Marketing involves coordinating four concepts (commonly called the four Ps) namely: product, price, place and promotion (kaufmann, 2012). Marketing opportunities take into consideration coordination of these four with the aim of meeting customer needs and satisfying them while making business sense out of the pursued opportunities (Aaker & McLoughlin, 2010).
Wegmans, Macy’s and Dreamworks are all reputable companies in their respective industries. Most attractive however, are the excellent opportunities for career growth the three companies offer. Wegmans is a leading American chain of food supermarkets that has constantly has appeared in Fortunes yearly list of “100 best companies to work for” since it was started in 1998 (kaufmann, 2012). Pursuance of a career in DreamWorks combines passion for movies and the pursuance of the quest for diversity. Macy’s offers diverse merchandise in numerous stores spread across United States thereby offering employees diversity in their careers. Moreover, it has an attractive and popular culture. It must be exciting and motivating to be associated with the company that has sponsored New York’s Fourth of July fireworks since 1976!
The marketing opportunity for Macy’s is encompassed in getting people to come into the retail stores, to retain existing customers and sell more to them, while attracting new customers. To this end Macy’s can pursue a program to reward the most profitable customers. According to Aaker and McLoughlin (2010), profitable customers are regular customers who also refer other customers to a business. The company can implement a loyalty reward program by offering discounts to profitable customers. The company can implement a Lifetime Value program using specialized software can be used to analyze purchasing history and that of referral customers for registered members.
The adoption of this marketing opportunity will require the maintenance of large amounts of accurate data to ensure fair a fair and accurate reward system. The risk of running this opportunity is that it increases the operational costs since it requires hiring more of more professionals. The viability of this system to increase profitability is evident since it focuses on retaining and acquiring the key assets to any business; customers.
One of the best marketing opportunities for DreamWorks would be to court online journalists, as well as webmasters of fan sites during the private screening a movie. The company can have a candid discussion with the producers on areas of improvement. This has the potential to drum up support for internet journalists and help the movie gain immense press coverage upon its premiere. The company tried it with the production of Shrek with astounding results. The risk associated with internet coverage is lack of control over the eventual content journalists put on the internet. There is the risk of journalists putting negative reviews which can have a counteractive effect to marketing.
Wegmans being widely known in the retail food industry can pursue marketing opportunities through events sponsorship. Event sponsorship is a high value, highly visible way to let other people know about a company and its products (kaufmann, 2012). Sponsorship of events on days to raise awareness on diet-oriented diseases stands to improve the company’s public image; advertising of products during on such events is a golden marketing opportunity. The numerous events that Wegmans can sponsor include health and nutrition based events, sporting events among other social events. Sponsorship of event sponsorships is an expensive venture. It is therefore a risky undertaking for any company since the marketers are not in control of aspects such as attendance and its composition. Therefore, the marketers must do adequate research prior to embarking on any event sponsorship.
Creation of a good working relationship with the concerned journalists and webmasters is an effective marketing opportunity. In the wake of increased competition, the internet has become one of the most sought after sources of information regarding entirely all products and services. Marketers can ensure their company’s products and services receive higher rating and positive reviews by involving mainstream sites as well as reputable and respectable journalists in product development and marketing.
Ensuring overwhelmingly support from the internet is an effective marketing opportunity. It would reduce the marketing costs of the concerned firm and improve its image with the public. The move would result in extensive increased financial gain for the company.
References
Kaufmann, B. (2012) Newark regional Business partnership (NRBP); Marketing opportunities.
Retrieved from http://www.rbp.org/marketing/
Aaker, D. & McLoughlin, D. (2010). Strategic Market Management – Global Perspectives. West
Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
