INSTRUCTIONS NOT FOLLOWED:Could you please answer each of the 4 questions not put it all together? The study question is ask you to answer 4 questions not just one.

Part A: Marketing Plan

Tushayla R. Brown

Marketing Management Strayer University

Dr. Eva M. Ananiewicz

30 January 2017

Business Analysis

Introduction

OutletPlatforma is a relatively young but ambitious and already a successful company, which managed to go from a simple online store on a wave of e-commerce to a large-scale transportation guide for a variety of goods and services in the modern world of globalization. The key to its success is a constant work to keep up with the vagaries of consumers and technological advances. OutletPlatforma represents the pioneer business provided online services that help multimillion audiences to sell and purchase real goods responding mass demand along with advanced information services. It is among the world's largest companies in terms of trade turnover. The OutletPlatforma business was founded in the mid 1990 by American entrepreneur who initiated to goods books online. Modern assortment items for sale was enriched by more than 33 categories of diverse goods, including electronic books, toys, consumer electronics, food, household and sporting goods, different auto parts, etc. Such intensive dynamics of sales is supported by the OutletPlatforma branches in the key commercial world states like the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, China, and other developed and large countries. These branches differ by the interface language, assortment groups, and cost of maintenance and delivery. Business analytical tools help reveal important aspects and features of this amazing business.

Environmental Analysis

Competitive influences of OutletPlatforma include the emergence of new entrances with information services, online stores, different distributors and carriers, auctions, and other businesses. As the company is engaged in the three common segments of electronics, media, other merchandise, and online services, it faces permanently with dynamic competition at all of these markets. In the media market, OutletPlatforma tries to capture consumers in front of ever-increasing competition from Netflix, Apple, Google Inc., and Liberty Interactive. These companies are strongly enough to make decisive steps in this segment. The electronics and merchandise sectors are also full of rivals like Alibaba Group, PCM, Target, Wayfair, etc. Competition with media giants makes OutletPlatforma sensitive to consumers’ demands and striving to win their loyalty.

Economic forces more directly may influence OutletPlatforma as it is the international company which is driven by economic stability, financial changes in the macroeconomic environment, disposable income of consumers, purchasing power, world payment systems, and any other development shifts in the targeted national markets. Political forces include governmental activity in all the countries where the business is presented, appropriate macroeconomic environment of these countries, governmental regulation of e-commerce, political efforts on the ensuring of cyber-security, political stability in the countries and their relationships, etc. Consequently, legal forces are concentrated on adherence to national legislation, product regulation, environmental protection requirements, and various norms of export/import regulations.

As OutletPlatforma tends to respond to modern demands and expectations of advanced consumers, it is aware of the urgent need for appropriate scientific and technical progress, preference for the use of modern payment systems, the increase in appropriate IT efficiency, sale of advanced and latest technologies, and resistance to cyber-crime (Huang & Sarigöllü, 2014). As any international business sensitive to social and cultural forces, OutletPlatforma strives to reflect adequately on wealth distribution on the targeted segments, intensity of online activity of consumers, consumerism patterns, and its internal multicultural team etc.

Primary and Secondary Target Markets

4Ps

OutletPlatforma has changed its target from a simple online store to more advanced provider of typical e-commercial services. Targeting is repelled by the goals and competitive strategies of the company (Hanssens, Pauwels, Srinivasan, Vanhuele, & Yildirim, 2014). The primary target segment is a large number of diverse clients with average and high income, engaged in the advertising through the sale of online services due to the advanced website of OutletPlatforma. Secondary target markets are mass markets with different income levels of consumers and their developing media needs in goods and services offered by OutletPlatforma on its website. Positioning and the attitude to the market vary depending on the segments and goals.

The company’s 4P, including Product, Place, Promotion and Price, demonstrates different coherent strategies and tactics for making successful marketing efforts (Bahadir, Bharadwaj, & Srivastava, 2015). As a significant player in the developed online retail sector, OutletPlatforma offers diversified and expanded product mix of retail services and goods, consumer electronics, distribution service, OutletPlatforma Publishing and Video Direct, OutletPlatformaFresh, Prime Pantry, etc. The website is the main place for provision of all these services and products. The companies being the OutletPlatforma partners may provide some of these services in the U.S., Japan, or Europe (Goi, 2009). Promotion occurs through the retail service promotions, advertising, the websites of partners, and direct marketing, and PR. Pricing is combined of market-oriented, value-based, and price discrimination strategic approaches.

5Cs

As the powerful retail online company, OutletPlatforma offers a wide range of media and electronics products, including advertising service. It is positioned as highly professional and fast-growing media and customer-centric giant able to sell considerably wide range of goods and provide demanded services for individuals and companies through 1-Click technology, platforms for other businesses, wish-list, video casting, AutoRip, and the rest web services. Although the experience of OutletPlatforma is only near 11 years, this company set ambitious long-term goal of intensified volumes of sales at moderate price.

OutletPlatforma contracts wholesale suppliers in order to sell online to the buyers at retail low prices. In addition, the company’s website serves as paid platforms for sell-purchase operations between different OutletPlatforma connoisseurs. Supply chain of OutletPlatforma adheres to ethical and lawful approach guided by special Code of Conduct for suppliers, applying to their subcontractors (“OutletPlatforma.com Supply chain standards,” 2017). Market share of OutletPlatforma TV has reached over 55 % beating its closest rival. Consumers appreciate the high quality service, personalization, digital practices, and excellent user-experience. Actual competitors are modern media and IT leaders, like Google Inc., Alibaba, eBay, Apple TV and other large and medium-size business tending to find their niche in the industry. All micro- and macroeconomic climate of the company is shaped by technological progress, sensibility to economic changes, favorable legal conditions, and uncertain political environment.

Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning

OutletPlatforma divide the market into psychographics and demographic segments, depending on purchase behavior, actual demand response, individualist approach to high-value and long-term customers. The company’s targeting occupies middle and upper class customers experienced in high technology and preferred to shop online. OutletPlatforma positions itself as going globally and acting locally company appreciated customer centric behavior.

Main Short- and Long Term Goals

The main goals that the company would like to achieve in next year are to earn customer loyalty and trust and to increase profit. Since the company has entered in the highly competitive market and the demanded industry, its market shares are chasing by empowered and confident rivals due to investment in diversification and enrichment. The long-term goals that OutletPlatforma would like to get are participation in venture business and increase market share.

Though OutletPlatforma has these targeted plans, it should base the likelihood their fulfillment on market performance. Market shares can periodically and impetuously fluctuated 20 % to 56 % in 2012. However, over 70 % of media and IT market is captured by Google Inc. (“Search engine market share worldwide,” 2017).However, OutletPlatforma got over 35 % of the leading retail websites, more than its rival Wal-Mart. In 2011, OutletPlatforma was awarded number one of customer value that gives a stimulus in achieving all goal levels. New product adoption rates are relatively lower than that of competitors, as customers are guided by the relative advantages.

Despite the market prosperity and leadership in some segments, the company is challenged by the high retention rate in comparison with relatively low rates in Google or Microsoft. Comparing with 22 % of industry growth, decrease by 3.09 % of the sector, and decline in 500 S&P by 7.58 %, OutletPlatforma enjoys more than 29 % of growth in 2017. Gross margin is expected to grow and exceed the industry only by 2-3 %. Customer engagement is significant, reaching the top positions in the industry. In 2012, OutletPlatforma store for Android IOS was marked five-time increase in the tracking downloads of Website content, while the website of OutletPlatforma was visited by 183 million visitors per month with 6 minutes duration as the largest share among all retail websites (“U.S. Retail websites by visitors,” 2017; “Traffic Overview,” 2016).These metrics make it possible to achieve short-term goals, but it has to change its human resource management approach in the next five years.

SWOT Analysis and Needs Analysis

SWOT Analysis

Strengths are trusted retail brand name, reinvestment in web technology, strong provision of diverse media content, and competitive gaming options. Weaknesses are lack of knowledge in STB market, significant dependence on the website work, low retention, and scattered focus on new ventures. Opportunities are the increase of consumerism habits in the developing countries, intensive use of online stores, improvement of IT efficiency, and popularity of eco-initiatives. Threats are hacking or cyber-theft, lawsuits in retailing, local rivals, and probable technological obsolescence.

Needs Analysis

Targeted Population and Service Environment	Needs Identification	Needs Assessment
Consumers used advertising services and external agencies, including different stakeholders	Primary needs (to participate in venture business, to increase market share, and to fortify trusted retail brand name, strong provision of diverse media content, and competitive gaming options; to improve knowledge in STB market, the website work, retention policy, and focus on new ventures )	Venture business is more important. It does not contradict with market share. Target groups do not provide much relevance of the needs
Mass consumers of different merchandise, and external agencies, including different stakeholders	Secondary needs (to earn customer loyalty, to increase profit; to use increase of consumerism habits in the developing countries, improvement of IT efficiency, and popularity of eco-initiatives; to protect business from hacking or cyber-theft, lawsuits in retailing, local rivals, and probable technological obsolescence)	Customer loyalty is in high priority; capturing of customer trust will lead to profit increase. They are relevant and important. Target groups are the same.

Conclusion

To sum up, the activity of OutletPlatforma is distinguished by active market position and rapid economic growth along with customer-centric performance. Environment of the company provides both opportunities for growth and intensive competition. However, OutletPlatforma well positons its wide assortment of products. Customized metrics indicate significant potential to achieve the main objectives, but the human resources and low concentration on a certain vector of development can bring down a successful path. Priority objectives put forward the participation of business and consumer loyalty as the most significant.

References

Bahadir, S. C., Bharadwaj, S. G., & Srivastava, R. K. (2015). Marketing mix and brand sales in global markets: Examining the contingent role of country-market characteristics. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(5), 596-619.

Goi, C. L. (2009). A review of marketing mix: 4Ps or more? International Journal of Marketing Studies, 1(1), 2.

Hanssens, D. M., Pauwels, K. H., Srinivasan, S., Vanhuele, M., & Yildirim, G. (2014). Consumer attitude metrics for guiding marketing mix decisions. Marketing Science, 33(4), 534-550.

Huang, R., & Sarigöllü, E. (2014). How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the marketing mix. Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors (pp. 113-132). Springer New York.

Search engine market share worldwide. (2017). Retrieved January 23, 2017, from Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines/

Traffic Overview. (2016). Retrieved January 24, 2017, from SimilarWeb, https://www.similarweb.com/website/OutletPlatforma.com#overview.

U.S. Retail websites by visitors. (2017). Retrieved January 24, 2017, from Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/271450/monthly-unique-visitors-to-us-retail-websites/.