Marketing Report

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

The industry analysis section should provide the backdrop for a more detailed analysis of
the competition, the company, and the customer. An in-depth analysis will give both
internal and external readers of the plan confidence in the company’s ability to
understand its own industry.
 COMPANY DESCRIPTION

The company description should highlight the recent history and successes of the
company or organization, as well as tombstone data about its age, size and geographic
distribution. Key partnerships that impact marketing activities should be mentioned.
Revenue history can also be included to help clarify the marketing challenge.
 SWOT ANALYSIS
The SWOT analysis is an effective short-hand summary of the situation analysis. The
acronym is used to describe an organization’s internal Strengths and Weaknesses and its
external Opportunities and Threats. This analysis provides a solid foundation as a
springboard to identify subsequent actions in the marketing plan. The SWOT analysis can
be effectively presented in a tabular format followed by a text discussion that elaborates
on the information in the table.

An analysis to identify internal strengths and weaknesses usually includes the following
areas in an organization:

When analyzing: Consider:

Management experience level, management style, size

Offerings uniqueness, quality, price,
Marketing type and scope of marketing plan
Personnel quality and experience of workforce
Finance sales revenues
Manufacturing quality and dependability of suppliers
R&D plans for continual product improvement, R & D budget

An analysis to identify external opportunities and threats usually includes the following
factors:

When analyzing these factors: Consider:

Consumer/Social size and stability of market

Competitive number and size of competitors
Technological the effect of technology on any facet of the business
Economic current and projected economic situation of market
Legal/Regulatory the effect of legal and regulatory factors on any facet of the
business
 ANSOFF MATRIX

The Ansoff Growth matrix is another marketing planning tool that helps a business
determine its product and market growth strategy. Ansoff’s product/market growth
matrix suggests that a business’ attempts to grow depend on whether it markets new or
existing products in new or existing markets. The output from the Ansoff product/market
matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies which set the direction for the business
strategy. These are described below:

Market penetration

Market penetration is the name given to a growth strategy where the business focuses on
selling existing products into existing markets.

Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives:

 Maintain or increase the market share of current products – this can be achieved
by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion
and perhaps more resources dedicated to personal selling
 Secure dominance of growth markets
 Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors; this would require a
much more aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy
designed to make the market unattractive for competitors
 Increase usage by existing customers – for example by introducing loyalty
schemes

A market penetration marketing strategy is very much about “business as usual”. The
business is focusing on markets and products it knows well. It is likely to have good
information on competitors and on customer needs. It is unlikely, therefore, that this
strategy will require much investment in new market research.

Market development

Market development is the name given to a growth strategy where the business seeks to
sell its existing products into new markets.

There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including:

 New geographical markets; for example exporting the product to a new country
 New product dimensions or packaging: for example
 New distribution channels (e.g. moving from selling via retail to selling using e-
commerce and mail order)
 Different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market
segments
Market development is a more risky strategy than market penetration because of the
targeting of new markets.

Product development

Product development is the name given to a growth strategy where a business aims to
introduce new products into existing markets. This strategy may require the development
of new competencies and requires the business to develop modified products which can
appeal to existing markets.

A strategy of product development is particularly suitable for a business where the

product needs to be differentiated in order to remain competitive. A successful product
development strategy places the marketing emphasis on:

 Research & development and innovation

 Detailed insights into customer needs (and how they change)
 Being first to market

Diversification

Diversification is the name given to the growth strategy where a business markets new
products in new markets.

This is an inherently more risk strategy because the business is moving into markets in
which it has little or no experience.

For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, therefore, it must have a clear idea
about what it expects to gain from the strategy and an honest assessment of the risks.
However, for the right balance between risk and reward, a marketing strategy of
diversification can be highly rewarding.
 BRAND PORTFOLIO COLLECTION
A brand portfolio is simply the collection of brands under a company’s control. Small
businesses with just one shop may have only a single brand, but large and multinational
corporations may have dozens of distinct brands in their portfolios. In some cases, a
business may present the same product or line under different brands in different markets;
each of these brands is a component of the company’s brand portfolio.
 BCG MATRIX
To look at each of these quadrants, here are some tips:

 Dogs: The usual marketing advice is to remove any dogs from your product
portfolio as they are a drain on resources.

However, some can generate ongoing revenue with little cost.

For example, in the automotive sector, when a car line ends, there is still a need for
spare parts. As SAAB ceased trading and producing new cars, a whole business has
emerged providing SAAB parts.

 Question marks: Named this, as it’s not known if they will become a star or drop
into the dog quadrant. These products often require significant investment to push
them into the star quadrant. The challenge is that a lot of investment may be required
to get a return. For example, Rovio, creators of the very successful Angry Birds game
has developed many other games you may not have heard of. Computer games
companies often develop hundreds of games before gaining one successful game. It’s
not always easy to spot the future star and this can result in potentially wasted funds.

 Stars: Can be the market leader though require ongoing investment to sustain.

They generate more ROI than other product categories.

 Cash cows: ‘Milk these products as much as possible without killing the cow!.
Often mature, well established products.The company Procter & Gamble which
manufactures Pampers nappies to Lynx deodorants has often been described as a ‘cash
cow company’.

Use the model as an overview of your products, rather than detailed analysis. If market
share is small, use the 'relevant market share' axis is based on your competitors rather
than entire market.

BCG Matrix Example: How it can be applied to digital marketing strategies?

The BCG Model is based on products rather than services, however, it does apply to both.
You could use this if reviewing a range of products, especially before starting to develop
new products.

Looking at the British retailer, Marks & Spencer, they have a wide range of products and
many different lines. We can identify every element of the BCG matrix across their
ranges:

 Stars
Example: Lingerie. M&S was known as the place for ladies underwear at a time when
choice was limited. In a multi-channel environment, M&S lingerie is still the UK’s
market leader with high growth and high market share.

 Question Marks/Problem Child

Example: Food. For years M&S refused to consider food and today has over 400 Simply
Food stores across the UK. Whilst not a major supermarket, M&S Simply Food has a
following which demonstrates high growth and low market share.

 Cash Cows

Example: Classic range. Low growth and high market share, the M&S Classic range has
strong supporters.

 Dogs

Example: Autograph range. A premium-priced range of men’s and women’s clothing,

with low market share and low growth. Although placed in the dog category, the
premium pricing means that it makes a financial contribution to the company.

You can also apply the BCG model to areas other than your product strategy. We
developed this matrix as an example of how a brand might evaluate its investment in
various marketing channels. The medium is different, but the strategy remains the same-
milk the cows, don't waste money on the dogs, invest in the stars and give the question
marks some experimental funds to see if they can become stars.

What to watch for?

The BCG Model is seen as simplistic and it can be difficult to classify products in smaller
businesses where the relative market share is too small to quantify. It’s also based on the
concept that market share can be achieved by spending more on the marketing budget.
 CONCLUSION

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