Background
Jarir Book Store was established in 1974 as a retail shop and later became a wholesale shop at 1979. The business deals with the sale of stationery and school supplies. Presence of unique marketing strategies makes the company the top most book seller and stationery supplier for schools and colleges in KSA. Jarir ranks among the 100 top companies and top 10 in the companies with most recognized brands in KSA. The company operates under two marketing structures, retail and wholesale. Additionally, a strong business model adopted by Jarir promoted its growth and expansion winning the competitive advantage. The company uses current technological approaches in marketing its products to clients. The following discussion will analyze Jarir’s marketing structure by looking at competitors, marketing position map, development strategy, and value chain.
The competitors
The most significant competitors for Jarir are Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Apple Store. Jarir aims at expanding its top-line by more than 10 percent in the next couple of years. Currently, the company’s net margin is slightly above that of global and regional competitors. The key driver to winning the competitive advantage over other established brands like Apple is through acquiring a highly competitive retail sector. Additionally, the company needs to improve its operational efficiency because it promotes smooth business flow. In the past years, Jarir took an initiative of automating its entire operational processes through implementing an effective IT structure to manage its business operations. The automation ranges from product mix to price determination. Application of the above strategy has improved the efficiency of the company products and made it beat most competitors like Amazon and Barnes.
Marketing position map
Marketing Position Map expected change after strategy implementation
Market development marketing strategy will be used.
The development marketing strategy will focus on three major issues, penetration, diversification, and development. Jarir Book Store will use the following strategy to target non-buying customers in the present market segments. Additionally, the strategy will help in developing new brands not available in other shops in order to win the competition. On the other hand, the following issue will be identified and analyzed before implementing the strategy. The marketing team and company management will first determine the profitability of the strategy and its ability to meet organizational goals. The product development strategy sees the organization focus more on setting up standalone stores instead of opening outlets in different areas. Standalone stores play a significant role in establishing brand identity as opposed to stores located in malls where high customer traffic creates post robust turnover.
Marketing functions
Customer analysis
Customer analysis helps in determining various aspects of marketing that play an essential role in developing a marketing strategy. The following information will be researched on:
- What customers want from Jarir Book Store
- How do customers view the company products?
- The size of the market
- The process for registering new customers to the company database for the purpose of online sales, and
- The type of products used by customers
Selling products/ Services
Jarir Book Store involves in the business of importing IT products, stores them in their company stores and redistributes them to different shops countrywide. The products are fast moving and prone to rapid technological changes. In order to ensure effective process, the company will incorporate an effective supply chain management. The company should offer products that are on demand on the order to avoid selling of outdated products.
Pricing
Jarir should consider pricing their products depending on the prices offered by competitors. Apple Store offers most challenges to Jarir business environment because it is an established company and offers established brands. Industry pricing dynamics is a major concern in the present competitive environment. The continued pricing pressure calls upon the marketing team to be more careful to set prices that sustains the current business and attracts more customers.
Distribution
Product distribution forms one of the fundamental processes of Jarir Book Store. The company should ensure suppliers are available in all operating locations to promote effective and efficient distribution. Additionally, the company should improve distribution networks through incorporating technology. Warehouses should have a system of recording all goods moving in and out at different specific periods.
Market research
Jarir should conduct an extensive market research in order to ensure all programs are in place to implement a marketing strategy. The market research will concentrate more on competitors and the type of marketing strategies they use. On the other hand, the market research will focus on the most current technologies and demands for customers from various operation locations.
Market segments
Jarir operates under the IT retail segment that is always under pressure because of price-based competition. In order to reach all targeted markets, the company should practice geographical expansion in order to increase the number of target customers and promote sales to a different location. Additionally, consumer purchasing the modern computers like the notebooks and iPads widens customer segments.
