Nowadays, competition in the market is constantly growing, and therefore, companies need to pay attention to their business strategies and marketing plans. Proper presentation of products, the evaluation of customers’ buying behavior, and reducing costs while increasing income are only some of the factors that require careful consideration. In this essay, these and other aspects shaping the overall prestige of a company will be discussed in detail.
In business, customers’ evaluation determines areas for a company’s development. The primary dimension of the assessment is monetary value, which means defining the relation between the price paid and the offer’s worth (Liébana et al., 2019). For example, a customer may decide if the quality of a product corresponds to its price. Another evaluation form is functional: it defines if an offer fulfills a customer’s needs (Liébana et al., 2019). Customer reviews are an effective way to emphasize the advantages and disadvantages of a product. Finally, psychological evaluation measures to what extent the product helps customers express themselves or feel better (Liébana et al., 2019). Such evaluation data is mostly obtained through polls and questionnaires. For companies, it is necessary to analyze this information to define their weaknesses and choose an appropriate business strategy.
It is also important to consider customers’ purchase behavior, which is described by the terms low-involvement and high-involvement purchase. According to Quix and van der Kind (2019), a low-involvement purchase is associated with daily products or spontaneous buying, and high-involvement purchase mostly refers to non-daily goods. For example, for those who are used to running a household, buying groceries is a low-involvement purchase. In contrast, for people who do not enjoy shopping, buying clothes is often accompanied by high-involvement behavior (Quix & van der Kind, 2019). However, these types of behavior are not only defined by regular or not regular buying and mostly depend on how much information is needed to make a decision.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a program that also plays an important role in a company’s success. According to Kapooria (2017), CRM is a technology that “seeks to understand company’s customers from the perspective of who they are, what they do and what they are like” (10). The basis of the program is the proper analysis of data, and therefore, different types of information are used. The data can serve to identify the target audience, organize everyday business, share information between multiple departments, and analyze customers’ behavior (Kapooria, 2017). Specific examples of such information include business reports, customers’ portfolios, and their evaluations.
Product and place are essential parts of a marketing plan and are highly important for the company’s overall success. Paley (2017) mentions that it is important to design the product in an attractive and recognizable way. Measuring the product life cycle and evaluating the level of competition would also allow defining an appropriate business strategy. Besides, it is necessary to choose between single-product and multiple-product strategies for the company’s benefit (Paley, 2017). As for the place, the companies need to provide the necessary physical and virtual access to their products and analyze possible distribution channels (French & Gordon 2019). The factors mentioned above can make the products of a company more attractive and accessible.
Finally, many business researchers state that it is important to decrease the company’s costs. Hansen and Mowen (2017) mention that careful evaluation of the relationships between sales, expenses, and investment allows saving resources. They suggest investment reduction as a way to control costs; other ways include developing equipment, closing inefficient facilities, etc. (Hansen & Mowen, 2017). It is also necessary to understand that abrupt short-term changes can influence profits in a negative way.
In conclusion, choosing an appropriate business strategy can be challenging for every company. Customer satisfaction and target audience analysis, the use of CRM system, the right choice of a product produced, and providing consumers with access to this product are equally important for the company’s success. Therefore, comprehensive analysis is needed for a company to reduce unnecessary costs and become significant in the chosen market segment.
References
French, J., & Gordon R. (2019). Strategic social marketing: For behaviour and social change. Sage.
Hansen, D.R., & Mowen, M.M. (2017). Cornerstones of cost management. Cengage Learning.
Kapooria, P.J. (2017) Customer relationship management: Key to customer sovereignty. Idea Publishing.
Liébana, F., Kalinic, Z., de Luna, I. R., & Rodríguez-Ardura, I. (Eds.). (2019). Impact of mobile services on business development and E-commerce. IGI Global.
Paley, N. (2017). How to develop a strategic marketing plan: A step-by-step guide. Routledge.
Quix, F., & van der Kind, R. (2019). Retail marketing. Routledge.