Bucks New Uni: MG624 Strategic Marketing Report - OriSan Sandwich

This strategic marketing report, prepared for Ashanti Marketing Solutions (AMS), focuses on the launch of OriSan, an organic sandwich, in the USA market. The report begins with an overview of OriSan and the rationale for selecting the USA, highlighting the nation's large and health-conscious consumer base. A PESTLE analysis is conducted, revealing opportunities in political stability, economic strength, social trends towards organic foods, and technological advancements. The report identifies the target market as health-conscious, working-class individuals aged 30-59. Strategic alliance is suggested as the market entry mode, and a cost leadership strategy is recommended to achieve a competitive advantage. The report also addresses market segmentation and Porter's generic strategies. The report emphasizes the importance of adapting marketing strategies to the external environment and the benefits of effective market entry and segmentation.

Running head: STRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Strategic Marketing Management
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This is a strategic marketing report for OriSan, a sandwich made from organic ingredients
taking into account the health and taste needs of the consumers. The report begins by
introducing the sandwich and also the reason why the nation of USA had been selected for
the product. The report next undertakes an analysis of the macro-environmental factors which
the product is likely to encounter in USA through the usage of the tool of PESTLLE and
finds that apart from the legal factor all other factors like political, economic, technological,
social and environmental are likely to act as opportunities for the firm. The report suggests
the working class health conscious individuals of USA related to the age bracket 30-59 years
as the customer that the firm offering the sandwich needs to target. Lastly, the report
concludes by recommending the usage of strategic alliance as the possible market entry mode
and the use of cost leadership strategy to attain competitive advantage within the business
market of USA.

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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
2.0 Overview of the Product......................................................................................................4
3.0 Justification for the selection of USA..................................................................................4
4.0 PESTLE Analysis.................................................................................................................5
4.1 Political Factors................................................................................................................5
4.2 Economic Factors.............................................................................................................6
4.3 Social Factors...................................................................................................................7
4.4 Technological Factors......................................................................................................7
4.5 Legal Factors....................................................................................................................8
4.6 Environmental Factors.....................................................................................................8
5.0 Market- Entry options..........................................................................................................9
6.0 Market Segmentation.........................................................................................................10
7.0 Porter’s generic strategy.....................................................................................................11
8.0 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................12
9.0 References..........................................................................................................................13

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1.0 Introduction
As opined by Morschett, Schramm-Klein and Zentes (2015), the process of
internationalization and also the usage of different technologies had drastically changed the
nature of the contemporary business world. West, Ford and Ibrahim (2015) are of the
viewpoint that while of the process of globalization had significantly enhanced the number of
business opportunities which are available to the business firms yet at the same time it is seen
that the competition or the rivalry within the business world had also increased in an
exponential manner. Furthermore, the business firms now more than ever need to take into
account the threats and the opportunities presented by the external business environment in
which they are operational (Chernev 2018). More importantly, it is seen that the business
prospects of the firms trying to enter into the business markets of the host nations depends
significantly on the kind of market entry strategies that they use for entering into the same
(Grant 2016). The business firms are thus taking the help of different kinds of strategies like
cost leadership, product differentiation and others so as to gain competitive advantage within
the business markets in which they are operational and also to earn a higher amount of
profitability as well (Banerjee 2017).
The aim of this report is to present a strategic marketing management report on behalf
of Ashanti Marketing Solutions (AMS) for the organic sandwich, named, OriSan, that a client
of the concerned firm intends to launch in the USA market. The objective of this report is
highlight the manner in which the external business environment affects the business of a
firm and also the manner in which the firms need to formulate their strategies on the basis of
this. More importantly, the report will also show the prominence of the concepts of market
entry strategy, market segmentation, Porter’s generic strategies and the benefits that the firms
can gain through the effective usage of the same. The report begins by offering an overview
of the product, OriSan and also the reasons why USA had been selected as a business market

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for this product. Next, an analysis of the USA had been undertaken on the basis of the tool of
PESTLE analysis and also the possible market entry mode had been suggested. The report
finally concludes by recommending the usage of the cost leadership strategy for the pricing of
the product and also for giving the product a unique position in the market.
2.0 Overview of the Product
OriSan is a sandwich which is completely organic in nature and all the ingredients
used for the preparation of the sandwich, staring from bread to vegetables and others are
organically cultivated. More importantly, no artificial taste enhancers are being used within
the sandwich for improving its taste. The primary idea behind the manufacture of this
sandwich was the fact that a significant percentage of the entire world population suffers
from various kinds of health ailments and a majority of these ailments have been caused by
their unhealthy eating habits (Lee and Yun 2015). Thus, OriSan had been designed keeping
into perspective the taste as well as the health requirements of the customers.
3.0 Justification for the selection of USA
The food and beverage industry of USA forms an integral spoke of the economic
wheel of the US’s national economy and for the year 2017 the net revenue generated by the
concerned industry was $5.75 trillion (Usa.gov 2019). However, the major problem arises
from the fact that the food products offered by the different firms, stores, restaurants and
others are prepared taking the help of different kinds of artificial ingredients which in the
present times is taking a toll on the health of the individuals. The net result of this is that the
US citizens in the present times have shown high propensity towards the organic food
products and also the people have adequate amount of capital to opt for the organic food
products (Nuttavuthisit and Thøgersen 2017). Thus, it is on the score of market opportunities

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presented by the US food industry that the concerned nation had been selected as the host
nation.
4.0 PESTLE Analysis
Baker and Saren (2016) have stated that the framework of PESTLE analysis not only
enables the business firms to analyze the macro environment that they are operational in but
also to determine the most important which are likely to affect their business.
Figure 1: Components of PESTLE analysis
Source: (Created by the Author)
4.1 Political Factors
Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy and Pervan (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that an
important requirement of the contemporary firms for the conduct of their business is a
congenial political environment which will support its business activities. In this regard, it
can be said that the nation of USA is the 2nd largest democracy of the world and enjoys a very
stable political climate (Usa.gov 2019). More importantly, it is seen that the national

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government of USA offers active support to the different business firms of the nation and is
considered to be one of the ideal destinations for foreign direct investments (FDIs). Thus, it
can be said that the stable political environment of USA will actually act as an opportunity
for the firm offering OriSan which it can utilize in an effective manner to attain profitability
and growth.
4.2 Economic Factors
USA is the largest economic block of the world with an impressive growth rate of
2.7% and the revenue generated by the nation by means of trade in 2016 was more than $4.92
trillion (Usa.gov 2019). More importantly, the concerned nation is the home to business firms
like Microsoft, Apple, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and others and these firms in turn have
contributed in a significantly manner towards the stability of the US economy. Furthermore,
it is seen that the national government charges very little borrowing rate from the firms and
also the tariff charges, subsidies, tax and others that they need to pay to the government is
very low. Thus, the economic condition of US also acts as an opportunity for the product
OriSan which it can utilize for its own benefit and growth.
Figure 2: Comparison of US’s economy with the national economies of other nations

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Source: Usa.gov 2019
4.3 Social Factors
As opined by Murphy (2018), the social factors significantly influence the business
activities of the different firms because of the fact that the business fortunes of the firms
greatly depend on the ability of the firms to integrate the social factors of the nation of their
operation into the products or services offered by them. In the particular context of US, it
needs to be said that the gross population of the nation as of January 2019 was 328,513,294
with a population growth rate of 1.71% (Usa.gov 2019). More importantly, its society is
dominated by a liberal outlook which in turn gets reflected in the decisions made by the
people. At the same time it needs to be said that the people are accustomed to different kinds
of fast foods and this in turn had given rise to diverse health problems (Lee and Yun 2015).
The net result of this is that the people are turning towards the consumption of healthy as well
as organic food which will take into effective consideration their health and taste
requirements (Nuttavuthisit and Thøgersen 2017). This will act as an opportunity for OriSan
since the sandwich had been prepared taking these two factors into effective consideration.
4.4 Technological Factors
USA is one of the most technologically advanced nations of the world and the people
of the nation have shown a great fascination for these technological advancements of the
nation, with the appreciation that is being shown to the products or services offered by Apple,
Microsoft, Facebook and others being cases in point (Tulung 2017). More importantly, it is
seen that the different business firms of the nation are increasingly taking the help of the
technological advancements of the concerned nation to not only reduce their operational costs
but also to offer innovative products or services to the customers (Prajogo 2016). This as a
matter of fact acts as an opportunity for the product under discussion since the organic
ingredients required for the manufacture of the sandwich would easily be accessible in the

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nation under discussion because of the fact that the nation in the recent times taking the help
of different technologies has manufactured large quantities of organic food.
4.5 Legal Factors
USA has stringent business or corporate laws, tax laws, anti-competition laws and
others along with the different laws that the national government had formulated so as to
safeguard the interests of the employees as well as the customers. In addition to these, the
firms related to the food and beverage sector had to undergo various kinds of quality checks
and others before they are given the license to operate and even after getting the license they
have to regularly give safety, hygiene, quality and other kinds of tests (Grant 2016). These
actually act as a threat for the product under discussion here since failure to comply with
even one regulation of the US government can have severe repercussions for the product and
its firm.
4.6 Environmental Factors
USA is a supporter of the Paris Agreement (2016) which urged the different nations
of the world to reduce the harmful pollutants released by them by more than 2.1% so as to
mitigate the damage presented by climate change and global warming (Usa.gov 2019).
Furthermore, there are other stipulations or regulations of the national government that the
business firms are required to follow for the process of their business activities in the
concerned nation. In this regard, the environmental factors of the nation will actually act as
an opportunity for the product under discussion since it is likely that the environmental
regulations of the nation would greatly favor the product and can even be used in an effective
manner to further improve the product as well.
5.0 Market- Entry options

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Thompson, Strickland and Gamble (2015) have stated that the market entry strategy
can be defined as the measure or the process through which planned distribution as well as
delivery of services or goods manufactured by a firm to a new market. On the other hand,
Khan and Quaddus (2015) have stated it to be the measure through which the firms create,
establish and manage contracts in a foreign nation for the enhancement of their business.
More importantly, because of the large-scale internationalization of business in the present
times it is seen that diverse market entry modes are available to the contemporary business
firms on the basis of the reasons which have propelled them to expand, the capability of their
firm, resources and others (Fleisher and Bensoussan 2015). Some of the most commonly used
modes in this regard are joint-venture, licensing, franchising, foreign direct investment and
others (Baker and Saren 2016).
As opined by Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy and Pervan (2015), strategic alliance is the
process through which two or more firms enter into a legal contract through which they are
entitled to have use the technological resources, assets, trademarks and others resources of
the firms. Thompson, Strickland and Gamble (2015) are of the viewpoint that the process of
strategic alliance can be seen as a symbiotic relationship wherein all the parties involved have
access to different kinds of opportunities which they can utilize to enhance their profitability
as well business. Recent researches have clearly shown the firms taking the help of this
process during their entry into the business markets of other host nations have been able to
reap significant benefits (Varadarajan 2019). For example, it not only enables the firms to use
the different kinds of resources of the firm but also enables them to use the brand name,
market image, customer base and other entities of the firm (Tulung 2017). Another
significant benefit offered by this process is the fact that it enables the firms involved in the
alliance to maximize their profitability.

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In contrast to this, it is seen that there is a certain amount of risk involved in the
processes of franchising, licensing and foreign direct investment because of the fact in each
of these cases the firms are not being able to directly regulate their business host nations and
thus there is always the possibility that the third parties would not be able to handle the
business of the concerned firm in an effective manner (Prajogo 2016). More importantly, it is
seen that in the majority of the cases these measures are being used when it is not possible for
the firms to physically manage all the aspects of their business in the host nations (Tulung
2017). On the score of these factors, it can be said that the best market entry mode for OriSan
and its firm in the market of USA would be to enter into strategic alliance with the native
firms of USA which specialize in the production of organic food products. This will not only
enable the firm to procure raw organic food ingredients in an effective manner and thereby
expand their business in USA but would also offer adequate growth opportunities to the
native firm as well.
6.0 Market Segmentation
West, Ford and Ibrahim (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that market
segmentation is the process through which the business forms segregate the entire business
market with its potential customers into smaller groups of customers on the basis of their
interests, demands and other characteristics. More importantly, as opined by Chernev (2018),
it is seen that each of these smaller groups of customers have certain attributes in common
like demands, needs, interests and others and are likely to respond to particular marketing
strategies used by the firms. According to Banerjee (2017), the business as well as financial
prospects of the firms significantly depends on the segments of the population that they are
targeting for the sale of the products or services offered by them to the customers.
Furthermore, within the cannon of the present business world it is seen that are not only
tailoring their products or services as per the needs or the demands of the customers that they

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serve but their marketing strategies as well. The segment of the population that needs to be
targeted for the sale of the OriSan would be the working class health conscious people
belonging to the age bracket of 30-59 years of age. This customer base had been selected for
the sandwich because of the fact that recent researches have shown that the people related to
this particular age bracket are highly conscious about their healthy and also because of the
working class background to which they belong they would be afford the sandwiches as well.
7.0 Porter’s generic strategy
As opined by Baker and Saren (2016), Porter’s generic strategy highlights the manner
in which the firms can attain competitive advantage within the business market in which they
are operational. Three of the most important strategies as per this framework which enables
the firms to attain competitive advantage are cost leadership, product differentiation and
focus (Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy and Pervan 2015). OriSan and its manufacturer would be
able to gain significantly if they take the help of the strategy of cost leadership. Baker and
Saren (2016) have stated that the effective usage of the cost leadership strategy enables the
firms to offer the best quality services or products to the customers and that too at a price
range which is comparatively lower than that charged by the other firms. Thus, the firm
would have to fix the price of the concerned sandwich at such an amount that it would be
lower than the ones charged by its rivals and at the same time would have to ensure that it
does not comprises on the taste or the health quotient of the sandwiches. This is important
because of the fact that the long-term usage of this strategy is not only likely to help the firm
to earn the satisfaction as well as loyalty of the customers but also competitive advantage in
the market as well.

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8.0 Conclusion
To conclude, the process of internationalization had become the norm or the criteria
of the modern business world. However, there are various factors that the firms need to take
into effective consideration during the process of international expansion. An important
factor in this regard is business environment of the host nation and also whether the different
macro-environmental factors of its market would support the firms and their products or
services or not. Another important challenge that the firms face is that they are often in a
dilemma regarding the market entry mode that they select for entering into the business
market of the host nation. Lastly, the firms also need to select an appropriate customer base
and also design marketing strategies, sales strategies and others so as to gain success with the
customer base that they are focusing on. These aspects become apparent from the above
analysis of OriSan and its business in the nation of USA.

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9.0 References
Baker, M.J. and Saren, M. eds., 2016. Marketing theory: a student text. Sage.
Banerjee, S.B., 2017. Corporate environmentalism and the greening of strategic marketing:
Implications for marketing theory and practice. In Greener Marketing (pp. 16-40). Routledge.
Chernev, A., 2018. Strategic marketing management. Cerebellum Press.
Fleisher, C.S. and Bensoussan, B.E., 2015. Business and competitive analysis: effective
application of new and classic methods. FT Press.
Grant, R.M., 2016. Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley &
Sons.
Khan, E.A. and Quaddus, M., 2015. Examining the influence of business environment on
socio-economic performance of informal microenterprises: content analysis and partial least
square approach. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 35(3/4), pp.273-288.
Lee, H.J. and Yun, Z.S., 2015. Consumers’ perceptions of organic food attributes and
cognitive and affective attitudes as determinants of their purchase intentions toward organic
food. Food quality and preference, 39, pp.259-267.
Morschett, D., Schramm-Klein, H. and Zentes, J., 2015. Strategic international
management (pp. 978-3658078836). Springer.
Murphy, M.J., 2018, July. Competing for Emerging Markets: A Resource Dependence Model
of Foreign Market Entry Mode. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2018, No. 1,
p. 18681). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.

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Nuttavuthisit, K. and Thøgersen, J., 2017. The importance of consumer trust for the
emergence of a market for green products: The case of organic food. Journal of Business
Ethics, 140(2), pp.323-337.
Prajogo, D.I., 2016. The strategic fit between innovation strategies and business environment
in delivering business performance. International Journal of Production Economics, 171,
pp.241-249.
Rosenbaum-Elliott, R., Percy, L. and Pervan, S., 2015. Strategic brand management. Oxford
University Press, USA.
Statista.com 2019. Food Retail Industry. [online] Available at:
https://www.statista.com/topics/1660/food-retail/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2019].
Thompson, A., Strickland, A.J. and Gamble, J., 2015. Crafting and executing strategy:
Concepts and readings. McGraw-Hill Education.
Tulung, J.E., 2017. Resource Availability and Firm’s International Strategy as Key
Determinants Of Entry Mode Choice. Jurnal Aplikasi Manajemen, 15(1), pp.160-168.
Usa.gov 2019. Official Guide to Government Information and Services | USAGov. [online]
Available at: https://www.usa.gov/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2019].
Varadarajan, R., 2019. Theoretical underpinnings of research in strategic marketing: a
commentary. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(1), pp.30-36.
West, D.C., Ford, J. and Ibrahim, E., 2015. Strategic marketing: creating competitive
advantage. Oxford University Press, USA.