Company G: 3-Year Plan, Marketing Plan Example

Introduction

Company G is a reputable electronic firm that deals in a wide range of electronic goods. It has highly qualified engineers who have come up with up-to-date appliances that meet the market demands. These new electronic appliances are the company’s new product line. These products will ensure that the firm reaches its maximum profit potential and enhance its revenue growth.

One of the new products that company G has created is the electronic door locks. This electronic gadget guarantees maximum security to doors when installed. It can be used in vaults, houses, vehicles and any given place that requires the use of a door locking system.

The electronic door-locking device developed by company G has the capacity to be charged using solar panels. It can use or A.C. and D.C. power supply systems. This makes it a dynamic electronic appliance because it can be readily used whenever there is any form of power supply system (Rainer & Turban, 2009).

Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide innovative and creative small appliances that are efficient, stylish, convenient, and affordable.

The Product

The electronic locks made by company G uses electric current to either lock or unlock the door. The lock is normally connected to an access control system where it can enable key control, intelligent access control and transaction logging. Key control is utilized when the user wants to add or remove keys without having to re-key the lock cylinder. Fine access control ensures that place and time are considered when installing the locks. This helps to monitor the movements into and out of a given locked place (Rainer & Turban, 2009).

There are different types of these locks that are made by the company. They use a wide range of technological techniques to enhance security and provide easy installation measures. Other door locking mechanisms employed include fingerprint locking and electronic lock with PIN entry systems.

The main advantages of these types of electronic locks are that they are keyless & are easy to place in the doors. Invaders will be less likely to attack them could be sure maximum protection of what has been locked. This goes hand in hand with the company’s mission statement in providing innovative solutions. This would improve the customer’s security hence improving their lives. Although the lock requires limited amount of electrical energy, it utilizes remarkably little of it and could be charged using solar and wind energy (Rainer & Turban, 2009).

Consumer Product Classification

According to the three-way consumer product classification system, majority of company G’s products are shopping goods. The electronic locks are in this category because they are goods that consumers would shop around and look for the best-priced and superb quality locks. These locks have the best features that would attract any prospective customer and are readily available to them.

In the three-way consumer product and classification system, other means of classifying the products include convenience goods and specialty goods. None of company G’s electronic products falls into these two categories since specialty goods would be too expensive for the customers while convenience goods are purchased frequently and require consistent buying (Kotler, 2006).

Target Market

Security is a serious concern in most financial institutions, military arms base, public offices, shops and homes. This means that these places would require the best security enforcing measures that would protect them or their property from theft or unwarranted entry. Therefore, the electronic door locks could be sold to people who would like to restrict access of a place to a select few (Armstrong, 2006).

Jewelry shops, banks, cash rooms and modern apartments would also form an excellent selling ground for the electronic door locks. Therefore, these places are prone to theft and would be ideal to use the electronic locks to reduce the chances of the thieves getting entry into those places. Most places around the world use these types of locks since they are keyless and are easy to install and use (Coyne, 2007).

Market Objectives

Product Objective

To design the right product: Designing the right product is not self-fulfilling. This procedure must be undertaken in a strategic manner in order to facilitate a rise in the sales of the company’s products. It also includes providing what the firm can clearly confirm on a strategic or economic basis.

Price Objective

To maximize profits: The most fundamental objective of the companies is to acquire maximum profits. This does not imply to profiteer. As a result, the consumers would be satisfied because the mechanism does not affect a given group but a broad category of customers.

When this policy is practiced in the end and used in a sparing manner, then it would be fundamental in enhancing the company’s growth. The people doing the marketing should check the reactions of the customers to know their responses on the increase in the prices of the products.

Place Objective

To penetrate the market: This objective tries to secure a prodigious share of the market by intentionally setting the price of products at a low level. In this policy, the unit cost of production and distribution reduces when the amount of sales reaches a certain level.

Reducing the price of the products would be used as one the ways of securing a large portion of the market.

Promotion Objective

To promote a product line: Product line refers to a collection of products that are associated either because they satisfy the same needs of different market sections, or because they bring satisfaction to different but connected needs of a given market section.

While creating the product line, the one carrying out the marketing process may also include such products that are not common. This will ensure that all products have been promoted without any discrimination. If these measures are taken, then the overall demand of the products will be increased.

Competitive Situation Analysis

Analysis of Competition using Porter’s 5 Forces Model

Competitive Rivalry:

This is the major decider of how competitive the industry will be. For company G, a good way to go through this competition is to be innovative, enhance its advertising processes and set affordable prices for its products.

Competition in any given industry helps to foster innovation and development of quality products to customers.

Threat from New Entrants:

Profitable markets that have high profits and returns attract new firms. This results in many firms entering the market hence there will eventually be a drop in the profitability for the firms. Example of barriers includes patents and rights. Company G can also enhance the brand of its products as well as foster customer loyalty to brands that have already been established.

The internet forms the basis for the dissemination of information relating to the opportunities in a given market. It also forms the ground through which a company can advertise and increase its brand sales.

Threat from Buyers:

The bargaining power of the customers may pose as a real threat to the functioning of a firm. The customers could put the firm under intense pressure. Therefore, the customers would be extremely sensitive to slight changes in the product’s prices.

The buyer would easily demand volume discounts if they feel that the price charged for the given product is too high for them.

The internet provides the platform through which the transfer of relevant data between the customer and the firm takes place. Therefore, it would influence the buyer’s reactions to the activities the firm I relation to pricing and product availability.

Threat from Suppliers

The bargaining strength of the firms supplying the products is described as the market of inputs. In most cases, suppliers of raw materials and services to the firm may exercise heavy control over the firm especially when the substitutes are few. Those supplying the products may refuse to cooperate and work with the firm. They may also decide to charge extraordinarily high prices for unique resources.

Therefore, company G would be required to accustom itself with its supplier’s price measures when does not have substitutes to what the suppliers are offering. It could either lower or increase the price levels of its products to accommodate the changes that have been effected by the suppliers.

The internet would be fundamental in enhancing communication between the firm and suppliers. This would help the firm to find other possible suppliers who would help to stabilize the price of the products as well as create a favorable business environment.

Threat from Substitutes

Customers are more likely to switch to using other alternative products if they are readily and easily available. Electronic locks have no substitutes that are electronic in nature. Most of the available locks are mainly mechanical and are inferior when compared to the electronic ones.

Before the introduction of electronic locks, consumers were using mechanical locks. The consumers have several alternatives in enhancing security by use of locks, but the electronic locks remain to be the safest and most assured way of securing a place. Since an electronic lock is a new product, internet has enabled marketers to create awareness of their existence.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis refers to a well-coordinated plan that is used to check the Strengths, Weakesses, Opportunities and Threats that would occur in a business venture (Coyne, 2007).

It involves assessing the external and internal factors that are conducive or unfavorable to achieve the objectives of the firm.

Strengths

One of the core competencies of company G is the availability of engineers and designers who are able to develop innovative and inventive methods of creative products. One of those products is the electronic locks.

Company G also has a history of having quality consumer and brand quality. Most of its products are trusted and purchased by consumers since they believe they are genuine and are of superior quality.

The company has an efficient production system that ensures that low production costs are incurred when manufacturing the products. This effective production process utilizes labor properly and production line in time. This is also a core competency for company G.

Weaknesses

Because company G is dealing in a new line of products, it would require new raw materials from suppliers. This is what the company is still struggling with in order to ensure that it consistently produces the innovated products.

The cost of production is likely to increase since the new line of products would require purchasing from the suppliers. This presents a serious drawback in creating cost-productive measures to increase the company’s sales.

Product promotion and ensuring that clients are well familiar with the novel commodities in the market would prove to be a hard task. New products may not catch the customer’s attention, leading to low sales.

Opportunities

There are many opportunities in locating and finding new markets for the electronic locks. This result from the fact that it has a wide area of application and could easily is used in different areas.

Company G can maintain consumer brand loyalty by offering high quality electronic door locks. This will enhance long-term product sales and increase the firm’s revenue.

There are also possibilities of reducing the overall operational costs in producing the products. This cost-effectiveness would lower the price of the electronic door locks hence increasing their demand.

Threats

Competition from other firms dealing in electronic locks could affect the general performance of company G’s market sales. This is a serious threat especially if the other companies are well ahead in their production techniques.

Availability of mechanical locks and other substitutes would lead to consumers opting for cheaper locks than buying expensive ones. This would reduce the sales of the company and hinder its growth.

New entrants into the industry would dilute the profit margins obtained from the sale of the electronic locks. It would be a threat to the companies operating in the same line of production.

Marketing Strategies

Marketing strategy is the mechanism where a firm or an organization institutes measures meant to use limited resources to exploit the available opportunities and increase sales. This will enable the firm to attain competitive advantage over its competitors (Coyne, 2007).

Product Strategies

• Innovative production methods: This involves creating unique products that will attract customers and increase the sales of the firm.
• Creating high quality products: Customers are likely to acquire commodities that are of superior quality and leave those that seem to be of low quality.
• Designing products according to consumer needs: It will enhance consumer satisfaction.

Price Strategies

• Price adjustments: The price of the products could either be titled depending on the factors in play.
• Reduce operational costs: This will in effect increase the profits of the company.
• Search for new market areas: This can be done through product promotion. Searching for new market would improve sales.

Place Strategies

• Establish an efficient distribution process: The method of distribution selected should ensure that customers receive the products at the right time and place
• Reach remote areas: This will ensure that as many customers are provided with the electronic products as possible.
• Use minimum resources in delivering products: The amount of resources used to access the customers should be as minimal as possible to reduce operational costs of the firm.

Promotion Strategies

• Use a wide range of promotional methods: A wide variety of promotional techniques should be utilized to ensure most customers get information on the company’s products.
• New products should be given priority: This will ensure that customers are aware about these new products.
• Use minimum resources in the promotional methods: This should go hand in hand in ensuring that most of the company’s products have been promoted.

Tactics and Action Plan

The tactics and action plan are ways in which the different strategies and objectives set are going to be implemented in the given time frame. Each strategy is assigned a way of ensuring that it is capable of meeting the required objective (Armstrong, 2006).

Product Action Plan

Price Action Plan

Place Action Plan

Promotion Action Plan

Monitoring Procedures

Monitoring procedures are measures that a firm can employ to check on the overall progress of the business activities that are taking place within and outside its premises.

References

Armstrong, C. (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management, 10^th Edition, London: Kogan Page.

Coyne, K. (2007). Bringing Discipline to Strategy. The McKinsey Quarterly, N0.4.

Kotler, P. (2006) Marketing Management, London: Prentice-Hall.

Rainer & Turban, (2009) Introduction to Information Systems (2^nd Edition), pp.36-45, Wiley.