Marketing Strategy Of: Cello Group PLC
Marketing Strategy Of: Cello Group PLC
ORDER
LOGIN
1.1 Product
This Marketing Strategy element reflects the solution to the customers’ needs. Cello Group Plc
should develop unique product design, name and features to stand out in the competitive market.
Following factors should be considered to develop the product strategy- quality, variety, features,
packaging, brand name and augmented services.
1.2 Pricing
This Marketing Strategy element requires an evaluation of the value of products for targeted
customers. The pricing strategy of the Cello Group Plc will focus on setting the list price, credit
terms, payment period and discounts.
If Cello Group Plc decides to choose the price penetration strategy, it will have to set the
lower price than competitors. The company will be able to win market share based on discounted
pricing. However, management should be aware of the potential retaliation from competitors in
the form of an undesired price war.
The choice of skimming strategy will require clear communication of differentiation basis and
how such differentiation justifies the extra price.
Today's customers are not interested in knowing the ‘price' but a total cost involved in acquiring,
consuming and disposing of the product.
Whether the company wants to make the product available to targeted customer segments
through its channels, or it needs a distribution partner to serve the customers' needs.
Whether the distribution will be direct (involving no middlemen), or indirect. If indirect
distribution strategy is adopted, the number of middlemen must be selected (wholesalers,
retailers etc.)
Whether it is interested in: traditional brick and mortar distribution network, online distribution
or a combination of both. Certain online retailers like Amazon are available if online distribution
strategy is chosen. The company can also develop its online website to sell the product.
Modern customers give high importance to the ‘convenience’ and ‘easy availability’. The selection of
‘right’ distribution channels will require Cello Group Plc to:
1.4 Promotion
This is one of the most important elements of Cello Group Plc Marketing Strategy. Cello Group Plc
can blend above and below the line promotional strategies to achieve its marketing objectives. The
above the line promotion options for Cello Group Plc are- television, radio and print advertising.
Below the line promotion options are- catalogues, tradeshows and direct mail campaigns.
The promotional plan of Cello Group Plc Marketing Strategy requires the company to consider the
following factors:
Start with clearly defining your unique selling propositions and understand why customers
need the product and how it is different from available alternatives.
Craft the message content and evaluate how the crafted message will help customers in
creating a clear image of the offered product. Consider the AIDA (awareness, interest, desire,
action) when developing the message.
The promotional strategies like direct selling or high profile advertising will suit if the
company wants to push the product. However, the pull strategy will require the development of a
prestigious brand image that could attract the customers towards the offered product.
Collect the following target market information- who will buy the product? (Age, gender,
income and social status), what is price sensitivity level? And what are customers’ desired
communication modes? Incorporate this information into the promotional plan.
Filter out the promotional options based on the above information and conduct a cost-benefit
analysis of selected promotional alternatives.
For example, the selection of TV advertising as a promotional strategy will allow the
company to target the mass market, increase brand awareness and brand recall. However, it
is an expensive promotional strategy and suits if the company has adequate resources
available for the promotional efforts.
The popularity of social media marketing has raised significantly during the last few
years. Use of this promotional strategy will enable Cello Group Plc to reach the mass market
economically. It will also offer an opportunity to actively interact with customers, develop a
personalised relationship and manage e-WOM to get better results. However, the risk of
uncontrollable negative e-WOM remains there.
Lastly, consider the budget constraints and allocate budget to chosen promotional strategies
according to their nature, importance and frequency.
Firstly, Cello Group Plc should clearly define who current and potential customers are? At
this step, a whole group of customers is identified so that it could be divided into different
segments based on their motivations, traits and characteristics. Identification of potential
customers can be more challenging than current customers.
The customer analysis should offer information about how the needs and expectations of
different groups differ from each other and what can be possible reasons.
Lastly, Cello Group Plc should analyse how it’s offered product/service serves the needs of
different groups and which customer groups have more profit and growth potential. This
information will help Cello Group Plc develop customer profiles and personas.
Cello Group Plc can consider following factors when developing the customer profiles:
The customer analysis must identify the total market size including current and potential
customers that could be divided into small measurable segments.
The customer profiles must have some observable differences.
The company should also conduct behavioural analysis to identify the psychographic
profiles. It involves identifying and weighing the relative importance of factors considered when
making a purchase decision or more commonly called buying criteria. Common buying criteria
are- prestige, convenience, quality and price.
Cello Group Plc can then develop the customer personas. Important elements to be included
in developing customer personas are:
Demographic information (e.g. gender, family, age, location etc.)
Preferred communication channels.
Possible influencers (publications or celebrities they follow)
Challenges they face due to unserved needs and desired solutions.
The customer analysis and development of segmentation strategies run in parallel. Cello Group Plc
can use the information obtained from the customer analysis to develop the segmentation, targeting
and positioning strategies as discussed below:
Age
Gender
Income
Lifestyle
Values etc.
By using the segmentation technique, Cello Group Plc can narrow down the large, diversified target
audience into specific and narrowly defined groups. Market segmentation surveys are common
methods of obtaining the customer-specific information that could be used to create groups sharing
common characteristics.
After understanding the unique buying behaviour of customers and getting the required information
through surveys, Cello Group Plc can divide the market into small homogeneous groups. It can be
done by exploring the geographic, demographic, behavioural and psychographic characteristics of
customers.
The company can use one or more of these segmentation strategies to choose the right market
segments and develop an effective Marketing Strategy.
The geographic segmentation divides the market according to geographic areas, like- city,
country and region.
The demographic segmentation will require Cello Group Plc to divide market according to
demographic characteristics, like- gender, age, income and ethnicity.
If Cello Group Plc chooses behavioural segmentation, then customers will be divided
according to their buying pattern like usage frequency, benefits sought, usage occasions and
brand loyalty.
Use of psychographic segmentation will result in customers' grouping according to their
lifestyles, interests, attitudes, values and traits.
Cello Group Plc can combine the different segmentation strategies for more specific targeting as
explained in the next section.
After segmenting the customer market and choosing the right target market, Cello Group Plc now
requires to set a clear positioning statement that could create a positive image of the offered product
in the customers' mind. Cello Group Plc can follow the following steps to develop an effective
positioning strategy:
Develop the positioning statement for Cello Group Plc Marketing Strategy by answering the
following questions:
What your brand stands for?
What are the needs and wants of your target market?
How your brand serves those needs?
How different is your offering from competitors?
Answers to these questions will yield enough information to develop a positioning statement.
The comparison of their communication and messaging strategy with competitors will reveal
the potential areas that could be addressed with targeted positioning message.
Identify the strengths/weaknesses of business by comparing with competitors to find that
gaps that offered product can fill.
Analyse positioning of competitors and evaluate own position in the market.
By using the analytical data collected from a different market, customer and competitor
surveys, develop a positioning statement and periodically test its effectiveness by collecting
qualitative and quantitative data (like focus groups, polls, interviews etc.).
Use the test results to make necessary adjustments in the brand positioning.
5 Company Competitive Advantage in the Marketing
Strategy of Cello Group Plc
The survival in the increasingly competitive market requires Cello Group Plc to set the clear
differentiation basis that could provide an edge against rivals. Cello Group Plc Marketing Strategy
should focus on identifying unique selling propositions (USPs). Some examples of USPs are the
highest quality, lowest cost or uniqueness of idea. Identifying USPs is not sufficient as the
effectiveness of the Marketing Strategy of Cello Group Plc will directly depend on management's
ability to communicate the identified unique selling propositions.
The Cello Group Plc can apply Porter's generic strategies model to explore how competitive
advantage can be created. The pictorial presentation of the Porter Model is given below:
The company can set a competitive advantage based on cost or differentiation.
The products with high growth and high market share are classified as stars. Cello Group Plc
should increase the investment after identifying the stars in its product lines.
Products with high market growth but low share are classified as question marks. Cello
Group Plc should analyse why market share is low despite the high growth rate.
Products with low growth but high market share are cash cows that need to be milked for
continuous good performance in the market with low growth and limited opportunities.
Lastly, products with low growth and low market share are dogs’ Cello Group Plc should
divest as it is difficult to make profits and get an adequate return by investing in dogs.
The high number of stars and cash cows will indicate good performance, whereas, a high number of
question marks and dogs will be a cause of concern for Cello Group Plc. The product classification is
necessary for evaluating the success of the Marketing Strategy of Cello Group Plc.
Difference between the price charged by Cello Group Plc due to its brand name and price
charged by similar unbranded products.
Amount of extra sales volume generated compared to other branded and non-branded
competitors.
The company’s share price.
Brand’s potential to make future earnings.
Return to shareholders.
The company can also combine the above methods and formulate a multiplier to accurately assess
the esteem and strength of the brand that reflects the brand equity.
The company can use different strategies to get the information about competitors, such as- doing
Google research, going to trade shows, browsing public documents, asking customers, playing
secret shopper technique and tapping the vendors
A detailed competitor analysis can be categorised into the following parts:
Identify market growth, share and financial objectives. Some examples are maximising short-
term profitability or investing in R&D for long-term growth.
Evaluate the competitors’ strategies by collecting information from shareholder reports, white
papers, press releases, promotional campaigns, hiring practices, acquisitions and mergers. This
information will reveal the direction in which the competitors are moving.
Use the above information to analyse competitors’ strengths, weaknesses and core
capabilities.
9.1 Market size analysis for developing Marketing Strategy of Cello Group
Plc
Cello Group Plc should evaluate the market potential and volume to determine the size. The market
potential includes potential customers and considers upper demand limit. The market volume
includes certain indicators like realised sales and total turnover. Cello Group Plc can take
information from different sources to accurately determine the market size, such as- financial data of
industry’s major players, government data, customer surveys, published industry reports and trade
association data.
9.2 Market trends analysis for developing Marketing Strategy of Cello Group
Plc
It is important to analyse the emerging market trends, particularly when environmental turbulence is
high. Cello Group Plc can use different trend analysis techniques for this purpose, such as-
marketing mix modelling, risk analysis, choice modelling and customer analysis. Cello Group Plc
should also monitor the political, legal, regulatory, social and economic changes as these
environmental forces play an important role in shaping the market trends.
9.5 Cost structure analysis for developing Marketing Strategy of Cello Group
Plc
Cello Group Plc can use Porter’s value chain model (as given below) to determine the industry’s cost
structure.
It will help Cello Group Plc in isolating the costs and identifying critical success factors. Cello Group
Plc can also use the information obtained from cost structure analysis to develop cost advantage.
10. References
Dibb, S. (2010). Market Segmentation Success–Making it Happen! Strategic Direction, 26(9).
Jaworski, B. J. (2018). Commentary: advancing marketing strategy in the marketing discipline and
beyond. Journal of Marketing Management, 34(1-2), 63-70.
Keller, K. L., & Brexendorf, T. O. (2017). Measuring brand equity. Handbuch Markenführung, 1-32.
Khan, M. T. (2014). The concept of 'marketing mix' and its elements (a conceptual review paper).
International journal of information, business and management, 6(2), 95.
Kim, K. H., Jeon, B. J., Jung, H. S., Lu, W., & Jones, J. (2012). Effective employment brand equity
through a sustainable competitive advantage, marketing strategy, and corporate image. Journal of
Business Research, 65(11), 1612-1617.
Lee, K., & Carter, S. (2011). Global marketing management. Strategic Direction, 27(1).
Schlegelmilch, B. B. (2016). Segmenting Targeting and Positioning in Global Markets. In Global
Marketing Strategy (pp. 63-82). Springer, Cham.
Shaw, E. H. (2012). Marketing strategy: From the origin of the concept to the development of a
conceptual framework. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 4(1), 30-55.
Tan, Q., & Sousa, C. M. (2015). Leveraging marketing capabilities into competitive advantage and
export performance. International Marketing Review, 32(1), 78-102.
Wensley, R. (2016). The basics of marketing strategy. In the marketing book (pp. 75-107).
Routledge.
West, D. C., Ford, J., & Ibrahim, E. (2015). Strategic marketing: creating competitive advantage.
Oxford University Press, USA.
Zablocki, A., Schlegelmilch, B., & Schant, E. (2017, May). Customer-Based Brand Equity in the
Digital Age: Development of a Theoretical Framework: An Abstract. In Academy of Marketing
Science Annual Conference (pp. 741-742). Springer, Cham.
Warning! This article is only an example and cannot be used for research or reference purposes. If
you need help with something similar, please submit your details here.
1,50000+ STUDENTS
can't be wrong!
2048918
Orders
4.8/5
Ratings
5004
PhD Experts
GET BEST GRADE, ORDER NOW!
Total Price
$0
Our Guarantees
Quality Assurance
Proof Of No Plagiarism
24/7 Support
On Time delivery
ORDER NOW
Do you need assistance with Essay Homework?
Our writers are all set to help you with Essay Homework. It’s time to team up with one of
our experts.
ORDER NOW
ORDER NOW
ABOUT US
What is Essay48?
How It Works?
Reviews
FAQs
Blog
Contact Us