Principles of Marketing
Task 1- Marketing Environment and Planning Process
Marketing Planning Process and Marketing Context for Chapel Farm Business
The marketing planning process entails doing a study of the existing market with the primary objective of identifying and quantifying the value needed by various segments or groups in the market and doing everything possible to ensure that the said needs or requirements are fulfilled. (Review & Silk, 2015). The key components of the marketing planning process include the selection of the appropriate marketing strategy, putting place an effective team responsible for the implementation of the plan, necessary inputs or message for the targeted market, execution of the market plan, as well as the development of systems to monitor the execution of the marketing plan. In this case, Chapel Farm faces a significant threat in its new business strategy, and thus, it has to market itself effectively to reach wide range of consumers. The farm’s initial strategy involved farming breeds of cattle, sheep, and pigs that were then sold at livestock markets when they are mature enough. Unfortunately, with this strategy, Chapel Farm records significantly lower income as compared to its competitors. This has forced the Farm’s owner, Julie, to embrace a new strategy where she and her partners are to slaughter the animals and sell the meat to shops, hotels, restaurants, and other outlets on their won without involving third parties. The problem with the new strategy is that the meat would be sold at prices higher than those in supermarkets. With the knowledge that some potential customers will be reluctant to pay a premium price for the farm’s meat, it is important for Julie to aggressively market the farm’s products to potential customers. Moreover, the fact that the open day did not help to achieve the set goals but instead saw potential customers develop negative attitudes towards the farm is a big threat that could be overcome by serious and aggressive marketing.
The adoption of a marketing orientation would help to overcome the farm’s current challenges. With marketing orientation, a business such as Chapel Farm shifts focus to making the needs and demands of customers one of the key drivers of business decisions (Review & Silk, 2015). As it stands, Julie, the farms’ owner utilizes the common product orientation where quality alongside efficiency of production are the points of interest. Julie believes that offering quality meat that is matured longer than most of those available in the market would help increase her farm’s revenue generation. The fact that some of the customers interested in the quality meet failed to buy the same during the farm’s open day should see Julie opt for marketing orientation. Marketing orientation is important to businesses and companies in various ways including ensuring more focused production as well as offering numerous marketing advantages. It is also of importance to business such as Chapel Farm as it ensures that all business or organization functions are aligned with the strategic vision of meeting customer needs and demands as well as leading to long-term profitability that remains a primary objective for most businesses. In its application of a marketing orientation, Chapel Farm should consider an organization-wide generation of market intelligence pertaining to the exiting as well as future needs and demands of customers, the dissemination of the said intelligence across various departments or levels of the business, as well as an organization-wide responsiveness the market intelligence. It is most likely that for Chapel Farm’s case, the market intelligence would indicate that its potential customers are more focused on pricing than the quality of meat supplied to the market.
Environmental and Organizational Audit for Chapel Farm Business
Environmental and organizational auditing techniques can be divided into two parts of internal and external factor evaluation. Organizational audit is often referred to as internal factor evaluation whereas environmental audit is often referred to as the external factor evaluation (Ogujiofor, 2014). The two are important for the strategic planning processes of organizations and businesses such as Chapel Farm that need to react to frequent changes in the business environment. Some of the two key elements in focus in Chapel Farm’s organizational audit are customers and competitors. Customers of Chapel Farm can be described as the consumers or buyers of nearly all its outputs, which in the new business strategy, are meat products obtained from animals reared in the farm. With the new business strategy where Julie slaughters the animals and sells the meat herself, the business’s major customers are shops, hotels, and restaurants within a 25-mile radius. It also targets online customers given its plan of setting up an online “meat sales” business that could see courier services play a key role in the delivery of products to customers at their doorstep. Chapel Farm stresses on offering quality products to customers. With the old business strategy, the farm kept the animals longer than most other producers, and this ensures that the meat sold was more mature than that of other producers. Similarly, with the new strategy, the business seeks to have the meat mature longer than most available in supermarkets and have the meat taken from rare breeds developed for flavour rather than for speed of growth that have been kept in very good conditions. In an effort to increase its income, the business targets affluent purchasers interested in animal welfare and who have significant interest in supporting local suppliers. Already, there are ready customers for the farm’s meat products in the form of local schools although the high prices for products would be a turn off for them. This means that the business has to do everything possible to convince its potential customers and justify its pricing strategy.
Regarding competitors, it cannot be said that Chapel Farm is in a strong position as it was initially. Previously, the business was less competitive than other business around it as it focused more on quality rather than pricing when selling its products to customers. Although it sold animals to customers, the business kept them longer than most competitors in the market. This meant that the animals old to customers were more mature than those of competitors but were relatively expensive. The business’s free-range methods saw it not only have fewer animals as compared to competitors but also record significantly low income. With this, the business lagged behind from a competitive perspective in the market. This is unlikely to change with its new strategy. Unlike its competitors, the business seeks to offer quality products but at premium prices. With most potential customers unwilling to pay the prices that the business seeks to charge for its products, its likely to lose significantly to competitors in the farm business (Ogujiofor, 2014).
When it comes to environmental audit for Chapel Farm business, the focus should be on economic and technological factors. Being in the U.K., one of the developed countries around the world, industrialization rather than farming businesses contribute towards the national economy. However, the farming business remains important to the country’s economic development meaning that significant sales and profits can be projected for businesses such as that of Chapel Farm. Besides, despite its small size, the farm could provide employment to the residents of Derbyshire, UK. The employment opportunities could be directly at the farm level or at hotels or restaurants where the business sells its products. The fact that the business creates employment opportunities could work towards its advantage. In fact, Julie could possibly receive funding or financial support from government authorities in case she needs to expand the business. Technological factors have further played a key role in the success or failure of businesses. Today, one of the most important technologies to businesses is information technology given its huge impact on business around the world. Today, the internet has played a key role in organizations and businesses with buyers preferring to refer or browse through the Internet before making purchases. For businesses such as Chapel Farm, the adoption of the Internet technology could also result in an increase in sales and profits in the long run (Ogujiofor, 2014). Already, the business plans to use the Internet to help in the setting up of an online “meat sales” business that would see it deliver meat products to customers’ doorsteps.
The Extended Marketing Mix 7Ps
The marketing mix is a common marketing strategy tool that initially included core elements such as product, price, place, and promotion but was later expanded to include elements such as people, process, and physical evidence (Review & Silk, 2015). It is important for Chapel Farm to consider the mentioned 7ps of marketing as it reviews it competitive strategies. The business should focus on developing its products and services, changing its current pricing model, assessing the distribution options that could allow customers to experience its products, add to or substitute its channel of promotion, increase its physical evidence, employing skilled and knowledgeable staff, as well as seeking new partners or managing its existing partners in the business effectively. A keen consideration of the mentioned perspectives could see the business have an effective marketing planning process. In fact, the business could witness an increase in the number of customers, which in turn, could result in increased sales and profitability for the business.
Task 2- Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
Marketing for Both Consumer and Business Markets
Companies and businesses can decide to pursue consumer market (b2c), business-to-business markets (b2b), or at times both. For Chapel Farm’s market segmentation focusing on consumers, the business must be aware of the fact that consumers’ decisions to buy certain products or services are often influenced by various factors. For its b2c segmentation, the business could consider behavioural, demographic, geographic, and psychographic factors (Review & Silk, 2015). Regarding behavioural factors, as it seeks to penetrate the market and sell its products directly to consumers, Chapel Farm should examine the benefits the customers seek from its meat products, how often customers use the product, the usage situation such as whether it is used on a daily basis or on specific occasions or seasons, as well as whether customers are loyal to existing businesses or not. When it comes to demographic factors, the business should explore key perspectives such as the income of the potential customers, occupation, socioeconomic class, family size, and family life cycle. In terms of geography, Chapel Farm should focus on whether the potential customers are within a 25-mile radius thereby enabling easy distribution as well as the customers’ easy accessibility of the products. It should also consider the size of the town or city where its products are sold alongside the population density of the targeted area. Of course, a high population density would translate to a large customer population that would work to the advantage of the business in the long run. Moreover, when it comes to psychographics, the business should focus and explore customers’ activities, interests, opinion of the products, values, attitudes, as well as lifestyles.
For its b2b market segmentation, could rely on some of the factors for b2c market segmentation. For instance, Chapel Farm could divide businesses it seeks to sell its products to by geographic areas. Of course, Chapel Farm would have to prioritize business found within a 25-mile radius as well as those located in areas with large population densities that would translate to large customer numbers. The business could also divide the targeted businesses by behaviour as well. As a b2b seller, Chapel Farm should consider dividing its customers according to their product usage rates. In this regard, customers that order many products and services from Chapel Farm would receive special deals and would be served by the farm’s salespeople who will be mandated to call them in person. On the other hand, small businesses in need of Chapel Farm’s products will have to rely on its online website when they need to make purchases (Review & Silk, 2015).
Targeting Methods
With the new strategy, Chapel Farm seeks to slaughter and sell its meat products directly to customers and businesses. An effective targeting method for customers, for instance, would be using ads in social networking platforms such as LinkedIn. As mentioned earlier, the advent of the Internet technology has revolutionized how businesses market their products and services (Ogujiofor, 2014). Julie, the farm’s owner, will have to create ads on LinkedIn aimed at promoting the business’s products to potential customers. For the ad placement, she will have to include a messaging that is in line with what she wants the audience or customers to do such as buying their meat products. It would be important to include the business logo that would help achieve brand awareness that is often helpful when it comes to product or service marketing. Through the ads, Chapel Farm would have to position itself as one of the few businesses in Derbyshire, UK, offering quality meat products.
Task 3- Marketing Mix Analysis
Target Market- Customers
| Chapel Farm | |
| Product | The Farm should ensure that its products are in line with or fit the task consumers want it for. Most probably, the customers expect to get quality meat products, and the fact that the business focuses on this is commendable. |
| Place | Ensuring customer convenience should be a priority for the business. In this regard, the business should ensure that its products are availed to customers in shops and other retail outlets. Also, it should invest in an online shop that will enhance the customers’ access to the products. |
| Price | The business should offer relatively affordable prices that represent good value for money for the customers. The existing premium prices could push away customers thereby jeopardizing the business’s goals. |
| Promotion | To achieve marketing objectives and ensure that customers are aware of the business’s products, it should invest heavily on advertising in social media platforms majorly, public relations, sales promotion, as well as personal selling techniques. |
| Additional Elements of the extended marketing mix: | |
| People | The business should hire skilled and knowledgeable staff that can relate and interact effectively with customers. With the right people, the business could achieve its desired profitability objective. |
| Physical Evidence | The business should enhance physical evidence by giving customers printed material such as brochures with details of products and services offered. It could also be available to customers through social media platforms such as LinkedIn. |
| Process | The business should come up with effective ways of delivering products to customers. Hiring motorists would help to achieve this objective. |
References
Ogujiofor, K. E. (2014). Explaining effective marketing in contemporary globalism: An exponential tutorial. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=jYeIBAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Effective+Marketing+for+businesses&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi59cny28raAhXFPhQKHcbqBaw4ChDoAQhcMAk#v=onepage&q=Effective%20Marketing%20for%20businesses&f=false
Review, H. B., & Silk, A. J. (2015). What Is Marketing?. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=FQrnBAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Effective+Marketing+for+businesses&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi59cny28raAhXFPhQKHcbqBaw4ChDoAQgyMAI#v=onepage&q=Effective%20Marketing%20for%20businesses&f=false