Individual Researching Marketing

  University of Phoenix MKT/571

Memorandum

To:  
From:  
Date: [Click to select date]
Re: Week 1 Researching Marketing Questions

BLUF: This memorandum provides insight into the Business Growth Overview dataset, from January to June of 2015 as compared to January to June of 2016, year to date (YTD). Data is also provided for the quarter to date (QTD) for April, May, and June of 2015 to 2016 and month to date (MTD) from June 2015 to June 2016. The data has been interpreted to identify the major areas of significant increase or decrease, trends, and insight for continued growth.

Major Areas of Increase or Decrease

The Business Growth Overview dataset revealed some areas indicating a major increase or decrease.

YTD Dataset. The global breakout showed the total revenue for the period of January to June of 2015 as $12.12M, increasing to $13.64M for the same period in 2016. Increases were evident in the domestic and the international markets. The domestic market average sales per day increase of 9.98% were substantially higher than the international market average sales per day increase of 2.5%. All of the customer rank selling activities improved. The leaders were acquisition and service. Acquisition grew from $803,375 of revenue in 2015 to $1.31M in 2016, an increase of 58.36%; service improved from $1.40M to $1.67M, an increase of 15.08%. All YTD data for the customer class industries grew with the winners being the government and education industries. All YTD revenue data for the top customers showed sales growth except Delta Appliance with a reported loss of $10,082, -5.35%.

QTD Dataset. Most areas in the QTD dataset for the period of April, May, and June of 2015 to 2016 are showing growth. Some decreasing numbers do exist. The customer class industry of resell-industrial hygiene experienced declining sales of -8.4% and a loss of gross profit by -14.2%. Top customers who might be a cause for concern for losses are Delta Appliance and Francois and Sons, down in sales by -21% and -7%, respectively. The greatest increase was for Check Gmbh with a sales increase of 2,835.2% and a gross profit increase of $3,186.6%.

MTD Dataset. The MTD dataset, for the period of June 2015 to June of 2016, shows balanced data in the global breakout, customer ranking activities, and customer class industries breakouts. Most of the top customer information shows minimal gains or losses. The exceptions are Delta Appliance, Here4U, and Euro Limited’s sales increases of 5,258.2%, 100%, and 126.6%, respectively.

Trends in the Data

Trends in the data show growth for the organization as a whole. The highest volatility exists in the organization’s identified top customers and is most evident in the MTD information. While the MTD information was less predictable, data appears to stabilize over the QTD and even further on the YTD sheet. The customer class commercial industry trends indicate they are the class leader in revenue generation regardless of the period examined. The trending top customer data repeatedly reports ABC Corp and Fish Limited as the leading revenue generators.

Marketing Strategy Insight for Decline and Growth

When revising a marketing plan, the primary area that should be addressed is falling revenue, sales, and gross profits. Attempts should be made to determine the cause of the decline. Once identified, the organization must reevaluate the four Ps, people, processes, programs, and performance (Kotler & Keller, 2016). NetMBA (2010) adds “These four Ps are the parameters that the marketing manager can control, subject to external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal is to make decisions that center the four Ps on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response” (para 3). Now that declining areas have been taken care of, additional areas to be addressed are those showing high growth. A deeper look should be taken to identify why the strategy is working so well and how it can be applied to other areas. The information obtained from the evaluations should be checked against the strategic plan to ensure compliance; there may be situations where ending a business relationship is the best decision.

Specific insight for the dataset includes:

A need exists to identify growth strengths for the domestic market and then apply them to the international market, where applicable.

Sustained growth should align with the strategic plan for expansion and retention efforts.

Proceed with caution against rapid acquisition activities to ensure other areas are not declining at the expense of acquisition. A shortfall in acquisition can be overcome by a strong retention strategy, such as a loyalty program, to convince existing customers to buy more over time (Lavinsky, 2013)

Reevaluate the educational industry to determine if the effort is worth the return to keep pursuing an industry whose sales are increasing, but gross profits are declining.

Additional Analysis

The organization’s current position should be assessed to build a marketing goal or strategy to overcome some of the negative trends. Target customers should be reevaluated and identified so marketing goals can be set. Once decided upon, marketing communications delivery methods shall be determined. Once the details are solidified, the budget must be finalized to ensure marketing efforts can meet the marketing goals. The timeline for release and execution must be identified to ensure maximum effectiveness. The strategy should be regularly reviewed to ensure alignment with achieving the outlined goals. Adding new goals may be necessary to continue meeting the organization’s objectives.

References

Internet Center for Management and Business Administration. (2010). The marketing mix (The 4 P’s of marketing). Retrieved from http://www.netmba.com/marketing/mix/.

Kotler, P.T. & Keller, K.L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Lavinsky, D. (2013). Marketing plan template: Exactly what to include. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/davelavinsky/2013/09/30/marketing-plan-template-exactly-what-to-include/3/#296b8c0857b0.

Grading Guide

Content Met Partially Met Not Met Comments:
Student analyzes the dataset and provides insight and commentary in the form of a memorandum.        
Student’s analysis includes major areas of increase and decrease in revenue or type and/or category of business.        
Student’s analysis includes trends that are evident in terms of revenue or type and/or category of business.        
Student’s analysis includes insights that would help formulate marketing strategies to either continue growth or reverse decline.        
Student’s analysis includes additional analysis you (as SVP) would like (and why) to build a marketing goal and strategy or strategies.        
The memorandum is a minimum of 525 words in length.        
Student selects a global or multi-regional (does business in more than one country) company and one of its products or services that will serve as the basis for your marketing plan.        
Students prepares a summary document and sends it to the instructor that includes but is not limited to:Name of CompanyLocation of Company HeadquartersName of Product or Service selectedGeneral description of company (number of employees, revenue, type of ownership, web page, etc.)General description of product or service.        
The summary document is a minimum 175 words in length.        
    Total Available Total Earned  
    4 #/4  
Writing Guidelines Met Partially Met Not Met Comments:
The paper—including tables and graphs, headings, title page, and reference page—is consistent with APA formatting guidelines and meets course-level requirements.        
Intellectual property is recognized with in-text citations and a reference page.        
Paragraph and sentence transitions are present, logical, and maintain the flow throughout the paper.        
Sentences are complete, clear, and concise.        
Rules of grammar and usage are followed including spelling and punctuation.        
    Total Available Total Earned  
    2 #/2  
Assignment Total # 6 #/6  

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