The SWOT analysis performed for the Woolworths Group organization allowed for the identification of several problematic issues in the performance of the company, the elimination of which might lead to a more substantial competitive advantage and market dominance. In particular, the most significant problem associated with the current business processes at Woolworths Group is a weak segmentation strategy that obstructs enhanced market presence and diminishes the opportunities for competition with new entrants. Therefore, the analysis of alternatives for strategic growth is performed with the application of Ansoff’s matrix to introduce
Ansoff’s Matrix Application
Ansoff’s matrix is a valuable tool capable of aligning the company’s strategic decision-making with the opportunities and existing advantages while addressing the risk level that comes with the strategic options. The matrix is four-fold and includes four strategies depending on the intersection between new products and new markets, existing products and existing markets (Yin, 2016). The strategy that involves new products in existing markets is product expansion strategy; the combination of existing products and new markets is market development strategy. New products and new markets are characterized by the combination strategy, and existing products in existing markets involve market penetration (Yin, 2016).
The current marketing situation at Woolworths Group is characterized by insufficient competitive advantage and slow implementation of new marketing strategies (“Woolworths Food Group’s plan to get customers to put us first,” 2021). Therefore, it is suggested that market penetration would be the best strategic approach for the company to eliminate its problematic issues and ensure a more enhanced market presence among competitors.
Marketing penetration is a widely used and promising framework for increasing competitive advantage in a highly competitive economic environment. Indeed, since Woolworths operates in a grocery retail business that incorporates multiple competing companies, the competent choice of marketing interventions using current products and current markets might provide positive results. According to Tien (2020), marketing penetration is developed “to increase the consumption, increase the competitiveness of existing products in the current market of the trading company, in order to seek to increase the market share of existing products through increased marketing efforts” (p, 20).
These are the goal pursued by Woolworths Group, which is why the chosen strategy is informed by company needs. The rationale for choosing marketing penetration among other strategic options is validated by the successful long-term performance of Woolworths Group in the grocery retail markets of Australia and New Zealand and the overall high level of product development and market fitness. Moreover, among all the elements in the matrix, market penetration is the least risky due to the utilization of the existing products in the currently occupied market.
Marketing Recommendation
The identification of a particular strategy allows for developing a range of recommendations based on the currently available opportunities. Firstly, it is important to compete on price, since the price of products significantly determines customer loyalty and brand preference. Lower prices will help attract new consumers to the company. Secondly, the improvement of promotion techniques will help reach more consumers and encourage them to purchase at Woolworths. Thirdly, since the competition issue derives from the presence of strong rivals in the market, options for cooperating with competitors should be considered to minimize competition. The options for pursuing this marketing strategy include exportation of products and international expansion, which might also be a beneficial step toward acquiring new customers and increasing sales and revenues.
Ideas for Implementation
Properly conducted market segmentation and competent utilization of the results of such efforts constitute a basis for the ideas for strategy implementation since knowledge about the consumers is essential in the competitive environment. Segmenting customers based on a variety of factors might help Woolworths Group maintain its high level of presence across multiple segments by targeting the most profitable cluster of population and adjust prices accordingly. Indeed, as stated by Yoseph and Heikkila (2018), the ability to analyze the heterogeneity of customers and analyzing their preferences for further meeting their needs by prices and products helps companies improve their competitiveness. The process of customer segmenting might be conducted through the development of an interactive digital application for consumer use. Such a tool would help collect data about customers’ preferences and ensure the ability of the company to offer personalized products or discounts.
Indeed, information is a powerful tool, which might be used to identify customer needs and lifestyle particularities, as well as economic and social features. Such data is valuable when designing personalized offers and prioritizing a particular population group as the target market segment. Currently, Woolworths Group targets high-income customers failing to differentiate marketing strategies for other consumers (“Woolworths Food Group’s plan to get customers to put us first,” 2021).
However, the current global economic crisis induced by the pandemic constrains financial opportunities for buyers and causes a decrease in high-income customer flow. Thus, it is essential to initiate surveys, launch apps, and economic factor analysis might be valuable ideas for implementing the chosen strategy. In such a manner, the company will be able to lower prices for a particular customer range without significant losses.
As for the implementation of promotional activities, targeted advertising tools, conventional advertising methods, and enhanced online presence of the brand might help improve the promotion outcomes. This idea for implementation is inherently connected with the segmentation efforts, wince on the basis of segmentation, particular customer groups might be addressed with different advertising messages and personalized offers. Finally, the steps toward cooperation with competitors might be implemented through such efforts as export, direct investment, franchising, and merger or acquisition (Tien, 2020). Such efforts will ensure building larger corporations by means of integrating competitors’ companies and eliminating growing competition in the market.
Conclusion
In summation, the analysis of strategic options for Woolworths Group using Ansoff’s matrix allowed for narrowing down the alternatives to market penetration as the prioritized approach capable of addressing the current problem and needs of the enterprise. The rationale for such a choice is that market penetration is the least risky solution. In addition, since Woolworths Group is a large and successful company that occupies a significant market share, the utilization of existing products and the existing market provides multiple opportunities for continuous growth without additional risk-taking.
The proposed marketing recommendations for the company include proper market segmentation, lowering prices, improving promotional techniques, and cooperating with competitors. These recommended steps might be implemented through such efforts as surveys and application launching for proper data collection for segmentation. Also, the company is advised to develop personalized offers, discounts, and lower prices through the analysis of socio-economic factors. Finally, enhanced online presence and targeted advertisement, as well as export, franchising, and merger or acquisition of competing companies, might be effective solutions to the identified problem.
References
Tien, N. H. (2020). Analysis of LOTTE’s market penetration strategy in Vietnam FMCG industry. International Journal of Educational Research and Studies, 2(2), 20–23.
Woolworths Food Group’s plan to get customers to put us first. (2021). Woolworths. Web.
Yin, N. (2016). Application of AHP-Ansoff matrix analysis in business diversification: The case of Evergrande Group. In MATEC Web of Conferences (Vol. 44, p. 01006). EDP Sciences.
Yoseph, F., & Heikkila, M. (2018). Segmenting retail customers with an enhanced RFM and a hybrid regression/clustering method. In 2018 International Conference on Machine Learning and Data Engineering (pp. 108-116). IEEE.