Company Biography
In January of 2002, John Ferrer and his wife Deborah started their own corporation, a large custom furniture
manufacturer located in Boston, MA. Their initial accounts were in the Northeastern region of the United States,
and they annually observed a constant profit increase. By March of 2006, they were able to grow the company
enough to go from five distribution and manufacturing plants to 10 to allow shipping to 48 states. Although they
have two retail stores, one located in Phoenix and one in Boston, their primary source of revenue is online catalog
sales. They have 10 manufacturing plants and distribution centers throughout the country.
John and Deborah’s corporation is known throughout the industry for its exceptional customer service and
superior quality. The contemporary designs lend themselves to a younger market, and the customer base is
predominantly upper-middle class because it is one of the highest priced furniture companies in the market. Part
of the appeal of John and Deborah’s brand is their consistent involvement with the local communities to create
green gardens. They have also been a major contributor to organizations that build houses for people in need.
One of their primary strengths is their vertical integration. They have a team of in-house designers saving the
company design costs and allowing the flexibility to rapidly change designs as the market changes. Their products
have been featured on several prominent home design and gardening shows and have been endorsed by several
well-known designers.
Because of the recent housing market sales decline (8% from 2005–2006), home renovations have slowed
significantly. This has impacted the amount of furniture and fixture sales and continues to impact revenue.
Furniture sales in the United States have decreased significantly, and John and Deborah have recently been
discussing the possibility of global expansion.
Another potential threat to their company is that many higher-end brands have been marketing aggressively and
creating lines for popular retail stores. These allow the lower-income consumers to have access to high-end brands
at a much lower price point. So far, these lines have been incredibly successful and have significantly increased
profits for competitors. Many of these competitors have also had great success in the global marketplace with
these lower cost replicas.
John and Deborah know that it is time to seriously consider expanding their business. They want to be able to
make it through the economic crisis and rely on other ways to increase sales and business. They are open to
looking into the global market, but they want to be sure that it is the right move for the business. They have
requested an advisory board meeting next month in which you will present the global marketing strategy. As the
market strategist, you will play a key role in helping the board decide if this is the right move for the company.
The Problem
You are sitting in Deborah Ferrer’s office. After the customary small talk, Deborah sits forward and states, “I am
very impressed with the work that you have done as the strategic marketing manager. Since John and I started this
company in Boston, we have seen continuous growth, but nothing like what we have seen since you started.
However, the housing market is really starting to impact our profits. This last quarter’s numbers were not looking
good.”
You reply, “The crisis has really hit us hard. We have some stiff competition, too, with the other brands creating
retail knock-offs.”
She counters, “We’ve had great success with your strategies in the domestic markets, but we do need to think of a
new approach and strategy. I have complete faith in your abilities to take this company exactly where it needs to
go. I must say that we are really counting on you, and I know that you will follow through.”
“I will make sure that we do well. Do you have any new projects for me?” you ask.
Deborah smiles and says, “You know me well. I do have a new project for you. I sent you an e-mail just before our
meeting. I’m curious if expanding in a global market would be a good move for our company. I would like you to
look into this for me.”
“Our team is definitely up for the challenge,” you say with enthusiasm.
Deborah shakes hands with you warmly, and you make your way out of the meeting. As you drive out of the
parking garage, you think about your success with the company. You cannot wait to get started.
STRATEGY COMPOSITION
STRATEGY COMPOSITION
For every business to prosper it requires marketing strategies. Competitive
marketing strategies are the best for they ensure the company and its business are
relevant in the market and that they satisfy the customer’s needs and requirements.
Therefore, there are competitive strategies that fit an organization’s learning &
growth perspective, the business process perspective, the customer perspective,
and the financial perspective and influence its day to day activities.
There are other strategies that really fit the company’s profile. These
strategies are an acquisition, a partnership with another firm and a joint venture. To
start with, a joint venture involves the pooling together of resources by two firms
with the aim of achieving a certain task. On the other hand, a partnership with
another firm (a local firm) involves an explicit agreement outlining the various
obligations of the two firms in details and their contributions to the business (Kim
et al., 2014). Moreover, an acquisition means the action of the company buying
majority of its target ownership so that the control of the target company is
assumed.
A joint venture happens where two firms pool together resources for a
specific purpose. In this case, a company chooses a local business that it wishes to
foster its expansion with (Baker, 2014). This enables the company to not only grow
locally but also globally. The company needs a joint venture with a company that
markets products similar to Deborah’s company and has grown globally. A joint
STRATEGY COMPOSITION
venture can be preferable to Deborah since it is different from the founders of the
company. Therefore, the joint venture can have its own name, different rights and
liabilities from those of its founders.
Acquisition is the other marketing strategy. Acquisition entails buying most
of ownerships belonging to the target company to achieve full control of the
company (Kim et al., 2014). Deborah’s company needs to identify a company that
has good marketing strategies and its global, then focus on it by buying its
ownership. This will improve the growth of the company and its business activities
will be improved. Also, the customer base will increase which consequently leads
to more profits to the company.
The other strategy is partnership with a local firm. The company needs to
identify a local company that has grown globally and has good customer base. It
then needs to partner with the company. This partnership will ensure that
Deborah’s company is known by the other firm’s customers which will improve its
marketability. Besides, the company will also enjoy profits resulting from the sale
of its products to the newly acquired customers resulting from the partnership
(Baker, 2014). The company will not only establish its market locally but also
internationally making the company have a good marketing profile.
STRATEGY COMPOSITION
Global expansion requires more than one strategy. To start with, the global
market is full of risks and uncertainties hence having more than one strategy really
helps. Forces that control global markets are unpredictable and having more than
one strategy is helpful since it provides options to depend on in case a certain
strategy fails (Baker, 2014). The other reason is ensuring competition in the market
is maintained (Schmidt, 2014). In order to prevent market stagnation, it is
necessary to have many marketing strategies that facilitate retention of the
company in the market competitively regardless of the failure of some strategies
(Schmidt, 2014). Moreover, to ensure continued growth it is necessary to have
many marketing strategies since some of them can be applied simultaneously.
To sum up, a company’s management needs to be familiar with the right
marketing strategies that would build its growth globally and enable it to achieve
its goals in the market.
STRATEGY COMPOSITION
References
Baker, M. J. (2014). Marketing strategy and management. Macmillan International
Higher Education.
Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. A. (2014). Blue ocean strategy, expanded edition:
How to create uncontested market space and make the competition
irrelevant. Harvard business review Press.
Schmidt, K. M., Spann, M., & Zeithammer, R. (2014). Pay what you want as a
marketing strategy in monopolistic and competitive markets. Management
Science, 61(6), 1217-1236.
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