University of Cumbria: Marketing Management Unit 8 Final Assignment

This marketing management assignment analyzes a company's marketing strategies within the context of a rapidly changing global market. The student, a Master of Business Administration candidate, assesses the current state of the company, including its organizational structure, leadership, and operational model, highlighting the challenges of a flat organizational structure in a service-oriented industry. The assignment delves into the industry description and outlook, providing insights into market trends and competitive landscapes. It then examines the company's 2018 priorities and financial plans, followed by a detailed exploration of strategic initiatives, particularly in marketing. A pilot project is proposed, encompassing executive summaries, objectives, competitive advantages, and recommendations. The analysis covers lead generation, reporting, technology, and brand recognition, with a focus on improving marketing investment and aligning strategies with business objectives. The student also addresses the need for enhanced customer service and quality metrics. The assignment offers a comprehensive overview of marketing management, including strategic planning, market analysis, and practical recommendations for improvement.

Student Number: 1552665
Master of Business Administration
MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Unit 8
Final Assignment
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Abstract
The world, as we know it, is changing constantly with the creation of new industries
and products. The speed of change has changed from the one we experienced
historically. As days dawn, we witness new products and goods – introduced to
make human life better. Emerging new products require emerging markets to thrive.
Therefore, developing new markets need modern marketing expertise.
The process of marketing influences human life – in that as much as we buy
products, we are still part of the marketing team as either wholesalers or
salespersons. The dynamism of marketing as a concept is because it is under
constant redefinition. Every activity within an organizational setup with the capacity
to create value – via the exchange of goods and services for financial gains define
marketing. However, the outlined concept is a traditional outlay of marketing
employed by organizations. However, because we are in the age of globalization, a
different approach towards defining marketing exists – the concept is modern
marketing. Therefore, this article tries to distinguish marketing concepts, the
characteristics, and role of marketing, as well as its challenges as firms experience
(Kotler 1999).
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Table of Contents
Abstract................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................4
Assessment of current company......................................................................................................5
Industry Description and Outlook......................................................................................................6
Current State..................................................................................................................................6
2018 Priorities..............................................................................................................................7
2018 Financial Plan....................................................................................................................8
Strategic Initiatives......................................................................................................................8
Strategic Initiative – Marketing..................................................................................................9
Short-Term Market Objectives..................................................................................................9
Long-Term Market Objectives...................................................................................................9
PILOT PROJECT Executive Summary of Service.......................................................................10
Objectives......................................................................................................................................10
Competitive Advantage................................................................................................................10
Product.......................................................................................................................................11
Promotion...................................................................................................................................13
Price............................................................................................................................................14
Recommendation..............................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................15
Bibliography.......................................................................................................................................17
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Introduction
The world, as we know it, is changing constantly with the creation of new industries
and products. The speed of change has changed from the one we experienced
historically. As days dawn, we witness new products and goods – introduced to
make human life better. Emerging new products require emerging markets to thrive.
Therefore, developing new markets need advanced marketing expertise. The
process of marketing influences human being – in that as much as we buy products,
we are still part of the marketing team as either wholesalers or salespersons. The
dynamism of marketing as a concept is because it is under constant redefinition.
Every activity within an organizational setup with the capacity to create value – via
the exchange of goods and services for financial gains define marketing. However,
the outlined concept is a traditional outlay of marketing employed by organizations.
However, because we are in the age of globalization, a different approach towards
defining marketing exists – the concept is modern marketing (Moncrief, 2000).
In relation, the company of which I am part is multi-billion while also the parent of a
renowned U.S corporation. We are also the parent company to many number
industry related companies, to whom we provide consultancy services and manage
both corporate and government accounts, which sells and finances rolling stock
(Chandler, 1962). The company also strives to be the first choice for global solutions
for residential and corporate customers. To achieve such an objective, it provides
services that are of quality and efficient leading to a slogan “customers for life.” As a
company mission, the stakeholders make the company a success, by having the
passion for offering services to one another while sharing deep organizational
heritage. Stakeholders also believe in the fraternity’s work input, which makes the
difference to other firms (Kotler, 2003).
With HQ located in the US, the company support functions that are central to firm
input is provided in the sectors of management facilitation, accounting, public
relations, marketing and sales, legal framework, human resources, as well as
information technology. To provide better services to the clients, the firm has service
centers across Asia and Europe. The company operates in a service-oriented
industry, heavily focused on customer feedback (Moncrief, 2000).
The company was founded in 1988 and is owned exclusively by external
shareholders and particular members from overseas within the senior management
framework of key companies (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders & Wong, 1999). The key
positions in the C suite are;
1. Chairman of the Board of Directors
2. President
3. Chief executive officer (CEO) of the operating subsidiaries
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As a result of a large number of acquisitions, the company inherited some marketing
messaging, that were not always aligned with the overall marketing strategy. The
goal of this marketing strategy is to clarify marketing message, set service direction
and build our sales ‘playbook’ for local/intrastate, interstate and international
services.
Assessment of current company
Follow on from the introduction; I will drill deeper inside to the structure, leadership
team and operating model to explain current set up. The company is very focused on
keeping its heritage in all aspects of the business. The company started as a small
firm that has grown since its startup in 1988, by making all sizes of acquisitions. The
leadership team at the time was very confident that keeping the original structure
that is well tested and proven to work, it the only way forward. The company
operated a flat organizational structure, also known as horizontal. The leadership
promoted employee involvement in all aspects of business, through the
decentralized decision-making process. For firms with teams that are self-managed
– the groups organize and perform their duties without supervisors or middle
managers are likely to fit in the preferred model. However, conflict may most likely,
be created with workers who have expectations like job promotion as part of their
career path.
On the contrary, because the organization has a flat structure, such conflicts are
unlikely to happen. Most definitely, career paths that are "horizontal" may be present
in the firm. Career paths that are "horizontal" include aspects of developing
extraordinary expertise in duties such as craft mastery while receiving pay rises –
mainly because one is loyal (Moncrief, 2000).
The company operates in a service-oriented industry, heavily focused on customer
feedback. By keeping the structure flat, the company is forced to have the
responsibility levels of baseline employees elevated into different management
layers. As a result, responses to customer feedback became more rapid. Fast
forward 30 years, the company kept its reputation in the industry for its first class
customer feedback quality and speed. Over the years we have built a library of key
KPI's (Key Performance Indicators), that are implemented to everything we do both
externally with our clients, as well as all internal operational processes. Our baseline
employees remain to be measured by these (Kotler, 2003).
By making regular changes that will reduce, being ambiguous while ensuring that
direction is to workers is established without any form of associated disadvantages.
A massive amount of changes and formalization will lead to reduced productivity and
open mind thinking because workers already confirmed to behaving in a way – and
they are set to such method of behavior. The culture of; we always worked this way,
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no need to change”, is very much a challenge when it comes to implementing
needed changes (Moncrief, 2000).
The fact I foresee is that until a crisis occurs, no decision or changes will be a) made,
and b) implemented. A structure that is formal reduces job satisfaction and
motivation. Thereby, the pace of decision-making is lowered. Most importantly, our
company is in a service industry that is susceptible to issues of high formalization
levels and lack of appetite to change (Kleiman, 2012). The employees that are part
of service team and are client facing, in person or virtually, face client issues and
problems and are often faced with a situation where immediate action may need to
be taken, but there are no guidelines or specific procedure for such a matter. While
the company empowers workers to be able to handle customer complaints, low-level
workers still do not have the power to resolve problems that customers raise. Such
workers are also constrained by rules and principles that are stiff and outline only a
given number of responses that are acceptable (Kotler, 2003).
Industry Description and Outlook
 2017 total industry was down 2.1 percent from 2016.
 Sales volume has declined 40 percent over last decade.
 The USA falls eighth on the highest volume (nearly 50/50 of
inbound/outbound sales).
 Contracts ranging from $2,000 to $2,999 were the most significant percentage
of new business in 2017.
 Hyper-localized, next-generation niche companies that connect consumers
with services with the tap of a button are on the.
 These niche companies are segmenting the traditional full-service into several
stages. As they gain more traction, they are changing the competitive
landscape for conventional full-service providers.
Sources: AMSA Data Studies, 2017 Report; Updater.com
Current State
 Lead Generation: While self-generated leads in all markets are extremely low,
the US has the highest number of self-generated leads. It should be noted,
however, that the closing ratio on these is only 13%. Current investment in
marketing-managed lead sources is meager (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders &
Wong, 1999).
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 Reporting: We do not have sufficient data to support whom we are losing
business to, and why. This is attributed to users not tracking this information
in CRM system. Overall tracking of lead sub-sources is diluted and poor
(Kleiman, 2012).
 Technology: We are lacking critical technology the consumer can easily find
with the competition (instant quoting, video estimating, self-service tools and
services, automated processes, etc.)
 Name recognition: Wide-spread consensus due to branding issues between
the brands and limited promotional investment continues to contribute to a
lack of name recognition in our markets (Moncrief, 2000).
Source: The President of MITX, The Massachusetts Innovation & Technology
Exchange; 2012
2018 Priorities
1. Collective ownership of financial performance between Sales and Operations.
2. Accelerate service growth in B2C and Commercial Services to drive more
local revenue.
3. Executions in 4 C’s.
4. Evaluate existing and new, developing markets
5. Achieve set International profit targets
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Brand
Aware
ness
29%
Lead
Gener
ation
71%
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
Source: The President of MITX, The Massachusetts Innovation & Technology
Exchange; 2012
2018 Financial Plan
1. Consolidate Domestic, Cross-Border and International financials
2. Regional summary P&L
3. New service line P&L
4. International market ‘ roll forward.'
Strategic Initiatives
1. Go – To – Market strategy clarified and aligned with business units globally
2. Recruit Specialist with a focus on selected market
3. Continue to focus on the rate increase to improve pricing and commercial
offering
4. Re-implement CRM platform
 Re-write and approve sales pipeline
 Formalize opportunity and lead value
 Formalize sales channels
5. Explore and develop global targeted sales strategy
6. Invest in marketing resources
Digita
l
65%
Direct
Mail
6%
Mix
25%
Philanthrop
y
2%
Sales
Promotion
2%
CHANELS
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Source: The President of MITX, The Massachusetts Innovation & Technology
Exchange; 2012
7. B2B clarified and aligned
 Invest in setting the platform for 2018 - 2019 growth
8. Accelerate the rate of growth in the B2B service line
 Marketing investment to be made to enhance lead generation capabilities
and leverage new website significantly
9. Improve engagement between centralized Customer Service and Operations
10. Increase focus on Quality, to include:
 The customer experience
 Quality KPI’s and metrics to drive and improvement
 Build additional customer service center
Strategic Initiative – Marketing
$900K investment in marketing initiatives to meet 2018 business objectives assigned
of by the Board of Directors and investors. Consolidate vendors were possible to
reduce cost, leverage spending and eliminate vendor redundancies. Plan to create a
market research book to include: Market Overview, Business Data, and Competitors.
 SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and traditional marketing initiatives in all
markets
 Advanced SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), digital and traditional marketing
in 4 primary markets, US, UK, South East Asia, and China
Marketing spends to be carefully managed for possible dial-up or down
opportunities, with a particular focus on performance-driven adjustments. New
approaches will show us to be more analytical, and data-driven to refine and target
optimal marketing spend (Chandler, 1962).
Short-Term Market Objectives
1. Generate 100 leads per month per sales person. 33% must be self-
generated.
2. Online quoting tool.
3. Increase brand awareness to create validity for sales in the marketplace.
Long-Term Market Objectives
1. Increase brand awareness to create validity for sales in the marketplace.
The growth is planned to be coming from a current baseline of 30 Sales
professionals with a sole focus on the service line. It’s incremental to assure 4 – 6
Sales people to be based in target markets. With new services planned to be
introduced to marker, the implementation has been agreed to be rolled out on
regional bases, starting with the largest market US. The plan is to recruit, hire and
onboard new sale professionals in the targeted market that will be aligned with a
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marketing strategy to sell a new pilot product, starting with Direct Consumer
(Moncrief, 2000).
PILOT PROJECT Executive Summary of Service
Objectives
1. To maintain a strong value proposition with clients. A strong characteristic
of our company is the quality of services we deliver, for an affordable
price. By continuing with this value proposition through service innovation
and fordable pricing, the brand image should grow and strengthen the
name.
2. To become a market leader. Everyone's goal is to be a leader. We are on
our way to take this position, by offering top quality service at an affordable
price.
Competitive Advantage
After completing extensive research, we have recognized competitive advantage for
market entry by offering several of its unique “lifestyle services.” Based upon local
advertising, the market is flooded with self‐storage services both within and outside
of the “yellow line." However, there are no full‐service moving companies located
within the “yellow line.” It is not necessary for us to take an extremely aggressive
approach to marketing. However, a consistent moderate approach is recommended.
We should be able to flood the market to establish brand awareness and maintain
with reasonable advertising (Kotler, 2003).
The company is entering a brand new market in central Florida called The Villages.
The average resident is retired at 61 years of age and lives an active adult lifestyle.
Many of these activities include great golf, decorating home and gardens,
entertainment and fine dining. We have created a menu of unique “lifestyle services”
available exclusively for residents of The Villages (Chandler, 1962).
These services will allow residents to enjoy their retirement without missing a beat.
This comprehensive marketing plan will establish guidelines and provide a formal
marketing budget for the operation at The Villages (Moncrief, 2000).
As we implement a new strategy, the focus must remain on monitoring new
developments and tracking result in both external and internal organizational
environments. The marketplace changes, and when it does, we need to be ready to
move in the same direction and speed (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders & Wong, 1999).
By applying ‘Marketing mix' to pursue a planned strategy in the target market to
ensure objectives are met, and devising marketing variables into categories. Such
categorization ensures that the management of the company has easy time
formulating related strategies. The categories are four – and represent the four P’s (4
P’s). They are the Place, Product, Promotion, and Price. Most significantly, one
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should understand that the customer does not conform to being part of the marketing
mix – contrarily, customers are the target.
Source: Management Marketing. A Framework for Marketing Management: Prentice
Hall, Inc
Product: According to the definition of Kotler and Armstrong, a product is “anything”
with the capability of attracting market attention, usage, acquisition, or consumption
as well as satisfying the needs of the customer or user if offered (Armstrong & Kotler,
2005). However, even if most definitions of a product are similar, emphasis should
be on the fact that products are not just finished goods alone.
Place: Under this factor, we look into the marketplace and marketing issues like
exposure, channel type, distribution, transportation, and location. The client should
be in a position of getting the product where he or she needs it. (Armstrong, 2015)
Price: Every marketing plan has to incorporate pricing considerations (Kotler, 2005).
This factor also has its mix that includes cost, competition, discounts, markups, and
geography. No matter how perfect other aspects of marketing mix can be, wrong
pricing will scare off buyers.
Promotion: The first thing that comes to mind when creating a marketing plan is
product promotion. However, this attribute of marketing is less important in the mix
compared to the other three. As defined by Armstrong & Kotler, advertising is all
about informing the target market and interested buyers of how “right” a company’s
good is – the process involves the use of channels of information dissemination
(Kalpana, 2000).
Product
We will provide a menu of innovative moving and storage solutions to a very
refreshing retirement community. From relocation and moving perspective, our newly
on-boarded sales team is targeting each client with four moves:
1. Moving from outside of The Villages, FL to within the "yellow line."
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2. Moving from within the "yellow line" to another residence within the "yellow
line."
3. Moving from a residence within the “yellow line” into an assisted living
facility
4. Moving an entire Villages home inventory to a distant family member or
designee
A comprehensive list of “lifestyle services” will be available to residents throughout
their retirement at The Villages. The initial list of services will be prepared with the
intention to grow as the market becomes developed. The list is made up of:
- Just Ask – personalized move consultation
- Attic‐to‐Go SM – your easy storage solution
- Handy Helper - labor assistance
- Courier and Moving services
- Automobile shipping
- Custom shipping and packing
- Full‐service storage and moving
- Do‐it‐yourself storage and moving
Place
The Villages is located 68 miles northwest of the Orlando International Airport. It
contains 23,000 total acres privately developed by The Villages, Florida, Inc. Our
company will establish occupancy within the "yellow line" and open an operation
center located in the area. In the meantime, all business inquiries should be directed
to our closest office in Orlando, until The Villages’ office is established (Chandler,
1962).
The infamous "yellow line" is the exterior perimeter that signifies official Villages
property. If you are deemed to be within the "yellow line," you are also considered
golf car accessible, an essential transportation source for Villagers. Two
communities currently exist within the "yellow line," and a third community (final
phase) has already broken ground on its construction (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders
& Wong, 1999).
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