1 INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION There are various highlights of the marketing plan. We were trying to initiate a business that provides super-fast shoes that are likely to offer additional benefits. As such, we were offering a unique product that was likely to give us an upper hand under the prevailing market conditions. With the various competitors in the market, it was inevitable that we had to provide a differentiated product that was more likely to visible and give the company a sustainable competitive advantage. We had to consider the need for different tastes and preferences to serve a broader market. Although the company provided a homogeneous product, different sizes and colours were considered to sail through the wider. As such, one crucial highlight was how the product attributes and considerations were made.
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2 The SWOT analysis also provided another opportunity to consider how the business would use the strength to overcome the weaknesses. For instance, the company would use its healthy relationship with the customers to build its brand and become a market leader. Forming the objectives was also another highlight because there was a need to form the objectives that could be achieved within the resource constraints in which the business was operating. For instance, there were objectives to develop an effective pull campaign to increase customers by 8% every three months and increase repeat customers by 11-16% every three months. These objectives have resource implications, hence the need to review whether they were within the organisation's scope consistently. The pricing mechanism and the budget also gave us a hard time as there was the need to ensure that the business could break even within the first two years of operation. To achieve this, the most important thing was to ensure that the pricing will enable the company to generate the revenue that will keep the business afloat even after the first two years of business operation. The marketing plan was indeed not aligned with the situation that I found on the simulation because expenses cost the business a lot. The business was not going to be a going concern, even for the first financial year. The major solution was to adjust the prices and reduce the money apportioned to marketing promotion expenses. Some goals were met in the simulation, while there were some discrepancies concerning some of the goals. Even though the company was able to attain the repeat customers' goals, which stood at around 14 percent, the customer acquisition cost could only be minimised by 9 percent as opposed to 7 percent that had initially been projected. The store overheads could be reduced by 4 percent. There were high chances that the business would achieve a double-digit growth rate for the firm within the first 36 months, judging from how the business was
3 expanding its market share. The business was also able to reach profitability by the end months of operation, albeit with a very narrow profit margin. Unpacking my journey in the simulation, I realized that one of the most important things that a start-up can do is to reduce costs. The cash flows and incomes take time to stabilize, and therefore costs should always be kept low. As such, the business is in a better position to continue with operations as viable options are sought. More so, the pricing of products for a start-up should be favorable, and the prices can be subsequently raised to measure up to the competitors with time. With such an initiative, customers can recognize the product earlier before the marketing initiatives are intensified or before the people get full information about the company. Innovating outstanding and quality products are the way to go, especially when the competition is immense. For companies in the same industry with similar products and markets, good quality and product features are essential (David and David, 2016). Again, marketing is a critical factor in all phases of a company. In this regard, customers should always be conscious of what the company is doing. When starting a company, resilience is critical for survival (Candelo, 2019). In this regard, losses are sometimes inevitable for start-ups, as the investment's initial cost may not be realized within one fiscal year. The performance was favorable compared to some companies in the market, even though the competition was still stiff, and there were other market leaders. The company's sales revenue was slowly increasing, and the same can be reported about the company's market share. The company was not an industry leader, and hence there was a need to continue fighting to penetrate the markets that established companies already occupied. The company's marketing efforts were bearing fruits as it slowly gained into the market and reduced the company's market share. The profit margins were slightly narrow, but the company had already at break even. This was a
4 positive sign that the company would start making significant profits in the long run (Rothaermel, 2016). There were various roles in which I was actively involved in such activities as taking charge of the specific components of the task. I took time to allocate responsibilities to the members, in line with the various tasks, which they were comfortable with. I ensured that time management was upheld and that deadlines were always observed. As far as delivering on specific components of the study is concerned, I gathered enough information about the competitors, their strategies, and the possible strategies we could have used to compete favorably against them. Members were able to track their progress using a Gantt chart. Communications were also supposed to be made in a timely fashion to take action in good time. I ensured that communication with the team members was proactive. As such, I consistently issue reminders about what the members were supposed to do before the deadline. There was also a platform through which all clarifications were made, and members could also raise their concerns so that each group member will be in a position to respond, and all of us will then reach a consensus about the way forward. As for the interaction with the group members, every bit of it was very fulfilling. We took enough time to understand each other, and people chose group tasks they were comfortable with. This implies that there was very little room for misunderstandings. Additionally, we had rules that governed our relationship during work and the procedures to be followed during our group activities (DuBrin, 2015). In my coordination roles, I executed strict guidelines on how the members were supposed to make their contributions on the platform. There was also the need to ensure that respectful boundaries were observed when articulating arguments. We leveraged communication in everything we did, and members could put their concerns across in good time. There were more
5 platforms through which communication could be made, such as emails, and therefore there was full disclosure of information at all times (Meyer, Neck and Meeks, 2017). I was the coordinator in my team, and I strived to ensure that all the deadlines were met. We put a framework in place to ensure that the performance of the team was always improving and that quality work was guaranteed. I was keen on detail, which made it possible for me to identify the errors made and make changes as fast as possible. We had set goals about the tasks that we were pursuing, and some deliverables were expected to be met at the completion of each task. As such, the standards could not be compromised, and work was always done efficiently and effectively. .We were able to make informed decisions, which led to the good performance of the start-up business and the generation of positive cash flows (Blakeman, 2018). From the simulation and the marketing plan exercise, I have learned various ideas, concepts, and strategies, which I can be able to transfer to a current or a future role. Before this, I have been able to work in a team to come up with amicable decisions. I collaborated with team members in refining the decisions and continuously improving what we had started. Team effort is significant in combining efforts and coming up with better decisions, as evidenced in how we made our decisions when working on the simulation. The aspects of the SWOT analysis, i.e., the opportunities, threats, weaknesses, and strengths outlined in the plan, had various implications in the progress of the business. For example, the competition in the industry in which the company was operating was immense. This had implications on the nature of the strategies, which had to be put in place. This entailed the research and development measures to create superior products, the marketing strategies to be used, the price strategy to be used, and the prices that are supposed to be charged. There was
6 no adequate capital for the company to run its operations effectively. As such, it had to look for avenues, e.g., the use of bank loans, which would negatively affect the business as a result of high-interest rates. There was a decision made to control the debt levels of the company. Keeping the SWOT elements of the business is likely to boost the business performance. Tracking these aspects will help the business be conversant with the prevailing state of the business's internal and external environment and continuously improve on the performance. In this regard, the company will be in a better position to build on its strengths, minimize the risks and address the gaps (Hänninen and Karjaluoto, 2017). The resources will also be apportioned to the relevant areas in line with the weaknesses unveiled from the analysis. Understanding the competition's performance and strategies will also help the business strategically place itself amid the competitors. Another marketing insight obtained was that there is a need to diversify the markets to increase the chances of success. The market was categorised into the home, domestic and international markets. Such profiling makes it possible to provide tailor-made products in line with the company's tastes and preferences. The distribution channels to be adopted by a company are also an important factor. It because even more important because the company intends to go international. In this case, the start-up company intends to monitor and maintain strong and productive relationships with its distribution channel members, including wholesalers, retailers, in-store kiosks, and online platforms, to help it reach the target markets. The strategy is also likely to reduce costs associated with distribution. In marketing, it is also vital that online platforms are leveraged because they can reach many people at any given time. When this is combined with other methods, there is more effective outreach and penetration into the target market segments.
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8 References Blakeman, R., 2018. Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to implementation. Rowman & Littlefield. Candelo, E., 2019. Marketing progress: A never-ending story. In Marketing innovations in the automotive industry (pp. 67-78). Springer, Cham. David, F., and David, F.R., 2016. Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts, and cases. Florence: Pearson–Prentice Hall. DuBrin, A. J. (2015). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. Nelson Education. Hänninen, N., and Karjaluoto, H., 2017. The effect of marketing communication on business relationship loyalty. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 35, no. 4 Meyer, G.D., Neck, H.M., and Meeks, M.D., 2017. The entrepreneurship‐strategic management interface. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset (pp.17-44). Wiley. Rothaermel, F.T., 2016. Strategic management: concepts (Vol. 2). McGraw-Hill Education.