Analyzing Tassal Company's Products, Services, And Marketing Strategies In An Essay.

The report should contain the following elements

• Describe the marketing background of the company that includes key information about the industry indicating where the company fits and/or positions itself paying special attention to sustainable practices- environment, society, resources use, etc.
• Describe and analyse the following marketing strategies used by the company

o Analyse the main Products, services, suppliers and customers of the company

o Pricing

o Promotion

• Compare the marketing mix (4Ps) to its closest competitors
• Make recommendations for improvement of marketing mix for product(s) to become more competitive- Include relevant sustainability aspects

Marketing background of the chosen company

• Key information about the industry indicating where the company fits and/or positions itself
• Pay special attention to sustainable practices – i.e. what have been done to balance economic, environmental, social benefits.
• Who are the targeted customers/segments?
• How the company and its products are positioned in the market (against the rivals’ offering)?

What are the general pricing strategies (e.g. value-based, cost-based or competition-based) and their relevant sub-type(s) being used by the company?

• Do and how they adopt any new-product pricing strategies?
• What are their product mix pricing strategies (if applicable)?
• How are their product prices normally adjusted?
• Has any sustainable pricing practice been applied?

What marketing channels are being used by the company to distribute its products?

• How has the firm been managing its marketing intermediaries?
• How has the firm managed to achieve sustainable distribution?

Background of Tassal Company

Sustainable management consists of plans and policies which are used by the company to meet the demand of the people as well as future generation (Christenson, O'Kane and McManus, 2017). It also takes care of the environment so as to preserve natural resources. It has allowed business units to understand the importance of sustainable development which is beneficial for them in the long run. Marketing and PR campaigns have included this aspect so as to fulfill their CSR responsibility. The present report is based on Tassal Company which is an Australian public limited company. They are Australia’s largest producer of Salmon and canned fish products (Tassal Company Results, 2017). They have changes their marketing strategy to ensure sustainable development in the country. Apart from this, sustainable practices and marketing mix (4Ps) strategies have also been included in the report.  

Tassal Company has been performing well in their business because they have maintained operational excellence in their business. They have adopted sustainable development and management which has improved their brand image and reputation in the market. The company continues to improve their contribution towards environment, economic and social development.  

Product range in Tassal Company

Tassal Company has adopted long term perspective in their business. They have changed their sales mix and salmon pricing to increase their market share. They produce traditional fish products which includes fresh, smoked, frozen, canned and various salmon products. They have maintained high quality in all their products (Fischer, Guttormsen and Smith, 2016). Furthermore, their processing units have reduced their operating costs. It has allowed the company o increase their yield and supply of fresh fish products. They have been able to provide premium products to their customers which are in excellent condition. They have adopted different pricing strategies for their domestic, export market, retail and wholesale division. It has given them an edge over their competitors who are finding it difficult to meet their level. They provide more options to their customer which has been very beneficial for the growth of the company (Bilinelli, 2016).

Sustainable practices

Tassal Company formulates their sustainable strategy after gathering feedback and information from their customers and stakeholders. They also include the feedback which they receive from Seafood intelligence (Sustainability report, 2013). It has allowed them to communicate their sustainable strategy to the society. They have organized many collaboration projects which have helped them in salmon farm development. They have maintained all the necessary standards in their farm. In 2013, they have certified all their farms from Global Aquaculture Alliances and BAP (Christenson, O'Kane and McManus, 2017). Furthermore, they have made significant improvements in their sustainability department which is the core of their business. This department ensures that the company remains profitable. To achieve this they use various tools to create benchmark and to measure their sustainability performance. In 2013, they started a South east region optimization plan which takes care of fish health and environmental management. Apart from this, Tassal Company has good pricing strategy which makes it attractive in many other countries. They have been exporting their products to different regions which have led to the economic development of the country (King, 2016).  It has made the company more transparent and communication system with the stakeholders has improved. Some of the measures taken by Tassal Company are:

• Ensuring the production of low carbon footprint fish products
• Partnership with WWF and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)
• They have integrated 2030 Sustainable development objectives and goals of UN in their business.
• Maintaining excellent environment plans and credentials.  

Product range in Tassal Company

Target customers and segments

The main focus of Tassal Company is to increase per capita consumption in Australia. The demand of salmon has also increased due to their efforts. They have become the leader in the market due to their product development and innovative marketing (Smith, Fischer and Guttormsen, 2017). They have adopted different strategies for their domestic, export market, retail and wholesale market. In the domestic market, the company is rebalancing their sales mix so that they can provide sea food products at competitive prices. They have intentionally slowed down their sales so as to optimize fish size and biomass growth. They are focusing on long term development in domestic market. In export market, the company is performing exceptionally well due to their low price and premium quality products. There has been rise in seafood prices in global market due to low supply. It has provided an opportunity to Tassal Company to increase their market share. Retail market has been important channel for the company and they have been performing well in this segment. Tassal Company has developed new plans and strategies to increase their market in wholesale division (Lyth, Harwood, Hobday and McDonald, 2016).  

Position in the market

Tassal Company has become a leader in salmon and seafood products. They have maintained operational efficiency and sustainability in their business. Their main aim is to focus on the core values of the company which consists of environment protection, quality and engagement of local communities (Murtagh, Roberts and Hind, 2016). Their products are of premium quality because customers have been their main priority. They produce goods in responsible manner. The 5P’s of Tassal Company are:

• People
• Products
• Planet
• Profit
• Process

Tassal Company has positioned them differently in the market. They are considered as a responsible company which maintains transparency in their operations. They have a customer feedback system which helps the company to bring changes in their products and services (Kolawole, Lasisi and Adeleke, 2017). They have included other categories in it which consists of packaging, foreign objects, cooking instructions etc. Tassal Company has been a market leader in seafood production because they have ensured customer satisfaction and the quality of the products.

Tassal Company has integrated their marketing strategy with sustainable management. It has given them competitive advantage over other companies. They have changes their marketing mixes to satisfy the needs of the consumers (Varadarajan, 2016). Furthermore, their market positioning and segmentation has given them new opportunities to expand their business.

Product: The Company offers wide range of products which includes fresh, smoked, frozen, canned and various salmon products (Nicholls and Hair, 2016). It provides lot of options to the customers. The key decision about any product policy includes:

• Premium quality of sea food
• Reasonable prices
• Effective supply chain management to ensure low cost of the products
• Packaging, labeling and directions to cook are printed after receiving feedback from the customers (Gonzalez-Padron and Milliman, 2017).
• Ensuring freshness and health of fish
• Customer satisfaction

Tassal Company has incorporated sustainability in all their products. It allows them to produce goods in a responsible manner. They take care of environment and other important aspects related to sustainability. The company even reduced their sales so that the fishes get time to grow and they could sell big size fish in the market (Kolawole, Lasisi and Adeleke, 2017). They use marketing product launch theory for their products. Initially, they understand the needs and preferences of the customer and product is designed according to it. For example, Tassal Company launched 100% Australian canned food because no other canned food company was Australian. This different approach helped the company to distinguish themselves from rest of the competitors. It helped them to increase their sales in the domestic market. They are also the market leader in Australia.

Sustainable practices

Price: Tassal Company has used differential pricing strategy for their business. They have different sales mixes and pricing for domestic market, export market, retail business and wholesale market. They have adopted cost based pricing in their products. The main reason to adopt this pricing theory was due to low cost production (Christenson, O'Kane and McManus, 2017). Tassal Company has maintained operational efficiency which has allowed them to sell their goods at low cost. The company assesses the competition and takes feedbacks from the customer to develop new product pricing strategies. Apart from this, they also adjust the prices of the products according to the changes in the market. The biggest advantage of the company is that they have their own farms and production line. It gives them advantage over other competitors because they manage to keep the prices of the products low.

Promotion: The main aim of the company is to increase their customer base. To accomplish this they have a national marketing campaign in Australia. This advert has been launched through various communication channels which include television, radio, internet, social media and print media (Murtagh, Roberts and Hind, 2016). The promotional campaign highlights the benefits of consuming salmon and fish products. It has helped in creating brand awareness and further improving the sales of the company. Apart from this, Tassal Company communicates with their customers and external stakeholder. Their views and opinions are used to bring changes in existing products and services. The management has made sure that the quality of the products remains consistent. It has increased their sales because they have satisfied the needs of the consumers (Varadarajan, 2016). Furthermore, the company makes it clear in their PR campaigns and promotional programs that they take care of the environment and the health of the fishes. Tassal Company has applied pull strategy in their promotional programs which has benefitted them.

Place: Tassal Company is not dependent on any specific distribution channel to sell their products. They use multiple distribution channels to reach wider audience. The company uses domestic supermarkets and retail outlets to sell their products to final consumers. They have built strong relations with many big supermarkets which has helped them to increase their sales. Apart from this, the acquisition of smolt has provided alternative distribution channel to the company (Nicholls and Hair, 2016). They are not over reliant on any particular channel. It will allow Tassal Company to reach more people which will increase their customer base. The company is market leader in direct distribution channel. They have 45 % of the HOGG market and 40% of salmon market.

Tassal Company has been facing stiff competition from Huon Aquaculture Group limited. But the company has been committed to its employees, products, customers and the environment. They have engaged the community and they have taken many steps to protect the environment (Fischer, Guttormsen and Smith, 2016). These two priorities have helped the company to expand their business and to gain competitive advantage in the market. But to develop an effective marketing and sustainability strategy it is important to evaluate the marketing mix of the competitors. It can provide insights which can be used to overcome competition.

Target customers and segments

Operating environment: Tassal and Huon both follow vertical integrated approach in their business (Lyth, Harwood, Hobday and McDonald, 2016). They have been focusing on domestic market due to better opportunities in Australia. They have their own marine farming, fish products developments and processing units.

Growth strategy: Tassal Company is building their brand and their main aim is to increase per capita consumption. They have been using their marketing and sustainability developments to promote their products. Huon is focusing on improving efficiency and production capacity. It has not been able to capture the entire market in Australia. So, there are lot of opportunities for the company to grow.

Place: Tassal Company has strong relations with many supermarkets and retail stores which helps in the distribution of the products. On the other hand, Huon Company uses wholesale channel for distribution (Varadarajan, 2016). They sell fish products to restaurants and mongers. Tassal Company has edge over Huon is their distribution network. They have built good relations with supermarkets which has allowed them to become distribution leader in the domestic market.

Product: Tassal Company has wide range of fish products (Tassal Company, 2003). They understand the needs of the customers and provide products accordingly. On the other hand, Huon is not limited to only fish products. Their product portfolio includes gift cards, merchandise, hampers etc.

Promotion: Both the companies have invested huge funds in developing their promotional campaigns. Huon mostly prefers television, print media, social networks and internet to promote their products. On the other hand, Tassal Company uses sustainable development and customer satisfaction in their PR campaigns (Tassal Company Results, 2017). They involve customers in the decision making system which makes their promotional campaigns more successful.   

Price: Houn Company uses value based pricing strategy and they make sure that quality of the products in maintained. On the other hand, Tassal Company uses differential pricing system for their market segments. They re-balance their marketing mix and pricing policies to take the advantage of the market conditions (Murtagh, Roberts and Hind, 2016). Apart from this, they have maintained operational efficiency which has allowed them to reduce the price of the products. They have also kept different prices of their products in domestic market, wholesale market, export market and domestic market. It has helped the company to grow their business and take advantage of market conditions.

Tassal Company has been performing well due to the adoption of sustainability management in their business. They have differentiated their business into four markets. It consists of domestic, export, retail and wholesale. But they have not been able to completely occupy market share in wholesale division and export market (King, 2016). Their main focus has been domestic market in which they want to increase per capita consumption. They have even performed well as they were able to increase the demand of Salmon in Australia. But it is important for the company to focus to other market segments as well. There is lot of opportunity for them to grow and earn huge profits. Tassal Company has operational efficiency which has given them competitive edge in the domestic market. It has reduced the cost of the products. It will be beneficial for them to adopt similar strategy to expand their business (Smith, Fischer and Guttormsen, 2017). Apart from this, they should improve their community engagement programs. It will help them to strengthen their brand image in the country. It will be helpful in long run of the business.

Conclusion

It can be seen from the above report that sustainable development has become an integral part of business these days. Most of the companies have adopted this aspect in their business which has helped them to improve their position and reputation in the market. Tassal Company has understood the needs and demands of the people and they have made significant changes in their business to ensure it. Furthermore, they also include their customers in the decision making process. They have to re-balance their marketing mixes according to the need of the market and external environment. They should integrate sustainability management in all the activities of the business. It will help them to promote their goods and in the development of PR campaigns. Tassal Company is facing tough competition from Huon group. It is essential for them to focus on their priorities and make changes according to the needs of the consumers and society.

References

Bilinelli, L., 2016. Valuing the use of Corporate Social Responsibility in Australian food industry (Bachelor's thesis, Università Ca'Foscari Venezia).

Christenson, J.K., O'Kane, G.M. and McManus, A., 2017. The barriers and drivers of seafood consumption in Australia: A narrative literature review. International Journal of Consumer Studies.

Fischer, C., Guttormsen, A.G. and Smith, M.D., 2016. Disease Risk and Market Structure in Salmon Aquaculture. Water Economics and Policy, p.1650015.

Gonzalez-Padron, T.L. and Milliman, J., 2017. Using the Big Picture Approach to Integrate Sustainability in Business-to-Business Marketing. In The Customer is NOT Always Right? Marketing Orientationsin a Dynamic Business World (pp. 682-682). Springer, Cham.

King, A.S., 2016. Staying ahead of the game: a framework for effective aquaculture decision-making (Doctoral dissertation, University of Tasmania).

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Nicholls, J. and Hair, J.F., 2016. An Exploratory Study of Ethics, CSR and Sustainability Education in Graduate/Undergraduate Business Schools: Specifically in the Marketing Curriculum. In Thriving in a New World Economy (pp. 243-246). Springer International Publishing.

Smith, M., Fischer, C. and Guttormsen, A., 2017. Disease Risk and Market Structure in Salmon Aquaculture.

Sustainability report. 2013. [Online]. Available through: < https://www.tassal.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/131077%20Tassal%20Sustain%20Report%202013-14_v8.pdf> [Accessed on 17^th April 2017]

Tassal Company Results. 2017. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.tassal.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/1646953.pdf> [Accessed on 17^th April 2017]

Tassal Company. 2003. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.tassal.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/tg_prospectus.pdf> [Accessed on 17^th April 2017]

Varadarajan, R., 2016. Sustainability and Marketing: Concurrent Pursuit of a Smaller Environmental Footprint and a Larger Market Footprint. In Marketing in and for a Sustainable Society (pp. 1-27). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.