Strategies by Companies: Success and Failure

Since reading a blog is not always easy, I will start sharing links of videos that have an ample amount of learning in them. These videos will deal with companies that have used different strategies to win/falter in the market.

Image Source: https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/strategy

Let's get started.

These are the first five videos that I m listing:

How Domino's became the major player in India?

• Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK6_QNZa4S4  

• Strategies to be learned: First mover's advantage, Local Strategic Partnership, Adoption of technology, Transnational and Multi-Domestic Strategy, Red Ocean and Blue Ocean, Market Penetration ( Ansoff Matrix ) 

• My Understanding ( only related to the video): This video talks about the facts and figures of how Domino's dominate the pizza QSR market by a huge margin from the second player Pizza hut. It talks about all of the strategies above and how they have been used by Domino's leader. They were the first of the few who started online food delivery and obviously the mandatory mention of the fastest delivery time because of the efficient delivery strategy. They are further planning growth into other Tier 2&3 cities which will propel them further along with their local partner Jubilant Works. Pizza Hut did not succeed like Domino's because of their focus on serving the dining experience whereas Pizza became more of a home party and hunger craving food which people ordered from Home and also the stores vary in terms of the look. Domino's identified the market well while pizza had no advantages in terms of price but was providing an experience where the need was of convenience. Papa John couldn't make it because of the late entry and the other two became major players. In addition, they mostly focussed in South India where geographical diversification could have worked.

What happened to GM in India?

• Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f9sib9Auhs&t=1s 

• Strategies to be learned: Global brand, transnational Strategy, Product Innovation, Margins, Competitive Forces, Service Network

• My Understanding ( only related to the video): GM tried to be everything for everyone evverywhere and they realised that it is not possible. Hence they started folding out from many a places. The decreasing market share in India was the major reason. Though they tried coming up with product cusotmised to Indian Market and they did good to but few of the mistakes costed them a lot. They had to face competition and were not able to match the others. The poor service network and declining sales was one of the reasons that they folded out. They dont have very deep pockets anymore to continue spending in the present as well as for the future. There is a shift in the consumer behaviour where this newer generation dont focus on owning but rather hiring services of Mobility solution providers. With the advent of Electric Cars and Automation, the industry is going through a tectonic shift and hence it is a very uncertain environment. Their rivals are Japanese and Korean Companies who are already established in the market. It also can be attributed to the leadership who are now focussed on keeping profitable business and hence making an organisational change. They are pruning all the loss making markets and focussing on latest technologies. Also there has been a degrowth in India and continous slowdown of the world market too. The way to go forward will be to focus on electric mobility and on markets that are profit oriented. They can also form strategic partnership to survive just like Ford did with Mahindra group.

 

Why happened to Dunkin Donuts in India?

 

• Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXXdcgchAVw 

• Strategies to be learned: Rapid Expansion, Changing consumption pattern, cultural differences, Health-oriented audience, Poor operational efficiency, Huge retail operational cost, local customized menus, Incorrect Brand association. 

• My Understanding ( only related to the video): Dunkin Donuts partnered with Jubilant Food works but unlike domino's could not do well. The main reason was the cultural difference and the rapid expansion followed by them. Their operational cost was too high. They thought people will like Donuts but we Indians have a different breakfast routine. We like home-cooked food and eating it to fill our stomach for the day ahead whereas Donuts was seen more of as an impulse purchase and a pastry shop. The way to go forward will be adding the beverage line with hot beverages with reducing store sizes and increasing store numbers slowly. Also, the placing of Donuts needs to be changed from the perception of a 'Desert'. 

Why is Harley-Davidson struggling in India?

• Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATjsNO8_li8&t=5s 

• Strategies to be learned: Product Differentiation, No Multi-Domestic Strategy, Product Innovation, Porters Five Forces, International Expansion, Dealer and Service Network is poor, Brand Loyalty, Cost Leadership, Product line expansion, Trade Disputes 

• My Understanding ( only related to the video): Despite India being the largest market of 2 wheeler vehicles, Harley Davidson is struggling in India. One of the main reasons is its High price along with factors like better alternatives. It entered the Indian market late and has a poor dealer and service network. The bikes are very expensive for Indian Markets where different players are offering cheaper alternatives to them, even the likes of BMW. The presence of competitors like Royal Enfield, Java and Triumph also hinders its growth. They are trying to expand into the International market to offset their sales in America and also have started manufacturing facilities at different places so as to reduce the labor cost, shipping costs and improve trade relations but they have not factored well that their offering is very expensive and established players are stalling their sales. The way forward could be to act in the same line as BMW and also come up with different offering, product line expansion

Why Taco Bell failed in Dubai?

• Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I27CA0CdIU 

• Strategies to be learned: Cultural Food Difference, Family Culture, International Expansion, Customised Menu, Poor Local Partner, Local Taste, International Brand Recognition, Specialised Localised Campaign

• My Understanding ( only related to the video): Taco Bell belongs to Yum! Food which has brands like KFC in it. Taco Bell is very famous in US but couldnot make it in Dubai becuase the people here have different taste buds along with this they prefered going out and eating as more of a social gathering than just convenience for which Chili's performed well (reference to the store layout). Because of the lack of brand recognition along with a unknown food category, taco bell could not perform well. Even though they customised the menu to make it according to the Islamic law, still the sales did not take up. Though they succeded in Kuwait with a special mention to a localised campaign regarding taco's. Another reason was the presence of burger, it accounted for huge sales and taco could not place itself as a meal which one can enjoy with their family.

I hope you find all of these videos enriching and helpful. The best way to go about is not just listening to it but understand the situation they faced and how they solved/faltered will help you in the future to avoid those.

This was the first of many, I will keep compiling a list of these kinda videos. 

Red Ocean vs Blue Ocean Strategies

We all must have heard about these two words somewhere, Red Ocean and Blue Ocean. Here is my take on what they mean in possibly the easiest way.

Assume, the market is an ocean, and hence the whole market ocean can be categorized into two types. Depending upon which ocean market your firm is operating, your strategies will be different. So let's delve deeper.

Red Ocean: means the market that already exists (the known), and some players are already established here and fighting among themselves for more market share. The term 'Red' signifies the cut-throat competition, which makes the 'market ocean' bloody red. Here there is a fixed pie of profit which different firms fight for. Since there already exists a market hence, it is easy to enter this market space. Ex: Uber Eat's entering India's food delivery space.

Blue Ocean: means the market that is still unknown, maybe products and industries that are yet to come up. There are no players here, and the need is to create demand here. The term 'Blue' signifies the unlimited growth potential and opportunity one firm has over here. Here there is ample opportunity for profit-making, and firms can capture them easily. Even though everything seems so positive about the blue ocean, the difficulty is in finding the 'unknown market.' Example: Swiggy entering the food delivery space by creating it or Uber creating the ride-hailing service industry.

                                                               

  Image Source: https://iconscout.com/illustration/blue-ocean-strategy-vs-red-ocean-strategy-1841960

Now, we have seen the basic definition of both, moving onto the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

Red Ocean:

Advantages: 1. Already established market
2. Demand is already there

Disadvantages: 1. Cut-throat competition
2. Already established leaders will use their power to not allow other players

Blue Ocean:

Advantages: 1. High profit-making chances
2. Being the leader and creating a brand name 

Disadvantages: 1. Demand has to created
2. A significant investment is required
3. Eventually turns into a red ocean
4. Less number of success stories

Finally, It depends on which market ocean you are, but it is to keep in mind that a firm operating in the Red ocean must look out for Blue Ocean themselves or be vigilante about their competitors doing the same. A firm in Blue ocean is at a disadvantage in one way that any new firm can follow their steps without investing the money they had done. Hence they must be as disruptive as possible to be the incumbent player.

Please feel free to comment, criticism is highly appreciated.

Types of Advertisement

We are living in a world where every day or the other some products are being launched and most of them are unable to penetrate the market. One of the most crucial aspects of any product performing well is its promotional strategy and marketing communication so that people associate with the brand/product. These all are made evident in different types of content that are made, it can be a poster, video, print media i.e. any consumable form of media. There are different channels to facilitate the aforementioned which act as customer touchpoints for different products and we will be discussing the same.

We can broadly classify advertising into ATL, BTL, and TTL. Above the line and Below the line are conventional forms of advertising but Through the line (TTL) got incepted after companies realized that omnichannel is the future of advertisement.

ATL stands for, Above the line, these include TVs, Radio, Billboards, newspapers, etc. All these are intended to create brand awareness so that people get attracted to it and search for it. It is costly since there is no specific customer segment that is being targeted rather it's broad. It's difficult to develop KPIs in terms of cost per view. It is mostly used by product category having a mass appeal like a soda bottle, chips, movies, etc.

BTL stands for, Below the line, these include Direct Marketing, SMS, in showroom display, sponsorship of events and competition, free samples, press conferences, pamphlets, and social media marketing. Here the audience is a specific group of people. It is more effective in terms of ROI and easier to track the cost and the performance of the different channels employed. It is mostly used in cases of new products with less marketing corpus and catering to a niche.

TTL stands for Through the line, these include an integrated form of approach which involves both ATL and BTL strategies. The objective is to create brand awareness as well as communicate that in a focussed manner. The cost here is large because the focus is distributed on both the fronts of brand awareness and brand recall along with increasing engagement with the brand. It is usually implemented by corporates having ample marketing corpus. It can be broadly be implemented by:

• Digital Marketing including social media posts, blogs, banners, and promotional content.
• 360 Degree Marketing involves both ATL and BTL supplementing each other.

The strategy of advertisement that works for you depends on various factors, there is no one size fits all philosophy:

• Focussed or Unfocussed Communication
• Budget Corpus - High to low
• Objective - Brand Awareness, Generating leads, Increasing sales, Brand Revival, Brand Loyalty

Note: Please feel free to comment if you need more explanation, also point out if I have made any mistakes

Influencer Marketing - Rise & Fall

Influencer Marketing - Rise & Fall 

We are currently undergoing a revolutionary shift. It started with the industrial revolution and then came the mass media revolution in the 19th century, now we are currently in a digital revolution. Until the superpower called the Internet stepped in and social media disrupted the life of the people as well as businesses alike, advertising ideology stayed the same for the past 7 decades. Now, the companies are spending huge corpus of their marketing budget on online platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and other streams of marketing. Influencer marketing is one of the many streams and it is a way in which the brands engage with its target market by using social media personalities to endorse their brand and use their social media popularity in influencing the decision-making process.  

 

https://influencermarketinghub.com/the-rise-of-influencer-marketing/ 

For a long time, businesses across the globe used icons and public figures as endorsers for their brand. Often this was a very enormous task in many aspects. From getting in touch with them to convincing them, it was never a cakewalk, particularly for newer or smaller brands. Moreover, they come at a high price. These celebrities have the least engagement with their followers. With the advent of influencer marketing it became a very integral part of the online marketing mix, but why? Because according to 84% of the marketers think that influencer marketing is an effective way of connecting with the people, millennials. The business has transformed especially in the e-commerce space. 

 

https://influencermarketinghub.com/the-rise-of-influencer-marketing/ 

The influencer marketing industry is now maturing with various brands, political parties, individuals rely heavily on campaigns that are influencer-driven for their product or positioning of the message they intend to convey. The influencers belong largely to these groups: bloggers, photographers, celebrities, activists, etc and the major platforms are YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WordPress, etc. The influencer marketing market is expected to become a $5 - $10 billion market. Instagram accounts for half of the influencers in the world. The reason why Influencer marketing is the most effective customer acquisition method is attributable to the concept that we as a customer believe someone whom we follow or trust. So, when they endorse a product or brand, customers feel like emulating the same behavior because it comes from a source, we ‘trust’.  

 

https://influencermarketinghub.com/the-rise-of-influencer-marketing/ 

But with the increasing number of influencers and company spending more on influencer marketing. The industry is also facing sturdy pressure to show its effectiveness to the brands and their worthiness to the consumers. Every influencer carries the responsibility to make sure that what they are sharing online is not harmful, fake, or offensive. There are many instances in which the influencers exploited their power, the main cause behind it is that there is no proper legal and accountability framework that monitors and regulates the industry. Influencers these days are looking at the fat paycheck that they get rather than looking at the fact whether the brand is authentic or shares the same morality and personal values as they. As a result, consumers are now losing trust in the ones with whom they were initially able to relate with. Recently the Ad Standard Council, a non-government body that ensures protection of consumer’s interest, came up with the decision on how people are to consume the branded content. For instance, when an influencer endorses a product in their video, it’s a mandate for them to disclose that the ad is sponsored in the first thirty seconds of the video and to include hashtag ad, hashtag sponsored in the description. Whether these rules are monitored loosely is again a question left unanswered. According to the Social Media Trend 2020 released by social media analysis firms Talkwalker's, there is a huge increase in the number of fake influencers and almost one-third of the marketers have already decreased their marketing spend on influencer marketing and this just one of the cases. There are multiple such cases one of them also being that the influencers out of greed take in a lot of ads and that’s why their followers find it difficult to associate them with a particular brand and moreover since the motivation for the influencers is money, the fan can easily identify that the influencers are not using the product themselves and hence asking them that do they themselves use the product or not, cases like this have seen a rise. 

 

https://influencermarketinghub.com/the-rise-of-influencer-marketing/ 

Influencer Marketing is a very effective channel to reach customers. With the rise of social media influencers and the availability of the internet, it has become one indispensable tool for marketers which they can’t ignore ‘not to use’. Though there are rising cases where influencer marketing is not effective, it also the company’s responsibility to understand which influencer is more authentic and have a greater conversion rate. At the same time, identifying which all influencers are specific and relevant is indispensable. Keeping the same strategy and rendering the service of the same influencers will not suffice but it is a dynamic process that requires proper monitoring from the marketing team. Marketers need to have defined objectives and corresponding KPIs to monitor the performance will go a long way. Just like every coin has two sides, the Influencer market also has its pros and cons, but it depends on the marketing team how well they use it if used properly it is the most rewarding customer acquisition method.