Marketing Audit of the Original Overhead Door of Louisville
Introduction
This paper focuses on market audit of overhead door corporation. It analyzes the marketing strategies, the brands and promotional strategy of the company. The paper also analyzes the environment of the company.
Company history
The overhead door corporation and the sanwa group are aimed at providing products and services that provide safety and security to the society. The products should also provide convenience to the society. Overhead Door Corporation is a subordinate of Sanwa group. Overhead Corporation is mainly involved in garage door business. The farmer’s branch is made up of three divisions. That is the Access system, Horton automatics, and TODCO. Access systems are the largest division, and it operates out of Dallas in Texas. The company produces overhead door and genie lines of garage doors. It also produces openers and wet, and dry vacuums. In addition to the above products, Hurdson New York manufactures commercial sectional door system, and rolling steel door system.
The company also produces high speed traffic doors, and loading dock equipment. Horton Automatics Company focuses mainly on automatic markets. The company produces products like automatic doors, and revolving doors(Fifield, 2007). The company also manufactures security access doors, and automatic sliding doors. The company serves a variety of customers. The customers include airports, and casinos. It also serves government agencies, hospitals etc. TODCO is an abbreviation for overhead Door Corporation. TODCO makes overhead swinging truck, and trailer doors. Overhead Door Corporation was founded in 1920 in Detroit in Michigan. The company was formed by C.G Johnson. Johnson established the company after recognizing that people who owned automobile needed to store their vehicles indoors. The demand for indoor storage for vehicles motivated Johnson to establish the company so as to provide storage services.
Johnson knew that car owners would provide a ready market for his product. The solution to this problem was to build swinging doors. The swinging doors had a problem as they tended to sag, and were easily blocked. To overcome the problems created by swinging doors, Johnson invented first upward acting overhead garage door in 1921. Johnson idea was good, and it only needed demonstration so as to sell it. In 1921 Johnson and Forest McKee formed a company to manufacture the invention, and market it. In 1923, the company began to demonstrate the invention. During this time Johnson won an offer to establish a new company in Hartford. He did not refuse the offer, and he relocated the Overhead Door Corporation to Hartford. Then the company began manufacturing products to serve the community. From that time, the company grew enormously, and had a lot of sales. The company established a lot of companies in other countries to produce the same products (Fifield, 2007).
External and internal environment
The Overhead Door Corporation occupies a large market segment. The company has established plants in other countries. The plants have made the company grow in popularity, and financially. The company manufactures a wide variety of products. The products include swing doors, automatic doors, and revolving doors. The company also manufactures security access doors, and automatic sliding doors. The company serves a lot of customers. The customers are diverse, and they come from different market segment. In addition, the company serves customers from all industries. The customers include airports, and casinos. It also serves government buildings, hospitals and government agencies, and the automobile industry(Schenck, 2005).
There are two trends in the environment that present threat to the overhead door corporation. These trends include entrant of competitors and entrant of new products. The entrant of new competitors and product are threats to the company because the competitors produce the same product as the form. This affects the price of product, and profits. To overcome the threats in the environment, the firm should establish the right competitive strategy so as to ensure the firm has a competitive advantage. The company should use product differentiation strategy to differentiate its product from a competitor’s product and proper marketing techniques. This is to ensure the firm has enough productivity, and profits (Schenck, 2005).
Two trends in the environment that represent opportunities to the Overhead Door Corporation are diverse market segment, and diverse products. The company produces diverse products that help in meeting customer needs. This makes it easy for the firm to survive in the market. The company manufactures products that are used in different industries like hospitals, automobile, and airport. This makes it easy for the firm to prevent competition. The customers of the company are diverse as they come from different industries, and countries. This makes the firm to occupy a large market segment. This is an opportunity to the firm as it maximizes profit, and increase productivity of the firm (Schenck, 2005).
The strengths of the company are the marketing strategies the company is using, product and customer services. The company is using road shows, and advertising in the media to promote its product. The products are also unique from competitors (Schenck, 2005).
Target Market and Market Position
The firm has a diverse marker segment. This is because the firm has diverse products, and diverse customers (Fifield, 2007). The firm targets various customers. The customers are from different industries like hospitality industry, automobile industry, government sector, and health industries. In the hospitality industry the firm targets the airports, and big hotels. In the health sector the firm targets the hospitals as it makes doors, and other equipments to be used in the hospital. In the automobile industry the firm targets car owners, and the automobile firms. This is because the firm manufactures products to be used by car owners, and automobile industries. The sliding door is used to store their cars. Thus, the customers the firm targets are diverse and they are from different market segments (Schenck, 2005).
The firm has eCommerce channels that enable the business, customer, and suppliers to buy, and supply products. The channels also promote effective communication. The Overhead Door Corporation uses customer services integrated in the management of the firm, and marketing to identify its customers. Using these services, the firm identifies the customers, and services to deliver to the customers (Fifield, 2007).
The company uses a strong business model, and solid balance sheet to meet customer needs. The business model is built using effective management practices. This is to strengthen the market position of the company, and improve financial strengths of the business. The company also uses business integration techniques to integrate business operations so as to improve the company’s objective to withstand current and future changes in the industry. The Overhead Door Corporation is well placed in the market. This is because the company has made a lot of profits. This is as a result of the strategies the business uses to market its products, and get customers for the product. The firm has established call centers in every market segment. This has made it easy for the firm to serve customers easily, and also suppliers (Schenck, 2005). The firm has also integrated most of the business activities. This is to reduce production costs, and increase productivity.
The firm has also merged with other firms to form a large market segment for its product unlike the competitors who target a specific market. This has helped the firm in maximizing profits. The products produced by the firm are of high quality compared to products produced by other firms in the same industry. The marketing strategies used by the firm have also helped in increasing productivity of the firm, and profits. The firm uses product strategies to make its product unique. Thus, the firm is well positioned in the market. To maintain customers, and suppliers the firm has established proper marketing strategies. This strategy helps the firm in serving its customers from all market segments well. The firm has integrated all its activities so as to make delivery of services faster. This is to serve the customers well, and ensure customer satisfaction. The integration of the firm’s activities helps in maintaining suppliers as there is clear communication, and management. The firm has established call centers in all market segments to help the firm in maintaining the relationship between customers, and suppliers. This is because the customers and suppliers are able to present any issue to the management, and get clear communication (Schenck, 2005).
Branding and Promotional Strategy
The company uses all forms of media to advertise its product, and any other information about the business. The Overhead Door Corporation uses television, newspaper, and the internet to advertise its products, and business information. The company’s communication strategy is good. This is because the company ensures there is clear communication between the customers, suppliers, and the company management. This is to improve provision of services, and management of the organization. The company uses the Call centre strategy to enable effective communication in the organization. Customers and suppliers are able to communicate with the company on important issues. This in turn increases sales, and productivity of the company. Advertising is effective when the company selects the right media to advertise their product. It is also effective if the content to be advertised is planed well to attract the attention of consumers. The advertising used by the company is effective because the company has made a lot of profit than its competitors (Schenck, 2005). The brand formula consists of steel and wood components. The brand is unique from competitors because it consists of unique components (Schenck, 2005).
The company sets its promotional budget using a fixed percentage of sales. This is because the company has predictable sales patterns. This method of setting promotional budget helps the company in preventing overspending in advertising. This approach has some disadvantages as it assumes that sales are directly related to advertising. This is not true because other advertising elements might affect the advertising process. This leads to low sales. The method the company uses to set its promotional sales is good and gives the firm competitive advantage against its competitors. The Overhead Door Corporation uses trade shows to promote its products. This is because through trade shows the company gets more customers unlike other companies. This help’s company to establish greater market segments.
For example, the founder of the company used trade shows to promote his first invention. This is because the shows had a lot of people. The outcome of the trade show was good. He got a chance to invest in other countries as his product interested many people. Trade shows are effective if they are well planned, and customers are more. Trade shows are effective because they give a company’s important chance to improve their brands, and product. They give the company a chance to promote new products, and old products. They help companies to know more about other competitors. That is their products, marketing strategy, and competitive advantage. Hence, if planned well trade shows are effective (Altstiel, Grow, 2006).
Personal selling involves communication between the seller, and the customer. The seller prompts the products to the targeted customer using personal selling. Personal selling is important to the Overhead Door Corporation as it helps the company in marketing its products. This is because the companies carry out face to face promotion of the product. This is possible in trade shows. In trade shows the company demonstrates its product to the customers. This makes it easy for the customer to have good knowledge about the product manufactured by the company. The customer then makes proper decision on how to buy the products. Thus, promotional selling is important in advertising business products. Public relation is important for this firm as it helps the firm in maintaining good public image. Public relation involves maintaining good public image for the firm. In addition, public relation helps the firm in maintaining good relations with the public, the government, and other firms in the industry. It helps the firm in maintaining customers, suppliers, and other shareholders well. Without good public relation the firm’s reputation is damaged, and this affects the productivity of the firm. It also affects customers, and profits. This is because the firm loses public trust, and confidence. Hence, its product loses market. Public relation and personal selling are important to this firm as they help in increasing sales, and productivity of the firm. They also help in maintaining customers, and public trust (Altstiel, Grow, 2006).
The company can use push promotional strategy. This promotional strategy uses sales force from the company, and trade promotion activities to promote products. This is to create customer demand for the product (Altstiel, Grow, 2006). The company can use the following push marketing strategies. The overhead door corporation should use trade shows to promote their products. This is because trade shows give the company an opportunity of marketing new and old products. They also make the customer aware of the company’s products thus, increasing the number of customers, and sales. The trade shows allow the company to know more information about its competitors. For example, if Overhead Door Corporation uses trade shows it will be able to know more about tits competitors like General American door company, griffon corporation and NCI building systems. This is important to the company as it will improve its marketing strategies, competitive advantage, and products (Altstiel, Grow, 2006).
The company can use personal selling. This is important to the company as it help’s the sales force sell products direct to consumers. The consumers then select the product that interests them. This helps increase sales, and productivity of the company. The company can also negotiate with retailers to stock their products. This makes the product details available to consumers. The company can also use supply chain to allow efficient supply to retailers. Another method is the use of a packaging design that will encourage people to buy the product. The last method is the use of point display to promote products. This encourages the customer to buy the product as it is brought near, and information about the product is available (Fifield, 2007).
Conclusion
I have learned a lot from this company. I have learned on methods of promoting or advertising products, and their effectiveness. This is because the company has used different media to promote its product, and this has increased sales. I have learned how to use various strategies to overcome competition. This strategy includes marketing strategy, promotion strategy, and product strategy. The factors contributing to the success of the company are good marketing strategy. The company has developed good marketing strategy to attract customers, and keep away competitors. Another factor is advertising, and promotional strategy. The use of trade shows, personal selling, and advertising in the media has increased the firm’s profit. This has made the firm to be more productive than its competitors. Integration of business activities and clear communication strategy has made the firm successful. The company should develop strong marketing, and promotion strategy to help in maintaining customers. This is because the industry has more company which competes with existing companies. They should ensure proper management of the firm. This is to ensure productivity, and customer satisfaction.
Reference
Altstiel, T., Grow, J. (2006).Advertising strategy: creative tactics from the outside/in. SAGE
Fifield, P. (2007).Marketing strategy: the difference between marketing and markets.Edition3.Butterworth-Heinemann
Schenck, B.(2005).Small business marketing for dummies.Edition2.For Dummies
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