Marketing Research and Information Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Research and Information Needs - Essay Example Companies still mishandle 'line extension' projects that fail. It is imperative that new products for development be carefully chosen, "product strategy calls for complex decisions, among others, on product mix and product line" (Kotler and Armstrong, 1991, pp. 512-513). There has been a continuous rise in the demand for healthy snacks all over the world. This trend was essentially started in the United States as a result of a new health craze and obesity scare due to rising number of weight levels. Consumers now want to minimize their fat intake as well as reduce ingestion of other potential damaging sugar - substitute substances. This tendency to buy only 'healthy' foods has extended to the snack - food and drink sector where consumers want to enjoy snacks but at the same time not feel guilty or worried about potential damage to their health. The new trend towards healthier choices in snack - food was revealed by the speedy swap from carbonated drinks and carbohydrate ridden foods to 'non- carbs', "But with worldwide sales growth of carbonated beverages slowing, the growth lately has been found in non-carbonated beverages such as bottled water, teas, sports drinks, energy and health drinks, and ready-to-drink coffee" (Ashton, 2000). Health snacks had resulted in an entirely new mar... Carbonate- free drinks eventually led to a rise in the sports and energy drink sector. This market was originally dominated by PepsiCo's Gatorade and laid back SoBe. However, Coca Cola saw the potential in this sector and followed PepsiCo into energy drinks. Coca cola launched its original attempt in energy and sports drinks with PowerAde. PowerAde was declared a competitor to Gatorade and was marketed accordingly. Reaction to PowerAde in the market was feeble and Gatorade continued to lead. After several re - launches and alternations and modifications in the ingredients, PowerAde is now second runner up in the sports drink sector while Gatorade persists in remaining the first. Coca Cola started an energy drink brand, KMX, but still felt a gap in the market. Reactions to KMX were far from warm and Coca Cola required a product to fill up the space. In the first quarter of 2005, Coca Cola introduced Full Throttle, an energy drink. Full Throttle will compete with strong brands such as Red Bull as well as PepsiCo's SoBe range. External Pressures Leading to Change Requirement PepsiCo is swiftly gaining force in the international snack food market. Their success is credited largely to their lack of sentiment for their star performers, as Brady (2004) puts it, "What distinguishes PepsiCo from some competitors is an intense lack of sentimentality about its principal brands". PepsiCo asserts that it is keener to satisfying its customer's needs than preserving its existing product lines. New product introduction is PepsiCo's strategy of staying competitive, "By defining its mission as serving the customer rather than protecting its venerable brands, PepsiCo is hoping to stave off a stagnant middle age" (Brady, 2004). In order to continue to be innovative and to

Analysis of Strategic Risks in South Africa Essay

Analysis of Strategic Risks in South Africa - Essay Example This essay is one of the best examples of analysis of different specific kind of risks in political, social and economic environment of South Africa, that greatly influence a company operation. It critically looks at the political, economic, financial and social Risks and gives insights into how a corporation should position itself in order to gain the best of results in South Africa. Political risk refers to risks relating to the governance and control of the various peoples in a given nation. The inherent political risks in South Africa have to do with the nature of social exclusion practiced in the country for a long time. However, power is in the hand of a popular the Black African majority government. The constitution gives a lot of room for strikes, trade unionism and demonstrations, which reignites the strategy used by the Congress and the people power that comes with the current government. This means that a corporation entering the market needs to understand its microcosmic position and make adjustments to meet these elements of favoritism, nationalism, mass action and corruption. There is also economic risks that are connected with the high cost of doing business in South Africa and other factors like the entry of Chinese businesses who have control of affairs. There are also financial risks relating to credit risk and money transfer issues. Managing across culures is quite difficult. However, the cultural risk in South Africa is increased by the fact that the cultural diversity is huge. ... The World Cup brought South Africa surpluses in its balance of trade in the past year and increased its GDP its previous years’ data. With the weakening US Dollar, a business that seeks to operate in South Africa will find it relatively more expensive to trade in South Africa that it would in other parts of the world. Unemployment Unemployment rates in South Africa currently stand at 25.3% and this is blamed on the people’s demands for high wages and better working conditions than other parts of the world (SouthAfrica.Info, 2011). This therefore presents a labor risk to the nation. This is because these conditions show that clearly, labor is expensive in the country. This therefore means that any business that seeks to open up a branch in this country needs to be willing to pay more for labor. International Trade International trade in South Africa is increasingly becoming skewed in favor of the Brazil, India, China and Russia and nations like China in particular has a lot of control in the affairs of South Africa (SouthAfrica.Info, 2011). This therefore means that any company from a country not in this category risks losing out to the competition posed by these nations that are favoured by international treaty in South Africa. This therefore makes it more prudent for a corporation to consider other international expansion options that makes good use of outsourcing to remain competitive and acquire a favorable image in the South African market. Financial Risks General Financial Risks The World Bank gives South Africa 68% for credit worthiness indicating that although it is a low risk country to do business in there is still some risk to do business there (Adar, 2008) The Currency Risks South Africa’s Rand is quite stable