Elements of a Marketing Plan
Penny Martin
MKT/421
April 11, 2016
Michael Gaither

Elements of a Marketing Plan
Pacific Steel & Recycling, Inc. formerly known as Pacific Hide & Fur Depot, has grown from it humble beginnings in 1885 as a buyer of animal pelts, to a company that recycles ferrous scrap metal, paper, cars, aluminum, copper and also sells new steel to the public. The company is has branches in 9 western states, with headquarters in Great Falls, MT, and 1 branch in Alberta, Canada. (Pacific Steel & Recycling, 2015)
Key environmental forces: Pacific Steel & Recycling strives to pursue practices that will lead to environmentally friendly decisions and ecological responsibility. Making decisions and creating lifestyles that will help protect the environment while also protecting natural resources is one of the key elements driving the company. One practice supporting this vision is to keep material that is recyclable out of the solid waste streams, making a more responsible use of landfills and turning valuable scrap materials into new products. The company has developed a partnership with the community through trade relationships and the people the company serves. (Pacific Steel & Recycling, 2015)
Changes in purchasing patterns: As with oil, steel and scrap prices fluctuate on a regular basis, with the last two years dealing with very low prices scrap markets. As a result the company kept a keen eye on the market and was very careful in purchasing new steel to sell so as not to have inventory overages of material that was not turning over in a reasonable amount of time. Branches would work together in moving existing stock between each other as needed, thus helping one branch to move stock that was not selling in their area, but the other branch was able to sell it. This strategy reduced the amount of outside steel branches had to buy, but kept stagnant inventory moving, thus turning it into revenue. (Pacific Steel & Recycling, 2015)

Environmental Scan, Social: in today’s market people are looking to find ways to do their part in protecting our environment and go green. They are looking at recycling as an alternative to just throwing away materials that are harmful to us and the earth. With unemployment rates, recycling also puts extra money into people’s pockets to help with paying expenses. Economic: Recycling of reusable materials also help with saving costs in using energy and fossil fuels. The recycling of one vehicle will save over 2,000 pounds of iron ore, over 1,000 pounds of coal, and around 120 pounds limestone. Partnering with their customers, over 10,000 vehicles are recycled each year. Recycling aluminum will conserve the large amount of energy it takes to make new pop cans. Technological: The Company strives to keep their facilities running smoothly by installing state of the art machinery and computers, so that each branch is able to conduct operations smoothly and safely. According to “Pacific Steel & Recycling” (2015) “Pacific Steel and Recycling is dedicated to using new innovation and technology in maximizing resource recovery and clean processing.” Competitive: Pacific Steel & Recycling remains competitive through partnering with another branch to purchase bulk, which helps keep costs down so that they can offer the lowest prices possible to consumers. Partnering these purchasing practices with good customer service are an important element in order to stay competitive, to some customer’s service is the deciding factor in deciding to place their order with the company. Regulatory: Safety practices that meet with OSHA regulations are an daily practice. The motto adopted by the company is “If we can’t do it safely, then we will not do it at all” (Pacific Steel & Recycling, 2015). Along with safety protocols, the health of employees and customers are highly regarded when dealing with harmful gases and chemicals. (Pacific Steel & Recycling, 2015) Differentiation Strategy: One direction the company is moving in is to offer customers lower prices and higher quality of sheet metal, by installing a steel leveling line. This line will allow the company to level its own steel coil into sheets and distribute them throughout the company. At the moment the company must purchase their sheet from outside sources, which make the cost higher. By cutting out the middle man per se, the company competes with other companies that have been using their own coil line for years. As the time approaches that the coil line will be up and running, Pacific should introduce the new enterprise to the customers who use high quantities of sheet, advertising the ability to produce sheet quicker and at a lower cost. Train employees on the specific of the coil line and what it can do, so that they can convey the information to the customers they talk to on a daily basis. (Pacific Steel & Recycling, 2015) Lessons to learn from the Geek Squad: finding out what your customer needs or wants. The founder of the Geek Squad recognized a need that would be manifested with the development of computers and technology. Computers break down or “crash” in computer talk and the majority of people will not know how to fix them. He saw a need and created a service to fulfill that need. Another lesson would be to train employees to communicate well with customers, without making them feel dumb or stupid. The Geek Sqad “agents” present a humble appearance and assume a humble attitude towards customers who may not be so computer literate. Pacific Steel has adopted some of the same practices when dealing with customers. Like with computers, not everyone knows about different types of steel, or even what they are looking for. Employees are trained to ask simple questions of the customers to help determine what the right steel product is for them. The company also has the ability to see a “need” and to fulfill it as best as they can. Starting out as buying animal pelts from trappers in the 1880’s the company was able to change along with the changing economy throughout the years, to branch into the recycling and steel business. As with the Geek Squad, the company should continue to learn about new technology that comes available each year, and strive to stay up to date and in compliance with regulations and laws. (Pacific Steel & Recycling, 2015) According to Kerin, Hartley, and Rudelius (2015) “Many business operate in environments where important forces change.” Knowing how to anticipate and respond to the changing forces can mean the difference between a successful venture and failure. Developing a solid marketing plan will put a company on the right track to success.

References
Kerin, R., Hartley, S., & Rudelius, W. (2015). Marketing (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Pacific Steel & Recycling. (2015). Pacific Steel & Recycling. Retrieved from http://www.pacific-steel.com