Marketing Report for Day-Weeks: Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning, Branding, and Ansoff's Strateg

Importance of Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

Last year, Paul Day was killed in a tragic, bizarre, and (let’s face it) embarrassing accident involving a vacuum cleaner, a parrot, and a banana.  This left CS in charge of the daily running of the company.  Paul had always taken care of the marketing side of the business, and CS knew she needed help with that now she was alone.  She approached an old friend to see if they would be interested in the job, for a handsome salary and benefits package.

At first, the friend was reluctant, claiming to know nothing about financial services.  CS cleverly turned the tables saying: “what is it you always say about marketing – ‘it’s all about selling boxes: what’s in the box doesn’t actually matter, because the basic principles are the same for everything”.  You didn’t know anything about commercial lighting or cars either, but that didn’t stop you succeeding in those sectors!”  

You are that friend.  Beaten by your own logic, tempted by the package offered, lured by the prospect of not having to commute to London in post-Covid 19 days, and finally won over by the prospect of working with your friend, you took the job six weeks ago.  

In that time, you have come to realise that Days-Weeks has succeeded this far despite its marketing rather than because of it.  Your investigations showed that:

There was no written marketing strategy, and nobody knew how Paul Day had decided what activity to undertake; he just seemed to be making it up as he went

There was no measurement of results so there was no way to know what was working and what wasn’t (or where to spend advertising budget going forward)

There didn’t seem to be any effort made to identify who was most likely to buy from them

The website was getting hits and their social media presence was effective (largely because of the efforts of one of the financial advisors who took it on herself to manage the company’s e-presence) but again there was no strategy in place.

The company has always believed that their client base is at the wealthy end of society, and their marketing literature has been designed accordingly: it generally features images of fountain pens, leather briefcases, pocket watches - all positioned on expensive-looking antique furniture.  When questioned about why they hold this belief, CS says “it just stands to reason really: they mostly live and work in London and the South East of England, which is the most expensive part of the country”.  

You suspect this isn’t true and, rather than relying on guesswork, you analyse the database to find out.  It shows you are right: the typical customer is not at all wealthy, they typically live in low-value private housing or rent from the local authority.  They earn a little less than the average wage, and they are more likely to carry a tool bag to work than a leather briefcase.  

You take CS to dinner to break the unhappy news to her.  You propose that you should start the marketing again anew, beginning with the company’s Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) and its overall branding.  

CS is shocked to hear all this, and more than a little annoyed at her late partner.  However, while she trusts and believes you, she admits she doesn’t understand what STP or branding really mean.  “I know I really should, but I always just left that to Paul.  Can you write me a report to explain what it means and what you’re proposing?  If you can keep it to about two and a half thousand, words I’ll even promise to read it!” she says.

Prepare a 2,400-word report to explain the following to CS:

1.Explain the concept of segmentation, targeting and positioning saying why it is important and how Day-Weeks could use it to their benefit

2.Discuss the role of branding in any company’s marketing strategy

3.Explain to CS what makes the marketing services different from marketing products (emphasising services marketing because Days-Weeks is service sector) and say how that will impact on your plans

4.You want to expand your customer base geographically.  Explain Ansoff’s four competitive strategies to CS, emphasising and justifying why you feel Market Development to be the best for you.  Don’t forget to include a picture of the model in your report.

Remember to include an executive summary (that’s a one-page summary of your findings - not a summary of the task or your approach to answering it), to number your pages and to include a table of contents at the beginning of the report.