Executive Summary
Shomai Cards is a greetings card company that also deals in minor gift items and operates from Japan. It is currently planning to reach foreign markets including the UK, the US, and South Africa. However, the focus of this study would concentrate on the domestic markets only. This company is emerging as a significant company in the greetings card business. Nevertheless, the objective of this study is to see the possible effect of the marketing process of consumer behavior, decision-making, and consumption to marketing system related to a reduction of costly errors and enhancing profit in a population of company.
The study would in fact be balanced in its validity and reliability by results in strategy. The objective would be to discover whether prior knowledge of management of market segmentation would be beneficial or detrimental toward the company and their understanding of the use of strategies as marketing tools. Data would be gained from a specific area for ease of accessibility and targeted accuracy lending reliability and validity to the research process.
Introduction
The choice to use potential and existing customers and consumer behavior alone in this study were made for three reasons. First, it was far simpler to have access to customers about the researcher’s availability. Second, the focus itself is on customers’ attitudes and understanding of the gadget. Third, the quantification of such information allows the researcher to gain a broader perspective on how customers observe and realize the validity and reliability of the information received from a variety of sources and how they apply it to daily life in terms of interdepartmental communication.
Definitions
However, it is important to deal with some key components of the study and define them accordingly.
Consumer behavior: This is the fundamental trend that the consumers follow in accordance with the market-induced economy. The main approach of a successful company is to identify this trend relating to consumers and the market and provide the consumers with the needed preferences.
Consumer segmentation: Consumer segmentation is the division of the consumer population with respect to a certain product or service. Logically, the entire population of consumers would differ in the context of preference and priorities. Thus, a company needs to identify the section of the consumer that could be turned into its potential buyer of service or goods. The division of consumers in accordance with this preference is termed Consumer segmentation.
Decision-making: Decision-making is the most important element of management that determines the success or failure of a company. These decisions are dependent on the feedbacks and data available from the market or consumer preferences based on Consumer behaviour and Consumer segmentation.
The Case study of Shomai Cards
In the context of consumer behavior, decision-making, and consumption to marketing problems and the human elements in marketing interactions, we can have a look at the working plan of Shomai Cards. At present, there are five major players in the field of greetings cards. These are Atlas with a 28% share of the market, Hercules with 56% share of the market, and Snapadoo and Felicita with a 4 and 2 percent share of the market respectively. Shomei holds the third position in this respect with a 7 percent share. (Hymer 2007) But to sustain its position in the market Shomei, let alone work on to better the position the company must move a long way in this respect. For this fresh strategy must be implemented. (Mason 2002)
As it is obvious that in share percentage of the market Shomei falls well behind Atlas and Hercules but on the other hand Shomei is facing closer competition from the other two players of the market i.e. Snapadoo and Felicita. This is why rather than indulge itself in complete competition with Atlas and Hercules it would be much better an option to eradicate the other two competitors Snapadoo and Felicita from the market. To achieve this goal Shomei must chalk out a formula to grab the market portion of the lesser two companies. This way, once these players are eradicated, Shomei can get hold of the market segments left over by these two companies i.e. 4 and 2 percent.
In this new period, Shomei can enjoy a total market segment share of 13 percent rather than the previous 7%. Now, Shomei would be in a better position to compete with the other two big brothers of the business, Atlas, and Hercules. (Hymer 2007)
This short step involved here would be to creep into the markets of Snapadoo and Felicita. Being in a better position than these two companies Shomei would not find it too difficult to occupy the market rather than working out its resources and exhaustion them in the field of niche card marketing. As Shomai is already the most artistic, creative, elegant greeting card for customers to give a personal sentiment as a gift all it has to do is to maintain its current standard in card production in terms of quality. At the same time, the company should research the field where the lesser two companies excel. (Kindleberger 2006)
Analysis
Once this research is completed then Shomai should formulate a plan that should implement the perception utilized by the other two companies in the terms of designs and sensitivity. Along with that, the company should look into the consumer preference mode of Snapadoo and Felicita and it should be taken into account the possible reasons behind the 4 and 2 percent enjoyed by the two companies.
Once the market preferences of the customers of Snapadoo and Felicita are known then the battle is practically half won. The other half lies in the formulation and implementation of the research findings and preference analysis. (Wright 2000)
The last phase of this strategy would to market these new products with the utmost aggressive nature. Shomai being in a better position in terms of capital formation would enjoy the advantage of marketing in terms of advertisement.
Following these strategies perfectly would lead to the complete capture of the lower market with an advantageous 13 percent share. Only then, and this is the moment when Shomai should look into the future and challenge the other two bigger companies Atlas and Hercules. (Ivancevich, Konopaske & Matteson 2005)
For this and to stay along with the trend Shomai must research well on the fact of customer preference in terms of online treading of the card. As it is found by the reports of researches previously performed that men are more interested in buying online rather than shopping physically at stores in marts and malls it would be logical to design those cards displayed online to be more masculine in stature and approach than previously formulated. These cards should be gender-oriented and should be able to tickle the male perception of the world. (Dunning 2002b)
Recommendation
Keeping in mind the increases in paper prices and payroll costs it is indispensable to evaluate the changes in consumer demographics of Shomei Cards. For example, with an increase of 5 percent in paper price and with an additional 8 percent rise in payrolls it is assumed that the net price would go up by around 10 percent. As a section of the targeted customers are older women of 40-64 it could be assumed that the women of the higher age range would be lost.
In this case, it could be presupposed that women of 60-64 would be unable to buy this card with its 10 percent rise. (Zimmerman 2002) Alongside, keeping in mind the involvements of the ethnic population as potential customers it could also be assumed that the lower-income group from this stratum would be lost as well. But simultaneously, it is possible that a new group of Caucasian buyers with a comparatively higher economy range would be included within the demography of the potential customers. (Dunning 2002a)
Conclusion
In the conclusion, it is necessary to zero in on the basic point of Shomai cards. It is to be considered that to survive in the industry Shomai must take up the best possible measures about market planning and strategies. Here the strategies implemented by the company yielded fruit or are about to yield in near future. The follow-ups in respect of changing trends are of huge success whereas the market capture plan is a factor to be watched upon as it is quite a long-drawn implementation.
Bibliography:
Dunning, JH 2002a, Theories and paradigms of international business activity: The selected essays of John H. Dunning, Volume I (Vol. 1), Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, U.K. and Northampton, MA.
Dunning, JH 2002b, Global capitalism, FDI, and competitiveness; The selected essays of John H. Dunning: Volume II (Vol. 2), Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, U.K. and Northampton, MA.
Hymer, SH 2007, The international operations of national firms: A study of direct investment. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Ivancevich, JM, Konopaske, R, & Matteson, MT 2005, Organizational behavior and management (7th ed.), McGraw-Hill, New York.
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Mason, J 2002, Qualitative researching, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Wright, R 2000, The Moral Animal: why we are the way we are. Little, Brown & Co, London.
Zimmerman, S 2002, Introduction to Management Principals, National Book Trust, Auckland.