The market dynamics are ever-changing for any business and hence firms must employ strategies to keep up to competition or die. Winning strategies must always consider the thorough situational analysis to identify new opportunities, and channels to reach the markets. The situational analysis involves the analysis of the business environment and the SWOT analyses that examine the internal strengths and weaknesses of the firm. It also considers the analysis of the business objectives, strategies, and performance metrics that are significant in the assessment of growth avenues (Frost et al., 2018). Apart from the opportunities identified in situational analyses, there are also competitive, economic, and other threats that can be defined. Situational analysis is hence an important step in e-marketing as it facilitates an eye-opener for the business to improve. This section of the paper not only focusses on the SWOT analysis but also describes the external changes that may affect the firm, the market segmentation and target, as well as the brand positioning.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths – They refer to the internal capabilities that help the firm to achieve its objectives. Supreme Services Limited is willing to cater to the E-commerce market segment, unlike conventional delivery firms. The firm also enjoys experienced management led by the managing director and operations manager who are recognized in the industry due to their previous portfolios. The firm enjoys the support of well-trained delivery agents who have high customer service skills. The firm also draws its strength from its ability to use information technology in running seamless operations.
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Weaknesses – Weaknesses refer to the internal impediments that may prevent the firm from achieving its objectives. Supreme Services Limited is financially limited due to inadequate funding which may slow down its operations and growth. The firm also lacks sufficient expertise to expand and keep up with the e-business pace to fully satisfy the market. The firm also has poor in-house IT support which may limit its online activities.
Opportunities – Opportunities refer to the external circumstances that the business can exploit to achieve its goals and objectives. The E-commerce industry is rapidly growing at a very fast pace to include various market segments like apparel products, food, healthcare, and jewelry which presents a large market ideal for the firm. The business has also attracted various angel investors willing to fund the firm and enable its expansion. The industry also has fragmented competition that gives the firm a chance to compete favorably as a start-up. The increased interest in online shopping is an opportunity for the firm to grow.
Threats – Threats refer to the external circumstances that may cause a challenge to the achievement of the firm’s marketing goals and objectives. For the e-commerce market, delivery prices are not very competitive and that may limit the firm’s growth. Buyers also prefer the cash on delivery payment mode that poses a security threat for the firm’s personnel handling the money. Furthermore, the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down business growth.
External Changes
External changes are part of the situational analysis and refer to environmental factors that affect e-marketing. They include political, economic, sociocultural, and technological factors.
Political. The political environment is a significant factor in the growth of the firm. Changes in political policies like technological policies are likely to impact the firm. For instance, the political acceptance of social technologies may enhance the growth of the firm whose main focus is online businesses.
Economic. Economic factors also have a significant impact on the growth of the business. Some of the economic changes that may adversely affect the business include high inflation that causes price increments slowing business, and increased interest rates which make debt financing expensive.
Sociocultural. Sociocultural factors refer to those that affect the interaction of the business with the market and the customers. For the e-commerce courier industry, a change of belief against online trading due to online scammers may adversely affect business growth.
Technological. The growth of technology may positively impact business growth. For instance, the development and growth of mobile applications have facilitated the growth of courier firms. That is due to easy and convenient order placement platforms that customers can access on mobile applications at any time anywhere.
Segmentation Criteria
Market segmentation refers to the division of the market into different classes of target customers depending on their needs, characteristics, and behaviors (Armstrong and Kotler, 2007). Segmentation is significant for the firm’s growth as it enables the concentration of efforts on fully satisfying a particular market niche rather than wishing to please everybody and end up disappointing many people (Blythe, 2012). Supreme Services Limited intends to mainly segment its market geographically. Due to inadequate funding, the firm will concentrate on operating in particular convenient geographical locations and expand into other areas gradually.
Target Market
The target market for Supreme Service Limited will be the online businesses operating with New York City. The population of the city is large enough for the start-up business and the number of online sellers and buyers is also huge which guarantees business operations.
Positioning Statement
The business recognizes that it is significant to assess the existing market competition and make decisions on how different to place its services so that consumers can compare it competitively. Supreme Services Limited specifically caters to e-commerce online businesses, unlike conventional courier companies that focus on well-established firms. That uniquely positions the firm in the market. Furthermore, the firm recognizes the importance of service reviews and will use positive feedback reviews to attract potential clients.
References
Armstrong, G. & Kotler, P. (2007). Marketing: An Introduction 8th Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Blythe, J. (2012). Essentials of Marketing . Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
Frost, R. D., Fox, A., & Strauss, J. (2018). E-marketing (8th Ed.). Routledge.
