Marketing Strategy for East Coast Trawl

Questions: 1. How should East Coast Trawl be positioned given its strong competitive environment? 2. What competitive advantages can be identified for East Coast Trawl? 3. Outline a suitable marketing strategy to implement the positioning? Answers: Introduction Supply chain design that a company or organization employs is very important in determining how competitive an organization is. Supply chain management is therefore used determining the success of an organization in the market (Shah, 2009). Supply chain management refers to an integrative method of managing the supply and distribution of a companys products in the market. Supply chain management helps the company to costs in the organization as well as helping the company to reach its final consumers. The supply chain design that a company adopts helps it to have a competitive advantage over its rivals. Competitive advantage is defined as the business secret or aspect that is unique in each and every organization which enables it to compete effectively in the market (Pride ferrell, 2010). Given the level of competition in the food industry and precisely the fishing business, it is very important for East Coast Trawl Fisheries to adopt a suitable supply chain design that will help it to compete effectively. 1. Market Positioning Given the characteristics of the company East Coast Trawl, the Michael Porters generic strategies can be applied in positioning the company in the market. Product or market positioning is defined as hoe a customer identifies with that particular brand or product (Tybout Calder, 2010). This simply means what comes to mind of a consumer when he/she hears or sees the product. Positioning is very important in helping the company segment its market. Through market segmentation, the company will be able to target consumers who fit its profile. The makes the marketing of a companies` products much easier and less costly (Quayle, 2006). The competition from imports which are majorly from Asia makes it very necessary for the management of the company to position itself as a cost leader in the market. This is because most of the imports from Asia are cheap due to the fact that their costs of production are low. For this reason, East Coast Trawl Fisheries have to adopt a strategy that will ena ble them to absorb this competition from foreign imports so that it can remain relevant in the market. The company should therefore market and advertise itself as offering the best quality products at the lowest price in the market. 2. Competitive Advantage The competitive advantage possessed by East Coast Trawl Fisheries is its large size compared to its competitors. The company is large in size and this means that it produces the fish in large number. The company can use its size to take advantage of the economies of scale that they experience due to the large scale of production. ECTF should position itself as a cost leader in the market. The cost leadership strategy involved helps a firm in attaining market share or market leadership through appealing to consumers who are sensitive to price of products. This strategy works best where the target population of the company is mainly composed of low income earners (Lamb, Hair Mcdaniel, 2012). This means that their demand or levels of consumption will be greatly influenced by how cheap or expensive the product is. The strategy involves offering the lowest prices in the market while at the same time making profits and achieving high returns on investments (Baines, Fill Page, 2010). This can only be achieved if the company is able to produce at very low cost. This strategy will work perfectly well for East Coast Trawl Fisheries because they incur a large proportion of fixed costs. If the company produces in large scale therefore, the costs will be shared among many units and this will result to a decrease in per unit cost of production and therefore the company will be able to offer its products at a lower price. 3. The cost leadership strategy The cost leadership strategy will help East Coast Trawl Fisheries increase its market share hence solidifying its market leadership position. The disadvantage of this strategy to the company is that the company will not enjoy customer loyalty since customers who are sensitive to price may change their preference once their levels of income increase (Marich, 2013). East Coast Trawl Fisheries can also combine cost leadership marketing strategy with differentiation strategy. This will be made possible by the competitive advantage of the company being able to produce different species of fish which its competitors lack. The company can therefore take advantage of this and differentiate its products. The company can package different varieties differently and sell at different prices. This strategy is however suitable to a market segment that is not sensitive to price (Brenkert, 2008).Since the company operates over a large geographical area, this strategy can work well for (ECTF). The company should segment its market and target areas where peoples levels of income are high. The company should therefore market its products in this segment as being of very high quality and tailor made to cater for the specific needs of consumers. Since the company practices wild catch and farmed aquaculture, differentiation will be very effective to this market. Supply Chain Mapping Supply chain mapping is a process involving tracking the movement of all materials, processes and shipment involved in delivering a product to the market. It involves in accounting for physical flow of goods and the information flow (Kersten, 2011). Use of online supply chain will improve the marketing and delivery of goods by (ECTF). Recommendations (ECTF) should adopt a multi-dimensional marketing strategy in order to cope with rising competition levels. The company should put in place a team to manage marketing and promotional activities of the company in order to make it more competitive. Supply chain mapping should be adopted by the company to help to account for the flow of its products. Information from this process can be used to improve marketing of (ECTF) Conclusion The way a company positions itself or its products is important in determining the success of that organization in the market. This is because the positioning of the product in the market will determine the marketing strategy that the company will adopt. In the face of the increasing competition in many sectors of the economy, marketing is very important to each and every company in order to gain and maintain its market share. Supply chain design is another core competence that a company can use to gain competitive advantage over its rivals. This is achieved through reduction of costs incurred by the company in delivering the product to the final consumer. This will mean that its prices will be low hence its products are more competitive in the market. References: Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., McdanieL, C. D. (2012). Essentials of marketing. Mason, ohio, south-western cengage learning. Marich, R. (2013). Marketing to moviegoers: a handbook of strategies and tactics. Carbondale, southern illinois university press. Pride, W. M., Ferrell, O. C. (2010). Marketing. Australia, south western cengage learning. Tybout, A. M., Calder, B. J. (2010). Kellogg on marketing. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley. Http://www.123library.org/book_details/?id=8488. Brenkert, G. G. (2008). Marketing ethics. Malden, ma [u.a.], Blackwell. Baines, P., Fill, C., Page, K. (2010). Marketing. Oxford, oxford university press. Quayle, M. (2006). Purchasing and supply chain management: strategies and realities. Hershey, PA, Idea Group Publ. Kersten, W. (2011). International supply chain management and collaboration practices. Lohmar [u.a.], Eul. Shah, J. (2009). Supply chain management: text and cases. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Pearson Education.