Marketing Strategy Assignment

Author’s name

Institutional AffiliationTable of Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Marketing Strategy Assignment PAGEREF _Toc320546680 h 3Introduction PAGEREF _Toc320546681 h 3Describe the total product that you are selling PAGEREF _Toc320546682 h 3Describe the segments of the consumer market you would pursue and why? PAGEREF _Toc320546683 h 4The basic furniture design exists, but how would you tailor the final product to best suit the target market(s)? PAGEREF _Toc320546684 h 5What is your distribution strategy that allows you to sell directly to the consumer? PAGEREF _Toc320546685 h 6Describe your promotional strategy and specific tactics to create awareness and encourage sales. PAGEREF _Toc320546686 h 6References PAGEREF _Toc320546687 h 8

Marketing Strategy AssignmentIntroductionA marketing strategy integrates the marketing goals of an organization into a solid whole. An essential product concept is, concerns the product itself. It is essential to note that the core rationale of business is to satisfy customers’ wants and needs. It is necessary to note that customers are always interested in attaining perceived benefits with their purchase, rather than only the physical article itself. Thus, according to Kotler, P., Wong, V., Saunders, J., Armstrong, G., Zwart, R., & Austin, C. (2004), a product entails a bundle of service, physical, as well as symbolic attributes that are designed to satisfy the customer’s needs as well as wants. This means that a single physical article may be a number of dissimilar products. The variation arises due to the different wants as well as needs of different customers, as well as due to their diverse perceptions of the physical article.

Describe the total product that you are selling (utility, packaging, comfort, brand, fashion, etc.)The total product that is on sale is assembled as well as flat-pack furniture, being offered in a broad range of sizes as well as desk shapes to go well with the diverse homerooms, as well as the corners utilized for the home office. Particleboard and wood units that have laminate tops as well as strong edgings blend with solid wood as well as traditional ranges. The presently highly preferred are space savers that have a superior degree of functionality as well as, a small footprint. The decorative moldings, inlays as well as varied shapes attach fun as well as color to this otherwise predicable class. Workstations are priced at roughly $950, and account for approximately 50% of sales, storage/filing units cost approximately $300 account for 13%. While cabinets, hutches/credenzas cost approximately $700 per unit, account for approximately 9%. In regard to seating, it accounts for approximately 26%. The invention of these products has been necessitated by the need that numerous people have for a functional and comfortable home office.

Flexibility as well as fashionable looks, is especially essential to this market, because the home office space may be extremely limited and pieces have to blend with the home furnishings. Consequently, as manufactures, it is essential to put work centers as well as other elements on wheels for the purposes of portability. This entails inventing desks that fold out or swing open for working and then close to conceal office equipment. It also entails the creation of adjustable tables that can perform double-duty as typing tables or coffee tables. Thus, a product is more specifically known as the total product concept, since it entails three levels namely:

The core product, meaning the benefits of the product that are purchased.

The actual product, meaning the tangible item/s.

The augmented product, meaning the service components as well as, intangibles.

Describe the segments of the consumer market you would pursue (your target market(s)) and why?The segments of the consumer market that would be pursued include the executive level consumes who have an appreciation for eminence in craftsmanship as well as materials, and desires to incorporate technology into their home office environment. The market segments in the office furniture perspective include corporate executives, small business owners, and home offices. There will be a need to target these markets by means of an assortment of media including catalog distribution, the Internet, as well as advertising by word of mouth (Kotler et al., 2004). These are the strategies that would be adopted, in order to make the product information easily available, to the clientele seeking quality home office furniture with specific technological needs. Therefore, the company will include publishing of internal catalogues to the current catalog marketing agenda. This would be by means of high level channels like Sharper Image. Additionally, because the products assume the utilization of computer technology, the company needs to develop company websites, in order to augment the company profile. This would be by promoting the product line in the medium that is most fitting to the customers. The company occupies an explicit niche within the home office furniture market. As a result, the competition does not offer comparable products, since they lack the blending of quality and technological integration in materials as well as craftsmanship (Hollensen, 2003).

There is the need to leverage the company’s presence by use of high-quality catalogs as well as specialty distributors. This is because, the target market are individuals who desires to have excellent furniture with the most modern in technology, blended with an old fashioned sense of excellent woods and superior woodworking. This individual can be in corporate towers, medium or small business, or in the home office. The universal bond is the pleasure in quality, as well as a lack of price limitations.

The basic furniture design exists, but how would you tailor the final product to best suit the target market(s)?In customizing the final product to best suit the target market, the company offers extremely high quality home office furniture that is designed to integrate effectively the computer machinery into the home office. The most imperative to the line is the ergonomically efficient desk that assumes the looks of an executive desk and appears extremely good in the high-end office, although is designed to accommodate the personal computer. Every piece is obtainable in either cherry or oak.

The main line is the computer desk in a number of versions. This is fundamentally an elegant bit of home office furniture that is designed to look first-class in a home office or executive office, and simultaneously, be ideal for factual use of a computer. The two vital elements of ergonomics, namely the keyboard height as well as angle, and the monitor height as well as angle, are entirely adjustable. Cable runs as well as shelving add to the executive desk’s utility, without forgoing elegance. In addition, custom designs are made to fit precise measurements.

What is your distribution strategy that allows you to sell directly to the consumer?The company’s furniture distribution strategy is characterized by focus in comparatively large units. Generally, there are approximately 8–10 sales persons per unit. Another feature is the considerable market clout held by the buying associations. These were initially established to bargain better deals as well as conditions for the members, banking on their joint purchasing power over the manufacturers. However, these buying associations outgrew their initial mandate into providing training, marketing, as well as financing operations for the members’ benefit. Usually, approximately 62.5% of home office furniture sales are channeled through buying associations. The buying associations have a commanding role in regard to organized distribution. The growth of small autonomous furniture stores as well as regional chain stores grants a practical chance for offshore manufacturers to establish product-specific stores in main cities. The company utilizes trade shows as buying points. Trade shows are huge events that draw customers in big numbers. A pre-market show would normally take place prior to these events. Pre-market shows enable suppliers to make out the preferred ranges and prepare them for the major shows.

Describe Your Promotional Strategy and Specific Tactics to Create Awareness and Encourage Sales.The company’s recent advertising survey, discovered some insight into the media, potential customers were most liable to utilize, in order to obtain their primary information on likely furniture choices. The print media dominates furniture promotion, representing a 56% share in general expenditure. Approximately 37.6% of the entire budget is utilized on promotional strategy in the customer press. Advertising in the daily newspapers accounts for 12.5% and is preferred by some clients. Electronic media absorbs a large part of the outstanding budget, with television accounting for 26.7% and radio 14.9% of the advertising expenditure. ReferencesKotler, P., Zwart, R., Saunders, J., Wong, V., Armstrong, G., & Austin, C. (2004). Principles of Marketing. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W: Prentice Hall.

Hollensen, S. (2003). Marketing Management: Relationship Approach. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.