Important variables
Currently, companies in the US use geographic, demographic, and psychographics segmentation approaches to identify consumers. In the case of Randolph Eye Company, the geographic segmentation comprises of some critical attributes, such as weather and market magnitude. The demographic attributes are income, ethnic background, and age, while psychographics segmentation comprises of attributes such as lifestyles, personality, and motives when making the decisions to buy the globally renowned eyewear brand.
The rationale for choosing the variables is that they form the basis of market segmentation to ensure proper brand positioning, which goes a long way in improving performance outcomes of the business establishment. For example, the demographic variables help to determine the extent to which consumers would purchase products based their income levels, ethnic backgrounds, and ages. On the other hand, psychographic variables would be important in understanding how lifestyles, personalities, and motives would impact customers’ buying behaviors.
Target market
Young Digerati
This group consists of relatively young people, especially from teenagers to early adults, who like trendy eyeglasses. The company can tap into this segment by designing and marketing trendy products that can meet the needs of the relatively young people.
Celebrity segment
This group consists of celebrities from different fields, such as sports, entertainment, and business. They have the ability to purchase expensive eyeglasses that are customised. Therefore, the firm can achieve excellent sales results in this segment by ensuring that it offers celebrities high quality and expensive products.
The visually impaired segment
This group consists of customers who use eyeglasses for the purpose of enhancing sight because of eye problems. The management can focus on ensuring that it markets products that can cater for the needs of both low-income end and high-income consumers.
The old-aged segment
This segment consists of people who are relatively old and are in dire need of eyeglasses to enable them to move around easily. In fact, it has been shown that the number of eye problems correlates with the ages of persons. In this market segment, consumers would be willing to purchase eye products as long as they can help them to improve their health problems.
Positioning and information technology
Justification and application at the Randolph Company
In the current business world that is typified by stiff competition, a position of a product in a market is correlated with its success in the short-term and long-term, especially for a new product. In order to achieve the desired goals, positioning strategies mentioned in the book ensure clear differences of a product from the existing products. In relation to the Randolph Company, eyeglasses come in many brands to ensure that its products fit within different market segments, implying that the customer needs in different segments are met by the firm.
Significance of information technology
In the contemporary world, a significant number of business establishments is using information technology (IT) to improve their levels of production and the overall performance outcomes. IT has improved product visibility vis-a-vis online markets. It is important to note that global marketers are involved in marketing products to all markets across the world.
Thus, they would utilize IT tools on the internet with the aim of achieving significant improvements with regard to sales volumes. For instance, social media and visual media have made it easy for online marketers to access the target market without much struggle. In fact, markets who utilize the internet to study market dynamics can access and analyze vital data that would go a long way in improving sales levels both in the short-term and long-term.
Global Business Today
Azure Sky Tea Company is one of the leading firms that specialize in the tea trade. For the firm to import raw tea from the Indian Halida Port into the US market, it would utilize the air as the most efficient path. This path is faster and more reliable, which would imply that the product would reach warehouses of the company within relatively short periods.
In fact, it is critical to note that the mode of transport is typified by little interference, unlike other modes of transport, such as roads and railway lines. Once the product is imported in a quick manner, it would be processed in a fast manner and be taken to various markets. Another important aspect to note about the mode of transport is that it would enable them to realize significant cost savings, which could be attributed to the increased efficiencies of air transport facilities.
Trade financing process is important in enabling companies to obtain funds for supporting key business activities, which would result in increased revenues. Several steps typify the process. The first step involves the definition and establishment of clients’ relationships. A recommendation for this step is that the parties involved should present their current and past business records that would go a long way in facilitating the process. The step involves evaluating the financial status of the firm applying for funds.
It would be recommended that the step should be conducted by independent professionals who could provide accurate financial figures. The rationale for adopting accurate figures is to ensure that the firm performs well in terms of financial outcomes. Finally, a financing company evaluates the goals of the company applying for finances. It would be recommended that the goals should be evaluated on a platform of established standards that would help to predict the levels of success of the business activities that a company would execute. In fact, the prediction would aid to establish whether the firm should be offered funds.
Licensing and Marketing Entries
The advantages of licensing include extra income, quick expansion, minimal political risks, and business sustainability. However, the demerits include loss of control, low income, risk of altered trademark rights, and competition from foreign partners. For instance, Victoria Secrets and Body Shop uses a licensing strategy to achieve significant sales results in global markets. Another example of a company that utilizes licensing as a global marketing approach is Coca-Cola.
A Keiretsu is a form of system that is adopted by many firms in Japan have interlocking relationships and shareholding structures. The system minimizes activities of foreign companies, an act that is aimed at preventing their dominance in Japan. For instance, if a business does not belong to a particular Keiretsu, then it is double taxed when it imports products that are also produced in Japan. Another illustration is that foreign firms are expected to pay relatively high fees in order to join some business networks, implying that most of them are discouraged from operating in the nation.
Global Brands
The brands in top thirteen ranks are consistent in their ranking, which implies that the management teams are keen on adopting strategic approaches that go a long way in supporting lucrative businesses. Although Coca-Cola Company was number 1 in 2010, it dropped. Its that position has been assumed by Apple. However, the other brands have only shown a drop or improvement with a maximum of three ranks.
Apple is the brand that interested me. It has maintained top three positions over the years. The consistency could be attributed to two reasons. First, the firm has been keen on identifying emerging markets that help it to record the best growth trends. Second, the management of the company has benefited greatly by adopting modern technology platforms that enable it to produce and market products effectively.
The global brand is Coca-Cola, the local brand is Demo, and the international brand is Toyota. The key differences in their products are their visibility and diversity appeals. The global brand is more diverse and visible than the others. In fact, the aspects of visibility and diversity have helped the business establishment to achieve impressive consistent growth trends. Demo is said to be local because it does not export its products, while Toyota is an international brand for the reason that it has established markets in a significant number of nations across the world. Coca-Cola is a global brand because it has achieved a global appeal in relation to its goods.
Pricing Strategies and Dumping
The pricing objective of a company seeks to maximize units sold during a certain period. Main pricing strategies include multiple pricing, good-better-best pricing, loss-leader pricing, and penetration pricing. Multiple pricing is used in a scenario where there are multiple products, while good-better-best pricing is used in a scenario to differentiate similar products. An illustration to of the application of the loss-leader pricing when firms want to influence the psychology of buyers, and penetration pricing approach is used to when companies are entering new markets.
Randolph Eyeglasses Company uses multiple pricing to serve different market segments due to the fact that it markets a significant number of eyeglasses. The company could also use good-better-best pricing for its multiple products to ensure that it captures the low-end and high-end clients, which would culminate in remarkable gains positive impacts with regard to sales volumes.