In a competitive market, companies and corporations need to be well prepared in all aspects of its industry to be successful. If a company does not fully research its own industry, they may be overcastted by all their competitors. For a company such as Origin Organics to succeed in its own marketplace, thorough analysis, a well structured mission statement, a specific target market, and a technology-based marketing campaign is important.
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Porter’s five forces is an analysis of a competitive industry that allow for the company to have an overview of the current situations in a market. Companies may sometimes fail to see the bigger picture as they are too focused on increasing revenue and generating a profit. For example, to be able to know the bargaining power of its suppliers, the bargaining power of its customers, the threats of new entrants, the threats of substitute products, and its competitive rivalry pose for a great advantage over new and under researched companies. In certain situations, the management team of a company may not have the ability to increase or decrease the retail price of its product. As the scenario with our client, Origin Organics is in an agreement with one of its distributors that prevents them from altering the price. However, for other companies that have more power, Porter’s five forces allow them to re-evaluate their current position to either move forward or take a step back.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is another important marketing concept that provides a competitive edge for a company. It allows the company to review its line of products by looking at its current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. They can then incorporate their research findings towards a strategic plan that will allow them to develop. SWOT analysis can also be a useful tool for decision-making situations. To be successful in any marketplace, a company needs to find innovative ways to put themselves in a better position than their competitors. The SWOT analysis provides essential information for the company in areas in which they can improve on. For example, Origin Organics is currently in a stage of rebuilding their brand image. The analysis will provide the marketing team of Origin Organics with weaknesses of their current brand, and replace them with specific advantages of the new rebranded image.
Visions, Missions, and Goals
Visions, missions, and goals of a company are key components to a successful company. Before a company can begin to thrive in a fierce and competitive market, they must be able to set a consistent yet effective mission statement. This includes having every department and level of management having the same goal for the company. If for example the marketing department and the board of directors have different visions for the company, the direction of the company will clash causing major problems for consumers to recognize their brand. At times, if a company’s current vision is not being recognized by its consumers, it may be a time to head back to reconstruct a better goal for the company. Using Origin Organics as an example, they used to be technology-oriented company; however, with its current position in the market, they realized it was time to approach its consumers as a locally produced nutritious product.
Target Market
When marketing a specific product, it is necessary to know who the target market is. As promotional material is produced, it should correspond to the correct demographic that will be using or purchasing that product. A company can lose out on a significant amount of revenue if they cater to the wrong target market as they will be uninterested in any form of media used to promote the product. However, there are exceptions to this scenario; if a company feels that they already have a strong loyal group of customers, they will try to target a new segment in order to increase their market share. Origin Organics originally targeted older demographics that were frequent purchasers of their products, but they decided to target a larger segment by aiming towards customers that were health conscious of what they put in their mouth.
E-Marketing
Lastly, in a period where technology continues to advance, e-marketing is something in which companies should look into. With numerous social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook being frequented by every age group, it provides companies with additional opportunities to further their promotional efforts. Not only is e-marketing a cost effective method, but it provides a large amount of exposure to a company by everyone as it can be accessible by anyone. A downfall of using e-marketing is the uncontrollable amount of involvement by a specific product. If there is low involvement for a product, any form of media may be a weak form of promotion. For example, Origin Organics have followed such trends as they have a fan page on Facebook. Conversely to their original intentions, very few people view the page to find information about their products.
As there are many other marketing concepts that provide a successful advantage in a marketplace, the listed five are what I believe a company should focus on. They all funnel down to one motive: to better the company in providing them with a competitive edge over all other competitors. All marketing concepts provide the company with different areas of a marketing plan in which they can effectively implement.
*All examples used were taken from conversations between the Origin Organics Company*
