Executive Summary
Tiny Paws is an eco-friendly and sustainable pet clothing and accessories production company. The organization faces some challenges that have to be solved to enable it to prosper. First, the company lacked better strategies to help it make more sales in the post-pandemic era. I would recommend the employees’ appraisal system to aid in training them in their areas of weakness for them to be faster. Tiny did not as well apply the augmented product concept, and I believe adopting the latest technologies, such as 3D technologies, will boost its sales by attracting many buyers.
Second, the company had not focused on increasing sales by fulfilling its social responsibilities. I would advise Tiny Paws’s management to implement free offers and huge discounts to the society as a means of appreciating them, and they will, in return, buy from the company. Tiny would similarly focus on the environmentalist target market to expand its sales volume. Furthermore, it would similarly gain the cost leadership advantage, thus expanding its market share and sales. The third problem is that the company only had fashion designers who had little knowledge of marketing; I would recommend the company to hire sales and marketing strategists to aid in boosting the company’s sales.
Problem Identification
There are several identified problems, first is that the company did not have a proper positioning strategy fitting for the post-pandemic era that would help it increase its sales. Positioning is challenging since some employees, such as Martin, could not deliver on time. Creating a positioning strategy can be essential to Tiny Paws since many pet care businesses already exist. Therefore, the company needs to find its unique selling point to attract customers (Dickons, 2019). Similarly, the company would as well attain cost leadership since they were obtaining supplies at a free cost from Salvation Army by Maria only paying ten percent of her monthly earnings.
Concerning the market share expansion, the company has not emphasized formulating the employees’ appraisal system to ensure that employees are competent to produce the right quality on time. The employee’s lateness could result from a lack of proper knowledge, and training them can make them faster (Godinho Filho et al., 2017). Regarding the augmented product concept, the company has not implemented the latest technology in designing their products. In terms of corporate social responsibility, the company does not give discounts or free offers to customers. Lastly, there was no communication with the target market, which is essential in acquiring clients’ feedback that the company could use to improve its services and increase sales.
Case Analysis
According to the case study, it is clear that some of the employees, such as Martin, are slow in delivering, and this can prevent the company from making more sales in several ways. Late service delivery can significantly impact a company’s sales figures (Baines et al., 2017). In the case of Tiny Paws, eco-friendly and sustainable pet clothing and accessories, for example, delays in delivery orders to customers can lead to a loss of business.
Additionally, the company did not have any marketing or sales professional who could help the company increase its sales to a greater extent. There are many roles that marketing and sales professionals can play to assist increase sales for Tiny Paws. One key area is communication with the target market; this includes understanding the needs and wants of potential customers and knowing how to reach them through various channels (Deepak & Jeyakumar, 2019). In addition, developing compelling messaging and creating attractive and effective marketing materials can go a long way in boosting sales. Sales professionals also perform a critical duty in growing customer relationships (Kaur, 2017). The company only had fashion design professionals who are only trained in creating artfully designed and well-crafted clothing for pets with little knowledge of marketing communication to the target market.
Similarly, based on the presented case, there is only one piece of evidence that the company has been socially responsible by focusing on eco-friendly and sustainable pet clothing and accessories. For example, eco-friendly pet products are typically much safer for animals to wear as they do not contain harmful chemicals. Therefore, for the company to make more sales, it will have to focus on the target market, who are environmentally and socially conscious (Tang, 2018). This includes people interested in preserving the environment and reducing their impact on it, as well as those who want to ensure that the workers who produce their products are treated fairly. Likewise, concerning the augmented products concepts, the company did not have any technological advantage attached to its products.
Recommendation
Concerning positioning strategy for the fitting post-pandemic era, Maria should set targets for all employees to ensure that they all deliver the required quality without any lateness. Timeliness is key in customer service because it establishes trust and builds relationships. When customers know they can rely on a business to provide timely support, they are more likely to continue using the business’s services and recommend them to others (Rita et al., 2019). On product augmentation, Tiny Paws can create augmented product concepts for their products by leveraging the latest in 3D printing and scanning technologies. 3D printing will help Tiny pet clothing designers to create unique, one-of-a-kind products that traditional manufacturing methods cannot replicate. This can give them a significant competitive advantage in the market and boost sales. Additionally, 3D printing will allow for much shorter lead times and quick turnaround times on custom orders, further increasing customer satisfaction and thus increasing sales.
In ensuring increased sales through corporate social responsibility, I would recommend the company to give offers and discounts to help in attracting many clients to the business, thus increasing sales volume. Adding a free offer or discount can act as a corporate social responsibility to boost sales for Tiny Paws. Companies often want to show that they care about social issues and one way to do this is by donating a portion of their profits to charity (Tang, 2018). Tiny company would also ensure that its products are affordable and accessible to as many people as possible. This is where free offers and discounts come in; by making products more affordable, companies can make them more accessible to those who need them the most.
Moreover, Tiny Paws could give out free or discounted products to low-income families, disabled individuals, or other groups who would benefit from access to pet supplies but might not afford them, thus increasing sales. Conversely, communication with the target market plays a bigger role in sales increment. It would be necessary for Maria to employ a marketing or sales representative as an outside-the-box solution to poor communication with the target market.
The representatives will ensure that clients understand the products and how they benefit pets. This will help the company create convincing arguments for potential customers about why they should buy Tiny Paws products, thus increasing sales. Next, they will create relationships with potential customers and get to know their needs (Diehr & Wilhelm, 2017). Once a company understands the market, it creates a product that will solve that need, attracting many clients. Lastly, I would recommend that the company would have reduced its prices because it enjoys free supplies from Salvation Army. The free supplies will aid the company in gaining cost leadership, ensuring it gets many customers and expands its market share.
References
Baines, P., Fill, C., & Rosengren, S. (2017). Marketing. Oxford University Press.
Deepak, R. K. A., & Jeyakumar, S. (2019). Marketing management. Educreation Publishing.
Dickons, G. (2019). How to indentify your unique selling points.Journal of Aesthetic Nursing, 8(4), 201-202. Web.
Diehr, G., & Wilhelm, S. (2017). Knowledge marketing: How can strategic customers be utilised for knowledge marketing in knowledge-intensive SMEs?Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 15(1), 12-22. Web.
Godinho Filho, M., Marchesini, A. G., Riezebos, J., Vandaele, N., & Ganga, G. M. D. (2017). The extent of knowledge of Quick Response Manufacturing principles: An exploratory transnational study.International Journal of Production Research, 55(17), 4891-4911. Web.
Kaur, G. (2017). The importance of digital marketing in the tourism industry.International Journal of Research-Granthaalayah, 5(6), 72-77. Web.
Rita, P., Oliveira, T., & Farisa, A. (2019). The impact of e-service quality and customer satisfaction on customer behavior in online shopping.Heliyon, 5(10), e02690. Web.
Tang, C. S. (2018). Socially responsible supply chains in emerging markets: Some research opportunities. Journal of Operations Management, 57, 1-10. Web.