Strategic Marketing Essay For Adventure Caravans.

You must submit your completed assessments to your assessor. Instructions on what to submit are detailed in each assessment task.

Each assessment task you submit must have a signed cover sheet. Otherwise the assessment will not be accepted. Cover sheets are provided for each of the assessment tasks.

When assessments have been completed, your assessor will provide you with feedback.

When all assessments are completed and assessed, your assessor will provide you with a Record of Outcome.

If you believe your assessment result is not right, you should discuss this with your assessor. They will direct you to your Student Handbook and/or Acknowledge Education’s Policies and Procedures which will have information about how to appeal an assessment result.

Make sure you read through the document on the following page and understand what the assessment requires from you before signing the agreement.

The aim of the report is to perform the role of a marketing consultant and to prepare the strategic marketing plan for the Adventure caravans. The owner of the company has contacted the several marketing consultancy businesses with the motive to get assistance for preparing the strategic marketing plan for setting pout the marketing objectives for the next 3 years. The case study based on Adventure canvas is given which help in forming the strategic marketing plan. The report includes a detailed analysis in a different section that is discussed below.

Adventure Caravans is a family owned business that is present in Melbourne with this company is able to maintain its business operations for the next 30 years. The core business operation of the company is to manufacture and sell Caravans.

Mission: - The mission of the company is to manufacture quality family caravans with the obligation to fulfil the needs of the target market. In addition to this, the company believes in everlasting adventures and memories that are a priority of the company. The mission of the company is to be a responsible employer who can offer employees with a safe and secure working environment.

Vision: - The vision of the company is to be recognised as a leading manufacturer and supplier of the quality recreating as well as the commercial caravan and campers in Australia.

Considering the analysis of the company, it is recommended to the company to expand the reach to the used caravans dealing as this helps them to increase the revenue stream of the company.

This section includes identification of business current direction as well as targets with the help of the situation analysis.

The situational analysis includes the analysis of the external as well as the internal analysis related to the factors that influence the operations of the company (CFI, 2018). The below given is the description of the major factors that influence the working of the company.

Company	Adventure Caravans is a family owned company who majorly offer the mid-priced family caravans that range from the small pop tops to approx. 23ft semi off-road units. The company will surely go to increase the range of products as well as the services (CFI, 2018). The company will expand its business operations by including the used car dealing in their operations. The customers of the company will increase as most of them are making use for the business purpose.
Competitors	The competitors of the company are increasing which affect the business operations of Adventure Caravans. The major competitors of the company include Aussie Wide Caravans, Compass and Majestic Caravans (Caravan Links, 2019). In the near future, the competitors of the company will increase because of the emerging market of Caravans.
Customers	The customers of the company majorly include family, youth, and retirees. The family and retirees demand is high as they are the one who is interested in making the use of caravans. Further, youth present in the market will take interest in making the purchase of caravans due to different reasons that include business, hobbies, and many others. In the near future, the target market of the company will increase with the rise in uses of Caravans.

The profit and loss analysis helps in deciding the target market for the next 3 years. Over the past many years, the company has operated the profit and offered a good return to its owners. This has been found that the company is able to manage the high profit. This is evident with the fact that Adventure Company is able to sell 200 caravans every year at the price range of $30,000 to $70,000. This profit of the company will increase in the next three years with the rise in demand for the product. The company might be able to touch 400 caravans in a year with the support of effective strategies.

Blind Area This section shows the mismatch between the brand identity and the position of the company in the external market.	Open Playground This quadrant shows the match between the brands identify and the perception of it by the market. Adventure Caravans falls under this Quadrant.
Unknown Area The unknown area shows that brand identity is unclear and there is no distinctiveness is communicated to the market.	Hidden Area The brand identity is known but it is not communicated to the market.

Situational Analysis

Adventure Caravans Company is one of the leading manufacturer and seller of the caravan. The operations of the company clearly show that the brand has an identity in the market. In addition, the company is able to sell approx. 200 caravans every year that clarify that the market is aware of the brand. This means that the company is able to maintain an effective position in the market.

The positioning of the company shows the brand value and position in the mind of customers who are present in the market. The current positioning of the company shows that the price kept by the company is moderate with high quality. The products quality is very good due to which only the brand is able to maintain an effective position in the market.

In the near future, this has been found that the industries of Caravans are expected to grow in the market. This has been found that the caravanning industry was worthy more than $19 billion to the Australia economy (D'Mello, 2016). The industry is expected to rise and this will lead to the rise in the positioning of Australian Caravans. The company will be able to register with a high price and high quality as this will contribute effectively in enhancing the position. The valuable brand who offer high quality generally asks for high prices.

• The legal requirement of the company includes the license for performing the business operations that majorly include manufacturing and selling of Caravans.
• Australia Caravans Company is obliged to follow the regulations related to the safety of the product in the present as well as in the future (Hollensen, 2015). There is a possibility of the numerous changes in the rules and regulations related to the safety of products that might affect the working of the company.
• The employees of the company should be treated well under the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act).
• The company is legally and ethically obliged to respect the employee rights for the right to privacy, fair compensation, and freedom from discrimination.
• In Australia, all the states and territories have a camper trailer, motorhome and caravan need to follow the road rules (Caravan, 2014).

The marketing and positioning strategies of the company show that the company offer the product at affordable prices irrespective of the competitors who offer the product at high prices. The advertisement is used by the company for promoting the products in the market. Moreover, this has been found in the near future, the needs and desires of the company will increase due to which the prices of products will increase (Alkhafaji & Nelson, 2013).

In the market of Australia, this has been found that more than 11 million overnight caravan and camping trips were undertaken throughout Australia in the year 2015. This has been found that in the year 2015 the trips increase by 7% from the year 2014 (D'Mello, 2016). The market research reflects that accommodation continues to increase domestic tourism products with approx. 10%. The caravan and campervan registrations continue to increase which will bring the major rise in demand. Thus, this factor will influence the company and the company will offer high quality as well as a technology-equipped caravan. The rise in the demand of the company will offer a good profit and with this, the position of the company will improve.

Positioning in the Market

The analysis of SWOT will help in assessing the current key products or services and major markets for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Bryson & Alston, 2011).

• Stakeholder’s satisfaction: - Adventure Caravans operates the business effectively due to which the company is able to attain the profit that helps them in offering good returns to the owners of the company. Further, in the coming 3 years, the company will be able to maintain a high profit with the rise in the industry (Grant, 2016). This will attract more stakeholders and satisfy them that is one of the strengths of the company.
• Additional services: - Adventure caravan’s offer different additional services, which majorly include in-house warranty, work with some major repairs and modifications in the brand caravans. This is the strength of the company as it is considered as one of the revenue streams for the company.

• Lack of budget management: - In the present area, the company is growing which will reduce the expertise in the budget. The company will surely face budget management, as the company will grow in the Australian market (Baker, 2014).

• Expanding the products in the market: - Adventure Caravans will have the opportunity of expanding product ranges in near future, which can be done by enhancing the dealing in, used Caravans.
• Expanding operations across the world: - Adventure Caravans will be able to expand the business in the overseas market that will increase the revenue (Al-Turki, 2011).

• Oversupply of product: - This has been found that in the past 2 years that there are several caravan manufacturers who closed due to an oversupply of production. This lead to the rise in the flat pack vans which is a rise in a threat to the local industry in the near future.
• Rise in competition: - In the near future, this has been found that caravans are expected to grow for the next 10 years which leads to a rise in competition. The major competitors who are present in the market include Aussie Wide Caravans, Compass, Majestic Caravans, and many others. The number of competitors of the company will increase due to which the company need to change the strategy that is a threat.

Political factors: - Political element majorly includes a change in rules and regulations within the industry (Chernev, 2018). The regulations by the industry for the Aventura Company will be increasing with the rise in demand that is an emerging threat. The regulations and rules related to the weight within the caravans and change in road regulations for the vehicle will be one of the factors. This might create effects on the future operations of the company.

Economic factor: - The economic factor major includes GDP, purchasing power, inflation and many others. In the year 2017, the GDP in Australia was worth of 1323.42 billion US dollars in the year 2017 (Trading Economics, 2019). In the near future, it is expected to increase which will increase the purchasing power of customers and will offer the opportunity to the company.

Social factors: - The social factors include the shift in the needs and desires of the customers that are present in the market (Dawson, 2014). The changes in the needs of customers will arise which can be related to technological up-gradation, modification, and customization that is one of the emerging threat.

Technological factors: - The change in technology is one of the major threat as well as an opportunity for the company (David, 2011). Adventure Caravans will make use of the updated technology in forming the products that will offer the opportunity of an increase in sales. The customer base gets affected, as they will be looking for the product. However, the emergence of updated technology needs high capital that is a threat to the company.

Cost-benefit analysis is a process that is used to analyse the decision taken by the company. This analysis helps in determining the strengths and weakness of alternatives on the bases of benefits attained by the company. In the next 3 years, it is essential for Adventure Caravans Company, which helps them in evaluating the cost and the benefit that is attained by the company from the opportunity (Boardman, Greenberg, Vining & Weimer, 2017). For instance; considering the objective to extend the new distribution stores, the company expand the amount that is considered as a cost and in return, the company found the rise in 25% of revenue. In this case, the amount of cost and revenue will be evaluated which will help in determining that the company is able to get the benefit over cost or not. The company will make use of this method which opportunity of the company and its analysis with the resources and capabilities that is maintained by the company.

SWOT Analysis

The ROI Stands for return on investment measures the gain or loss that is generated on an investment, which is linked to the amount of money that is invested by the company. The company will make use ROI with the help of the expected amount that will help them in making effective financial decisions. This will help them to compare the profitability or efficiency related to investment (Chen, 2019). The calculation of ROI includes the return of an investment is divided by the cost of investment. The percentage reflects the benefit that is attained by the company from the investment. The caravans market is increasing due to which the company will invest in used car expansion and its product line which will offer the rise in revenue. Thus, this will lead leads to a rise in revenue and offer the benefit of investment done by the company.

The forecasting of the business industry that is Caravans is must be done by the company as it provides insight for the market where they are performing business operations. The industry forecast shows that the market of caravans is predicted to increase for the next 10 years. However, the growth cannot be predicted as it depends on the advancement, which will occur with time (Rothaermel, 2015).

Product strategy: - Product is one of the major elements of the marketing mix that shows what the company offer in the market (Frynas & Mellahi, 2015). Currently, Aventure Company is manufacturing and selling Caravans of different types. The company will follow the diversification strategy in the near future, in which the company will bring the make the dealing in used cars. In addition to this, the company will bring the technology aligned with the caravans. The objective of the company for the next 3 years is to offer used car dealing facility with the value-added products to the customers with the improved technology.

Price strategy: - The price that is presently kept by the company for the product is affordable that is $30,000 to $70,000. The objective of the company is to increase the prices and to follow the premium pricing strategy. However, in the near future, the price of the company will find a large number of competitors due which they can keep the competitive pricing strategy. In this strategy, the company will compare the prices from the competitors and they keep the prices.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Place strategy: - Place is the location where the company offer the products and services. The company has its own manufacturing units that are present in Melbourne from where the customers can make the purchase. In the near future, the distribution of products will increase within the boundaries and in the overseas market. The objective of the company is to increase the number of outlets that offer the opportunity for customers to find it easily accessible.

Promotion strategy: - Promotion strategy is used by the company with the motive to increase the awareness about the brand in the market. Adventure Caravans promotions come from the caravan and camping through adverts and advertorial in industrial publication. The company will promote the products with the help of social media and other tools related to marketing that will help them in improving the brand awareness and position in the market that is one of the objectives of the company.

Planning strategies	Task allocation	Duration (3 years)
Conducting market research	Research and development	6 months
Analysing the needs of customers	Analysis team	3 months
Evaluating the positioning	Manager	3 months
Evaluating the factors that affect a company	Manager	6 months
Forming marketing strategies of product	Operation team	4 months
Forming marketing strategies of price	Pricing team	6 months
Forming marketing strategies of place	Distribution team	2 months
Forming marketing strategies of promotion	Marketing team	6 months

Risk identification	Aventura caravans company might fact the risk of effective cost management in operations. In addition, the rise in technology updates is also one of the risks that might be faced by a company that might affect the customer base (Aven, 2012). Currently, most of the customer demand for updated technology products.
Risk evaluation	The evaluation of the risk can be done by evaluating by evaluating the cost that is faced by the companies. In addition, the need of customers for the more advanced products and lack of technology up-gradation will affect the customer base with dissatisfaction.
Risk mitigation	The effective appointment of the accountant will help the company to mitigate the risk. Further, the instalments of the upgraded and advanced system help the company in mitigating the risk of impact on the customer base (Esteve-Pérez, Sanchis-Llopis & Sanchis-Llopis, 2010).

Conclusion

In the end, this can be said that the report is based on identification of the strategic direction that helps the marketing consultant in forming the marketing plan. Further, it include the review of marketing performance of company that is supported with the tool like SWOT analysis and PEST analysis, this will help in findings the factors that can influence the company. The scope for the marketing opportunities of the company is evaluated with the help of ROI, cost benefit analysis as well as industry forecasts. In the end, the marketing objectives of the company for the coming years have been formulated with the help of marketing mix, planning matrix, which shows the strategies, and risk management plan.

References

Alkhafaji, A., & Nelson, R. A. (2013). Strategic management: formulation, implementation, and control in a dynamic environment. New York: Routledge.

Al-Turki, U. (2011). A framework for strategic planning in maintenance. Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, 17(2), 150-162.

Aven, T. (2012). Foundations of risk analysis. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Baker, M. J. (2014). Marketing strategy and management. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Boardman, A. E., Greenberg, D. H., Vining, A. R., & Weimer, D. L. (2017). Cost-benefit analysis: concepts and practice. Cambridge University Press.

Bryson, J. M., & Alston, F. K. (2011). Creating your strategic plan: A workbook for public and nonprofit organizations. New Jersey; John Wiley & Sons.

Caravan Links. (2019). Victoria Caravan Manufacturers. Retrieved from:  https://www.caravanlinks.com/caravan_manufacturers/australia/victoria.shtml 

Caravan. (2014). Legal Requirements For Caravan Breakaway Systems In Australia. Retrieved from: https://www.withoutahitch.com.au/caravan/legal-requirements-caravan-breakaway-systems-australia/ 

CFI. (2018) 5C Analysis. Retrieved from: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/strategy/5c-analysis-marketing/

Chen, J. (2019). Return on Investment (ROI). Retrieved from: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp 

Chernev, A. (2018). Strategic marketing management. Chicago:Cerebellum Press.

David, F.R. (2011). Strategic management: Concepts and cases. India: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Dawson, J.A. (2014). The Marketing Environment (RLE Marketing). New York:  Routledge.

D'Mello, C. (2016). Australia's caravan industry worth $19 billion, and growing. Retrieved from: https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/australias-caravan-industry-worth-19-billion-and-growing-20160722-gqbgp5.html 

Esteve-Pérez, S., Sanchis-Llopis, A., & Sanchis-Llopis, J. A. (2010). A competing risks analysis of firms’ exit. Empirical Economics, 38(2), 281-304.

Frynas, J.G. & Mellahi, K. (2015) Global strategic management. USA: Oxford University Press.

Grant, R.M. (2016). Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing management: A relationship approach. India: Pearson Education Limited.

Isoraite, M. (2016) Marketing Mix Theoretical Aspects. International Journal Of Research – Granthaalayah, 4(6), 25-37.

Rothaermel, F.T. (2015). Strategic management. UK: McGraw-Hill Education.

Trading Economics. (2019). Australia GDP. Retrieved from: https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/gdp