Running head: Literature Review Paper- Hypothesis 1
Debbie Jenkins
Kaplan University
GM 599 Applied Research Project
Dr. Dan Dayton, PhD.
Introduction
Ashley Rug Company has been facing falling sales and revenues due to the economic down turn and a glut in the real estate sector. The organizationalproblem istounderstand how this can be reversed. The problem and issues has to be redressed if Ashley’s is to sustain itself in the market. The investigation of how marketers of Ashley’sRug Company will have to resort to bring in better perception and value add to the consumer will be researched through a sample survey. (I don’t think sample survey is the way to go-need to changed)
Statement of the problem
Though the problem faced by Ashley Rug Company is fall in sales and thereby revenues there are coincidental factors that have led to this problem. There has been a paradigm shift in home décor. Customer’s perceptions about rugs and carpets have changed and customers see no value add in home furnishings. Ashley’s Rug Company will have to make that impact and penetrate the market in a way that will really change the customer’s perception about home décor. Need to add to this!!!
Intended audience
The paper tries to suggest ways and means by which the sagging revenues of Ashley’s Rug Company can be revitalized and reengineered through promotions and some other kind of a change in customer perceptions and to try and meet the unmet needs of the customer.
The strategies to solve this issue will be of great interest to marketers of Ashley’s company, the senior management and everyone else who is directly or indirectly involved in the decision making process. The revenues generated from sales is the life blood of the company and holds together the few employees that work for the firm. Hence, the company needs to bring up its strategies so that stakeholders interest in the firm can be justified. (make changes- something needs to be added
Scope of investigation
The managers and the marketers of Ashley’s need to look at the industry and their immediate competitors and study their strategies for survival in the hyper competitive lack luster market. With the market being opened out to china and the Asian countries, carpets and rugs are available in plenty and at very affordable rates. Ashley Rug Company will now have to think of means by which it can bring in those cost efficiencies to its production.
The investigation will be done through a SWOT analysis of the Ashley rug company and by using the industry analysis of Michael porter’s five forces. This investigation will bring out the basic problems and weaknesses that Ashley’s has to overcome and also look at strengths and opportunities that the firm will have to build upon (Paul Dobson et al.2004). Need to be added or revised- changes need to be made to every paper.
Value to the audience
By conducting a SWOT analysis the managers will understand how Ashley’s is placed internally and externally and then can develop those sales and marketing strategies that will help the firm to look at different kinds of marketing communication and promotional strategies to reach the customer (Kotler Philip, 2000).
Managers will understand that they the Ashley rug company needs to think and act differently and also add value to the needs of the customers. By conducting an industry and an environmental scan managerswill be prepared for any new strategy that the management will think of and involve themselves to implement the strategy well.(needs something added)
Focus on authors
The authors have contributed valuable insights of how management of marketing techniques can bring about sales effectively and lead to marketing managers effectively understanding the proper segmentation of the market and effectively promote the product so that the falling sales can be regenerated. The authors also speak of how an intelligently used integrated marketing communication can not only deliver the communication successfully but also build up the brand (Bitner, M. J. 1995),
Ashley’s Rugs has to think of adopting a different kind of IMC very intelligently can complement a very good marketing strategy because Ashley rug has to create a perception in the minds of the customers. IMC is very a very unique way of addressing the promotional needs of the carper firm through very carefully planned promotions which are intended to deliver messages to the consumers and also brings in that buying behavior though conviction and persuasion (Kotler et al 2009).
Retaining customers by Ashley Rug Company is a very important and critical issue and hence customer relationship management through customer centric approaches need to built.(Shamdasani, P. N et al.1995)
Another very important insight on why Ashley’s needs to consolidate on its customer centric approaches is that customer relationship management will enable Ashley’s to acquire, retain and partner with customers for creating superior value. This will enable the management of Ashley Rug Company to look at integrating all efforts to build the customer base through relationship management (Peppers, D. 1993).
Ashley rug company needs to now redefine its approach and become more customer-oriented to serve customers better than competitors, achieve competitive advantage, achieve specific goals (Kotler, Keller, Brady, 2009).
By focusing on the clear marketing communication strategy, having clear communication objectives, by linking core values and ensuring communication these inputs will add value to the brand .Integrating different levels of management of all these communications tools, together work better in harmony than in isolation and every marketing effort of Ashley rug company should be aimed at this. (Saloner Garth et al 2009). Can make changes to this also
Hypothesis Statement
Ashley Rug Company needs to find out the reasonsfor fall in sales. The marketing research efforts should be focused on finding out how to improve the perception of the product better in theminds of the consumers and also how to bring in the communication of value add to the company(Huff, L.C et al. 998).
Hypothesis 1
If price differentialsare offeredto customers would they consider to shop with Ashley Rug Company?
Hypothesis 2
Disposable incomes are directly related to customer buying behavior.
Hypothesis 3
Import from China will affect the prices and market of AshleyRug Company.
On testing these hypotheses with a sample survey to a randomly selected population of customers in the immediate neighborhood of the Ashley rug company would definitely form the basis of the strategy that the firm needs to take up.
The hypothesis will question respondents on certain very important variables.
1. Is price a very important determinant of purchasing decision for carpets and rugs?
2 Are Chinese products stiff competitors to the firm?
3. Are tastes of people and customers shifting from rugs to other products and home furnishings?
4. Should Ashley Rug Company look at better integrated market communication and expand its line of products to sustain in the highly competitive market?
These are direct questions which can be statistically tested using the linear correlation model. This can be used to look at the two most important variables that need to be considered by Ashley Rug Company before it can revitalize its sales strategy.
Conclusion
The strategydriven approach through hypothesis testing and business research method will definitely help in arriving at concrete solution to the management of the Ashley rug company to look at ways in which sales can be revitalized. An understanding of what kind of research willbring in the right kind of data is the most important criteria in carrying out a research.
Need to add to Conclusion to make the evidence presented stronger and then include on the rubric for the Unit 5
References
Bitner, M. J. (1995). “Building Service Relationships: It’s All About Promises.”
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, pp. 246-251.
Huff, L.C. and D.L. Alden (1998), An investigation of consumer response to sales promotions in developing markets: A three-country analysis, Journal of Advertising Research, 38,3, 47-57.
Jobber, D., & Lancaster, G. (2006), Selling and sales management, (7th ed.), Harlow: Pearson Education
Kotler Philip, 1997, Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control,
(9thed.). Prentice-Hall:US.
Kotler Philip, 2000, Marketing Management, 10th Edition, Prentice Hall, USA.
Kotler, P., Keller, K.L., Brady, M., Goodman, M. and Hansen, T, 2009b, Marketing Management, 1st European Edition, Pearson Education Ltd, Harlow.
Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L, 2006, Marketing Management, 12th Edition, N.J. Pearson Education Inc, Upper Saddle River.
Norton Paley, The Marketing strategy, First edition, Crest publishing House.
Paul Dobson, Kenneth Starkey & John Richard, 2004, Strategic Management: Tests and Cases, Blackwell Publishing, UK.
Peppers, D. & Rogers, M. (1993) The One to One Future: Building Relationships
One Customer at a Time. New York: Doubleday.
Saloner Garth, Shepard Andrea, Podolny Joel,(2009), Strategic Management, Wiley-India
Shamdasani, P. N. & Sheth, J. N. (1995) “An Experimental Approach to Investigating Satisfaction and Continuity in Marketing Alliances.” European Journal of Marketing, 29 (4), 6-23.
The references need to be in APA format, I have enclosed a site to help assist with this