A company must develop a marketing strategy in spite of the area they will conduct their business. Marketing and an advertising strategy are essential in communicating to the consumers about the products sold in the company (Gilstein, 2017). The approach assists the consumers to get information on the characteristics and prices of an organization’s products. The marketing research helps the company to establish the market that is ready to consume their products. A good marketing strategy consists of basics and the four elements of marketing which include product, place, price, and promotion (Gilstein, 2017).
The Mainframe Labs executive team was focused on starting by offering their Mainframe PC (Gilstein, 2017). The company entered the market with a microcomputer that was highly functional. The Mainframe Company did not take steps that were required in the advertisement campaign and indeed up in the third quarter (Gilstein, 2017). The micro-computers were sold in markets that the company did not carry out advertisement campaigns. The report will guide us in formulating a marketing strategy. It will illustrate the factors that affect advertisement campaigns (Gilstein, 2017). The report will demonstrate the connection between traditional and modern sources. The final section will focus on the computation of return on marketing investment and ideas on recovering from previous mistakes.
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Creating a Core Marketing/Advertising Strategy
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Mainframe Labs team perceived they had a good plan that could lead to market success. The result of the third quarter indicated that the team was not successful. The Mainframe PCs were bought in markets that the company did not carry out advertisement campaigns. The customers complained that the product did not meet the company's advertisement claims. The company had to redesign the Mainframe PCs and make sure the advertisements match the design as well as the target market. The company had to understand the target market to determine the needs and preferences of the consumers. The customer information was relevant in redesigning the product. Margolis and Garrigan (2008) claimed that an organization should define a target market to make sure that the correct message is conveyed.
Marketing research is an essential element in this case. The marketing research will assist Mainframe Labs to determine the actual steps they will take. The marketing research will evaluate four challenges in various areas which include brand, media, getting patents and customers. Mainframe Company has problems in all the four regions. The company took multiple steps to address this issues including eliminating the first computer, redesign the product and forming a new marketing campaign. Mainframe Labs is sure that their ideas will increase their shares in the target market or other regions in the forthcoming quarter.
Strategy Tailored to Individual Markets and Culture
In spite of the Mainframe Company overcoming their previous challenges in the 2 nd and 3 rd quarters, they have a major problem ahead of them. The company is planning to expand their operations to China, Brazil, and France. The company will encounter economic challenges in designing an advertisement campaign that will meet the cultural needs of every country. Mainframe Company will face problems in developing a marketing strategy that will target the respective markets and culture.
It is essential to take into account that the microcomputers are similar in spite of the geographical market. Some marketing campaigns will appeal to a respective culture but not the others. One of the methods of gathering information is carrying out surveys. The purpose of the study is to get first-hand information about the consumer (Trompenaars & Woolliams, 2004). The info on surveys cannot be applied internationally because the challenges that occur during interpretation. It is difficult to validate data because it could be perceived in a different manner (Trompenaars & Woolliams, 2004). The mainframe has purchased market research for every quarter in the marketplace live simulation. The study will guide the Mainframe team in making the right choices for every quarter.
Integrating Traditional/Non-Traditional Sources
The traditional sources of marketing include radio, newspaper and television advertisements. The effectiveness of the advertisement source depends on the culture of the target market. Some individuals may get information from the television or radio, but other can retrieve from newspapers (Margolis & Garrigan, 2008) . Mainframe will add their advertisement campaign in a business paper in one of the farming regions in San Paulo. The effective marketing campaign will reach to the possible consumers.
The non-traditional sources of advertisement include posters, social networks, music sites (such as iTunes), new media and billboards (Siapera, 2013). Most of the new media are cheap or free. For instance, social networks can be used to carry out market research or an advertisement campaign. In case a firm uses the non-traditional sources that are free, the can meet the expenses of the traditional sources that are costly.
Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI)
It is essential for Mainframe Labs to know how to compute ROMI (return on marketing investment). The reason is that a company should determine the effectiveness of their marketing research and advertisement campaign. Most companies measure their return on marketing investment using the ratio 3: 1. This means that a company should have 3 dollars for their performances on every dollar spent on advertising their items. Goldhill (2014) states that social network clicks can be measured by controlling the traffic received on the website from the advertisement placements. In case the visitors are not purchasing the products, the extensive analysis should be carried out to find the reasons as to why the clicks are not converted to sales. If Mainframe Company spends money on advertisements and makes fewer sales, they have to analyze the preceding quarter to determine the reason for the ineffectiveness of the advertisements. In case the marketing campaign is successful, they will understand the preferences of the customers. The company can increase their advertisement purchases and stock to fill the gap created by additional sales.
Traveler Marketing Plan
The mainframe has decided to focus on the workhorse section to offer the new microcomputers. The statistics indicated that the company's brand was not sold in the target market but the travelers’ section. The graph below illustrates the result of the marketing strategy. The graph demonstrates that the company owns 15% of the market share. The company holds 63% of the traveler segment. This is the reason for the need of new decisions and changes ("Business Simulations - Marketplace Simulations," 2018) .
The company is performing well in the travelers’ segment, and the decision for redesigning the product is appropriate. The decision is unique because the competitors are not targeting these customers. The potential for the company's sales was low, but they can dominate in the future. The company adopted the “lead from behind” principle because they focus diverted to the traveler section.
The company's primary consideration for the marketing strategy in the traveler's section is to formulate a unified message. Mainframe wants the customers to be aware that they had their preferences in mind. The company aims at manufacturing a high performing computer that will meet the needs of the target market.
The company's message to the target market is similar in spite of the geographical regions. The individuals who travel and work at the same time need a device that will assist them to meet their goals. The devices are capable of performing the required tasks without delay. Mainframe microcomputer is that device.
The company has a three-fold plan for measuring the outcome, the introduction of the new microcomputers and the target marketing plan. Firstly, the company will offer a survey to all the consumers to get direct feedback from everyone. The company will request some of their employees to control the system that tracks the clicks on their site and other points of sales. This will assist the company to convert their advertisements to sales. The company will manage their finances according to the budget and make sure they have their return on marketing investment budget.
Conclusion
Marketing research and improving the advertisement campaign assist a company in developing their brand as well as increase sales in their target market. A company must make preparations before implementing their action plan. They must carry out research to determine the needs of the customers. The company has to carry out an advertising campaign to communicate to the customers on the kinds of products they will offer. The appropriate method of conducting marketing research and developing advertising campaign is utilizing the four Ps of marketing.
The outcome of the test market in the second quarter indicated that the company sold computers to a target market that they did not carry out an advertisement campaign. The traveler market had the highest sales. The company had to revise the four Ps of marketing to determine the cause of the problem. Mainframe hopes that the marketing strategy and the new design will assist them to recover and expand the company.
References
Business Simulations - Marketplace Simulations. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.marketplace-simulation.com/
Gilstein, J. (2017). Marketing mix. Salem Press Encyclopedia ,
Goldhill, J. (2014). Measure your marketing ROI. Landscape Management, 53(10), 80-81.
Margolis, J., & Garrigan, P. (2008). Guerrilla Marketing For Dummies . Hoboken: Wiley.
Siapera, E. (2013). Understanding New Media . London, England: SAGE.
Trompenaars, F., & Woolliams, P. (2004). Marketing across cultures . Chichester: Capstone.
