Introduction
A marketing strategy blueprint explores the marketing plan and gives a clear direction for executing the campaign. SPAR is an international group of retailers and wholesalers who partner in providing grocery products. SPAR has retail stores in South Africa, and there is a need to advertise its services to South Africans. Therefore, this marketing strategy will help to effectively explore the South African market.
Market Scan
Macro Environment Analysis
The macro-environment factors are crucial in determining the survival of the corporation in South Africa. Politically, the South African government is receptive to international companies that promote the local economy (Moodie et al. 2021). Economically, South Africa has a high employment rate, allowing its residents to afford SPAR Group’s products. Socially, the majority of South Africans have cultural values that promote the consumption of grocery products. Like many countries, South Africa’s technical infrastructure is highly developed for effective business activities (Smidt, 2021). Meanwhile, domestic South African laws accommodate international companies, despite heavy taxation (Pidduck and Swanepoel, 2021). Furthermore, the country has an optimum climate that promotes the growth of grocery raw materials.
Market Environment Analysis
Although many companies provide grocery products, the South African population is large. SPAR Group enjoys a readily available market from customers who are committed to healthy diets. The company’s main competitors are Shoprite Holdings Ltd and Pick n Pay Stores Ltd, among others. The competitors have a competitive edge due to a loyal consumer base. SPAR Group’s suppliers are accessible and provide quality raw materials. Meanwhile, the company’s direct distributors are located in major cities, reaching out to many customers.
Internal Analysis
Value Chain Analysis
SPAR Group has dedicated management that has strategically organized the company for effective operations. Human resource management recruits competitive employees who steer organizational goals. Meanwhile, the integration of technology into marketing and communication has boosted the corporation’s activities. The procurement department ensures that quality goods and services are offered by the company. The company has a dependable transport system for inbound and outbound logistics. The company’s marketing and sales utilize e-commerce platforms and social media to promote products. Therefore, the internal operations and services offered by SPAR Group are effective.
Strategic Fit
SWOT Analysis
SPAR Group has various strengths that include good returns on capital expenditure, automation of activities, and a successful track record. However, the company’s weaknesses include the inability to deal with new entrants, gaps in the product range, and improper financial planning (Korez Vide, Juhart, and Hunjet, 2021). The South African market presents various opportunities to the company including new customer segmentation and possible business expansion. Meanwhile, the increasing number of new entrants in the market presents threats to business success. Augmented reality is a strategic fit since it can help in automating various activities and collecting crucial data for business improvement.
Objectives and Future Direction
Augmented reality is crucial for marketing and business research. Therefore, this marketing plan will adopt three objectives for intergrading technology in marketing. Firstly, the technology will aim to increase e-commerce purchases by 30%. Secondly, the technology aims to understand the individual needs of the customers. Lastly, augmented reality integration aims to increase the overall company’s consumer base by 40%.
Segmentation
The company’s demographic market segments are 18–44 years old shoppers. However, the older group forms the majority of the company’s market. The geographic segmentation includes shoppers in urban and semi-urban areas who frequent supermarkets. The psychographic segmentation is customers who are committed to a healthy lifestyle and those who avoid fast-foods. Meanwhile, segmentation based on consumer behaviors involves those customers who are loyal to the brand and make informed purchases.
Primary Target
SPAR Group’s marketing campaign targets consumers of ages 20 to 35 years. The targeted segment is active on social media and prefers home delivery for the purchased products (Rosário and Raimundo, 2021). Moreover, the segment is loyal to the brand, and can quickly influence their peers into buying products from SPAR Group. Although the segment can be swayed by new entrants who have better technical infrastructure, they are the majority of the South African population.
Positioning Statement
SPAR Group, South African retail, provides products and services that individual needs. The company has integrated technology into its products and services provision, attracting customers who embrace e-commerce. Therefore, SPAR Group sets itself from other grocery retailers with its technology obsession and commitment to providing quality products.
Action Plan
The augmented reality will be integrated into the company’s websites and mobile applications. The technology will allow the customer to choose products according to their desired set prices. After that, the customers will be allowed to give feedback on the purchase and delivery process. The collected information will be used to implement various marketing strategies that are consistent with consumer needs. Therefore, technology will be more of a data collection tool for marketing communication.
Marketing Mix and Contingency
Digital media including social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram will attract online users. Television networks and radio stations will run short ads that communicate the integration of augmented reality in the SPAR e-commerce system (Dakora and Rambe, 2022). The contingency plan will be to back up all the data collected through augmented reality in case of data loss or unprecedented technical failure that can lead to data loss.
Monitor and Possible Corrective Actions
The monitoring process will be a routine activity that will measure the performance of the new technology. The marketing department will set specific goals and objectives that the system must achieve after a specified duration. Failure to meet the set objectives the system will be subjected to auditing to identify the cause of the failure. Upon identifying the problem, the technical and marketing teams will offer better alternatives to correct the problem.
Reference List
Dakora, E. & Rambe, P. (2022) ‘The digital transformation of food and grocery retailing under the covid-19 pandemic: a case of major South African retailers’, The Retail and Marketing Review, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 59–75. Web.
Korez Vide, R., Juhart, S. & Hunjet, A. (2021) ‘Sustainable food consumption promotion through online marketing communication: The case of Slovenian and Croatian grocery stores’, Archives of Business Research, vol. 9, no. 10, pp. 102–123. Web.
Moodie, R., Bennett, E., Kwong, E.J.L., Santos, T.M., Pratiwi, L., Williams, J & Baker, P. (2021) ‘Ultra-Processed Profits: The Political Economy of Countering the Global Spread of Ultra-Processed Foods – A Synthesis Review on the Market and Political Practices of Transnational Food Corporations and Strategic Public Health Responses’, International Journal of Health Policy and Management.
Pidduck, T & Swanepoel, S. (2021) Sobering up in South Africa: The Sin Tax Consequences of a Pandemic, papers.ssrn.com, Rochester, NY, 2022. Web.
Rosário, A & Raimundo, R. (2021) ‘Consumer Marketing Strategy and E-Commerce in the Last Decade: A Literature Review’, Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, vol. 16, no. 7, pp. 3003–3024. Web.
Smidt, H.J. (2021) ‘Factors Affecting Digital Technology Adoption by Small-Scale Farmers in Agriculture Value Chains (AVCs) in South Africa’, Information Technology for Development, pp. 1–27. Web.