Looking for Mephisto Products Ltd. case study answers? Get inspired with us! This paper criticizes Mephisto Products approach to sales and marketing.
Mephisto Products Case Study Synopsis
The case study is about an electronic control device manufacturer that is recording low sales revenues and profits in recent times. The entrance of new competitors, technology and marketing strategies created this situation. Now the company is thinking about changing is strategic approach by marketing their products to their clients in a different way.
Mephisto Products Ltd. Case Study Answers
Mephisto’s Approach to Sales and Marketing
Mephisto is too product/ process-oriented; their marketing strategies only consist of occasional ‘Chemical quarterly’ advertisements and a sales team. As if that is not enough, this sales team uses a negative approach to sell their products. Now that more competitors are in the market, customers need to know about the positive aspects of the products too.
The sales team has not changed its approach to selling the company’s goods since its inceptions. Furthermore, they have given their accounts team all the financial control, yet the sales team needs to have a greater level of flexibility to make their decisions. The company has no product-related value additions such as the use of the latest technological advancements.
The organizations’ team members do not understand the power of marketing as they have not harnessed it. Mephisto’s target market is too small, yet many industries can use the device. It is still doing the same thing that its founder did, even though his circumstances were quite different from the present ones. He only focused on the chemical industry because of his family obligations. This situation does not exist today.
Marketing Operations, Marketing Mix, Product Life Cycle
Marketing operations are almost redundant in the company. No marketing directors exist, and the firm assumes that the products will market themselves. They think that all it takes is technical excellence to retain customers. They need to change their marketing philosophy in order to stay ahead. Its sales team uses an inefficient approach to selling its items.
The marketing mix at Mephisto is unsuccessful. The company’s prices do not correspond to consumer preferences even after the sales team explained that Mephisto would sell more times if it reduced prices. Besides this, the company gives no sales discounts for large-scale purchases. The product mix is not aligned with consumer preferences as most of them want technologically advanced devices.
The firm’s promotional strategies have significant shortcomings. First, it does not advertise regularly, has a sales force that only dwells on the negative aspects of their consumers’ businesses, and leaves no budgetary control to the sales team. With regard to place, the company lacks wide distributional networks. It only depends on its sales team to reach consumers with the products.
The firm’s consumer segments are quite narrow, yet the company’s products can be sold to many industries. In terms of the product life cycle, this organization needs to work on its delivery times as it is slower than other competitors in the market. It believes that consumers will wait for the product if they want it. Such a philosophy is outmoded in competitive landscapes.
Problems for the Marketing Manager
The new marketing manger will have financial problems because the accounting department controls all sales and marketing decisions. Besides this, he or she will have a hard time in convincing the rest of the team that changing their marketing orientation will alter sales prices. It will be difficult to spearhead changes in promotion through advertising, greater customer segmentation, better sales approaches and discount offerings.
General Advice
For the company to become more market orientated, it will have to redefine its marketing approach. The administration should educate employees about the importance of marketing. They need to realize that this is the only lifeline that could save them from shutting down. Once the firm has secured employee support, then the above mentioned changes can be implemented quite easily.