MKT4001B Principles of Marketing

Introduction:

A situation analysis is a systematic collection and evaluation of present and past political, economic technological and social data aimed at identifying the external and internal forces which may influence a firm’s performance, (Griskevicius et al., 2012, p. 115). This may be conducted in a SWOT model

SWOT Model.

A SWOT analysis a model which can be used to evaluate the opportunities. Strengths, weaknesses, and threats of an organization. Strengths are the unique capabilities of an organization, (Koi-Akrofi et al., 2013, p. 78). For instance, the strengths of Cafe Nero include a strong brand name, high reputation among customers and cost leadership. Cost leadership is the ability of a firm to offer its products at the lowest prices in the market, (Kotler & Armstrong, 2014, p. 11).

Opportunities are conditions existing in a business’ external environment, and which a business can exploit to become more profitable, (Nakhleh, 2012, p. 538). Coffe Nero has an opportunity to expand its branches into the global market to cover a wider market target, on the other hand, threats are the conditions existing in a firm’s external environment and which make it vulnerable to failure, (Nakhleh, 2012, p. 538). For instance, there is a lot of competition in the coffee industry. Coffee also has some substitutes for tea and cocoa.

Weaknesses are internal conditions which exist in business and make it less competitive, (Armstrong et al., 2014, 12). For example, some Coffe Nero’s major weakness is that it lacks units in central London, and has more in the UK provinces. This exposes it to more risks.

Marketing strategy

This is a firm’s overall business game plan which contains a firm's value proposition, essential marketing information, and the target customers, (Kumar, 2015, p. 5). For instance, Coffe Nero concentrates on the quality of its coffee as a marketing strategy. It offers high-quality coffee at affordable prices, hence targeting low-income earners who are passionate about quality.

Marketing tactics

These are the ways used by marketers to get their products bought in the market, (Kumar, 2015, p. 12). They consist of price, promotion, place, and product. The product is the company's market offer. For instance, the primary product that Coffe Nero will provide to the customers in London is Coffee.  On the other hand, price refers to the value attached to a particular product, (Kumar, 2015, p. 7). Coffe Nero prices its coffee at relatively low prices to make them affordable to the customers

The place is the location of a business main target customers, (Webster & Lusch, 2013, p. 389). Coffee Nero will mainly target people living in London and who are passionate about drinking coffee. Promotion, on the other hand, is the strategies used by a firm to acquire customers. For instance, Coffe Nero mainly uses broadcasting advertisements within family programs on TV to obtain customers form its product.

Implementation and control

Implementation is a process aimed at ensuring that a particular marketing plan is successfully adopted, (Kumar, 2015, p. 9). It entails expectations setting, the building of teams and resources and monitoring performance. Setting the right expectations will ensure that the performance of the plan is strictly monitored while building resources ensure that the right amount of funds, physical resources, and qualified personnel are availed. The Execution of the plan should be regularly monitored to identify any variances from the expectations and identify any difficulties in implementation.

The control phase of a marketing plan involves standard setting, measuring the performance against the standards, identifying any variances and instituting corrective measures such as amending the plan, (Armstrong et al., 2014, p. 25).

Contributions of the marketing mix to the Market plan

Product: When selecting a product to sell in the market, a company should consider whether there are many companies with the same product, whether the product will satisfy the customers’ expectations and whether there are any substitutes for the product, (Koi-Akrofi et al., 2013, p. 80).  Coffe Nero's main product is Coffee. There are many substitutes for coffee which include tea, cocoa, and other beverages. To keep up with competition the company has capitalized in making high-quality coffee from high-quality beans.  

Price: The hotel shop needs to offer its products and services at prices affordable to customers and make high profits as well. The hotel management should, therefore, evaluate the effect of its prices on the profitability of the firm and the ability of the customers to purchase them. The business should also consider the prices of its competitors. If the prices are too high, then most clients will migrate to other companies’ products. Prices also affect the customers’ perception of the business, (Koi-Akrofi et al., 2013, p. 86).  For instance, if Coffe Nero attaches high prices for its coffee, then it may only attract high-income earners.  Setting very low prices may also affect the firm’s profit margin.

Place: This refers to how you deliver the products or services to the customers, (Griskevicius et al., 2012, p. 120). Coffe Nero may choose from the following strategies when distributing its products depending on its tastes and preferences:

Intensive distribution- usually, the main objective of using this method is to make sure that the customers who get to know about the product are as many as possible (Griskevicius et al., 2012, p. 121). The hotel shop can do this by ensuring that the customers can obtain the products at their convenient places.

Selective distribution- The hotel shop can also use this method of distribution since it offers a variety of products to the customers. The hotel shop can partner with other businesses to deliver specific product to the business.

Exclusive distribution- The hotel shop can also opt to sell the products offered on their premises such that the customers can only buy from the premises.

Promotion: Promotion in the hotel shop can be done through; advertisement, public appearance and events, discounts, contests, social media marketing and content marketing and also referral marketing. The Coffee bar management should consider the mediums used by the target customers when the customers are likely to interact with the promotion, how the competitors are promoting their products and also the budget of creating and implementing the promotion.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, a marketing plan is essential to document which outlines a marketing approach to be used by a company. It should consist of a situation analysis, marketing tactics, marketing strategies and the strategy implementation and control process. Corporations should adequately evaluate their marketing tactics to efficiently determine the products to offer, their prices, and promotion and distribution channels.

References:

Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S. & Kotler, P., 2014. Principles of Marketing. Pearson Australia.

Caffe Nero, 2017. Our Story: How it al Began. [Online]
Available at: https://caffenero.com/us/en/about-us/our-story/
[Accessed 11 November 2017].

Griskevicius, V., Cantú, S.M.  & Vugt, M.V., 2012. The Evolutionary bases for Sustainable Behavior: Implications for Marketing, Policy, and Social Entrepreneurship. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 31(1), pp.115-128.

Koi-Akrofi, G. Y., Koi-Akrofi, J., & Welbeck, J. N. 2013. Relationship Marketing Tactics and Customer Loyalty-a Case of the Mobile Telecommunication Industry in Ghana. Asian Journal of Business Management, 5(1), 77-92.

Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G., 2013. Principles of Marketing (16th Global Edition). p. 4-50

Kumar, V., 2015. Evolution of Marketing as a Discipline: What has happened and what to look out for. Journal of Marketing, 79(1), pp.1-9.

Nakhleh, H.M., 2012. The Relationship between Customer Relationship Marketing Tactics, Relationship Quality and Customer's Loyalty to the Mobile Communication Industry. Academic Research International, 3(2), p.538.

Webster, F.E., & Lusch, R.F., 2013. Elevating Marketing: Marketing is dead! Long live Marketing! Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41(4), pp.389-399.