Leading Service Firms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leading Service Firms - Essay Example They rarely allow themselves the time to try to gain an understanding of the entire marketplace context in which they compete, this means sometimes while marketing a new service to gain competitive advantage, they often overlook the research part and just introduces the service, which sometimes gives loss (Suzzane, 2004:4). Today every service firm tries to get a commanding position so that it can by having range of services, competitive distinctions, and innovations that can dictate the particular service industry in which it is competing. And it should become the future trendsetter (Suzzane, 2004:8). Each of these looking out techniques serves to give a professional service firm a reliable sounding board on which to evaluate new opportunities or threats. Collectively, they help a professional service firm to develop concrete grounding for future business decisions and new strategies (Suzzane, 2004:15). The professional service sector, whose very foundation is based on intellectual capital, has yet to apply its collective brainpower to truly dig into its marketplace. Put simply, digging deeper means doing the targeted organizational and analytical work it takes to compete more effectively. But today, despite the availability (and increasing affordability) of powerful software applications, few firms conduct formal data mining to discover the unmet needs of clients and prospects. Digging deeper means capturing, organizing, and mining valuable client data to the point that one can discern past and potential client and marketplace patterns. Research shows that most professional service firms take the easy way out on efforts to differentiate themselves, avoiding the more successful but harder initiatives. Digging deeper means going beyond image-based positioning and branding campaigns to become truly different from competitors (Suzanne, 2004:11). Embedding innovation It involves deliberately incorporating support of innovation into a firm's practices and policies. As a whole, the professional service sector relies too heavily on technology-based "knowledge management" and promotion-based "thought leadership" as platforms on which to develop new services (Suzanne, 2004:12). For every service in order to cater prospect clients and in order to retain existing ones, is always been a priority in their day-to-day business processes. Because they know it's the clients who are responsible for their cash flows and their existence. All the leading service firms market themselves by using advertisement and for that they use different media so that their message could reach to their target market. Usually an advertisement made by a service firm before it's going to be online through any media, has two objectives: To create a brand image in the clients' mind. To publicize features of services they are offering, for the prospect clients and also to provide a recall for their existing ones. Nowadays the basic purpose of advertisement is not to have a one-way communication with the

Marketing Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Planning - Essay Example Starbucks would essentially adopt a value delivery based distribution strategy that would imply that the company adds value in each of the stages of distribution (Hooley & Graham, 2008, p.6). Starbucks would also try to undertake a vertical backward integration that would help the company reduce the cost leakage and would also enable greater value creation. This would help generate cost advantage that could be passed on to the customers as price discounts. Moreover, a backward integration would also enable the Starbucks to generate greater value in the finished product in the form of better quality standards as it would enable the firm to have greater control over the supply chain increasing its bargaining power to a considerable extent. This would also help the company to create entry barriers for new entrants. In addition to pricing and distribution marketing communications also plays a major role in the success of a product in the market. Starbucks would adopt an integrated market ing communication strategy that would include using multiple channels of communication. Considering the fact that Starbucks has its operation spread around diverse areas of the globe hence a ‘glocalisation’ strategy of thinking globally and acting locally would be followed by the company across its entire line of business. This would imply that the company would essentially take into account the local culture and sentiments of the target market while implementing the marketing communication strategy.... Considering the fact that Starbucks has its operation spread around diverse areas of the globe hence a ‘glocalisation’ strategy of thinking globally and acting locally would be followed by the company across its entire line of business. This would imply that the company would essentially take into account the local culture and sentiments of the target market while implementing the marketing communication strategy (Carey, 2007, p.143). New Product Launch New product development includes a number of steps beginning from idea generation, idea screening, evaluation, prototype launch, final screening and actual launch (Waters, 2006, p.278). A new product to be launched by Starbucks would be a smoothie that would be a blend of coffee and chocolates. The product would come up with fruit flavours that would essentially include local fruits as well as seasonal fruits. The new product would be positioned as a drink with a nutritional value that would also have a good taste and nut ritional value. The product would be targeted at the younger age group of 15-45 years. The company would launch this new product simultaneously across all the markets that are being currently served by the company. In this regard the company would add local tastes and flavours that would help the company easily popularise the product. This would be in line with the ‘glocalisation’ strategy of thinking globally and acting locally (Hamel, 2001, p.100). Starbucks would adopt an effective integrated marketing communication strategy that would essentially use different media sources including the print as well as electronic media. Billboards and hoardings would be also used to promote the new product. In addition attractive initial discount