Zuri Software, Inc., Essay Example

Zuri Software, Inc., is a family-owned company selling custom made calendar programs, including other related items to other businesses. The 20 employees at Zuri encounter scheduling challenges since the market is seasonal. An evaluation of the swot analysis served as a basis for this marketing plan. The plan analyses the growth strategy and suggests building existing customer relationships and developing new products targeting targeted customer niches. The company focuses on promoting products for their clients.

Environmental Analysis

The Marketing Environment

Competition-  The company has to shift its focus from the national level to a regional basis since they will be able to identify a niche in which they will be able to operate in thus gaining a large viewership.

The calendar industry’s competition is vibrant on paper but weak on software segments (Hatch, 2018). Zuri software keeps 30 percent of the market share, making it the only company to do so countrywide. A shift to software-based calendars will reduce competition since it consists of a ten percent share in the market. With its 30 percent market share, the company will be in a position of market dominance, giving it a competitive advantage.

Economic force-  Countrywide, many companies reduce promotional budgets to cut on expenses. Companies are shifting from the traditional modes of advertisement since they are uneconomical.  Because promoting budgets is shrinking, many corporations divert larger budget shares to specialty advertising and sales promotion.

Technology- Advancement in technology has forced many companies to shift from their conventional operational mode to cope with the digitalized world. A PDA is similar to a calculator that stores various information, such as calendars, personal notes, and addresses. As the trend improves, the software-based calendar will need to be updated to sync with the latest technology.

Target Market

The ability to distinguish the product has resulted in increasing annual returns. Identification of the right market is suitable in strategically putting the company in the minds of customers. Targeting the right market will help the organization in providing customer-tailored services and products since the company has conducted a proper feasibility analysis.

Marketing Strategies

Objectives

The company’s vision is to expand customer wise and financially. Diversification of products and establishment of good customer relations is vital for the growth of any company. Besides, the management must utilize the limited resources of the organization wisely in order to maximize its profit.  Accomplishing marketing objectives develops benchmarks that measure progress, and the regular reviews of goals give feedback and suggestions for corrections on a timely basis (Ransom, 2020). Also, a significant marketing objective requires an understanding of the satisfaction and needs f the existing customers. The company has objectively identified and analyzed its area of operation in the market.

Target Market

First- capturing standalone or large manufacturing divisions of big companies with extensive dealers, brokers, or distributor networks. The company has to specialize in areas that its probability of performance is high while factoring in the use of intermediaries in the promotional chain. It has to focus on venturing into products and services that its survivability in the market is guaranteed, thus putting the company at a strategic competitive advantage.

Collaborating with existing business will help the organization in generating a market network thus gaining more clients as the organization will be in a position of conducting a reliable market segmentation targeting potential customers and strategic partners(Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2019). The company has to narrow down their collaborative strategies in order to get more customers. On the other hand, they can use corporate social responsibility in order to generate more trust with the community they are operating in.

Marketing Mix

Zuri software has to diversify its products and services to strategically be in a position to have a long term operational plan.

Consistently meeting or exceeding customer expectations is Zuri’s intangible attributes attribute, which is hard to keep up with, giving them a competitive advantage.

Price- Zuri software provides a highly efficient advertising product fit for the client’s needs. The organization has to study the market forces to determine the suitable price to operate in a given time in the market. The prices should be set based on an objective analysis of these forces in order to create a variety of opportunity costs in the market.

Distribution- The company has to choose a suitable distribution channel that is reliable and customer-oriented. The channel and means of distribution selected should be certified in order to achieve the objective of the organization. Shifting to multiple locations for customers is an added advantage in selling Zuri products.

Promotion- The company should focus on promoting its new products in the market to give them publicity. The management should focus on employing the best promotional practices which will help in positioning these products in the mind of the customers and creating customer loyalty.

The remaining promotional dollar focuses on the personal selling of new and current products.

Recommendation

To effectively analyze the calendar’s marketing plan, it is essential to compare actual performances with the objectives. The company needs to focus on their customers since they are the most significant stakeholders in the market. The management of Zuri should concentrate on the creation of a strategic promotional plan that will help in segmenting the market thus enabling the administration to take the correct course of action that will enhance the survivability of the organization in the long run. Through a feasibility study, the organization will be in a position to create oversight bodies that are managerially initiated to enable the organization to check whether their objectives will be achievable or not. This will enable them to create an alternative course of action that will allow it to refocus on achieving these goals.

Second, perpetually comparing planned and actual activities are conducted monthly every quarter when the implementation phase begins. This must be initiated with top managerial brass, thus help in achieving the visions of the organization. Lastly, project teams are responsible for changing the product’s focus, operations, or procedure resulting from the studies done in the area.

References

Hatch, C. (2018). Positioning in Marketing: Carving Out Your Business Niche. Disruptive Advertising, 1.

Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2019). MKTG 12 (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.

Chapter 9.Ransom, D. (2020). Why Businesses Should Ignore Trump’s Payroll Tax Holiday. Inc., 1