TASK 1:
Task 2:
TASK 3:
Environmental barriers: The current legal, social, technological and cultural norms and
regulations form the external environment of the Starbucks which may pose many
barriers to the marketing planning of the company (Duncan and Tom2002). All these
factors may limit the ways by which Starbucks interacts with the environment or
responds to the environmental changes. The regulations of business may prevent the
Starbucks to conduct the survey for comparison its products with those of competitors.
In some markets, availability of skilled workforce for conducting survey with customers
is also one of the barriers faced by Starbucks. To overcome these barriers, Starbucks
often conducts online surveys and takes feedback of customers regarding its products
and services. These surveys provide important input to the management in the
marketing planning process.
Cultural Barriers: Culture is the combination of the beliefs, knowledge, customs, moral
values, attitudes and other values and capabilities shared by a group of people in a
society or organization. Within the organizations, culture plays an important role in
defining performance of employees. In perspective of marketing planning,
organizational culture impedes the efficiency and effectiveness of employees and
managers when they lack belief in the planning. The internal culture of Starbucks
supports the marketing plan because all employees and managers belief in their plans.
However, the culture of particular countries for which marketing plans are developed
may pose barriers to the effectiveness of the marketing plans of the company. In some
markets, the people may not behave as they pretend in the surveys. In such situations,
the plans developed may not get successful.
Behavioral Barriers: the behavioral workforce also influences the effectiveness and
efficiency of the marketing plan in a broad way. For instance, a conservative and risk
aversive team may get extra time to test the marketing methods which may generate
steady returns and sales growth. In such situations, the marketing plans may get
delayed. On the other hand, a marketing team with risk taker managers may lead to
aggressive marketing with innovative ideas and concepts. In the Starbucks, the
behavioral barriers to marketing planning are managed effectively by combination of risk
takers and risk aversive people in the marketing teams.
Cognitive Barriers: These barriers may arise because of ineffective people involved in
the marketing planning. Lack of knowledge, competencies and skilled people may lead
to ineffective marketing planning. Without appropriate skills and competencies,
managers cannot develop effective plans to carry marketing activities. In the Starbucks,
cognitive barriers to marketing planning are overcome by hiring skilled and competent
workforce in the marketing team.
TASK 4:
In the Starbucks, the factors impacting the implementation of marketing plans have
been taken into account with great care. The cultural and social aspects of the products
and services are highly considered. In addition, in different markets the advertisements
of the companys products are conducted in the relevant way so that success of
marketing plans can be enhanced.
TASK 5:
Marketing Objectives
To attain 15% market share in the first two years
Target Market
The target market of the company will be based on the following two factors:
Positioning
The positioning refers to the process by which image of the companys products and
services are maintained in the customer minds. The positioning of the new Coconut
Juice will be based on the high quality and fresh juice. Pure Coconut ingredients will be
used for the production of the Coconut Juice. In addition, the prices of the products will
not be very high. In addition, the advertisements of the products will be developed by
portraying its high quality image.
Marketing Mix
Product:
The product planed to be offered in the market is Coconut Juice. Fresh high quality
product will be introduced.
Price:
The pricing strategy of the Coconut Juice will be based on the penetration pricing.
Therefore, initially the product will be offered with low price to get a substantial market
share. However, after 6 months, the prices of the product will be marginally raised in
alignment with the other competitors prices.
Promotions:
Place:
The distribution of the products of company will be conducted through trained sales
force. The products will be placed in the retail stores, supermarkets and major food
chains. In addition, the products will also be placed in the local schools and colleges.
Controls
The performance of the marketing plan will be gradually assessed and measured
periodically. In case of low performance, appropriate measures and control mechanisms
will be taken.
TASK 6:
PEST Analysis
In this respect, the PEST analysis for Starbucks is as follows:
Economic Influences: the economic factors determine that whether there would
be constant demand of beverages and food. The economical factors such as
exchange rates and interest rates may influence on prices of products and also
influence the purchasing power of customers. Starbucks needs to align its
marketing planning with the overall economic factors to ensure competitive
advantage.
Social Influences: The social factors such as religion, customs and rituals may
influence the consumer preferences. While operating in the international market,
Starbucks needs to consider the social factors before developing its marketing
plans. For instance, the advertisements of the company need to be developed
after considering social and cultural factors. Any tool of language used in the
advertisement which is not acceptable in a particular society may undermine the
success of the entire marketing plan.
SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis is one of the most important strategic tools which determine the
strengths and weaknesses of the organization and also identify the respective threats
and opportunities available to the company. The SWOT analysis for Starbucks is as
follows:
Strengths: the Starbucks has the largest market share in the industry. This
largest market share gives it a competitive edge on resources required to run the
business. In addition, the environment of the business is also differentiated which
gives it a competitive edge in the market. Moreover, the brand image is also very
strong which identified and appreciated by the customers.
Weaknesses: Despite of the strong brand image and market share, Starbucks
faces certain limitations. The aggressive marketing strategy of the company may
lead to the functional and managerial problems. This can ultimately lead to long
term problems within the organization.
TASK 7:
TASK 8:
The success of marketing planning process is subjected to certain ethical issues. The
ethical issues in marketing can raise certain disagreements and conflicts among
different parties (Ireland, 2003). Each part in the marketing planning process has certain
expectations. The fulfillment of these expectations is further subjected to ethical issues
outlined as below:
Market Research: the ethical issues regarding the invasion of companies in customer
privacy and stereotyping exist in the market research phase. The stereotyping in the
assessment of customer needs can lead to the failure of marketing plans and may also
raise ethical issues. In addition, stereotyping in the marketing research about the
cultural and social considerations may produce drastic results when people in a
particular society behave otherwise as predicted.
Ethics in Advertising and Promotion: within marketing planning, organizations need
to consider that they have substantial mechanisms for advertisements and promotions
in alignment with the ethical considerations (Smith and Taylor, 2004). The ethical issues
in the advertisement may arise by using children for the promotions of particular
products which are not associated with the children. In addition, the ethical issues in
marketing may also arise because of cultural and social values.
Starbucks has adopted appropriate policy for overcoming the ethical issues within
marketing planning. It has produced certain ethical guidelines which serve as standards
and principles for the overall marketing activities of the company. Starbucks has
introduced the degree of morality in its marketing planning.
TASK 9:
Baines, P., Fill, C., Page, K. 2008. Marketing: Case insight. 1st Edition. Oxford:
Oxford University Press
Duncan and Tom (2002), IMC, Using Advertising and Promotion to Build Brands,
McGraw-Hill Irwin, USA
Hill, C.W.L. and Jones, G.R., (2008). Essentials of strategic Management. 2nd
ed. Ohio:South Western Cengage Limited.
Ireland, 2003, Hoskisson, Understanding Business Strategy. SOUTH WESTERN.
Kotler, P, Armstrong, G, Saunders, J and Wong, V, (2001), Principles of
Marketing: Third European Edition, Prentice Hall, Harlow
Kotler, Philip & Keller, L. Kevin (2012). Marketing Management 14e. Pearson
Education Limited 2012
McDonald, M. (2001) Marketing Plans. How to prepare them, how to use the. 4th
edition, Butterworth Heinenamm
Robert M. (2008). Strategy Analysis . London
Randall, G. (2001) Principles of Marketing, 2nd edition, Thomson Learning.
Smith, P., Taylor, J. 2004. Marketing communications: an integrated approach.
4th Edition. Kogan Page Publishers