Marketing Strategies
In the current market it would seem that everything is converging on a customer focused organisational structure. Relationship marketing in relation to other marketing trends needs to be the focus. Payne and Frow (2013) noted that:
A key issue in the marketing programme is the recognition that the elements of the marketing mix are largely controllable by managers within the organisation, and that the market forces in the external environment are, to a large extent, uncontrollable.
This would suggest that firms need to concentrate on what they can do as a business internally to build relationships with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Payne and Frow (2013) also note how it was proposed by Philip Kotler that this need not mean that the traditional marketing approach needs to be replaced, “but is instead ‘repositioned’ as the toolbox for understanding and responding to all the significant players in a company’s environment” and that “if companies are to compete successfully in domestic and global markets, they must engineer stronger bonds with their stakeholders”. In order to do this the firm needs to make it’s value to the customer clear. Coffee shops such as Starbucks and Costa Coffee position themselves a high end expensive brands so need to make it apparent the value they can offer to the customer. One strategy these firms could go with would be to make their stores as inclusive as possible and therefore helping build more relationships. Recent years have seen a “significant growth in the number of consumers with food allergies and Intolerances…and as a result there is a greater awareness for these health issues within the food services industry” (Keynote 2014). In order to also help with their corporate social responsibility these stores should be able to cater for people who only eat halal or can’t eat wheat or nuts for example. Costa Coffee is already making some headway in this direction by offering soya milk and a gluten free brownie, but the range still isn't that high (Costa Coffee 2014c). Likewise Starbucks offers a small, but limited range of specialist items such as these. Other suggestions for strategies the firms could consider is a culture change in which all departments become more customer value orientated, this would involve widespread training and sometimes radical overhauls of peoples thinking, but only if all parts of the company are on board can relationship marketing really be utilised to its full potential. Within the coffee shop industry senior managers may benefit from spending time in stores to really appreciate their customers and what they want. Also talking to staff as they’re the ones who will be picking up on what works and what does not. Although a lot has changed in the field of marketing in recent years, maintaing a focus on your customer is most likely to achieve success for the modern business. “Closer relationships in organisational markets are inevitable as changing technology, shorter product life cycles and increased foreign competition places marketing and purchasing departments in key strategic roles” (Jobber 2010).
A key issue in the marketing programme is the recognition that the elements of the marketing mix are largely controllable by managers within the organisation, and that the market forces in the external environment are, to a large extent, uncontrollable.
This would suggest that firms need to concentrate on what they can do as a business internally to build relationships with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Payne and Frow (2013) also note how it was proposed by Philip Kotler that this need not mean that the traditional marketing approach needs to be replaced, “but is instead ‘repositioned’ as the toolbox for understanding and responding to all the significant players in a company’s environment” and that “if companies are to compete successfully in domestic and global markets, they must engineer stronger bonds with their stakeholders”. In order to do this the firm needs to make it’s value to the customer clear. Coffee shops such as Starbucks and Costa Coffee position themselves a high end expensive brands so need to make it apparent the value they can offer to the customer. One strategy these firms could go with would be to make their stores as inclusive as possible and therefore helping build more relationships. Recent years have seen a “significant growth in the number of consumers with food allergies and Intolerances…and as a result there is a greater awareness for these health issues within the food services industry” (Keynote 2014). In order to also help with their corporate social responsibility these stores should be able to cater for people who only eat halal or can’t eat wheat or nuts for example. Costa Coffee is already making some headway in this direction by offering soya milk and a gluten free brownie, but the range still isn't that high (Costa Coffee 2014c). Likewise Starbucks offers a small, but limited range of specialist items such as these. Other suggestions for strategies the firms could consider is a culture change in which all departments become more customer value orientated, this would involve widespread training and sometimes radical overhauls of peoples thinking, but only if all parts of the company are on board can relationship marketing really be utilised to its full potential. Within the coffee shop industry senior managers may benefit from spending time in stores to really appreciate their customers and what they want. Also talking to staff as they’re the ones who will be picking up on what works and what does not. Although a lot has changed in the field of marketing in recent years, maintaing a focus on your customer is most likely to achieve success for the modern business. “Closer relationships in organisational markets are inevitable as changing technology, shorter product life cycles and increased foreign competition places marketing and purchasing departments in key strategic roles” (Jobber 2010).