MANAGEMT 7104 Marketing Management For Value Statement

Company

Woolworths has been in the retail industry of Australia for a long time and it has been one of the foremost leaders of the industry. Therefore this position has enhanced the capability of the organization to exploit the potential of the market through various resources in terms of the technological resources and improved human resources. The organization can utilize the technological resources wisely that can affect the external environment of the company and therefore it can find the cost effective methods to ensure the presence of the company across the country. Therefore utilizing the social media can be useful for Woolworths as it will help the organization to reach a wider section of the consumers. However Woolworths also has weakness within the consumer market due to the restrictions made by the Australia government, therefore it cannot keep higher prices for its products. Therefore it can hinder the forthcoming growth strategies of the company. However, utilizing the social media marketing can act as a bigger opportunity for the organization, as Woolworths can have more control of the brand as the company can directly participate in the conversations and connect with the consumers. It can build a community outreach for delivering a voice for the organization and position the brand and keep the brand awareness for relaying the other marketing campaigns happening offline.

Customers

The current target market of Woolworths is mostly the higher income groups an the group existing in 8 to 10 in the Living Standard Measure. The organization has around three thousand stores across the country and it creates product for almost all the age groups. It creates a wide range of products that can be obtained by all age group customers. As the company sells products for all the age groups, the advertising targets all age groups as well, However the retail market has several other competitors in the market who sell the similar products, therefore it is possible that some of the customers deviate their choice and opt for other brands[7]. Therefore the company requires customizing their products and their promotional strategies in order to reach all the customer groups. Through social media sites the company can reach to all the customers to make their brand presence stronger.

Collaborators

The suppliers and distributors of the Woolworths group are bound by the business principles of the company and all the other suppliers have full access to it. This also implies that they have to keep their workmanship at its highest level and the work force of each of the supplier and distributor group has to be treated in a fair way. The company creates a target for each of the segment to track the improvement. For instance the target for clothing for the last business year was 90% yet 89% was achieved. Even though it was a fair enhancement, it was still not capable of meeting the target. Therefore the company could focus more on that segment for further improvement.

Competitors

The main competitors of Woolworths are diversified as the company operates in different market segments. Woolworths is a diversified retailer and it operates all around Australia and New Zealand. The brand has around three thousand stores along with more than thousand other super markets under other banners. The main competitors of the brand are Aldi GmbH & Co.KG Essen, MetCash Limited, Wesfarmers Limited, Dan Murphy and BWS along with the other third part super markets that offer wholesale merchandise. However there are more new brands that are entering the retail market of Australia, therefore these brands can also act as the competitors of the brand in the forthcoming years.

Context

In understanding the context of Woolworths, it is necessary to understand the political, technological, social and the legal factors of the brand. Within the social media environment the brand, it has been seen that there are the customers are valuing the organizations which are considered to be the socially responsible and undertakes more social initiatives. Therefore the group can create a brand positioning within the market by reaching the customers with their social initiatives. The technological factor also affects the retail sector to a large extent. Most of the retail customers now want to avail the online buying; therefore Woolworths also can reach to more customers with the technological advancements incorporated within their system.

Issue-3

It is mentioned earlier that they have taken initiatives for emphasizing more on the social marketing. Thus, they have utilized the social media applications such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter in order to deliver their information and know their customer’s concerned through social media. It is also evident that social media also allow people to present their concern in the social media account. This allows the organization’s managing authorities to track all the detail of the customer’s demands. The same social media also allow the organization to track the progress and business strategy of the competitors. Taken for instance, if a customer is disappointed with any of the Woolworths’ products, they can post their experiences directly in the social media. In recent time, social media allow customer to direct communicate with the managing authorities. These authorities provide effective solutions to the adversities or try to compensate for the same.  In addition to that, broadcasting their initiatives in the form of Videos and pictures in YouTube and Twitter allows people to comment for the same. Business professional at Woolworth’s supermarket can take the positive comments as their progress and take their negative comments as a scope for further improvements. 

The business of Woolworths has changed and it can be witnessed through many of their business approaches. Through the social media, the organization came to know that people demands for more effective and easy way to do shopping that can take less time to place order without consuming more time for visiting physical stores and even to their websites[11]. This response of customers allows them to develop plan for formulating virtual stores that is places in crowded areas like metro stations, bus stops so that only by scanning the QR codes a customer can place their orders and select a delivery data according to their convenience.

This approach also proves to be successful as they have invented 2% of their total annual revenue in research and development. The business experts their collaborates with the IT business professional in order to develop this effective strategy of virtual stores through which people can place order while waiting for transportation in the metro stations or bus stands. In this way, Woolworths supermarket not only fulfill their customer’s demand but they also communicate with their internal and external stakeholders for effective business outcomes.

Issue-4

One of the strangest benefits that social marketing provides to any organization is that more people get aware of their business irrespective of their geographical territories. It is also evident from the research by other business professionals that Woolworths mainly targets the high- income groups. The social marketing not only allows them to track the business approaches of their competitors but it also allows them to evaluates the pricing strategy through which other company targets lower income group people. Thus, through the social marketing, Woolworths should jot down all the relevant information and develop products ranges in affordable ranges without compromising in the quality.    

The products that Woolworths intends to offer in their supermarket are solely made for the customer through that they can fulfill their daily household needs. Moreover, the basic need for higher-income group and lower-income group is also same. Thus, by formulating products ranges that are lower in price attract more people of lower income group and they can also experience products from a branded organization. Moreover, the social media also provided relevant information regarding a product and thus, Woolworths is suggested not to compromise their quality. The comments in social media also drive the purchasing intention of the customers.

The positioning statement in this context can be “To bring innovative and diverse products ranges for every individual of the community within their budget”. The details can be shared on the social media as a part of business marketing so that everyone can use their services at least once.  Moreover, this approach also allows the organization to enhance their customer bases.

Marketing tactics

Retail market in Australia always encounters critical challenges due to the growing competitions and more companies entering the marketing every day. Therefore it is necessary for the brand to redesign an effective marketing strategy for the upcoming years so that it can successfully achieve the organizational goals and objectives. Woolworths mostly makes products for the higher income group, therefore now through the social media marketing strategies the company is targeting the lower income and the middle class groups so that they are also attracted to the organization for their regular retail products. Therefore this study recommends the potential strategies and tactics for the organization that can be obtained by the company in future following the 5P of marketing mix.

Product

Woolworths mostly aims to offer the quality products along with the products that are easily available for the customers. Therefore the brand had positioned itself as a wholesome and a healthy group of retailer. For targeting the lower income groups the brand needs to clearly identify the requirements of the customers and understand that the target customer group requires valuing their money. Therefore the brand needs to provide the customers quality products along with the cost effectiveness, so that more customers opt for their products. The organization also needs to have a stronger quality control so that it can ensure greater value for the consumers. 

Price

Woolworths had maintained the pricing strategy to be maintained occasionally well monitored. In order to attract more consumers from the lower income groups, Woolworths needs to utilize he distinct approaches to attract the consumers through good discount on different products, various promotional offers etc. Having good discount on the products will be helpful for the organization to broaden the consumer base which will result in high revenue. The pricing strategy requires more innovations as well, because it will help the organization to attract more consumers. The products which are cost effective, will be useful for the organization to retain the existing customers along with attract more new customers at the same time.

Place

Woolworth’s stores are mostly located at every corner across Australia and New Zealand; therefore it is already accessible for a huge customer base. However most of the supermarkets are placed in such a position which has more demand, therefore it can be said that the brand now requires targeting the regional areas of Australia where most of the lower income group people reside. In addition to that the company can also expand the online retailing through the social media marketing. Therefore it will also be easier for the company to reach more consumers.

Promotion

The existing promotional activities of the organization are mostly supported by the media such as television and radio, along with the billboard advertising. However, social media can be more that useful for the organization to reach the target market. As in the recent times a huge number of customers avail the social media such as twitter, facebook, youtube, the brand can have a better brand management through the social media marketing strategies. It may also be useful to get more sales and can leverage the existing marketing outcomes.

People

Woolworths is targeting the lower income groups who are also active on the social networking sites, therefore it can make successful usage of the suppliers who reside at the rural areas, and therefore it would be easier for the brand to target the customers from regional area.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be stated that social media plays a crucial role in targeting all kind of customers irrespective of their geographical locations. The market orientation that is selected in this report is social marketing concept. It is also found that, Woolworths have utilized their social marketing not for their brand promotion but also for taking suggestion and tracking customer’s demands and requirements for their business. This is witnessed from their initiatives of formulating virtual stores. In this assessment it is also suggested to the organization that they should also develop products ranges for lower income group by incorporating cost-cutting approaches in other business areas. In this way, Woolworths can able to develop products ranges that are of low cost without compromising their products quality.  

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