Report on Marketing Plan of Azadea company

               It is vital to look at the brief introduction of the organization, before looking at any other aspects related to its marketing plan. There are various retail companies in Oman, and Azadea Group is one of the famous companies in this industry, which is actually based on Lebanon. Azadea is working in several Middle Eastern countries other than Oman. The company started its operations in 1978, and it has a viable presence in the market of the Middle East has a good position in the markets such as Oman, Lebanon, and UAE. There are different kinds of products, provided by Azadea. It is amazing to see that currently, 650 retail stores are operated by the company in 13 different countries including major ones such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and Lebanon. The company has more than 12000 employees working for them in these stores. After their inception in 1978, the first retail store in the UAE was opened in 1993, and since then they have expanded and marked great success over the years (Azadea, 2019). The primary objective of this report is to discuss a comprehensive marketing plan for the company so that they can achieve more growth and development in the Middle East region. The major focus is given to their SWOT analysis so that their internal and external factors are analyzed properly to derive a strategy and recommendations for the future marketing strategy.

Marketing Plan Objectives of Azadea company

               It is a fact that the current market for Azadea is the Middle Eastern market, and they are looking to expand their reach and growth in the region with the new marketing strategy. There are multiple categories with so many famous brands of Azadea company, which are enjoying good success in the Middle East region. It is important to mention here that Azadea is dealing in brands for categories such as beauty & cosmetics, food & beverages, fashion & accessories, multimedia, home furnishing, as well as, sporting goods (Azadea, 2019a). It is not an easy thing for any company to manage multiple categories of brands in terms of marketing. When there are multiple brands with different niche markets, then a company has to diversify its marketing strategy, and they have to expand it in so many ways so that they can do their best. It is true that task is difficult, but it is not impossible to manage multiple brands covering different markets. It is said that if a company wants to win customers, and stay successful with different brands, they should not make things complex for them, rather they should keep it simple in their overall marketing plan, by following the basics, as it will allow them to get a simple idea of things (Spenner & Freeman, 2012)

               It is important to look at the strengths and weaknesses of Azadea company brands so that relevant threats and opportunities can also be derived accordingly. In the previous report, it was mentioned that there are various strengths for the company, and one viable approach is a separate marketing strategy for each brand, which they have. It is easy to go for one single strategy, but it is not advised to do so when brands are different in the category. For instance, it is hard to develop a single marketing strategy for food, as well as, a fashion brand, because both are quite different from each other (Raggio & Leone, 2007). So, Azadea has done a great job in this regard by making a separate marketing plan for each brand so that they can reach the customer with relevant preferences. It is helping Azadea to develop a dedicated strategy for each brand, and it will also be great for their future success because a targeted strategy for each brand will capture the attention of more targeted customers. But there is one weakness in their strategy as well as they are not seen on Television. They have lacked in TV promotion and strategy, which is keeping them behind from various brands, which have a great presence on TV (Gerber, et al., 2014)

      Looking at these strengths and weaknesses, the company can develop SMART objectives for its new marketing strategy. So, here is a breakthrough of SMART objectives to be taken by the company:

·         Specific: The Company is planning to initiate a diverse marketing plan, which will include extensive marketing campaigns on social media and electronic media, such as making & launching 3 TV ads and running 3 social media campaigns for two weeks.

·         Measurable: The marketing plan will be measured by looking at total TV ads produced and broadcasted on electronic media, and how many campaigns have been run through the social media, and what was the response by customers, with the help of taking feedback from customers visiting retail stores.

·         Actionable: It is quite evident to see that the marketing plan developed earlier, is very much actionable and achievable.

·         Realistic: It is a fact that companies can do certain mistakes, when setting marketing or any other kind of goals, so when goals are not realistic, it is hard to achieve them, which results in the failure of an overall strategy. For instance, the company cannot set a goal to develop 10 TV ads in one week's time and run 10 campaigns in a week's time. They may do this, but actually, these goals are not realistic at all. But the goals developed by the company are very much realistic.

·         Timely: It is vital for a SMART marketing goal to have some kind of deadline and time limitation. A goal cannot be continued forever, because one cannot measure its success or failure. The company has developed a marketing goal with a time frame of two weeks, which is good to measure performance in the end

 (Aghera, et al., 2018)

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning of Azadea company

               A marketing plan has been developed and its SMART objectives have also been derived. So, it is time to come up with a strategy, which explains three important elements; Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. It is important for Azadea to developed new market segments and targets them with appropriate positioning in the market. The first important thing for them is to consider the expansion throughout the MENA region. They have made enough presence in the Middle East region, but still, they have to mark their great presence in the region of North America so that they can cover the whole MENA region. They should increase their presence in more countries in the region so that they can become a famous brand recognized in the whole MENA region. The market segments to be the target in the new region are the young customers because they can be great assets for the future of the company. These young customers have a great presence across social media platforms so they can help to endorse Azadea brand to other fellows if they get good value for their money. It is vital for Azadea to engage with a young customer segment, as it will also help to boost its fashion & beauty brands. As far as positioning is concerned, the company should ensure that its marketing plan properly targets these customer segments, and products are then made available to retail stores. Another important recommendation for the company is to make its presence in the e-commerce market so that customers are interested in buying online because the online purchase is also becoming a major trend in recent times.

Marketing Mix Strategy and Budget Recommendations of Azadea company

     Azadea Group should realize that marketing mix strategy is critical in so many ways, so they should develop a comprehensive marketing mix strategy with a clear plan, otherwise, things can get confusing. Here are different elements of the marketing mix strategy:

·         Product:  Azadea Company should make new and innovative fashion and beauty products, which have the capability to match with other intentional brands. They should launch new products with enhanced features and should look to come up with some differentiated features so that customers can find value in these new products.

·         Price: The Company should look at market competitive prices by analyzing the price range set by other brands. If the company has any differentiated features, then they can price their product bit higher, otherwise, it is recommended that Azadea should go with average market prices so that customers don’t see any difficulty to buy new products at affordable prices.

·         Place: It is recommended that new products should be made available on fashion outlets, retail stores as well as any other physical locations. It is also recommended that the company should go for online sales through the e-commerce platform. They can develop their own e-commerce platform, or products can be sold with third-party online platforms.

·         Promotion: Azadea should promote new products through TV ads, as well as by running campaigns on social media so that information is reached to the maximum number of the target segment of young customers (Al Badi, 2018)

      As far as budget is concerned, the company should consult with the finance department, and an estimate should be made, like what costs will be there to implement the new marketing plan, and how much financial budget is available.

Evaluation and Control of Azadea company

               The company can use different metrics to evaluate and control its marketing plan, but one good metric is the use of Key Performance Indicators. They should develop key performance goals to be achieved in a certain period of time. Then those performance indicators should be measured from time to time to see how things are going at the moment. The evaluation through KPIs will help the company to keep a close eye on the marketing plan, and good things about this parameter are that they can measure performance as well as identify any flaws in the marketing plan. If they see that social media campaigns are not getting the attraction of customers, then they can make little changes in the strategy to keep things on the right track. So, it is vital for them to adopt KPIs as an evaluation tool, as it would help to control their marketing plan in a better manner, with more insights (Gao, 2010)

 References of Azadea company

Aghera, A. et al., 2018. A Randomized Trial of SMART Goal Enhanced Debriefing after Simulation to Promote Educational Actions. West J Emerg Med, 19(1), p. 112–120.

Al Badi, K. S., 2018. The Impact of Marketing Mix on the Competitive Advantage of the SME Sector in the Al Buraimi Governorate in Oman. SAGE Open, 8(3).

Azadea, 2019a. Our Brands.. [Online]
Available at: https://www.azadea.com/english/our-brands
[Accessed 11 December 2019].

Azadea, 2019. Who We Are.. [Online]
Available at: https://www.azadea.com/english/who-we-are
[Accessed 11 December 2019].

Gao, Y., 2010. Measuring marketing performance: a review and a framework. The Marketing Review, 10(1), pp. 25-40.

Gerber, C., Terblanche-Smit, M. & Crommelin, T., 2014. Brand recognition in television advertising: The influence of brand presence and brand introduction. Acta Commercii, 14(1).

Raggio, R. D. & Leone, R. P., 2007. The theoretical separation of brand equity and brand value: Managerial implications for strategic planning. Journal of Brand Management, 14(5).

Spenner, P. & Freeman, K., 2012. To Keep Your Customers, Keep It Simple. [Online]
Available at: https://hbr.org/2012/05/to-keep-your-customers-keep-it-simple
[Accessed 11 December 2019].