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What we need to know is that a market is a group of potential customers who may buy your product or service, a strategy is an overall plan of a business, one of the most common Objectives Of a business is growth, this could be done by using promotional offers on products such as BEFOG (Buy One Get One Free), changing products and developing customers, opening new stores, creating a new product, etcetera. The three main marketing concepts in a business are production, marketing-orientated and sales. All these individual marketing techniques are used in different instances, which would benefit the business ore.
You will have to decide on what you think is the best concept to do when you work with your businesses. Production marketing is when the business focuses on creating economies for scale in production and distribution; this basically means that they make a mass amount of a product which they hope to sell to their existing market. This then gets sold for a cheaper price due to a higher order being made off the supplier. This kind of technique would best be used for a company such as Caduceus or most other food/drink based companies, as their products are wanted by a large market.
Caduceus aims are probably to sell the highest quantity of products at the cheapest possible price for the entire public, as they also aim to be the most popular chocolate based company globally. Marketing-orientated marketing is when the business does some research on what the market actually wants, and assesses what they prefer, rather than making a big bulk of a certain item and hoping that your customers would like it. This takes some time to do as the marketing department of the business would have to ask their customers what they would like, and what they wouldn’t.
Techniques such as questionnaires, surveys, etc. Re used in this process. The marketing concept is the better option out of the three as it suits everybody’s needs more efficiently. Finally, the sales concept is the ‘hard to sell’ style of sales, this is where a company makes expensive goods, e. G. Double glazing windows, and do specific sales techniques to try and persuade people to buy it, techniques such as door-to-door salesmen, cold calling via phone, or other techniques which involve a big amount Of persuasion.
Marketing and corporate objectives Marketing objectives are goal/goals that were made by the business to achieve within a given time frame. One example of a marketing objective is to increase popularity and awareness of a certain product that the business are promoting this could be anything from a smart phone to a chocolate bar, by using certain promotional techniques and persuading techniques, decided on by the marketing department within the business.
This further links in with corporate objectives, which are goals, set by the whole company with a time frame, which are set to improve the business and assess it at the same time. These goals are often very realistic, e. G. An owner of 5 grocery stores might have an objective to open another new store within 6 months. Nations Matrix Nations Matrix is a tool in business that is used to help them make decisions when coming up with a marketing strategy.
This tool helps businesses develop new ideas, products or combinations which may well help them in the future when deciding on making a new product for their market; this is because Nations Matrix is a tool that divides up the existing/new products and existing/new markets. These four groups among the ideas are divided upon are Market penetration, Market Development, Product Development and Diversification. Diversification is when the company develops a new dead/product that is completely diverse the current markets and products.
Diversification is the most risky because of this and isn’t really seen in the world of business more than the other three groups. On the other hand, Market Penetration is an existing market and existing product group which means that if a business decides upon developing an idea in this part of the business then they will have to compete with other buss nesses who are selling the same thing and markets who are already buying from another company, so this is quite hard but isn’t as risky as diversification because the existing market means that the company knows that people like other companies versions of their products.
Market development is an existing product made for a new market, this is basically when a business develops an idea that already exists but only for other companies who have different markets, this is why it is made for a new market, and an example of this is Caduceus World tourist attraction. Finally Product Development is when a new product is made for an existing market, e. G. When Actuary’s combined with Ore and Ritz to create a new product for the market. These markets already exist because they are all from the confectioneries industries but that product made by the combining of all three companies is new for them.
Marketing techniques used by Alton Towers Growth Strategies The main aim of every business is to grow, growth is one of the biggest factors determining a business’s successfulness and safety, growth within a business or company can be achieved by expanding their market, opening new branches, increasing their workforce, higher gross profits, etc. There are also many other ways to grow a business. When a business grows, there is an increased positivist around the company; this is when it is in a good financial condition.
Different businesses aim to grow in different ways for some very different reasons, for example Alton Towers might want to grow by increasing the size of their resort, so they can add more features such as hotels, rides, and other attractions. This helps their company grow further by attracting larger markets, and being able to withhold a bigger population within their resort at one time, this further helps increase profits and popularity among the customers, and additionally, the business then has grown further.
Or Alton Towers may wish to create one more new ride, this ride may attract a new type of market, e. G. 3-7 year olds, this ride then generates increased popularity among young children and the company therefore makes higher sales because of the extra income coming from this one ride, therefore the business grows by popularity and profits yet again. These are all growth strategies which benefit the company but they are two different types of ideas. Nations Matrix can be used to develop new ideas which can also help the company grow.
But usually this tool isn’t used for this reason. It is used to understand the businesses development market background of each idea they have. There are four main growth strategies often talked about and used within businesses which distinguish what area of the market they are creating a new product in, the four main strategies which link in with Nations Matrix are called Market Penetration, Market Development, Diversification and product development.
Alton Towers would have used these four strategies when creating products as most businesses that are creating new products would do, as it can inform them on what type of market they are going in to. An example that links with Alton Towers of Market Penetration would be their fast track tickets, this is a type of product which already exists to other markets and is used by other businesses as there are many other versions of this product out there, or offers such as 25% off if booked 7 days in advance, this targets existing customers.
Plus many more such as free Wi-If, under g’s go free, vouchers, online souvenir shop and many more. These all target existing markets and there are existing products such as these already used by other businesses out there. An few examples of Product Development for Alton Towers could be their birthday parties/special events such as Halloween events which they hold every year, rides such as the Nemesis or the Smiles, these are new products which attract the same markets. Business conferences, weddings, Christmas balls and school educational talks.
All these products are under Product Development because they are targeted at customers that Alton Towers already obtain and at markets which are already there, however these products are new to these specific markets. Market Development could include examples which relate to Alton Towers which are netting out pads’ with a spa, their flower shows which attract older markets; Scabbiest Land would be aimed at a new market for Alton Towers, children of a very young age. As well as what’s called Keys to the park, this would be aimed at businesses, where they allow up to 5000 guests to visit at once from businesses.
These are all existing products used by many other businesses; however they are aimed at different markets then what Alton Towers already aim at. Finally Alton Towers use Diversification with their water park, hotels when they were first introduced, spa, concerts, enchanted village and the golf aka, these are all new products aimed at new markets used by Alton Towers. Survival Strategies Every business develops a survival strategy so that if worse came to worst, then they would have a foundation strategy to fall back on.
These strategies usually contain ideas such as downsizing, reducing costs by discontinuing less profitable markets, and making employees redundant to reduce the costs of outgoing profits to be able to balance the books. If a business doesn’t do as well as expected for Some reason or another, then they must perform one Of these actions, this is so the business stays afloat and can maximize its life size, sometimes these survival strategies help the business grow and develop into new markets, maybe attracting new shareholders, owners or investors.
If a business doesn’t make a survival strategy and they end up going downhill, then they would probably regret it as it could mean not only the end of their business and job, but a bad reputation held on them which could backfire on them in the future, perhaps not being allowed to create another business or even not being able to apply for a job.
Survival Strategies that Alton Towers might use if they were in trouble might be using holiday staff, this is where hey hire staff only to work in the holidays or seasonal events as this is when they receive the highest amount of customers, these staff might not be needed all the time, therefore Alton Towers would be losing valuable profits. Another example of a survival strategy which might be used by Alton Towers could be axing certain rides, for example if a ride wasn’t profitable enough to keep running, e. . Repair costs or if target market wasn’t fond of it, then they might get rid of the ride, and perhaps replace it. Alton Towers have used this survival strategy in the past with the Corkscrew, this is a ride which Alton Towers got rid of because they couldn’t afford to keep up with the running costs of it, as they weren’t receiving a decent profit from the ride.
Branding Branding is where a business makes a name for itself, and becomes recognized by people easily, big brand names such as Coca-Cola or Aids, when people hear these names or see their logos or slogans anywhere then they instantly recognize who and what they are, for example if they see a ‘swoosh’ tick on a bag, advert or pair of trainers, then most people would instantly know who they are, what make, brand etc. Brand is developed hen I company or business stresses its logo, or slogan and the credibility, qualities and satisfaction of the business sticks in the customers or average consumers mind without realizing. Businesses with a well-known brand name such as Coca-Cola would be better known; more talked about and would have a larger market share within the business industry, due to the attention that the business obtains due to its big brand.
Well-known brands can diversify into other areas because people trust them and are willing to continue buying from them. Alton towers brand colors consist of red, white and blue, these lour are bold, interactive and fun, as well as appealing to children most importantly, these colors represent their business well with what they aim for and what they exist to do, ‘provide exciting days out’ to be precise, for the customers.
Alton Towers slogan is ‘Escape to the Alton Towers resort’, this slogan represents what Alton Towers try to provide for their customers and what their aim is to give to their target market, they want to provide their consumers with fun, excitement and want to relieve them of any worries or stress they might have, and instead just enjoy their resort, they do this by roving various facilities and rides which the whole family can enjoy such as a spa for the adults and well as bars and message therapy and late night entertainment, and rides and entertainment for the children of all ages ranging from Scabbiest land for very young children up to rides such as the Smiles aimed at mainly teenagers. Alton Towers stamp their brand into the business industry and on their target market by promoting new rides, using advertisements through different media such as TV, social networking sites, magazines, newspapers, billboards, providing videos and leaflets. Alton Towers are successful at diversification because of their use of branding and because of their market research.
Relationship Marketing Relationship marketing is where a business constructs or builds a relationship with their customers for their loyalty or commitment to the business, usually businesses aim to develop and manage trusting and long term relationships with their customers. Many different businesses use relationship marketing to keep their market share and customer base, as obviously this is beneficial to the business in terms of popularity and profits. An example of a business hat uses it is Sunburst’s, they have a ‘nectar card which is a loyalty scheme which involves the customer buying items and earning points in return to spend, as well as special discounts and offers.
Also a lot of banks do this to keep hold of their customers and war of any interest they might have in joining other banks because they are relationship marketing based companies, schemes such as improved interest rates after a period of time could be one, or loyalty bonuses after however many years the customer has been with them. Alton Towers have an annual pass available to purchase, this romps customers to go back to Alton Towers frequently in holidays or days Off, customers can use a membership scheme with Merlin Entertainments, this gives them extra discounts and benefits such as if you buy a ticket for entrance at Alton Towers, you can come back for half price the next day.
Alton Towers also use other loyalty bonuses such as sending out newsletters, leaflets and offers for going to Alton Towers, which customers receive after going. Newsletters can be signed up for online by customers to receive frequent news and updates on Alton Towers as well as free promotional offers, codes and vouchers which persuade more people to go to Alton Towers. Leaflets might be sent to houses by Alton Towers, which contains a special reward, such as BEFOG (Buy One Get One Free) offers on the leaflet to encourage more people to go, or they might be placed in local businesses shops or national businesses stores such as Tests where customers might take a leaflet.
Tests has a lot of customers going through their stores daily, so Alton Towers could make use of this. All these types of marketing are relationship based because they all form a bond between Alton Towers and he customers, by providing them with benefits and rewards to make them feel special and wanted by Alton Towers, this is what persuades them to stay loyal with them and continue to visit their resort. Transactional Marketing Transactional Marketing is where a business sells items that people usually only buy once, often referred to in the business world as ‘One Offs’, these types of items include things such as DVD’s, weddings or usually really expensive products on the market.
Transactional marketing basically means that the business has no need to promote the item to the customers or their rake, because they already have it, an example of a Transactional marketing item used by Alton towers, are their souvenirs and mainly their weddings. Obviously when somebody has a wedding somewhere, they don’t receive newsletters asking them to come again the next year, because this is simply not right, as a wedding is a once in a lifetime opportunity, therefore there would be no relevant need to form a relationship with the customers. Marketing techniques used by Caduceus Furthermore, Caduceus is also a large company; therefore it wants to keep growing, as with all businesses this is their main aim.
As mentioned before, growth can be achieved by fulfilling many different strategies stated and decided upon by the business. Usually these growth strategies include expanding, higher profits, and popularity. All these aims are then subdued to small tasks on a relatively small time basis, for example an objective for Caduceus is to employ over 200 new employees by 6 months’ time. This is a type of growth which can be achieved by the business which involves hiring more people; this is expanding the business and overall growing it as well. Another growth strategy is to develop new products for either different or the name markets, this involves Nations Matrix, to attract more customers or increase profits made.
This new item might be another chocolate bar, or something totally different such as earphones, either way, from developing this product; they achieve growth in amount of available products and growth as a whole business. There are four main growth strategies often talked about and used within businesses which distinguish what area of the market they are creating a new product in, the four main strategies which link in with Nations Matrix are called Market Penetration, Market Development, Diversification and product development. Caduceus would have used these four strategies when creating products as most businesses that are creating new products would do, as it can inform them on what type of market they are going in to.
An example that links with Caduceus of Market Penetration would be their Win a banger competition, this is a type of product which already exists to other markets and is used by other businesses as there are many other versions of this product out there, or their fair trade schemer TV advertisements or newsletters via e-mail. These all target existing markets and there are existing products such as these already used by other genuineness out there. An few examples of Product Development for Caduceus could be Ore chocolate bar made by the decision of their customers vote, this attracts customers Of Ore as well, combining two markets, Caduceus Crisper’s, this is another combination of two products, Caduceus have done this with many different products as well, such as combining with Ritz crackers.
All these products are under Product Development because they are targeted at customers that Caduceus already obtain and at markets which are already there, however these products are new to these specific markets. Market Development could include examples which relate to Caduceus could be Caduceus World Tourist Attraction, this is a tour of their factory which people can go on, could be used for educational purposes by schools for students or by people who have a general interest in the business, as well as this customers can buy Caduceus products online, such as chocolate bars, or hampers, makes it easier for people to purchase their products and a new market emerges for Caduceus. These are all existing products used by many other businesses; however they are aimed at different markets then what Caduceus already work with.
Finally Caduceus use Diversification with their bath products, this is a totally new area for Caduceus as a business and develops a new market for them as well, this is why it is diverse, Caduceus can afford the risk of creating diverse products because they are a massive globally known brand, so customers who already know Caduceus as a brand might buy these products, another example of diversification used by Caduceus is combining with Trident chewing gum, a chocolate flavored chewing gum was created by the combination of these two products, this was totally new at the time, and created a new market for Caduceus as well. These are all new products aimed at new markets used by Caduceus.
Us arrival Strategies Survival strategies are required by businesses to ensure long or short term stability, if a business has a huge debt, which cannot be repaid, or for any other reason is in a unstable period where the business has a chance of closing, then a survival strategy is needed so that the business has a hope or plan to overcome it, an example of a survival strategy is relieving employees of their jobs, in other words, making them redundant. Redundancy is one of the most widely used sun. ‘vial strategies within the world of business as it is an easier way compared to some others, to gain backs some of the expenditures made by the business. An example of which Caduceus could possibly take is stopping the production and sales of less-profitable goods, this saves money on more expenditures being made by the business and only producing highly-profitable goods.
Survival Strategies that have been used or might be used by Caduceus might be the halting of production on certain products due to them not being profitable enough for the business, this appended with Caduceus when they stopped the production of a chocolate bar called Twirl during the first time it Was introduced since it wasn’t worth the expenditure and their consumers tastes started to change, as they wanted new and different chocolate, Caduceus after a while then made a return of the Twirl chocolate bar, because there was a large group of consumers who wanted It to be produced again, this is just one survival strategy used by Caduceus. Another example of a strategy could be only selling products and certain times, for example Caduceus do this with their Cryme Egg this is a product which is only sold during Easter because throughout the rest of the year, the demand of the product isn’t high enough for Caduceus to deem it profitable enough. Finally making staff redundant is another widely used survival strategy, Caduceus might make some of their production staff redundant if they can’t afford pay their wages, this means it isn’t the employees fault, instead Caduceus must downsize in order to survive.
Branding An effective branding strategy can give the business a major edge in an increasingly competitive market, branding is where the business becomes milliamp to the customers as well as other consumers because of the consistent sight of the business, for example, if a business constantly has adverts, a lot of products or consistently uses strategic brand marketing then they will be more well known for what they are perceived to be, etc. A drinks company might be looked at as being really tasty or healthy and fun, while a landlines provider might be looked at as being helpful and reasonably priced. Different techniques are used by different businesses for the same end results, to become the most well known and most popular business in their actual market. Caduceus use branding techniques such as quirky adverts such as the gorilla advert made a few years ago, or the advert which contained two children raising their eyebrows, these are odd adverts which people remember and this is one of the many ways a brand can be made.
Another example for Caduceus using branding techniques is their slogan ‘A Glass and a Half Full Production’ this is used in all of their advertisements and marketing so that customers remember it by default. This therefore creates a link with Caduceus which no other business has got, and customers will be minded of Caduceus when coming across their slogan, or vice versa. A slogan is a simple and catchy phrase accompanying a logo or brand; it therefore encapsulates the products appeal or the mission statement of the business and makes it more memorable for the customers. It then becomes an important part of the businesses identification which customers associate with.
Finally another example of a branding technique used by Caduceus is how they show there values in their advertisements, for example in the famous ‘Gorilla’ advert Caduceus tried to show their customers how eating heir chocolate made you feel good inside and out, and brightened your mood, therefore persuading more people to purchase their product at the same time as explaining what their aims are to try and provide for their customers. Relationship Marketing that uses it is Assassins, they have a ‘nectar’ card which is a loyalty scheme joining other banks, schemes such as improved interest rates after a period of time could be one, or loyalty bonuses after however many years the customer has been with them.