The Strength of Market Focus
The strength of any company lies in how well it can produce and deliver very unique and specific commodities that no one else in the market. GM Operates in the highly competitive market and the absence of focus makes it quite vulnerable. The management has become distracted and scattered trying to move in many directions all at once. The lack of focus has led to the lack of movement of the business in any specific direction and has contributed to the market failure. Market focus implies limiting the scope that GM motors produce to hone in one single thing the company does really well. Lack of market focus has the potential of confusing consumers and might limit the company's chance of flourishing.
Why I Picked the Research Problem
One of the major problems that are faced by various managers is how to serve the heterogeneous market. That is whether to occupy a smaller segment of the market, hoping to flourish by increasing the market share or whether to appeal to the broader section of the market. Market focus affects the way organization delivers product to a particular class of consumers. Failure to have an affecting market focus can limit the company's ability to grow and compete with the already established firms (Singh, 2014). A firm that is market focused looks outside the company for the data and inputs that is required in making tactical and strategic decisions. Market focus implies gaining an understanding of the customers and the exact services or products they want. It can also mean understanding the competitors and anticipating their next tactic or strategy. To GM motors market focus can mean knowing the tactic and strategic forces in the marketplace and understanding how those forces can affect the business. A company that is product focused strives to continuously improve products so that they can suit a specific market. There is a vehemence to make the services and products better and the business strategies revolve around differentiation that aims at making the commodities better than those of competitors.
Market Opportunities Through Market Focus
Market focus can give GM motors an opportunity to identify the opportunity and capitalize on them. The product focus can identify certain improvements that can give a company a competitive advantage relative to other firms. GM challenge is product focus which implies that it fails to discover important information in a timely manner and thus falling behind the competitive race. The company's growth is derailed because there is delayed because it cannot respond the marketplace dynamics in a timely manner. A market focus is crucial because it offers the best pathway to sustain the best and most profitable growth. Situational responses, marketing investment, and clarity of action and visions are the three critical factors that enable a market focus (Bocconcelli, 2017). The clarity of actions and vision implies setting vision and direction of the firm and then converting the clarity into all the processes and activities. Clarity implies considering the marketplace and the customers first. Despite the growth, a company must continue making daily decisions that perpetuate the vision. Irrespective of the distractions that arise the major focus should be on the consumers. The adoption of a market focus is essential in ensuring that the needs of all persons are achieved and also increase the level of satisfaction in the market.
Addressing This Problem
The key challenge that GM faces today is the absence of market focus. To solve such a problem the company must find a path to greater revenue by building upon its major strength without causing disruptions in the way it currently does business. The company should communicate directly to the buyers to inform or remind them of the product they are offering (Flanigan, 2016). Different customers have unique attributes and communicating directly with them can give the company a glimpse of how to tailor commodities to suit their respective needs. The company can enhance the commodities to boots the overall value proposition and meet additional needs of consumers. That can entail changing the delivery of information to the seminar, booklet of the eBook.
The company must maintain innovation technique. If the sales of the current brands decline the management should be quick to extend the product line and replace the existing titles. The presence of many brands provides the customers with a wide range of commodities to select from (Kant, 2017). The company must provide a long-term opportunity to drive revenue growth in all the segments. The consumer's education on the products that are offered is necessary. From the case study, it is evident the GM's distribution system is not effective because it fails to reach the target market making it harder to compete with other industries in the industry. The company should build a parallel sales and distribution channel to penetrate the new markets. This can include partnering with other companies, home shopping networks, and display-marketing companies.
Increasing Market Focus
GM can increase the market focus through innovation, acquiring competitors, smart hiring practices, and strengthening the customer relationship. An increased market share will give it a competitive advantage over the rest of the firms. An increased market share will also mean that the production will increase. Strengthening the customer relationship ensures that the customers do not jump out of the ship when a competitor rolls out a new hot offer. GM can grow the market share since satisfied customers will speak of their positive experience to relatives and friends who will, later on, be customers. Increasing the extent of the market via word of mouth increases the company's revenue without raising the expenses.
GM can also increase the market focus by acquiring competitors, especially in the developing nations. By making acquisitions the company is more likely to reduce the number of businesses fighting for a slice of the same market and also acquiring the firm's market base. A company with the largest market share is likely to attract the most dedicated and skilled employees (Jedliński, 2015). Having the best workers on board can reduce the expenses that are related to training and turnover and can enable the business to direct more funds to the core business strategies. One of the best ways that have been proven to attract the best workers from the market is offering competitive benefits and salaries.
Product development can be a lifelong strategy for many instructions. GM should note that new services and products can drum up excitement among the numerous clients and can enable the business to remain relevant. Many firms will fail to achieve the business objective and goals because of the absence of the customer-centric approach. Being profit oriented various forms will fail to acknowledge some people who contribute toward business success and growth. To improve the customer focus the company should build a constructive relationship with clients, deliver the right service at the right time, identify risk customers, and identify the best way to encourage them to stay, provide personalized and quality customer experience.
The Power of Market Focus
Focus emphasizes on a smaller fragment and it is crucial if an institution intends to achieve differentiation or cost advantages. The individuals are aligned more clearly. The company's brand can be presented in the market in a digestible, succinct, and clear manner. One of the most critical aspects of any marketing strategy relates to the identification of the growth opportunities by utilizing the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Once GM has scaled the SWOT, it can become easier to address the opportunities that are presented in the market (Johnsen, 2015). The senior management should ensure that they remain open to the new idea that can lead to the improvement of the company's brands. The main focus should be on growing and developing awareness of the company's brand and developing confidence and trust in the brand.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Increasingly in the present global business environment, firms are competing for the available customer. It is essential for GM management to maintain and create an effective marketing strategy. The strategy that is developed must complement and reflect the wider financial goal of the company. GM motors should clearly follow the desired path that directly targets the company's desired consumers. The best strategy that is adopted by the company must prepare it for unforeseen changes in the wider business environment. It is when potential or expected damaging changes occur that firms require the most flexible plan. The management should use the well-stipulated plan to enhance the brand at all times. The company also needs to tailor its strategies to the audience in various nations. An effective strategy should consider the customer's interests and preferences. GM should capture as much data are possible from various industries. Through the data, it is easier to build a lasting relationship with clients. The data analysis can enable it to determine the products and issues that are important to the customer base. The company can utilize the present social media platform to keep in touch with customers from all over the world and collect data that can enable it to tailor the products to their respective needs.
References
Bocconcelli, R. (2017). No Business is an Island: Making Sense of the Interactive Business World. Journal Of Business-To-Business Marketing, 24(4), 311-314. doi: 10.1080/1051712x.2018.1381421
Flanigan, M. (2016). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture in Strategic Enrollment Management. Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly, 4(3), 117-129. doi: 10.1002/sem3.20090
Jedliński, M. (2015). DYNAMIC LOGISTICS STRATEGIES IN THE COMPANY LOGISTICS POTENTIAL MANAGEMENT. Russian Journal Of Logistics And Transport Management, 2(1), 3-10. doi: 10.20295/2313-7002-2015-1-3-10
Johnsen, Å. (2015). Strategic Management Thinking and Practice in the Public Sector: A Strategic Planning for All Seasons?. Financial Accountability " Management, 31(3), 243-268. doi: 10.1111/faam.12056
Kant, C. (2017). Multinational Corporations and Institutions. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2909320
Singh, M. (2014). Market Access: A Case Study on Indian Pharmaceutical Goods in U.S. Market. FOCUS: Journal Of International Business, 1(2). doi: 10.17492/focus.v1i2.2483
