The Campbell Soup Company: A Shift in Strategy
The Campbell Soup Company is a global food company that specializes in branded convenience food products. It makes a range of soups, meals, snacks, and packaged fresh food. Since it was founded, the Campbell Soup Company has depended on traditional marketing to generate sales of its popular soup and packaged food brands. However, that approach is no longer good enough to ensure success. A speedy shift in consumer behavior and preferences has prompted the Campbell Soup Company to roll out a new program that seeks to create better experiences for consumers and change its corporate structure.
A Consumer-Centric Approach
Campbell Soup's new strategy positions the consumer at the center of all their marketing efforts. Consumer behaviors have been changing with time, and it would be a bad move for Campbell not to remodel its operations (Scott and David, 123). As there has been an increased number of people reading labels carefully, Campbell Soup has introduced footnotes to its labeling as it strives to focus more on consumer needs and advance its position in the soup industry.
Utilizing Technology: QlikView
Computerization has changed the food industry significantly. Campbell Soup introduced QlikView, an innovative platform that is assisting employees to control inventory better and streamline operations (Scott and David 123). Using QlikView, the company's logistics department is able to track the demographics of the soup industry. This has assisted the company to diversify products based on factors such as the age of the consumers. The rapid shift to increased awareness about healthy living has impacted two of Campbell's consumer groups.
Focusing on Health and Safety
Younger consumer groups focused on healthy meal alternatives such as soup are attracted by their lower calorie content. This consumer category has assisted Campbell to gain a significant market share in the microwaveable soup category. In contrast, baby boomers are more troubled by the amount of sodium in the soups. Since baby boomers form the majority of Campbell's consumers, Campbell has been forced to adjust products in this category in order to match the needs of the health-conscious market. Campbell is always seeking to innovate so as to stay abreast with the needs of today's society. Campbell has centered its attention on providing safe and healthy food products. The company ensures all its products meet the set specifications and required standards.
A Competitive Advantage
Other generic soup brands do not present a pressing threat to Campbell's line. This is because Campbell has the ability to maintain low costs of production while still maintaining high quality. Campbell's soup pricing is in the range of 20%-25% higher than that of generic brands. Campbell's competition thrives on their ability to produce their own products. There is little differentiation in this industry, and therefore the threat of fierce competition is high. This is because the barriers to exit this industry are high while the threat of entry is also low (Ferrel, Hirt and Ferrel, 275). The threat of entry into Campbell's market is considered low because new companies would have to spend significant resources to produce, market, and distribute their products.
Adapting to Market Changes
Campbell Soup has not been able to agree with one of its key customers about the promotional approach to adopt in 2018, which has resulted in a drop in sales than was anticipated. The company announced that it had started to shift its soup marketing spending strategy with a move from equity building approaches to focusing more on characteristics that differentiate their brands. Campbell Soup has said that it will continue to take the necessary steps to address its immediate issues and still remain focused on the strategies that will position it strategically for long-term growth.
Works Cited
Ferrel, O. C., Hirt, A. G., & Ferrel, F. Business: A Changing World. (10th ed). Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw Hill Companies, 2016.
Scott, David M. The new Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley7 Sons, 2010.
