Executive summary
An executive summary refers to a description or an abstract that gives a summary of a relatively longer paper. The standard measure of an executive summary is at least 10% of the original paper. As its name suggests, an executive summary is meant for executive people, who may not have enough time to read the whole document. They make recommendations and offer a general overview of the document, giving special attention to the key points.
Table of Contents
This is a list of a book or any other numbered document whose numbering appears in the form in which the document is organized. The contents are the parts of the book or document named distinctively. How shallow or detailed a table of contents entirely depends on the length and outline of the concerned book or document.
Industry background
Foods and beverages industry is a long term industry that has seen that quality products are offered to consumers. It cuts across the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks producing companies such as EABL and Cocacola.
Company background
Coca-Cola company is an international company that produces and distributes various drinks across the globe. It is a company that has a notable web presence and has gained confidence in the market because of its quality services and products. It is a long term company that has been in existence for long now.
Product overview
The main focus of this report is the Dasani water produced by the Coca-Cola company. This is a product that, unlike the other products from this company, has faced so much competition but still has managed to maintain its market economy status. This is because the product gained confidence in the Market.
Strategic marketing
It is a step in the marketing process that involves identification of some competitive advantages that a company has over others, and which can be sustained without costing the company so much. Resources are then allocated to such strategies in a bid to exploit them. These can be within the company’s current market segments or may also go across borders to cover the potential markets that have not been exploited.
Strategic marketing requires a company to have a structured approach and interoperability across services to ensure the set and defined objects are achieved.
Macro environmental forces
These are the external forces that cause some influence on the decision making processes of an organization and have some effects on the overall performance. These are factors that are uncontrollable by the company and they include economic factors of the market, demographic factors, like population and education level of the consumers, political and cultural issues.
Macro environmental forces also influence on the planning processes of a company but still remain uncontrollable. Therefore, the company is compelled to align its planning strategies to suit these forces. The company is influenced by such forces, but there are no possibilities of the company to influence its macro environment (Hamermesh & Pfann, 1996).
Micro environmental forces
These are the internal forces that affect the operations and performance of a company. These have a direct impact on the company. Before making key decisions, it is of the great importance for a company to make an analysis of its micro environment to check on the forces that can be changed to suit the set goals and objectives. As opposed to the macro environment forces, these forces can be influenced by the company and are controllable (Hitt et. al, 2011).
SWOT analysis
This is a technique in strategy planning used as a measure of the company’s internal and external factors that may impact on its performance and sustainability. The strengths can be considered as internal factor. However, the opportunities and weaknesses are seen by the company as external impacts. This technique demands for an objective or plan to be laid down in distinguishing the favorable and unfavorable factors for growth and competitiveness (SWOT analysis: a tool for making better business decisions, 2008).
Market segmentation
This refers to the act of dividing a company’s market into smaller independent portions that share needs and wants. However, these segments may at times be created on the basis of diversity on the goods and services delivered to them. The main objective of segmentation is to separate customers with similar interests and put them together so that they can be served as a group for efficiency and effectiveness. The characteristics of a market segment is its homogeneous nature regarding their common needs and wants, distinctiveness and uniqueness from other groups and similar reactions and response to the market (Ilmakunnas &Maliranta, 2005).
Target markets
These are groups of customers that the company aims at and channels most of its efforts to gain their confidence and loyalty. It is the initial element of any marketing strategy together with the marketing mix. This is important in ensuring that a commodity is acceptable in the market (Bishop, 1990).
Targeting strategy
It is a marketing strategy that uses advertisements to maximize the profit generation and consumer based projects. There are so many targeting strategies but the most important fact is that they focus on achieving similar objectives. It focuses more on gaining consumers that are all interested in the products, than having a crowd that is less interested with the products.
The customers chosen here are those that the business is most interested in selected on the basis of maturity, diversity and competitiveness (Foster &Haltiwanger , 2001).
Positioning strategy
Positioning strategy is a marketing strategy whose main aim is to influence on the position of a brand in the market economy under the impact of the competitor’s brands. This is made possible by focusing on the distinguishing factors of the products or through advertisements. The positioning strategy is influenced by the customers and the competitors.
Recommendations
These are suggestions made by an authority in a particular field or area on what needs to be done. They are based on characteristics that make a product gain favor ahead of the competing products (Blakemore & Hoffiman, 1989).
References
Bishop, J H 1990. ‘Job performance, turnover and wage growth’. Journal of Labour Economics, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 363-396.
Blakemore, A. E and Hoffiman D. L 1989. Seniority Rules and Productivity: An Empirical Test. Economia, vol. 56, no. 223, pp. 359 – 371.
Dalton D. R., Todoro, W. D and Krackhardt, D. M 1982. Turnover Overstated: The Functional Taxonomy. Academy of Management Review, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 117 – 123.
Daveri F. 2004. Delayed IT Usage: Is It Really the Drag on Europe’s Productivity. CESifo Economic Studies, vol. 50, no.3, pp. 397 – 421.
Foster, L Haltiwanger J and C. J 2001. Aggregate Prductivity Growth: Lessons from Microeconomics Evidence. In C. R Hulten Dean and M. J Harper (Eds), New Development Analysis, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Hamermesh D. S and Pfann, G. A (1996). Turnover and the Dynamics of Labour Demand. Economica, vol. 63, no. 25), pp. 359 – 367.
Hellerstein J. K and Neumark, D and Troske K. R 1999. Wages, Productivity, and Worker Characteristics: Evidence from Plant-Level Production Functions and Wage Equations. Journal of Labour Economics, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 409 – 446.
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. 2011. Strategic management: competitiveness & globalization. (9th ed.), South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason.
Ilmakunnas, P and Maliranta, M 2005. Technology, Labour Characteristics and Wage Productivity Gaps. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, vol. 67, no. 5, pp. 623 – 644.
SWOT analysis: a tool for making better business decisions.. 2008. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Risk Management Agency, Washington.