Strategic Marketing Analysis and Management for Edwards & Co. Salon

This report provides a comprehensive strategic marketing analysis of Edwards & Co., an Australian-based hair salon. It begins with an executive summary and introduction, followed by an in-depth examination of the internal and external environments, including PESTLE analysis. The report conducts a detailed competitor analysis and a SWOT analysis to identify the salon's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It also includes a customer analysis and concludes with recommendations. The report explores Edwards & Co.'s marketing mix, analyzing product and service offerings, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and promotional activities. It also highlights the company's mission, objectives, and brand identity. The analysis considers the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors impacting the business and discusses the company's marketing activities, opportunities, and threats. The report is a complete analysis of the salon's current marketing strategies and its future prospects.

STRATEGIC
MARKETING
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
1. Executive summary.....................................................................................................................3
2. Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
3. Internal environmental analysis...............................................................................................3
4. External environmental analysis..............................................................................................6
5. Detailed competitor analysis....................................................................................................8
6. SWOT analysis........................................................................................................................9
Detailed customer analysis........................................................................................................10
7. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Edwards and Co. is Australia based hair salon which offers various services to its
customers. Further, the business is presently operating over five different locations in the
country. Makeup, hair, and wedding can be considered as the key services which are being
offered by the company (Co, 2017). Apart from this, it also renders services such as providing
training and knowledge to other salons located in the country. At present, Edwards and Co. are
facing intense competition from other small and large scale salons in Australia. The key strength
of the company lies within its satisfactory and tailor made services. Edwards and Co. weakness
includes lack of permanent workers, and this has adversely affected the overall business practices
of the company. In future, it has an opportunity to expand its operations in other parts of
Australia.
2. Introduction
In the present scenario, efficient management of strategies and plans has become vital for
the success of businesses (Aghazadeh, 2015). Strategic management can be defined as the
process of planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation of various policies and plans to
accomplish the goals and objectives of an organization. Further, strategic management is
considered as a continuous process and companies are required to carry out changes in process
and strategies at regular intervals.
The present report is based on Edwards and Co. which is one of the most famous salon
located in Melbourne. The company offers various types of hair salon related services to all its
customers and clients. This study explores detailed internal and external environmental analysis
of Edwards and Co. Apart from this; the competitor analysis of selected business enterprise is
also mentioned in the present study.
3. Internal environmental analysis
Edwards and Co. is very popular in Australia, and the business has its presence in
different locations of the country. Further, the company was founded 11 years ago by Jaye
Edwards who was a freelancer hairstylist (Co, 2017). Edwards was having no money when he
moved to Sydney, and he was looking forward to developing a modern and satisfactory hair
salon in the country. The mission of Edwards and Co. is
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“To be truly creative hair agency by providing personalized services to customers and tailor-
made education to other hair salons.”
The corporate objectives of Edwards and Co. are mentioned below as:
1) To provide best salon services in Australia through a network of freelance hairstylists and
colorists.
2) To provide salon education to other hair salons in Australia in terms of technique, business
and people.
3) To expand operations in other beautiful locations of Australia
Regarding brand identity, it can be expressed that Edwards and Co. are presently
operating in the five different locations within the country and all these salon shops operate
under a single brand name. The selected business enterprise has developed an efficient network
of qualified and skilled freelancer stylists. Apart from this, Edwards and Co. brand mantra is to
develop and operate as hair agency which is entirely creative and innovative.
The key product and service offered by Edwards and Co. include hair salon services such
as hair styling, weeding, makeup, etc. In addition to this, it also provides educational services to
other salons located in the country (Armstrong, Kotler, Harker, & Brennan, 2015). Here, the
brand emphasizes on providing consultancy and knowledge to other business regarding how to
achieve operational efficiency and run a successful salon. Edwards and Co. assists other
companies in skill development of other salons operating within Australia. To sustain in the
highly competitive marketplace, Edwards and Co. carries out changes in its products and
services at regular intervals according to the changing need and demand of customers.
The scope of the marketing plan is that it will help the company to carry out analysis of
its internal and external environment (Baker, Marketing strategy and management, 2014). The
plan is also going to support in developing potential business and marketing strategies which will
result in attracting more and more customers. The marketing plan is going to assist in creating
demand among people in the market and will also help in getting a competitive advantage.
The internal resources of the selected business enterprise can be termed as highly
efficient and professional. For example, the human resources include freelancer stylist who
renders various types of services to the people in the market. It can be expressed that training and
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development programs at regular intervals are carried out by Edwards and Co. to enhance skill
set and knowledge base of the freelancers (Baker & Saren, Marketing theory: a student text.,
2016). The company also has adequate finance available for various activities such as expansion,
business operations, and aggressive marketing.
Edwards and Co. management and operational capabilities are also effective as the
company can acquire higher degree of customer satisfaction by delivering fast, satisfactory and
accurate services to all clients. The key strength of internal resources lies within their
management capabilities which are quite capable. On the other side of this, the weakness of
internal resources is that the company is available with a limited number of human and financial
resources. This gap acts as a hurdle regarding achieving higher growth rate.
Marketing mix
Products and services – Services linked with Haircut, Styling, Hair Colour, highlighting, bleach,
keratin, make-up, styling, Services-Education for other hair salons, renting of salon space are
being offered by Edwards and Co. The core strength of these services is that they are highly
creative and innovative (Chernev, 2014). On the other hand, weakness can be termed as lack of
permanent workers as the staff members are working on the freelancer basis. It restricts the
company to accomplish its long term objectives of acquiring high market share and growth.
Price – The pricing strategy which has been adopted by Edwards and Co. can be termed as high
price strategy. For example the business charges -$100-$250, Hair color- Re growth-$110-
$150Short-$130-$180. The strength of this pricing strategy is that it has helped the business to
earn satisfactory profits. On the contrary (Frow, Nenonen, Payne, & Storbacka, 2015), high price
strategy results in restricting people in middle and low-income group to make use of Edwards
and Co. services, and this can be termed as the major weakness of the selected strategy.
Place – The Company is offering services to customers through stores located in five different
areas of Australia. The stores are located in Melbourne, Alexandria, Budds Beach, Byron Bay
and Surry hills.
Promotion – It can be stated that promotion of products and services offered by Edwards and
Co. is not so much useful. The company is making use of some in-house promotional techniques,
and this has supported in managing the cost of operations (David & David, 2017). However, it
can be argued that promotion techniques used by Edwards and Co. is ineffective and this is a
major weakness which needs to be overcome. The business can emphasize on making use of
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modern marketing tools such as social media and emails to create awareness among people in the
market. Apart from this, techniques such as offering discounts and loyalty cards can also be
taken into consideration to attract more customers and enhance the volume of profitability
(Galliers & Leidner, 2014).
4. External environmental analysis
PESTLE
This tool represents the range of factors that influences business operations and it is
required for the business to comply with such factors so as to operate efficiently in the market.
Several factors are present that affects operations of Edwards and Co and they are discussed
below:
Political factor: It is one of the most significant factors which involve the government laws and
regulations that influence business operations (Greene & Walls, 2015). The changing
government laws and regulations for businesses can directly influence the activities of Edward &
Co. Further, the new scheme has been introduced associated with loans for small scale
businesses and this is effective enough in meeting with the financial requirement of the
companies. With the help of youth centre new instruction programs have been developed for
beauty cultural field (Hollensen, 2015). Apart from this, the political parties have imposed high
taxes for companies that have adversely affected the salon businesses operating in the market.
Huge taxes are applicable on the branded cosmetic products that influences the overall
operations carried out by the business.
Economic factor: At present the economic condition of Australia is sound and this has positively
affected the purchasing power of people in the society. People prefer to spend more on cosmetics
and other form of products that are offered in the salon (Kitchen & Burgmann, 2015). Therefore,
it is beneficial for the Edward & Co to increase price of its products where customer can easily
afford the products and in turn profit margin of the business can be easily enhanced with the help
of this.
Social factor: This factor is associated with change in frequent taste and requirement of the
target market. New types of hairstyles are present in the market due to which Edward & Co has
to modify its product range so as to meet with the expectation of the target market. Therefore, it
is necessary for Edward & Co to meet the social requirement of the customers with the motive to
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enhance overall performance in the market and this in turn can act as development tool for the
enterprise (Liebl, 2015).
Technological: For hair dressing and performing other type of salon activities modern tools are
required to be undertaken with the help of which effective services can be delivered to the target
market. At present modern tools are used by the business for rendering salon service and
adoption of more advanced tools can surely be beneficial for the business and it can allow in
satisfying need of target market in efficient manner (Kumar, Sharma, & Gupta, 2017).
Legal: Various legal laws are present that can influence the business operations of Edward and
Co in every possible manner. Further, cleanness and safety measures are required to be taken
where the company has to ensure that its internal workplace is clean and it can be utilized for
delivering proper service to the customers (Percy, 2014). Apart from this, safety measures are
required to be taken through which accidents can be avoided at the time of delivering salon
services. Proper disposal of the chemical waste is required and proper license has to be taken
from the recognized authority.
Environmental: This factor is associated with the environmental laws that Salon Company is
required to follow. Business is required to adopt proper disposal technique with the help of
which it is possible to reduce the environmental burden (McDonald & Wilson, 2016). Apart from
this, government has introduced some regulations that companies are required to follow so that
their adverse impact on surroundings can be reduced to extent.
So, in this way these are some of the external factors that can influence the overall
activities of Edward and Co directly. It is required to deal with every factor efficiently so that
business operations can be carried out efficiently.
Shift in marketing activity
For smooth functioning of business operations it is required for the Edward and Co to
influence the market activities. The market when small business operates is competitive and
various businesses are operating in the market that are offering same type of salon services in the
market such as hair dressing, wedding styling, hair colour, highlighting bleach, education
services to different salon, renting salon space for photo shoot etc (Milichovsky & Simberova,
2015). Overall the taste and requirement of the target market keeps on changing on continuous
basis due to which the marketing activities are required to be influenced.
Possible future and current opportunities and threats
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In near future several opportunities are present with Edward & Co that business can grab
easily for enhancing market performance. Further, the main opportunity present is rising demand
for various type of salon services in the market where it is possible for the business to modify its
existing range of services through adoption of latest tools in the market (Musarra, Robson, &
Katsikeas, 2016). Apart from this, the main threat that can influence business performance is
competition where other salons are present in the market that are also offering same type of
service. So these are some of the opportunities and threats that can influence business activity.
5. Detailed competitor analysis
The market where Edwards and Co operates is competitive and various players are already
operating in the market. The main competitors of company are
 Organika Hair
 Tremayne
 Xiang Hair
 Spada
 Toni & Guy
Name of organization Product/service offered Benefits
Xiang Hair Hair products that involve
L’Oreal professional paris,
Kerastase paris, American
crew, Kevin Murphy
The benefit associated with
purchasing Xiang product is
that all the products are
branded that can easily
encourage the purchase
behaviour of the target market.
Tremayne Hair treatment, Manicures &
Pedicures, express facials and
waxing & tinting, skin
consultation, laser hair
reduction, makeup, eyelash
extensions etc
The service range of
Temayne is very wide and
they are of high quality. The
key benefit associated with
service of the company is that
it provides value for money
experience to the customers
Spada Haircuts, Hair color and All the services of Spada are
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styling, Keratin treatment,
Tape human hair extensions
of high quality and this is the
main benefit associated with
purchasing product of the
company.
On the other hand, product range of Edward and Co contains all the essential attributes such as
high quality, value for money experience, wide range of products etc. Generally, all the Salons
are operating on smaller basis and due to this reason market share of all the businesses is not
possible (Payne & Frow, 2013). Therefore, it directly provides competitive edge to the business
in every possible manner and in turn the desired goals of the firm can be accomplished
efficiently keeping in view the business aim. Overall competitor analysis has shown that
products and services of firm are more superior as compared with other businesses.
6. SWOT analysis
Strengths
 Providing customized educational
services to other beauty salons in the
country
 Online and offline operations
 Creative hair services
Weakness
 Variation in prices
 Staff members are freelancers
Opportunities
 Expansion in other areas of the country
 Hiring full time employees
 Increasing online promotion
Threats
 Intense competition
 Unavailability of freelancer in peak
seasons
From the mentioned-above table, it has been analyzed that the major strength of the
company lies within its customized educational services (Peppard & Ward, 2016). The services
are getting more and more popular with the passage of time and are helping Edwards and Co. to
increase its sales and profits. Furthermore, it also offers products/services through online and
offline mediums, and this makes the entire shopping very convenient for customers. However,
variations in prices and freelancer staff members can be termed as the major weakness of the
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brand. Sometimes freelancers are not available, and the company is not able to deliver services to
all its customers (Percy & Elliott, 2016).
On the contrary, Edwards and Co. have opportunity to expand its operations by hiring full-time
employees. The business can also emphasize on increase the marketing activities through online
mediums. At present, the salon and hairstyling industry has become highly intense, and this can
be termed as the major threat for Edwards and Co. It has created obstacles for the brand
regarding attracting more customers and increasing profits.
Detailed customer analysis
Market segmentation can be defined as the process in which entire market is divided into
different categories, and people with same buying behaviour are clubbed together. Further,
market segmentation is important because it provides clear directions to companies in the
accomplishment of business objectives and goals (Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy, & Pervan, 2015).
The target market of Edwards and Co. includes women in Australia, and at the same time, it has
also targeted salons in the country which seeks for enhancing technical education in the industry.
The segmentation has been carried out by demographic variables where the brand has targeted
people in middle and higher income group. Individuals who need the beautiful salon spaces of
Edwards and Co. for photo shoot media event etc. are also targeted by the selected business
enterprise. The targeted market is served with high quality and innovative services linked with
hair styling, make –up and wedding styling.
Regarding transitions and exchange, it can be asserted that Edwards and Co. offer
different services regarding hair styling, make –up and wedding styling and in turn, it charges a
certain amount from the customers (Slater, 2015). Women can be termed as the primary market
segment of the company, and the secondary market segment includes other salons located in the
country. The services are purchased from online and offline modes.
The company is required to focus on carrying out market research to identify the
changing need and demand of people in the market. The reason behind buying the services
offered by Edwards and Co. is that it helps in the makeover of people and changes their looks.
On the other side of this, businesses buy the services of the selected company to enhance their
overall operational efficiencies and become more productive. Another reason behind purchasing
the services offered by Edwards and Co. is to increase the volume of sales and profitability.
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The key opportunities present in front of selected company is that it can reduce its prices
and attract new market segment which includes people who fall into the category of middle and
lower income group (West, Ford, & Ibrahim, 2015). Apart from this, the business is presently
targeting only women and therefore, in future it can also introduce products and services for the
male in the country. Facilities linked with salon and spa can be added to enhance to its existing
customer base and market share. However, the critical future threat is going to be the changing
demand of people in the market. The changes in demographic variables such as the decline in
women of age group 20-45 which is the primary target market for Edwards and Co. can also
affect the business operations of the company (Yu, 2014).
7. CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that Edwards and Co. are required to focus on
making use of online marketing practices. Furthermore, promotion of services can be carried out
on social media and through emails to attract customers. On the other hand, it can be inferred
that in future, Edwards and Co. has opportunity to target new customers such as males to achieve
higher growth. Apart from this, staff members on the permanent basis can be hired instead of
freelancers to deal with the major threats and carry out the smooth flow of business practices.
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