...Target Market and Positioning Strategy Identification Loretta Menchaca MKT/575 May 11, 2015 Professor Delynn Byars Target Market and Positioning Strategy Identification The environment for the marketing strategy should be set in the atmosphere of the overall corporate strategy. Once the general direction of the organization has been determined with applicable contribution from all required stakeholders, the marketing strategy should be aligned to guarantee that the direction is established (Hooley et al, 2008). Companies that are market-driven display inventive skills in interpreting, collecting, and using information to guide their business and marketing strategies and to achieve competitive advantage (Cravens & Piercy, 2009). The following analysis will focus on Ikea’s target market, the effectiveness of their positioning strategy, and recommended for changes to their targeting and positioning strategy. Ikea Ikea is worldwide home furnishing store that specializes in ready to assemble furniture, home accessories, and appliances. Ingvar Kamprad founded Ikea in 1943, and opened his first store in in Almhult Sweden. Today Ikea operates two hundred twenty six stores globally and hosts four hundred and ten million shoppers a year. Ikea believes in hard work to produce products that meet quality standards at prices that are affordable. These standards are accomplished by building long term relationships with suppliers, investing in highly automated products, and producing...
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...reached the peak of its popularity in the 1990s, is perceived by many as a response to the positioning school approach, which dominated in the 1980s. Both schools see supra-normal returns as firm’s ultimate objective and seek the sources of competitive advantage that allow firms to enjoy profits above industry’s average. In attempts to explain the differences in firms’ performance positioning school tends to focus on importance of external environment. Profitability is believed to be predominantly affected by the industry structure and active competition, so successful firms are those who manage to position themselves favorably within attractive industries. In contrast RBV authors argue that “environmental analysis – no matter how rigorous – is only half the story” (Barney, 1995, p.49). Multiple examples of firms demonstrating outstanding performance while competing in high threat and low opportunity environments show that reasons for success can be hidden within. Therefore RBV makes an attempt to open the black box of a firm and explain the differences in performance in terms of firm’s resources, competencies and capabilities. All firms are different from each other and only those in possession of valuable and costly-to-copy resources are able to maintain competitive market position. Such focus on internal analysis represents the major difference of RBV approach in comparison to positioning school. RBV authors also suggest a new practical approach for strategists: rather than...
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...Strategy and positioning paper Dan Goodman, Joel Queenan, Dean Sitzler MKT/421 December 22, 2015 Mr. Peter Francis Strategy and positioning paper For any firm to be successful in the business world it needs to have a plan and it needs to appropriately position itself within the market in which it operates. These plans are part of the strategic planning process that occur within an organization and invariably incorporate the skill sets of an effective marketing team. “Marketing is the activity for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that benefit its customers, the organization, its stakeholders, and society at large.” (Kerin, Hartley, & Rudelius, 2015, p. 6). By creating an effective marketing strategy the firm can ensure that it is creating value for both the firm and the customer which fosters longevity and sustainability. Furthermore, by establishing a solid positioning strategy as well the firm can be focused and resolute in the market where it does business through effective representation and presentation of its product and or service. In this paper we will examine a fictitious company called Hydro-Cell and the different elements of its marketing strategy and positioning plan. Company overview Hydro-Cell is a brand new company founded in December of 2015 by Team Balleristic. The team has and has extensive knowledge of the automotive technologies and chemical expertise. Hydro-Cell products demonstrate the team’s passion for the automotive...
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...BRAND POSITIONING EVOLUTION—Positioning is the last step in the marketing strategy formulation. Marketing strategy begins with identification of market segmentation and later choosing a target for marketing activity. The term ‘position’ in a physical sense is used to refer to or specify the place or location of an object. The marketing battle is not fought for acquiring a geographical unit but to win customers or market share. Retailers or the end users are usually the targets of the marketing battles. In marketing, the soldiers are typically the sales people, and other value creating tools like advertising, sales promotions, demonstrations, product, after sales care, price, reputation etc, are the tools used to fight the marketing battles. Brands are the ultimate fighters used to fight marketing battles. Marketing battles are fought with competitors in the industry who stake claim to or chase the same customers or markets. A marketing battle is fought in the minds of prospects for their purchase preference. When a brand is sold in the mind of the customer, the marketing battle is won. In the marketing context, victory is dictated by superior value delivery. Brands that deliver better value than rivals usually win the customer’s purchase vote. ADVERTISING PERSUASION— In the early years, marketers relied upon the powers of communication tools like advertising to win customers. The belief that dominated this era was that customers could be sold anything on the basis of persuasive...
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...Advertising positioning strategy in the competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola during 1960s in the USA. To what extent is this important to current marketing strategy? Given Name: LANGQIONG Family Name: ZHANG Tutor: Matthew Group 22 Index Page ntroduction Introduction ntroduction............................................................................................. 3 Section 1: Advertising positioning strategy in competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola in 1960s in the USA................................ 3 Section 2: Functions of advertising positioning strategy in current market........................................................................................................ 5 2.1 Importance of advertising positioning strategy.......................5 2.2 Evaluation..................................................................................... 6 Conclusion Conclusion...............................................................................................6 List of References.................................................................................... 7 Introduction: On account of dramastic development in economy, only the advertisements which exactly meet the demands of consumers can stimulate their interests, in other words, advertisements may contribute to increase in sales. Furthermore, by building up an unique association with a brand in consumers’ mind via analyzing tis own product as well as competitors’ product and...
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.... ANALYSIS OF CURRENT BRAND POSITIONING AND SEGMENTATION STRATEGIES BRAND POSITIONING Brand positioning is essential to the success of any firm because it delivers a perception into the consumer’s minds which differentiates them from their competitors. Microsoft began to grow their brand over 20 years ago with Bill Gate’s an underlying vision of “a computer on every desk and in every home”. This resulted in Microsoft developing into a huge multinational company with personal computing at the forefront of their business. Microsoft dominated this industry for many years which is reflected in the high brand recognition of Microsoft products worldwide. However, this dominance has slowly evaporated and Microsoft has failed to react to new trends such as the rapid expansion of the Smartphone and tablet industries. It appears that Microsoft’s failure to respond to the market trends can be attributed to an over confidence by Microsoft in their brand positioning while their competitors have been developing software in new dynamic ways and diversifying their products. Microsoft is now presented with a problem. Their vision of “a computer on every desk and in every home” has essentially been achieved and their consumers are now looking to new technologies to satisfy their needs. Microsoft needs to restructure their brand position in order to facilitate this which the public is beginning to see. The announcement that Microsoft’s CEOSteve Ballmer will retire in the next twelve months...
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...Strategy and Positioning Paper Deopra Clayton, Alexander Reigstad, Jessica Baker, Sharitza Bailey Simia Sharp, Victoria Carthage MKT/421 March 7th, 2016 Professor Kenyetta Rivera SkypeSpecs SkySpecs is a rather new and up and coming company in the drone making industry. They started out as a group of engineers who has won multiple contests and have recently signed a contract with one of the largest companies in the wind energy business. Each aspect of marketing a product is important. Strategy and product positioning aids to make the product more profitable and assist with getting it to the correct markets. This is still a rather small company that is just being realized for its true potential. Next Energy recognized the unique opportunity that SkySpecs has and helped them form a partnership in the wind and utility industry. NextEnergy mentored SkySpecs, they helped them by finding them funding, they helped them make business decisions, helped them do research on the drone market, and most importantly helped them find the partnership they now share with UpWind Solutions. (Ellis, 2015) This strategic and positioning plan will discuss, how the marketing efforts and mix will change with each phase of the product life cycle. We will also describe, packaging that will be used and how packaging will add value to the product. Ending with developing a price strategy and what distribution channels will be used to sell the product and how each channel partner will add value. ...
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...1. Review the current positioning strategies in McDonald A. Price differentiation Both McDonald and Burger King have the special value meal. But there are more discount offers in McDonald which are shown in following table. McDonald | Burger King | * Specific meal are $20 from 5 to 9p.m | * Value menu | * Amazing value menu | | * Relax and refresh value card | | Despite the more special offer, the regular meals in McDonald are between $25 to $30 while the value meals in Burger King are between $25 to $35. It can be seen that the regular meal in McDonald is even cheaper than the value meal in Burger King. B. Channel differentiation McDonald has larger coverage and greater convenience than in Burger King. Refer to the below table, it is seen that the channel in McDonald differentiate Burger King. McDonald | Burger King | * 218 branches in Hong Kong | * 15 branches in Hong Kong | * 104 branches have 24 hour Mc tonight service | * Only 1 branch has 24-hours service | * 24 hour McDelivery Service | | C. Product differentiation McDonald has larger variety of the products than that in Burger King. The products in McDonald are fresh and innovative that fulfill with teenagers’ expectation who desire for freshness while the products in Burger King has smaller range. New products are as follows: McDonald | Burger King | * Le grand * Hotcakes Deluxe Breakfast * Grilled chicken burger, quarter...
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...Strategy and Positioning Paper The numerous complexities a firm faces in the marketplace today requires the implementation of a strong market strategy and smart positioning decisions. These crucial marketing tools can effectively differentiate brands for consumers who may otherwise think they are comparatively the same. Image changes, new conceptual advertising, or the re-positioning of a product in the market can separate a brand from its competitor leading to an increase in exposure and ultimately an increase in sales. How the essential benefits of a product get communicated to consumers can be subtle, but production, pricing, and market location can all send powerful messages to consumers. One company that has used these strategies efficiently in their own marketplace is Levi Strauss & Co. Levi Strauss & Co. Overview Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Levi Strauss & Co. is a privately held apparel corporation that manufactures clothing and accessories for men, women, and children. Over the decades, the company has expanded their clothing line to include casual and dress pants, tops, jackets, footwear, and other apparel. Operating as Levi Strauss & Co., they also market products under other name brands such as Dockers and Denizen. The company operates in multiple markets throughout the world such as the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and employs over 16,000 employees, (Helms & Nixon, 2010). Product and Services Levi Strauss has been focusing on the design and...
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...Strategy and Positioning Paper Name MKT/421 August 17, 2014 Instructor Starbucks offers the finest coffee sourced from across the globe. Their main focus would be the quality of their coffee and customer services. The company continues to invent drinks to keep ahead of competition. So our team decided to add and expand the Starbucks’ cold beverage portfolios. We like to present the new Fruity Berry Sherry drink. The Fruity Berry Sherry has a combination of antioxidants, amino acids and omega fatty acids that support the immune system and kills destructive free radicals from the bodies. Presenting the new Fruity Berry Sherry drink to the market gives Starbucks’ customers a classic flavor with a twist. The Nutrition Facts Per Serving (12 fl oz) is as follow Calories 110 | Calories from Fat 0 | | % Daily Value* | Total Fat 0g | 0% | Saturated Fat 0g | 0% | Trans Fat 0g | | Cholesterol 0mg | 0% | Sodium 10mg | 0% | Total Carbohydrate 21g | 7% | Dietary Fiber 0g | 0% | Sugars 26g | | Protein 0g | | Vitamin A0%Vitamin C98%Calcium2%Iron0% | Caffeine 0mg** | *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. | Company Overview Starbucks has been in operation since 1971 in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market growing from one store to more than 21,000 stores in 65 countries. ("Starbucks", 2014). Starbucks specializes in specialty coffees and snacks. The customer policies encourage customers to come in and stay, offering free WIFI and...
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...Assessing Strategic potential of Singapore Airlines (1100 words) The velocity of competition in recent times has put an extreme demand on corporations to articulate their strategic management in terms of positioning, choices and execution. Strategic positioning is the foundation that establishes organisations strategic potential, what it can do and strategic ambitions, what it actually seeks to do (Johnson et. al 2011). This requires good understanding of the externalinternal environment, organisational purpose and culture. The tools commonly used to develop understanding and perform a strategic analysis are presented in Appendix 1.0.This essay aims to lay the foundation for a comprehensive analysis of current strategic potential of Singapore Airlines (SIA). Firstly, the focus is on how to identify the sources of information about macro environment, unique features of airlines industry and in depth view of internal dynamics of SIA. Secondly, the focus is on comparison of four core tools in terms of relevance, advantages, disadvantages and creative adaptability for SIA. A preliminary application of these tools is made to illustrate the arguments for or against using a particular tool. The essay briefly touches on another crucial aspect of right expertise and competence for an effective analysis. The essay concludes with key observations and recommendations for a further comprehensive analysis of SIA.A simple structure is adopted in this essay as indicated in Fig 1.0 The airlines...
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...American Well MKT/421 February 8, 2016 American Well Even though medicine and technology have come a long way, I think we have gone back in time. Years ago doctors would make house calls, then came the big hospitals and the long waits to get a simple prescription. Now we have the option of getting a consultation online or via telemedicine. Amwell has been providing direct to consumer telehealth medicine since 2009. Not only is it convenient, online visits are cost effective. Consumers save time, accessibility and have lower fees. Amwell is largest telehealth company in the country that offers a variety of care from Trauma to substance abuse. Overview of AmWell Tired of having to make an appointment to see a doctor or visit your nearest clinic when symptoms of health concerns strike? Well, there's a new breakthrough in technology. A mobile healthcare service that is available on your cell phone or mobile device. Just download the App "AmWell" (American Well) allows you to connect instantly with a doctor by downloading the App from your smartphone or mobile device. Whether you connect with your actual doctor or choose one from the network providers. This technology is sweeping the nation. Blue Cross and Blue Shield has joined the partnership to provide its members with easy access to available healthcare. The joint effort of the two is available in 26 states. That's half of America (American Well, 2015). Founded by Doctors Ido and Ray Schoenberg. It is there...
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...expensive. Nike Air also target on the people who like to wear a comfortable shoes walk in the street, as it is a lightweight and targeted cushioning shoe. For example, some of the older people buy shoes depend on the quality of the shoes not only price and fashionable. Furthermore, Nike air not only target on sportsman and sportswoman, they also target on those who are not interested in exercise but they still willing to buy the product because they do care about their looks. For example, some consumer may be is a colorful people and Nike Air supply a lot color to satisfy them (Ukessays.com, 2014). Positioning Strategies In order to become the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, and accessories, Nike followed many strategies. First, Nike has very effort at designing product and has a strategy carefully to confirm own positioning. The marketing strategies that are Nike had used to promotion product and brand name in order to increase the reputation of the Nike to make Nike brand famous all over the world...
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...Marketing and positioning strategy Product – Apple’s portfolio ranges from personal computers to iphones, iPods and even computer software. Its products are known for good performance and quality. It is mostly the quality of the products that attracts people to Apple products over the other. Apple has positioned its products in the minds in the consumers as a product of high quality and as a result has been able to build up brand loyalty. If there is any faulty in the products, Apple ensures that it is identified and corrected as soon as possible, and instead of trying to get the products to the customers as soon as possible, they take time to perfect the product. Unlike most firms, it does not compromise on the quality of the product. In addition to this, Apple’s products are also known for its unique features which cannot be replaced by other companies. It focuses on product differentiation a lot. A PC cannot be substituted for a Mac as they provide two completely different experiences, and an iMac user is very unlikely to switch to anything else. With the constantly advancing technology, Apple needs to keep updating and inventing new products. Price - Apple is considered to be a premium product with high quality. Unlike most firms in the electronics industry who try to win customers over by using competitive pricing, Apple focuses more on the products and does not try to complete on price. It uses premium pricing and price skimming where a high price is charged for...
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...What is Strategy? – Michael E. Porter I. Operational effectiveness is not strategy So in the quest to beat competition managers focus on improving quality, speed and productivity all related to operational effectiveness. But in this way, they move further away from viable competitive positions which can only be achieved by an appropriate strategy. Positioning which was once the way to go about beating competition is now rejected, since its too static. Rivals can easily copy the market position and competitive advantage. However, that is not entirely true as hypercompetition is a self-inflicted wound. It is important to watch out for what your competitors are doing, but improving operational effectiveness alone is not enough, and that cannot be your only strategy. Operational effectiveness and strategy are both important for superior performance which is what a firm aims for. A company can beat rivals if it can stand out, establish a difference it can preserve. Basically a company can either provide greater value to customers or comparable value at low prices, or both. Delivering greater value means higher unit prices, greater efficiency means lower unit costs. Cost arises from performing activities and cost advantage comes from performing activities more efficiently than your competitors. This can be in the choice of the activity or how the activity is performed. So activities are what creates competitive advantage. Operational effectiveness means performing similar...
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