Marketing Plan Project: FinalThroughout the four phases of this marketing plan project, you have created the important, detailed marketing plan sections necessary to enable your selected company to pr

Unit III Project

Marketing Plan Project: Phase 1

Executive Summary

This marketing plan is intended for the business organization Wal-Mart, which is a public retailing company and operates throughout the world. The company has recently introduced a new range of products for infants, so it needs a marketing plan in order to advertise these products. The marketing plan is discussed in this paper along with SWOT analysis of the company so that the plan can be made in accordance with its strengths and weaknesses.

Situation Analysis

The company needs to introduce some new products and schemes related to infants. The marketing department wants to develop an effective marketing plan in order to expand its business through products for infants.

Market Summary

The current market of Wal-Mart has been very satisfied with how well the business is doing in different parts of the world. Schemes and special offers are regularly introduced by the public retailing company that makes its business unique as compared to the other business organizations of the same field. The shares of Wal-Mart in the international, as well as American markets, are continuously rising which indicates the success of its business strategies (McGee, 2018).

SWOT Analysis

Strengths: Wal-Mart is efficient in its products delivery due to the utilization of shipments that are both cost and route effective. The official website is also helpful as it creates convenience for the worthy customers.

Weaknesses: Wal-Mart provides a limited number of memberships to its customers which are allotted with selective criteria. They also have not defined its mission statement properly despite the establishment of its business operations. Moreover, the quality of products is often compromised in order to achieve discount goals.

Opportunities: The superstores of the company can be enhanced by using modern innovative technologies. Marketing is also untapped for the areas of Asia and the Middle East. There are many spaces in the European regions where the business of Wal-Mart can be expanded.

Threats: The rigidity shown by the company in the prices of its products affects the business to maintain its position. The competitors are regularly coming up with the latest technologies that are giving them an edge over Wal-Mart (Morillo, McNally, & Block, 2015). The increasing price of fuel also directly impacts on the prices of all products.

Competition

There are many competitors of Wal-Mart which are continuously monitored by Wal-Mart management so that the business goals can be met effectively. These competitors include Amazon, Alibaba, Home Depot, IKEA, Costco, Lowe’s, eBay, ALDI, Jd.com, Walgreens, CVS, 7 Eleven, Target, Tesco, LIDL, Carrefour, Woolworths, and Kroger. In order to cope with this competition, Wal-Mart regularly upgrades its business strategies and product offerings.

Product Offerings

There is a wide range of products offered by Wal-Mart which primarily include fresh produce, meat, dairy items, deli items, household products, health items, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products.

Distribution

The distribution operation of Wal-Mart is one of the world’s largest servicing stores, clubs, and wholesale retailing. There are more than 150 distribution centers which are the hub of its business activities all over the world.

Marketing Strategy

Objectives

The purpose of this marketing strategy for Wal-Mart superstores is to advertise its new product range for infants. These products include attire, shoes, and nutrition items designed for infants.

Target Markets

The markets that will be targeted in this marketing strategy comprise of various European markets that will be completed in the first stage of the marketing process. After this, the markets of Asia and Africa will be targeted where such areas which specialize in the products of infants will be given due focus.

Positioning

Wal-Mart utilizes a mono-segment type of positioning which refers to the introduction of the marketing mix that is most suitable as well as beneficial for the targeted market and customer segment.

Strategies

The marketing strategy will be through local as well as international media in which social media marketing will be top priority due to its vast usage in the modern world.

Marketing Mix

Wal-Mart utilizes retailer’s strategy in its marketing mix which is considered as much success by the management of superstores business. There are five basic principles of marketing mix focused by Wal-Mart which are price, product, promotion, place, and people (Stankevičiūtė, Grunda, & Bartkus, 2012).

Marketing Research

Marketing research is a valuable process in order to effectively meet the goals of strategic marketing as it provides useful data related to various market segments as well as customer preferences. The data collected as a result of this research is utilized in the marketing strategies accordingly so that the goal of marketing are met in an efficient way.

Financials

The total revenues generated for the year 2017 were of $500,343,000 that was relatively greater than the previous three consecutive years. The gross profit for the same year was $126,947,000 that was also greater than the previous three consecutive years.

Controls

Implementation

The marketing plan will be implemented after extensive requirement gathering and other research work, so that valuable data is collected in order to follow the marketing strategy. The marketing department of Wal-Mart will be primarily responsible for conducting this process with the help of its teams and other external entities when and where ever required.

Marketing Organization

The services of Mega-Marketing Association will be hired for the advertising of new products range for infants by Wal-Mart.

References

McGee, R. (2018). How Large is Walmart? A Comparison of Walmart Sales to Nationss GDP. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3102735

Morillo, J., McNally, C., & Block, W. (2015). The Real Walmart. Business And Society Review, 120(3), 385-408. doi: 10.1111/basr.12060

Stankevičiūtė, E., Grunda, R., & Bartkus, E. (2012). Pursuing a cost leadership strategy and business sustainability objectives: Walmart case study. Economics and Management, 17(3). doi: 10.5755/j01.em.17.3.2143