Understanding Integrated Communication Strategies for Market Success

The assignment focuses on examining the role of integrated communication within medium-sized enterprises, emphasizing its potential to enhance organizational effectiveness and achieve business success. The study draws upon key insights from Einwiller and Boenigk (2012), who discuss the link between integrated communication management and communication effectiveness in such businesses. It outlines the necessity for cohesive messaging across all channels as a fundamental component of strategic marketing communications, aimed at aligning organizational goals with market demands. Furthermore, it investigates how effective integrated communication strategies can facilitate better stakeholder engagement, improve brand perception, and drive competitive advantage. The analysis incorporates perspectives from various academic sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of the practical implications for businesses striving to optimize their communication efforts.

Running head: BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
Business to Business
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Content
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Outlining the target market of the selected B2B product................................................................2
Outing the SWOT analysis for the business....................................................................................4
Outlining the marketing objectives for the product.........................................................................5
Formulating the positioning strategy for this particular product.....................................................6
Formulating the product mix...........................................................................................................8
Describing the service strategy for this product..............................................................................9
Outlining the marketing channels for this product........................................................................10
Formulating the pricing strategy for this products........................................................................11
Explaining the IMC strategy for this product................................................................................12
Outlining the evaluation plan of the marketing plan.....................................................................12
References and Bibliography.........................................................................................................15

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Introduction
The following report discusses the business-to-business marketing strategies. Any
successful B2B strategies should be geared towards the lead generation. B2B (Business to
business) marketing is a marketing of product to business or other organizations for use in
production of goods, for the purpose of general business operation. The present report focuses on
the B2B marketing of the product called Komatsu excavators PC 5500-6 produced by
Komatsu Ltd, which is a Japanese multinational firm that manufactures construction, mining
and military equipment. The report presents the target market of the selected product. In order to
learn the efficiency of the product a SWOT analysis of the business has been conducted.
Likewise, with other strategic management tools each element of B2B marketing has been
presented and discussed considering the product.
Outlining the target market of the selected B2B product
Komatsu excavators PC 5500-6 is one of the largest excavators, which is costlier than other
excavators because of its extended features. Moreover, the price is not the only concern in the
target market, the maintenance cost is another significant factor that buyer has to consider while
purchasing the product.
Geographic segmentation- PC 5500-6 is considered to be placed in the Asia-Pacific
nations such as Australia, Singapore, Canada, China, Maldives and some other nations that come
under Asia Pacific regions. China and Australia are certainly nations with highest economic
stability in Asia and because of this economic stability, several large domestic and international
firms are running the operation there. Therefore, the focus should be on the large size companies

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of construction and mining sector of Australia and China. These markets are apt for the proposed
product because China and Singapore has the increasing record of successful construction and
mining activities (Möller, 2013). Moreover, China and Australia are largely involved in the
urban development projects where the construction companies are in the need of such excavator
product.
Demographic segmentation- Asia Pacific nations are widely involved in the urban
development products due to growing and stable economic position. Many large companies are
undertaking the large construction and projects. For example, constriction contributed 37265
CNY HML in the third quarter of 2017 from 22326.30 CNY HML, which is certainly a
significant opportunity for Komatsu Ltd to produce product that facilitate construction
operation in China (Hong et al. 2016). As put forward by Bouchet et al. (2011), increasing in
volume in the construction sector, which has been the hit on several fronts. This growth in the
construction fuels up the competition from overseas.
Target market- Target market of Komatsu Ltd’s new product is Asia-pacific nations
where the economic stability is high. Particularly, the firm should focus on the large size
construction and mining firms that undertake long-term projects.
Explaining the relationship strategy for the specific target market to develop the business of
Komatsu Excavators
Certainly, in order to place and promote the product in the market, the organization
Komatsu Ltd. needs to develop a partnership with another established organization in the target
market-Asia Pacific. Komatsu could select a firm from the target market that has wide popularity
or increasing market acquisition. For example, Komatsu and Cummins partnership could work

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effectively to promote and place the product in Australia. Cummins has wide presence in the
market due to the categories of products such mining trucking, passenger transport, oil and gas,
retail and others.
Outing the SWOT analysis for the business
Strength
 Unique and extended features of PC
5500-6 differentiate the product from
other excavators (Komatsu Ltd 2017).
 Bucket breakout force and the
operating weight makes it possible to
conduct large digging operation
 If the purchasers of the product- large
companies have strong presence in the
market, Komatsu Ltd finds it easy to
promote and sell the product.
Weaknesses
 Small and medium size companies are
largely involved in construction and
mining projects but due to high
purchasing cost and the cost of
maintenance, those small and medium
size firms will not be able to purchase
PC 5500-6
 The target market for selling or placing
the product is limited. There are many
economically developed nations that
undertake construction and mining
projects and many large firms might
need such unique product for their
long-term operation. However, as the
market reach is limited, the firm
Komatsu might not gain the estimated
profits.
Opportunity Threats

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 The organization might observe a
strong and sudden growth in the
business, as the launch of Komatsu
Excavators contribute to constriction
projects of residential building boom in
the recent years. Moreover, the large
organizations in the construction
industry in Australia find a new way to
continue the operation with innovative
equipments, which again creates a
growth opportunity for the purchasers.
Eventually, there can be an effective
relationship between the purchasers and
the supplier.
 Mining and constructions are one of the
growing sectors that extended projects.
Thereby, there are several
manufacturers in the market and they
can produce the substitutes of the
product, which can be a biggest threat
for Komatsu Ltd.
Table 1: SWOT analysis
Outlining the marketing objectives for the product
The launch of a new product certainly creates operational changes in the organization
(McNally, Akdeniz and Calantone 2011). Whenever, an organization is supposed to launch a
new product in the market, there should be an effective purpose for the initiative. The following
are some of the key objectives for the proposed product.
 To create some a strong market presence in the target market
 To increase the market share both in existing and new market

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 To increase the profit margin by launching the product successfully
Justifying the objective
To create a strong market presence in the target market
In order to remain active or sustainable in the market, it is necessary for every
organization to give or produce something new in the market. An organization could create a
strong impression in the market by launching a new service or product. The construction and
mining sector in Australia are having a strong base in the recent time. Therefore, the launch of
this new product could fulfill the growing needs of the market. Thus, the accomplishment of this
objective could create a strong market presence.
To increase the market share both in existing and new market
An organization may not be able to expand the business remaining the same existing
market (Dibrell, Craig and Hansen 2011). The organization has to increase the operation in a
new market as well. In order to enter a new market, the organization has to produce a new
product or service. Therefore, to enter new market regions Komatsu needs to produce a new
product that meets the market needs. Thus, it can be anticipated that accomplishment of this
objective could help the firm to maximize the market share.
To increase the profit margin by launching the product successfully
The accomplishment of this particular objective could help to increase the profit margin
of Komatsu Ltd because the proposed product is expected to be embraced by the customers in
the target market.

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Formulating the positioning strategy for this particular product
The organization Komatsu has been following an integrated global strategy for decades,
which involved product diversification, price competitiveness and product quality. The proposed
product Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6 has the highest quality features such as the extend
size, bucket and Digging capacity and long dimensions that certainly differentiate the product
from others. Such useful product contributes to Komatsu’s long-term globalization strategy,
which in turn aims at making the organization a global leader in the sector. Moreover, useful and
unique features of PC-5500- 6 remains as its primary strength over the rivals’ products.
Furthermore, the core competency of PC-5500- 6 excavators have been discussed with the help
of VRIO Framework in the following.
VRIO framework
Value Is the product able to meet the market needs and
create new ways for increasing customer base? -
YES
Rarity Is the capability and features of the products rarely
observed?- YES
Imitability Is the product difficult to imitate? -YES and will
there be any firm to create cost advantage by
developing or duplicating the product? -NO
Organization Is the firm organized, ready and able to exploit the
market by launching PC-5500-6? -YES
Table 2 : VRIO Framework
According to this particular standard of the above-presented analysis, Komatsu’s internal
strength, which distinguishes itself as competencies are its vertical backward integration.

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Moreover, the launch of the new product remains as the global long-term strategy, which
certainly retains a highly competitive position of the organization in many segments against the
competent rivals.
Formulating the possible positioning statement for the proposed product considering the
following:
Target market: “The large organizations in the construction industry who are stuck with the
traditional digging operation, now can find a new way to speed up the operation, as Komatsu
Excavators PC-5500-6 provides unique features, which enables the construction and mining
organizations to undertake the long-term projects. Unlike traditional excavator producer,
Komatsu Ltd provides a combination of extraordinary features, which remains as the most
comprehensive selection of the customers”.
Core competency: “For today’s long-term construction project, PC-5500-6 remains as the most
needed machine that enables the firm. Unlike the other excavator machine, the capacity of
Komatsu Excavator PC-5500-6 is having the digging capacity up to 15300 mm along with the
bucket breakout force of 160000 kgf, which certainly distinguishes the product from any other
excavator”.
Reasons to believe: “The organization Komatsu Ltd already has a strong presence in the market
and the core principle of its manufacturing operation is innovation. Unlike other mining and
construction equipments, Komatsu always produce the products that fulfil the essential needs of
the market”.

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Formulating the product mix
According to Das and Chowdhury (2012), product mix is also known as product
assortment, which is the total number of product lines that an organization offers to its
customers. An organization may have several products under the same product line as well.
Likewise, there are several categories of products are found in Komatsu’ product portfolio.
Width: The width of Komatsu Ltd’s product mix pertains to two different type of
product lines such as Construction, mining and Utility Equipment as well as Industrial
Machinery and others. Thus, the product mix width of Komatsu Ltd is two. The construction,
mining and utility equipment includes Construction and Mining Equipment, Forklift trucks,
recycling equipments, tunneling machines and the forest machines.
Depth: The depth of Komatsu’s product indicates one three different variation for each
product category. However, like every other organization, Komatsu’ depth of product variation
includes size, capacity, power and other features.
Consistency: Komatsu’s product mix could be consistent in distribution but largely
different in use. For example, construction and mining equipment of Komatsu are many in
numbers but they need to be used in a different way.
Describing the service strategy for this product
Outlining customer’s service need for Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6
Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6 is a unique product developed for mining and
construction and it can undertake any long and depth mining project. The product has two
different types of engine and that are Diesel Engine as well as electric engine; therefore, the

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product certainly needs careful instruction when it would be used. Selling the product to the
target customer is not the only job that organization has to do. To build an effective relationship
with the customers and guide them about the use of the product, the organization should provide
a long-term customer support. In order to implement this, the organization could establish a
customer service point where the customers ask for repairing the machine if is damaged or
affected. Apart from this, the organization could open up an online customer service portal,
which would open for 24X7 for the convenience of the customers. The firm should provide 1
year of customer service, which should be added to the purchasing cost.
Detailing the service strategy required to meet the customer’s service need for Komatsu
Excavators PC-5500-6
Offering the complete process- In this particular model, the firm could expand beyond
the machinery servicing to cover the entire process in which their equipment should play a
leading role. This can be done by specialized expertise to save costs for the customers.
A strategy focused on the maintenance: With the help of this particular strategy, the industry
strategy can be concentrated in service contracts. Hence, the company should aim to increase the
rate of penetration and loyalty of customer contracts. The strategy of the organization should be
developing the customer relation providing them with a required customer service.
Outlining the marketing channels for this product
As put forward by Jiang, Henneber and Naudé (2011), marketing channels are mainly the
ways that goods and services made available for the use by the consumers. All products and
goods go through channels for distribution and the marketing could depend on the way goods are

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distributed. Thus, to distribute the proposed product Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6 the
following channels have been proposed.
Manufacturer to customers: Hence, the organization could make and sell the proposed
product item to the customers directly with no intermediary such as a wholesaler agent. For
example, Komatsu could directly sell the product to the end-user. This might help the firm to
minimize the cost of logistic operation.
Manufacturer to wholesaler to consumer- In this channel, the consumer can directly
purchase from the wholesaler. However, the wholesaler could break down the bulk packages for
the resale to the customers. The wholesaler could minimize some of the cost to the consumer like
sales force cost, which could make purchase price cheaper for the customers. In the case of
Komatsu’s new product, the organization who buys the product from the wholesaler may have to
buy a membership to purchase directly from the wholesaler.
Manufacturer to retailer to consumer: in this particular channel, the retailer should
make the purchase from the manufacturer. This means the retailer buys the product from
Komatsu Ltd and the sells the product to the consumers. However, this channel might not be
effective for the organization as the proposed product of Komatsu Ltd is costlier than any its
existing products due to the unique and extended features of the product. There could be hardly
any retailer act as the intermediary when it comes to selling a large item.
Formulating the pricing strategy for this products
For the proposed product Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6, the firm needs to design
market oriented pricing strategy, in which the cost of the product should not be higher or lower
than the market price. Hence, the competitive pricing or premium pricing should not developed