Ch. 4 - The Marketing Environment

Under Standing the External Environment can mean the difference between your business succeeding or failing. The market changes drastically day by day, there is no time to wait for new and different trends. Businesses today must stay connected to the buyers market and preemptively figure out what trends and styles will be the next big money makers in the future.  As a marketing manager for the Martha Stewart Company would be Social Factors. What is the demographics on current buyers, and where? Who's cool and popular? In order to generate new business, Martha Stewart Living will require several Environmental Scanning through out the year to find information on the current market & trends, and new innovative markets with new buyers.    

                                TWEENS 

There are Millions upon Billions of people around the world making purchases everyday. Martha Stewart Living Company exudes the concept of American Values. America's Tweens (ages eight to twelve) generate 200 Billions in sales every year. Martha Stewart  markets to this group by encouraging creativity that can allow them to express themselves. Creating Travel Journals can  inspire Tweens to make something thing original and personalized. This project can allow them to record their memories by writing them down in their journals. They can also learn the art of scrapbooking by collecting different items or pictures and attaching them inside the book. This is an inexpensive way Martha Stewart  helps to educate a Tween, and helps the parents prepare them for school projects.

Travel Journals for Kids

Sources

Blank books, $1.75 each, barebooks.com
Two-inch black vinyl lowercase letters, $11.25 for 102, duall.com
Vinyl uppercase letters, 1" to 2", from $5.50, dickblick.com

http://www.marthastewart.com/1004214/travel-journals-kids?search_key=kids

 Self-Sufficiency, Upward Mobility, Work Ethic, Conformity, are the United States first values during the first 200 years that "strongly influenced"  peoples lifestyle according to MKTG Marketing Text Book 7 edition. These values still remain important in a buyer's life, however, mainstream social media not only connects Americans to new trends and styles, it influences the whole world to some extent.    

Buyers are influenced by their families, friends, and environments, but buyers are also influenced greatly by social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram to name a few. According to MKTG Marketing Text Book 7 edition "1 minute out of every 5 spent on Internet worldwide was dedicated to social networking." People are constantly displaying their Component Lifestyles by sending pictures of new shoes, clothes, and accessories. They are also posting how-to-videos on the things they create such as new make up techniques and nail art designs.
Martha Stewart ideas and creations are displayed on social media sites like Pinterest  and Etsy.  These sites cater to weddings, birthdays, hoildays, food, and creating ideas on making cohesive events.  

Another growing demographic are Hispanic Americans, with an estimated population of  53 Million as of July 1, 2012 according to U.S. Census Bureau. Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cubans are some of the many Hispanic groups living in the United States that have a large Purchasing Power.  Martha Stewart.com has several Latino inspired recipes from Spanish Frittata, Braised Chorizo, and Spanish Styled Chicken promoting different herbs, spices, and ingredients used by Hispanics in their cooking.

Through websites like MarthaStewart.com, HomeDepot.com, Macys.com Martha Stewart is able to reach a large number of people from many different backgrounds all across the country. By obtaining endorsement deals with major department stores, she is able to market and advertise to the masses at large, and the Competitive Factors are a minor concern in retrospect.

CH 3. Ethics and Social Responsibility

ETHICS are one's moral principles and values that are needed to guide them when making important personal or professional decisions that can negatively alter their lives or the lives around them legally or traumatically.
Morals are vested foundations instilled into one's mind from their culture and up bringing. This is a compass within constantly reminding us to conduct ourselves with respect, maturity, integrity, class. Morals, Principles, and Values allow us to function positively in society along with the rest of the population and within the structures of the law. 

COMPANIES, Organizations, and Businesses develop " Code of Conduct" or " Code of Ethics" guidelines in order to protect the business from certain situations that can have negative or unlawful occurrence. There are sever implications that can ruin a companies reputation and business if they are convicted of a major illegal scandal. There are many companies that were caught engaging in unethical behavior such as ENRON in October 2001 whose CEO and Executives were caught hiding billions of dollars of debt through loopholes and false audit reports. The company that once sold their shares for $90 ultimately went bankrupt and their $63.4 billion dollar assets were dismantled and many of the executives were convicted and sent to prison. The stocks and shares plummeted to and all time low of $1 in the end. The Corporate Social Responsibility at ENRON was ignored, not only did the CEO's lie and steal to cover the billion dollar debt loss, 7500 employees were let go with no medical benefits and only $4500 dollars.    

Convicted of Obstruction of Justice in March 2004 

 IN March 2004,  Martha Stewart convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the government as a result of  insider trading and was sentence to 5 months in a minimum security prison. She received insider information regarding a stock that she invested in name ImClone. She immediately sold the stock before it plummeted and was unable to give legal authorities a reason why. This completely put the Martha Stewart company and brand in jeopardy. Once she was convicted she was released from her board of directors position, and the company's stock plummeted by 70%. Since Martha Stewart personal image is the foundation of her brand, the TV Show rating declined significantly among other losses were her endorsements deals with major department stores.

SINCE getting out of prison Martha Stewart has had to adopt a more  Post conventional Morality Marketing Standard of ethics which is a level where people are less concerned about how others might see them and more concerned about how they see themselves and judge themselves in the long run. Ethical Decision Making are many times difficult and confusing to make, although some decisions are legal and will create substantial profit for the company, is it morally and ethically the best decision for the company and it's employees.  If the company considers Number of People to be Affected  the more they can recognize a problem as unethical and avoid a crisis situation.  
     

   

CH. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Marketing Strategy 

The most current marketing strategy recently announced from the Martha Stewart Omni Media Company are contracts with JC Penny & Macy's. JC Penny & Macy's are department store empires with a customer base of more that 200 million. In order to build their existing customers relationships they will expand their distribution locations by including JC Penny & Macy's.  With a product line already existing in other significant household name department stores such as HOME DEPOT & Kmart, Martha Stewart will increase her target market by the millions.

JC PENNY  

The is one of the most effective key elements in a  Marketing Plan, once the distributors are selected the target market is easily established. Another key element would be to review previous marketing strategies that produce  Cash Cows, this strategy is also know as Conducting a Situation Analysis. By using ANSOFF'S Strategic Opportunity Matrix , Martha Stewart  can continue to promote the high quality products she sells in department stores, while she use an innovative television show allowing her customers to learn first hand her creative techniques. 

The Competitive Advantage of Martha Stewart  is the her high quality products at low reasonable costs, which is also know as the Cost Competitive advantage .  The customers that ordinarily shop in Macy's are searching for a more expensive product. Designer products are not considered in the same category as a product in a Kmart Store that are known for a less expensive product. Pricing Strategies will also be significantly different, allowing a large area for development. If the customer thinks that they are getting a better deal for a higher end product, they will continue to increase the spending at that store. The customer can also find a Martha Stewart product in various stores as oppose to waiting for an item to come back in stock.

CH. 1 Over View & Introduction to Marketing

Martha Stewart is a global empire whose annual sales are reported to be around 763 million dollars. The success of her company was developed by a large network of Marketing Strategies, with its main concentration on design and presentation. Martha Stewart expands her brand by attracting new consumers through publishing (Magazines, Books), syndicated talk shows (Martha Stewart Living) and Cooking products (Martha Stewart Culinary Cookware) among other commodities, which display her signature style. The Organizations Focus derives from Martha Stewart's creative talents with cooking, home and event décor.  The selling point for most consumers is the connections she makes with her cooking and crafting concepts. For most people, a celebration is a special moment filled with love, family, and friends. For Martha Stewart every part of life is a special moment and should be celebrated with beautiful food, colorful fabrics, and fresh flowers to say the least.  

French Inspired Baby Shower 

http://www.marthastewart.com/1010838/baby-shower-brunch/@center/276963/baby-shower-ideas

The Customers Value is instantly tangible in some cases without spending towards a Martha Stewart product. Martha Stewart displays a step by step guideline on her recipes, and Event/Home décor in her books and on her website. The consumer can create and re-create the decorations and recipes with or without buying the products made by Martha Stewart. The Co-Creating Concept allows the consumer to create their own version of the original idea set forth by Martha Stewart. The consumer can keep the original idea, however, by changing fabrics, colors, and patterns they can customize the decorations to fit their party theme. Fortunately for Martha Stewart, many people become over whelmed by the exhausting time consuming process of making event/home decor from scratch. The consumer would rather buy the products sold from Martha Stewart because it's completely assembled.  Martha Stewart products create an image of high quality, with a delicious appeal. Martha Stewart has a natural ability to invite nature into her designs which entice inexpensive simple ideas,  thus attracting a wide selection of consumers.        

Artificial Flowers displayed in a tie dye vase. Adding color with a natural color palette.

Pop Up Decorations 

These simple pieces will make a big impact. All you need are vellum paper, scissors, and tape to turn a simple table into something celebration-worthy. As per marthastewart.com

http://www.marthastewart.com/340485/baby-shower-decorations/@center/276963/baby-shower-ideas

This Pop Up Decoration in particular displays paper lanterns, and banners in an array of blue and green colors made from paper, scissors and tape. If the baby shower was for a GIRL, the concept of the lanterns stay the same, however different hues of pinks and purples can be used in the color scheme. 

The Customer Satisfaction is easily met by delighting the consumer. Martha Stewart company creates products for every event a consumer will celebrate. Holidays, Birthdays, Graduations, and Baby Showers are just some of the many celebrated events that Martha Stewart designs for. If the consumers re-creates the ideas displayed by Martha Stewart at one of their events, they are inclined to re-visit that source for the next event they will host. The consumer will also be persuaded to purchase more of the products from the company in-order to create the perfect look. Guests will almost always ask about the events decor and food, this will lead to a new array of consumers.   

Martha Stewart products are sold in popular department stores such as Macys, JC Penney, Michaels, and JoAnnes. Millions trust these house hold names and depend on the department stores to meet their needs. New and existing Martha Stewart consumers will be able to purchase her products faster and more frequently . The Relationship Marketing which focuses on keeping and improving relationships with current customers can be easily achieved due to the constant availability of the product in various department stores. 

Martha Stewart will continue to grow and succeed by delivering a innovative creative product at a reasonable price that displays an expensive impression.