MARKETING STRATEGIES ABSTRACT Marketing strategies should be turned into specific action programs that answer the following questions: What will be done? When will it be done? Who is responsible for doing it? And how much will it cost? For example, the manager may want to increase the sales promotion as a key strategy for winning market share. A sales promotion action plan should be drawn up to outline special offers and their dates, trade shows entered, new point-of-purchase displays and other promotions. The action plans show when activities will be started, reviewed and completed. The Internet has become a global revolution and that it is inconceivable right now to think of any other way to exchange software and data files through any other means. Whats even more amazing is that things are also being moved through the use of Internet. The B & H Incorporateds Home Office recognizes the computing product lines is in charged of conceptualizing marketing strategies to sell its desktop PCs, notebook computers and handheld microcomputers. This paper looks into the viability of targeting three generational groups but zeroing in on the parent who needs all the information both at work and at home.
Once a marketing strategy is in place, you must get your organization committed to making it work. I know that the commitment must start at the top. Great marketing strategies are never easy, and the most innovative ones involve the most risk. The game plan must cater to the buyer of the products. In this respect, it must be user-friendly to the customercustomer-friendly. To achieve this is hard work.
No matter how many hardships are placed upon the organization, the new system must be easy for the customer. The marketing strategy must never be built around what is convenient. As a member of a team that has been assigned to develop marketing strategies for B & H Incorporateds home office computing product lines, I will help outline the broad marketing strategy or game plan for attaining the objectives in terms of the conception of marketing strategies for B & H Incorporateds home office computing product lines. The marketing strategy should detail the market segments on which the company will focus. These segments differ in their needs and wants, responses to marketing and profitability. The company would be smart to put its effort and energy into those market segments it can best serve from a competitive point of view, and then develop a marketing strategy for each targeted segment. As one of the team members involved in developing marketing strategies, I must outline specific strategies for such marketing mix elements as new products, field sales, advertising, sales promotion, prices and distribution.
The manager should explain how each strategy responds to thr threats, opportunities and critical issues spelled out earlier in the plan. I believe that the single greatest challenge in todays competitive marketplace is for this company to continue to raise the bar so everybody has a chance to jump higher and higher. Great plans for this company is never easy, but with hard work and the right marketing strategies, they are attainable and produce great return. Action programs Marketing strategies should be turned into specific action programs that answer the following questions: What will be done? When will it be done? Who is responsible for doing it? And how much will it cost? For example, the manager may want to increase the sales promotion as a key strategy for winning market share. A sales promotion action plan should be drawn up to outline special offers and their dates, trade shows entered, new point-of-purchase displays and other promotions. The action plans shows when activities will be started, reviewed and completed.
In promoting the products, I would choose to market notebook computers to my parents, children and to myself. I am selecting any or all of these groups since it would be valuable for people always on the go. But if I were to be more specific, I will market the notebook computers to myself. People at my age would need notebook computers more than any other group. I am able to identify the reasons because I am aware of the attributes that are essential to implementing a successful marketing strategy and I would implement that to convince parents to buy the Desktop PCs. They would not really need the notebook computers to or handheld microcomputers because parents are on the go always.
1. Identify your customers needs and find a way to fulfill them. I must begin with this foundationor my marketing strategy is doomed to fall. If the competition has already succeeded in meeting the number one need, one must decide to address it better or become a niche player. 2. Establish ones own identity by creating a unique selling position.
One must clearly communicate ones customers at a level they understand what one offers that makes one different from ones competition. 3. Educate the consumer that you exist. Here, you must cut through the clutter to communicate to your targeted customer that you have something to offer that he or she wants. When you introduce a new product, you must inform the consumer of its benefits compared to the other choice out there. 4.
Develop a distribution plan. To accomplish this, you must determine the suitable channels to sell your product to the end user. The right product in the wrong store will never reach its potential. 5. Understand that you exist in an ever-changing marketplace. Remember that no marketing strategy is going to last forever. Since change is constant, you must be continually adapting.
At the same time, you must be anticipating that change knowing that the wrong plan will hurt your company. But doing nothing is a defensive position that always results in failure in the long term. Once the marketing strategy is in gear, I better face up to the fact that the other guy can think too. When plan kicks in, the competition is going one way or another. I can be sure a competitor will not lie down and play dead. There are many marketing strategies that fail because while the initial plan was good, nothing effective was done afterward in response to the competitions reaction.
Everyone uses a computer and a Desktop PC. Therefore, as part of the team, I will convince parents that computers are excellent medium for learning by doing (Papert, 1993).
According to Porter (1998a, 230), the intensity of competition affects the profitability of a company. Competition comes in different forms in terms of price, product differentiations and marketing strategies. Thus, depending upon the nature of the competition, companies seek to strengthen their competitive advantage relative to their competitors to obtain a respectable market share. Competitive advantage exists when a business is able to obtain a level of profitability that exceeds the industry average due to the delivery of products similar to competitors at a lower cost or providing distinguishably better service at a similar cost with competitors (Porter, 1998b, 78).
Working parents need to possess a Desktop PCs. The computer, along with the Internet has set the stage for an unprecedented integration of capabilities like never seen before. This technology can be readily adapted to the area of need of a parent where the primary presence of an entity in the World Wide Web can serve both as an advertising medium as well as a business medium for the company. Conclusion In conclusion, companies are facing different complexities and challenges. Hence, each management should be able to identify, develop and exploit their core competencies in order to have a long-lasting and successful business and this can be done through strategic planning. Successful strategy requires the firm to choose the markets in which its distinctive capabilities yield competitive advantage.
REFERENCES Papert, S. (1993).
The childrens machine: Rethinking school in the age of the computer. New York: Basic Books. Porter, M.E. Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. (1998).
New York: The Free Press,pp. 75-98..