CASE STUDY MARKETING MANAGEMENT

MARKETING MANAGEMENT Researchs of CASE STUDY lOMoAR cPSD|12941217 Case Study Analysis of Nike and Google What are the pros Cons and risk associated with Nike`s core marketing strategy? Nike’s Core Mar.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT Researchs of CASE STUDY lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 Case Study Analysis of Nike and Google What are the pros Cons and risk associated with Nike`s core marketing strategy? Nike’s Core Marketing Strategy: Nike's excellence marketing strategies are their energy to achieve their market goals Nike believes the "pyramid influence" that the preferences of a small percentage of top athletes influence the product and brand choice So Nike contracted with many athletes' spokesperson, professional teams and college athletic teams to advertise and promote their products to customers One renowned example of Nike marketing strategy is during 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Nike received special permission from the International Olympic Committee to run Nike ads featuring Olympic athletes during the games In addition, Nike sponsored several teams and athletes, including most of the Chinese teams’ and11 of 12 high profile members on the US men’s basketball teams Nike seriously pays attention on the technology producing, design and selling such as e-commerce, high-tech running shoes, Nike+ with Apple, etc Nike outsourcing their products most of the factories are located in Asia such as China, Indonesia and India Pros and Cons of Nike Core Marketing Strategy: Pros: Nike put heavily proportion in their marketing strategies and products deign In order to sustain their dominance in the industry and retain their competitive advantages, Nike actively responds to the market trends and changes in consumer preference by adjusting their marketing strategies, the mix of existing product offerings, developing new products, styles and categories, and influencing sports and fitness preferences through various marketing strategies Now we discuss the pros of Nike's core marketing strategies and related them to the relevant marketing theories help us to depth understanding Nike is very much efficient in its distribution of products More efficient distribution means more sales By delivering right thing at a right time to customer, Nike is building beneficial customer relationship and gaining customer satisfaction and loyalty Nike distributes its products on different level basis The high premium products are given to a certain distributors while leaving the low priced to be sold at highly discounted price at the retail stores such as WalMart The e-commerce program of Nike is the first time a company has offered mass footwear through the Internet and provides competitive advantages to Nike Nike website is very well designed and it is very easy and comfortable for a customer to look for the desired footwear As stated earlier that Nike made contracts with world’s most renowned Sports celebrities like Tiger Woods etc this creates high level of awareness among customers and people about what Nike is all about Their aggressive advertising campaigns, celebrity endorsements and quality products all enhance their brand and image Nike targets on the consumers who care more about the utility and quality of the products rather than the price That is why Nike sets higher price of its shoes than its competitor like Adidas The customers who consider a product to be high quality are likely to pay the high price more often and consistently Once the consumers develop the product intimacy, they come to associate their person with the products and will pay whatever price quoted on the products Most of the consumer of Nike's products is mainly athletic Nike is the master of segmentation, their segmenting market typically target's athletes, both women and men from the age 15 to 35 Nike's targeting market is active people who enjoy high quality sporting goods, especially footwear Nike focuses on creating premium consumer experiences on product innovation, brand leadership and elevated retail presence Nike targets on these customers by agreements between Nike and athletic teams, college's athletic teams for products sponsorship and lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 eventual promotion to the members of these teams Even though others are likely to buy the products, Nike focuses on the athlete more than any group of individuals even though it also target on the youth This strategy is especially successful because of its ability to reach a large number of athletes Cons: However, unlike many companies, Nike does not promote its efforts One brand consultant says that, “Nike has always been about winning How is sustainability relevant to its brand?” Nike executives agree that promoting an eco-friendly message would distract from its slick high-tech image, so like recycling old shoes into new shoes are kept quiet One other of the Nike brand is that the price of Nike products are quiet expensive as compare to other global competitors So, instead of buying such expensive product customers go for other competitive brands like Adidas One of the Nike's core marketing strategies is depend on a group of athletes to promote its products Nike prefers to have high profile athletes as its endorsers, like Runner Steve Prefontaine, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James The athletes had positive and negative influence on changing consumer preferences, changes in consumer tastes and priorities, and also consumers' buying decisions The action and attitude of Nike's chosen spokespersons could bring the impacts on its promotional strategies For instance, it will attract the athlete's idolater to purchase the products if Nike using a popular athlete as endorser On the other hand, if the athlete were caught in drug addicted or any immoral attitude, it will affect the customers not to buy Nike's products, thus will affect Nike's sales, revenue and profit Risks: The major risk associated with Nike at present is of competitors The competitors are increasing day by day and yet more development is needed in its product line If you were Adidas, how would you compete with Nike? The very first thing I would would be reducing the prices of the products without compromising on the quality Increasing the advertisement and promotion would be my next strategy The promotion would be globally Overpay what Nike is paying the best athletes in the world to endorse their shoes The product would be advertised by the national sports heroes There would be selling promotions Product line depth would be more I would check the availability of my products in each outlet Huge variety of ladies sports items would be included Next, I would target the school educational attending pupils as well The development of a product line of smart shoes will build on this reputation and show buyers that Adidas is humorless about innovation and using technology to advance athletic accomplishment The line of smart shoes combines a microprocessor or implanted controller, sensors, and tiny motors along with memory and battery The sensors work to steadily monitor, measure, and supply data looking at the landscape, impact of each step, athlete's body temperature, environment temperature, and athlete's heart rate This data can steadily be fed to a microprocessor which agent motors to adjust padding and airflow within the shoe Wireless GPS system is another feature on the small computer production line that enables runners to decide their accurate location, distance traveled, and speed from the shoe's GPS by wearing a small wireless GPS wrist strap The shoes implanted memory can keep data about workouts such as average heart rate, body temperature, calories burnt and force of each step For situation, in basketball the micro can watch how high the athlete jumps and how hard of a landing they make As many athletes demand goods created that can deliver both watching and accomplishment bettering capabilities, they will find Adidas the solution thus leading to much higher revenue, profit, and lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 market share in sports that Adidas already leads and in sports where Adidas lags in revenue, profit, and market share * Aim high; think BIG, take risks * A healthy disregard for the impossible Question no 2: What next for Google? …….? Answer: Google goal is to reach as many people as possible on the web, the more advertising the Google can sell Google new products also accomplish this goal and make a web more personalized experience Google has not spent a lot of money on traditional advertisements Recent efforts have targeted Microsoft consumers’ with appeals to use Google’s ” Cloud Computing” applications instead of MS Office or Windows “Going Google”, a user can access all of the documents and applications via a web browser instead of any software It is a good initative CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF CISCO AND INTEL How is building a brand in a business-to-business context different from doing so in the consumer market? Building a strong brand that is able to set a company apart from otherbusiness is always an important job However depending on who theintended client is determines how the company will build their brand Abrand is defined as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or anycombination to identify goods and services of a seller or group of sellers.(2007) According to Walter Landor, founder of the Landor Associates, the world’s leading brand consulting firm; a brand is a promise that the company will provide satisfaction and quality (Burgess, C) While manythings in branding are the same, building a brand that supports brand tobrand, B2B, or brand to customer, B2C, sales has slight differences.In B2B branding, a focus will be made on making a strong connection withthe client business in order to make their brand seen as the top choice andsafe to business with In order to this, the brand will be built aroundmaking strong and personal relationships with the customer to become thego-to source.Instead of mass marketing and small ads, B2B branding requires that thebusiness be willing to accept the time to completely educate theprofessional buyers about the brand These professional buyers are usedbecause they are well informed about the needs and goals of the purchase,and focus on purchasing a product that allows them to achieve higherrevenues at a lower total cost then other competitive businesses (Kotler)These buyers will be less influenced about the price and demand that thebrand will be available when needed For this, the brand will need to have asimplified supply chain and logistics to meet these demands.In B2C branding, the consumer market looks at a vast majority of people.While customers can develop a strong connection to a brand, little is spentfor personnel information; relying instead on mass communications such asTV, radio, and magazine ads that are distributed In making a brandbecome a top choice for consumers, things such as price, packaging, color,characteristics, name and logo are all designed to attract the averageindividual (Media, D) In using the Cisco Company as an example, there B2B and B2C brandinghas been different In the being Cisco would have spent their time andenergy branding the company in a way to show their electronic hardwareas the best choice for specific client company Now as they expand to theaverage consumer, they focus on making themselves known on a massmarket; making things such as the Linksys routers a house hold name Is Cisco's plan to reach out to consumers a viable one? Why or why not? According to the case study , Cisco achieved a global ranking of 18 in2008 with revenues of $39.5 billion dollars thus making its consumer basedplan a seemingly viable one (Cisco) In lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 reviewing the market conditions ofthe 90's which were wide open for internet technology and comparing thatto the 21st century which has now been saturated with internet technology,Cisco is making a wise strategic move.By transitioning to a consumer based marketing company, Cisco is placingitself up against some very tough competition against Microsoft, Apple,and Dell , however, their continued growth seems to demonstrate they areholding their own with consumers (Cisco) Some of the key transitionalactions from business-to-business into consumer based marketing thatCisco has made was to develop a message In 2003 the company beganpushing the message of "This is the power of the Network", a catchyphrase consumers could relate with Also, Cisco has consistently usedtelevision ads and other media outlets to help push its brand name toconsumers and help the company gain market space successfully (Cisco).So, for Cisco, changing its business model to consumer based and makingsmart marketing decisions is helping the company refocus its efforts on thefuture Discuss how Intel changed ingredient-marketing history What did it doso well in those initial marketing campaigns? in 1980s, Intel faced a problem to distinguish itself from the competitorsand tried to convince consumers to pay more for its high performanceproducts By creating the ingredient-branding campaign, Intel mended thematter and made history in 1991 To become distinctive, it chose a namefor its latest microprocessor introduction that could be trademarked, Pentium The “Intel Inside” campaign was the answer for the brand awareness problem This campaign helped move the Intel brand nameoutside the PC and into the minds of customers when the Intel gavesignificant rebates to computer manufacturers to include Intel logo in their PC ads or add the “Intel Inside” sticker on the outside of theirs PCs and laptops It succeeded in distinction and then raising customer’s brand awareness in its very first step of marketing campaign The laterachievements came from several effective and identifiable marketingcampaigns in the late 1990s to become a recognizable and welllikedingredient brand name Special advertisements coming out with “BunnyPeople” series had made strong impression in the audience’s mind Famous Blue Man Group was also used in its commercials for Pentium IIIand Pentium IV Intel effectively utilized the basic factors of advertising like creativity and used celebrities’ influence with the public to draw most attention of consumers.In 2000s, Intel promoted its development by doing more marketing efforts.New products were developed to extend its target market In 2003, amultimillion-dollar media effort was made around the new platform called “Unwired” which based on the core product Centrino, a unique integration of a new microprocessor, an extended battery, and wireless capabilities Although the PC industry slowed in the mid-2000s, Intel continued to leadthe market by seeking opportunities in new growth areas such as homeentertainment and mobile devices with Viiv and Centrino Duo Aremarkable reposition campaign was carried out to change Intel from a brainy microprocessor company to a “warm and fuzzy company” Areplacement in logo and slogan from familiar “Intel Inside” to “Leap Ahead” happened, too New improved products has been continuing to be regularly launched to consolidate Intel’s position and expand its new market Classmate PC for children in remote regions of the world in Learning Seriesin 2007, Atom processor for mobile Internet devices, netbooks, and nettopsin 2008, the Intel Core i7 in the same year brought in turn a big revenue for the company Intel’s most recent ad campaign named “Sponsors ofTomorrow” was the effort to improve the Intel’s brand awareness incustomer’s mind lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 In conclusion, Intel did a series of marketing campaigns to help it becomethe top brands in the world Focusing on creating trademark, positioning its brands, making a series of attractive ads and finding new opportunitiesaccompanies with upgrading continuously its powerful products, Intel madeit to be one of the most valuable brands in the world Evaluate Intel’s more recent marketing efforts Did they lose something by dropping the “Intel Inside” tagline or not? In mid-2000s, the PC industry got into slow development and it influencedall the related companies, not excluding Intel This urged Intel to changeand if they want to grow more, they have to make an innovation They tookaction by creating a new $2 billion global marketing campaign: changing their familiar “Intel Inside” tagline, creating new logo and repositioning thecompany Things stuck into customers’ mind whenever they think about Intel are all changed There will be no more “Intel Inside”, it’s “Reap Ahead”instead This new clearly outstanding slogan showed us new company’s direction will reflect in their future products and culture The question is whether Intel lost something by dropping the “Intel Inside”tagline or not In my opinion, they lost their “traditional value” that is thefamiliar “Intel Inside” tagline but this change is necessary to adapt to thedevelopment of economy and the change of market Change is inevitableand a market leader must be willing to embrace change to maintain theleadership position rather than resist it.Some people who identify themselves with the old tagline will find it difficult to get used to the new slogan But customers who trusted in the Intel’s quality will not doubt their new products with new slogan and logo Becausethe good reputation of Intel which helped them become a giant inmicroprocessor producing industry, has been deeply established in consumer’s mind They can’t simply be replaced or rejected The new slogan of Intel “Leap Ahead” indicated their ambition to lead the market, continue to creating new things that meet the needs of people fromall walks of life And in fact, they took the initiative in market expansion.There are many examples for that: Viiv aimed at home entertainmententhusiasts, Centrino Duo mobile, Classmate PC for children in remoteregions of the world, Atom processor, and especially is Intel Core i7 forvideo, 3-D gaming and advanced computer activities The positive effects eventually came in their new product’s consumption showed that the board of managers of Intel took the right action They lost some old value by dropping the “Intel Inside” tagline but what they gained is more enormous.The recent ads campaign aimed to improve the company’s brandawareness entitled “Sponsors of Tomorrow” emphasized their new slogan and highlighted their role in changing the future of technology MICROSOFT AND WALMART CASE STUDY Evaluate Microsoft’s strategy in good and poor economic times Advertising Approaches In its early days Microsoft was a strong market leader and the company’s advertising efforts were focused on communicating their company’s range of products from DOS to the launch of Excel and Windows- all under a unified “Microsoft” look(Kotler et al., 2014) It was selling 90 percent of the world’s operating systemsoftware, and generally left the advertising to Dell, H.P and other hardware makers who licensed Windows(Eisenach et al., 2000) The only time Microsoft hawked its most recognizable brand on television was when the latest version of the software hit the shelves(Gawer and Cusumano, 2002) Then the company flooded the airwaves with commercials full of loud music and swirling imagery saying that the new version of Windows is out Apple is the classic smaller insurgent Its share for desktops and laptops in the United States is just over percent lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 Every time Apple grabs another point of market share from Microsoft’s partners, its stock price climbs And one way that Apple has tried to gain share is by running clever ads that ridicule everything Microsoft stands for(Gawer and Cusumano, 2002) There’s no better example than “Get a Mac,” unveiled three years ago by Apple’s ad agency(LEONARD, 2009) No technology company would choose Mr Hodgman’s character, PC, to personify its brand He reeks of the past He boasts of using his desktop to make spreadsheets and ridicules his more youthful friend, Mac, played by the actor Justin Long, for using his desktop for “juvenile” pursuits like blogging and movie making — even through it’s clear that PC would like to be in on the fun He just can’t get his Windows computer to his bidding Like a classic sitcom character — think Ralph Kramden of “The Honeymooners” — PC is always dreaming up ill-advised schemes intended to show his superiority He’s thwarted by viruses, system crashes and other problems more associated with Windows-based computers than Apple’s products — and, recently, he has become a hapless apologist for Vista Mr Long’s character smugly watches his friend’s pratfalls, glancing at the audience with raised eyebrows as if to say, “If only this poor guy would buy a Mac .”(Baye, 2012) PC will never learn Not as long as he keeps driving sales for Apple Since 2006, the year that he first appeared in all his pasty-faced glory, Apple’s share of the computer desktop market in the United States has more than doubled, according to IDC, the technology industry research firm Its stock price, meanwhile, has risen 142 percent since May 2006, while Microsoft’s has barely budged Yes, the astonishing success of newer Apple products like the iPod and the iPhone has helped But the PC character should also take a bow Apple’s ads put Microsoft in a bind One of Madison Avenue’s rules is that a market leader never acknowledges a smaller competitor in its advertising(LEONARD, 2009) And it was clear in the case of Microsoft & Apple advertising war, where Microsoft failed to learn a valuable lesson Discuss the pros and cons of Microsoft’s most recent “I’m a PC” campaign Is Microsoft doing a good thing by acknowledging Apple’s campaign in its own marketing message? Why or why not? Microsoft’s strategy Evaluation Microsoft’s marketing strategy did not/does not change to reflect consumer’s changing buying priorities For example, in 2008 in the midst of a recession, Microsoft was still plugging away with selling products at premium prices without delivering premium value for the money (VISTA)— hence the success of Apple’s campaign— premium products, but they deliver performance In good times, people’s willingness to “buy” products based on prestige, popularity, and peer pressures is greater than in less robust economic times when priorities are evaluated more closely Microsoft has to learn to adjust its marketing message to meet the demands of their consumers(Kotler and Armstrong, 2010) Customer Relationship Management does much more than just track customer interactions It also helps organizations optimize their operations by automating routine tasks and standardizing best practices Ultimately, CRM allows organizations to better acquire, manage, serve, and extract value from their customers while improving operational efficiency—something that is critical in today’s economy Microsoft has clearly adopted this technology through its products(Chen and Popovich, 2003) For example, Microsoft Dynamics® CRM business software is very powerful in terms of understanding the customers and dealing with them differently & personally Over the years, if we analyze Microsoft, we would be to able to see clear growth in short spanning of time, after constant change in leadership Evaluate Walmart’s new marketing campaign and tagline Provide your views onthe marketing activity carried out by Walmart based on your understanding Walmart was a very innovative investor He used strategies to market his products to potentialcustomer by applying persuasive marketing campaign and tagline The marketing campaignadopted by Walmart was categorized with yellow smiley face which was initiated at lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 thebeginning of the year 1996 This particular campaign was classified among the greatest stars ofthe company The campaign was appearing in staff equipment such as aprons and button Beforethe campaign, he had initiated a tagline which asserted that, “Always Low Prices Always” Theassertion of this tagline was to enhance efficient and effective communication strategyconcerning the main brand of the company This tagline was anticipated to generate millions ofdollars since the brand was promising to the company My view on this particular marketingstrategy is based on Walmart creativity He med a welcoming impression to the customersat all times(Prasch 2008) This is usually a good strategy to welcome customers It initiatenegotiation for buying and selling in the market Did Walmart make the right decision to drop ―Always Low Prices Always As atagline.‖ My view on dropping this particular tagline is based on competition in the market It was theright decision to drop the tagline by Walmart The main reason for asserting this is thecompetitors who always aim at achieving competitive advantage in the marketplace This taglinecould be used against Walmart’s company by the competitors By saying, Always Low Prices.Always, innovative competitor may wish to lower the selling price of that particular product atsome point even if they may not make profits at that time The aim would be targetingcustomers This will create a notion to the customer that even if Walmart claim to offer productsat low prices, there exist other outlets that can offer the same product at diminishing price Oncethat notion is created, the competitors would the increase the prices accordingly Walmart willend up losing potential customers Walmart does very well when the economy turns sour now can it protect itself when theeconomy is on the rise? Explain Walmart Company can protect itself when the economy is on the rise by utilizing various marketing strategies, particularly those that help the company gain customers’ trusts and those that promote the market of their products and services Walmart can apply MIS or marketing information system because it is useful for the company to obtain regarding their customers and products and services Marketing information system also help the company to make accurate and timely information regarding marketing decision making process MIS can also help the Walmart Company can protect itself when the economy is on the rise by utilizing various marketing strategies, particularly those that help the company gain customers’ trusts and those that promote the market of their products and services Walmart can apply MIS or marketing information system because it is useful for the company to obtain regarding their customers and products and services Marketing information system also help the company to make accurate and timely information regarding marketing decision making process MIS can also help the product sale without the effect of economic changes Walmart Company can also protect itself when the economy rises by using marketing intelligence system Marketing intelligence system should involve set of sources and procedures that the company managers obtain useful information regarding marketing environment development Walmart can also develop innovative strategies that promote their sales growth and attracts consumers’ purchasing power Walmart Company can protect itself when the economy is on the rise by utilizing various marketing strategies, particularly those that help the company gain customers’ trusts and those that promote the market of their products and services Walmart can apply MIS or marketing information system because it is useful for the company to obtain regarding their customers and products and services Marketing information system also help the company to make accurate and timely information regarding marketing decision making process MIS can also help the company appropriate actions on how they should do, specifically when the economy is in recession Walmart Company also need to develop and secure a strong market base, to lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 ensure a continuous flow of their product sales despite economic fluctuations Walmart can achieve a Walmart Company can protect itself when the economy is on the rise by utilizing various marketing strategies, particularly those that help the company gain customers’ trusts and those that promote the market of their products and services Walmart can apply MIS or marketing information system because it is useful for the company to obtain regarding their customers and products and services Marketing information system also help the company to make accurate and timely information regarding marketing decision making process MIS can also help the company appropriate actions on how they should do, specifically when the economy is in recession Walmart Company also need to develop and secure a strong market base, to ensure a continuous flow of their product sales despite economic fluctuations Walmart can achieve a strong market base through effective marketing strategies, which will help them have a constant product sale without the effect of economic changes Walmart Company can also protect itself when the economy rises by using marketing intelligence system Marketing intelligence system should involve set of sources and procedures that the company managers obtain useful information regarding marketing environment development Walmart can also develop innovative strategies that promote their sales growth and attracts consumers’ purchasing power IDEO AND INTUIT CASE STUDY Why has IDEO been so successful? What is the most difficult challenge they face in conducting their research and designing their products? According to the case study, IDEO is one of the most successful firm in the USA in the field of designing consultancy (Kotler & Keller, 2012, p.119) The firm is based on the principles of innovation and they highly value fresh ideas There are two basic factors that is responsible for their success First is design thinking and second is prototyping IDEO keeps their customers first when they are designing This design thinking strategy helps them fulfil the desires of their customers and fulfil their needs IDEO’s strategy of behavior mapping of their customers help collecting useful data about how their customers feel when they use a specific product designed by them The approach towards designing is more based on what the customers want and less on what IDEO want their customers to use When the customers are involved in the designing process, there is less chance that they would not like the design In fact the feeling of being involved in the process of designing is unique and it attracts more customers than their competitors IDEO has a prototyping mechanism installed (Kotler & Keller, 2012, p.120) Prototyping is a handy tool to gain firsthand information about the user experience and remove any defects that user may suggest (Buchenau & Suri, 2000) IDEO customers get an opportunity to use a prototype of a product They then provide feedback to IDEO about what are the good and bad features of the product This helps IDEO remove any defects and make design adjustments IDEO focuses on their customer more than their internal processes This could be graded as an effective tools but this does make the internal problem go under the carpet IDEO need to focus on their own capacities as well instead of focusing on their customers only IDEO have to go in depth to get product specific information from customers during their research This is called “Deep Dive” (Kotler & Keller, 2012, p.119) Deep dive can be a hard process which would consume a lot of valuable time lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 In the end, IDEO creates great solutions for other observational methods to conduct companies that then receive all the credit Should IDEO try to create more brand awareness for itself? Why or why not? We have to look deep in to the business model of IDEO IDEO is the largest designing firm in the US because of their policy of meeting the expectations beyond their imagination IDEO take pride in treating their customers in high value and keeps the needs of their customers before their personal needs This helps their customers put a blind faith on them and adds to their satisfaction level If IDEO starts to create more brand awareness for itself, it would negatively impact their relationship with their customers This would hurt the trust their customers put in them IDEO lets their customers shine and this is the main reason for their success In my opinion, they should follow the same path and not take all or more of the credit NORDSTORM AND TESCO CASE STUDY How else can Nordstrom continue to provide exceptional customer service and increase brand loyalty? Every retail company should want to strive to distribute great customer service Customer service is basically the way employees interact with customers Good customer service to me is greeting me with a smile when I enter the store, ask is there anything that I need assistance with, upon checking out ask if I found everything ok and welcome me back to shop in that store again I hate going into stores where the sells representatives not acknowledge customers when entering the store I also feel it is rude for employees to hold personal conversations with other employees in front of customers Personal telephone conversations are not good characteristics for good customer service I think every company that works with the public should require their employees to take customer service classes as a prerequisite before starting on the job The customer service field can be challenging at times, especially when dealing with irate customers Employees must always remember to maintain the customer is always right mentality Nordstrom has been acknowledged on numerous occasions about their exceptional customer service It’s evident that Nordstrom is above average with their customer service skills My suggestion for the company is to keep doing whatever it is they are doing My philosophy is if it’s not broke than don’t fix it Build personal relationships with loyal customers This will help you be able to assist the customer with their shopping needs and you would be able to make recommendations to them on new merchandise Nordstrom already provides a friendly, comforting environment which will automatically draw the customer back into the store It is important for the customer to know that the focus is on them It is suggested that Nordstrom can increase brand loyalty lowering the point and spending requirements for tier loyalty program Nordstrom’s loyalty program engages customers and provide genuine benefits to frequent buyers Loyalty customers are given early access to sales, free tailoring and other discounts Their tier program encourages customers to remain loyal by encouraging them to spend more in order to gain further benefits References Conniff, Megan (2012) Customer Service is Changing, and So is Nordstrom What are Nordstrom’s greatest risk, and who are it biggest competitors? Every retail business will eventually face risk in the industry One of the greatest risk Nordstrom may face is economic slowdown The economic depression has caused a decline in consumers spending habits Job layoffs are causing consumers to cut back on spending and several retail companies are noticing the cutback with their decline in sales The rise in gas prices and energy cost are affecting household disposable income Nordstrom’s credit line may be another risk factor that the company could face Job cutbacks may cause lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 I would say that their strategy is not too selective During the recession, everybody struggled So to blame BMW for their strategy that had made them so successful in the first place would not be fair I believe that their strategy could’ve actually helped them during that time Since BMW is so selective, they are only targeting people that have money anyways So money that they spend on advertising wasn’t necessarily being wasted P&G AND MC DONALD CASE STUDY P&G’s impressive portfolio includes some of the strongest brand names in the world What are someof the challenges and risks associated with being themarket leader in so many categories? Procter and Gamble’s impressive portfolio of strong brand names can present challenges because of brand overlap For example, they occasionally represent multiple brands within the same field such as Crest and Oral-B Although directed at two different market groups, these two dental product companies are competitors By focusing on one brand in marketing, P&G must be careful not to overlap the branding of the other Otherwise they would be literally competing against themselves Analyzing and computing brand equity is a valuable tool in deciding how each brand does by comparing the profitability effect on each Also, if one brand within the umbrella brand of P&G is bad it reflects negatively upon the other brands, bringing down their value Overall, P&G’s “house of brands” (Kotler 261), technique is a positive aspect in expansion and increasing profitability P&G adopts a multi-brand approach a portfolio of over 300 brands, with 25 brands making over US$1billion in annual sales in 2012 (P&G, 2012) With upward stretching brands like Dunhill and Lacoste Fragrances, to brands targeted at mass consumption like Pantene, P&G has claimed market leadership in numerous consumer product categories worldwide With social media becoming increasingly important and fewerpeople watching traditional commercials on television, what doesP&G need to to maintain its strong brand images? Brand image is the impression in the consumers' mind of a brand's total personality Brand image is developed over time through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme, and is authenticated through the consumers' direct experience Fewer people are watching televisions worldwide, which translates to advertisements broadcasted on television having a smaller reach of potential consumers This signals danger for Procter and Gamble as spends a huge proportion of its budget on advertising on televisions and reduced reach of customers might affect the development of P&G’s brand image At the same time, internet users has more than doubled over the past six years Various avenues of social media websites have also amassed popularity among the general public A very good example is Facebook, with its number of users increasing from a mere million in 2004 to about 1.01 billion as of 2012.The opportunity of capturing these group of online consumers to increase its market share, coupled with the relatively lower costs of advertising products online has caused the Chief Executive Officer of P&G, Bob McDonald to consider moving their products to the digital realm The lower cost of advertising products online is due to videos created being able to be shared on social networking sites for free This means that the only cost that has to be incurred would be the cost of designing and developing the advertisement itself The importance of social media as a new platform of advertising P&G’s products is undeniable However, that does not mean it is the end for television advertisementsPeople in certain countries like the United States are still on the average, spending a significant amount of time consuming traditional media This indicates worldwide decrease of average time spent on watching television does not mean the same for every single country Hence, it would not be wise to phase television lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 advertisements out entirely A better suggestion would be to have advertisements on both traditional and social media More specifically, advertisements should be still used in countries where the television viewership is still significant In countries where television viewership has reduced to a new low, P&G can consider reducing the amounts spent on television advertisements P&G should also set aside money to develop videos and posters that could be posted on social media websites and make them viral by introducing innovative measures These advertisements should have the P&G logo so as to enable consumers to be aware of P&G’s product portfolio P&G can also have contests like the implementation of a Facebook “Like and Share” contest whereby participants can create their own P&G poster, upload them on P&G’s facebook page and share them The poster with the greatest number of likes and scores by the judges will receive a price P&G also gains by having the poster as part of its marketing campaign Another way for P&G to maintain its strong brand image would be to conduct exhibitions to enable consumers to have a better understanding of its history and current range of products Increasingly, consumers are more inclined to purchase products that are produced through socially responsible methods and leveraging on this fact, P&G can have a campaign on environmental sustainability and research on more eco-friendly ways of producing their packaging and containers for their products so as to improve its brand image For this, P&G can also liaise with non-profit organisations to sponsor them with their products in conducting the activities What risks you feel P&G will face going forward? Seeing that P&G has set such a high standard for themselves and their products, it may be a challenge to remain innovative and increase profitability Their brand could suffer if they don’t keep up with the expectations of their consumers and partner business such as Walmart Another risk it could face is over extending beyond their management capabilities This could result in brank dilution, where consumers no longer associate a brand with a specific set of products and start thinking less of the brand [265] But as of now they have the largest portfolios in their field, so their risk is expanding too far and overlapping brands within the same field What are McDonald’s core brand values? Have these changed over the years? McDonald’s did very well during the recession in the late 2000s With the economy turning around for the better, should McDonald’s change its strategy? Why or why not? lOMoAR cPSD| 12941217 McDonald's is one of the most successful companies in the world during this recession A few reasons about why the company did very well during the recession in the late 2000s are listed below • The company created a more affordable menu for people who were affected by economic downturn, • The products of the company are preferable than the other options when people have a thin time of it • The company should definitely stick with their strategy even now because if it has done well in financially trying times, it is favored to well when the situation eases • The products can be priced cheaper than most of the other restaurants would • Certain changes can be made to the existing strategy after in-depth study of the current During 2000s McDonald’s did very well in the recession period but failed to acquire profit so later o it applied the “Plan to win” strategy and again McDonald’s was on track McDonald’s changed its menu and strategy plans after a documentary “SuperSize Me” targeted McDonald’s for its unhealthy obese foods It also put effort in new packaging which included bold text and full color photographs of real ingredients The company created a consciousness about its strategy focused on being cheap and healthy So, it should not change its strategies about price If the company changes its focus and increases the price, it can lose the loyalty of the customers But the company can enhance its strategies and increase the quality of services and products After the financial downturn, the customers could stick to the company, because of the strategy of the company focused on being cheap and quality It can be changed at a certain point Changes can be made to leverage on improved economic conditions of the global market to maintain their edge among their competitors What risks you feel McDonald’s will face going forward? • Health conscious consumers might move to brands offering healthier options • McDonald’s should offer more premium options and establish itself as a provider of normal goods while maintaining the value that its customers expect • Changing tastes and lifestyles pose a big threat The company will need to adapt to changes to be able to tackle such problems effectively • Competition from local fast food chains as they have to focus only on a small area • Training employees rapidly and effectively during expansion drives • Rivals of McDonald’s like Subway, Burger King are offering more customized offerings which could bring problems to the brand • Rising competitors in the market • The rate of its expansion is very fast which might lead to dip in its quality • Company should also take care of the cases where people use the company’s brand symbol as it may diminish the brand value and hinder their upgoing trend LOUIS VUITION AND AMERICAN EXPRESS CASE STUDY How does and exclusive brand such as Louis Vuitton grow and stay fresh while retaining its cachet? ... cPSD| 12941217 Case Study Analysis of Nike and Google What are the pros Cons and risk associated with Nike`s core marketing strategy? 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