented by one or more of the following dimensions:

• Geographic segmentation – Geographic segmentation is divided by the market into different geographical points, such as states, regions, cities or neighbours.
• Demographic segmentation – This market is divided by the market groups based on demographic variables such as age, life cycle, gender, income and generation.
• Psychographic segmentation – Psychographic segmentation is aimed at dividing the target markets into various groups, based on lifestyle, personality or values.
• Behavioural segmentation – Behavioural segmentation aims at the markets based on knowledge, benefits, attitude, use, and the response of a product.

Varadarjan (2019) suggested that several environmental challenges will challenge the way the organisation’s status within the market.

The target markets behaviour is based on how RMIT will provide segmentation for to their target. The target persona is compiled on how RMIT will provide their services and products to meet their consumer’s needs, wants and demands.

The target persona is also based upon the demographic, behavioural and geographic of the consumers, and how it can be used to understand the student lifestyle and needs of the students.

Conlon (2016) researched that the organisation is to understand the targets personas is by understanding the B2B strategy to revenue targets and to exceed lead.

Some major crucial risk’s which RMIT can consider for their Target Markets are:

• Compliance Risks
• Financial Risks
• Operational Risks
• Strategic Risks

Melancon (2017) had believed the best way for an organisation to achieve their marketing strategy is to seek resolution to their failures, was by word-of-mouth and by the targets voice behaviours.

The target consumers can find PODs can be desirable, which means that the organisation must be able to deliver the PODs. These are the attributes that should guide RMIT during the positioning process the ultimate goal in creating a long-lasting competitive advantage and differentiation within the market clutter.

Dolnicar (2017) had suggested that target segmentation is represented by the marketing team to identify any solutions that will individually affect the consumers. Dolnicar also believed that traditional criteria can be used for segmentation solutions.

Marketing Mix Recommendations

Marketing communication represents the tone of how the RMIT will inform, persuade and remind their consumers about their products and services which is offered.

Marketing communication mix is not just about advertising, but also consists of eight modes of communication, which is; advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing, events and experiences, interactive (online) marketing, and of course word-of-mouth. Each marketer should be aware of how to use this mix effectively to communicate the value and existence of their products to their target customers.

Du (2016) had argued that going beyond the marketing mix can make an impact on the market, and how the consumers can benefit from the CSR, the consumers will get a strong trust bond with the firm.

This marketing mix is integrated to deliver a consistent message and strategic position within how RMIT is to operate. This is a starting point for the integration for any potential interactions with the target customers for the products which are offered. Marketers will also need to understand the fundamentals of effective communication to ensure their consumers are happy with their experience.

To achieve strong brand equality within the marketplace, RMIT should utilise all of their marketing communications mixes. Whether it be through advertising, public relations or even through word-of-mouth.

Pantatno (2019) believed that social media can be of great use of marketing, as social media can explore the social networks within the traditional marketing mix models.

Within RMIT’s marketing approaches, they will face many challenges and issues. RMIT must ensure they do as much marketing, analysing and research to ensure they are providing the right services and accurate products for their consumers.

Within RMIT’S market, it is be segmented by a single attribute or criterion. Within RMIT’s products, it is marketed by the demographic segmentations, and Multi-attribute segmentation (geo-clustering), due to the consumers’ lifestyle and by their target market.

RMIT can analyse their segmentation by what has worked previously for their target market personas and analysing externally what other competitors are doing to ensure they can stay ahead within the marketing approaches.

The best marketing mix for RMIT to use is the 7P’s marketing mix. This marketing mix will be able to assist RMIT with the seven core areas in which they are providing their products and services to. The 7P’s marketing mix consists of Product, Promotion, Price, Place, People, Process, Physical Evidence.

To support the 7P’s marketing mix, is the SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, external environment analysis and competitor’s analysis.

Providing these various analyses, they provide aid to the marketing mix and the target market personas, as they look in at the; needs, wants, demands, government changes, legislation changes, and changes within the market.

A key source of how RMIT can analyse the market and stay updated within the requirements is by analysing the external market and how they are approaching their consumers.

Lee (2019) has suggested that for any successful business to grow and to succeed, the MNCS (Multinational Corporations) will play a crucial role with how efficiently the customers will meet with the geographic boundaries.

There are four core analysing tools which RMIT can use within their analysing techniques are; SWOT analysis, PESTLE, Competitive analysis and external environment analysis. I believe these three analysis tools can provide RMIT with all the tools they need to stay on top of their marketing needs and also how to improve their products.

Fulgoni (2018) believed that marketing-mix models are designed to find statistical analyse data and to eliminate the impact of marketing tactics.

7P’s Marketing Mix

• Product – Delivery, Product Quality Assurance, Academic Standards.
• Price – The price is based upon two aspects, the competitor’s prices and the economy.
• Place – On-campus facilities, Online facilities, Student Agents.
• Promotion – Advertisement, Word-of-mouth.
• ople – Determine the consumer’s needs, wants and demands.
• · Physical Environment – Facilities, OHSC, academic services and student service

SWOT Analyse

PEST Analysis

External Environment Analysis

External environment analysis is an analysis which focused on micro-environmental forces, industry and competitor analysis which preview the organisation growth of RMIT University.

There six key factors which are consistent with the external environment analysis, including:

1. Economic
2. Socio-cultural
3. Demographic
4. Political/Legal
5. Technological
6. Global

Using the external environment analysis provides an understanding of the macro-environmental forces that RMIT faces and to understand their competitor’s threats within the market.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis discuses crucial factors about the competitors, such as product pricing, target markets, consumers and strategic partnerships. Illustrating these factors of the competitors will set the standards of the competitive edge of the successful market of the services and products provided by RMIT.

Summary

• Monash University
• University of New South Wales
• Monash University is a much older university compared to RMIT, but RMIT is more highly ranked.
• Monash University has major facilities, such as Monash Law School, Australian Stem Cell Centre, and Monash Science Technology.
• Monash offers courses in both undergraduate and postgraduate.
• University of New South Wales is another university that is older than RMIT, but UNSW is less successful.
• UNSW offers class-based lectures and online learning, but for selected courses.
• UNSW offers undergraduate courses and postgraduate courses.

Target Consumer

• International students, School leavers and Domestic students wishing to study a degree.
• Worldwide presence
• International students, School leavers and Domestic students wishing to study a degree.
• Worldwide presence

Product or Service

• Educational services/products
• Academic services
• Careers Advice
• Student Services
• Educational services/products
• Academic services
• Careers Advice
• Student Services

General Marketing Strategy

• Offshore partnerships
• Agent partnerships
• Online marketing
• Ad marketing
• Career expos
• Offshore partnerships
• Agent partnerships
• Online marketing
• Career expos

Strengths

• Diverse Academic board
• Well-known university
• Facilities
• Advertisement
• Testimony
• Extensive history in the education industry
• Diverse Academic board
• User-friendly website Facilities
• Testimony
• Extensive history in the education industry

Weaknesses

• Online marketing
• Facilities
• Online learning
• Facilities
• Partnerships
• Online marketing
• Online learning

Competitive Advantage

• Well established university
• Courses offered
• Well established university
• Courses offered

Efanny (2018) believed that the elements of marketing can play a significant impact on how the organisation is viewed by the public. These marketing elements can consist of distribution strategy, supplier image, and push and pull promotions.

Pricing & Positioning

Pricing and positioning are an important part of how RMIT will attract more consumers and will understand their target market.

Pricing reflects on the sum of various values and benefits in which will provide the consumer such as purchase experience, value, communication and influence of the market.

When increasing or decreasing the price of a product, the functional-use value will have to change to balance the perception of the value of money. When the price is lowered, it is to bear the competition, but this will also provide giveaways to the organisation to avoid damaging their perception of quality and value of services.

When RMIT decides to initiate a price change, the university must consider their customers, market, and competitors’ reactions. The customer’s reactions will be influenced by the way they are affected by the price change. The competitor’s reaction will flow from a set of reactions, they will look at their polluting and find a fresh appraisal for the situation and how they can be competitive.

Positioning is composed into three simple steps, which is involved in:

1. Identify the frame concerning the target markets and the competition.
2. Determine the points-of-parity and points-of- difference.
3. Communicate the organisations market position and the essence of the brand to their target market. RMIT’s product-position enables the organisation to plan their competitive marketing strategies.

Target Market

The target market is aimed at School leavers aged between 17-25 years of age and international students. Many students who are school leavers and international wish to study on-campus so than they receive the best academic services via academic staff through lecturers and tutorials.

Some students who are of mature age or mums who are working part time, are looking for education providers who offer online services. Some competitors have not identified their marketing as online learning university. A possible reason for this is because of the diverse academic services being offered on-campus by the two universities, making it difficult for the two to develop a consensus target audience.

The target segmentation is aimed at the consumer market is recommended to the consumers who have the educated background, who are wishing to peruse further studies to obtain a better knowledge within their professional work and to also better themselves academically.

Consumers

The consumers who are involved, are members of the student community who wish to improve their knowledge and to obtain a graduate degree, whether its school leavers, international students or mature age students. The consumers are wishing to study within the Australian Academic framework to gain a tertiary qualification to obtain a better work profession, for the consumers to this can expand the target market, by expanding the demands, and the economy.

The consumers have chosen the products of the university based on the course description, course outcomes, university background, university rank and academic services provided.

Students who study abroad gain extra knowledge of diversity, career opportunities, enhance different language skills, make lifelong friends, personal development, and life experience.

Strategic Partnerships

Partnerships with the university is a great way to bring the products to the consumers when they are looking for a university to study within the Australian Academic framework, this can also expand the target market to those that may not have considered university.

The partners that have been chosen for products within their business practice are student agents and academic bodies, who are bringing students abroad to gain extra knowledge and who would like to study abroad at an educational provider.

Overall, customer personas will be developed by the distinguish partnerships which are needing to be established and maintained. This will allow the RMIT to strategically focus on targeting the audience more effectively.

Conclusion

In conclusion, RMIT is an inferred within both the business and education industry which aims themselves with proving the best education services and products to their students to obtain a great academic life. RMIT University has one of the highest visions and values within the educational sector, which enables the university to develop the right development drive of diversity, academic studies and comprehensiveness.

Grewal (2018) findings had suggested that there are two metatheory’s which consist of MNC factors, which is Economic elements and Social elements.

The biggest strength that RMIT University has to offer, is the increasing number of students from school leavers, international students and domestic students who would like to attend the university, and RMIT also has several beneficial factors for the organisation. The way RMIT university enforces their teaching methods and inspires their students, both RMIT and the students can achieve greatness.

References

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Critical Analysis of the Target Market for Plastic Whale

The target market for Plastic Whale (PW) identified in report 1 is high school students in Sydney. This segment is most appropriate as PW is driven by environmental concern of global warming and population, which is in correlation with the Australian youth’s values. The recognition of youth activism was validated in 2009 when children were given official constituency status by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Fisher.S, 2015). It is clear that governmental bodies are slowly recognising the importance of youth activists in climate change decision-making. The Australian youth engagement in this activism was highly evident when Sydney high school students participated in the protest for climate change in October 2019 which had over 10,000 school student protesters. In a study by Camilla Schreiner (2018), one of the key findings was that peers respect those who are concerned about the environment and do not perceive them as controversial or radical. Peers who are concerned with the environment are held in high regards by fellow peers. Therefore, this target market is driven and perceived as popular among their peers. The consumers of high school students are aged between 12-18, being both males and females. However, studies conclude that girls are more likely to hold a ‘pessimistic future images’ when compared to boys their age. (Eckersley, 1999). Through identifying a target market, PW should seek to differentiate themselves from other social enterprises such as 4ocean, Sand Cloud and United By Blue, while also establishing its competitive advantage. The competitive advantages for PW would be the popular location of Sydney Harbour, the benefits to the economics, the social activism. However, to create superior customer value, PW should focus on two of these advantages: the activism of climate change and the education and awareness that stems from their program. When compared to their competitors, it is clear that PW allows customers to experience and be among the process, fostering a sense of community and belonging, which ultimately leads to customs loyalty to PW. PW should adopt the following positioning statement: ’Plastic Whale will stand alongside the ambitious youth wanting to lead their generation to a brighter and greener future through sociable activism of cleaning the waters of Sydney Harbour and spreading awareness so that the youth can and will be heard.’

Sales promotion has been defined as ‘a direct inducement that offers an extra value or incentive for the product to the sales force, distributors, or the final consumer with the primary objective of creating an immediate sale’ (Haugh 1983). There are many ways PW can benefit from sale promotions such as encouraging consumers’ behavioral responders such as ‘brand switching, stockpiling, purchase acceleration, product trial and spending larger amounts’ (Mittal, M. and Sethi, P., 2011). One strategy that stems from sales promotion that PW should incorporate in their marketing is buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO). BOGO should be offered to potential clients at the regular price which will contribute value to the service. This strategy will persuade consumers to buy into the service as an additional amount is given free of charge. BOGO will be every effective as their tours go off in groups making it a social activity, therefore customers are not likely to be individual buyers but in a pair of a group, therefore BOGO would be a great way to promote the project, particularly if Plastic Whale are worried about the appeal of picking up rubbish. Among all sale promotions strategies, BOGO deals are among the most effective promotional methods that are suitable for PW. This strategy will not cost Plastic Whale anything as it’s designed to increase revenue as well as awareness therefore they minimise the potential of losing business. BOGO always encourages purchase acceleration as it is also a great way to fill their schedules during their launch in Sydney Harbour or getting new clients during the slow season. BOGO will also help with purchase accelerations and increase brand awareness as customers purchase a product at an earlier time (Shoemaker 1979) as the result of a sales promotion. The target market are millennials who thrive in the social context so it is most likely they will ask for friends to tag along and organise a group to participate. BOGO will encourage them to get their friends and family involved. Due to how PW is a service based business, during the off-season, BOGO deal will be well worth the investment if it leads to new customers in the long run. Another sales promotion strategy that should be implemented is customers loyalty programs. The use of customer loyalty programs should be employed by PW as a tool for creating relationships with their customers, which encourages customer loyalty (Roking 2005). Customer loyalty is an important issue for the success of PW as researchers have found that drawing in new customers is more expansion than keeping existing ones (Singh & Imran 2012). In fact, Singh & Imran (2012) have estimated that on average online companies lose 25% of their customers every year, and a small increase in customer retention can increase profits by more than 25%. Loyalty programs are effective in creating long term customer relationships because when customers develop trust with a company, they are ready to forget any other competitors offer. Additonilty, the need for climate change will always be relevant and trending, therefore encouraging more protests and activism which PW can benefit from. The profile of the target market as young citizens of Australia, they are likely to regularly contribute to the activism and clean up of Sydney hence they should be benefited from their contribution by PW. Hence, BOGO and customer loyalty programs should be incorporated by PW during their launch in Sydney Harbour in order to encourage consumers’ behavioral response to the brand and accelerate the purchase rate and increase brand awareness.

Direct and digital marketing should be considered as it will allow PW to interact directly with their target market, individuals customers and communities, which will act as an immediate response and build on a long term relationship with their customers. By using social media as a form of digital marketing, PW will be able to allow the target market to potentially engage in interactions which on another were they can communicate on and participate in decision forums, discussing PW and the issues that are arising from Climate Change. These interactions between potential users will be mostly synchronous and, because they rely on database information, they are conducted on a one-to-one basis and generate a measurable response, or fulfilment. One social media platform that should be utilised is Facebook. Facebook is a platform that is commonly used for creating large events and groups such as protests, environmental activist groups, youth in Sydney groups etc. In these groups, people can create events, discussion forums, image and videos content etc. The event function allows people to see who is in a group or will be attending an event as there is a going,maybe and not going responding feature which users can express their intention on events. This tool also shows the amount of people who are going to events which encourages and influences users to attend events. Facebook event tools were used for organising the Sydney Climate Change protest in 2019 therefore the target market is familiar with the platform. Through the social media platform of FaceBook, PW can convey a strong existence and friendly customer relationship. PW should take advantage of the platform as they can establish and enhance their brand image. PW can also create facebook groups of people of similar interest and create a network. With the invite feature on FaceBook, PW should invite these individuals who were in the Climate Change protest event in 2019. This invitation will supply a direct link to those who are interested and redirect them to the PW facebook page. Targeted Advertising, according to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook is working on a system to allow targeted advertising to specific networks of people with similar interests. Social-networking Web site Facebook Inc. is quietly working on a new advertising system that would let marketers target users with ads based on the massive amounts of information people reveal on the site about themselves. Eventually, it hopes to refine the system to allow it to predict what products and services users might be interested in even before they have specifically mentioned an area. Facebook Advertising campaign (online) to promote the offline event. And during the event (offline), collecting personal details of leads such as emails and phone numbers to follow up through email and mobile marketing (online).

Advertisements should be used by PW in order to increase brand awareness and brand exposure in their target market. Advertising will inform potential customers about PW and their service which is the first step towards attaining PW’s goals and objectives. These advertisements will be used to persuade customers to form a brand image and develop a favourable attitude towards PW. Due to how PW target market is high school students living in the city region of Sydney, a promotional strategy used could be transit advertising. Because PW’s target market is high school students, the advertisement will depict teenagers of both genders and different nationalities. This will evoke a sense of youth and community that PW is trying to capture. The image should capture the protesting, holding up signs for Climate Change. Transit advertising provides frequent exposure to a large number of residents in different urban regions. The target market frequently catches public transport to and from school everyday thus being exposed to PW advertisements. In order to launch a successful transit advertising, the advertiser needs to select several bus routes with the consideration of various factors in different scenarios, such as the topic of ads, the launching area and the role of bus stations (the station is a transfer hub or not). For example, it is easy to understand that hub stations are more important than common stations for advertising, i.e. to launch an ad to a bus route which contains many hub stations is more effective than to a bus route which contains many common stations. The reason is that more passengers who make a transfer at the hub stations will notice the ads. Based on that, the final solution should satisfy some conditions, such as maximizing passenger coverage or targeted region coverage. Hence these routines should be located on the east and inner west side of Sydney which is where predominantly most of the target market attend school. This will reinforce the brand message and to reassure the existing and potential customers about the brand vision. Advertising helps the brand to maintain top of mind awareness and to avoid competitors stealing the customers. This also helps in the word of mouth marketing.

In conclusion, the three main marketing tools that PW should incorporate in their marketing is sales promotion, advertising and direct and digital marketing. Sales promotion offers PW an extra value or incentive for their service to the sales force, distributors, or the final consumer with the primary objective of creating an immediate sale. There are many ways PW can benefit from sale promotions such as encouraging consumers’ behavioral responders such as brand switching, purchase acceleration and product trial. Sale promotion strategies such as BOGO should be offered to potential clients at the regular price which will contribute value to the service. This strategy will persuade consumers to buy into the service as an additional amount is given free of charge. Direct and digital marketing should be considered as it will allow PW to interact directly with their target market, individuals customers and communities, which will act as an immediate response and build on a long term relationship with their customers. By using social media as a form of digital marketing, PW will be able to allow individuals and groups to interact with one another and with marketing organisations, ranging from not-for-profit organisations to commercial suppliers of goods and services. Advertisements should be used by PW in order to increase brand awareness and brand exposure in their target market. Advertising will inform potential customers about PW and their service which is the first step towards attaining PW’s goals and objectives. These advertisements will be used to persuade customers to form a brand image and develop a favourable attitude towards PW. Transit advertising provides frequent exposure to a large number of residents in different urban regions. The target market frequently catches public transport to and from school everyday thus being exposed to PW advertisements.

Market Segmentations and Target Market Analysis of Infinix Smartphones in Nigeria

Executive Summary

This study is aimed at providing a strategic marketing report to the board of directors of Infinix mobile Nigeria, and in doing so several important analyses has been done.

The first set of analysis performed was market segmentation and market targeting of infinix mobile customers which involved placing customers into certain groups or categories based on common attributes which they may possess after which a particular target was chosen in view of focusing on providing the utmost satisfaction towards that group. `

The consumer behaviour of the targeted market group was also critically analysed and the result of the analysis showed that the target group purchase behaviour was greatly influenced by factors such as aesthetics, price and features of smartphone brands. In light of the above analysis, a three year marketing objective was proposed with the aid of a SWOT analysis and BCG matrix. An appropriate marketing mix comprising of product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence was also proposed in view of infinix organisational objective.

Introduction

Infinix mobile is a smartphone manufacturing company based on Hong Kong founded in 2012 by Transsion Holdings. It range of smartphones are designed in France with its research and development centres scattered around china. Infinix smartphones are predominately sold and are available in the Middle East and Africa, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Egypt. Infinix mobile has subsidiaries in over 30 countries, and this report will focus on its overall marketing activities in Nigeria which has the largest customer base of the Infinix smartphones among all subsidiaries. (Wikipediaorg. 2019).

With its Headquarters in Pudong New District, Shanghai, China, the company is currently been led by Benjamin Jiang (CEO), its main aim and objective is to become the leading phone manufacturer in the various areas of operations (Business standard 2019). Some of the applied strategies for achieving this include provision of cheap, cost effective and customised operating system software accompanied with unique and innovative hardware designs.

Key to Infinix’s relative high success rate over a short period of time has been its ability to provide quality smartphones with different software and hardware specifications as well as costs to cater for the needs of a wide range of individuals. Its various smartphone brands include the Infinix’s Hot series, Note series, Zero series and Smart series (Intogeeknet. 2018).

Market segementation and target market analysis of Infinix smartphones in Nigeria

Market segmentation can be said to be a component of market research that seeks to identify targeted groups of consumers with the aim of tailoring products and branding in a way that is attractive to the group. In other words, Market segmentation is a process of aggregating prospective buyers into segments with identical needs and who respond similarly to a marketing action. The aim of market segmentation is to reduce risk to its barest minimum by determining which products have the best chances for gaining a substantial share of a target market and determining the best way to deliver the products to the market (Investopediacom. 2019).

Most of the earlier segmentation methods were based on external considerations such as economic (Kotler, 1986); geographic (Daniels, 1987) and culture (Whitlock, 1987). Recent research studies have shown that these pre-determined bases are inadequate for segmentation without taking into account consumer behaviour (Helsen et al., 1994; Nachum, 1994).

[image: Image result for diagram of market segmentation process]Fig 1

In view of the above findings, a varied segmentation pattern consisting of various segmentation types such as geographic, demographic, behavioural and phycographic parameters will be used in performing market segmentation for Infinix mobile phones.

Market segmentation of infinix mobile phones

Segmentation type

Criteria

Infinix target customer segement

Hot series; hot 4, 4pro,5, 5pro ,6, 6pro,6x, hot 7

Note series; 3,4,5stylus, 5pro

Zero series;

Smart series; smart 2, smart 3, 3x

Geography

Region density

Urban/rural

Urban

Urban/rural

Urban

Demography

• Age
• Gender
• Occupation

18+

Male/female

Students, Employee, Professional

25+

Male/female

Employee, Professionals

16- 25

Male/female

Students, Employee

16-25

Male/female

Students, Employees, Professionals

Behavioural

• Benefit sought
• User status
• Loyalty

Cost effective, convenience, sense of achievement, long lasting battery life, camera quality

First-timers, regular and new potential users

Switchers

Convenience, flexibility, sense of achievement, camera quality, long lasting battery life, unique hardware design

Regular and new potential users

Hard core Brand loyals

Cost effective, long lasting battery life

First-timers, new potential users

Switchers

Cost effective, long lasting battery life, flexibility

First-timers & regular

Swithers

Phycography

• Social class
• Life style

Upper, working & middle class

Mainstreamer

Explorer

Reformer

succeeder

Working class & middle class

Explorer

Reformer

succeeder

Lower & middle class

Mainstreamer

Explorer

middle & upper class

Mainstreamer

Explorer

Reformer

Fig 1 above show the segmentation of Infinix smart phone users in Nigeria based varied segmentation types. The data above also show details of various brands target market with regards to their micro environment as reflected through the customer’s loyalty, life style, occupation etc.

Target marketing and Infinix mobile target market analysis

Target marketing refers to the identification of a group of buyers sharing common needs or traits that a company decides to serve (Kotler, Armstrong, & Starr, 1991), it forms the basic driving force of an organisation success. The target market serves as a focal point within a marketing plan which determines other important factors for the product, such as distribution, price, and promotion efforts; as a matter of fact the target market also determines significant factors about the product itself (Investopediacom. 2019). say for instance, the kind of customers been targeted may influence the kind of specifications and design incorporated into various products such as phones, cars and even perishable products like milk etc.

Target market analysis

From the table of data above it is clear that Infinix mobile cater for a large range of customer targets via its various brands of smartphones, to better understand its target market, an analysis of the various target market component will be carried out with regards to the who, what, when, where and why factors associated to its current and potential customer base.

Who are the potential customers? Infinix mobile target customers range from late teen (16+) to the very old as long as they can operate its various devices! Some of its brands targeting the younger target market include the Infinix Zero and Smart series, and this is due to the fact that they are made specifically to meet the immediate needs of millennials who are majorly students, more connected socially and are drivers of socio-cultural and technological changes. The slightly older and more mature target segment tends to be brand loyalists, professionals, explorers and in most cases working class customers who go for brands which gives a mixture of sense of belonging and overall high advanced functionality and quality.

What is the motivational factor? The major motivational factor influencing customers stems from the fact that infinix smartphones generally tend to have a larger battery life combined with dual network sim carrier slots which is viewed as a big bonus in a country like Nigeria where power supply and cellular network can be quite erratic. Other motivational factors also stems from the fact that infinix smartphone incorporates innovative designs and technology to its devices that can rival more established smartphones like iPhone and Samsung which are far more expensive for the average Nigerian.

When do customers purchase the product? Fortunately, the infinix mobile brands are available all year round. Although latest versions of each brand are released sequentially one after the other, customers can purchase the smartphones at any time.

Where can the smartphones be purchased? Been flexible in its business models, give infinix customers the ability to purchase it’s smartphone from any mobile retail outlets across the country as well as online.

Why does this target markets choose infinix? This is primarily due to a combination of factors such as affordability, durability, flexibility and simplicity which the infinix mobile brands offer to a higher degree of satisfaction compared to other competitors.

Consumer behaviour of Infinix smartphones targeted customers

It is an obvious fact that no marketer can truly satisfy the entire needs or wants of any particular individual or population (Mawoli & Abdulsalam, 2012). Therefore for a business firm to achieve maximum profit there has to be greater focus on a particular target market in order to better serve their needs. In light of this, this report will focus on young adults between the age of 18 and 30 as the target market customers of infinix smartphones this is because when it comes to the average age of a Nigerian citizen, the country is relatively young. The median age of the country is actually 18.4 years of age (Worldpopulationreviewcom. 2019), and with this comes greater opportunity to exploit due to the natural tendency of this group to be more open minded to change and wiliness to explore.

Consumer behaviour involves studying how consumer buys, what they buy, when they buy and why they buy. Consumer buying behaviour is influenced by two major factors; these factors are individual factors which include but not limited to demographics, consumer Knowledge, perception, learning, motivation, personality, beliefs, attitudes and life styles and environmental factors such as culture, social class, reference group, family and household (Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, 2006). Kotler and Armstrong (2010) recognize five stages of consumer decision process, which include need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behaviour. In view of this it must be noted that every individual do have varied and quite unlimited demands and satisfactory needs.

In the case of Nigeria, the demand for smartphones especially among young adults between the age of 18 and 30 is increasing drastically (Okoye, 2013). In Nigeria, smartphones are majorly used to access social media platforms or applications and the larger percentage of the users are young adults (Blessobi, 2012). Also, Nigeria has the second fastest Smartphone market penetrations in Africa after South Africa (Osuagwu, 2014). Several theoretical models have been proposed and applied over the years with the aim of understanding the consumer behaviour towards smartphone purchases by young adults and one of such study done in Malaysia by Chow, Chen, Yeow and Wang (2012), conceptualized that product features, brand name, price and social influences are the determining factors of Smartphone purchasing behaviour among young adults.

Fig 2: Model of smartphone purchase behaviour adapted from Chow, M.M.; Chen, L.H; Yeow, J.A. & Wong, P.W. (2012)

A similar but slightly varied model was proposed and applied by Adeola and Chioma (2016) for studying customer behaviour among young adults in Nigeria universities. They conceptualised that the purchase behaviour of young adults depends on five factors namely features, price, brand, social influence and aesthetics.

Fig 3 adapted from Adeola and Chioma (2016)

The result of the study done by Adeola and Chioma (2016) showed that smartphone features, price and aesthetics where strong determinant influencing the purchase behaviour of university students (young adults) in Nigeria, while social influences and brand name were not tangible factors that could persuade them to by a particular kind of smartphone. In view of the above findings with regards to the target market of Infinix in Nigeria, adopting a customised marketing mix which leverages on its smartphone features, price and aesthetics will be crucial in gaining more market share in Nigeria, thereby expediting Infinix’s objective of been the top smartphone provider in the country.

Proposed marketing objectives

The marketing objective of any firm usually set out what a business wants to achieve from its marketing activities. This calls for consistency with regards to the overall aims and objectives of the business. To better relate this, a SWOT and BCG analysis will be done to identify the major objectives which Infinix should pursue for its proposed three year marketing objectives.

Infinix SWOT analysis

STRENGHT

WEAKNESS

OPPORTUNITY

THREATS

• Trusted brand
• Relative high marker share
• Long lasting battery life
• Dual network sim slots
• Customised android operating system
• Cheap and affordable
• Wide range of brands and specification
• Innovative but simple designs
• Durability of products
• Flexibility of device due to android OS
• Still considered inferior to more established brands like iPhone and Samsung
• Its customised operating system may pose challenges to first time users and new potential customers
• Smaller storage capacity of its ROM & RAM
• Diverse brands may be a conundrum for buyers with little knowledge brand specs
• Operating in a society which are predominately switchers
• Diversification of brands specs
• Partnership with network carries
• More innovative designs unique to brands
• Opening of specialised retail outlets
• Customisation of own messaging platform like the iPhone’s facetime and BBM
• Threats from competitors with similar brands
• Treats from new market entries which could reduce infinix’s market share
• Change in laws which could raise cost of phones, since they are produced and assembled outside Nigeria
• Harsh economic situations may affect purchasing power of customers.

BCG Portfolio analysis of infinix smartphones

Star

Note series

Problem child

Smart series

Cash cow

Hot series

Dog

Zero series

Star = high market share & high growth rate

Cash cow = high market share & low growth rate

Problem child = low market share & high growth rate

Dog = low market share & low growth rate

The SWOT analysis and BTG matrix was used because they both serve as a quick means to evaluate the internal (strength & weakness), external (opportunities & threats) and overall brand portfolio of Infinix smartphones with the aim of identifying major objective to be pursued. In view of the above findings, the following three year marketing objective is been proposed to the board of directors of infinix Nigeria.

Time frame (months)

Marketing objective

Justification

0 – 6

Establishing consumer brand loyalty

Aimed at retaining and attracting new potential customers

6 – 18

Increase customer service outlets nationwide

Aimed at establishing customers relationship, which can be beneficial in acquiring loyal customer base and sourcing for information from customers on future changes which may be needed to gain greater customer satisfaction

18 – 36

Increase market share of Smart series brand while divesting the Zero series

Aimed at investing resources on the Smart series, in view of increasing its market share while eliminating any business investment which may pose hindrances to infinix organisational objectives.

Critical examination of proposed Infinix mobile marketing mix

Marketing mix elements serves as means to an end; they pave way for marketing managers to achieve organizational goals and objectives through proper planning (Mohammad. 2015). McCarthy and Perreault (1987) defined marketing mix as those controllable variables deployed by organisations to satisfy target market. A major disagreement in literature regarding what consists of the controllable variables as pointed by Rafiq and Ahmed (1995) has till to this day remained a topic for debate. Booms and Bitner (1981) extended the 4Ps marketing mix to include process, physical evidence and people, to reflect service industry. With regards to this study, a critical examination of the proposed, marketing mix comprising of product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence will be done.

Product: Infinix product range is majorly designed to appeal to young adults, due to the ever growing size of this group of targets in Nigeria, it will be wise to make infinix brand with features which distinguish it from other competitors while give the customers a sense of value, some of the proposed strategies could include incorporation of social media and messaging platforms unique to its brands or a consumer-product service rating systems.

Price: Price plays an important factor in shaping the perception of a product in the eyes of consumers, and at such its makes it paramount to adjust the price of infinix brands to reflect is existing consumer perception. This could be done by increasing the price of its Hot series due to the well-developed trust customers seems to have hence is evolution into a cash cow and reduction in price of the Smart series since has a relative lower market share.

Place: With regards to the very competitive nature of the smartphone market, Infinix mobile will have to embark on an intensive distribution model which could be via opening of more distribution stores and online distribution and sales platform.

Promotion: With the aim of boosting its various brands recognition and sales it will be recommended to infinix to pursue diversified advertising platforms such as television, radio, print media and internet advertising. With regards to its Smart series, more sale promotion should be done while public relations through sponsorship deals, exhibition and seminars.

People: Satisfaction of customer’s needs, do depends on having the right people for the job, and in order to archive this infinix will need to hire and provide adequate training people for running its customers service and support desk.

Process: With the aim of reducing cost and maximising profit, it is been proposed that infinix do embark on enhancing its distribution channels via methods which are time and cost effective (e.g. e-marketing & online advertising).

Physical evidence: In an ever evolving market where more and more potential customers rely on physical evidence before buying a particular product, it is been proposed that infinix advertising should be based on its unique aesthetics features and service environment.

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Target Market Analysis of Lockheed Martin Corporation

A target market can be defined as a group of customers that a company decided to sell its products and services to. It also can be defined as a group of consumers that like to buy the products that produce by the company. This group of customers or consumers usually shares similar features and characteristics such as gender, age, location, income and others.

Major Customers of Lockheed Martin

Customer can be defined as an individual or organization that buy another company’s goods or services. Customers are important for a company because they helps to increase the revenues and profits of the company; without them, the company may cannot continue to carry out the businesses. Therefore, to make sure the company will continue exist, they will always do their best to attract the customers. For examples, maybe they will put more effort in advertising the products through media social and media traditional or they will lower the prices to expand their customer base. As an information, there are 5 major customers of Lockheed Martin: United States Air Force (USAF), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), Israeli Air Force (IAF), Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Navy (USN).

United States Air Force (USAF)

The United States Air Force (USAF) is known as one of the major parts of the United States armed forces. Their primary responsibility are for air warfare, air defense, and the development of military space research. Besides that, United States Air Force also supply air services in coordination with the other military branches. The reason why United States Air Force can be defined as a major customer of Lockheed Martin is because they purchases many aircraft products from Lockheed Martin. As an illustration, they purchased attack aircraft which is Lockheed AC-130 from Lockheed Martin to attack the targets on the ground. They also purchased transport aircraft which are Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Lockheed C-5 Galaxy and Lockheed Martin C-130 J Super Hercules from Lockheed Martin to deliver troops, weapons and other military device to any area of military operations around the world. Next, United States Air Force has purchased electronic warfare aircraft which is Lockheed Martin EC-130 from Lockheed Martin to transmit critical information to anyone who needs it and fighter aircraft which are Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning ll from Lockheed Martin to use for air-to-air fighting. Moreover, they purchased search and rescue aircraft which is Lockheed HC-130 from Lockheed Martin to carry out search and rescue. They also purchased multi-mission aircraft which is Lockheed MC-130 from Lockheed Martin to provide support for global special operations missions. Lastly, United States Air Forced purchased reconnaissance aircraft which are Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel and Lockheed U-2 for monitoring foe activity whereas to study meteorological events, they purchased weather reconnaissance aircraft which is Lockheed WC-130 from Lockheed Martin.

Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF)

Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) also can be known as Japanese Air Force. They are the aviation division of the Japan Self-Defense Forces that responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace and other aerospace operations. They carries out combat air patrols around Japan and also maintaining a wide network of land and air early warning radar systems. The reason why Japan Air Self-Defense Force can be defined as a major customer of Lockheed Martin is because they purchases many aircraft products from Lockheed Martin. As an illustration, they purchased combat aircraft which is Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning ll, tanker which is Lockheed Martin KC-130 with the transport aircraft which is Lockheed C-130 Hercules from Lockheed Martin.

Israeli Air Force (IAF)

The Israeli Air Force can be known as one of the world’s most powerful aerial fighting forces. They played an important role in securing the country’s numerous military victories since the State of Israel was establish. Now, the Israeli Air Force still remains as a backbone of the Israel Defense Forces to prevent terrorist threats and ensuring Israel’s strategic advantage in wartime. The reason why Israeli Air Force can be defined as a major customer of Lockheed Martin is because they purchases many aircraft products from Lockheed Martin. As an illustration, they purchased combat aircraft which is Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning ll, tanker which is Lockheed Martin KC-130 with the transport aircraft which are Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules from Lockheed Martin.

Royal Air Force (RAF)

Royal Air Force (RAF) is the youngest of the three British armed services, they are in-charged with the air defense of the United Kingdom and the performance of international defense commitments. They can be known as the world’s oldest independent air force. The reason why Royal Air Force can be defined as a major customer of Lockheed Martin is because they purchases many aircraft products from Lockheed Martin. As an illustration, they purchased fighter which are Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning ll and Lockheed P-38 Lightning from Lockheed Martin. They also purchased maritime petrol which is Lockheed P-2 Neptune and medium bomber which is Lockheed Ventura from Lockheed Martin. Lastly, they also purchased transport aircraft which are Lockheed Hudson, Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Lockheed Lodestar and Lockheed TriStar from Lockheed Martin.

United States Navy (USN)

The United States Navy is the major branch of the United States armed forces. They are in-charged with the defense of the country at sea, the seaborne support of the other U.S. military services, and the maintenance of security on the seas wherever the interests of the United States extend. The reason why United States Navy can be defined as a major customer of Lockheed Martin is because they purchases many aircraft products from Lockheed Martin. As an illustration, they purchased combat aircraft which is Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning ll and electronic warfare which is Lockheed EP-3 from Lockheed Martin. Next, they also purchased medium bomber which is Lockheed Ventura and maritime patrol which are Lockheed P-3 Orion and Lockheed P-2 Neptune from Lockheed Martin. Last but not least, United States Navy purchased transport aircraft which are Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules from Lockheed Martin.

Types of Product that Lochheed Martin Sells to Their Customers

The products that sells by Lockheed Martin can be categorized into 4 types which are: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control (MFC), Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) and Space Systems.

Aeronautics

Lockheed’s Aeronautics business is a business that produce advanced military aircraft, unmanned air vehicles, and related technologies by undergoes some processes which are study, design, development, manufacture, integration, sustainment, support and upgrade. The examples of aeronautics products are C-130J Super Hercules, C-5 Galaxy, F-16 Bulgaria, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-21, F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II and others.

Missiles and Fire Control (MFC)

Lockheed’s Missiles and Fire Control business offers a multiple range of products and services such as air and missile defense systems, logistics, fire control systems, mission operations support, manned and unmanned ground vehicles, and energy management solutions. In addition, the examples of missiles and fire control products are Dual Mode Laser Guided Bomb (DMLGB), F-35 Lightning II Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS), IRST21 Sensor System, Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) and others.

Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS)

Lockheed’s Rotary and Mission Systems business offers design, manufacture, service and support for some areas like military and commercial helicopters; ship and submarine systems, sea and land-based missile defense systems, and cybersecurity. There are some examples of Rotary and Mission Systems which are C4ISR, Cyber Solutions, Directed Energy, Electronic Warfare, Maritime System and others.

Space Systems

Lockheed’s Space business deal with a wide range of activities such as the development and production of satellites, space transportation systems, and defensive systems. Besides, various classified systems and services in support of vital national security systems also is the responsibility of this segment. The examples of space are Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) Services, Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS), Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Australian Space Environment Research Centre (SERC) and GeoCarb.

Total Revenue that Lockheed Martin Receive from Customer in Year 2019

The total revenue that make by Lockheed Martin can be categorized into four segments which are Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems and Space Systems. In year 2019, Lockheed Martin’s 4 segments successful make 59.81 billion USD from the customers. This includes 23.69 billion USD (40%) from Aeronautics, 10.13 billion USD (17%) from Missiles and Fire Control, 15.13 billion USD (25%) from Rotary and Mission Systems and 10.86 billion USD (18%) from Space Systems. Based on the information, it shows that Lockheed Martin can earn the most revenue from Aeronautics and the least revenue from Missiles and Fire Control.