Woolworths Integrated Marketing Communication Plan

Question: Describe about the Woolworths Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Plan for Global Market. Answer: Introduction Integrated marketing communication is an essential part in the process of the organizations pursuit to increase the market share, introduction of new product to the market and increasing the sales volume. When the plan is designed based on the identified needs and implemented very well, then the organization will not regret on the actions taken. It is with this view that the following sections will give in details the IMC plan with Woolworths being the organization in consideration. Communication Objectives The objective of the campaign is to promote Woolworths products to the international market, to increase customer base, to increase sales volume Positioning Strategy The positioning strategy is a technique that gets employed so as to make a brand have a distinct place in the market. It is a strategy that gets utilized so that marketing is effective. It entails the identification of points and parity of differentiation that allows the product to meet standards as well as presenting products of added value based on price, quality, functionality and innovation aspects (Blankson, Kalafatis, Cowan Singh, 2012). Niche Identification In consideration of Woolworths and the plan to enter into the global market, it is suggested that the organization begin with the identification of the niche in the market segment. In order to get the niche, the organization has to segment the market based on demographics and psychographic so as to know the needs of each segment (Wong Wu, 2013). The niche that the organization has to target is professionals of age between 25-30 years since these are the group with particular attributes like entertainment, leisure and adventure. In doing this the organization need to watch on the competitors elements of positioning strategies (Blankson, Kalafatis, Cowan Singh, 2012). In order to have an effective positioning, the organization must have clear message. The message that the organization have selected is Fresh Food People. The message implies that the organizations products are fresh and meant for people. This must be communicated via an appropriate channel so as to reach targeted segment that the organization are giving fresh products that are consumable (Wang, Xie, Jagpal Yeniyurt, 2016). Price-Quality Strategy The strategy that is suggested for positioning is the price-quality approach. The organization must set their prices on the new product such that it is favorable to the customers and that the price does earn some proceeds to the organization (Simola, Hyn Kuisma, 2015). The price that is affordable will keep customers running for the product. In tandem with the price is quality, the organization must ensure that alongside the favorable price, the product must be of quality (Wong Wu, 2013). The aspect of quality when augmented with price that is affordable makes customers loyal to the price. The customer base get to increase and in the end the sales volume goes high thus translating to high proceeds (Hollensen, 2015).. Additionally, the two aspects of quality and price thus lead to the curving of a niche that can never be broken by the competitors (Blankson, Kalafatis, Cowan Singh, 2012). Customer Value The other strategy that the organization has to adopt for positioning is the customer value approach. The new product to be introduced into the market must be made such that it is of beneficial value to the customer. When communicating the message concerning the product, the marketing team has to include all these benefits so that the customers are aware of the new features that the organization has included in the new product (Wang, Xie, Jagpal Yeniyurt, 2016). Value is made the same amount of by an emphasis on procedures and frameworks as much as it is by attitude and culture. Outlook and culture are considerably more hard to change, furthermore hard to copy. It is less demanding to duplicate items and frameworks than to change attitudes and culture. Thusly, for long haul achievement, outlook and culture are vital and enduring. These, alongside frameworks make awesome experience and esteem. Esteem changes amid the utilization of an item or amid the Customer Journey. Esteem is seen amid the buy purpose, the shopping, the real buy or purchasing, the establishment or start-up, the utilization and even the re-deal. We infrequently call this the waterfall of necessities. Needs change amid the Customer Journey. Making Customer Value builds consumer loyalty and the client encounter. The turn around is likewise valid. A decent client experience will make esteem for a Customer. Making better advantages versus cost expands faithfulness, piece of the overall industry, cost, decreases mistakes and builds effectiveness. Higher piece of the overall industry and better productivity prompts higher benefits. Communication Strategy Mix The strategy refers to the techniques that the organization will use in order to promote the product that is to be taken to the targeted segment. The organization in entering into the international market will employ the following enumerated strategies (Quirke, 2012). Advertising The strategy is one of the most employed techniques in the communication mix. It encompasses all the messages that an organization pays so as to make the information get to the targeted segment. The organization has to spend a sizeable amount of finances on the form of communication. Therefore in the initial planning stage, the organization set reasonable finances for the strategy. Irrespective of the fact that this type of strategy is expensive, it is one where the organization has complete control of the delivered information. Also, the message reaches a wider spectrum of customers in the target segment and hence very effective (Parente Strausbaugh-Hutchinson, 2014). Personal Selling It is a strategy where the organization opts to sell its product to the customers on face to face basis. It is done concurrently with direct marketing. The advantage of the method is the customers are able to meet face to face with the sellers, the product being sold can be demonstrated to the customers on the spot, there is direct meeting with the customers hence one can have a feel of the target segment and be in a position to advice accordingly. The seller is able to place emphasis on the value of the product as well as the benefits that a client can enjoy from buying the product (Helm, Gritsch, 2014). Discounts and Promotions The product under this strategy gets promoted with the use of paid communication. The organization through the strategy pays the communication so that clients are able to know on the discounts and promotions that the organization presents. The strategy consists of coupons rebates or percent-off deals. Additionally, the organization uses in-store signage and exterior signs as a way of alerting customers to the offered deals. The aim of the strategy is to increase proceeds as well as the flow of cash, attract customers and clearing unfinished stock. The strategy is efficient when well executed through proper planning and get to attract large customers (Parente Strausbaugh-Hutchinson, 2014). Public Relations This is the strategy in which the organization creates a positive image of the organization through good passage of the organizations products to the target market. It entails use of good personal relationship between the customers and the organization. The method is different from the others in that one does not pay for the passage of information. The disadvantage of the method is that one does not have control of the message. If the media is used as a form of propagation of the message, the message can in most cases be changed and distorted in a negative manner to the target market and hence causing a negative impact in the market segment (Quirke, 2012). Event Sponsorship The strategy is a component in the marketing mix. It is where an organization pays for a function in order to have some presence in the event that will happen for example in sports. There are benefits that come with the use of event sponsorship like giving out samples, gifts etc. (Quirke, 2012). Sponsorship of occasions can be particularly successful as a promoting technique since it can be used for getting to an extensive variety of customers. It can be especially valuable for organizations that participate in worldwide events, since sponsorship rises above social and dialect hindrances. Given the affinity of buyers to partner supports with the occasion they advance, it is critical for organizations to choose occasions that are suitable with their itemor corporate picture (Parente Strausbaugh-Hutchinson, 2014). A developing number of advertisers presume that corporate sponsorship is more than any strategies as it gives chances to measure client reaction to items promptly. Occasions permit entrepreneurs relate straightforwardly with their clients, while they give clients the chance to experiment with the results of an organization firsthand. In examination, promoting research techniques, for example, center gatherings are typically exorbitant and may not concentrate on the right sort of individuals, while advertise studies or surveys generally don't permit forthcoming clients the chance to experiment with items (Nissa Mishra, 2016). The type of promotion is effective since it allows in the access of a bigger population and particularly to the organizations that take part in big events. The functions allow owners of business to relate directly with consumers, present the opportunity to the clients to taste the product. It creates high visibility dues publicity that is positive which raises the visibility as well as wide exposure (Jha et al., 2016). Media Mix Digital Media The type of media mix entails the use of digital signs encoded so that it represents the message. It is created with the aim of passing messages concerning the product to the segment that is targeted. The organization with the use of this strategy will increase the level of playing field such that any competitor will never meet the standards of the organization. Besides this, the organization can pass the message with little cost since it is cheap. Additionally, it is cheap to measure. The number of traffics that come in contact with the message is easily determined and hence the number of visitors checking the product. Also, the organization is able to get results on real time by monitoring on the number of customers attracted to the product (Percy Rosenbaum-Elliott, 2016). With the online real time results, the organization is able to refine its strategy with the aim of attracting more customers to the organizations products. It implies that the organization is able to measure and determine focused returns in a given period of time. The organization can as well develop the brand based on the customers visiting the site by adding value. This will present significant value leading the creation of market opportunities since there is great exposure to the product (Nissa Mishra, 2016). Print Media It is recommended that Woolworth adopts this they of strategy in communicating to the customer owing to the many benefits that come with this type of media mix. This is the form of strategy where message get passed to the customers with the use of printed materials on the paper. The approach is proposed for Woolworth because it tangible. Customers like real content that they feel and have in their hands. The strategy has the ability to trigger feeling of sense, smell etc especially when the paper used can change color when subjected to certain forms of environments (Pouya, 2015). The media is efficient and effective in that it can be made in different sizes and can as well pass information to a larger part of the customers. It creates engagement via attracting attention and is trusted by larger part of the population. The method offers the chance to store the media so that information gets retrieved when needed. In the media, different type of messages can be included: education, news, inspiration offer and entertainment (Jha et al., 2016) Social Media This is a type of media mix where an organization uses any form of social sites in the promotion of their products. There are many forms of social media such as Face book, Twitter among others. The advent of technology made it possible for the growth of the media (Nissa Mishra, 2016). The organization will use these media mix because it has the potential on increasing brand awareness and cost effective since the only requirement for the organization is the creation of the company profile. Also, social media has the potential of increasing inbound traffic and hence assist the organization to get customers even those who are not loyal to the product. This is possible by syndicating the content in many platforms and this will allow people not loyal to reach the organizations product (Nissa Mishra, 2016). Through the social media, the organization can improve its ranking on the web with the use of optimization engine. The social media has the capability of examining the state of over 58% marketers who were using the social media for the past one year (Nissa Mishra, 2016). The use of social media makes and increase customer satisfaction. There is customization of messages and clients are able to comments and ask for suggestion or information concerning a product. Hence through feedback, customers get satisfied as they get direct interaction with the organizations information page (Jha et al., 2016) Brand loyalty is created and improved. When customers get the right information concerning the product, they get to know all the features and benefits that a product presents. This gives the client the affinity to the product and hence making him/her loyal to the product. The strategy is cost effective since there no initial costs that get incurred and hence cheap and through the social media, the needs as well as the thoughts of the customer get known. The information obtained from the customer assist in lying up better strategies for penetration to the market (Nissa Mishra, 2016). Budget Concepts MEDIA COST ($) Advertising 17,000 Personal Selling 5,000 Discounts and Promotion 10,000 Event Sponsorship 15,000 Digital Media 6,000 Print Media 4,000 Total 57,000 Evaluation Metrics The evaluation metrics that the organization will employed in order to assess the market are described below: ROAS This Return On Advertising Spend and utilized in order to know the profits that can be attained through promotion by giving the best marketing channel as well as the target segment for a product. It is calculated with the use of the formula: ROAS = (Ad revenue/ Cost of ad source). ROI This is Return on Investment which indicates the effectiveness together with the value investment. It as well indicates the losses and assists in assessing the level effectiveness of a promotion strategy. It is given by- ROI = (Net Profit / Cost of Investment) x 100. Customer Retention Rate This is another technique that determines customers to ascertain whether they are loyal to the product, if the company is attracting new clients and retaining old clients. It is given by: Customer Retention Rates = (Customers End Period New Customers for this Period) / Customers at Start of the Period x 100 Sales Numbers Based on the number of sales, an organization is able to know whether the promotion undertaken was effective or not. It is possible by comparing the sales of previous period prior to promotion and the sales of the period from which the campaign was done. Customer Response When a feedback mechanism is entrenched in the promotion plan, then feedback can be obtained and analyzed. The number and nature of feedback can tell whether the plan was successful or not. Market Research Research can be undertaken on brand loyalty prior to campaign and at the same time undertake after the campaign and then the results be analyzed and reports to get the results. In comparing the two, one is able to tell the impact of the campaign. Conclusion/Summary With the objective of the report under consideration, the positioning strategy is a technique that gets employed so as to make a brand have a distinct place in the market. It is a strategy that gets utilized so that marketing is effective. It entails the identification of points and parity of differentiation that allows the product to meet standards as well as presenting added value. Communication strategy gets used in order to promote the product that is to be taken to the targeted segment. The organization in entering into the international market will employ the following enumerated strategies Media mix entails the use of digital signs encoded so that it represents the message. It is created with the aim of passing messages concerning the product to the segment that is targeted. Print the form of strategy where message get passed to the customers with the use of printed materials on the paper. The approach is proposed for Woolworth because it tangible. Customers like real content that they feel and have in their hands. The use of social media makes and increase customer satisfaction. There is customization of messages and clients are able to comments and ask for suggestion or information concerning a product. Hence through feedback, customers get satisfied as they get direct interaction with the organizations information page. Recommendations The organization must have clear message together with the message that the organization have selected. The strategy that is suggested for positioning is the price-quality approach. The organization must set their prices on the new product such that it is favorable to the customers and that the price does earn some proceeds to the organization. The price that is affordable will keep customers running for the product. In tandem with the price is quality, the organization must ensure that alongside the favorable price, the product must be of quality. The organization has to adopt for positioning is the customer value approach. The new product to be introduced into the market must be made such that it is of beneficial value to the customer. The organization has to spend a sizeable amount of finances on the advertising form of communication. Therefore in the initial planning stage, the organization set reasonable finances for the strategy. The organization ought to employ discount and promotion strategy so that clients are able to know the discounts and promotions that the organization presents. The strategy consists of coupons rebates or percent-off deals. It is where an organization ought to under event sponsorship in order to have some presence in the event that will happen for example in sports. There are benefits that come with the use of event sponsorship like giving out samples, gifts etc. The organization with the use of digital strategy will increase the level of playing field such that any competitor will never meet the standards of the organization. It is recommended that Woolworth adopts this they of strategy in communicating to the customer owing to the many benefits that come with this type of media mix. The media is efficient and effective in that it can be made in different sizes and can as well pass information to a larger part of the customers. It creates engagement via attracting attention and is trusted by larger part of the population. The method offers the chance to store the media so that information gets retrieved when needed. In the media, different type of messages can be included: education, news, inspiration offer and entertainment. The organization ought to use media mix because it has the potential on increasing brand awareness and cost effective since the only requirement for the organization is the creation of the company profile. Also, social media has the potential of increasing inbound traffic and hence assist the organization to get customers even those who are not loyal to the product. This is possible by syndicating the content in many platforms and this will allow people not loyal to reach the organizations product. References Blankson, C., Kalafatis, S., Cowan, K., Singh, J. (2012). Market orientation and positioning strategy: review and propositions.Thriving in a New World Economy, 131. 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