Marketing and Strategy Organizational Cultures

Question: Discuss about the Marketing and Strategy Organizational Cultures. Answer: Introduction In todays competitive world, definite marketing strategies, plans and procedures drive the growth of an organization taking into consideration multiple factors that govern the operation of the company. Marketing strategy refers to a plan of action improvised to promote or sell a product or particular service. The primary goal of marketing is to foster, generate and maintain mutually satisfying exchange relationship. Normally six fundamental processes steer the necessary changes in order to match the resources with the possible opportunities. They consist of development of scenarios, macro environmental analysis, customer analysis, industry and competitor analysis, internal analysis and ultimately development of strategic alternatives. Marketing strategy is normally derived from marketing research and put adequate emphasis upon the product mixing so as to procure the maximum benefits and profit out of the business thereby accounting for sustainability. The foundation for an effective marketing plan is provided by the marketing strategy. Generally all the marketing goals relevant to an organization are incorporated into one comprehensive plan. The framing of a strategic plan in the context of an organization is dependent upon certain pre-defined factors encompassing the mission, vision and strategic intent of the organization. Formulation of SMART objectives comprising of specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, targeted and timed variables and is perceived as other important goal pertaining to business promotion and expansion. An organizations current practices constitute the essential policies involving market penetration, market development, product development in conjunction with an additional step of diversification (Baker 2014). Product strategy simultaneously with marketing responsiveness under the impact of organic organizational structure is responsible for the firm performance in an emerging market. Different types of industry accounts for distinctiv e marketing responsiveness patterns thereby allowing provisions for a holistic outcome on matter related to the organizational functioning. Effective communication, interaction with the clients in addition to collaboration with suitable partners culminates in presenting case appropriate business strategies (Wei et al. 2014). Therefore in this respect, the business practices and strategies pursued by the reputed organization named ALDI discount supermarket chain will be discussed and critically analyzed. Core marketing theory may be utilized to evaluate the marketing related strategies. Background to the Company ALDI is a renowned supermarket operating in Germany as well as other nations of the European Union. ALDI stores are located in Australia and United States also. The name itself is suggestive of a common brand that accounts for two leading global discount supermarket chains having over 10,000 stores across 18 nations. The acronym ALDI implies Albrecht-Discount. The history of ALDI dates back to the year 1946 when Albrecht brothers Karl and Theo founded the company. A chain of multiple stores were set up by them until 1960, after which the company was split into two named ALDI Nord and ALDI Sd. Both the businesses have expanded in their own terms globally with the ALDI Sd operational in the United States with their own flagship stores. ALDI Nord is held responsible for owning the Trader Joes Chain possessing lesser stores than ALDI but having goodwill in the business industry. Today ALDI is a global name in the supermarket industry and has received several accolades for their outstandi ng achievements in the given industrial sector. The company holds distinguished business practices and policies that aim to steer more customers into the marketing framework and emphasizing upon customer loyalty to generate holistic outcomes. The company possesses their own distinctive business practices, in-store layout and advertising policies (news.com.au, 2017). The company is striving to be a socially responsible supermarket by means of adopting several strategies that cater to the necessities of the immediate environment. Currently, ALDI has cemented its position among the top ten retailers in the Australian region. The company has showcased immense responsibility towards the local community and those in need by means of focusing on three pivotal domains concerning the Health Nutrition, Children Youth and Disadvantaged People. The rapidly growing network of ALDI till date accounts for more than 7,000 stores catering to the needs of millions of people spread over three contin ents. ALDI is considered as a pioneer in terms of introducing the concept of self service as a novel retail structure. Their policies directly relate to the provision of high quality products at affordable prices and are continuing their endeavors to meet up to the expectations of the customers (corporate.aldi.com.au, 2017). Nature of ALDIs Marketing Strategy Over the years ALDI have engaged themselves onto serious client oriented policies that suffice the purpose of offering superior quality at incredibly low prices. In the Australian region, ALDI Australia is quite active in facilitating their promotional schemes and other business strategies in compliance with the maintenance of both qualities attributed to having exceptional values. Basically, the smarter ways to shop is presented by this franchise. Referring to the resources available for business it is evident that the extraction procedures for procuring the raw materials related to the production of the goods follows a sustainable pathway. The company aims to curtail the intensity of the resources of the products and ameliorate the negative environmental impacts relevant to their production. The vast expansion of ALDI in terms of providing numerous and varied products in countries across the globe, the sourcing of these products and their raw materials are carried out from the glob al market. Subsequently the people coming under the supply chain domain are taken care of by the company so as to allow ethical working condition at the sites of production facilities. The organization holds strong opinions regarding the issues of forced or child labor, workplace discrimination and vehemently oppose to these malpractices (aldi.com.au, 2017). The chief importance pertaining to the business of ALDI in Australia emphasize on the grocery retailing where commodities are available at lower prices compared to other grocers that render competitive advantages to the organization without compromising on the quality issue. Further regarding the promotional issue in Australia ALDI endeavors to stick to indigenous products thereby supporting the local Australian community comprising of the local farmers, manufacturers and producers. They make efforts to acquire the exclusive branded products from the Australian suppliers itself and resort to sourcing from overseas only when the product is lacking or unavailable in Australia. The simplified and easy working partnerships with ALDI result in efficiency and feasibility to the suppliers thereby allowing them to invest more time in their own business. The Australian manufacturers are benefited by their business policies to maintain the steady flow of money with the opportunities presented through bulk volume, timely and consistent orders. The recent calculated measures of expanding the company into South Australia and Western Australia have opened up many lucrative scopes for the local suppliers to indulge into collaborative work with them (aldi.com.au, 2017). Thus analyzing the business policies of ALDI it may be said that they operate emphasizing upon three core values of simplicity, consistency and responsibility. Thus these three pivotal concepts account for stark contrast in case of ALDI compared to other supermarket discount chains in generating supreme quality products for the valued customers through cus tomer friendly support systems and service facilities (Metzger 2014). Flexible return policies supported by manufacturers warranty for all products available at the ALDI stores coupled with goods coverage in compliance with the Australian Consumer Law further ensure the credibility of the company enhancing the trust of the consumers and contributing to customer loyalty to come back to its stores for future purchases. Hence the strategies adopted by the company over the years have contributed towards holistic expansion through careful address of the demands of its clients. Strategic Marketing Options for ALDI moving forward In all these years since its inception ALDI has earned a name for it and successfully carry forwarded its brand name in the global map. However to allow for sustainable business development, certain foresightedness and suitable marketing strategies are indispensable. The changing needs and demands of the customer need to be adequately addressed for the purpose of creating and capturing a strong customer base referring to their core values. In this regard ALDI may take initiative to partnership to allow for building customer relationships. A thorough understanding of the marketplace and the consumers is absolutely essential to carry out the business effectively through analysis of marketing behavior, management of marketing environment to acquire customer insights and understanding of consumer as well as business buyer attitude. A customer driven marketing strategy through value creation for the targeted clients is to be prepared emphasizing on products, services and brands. Launch of new products and constant innovation are other desirable changes that may fulfill the requisite criteria for success of the organization. Pricing should always be considered as a vital determinant for capturing the customer value. Advertising and public relations need to be strengthened to allow holistic outcomes by virtue of personal selling and sales promotion. Building on one-to-one relationship with the clients may be encouraged through application of the direct and digital marketing. Further extended marketing may be carried out through fulfillment of the corporate social responsibilities by means of abidance of the ethical and legal compliance (Armstrong et al. 2014). However the strategy adopted by ALDI has been found to be self limiting at certain instances as it is very much selective in expanding their business to territories that are not financially or economically viable. They look out for nations where returns for groceries are significantly higher than the global aver ages. Development of online based channels for ALDI to expand their business is a favorable option since online grocery sales are in vogue in many regions nowadays. The impressive business performance of ALDI in the Australian region may be attributed to the slow but organic growth of the family owned private company that did not have to pay attention for appeasement of the investors. Attention is to be given to all kinds of customer and belonging to different strata of the society to gain optimum benefits out of the process (economist.com, 2017). The limited assortment/low price format of the company must be reevaluated and modified so that requisite results may be procured from adopting the format without having the threats of competition from other food retailer companies who are trying to capture the market. Moreover, in an effort to catch up with the changing trends and demands of modern times, ALDI should diversify their available products to reach up to a larger audience ther eby offering scopes for expansion within a given territory. The discounts that are offered to the customers must be greater than the competitors without compromising on the quality issue (Patton 2017). Therefore to stay ahead of other in the supermarket discount chain industry, ALDI must resort to continuous efforts to upgrade their facilities from traditional services. Conclusion The market analysis relevant to a specific organization must conform to the marketing goals pertaining to the concerned organization. In the context of the ALDI organization, the reputed discount supermarket chain operating in a large scale across many countries in the world has been discussed. Reviewing to their existing marketing strategies and key emphasis being laid upon offering quality food products at affordable prices supported by effective working coalition with the local community of producers, manufacturers and suppliers it may be said that these initiatives are direct determinants of success for the company. However in the long run certain other insightful strategies are recommended on their part to stay ahead of others and engage in a sustainable business. Core concepts of marketing such as effective communication with the clients, suitable marketing analysis in addition to emphasizing upon effective collaboration with suitable partners need to be attended to for harbori ng holistic outcomes. References Aldi.com.au, 2017. ALDI Initiatives - ALDI Australia. [online] Aldi.com.au. Available at: https://www.aldi.com.au/en/about-aldi/aldi-initiatives/ [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017]. Aldi.com.au, 2017. Australian Made - ALDI Australia. [online] Aldi.com.au. Available at: https://www.aldi.com.au/en/about-aldi/australian-made/ [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017]. Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S. and Kotler, P., 2014.Principles of marketing. Pearson Australia. Baker, M.J., 2014.Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan. Corporate.aldi.com.au, 2017. ALDI History - ALDI Australia. 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The influence of organic organizational cultures, market responsiveness, and product strategy on firm performance in an emerging market.Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,42(1), pp.49-70.