Marketing strategy
TNT, which is a global market leader in providing business-to-business express delivery services through air or road, serves more than 200 countries globally (The time 100, (a) 2011). To fulfil the company’s mission, there needs to be marketing management and strategy where marketing strategy is well planned and managed. This proposal therefore seeks to show how marketing management and strategy of the company will be done if approved (Baker, 2008, p. 3-27).
There are different marketing techniques that the company need to apply practically, and manage the marketing resources and activities. Since the company operates globally, the strategies should focus on global marketing. It is very important that the company understands its objectives concerning the business it is dealing with and the market where the company operates (Miles 2003, p. 302).
For TNT express to use its resources on the available opportunities to improve and increase service delivery, and become competitive in the market, it needs to have a strategy that will help it realize the objective. This marketing strategy will satisfy the needs in the market, and make the company deliver more services to various customers in the different countries (The time 100 (a) 2011).
Through the company’s mission that shows the purpose of the company, principle aims the company wants to meet are well outlined to clearly show the activities of the company, and the future position where the company wants and wishes to be (The time 100 (b) 2011).
TNT express company has a mission to transfer goods and services to customers, and exceed the customers’ expectations globally, provide very reliable and efficient solutions to its customers, and give them value through delivery networks, to instil pride in its people thereby leading the industry, valuing its stakeholders, and sharing roles globally.
The objectives of going into marketing are to help the organization achieve the aims of transferring goods and documents efficiently to all countries served by the company, satisfying the customers by offering them the best delivery services and behaving in a responsible manner.
Everyone should understand the operations of the business in marketing itself through the set objectives to know what they should do, how and when. The objective of marketing strategy developed by the company is to increase and improve its service deliveries (The time 100 (a) 2011).
Though this is the general ultimate objectives, there are other objectives that will help in achieving the specific objective. The company will increase its speed of delivery of goods and documents to its clients thereby establishing a very distinct position in the market against its competitors.
This is the kind of service that the company will make sure it provides to its clients to achieve the specific objective of increasing service deliveries. Another objective that will help the company increase its service deliveries, is to give the most reliable and customer focused services, which will result in a competitive advantage for the TNT Company (Hunt & Robert 1995, p. 1-15).
Internally, the company has strengths of having outstanding staff that can help in achieving the objective of marketing its services while externally, the company is known to be the leading express service delivery. The company can therefore use its available resources to attain its goal. The success of the strategy is therefore propelled by the position of the business both in the internal and external environments.
First, the company needs to tell both its new and old clients about the kind of business the company operates in, and the services it offers through different marketing tools. The next thing required by the company is to develop its new clients that seem to be potential. Lastly, the company will employ the use of multimedia to promote its operations. Small postcards will be designed that has the logo of the company, and introduce the services done by the company. The cards will contain contact information.
The cards will be sent to both old and already existing customers to remind them that the company is concerned about them. To develop the new attained clients, they will be told of the many benefits of trusting in TNT as a transport service provider of choice, and acquire information on the feelings of the clients about the services offered by the company.
Depending on the budget, the company will use different media to promote itself. The company will also develop brochures about the company, and take them to companies the company feels will be potential clients.
Marketing mix
The marketing mix includes the price, product, distribution and promotion, and all these needs to be well blended by the company to come up with a marketing strategy that will satisfy the demand in the market. The aspect of product, pricing, promotion, place, people, and process will be focused on in creating awareness about what the company is offering its clients, and creating loyalty from the customers (Hill & David 1996, p. 429-51).
TNT is a service delivery company, and will improve its services through marketing to make sure the company reaches more to several clients in different countries, and already existing and new customers are retained in the company. The services will be offered faster to satisfy the customers, and efficiently serve the need of every stakeholder in the company.
Having done this, the services offered by TNT express will be different from those offered by its competitors thereby placing it differently. Due to the development of the services, they will indeed satisfy the customers’ needs. The company will also reduce its prices charged to the client for delivery of their goods and documents so that they are more willing to use TNT because of its affordability. This will give the company a competitive advantage compared to other competitor companies (Gilbert & Paul 1989, p. 82-93).
To promote the company, the marketers will employ different communications such as sales promotion and advertisement. If the budget allows the marketers will use radios and internets to advertise who they are, what they do, and what they intend to do.
The company will also use public events such as trade shows to talk and inform about the services they offer globally. Through the qualified staff and satisfied customers, they will pass a word of mouth to others for them to use TNT as the company of choice whenever they require delivery services (Don, Stanley & Robert, 1993, p. 213).
To make the services accessible to customers more easily, the company will pass on cards to its potential clients informing them of the places they are located so that anytime they require TNT’s services the customers will easily reach for them. Through the internet also, the company will make it easy for the customers to access its services easily, find the services the company offers, and all the information that pertains the services by TNT express.
Since TNT is a service delivery company, it will need to improve its material cues for the consumers to incline more on it as a way of physically evidence. In the brochures, the customers need, what the company offers clearly with its mission and values will be well indicated.
The uniforms for example that the employees put on as they deliver the goods and documents should highlight some of the things that will make the customers feel they are using the right delivery company in the world (The time 100 (b) 2011).This calls for effective relationship between the drivers who deliver the goods and documents, and people they meet in the client companies. More improvement will also be done in the manner phone calls are made to make sure that more promises are given to the caller (The time 100 (b) 2011).
To achieve more service deliveries globally, TNT will integrate telemarketing and internet marketing to have the marketing mix well controlled. This way the customers will experience what the company is offering. Customers will be greeted well, and their requests granted accordingly. Service delivery will be negotiated in a professional friendly manner, and goods and documents delivered as required. When the company does this, it will have attained a well-focused marketing process (Grant 1991, p. 114-135).
Budget
Sales/revenue forecast(s)
Budget is very important in forecasting for the investment in the business. The TNT Company has invested in various resources such as the staff, the vehicles, aeroplanes and various communication channels the company will employ in marketing its services such as television and internet (The time 100 (a) 2011).
Budgeting is very important for the company to plan for staffing and its operations. When the strategy above is well implemented, it is then proper to come with a sales or revenue forecast for the first three months of implementation.
From the case study, the company is said to have been delivering more than 3.5 million items in a week (The time 100 (b) 2011). So after employing the strategy to maximize deliveries and increase them, the deliveries per week are estimated to rise thereby giving big numbers in a month. The increase in the delivery of items is thought to be also propelled by the decrease in prices over the first few months as a price skimming strategy that helps make more deliveries at a price friendly to the consumers.
The increase in the delivery lines is also estimated to come from the increased first class working conditions, and the care given to the company’s employees. The employees of the company are well trained to do their jobs, and with the proposed strategy more deliveries will be realized by the company. The company attracts and develops high caliber employees to satisfy the needs of the customers, and make them remain loyal to the company as their company of choice (The time 100 (b) 2011).
Marketing expense budget(s)
Creation of marketing budget is very important in controlling the marketing expenses, and projecting the company’s revenues. With the budget the company will control all the marketing activities, and make all members responsible for marketing be at a better position to implement the marketing strategy. The budget will also guide the company in adjusting its marketing strategy.
The above marketing expense budget is well related to the marketing strategy the company is proposing to carry on and improve in the service delivery globally. All the expenses in the budget will help in marketing the services the company offer its clients thereby increasing the services compared to before just as seen in the revenue forecast above (The time 100 (a) 2011).
Control
Implementation, Evaluation and measurement
The company will implement the marketing strategy by following the marketing actions. This will be done by the company involving in the day-to-day marketing activities that will put the strategy into action. Those involved in the actions will be identified, and told the roles they will play at different positions at a given time, in the most effective way. Implementation of the strategy will be done fast to give the company an advantage over other competitor companies.
To effectively implement the strategy, the company will always check on the progress to be sure that whatever they are doing is working, and if not, adjust the plan. The company will also recognize the employees who do their jobs well to realize the common goal of the strategy.
Those who will be congratulated are the employees who meet deadlines and meet the goals. Since the market keeps on changing, the company will also continue adjusting the strategy to completely fit in the market. The strategy will be allowed to work by working as a team to make sure that it works (Thompson, Strickland & Gamble 2005, p. 47).
Feedbacks from the companies TNT works for are very important since TNT will know what it will be doing. The companies will be asked if they are satisfied with the progress of the plan, and asked to contribute on how the strategy could be improved. With the high caliber staff of TNT Company, the company will blend them so well to do the job as required. This will make each of the employees know what the company wants thereby making them strive to accomplish the company’s goals.
To win more clients for the services offered by TNT, the company will exploit all the new venues, and get all its marketing materials in order. To successfully make sure that the timeline of the marketing strategy does not change much, the company will have a clear picture of what it will be doing, when, and fit it in the calendar. To do this correctly, the company will be realistic on the activities it will set to do to market its services (Schneider & De Meyer 1991, p. 307-320).
In general, the marketing implementation will execute the actions that were earlier formulated. The company will use direct mails, ads in the newspaper, radio and trade journals. The company will use different marketing tools, to increase their services. To follow up on the progress, emails, faxes and post cards will be used to get the feedback from the different client companies (Kotler 1994, p. 169).
References
Baker, M. (2008) The Strategic Marketing Plan Audit. England, Cambridge strategy publications.
Don, E., Stanley, I. & Robert, F. (1993) Integrated Marketing Communications. NTC Business Books, a division of NTC Publishing Group.
Gilbert, X and Paul, S. (1989) Developing competitive advantage. In The Strategy Process, Concepts, Con-texts, Cases 2nd edition. London: Prentice-Hall.
Grant, M. (1991) The resource-based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33, 114-135.
Hill, W. and David, L. (1996) The importance of industry structure for the determination of firm profitability: A neo-Austrian perspective. Journal of Management Studies, 33, 429-451.
Hunt, D. and Robert, M. (1995) The comparative advantage theory of competition. Journal of Marketing, 59, 1-15.
Kotler, P. (1994) Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. P.169.
Miles, R. (2003) Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process. Stanford: Stanford University Press. P. 302.
Schneider, S. and De Meyer, A. (1991) Interpreting and responding to strategic issues. Strategic Management Journal. 12 (July): 307-320.
The time 100 (a). (2011) Marketing mix (Price, Place, Promotion, Product). Web.
The time 100 (b). (2011) TNT: Delivering a business strategy. Web.
Thompson, A., Strickland, A & Gamble, J. (2005) Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage w/OLC/Premium Content Card (14th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.