Marketing Report: Strategic Analysis of Simonds Farsons Cisk PLC

This report provides a comprehensive marketing analysis of Simonds Farsons Cisk PLC, a Maltese food and beverage company. The report begins with an introduction to marketing management principles and then focuses on Simonds Farsons Cisk's market positioning and unique selling proposition. It examines how the company positions its products through various strategies like product, cost, price, competitive, and brand positioning. The report also includes a detailed marketing audit, incorporating both internal and external factors. This includes a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and the application of Porter's Five Forces to assess the competitive landscape. The report concludes by describing a defended new marketing mix action to address gaps between the company's current strategy and the external environment. This analysis is crucial for understanding the company's strategic approach and market attractiveness.

Marketing Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Market positioning and unique selling proposition ....................................................................1
Marketing audit including internal and external factor that provides overall market
attractiveness...............................................................................................................................3
Describing defended new marketing mix action to attain the gap between company's present
marketing strategy and external environment.............................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Marketing management is the term that is used for the purpose of doing proper planning,
techniques that will be used for selling and buying of products by the company. It helps in
ensuring proper functioning of the organization (Deepak and Jeyakumar, 2019). Marketing mix
such as product, price, place and promotion. Strategic decision is being taken for effective use of
resources that enhance productivity as well as profitability. There are different promotional
techniques used for selling product and gaining larger market share. As there are different
marketing concepts that help in providing market offerings, value and satisfaction to customers.
Present study will be used upon Simonds Farsons Cisk company. It deals in Maltese food
and beverage sector. It was founded in 1928.
Report emphasized on marketing positioning as well as unique selling proposition of
business. It also includes internal and external factors that affect operations of the company.
Furthermore, it includes marketing mix that help in fulfilling gap between the company's
marketing strategy and external environment.
MAIN BODY
Market positioning and unique selling proposition
This study will be based upon Simonds Farsons Cisk plc is a Maltese food and beverage
company. It comprises brewing, production, sale and distribution of soft drinks and beers. It also
deals in wholesale business of food and beverages. This company establishes in 1928 and was
the first brewery that established on the island near the capital city of Valletta. First beer that is
being produced by the company named as Farsons Pale Ale. After one year, Simonds Farsons
Cisk merged into H.G. Simonds for the purpose of gaining larger market share. After that its
family is establishing private bank that is opened in Malta Export Brewery. In contrary Simonds
Farsons Ltd granted license to brew ales and Export Brewery is getting temporary license under
the name Cisk Pilsner and Munchener.
After twenty years, Malta Export Brewery getting merged with Simonds Farsons Ltd. in
1948. It is also providing beer that help in gathering larger market share for the company (Yang
and et. al., 2017). It also export food and beverage at international level that will be managed by
Farsons Beverage Imports Company and Quintano Foods. This group is having franchisee of
Burger king and Pizza Hut for running its operation through Food chain limited.
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Market positioning is the strategy that will be used by companies for measuring
perception of consumer regarding particular brand or product in comparison with competitors of
particular product (Lima, 2019). Positioning of a product can be done by using different strategy
in Simonds Farsons Ltd as under:
Product positioning:- Simonds Farsons Ltd. positioning its product by doing advertising into
the market that help in gaining larger market share for the future. For establishing an image in
the market Simonds have to identify target market that help in evaluating various perspective for
the purpose of branding product into the market. Simonds Farsons Ltd use various strategy for
developing its product into Malta. Various marketing strategies such as advertisement,
promotional campaigns will be organized for making consumer aware about existence of product
into the market.
Cost positioning:- This strategy help Simonds Farsons Ltd as focusing on cost that will be
offered into the market. As this strategy help in eliminating waste from the company so that it
will not increase operational cost in the future. As organization invested into operational activity
that help in catering inventory procedures effectively and enhance business as providing food
and beverage to customers (Iyer and et. al., 2019). As Simonds continuously investing for the
purpose of updating its system so that it help in providing effective product to consumers. If
there is less operational cost that will help in positioning into market effectively. Procedures that
are implemented by business help in evaluating various perspective and enhancing business
operations that create effective positioning in the market.
Price Positioning:- Price of product will be positioned by Simonds Farsons Ltd that will be
decided by seeing consumer needs and wants that help in fulfilling it in the future. Price plays an
important role in positioning product into the market. As general customers are depended on
price for the purpose of buying product from the market. Price of product not depend on quality
as most of consumers buy product by seeing quality that need to be enhanced effectively.
Competitive Positioning:- Competitors are the biggest threat for setting up a positioning of
product into the market. For gaining competitive advantage Simonds Farsons Ltd have to provide
better product and services to customers that help in building reputation in market. For the
purpose of gaining effective marketing strategy that help in evaluating different perspective in
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for the future and enhance business operations of Simonds company (Alden and Nariswari,
2017). Other competitors try to gain larger market share by providing best product to consumers
and enhance business operations. As Simonds Farsons Ltd by providing best quality food and
beverage as compared to its competitors in the market developing its existence in the market.
Brand Positioning:- Positioning brand in the market takes longer term as targeting market that
is more suitable for the Simonds Farsons Ltd. After targeting consumers gap will be analysed
between potential customers and positioning that help in creating various perspective for the
future. It is important to analyse the gap that help in evaluating position of product into the
market.
Therefore, for the purpose of positioning a product into the market above perspective is
taken into consideration that help in positioning of product for the future. It is important for
companies to positioning its product that help in evaluating various perspective. This help in
awaring consumers related to presence of product into the market. As it help in developing
competitive market that enable in achieving objective of company.
Unique Selling proposition: This is a technique that will be used for differentiating product
from its competitor based on cost, quality etc. As Simond Farsons Ltd. is providing best quality
food and beverages to its consumers that help in providing varieties of product into the market.
By providing advertisement on television and evaluating category of product that will be helpful
for the future course of action. Through this Simonds Farsons Ltd. providing different
perspective in the market and enhance business operations for the future.
Marketing audit including internal and external factor that provides overall market attractiveness
Marketing audit refers to the comprehensive and systematic interpretation of business
marketing environment which include both internal and external in order to determine the
problem as well as opportunities for a business. Therefore, the marketing audit will helps to save
the time and money into the long run. The marketing audit begins with evaluating the external
and internal environment, objectives and strategies of the company. After that, it identifies all the
defects and short comings in the marketing activities and finally suggests the recommendation
and corrective measures to remove the shortcomings and also suggests new marketing activities
for the growth and development of the business(Al and et.al, 2015). Simonds Farsons Cisk relies
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on marketing audit to evaluate their business strategy and further take corrective measures to
improve the overall marketing as it helps in the profit maximization of the organization. Further,
another reason for conducting the marketing audit is such that in this modern era, the businesses
are exist in the dynamic and ever changing world where changes takes place very frequently
which may affect the business in both good and bad way. Therefore, it is quite necessary for the
company to have a deep research and then take strategies to overcome the weaknesses and
convert them into opportunities. In addition to this, in order to determine the internal
environment of the company, it is recommended to the firm to use SWOT analysis, which is as
mention below:
SWOT analysis: SWOT analysis is concerned with identifying the strengths and
weakness of an organization and it also involves grabbing the future opportunities and
countering the potential threats. It is an effective tool for performing internal marketing audit and
evaluating the overall market attractiveness and growth prospects (Gürel and Tat, 2017).
SWOT analysis of Simonds Farsons Cisk:
Illustration 1: SWOT analysis
(Source: SWOT analysis, 2018)
Strengths:
 The Simonds Farsons Cisk has an excellent distribution channel that makes sure that their
beverages and food products reach to maximum customers in a timely manner. This has
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further led to increasing customer loyalty towards the brand and also maximized
company's profits.
 The company follows market penetration strategy which means that it aims towards
increasing their customer base by providing good quality and low cost products thus
making it affordable for the customers. This has also helped the organization in achieving
competitive advantage over other players in the industry.
 Simonds Farsons Cisk was the first brewery established in Malta in the year 1928 thus it
holds a strong brand value and their consistent quality has further enhanced the image of
the company which has led to their growth and profit maximization.
Weaknesses:
 Since most of the employees in the company are locally recruited, therefore the
organization lacks cultural diversity which further reduces innovation within the brewery
and restricts their future growth prospects.
 Although, the Simonds Farsons Cisk invests a lot of funds in the research and
development but still they are not adequate considering the rapid changes in the brewery
industry and also it spends less on R&D when compared with its competitors like Lord
Chambray Brewery.
Opportunities:
 With the increasing use of internet, Simonds Farsons Cisk holds a great opportunity to
expand their operations online as it would not help in reducing the overall cost but also
help in adding new customer base which can lead to their growth and development.
 Use of latest and upgraded technology for brewing beers can help in reducing the
production cost and time thus improving the overall productivity of employees. Also, the
use of automated technology or artificial intelligence reduces the chance of errors and
mistakes during the entire process which can further help the organization in achieving
competitive advantage effectively and efficiently(Phadermrod, Crowder and Wills,
2019).
 The Simonds Farsons Cisk can diversify their operations globally which can help them in
maximizing their profits and increasing market share. The company can enter into new
markets with the help of mergers or joint venture.
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Threats:
 Incessant entry of new players into the brewing industry at competitive prices can
significantly reduce the customer base of the company. Hence, it is imperative to spend
more funds on research and development in order to innovate and attract customers.
 The innovative marketing and promotion strategies by competitors can hamper the future
growth prospects of Farsons group. Therefore, it is essential to analyse new marketing
opportunities and evaluate its effectiveness by the help of performing marketing audit.
Porter's five forces: Porter's five forces helps in identifying the five factors that affect an
industry in positive and negative manner. It can help in identifying the external factors for
market attractiveness and potential growth(Porter, 2018). Competition in the industry: It is concerned with the number of competitors operating in
an industry and their ability to cut the market share of the company. There exists a lot of
brewery companies in Malta but Simonds Farsons Cisk being the oldest has established
its market share and loyal customer base but if the company wishes to retain them and
add new customers then it is imperative to continuously innovate by performing research
and development. Potential of new entrants into an industry: An organization's power and capability is
also affected by the number of new players that enter into the industry and how easily
they do it. The brewery industry in Malta is attracting a lot of new players thus it has
increased the risk for the company therefore Simonds Farsons Cisk needs to improve
their marketing strategies in order to maximize the sales and profitability. Power of suppliers: Suppliers play an important role in the overall production and sales
of a company. Suppliers hold the power to influence the cost of raw materials and other
inventories. Brewery production companies like Simonds Farsons Cisk must perform
market research so that they can find adequate suppliers that provide good quality
products a right price and at time. It is important to determine various factors like
negotiation, credit facility and quality before allocating the raw materials from suppliers. Power of consumers: Customers are the king of the market and it is very important for
Simonds Farsons Cisk to identify their needs and wants and develop a suitable product
accordingly. Also, customers have the power to reject a product if it does not satisfies
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their needs and wants. Farsons group perform marketing audit to evaluate whether their
marketing activities have implemented correctly or not. It also helps in taking corrective
actions to improve their marketing strategy and contribute towards the growth of the
company.
 Threat of substitute products: Substitute products are those products that have the same
use as the company's products. Various beverage companies operate in Malta which has
restricted the growth prospects of Farsons group therefore it is essential to provide unique
and innovative products at competitive price to avoid the threat of substitutes for the
business (Wilson, 2015).
Moreover, in order to determine the external environment of the company, it is also
beneficial for the firm to use PESTLE analysis that is a strategic management tool which help to
determine the macro factor that affect the business and these are as mention below:
Political Factor: This factor mainly deals with the politics and rules/ regulation of the
company. For food industry, the government make wide rules and regulation which is somehow
not comply with the companies and in every company the laws are different such that Minimum
Wage standard is differ from country to country and if the country have high wage rate then the
cost rate is also high (Kotler and et.al., 2018). As a result, this factor affect the business in
negative way. In order to overcome such situation, Simonds Farsons Cisk should comply with
the laws and regulation while operating at different countries.
Economical factor: The factor deals with the inflation rate, recession rate of the country.
Such that if the country have high inflation rate then customers are not spends their money. At
that time, the company's sales decline and as a result, it affect the overall performance of the
firm. In the food and beverage industry, food and drinks are not sufficient to attract wide range
of public but providing healthy food services at reasonable rates will help Simonds Farsons
Cisk to manage the economical factor. Thus, it helps to manage the financial performance of the
company in better way.
Social Factor: Health and lifestyle trends influence the industry because now people are
aware relate to their health and they also prefer to have health conscious products as well. As,
Simonds Farsons Cisk offer beer that harm the health of an individual, therefore, it is quite
essential for the firm to offer services or healthy products to their customer so that it will help to
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comply with these social and cultural issues (Deepak and Jeyakumar, 2019). In addition to this,
changing social trends creates impact upon the sales of an industry as well. That is why, by
adopting the changes and taking measures effectively will help to leave a good impression.
Technological Factor: In this modern era, every company uses the advance technology
into its working area in order to make the work smoother. It is so because it helps to saves time
and also make the operations smooth. Therefore, it is also essential for the firm to use advance
technology related to customer service and convenience of the customers as well. Such that in
order to promote the product, company may use social media and should start online services as
well. Moreover, Simonds Farsons Cisk may also use innovative products and services as well
that helps the firm to make the competition tough.
Legal Factor: This factor deal with the laws such that Simonds Farsons Cisk should
comply with Health and safety act and also provide the drinks/food with quality. Apart from this,
the packaging and waste management should also be control. Moreover, the company should
comply with Employment law, as every country have their own rules and regulation and that is
why, the company should comply with all laws and regulation so that it will not creates any
negative impact upon firm (Haider and et.al., 2019).
Environmental Factor: For Simonds Farsons Cisk, Sustainability is the major factor that
created direct impact at global level. Such that changing government rules and regulation force
the company deal in food and beverage industry to adopt the approaches. Such that the company
also have the recycling and waste management system that will not affect the environment in
negative way and in the same way, in Malta the rules and regulation related to environment also
grew stricter and that is why, the quality standards should be followed in order to overcome
environmental issues (Chernev, 2018).
Describing defended new marketing mix action to attain the gap between company's present
marketing strategy and external environment
As the company have wide range of production and sales distribution of beer and soft
drink and through the secondary data it has been analysed that food and beverage industry is
growing and the demand of customers also varies such that, most of the people are health
conscious and also prefer to take healthy diet as well. Therefore, the gap is identified from the
food and beverage industry in which Simonds Farsons Cisk must provide some healthy drink for
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their customers i.e. energy drink. Moreover, currently the company only uses advertising as a
marketing tool, but by analysing the market demand it is realized that using modern tool will
help the firm to leads a business towards success. As per the external environment, it has been
analysed that the company faces tough competition from its rivals and that is why, to meet the
demand of the customer, it is beneficial for the firm to introduce new energy drink for their
customers and for that, marketing mix is used (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez, 2018).
Marketing mix is the set of marketing tool that helps the firm to pursue its marketing
objectives for the target market. It contain all the elements of marketing that influence each other
and also help the business to make a strategic planning for the business. For, Simonds Farsons
Cisk new product, the marketing mix is as follows:
Illustration 2: Marketing mix
(Source: Marketing mix, 2018)
Product: Presently the company deals with Maltese food and beverage products and it
also have brewing, production, sale and distribution of beer as well as soft drinks. But after
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analysing the external environment the company wants to introduce new energy drink for their
customers that helps to make an individual energetic and increase the productivity as well.
Therefore, by offering non- alcoholic products i.e. new energy drink, the company may easily
sustain their brand image in market (Kerin and Hartley, 2015). On the other side, the product
also contain Vitamin B that helps to improve the mood and fight cancer as well as heart disease.
Moreover, the new offered product, will also contain B12 and B6 as well which helps to make
people stay away from disease and also keep the nervous system function effective as well.
Price: Currently the company uses market penetration strategy in which Simonds
Farsons Cisk change its prices as per trend. It is analysed that the prices creates direct impact
upon the customer and most of them prefer low cost product with bet quality. But in order to
make the competition more competitive, quoted firm uses competitive pricing strategy and also
offer the same product in low rate and make further changes after analysing its competitor
pricing strategy (Baker, 2016). It is also analysed that the company have good customer base and
by offering the best product at low cost will also help to attract wide range of public towards it.
In addition to this, the company will uses the competitive pricing strategy that helps the firm to
establish the right price of the product with detail market analysis.
Place: Simonds Farsons Cisk is in Malta and also represent and import the number of
international food and beverage brand. Therefore, by introducing the energy drink as a new
product, the company will easily establish the new unit into market and as a result, it will help
the firm to establish the brand image at global level. From the secondary information, it is
analysed that organization lack cultural diversity which further reduces innovation, and as a
result, it restrict future growth option. That is why, by offering the new product locally and
internationally, the company will create the brand recognition at international level. In addition
to this, the company currently have its location only in Malta, but by innovating new products
into the working area will help to develop future growth option and meet minimize the gap from
external analysis as well.
Promotion: It is another important tool that helps to promote the new product into
market and currently the company uses advertising and sales promotion tool to increase the
brand awareness. Moreover, in order to introduce the new product into the market, the company
should use online marketing tool such that social media, it is so because majority of the people
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are engage with social media and that is why, this communication is consider the best
promotional tool for marketing the new energy drink in market. By using social media tool such
that, Facebook, Twitter in which proper description of the new product should be written so that
it will help to communicate the product in better way.
Process: The system and the process of the firm also affect the execution of the service
and as a result, the delivery of the company's service should be usually done with customer who
are present how the service delivered is once again (Dagevos, 2016). For Simonds Farsons Cisk,
the process is so simple in which the customer easily get their products. In the quoted firm, the
company have their own managers for each department so that the customer will get exactly their
wants.
People: for Simonds Farsons Cisk, its people are the employees, suppliers and customers
who help to develop the new idea and generate more revenue option as well. On the other side,
for quoted firm, its people may be the managing director and Head of boards who suggest
different views for the success of a business. Moreover, the sales staff of the firm also also
consider under this part because they are the one who run the business and promote the business
as well.
Physical evidence: It is another part in which the firm reassure the customers and for
Simonds Farsons Cisk, its impressive building, media channels are consider as a physical
evidence (Notta and Vlachvei, 2015). Moreover, it also include company's trained staff that will
further, assist their customers to satisfy the demand. In order to offer the new energy product in a
market, its sales, online social media is also consider as a physical evidence.
CONCLUSION
By summing up above report it has been concluded that Marketing management plays an
effective role in the business success. As concluded from this report that Simonds Farsons Cisk
have its effective marketing management strategies that helps to attract wide range of customers.
Currently the firm deal in food and beverage industry and also uses best and effective marketing
strategies as well. It has been further concluded that the company;s USP is .. Further, it has been
also concluded that in order to done marketing audit, it is quite essential for the firm to use
internal and external business environment factor, such that through SWOT analysis it has been
concluded that Simonds Farsons Cisk has excellent distribution channel and follow market
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penetration strategy. Moreover, using PESTLE analysis as an external marketing audit it has
been concluded that Political factor, environment factor affect the business and its success.
Lastly, by analysing gap between the external environment and present marketing strategies, it
has been further concluded that using new and innovative product into the working area, the
company should use marketing Mix that helps to attain the defined objectives.
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