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MARKETING MANAGEMENT PROCESS 1

Marketing Management Process

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Marketing Management Process

The marketing process involves creating value in the supply chain so that customers can get the satisfaction they need to form the company's products. Thus, it is an endless action and reaction series between the customers and the company, making an effort to create and increase its products' utility (Hollensen, 2019). In this regard, a successful marketing management process involves situational analysis to identify opportunities that guide the strategy to be used. The strategy formulated includes a value proposition from which strategic decisions are made, the plan executed, and outcomes monitored for feedback (Hollensen, 2019). ShopSmart's marketing management process involves various procedures in different segments of its electronics, household wares, and Food and beverages products.

Product or Service

ShopSmart endeavors to supply almost all the goods that a person needs to make life comfortable at home and in the office. For this reason, ShopSmart remains to be one of the most reliable places that a customer can get home solutions. The business sells electronic devices from a wide range of manufacturers, including Samsung, Hisense, Sony, Panasonic, Apple, Microsoft, LG, CEC, Hitachi, and Foxconn. Its houseware division sells furniture, kitchenware, detergents, kitchenware, toiletries, apparel, beddings, and so on. These products are obtained from some of the best global manufacturers such as IKEA, Calvin and Klein, Regal Ware, and Philips. Besides, the business also manufactures its furniture, and the products are called ShopSmart furniture. Lastly, the food and beverages segment is owned mainly by the industry, and it sells locally prepared foods with a unique taste. On the other hand, the company sells liquor and beverages created using different recipes. Coffee and tea products are not unique to the company, but are patented from Starbucks and Java. Therefore, the marketing process will present ShopSmart as the product and leverage individual products' marketing from that done by parent companies.

Target Market

Based on the fact that ShopSmart is expanding its market and needs more customers, the business must aim at getting customers from over 90% of the market. Primarily, it must not target the rich, but all classes of customers. It must consider prices so that it allows even those living under the poverty line to shop for some of the things they need. Therefore, the target market spans the lower-middle class to the upper-middle level and the low-class citizens. Thus, there is no need to stacking up high–end products, yet most of the market will be middle-class. According to Johnson and Nunes (2002), the wealthy have a lower propensity to spend on necessities than the middle-class citizens. Therefore, the store should be a place for those looking for a bargain and convenience for shopping.

Economically, the most significant majority of the customers for ShopSmart will be drawn from the ages of 18 to 50 years. In this age bracket, most people are active participants in the economy and are struggling to make ends meet. The enormous discounts proposed in the pricing strategies will therefore be ideal for them. Also, the company product portfolio fits the description of what most people in this age group require. From the fast-food options, liquor, electronics, and fashion products, customers will find a solution to almost every purchase decision they make. Lastly, the company will target smaller businesses in its trade line, which act as retailers of the products it sells.

Place and Distribution

The final goal of ShopSmart is to become a global company. However, in the meantime, the company will establish physical stores within the US borders while some of its products will be sold online for global access. Here, the company will have to develop an intensive distribution strategy such that both the online and onsite customers get access to the same products. ShopSmart must establish a website much the same as Amazon.com, offer links to external sites, and maintain and run social media platforms for order placing and so on. Besides, the company must ensure that it has distribution centers in all the states, painted in the same colors, and equipped with enough tracks to serve customers efficiently. ShopSmart will offer much-needed competition to market leaders such as Target and Wal-Mart with the strategic location of distribution centers and online presence. It will also be a perfect strategy to enhance the company’s entry into the global market as the management will tell which regions need a store out of the US using online order statistics. For international deliveries, the company will get into a deal with global logistics company DHL.

Pricing Strategy

Pricing is one of the critical features of a business that makes it get attention from the rest of the market (Ismail & Abbas, 2020). In a monopolistic competition such as that ShopSmart operates, a small price change impacts how customers perceive the business and its products. For this reason, ShopSmart will use a combination of two pricing strategies: penetration pricing in the short run and the psychological and the everyday low price (EDLP) strategy in the long run. The penetration pricing strategy is relevant in this case since ShopSmart is already an existing company, but it is expanding its operations in a market that is already flooded. It is also essential to note that ShopSmart will be selling products already sold by other companies in the market it seeks to join. Therefore, the primary difference will be price. The essence of doing this is to ensure that customers run away from the already established wholesalers and retailers with the hope of saving more (Ismail & Abbas, 2020). However, this strategy is not sustainable in the long run and may force the company to change tact after establishing a market presence.

After establishing a market position, ShopSmart will change its pricing strategy to the psychological and EDLP approach. In the psychological pricing model, the seller plays with numbers to cause the appeal to the customer. For instance, a product costing $100 may be tagged $99. By doing this, customers are likely to assume the $1 difference to be a whole $10 only to make an impulse buying decision. Besides the psychological pricing strategy, the company must adopt the EDLP strategy applied by Walmart. The EDLP pricing model ensures that the company makes a considerable profit by increasing sales even though the margin is small.

Promotional Plan

The promotion mix of ShopSmart will include advertisements, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. To advertise, the company will use newspapers, television, social media, and magazines. The promotion's leading social media channels will be YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Sales promotion will take the format of special deals and discounts that can only be found at ShopSmart. These sales promotional messages will link to ShopSMart's Facebook page and Twitter links for customers to see what more they can obtain. Inside the company's premises, salespeople will be talking to customers, persuading them to purchase certain goods to earn discounts or get some exclusive deals. In its public relations exercise, the company will initiate charity programs as part of the corporate social responsibility efforts. CSR will be directed to education, water, and health programs.

Customer Service Plan

The customer service plan is established to help the company deal with specific customers who need better service. Therefore, the following will be put in place:

a) The company will provide goods and services to all people, including those living with disabilities. To achieve this fete, the company will ensure ready support assistance at all physical stores, avail assistive devices and equipment, and design its stores in a manner that those living with a disability can access a minimum of 50% of the facilities with ease.

b) Communication with people living with a disability will be carried out in a manner that respects and upholds their integrity.

c) ShopSmart will avail various communication channels for all customers such as a contact center, email, website with frequently asked questions (FAQs), social media accounts, and physical suggestions boxes on the premise.

d) The company will create a communications office fully equipped with customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

References

Hollensen, S. (2019). Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education.

Ismail, M., & Abbas, M. (2020). Variations of pricing strategies on demand of consumer’s products. A review article.

Johnson, B., & Nunes, P. (2002). Target the Almost Rich. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2002/06/target-the-almost-rich.