Executive Summary
McGraw Hill Publisher is one of the oldest publishing companies and has served many students world wide. This company has invested heavily in educational publishing and controls a significant world market share. The company has managed to capture local markets and ensure it has firm grounds on which it lays its other structures. Local marketing has been diversified to include home delivery and customised services to attract local markets. Internationally, this company has managed to acquire significant market shares courtesy of its elaborate e-marketing strategies that allow customers to purchase goods online. Both local and international marketing concepts target consumer satisfaction through the provision of quality and timely services.
In addition, this company is highly segmented to make use of the available demands for various services. Even though, most of its operations revolve around educational publishing it has also diversified its activities to include managerial and broadcasting services. The company faces stiff competition from Pearson and Amazon companies that continue developing and implementing complex strategies to continue dominating local and international markets.
This company is investing heavily in ensuring its products and services reflect and meet the demands associated with modern technology by recently incorporating the use of internet marketing and customer care solutions. Consequently, it has managed to grab a significant market share that has boosted its performance. Moreover, inventions and innovations (Smartlearner and Create) have enabled this company to soar above most of its competitors. This company strives to uphold professionalism in offering quality and low priced services and products to its customers.
Introduction
This report is an analysis of the role of marketing concepts, and implications at local and international levels that ensure the company succeeds in promoting its products and services. In addition, the report gives a detailed evaluation of the implications of segmentation, targeting and positioning on the company as well as the role of customer acquisition and retention on the organisation’s performance. There is an evaluation of the impacts of innovations, future trends, social, economic, political and legal environments at international levels for this company.
McGraw’s Marketing Analysis
Nature and Role of Marketing
Marketing is an indispensable business aspect since it determines the future of all investments. An effective marketing strategy ensures the available opportunities are used to the advantage of the business. There may be demand for a product or service but without effective marketing strategies a producer may not enjoy the benefits of high demand. McGraw Hill Publishing is a well known company having been in existence for more than 100 years (Jacqueline 2011). This company has managed to develop marketing strategies that target the local and international markets.
McGraw-Hill penetrated the Canadian market in 1919 by first purchasing the Embassy Book Company of Toronto and made its franchise distributor for the McGraw-Hill title in Canada. In December 1990, McGraw-Hill Book Company bought Ryerson Press and the two names were combined in 1971 to become McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
Local market refers to all customers located in the United Kingdom while international market refers to clients located in other countries. This case will base most of its discussion on two international clients that include the United States of America and Canada. The local market is well enfranchised to make use of the available market for McGraw’s products (Mikini 2012). There are thousands of learning institutions and other companies that require reading materials in the United Kingdom and this company has tapped most of these clients. Having been established many years ago and with a rich performance history the company has managed to convince most locals to buy their products (Simons 2010). Local marketing ensures this company establishes its roots and base at its location. In addition, this gives the company a competitive advantage over other companies located in other areas. Most of its local publications are in English language even though there are other publications depending on individual’s preferences.
Internationally, this company has managed to expand its market through signing contracts with related companies. Recently, this company has signed several contracts with Learn360 to expand its interactive media services that have targeted the K-12 learning market (Naminse 2011). This programme will offer various opportunities to people world wide. It provides easy navigation through the McGraw site to other multimedia education resources materials. In addition, this company has collaborated with the Texas’ based M & A Technology to produce the McGraw Companion Touch that will offer students and teachers various digital and print options to facilitate learning. This company has also established the McGraw-Hill Education Group to offer efficient learning, reference, assessment and evaluation services to more than thirty three countries. This company has about sixty five language translations of services offered under this category.
Moreover, this company has launched several programmes that will facilitate easy access and navigation to various sections that offer different services to its clients. The launch of the ConnectED has been welcome by thousands of McGraw clients due to its ability to offer educators easy and quick access to millions of learning materials. It should be noted that recently this company has adopted a technology based approach to offer its services to local and international consumers.
Digital communication has simplified McGraw’s local and international marketing making it to offer services and products to almost all corners of the globe. Ordering, purchasing and payments have been facilitated by these innovations and consumers can track their product’s movements through the online portals provides.
Marketing Concepts and Approaches
The discussion above illustrates the power of effective marketing and approaches that win consumer’s confidence and trust. Marketing strategies vary depending on products, services audience, time, price and consumer preferences; therefore, a marketing strategy may be effective for one product and ineffective for another (Johnson 2008). Local and international markets have many similarities and thus it is not a mistake to embrace similar strategies.
First, this company has shifted its focus from its point of view to that of its clients. It has put on the client’s shoes and known the needs of modern day learners and educators. This has enabled the company to produce products and offer services that are tailor-made for their clients. This makes people to get exactly what they ordered and not what looks like what they ordered. McGraw Company has identified its clients in terms of their educational needs and how urgent they want their products. Traditionally, most people wasted their time looking for bookstores to purchase reading materials. In addition, when a bookstore is located it is not easy to identify the book required or the author for the reading materials.
However, this company has managed to keep a data base for all reading materials making them available at any time from any location around the globe. The company has managed to collect all genres of studies and stores them as soft or hard copies (Adams 2011). The introduction of e-readers has made it possible to offer reading materials in audio and visual forms which can later be converted to hard copies. Therefore, this company focused its attention to consumers’ shopping challenges and addressed these problems effectively.
Secondly, marketing is not an independent activity since it must be connected to other production and sales processes. Therefore, there is the need for coordination amongst various departments to ensure marketing is as successful as it is planned. Most companies focus a lot of attention on marketing and forget that other activities are useful in ensuring successful marketing takes place (Portny 2010). However, this company has managed to integrate various productions, distribution and advertisement processes with marketing to ensure there is coordination and smooth work flow (Fried 2010). The recent launching of the McGraw-Hill Centre for Digital Innovation is a significant move that will enable this company to offer a world class educational facility to all regions. As a result, this company will handle all the challenges associated with learning and technology and thus have a head start in competing with Amazon and Pearson. This shows how coordination is an important concept in developing marketing strategies.
Thirdly, all business ventures aim at making profits at all costs since this is their sole purpose. Therefore, no matter the volume of sales made or the clients served a company must make profits to know where it stands (Lillian 2011). Most companies invest a lot in production, advertisements and distribution and forget to make an analysis of whether they are making profits or not. Some companies prepare financial statements and realise they are neither making profits nor losses. Even though, this company does not release its financial reports to the public there are enough illustrations to prove that it is making profits.
Implications on International Organisations
Segmentation
Segmentation refers to the division of production activities to ensure a company does not only focus on one line of production but diversifies its expertise to maximise the local demand. This company has diversified its production lines and included other non- academic services. However, company segmentation should ensure the new businesses introduced have a link with existing traditions.
On the international level and local level, McGraw-Hill has targeted Prek to Grade 12, students, instructors and professionals who wish to acquire more knowledge and also to develop their skills.
Initially, this company had focused on academic publishing but with time it has embraced other businesses like broadcasting, financial services, and media and information. Publishing is slowly becoming a forgotten activity as the company continues to engage actively in business oriented productions. Recently, this company has invested heavily in broadcasting and business management that seem to be more profitable than educational publishing.
This company is segmented into three parts namely education, media and financial services. The education segment includes McGraw-Hill Higher Education, CTB/McGraw-Hill and McGraw-Hill School Education McGraw-Hill Professional. This section specialises in publishing books, journals, articles and other academic publications (Gilbert 2007). However, there has been a twist in technology that has challenged this company to adopt modern technology in its activities. Even though, this technology has not been fully adopted it is evident that with time it ids going to wipe out analogue activities.
The second segment involves information and media services that are widely used in many organisations. The segment has other departments that include McGraw-hill construction, J. D. Power and Associates, Platts and Aviation Week Group (United States 2009).
The third segment is the Financial Service that offers consultancy, researching, auditing and rating to various organisations. This company established the Standard & Poor’s division to offer the above services without interference from other sections. It is necessary to note that these segments operate as individual entities even though they are centrally controlled (Zacky 2011). This segment has offered financial advice to many companies regarding market trends and world economy that are key aspects in business planning. A good example of this group of companies is S&P 500 that has been tracked for several years.
Targeting
This company has encountered several challenges before arriving at its present state. It is not easy to find a company investing and offering a similar product or service for this long. Many companies start with a product and end evolving into another producer. This illustrates how McGraw-Hill Publishing has maintained its market and service delivery. It has targeted learning institutions since this sector will never run out of learning content (Kelvin 2009). This company takes advantage of the many loopholes in learning and has developed mechanisms to grab this market. Today, this company serves more than seven million clients every year and plans to increase this number to nine million by 2015.
Moreover, with the establishment of media and business consultancy services the company has also targeted medium and small scale businesses. Moreover, the media and broadcasting section will target business communication aspects like investments and planning (Velinas 2010). Therefore, the above two segments have multiplied this company’s target audience and continues to think of other options.
Positioning
This aspect involves the preparations a company takes to achieve a competitive advantage in the local and international market. This company has developed strategies that will ensure it keeps its clients and also attract other new market. First, the segments above safeguard the company against any unforeseen events in publishing. Most clients are taking to digital reading materials which are readily available and abandoning hard copies (Lydia 2007). However, this company has invested in broadcasting and financial services that are viable investments. There is no doubt that this company will not suffer any financial breakdown should there be a change in market trends due to introduction and use of modern technology.
Implications on Organisations’ Performance
When a company acquires new market it must expand its production to ensure there are enough services or products for the whole market. However, sometimes the rate of stock turn over may be low and this may force a company to seek new markets to avoid having dead stock (Cannon 2006). McGraw-Hill Company has widened its market through the internet and this means it has to increase its productivity. However, the company must ensure this does not compromise the quality of its services.
At the same time, the customer must continue focusing on current customers to ensure they are not forgotten. It is evident that getting ten customers is easier than keeping one. This company has developed customer relations to ensure all clients are kept close to the company’s products by sending them frequent offers and newsletters informing them about the company’s progress.
Planned and unplanned innovations have various implications on an organisation’s performance. This company has been lucky to have planned innovations that have not disadvantaged its operations (Surena 2010). The introduction and use of digital technology is an example of innovations that impact negatively on companies’ performance (Horne 2009). This company has managed to handle this shift without affecting its performance. However, the two inevitable challenges facing the introduction of new technology are increased expenses and delays caused by changes in operating systems. This company has developed future marketing strategies that accommodate changes in technology. In addition, these innovations widen the company’s objectives by ensuring that does not only offer cheap products but also quality services to its consumers. All international organizations must develop marketing strategies that take into account their operation’s future aspects. Therefore, these companies must strategies to handle their future plans and accommodate any eventualities (Atkinson 2012). McGraw-Hill Publishing has developed departments that conduct research to establish the future market trends as directed by consumer preferences.
International Environment
International operations are largely influenced by political environment that dictate trade activities amongst nations. Multi-national companies suffer serious losses due to political instability in undemocratic states (O’Connor 2000). In addition, these instabilities lead to economic stagnation as investors withdraw their investments from nations prone to conflicts. Moreover, some nations have uneconomical taxation policies that limit foreign investors and discourage local traders from participating in international trade. Lastly, some political leaders and investment stakeholders demand bribes before offering tenders to them.
Conclusion
McGraw-hill publishing is set to develop and expand its operations beyond its local boundaries. This company has embraced new technology and developed marketing strategies that will see it’s expand its operations. However, it must continue investing in research and market strategies to ensure it outshines its competitors.
Recommendations
This company is set to gain more international recognition due to its huge investments in research and marketing. However, it should adopt the following measures to win its customers’ trust and confidence.
First, it should focus much of its attention in producing quality goods and services that will retain its current customers. Secondly, this company has to continue investing in research since the world is adopting new technology everyday. Thirdly, shareholders must establish physical offices in countries not targeted by online marketing. Most African countries are usually left behind in term of technology; therefore, physical presence will widen this company’s international market.
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