UCBS7038 - Marketing Management: Analysis of ADF Group's Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive marketing analysis of the ADF Group, an international investment organization, focusing on its differentiation strategies, competitive advantage, and approach to commoditization. It examines the company's market segmentation, highlighting its anti-money laundering policies and customer segmentation practices. The report also delves into the marketing mix (4Ps) employed by ADF Group, emphasizing its product (benefits provided), price (funds implementation), place (operational reach), and promotion (public relations and CSR). Furthermore, it touches upon the company's solutions approach and sustainability efforts, including its commitment to pollution prevention and efficient resource utilization. The analysis concludes that ADF Group is dedicated to environmental protection and sustainable practices, communicating regularly with stakeholders about its environmental performance. Desklib offers a variety of solved assignments for students.

Running head: MARKETING
Marketing
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Differentiation............................................................................................................................2
Competitive Advantage..............................................................................................................3
Commoditization........................................................................................................................3
Segmentation..............................................................................................................................3
Marketing Mix...........................................................................................................................4
Solutions Approach....................................................................................................................5
Sustainability..............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
ADF Group is the abbreviated form of African Development Funding Group, which
was founded originally as an investment company for Africa. In the year 2013, it has planned
to expand its business and established its head office at Hong Kong. In the meantime, the
operations’ scope transformed in order to include the developing regions, specific advanced
markets all across the world, for fully exploiting the international strategies for investment.
Since then, the ADF Group evolved into a private equity company and international fund
management along with interests spanning Asia, Europe and Africa (Adfgroupltd.com 2018).
The purpose of this essay is to analyze the differentiation strategies, competitive advantage
and commoditization of the ADF Group. Moreover, the report throws light on the market
segmentation part along with the market mix. Lastly, the report highlights the sustainable
approaches undertaken by the ADF Group.
Differentiation
ADF Group is a non-profit organization, which is registered and works for protecting
the environment and empowering the communities. The Foundation believes in maintaining
as well as building a strong partnership with communities at which it operates. The ADF
Foundation enriches individual’s lives by implementing improved nutrition and health
infrastructures, creating safe and clean places for the children, education and generation of
sustainable income sources for the families. The differentiation strategy of the company is to
understand the needs of each community. Every community has some specific needs and the
ADF Group strives to address those needs by gaining an understanding of those in an
impactful way (Nagle, Hogan and Zale 2016). In addition to this, they consider those needs
and develop their conservation areas as well.

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Competitive Advantage
The company’s competitive advantages emphasize upon their mission and values. The
mission statement of the company is to deliver measurable and superior value for all the
stakeholders in an effective manner. In addition to this, they undertake all the transactions in
order to become the world’s leading creators of job, especially in the developing nations.
There competitive advantage is that ADF Group creates financial stability for the technology
driven and modernized society along with developed infrastructure as well as a weighting to
the developing economies like Africa. In addition to this, they offer out of the box solutions
of finance. Their integrity is their bond or connection. They work together in collaboration
for implementing and developing effective ideas (Barney 2014).
Commoditization
ADF Group offers full range of services related to the financial consultancy services
for the participating Governments, along with specialization in wealth and asset management.
The feasibility of the infrastructure projects study services, financial instruments restructuring
and project management. The group has allocated around 2% of the direct investment funds
to their research as well as innovation initiatives, which helps in improving their competitive
edge for the investee concerns and projects. In addition to this, the organization has allocated
around 3% of their direct investment funds portfolio for the Growth Equity as well as
Venture Capital opportunities (Barin Cruz, Boehe and Ogasavara 2015). These factors carry
great risk and their target is on higher returns.
Segmentation
The ADF Group is committed to the participation of international efforts for fighting
against terrorist financial and money laundering activities. Being a part of the compliance
requirements in several jurisdictions and countries, the organization have implemented and

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segmented their Anti Money Laundering policies. The control programs are segmented into
several activities. This involves verification and identification of the business and customers
partners. Moreover, they segment their business partners and customers by monitoring as
well as period reviews. Furthermore, they identify and segment their potential money
laundering as well as terrorist financial risks by monitoring the investment activities. The
identification as well as verification of the Ultimate Beneficial Owners of customers and
business partners helps them in analyzing the risks (Kotabe and Helsen 2014).
Marketing Mix
Product: In the case of ADF Group, the products are equivalent to benefits provided
for the company’s target audience. In simpler terms, it can be the causes it supports, the
programs or projects, the company is developing. In this way, the non-profit organization can
have an understanding of what differentiates the organization from others, in terms of
beneficiaries (Mix and Brand 2017).
Price: The price will be the necessary funds the organization implements for carrying
out the programs or projects as well as the personal costs needed in order to support their
cause.
Place: This implies the easiest accessibility of the company’s products to their
consumers. The company operates in most of the developing nations, with special focus upon
Africa, Europe and Asia.
Promotion: The promotional activity refers to the key communication tools, which
the company uses in order to provide necessary information regarding the services or
products to various stakeholders or customers. ADF Group uses public relations strategies in
order to gain the attention of the target groups. In addition to this, the company is also into

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Corporate Social Responsibility activities, which comply with all the environmental
legislation, relevant for any regional or country level (Borden 2015).
Solutions Approach
The company can undertake certain strategies in order to deliver more valuable
services for its partners. These should include asset and wealth management strategies for
focusing on the general wealth management services and funding government level
infrastructure projects.
Sustainability
The ADF Group can continue to fulfill their mission over the time, by keeping an eye
on the needs and demands of the stakeholders, more particularly their supporters and
beneficiaries. In simpler term, the financial sustainability of the organization depends upon its
ability to access new funds and diversify income (Sullivan-Mort et al. 2017).
Conclusion
To conclude, ADF Group is an international investment organization, with a rapid
increasing base of assets. They are strictly committed to the pollution prevention by adopting
ongoing projects for identifying as well as controlling the significant environmental impacts
that are associated. They protect their environment by striving to minimize and prevent water,
land and air pollution. In addition to this, they plan to keep their wastage minimum by
disposing the wastes in the most effective as well as eco-friendly manner. Moreover, they
make the most efficient use of all resources as well as materials by constantly measuring and
evaluating the operations. Furthermore, they regularly communicate with their employees and
significant stakeholders regarding the environment performances.

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References
Adfgroupltd.com (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.adfgroupltd.com/ [Accessed 30
May 2018].
Barin Cruz, L., Boehe, D.M. and Ogasavara, M.H., 2015. CSR-based differentiation strategy
of export firms from developing countries: An exploratory study of the strategy
tripod. Business & Society, 54(6), pp.723-762.
Barney, J.B., 2014. Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. Pearson higher ed.
Borden, N.H., 2015. The concept of the marketing mix. Harvard Business school.
Kotabe, M. and Helsen, K., 2014. Global marketing management.
Mix, M. and Brand, C.B., 2017. Marketing Management.
Nagle, T.T., Hogan, J. and Zale, J., 2016. The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: New
International Edition. Routledge.
Sullivan-Mort, G., Polonsky, M., Kilbourne, W., D'Souza, C. and Hartmann, P., 2017.
Introduction to the special issue on sustainability.