Introduction
Entering the UK market as a small independent business is a moth exciting and unnerving step since it requires a careful assessment of every factor that may affect the development of the company in the target setting. “Wild at Heart” is a very accurate example of such a situations, with the untapped potential of a small yet very confident business that has a plethora of opportunities laid out in front of it. The company was founded in 2015 by Nikki Tibbles and has been developing at a rather steady yet progressive pace (“Our Shops,” n.d.). Presently, the organization offers its services in flower design and the associated services, claiming its visionary approach to be able to transform a traditional event into a fascinating and wondrous experience. The company does not specify the number of people that it employs, preferring its manager Robyn to represent the organization and be the face of it (“Our Shops,” n.d.). “Wild at Heart” currently has only one owner, specifically, its founder, yet Tibbes remains open to opportunities for partnership and expansion.
“Wild at Heart” operates in a rather competitive sector of the floral industry, which can be deemed as heavily charged with the spirit of competition. Although the idea of a product as delicate as a flower being the center of rivalry, the UK floral industry factually represents an example of rather stiff competition (“Creative and innovative floristry: the answer to online competition,” n.d.). At present, the industry is represented by the products that are either UK-grown or imported from other countries (“Creative and innovative floristry: the answer to online competition,” n.d). Among home-grown plants, one should mention the products such as “African violets, azaleas, begonias, kalanchoes, and potted bulbs” (Flowers and Plants Association, n.d.). In addition, the current UK floral market is dominated by the plants such as daffodils, tulips, and chrysanthemums (“Creative and innovative floristry: the answer to online competition,” n.d.). Imported plants, in turn, include roses (Chile and Ecuador), pot plants (Belgium and Denmark), carnations (Spain and Morocco), orchids (Thailand), and other flowers that are uncommon for the UK climate (mostly from Holland). Therefore, “Wild at Heart” has to apply multiple measures and efforts to stay relevant in the market and make its products unique.
The emphasis on luxury and exquisiteness of provided services and products, particularly, exotic and luxuriant flowers, is the key competitive advantage of “Wild at Heart.” Given the target buyers to the needs of whom “Wild at Heart” caters, as well as the focus on traditional home plants that other businesses in the industry offer, the specified choice of branding should be seen as sensible. The positioning approach of the organization currently implies representing collaboration with the company as an exotic and exquisite experience and, therefore, narrows own the range of its customers and possible partners.
However, the selected approach toward positioning itself also implies that “Wild at Heart” should deal with certain challenges. Applying the STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning) Model to the context of the firm, one will realize that ”Wild at Heart” may suffer from seasonal drops in demand, as well as the inconsistency in the levels of demand among customers. The segmentation framework that “Wild at Heart” uses as the core for its positioning approach implies stratifying the target population based on their financial opportunities and their perception of luxury. To be more specific, “Wild at Heart” splits its potential buyers into segments based on their income and the amount of money spent on luxury products, as well as their overall willingness to buy luxurious items. Since longing for luxury is emblematic of a rather rich segment of the UK population, rich upper-middle- and upper-class buyers are the focus of the company’s attention.
The targeting framework that the firm deploys could also use certain alterations. Specifically, the targeting stage is where it becomes abundantly clear for “Wild at Heart” that the organization requires further expansion into the global market. Indeed, as the STP model indicates, the firm’s targets the luxury segment of the floral industry restrict its choices concerning customer segmentation. Particularly, the organization can only target-rich customers and provide them with its services only on specific events, which mostly include weddings. Given the fact that the specified event is typically perceived as exclusive and is expected to be rare for an individual, “Wild at Heart” needs to expand in order to increase its profit margins.
Regarding the positioning approach, since weddings rarely take place from June until October, although there are some rare exceptions, “Wild at Heart” may experience a significant drop in demand in other months (Kamai, 2016). Therefore, the current positioning framework might need certain changes, while the organization may have to consider expanding into other markets to increase the levels of demand for flowers during other seasons. The organization may need to reposition itself as the firm that arranges both grandiose events such as luxury weddings and receptions and more humble projects that nonetheless require floral decorations. Thus, “Wild at Heart” will also attract a very wide segment of customers that it currently ignores.
The model provided above indicates that “Wild at Heart” has taken a rather small niche in the UK market, which may cause the need to expand in the future. Moreover, with the focus on weddings as its key source of income, “Wild at heart” may suffer from the lack of customers during winter, early spring, and late autumn seasons (Sazvar, Sepehri, & Baboli, 2016). Therefore, the company might consider repositioning as a necessary stage for entering the global market and attracting a wider range of clients.
Business History
In order to understand the prospects of a company’s further operations in a larger market, one needs to consider its history closely. Therefore, taking retrospect at “Wild at Heart’s” evolution, one may predict its behavior in the global market. The company was started as private entrepreneurship in 2015, with a specific focus on providing flowers and floral ornaments for weddings and similar events (“Our Shops,” n.d.). Therefore, “Wild at Heart” has been aiming at a rather specific target audience from the day of its conception. The emphasis on luxury as the key selling point that the company views as its competitive advantage was born at the same time that the owner of “Wild at Heart” designed a business plan for the firm.
Therefore, as a start-up, “Wild at Heart” was an already quite ambitious enterprise. The further changes to its design have only enhanced the atmosphere of luxury and comfort around it, encouraging its customers to experience a truly exquisite service. The immediate transfer to the digital setting and the creation of a user-friendly interface for ordering flowers and services has only amplified the success of the project.
Nonetheless, maintaining the services consistently impeccable was extraordinarily challenging at the start due to the lack of control and the fact that the entire organization was run by a single person. Nikki Tibbles faced the need to perform both leadership and managerial functions, at the same time transferring the company to the digital setting. Thus, at a rather early point of the firm’s development, it was decided to expand the range of its influence and embrace a wider audience.
The creation of the Wild at Heart Foundation marked another stage of the company’s development, skyrocketing its success and making its reputation gain especially great weight in the UK business sector. Aimed at rescuing dogs from cruel treatment and creating programs aimed at building shelters, neutering stray dogs, and search for volunteer owners, the foundation has attracted the attention of many donors (“Our Shops,” n.d.). As a result, “Wild at Heart” has built a very strong presence in the UK floral market despite its comparatively humble beginning.
However, as the firm grew, new challenges arrived, hampering its success. With the rise in the scope and the number of customers whose needs “Wild at Heart” needed to satisfy, maintaining a balance between quality and expeditiousness became excruciatingly difficult, which implied that the firm had to reconsider its approach toward controlling the key processes. The next challenge that the organization had to encounter concerned mostly keeping customers’ interest piqued, which was rather difficult given ”Wild at Heart’s” rather straightforward marketing framework. Therefore, changes in the means of communicating with customers had to take place, with the organization’s key processes being transferred to the digital realm.
The creation of a personal site and the introduction of online tools for shopping and ordering products was a major breakthrough for “Wild at Heart.” Finally, the promotion of the foundation that supports non-profit organizations for saving dogs can be regarded as an important point in the firm’s development. Although the leader of the company does not view the specified step as a marketing choice and, instead, sees it as a method of using some of the company’s profits for the greater good, the Wild at Heart Foundation is an important and powerful tool for attracting the attention of new audiences.
However, the company still has a long way to go. Although the transfer of “Wild at Heart’s” services to the digital realm and communicating with its clients with the help of innovative IT and ICT tools can be regarded as a proper change, further steps are required. Specifically, it is highly recommended that “Wild at Heart” should create an application that its buyers could use to order flowers and services. An online app will help the company to manage customers’ orders in a more timely fashion, simultaneously keeping communication with buyers consistent and allowing them to leave feedback that will be processed and taken into consideration directly. Thus, the quality of the floral services will remain consistent and impressively high.
In order to market the specified service to its clients, “Wild at Heart” will need to improve its current SEO practices, registering the application in the Google store and creating the description that will become visible after potential customers enter keywords into the search engine (Wild at Heart, n.d.). As a result, “Wild at Heart” will attract the attention of an even greater number of its target buyers.
Currently, the business in question is quite successful, yet it needs to be more visible in order to be represented at the international and, later on, global scale. “Wild at Heart” should seek opportunities for improving its performance and attracting new buyers. It is worth noting that “Wild at Heart” has been using digital marketing tools in order to keep the attention of potential buyers on its services. For example, the company has recently introduced the tools for social advertising into the array of its marketing techniques by promoting floral services and products on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Nonetheless, more active strategies are strongly recommended for the firm to succeed on an international and global scale.
In the future, “Wild at Heart” may need to consider the strategies such as content marketing, webinars, and free consultations as the means of gaining the attention of new clients. The suggested tool will be particularly important once the company starts operating in a new market where most buyers are unfamiliar with the company. To give people the sense of the luxury and quality that they will be provided, free consultations and webinars will serve their purpose perfectly. Thus, in retrospect, “Wild at Heart” has gone a long way in its development, yet it needs further changes in order to keep afloat in the global market.
Nature of How the Business Plans
The current business plans are based on a combination of environmental, financial, economic, and cultural factors. In order to provide original and exquisite flora; arrangements, “Wild at Heart” needs to perform a profound analysis of the existing flower options and the methods of growing or obtaining them. In addition, the issue associated with the comparatively short shelf life of the end product needs to be addressed through the rearrangement of the supply chain infrastructure and the communication between its participants. Thus, delays can be avoided, whereas the longevity of the plants can be extended.
At present, the planning framework that “Wild at Heart” utilizes concerns achieving the set objectives, which is a fairly reasonable yet rather basic approach. The focus on business objectives as the method of planning is effective, yet Nikki Tibbles may find it difficult to control the company’s decisions and the outcomes thereof once the organization expands into the global flowering industry. For this reason, the application of a homogenous approach to planning, which helps to set the decision-making process straight and base it on the same set of corporate values. Therefore, the pervasive planning strategy is strongly suggested as the main method of planning within the context of the firm (Besel & Nur, 2017).
However, the described technique may slightly disrupt the processes within the organization since it implies a certain departure from the existing method of planning and corporate decision-making. Therefore, a growth-oriented approach toward business planning can currently be advised as the main method of contingency planning within the company. By integrating the principles of a contingent framework within its context, “Wild at Heart” will ensure that all changes occurring to the organization will be aligned with the corporate philosophy and used for the further improvement of the company’s performance in the target market. Thus, the current nature of the business plan for “Wild at Heart” needs reconsideration and the introduction of the tools for enhancing contingency and connecting different aspects of the firm’s functioning.
Moreover, “Wild at Heart” should consider the rise in the role of biotechnology in global horticulture and the floral industry, in general. The specified trend has set the foundation for creating unique products that can be described as artificial. For instance, the use of flowers of unusual and most unnatural colors, such as blue roses, has been a recent trend and is expected to continue to remain as such in the foreseeable future of the industry (Gherhes, Williams, Vorley, & Vasconcelos, 2016). Thus, “Wild at Heart’s” marketing that focuses on the combination of a natural look and a luxurious feeling that floral arrangements are expected to convey may cause certain disruptions in the current streak of the firm’s success. While the current approach to business planning works well in the local setting, the transfer to the global economy will require changing the marketing style to the one that introduces an organization to a significant amount of flexibility, hence the need to focus on connecting all elements of the firm’s functioning into a single entity to retain contingency and cohesion.
Marketing: Constraints and Growth Factors
The context of an SME defines the choice of its marketing approach significantly, as the case of “Wild at Heart” indicates. The organization has been positioning itself as a luxurious and rather expensive experience service with flowers and floral arrangements of the finest quality, which sets very rigid boundaries for the quality of the delivered product. However, given the time frame of SCM in the global setting, there are reasons to believe that a large amount of the product may become spoiled at the stage of transportation. Indeed, exotic flowers, which “Wild at Heart” boasts to provide to its target customers in an impeccable state and in unique compositions, have a very short shelf life (Hoch, 2016). Due to these longevity restrictions, “Wild at Heart” will need to reconsider its global SCM framework. Specifically, the use of the global infrastructure and an innovation-driven SC should be considered.
In addition, the fact that the organization markets its services exclusively as luxurious imposes certain limitations on the range of customers to which the company can cater. The current SME context facilitates the specified approach since “Wild at Heart” functions in the UK setting, where traditional floral arrangements are deemed as boring, and where rich customers are ready to pay an extra price to receive outstanding services. However, in the global environment, where the specified SME is planning to operate, the focus on luxury as the key characteristic of the service and its essential selling point may become a significant restriction. Specifically, the company will reject a range of prospects for its development that may lead it to the discovery of an entirely new niche that it may want to take along with the production of luxury floral decorations and related services. Given the rise in the global demand for bouquets rather than for grandiose floral compositions, the described concerns are quite justified.
Nonetheless, there are several growth factors for SMEs in the global floral industry that “Wild at Heart” will be able to enjoy. For example, the vast opportunities for cooperation with the suppliers of exotic flowers need to be mentioned as a doubtless advantage that an SME such as “Wild at Heart” will be able to use to its advantage given its current focus on floral arrangements and the introduction of diversity into the range of its products.
The rise in the use of digital tools for marketing and purchasing flowers and the relevant products and services is also on the list of the key growth factors that the organization can use to spur its development. With the creation of additional digital tools such as online applications, “Wild at Heart” will create a system of marketing that will attract new customers regularly. Furthermore, the chances to promote the organization in the global market increase significantly. The use of photography and social networks such as Instagram will help the firm to spur interest toward its original designs among target audiences, thus launching the chain reaction of discussions of “Wild at Heart’s” products in social networks.
Areas of Concern
Although the global economic setting shares quite a few similarities with the U.K. flower market, there are several constraints that are unique to the global setting. “Wild at Heart” will have to consider these differences in order to succeed and advance as an SME. The global floriculture market has the tendency to grow exponentially due to the current trend for purchasing flowers not only as a gift but also for personal use, particularly, aesthetic purposes (Layton, 2015). Therefore, the identified trend should be taken into consideration as one of the constraints that will restrict “Wild at Heart’s” choices in the global setting. The fact that China and India currently have the highest demand for cut flowers, the latter be key products purchased in the floral industry, also sets specific restrictions on “Wild at Heart’s” marketing strategy. Specifically, the organization will need to shape its segmentation, targeting, and positioning approach to focus specifically on Chinese and Indian customers.
The presence of numerous rivals in the global market is the key issue constraint that will restrict the options that “Wild at Heart” presently has in terms of its marketing approach. The company will need to compete with the Asia Pacific region, which has been at the top of the industry and, thus has to create truly unique and original ideas since exotic flowers have already been introduced into the specified market setting. Therefore, the levels of competition can be regarded as important constraints that may inhibit the company’s functioning (Mathews, Bianchi, Perks, Healy, & Wickramasekera, 2016). However, high rates of rivalry in the global floral industry can also be seen as an important issue. Due to the need to create original designs and introduce innovative ideas that will make the company unique in the floral industry, “Wild at Heart” will receive a strong impetus for unceasing growth and the introduction of innovativeness into the corporate philosophy.
The financial opportunities of customers in the global setting may inhibit “Wild at Heart’s” operations if the firm continues targeting individuals instead of focusing on providing services and products for events. In addition, the organization will need to select flower farms with which it will partner in order to provide a high-quality product to the end customer very carefully. The limited opportunities for luxurious products that most flower shops in the global market have to offer set significant limitations for “Wild at Heart,” reducing its chances for maintaining product quality at the required extraordinarily high level and coming up with innovative solutions. The growth factors that the target setting includes, however, indicate that “Wild at Heart” has a rather feasible chance at succeeding in its endeavor to represent its brand in a larger setting and expand into new markets (Mathews et al., 2016). For example, the company may cater to the needs of organizations that seek to represent themselves as luxurious and expensive. Thus, “Wild at Heart” will provide the services and products that will help these companies to set the events that will characterize them as such.
3 Marketing Models
Porter’s 5 Forces
As the results of Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis above show (see Figure 1 1), “Wild at Heart” is likely to face moderate competition in the global setting, similar to the situation that it currently has in its home setting. Since some, although not all, flowers can only be grown during specific seasons, the bargaining power of both buyers and suppliers can be regarded as moderate. However, it should be kept in mind that, in some countries, the climate allows producing numerous types of flowers, including exotic ones, for a significantly long period of time. In addition, some states such as the Netherlands have gained the influence that borders monopoly in the flower industry.
The threat of new entrants is with what “Wild at Heart” should currently concern itself since the company’s only selling points are the luxury and quality of its products and services. While the specified advantage is quite important, the firm should bear in mind that, in the global market, a significant number of customers are eager to overlook the issue of quality and may not be preoccupied with the degree of luxury (Benson-Rea & Stringer, 2015). Therefore, “Wild at Heart” will need to come up with another addition to its competitive advantage such as biotechnological innovations.
McKinsey 7S model
Figure 2. McKinsey’s Model: “Wild at Heart”.
Applying McKinsey’s Model to the situation that “Wild at Heart” is currently facing in its home market and the global one, one will have to concede that the current concept of luxury as the key marketing component has to be expanded. While the organization should jot rebrand its products, it should incorporate other elements, specifically, unique diversity, into its marketing framework. As a result, it will build the competitive advantage required for establishing an immense influence in the global flower industry.
AIDA
Entrepreneurial Marketing and “Wild at Heart”
In order to succeed in the selected niche, “Wild at Heart” will have to make an important step in its marketing strategy, which implies incorporating innovative thinking and producing new ideas regularly. Along with the specified notion, one will also have to integrate the principles of entrepreneurial marketing into the company’s design. The existing sources define entrepreneurial marketing as the notion that should be connected to the corporate value and philosophy, thus forwarding the company’s ideas and representing an organization in the selected area.
The notion of entrepreneurial marketing is, therefore, rather straightforward in its essence. However, there have been certain debates concerning the meaning of the subject matter (Brand, Croonen, & Welsh, 2016). Throughout its evolution, entrepreneurial marketing has been defined in several ways, which implied different perspectives on the connection between corporate functions, corporate philosophy, and marketing processes (Dutot, Lacalle Galvez, & Versailles, 2016). Herein lies the core of the controversy surrounding the subject matter (Ismail & Zainol, 2018)
As Ismail and Zainol (2018) suggest, the interpretation of the subject matter defines the application of entrepreneurial marketing and the role that it plays in the process of promoting a product. What makes the phenomenon in question so important is the fact that it enables the leaders of an organization to connect corporate values and philosophy to the marketing strategy, amplifying its effect and representing the product or service in question as honestly as possible (Katsikeas, Morgan, Leonidou, & Hult, 2016). As a result, customers are most likely to develop strong brand loyalty and consume the suggested goods enthusiastically (Kumar, Pawar, Bishnoi, & Bhatia, 2016). Therefore, entrepreneurial marketing is a crucial component of functioning in any segment of the global economy (Dzikowski, 2018). Thus, the specified notion has to be applied to the setting of “Wild at Heart.” By integrating corporate values, which currently center around creating a comfortable environment and luxurious experience for its customers, and the marketing strategy, “Wild at Heart” has managed to appeal to its core audience and attract people and organizations that seek
Overall, the idea of integrating the principles of entrepreneurial marketing into the context of “Wild at Heart” as an SME that is willing to expand into the global market seems fairly feasible. The company is ready to embrace the ideas of innovation and diversity, including them into its design and corporate values in order to appeal to a wider range of clients (Gupta, Malhotra, Czinkota, & Foroudi, 2016; Rao-Nicholson & Khan, 2017). Therefore, “Wild at Heart” will be capable of establishing the key concepts of entrepreneurial marketing into its environment (Miles et al., 2016). The specified step is, in fact, quite important for the company’s ability to function in the global economy.
To evaluate the efficacy of the specified notion in the “Wild at Heart” setting, one will need to observe how different aspects of entrepreneurial marketing coexist with the current principles and standards of “Wild at Heart,” its leadership approach, and its marketing strategy. The phenomenon of entrepreneurial marketing is often reviewed from the perspective of SC’s – “communication, competency, content, creativity, cultural values, and creator of artwork” (Toghraee, Rezvani, Mobaraki, & Farsi, 2018, p. 9). Applying the specified notions to the context of “Wild at Heart,” one will realize that the issue of communication is, perhaps, the most problematic one. Although the organization manages to convey key ideas within its current setting and appeal to the local community, it will need a broader communication framework once it enters the global economy (Efrat, Gilboa, & Yonatany, 2017). Thus, the principles of a company-employee and company-customer dialogue should be revisited to deploy the latest IT and ICT tools and control the feedback to respond to it quickly.
Competency levels are currently reasonably high, yet “Wild at Heart” will need to establish marketing training courses for its new recruits once the firm enters the global market. With the introduction of an innovation-based philosophy, the levels of creativity will be maintained even with the expansion of the services. The cultural competence levels, in turn, will be increased once a new philosophy based on diversity and multiculturalism is incorporated into the firm’s functioning (Yang, 2018). Finally, the creator of artwork is currently in the spotlight of the organization, since Nikki as its leader manages most of the designs and floral arrangements. Thus, the organization seems to respond to the current criteria for entrepreneurial marketing (Martin & Javalgi, 2016). However, the existing situation can be improved with the platform for obtaining even better outcomes by introducing the concept of innovation into the corporate setting (Fink, Koller, Gartner, Floh, & Harms, 2018). Thus, “Wild at Heart” will be capable of connecting its marketing framework to its corporate values even closer and ensuring that customers see the organization in the desired light, specifically, as an innovative firm offering luxurious and delightful experiences.
Choice of Article and the Situation Facing “Wild at Heart”
The article selected for the first assignment addresses the issues concerning the management of SMEs in the global economy, in general, which is why it is very important to incorporate into the analysis of the situation that can be observed at “Wild at heart.” However, the specified article also does not deliver the analysis of the retail sector in a manner that is scrupulous enough to understand all the challenges of a marketing process. While one should give authors credit for mentioning the issues linked to digital marketing, the paper still needs other resources to support the assessment.
Insights into the Behaviour of the Company
The evaluation of “Wild at Heart’s” current situation has offered multiple important insights into the functioning of the target company. Specifically, the difficulties linked to the design of competitive advantage and a sustainable marketing framework that will help to gain the undivided attention of target buyers need to be mentioned. The assessment of “Wild at Heart’s” marketing potential refers to the issues concerning the change in the cultural perspective. Thus, the problem of shaping the corporate marketing approach without reducing the brand recognition levels and the choices that a company makes to retain it are explored in depth.
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Appendix A: Profile of “Wild at Heart”
The floral industry might seem barely noticeable in the modern world driven by technological advances and the innovative solutions introduced by IT organizations, yet it has warranted an important place in the UK market. “Wild at Heart” is a company that provides luxury floral services, including any flower-related products from bouquets to large decorations to businesses and for specific events such as weddings (“Our shops,” n.d.). The firm opened in 2015 and has been offering its services to the UK crowd to this day. (Wild at Heart, n.d.). The organization’s owner, Nikki Tibbles, holds most of the power in the company, with the managerial responsibilities being delegated to Robyn, who works in one of the stores.
The name of the company signifies its original approach toward the creation of floral arrangements, ornaments, bouquets, and other products, as well as providing floral services. The combination of originality and luxury is evident in the name, yet the title also hints at the charity that the company sponsors. Particularly, the organization provides assistance to the charities that take care of stray dogs, providing them with home, medical treatment, and neutering them.
However, the company prefers to focus customers’ attention on the wide range of services that it provides, which range from wedding floral arrangements to the creation of unique bouquets to landscaping and cooperation with hotels. The firm has been gearing its marketing strategy toward the promotion of luxury services and the creation of unique and exquisite experiences, yet “Wild at Heart” will need an improved strategy for appealing to global companies. Given the high rates of competition in the global floral industry, “Wild at Heart” will need the competitive advantage that it based on innovativeness and the use of the latest technological advances for keeping the quality at its top.
“Wild at Heart” states that its focus on luxury and the creation of inimitable floral ensembles, most of which are practically works of art, are its core advantage. The specified characteristic is quite true, yet it is strongly desirable that the firm should seek other options for promoting its services, such as the creation of plants of unique colours and properties with the help of innovative biotechnology. The specified change will help the firm to truly stand pout in the global floral market and become an unparalleled organization. Furthermore, the company has established quite an impressive supply chain within its home market, yet further expansion will be required to introduce the organization to the global market. Consequently, a change in the current leadership framework, which mostly incorporates the elements and visionary and laissez-faire styles, will be needed. Specifically, the focus on the transformational approach is highly desirable.
The present marketing approach deployed by “Wild at Herat” can be evaluated at a rather high rate due to the incorporation of various techniques, including digital tools and social networking. However, the firm may need to incorporate other strategies that will allow it to propel itself to the top of the global; floral industry within the next few years. The adoption of the techniques associated with the introduction of innovative approaches and the focus on culture-specific needs of customers, including a better understanding of what is considered a luxurious floral decoration in different cultures may be needed for “Wild at Heart” to become a part of the global market.
Therefore, the current competitive advantage that the organization boasts is quite legitimate for the home setting of the organization, yet it may hamper the company’s promotion in the global economy. The current focus on luxury has helped “Wild at Heart” to earn a name in the UK floral industry, yet the company is currently ready to evolve past this point and introduce new ideas into its corporate framework. The corporate philosophy of “Wild at Heart” centres primarily on the delivery of the finest and the most exquisite services and products possible to its target audience. The specified goals include collaboration with other firms and the search for sustainable and effective solutions to the problem of resource management and creating unique floral arrangements.
Therefore, as an organization evolving in its local niche, “Wild at Heart” has been showing the signs of impressively fast development and a very strong marketing framework. However, its expansion in the global economic setting is fraught with challenges that include the search for a proper risk management technique, the reconsideration of its competitive advantage, and the integration of the latest technological innovations into its production and SCM processes. Therefore, “Wild at Heart’s” marketing framework needs updates that align with the company’s brand image and its corporate philosophy, which also have to be shaped toward a more diverse perspective.
Appendix B: Discussion and Comparison
The evaluation of the company has shown that “Wild at Heart” is likely to experience difficulties adjusting to the global market due to the niche that it has selected. In addition to high rates of competition in the global market, the firm will also have to face the challenges associated with translating its marketing approach into the global multicultural context and appealing to customers with different perspectives of luxury and style. The specified experience can be compared to the marketing approach selected by Jollyflorist and Florists’ Transworld Delivery (FTW) from the U.S. during their transfer to the global economic setting. However, while International Floral Delivery have focused on the speed of service provision, “Wilf at Heart” has promoted mainly its authenticity and luxury, which may not be the most needed components for a marketing campaign in the global setting (“Jollyflorist,” n.d.; “Florists’ Transworld Delivery,” n.d.).
The examples of Jollyflorist and FTW have shown that it is critical to introduce flexibility into the design of a marketing strategy and the representation of a competitive advantage. Thus, a firm will adjust the marketing framework to the cultural setting in which it operates in order to appeal to a specific demographic or create a marketing approach that will embrace as wide a population as possible. Therefore, it is critical for ”Wild at Heart” to follow the examples mentioned above and consider evolving past the current stage by incorporating innovative elements such as biotechnological opportunities (Kamal, 2016). Thus, high levels of luxury will be combined with a high level of uniqueness which will be appreciated by target buyers.
Appendix C: Interview with Nikki Tibbles (Founder) and Robyn (Manager)
How did you come up with this idea?
Niklki Tibbles (N): Flower shave always been my passion, and I’ve loved using them as decorations. So offering people floral arrangements for their weddings and other occasions seemed like a natural idea. Soon I started to search for someone who could help me with the management of my expanded business, and I found Robyn, who seemed to be just as excited as I was.
Robyn (R): Yes, I was also delighted to work in the flower industry and at the same time train my management skills.
How big is your business currently? Are you planning any expansion?
N: Though we’ve just started, we’ve already gained quite the attention. I founded “Wild at Heart” in 2015, you know. And the firm’s been getting more and more customers every day. Yes, we are planning an expansion into other markets, even though I believe that we haven’t yet used all of the UK’s market potential.
How often do you get orders for floral arrangements? Are these only weddings?
N: You’ve touched quite a nerve with that question! (laughs). Order frequency is one of the key reasons for us to seek expansion options. Even though we’ve attained quite a success here in the UK, we mostly have seasonal orders, with about 10 customers per month. And, yes, since these are mostly weddings and wedding receptions, out high season lasts from late spring to early autumn. Nobody wants to get married in February, you know (smiles).
That’s unfortunate! Would you say that your industry is very competitive?
N: That’s another difficult question to answer. Growing flowers has always been popular in the UK, and a lot of people are willing to take their hobby to the next level where they will get money from it. However, most of these organizations, while also starting as SMEs and family businesses, rely on their low prices. In addition, most of them offer the plants that are already abundant in many households and offer rather typical services. There are very few flower companies that provide luxurious services and exotic flowers.
R: However, that’s one of the major problems with the industry, too. Buyers are not used to luxury, so they are more likely to pay attention to companies with traditional services rather than with the ones that offer exotic and unique experiences.
N: Exactly. So, yes, the competition is tight.
So how did you address it?
R: We decided to transfer our services to the digital setting and help people make the process of ordering flowers, selecting the product, and setting the requirements for product delivery as convenient as possible.
N: If you look at our sire, you’ll see that the interface is user-friendly and very convenient to use. We have updated out supply chain to integrate the latest ICT tools, which makes it times more efficient than it used to be at the beginning of our journey. So it’s the combination of quality, expeditiousness, and luxury that makers our services unparalleled.
That sounds like a lot of hard work! How did you make sure that your competitors did not surpass you? What did you do to identify and evaluate them?
N: Well, of course, there was a detailed market analysis. We looked carefully at each of the best-known flower shops in the area and realised that they sold primarily traditional British plants. It was a safe but boring bet, so we decided to search for something that was more lucrative, even if it might turn out to be significantly more risky.
Have you ever considered that the idea of luxurious products, be they plants or anything else, and small businesses is incompatible?
N: I had certain doubts at first, mostly because offering luxury to our customers meant investing a large sum of money into the organization immediately. Luckily, I was prepared for financial risks, and the risk management technique that I used along with a sensible exit strategy kept the business safe.
What are some of these risk management techniques?
N: Of course, there is the contingency plan for addressing all possible concerns. I mapped the possible threats to the business at the very start of my entrepreneurship, and I have been updating the framework ever since. Thus, all of the threats that “Wild at heart” may sustain have been kept visible and easy to address. Selecting the right type of insurance was also a challenge, yet I finally settled with the one that implies product liability. As you understand, our product is not exactly durable and is very delicate, which is why it was crucial to address possible instances of flower damage. As Robyn joined me, she also suggested several important tools for handling the problem of risks.
R: The management-related risks and their monitoring were the most urgent concerns at the time. The framework Nikki selected was very effective, but it also required tight control. Therefore, we had to introduce a range of tools to the supply chain to track down all possible losses we could sustain.
N: And don’t forget your brilliant idea for managing staff-related risks.
R: (smiling) You’re too kind. It was true, though, that we had to address the problems of staff shortage, injuries, and other problems. So an appropriate insurance type was chosen as well.
With all these expenses for risk management, how could you establish a proper strategy for marketing your products?
N: I chose risk management, quality assurance, and marketing as the core aspects of the business that required extensive financing, so there were enough assets to go around.
I: Tell me more about your marketing strategy, please.
N: It is rather basic, actually. We position our company as the only one that provides truly exquisite and exclusive floral services. We cater to people’s need for luxury and uniqueness, which is why our flowers are exotic and magnificent. Our florists have exemplary tastes in floral arrangements and design, which is why everything that we produce, from bouquets to landscaping.
R: And we also provide seasonal options. Even though late autumn winter, and early spring are not the most productive seasons, Nikki creates arrangements for each time of year.
N: Correct. We position ourselves as the organization that can provide floral services for any environment and in any season.
R: She has created a signature style that singles our company out of the rest of similar services and copycats.
N: Yes, I have made the name for the company due to creativity in floristry. My arrangements are based on the use of colours and shapes by selecting specific types of flowers and combining them to build a unique atmosphere of richness and style.
R: Style is another important element of our marketing. We promote the traditional Britishness and everything that goes with it, yet we also add a tint of exotics into it.
N: this helps to attract customers who are unwilling to part with the traditional approach to wedding floral decorations, yet want to introduce fresh elements into it.
So this is your main competitive advantage, am I right? You combine luxury and brutishness to bring a new and rich experience to your customers?
N: Correct. Since its conception, “Wild at Heart” has been focusing on quality and exquisiteness. Even though we had to shape our philosophy in order to adjust to the competition in the market and allocate resources adequately, quality and taste have remained the top criteria for product design. We seek to improve our supply chain and are thinking of the approach for maintaining communication with our customers even as we grow. Feedback gives us crucial insights into further improvements and enables us to improve.
And what about your campaign for saving dogs?
N: We don’t view it as a source for attracting new customers; rather, it’s something that we wish we could influence and change as an organization with certain weight in the community. Of course, we will be happy if people become interested in our services by participating in our campaign, yet it’s not the end goal of “Wild at Heart Foundation,” but, rather, a side effect of it.
I: Well, it seems that your business is going to be well received in the global community. Thank you for answering my questions! This interview has been very insightful and inspirational. You have a truly remarkable case of how an organization can propel itself to the top of the market. I wish you all the luck!
N: Thank you!
R: Thanks, it’s been a pleasure!