In n out marketing strategy

Marketing Management

Marketing Management (Total 100 Points) Answer All Questions. Each answer to your question requires examples to support your analysis. Your exam requires you to answer individually; this is not a group work/test. Plagiarism checker should not attribute your work to be more than 10%. If you need help with your writing, check with our writing department or with me before you submit. 1. The marketing research process consists of definite set process to help make decisions. Explain each step-in detail with examples. 2. Explain the purpose of the two complementary approaches to measuring marketing productivity. How have you used it in your marketing plan. In addition, find an example of an organization that has used this approach. 3. The value chain is a tool for identifying key activities that create value and costs in a specific business. Identify the value chain activities first for your project and second, explain the concept using an example. 4. According to one view, holistic marketing maximizes value exploration by understanding the relationships between the customer’s cognitive space, the company’s competence space, and the collaborator’s resource space; maximizes value creation by identifying new customer benefits from the customer’s cognitive space. Define and explain this concept. what is the purpose of understanding the cognitive part of the customer? How has Apple or Amazon utilized this concept to their advantage or they have failed to use this concept? 5. The corporate strategy establishes the framework within which the divisions and business units prepare their strategic plans. Setting a corporate strategy means defining the corporate mission, establishing strategic business units (SBUs), assigning resources to each, and assessing growth opportunities. Explain with examples how this concept helps an organization with its marketing plan. Describe how you plan to use this concept in your project. 6. In the social-cultural arena, marketers must understand people’s views of themselves, others, organizations, society, nature, and the universe. They must market products that correspond to society’s core and secondary values and address the needs of different subcultures within a society. Use PESTEL to analyze this question, use examples to support your answers. 7. In the political-legal environment, marketers must work within the many laws regulating business practices and with various special-interest groups. How do you navigate this maze? Please use examples of Ford, Apple and Samsung to answer. 8. The marketing research process consists of defining the problem, decision alternatives; and research objectives; developing the research plan; collecting the information; analyzing the information; presenting the findings to management; and making the decision. Explain in detail each step with an example. Second, what is the process you have set up for your class project? 9. Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. Marketers play a key role in achieving high levels of total quality so that firms remain solvent and profitable. How do you achieve quality and what are the steps in attaining quality for your product.

Answer Any One Case: Company Case 1 In-N-Out Burger: Customer Value the Old-Fashioned Way In 1948, Harry and Esther Snyder opened the first In-N-Out Burger in Baldwin Park, California. It was a simple double drive-thru setup with the kitchen between two service lanes, a walk-up window, and outdoor seating. The menu consisted of burgers, shakes, soft drinks, and fries. This format was common for the time period. In fact, another burger joint that fit this same description opened up the very same year just 45 minutes away from the first In-N-Out Burger. It was called McDonald’s. Today, McDonald’s boasts over 34,000 stores worldwide that bring in more than $88 billion every year. In-N-Out has only 281 stores in five states, good for an estimated $625 million a year. Based on the outcomes, it would seem that McDonald’s has emerged the clear victor. But In-N-Out never wanted to be another McDonald’s. And despite its smaller size—or perhaps because of it— In-N-Out’s customers like the regional chain just the way it is. When it comes to customer satisfaction, In-N-Out beats McDonald’s hands down. It regularly posts the highest customer satisfaction scores of any fast-food restaurant in its market areas. Compared to McDonald’s customers, patrons of In-N-Out are really “lovin’ it.” Just about anyone who has been to an In-N-Out believes it’s the best burger they’ve ever had. It comes as no surprise, then, that the average per-store sales for In-N-Out eclipse those of McDonald’s and are double the industry average. Breaking All the Rules According to Stacy Perman, author of a definitive book on In-N-Out, the company has achieved unequivocal success by “breaking all the rules.” By rules, Ms. Perman refers to the standard business practices for the fast-food industry and even retail in general. In-N-Out has maintained a tenacious focus on customer well-being, but it has done so by doing the unthinkable: not changing. The company’s original philosophy is still in place today and best illustrates the basis for the company’s rule breaking: “Give customers the freshest, highest quality foods you can buy and provide them with friendly service in a sparkling clean environment.” The big burger giants might take exception to the idea that they aren’t providing the same customer focus. But let’s take a closer look at what these things mean to In-N-Out. For starters, at In-N-Out, quality food means fresh food. Burgers are made from 100 percent pure beef—no additives, fillers, or preservatives. In-N-Out owns and operates its own patty-making commissaries, ensuring that every burger is fresh and never frozen. Vegetables are sliced and diced by hand in every restaurant. Fries are even made from whole potatoes. And, yes, milkshakes are made from real ice cream. In an industry that has progressively become more and more enamored with processing technologies such as cryogenically freezing foods and preparing all ingredients in off-site warehouses, In-N-Out is indeed an anomaly. In fact, you won’t even find a freezer, heating lamp, or microwave oven in an In-N-Out restaurant. From the beginning, the company slogan has been “Quality you can taste.” And customers are convinced that they can do just that. In-N-Out hasn’t changed its formula for freshness. But in

another deviation from the norm, it also hasn’t changed its menu. Unlike McDonald’s or Wendy’s, which introduce seemingly unending streams of new menu items, In-N-Out stays true to Harry Snyder’s original mantra: “Keep it real simple. Do one thing and do it the best you can.” This charge from the founder focuses on what the chain has always done well: making really good hamburgers, really good fries, and really good shakes that’s it. While others have focused on menu expansion in constant search of the next hit item to drive traffic, In-N-Out has tenaciously stuck to the basics. In fact, it took 60 years for the company to add 7up and Dr. Pepper to its menu. Although the limited menu might seem restrictive, customers don’t feel that way. In another demonstration of commitment to customers, In-N-Out employees will gladly make any of the menu items in a truly customized fashion. From the chain’s earliest years, menu modifications became such a norm at In-N-Out that a “secret” menu emerged consisting of code words that aren’t posted on regular menu boards. So customers in the know can order their burgers “animal style” (pickles, extra spread, grilled onions, and a mustard-fried patty). Whereas the “Double-Double” (double meat, double cheese) is on the menu, burgers can also be ordered in 3 × 3 or 4 × 4 configurations. Fries can also be order animal style (two slices of cheese, grilled onions, and spread), well done, or light. A Neapolitan shake is a mixture of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry shakes. The list goes on and on. Knowledge of this secret menu is yet another thing that makes customers feel special. It’s not just In-N-Out’s food that pleases customers. The chain also features well-trained employees who deliver unexpectedly friendly service. In-N-Out hires and retains outgoing, enthusiastic, and capable employees and treats them very well. It pays new part-time staff $10.50 an hour and gives them regular raises. Part-timers also receive paid vacations. General managers make over $100,000 a year plus bonuses and receive a full-benefit package that rivals anything in the corporate world. Managers who meet goals are sent on lavish trips with their spouses, often to Europe in first-class seats. For gala events, managers wear tuxedos. Executives believe that the men and women who run In-N-Out stores stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any blue-chip manager, and want them to feel that way. Managers are promoted from within. In fact, 80 percent of In-N-Out managers started at the very bottom. As a result, In-N-Out has one of the lowest turnover rates in an industry infamous for high turnover. Happy, motivated employees help create loyal, satisfied customers. In fact, words like loyal and satisfied don’t do justice to how customers feel about In-N-Out Burger. The restaurant chain has developed an unparalleled cult following. When a new In-N-Out first opens, the line of cars often stretches out a mile or more, and people stand in line for hours to get a burger, fries, and a shake. Fans have been known to camp overnight to be the first in line. When In-N-Out made its debut in Texas, one woman cried. “Pinch me, it just doesn’t feel real,” whimpered customer Danielle DeInnocentes, overcome with emotion as the reality of her newfound proximity to the burger chain set in. Slow Growth Nurtures Fans Some observers point out that it’s probably more than just the food and the service that created In-N-Out’s diehard customer base. Because of In-N-Out’s slow-growth expansion strategy, you won’t find one of the famous red-and-white stores with crisscrossed palm trees on every corner. By 1976,

In-N-Out had grown to only 18 southern California stores, whereas McDonald’s and Burger King had opened thousands of stores worldwide. It took In-N-Out 40 years to open its first non-California store in Las Vegas. And even as the company expands into Arizona, Utah, and Texas, it sticks tenaciously to its policy of not opening more than about 10 stores per year. The lack of access to an In-N-Out in most states has created legions of cravers coast to coast. Fans have created countless Facebook pages, filled with posts by consumers begging the family-owned corporation to bring In-N-Out to their states. But In-N-Out’s policy is driven by its commitment to quality. It will open a new store only when it has trained management and company-owned distribution centers in place. The scarcity of In-N-Out stores only adds to its allure. Customers regularly go out of their way and drive long distances to get their fix. Having to drive a little further contributes to the feeling that going to In-N-Out is an event. Out-of-state visitors in the know often put an In-N-Out stop high on their list of things to do. Jeff Rose, a financial planner from Carbondale, Illinois, always stops at In-N-Out first when he visits Las Vegas to see his mother. “You have to pass it when you drive to her house,” he says in his defense. “It’s not like the time I paid an extra $40 in cab fare to visit an In-N-Out on the way to the San Diego airport.” Consistent with the other elements of its simple-yet-focused strategy, In-N-Out doesn’t spend much on advertising it doesn’t have to. In fact, although the company doesn’t release financial figures, some estimates place total promotional spending at less than 1 percent of revenues. McDonald’s shells out 7 percent of its revenue on advertising. In-N-Out’s small promotional budget is for local billboards and radio ads. But when it comes to really spreading the word, In-N-Out lets its customers do the heavy lifting. Customers truly are apostles for the brand. They proudly wear In-N-Out T-shirts and slap In-N-Out bumper stickers on their cars. Rabid regulars drag a constant stream of new devotees into restaurants, an act often referred to as “the conversion.” They can’t wait to pass along the secret menu codes and share the sublime pleasures of diving into a 4 × 4 animal style. “When you tell someone else what ‘animal style’ means,” says an analyst, “you feel like you’re passing on a secret handshake. People really get into the whole thing.” In-N-Out doesn’t use paid endorsers, but word-of-mouth praise regularly flows from the mouths of A-list celebrities. When former Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien asked Tom Hanks what he recommended doing in Los Angeles, Hanks replied,” One of the true great things about Los Angeles is In-N-Out Burger.” Paris Hilton famously claimed she was on her way to In-N-Out when she was pulled over for a DUI. And paparazzi have snapped shots of scores of celebrities getting an In-N-Out fix, including Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Christian Slater, and Nick Jonas. The fact that such celebrities aren’t paid to pay homage to the brand underscores that In-N-Out is truly a hip place. A Questionable Future? Many analysts have questioned whether or not In-N-Out can sustain its unwavering 65-year run. For example, the company that had been run only by Harry, Esther, or one of their two sons for its first 58 years hit a barrier in 2006 when Esther Snyder passed away. The only direct descendant of the Snyder family at that time was 23-year-old Lynsi Martinez, who was not yet in a position to take over the company. That left In-N-Out in the hands

of Mark Taylor, the former vice president of operations. But as directed by Esther Snyder’s will, granddaughter Lynsi took over as In-N-Out’s sixth president in 2010 before her 28th birthday. Often described as shy, Martinez has progressively gained ownership of the company and will have full control in 2017. The changing of the executive guard has gone largely unnoticed by customers and fans, an indication that the In-N-Out legacy carries on. With long lines still snaking out the door of any location at lunchtime, demand seems as high as ever. “The more chains like McDonald’s and Burger King change and expand, the more In-N-Out sticks to its guns,” says the analyst. “In a way, it symbolizes the ideal American way of doing business: Treating people well, focusing on product quality, and being very successful.” In-N-Out’s customers couldn’t agree more. When it comes to fast-food chains, delighted customers will tell you, “There’s In-N-Out, and then there’s everyone else.” Answer the following questions in detail: 1. Describe In-N-Out in terms of the value it provides for customers. 2. Evaluate In-N-Out’s performance relative to customer expectations. What is the outcome of this process? 3. Should In-N-Out adopt a high-growth strategy? Why or why not? 4. With so many customers thrilled by In-N-Out’s “ no-change” philosophy, why don’t more burger chains follow suit? Dyson: Solving Customer Problems in Ways They Never Imagined From a head-on perspective, it has a sleek, stunning stainless steel design. With wings that extend downward at a 15-degree angle from its center, it appears ready for takeoff. The latest aeronautic design from Boeing? No. It’s the most innovative sink faucet to hit the market in decades. Dyson—the company famous for vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, and fans unlike anything else on the market—is about to revolutionize the traditional sink faucet. The Airblade Tap—a faucet that washes and dries hands with completely touch-free operation—is the latest in a line of revolutionary Dyson products that have reinvented their categories. In fact, Dyson was founded on a few very simple principles. First, every Dyson product must provide real consumer benefits that make life easier. Second, each product must take a totally unique approach to accomplishing common, everyday tasks. Finally, each Dyson product must infuse excitement into products that are so mundane, most people never think much about them. The Man behind the Name

James Dyson was born and raised in the United Kingdom. After studying design at the Royal College of Art, he had initially planned to design and build geodesic structures for use as commercial space. But with no money to get his venture started, he took a job working for an acquaintance who handed him a blow torch and challenged him to create a prototype for an amphibious landing craft. With no welding experience, he figured things out on his own. Before long, the company was selling 200 boats a year based on his design. That trial-and-error approach came naturally to Dyson, who applied it to create Dyson Inc.’s first product. In 1979, he had purchased what claimed was the most powerful vacuum cleaner on the market. He found it to be anything but. Instead, it seemed simply to move dirt around the room. This left Dyson wondering why no one had yet invented a decent vacuum cleaner. At that point, he remembered something he’d seen in an industrial sawmill—a cyclonic separator that removed dust from the air. Why wouldn’t that approach work well in vacuum cleaners? “I thought no one was bothering to use technology in vacuum cleaners,” said Dyson. Indeed, the core technology of vacuum motors at the time was more than 150 years old. “I saw a great opportunity to improve.” Dyson then did something that very few people would have the patience or the vision to do. He spent 15 years and made 5,127 vacuum prototypes—all based on a bag-less cyclonic separator—before he had the one that went to market. In his own words, “There were 5,126 failures. But I learned from each one. That’s how I came up with a solution.” Dyson’s all-new vacuum was far more than techno-gadgetry. Dyson had developed a completely new motor that ran at 110,000 revolutions per minute—three times faster than any other vacuum on the market. It provided tremendous suction that other brands simply couldn’t match. The bag-less design was very effective at removing dirt and particles from the air, and the machine was much easier to clean out than vacuums requiring the messy process of changing bags. The vacuum also maneuvered more easily and could reach places other vacuums could not. Dyson’s vacuum really worked. With a finished product in hand, Dyson pitched it to all the appliance makers. None of them wanted it. So Dyson borrowed $900,000 and began manufacturing the vacuum himself. He then convinced a mail-order catalog to carry the Dyson instead of Hoover or Electrolux, “Because your catalog is boring.”

Dyson vacuums were soon picked up by other mail order catalogs, then by small appliance chains, and then by large department stores. By the late 1990s, Dyson’s full line of vacuums were being distributed in multiple global markets. At that point, Dyson, the company that had quickly become known for vacuum cleaners, was already on to its next big thing. The Dyson Method During the development of Dyson’s vacuums, a development model began to take shape. Take everyday products, focus on their shortcomings, and improve them to the point of reinvention. “I like going for unglamorous products and making them a pleasure to use,” Dyson told Fortune magazine. By taking this route, the company finds solutions to the problems it is trying to solve. At the same time, it sometimes finds solutions for other problems. For example, the vacuum motor Dyson developed sucked air with unprecedented strength. But the flipside of vacuum suction is exhaust. Why couldn’t such a motor blow air at wet hands so fast that the water would be pressed off in a squeegeelike manner, rather than the slow, evaporative approach employed by commercial hand dryers? With that realization, Dyson created and launched the Airblade, a hand dryer that blows air through a .2-millimeter slot at 420 miles per hour. It dries hands in 12 seconds, rather than the more typical 40 seconds required by other hand dryers. It also uses cold air—a huge departure from the standard warm-air approach of existing commercial dryers. This not only reduced energy consumption by 75 percent—a major bonus for commercial enterprises that pay the electric bills—but customers were much more likely to use a product that worked fast and did the job right. With very observable benefits, the Airblade was rapidly adopted by commercial customers. For example, as part of a comprehensive plan to improve its environmental impact, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was looking for a solution to the financial and environmental costs of manufacturing, distributing, and servicing the paper towel dispensers in more than 100 restrooms throughout its terminals. Switching to recycled paper towels helped, but only minimally. The energy used by conventional hand dryers made them an unattractive alternative. But when LAX management saw a demonstration of the Dyson Airblade, it was a no-brainer. With Airblades installed throughout its terminals, LAX was able to significantly reduce landfill

waste as well as costs. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from travelers was icing on the cake. Today’s Airblades have evolved, guided by Dyson’s customer- centric approach to developing products. With the first Airblade, it was apparent that all that high-powered air is noisy. So Dyson spent seven years and a staggering $42 million to develop the V4 motor, one of the smallest and quietest commercial motors available. The new Airblade is quieter and almost six pounds lighter than the original. But even more advanced is Dyson’s new Blade V, a sleeker design that is 60 percent thinner than the Airblade, protruding only four inches from the wall. Assessing Real Customer Needs Although Dyson sees itself as a technology-driven company, it develops products with the end-user in mind. But rather than using traditional market research methods, Dyson takes a different approach. “Dyson avoids the kind of focus group techniques that are, frankly, completely averaging,” says Adam Rostrom, group marketing director for Dyson. “Most companies start with the consumer and say, ‘Hey Mr. or Mrs. X, what do you want from your toothbrush tomorrow or what do you want from your shampoo tomorrow?’ The depressing reality is that often you won’t get many inspiring answers.” Rather, Dyson’s uses an approach it calls “interrogating products” to develop new products that produce real solutions to customer problems. After identifying the most obvious shortcomings for everyday products, it finds ways to improve them. It then tests prototypes with real consumers under heavy nondisclosure agreements. In this manner, Dyson can observe consumer reactions in the context of real people using products in their real lives. This approach enables Dyson to develop revolutionary products like the Air Multiplier, a fan that moves large volumes of air around a room with no blades. In fact, the Air Multiplier looks nothing like a fan. By using technology similar to that found in turbochargers and jet engines, the Air Multiplier draws air in, amplifies it 18 times, and spits it back out in an uninterrupted stream that eliminates the buffeting and direct air pressure of conventional fans. Referring to the standard methods of assessing customer needs and wants, Rostrom explains, “If you . . . asked people what they wanted from their fan tomorrow, they wouldn’t say ‘get rid of the blades.’ Our approach is about product breakthroughs rather than the approach of just

running a focus group and testing a concept. No-Nonsense Promotion In yet another departure from conventional marketing, Dyson claims to shun one of the core concepts of marketing. “There is only one word that’s banned in our company: brand,” Mr. Dyson proclaimed at Wired magazine’s Disruption By Design conference. What Dyson seems to mean is that the company is not about creating images and associations that do not originate with the quality and function of the product itself. “We’re only as good as our latest product.” With its rigid focus on product quality and its innovative approaches to common problems, Dyson’s approach to brand building centers on simply letting its products speak for themselves. Indeed, from the mid-1990s when it started promoting its bag-less vacuums, Dyson invested heavily in television advertising. But unlike most creative approaches, Dyson’s ads are simple and straightforward, explaining to viewers immediately what the product is, what it does, and why they need one. “It’s a really rational subject matter that we work on, so we don’t need to use white horses on beaches or anything like that,” Rostrom says, referring to Dyson’s no-nonsense approach to advertising. “We need only to explain the products. One thing we’re careful to avoid is resorting to industry-standard ways of communicating—fluffy dogs and sleeping babies and so on. We don’t want to blend in that way.” Today, Dyson complements traditional advertising with digital efforts. Like its TV advertising, such methods are simple, straightforward, and right to the point. For example, e-mail communications are used sparingly, targeted to existing customers, and timed for maximum impact. And beyond the media it buys, Dyson considers public relations as the promotional medium that carries most of the weight. From product reviews in the mainstream media to online reviews and tweets about its products, word of its Dyson’s products gets around fast. The Airblade Tap sink faucet, Dyson’s most recent new product, is a microcosm of Dyson’s marketing strategy. It took 125 engineers three years and 3,300 prototypes to develop the final product. The Airblade Tap provides clearly communicated solutions to everyday problems—solutions that make life easier. It solves those problems in ways that no other product has ever attempted, claiming to “reinvent the way we wash our hands.” And it injects style into an otherwise boring product. Dyson sums it up this way: “Washing and drying your hands