SWOT Analysis
A varied range of marketing decisions are required to be taken by the business corporation and the concept of marketing planning has been described as one of the integral operation. A marketing plan has been considered as a comprehensive document or blueprint which is developed for outlining the advertising and marketing efforts of a business corporation for the future period (Kotler, 2012). The marketing plan is a brief description of the business activities which are made involved in the attainment of the specific marketing objectives within a set frame of time. Marketing planning basically develops and defines the roles and responsibilities of the marketing team and experts in such a manner that they attain the maximum outcomes for the provided efforts. The main advantage of a marketing plan is that it aids in the development of the sense of equality, means everyone will be aware of the ultimate goals and about the daily practices. Moreover, a marketing plan also allows the business entity to be proactive and develop alignment with the vision and determined targets. The below-executed analysis has been made focused on the marketing plan which is designed for Haigh’s chocolate. The business corporation is an Australian confectionary brand name which is operating a business of offering chocolates of high quality and other related products to the consumers in South Australia.
The term is a study which can be executed by a business organization for the identification of its internal strengths and weakness and also its opportunities and threats which are present in the external business environment (Businesscasestudies 2017). This approach offers a wide range of advantages to the business corporation and it can also be termed as an organized list of the greatest strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats of the business entity. Haigh’s chocolate can make use of SWOT analysis for assessing a changing environment and respond proactively for the same. This approach will enable the business corporation to get aware of the strengths and weakness which will enable the entity in the development of new strategies and plans and also aids in bringing improvements and advancement in the existing strategies. Moreover, the firm will also be getting aware of the threats from which the firm will be facing competition. This approach has been considered as one of the most widely used strategic planning tools. The business entity will also be well known of the internal and the external factors which are affecting its success or failure. SWOT analysis makes the evaluation of the business environment in a detailed manner which enables the entity to take strategic decisions for the future course of action. The below described is the SWOT analysis which has been executed for Haigh’s chocolate which will assist the marketing team while developing the marketing plan.
Marketing Mix
Strength: One of the biggest strength of the business corporation is strong brand name and legacy and the same has been operated by the business corporation since 1912. The business entity offers a high level of quality products and also shares strong brand equity (Tirunillai and Tellis, 2014). The business corporation has a wide range of products and chocolates of high quality and that too in luxurious and attractive packages. The organization makes use of raw materials of high quality for serving the consumers with a premium quality range products which lead to a high level of satisfaction. High level of satisfaction of the consumers creates brand loyalty and large customer base and which can be considered as one of the strengths of the business corporation. The diversified range of products is available such as chocolates, milk, liquor chocolates, dark chocolates etc. and the same is also one of the strength.
Weakness: The business entity is weak in terms of expanding business and this can be considered as one of the weaknesses for Haigh’s chocolate and which has developed a low market share. A low market share depicts a low consumer base and which will decline the sale and profitability of the firm (Beneke and Trappler, 2015). This will weaken the business corporation in number aspects and also the organization is unable to obtain the certification from fair trade foundation and this one of the weakness of the entity.
Opportunity: The business entity has a high level of opportunities in terms of growth and advancements in business operations. For instance, gift offers can be provided by the business entity on the seasonal basis, gift offers can be provided to the professional as corporate gifts and also the chocolates can be supplied in the company organized reward programs. The business entity can make use of Contemporary Mediums Of Distribution (Ghiassi, Skinner and Zimbra, 2013). Such as online selling and delivering can be considered as one of the options for promoting and delivering the products (Berry 2017). E-commerce platform will be proven very much beneficial for the business corporation. Moreover, market expansion and development in new regions can be another option which can be considered as one of the advantageous opportunity which is required to be grabbed. For instance, the market development in rest of Australia and gradually at international level can be market expansion.
Threats: Health consciousness has been increasing amongst people and due to which there has been the decline in the sale of the chocolates (Anheier, 2014). This will be proven as a barrier and rise as a threat to the business entity. As perishable products have a shorter expiry date and they cannot last for the longer duration so maintaining a good quality will be proven as a challenge for the business corporation. Moreover, whitening of chocolates and inadequate storage conditions will hamper the brand equity of the firm. The biggest threat to any of the business entity is competition and Haigh’s chocolate has been facing intense competition from the number of brands such as Cadbury, Nestle Mayfield chocolates etc.
The marketing mix is one of the marketing strategies and can also be termed asset or combination of factors that can be controlled by the business organization for stimulating the consumers for purchasing the products. An appropriate definition for the term marketing mix is a provision of the right product, a place, on time and at the right price (Upson et al., 2012). The below is the description of marketing mix for Haigh’s chocolate which is one of the leading brand names in the sector-
Product: The business corporation deals and serves only single flavor to the consumers and it is the only component of the product which is utilized by Haigh’s chocolate for attracting the consumers. The business entity keeps on improving the products quality and flavor. The firm makes use of the most contemporary techniques and advancements from Swiss in the year 1950 and also makes use of local techniques for manufacturing the chocolates. The business entity also focuses on the stores and outlets which are considered as one of the empirical factor in the distribution of products (Babin and Zikmund, 2015). There is a tourist center in Parkside of Haigh’s which is making the introduction of chocolates in tourists by making use of images and words. And thus the business corporation is characterizing and remaining attractive and the tourists have great opportunities of tasting the healthy and tasty chocolates and even the travelers can buy the premium products from the stores and the outlets. The firm is operating the business activities under the vertical supply chain model and through which they make the promotion of products on a high level. On the basis of the research it has been observed that the business entity is making use of minimalist theme for packaging the products attractively and the same theme is used by the firm since past many years for attracting the consumers and this packaging is making use of cellophane and polypropylene material which are bio-degradable elements and are eco-friendly.
Price: Price is the value which is to be paid by the consumer for the experiencing the product sold by the business corporation (Stair and Reynolds, 2013). Price has been considered as one of the significant components which plays a crucial role in influencing the demand and supply of the product. The development of the pricing strategy should be done in accordance with the number of factors such as income level of targeted consumer segment, buying behavior and pattern etc. A better pricing strategy adds to the satisfaction level of a consumer. On the basis of the survey, it has been observed that the business entity has been making use of a unique pricing strategy for selling the products. The price of the products is fixed with the nomenclature where the products are utilizing the same. Thus they are fixed with the choice of customers. The business corporation has been making the law of supply and demand chain applicable in this system.
Place: Haigh’s chocolate has been operating the business functionalities under the vertical supply chain model and through which they make the promotion of products on a high level (Baker, 2014). The firm is making use of stores and outlets for supplying and selling the products to the consumers. The business entity also focuses on the maintenance and presentation of the stores and outlets which are considered as one of the empirical factor in the distribution of products. It has been estimated that an approx. amount of 5% is sold through the wholesalers and specialist retailers that operate in niche locations and regions so as to enhance the promotions and also for bringing a hike in the sale of the stores. The business entity has placed at Adelaide with the factory and visitor center. The visiting of the visitor center is from Monday to Saturday and the visitors also shave many sweet opportunities of tasting and consuming the healthy and tasty range of chocolates after the visit.
Promotion: Promotion means advertising and is considered as one of the empirical components in stimulating the consumers (Piercy, 2014). This strategy will aid the entity in developing the brand image by developing the brand awareness among the targeted consumers. The product has been depicting an ongoing communication process with the customers on packaging and sustainability by utilizing promotions, social media, and advertisements as mediums of promotion. Moreover, the business entity should concentrate on the contemporary means of promotions and advertisements for making the approach and developing awareness for the products. Social media can be proven as one of the most beneficial tools of promotion for the corporation as it is the most widely used gateway till the consumers. This will also incur the minimum expenses for the entity, no operating cost is incurred.
The business entity can face the number of risks or problems while making or launching the product and the following described are the same:
Social challenges: This is one of the most common issues which can be faced by the business entity while developing and launching the product in the new region. For tackling this, an entity is required to consider the needs and requirements of the societies and communities.
Technical challenges: Technology is one of the main components which is required to be used efficiently for the product development and if any failure or inappropriate use of the same is done it can come up as an issue.
Legal and regulatory: The governing bodies and authorities play a crucial role in stimulating the business of the organization. The entity should take into consideration all the laws and norms enforced by the government and also should comply with the same for smooth flow of operations.
Conclusion
In the limelight of the above-executed analysis, it has been inferred that the marketing plan has been considered as one of the greatest and the most effective tool for developing and establishing the brand name in new regions or with new products range. The above-executed analysis has been focused on the marketing plan of Haigh’s chocolate which is a premium brand chocolate manufacturer and a leading brand name in the sector. The above report comprises of the SWOT analysis which will enable the business corporation in getting aware of the strengths and weakness of the entity and also the threats which are required to be tackled efficiently. Moreover, upcoming opportunities should be grabbed effectively for greater quality of outcomes. The next segment of the report consists of the marketing mix which is the marketing strategy adopted by the business corporation. The last part includes risk associated with the development and launching the product.
References
Anheier, H.K., 2014. Nonprofit organizations: Theory, management, policy. Routledge.
Babin, B.J. and Zikmund, W.G., 2015. Essentials of marketing research. Nelson Education.
Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Beneke, J. and Trappler, E. 2015, “The might of the brand: A comparative analysis of brand prevalence in an emerging market setting”, British Food Journal, vol. 117, no. 2, pp. 485-505.
Berry, T, 2017, What is SWOT analysis, Assessed on 21st December 2017, https://articles.bplans.com/how-to-perform-swot-analysis/.
Businesscasestudies, 2017, Achieving growth through product development, Assessed on 21st December 2017, https://businesscasestudies.co.uk/portakabin/achieving-growth-through-product-development/ansoffs-matrix.html.
Ghiassi, M., Skinner, J. & Zimbra, D. 2013, “Twitter brand sentiment analysis: A hybrid system using n-gram analysis and dynamic artificial neural network”, Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 40, no. 16, pp. 6266-6282.
Kotler, P., 2012. Kotler on marketing.Simon and Schuster.
Piercy, N., 2014. Export Strategy: Markets and Competition (RLE Marketing). Routledge.
Stair, R. and Reynolds, G., 2013. Principles of information systems. Cengage Learning.
Tirunillai, S. and Tellis, G.J. 2014, “Mining marketing meaning from online chatter: strategic brand analysis of big data using latent Dirichlet allocation”, Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 463.
Upson, J.W., Ketchen, D.J., Connelly, B.L. and Ranft, A.L., 2012. Competitor analysis and foothold moves. Academy of Management Journal,55(1), pp.93-110.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
