Freedom Furniture: Analysis and Strategic Recommendations

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the marketing challenges faced by Freedom Furniture, focusing on issues such as tough competition from innovative startups, the need to cater to Generation Y consumers, and weak trade relations. It outlines marketing objectives aimed at increasing sales by targeting Y generation customers and expanding market share. The report segments the target market, identifies key strategies like implementing IT infrastructure, differentiating market segments, and improving communication processes. Recommendations include investing in digital technology, developing a comprehensive marketing plan, and continuous monitoring and control to ensure the effective implementation of strategies and achievement of goals. The report emphasizes the importance of adapting to technological advancements and fostering strong customer relationships to enhance Freedom Furniture's market position and long-term sustainability.

Freedom Furniture Individual Report

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................1
MARKETING OBJECTIVES.........................................................................................................1
1.1 Sales objectives......................................................................................................................1
1.2 Objective 1.............................................................................................................................2
1.3 objective 2..............................................................................................................................2
1.4 objective 3..............................................................................................................................2
TARGET MARKET........................................................................................................................3
Segmentation...............................................................................................................................3
Target market...............................................................................................................................3
Positioning...................................................................................................................................3
STRATEGIES.................................................................................................................................4
RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report will discuss about the various issues which are being faced by Freedom
furniture. It shows poor trade relations between customers and business. Due to this they are not
able to provide high quality services as well as products to Y generation customers. By analyzing
the situation, three issues are described below :-
 Tough competition caused by innovative start-up stores with cheaper and more tailored
offerings.
 Gen Y Consumers – tackling a different product/market fit and different costing
schedule.
 Weak levels of trade with Generation Y market.
It has been evaluated that Freedom furniture is facings some issues in digital technology
and trade. This has affected on their sales and profits. Also, it has allowed new start ups to enter
in market. They are providing products at cheap cost. Due to this, there is decline in revenue of
company. There are certain strategies developed by company which is discussed.
Implementation of IT infrastructure
Differentiating market segments
Improving communication process
At last there are some recommendations discussed that includes Investing in digital
technology, Developing marketing plan and Monitoring.
MARKETING OBJECTIVES
Freedom furniture needs to develop products that will enable them to attract new
customers. Also, they should increase sales by implementing concept of B2C. the company has
developed goals of each quarter starting from January 2019. It is as follows :
1.1 Sales objectives
The first and foremost objective of Freedom furniture is to increase sales by 25% by
targeting Y generation customers. This goal has to be attained in first quarter. It is expected that
till end of 2019 more than 500000 units of furniture will be sold (Wolfe and et.al., 2014). Also,
due to advancement in technology more innovative products can be developed. It will be a great
opportunity for Freedom furniture to expand their market and attract new customers. Through
this, profits can be increased and company will be able to sustain for long term. There are many
start ups emerged which are providing latest products at cheap prices.
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1.2 Objective 1
Issue – tough competition faced by technological advancement and using digital technology.
Objective- To offer more innovative and effective products and increase market share in each
quarter.
In order to compete with start ups, it is essential to innovate products. The benefits can be
explained to customers. As a result development of new products will enable in satisfying
customer by fulfilling their needs (Myers, 2014). Business will be able to retain their customers.
Moreover, providing wide variety enable in understanding customer needs.
1.3 objective 2
Issue- Generation Y customers are facing problems related to different products and their
pricing.
Objective- To implement more resources in digital marketing and media to assist customers in
buying their products in 2nd quarter.
Freedom furniture is facing difficulty in dealing with their customers. It is due to
innovation in technology and differentiation in product pricing. They are not able to set standard
and fix price of products. This has created opportunity for other start ups to enter in the market.
Therefore, to compete with them and retain customers, Freedom furniture should set standard
price. For this they require some advance technological tools and equipment’s.
1.4 objective 3
Issue - Weak levels of trade with Generation Y market.
Objective – to develop strong and long term relationship with Y generation customers within 6
months.
In recent times Freedom furniture trade with Y generation customers has not been
efficient. It has led to decrease in their satisfaction (Dost, Phieler and Haenlein, 2018). The
company is not able to solve their problems. Thus, by improving trading process with customers
Freedom furniture can gain their trust. Here, trained and experienced person can be hired for
direct sales with these people. A separate team can be organized to handle and manage them.
Also, it will develop strong relation and retain them for long term. In this way firm can create
and expand loyal customer base.
Thus, in this way by applying different strategies it will be easy for Freedom furniture to
attain objectives one by one in given time. furthermore, sales can be raised and organization can
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compete in market. By innovating products and cutting cost, barriers can be developed by
company. It will restrict others business to enter in market. By having a larger market share
Freedom furniture can enjoy their customer base.
TARGET MARKET
After the development of goals and objectives it is important for company to decide how
market segmentation will be done. This gives an insight that what type or category of people will
be targeted by Freedom furniture. For every marketing plan it is an important element taken into
consideration. It consists of three factors that gives a precise direction for plan. Through this,
focus can only be made on those selected area of market. Without determining it is difficult for
firm to implement their plan. It gives a clear idea about where product will be available and for
which class it is been produced so their needs are fulfilled.
Segmentation
It refers to segmenting the market on basis of different factors. It helps in selecting right
customer for product. Usually, there are four market segment that can be used. But Freedom
furniture will prefer to target specific market (Phillips and Olsen, 2015). They will focus on
B2C concept. Here, direct sales and marketing can be done to interact more with customers.
market can be segmented on basis of old age people and students.
Target market
The market condition plays a significant role in achieving goals and objective. It is
because if right market is not selected it will be difficult for company to attain goals. for
Freedom furniture there target customers will be people living in rental home, college graduate
and middle class who are non residents of Australia. These people come for studying in
Australia. Also, there are large number of students who are graduates and doing job. Thus, it will
be easy for Freedom furniture to target them so that sales and market share can be increased.
Positioning
it means to provide products at such a place in the market so that it is easily available and
seen to customers. it is done to create a positive image in minds of people so that they recognize
it easily. Freedom furniture can place their products on their physical store. The stores can be
open in high streets, malls, etc. it will help in attracting customers in effective way. Apart from
this, value of product can be created (Shank and Lyberger, 2014). It will enable in increasing
market share and generating awareness in new market about variety of products. Furthermore, it
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is important for Freedom furniture to improve trade relations with Y generation customers. it will
benefit firm for long term and attaining objectives.
Small business – Freedom furniture can also focus on small business that are operating in
Australia. By providing innovative products they can differentiate themselves. Moreover,
organization can create their own blog where they can give regular updates. The blog contains
information of new products launched by Freedom furniture in market, its price, features, etc.
this will keep people update about what modified items are available in market.
The description of STP has given an overview about what will be the target market of
Freedom furniture.
STRATEGIES
1) Implementation of IT infrastructure
in order to use advance digital technology Freedom furniture can develop their own IT
infrastructure. They can use cloud computing services to market their products (Lock, 2016). In
addition they can change way of providing services and product information.
Another thing firm can do is to hire experts and professional that can assist in making digital
changes in firm. also, tools and equipment’s can be utilized and monitoring can be done.
2) Differentiating market segments
here, Freedom furniture needs to categories their products in different way. They can create line
or make sub sets of products. Then, standards price can be set on basis of features of products.
Company can list the prices of different products on their website. Moreover, pricing strategies
can be changed according to competitors and market condition.
A proper pricing structure should be developed. Each product price must be based on its features.
Customers must be charged according to services used by them. Freedom furniture can
emphasize on differentiation in target segments. Through this, it will be easy for them to identify
the buying criteria and taste and preference of customers.
Freedom furniture can advertise product in such a way that it becomes convenient for customers
to buy. They can engage more in digital marketing campaigns (Scott and Scott, 2016). With the
help of this, customers feedback can be taken and queries are solved quickly. here, firm can enter
in those area like Facebook, Instagram, etc. to link and communicate with customers.
3) Improving communication process
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in this Freedom furniture can organize seminars, campaigns, etc. to make aware people about
their products and services. Along side, company can take regular feedback of customers to
maintain relations. It can provide offers, benefits, discounts, etc. to loyal customers so that trust
can be gained. This will be easy to build and maintain trade relationships.
Freedom furniture can focus more on direct sales so that customers are kept motivated. Through
this, firm can also identify change in their needs.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In order to effectively implement strategies and attain goals and objectives, Freedom
furniture should follow some recommendation. This will enable in making improvement in plans
as required. These are as follows:-
Investing in digital technology- Freedom furniture can invest a large amount in digital
technology. For this a budget can be made. It will help company to buy and research on latest
digital trends which are used (Hettche, Tupper and Rooney, 2017). Other than this, Freedom
furniture need to install some software and application in communication process so that it is
easy to interact with customers. they can take their feedback and provide solutions in real time.
the more firm invest in it more can be return on investment.
Upgrading of digital technology – this is very crucial for firm to update tools. Digital
technology plays a vital role in Freedom furniture can update different tools and equipment with
technological advancement. It will be beneficial for firm to keep pace with it. also, they can cope
up with any changes. By this real time communication can be made quicker. The company can
redesign it in every 12 months.
Developing marketing plan – this is the most important tool that can help Freedom furniture to
increase sales in each quarter. In this 4 Ps of marketing can be defined in effective way along
with target market. Developing a plan will enable in promoting on various sources. Here, each
and everything will be defined in broader way so that it is easy to understood main aim of it. it
will give an insight of long term vision.
Monitoring and control – the marketing plan developed should be monitored with set
objectives so that changes can be made in proper time. if plan is monitored and control then
objectives can be achieved in specified time period. Moreover, it is been ensured by manager and
employees that plan is moving in right way (Stuart, 2015). The activities that are schedule in
plan is done accordingly. By control deficiencies can be found out in plan. It can be done by
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evaluating it with set goals. Any technical issue can be recognized and removed. This will be
beneficial in developing plan for the future.
By following these recommendations, it will be easy for Freedom furniture to attain those
objectives. Also, it will assist and support in developing marketing plan on schedule so that sales
are not affected. Additionally, firm can redesign their trade policies and communication process
so that customer interaction can be improved. In this way trust can be gained and taste and
preference can be determined.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Dost, F., Phieler, U. and Haenlein, M., 2018. Integrating Seeded Marketing Campaigns into
the Marketing Plan. In 47th EMAC Annual Conference.
Hettche, M., Tupper, C. and Rooney, C., 2017. Using a Social Machine for Promotional
Marketing on Campus: A Case Study.
Lock, J.R., 2016. In‐House Marketing Communications That Foster Success. Bull's
‐Eye! The
Ultimate How
‐To Marketing & Sales Guide for CPAs, pp.379-389.
Myers, J.L., 2014. Marketing the Bovine Reproductive Practice: Devising a Plan or
Tolerating a System. Bovine Reproduction, pp.374-379.
Phillips, M.R. and Olsen, J.E., 2015. The Use of a Comprehensive Marketing Plan to Attract
Foreign Investment to the Carribean Basin. In Proceedings of the 1991 Academy of Marketing
Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 135-139). Springer, Cham.
Scott, A.D. and Scott, S.A., 2016. Marketing Me: A case study on the evolution of an MBA
marketing competence exercise. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 228, pp.641-647.
Shank, M.D. and Lyberger, M.R., 2014. Implementing and controlling the strategic sports
marketing process. In Sports Marketing (pp. 573-622). Routledge.
Stuart, A., 2015. A Social Marketing Plan for the Arkansas Miracle League.
Wolfe, D. and et.al., 2014. Marketing Plan: Dallas Integrated Corridor Management (ICM)
Demonstration Project (No. FHWA-JPO-14-112).
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