Marketing_Strategy

Marketing Strategy Executive Summary This assignment intends to emphasise with the help of organisational analysis the current situation and the marketing strategies of HERMES LOGISTIK GRUPPE DEUTSCHLAND. In Germany, HLGD is the leading logistics service provider with postal delivery for private individuals and in addition, it has a 22% share of the whole European package market. In the last business years, HLGD sent over 266 million packages and generated over 840 $ million. It conveys not only packages but also pieces of luggage, furniture and giant equipment. With its 59 branches, the company is represented throughout Germany. All over Europe, more than 14.000 Hermes package shops build the biggest area-covering network of receiving offices for private delivery. Due to this, HLGD concentrates on face-to-face contacts and accentuates it through lengthened opening hours. In Germany, every third package is being delivered through HLGD. Thereby, this company is one of the most significant specialists when it comes to B2B-packages. A customer contact of 1,5 million a day is given and HLGD can also convince with its delivery rates of more than 99% and a loss and damage rate of less than 0,03%. Moreover, HLGD provides an electronic information system, so the client can monitor his delivery at any time. All these conditions call only be enabled due to almost 17.000 employees (cooperation partners included) that realise more than 304 million mailings per year. In the report, the author uses common marketing tools like defining clear marketing objectives and goals and analysing the external and internal environment as well as segmentation, targeting and positioning of the product in order to make some suggestions of what the company could do to improve the future performance. Table of contents Executive Summary II Table of contents III List of Abbreviations IV List of Tables and Figures V 1 Introduction 6 2 Methodology 7 3 Findings 7 3.1 Market situation and structure 7 3.2 PESTLE 9 3.3 SWOT Analysis 10 3.4 USP 11 3.5 Segmentation, targeting, positioning 11 3.5.1 Segmentation 12 3.5.2 Targeting 12 3.5.3 Positioning 13 3.6 Marketing mix 13 4 Conclusion 14 5 Recommendations 15 5.1 Objectives 16 Appendix A VI Appendix B X Bibliography XIII List of Abbreviations B2B Business to Business B2C Business to Customer C2C Customer to Customer PESTLE Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats USP Unique Selling Proposition KEP Kurier-, Express- und Paket e.g. example given HLGD Hermes Logistik Gruppe Deutschland DHL (Adrian) Dalsey, (Larry) Hillblom, (Robert) Lynn UPS United Parcel Service TPG Transports Publics Genevois DPD Dynamic Parcel Distribution FedEx Federal Express VAT value-added tax et al. et alii (and others) STP Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning POD Points of Difference POP Points of Parity TV Television SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time List of Tables and Figures Figure I: volume of sales in the KEP-market 2010 8 Table I: Own illustration, PESTLE analysis 9 Table II: Own illustration, SWOT analysis 10 Table III: Three strategies in customer targeting, Hollensen, 2010, p.301 X 1 Introduction In a rapidly changing market, the choice of marketing strategies can make or break the company. With an ever-increasing number of applications and products, the major players need to diversify the market and clearly position their brands in order that the consumer can distinguish the offers. Indispensable decisions need to be made on the appropriate level of market coverage and the product range to be offered. The present assignment, drawn up as a report, is about marketing strategies applied on a company and its possible improvements of the given firm from the package delivery service sector chosen by the author which in this case will be the trans-European operating company Hermes Logistik Gruppe Deutschland. This company belongs to one of the most successful logistics firms in Europe and has become Germany’s greatest and independent delivery services in the sector of B2C and C2C. The assignment required the author to emphasise the current situation with the help of used contemporary marketing tools and techniques as well as organisational analysis. Being divided in two main parts, the report primarily deals with the investigation and the analysis of the package delivery service’s current market situation. Furthermore, the structure will be implemented by the PESTLE and the SWOT analysis and will also examine the products’ differential advantage. The part hereafter, consists of general marketing explanations which will be demonstrated by the segmentation, targeting and positioning of the product line and at the same time by marketing strategies as well as its marketing objectives and goals. At the end of the report, the author will draw a conclusion and also state a personal recommendation based on the investigation and analysis by suggesting a strategy for future development and improvement for HLGD. 2 Methodology It is now necessary to reflect upon how evidence will be collected to support the arguments espoused in this assignment. There are numerous approaches to desk research. But in order to explore the marketing strategies applied on HLGD, the use of academic sources is relevant to this report, as well. Above all, one of the best ways of data gathering is data mining. This is the process of collecting all available data sources. 3 Findings This chapter deals with the investigation and analysis of the current market situation of Hermes Logistik Gruppe Deutschland. Moreover, it will examine the internal and external environment of HLGD and will give examples from other companies by using performance data against competitors in the delivery sector to make the service’s differential advantage clearly visible. 3.1 Market situation and structure Through the economic crisis in 2009, the KEP-market had a decrease in turnover of 6%. However, new technologies like the spreading of fast internet accesses pushed the mail-order business within the last years and made new business models possible. Consequently, in 2010, there was clear uptrend to be recognised, especially in the average growth (3% per year) and in the increase in turnover (5,5% per year). Nowadays, the KEP-market is one of the most labour-intensive sectors. It is divided into three sections: courier-, expedited- and parcel service. The first one, courier service, contains deliveries that are commissioned quite spontaneously and in addition, have a high value of goods (e.g. watches, jewellery, high-quality goods etc.). Significant are the permanent and personal attendance of the delivery and the related possibility to access the deliveries at any time. Expedited service, most of the time, conveys deliveries with high speed and supply reliability. However, the transport does not happen directly and personally. Parcel service concentrated on extensive and constant carriage of goods. Usually, a delivery happens overnight. In general, parcel service is quantity-driven and works with a level of systematisation (http://www.dhl-discoverlogistics.com/cms/de/course/services/cep/cep_definition.jsp'pdf=1). Generally speaking, the parcel market has developed very positively and has become an established growth driver within Germany. This is also accentuated through the regional distribution of sales shown in the diagram below (Figure I): parcel service sector owns 42% (6,99 billion €) of sales and builds the biggest part of the KEP-market; expedited service generates 36% (5,95 billion €) and courier service 22% (3,75 billion €). (Stiftungwarentest, 2004, p.78-79) Figure I: volume of sales in the KEP-market 2010 The European KEP-market is concentrated on the five biggest providers UPS, TPG, Consignia, La Poste and DPWN (Industriebedarf 7-8, 2002, p.14). But when it comes to the direct major players of HLGD, DHL, General Logistics System Germany, DPD and FedEx are to be enumerated. (POSTMASTER-Magazin, 4/2008) Investigation and Analysis In the following, the author will examine marketing tools in order to identify the internal and external environment of HLGD based on their objectives, strengths and weaknesses. • PESTLE • SWOT • USP These tools help to provide an understanding about the micro- and macro- environment and factors to be considered during strategic planning. However, they are subjective, not always quantifiable and therefore cannot be used in isolation. 3.2 PESTLE A PESTLE analysis is a method for reviewing the macro environment (external forces that impact a company’s ability to plan). It can be used as a checklist for categorising the different environmental influences and in addition, the company can prepare strategically for any changes that need to be made in the organisation or simply to have the awareness of the external market to give them a competitive edge over other firms in the industry. PESTLE stands for: • Political • Economic • Social • Technological • Legal • Environmental However, one factor may not be so important to an organisation than others which means they have differential impact of external development on the company from a historical perspective or in relation to probable future impact (Johnson et al., 2008, p.55). PESTLE: P exemption from VAT (value-added tax) E market for package delivery is growing despite the financial crisis; development of key industries (e-commerce) S consumer behaviour determined through seasonal business T electrically powered vehicles; 25 meter long truck-combinations L privacy of correspondence; limitation of packages E environmental management; use of electromobility; WE DO! – initiative, reduction of CO2-emission Table I: Own illustration, PESTLE analysis (A complete PESTLE analysis can be found in Appendix A) 3.3 SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis is a simple but widely used tool for decision-making and understanding dependencies between a company and its environment. It starts by defining the objective of the project or business activity and identifies the internal and external factors that are important to achieving that objective. On one side, there are strengths and weaknesses that usually belong to the internal factors of the organisation and on the other side, there are opportunities and threats that usually present the external environment (Campell et al., 2003, p.196) Illustrating evaluated marketing facts and taking a look at the current market situation, the author considered the HLGD strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. SWOT STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES INTERNAL • Leading logistics service provider • Excellent geographic establishments constituted by 14.000 package shops • High quality of diversity management • Competitive advantage through - price structure - technological innovations • Certificated customer satisfaction • Competitive disadvantage: delivery service limited to the EU • Low delivery rate abroad • No 24/7 mail-order service • No notification of delivery given • Wage squeezing OPPORTUNITIES THREATS EXTERNAL • If exemption of VAT → annual accrual of 40 million € • Green logistics: use of electromobility →milestone: 1st user of the KEP-market • Emerging market: Russia →400 package shops locally • Competitive disadvantage → if no exemption of VAT → customers need to bear the full cost Table II: Own illustration, SWOT analysis (A complete SWOT analysis can be found in Appendix A) 3.4 USP The Unique Selling Proposition is the unique product benefit that a firm aggressively promotes in a consistent manner to its target audience. The benefit usually reflects functional superiority: best quality, best service, lowest price, most advanced technology (Kotler et al., 2005, p.923) First of all, HLGD is the leading logistics service provider with postal delivery for private individuals in Germany. Hermes has excellent geographic establishments constituted by 14.000 package shops. These factors state that HLGD has the best quality for postal delivery service nationwide. Additionally, Hermes has a high quality of diversity management which leads to the fact that the company is free of prejudices. Hence, the Corporate Identity is very distinctive. When it comes to service, the company operates customer and service orientated which guarantees a good level of word-of-mouth advertising. Hermes was distinguished for ‘proved customer service’. Compared to its major players, Hermes can benefit from its price structure since it offers a mail-order possibility at a lower price. The client can also monitor the delivery at any time which is a great advantage in contrast to the competitors. Moreover, Hermes has the most advanced technology when it comes to alternative means of carriage. With the use of the electromobility, Hermes set a milestone and is the first user of the KEP-market to implement electrically powered vehicles. 3.5 Segmentation, targeting, positioning The STP process is used to define unique customer groups, select those they wish to serve and then integrate the marketing mix to establish a unified image of the product in comparison to the competitors (Hollensen, 2010, p.283). Thus, the STP is a three step process that seeks long-term competitive advantage. There are different approaches to investigate each step of the process. The author will now give some examples in the case of Hermes Logistik Gruppe Deutschland. 3.5.1 Segmentation As understanding and delineating customers’ needs is essential in designing effective market strategies, market segmentation constitutes the first step (Cravens, 2006). Segmentation involves grouping customers into segments with similar characteristics and needs to better target the company’s programmes, giving it a superior position over its competitors (Kotler et al., 2005). Business to Consumer (B2C) markets can be segmented into 4 categories (Hollensen, 2010, p. 289):  Socio-demographic: Age, gender, income  Behaviouristic: buyer readiness, usage frequency  Psychographic: lifestyle and personality  Benefits sought: product features, price / service For Hermes, it is important to focus in behaviouristic aspects since the buyer readiness of the consumer plays a major role. Regarding to this, the usage frequency depends on the seasonal business according to traditions such as Eastern, Christmas or New Year’s Eve. Moreover, the author suggests keeping responding to benefits sought. Benefit segmentation is often the preferred method in highly competitive markets. Companies using benefit segmentation can create a distinct edge over the competition (Haley, 1968). Certainly, the price has a huge impact on the consumer’s choice; thus, it should be adequate. Furthermore, product features like packaging or reliability of the delivery service should satisfy the customer’s impressions and expectations. Socio-demographic and psychographic aspects are not of great relevance for HLGD. Neither is Hermes’ delivery service a lifestyle product nor is it important to figure out age, gender or income of the client. 3.5.2 Targeting Market targeting means to involve analyzing the relative attractiveness of identified market segments and deciding which and how many to be served. A company may choose one or more segments to concentrate on (Cravens/Piercy, 2006). For Hermes Logistik Gruppe Deutschland, the author clearly recommends the strategy of the undifferentiated marketing. Obviously, delivery service is a service that addresses any sort of customer. It is not necessary to focus on a specific target group, thus, there is no need for a differentiated marketing and one-to-one marketing. 3.5.3 Positioning Positioning is the third stage in developing marketing strategies and enables customers and potential customers to clearly differentiate the company’s offer. All marketing strategies must be linked to the positioning to deliver the promise it makes to the customer (Hollensen, 2010). Positioning starts by defining the target market and the nature of the competition. This process includes figuring out Points of Difference (POD) and Points of Parity (POP). PODs are attributes of benefits which consumers strongly associate with a brand and POPs are associations which consumers consider necessary for their brand choice. Positioning needs to:  identify the brand’s USP  fit to the brand in the widest sense of the word  be relevant to the consumer  clearly differentiate the brand from the competition  be able to be upheld long-term (Esch, 2003) Without a doubt, HLGD follows a differentiation strategy. Moreover, Hermes’ positioning is clearly defined by quality which is the main aspect for consumers to make use of the brand since they connect quality and long-lasting service with Hermes and that is exactly where they positioned their company since 1972. 3.6 Marketing mix The marketer’s task is to devise marketing activities and assemble marketing programmes to create, communicate and deliver value for consumers. These activities are frequently described as the marketing mix classified into 4 broad groups, the ‘4Ps’ of marketing: product, price, promotion, place (Kotler/Keller, 2006). In the literature, authors refer to the expanded services marketing mix either as the 8Ps (e.g. Lovelock and Wirtz(2007). Only the additional service market Ps will be addressed here as the traditional 4Ps are a well-known concept. People In the eyes of the customer, the employees are the service, the company and the brand. Developing customer-orientated service delivery can be summarized as: hiring the right people, providing appropriate training and support systems and retaining them through empowerment and rewards. Process Broadly speaking, this consists of the step which the customer experiences. These need to be designed to offer maximum comfort and increasingly involve the provision of several access options, including the internet. A trade-off needs to be made between cost and convenience. Physical environment The tangible aspects of the offering are important in both customer acquisition and retention. Customers are more likely to patronize service companies where the physical surroundings convey competence and continuity. Productivity and quality Improving productivity is essential to control or reduce costs. At the same time, quality improvements are needed for differentiation. The challenge is to achieve these apparently opposing objectives. (The other 4Ps of the marketing mix can be found in Appendix B) 4 Conclusion Having analysed and investigated Hermes Logistik Gruppe Deutschland from various marketing perspectives, the author can finally make a statement about the improvement of the delivery service’s marketing strategy. Considering previous growth rates and generated sales figures (840 $ million), it is highly likely that a forecast of future growth can be assured. Moreover, the positioning not only on the market but also for the customer is of great relevance since there is a lack in Hermes’ performance of promotion. Since DHL is a worldwide operating company, it is essential to keep up with its major players like expanding to Russia. Consequently, there is still space for innovations and the demand exists. Hence, it is important for Hermes to strengthen its service by making use of investigated potential in order to satisfy stakeholders especially consumers and by investing a higher marketing budget. 5 Recommendations Due to marketing objectives, the author suggests a strategy for a saturated and mentored market meaning an innovative strategy to be able to compare long-term. Additionally, a product-life-cycle analysis could be advantageous to Hermes because it contains how products are born, grow to maturity and then decline. The product-life-cycle concept helps managers or companies to think about their product line as a portfolio of investments. The solution could be operating in several markets and offering more than one product or service. Moreover, the author recommends focusing on replacement clients who can be acquired through new product or service lines or clients due to innovation products. In addition, a brand loyalty is of great relevance for this market and can be kept by quality and customer satisfaction which means companies need to offer add-ons like a better customer service or send out postcards for Christmas or the client’s birthday. Since technology keeps moving constantly, the companies have to adapt to new trends and always observe their target groups through surveys to be up to date. According to future performance, HLGD should improve its promotion. Hermes’ point of presence is not distinctive. Its biggest competitor, DHL, does a lot of advertising especially on TV and therefore even uses testimonials in order to attract the audience’s attention better. Furthermore, it would be appropriate to provide a 24/7 service for packages, so business people that actually depend on the opening hours can choose the time of dispatching their delivery. The last but still striking aspect for HLGD’s future performance is the improvement of the working conditions. Though there is a great level of diversity management, the labour conditions are intolerable. Hermes should take more responsibility for its employees and maybe mend wages. 5.1 Objectives Obviously, every company needs to have formulated objectives and goals. Goals are a company’s statement about aspired conditions in the future that need to be achieved as an outcome made by prior decisions. Without a doubt, it is very important for companies to set objectives and goals that a firm actually wants to achieve. They have to be clearly defined and reconsidered. An eminent guidance for the development of the right objectives and goals is the SMART set phrase. SMART stands for: • Specific • Measurable • Achievable • Realistic • Timed The given objectives should specify what the company actually wants to achieve. In this case, HLGD could try to gain a higher market share and thus, generate higher turnover figures. Whether the objectives are being met or not can be measured through the percentage of market share and the annual closure of balance of accounts. The set goals can be achieved through e.g. a higher investment in marketing performance, so Hermes can create further percentage of awareness of its delivery service to the target customers. Appendix A PESTLE Political When it comes to the political factors influencing Hermes Logistik Gruppe Deutschland, the most striking one is the exemption from VAT (value-added taxes). Since Deutsche Post does not have to pay 19% of the VAT, they have an annual accrual of approximately 350 million Euro. This is a severely competitive disadvantage for companies like HLGD. In order to have the same prerequisites for every player of the logistic sector, HLGD requires an exemption from VAT, which would contribute almost 40 million Euros through the ministry of finance. Economic The financial crisis had severe impact on many companies. Nevertheless, Hermes was not really affected by it, since the market for package delivery is growing regarding to the high amount of orders placed on the internet so Hermes could increase its market share. Moreover, the development of key industries, in this case especially the internet with its e-commerce, was very positive. Social In Germany, the population density is quite high. Hence, many people dispatch a considerable number of mails and goods. HLGD enables this consumer behaviour through an allocation of 14.000 package shops throughout Germany. In addition, the consumer behaviour can be determined through seasonal business, e.g. for Christmas or eastern. Therefore, religious traditions boost the delivery business. Technological Hermes deals with the so called “Grüne Logistik” . This means that they are concerned about the environmental burden and therefore use alternative means of carriage like electrically powered vehicles. Through this, Hermes can improve its ecological profile. Furthermore, they consider the possibility of introducing the 25,25 meter long truck-combinations. These trucks present a great advantage, since more goods, independent from volume or weight, can be transported with one export. As being the pioneer in the branch of industry, Hermes invests already since the nineties in the testing of alternative propulsion technologies. With this, Hermes wants to make a contribution to testing technical innovations for a better launch on the market. Legal When it comes to the legal aspects of HLGD it is to say that they have a huge impact on the KEP-market, since every parcel delivery provider has to maintain the privacy of correspondence. Furthermore, Hermes has a limitation of liability for its packages up to €500. Environmental Since the mid-eighties, Hermes Logistik Gruppe Deutschland takes an active part in the environment protection. The environmental management is firmly established in their corporate strategy and Hermes can record a high number of milestones. Hermes not only operates in the sector of electromobility in using low-emission automotives, but Hermes and its parent company Otto Group bind their selves to cut the CO2-emission in half. With reference to this, Hermes developed an initiative called WE DO! that deals with the professional environment protection. When it comes to conditions regarding location, Hermes choses alternatives: for newly constructed buildings it is primarily to be tested whether the implementation of solar electricity is economical. Hence, they always try to realize and adapt actions regarding to energy efficiency to the state of the art. SWOT Strengths In Germany, HLGD is the leading logistics service provider with postal delivery for private individuals. Moreover, Hermes has excellent geographic establishments constituted by 14.000 package shops. Amongst other things, these are the main fractions of building the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) for HLGD. Besides, the company is in pursuit of achieving a corporate culture in which the diversity of employees is highly respected. As a result, Hermes has a high quality of diversity management that embraces not only age, gender and nationality but also religion, disability and sexual identity. Currently, Hermes employs people from over 44 nations. In addition, there is no age limit and older employees are being encouraged actively. Furthermore, a third of the number of employees is female, though the logistics sector is generally dominated by men. Various part-time models are offered for mothers after their parental leave for their come-back in career. When it comes to the competitive advantage, HLGD can benefit from its price structure. It offers a mail-order possibility at a lower price than its biggest competitor DHL. Hermes also includes an extended insurance cover up to €500. Moreover, the monitoring of the delivery is in posse at any time from size S of the package. These conditions are not given by DHL. It is also considerably more favourable to send heavy articles or items with Hermes, since they are, among others, specialised in dispatching pieces of luggage, furniture and giant equipment. According to the client, the most striking aspect of Hermes’ strengths is the customer service. Due to certifications is to say that Hermes has a quality distinction for ‘proved customer satisfaction’. The company operates customer and service orientated which guarantees a high level of word-of-mouth advertising connected with recommendations by customers. Weakness Though the delivery service of Hermes is distributed at home and abroad, a significant weakness is the fact that service is limited to the EU. If the mailing address is not to be found the delivery is being returned to the sender. This is a distinctive competitive disadvantage since Hermes’ major players mostly operate worldwide. Furthermore, Hermes does not offer a 24/7 mail-order service or possibility like DHL does it. As a conclusion, the customer is depending on the opening hours - which is quite difficult for business or in general employed persons. Another essential weakness is the wage squeezing in the company HLGD. Employees are being paid per package. At best a staff member earns between 0,55 and 0,60€ per package and if he or she delivers 100 packages a day, which is a high number of deliveries, he or she earns 60€. This relates to the fact that an employee gets paid by success. Moreover, the costs of the car like petrol, repair and purchase are to be bearded by the employee. Additionally, there is no juristic connection between Hermes and their employees since there are several subsidiary levels given so Hermes does not carry any responsibility for these persons. Opportunities Since DHL does not have to pay value added taxes, Hermes and other competitors of DHL asked to be exempted from tax, as well. The government decided that DHL does not have to pay VAT because DHL delivered packages throughout Germany. But since Hermes is operating nationwide, as well they asked for standard guidelines. The exemption from VAT would generate an annual accrual of approximately 40 million Euros and the customers of Hermes would not have to bear full costs. Another opportunity is afforded through the innovation “Green Logistics”. The use of alternative means of carriage e.g. the electromobility would provide a significant competitive advantage since Hermes would set a milestone in being the first user of the KEP-branch to implement electrically powered vehicles. The last opportunity for HLGD is the emergent market Russia. Primarily, HLGD wants to expand to the biggest cities of the country like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nischni and Nowosibirsk. They planned to have opened up 400 package shops by the end of the year. This would provide a new market abroad attached to a wider network. Threats If there is no exemption of VAT (like mentioned in the opportunities), this would lead to a competitive disadvantage. In that case, Hermes’s customers need to bear the full costs Appendix B Targeting strategies Characteristics Undifferentiated marketing Differentiated marketing One-to-one marketing Definition All customers are treated the same, regardless of actual differences Customers grouped into high-level market segments Customers are treated and act differently based on their unique profiles Goal Acquire mass of people viewing, drive traffic Acquire and begin to develop customer relationships, drive revenue Development and retention of customers, customer profitability Needed capabilities Mass marketing, branding Value proposition design, customer relationship management Experience management, profitability management Research methods Anticipate customer priorities through information acceleration, lead user analysis Segmentation on needs, behaviour, targeting models Customer profitability in market tests, customer lifetime value Table III: Three strategies in customer targeting, Hollensen, 2010, p.301 3.6 Marketing Mix Marketing Mix is the optimum combination of using the various marketing instruments. The strategic considerations behind it are a strategic product policy, a strategic price policy, a strategic promotion policy and a strategic placement policy (Freyer, 2009, p.414). These elements of the marketing mix are often referred to as the ‘4Ps’. A common definition of the four elements can be found in the following (Hollensen, 2010, p.353). A product is a tangible object or an intangible service that is manufactured or mass produced on a large scale with a certain volume of units and an intangible product is service based like services in the tourism or hotel industry. The price is the amount which is paid from a customer for the product. It is determined by a number of factors including competition, material costs, market share, product identity and the customer’s perceived value of the product. A company may increase or decrease the price of the product or service if e.g. other companies offer the same product or service. Promotion represents all methods of communications that a marketer may use in the product’s or service’s market. Moreover, promotion includes four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, word-of-mouth and point of sale. The place represents the location where a product or service can be purchased and is also often called the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the internet. 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