MKT101A Marketing Report: Analyzing Woolworths' Marketing Strategies

This marketing report provides an analysis of Woolworths supermarket's marketing strategies, including a detailed target market profile segmented by demographics, geography, psychographics, and behavior. It examines Woolworths' positioning statement and analyzes the current marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion), highlighting strengths and weaknesses. The report concludes with five strategic recommendations focused on market penetration, refining the positioning statement, product development with organic and vegan options, adjusting pricing strategies during economic recession, and leveraging social media for promotional activities. The goal is to enhance Woolworths' market presence, customer value, and competitive advantage.

Marketing Report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Target Market Profile.............................................................................................................1
Positioning Statement.............................................................................................................3
Analysis of Current Marketing mix........................................................................................3
Recommendations..................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
References:.......................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
In the competitive business environment, to produce superior value and satisfaction for
the customers the company needs some accurate information regarding their customers,
competitors, resellers and most importantly the market scenario. For the organisation the
marketing is the key activity to gain competitive advantage. The marketing tactics and strategies
of the company are highly dependent on the customer buying behaviour and consumer trends.
The present report is based on the “Woolworths supermarket” an Australian chain of
supermarkets and grocery stores. The parental company that owns the supermarket is
Woolworths Group and was founded in 1924. The supermarket is the largest supermarket chain
of Australia and has market share of 33%. The present marketing report of the Woolworths
includes identified target market and segmentation of the customers, the positioning statement
and the marketing mix. From the above analysis and research the report includes the five
marketing recommendations based on the situational analysis.
MAIN BODY
Target Market Profile
A target market is the place where the organisation contain there potential customers to sell their
products. There are two types of market consumer market and business market. A market where
purchasers intend to consume the product by purchasing it for benefits without any intention of
reselling or making profit. On the other hand the business market is the place where the person
buying the product resale the product to make profit. Every organisation chooses their target
market through a selection process in which entire market is segmented into small groups with
one or more similar characteristics. To develop the appropriate target market profile for the
Woolworths supermarket the company will undergo the target market selection process that has
several elements that are discussed below:
Market segmentation variables: These are the characteristics or attributes of the individuals or
groups to divide the market into the small segments. In context of Woolworth’s supermarket the
segmentation variables are:
Demographics variables
 Age based segmentation: the segmentation of the entire market on the basis of different age
groups. In relation to the Woolworths supermarket, the company target the age group from 6
1

to 55 years as the main purpose to offer the products is to assist them in maintaining healthy
lifestyle.
 Income segmentation: in this type of demographic segmentation the market is divided on
the basis of their income level. In relation to the Woolworths supermarket the company
mostly target the higher level income customers those who prefer quality of products over
the price.
Geographic variables
 Region wise segmentation: the Woolworths supermarket has covers the specific
geographical locations for the business. The Australia and New Zealand are the two most
targeted regions of the Woolworths supermarket as it has more than 1000 of stores in
Australia.
 Urban, suburban and rural: in the above two regions that are targeted by the Woolworths
supermarket, the company further segment their regions into urban, rural and suburban areas
as the product price and the customers lifestyle and income in the places.
Psychographic variables
 Lifestyle segmentation: in the Woolworths there is large product portfolio for the customers.
Therefore, the company target the people on the basis of their lifestyle that prefer high
quality products over the prices as the competitors has low prices.
 Motives segmentation: this is the most essential part of the segmentation process of the
Woolworths supermarket as the company target the customers that has motive of living a
healthy lifestyle by consuming the products that are healthy and good in quality.
Behavioural variables
 Price sensitivity: in terms of behaviour of the customers the supermarket target the market
where the customers are not price sensitive and are ready to buy at any price as there main
concern is the quality of the product for their health.
2

 Brand loyalty: this is the key behavioural segmentation aspect of the supermarket as it is
has many loyal customers that are highly important for the brand image of the company.
By analysing the above Segmentation analysis of the supermarket the target market that
company is focused on is the Australian market. As it is observed that in the company is highly
relied on its home country for the sales of the product as the customers over their are
homogeneous and also through this company can gain the benefit of its undifferentiated targeting
strategy. In Australia market the supermarket also has loyal customers that are more focused on
healthy products and always oversee the quality over the price. Therefore, the Woolworths
supermarket largest target market is Australia as this market offers significant opportunities to
company to participate for the growth and development.
Positioning Statement
“Woolworths has refreshed its positioning as the fresh food people, launching a new multi-
million dollar brand campaign. “By serving Australians with great quality fresh food from our
very own backyard, as well as great value, we will live up to our ambition to be Australia’s most
trusted brand,”
Analysis of Current Marketing mix
Marketing mix is the analysis of the brand and the items it offers to the customers through
different strategies under the framework of marketing mix which covers product, price, place and
promotions. The marketing mix analysis helps the company to analyse its current strategies in
different variables of marketing mix. The Woolworths supermarket marketing strategy helps the
company to succeed and position itself competitively in the market which also assists in
achieving marketing objectives of the business. The marketing mix analysis of the company is
discussed below:
Product strategy: Woolworths supermarket is the leading Australian supermarket chain that is
known for providing healthy products. The Woolworths provide all types of grocery items to
their customers such as fruits, vegetables, meat, packaged items and some other constituents.
Another product line of the Woolworths is stationary items, DVDS and magazines. The company
has diversified product range in which furniture, home appliances and beddings is also one
product line. In terms of product strategy the supermarket believes in product diversification as
3

each catalogue has large variety of brands, local produce and international cuisines. The most
important part of all these product ranges is that company only believe in offering fresh.
Pricing strategy: The prices of the product has huge impact on the consumer's buying behaviour
as every customer pocket size is not same which make them choose the product of their budget
line. In terms of pricing strategy of the Woolworths supermarket they maintain high pricing
strategy in the market. The supermarket offers the premium brands for the food chain product
line therefore high prices keep the brand competitive. But with this company also has reward and
shopping cards for the customers that automatically tracks their purchases and offers discounts
on next purchase this pricing strategy is highly useful in retaining loyal customers.
Place strategy: Woolworths in terms of place strategy has been currently operating 1000 stores
and supermarkets in Australia. The company has some 200 store in New Zealand as well. For the
distribution of the products of the supermarket the company has the online platform that is highly
utilizes pre and post covid-19. At the same time the company has also developed the mobile app
for the customers to order and track their orders. The current distribution strategy of the
Woolworths supermarket is highly effective in making higher sales as well as offer ease and
comfort to customers in purchasing.
Promotions strategy: The Woolworths is the multinational organisation and also has wide
variety of products in its portfolio. For the effective marketing and promotion of each product to
serve profits and high popularity the company use different promotional tools. The key
promotional tool used by the supermarket is personal selling in which the product is personally
and directly served to the consumer at the physical store without any intermediary. In this
communication between supermarket and customer is through direct channel without any in
between element. The advertising the most common and the essential tool of promoting the
products of the supermarket. For this company advertise their products on TV, newspaper and
magazines.
Recommendations
 From the above target market segmentation of the target market segmentation of the
company it is evaluated that companies are highly restricted towards to the graphical
region that is Australia and New Zealand. In order to gain higher profit and global market
presents the company suggested to adopt market penetration strategy by developing new
4

product and entering new market. Also it is suggested to the company to gain its presence
in other market through market development strategy.
 From the positioning statement of supermarket it is observed that company only emphasis
on showing healthy products is their motto. But, it is suggested to the company to focus
on developing the positioning statement that communicate the target market with the
benefits supermarket offer to them in terms of service, online shopping and also describe
the key areas that are highly differentiable from the competitors I'm terms of price and
quality of the product.
 After evaluating the product strategy of the company that they highly focus on healthy
and greener products. It is suggested to the company to opt product development strategy
by innovating new foods and beverages that are organic and vegan to meet new customer
demands. Also it is suggested to the supermarket to develop product range that has ready
to eat food constituents. This will help the company to target new customers and increase
their value. After evaluating the pricing strategies of the Woolworths it is observed that the company
has high pricing strategy for their products. But during the time of covid-19 there is high
comic recession in many countries must be a key consideration for the company while
developing the prices for the product as this will help the company to retain the sales of
the supermarket. The company should utilise the pricing skimming strategy in which the
prices are set as per the current situation of the market and the product quality keeping it
reasonable as well as profit earning. Also the company must maintain the cost leadership
as their standardized strategy because the company has its competitive advantage through
respective strategy.
 It is identified that currently supermarket effectively utilising the advertisement as a
promotional tool. But as per the situation analysis of the current market conditions that is
highly technology oriented and customers are highly rely on The E-Commerce and social
media for choosing the products. Therefore it is suggested to the Woolworths
supermarket to develop promotional strategies that it’s social media as a key tool for the
promotion activities and campaigns by keeping the campaign agenda healthy Australian
supermarket. The company is also suggested to use the celebrity endorsements for their
promotional activities that could promote good and fit healthy body.
5

CONCLUSION
From the above report that for an organisation to produce highly superior products that are
valuable and can satisfy the needs of the customer the company is required to effectively analyse
its market. It is concluded evaluation of the market the marketing manager of an organisation
requires the detailed information regarding the customer's resellers and the competitors. But the
development of effective marketing strategy in the retail industry the supermarkets are required
to conduct market segmentation in order to analyse the larger market to target and position. For
effective positioning the company must develop a positioning statement that could value the
brand as well as of the customer with the various amounts of benefits. Positioning statement the
company must emphasize on their target customers the products they offer and differentiation
from the competitors. In the effective marketing analysis the current analysis of the marketing
mix that includes product, pricing, promotion and placement of the product is essential.
6

References:
Books and Journals
Camilleri, M. A. (2018). Market segmentation, targeting and positioning. In Travel marketing,
tourism economics and the airline product (pp. 69-83). Springer, Cham.
Paruchuri, H. (2019). Market segmentation, targeting, and positioning using machine
learning. Asian Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, 8, 7-14.
Mende, M., Scott, M. L., Garvey, A. M., & Bolton, L. E. (2019). The marketing of love: how
attachment styles affect romantic consumption journeys. Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science, 47(2), 255-273.
Mody, M., Suess, C., & Lehto, X. (2019). Using segmentation to compete in the age of the
sharing economy: testing a core-periphery framework. International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 78, 199-213.
Hollebeek, L. D., Sprott, D. E., Andreassen, T. W., Costley, C., Klaus, P., Kuppelwieser, V., ...
& Rather, R. A. (2019). Customer engagement in evolving technological environments:
Synopsis and guiding propositions. European Journal of Marketing.
Terech, A. (2018). An introduction to marketing and branding. Generations, 42(1), 45-49.
Green, M. C., & Keegan, W. J. (2020). Global marketing. Pearson Education Limited.
Smaliukiene, R., & Monni, S. (2019). A step-by-step approach to social marketing in energy
transition. Insights into Regional Development, 1(1), 19-32.
Fahy, J., & Jobber, D. (2019). EBOOK: Foundations of Marketing, 6e. McGraw Hill.
Basil, D. Z., Diaz-Meneses, G., & Basil, M. D. (2019). Social Marketing in Action (p. 22).
Springer Nature Switzerland: Cham, Switzerland.
7