Strategic Marketing Project: Analysis of Freedom Australia

This report provides a comprehensive marketing plan for Freedom Australia, a retail homeware store, addressing key issues identified through a situational analysis. The primary challenges include a lack of effective online presence, high product pricing, and intense market competition. The proposed solutions involve embracing an omni-channel business strategy to expand customer reach and boost profitability, adopting a cost leadership approach to attract more customers and gain a competitive edge, and implementing digital marketing strategies and product differentiation to mitigate the impact of intense competition. The marketing objectives are structured around enhancing online presence, mitigating business competition through discounted sales, and offering better quality products to foster customer satisfaction and loyalty. The target market focuses on women aged 25-49, with strategies aimed at positioning products effectively within this demographic.

Running head: APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
Applied Project in Marketing
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
Executive Summary
This report highlights the issues that emerged through the situational analysis of the company
Freedom Australia. The situational analysis clearly reveals that the major issues that the
concerned organization faces in the business market of Australia are lack of effective online
presence, high price of the products or the services charged by the company, intense
competition and others. The company Freedom Australia, is still dependent on the brick and
mortar model of business and thus faces a substantial amount of threat and competition from
the ones which use the e-commerce model of business. The mitigation of this issue through
the use of omni-channel business strategy will help the organization to reach out to a larger
customer and increase its profitability. Freedom Australia charges a higher amount of price
for the products or the services offered by them and this is adversely affecting its business.
Thus, it is likely that the use of cost leadership will enable the company to gain more
customers and also to gain competitive advantage as well. Finally, the intense competition
that the company is facing has limited its growth prospects. This can be mitigated through the
use of digital marketing strategies, product differentiation, products adaptation and others.
These issues are important since these not only the basic aspects of the business of Freedom
Australia but at the same time they are hindering the effective growth of the organization as
well.

2APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Freedom Australia......................................................................................................................3
Marketing Objectives.................................................................................................................4
Target Market and Positioning...................................................................................................7
Key Strategies............................................................................................................................8
Recommendations......................................................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11

3APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
Introduction
The changes that has taken place within the spectrum of the contemporary business
world has made it imperative for it to resort to the use of diverse kinds of strategies or
measures which were not used by the organizations in the earlier times (Baker 2014). Wagner
and Eggert (2016) are of the viewpoint that the changing nature of the business world
becomes apparent when the needs of the modern organizations and also the demands of the
customers are taken into effective consideration. The net result of this aspect of the business
world is the fact that the organizations are not only finding it hard to attain sustainability but
at the same time to attain a higher rate of profitability as well (Le & Czakon 2016).
As opined by Menon et al. (2015), this change has propelled the diverse organizations
to take into effective consideration the entire concepts of promotion as well as marketing,
something which was not seen in the earlier times. Furthermore, it is also seen that the
organizations are required to conduct thorough market researches to identify the customer
base or the section of the population on which they need to place their focus but also to
understand the needs or the demands of these customers in the most effective manner
(Chernev 2018). This in turn helps the organizations to design the products or the services
offered by them as per the demands of the customers but also to design the marketing or the
promotional plans which will appeal to these customers in the most effective manner (Yu,
Ramanathan & Nath 2017). Solomon et al. (2014) are of the viewpoint that the prospects of
the products or the services offered by an organization or for that matter of the entire
organization itself depends on the effectiveness of these marketing or promotional strategies
or plans. The major issues that the concerned organization faces in the business market of
Australia are lack of effective online presence, high price of the products or the services
charged by the company, intense competition and others. These issues are important since
they directly affect the business process of the concerned organization and the mitigation of
these issues can help the concerned organization to gain success. This report will highlight
the marketing plan that the organization Freedom Australia can use for the process of their
business in the particular context of the business environment in which they are operational.
Freedom Australia
Freedom Australia, established in 1981, is one of the largest retail homeware stores in
the nation of Australia (Freedom Furniture and Homewares. 2018). The company under

4APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
discussion here is known for the high quality of sofas, furniture and other kinds of
homewares’ that it had been providing to the customers of the nation (Freedom Furniture and
Homewares. 2018). As a matter of fact, the company has more than 49 operational stores in
the different parts of the nation and primarily banks on the need of the individuals to beauty
their home and surroundings (Freedom Furniture and Homewares. 2018). In addition to the
sofas and furniture that the company offers to the customers it is also known for the other
kinds of home appliances like lights, storage solutions and others (Freedom Furniture and
Homewares. 2018). However, at the same time, it needs to be said that the company operates
in a very competitive Australian business market wherein the business market has already
been dominated by the various organisations like IKEA, Kmart and others. In order to
overcome, this intense competition the company has decided to embrace the digital
technology.
Marketing Objectives
Baker and Saren (2016) are of the viewpoint that the marketing objectives are the
goals which an organization sets for the products or the services that they offer to the
customers, which it needs to achieve within a given period of time. As opined by Katsikeas et
al. (2016), the marketing objectives can be broadly classified as the marketing or the
promotional strategy that a particular organization for the effective promotion and the
resultant sale of the products or services offered by them to the customers. In this regard, the
prospects of an organization and also the products or the services offered by them depends to
a large extent on the kind of promotional or marketing strategies used by it and its
effectiveness (Piercy 2014). Thus, it can be said that the marketing objectives or the strategies
has emerged as an indispensible part of the business world that the diverse organizations need
to take into effective consideration.
An analysis of the Australian business market clearly reveals the fact that the major
threats that the concerned organization is facing in the nation of Australia are intense
competition, the emerging online shopping trend, global recession, inflation and others. In
addition to these, the analysis also reveals the fact that some of the major weaknesses of the
organization are lack of effective online presence, the high price charged by the company for
the products or the services that it offers to the customers and others. Experts have argued
that the primary focus of the marketing objectives as well as the strategies devised by an
organization should be to mitigate the adverse effects of the threats and also to utilize the

5APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
business opportunities presented by the business environment in which it is operational in the
most effective manner. Thus, on the basis of this, it can be said that the marketing objectives
or the strategies that the organization under discussion here needs to devise should take into
effective consideration these factors.
As opined by Hunt (2018), one of the major trends seen within the cannon of the
contemporary business world is the fact that the customers are increasingly turning towards
the use of the system of e-commerce and this has changed the dynamics of the business world
in a substantial manner. Recent researches have shown the fact that the organizations which
are taking the help of the system of e-commerce have far better chances of enhancing their
profitability than the ones which still depend on the brick and the mortar model of business
(Dangelico & Vocalelli 2017). Thus, the company Freedom Australia needs to embrace the
online technology and also adopt the system of e-commerce. This will not only allow the
organisation to reach out to a much larger customer base but at the same time the company
will be able to increase the sale of the products or the services offered by it and thereby its
profitability.
SMART Goal1:
Specific Enhancement of online presence within the next 12 months through the
effective utilisation of the various online platforms and digital marketing
strategies
Measureable Increase in the sale of the products or the services offered by the company by
alteast 10%
Attainable The goal is a completely attainable one provided the organisation utilizes the
different digital marketing strategies in an effective manner.
Relevancy The goal is a relevant one and fits well in the larger goal of the organisation
to attain sustainability and competitive advantage in the business market of
Australia
Time-Bound For the effective attainment of this goal the company would need atleast 12
months
Intense competition within the business market of Australia is another major threat
that the company under discussion here is facing currently. The intense competition that the

6APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
organization is facing currently can be reduced in an effective manner through the use of
various kinds of periodical discounted sales as well as discounted offers (Baker 2016). This
will require the organization under discussion to organize regular sale wherein they will offer
products or services to the customers at a much lower price than the one which is normally
being offered by its competitors in Australia (Foxall 2014). For the effective utilization of
this process the company will have to convey the required message to the customers
regarding the discounted sales organized by them.
SMART Goal 2:
Specific Mitigation of the intense business competition through the use of regular
discounted sales and offers
Measurable Increase in the percentage of the sale of the products or services offered by the
company by more than 15%
Attainable The goal is an attainable one provided the discounted sales are conducted in
an adequate manner and also relevant information is conveyed to the
customers.
Relevancy This goal is a relevant one for the organization since it coincides with the
larger goal of the attainment of higher profitability and competitive advantage.
Time-
Bound
12 months
The third marketing objective that the organization under discussion here can utilize
for the process of their business, on the basis of the business environment in which it is
operational, is to offer better quality products or services to the customers. The effective
utilization of this goal will enable the organization to earn the satisfaction of the customers
which will in turn help them to achieve the loyalty of the customers (Lagat & Frankwick
2017). This is likely to not only enable the organization to achieve competitive advantage but
at the same time a higher profitability as well.
SMART Goal 3:
Specific Enhancement of the sale of the products or the services offered by them by
means of offering better quality products or services
Measurable Increase in the percentage of the sale of the products or the services by atleast

7APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
10%
Attainable It is an attainable goal provided the organization enhances the quality of the
products or the services offered it
Relevancy This goal is in synchronicity with the overall goal of the growth of the
organization and thus it can be said that this goal is completely relevant for
the business enterprise.
Time-Bound 12 months
Target Market and Positioning
Gabrielsson, Seppälä and Gabrielsson (2016) have stated that the prospects of an
organization depends to a large extent on the kind of customer base that it is focusing on and
also the manner in which it is positioning the products or the services offered by it. The
primary focus of the organization under discussion here is on the women customers who
belong to the age bracket of 25-49 years of age. In addition to this, it is also seen that the
organization focuses on the customers who are moving out of their old homes or seeking
renovation of their current homes along with the spent savvy ones (Mullakhmetov et al.
2016). Furthermore, in the recent times it is noticed that the organization has started to focus
on the customers who are very conscious about the appearance of their home and want to
make their home more fashionable.
The organization has positioned itself in the business market of the nation of Australia
as the one which offers various kinds of products or services to the customers that not only
enables them to beautify their home but at the same time beautify it as well (Freedom
Furniture and Homewares. 2018). This is perhaps one of the major reasons why the major
target customer base of the organization is the women section of the Australian society which
belongs to the age bracket of 25-49 years of age. In addition to this, the organization at the
same time, to create the need for the beautification of the homes and also to make it more
fashionable takes the help of various kinds of marketing or promotional campaigns wherein
they emphasis on the aesthetic and other benefits offered by the same (Kienzler &
Kowalkowski 2017). More importantly, by offering easy home delivery services to the
customers of the nation, the organization, at the same time, can position itself as an
organization which takes into effective consideration the needs of its customers and is also
customer friendly (Wensley 2016). Moreover, the high quality of products or services offered
by the organization under discussion here can at the same time enable it to gain a positive

8APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
brand image in the Australian business market and this can position the organization as the
one on which the customers can rely on or have trust (Mullakhmetov et al. 2016). The net
result of all these can help the organization to gain the unprecedented success in the business
market of Australia.
Key Strategies
McDonald. and Wilson (2016) are of the viewpoint that the major purpose with which
the different organizations take the help of diverse kinds of strategies is to improve the
prospects of their business and also to attain a much higher growth rate that their current one.
The organization under discussion here in order to mitigate the adverse effects of the threats
presented by the business market in which it is currently operational can take the help of
different kind of strategies. Some of the common strategic options that are available to the
organization are listed below-
 One of the major threats that the organization Freedom Australia is facing currently
is from the rise of the different kinds of e-commerce business organizations. The
emergence of these organizations has not only reduced the customer base of
Freedom Australia but at the same time is taking a toll on the profitability of the
organization as well. Thus, the effective utilization of the “omni-channel business
strategy” is likely to help the concerned organization in a substantial manner. The
use of this strategy will require the organization to not enhance its online presence
but also offer e-commerce business services to the customers along with the brick
and mortar business model that it is currently following (Le & Czakon 2016). Recent
researches have shown different organizations like Amazon, Woolworths Limited,
Tesco and others have been able to gain a substantial amount of success in the recent
times through the effective utilization of this strategy (Chernev 2018). Thus, it is
likely that the organization under discussion here through the effective use of this
strategy would also be able to gain unprecedented success in the business market of
Australia.
 The organization can also take the help of the various kinds of digital marketing
strategies not only for the enhancement of their online presence but at the same time
for the improvement of their brand image as well. In the cotemporary business world
it is seen that the customers are very particular about the brand image of the
company whose products or services that they are opting for (Menon et al. 2015).

9APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
The effective utilization of the digital marketing strategies along with the
improvement of the brand image of the company would at the same time help the
organization to market and promote the products or services offered by them in an
effective manner. Recent researches have shown that the organizations which take
the help of effective marketing as well as promotional strategies have far chances of
gaining success than the ones with ineffective marketing and promotional strategies
(Wagner & Eggert 2016).
 The use of cost leadership strategy is another strategic option that the concerned
organization has at their disposal. It is seen that the price of the products or the
services that the concerned organization offers to the customers is higher in
comparison to the ones offered by its competitors. This actually deters many
customers from actually opting for the products or the services offered by the
concerned organization. However, through the use of the strategy of cost leadership
the organization under discussion here would be able to offer quality products or
services to the customers and that too at very affordable prices (Yu, Ramanathan &
Nath 2017). The use of this strategy will not only enhance the sale of the products
offered by the company but would at the same time help the company to gain a
higher amount of revenue as well.
Recommendations
Freedom Australia, in order to mitigate the threats that it is facing in the business
market of Australia and also to effectively utilize the business opportunities presented by the
business environment of Australia can take the help of different kinds of measures. Some of
the measures which is likely to help the organization under discussion here are listed below-
 The effective use of the product differential strategy is likely to help the organization
under discussion here in a substantial manner. Freedom Australia, through the usage
of this strategy will be able offer products or services which are not only superior in
quality to the ones offered by its competitors but at the same time in terms of
appearance as well (Solomon et al. 2014). In addition to this, the use of the strategy
of product adaptation will also help the organization, to effectively to integrate the
demands and also the needs of the customers into the design and also the quality of
the products or the services offered by them (Hunt 2018).

10APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
 Enhancement of the customer base is another option that is likely to help the
organization in the process of its growth. The company currently is focusing on just
the women customers of the nation who belong to the age bracket of 25-49 of years.
However, by incorporating the male customer base in this domain the concerned
organization would be able to increase the revenue earned by them and also the sale
of their products.
 Use of effective marketing campaigns and also social media for the process of the
promotion of the products or the services offered by the organization will help the
organization to reach out to a much larger customer base. In addition to this, it will
also help the organization to convey the required information regarding their products
or services to the customers and thereby increase the sale of these products in a
substantial manner (Katsikeas et al. 2016).
Conclusion
To conclude, the concept of marketing management has become an important one
from the perspective of the various business enterprises and helps them to effective promote
as well as market the products or the services offered by them. The dynamicity of the
contemporary business world has made it imperative for the various organizations to take the
help of different kind of strategies like omni-channel business strategy, digital marketing
strategy, cost leadership and others. Furthermore, at the same time, it is seen that the different
organizations formulate marketing objectives for the products or the services that they offer
to the customers so as to boost its sale. More importantly, in the contemporary business world
it is seen that different organizations have been able to attain a substantial amount of success
in the recent times through the effective utilization of the various precepts of marketing
management.

11APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
References
Baker, M.J. & Saren, M. eds., 2016. Marketing theory: a student text. Sage.
Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Macmillan International Higher
Education.
Baker, M.J., 2016. What is marketing?. In The Marketing Book(pp. 25-42). Routledge.
Chernev, A., 2018. Strategic marketing management. Cerebellum Press.
Dangelico, R.M. & Vocalelli, D., 2017. “Green Marketing”: an analysis of definitions,
strategy steps, and tools through a systematic review of the literature. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 165, pp.1263-1279.
Foxall, G., 2014. Strategic Marketing Management (RLE Marketing). Routledge.
Freedom Furniture and Homewares. 2018. Freedom | Quality Indoor & Outdoor Furniture
Retailer. [online] Available at: https://www.freedom.com.au/ [Accessed 23 Oct.
2018].
Gabrielsson, M., Seppälä, T. & Gabrielsson, P., 2016. Realizing a hybrid competitive strategy
and achieving superior financial performance while internationalizing in the high-
technology market. Industrial Marketing Management, 54, pp.141-153.
Hunt, S.D., 2018. Advancing marketing strategy in the marketing discipline and beyond:
from promise, to neglect, to prominence, to fragment (to promise?). Journal of
Marketing Management, 34(1-2), pp.16-51.
Katsikeas, C.S., Morgan, N.A., Leonidou, L.C. & Hult, G.T.M., 2016. Assessing
performance outcomes in marketing. Journal of Marketing, 80(2), pp.1-20.
Kienzler, M. & Kowalkowski, C., 2017. Pricing strategy: A review of 22 years of marketing
research. Journal of Business Research, 78, pp.101-110.
Lagat, C. & Frankwick, G.L., 2017. Marketing capability, marketing strategy implementation
and performance in small firms. Journal for Global Business Advancement, 10(3),
pp.327-345.

12APPLIED PROJECT IN MARKETING
Le Roy, F. & Czakon, W., 2016. Managing coopetition: the missing link between strategy
and performance. Industrial Marketing Management, 53(1), pp.3-6.
McDonald, M. & Wilson, H., 2016. Marketing Plans: How to prepare them, how to profit
from them. John Wiley & Sons.
Menon, A., Bharadwaj, S.G., Adidam, P.T. & Edison, S.W., 2015. Effective Marketing
Strategy-Making: Antecedents and Consequences. In Proceedings of the 1997
Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 224-224). Springer,
Cham.
Mullakhmetov, K.S., Sadriev, R.D., Gabidinova, G.S. & Akhmetshin, E.M., 2016. Control in
marketing-based management. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 20(2), p.13.
Piercy, N., 2014. Export Strategy: Markets and Competition (RLE Marketing). Routledge.
Solomon, M.R., Dahl, D.W., White, K., Zaichkowsky, J.L. & Polegato, R., 2014. Consumer
behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). London: Pearson.
Wagner, S.M. & Eggert, A., 2016. Co-management of purchasing and marketing: Why, when
and how?. Industrial Marketing Management, 52, pp.27-36.
Wensley, R., 2016. The basics of marketing strategy. In The marketing book (pp. 75-107).
Routledge.
Yu, W., Ramanathan, R. & Nath, P., 2017. Environmental pressures and performance: An
analysis of the roles of environmental innovation strategy and marketing
capability. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 117, pp.160-169.