Britvic Plc

Task 1: Marketing Audit

AC1.1

Production Perspective

Consumers always look for the perfect product that is inexpensive and available in the market. Therefore, the management has its focus on making the production efficient while reducing its costs and making profits through mass production (Blythe & Megicks, 2010).

Product Perspective

The consumers always favour the products that are of high quality and possess innovation features. The management has to focus on constant improvement of the product’s quality and profit, which is made through selling high volumes (Blythe & Megicks, 2010).

Selling Perspective

Businesses have to undertake massive product promotion campaigns to increase the clients’ awareness of the product’s availability. Quick turnover of high volume is a basis for making profits (Blythe & Megicks, 2010).

Marketing Perspective

For a business to achieve its strategic objectives, it has to be more effective than that of the rivals in the creation, delivery and communication of customer value to the target market (Blythe & Megicks, 2010).

Ethics and Sustainability Marketing Perspective

Businesses have to use ethical marketing techniques and determine the needs of the clients so that to produce the products that will satisfy the identified needs. Any business makes profits by satisfying the clients (Blythe & Megicks, 2010).

AC1.2

Britvic’s ability to plan its future strategies in the market is dependent on various factors. The company’s resources play a vital role in its capability and they can be categorised in different groups in order to be easily assessed.

Financial Capability

The company is the biggest supplier of branded still soft drinks and the second supplier of branded carbonated soft drinks in the Great Britain. It is also the industry leader in France and Ireland. A company that holds such positions must have the financial capability to maintain its share in the industry. Therefore, it has financial capability to make plans. It can also release more shares to the public in order to collect funds when needed.

Technological Capability

The company’s relationship with PepsiCo, which is a global industry player, is critical in its ability to understand and incorporate new technology in production. Britvic has the capability to convert and incorporate new technology in production.

Consumer Knowledge

Being an industry leader in its countries of operation, the products of the company are well-known to the consumers.

Loyalty

The clients’ loyalty to Britvic’s products is substantial and it has contributed to its industry position. However, it has to compete with other global leaders like Coca Cola.

Resources of a company cannot add its value unless there are sufficient systems to organise them (Barney & Hesterly, 2012). The company’s resources are valuable but nor rare, which gives competitive parity in the industry. However, it can dictate the future situation by ensuring that it does not lose its loyal clients.

AC1.3

SWOT Analysis

It includes the examination of an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It assists in the investigation of both the internal and external environments of a business. For example, SWOT analysis can be used to find ways of responding to new trends, taking new business opportunities, changes in the competitors’ techniques and implementation of new technology. It can also be applied by a company to make internal audits and deal with issues relating to staffing, organisational culture, financial resources, promotion and efficiency of operations.

Porter’s Five Force Analysis

It identifies five factors that can affect the behaviour of a business in a competitive environment. Its components include:

• Rivalry among the existing competitors
• The power of the customers
• The power of the suppliers
• Threat of new businesses joining the market
• Threat towards available in the market substitutes of the company’s products

Understanding each of the factors’ impact on an organisation enables gaining of insight that will support the formulation of suitable success strategies. For example, a company may be operating in an industry that requires high starting capital or one which is regulated by the government. In such situation, the entry of new businesses is limited. In case of Britvic, there are numerous substitutes to the soft drinks it sells. Therefore, clients can opt to take alternative products, meaning that the threat of substitutes is high.

PESTEL Analysis

It involves the analysis of different factors caused by politics, economy, society, technology, environment and law. It is a vital tool in the investigation of market growth or decline, position of the business and potential directions of its operation and development. It is important for a business in different aspects, including marketing planning. It helps when a business makes a decision to enter a new market or country. It also assists when the business aims at investigating current situation in its market so that to launch new products or re-launch its old ones. For example, when Britvic decides to re-launch its products in its current countries of operations, it is important to assess the economic status of the countries and the consumers. It has to ascertain whether they can afford to purchase the products.

AC1.4

Britvic PESTEL Analysis

When analysing the factors that will impact the company’s product after the re-launch, PESTEL analysis will give the best image of the market.

• Political

The company operates in countries where there is a political stability. It is essential in supporting business operations. In the recent months, there have been several terrorist threats in Europe, but they do not have significant impact on business. Nevertheless, it is vital to take such information into consideration.

• Economic

Britvic’s countries of operations are developed and have stable economies. They have also recovered from the last economic recession, which led to a 1% decrease in the soft drinks industry in 2008. During the recovery companies make additional profits. There is also variation in the cost of raw materials, thus, it is vital to prepare for different stages of the economy.

• Social

Social factors are significant as they deal with the clients who make direct purchases of the products. There is an increased tendency for elder people to be more cautious about their health than for young people. The company operates in areas where the rate of young generation is lower than the elder one. Thus, it has to market the products strategically. Having a celebrity to endorse the product also has an impact in the society’s perception. For instance, the endorsement of Pepsi by David Beckham had valuable impact on sales (Britvic Case Study, 2009).

• Technological

The company has incorporated different production technologies that enable production efficiency. It should also adopt other technologies that will make it possible to reduce time spent during production, as well as the costs involved. It should also use available communication technologies, such as Internet use and other applications to communicate with the clients.

• Environmental

The soft drink industry is affected by the environmental factors. Consumers who purchase the fruit juice do not like the carbonated products and may focus on an organisation’s contribution to the environment. Therefore, the company should have positive contribution to the environment in order to promote its image (Britvic Case Study, 2009).

• Legal

The EU has passed regulations that bar companies from making unproven statements in their advertisements. For instance, Britvic cannot say that one of its products is best in the world. It may lead to penalties. Governments are also urging the citizens to make their eating and drinking behaviours healthy. It can have an impact on the sale of soft drinks by Britvic (Britvic Case Study, 2009).

Task 2: Main Barriers to Marketing Planning

AC2.1

Inappropriate Use of Planning Experts

It is vital to have a proper working relationship between the planning experts and the line managers, who have the responsibility of implementing the plans (McDonald, 2008). The planners must not detach themselves from the implementing team.

Tepid Commitment by the Top Managers

Other than steering the organisation in the correct direction, the top managers must also be actively involved in the planning process. They should also motivate the participation of other employees. There may be conflicts among the top management relating to power and control, which may derail the planning process (McDonald, 2008).

Resistance to Change

If the plan is introducing new approaches to the marketing strategy, the employees may become resistant. Whenever change is introduced in the organization, most people react by resisting it before they understand its importance towards the organisational performance.

Organisational Barriers

An organisation may also have internal barriers, such as bureaucracy in its structure. Therefore, it is difficult for the employees in the operational level to channel their contributions through the organisational hierarchy (McDonald, 2008). It can hinder the effective development of a marketing plan.

Failure to Conduct In-depth Analysis of the Prevailing Conditions

Since Britvic has succeeded in the past through other marketing strategies, it may ignore some of the vital analysis prior to the development of the plan (McDonald, 2008). Consequently, some industry changes may not be discovered, which may hinder the effectiveness of the plan. It may also lead to conflicting behaviour among the employees as some will support comprehensive analysis, while the others will view it as a waste of resources.

Environmental Barriers

After conducting environmental surveys using tools, such as the SWOT and PESTEL analysis, it may be evident that some of the factors pose major barriers to the marketing planning of the organisation (McDonald, 2008). For instance, government regulations that require soft drinks companies not to focus their advertisements on individuals below the age of 16 years in most European countries pose a hindrance to the Britvic’s plan (Hollensen, 2010).

AC2.2

Conducting Comprehensive Analysis

Organizations should ensure that they have an agreed checklist of the issues that need to be analysed before the plan can be developed. They should also avoid the use of vague terms, such as good economic conditions, as it requires substantiating the conditions. In addition, the use of marketing tools, such as Product Life Cycle and Ansoff Matrix should be encouraged.

Adherence to Regulations

When making a marketing plan, a company must ensure that it meets all the guidelines provided by the government. Failure to meet such guidelines may result in the cancellation of an entire marketing campaign and penalisation.

Cultural Barriers

The company should analyse the socio-cultural issues of the target market to make sure that its plan is culturally sensitive. For instance, advertisements in the US focus on the beneficial aspects of the product. However, if a similar approach is taken in the Japanese market, the consumers will look at such advertisement as arrogant and pushy.

Outsourcing the Expertise

If an organisation lacks the experts needed to complete the marketing planning task, it is essential for them to outsource such expertise. In addition, the team should not work in isolation from the rest of the personnel members. There should be a cohesive and interactive relationship to ensure that all members contribute towards the performance of the organisation.

Appropriate use of Resources

Since resources are usually scarce in an organisation, the marketing team should concentrate on the efficient but low-cost approaches. Proper budgeting should also be conducted to ensure that the needed funds will be available throughout the project to avoid stalling or incomplete projects.

Task 3: Marketing Plan Formulation

AC3.1

Introduction

The brand consists of soft drinks, and it has the royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II. The products under the brand include Fruit Shoot, Fruit & Barley, Fruit Squash, Barley Water, No Added Sugar Fruit Squash, Select and Squash’d. It is one of the most recognised soft beverage brands in the UK. It used to operate as a company until its acquisition by Britvic in 1995. It has a significant contribution to the company’s income. The Robinson’s Fruit Shoot was introduced in 2000. The company tries to increase its market share in the UK soft beverages industry.

Market Assessment

The brand faces competition from other brands especially retailer-owned ones. During the 2008 recession, there were adverse marketing conditions. In addition, there has been increased campaign on health, which raises public concerns. It has also been branded as part of “junk food,” which is adverse to its performance in the market. There was also the ban for unhealthy products from children’s television, which was one of the campaign channels for the brand.

Objectives

• To increase the market of the product
• To improve the competitiveness of the product
• To introduce the product to new target market, especially adults

Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy will focus on the increase in the product’s reach to the consumers. Therefore, more people will have access to it. The marketing strategy will focus on new avenues of product promotion, including Internet marketing and marketing through the social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. It will also utilise the conventional approaches to product promotion to ensure that an increased number of clients are aware of its existence.

The implementation of the plan will start in 2015 so that its impact could be felt in the 2016 financial year. The resource required will be in the financial budget so that the plan does not fail.

AC3.2

Reinforcement of the Strategic Plan

It reinforces the strategic planning process of a business and offers a sense of purpose and direction. It sets the vision of the products performance, which enables the stakeholders to be certain about the contribution of their roles to the overall goal (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2010).

Long-term Perspective to Environmental Changes

Planning enables the organisation to investigate the possible changes in the market. As a result, it becomes prepared to the changes and when they occur, it responds proactively (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2010).

Improved Communication

A marketing plan acts as a communication tool to the stakeholders on the goal that they should achieve. Therefore, everyone makes their contribution as they know its relevance to the entire process (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2010).

Development of a Management Structure

It acts as a structure that the management can use to instruct the staff members on their roles. It provides information on the resources needed and the time span that the company should take (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2010).

Improvement of Inter-functional Coordination

The marketing planning process requires the interaction of different functions of the organisation. Consequently, it improves coordination and cohesion within the business and reduces conflicts (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2010).

AC3.3

The techniques of product development are reliant on the nature of the product that has to be developed. In case of Britvic, it can develop the following techniques.

Expected Products

The clients expect to buy the soft drinks that will be healthy and tasty. Therefore, the company can produce such products and divide them into different categories.

Augmented Products

As a soft drink company, Britvic should focus on different events and situations to develop specialised products. For instance, sports people require revitalisation of their energy after sports events. The company can use that to develop a sports drink that will focus on the sports market.

Basic Products

People require quenching their thirst regularly. Therefore, the company can develop its products aiming at the clients whose need to quench their thirst.

Potential Products

Since the clients have needs that may be satisfied by purchasing the soft drinks, the company can focus on other aspects, such as handling of the containers. As a result, it can develop containers that are easily carried by the clients and recycled.

AC3.4

Pricing Policy

Pricing is essential in any profit-oriented entity, as its elements can lead to profitability or loss. In order to deal with competition, the price needs to be competitive. There are numerous approaches to pricing, but the policies are influenced by various factors emanating from internal and external factors. The internal factors include marketing objectives, marketing mix, costs and organisation for pricing. The external factors include nature of the market and demand, competition and other factors of the environment. The perfect pricing policy for Britvic is promotional pricing. It involves using strategies that will increase the sales of the given product. For instance, the company can use “buy one get one at half price” or “buy two get one free” methods. It will increase its market penetration, which will be sustained even after it resumes its original pricing.

Distribution

It entails the total distribution chain where the goods are transformed from raw material to the final product. The company should adopt the pull strategy, which involves the use of promotional activities to persuade the clients to purchase the products. Therefore, the clients will be aware of the commodity and they can purchase it from the available outlets, including the distributers (wholesalers) and retailers.

Communication Mix

Communication mix entails the approach used by the company to create awareness regarding its activities and products. It includes branding, public relations, CSR, exhibitions and special offers among others. The company should adopt advertising and sales promotions to increase its reach to the clients. It will increase awareness and demand for the product.

AC3.5

Adverse Internal Competition

• The organisation focuses mainly on the internal operations and ignores the external issues. As a result, the plan fails to succeed due to the lack of attention.
• When an organisation develops a marketing plan, competitors learn about it fast and either imitate or develop an improved plan. As a result, it fails to give the company a competitive advantage.
• In most organisations, people are involved in intellectual talks as opposed to actual implementation. As a result, the people have the ideas that can benefit the company, but they do not implement them.
• Some individuals fear taking risks or making errors and focus on planning every step, which hinders the actual implementation of the plan.
• It is also difficult to mobilise ample resources. The process also requires courage, commitment, time, persistence and energy.

Related Free Business Essays