The Reasons for Selecting Specsavers for Analysis
The main purpose of the presentation is to consider one of the companies which is rather successful at the market and to conduct its deep analysis. One of the main reasons why we have chosen Specsavers for analysis is that this company functions in a highly competitive environment and has managed to occupy the markets of different countries, e.g. Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, New Zeeland, etc.
Moreover, the existence of substitute facilities is also rather high but the company manages to remain one of the leading corporations in the opticians’ sphere. Before getting down to creating a presentation, a thorough research had been conducted and it was found out that Specsavers was considered to be most trusted brand in Britain in the field of opticians. Having 39% or market share, the company was awarded with the Best Retail Advertising Campaign in 2010.
All these reasons encourage us for considering the main ideas of the company success for better understanding of marketing facilities which help the company become a market leader within a relatively short period of time (the company was founded in 1984 and now it has about 1,500 stores in many countries of the world).
The Marketing Challenges and Opportunities
Having conducted a research, it is possible to conclude that we have learnt much about marketing challenges and opportunities. It is obvious that to run such specific type of business (connected with healthcare) the company should follow some legal acts and regulations. The inability to do it properly would not give the company an opportunity to achieve such high results.
We also got to know that such innovative technologies as contact lenses and eye surgery are unable to substitute the traditional method for improving human sight. It is obvious that there are two main reasons for this, the positive image of the company and the successful advertising campaign. Thus, it is possible to conclude that having strong rivals which base their business on the innovative technologies, the company still may be successful if marketing and management are perfectly organized.
Means of Marketing Evaluations and Judgments
Making marketing evaluations and judgments about Specsavers functioning we used a number of means of company evaluation, like PEEST analysis, SWOT analysis, and Porter Five Forces. Getting down to close consideration of each of these means, the following information should be identified.
PEEST analysis, being an extended variant of the PEST analysis, is important for consideration of the company’s competitive environment, current and future. This can be the part of the strategic management process which is very important while constantly changing environment which is mostly uncertain (Worthington & Britton 2009, p. 7).
SWOT analysis is necessary for considering the company strengths and their use for competition, for identifying the company’s weakness and searching for appropriate methods either to protect the company or to make the company’s weaknesses their priorities.
Moreover, SWOT analysis is also aimed at identifying the company’s opportunities which should be used and the threats which the company should try to eliminate (Böhm 2009). Porter Five Forces are direct at analyzing company’s competitive forces. These competitive forces are really important within the industry environment as they provide the company with the information about threats and opportunities it has (Hill & Jones 2009, p. 43).
It is natural that the types of analysis mentioned above are not the only ones and it is possible to conduct more research, like Boston Consulting Group Matrix, stakeholder analysis, value chain management, the analysis of porter generic strategies, etc.
Future Recommendations
It is obvious that the company functions in a highly competitive environment where the threat of substitutes is mediocre, but, still, it strongly increases. That is why, it is natural that innovative technologies should be highly developed. Online marketing is one of the greatest opportunities the company should use.
Living in the computerized world, more and more people do purchases online, which is rather convenient. Home delivery should be also perfectly organized. In this case, the company will remain in the industry as one of the most trusted and convenient services in the opticians field.
The number of sales is going to increase as soon as the company implements online purchase as well as online consultation centres and delivery facilities. One of the best ways to evaluate this innovation is to create a questionnaire and locate it on the company’s website offering the visitors to answer a few questions about their desires and wishes. This will help the company understand whether their customers want this service to be implemented or not.
Lessons from Working in a Group
First of all, it should be mentioned that work in group has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, each member of the group is assigned to searching for specific information and conducting specific task. This is much easier rather than when one should perform all the tasks.
On the other hand, different people have different visions and it is sometimes rater difficult to agree on a point. Second, the difficulties may be created on the basis of a number of leaders. It is good when there is one leader in a group and he/she organizes the whole work.
But, when there are two or more leaders, it seems rather difficult to work. It is better to come across all debating questions at once, as we did, to avoid the problems at the final stage of the work when the assembling of the material should be provided. I also get to know that while working in group, it is important to consider the opinion of each member of the group and only then outline the work and divide the information which should be considered between the group members.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be mentioned that the work which has been provided is useful in two main directions. On the one hand, we tried to work together and understood that if to plan work carefully and to divide the tasks according to personal abilities and desires, much more information may be considered. On the other hand, even if one member of the group searches for some specific piece of information, he/she gets to know other facts while the discussion.
That is why, it seems that more information is considered within the restricted period of time. In addition, considering different marketing and management principles on the basis of the specific company, it seems that the practical skills are obtained, not only bare theory. Moreover, some students understand better one side of the problem, other students catch another one and the discussion is also one of the ways for searching the new ways for problem decision.
Reference List
Böhm, A. 2009. The SWOT Analysis. München: GRIN Verlag.
Hill, C. & Jones, G. 2009. Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach. Stamford: Cengage Learning.
Worthington, I. & Britton, C. 2009. Business Environment. London: Pearson Education.