Calyx Corolla Case free essay sample

As of 1995, we believe that Calyx Corolla should adopt a high premium pricing strategy and have also identified tactics it should implement in order to improve on its product, price, place, and promotional activities. We arrived at our conclusion by analyzing Calyxs marketing strategy, perceived value or willingness to pay, competitors prices, and the companys costs. First of all Calyx Corolla is in the floral industry, a multi-billion dollar business comprised of growers, wholesalers, and retailers.It started when founder Ruth Dowses created a mail order business selling garden implements and accessories. After selling the business to Williams-Sonoma, a direct mail and retail seller of cookware and other kitchen merchandise, Dowses continued working there for 4. 5 years, gaining a substantial understanding Of business operation models. After resigning from Williams- Sonoma, Dowses started Calyx Corolla. She recruited the UP of Operations, Fran Wilson, from her old employer to design the operations system and to be in charge of operating issues. We will write a custom essay sample on Calyx Corolla Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Also, she hired a marketing specialist with 20+ years of experience, a former creative director at Roger Worth, to oversee all the marketing activities. Fast forward to the present, Calyxs currently operates by buying flowers from growers in Florida, California, and Hawaii, and then delivering the flowers directly to customers via Faded. This success in designing its distribution channel was the key to the compass success up until now. In the floral industry, customers want to get fresh and long lasting flowers.These demands have determined the companys choice of distribution channels. By linking growers directly to end-users and successfully bypassing middle layer distributors, Calyx Corolla provided not only longer-lasting flowers, but also rower costs because multiple mark-ups were avoided. The keys that allowed it to carry out the abovementioned business model are the following: i) A strong relationship with the grower and ii. A strong relationship with Faded. However, the retail florist industry has been facing numerous changes within the past few years.The supply of flowers has shifted to developing countries. New technology poses as both threats and opportunities. Customer tastes have changed, and the threats of new substitutes are increasing. For starters, suppliers in the industry have power over the prices of flowers sold to retailers. Depending on the season and the demand for particular flowers, suppliers are able to adjust the prices accordingly. In order to counter this and to neutralize supplier power, Calyx Corolla should not be dependent on just a few suppliers.What has worked for Calyx was that it signed exclusive contracts with them and then educated the growers on how to execute the order accurately and efficiently; Calyx also provided them With additional support such as giving them shipping boxes, vases etc. This had the double benefit of providing value for both the grower and Calyx. The grower got training and a guaranteed customer while Calyx received the ream of the crop from an exclusive vendor. Communications between the company and growers were also very key and necessary.Calyx Corolla gave demand forecasts to its suppliers, and in turn us pliers notified the company of any low yields or excessive yields. As a result, Calyx could plan ahead by either using other suppliers or making special promotions to its customer base. Therefore because the company can predict what will be in heavy demand, it was possible to implement economies of scale. However, we propose that in addition to the compass suppliers concentrated mainly in Florida, California, and Hawaii, Calyx Corolla should consider other sources of growers/suppliers, like growers in Mexico.It can give the Mexican growers the same sort of mutually beneficial relationship it has with its American growers and also possibly receive the same (if not better) discounts for bulk purchases. Other problems include new entrants and established rivals. New entrants offer new competition, while facing barriers to entry. They face higher costs because of supply-side economies of scale. Because Calyx Corolla has an established clientele and large orders to fill, it has the benefit of economies of scale. Furthermore, Calyxs relationship with Faded, constantly improving, operates now as both an asset and a weapon to deter new entrants.The relationship has blossomed to the point where prices can now be negotiated by weight, and Faded leaves trailers with major growers during the peak season, replacing them when full. Calyx has communicated to Faded about its business enough so that Faded employees know not to leave packages in the winter cold if no one is at home. Finally Faded has a computer terminal with an online tracking system set up in Calyxs office so that shipments could be traced. Because of their great working relationship, Calyx can enjoy better economies of scale than new entrants can.Moreover, new entrants also face other incumbency advantages. Without the necessary experience and an established clientele, new entrants lack any reputation to establish a good client base. Established rivals have power through price competition. In order to counter established rivals, Calyx Corolla should find new niches or offer different products/services that differ from their competitors. For example, substitutes to floral arrangements pose a major threat to florists. Since floral arrangements are perishable and inedible, they are seen as luxury goods to many consumers.Popular substitutes to send as gifts are fruits and cookie bouquets/basket. In order to compete, Calyx Corolla should buy and advertise flowers with longer lifespan so cons_Seems can more likely feel that they are getting their moneys worth. Moreover as of the present, 70% of Calyx Corollas revenues comes from catalogs sales. By circulating catalogs 6 times every year and targeting those who have purchased at least twice in the past year, Calyx Corolla has sold mainly to working women with substantial disposable incomes.Based on their analysis, the largest potential group of clients were those who are unaccustomed to buying via mail orders. These customers have the power to purchase goods, negotiate prices, or purchase goods from another competitor. In order to respond to customer power, Calyx Corolla should expand their services to better suit their target customers. By offering services like discounts for return customers and large orders, customers are less likely to seek out other florists.It can send reminders to customers about special upcoming days, like holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. It can utilize the strategy of sending reminders to customers, especially husbands and boyfriends; as a result it can better compete in the market. By providing special services and quality work, Calyx Corolla can add value to their business and gain/keep customers. Other marketing approaches are attracting corporate clients from promotional tie-ins, which has a major opportunity for incremental sales and broadening the customer base.Also publicity like positive press releases and journal article coverage are also carried out by Dowses herself. The promotion strategy therefore should be based on different customer hypes, cycle, and also need to create customer demand (flowers are extra and unnecessary spending so we may need to tell enticing stories to bring out more demand for flowers). The main promotion focus should therefore be on existing customers for the normal days (cheaper and more effective) and target new customers during the special holidays.We propose thus the following plan: Resource Existing Customers New Customers Media Exposure 15% Holiday advertise campaign on newspapers, radio and television would be the eff ective way to attract clients to dial in directly to order products. It will be effective for new client acquisition. Direct promotion 35% Constant direct mailing (monthly or quarterly) and shipping of catalogs to existing clients to stimulate repurchase. Mail catalog on special holidays. Only send to target audience, ex. Send to families on Mothers Day.Leads conversion -Existing customer outbound depends on inventory and mainly do it on non- peak seasons. -Segment existing customers by the reason of past purchase (design questionnaire when clients purchase), and promote base on that reason. For example, if a client bought flowers on Valentines Day, call him to remind show constant care to the girlfriend. Obtain customer leads from vents like flower exhibitions, attend events and collect names with questionnaires, and finally store into potential customers into companys database.Outbound or mail the customers for the holiday campaign and promotions. BIB campaign Build relationships with corporate clients, ally with welfare departments and HER to either offer discount campaign for employees or to sell flowers to the company for special events Forge strong relationships with firms like restaurants and wedding companies to use or sell Calyxs flowers. Finally, the current distribution channel that Calyx Corolla should head towards is inline. For starters, Calyx does not even have a physical stores and even a distribution center that customers can shop in.By pursuing virtual channels, Calyxs customers can either order by phone, by fax, online, or by mail. We suggest that Calyx keeps the same strategy in order to keep the cape low. The company can then use the cash flow to invest in its products and promotions. Calyx can also extend its market to service BIB clients. For example, it can forge a business deal with certain companies like restaurants, giving these companies fresh flowers to sell to their own clients on the holidays. It would not only increase product sales but the clients would also play a role in making up the physical channels of Calyx Corolla.Doing so also markets to potential clients the physical experience of Calyxs flowers, and hopefully preparing them for future purchases via Calyxs virtual channels. Therefore according to Calyx current position in the market, it should set a higher price consistent with higher positioning in the flower industry. Utilizing its abovementioned competitive advantages, Calyx Corolla can provide high-quality (or at least perceived high quality) products. Quick delivery is a ore value in flower industry, so the perceived value will be higher than that of its competitors.In addition, a higher price itself will enhance the perceived value. Because customers buy flowers as gifts in many cases, customers require appropriate quality and they draw inferences about its quality from price. Contrary to the microeconomics assumptions, high pricing can lead to higher demand in this particular case because it signals a higher quality in this situation. Also, customers tend to not be as price-sensitive when they buy gifts. Therefore a high price will not decrease the demand so dramatically.Although its price will be higher than its competitors, a higher price will differentiate Calyx Corolla from its competitors and make the positioning of Calyx more distinct. In this case, it is not a good idea to follow the pricing of competitors. To develop a new way of selling and communicate with newly segmented customers will cost Calyx Corolla a significant amount. Hence, a higher price unique to Calyxs perceived value seems the appropriate way to retrieve the costs and to develop new marketing strategies. That approach in addition to the proposed tactics listed above will propel Calyx to further growth into the future.

How has Lucozade persuaded its audience to buy the product essays

How has Lucozade persuaded its audience to buy the product essays Over the past thirty years Lucozade has changed its image to market the product. Lucozade with its high sugar content appears in both liquid and tablet form, and it was originally made for people who were feeling ill. It began with just one original drink but today there is lemon, orange, blackcurrant, mixed fruit, hydro and sport. In 1932, Beechams made Lucozade, which is commonly known for making medical products. In 1970 it was still a medical product and was sold in chemists at a high price. But since 1970 both knowledge and medicines have improved. Today Lucozade is mainly used as an energy drink, there are other products for energy drinks but Lucozade has maintained a niche in the market. The advertisement selling Lucozade in 1970 is persuasive in many ways. The family is a fairly stereotypical middle class unit: the Mother middle, upper class woman, nice hair, clothes etc, the boy, noisy, plenty of toys and the little girl has bunches, hugging a doll and is generally very sweet. It begins with a boy in bed receiving, Get well cards from his little sister, showing that the little boy is actually ill. He then becomes the usual stereotypical boy being noisy and playing on his drum. When their Mother pours the Lucozade into a glass and says to her ill son, come on noisy, back to bed, he obeys. This reveals that the boy having already dismissed his little sisters card, which he thinks unimportant, approves of the Lucozade and expects it to work. During this period, people would have expected the father to be at work while the wife stayed at home and looked after the kids, therefore the father is not present. The reason why people responded to this product is they feel they can relate to the story, the lower class think that if they buy that product then they are buying into the whole classy image. The appearance of the Lucozade bottle is very stylish. The exterior is wrapped in cellophane with th...

Working with Children who have been Abused Essay

Working with Children who have been Abused - Essay Example One of the major areas of focus for the researchers has been the issue of child abuse in relation to policies and procedures and the result of many of the studies has been to emphasise the inadequacies of the present system in dealing with the issue. Therefore, one finds that researchers such as Mendes (2001) and Wise (2003) discuss the inadequacies of the system while such important writers as Lonne and Thomson (2005) offer their ideas on how to improve Queensland's child protection situation. As the 'Guidelines for Mandated Notifiers' by Child-Safe Environments, Reporting Child Abuse & Neglect suggests, there are, in general, four ways of child abuse. Physical abuse, a dominant form, is commonly characterised by physical injury resulting from practices such as hitting, punching or kicking, shaking, and alcohol or other drug administration etc. Another visible form of child abuse is sexual abuse which occurs when someone in a position of power to the child uses her/his power to invo lve the child in sexual activity and it includes sexual suggestion, exhibitionism, mutual masturbation, oral sex, showing pornographic material, using children in the production of pornographic material, penile or other penetration of the genital or anal region, and child prostitution. Emotional abuse tends to be a chronic behavioural pattern directed at a child whereby a child's self esteem and social competence are undermined or eroded over time and this includes devaluing, ignoring, rejecting, corrupting, isolating etc. Finally, neglect is characterised by the failure to provide for the child's basic needs and this includes inadequate supervision of young children for long periods of time, failure to provide adequate nutrition, clothing or personal hygiene, etc. (Guidelines for Mandated Notifiers). 'Guidelines for Mandated Notifiers' is a material available for helping a social worker in the mandated notifiers and in this paper an evaluation of the material on its adequacy of guidance, its research base etc is carried out. While evaluating whether the document offers adequate guidance for mandated notifiers, it also recommends for the improvement of the resource. Child abuse notifiers many often fall short of their aims and objectives and profound researches have focused on whether preventive family support should be encouraged rather than child protection. The result of these studies suggest that in many cases child abuse are not substantiated and a serious reason pointed out for the poor results of child abuse notifiers is the mandatory reporting regulations. And this has resulted in the remark that the time and energy could and should have been devoted to helping families instead of investigating the false claims regarding child abuse. Wise (2003) is of the opinion that the families with general needs do not expect child protection and investigation but instead they need support and it is significant that prevention can be better than cure. All these remarks can be understood in the background of inadequacy of the guidance, research bases etc. Research evidences prove the need for better guidelines and support to the social workers in thei r activities for the cause of children and society. It can be comprehended that the context of social work has undergone rapid changes and the social workers