- Strengths: qualities of ScreenScene plc that are helpful to achieving the objective.
- Weaknesses: qualities of ScreenScene plc that are harmful to achieving the objective.
- Opportunities: external factors that are helpful to achieving the objective.
- Threats: external factors that are harmful to achieving the objective.
It is essential for me to identify the SWOTs because the subsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected objective are to be derived from the SWOT’s. The directors of ScreenScene have seen the objective as attainable and hence have approved it.
The following is a SWOT I have constructed for ScreenScene plc to assess its current position in terms of sale of food products:
SUBJECT OF SWOT ANALYSIS: SALE OF FOOD PRODUCTS (SCREENSCENE PLC):
Strengths:
- ScreenScene plc is a very profitable organization, with a significant percentage of revenues coming from the sale of confectionary, soft drinks and food products such as ‘nachos’ and ice creams.
- ScreenScene plc is a national brand built upon a reputation for fine food products and viewing services. It has 250 cinemas across England and Wales, 200 of these being multiplexes.
- The business was floated on the stock exchange due to continued expansion proving its national success.
- ScreenScene plc’s healthy eating options gather many customers beating competitors specialising in food products.
- The organization is not dependant on a main competitive advantage, therefore making the company quick to diversify into other sectors should the need arise.
Weaknesses:
- ScreenScene plc has plans for new product development and creativity. However, they remain vulnerable to the possibility that their innovation may falter over time.
- The organization has a strong presence in the United Kingdom. It is often argued that they need to look for a portfolio of countries, in order to spread business risk.
- The increase in ‘junk’ food for instance, ice cream, tends to be losing customers gradually over time.
Opportunities:
- ScreenScene are very good at taking advantage of opportunities.
- Co-branding with other manufacturers of food and drink, and brand franchising to manufacturers of other goods and services both have potential.
- ScreenScene plc plans to launch a healthy eating ‘pasta’ option at some of its cinemas in the Spring of 2009 meaning more variety of food.
- ScreenScene plans to modernise facilities in some of its older multiplexes. Its market research department is currently investigating the potential demand for more’ up-market’ facilities, which would demand premium prices and would differentiate ScreenScene plc from its main rivals in some areas.
- ScreenScene plc has the opportunity to expand its global operations. New markets for cinemas and healthy food products such as India are beginning to emerge.
Threats:
- Who knows if the market for cinemas and healthy food will grow and stay in favour with customers, or whether another type of beverage or leisure activity will replace them in the future?
- Since the introduction of new multiplexes, ScreenScene plc’s success has lead to the market entry of many competitors and copy cat brands that pose potential threats.
- The increase in junk food is seriously decreasing customers; will there be no customers until the launch of the healthy ‘pasta’ option in 2009?
- ScreenScene is dangerously overspending on various modern facilities and healthy eating options to differentiate itself from other competitors. This may result in bad debt or cash-flow problems for the business.
As well as producing a SWOT analysis, ScreenScene plc will need to get the Products right, the Price right, the Place (position of sales stall within the cinema) right and the Promotion right in order for the marketing campaign to be successful. I will now apply my knowledge of the 4P’s here and evaluate the options available for each part of the marketing mix. The 4Ps are the ideas to consider when marketing a product. They form the basis of the marketing mix. Determining the relative importance of each P’s to ScreenScene is critical to the success of the business.
The major marketing management decisions can be classified in one of the following four P’s:
If market research is carried out effectively, I can plan a promotion for the right product, at the right price, and get it to the chosen market, in the right place. The marketing mix is portrayed in the following diagram:
The following table summarizes the marketing mix decisions I will need to consider, including a list of some of the aspects of each of the 4P’s:
Keeping customers happy and making money means you ScreenScene have got to come up with a winning formula that works time and time again. It is not just a matter of having a healthy product and hoping it will sell itself. What’s more, being the cheapest may not be enough either. Even with a world-beating product at just the right price, if people do not know about it and cannot get hold of it I will never be able to turn a healthy profit. Getting the marketing mix right is ensuring that the four main components complement and support one another. This is the only proven route to long-term business success.
Product
A product can be either a that is sold either to a or an . In this case the product is a good. Getting the product right is obviously critical in order for a successful marketing campaign. Initially, the cinemas of ScreenScene plc will need a variety of healthy eating options. This will provide a variety of different tastes and preferences for the customers, these elements could then influence their buying behaviour.
ScreenScene will need to have a range of healthy foods. For example, ScreenScene should aim to sell cereal bars, healthy salads, popcorn, fruits (e.g. bananas), pasta, blended fruit drinks (Smoothies), healthy snacks such as natural yoghurt mixed with cucumber or anything that may suit your liking. This range will then be part of ScreenScene’s total product mix. ScreenScene should also aim to produce a range for some of the food above. This is because different consumers want different products. ScreenScene plc can then sell more and make more profit by satisfying consumer’s requests.
As said above, ScreenScene will need to produce some range for the food above. For instance, it will need to have a variety of different salads, such as Leafy Green Salads, Vegetable Salads and Fruit Salads. Producing a range of salads will allow ScreenScene to differentiate its products. For instance, Leafy Green Salads could be aimed at healthy cautious consumers. Whereas, on the other hand, Fruit Salads could be more expensive and aimed at consumers who would like more taste from their salads. To help distinguish the products from each other, ScreenScene will need ways of differentiating the product. These ways include:
- Design and formulation- ScreenScene should sell a variety of salads (As explained above)
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Name- the name of a product is very important for it to sell and for it to be different. Different products should also have different s such as KitKat’s Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat.
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Packaging- with fast moving consumer goods, part of a product’s attractiveness is, of course, its brand imagery and its packaging. Both of these are likely to emphasise the psychological benefits offered by the product. Different products should have different packaging. For instance, Vegetable Salads could be foil and band wrapped. This is unique in the market and could be seen as an important feature which encourages involvement and sharing by .
Price
Now that ScreenScene have a variety of good products, they will now need to think through how much they will be charging for it. Pricing strategy is an important part of the marketing mix. The price of a product should reflect its image and the need to give a consumer what they want. For example, upmarket products are associated with premium prices. Furthermore, I will also need to consider how much competitors are charging for the same or similar food products.
There are a number of popular pricing techniques I can choose from specifically for a product:
1. Penetration pricing.
This is when a firm brings out a new product into a new or existing market; it may feel that it needs to make a lot of sales very quickly in order to establish itself and to make it possible to produce larger quantities. It may therefore start off by offering the product at quite a low price. When market penetration has been achieved, prices can be raised.
2. Competition based pricing
This is basically setting the price based upon prices of the similar products.
Competitive pricing is based on two types of competitive product:
- Products have lasting distinctiveness from competitor's product. Here we can assume
- The product has low price flexibility.
- The product has low cross flexibility.
- The demand of the product will rise.
- Products have little distinctiveness from competitor's product, assuming that:
- The product has high price flexibility.
- The product has some cross flexibility.
- No expectation that demand of the product will rise.
3. Skimming
This is when a business brings out a new product; it may be able to start off by charging quite a high price. Some customers may want to be the first to buy the businesses’ product because of the prestige of being seen with it, or because they want to be associated with your product before anyone else.
4. Cost based pricing
Cost-plus pricing is the simplest pricing method. The firm calculates the cost of producing the product and adds on a percentage (profit) to that price to give the selling price. This method although simple has two flaws; it takes no account of demand and there is no way of determining if potential customers will purchase the product at the calculated price.
Price = Cost of Production + Margin of Profit.
5. Market Orientated Pricing
This is when the price is charged upon an analysis of the market and its characteristics.
6. Loss leader
Loss Leader is when a product is sold at a loss to attract customers to buy other full priced products sold by the business.
7. Price discrimination
This strategy is setting a different price for the same product in different segments to the market. For example, this can be for different ages or for different opening times, such as cinema tickets.
8. Premium pricing
Premium pricing is the practice of keeping the price of a product or service falsely high in order to encourage favourable perceptions among buyers, based solely on the price. The practice is intended to take advantage of the trend for buyers to assume that expensive items enjoy an exceptional reputation or represent exceptional quality and distinction.
9. Psychological pricing
Pricing designed to have a positive psychological impact. For example, selling a product at £4.95 rather than £5.
For, ScreenScene to maintain a strong image in the competitive market, they will need to have a degree of flexibility in the pricing strategy. ScreenScene will need to use Market Orientated Pricing and Penetration Pricing along with Psychological pricing in order to enjoy a real price advantage. In my opinion, for all food products, ScreenScene should create and continue to have a stable price which will be help by using the pricing techniques chosen above.
Place
For a product to sell, it must be in the right place at the right time for customers to buy. Place is not just about distribution, it's about convenience too. If the product is not available where and when people need it, you could end up with a warehouse full of unsold stock.
For ScreenScene to be successful in marketing a new healthy food scheme, they will need to develop a channel of distribution. This will ensure the availability of healthy food product to buy wherever and whenever the consumer wishes to purchase it. Furthermore, ScreenScene should also be aware of Point of sale merchandising. This is when consumers make instant snap decisions from a wide range of food products on view. ScreenScene will need to have eye catching and instantly recognisable packaging to tempt customers. In my opinion, ScreenScene Cinemas will need to distribute their food products right next to the ticket stands. This will tempt the consumer and it will be very well-situated.
Promotion
Now that the other three P’s are in place, I can go on to advice ScreenScene plc about their promotional tactics. Promotion is absolutely crucial to making ScreenScene a success.
ScreenScene will need to communicate with their customers. Promotion is about:
- Making customers aware that the product if for sale;
- Telling or explaining to them what the product is;
- Making customers aware of how the product will serve their needs;
- Persuading them to buy it for the first time or to buy it again.
Promotion is the most direct form of communication in the marketing mix. There are a number of techniques of promotion: advertising, direct mailing, personal selling, public relations, sales promotion and branding. If ScreenScene get these right and then think about how to get their message across using the best media to reach the target market, then ScreenScene’s objective to market a new healthy eating option will be a success.
The main aims of promotion for ScreenScene is to persuade, inform and make people more aware of their new healthy eating option, as well as improving sales figures. Advertising will be the most widely used form of promotion for ScreenScene and can be done through the media of TV, radio, journals, cinema or outdoors (billboards, posters). However, for ScreenScene it will not be sensible to advertise on TV or radio, this is simply because it is very expensive for just a new healthy eating option. Therefore, ScreenScene will need to make use of sales promotion. These are designed to encourage new and . Loyalty cards, free gifts, competitions and voucher schemes are the most popular for these types of marketing schemes.
ScreenScene should also concentrate on the packing of their food products. Packaging is important for many products. It needs to be instantly recognisable so that consumers do not buy another brand by mistake or worse still, not recognise the product on the shelves. The colour of the packaging and its design needs to reflect the image of the product. It also needs to give any information required by law. In addition, ScreenScene could have an on-pack promotion featuring any famous TV shows, e.g. ‘The Simpsons’, with the chance to win £5,000 cash.
ScreenScene could also display posters where the powerful colours of the food packaging and product are used to dramatise the message. A nice slogan or strapline will also be very helpful.
Research (A03)
Marketing research is basically finding out about ScreenScene’s product and its market place. It is an important part of recognizing and anticipating customer’s needs. Once the product has been bought, marketing research can be used to see if the customer was satisfied.
ScreenScene plc may need to carry out marketing research to:
- Find data and information that help ScreenScene to understand what customers want now or in the future.
- Find out whether current food products are satisfying customers.
- Test new food products by asking potential customers to try out the product.
- Assess the results of its promotional strategy – e.g. test the effectiveness of an advertising campaign like analysed earlier.
- Understand the activities and strategies of competitors.
There are two main kinds of marketing research. These are primary research and secondary research which I will go into more detail later on.
Furthermore, below is Research Plan I have designed that includes a variety of sources for my research:
As I said earlier, there are two main kinds of marketing research. On the one hand, there is Field Research, otherwise known as Primary Research. Field Research involves the collection of new information, for example market surveys, telephone questionnaires and focus group research in direct contact with customers. There are many ways ScreenScene can carry out a field research but here are just some of the main methods which could be used:
Face-to-face interviews – interviewers ask people on the street or on their doorstep a series of questions.
Telephone interviews - similar questions to face-to-face interviews, although often shorter.
Online surveys – using email or the Internet. This is an increasingly popular way of obtaining primary data and much less costly than face-to-face or telephone interviews.
Questionnaires – sent in the post (for example a customer feedback form sent to people who have recently bought a product or service).
Focus groups and consumer panels – a small group of people meet together with a “facilitator” who asks the panel to examine a product and then asked in depth questions. This method is often used when a business is planning to introduce a new product or brand name.
What’s more, below I have designed a table with will explain the main advantages and disadvantages of Field Research/Primary Research in relation to ScreenScene plc:
Advantages and disadvantages of Field Research:
Whereas on the on the other hand, there is Desk Research otherwise known as Secondary Research. Desk Research involves accessing data that is already available, for example economic trends and specific industry sector reports. Here are just a few of the sources of information ScreenScene may want to look at:
Likewise, just like Field Research, Desk Research too has its advantages and disadvantages. Below is a brief table I have designed which will explain the main advantages and disadvantages of Desk Research/Secondary Research in relation to ScreenScene plc:
Advantages and Disadvantages of Desk Research:
What’s more, ScreenScene will also need to consider sampling methods. Here is a table which summarizes the most popular ways of sampling:
Primary Research/ Field Research (Questionnaire)
As part of my primary research or field research, I have designed a questionnaire. Questionnaires are one the main tools in the use of field research. This questionnaire will contain a series of questions which gather primary marketing research data for ScreenScene plc. For the questionnaire, I will use Judgement sampling combined with simple Random Sampling. I will be asking a mixture of 30 people, although there will be an equal amount males and females to make the questionnaire fair and accurate (15 males and 15 females). The questionnaire will be taken face-to-face. The Questionnaire will be a multiple choice survey where a number of options are available to the answer. (Questionnaire is attached to the back of the coursework)
Since I have completed the questionnaire, here is the data once again but only this time every question is collated and analysed:
Question 1- Which gender are you?
Male – 15
Female- 15
As you can see here, I have used a sample size of 30 with an equal proportion of males and females. This was done with intent to make this questionnaire fair and somewhat accurate.
Question 2- Which age category do you fall into?
10-20- 16
21-30- 4
31-40- 4
41-50- 2
51-65- 3
66+- 1
As you can already see, from my sample I have used people with an age range from 10-66+. The reason I used this wide range was because I wanted to expand my range of research so that I can produce accurate results. Yet, just over 50 % of my sample sizes were from the age ranges of 10-20 due to me asking a majority of people in school. ScreenScene plc could therefore target an audience with age group of 10-20. However, it would be a better, more profitable idea for ScreenScene to manufacture a food product that is suitable for all ages.
Question 3- How often do you go to the cinema, on average?
Every other month - 15
Once a month - 12
Once a week - 2
Once a year - 1
This graph proves that the majority of people I interviewed often go to the cinema every other month. This means ScreenScene plc will be creating a new healthy food product that is going to be in relative demand.
Question4- What types of food do you purchase at the cinema?
Hot dogs- 3
Nachos- 13
Popcorn- 12
Drinks- 19
Chocolate - 12
Sweats- 10
Ice cream - 10
This pie chart proves that the most common food purchased whilst at the cinema is Sweets with 24%.This pie chart shows that sweets are in high demand. ScreenScene plc should therefore look to create new and healthy sweet products.
