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Assigment
Marketing
Mahmoud
11B2
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Marketing is used to identify the customer, to keep the customer, and to satisfy
the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be
concluded that marketing management is one of the major components
of business management. The evolution of marketing was caused due to mature
markets and overcapacities in the last 2-3 centuries. Companies then shifted the
focus from production to the customer in order to stay profitable.
Harvey Norman has been well recognized as one of the most efficient businesses
in Australia at marketing their products, mainly in regards to knowledge and
implementation of marketing segmentation, how the product life cycle impacts
on the marketing mix, and the necessity of regularly monitoring the
effectiveness of the marketing plan.
Marketing Segmentation
Every market is different. Harvey Norman realizes this, and therefore has a
number of separate markets, designed specifically with the target of tempting to
people who may not regularly use the Harvey Norman brand name simply
because of the nuance the name has- Harvey Norman being a family store, may
scare away people who are either single, or looking for a more budget-friendly
option (particularly with newer products, as Harvey Norman use a price-leading
strategy).
In order to try and attract consumers away from other stores, and to broaden the
potential market for their products, Harvey Norman has created three unique,
yet individual, brand names, to appeal to different segments of the market.
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The creation of the three separate marketing areas has both its advantages and
disadvantages.
One of the key advantages to the development of the three marketing segments
would of course be the increase in the amount of merchandise sold. As the three
different segmentations would each attract a different portion of the overall
market, it would be particularly effective in boosting overall profits, which could
then be fed back into both stock production and supply, and the marketing
budget.
The key disadvantage is the need to spread the advertising budget into not one
but three separate accounts, so as to design campaigns to approach each of the
markets individually. A single ad would not be enough, if the company intends to
avoid mentioning Harvey Norman brand name.
One of the biggest products in Harvey Norman’s catalogue since the company’s
inception has been its range of information technology equipment- particularly
computers. When discussing the influence of the product lifecycle on the
marketing mix, computers are an obvious example of this influence.
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Gerry Harvey ensured that a large budget was available for the promotion of
computers, because he spends any excess funds into the advertising budget, so
that when products do come out, he has the available finance to be able to
effectively promote them.
Once a product moves into the maturity stage, the amount spent on promoting
either steadies or dies off- leaving room for the entry into the market of a new,
similar product. A perfect example was the swift transmission made by Harvey
Norman from computers, to home entertainment. When Harvey saw the decline
in the purchases of computers, funds were then pushed towards the advertising
of home entertainment, and slowly moved out of computers as the market for
computers settled.
Place- As a product moves into the growth stage, Harvey Norman must look at
the way it can take with the product, particularly in regards to location. Harvey
Norman has promoted the concept of superstores- designed to stock one typical
product, and all the sales and after-sales assistance needed for it. This is
particularly effective at the height of the introduction and growth stages, where
people who are interested in purchasing a computer can simply head to one of
these superstores, and be able to find everything that they are after in the one
location.
Harvey Norman also has the potential to export products internationally, with
new markets opening up all over the world, particularly in places like Singapore,
the United Kingdom, and Dubai. As products reach the top of the growth stage,
their introduction into the international market not only boosts the
manufacturers own profits, but also increases sales and overall profits in
internationally trading companies such as Harvey Norman.
Mahmoud