Introduction
The appearance of home repair market has been enthused by the speedy enlargement and mixing of countries; the configuration of local trading blocs; the formation of market economies; and advances in manufacture and communications technologies. Today, international marketing is proving to be of ever-increasing importance to companies of all sizes, to their customers, and to national economies. Worldwide, most companies are now selling to, using materials or equipment from, or competing with products from other nations. In Australia, the scale of operations in-home repair industry is very small. There is approximately one retail store for every fourteen households in the country.
Situation Analysis
The market home repair service is characterized by increasing activity of the capital markets over the past five years. The estimated average returns per year are anticipated to exceed 13% over the next decade, with investment alternatives operating at single figure growth levels (approximately 7% to 9%). This method is formulated on the basis of superior understanding of the problem solved, which is typical of the home repair service, its benefits and problems it addresses. As consumers get more concerned with the issues of price, mobile and high-quality home repair service is the best alternative for this target group (Appliances 2008).
Strengths
The strengths can be listed in the following way: effective brand image and the system of expertise, perfect web-site and customer support team. Philosophy of the company based on resources and technological innovations produce new chances for market development and recognition of the brand. Creativity is now the sphere of responsibility of R&D, in which only specialists in visualizing and realization of marginal product changes are employed.
The senior managers are responsible for planning and control of the company’s operation in non-entrepreneurial firms. Consequently they must adopt a fair and directive leadership style. In the majority of such firms, management adopts one of the following styles: a benevolent autocratic, consultative, or participative style. Home repair service pays much attention to people and their needs.
Opportunities
The opportunities are as follows: high potential for growth and profitability, qualified management team and organizational culture, customized system of orders and the option of shipping which is free. The company in this field has a wide range of opportunities, because specialized shops around the world have an interest in the products created in a way that causes little damage to the environment. In the context of increase the creativity of organizations and making them more subject to innovative technology, home repair service evaluates the spheres in which the organization benefits the most of all. Competitive benchmarking assists as a way to identify what the competitors do in respect of creativity and innovation as well as find out who is the best in each of the spheres (Commonsense Marketing 2008).
Weaknesses
The low potential of the market and the product’s being unique are the major weaknesses. Competition presents a major threat to the home repair service company. The home repair service companies possess, irrespective of the above mentioned threats and weaknesses, well-developed positions in the market that are based on their cost and customer relations management. Worldwide trends pose challenges for those companies that are generating creativity and innovation, like for instance, home repair Service Company. They, moreover, bring research challenges in the context of creativity and innovation management. The opportunities derived from the research challenges are as follows: ones dealing with methodologies and the other dealing with the problems of rethinking, realigning and restructuring of large-scale organizations (Crawford 2003).
Threats
The constant growth of competition and monopolistic trends in the market are the major threats for home repair Service Company. They restrain the company’s growth and development processes. Newly developed methodologies of accountability will be necessary for ensuring the actual usefulness and progressiveness of creative and innovative activities.
External Analysis – Pestel
Nowadays, the situation in politics is stable and is marked by the processes of democratization and liberal reforms. Political traditions and customs have a great impact upon the world markets. The interference of authorities and politicians and corruption present the major group of risks for foreign companies (Crawford 2003). The basic methods facilitating the home repair Service Company growth are addiction to innovation and creativity, unique branding of the company and the leading position on the market.
Legal Factors
Legal Environment: Asian and African countries adopt laws and regulations so that to encourage foreign subsidies and provide for higher rates of FDI (foreign direct investments). To help the economy of the country, the Government prevents price growth, or often rolls them back in basic branches of industry, like steel for instance. The involvement of the national Government seems to be connected to the price increases and to the impact on inflation and increased company productivity. The Government exercises its right of blocking or rolling back prices if they grow. Australia adopted favorable laws and regulations supporting the development and growth of the market. Thus, the limit to the monopolistic positions of companies is established.
Economic situation
Low rates of inflation and high figures of income per capita characterize the economic situation in America and Europe. Thus, in Asian and African countries, trade liberalization and high level of foreign investments are able to provide opportunities for the company to enter the market of this very country. Australian companies establish higher standards of living for their employees and customers. For a home repair company, the necessities of long-run capital commitments exist together with the need to meet the requirements of the joint venture with national ones, and to impose the special income taxes and import duties on necessities.
The differences in social laws, location considerations, home products protection, state attitudes and control, legislation regulating the relations of labels and standards, issues of transportation and communications expenses, inflation risks, devaluation of the national currency, and expropriation of property are also the demands for the home repair companies. By all these, many new challenges in addition to those enumerated in national marketing are created and posed for the companies (Crawford 2003).
Social-demographic factors
Social-demographic factors are those reporting a fast increase of population and decrease in the mortality rates of the people. This is done both in their physical appearance and in the majority of aspects that characterize their culture-notably, like language, typical administration form, and religious views. Only the sensible organizations are able to insure their being in the vanguard of these changes and innovations in this sphere of industry.
The winners of this kind of the market competition will be sure of not only being in the vanguard of the industry, but also of the fact that they are aimed at the usage of their innovative experiences with R & Ds to the whole organizations. At the time when the people whom the companies can address by traditional sales and marketing are limited by geographical factors, the Internet customers are constrained by the large numbers of people having access to it and making active use of this access (while these things not necessarily coincide). Estimated numbers of the people using the Internet and PCs vary to a great extent, though a concept seems to be appearing in the modern world that millions of people indeed use the Internet services.
Technological factors
Technological factors are those that concern the rate to which the Internet is accessible and the level at which the development of telecommunication is provided. Also, the newly coined methods of business conduct and presenting the availability of information are among the technological factors of the issue. The factors like the permanent growth of economy, disposable income rates increase, sharp competition, progressive technology, automation implementation, decentralization of the major population groups and innovation will make the emerging of this new marketing technique faster. The efficacy of planning operations has been on a considerable rise due to the implementation of computer technology and innovative techniques of information analysis.
The instruments like critical paths, input-output analysis, payoff matrices, decision trees, and many others have also contributed to the increase in the efficacy of planning operations. The alternative formulated as entering or non-entering the new stage of development of the company depends mainly upon the motivation of leaders and their wish either to increase the incomes of their companies or gain a new higher status in business. In other cases, it can be motivated by the demands of the market and individual customers who are willing either to put money into this company or to any other in case of the absence of feedback from it (Hollensen, 2007).
Competition
The strong competition in Australian markets is the result of the influence of the number of factors that can be both internal and external. According to Michael Porter, the competition within an industry is what the corporation is concerned with. “The collective strength of these forces,” Porter says, “determines the ultimate profit potential in the industry, where profit potential is measured in terms of long-run return on invested capital” (Porter, 1985, p. 58). In his book “Competitive Advantage”, Porter lists five forces driving the competition. The intensity of rivalry is substantial even between such huge companies as Dell and Toshiba.
“Pressure from substitute products” can affect competition and enclose low costs. “The bargaining power of buyers” affects the market due to the different number of supplied services and demands for them in home repair sphere where the ability to use resources and compete with others is not an advantage. Two basic characteristics of a firm’s competencies in sustainability are: durability and imitability (Marketing and Business Planning 2008). The market share of the company is 15 % that ensures the chance to lead the market and stand competition with other companies.
Segmentation, Target Market Positioning
The strategy of Home Repair services is based on a differentiation criterion that provides the Home Repair services with the opportunities to shift its focus to brand image and effective steps for price reduction. This strategy helps Home Repair services to grow and optimize its production range fast. Trust and confidence in the new brand image are the basis for its position in the market. The difference in the services offered is not large but it should be increased to make the competition not so severe. Prices lower than those of competitors will provide for the decrease of rivalry. Home Repair services offer competitive prices satisfactory to its customers, including the going rate strategy to create the group of loyal buyers (Campbell 2003).
Objectives
The company’s objective is to increase its customer base and preserve current market positions in the region. The unexploited and relatively new Australian market is the best field for the development of new areas of company’s activities. The purpose is to be one of the leaders in the market. It makes the company offer chances to save money on new products for its stable customers. Home repair high quality services meet the requirements of the wide audience and group of customers. This purpose is achieved by new management techniques and information analysis instruments.
Marketing strategies
In respect of economics, home repair services represent a wide range of marketing operations in the certain flexible boundaries of the activity area. This is true to a different extent in various spheres of industry and in various periods. Some companies offer specific devices whose prices are higher than their actual costs. Thus, convenience is not the decisive factor for customers to buy it, and new promotion, advertising and marketing techniques provide for the device’s success in the market (Porter 1985).
The target audience is men and women of 18-45. ‘Consumer’ behavior occurs when people guided by the service providers decide to obtain the new goods or services for their own use or use by other people. The target audience is comprised of A, B, and C1 social-economic groups. Home Repair services is oriented on young people who like good music and progressive decisions, and are called sometimes generation Y. (Appendix 1,2).
Implementation- Action Plan
The new car model will be presented as the reflection of the new positioning strategy suggesting mobility and freedom as its basic values. New design and style will provide for benefit-generating impression of buyers and reflect the essence of the company’s strategy. A unique image and belonging to new generation will attract buyers (Trends in Household Consumption 2008).
Implementation of the first campaign
- Send Direct mail – twice on September and October and one on November;
- Cinema ad – 7 times a day starting from the 20th of September to end of November;
- Radio ad – 10 times a day from the 5th of September to end of November;
- Advertising in local Press – once a week from the 5th of September to end of November;
- TV ad – 3 times in the evening starting from the 5th of September to end of November;
- Posters in transport;
- Display stands;
- Calendars and wallcharts.
Control
The control will be carried out once a month by questionnaires and feedbacks. Product positioning will help set confidence and competence for buyers. If these elements are earned by the company, the trust in the brand image and good reputation of the company will be characteristic of buyers. As the customers should be led, the positioning strategy is the means to do it and to win the trust of the new customers. Positioning strategy helps in winning the minds of customers and earning the company’s credibility. (Weee Man brings his weighty warning 2008).
Conclusion
Businesses are not quite so flexible. Many firms take the orientation of business as usual. This implies that, once certain plans and financial decisions are made, business continues as usual. The necessary flexibility and proactive behavior are not built into promotional plans. Furthermore, it is assumed that business conditions are not likely to change significantly and that the best approach is to implement the plans as they were originally devised.
This type of conservative and traditional point of view makes it impossible for the firm to cope with turbulence. The case of Best Buy shows that firms can behave this way because they are big and powerful. Therefore, they reinforce survival of the fattest. However, one must realize that by not being proactive and not attempting to counteract turbulence business is likely to lose money in both the present and future. There are two critical reasons for this: business is never as usual and best kept secrets never win.
Reference List
Appliances. 2008. Web.
Commonsense Marketing. 2008. Web.
Crawford C. Merle. 2003, New Products Management. Irwin-McGraw Hill. 7th edn.
Optimal Business Solutions. 2008. Web.
Hollensen, S. 2007, Global Marketing: A Decision-Oriented Approach. Australian Scholarly Publishing.
Marketing and Business Planning. 2008. Web.
Porter M.E. 1985, Competitive Advantage. New York, Free Press.
Trends in Household Consumption,. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2008. Web.
Weee Man brings his weighty warning. 2005. Web.