Fuzzy Mixed Integer Programming for Marketing Planning

Question: Describe about A fuzzy mixed integer programming for marketing planning? Answer: Introduction Mackert (2012) commented on the fact that marketing plan can be defined as a blueprint that outlines the marketing efforts of an organization (Vos and Brennan, 2010). This includes the marketing strategies and the marketing mix that will help the organization in gaining a competitive position in this highly competitive market. In addition to this, according to Taghian (2010) the marketing aims and objectives are so jotted down that will help in understanding the present market situation. This assignment describes the SWOT analysis, STP, marketing strategy along with marketing programs and controlling matrices of Lazlo Vitamins Pty Ltd. The company was established in 1986 in Adelaide that sells vitamins and nutritional supplements all through South Australia. Current Marketing Situation After the establishment of Lazlo, the demand of the products was growing in a rapid pace. Lazlo sold nearly 2000000 products every year (Kavle et al. 2012). The sales of Vitamin supplements that consisted of vitamin A, B, C and E covered up nearly three quarters and the remaining portion consisted of herbal remedies (Vos and Brennan, 2010). In 2012, Lazlo had spent 45,000 on advertisements and sometimes places advertisements either on morning radio and Football League team (Slater et al. 2010). By 2013, Lazlo sold $ 600000 annually to approx to 10 stores. With the high rate of increasing fat among the people of Australia, the sales of this organization are also increasing. This is because; the vitamin sales are more than 4.9% of the volume terms (Noy, 2010). SWOT Analysis According to Danaei et al. (2014), SWOT analysis is the acronym of Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat. The Strength of the company is that the company sells products to the Australian people since they are in love with the love pills that increased the sales volume to a maximum extent (Vos and Brennan, 2010). The modern products that came into the market in 2013 also added strength to the company that helped in increasing the sales of the company. Moreover, Kashif et al. (2015) had an opinion that the low cholesterol medicines sold by the company also was a big hit. The strong completion from the Health-EE and Blackstone are the main weakness. This is because these companies sells their products through the supermarkets and have huge pharmacy chains The advertisements endorsed by these companies also increases the customer data base and it also increases the increase in sales of the organization (Lange, 2010). Das (2014) commented on the fact that the opportunities of this company are its loyal customers as well as its launching of new products for the customers. The threat of Lazlo is that it helps in locally launching the product in 2013 that didnt go well since the cost of $175000 was required for packaging, adjusting as well as sourcing the raw materials (Vos and Brennan, 2010). STP for representing the brand According to Kashif et al. (2015), Lazlo segmented the organization on the basis of the products that are aimed for the customers of different ages. These ages are mainly focused due to their different needs and requirements. The low cholesterol medicines are focused to the people those suffering from diabetes. The vitamin supplementary medicines are focused to those people that are suffering from obesity (Vos and Brennan, 2010). The medicines that are prepared by the company are targeted to the people facing several problems like diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity etc. In addition to this, Danaei et al. (2014) had commented that for a proper positioning of the brand among the people launced the products that are in great demand among the people. The company believed in less advertisements and endorsements and preferred introduction of more products into the market. Marketing Strategy Kavle et al. (2012) had an opinion that Lazlo has a strong marketing strategy that the company follows for reaching a position that it has reached today. The launches of mineral supplements, vitamins, herbal remedies are a bug hit in Australia since they are very much popular among the Australians. Again, Taghian (2010) commented on the very fact that the low cholesterol pills were also a hit among the Australians. The marketing strategies are so made on the demands of the customer and are totally centered to the customer requirements and needs (Noy, 2010). Marketing Program According to Das (2014), the marketing program is the process that helps in developing the brand strategy that leads to the implications as well as emergence of sales growth. Marketing program of Lazlo are so held that it helps in having a well depth knowledge regarding the current market scenario as well as market strategy that are needed for market analysis. From the view point of Lange (2010), the marketing program is so made that helps in giving a critical contribution to the company. The marketing program are so made that it is totally customer centric and competitive in their approach. This also helps in creating customer value as well as making the strategies according to the present market scenario (Vos and Brennan, 2010). Control and Matrices In order to track how the plan is progressing, Lazlo needs to implement certain key performance indicators (KPI) (Vos and Brennan, 2010). Assessment of the KPI will help the organization to keep the plan on track. Below are the details of the KPIs that need to use: Tracking sales figure monthly basis; Tracking cost per lead; Customer value; Inbound marketing ROI; Sales qualified leads; Sales accepted leads; Market share: Lazlo had 7% market share of the SA vitamin and mineral/herbal supplement market; National Pharmacies and IGA, to two customers of Lazlo, both in SA, comprised 80% of Lazlo's total sales; Average: In 2013, National Pharmacies bought $1,600,000 worth from Lazlo; In 2013, IGA bought $800,000; Lazlos sales to independent health food retailers (bricks and mortar) stores in SA totaled an additional $600,000 annually; So, the average sales per annum of Lazlo are $1,000,000. Competition: Health-EE, Switz and Blackstone are the main competitor of Lazlo; Health-EE, Switz and Blackstone sell a wide variety of vitamin and mineral products, primarily for brands with national recognition and wide range; The grocery industry in Australia had been abuzz with the conflicts in play between these two big retailers and their suppliers of branded products in categories like milk, bread and soft drink, as they placed pressure on price levels and reduced their numbers of manufacturer brands for private label brands; Health-EE offered a wide range of around 40 products including all vitamins from A seemingly to Z, including Vitamin M or Folate which was linked to desirable health outcomes for pregnancy; as well as products such as Selenium, believed to aid sleep. Blackstone had current sales levels of approximately one hundred and ten million dollars around the country. Switz had vaulted from being a small brand to virtually market leader by over-investing in mass media advertising. Recommendation: Lazlo initially have not gone for any kind of advertisements and endorsements as a marketing strategy but rather has launched new and innovative pills for the customers. So, it requires to incorporate advertise and endorsement strategy to enhance its market share; Lazlo needs to launch its own cholesterol-reducing product for the health conscious people; As mentioned in the case study, Lazlo should enter into the cosmetics industry through product diversification; Conclusion This assignment is totally focused on the Lazlos marketing plan that it has adopted for creating value among the people of Australia. This is so created for the company in understanding its current position as well as to understand the competitors position and problem. 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