Walmart's Strategic Marketing Plan: Analysis of Current Situation

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Walmart's marketing strategy and plan. It begins by outlining Walmart's mission, vision, and core values, followed by an examination of the company's internal and external environments, including a PESTLE and SWOT analysis. The report identifies Walmart's current offerings, financial results, key business relationships, and core competencies. It also delves into the external factors influencing Walmart, such as political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal trends. The target market, including segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies, is thoroughly discussed. Finally, the report outlines strategic marketing plan objectives aimed at achieving sustainable competitive advantage and improving customer loyalty. The analysis aims to provide insights into Walmart's current market situation and recommendations for future strategic direction. Desklib provides this and other solved assignments for students.

Running head: MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Marketing Strategy and plan
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Executive Summary
The report has helped in identifying the internal and external analysis of the environment of
Walmart that has helped in identifying the market and customer segments. The segmentation,
targeting and positioning has been done as this has helped the company in gaining
competitive advantage in the market. Proper analysis has been done in accordance to
understanding the marketing plans that are strategic in nature.

2MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Section 1: Mission/Vision/Values..............................................................................................3
Overview of Walmart.............................................................................................................3
Marketing Strategy of Walmart.............................................................................................4
Section 2- Current Marketing Situations....................................................................................4
(A) Internal factors.................................................................................................................4
(B) External Factors...............................................................................................................5
(C) SWOT Analysis...............................................................................................................7
(D) Summary of Current Marketing Situation at Walmart....................................................7
Section 3: Target Market............................................................................................................8
Section 4: Strategic Marketing Plan Objectives.......................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................13

3MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Introduction
The report helps in analysing and identifying the mission, vision and core values of
the respective organization named Walmart that is based in The United States of America.
The internal and external factors of the environment have to be analysed as this will help in
analysing the present market situation effectively. The target market positioning is required to
be identified effectually as to analyse the marketing strategies that will help the company in
benefitting from the competitors.
The main aim and purpose of the report is to identify the strategic marketing plan
objectives in an effectual manner as this will help in analysing the different techniques to
achieve the desired objectives appropriately.
The structure of the report includes the marketing vision and objective along with
understanding the internal and external analysis of the environment effectually. The target
market along with positioning has to be done as this will help in solving issues with
implementation of marketing communication tools.
Section 1: Mission/Vision/Values
Overview of Walmart
Walmart is the American retail corporation that operates chain of supermarkets along
with grocery stores. The headquarter of the respective supermarket is based in Bentonville in
the United States of America. Sam Walton is the founder of Walmart and the company is
situated in more than 11,718 locations. The number of employees who are working in
Walmart 1.4 million, U.S. and the operating income of the company is US$17.301 billion
(Walmart.com., 2018).

4MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Marketing Strategy of Walmart
Marketing Strategy of Walmart has to be used in an effectual manner as this will help
in increasing the emphasis on the different customers as the means to achieve the goals of the
company as well. The mission of the company is to satisfy the customers along with partners
with proper experience of shopping based on commitment of employees. The vision of
company is to be innovative, sustainable and cooperative as they will be able to provide
goods and services at reasonable prices in comparison with the competitors. In order to
achieve the vision of the company, Walmart needs to implement marketing strategies that are
as follows:
Maintain the range in an effectual manner as this will help them in identifying the
different requirements of the customers effectually (Armstrong et al., 2015)
Proper operational and strategic marketing has to be adopted by the organization as
this will help them in understanding their clients and develop strategies that will prove
to be successful in comparison to the competitors in the market (Kotler, 2015)
Lastly, the strategic planning is essential in nature for Walmart as this will help the
company in and developing financial goals that will help them in attracting customers
in the market
With the help of different marketing strategies, it is essential for the company to
achieve the long-term goal approach as to achieve the sustainable competitive advantage in
the market. Marketing strategies will help the company Walmart in increasing their market
share and improve the loyalty among the customers as well (Kotler, 2015).

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Section 2- Current Marketing Situations
(A) Internal factors
The current offerings of Walmart Supermarket include that it provides benefits
flexibility in delivering different kind of products and services in an effectual manner. The
pricing strategy that is applied by Walmart helps them in attracting large population of the
customers in an effective manner. The financial results of Walmart are they have earned a
revenue of 50,034 crores USD (2018) and this has helped them to compete with the
competitors in the market. The key business relationships in Walmart is maintained with the
suppliers, employees and customers in an effectual manner. Proper customer relationship
management is essential in nature that has helped them in gaining competitive advantage in
the market (Tomczak, Reinecke & Kuss, 2018).
The core competencies of Walmart are focusing strictly on their price with the
inclusion of different strategies such as cost leadership and focus on own brands strategy
(Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2016). The current customers of Walmart are the household
individuals as they help them in increasing their sales. Walmart gains competitive advantage
by offering their customers with same kind of products and services at an affordable rate in
comparison of the competitors (Papadopoulos & Heslop, 2014).
(B) External Factors
Walmart has to ascertain the different kind of external factors that can create huge
affect on the respective supermarket Walmart. The PESTLE analysis is as follows:
Political Factors is considered by Walmart in retail market that includes the different
government rules and regulations that includes high stability of the politics that is
opportunity along with support politically for globalization. However, there can be

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political kind of pressures for the high wages that is a threat for Walmart (Sheth &
Sisodia, 2015).
Economic Factors is the other one wherein Walmart is under pressure from different
kind of economic changes that include stability of the major economies and the
continued growth for the different developing countries. It has helped in decreasing
rate of unemployment in USA (Lusch & Vargo, 2014)
Social factors are the third one wherein it helps in influencing the perception of the
customers along with preferences. It helps in providing lifestyle trend that is healthy
in nature along with proper opportunity of cultural diversity and urban kind of
mitigation
The technological factors affect the competitive landscape of the company wherein it
helps in increasing automation of business and increasing the usage of mobile among
the different customers
The environmental factors help in pertaining the business of Walmart as per the
conservation of environmental concerns. It includes providing opportunity for
sustainability in the business along with generating environmentally friendly trends of
the products (Kotabe & Helsen, 2014)
The different legal factors help in analysing that Walmart is based on different kind of
tax rates and law policies. It helps in including opportunity for the food safety
regulations and employment regulations. However, there are threats included in it that
are the different kind of tax reforms.

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(C) SWOT Analysis
(D) Summary of Current Marketing Situation at Walmart
The current marketing situation of Walmart helps in understanding that there are few
recommendations that Walmart has more number of opportunities in comparison to the
different threats in the macro environment. The external factors of Walmart help in providing
different kind of significant opportunities. The firm needs to take and implement the
proactive approach as to address the different threats and it has been seen that most of the
efforts of Walmart is focusing on the different kind of exploiting different kind of
opportunities that are identified in the retail kind of business environment (Solomon et al.,
2014). Walmart needs to improve the different HR management practices along with
boosting the investments in the technology as this will help in enhancing the standards of the
quality and it will help them in expanding the business worldwide after the analysis of
PESTLE analysis.
Strengths
It has a focused strategy for HRM along with
development
High efficiency of the entire supply chain
Walmart has gained huge brand name that has
helped them in gaining competitiver advantage
Weaknesses
There are different labor related lawsuits
Negative kind of publicity
There is differentiation
High turnover rate of employees
Opportunities
Retail market growth in emerging markets
Online growth of shopping
Rising kind of acceptance of the own label
products
trends towards the helathy eating
Threats
Increasing kind of resistance from differet local
communities
Rising prices of commodity
Increasing competition from the different
competitors
SWOT

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Section 3: Target Market
The target market of Walmart includes and comprises of different kind of potential
customers wherein the company is trying to understand the potential demands of the
customers (Elenkov, 2014). Walmart uses the mono segment kind of positioning and they
appeal to single segment customers in the market who will create huge and greater value on
the attributes of the price as compared to the other attributes. Kotler defined the market
segment as the dividing market into different kind of group of buyers who have similar kind
of needs and behaviour (Armstrong et al., 2015).
Segmentation: Walmart uses the market segmentation as this will help in determining
where to open and introduce their own stores and the items that are required to stock up with
in comparison to the different competitors (Schmidt, Spann & Zeithammer, 2014)
Targeting: Walmart credo is to save money and live better wherein the target customers
are the lower middle class and the low-income customers. The different kind of loyalty
programs has been introduced by Walmart as to increase retention of the customers and gain
valuable customer insights as well. Walmart is presently trying to strict their focus on LSM
groups and growing black middle class as this will help the company in gaining competitive
advantage in the market.
It is seen that Walmart is trying to attract both existing and new customers in their
market especially the households as this will help them in providing growth opportunity for
the company in an effectual manner. The target market has helped the company in
prioritizing the resources in an effectual manner and this has increased the growth of sales in
the entire competitive market as well. the target customers of Walmart are the end users as
this will help the company in sharing similar traits and they are the ultimate purchaser of
goods and services as well.

9MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Positioning: It is essential in nature for Walmart to position their different products and
services in an effectual manner. The strategy of the product includes low prices and providing
customer service that is effective in nature. They generate the competitive advantage by
providing satisfaction to the customers and penetrate the market in an effectual market as
well.
Walmart has successfully tried to cultivate the family and household-based image
wherein they have implemented the unique functional attributes that include the offering of
the products to the customers at an affordable rate and supply chain management and
distribution networks are having strong link as well. The different products are analysed in
such a manner that this will help the customers in purchasing the products at an affordable
rate.
Walmart needs to use the different kinds of media platforms that includes the different
kind of advertising techniques such as print media, internet along with the usage of social
Regions- Entire United States
Climate- HumidSegmentation
Age- 30-50 Households
Gender- Both male and female
Family Size-Any
Targeting
Social Class- Lower middle class
Lifestyle- Poor and lower income groupsPositioning

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media as well. According to the diagram, it can be analysed that proper segmentation,
targeting and positioning is essential in nature as this will help in meeting different customer
requirements and solve the issues and gain competitive advantage as well.
Section 4: Strategic Marketing Plan Objectives
Proper and effective strategic marketing plan is essential in nature as this will help
Walmart in analysing the change as per the conditions of shifting market and the objectives
has to be SMART in nature as well. The main objective of Walmart are as follows:
To create customer centric kind of business
To be brand value driven business
To build profitable relationships with customers
To lower the entire cost of doing the business
To improve availability and sourcing capability
In order to achieve the desired objectives, Walmart needs to understand and analyse the
marketing plans that is strategic in nature.
Figure 2: Strategic marketing plan of Walmart
(Source: Armstrong et al., 2015)

11MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
It has been seen that Walmart is focusing on some of the generic strategies that will
help the company in gaining sustainable competitive advantage that are as follows:
Proper development of one team is essential in nature as this will help the company in
attracting customers and gain competitive advantage (Zeriti et al., 2014)
Secondly, reduction of the costs as to improve the different processes is essential in
nature as this will help in updating the offering of the products effectively
Lastly, development of the cohesive brand is essential in nature as this will help the
company in refreshing stores and meet the requirements of the customers as well.
Figure 3: Marketing Mix of Walmart
(Source: Created by author)
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that the marketing strategies was conducted on
Walmart wherein the internal and external analysis was conducted that has helped in
understanding the opportunities and threats of Walmart. The marketing strategies has been
Everyday Low Price Strategy
Attract large population of customers with the help of cost
leadershipPrice
Intensive distribution strategy
Continues to open new stores to reach more customers
Place
Retail service
Attract customers by providing convenient service
Improves the experience of customersProduct
Different kind of advertisements and sale promotional activities
Offering of discounts and offers
Helps in improving ability of company to attract customersPromotion