Developing a Marketing Strategy and Plan for Houzit Brisbane

This report details a marketing plan for Houzit, a home-ware retail chain, focusing on its 15 Brisbane outlets. The plan proposes promotional activities like magazine advertising, public relations, and webpage development to capitalize on strategic opportunities. It emphasizes integrating organizational activities, monitoring progress through key performance indicators (KPIs), and addressing distribution and pricing challenges due to Australian dollar fluctuations. A communication plan is implemented to ensure effective execution and stakeholder engagement. The goal is to increase market share and sales, with a focus on staff engagement and problem-solving to achieve the company's financial objectives.

Running Head: MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
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1MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Executive summary
Houzit is a well known home-ware retail chain that is popular for its quality and creative home
products. However, recently the company wants to implement a new plan for its 15 outlets in
Brisbane. In response to this, this report addresses a marketing plan for Houzit with reference to
proposing promotional activities that will be beneficial for the strategic opportunities for the
company. In addition to this, the report also includes the integration of the organisational
activities and the monitoring process for the identifying the risk factors and the flawlessness of
the marketing strategy. Moreover, a communication plan is also implemented in order to
generate more efficacies into the process. Therefore, it can be concluded that the marketing plan
is effective enough to bring progress in the Houzit business orientation.

2MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Marketing activities.....................................................................................................................3
Magazine Advertising..............................................................................................................3
Public Relationship..................................................................................................................3
Webpage development.............................................................................................................4
Integration of organisational activities........................................................................................4
Monitor progress..........................................................................................................................5
Distribution and pricing...............................................................................................................6
Key performance indicator (KPIs)...............................................................................................6
Delegation....................................................................................................................................7
Communication............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
Reference.........................................................................................................................................9

3MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Introduction
Houzit is a chain of home-ware stores located in Brisbane. Recently, the company intends
to develop a marketing plan for fifteen stores that were established twelve months ago. In this
context, it became important to plan a marketing strategy to revive those stores. It can be stated
that the role of the marketing plan is to create a better market capitalisation for the company to
sustain its business in the high competitive market. From that perspective, the purpose of this
report is to discuss the marketing activities and the monitoring process. In addition to this, the
key performance indicator, delegation and the distribution and pricing are also incorporated into
the discussion in order to evaluate the efficacy of the newly adopted marketing plan.
Marketing activities
Magazine Advertising
The marketing manager of Houzit envisaged the opportunity of the magazine advertising.
According to Chandra and Kaiser (2014) magazines are contributed more intensely on the
dedicated market. Moreover, the magazine advertisements are based on the specific hobbies and
passions of the consumers therefore it provides a better market penetration for an organisation
(Ylänne 2015). In response to this, incorporating the local demands will provide a better
understanding related to the popular demands in the market. At the same time, the local
customers are also getting acknowledged with the reputation and product description of the
company. Therefore, Houzit will get a strategic advantage in expanding its business effectively.

4MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Public Relationship
For direct selling practices it is important for the organisation to put more emphasis on its
relationship with the customers. In response to this, creating better communication with the
customers can be formulated through the public relationship. As per the research conducted by
Johnston (2014) it was opined that the paramount role of the public relationship is to increase
awareness among the public so that they can easily trust the brand. In this context, Bir, Suher and
Suher (2017) tried to differentiate between the advertising and the public relationship by stating
that the role of public relationship is to manifest the unique features of the product or the brand
directly that advertisement cannot do. Therefore, in case of the Houzit, PR is identified as an
significant factor to set up effective market capitalisation.
Webpage development
Tiago and Veríssimo (2014) argued that with the advent of the social media and
technological advancement it became an intrinsic factor for the organisation to exploit these
methods by involving it to the advertisement mechanism. From that point of view, the marketing
manager of Houzit is also envisaged the possible opportunities of the webpage development that
brings profit and prosperity for Houzit. On the contrary, Bilgihan and Bujisic (2015) advocated
that the cost effectiveness of the webpage development drove the companies to opt for the
webpage development more than the traditional advertising methods. Therefore, this factor is
also influenced Houzit to take the website development option in consideration.
Integration of organisational activities
On the basis of the marketing practise and the range of promotional activities it can be
stated that the company does not want increase the sales growth rigorously. For this reason, they
are opting for a moderate marketing plan that can be beneficial to check the sales growth

5MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
increase up to 1% in compare to the previous financial year. In this context, it can be stated that
the role both the operation and the marketing department will cooperate with each other where
the marketing team will keep its focus on the public relation and the planning a marketing
strategy and on the other hand the operation department will be more interested on developing
the website and make it more user friendly.
Monitor progress
As far as the product pricing and marketing is concerned it can be stated that it requires
the understanding of the current situation of the market and the pricing strategy that can
influence the business orientation quite extensively. According to Moon, Bimpikis and
Mendelson (2017) it can be argued that the pricing strategy of an organisation is responsible to
deliver an perception regarding the target market of the company and side by side the expected
market expansion can also be figured out through the pricing strategy. Therefore, it is highly
important for the marketing manager of Houzit to identify the current market situation and on the
basis of that knowledge it is important to set a pricing strategy so that the company will be
benefitted.
In this regard, the objective of Houzit is to increase the market share of the company by
1%. It means the previous market share was 11% and the company is now looking for expanding
the market share up to 12%. In addition to this, there is also a willingness of Houzit to increase
the sales by 8.5% in compare to the previous financial year. The intense competitiveness of the
Australian market further pushed the company to heighten its revenue generation up to 10%
whereas the last year revenue collection was estimated approximately $175 million. Therefore, it
is important for the marketing department of Houzit to implement an effective strategy that will
be beneficial to achieve the objectives that are envisaged by the company.

6MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
In addition to this, the current market of Australia is the high time for Houzit to deliver an
effective marketing strategy because of the seasonal growth in the market of home-ware.
However, there is a serious threat to the marketing expansion of the organisation in terms of the
fluctuation of the Australian dollar that complex the situation intricately.
Distribution and pricing
As it can be seen that the fluctuation and instability in the value of Australian dollar
caused a series of problems for the local imports therefore it requires a better understanding of
the distribution and pricing of the products. It also needs a strategy that can facilitate better
framework for the benefits of the strategy. From that point of view, it is essential for the
company to initiate a better communication plan to generate a flawless distribution system.
According to Petersen, Kushwaha and Kumar (2015) it can be stated that the continuous
communication with the distributors and giving them feedback in order to encourage the practice
is referred as one of the most important aspect on which any company must rely. It can produce a
sense of transparency that would be beneficial for both the company and the distributors
(Waisbord 2018). On the other hand, the Lamberts Consulting had suggested that keeping an eye
on the fluctuation in the Australian dollar and at the same time compared the price with the
competitors would cater better result for the market capitalisation for Houzit. From that point of
view, that will be a strategic step for Houzit to keep the checks and balance of their pricing
strategy with the fluctuation in the Australian market.
Key performance indicator (KPIs)
The senior management of Houzit has set a benchmark of 15% sales growth in the
upcoming end of the financial year. On the basis of this understanding, it is important to track the
progress of the sales in a monthly basis. Moreover, a monthly track of the progress will generate

7MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
advantages to cope with the market fluctuation. According to Lop, Ismail and Isa (2017) the KPI
is a specific objective of a company but it relies on the success of the monitoring and adaptive
nature of the management.
Delegation
Subject: Draft for staff engagement in the new marketing plan
Sir,
This report is related to the draft for staff engagement in the new marketing plan. In this regard, I
am going to notify you that a new team is formed comprised of Marie and Tony besides me.
Marie is entitled to deal with the advertising and public relationship sections in order to develop
a better promotional strategy whereas Tony will look after the webpage designing and the
required operational specifications. Moreover, we seek help from the Lamberts Consultancy to
help us in developing the online customer order and payment interface.
Therefore, I need your approval to proceed further.
Thanks and regards.
Communication
For the communication plan it requires equal involvement of all the actors. At first it is important
to identify the problem. It depends on different variables like the customer specifications and the
market situation (Batra and Keller 2016). After that an analysis of existing market and
environment for business are important to figure out. The next step will be planning a strategy to
cope with the changing situation. It is followed by pointing out the objectives that are significant
for executing a marketing plan. These objectives must be specific and realistic (Killian and

8MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
McManus 2015). The next step is resembled with the positioning of the company in the
competitive market. The position of the competitors is also discussed in this segment. Then a
proposition for a proper marketing plan will be addressed. Finally, the action plan will be staged
to make the plan successful.
Timeline
Action Purpose Responsible
person
Estimated time Expected outcome
Problem
identification
To identify and
resolve the issues
Marketing team 1 weeks Problems will be
highlighted
Analysis of the
existing market
environment
To figure out the
challenges and
threats in the
current market
Marketing team
and the senior
executive
1-2 weeks Initiate a plan
based on the issues
Implementation of
strategy
To resolve the
identifying issues
Marketing team,
operation
management and
Lamberts
Consultancy
1-2 weeks An effective
marketing plan will
be delivered
Figure out the
objectives
To ensure the
efficacy of the
proposed
marketing plan
Marketing team
and the senior
executives
1 week Provide the
marketing plan a
purpose
Initiate a
positioning
To compare the
situation between
Marketing team 1-2 weeks Enlisting the
threats and issues

9MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Analysis the existing market
and the company
position.
that the company is
facing and the
advantages that it
enjoys.
Action Plan Conducting the
process as per the
marketing strategy
Marketing team 3-4 weeks Facilitate better
business
environment for
the organisation.
Action Timeline
Weeks (1-4)
Week1 Week2 Week3 Week4
Problem
identification
Analysis of the
existing market
environment
Implementation of
strategy
Figure out the
objectives
Initiate a
positioning
Analysis

10MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Action Plan
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the marketing plan for Houzit is based on precise but effective
strategy in order to meet all the objectives of the company. Moreover, the communication plan
illustrates the entire process so that every actor will know their role and act accordingly.
Therefore, the plan is creative and seems to be effective enough.

11MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Reference
Batra, R. and Keller, K.L., 2016. Integrating marketing communications: New findings, new
lessons, and new ideas. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), pp.122-145.
Bilgihan, A. and Bujisic, M., 2015. The effect of website features in online relationship
marketing: A case of online hotel booking. Electronic Commerce Research and
Applications, 14(4), pp.222-232.
Bir, C.S., Suher, I.K. and Suher, H.K., 2017. The Conflict: the Attitudes of the Public Relations
and Advertising Agency Employees towards Each Other’s Careers. International Journal of
Innovative Research and Development, 6(2).
Chandra, A. and Kaiser, U., 2014. Targeted advertising in magazine markets and the advent of
the internet. Management Science, 60(7), pp.1829-1843.
Johnston, K.A., 2014. Public relations and engagement: Theoretical imperatives of a
multidimensional concept. Journal of Public Relations Research, 26(5), pp.381-383.
Killian, G. and McManus, K., 2015. A marketing communications approach for the digital era:
Managerial guidelines for social media integration. Business Horizons, 58(5), pp.539-549.
Lop, N.S., Ismail, K. and Isa, H.M., 2017. The Implementation of Key Performance Indicators in
the Malaysian Private Finance Initiative Projects. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings
Journal, 2(5), pp.95-104.
Moon, K., Bimpikis, K. and Mendelson, H., 2017. Randomized markdowns and online
monitoring. Management Science, 64(3), pp.1271-1290.