Marketing Plan For A Business Level Strategy

Thesis Statement: The economy is for ever changing toward what has control of demands, the environment of entrepreneurship is high on the charts, however the small business are surviving equally with the large businesses.

Marketing strategies is a strategy that takes in consideration of all marketing goals into a one comprehensive plan. A good marketing strategy should be drawn from market research and focus on the right product mix in order to achieve the maximum profit potential and sustain the business. The marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan.

Whole Foods Market’s first retail location was in Austin, Texas. Today there are 342 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The growth of this health conscious conglomerate happened over the years by strategic acquisitions of profitable independent stores throughout United States. Mackey’s idealism and respect is exhibited in his openness about the contributions of these retailers to the success of WFM, as the website provides an in depth summary of each acquisition and its contribution to promoting healthier food choices (Whole Foods Market History, 2014). After four years in Austin, Texas WFM branched out into the city of Houston when it purchased the Whole Foods Company, and shortly after, on the west coast, a new store was built in Palo Alto, California. Subsequently WFM began aggressive acquisitions over the next few years, which help to accelerate the growth rate of WFM in other geographical locations. In 2002 WFM opened in Canada and in 2004 through the acquisition of United Kingdom’s grocery chain Fresh & Wild, it opened seven stores. Holistic eating is a worldwide affair that WFM is taking advantage

Each location is responsible for its own network and distribution. All products are sourced locally. WFM caters to the needs of its local market. WFM uses a team approach—each store is a team, each department within a store is a team, and each employee is a member of a team. Each location is responsible for their critical decision making, marketing activities and training of employees. WFM is certified organic and believes that it can cultivate customer loyalty by emphasizing the benefits of organic foods. Whole Foods Market is profit oriented—operating under the belief that everyone benefits from profits—team members profit from employment opportunities, customers profit by the in-store experience that profits provide, and shareholders enjoy large dividends derived from company revenue. Whole Foods feels that its customers know the value of its products; therefore the retailer is not focused on lowering prices to increase its competitive advantage. WFM relies on buzz marketing generated by its customers. (The Winning Ways of Whole Foods,

Whole Foods’ incredible rise over the past 34 years serves as evidence of their considerable ability to create a strategy and successfully execute it. Whole Foods differentiated itself by becoming the first Certified Organic grocer in the United States (1) and has stuck to the strategy of selling consumers organic and natural products. The successful execution of this strategy has allowed them to charge a premium for their products giving them higher net margins than nearly all of their competitors. (2) Their ability to earn such premiums has attracted the attention of industry incumbents who are now attempting to lure the increasingly health-conscious consumer with their own expanded offerings of organic and natural foods. For Whole Foods Market to retain their ability to earn such impressive premiums and sustain their growth they will have to execute on their strategy with even greater precision. “No firm can succeed for long without an intense focus on execution. Average executors are average performers, and poor executors risk decline and failure.” (3)

The mission of WFM is to “promote the vitality and well-being of all individuals by supplying the highest quality, most wholesome foods available.” The company provides and empowers the work environment of its members and commits to a sustainable agriculture. The aspiration of WFM is to be a global brand that is not limited to natural and organic foods but also become the best retailer in every community in which they locate (WFM, 2009). Another strategy that works well for the company is its foods. WFM obtains its products locally and from all part of the world and have uniquely dedicated food artisans. It strives to provide high quality, least processed and naturally preserved foods. The company believes that food its unaltered state is the best tasting and most nutritious food.

When analyzing Whole Foods Market, it is apparent that the firm aligns strategies with the organization’s eight core values. Whole Foods product strategy brings consumers an assortment of high-quality organic, natural products that bring nourishment to customers and made it possible for the company to be environmental stewards. The companies merchandising strategy creates a delightful experience by positions goods and services appropriately for each location. The growth strategy of Whole Foods has helped them create wealth and grow into different areas locally and globally. The supply strategy has given local suppliers the ability to provide products to stores in their region and has helped to uphold Whole Foods commitment to serving and supporting local communities. Whole Foods has also been able to improve partnership with suppliers through their loan program that helps local partners

The name of the company I will be discussing goes by the name of ‘Whole Foods Market’.” Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas, when four local business people decided the natural foods industry was ready for a supermarket format” (www.wholefoodsmarket.com) . The four persons who founded the company goes by the names: Craig Weller and Mark Siles who were owners of Clarksville Natural Grocery along with John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy who were owners of Safer Way Natural Foods. When Whole Foods Market was launched it quickly became a success and has expanded and exploded to a number of States in the United States of America.

Environmental Protection Agency) for failing to properly identify or handle hazardous waste at several of the company’s stores in the southern part of the United States. The investigation and its results (“EPA Offers”) accomplish more than suggest that Whole Food Markets was in fact, not partaking in particularly “Wise Environmental Practices”. Therefore, I am able to conclude that while WFM does not track the company’s core values, it does not necessarily defy any of the listed values to such extent that one could claim the list irrelevant to WFM’s business. Furthermore, the same magazine that featured WFM on its list over the best workplaces – Fortune Magazine –, also included WFM on its list over the most admired companies in the world. On this list, the company is ranked the highest in its industry, mainly due to being ranked the highest in four out of nine key reputation attributes that are all highly correlated with WFM’s core values: innovation; people management, social responsibility; and quality of products/services (“World’s Most”). Therefore, one can determine that WFM’s core values do play some part in the company’s

Without question, no competitive strategy has been employed more fully and effectively, by WFM, than differentiation. Basically, this strategy involves making the organization’s products and

The company’s mixture of collective knowledge and core capabilities in the natural food industry has allowed Whole Foods the competency to not only establish a solid brand recognition in this market, but has afforded them the opportunity to remain competitive in the grocery industry. Their effective organizational development, integrated with the team of five senior executives, who function as a CEO team, collaboratively make decisions in all facets of the company’s strategic initiatives.

Whole Foods Market (WFM) is struggling to stabilize the natural and organic market share among competitors. One of the major problems is their organic product prices are very high for average consumers and they are using the same food distributor in the U.S. According to the Business Insider report, the WFM brand image is no longer attracted to new customers because they can find alternative organic products with cheaper prices in the competitor stores. And also WFM competitors such as Trader Joe’s and Kroger are maintaining their private-label products to make unique organic products and promote their band image.

Physical - Food Processing/Distribution: WFM has built their brand on providing quality foods; driving this quailty is made possible by a variety of different physical product producing and distributing locations. Those include: four seafood processing and distribution facilities, a specialty coffee and tea procurement and roasting opreation, 11 regional perishable foods distribution centers, three regional commisary kitchens, and five regional bakeries.

Whole Foods Market began in 1970 as a local supermarket. Over the past 31 years, Whole Foods Market has grown from a single store in Austin, Texas, to becoming one of the worldwide leaders in providing consumers with natural and organic foods. They have grown to over 300 stores in both North America and the United Kingdom. (Whole Foods Market, Inc., 2011) This report examines the chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market has put into place. Also, it uses past financial data to provide an assessment of the condition of the company going forward. Those assessments include recommendations of future actions, along with concerns I have about the way the company is currently operating and some difficulties that may be on the way.

OnSite Marketing, Inc. (OMI) aims to provide advertising, marketing, and public relations services to targeted business environments in the Automotive Aftermarket industry. OMI intends to leverage the thirty plus years that co-owner Steve Crain has in the automotive arena, especially as it related to his position as the Director of Marketing for SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) where he helped SEMA, the non-profit organization that is the core of the Automotive Aftermarket, market and grow their trade show into the industry’s largest trade only show. SEMA afforded Steve Crain the networking goldmine that continues to follow and serve him today. OMI’s plan seeks to generate company sales and