Download Direct marketing activities and more Assignments Business Strategy in PDF only on Docsity!
Pedro Goldgrub
Plan direct marketing activities
In class activity Pg. 42
The marketing solutions consultancy agency has given our team
some insightful feedbacks towards a more effective marketing
campaign, which would impact directly on increasing the sales and
revenue.
First of all, they have talked about integrating different marketing
platforms and, therefore, working to create this synergy between
them, while preserving, in the other hand, their own different
approaches taking into consideration their differences. This means
that the digital marketing campaigns would be aligned to promote
the same subjects/products instead of doing in separately, for
example, while they still have freedom to implement their own
communication strategies.
In addition to that, the Strategies Plus will also offer their own
services to manage the marketing & communication strategies
towards a more integrated campaign. By taking over and producing
the content of on – and off-line campaigns, the company commits to
provide all the material needed - such as graphic design, media
strategies, projects planning and adds-on – in order to achieve the
respective goals.
Furthermore, Strategies Plus offers a personalised plan of action to
be incorporated on the campaign according to what we are looking
for. This means that they will be offering a variety of approaches and
we would just need to see the one that would suit us best, so that
they can work towards that direction.
As mentioned above, Strategies Plus has given some precious
feedback and some positive sales approaches to be implemented.
They are:
- Creating a more integrated marketing strategy. This would help
establishing a more solid and consistent strategy towards sales
and revenue growth. In the other hand, it would preserve the
standards of communication for each platform, which may vary
according to the people that are reading/watching it.
- Creating a network that will be composed by personalised
approaches towards a more effective strategy. By creating an
action plan that takes into consideration different aspects to be
considered in a campaign and adapt that to our business.
Two negative approaches that were listed by the consultancy agency
were pointed to improve points that are not yet satisfactory. Action
plan in this case would be avoiding tedious communication to not
make potential customers feeling bored with something massive and
repetitive. Also, developing more exciting campaigns, instead of
monotonous and predictable campaigns.
1A
Question 1
1. Numbers of new customers : identifying demographics, such as
gender, socio-economic background and age to have a better
understanding of what is the profile of our customers at this
point; Also being able to identify and analyse the company`s
economical growth, by comparing the numbers with monthly
reports, which will give valuable insights, such as growth rates,
new acquisitions, regularity and loyalty of customers, etc. From
that, setting up goals and objectives for overall numbers of
customers to be acquired, as well as a growth forecast for the
upcoming months considering previous periods.
2. Promotional activities: could be done with a more traditional
approach, such as investments in direct marketing and
advertising campaigns both in the physical or digital fields. Also,
the usage of pushing/ pull strategies can be a successful tool for
promoting the services offered in the company if done precisely.
This means that the promotional activities must be aligned to
their vision as an institution, and of course, their image to their
clients.
Question 2
1. Identifying the target audience: Taking into consideration the
resources available to develop marketing strategies and action plans,
the marketing/business team will be able to find out who are the
potential customers and invest towards their profile.
2. Having use of the old and effective method “word of mouth”: the
key to developing an assertive and successful program lies in
developing a plan which will have to be studied and implemented
information. Also, by understanding the customers level of
involvement, a business owner will understand better their
behaviour, impulses, decision making base.
1C
Question 1
There are few effective ways of building customer loyalty strategies
in order to keep expanding the profitability and consistency of the
business by investing on the relationships with the business clients.
By focusing on service quality, a company will be investing more on
quality products, but will exponentially see growth in sales and have
good feedbacks from its clients for prioritising their satisfaction in
first place. Also, by creating selling strategies with focus on building
relationships, a company will be walking towards creating a more
intimate relationship, which can result in customer loyalty
considering there is always a space of market to be disputed with
strong competitors.
Question 2A
Aldi has officially gone 100% organic in the last year and did a
massive branding campaign to promote their brand in a very
distinctive way compared to the others supermarket giants
franchises. This strategy already showed very good results and
proved to be very effective as there is a bigger demand for organic
products, with customers getting increasingly more concerned about
the source of their food.
A negative effect of branding is to create some confusion on its
customer when trying to differentiate its products. Garden pebbles is
one example of how by doing branding, companies can actually
defeat its main purpose.
2B
Question 1
Mail was once one of the main ways of promoting a business, being
physically present inside people`s houses. This means that possibly
many of the houses that these letters got to were read by potential
customers. However, it is quiet expensive to mail a letter for each
address and may not be as effective as digital marketing campaigns,
considering people are increasingly spending more time using the
internet.
Social Media is probably one of the most used direct marketing
activities for modern businesses, being pretty effective and providing
investors with undeniable numbers of exposition, engagement and
even counting the amount of clicks on links. However, as it gets more
popular, it is also becoming more expensive and requiring more time
and studies in order to take important insights.
Investing in “door to door” technique can be a very direct approach,
which can work straight away and create results immediately.
However, it is a quiet old way of promoting a business and can be
seen as antiquate and invasive, considering that people are getting
more concerned about their privacy.
2D
Question 1
My objectives to achieve my vision statement are the following three:
- Increase social media engagement and exposition in 50% by
December 2020.
- Increase client-returning rates in 15% by December 2020.
- Reduce client complains in 50% by December 2020.
Question 2
In order to achieve the objectives listed above, I would invest more in
specific direct marketing strategies, such as Social Media analytics
and online marketing tools. This would not only help increasing my
business exposition in the growing digital world, but would give
more support and presence to be able to build a relationship with the
customer. This would happen not only when aiming for more
engagement, either by replying to comments/doubts, but also by
engagement with clients, increasing returning rates and reducing & controlling complains by quickly acting and responding to their doubts, needs and requests. On this way, even if not completely satisfied, they would feel listened and cared about, which could even be seen as a positive outcome from what was at first an issue. In class activity Pg. 124 By investing on a qualified online marketing team to build customer relationship and create engagement, I would be focusing on people who have a specific interest for holistic health practises. This means that I will be selling my services and focusing on building a relationship with people that would be keen to invest more in organic products, for example, as well as seeing massage therapy/ osteopathy treatments as a way of maintain their body healthy and remediate pain instead of trying to deal with the other way around. I believe that these people would be keen to try the services I offer at my clinic by the way I promote both in social media and physical face-to-face experiences. By promoting special offers and explaining what are the services that I offer, pointing more specifically to the differentials that I have when comparing with competitors, I would be doing the first step of having them trying out once. From that, I would then invest on building a relationship and encouraging their engagement by investing on Social Media presence, newsletter promotions in e- mail lists and special offers for members announced in our page and website. By having a solid online marketing team I will be able to fill this gaps and respond to their needs quickly and smoothly. Our main differential when comparing to our competitors would be the way we treat our clients in all ends. From the first meeting, to the attention given in Social Media and throughout the phone. Our therapists would also be trained to not only offer a normal health service, but to know since the beginning how to build a relationship with clients by calling them by their names and studying their cases in order to be able to talk specifically with each one of them about their situation. Treating each one of them with their uniqueness, that’s what it is all about.
Activity (replace assessment Pg. 116) Specific Factors at least 2 each category) Potential marketing and promotional activities effected by these factors Demographic factors that will impact on marketing (eg: age, gender, income,
Demographic factors such as age and income are to be considered in order to plan marketing
I nvesting in social media as well as building a relationship with this clients by creating
education, occupation, stage of family cycle) strategies to my business. The first would be targeting 30s> as they might be more susceptive to feel muscular pain/tightness due to their age. Also, people with more economical background would be more keen to invest their money in maintaining their body health with a more holistic approach.
customer loyalty programs if well planned are an effective way of targeting this specific group of people that would be more capable of and willing to investing their money in a massage/osteophaty clinic
Economic factors that will impact on marketing (eg: employment indicators, economic climate, social classes, competition)
By analyzing clients employment indicators we can take insightful information of whether they are the public we are aiming to target or not. Also, by having a deeper look at competition we can also understand what are their target and their parcel in the market.
Investing in surveys s a good of capturing insights such as employment indicators, social class, etc. and match it with the company`s goals and objectives. In the same way, investing on researches are also a good way of having a better understanding of our competition. Technological Trends that may affect marketing
Some technological trends such as social media and digital marketing campaigns are effective ways of positively impacting on business growth.
Investing in content production, sponsoring posts and public relations strategies are good ways of investing in building a relationship with customers and potential customers throughout the social media. Also, by investing in Google Ads and other website tools, a business will be investing in a solid online marketing campaign, building a consistent image to their public.
3A
Question 1
consequences and being charged for predatory pricing. Therefore, it is important to always take into consideration how aggressive and legally fair is to low the prices and how it will impact not only the competitors, but the possible outcomes for your own business. Question 2 The Lifetime value of customers represents the total amount of money a customer is expected to spend in the business/products during their lifetime. This is an effective approach to have a better understanding of the current possibilities, considering the budget available to invest, and therefore, helps in making decisions towards investing in acquiring new customers and retaining existing ones. However, a negative aspect of this strategy is that it can be considered static and even flawed, as a companys flexibility to cut a given customer loose at any time when it decides dropping those who dont show a positive NPV for the marketing strategy. These calculations can be precise, but are also rational choices based on a specific time in which the research was made and is not indeed flexible to the natural movement of the market and people. 3D Annual attrition rate On average, breaking in a new employee costs more than $1,000 and 30 hours of training. The more staff leave, the more expensive it gets to on- board replacement workers. A company's annualized attrition rate is the measure of how many employees leave over a year. Attrition is also known as employee turnover.
Gross profit per message transmitted It is a calculation of how much profit is generated for every instance of direct marketing that is send out/transmitted, taking into account all the costs of the process. The costs will include the creation of the mail (design, writing), production of it and distribution to customers. Net response rates Response rate is a measurement of the amount of people who respond to a certain call-to-action. When marketers want to solicit a response from consumers, they will distribute an offer to the consumers. The consumers who respond to the offer are calculated into this metric.
Ratio of marketing costs to sales ratio
A marketing control measure used to determine whether the cost of the marketing activities engaged in to produce the level of sales in a given period was excessive; total marketing expenses are expressed as a percentage of total sales revenue.
3E Question 1 Identity data is the most basic information that identifies an individual, such as name, gender, nationality, age, phone number, email adress, profession, education background and others. Descriptive data goes beyond, searching for more qualitative information in order to understand a customers behavior, surges and habits. It can be done by conducting interviews or surveys to be voluntarily answered by potential/ customers in order to acquire this insightful information. Behavioral data helps a business to assess customers patterns when using specific products or services. By tackling browsing habits, online activity and social media usage, for example, a business will be optimizing customer`s information in order to generate more conversions, even if it breaks basic principles of ethics in many ways. Question 2
1. Open and transparent management of personal information Ensures that a company manages personal information in an open and transparent way. This means that a clear privacy policy statement is to be done and signed by its customers. 2. Anonymity and pseudonymity Gives the option to individuals to not identify themselves, or allowing them to use pseudonyms. There are, although, limited exceptions that apply. 3. Collection of solicited personal information Outlines when a business can collect information that is solicited. Different conditions apply for sensitive information.
- Dealing with unsolicited personal information Outlines how entities must deal with unsolicited personal information. Therefore, a certain approach to be followed accordingly.
Currently, under the current National Privacy Principles (NPPs) in the Privacy Act, if an organisation collects an individual's personal information for the primary purpose of direct marketing, it can use and disclose the individual's personal information for that purpose (although other laws – such as the laws on spam and the Do Not Call Register – may also apply depending on the circumstances). Sweepstakes are regulated under the trade promotions law of each of Australia’s eight States and Territories, these laws are broadly consistent and it is not difficult to satisfy the relevant requirements. There are requirements for specific regulations, such as the creation of a permit to conduct and/or promote any sweepstake or draw. Also, it is compulsory that an Australian entity must conduct the draw. The Trade Practises Act main objectives is to prevent anti-competitive conduct, thereby encouraging competition and efficiency in business. Also, it ensures the interests and welfare of consumers are adequately protected in their dealings with producers and sellers. Question 3 In order to implement an assertive direct marketing strategy, a company needs to start by having set a budget that will respond to the financial sustainability of the business. This means that few costs might need to be taken into account, such as labour costs, external organisations involved, production costs, overhead costs, advertising needs and marketing materials, etc.. For example, by considering the production costs, a company must have proportional numbers for a labour budget, as the number of labour hours needed will have to correspond to the production of units itemized in the production budget. This is a very useful tool for accountability as it can anticipate the number of employees needed in order to have enough products throughout the initial budget period. Also, by considering the 4Ps, a business will always set their possibilities and understand its boundaries and limitations. This means that four elements have to be considered in order to spend the right amount into overhead coasts, advertising campaigns and marketing materials. They are: Product: whether it is a tangible or intangible product or a service. Consider it life cycle accordingly. Price: High or Low perceived value. Pricing is the first impression that enables the client to form a perception. Place: Access, distribution, physical & digital services with channel decisions to be made. Promotion: How to promote the product and invest in marketing materials and advertising strategies. Question 4
There are a few methods that can actually quantify whether a businesss market strategy is successful or not. They are: _Annual attrition rate:_ this is an interesting way of understanding if your business is going well or not, as it measures the customers who are actively purchasing from you over a certain period of time, which also helps on looking for the customers who decided to not come back as well. This means, for example, that if there was an increase in numbers of customers who have come back to trade with a business after the implementation of a marketing campaign, the strategy that was used was successful. Gross profit per message transmitted: This is a calculation of how much profit is generated from every direct marketing strategy that was implemented and sent out/transmitted to customers/potential customers. This can show which marketing strategies have been more effective and which should need a cut in investments. **SECTION B – COMPLETED SECTION C Question 1** _Marketing Plan (COMPLETED) –_ Ive reviewed and believe there is no changes needed Question 2 A) The purpose of the campaign is to acquire new customers and commence my business. B) At this stage I do not believe there are any performance gaps or corrective actions needed. C) Will be reviewed after 3 months. D) Will also be reviewed in 3 months. Question 3
