paper edit

Mary Jones

MKT 668: Services Marketing

Dr. Mark Rosenbaum

Southern New Hampshire University

10/09/2016

Company history

The Walmart Company was started by Sam Walton back in 1962, and since then, the company has been operated as a family business. The top management has some of the Walton family members. The Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail company. The corporation deals with merchandise of goods, and it controls a chain of discount department stores, hypermarkets and even grocery stores scattered all over America, and in other countries such as Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom and China. The company is considered to be very successful in the world market. The management of the company has ensured that it has been able to remain consistent in the business. The Walmart company ensures that it have provided goods and services to its customers at a fair price. The company has been named to be among the best retail companies in the world.

The company has been able to withstand all the challenges in the industry (Massengill, 2013). The company has also enjoyed various successes in the market. The diversification of its products and services have been very useful in its successes and facing the challenges. The company has also been able to incorporate technology in its operations. This has been a very significant development. Embracing technological advancement has helped the company to offer quality products and services. The company has also tried to improve public relations through carrying out corporate social responsibility as a way of improving its public image. The company is also trying to ensure that its employees are engaged in its operations.

The growth of the Walmart Company can, therefore, be attributed to all its stakeholders. The company has had loyal customers who have supported it through purchasing their products. The company has also been supported by its employees. Although there have been various complaints from the employees, the company has been able to manage the conflicts effectively. The suppliers of the company have also ensured that they have done a good job. The management has also been involved highly in making decisions which make the company a successful company. All these stakeholders can, therefore, be said to have helped the company to be ranked as the top company with the highest revenue.

Competitors

Competition is a must for the company. The Walmart Company has faced competition all through. When a company is expanding into the global market, the company must face competition. The company, therefore, faces competition in the American market and also in the world market. The company has been said to be the largest retailer in the world regarding expansion and also revenue from its activities (Fishman, 2006). However, the company still faces the menace of competition. The company has therefore to find ways which it has to use to deal with its competitors (Hopkins, 2007).

The main competitors in the United States are the Costco Company and the Target Company. These two companies have been in competition with Walmart largely. They are considered to be the direct competitors of Walmart. The Costco Company has been said to be a competitor since it is the largest discount wholesaler and a result it has given the Walmart Company a stiff competition (Buchholtz, Carroll, 2014). The target company is also among the largest direct competitors. Target Company is trying to compete with Walmart at all levels. Target offers almost similar products with Walmart and it is also trying to reduce its prices to offer favorable prices as Walmart does. The company is, therefore, the main competitor.

Dollar General is also a competitor of Walmart in the supermarket industry. The company has ensured that it have offered low prices, and it has diversified its premises. The Walmart Company also faces competition in the international market. Some of the competitors are; Carrefour which is a France-based company. The company has a very high international growth. Another competitor is Tesco which is a U.K company whose international growth has been higher than that if Walmart. Metro is also among the international competitors of Walmart.

Service issues faced by Walmart

The company is a big corporation. As a result, the company must face various diverse issues from different areas of its operations. The company must be ready to handle the various service issues it faces in its operations. One of the issues which the company has been facing the issue of empty shelves. Sometimes customers cannot be able to find what they are looking for in the Walmart stores enterprise. This is a service issue for the company because the company must ensure that the customer’s needs have been met (Roney, 2007). This issue has also been attributed to the fact that the company has been cutting off its workforce. Another issue is store cleanliness which is the main issue. The company also faces an issue which is an inconvenience store layout and design for the customer. All these issues will affect the growth of the company since it creates a bad reputation and also customer satisfaction. All these can, therefore, prevent future growth and development for the company.

The Walmart have faced various service issues. The issues have panted the company in a very bad light. The company has tried to handle the various issues which it has faced but as a company which is expanding globally, it mnu8st face the various service issues. When companies are expanding, they will always face various challenges concerning their products, their service delivery, and their public relations. All these sectors are very essential for the success of the company. The Walmart Company has, therefore, to take care and ensure that it have been able to tackle the various issues. The fact that the company has succeeded this far means that the company has experienced great support from its customers, employees and also the management and investors (Bhattacharjee, 2006). As a result, the company’s management should try harder and make policies which will ensure that its service delivery has not been affected by various unethical issues and bad organizational culture. The various service issues have been discussed below.

One of the service issues which has faced the company is the fact that the company has not been able to ensure that there is consistency in its stock. Some customers in various areas have complained that they are not able to get the goods they are looking for. This is a service issue since the company is expected to meet the needs of the customers. The company should ensure that it has made the products it offers available always. When customers are not able to obtain the products they want, they are not able to trust the company to meet their needs. The customers are also dissatisfied. When all these occur, the company faces a threat of losing its loyal customers to its competitors. The company should, therefore, ensure that it have made goods available in their stores always. There should be consistency in providing products to the customers who need them.

Another issue is deterioration of customer service. Customers require being served in a fast and efficient manner which has been lacking in most of the Walmart stores. This has tainted the image of the company in bad light. Various customers have complained that they are serviced slowly and also there are no enough employees to service the better (Massengill, 2013). This mess has been attributed to the fact that the Walmart Company has been cutting down its workforce. The company must, therefore, ensure that its employees are available to offer quality services to the customers in the various Walmart stores.

Some of the Walmart stores have been said to have the inconvenient layout and design. When the space and lighting of the stores are not at its best, customers feel that the services of the stores are not convenient for them (Jennings, 2014). The company has, therefore, to ensure that the layout and design of the physical stores it operates are made better for the convenience of the customers. Another service issues the company is facing is cleanliness. Some of the various stores of the company have been said to be untidy. Hygiene is very important since the company also deals with food like its grocery stores. The company mist, therefore, ensure that its hygiene status is unquestionable.

The company has also experienced various complaints from its employees. When employees complain of being treated badly, it means that their work performance is in question. The company has also been accused of poor working conditions. When the job performance of the employees is questionable, the services offered to the customers can also be questionable. Employees have also been reported to be misbehaving, and this has given the company a bad public image. The company also faces various lawsuits which show that the company has various service issues.

Are these obstacles industry-wide problems?

These service problems are very common in the business environment. In this industry, most of the companies face these problems. This is because, when companies are expanding, they will always meet various challenges which were unexpected. The challenges are however manageable. Some of the challenges faced by Walmart is because of its size and revenue. Others are because the customers and the general public expects the company to have a certain level of quality service and when the company is not able to deliver search kind of service its then considered to be underperforming (Hopkins, 2007). The problems can also be said to be industry-wide problems since most of these companies make small profits form the various items and sometimes the expenses are very high. When the company wants to make profits, the various challenges and problems emerge.

The problem of maintaining a large workforce is an industry issue. This is because maintaining a large workforce is very costly. Most of the companies are also trying to reduce product prices and hence they have to balance the workforce and as a result, their services are considered to be poor. However, the companies can be able to deal with the service issues. This can be done through effective policy making by the management. The management should incorporate all stakeholders to make decisions which will ensure that the company has been able to solve all the service issues.

Brief Description of the Wal-Mart’s Competitors and Comparison

Competition is something cannot be avoided by any company. The Walmart Company faces competition both in the United States and also in the global market (Moreton, 2009). Competition has to occur, and it ensures that the companies are kept on their toes. Competition is good for the company and also for the customers. The customers can choose between or among the competing companies, and they will become loyal to the company which serves them better. The customers, therefore, have a wide variety of choice as a result of competition (Hopkins, 2007). Due to competition, the companies which are in competition are forced to improve the quality of their products and customer services as a way of ensuring that they have retained and attracted new customers. Competition can, therefore, be said to be very essential for customers. \

The companies are also able to lower their prices in a move to attract customers who are price based. The customers will, therefore, be able to access various products and services at low and affordable prices. On the other hand, the competing companies are at a risk of collapsing. The companies must ensure that they have been able to gain a competitive advantage(s) as a way to remain competitive in the industry.

One of the main competitors of the Walmart Company is the Target Company. The target company has even the primary competitor of the Walmart Company. The company has been said to be the second-largest discount retailer in the United States. The company was founded by George Dayton. The company comes second after the Walmart Company in the United States of America (Rowley, 2003). The company can, therefore, be said to be the biggest threat to the Walmart Company since they are competition for the markets share of the United States. The two companies are also based in the same country. The target company has also expanded in the global market. This has ensured that the company is also diversifying its operations which are a threat to the company. The target is also the main competitor since it has tried to lower the prices of its products in a move to attract customers. The company is also trying to increase the wages of their employees as a move to motivate employees more which increase employee engagement. When employee’s motivation and the segment has increased, their productivity increases which will lead to the company expansion. The company is, therefore, a major threat to Walmart stores. When it comes to service marketing, the target company have been said to be doing very well than Walmart. The company offers quality services to the customers, and it has also ensured that the working conditions are excellent hence retaining a good public image. This has also increased the ability of stiff competition to the Walmart.

The Walmart Inc. also faces a threat from Dollar General. Dollar generation is an American based corporation of chain stores. The company has its headquarters in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. The company has over 12, 000 stores in the United States which mean that the company has ensured that it have widened its physical operations. The company offers a diversified products include health products, beauty products, cleaning, households, and even toys. The company has also ventured highly in online marketing and also in online selling. The company also offers grocery products and fresh good. However, the company is smaller than Walmart stores. Despite its size, Dollar General has been said to provide stiff competition to the Walmart Company and hence it can be said to be a competitor. The company has been able to manage its service marketing. It offers services which are excellent and after sales services and even free delivery. All these are part of service marketing for the Dollar General corporation.

The Walmart Company faces competition from the Costco Company. Costco has a revenue of $103.13 compared to that of Walmart of $469.16. This is a very competitive company given that the Wal-Mart Company has diversified to global countries (Fishman, 2006). The Costco have been said to be the largest discount wholesaler which has been able to compete with Sam’s Club of Walmart. The company has also tried to improve its marketing, and it has succeeded since its revenue has been on the rise.

The Walmart Company also faces competition in the global market. Globalization has given many companies the opportunity of become multinational companies. As a result, the Walmart have various global competitors. One of the main global competitors is the Tesco Company. The Tesco Company is a United Kingdom based company. The company has a domestic growth of 5.9%, and that of Walmart is 2.7% from 2010 to 2015. This can be seen that its domestic growth is higher. Also, the international growth of Tesco is 10.5% while that of Walmart is 9.8% hence it’s increasing, and that’s the threat. Another international company which is a threat to Walmart expansion is the Carrefour Company which is a French company. The company has a revenue of $112.6 which is below that of Walmart but also shows stiff competition. Another company is the metro company which is based in Germany. All these companies have been able to develop their service marketing skills. The Walmart Company must devise ways to handle this competition for it to remain at the top and remain growing and developing.

References

Bhattacharjee, C. (2006). Services marketing: Concepts, planning and implementation. New Delhi: Excel Books.

Buchholtz, A. & Carroll, A. (2014). Business and society: ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Australia: South-Western.

Fishman, C. (2006). The Wal-Mart effect: how the worlds most powerful company really works-- and how it's transforming the American economy. New York: Penguin Press

Hopkins, M. (2007). Corporate social responsibility and international development: is business the solution. London Sterling, VA: Earthscan.

Jennings, M. (2014). Business: its legal, ethical, and global environment. Australia: South-Western.

Massengill, R. (2013). Wal-Mart wars: moral populism in the twenty-first century. New York: New York University Press.

Moreton, B. (2009). To serve God and Wal-Mart: the making of Christian free enterprise. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Roney, C. (2007). The Knot book of wedding lists: the ultimate guide to the perfect day, down to the smallest detail. New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers.

Rowley, L. (2003). On Target how the world's hottest retailer hit a bullseye. Hoboken, N.J: J. Wiley.