Case Analyses Submission Guidelines & Rubric
Case analyses should be approached as though you are a
marketing manager whose responsibility it is to assess the situation and
present three long-term strategies to the board of directors. Based on your
understanding of the case and external research on the CURRENT situation, what
are the three best strategies to revitalize and/or improve public perception to
the same target market and/or alternative markets? Please do not limit yourself
to the specifics of the case when formulating your strategies. Think 'BIG
PICTURE' (ethical objectives, internal/external factors, complementary
products/industries, sustainability, alternative products/services, cultural
assessment, pricing changes, etc.).
Your strategic recommendations should be 1) measurable and
2) broad enough to encompass the direction of the brand for at least 5 years.
At the same time, analyses should explain IN DETAIL the logic and process
behind implementing such initiatives. Please do not provide vague
recommendations. Please use the critical thinking rubric below as a guideline
and checklist for your submissions.
Solution
A case study on “Gaga for Wawa.”
Contents
1. Identified
and Explained Issues
Gaga
for Wawa was originated as a milk-based
company who provided a high-quality milky
products since 1803. But the management of its corporation identified
that the market shares of this company were
continuously decreasing, due to an increase
in a large number of competitors in the
America market. There were many issues behind their loss like they had weak
advertisement techniques, as they were producing healthy milk products but
people did show their interest in purchasing this company’s products. In the
yearly basis, different methods were derived by the company in order to enhance
the taste of the milk products like homogenization and pasteurization. In 1908,
Wawa Company was certified by the doctors that its unpasteurized milk was no
longer stood. After this there was a loss in the milk market is faced by the
company and in order to overcome it, this company started to producing
different milking products (Hunter, 2018) .
The
company was continuously struggling towards improving its selling in the red
ocean milk where it took over than $50,000 loan for its major project. After
this, when the company saw towards other
business opportunities like fuel, gas and convinces, it started to move towards
them. And now in the current scenario, its food service business is the weakest
business among food, connivance and fuel. It is because there is a
misconception among the customers regarding its company’s products that the
fuel based company can never produce a healthy product.
There
are also many issues regarding the foodie products of the company like
chocolate milk, cottage, whipping cream, skim milk, cheese, eggs, orange, bacon
and butter. It only focuses on breakfast based food items that reduce its
opportunities to earn more profit in this area where people do not eat
breakfast. Now there is an alarming situation in front of its management to
tackle this situation more effectively and earn a profit. There is a need for appropriate marketing strategies in order
to overcome this misconception in the market.
2. Recognizes
Stakeholders and Contexts
The
major stakeholder of the company is its employees, customers, shareholders and suppliers. Employees
want a good
salary package; shareholders want profit and customer want high-quality
products at reasonable prices. All of its stakeholders having different
priority factors. Like its management wants to make such risky steps in the
operating activities like the production of new innovative foodie item in the
market which has market demand. But in that case, most of the risk-averse shareholders do not want to do some risky project in this industry because
most of the time, the company bear losses in this industry and there is a high
margin of the risk factor in this
business. So in this way, the conflict creates among the manager and
stakeholders.
This
Wawa Company always gives some compensation to its employees who worked hard in
the workplace but sometimes, do not accurately considered what the demand of
the target market. The customer is considered as one of the major stakeholders
who plays an important part in the
company’s profit. But this company is failed to attract a large number of
customers of the foodie market to enjoy its company’s product, and in the result,
it bears loss (Hunter, 2018) .
3. Takes
Intellectual Risk
In
this stage, there is a need to make some effective strategies in order to
overcome the misconception of the customer
regards the milk-based products, and there is a need to make some bold step to
maintain the future of the company. The management of Wawa Company must do a proper homework regarding the market
demand and compare the demand with the company’s expense ratio and derive a
return on equality ratio so that the risk factor can easily derived at the beginning of the new marketing project.
After analyzing the situation of the company, it comes to realize that there is a need for proper and innovative advertising channel
of the company. There is also a need for
proper selling strategies in different parts of the country (Grzegorczyk,
2017) .
The
company of Wawa must work on the proper identification of deal brokers in order
to overcome the customer’s hesitation of purchasing the products. The company
should concentrate on small victories so that by the foot-in-the-door approach, the misconception regarding the product
of a company can be overcome. The third strategy is to focus on the continuous
innovation in the milky products so that the need to discover the market demand
in America. In addition, the management should hire attractive brand ambassadors in their products ads that will create a positive
image in the mind of the customers. So, in the current era, the management of
the company can also apply the Blue Ocean Strategy in their marketing
activities so that more creative ideas are generated in the mind of the
management.
4. Evaluate
Assumptions
When
the proper paid marketing, word of mouth
and blue ocean strategies are applied by the Wawa Company’s management, then
the loss of the company in their foodie items can be overcome, and future of the company become secure. But
before the implementation, there is a need to proper homework where all the
cause and effect relationship is considered. There is an assumption that the
productivity of the company is increasing
up to 50% if there is a proper
implementation of attractive marketing strategies regarding milk products.
If
the company does some social work in the
surrounding, then there will be a positive
word of mouth in the market and
misinterpretation regarding their quality product can be overcome. There is an
estimation that from 2019 to 2023, the company will 10% increase its shares
values in the trade market. This Blue Ocean Strategy regarding smart marketing techniques with the cost-cutting approach will reduce the threat of
a company from loss.
5. Innovation
Thinking
Innovative
thinking enhances the performance of the company by making a regular
improvement in the manufacturing and marketing strategy. In the case of Wawa
Company, there is a need to make something new and attractive that captures a large number of customers in a more attractive and proper way. There are many
innovative ways of marketing approaches
in front of Wawa Company to follow like by giving its customer the inside Scoop
and tier the customers towards creativity. There is a need the develop the
design thinking in order to solve the complex problems and find out the desired solution for clients.
So the framework of this innovative marketing
is passed through six major steps like 1) Discover, 2) Re-Frame Opportunity, 3)
Incubate, 4) Ideate/ illuminate, 5) Evaluate/ refine ideas, 6) Rapid Prototype/
test, 7) Deliver and 8) Iterate & Scale (Naiman, 2018) . This framework is
based on solving the problem of selling issue in
the market. These steps will help to plant, grow and harvest the profit
of the company. This structural framework
is properly worked only when all the key
factors regarding the new technology, is critically analyses and then the above
marketing strategies are adopted on the basis of their relativeness. The Wawa Company
must adopt the cycle of design thinking like fully observe the situation,
framing the scope and opportunity, generating new testing, ideas and then
refining solution
6. References
Grzegorczyk, W. (2017). New Marketing Concepts in
Marketing Strategies on International Markets. Annales Universitatis
Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Section H. Oeconomia, 51(2), 97-104.
Hunter, J. (2018). Gaga for Wawa:
Blue Ocean Retailing. Blue Ocean Strategy Institute.
Naiman, L. (2018). Design
thinking as a Strategy for Innovation. Retrieved from Creativity at Work:
https://www.creativityatwork.com/design-thinking-strategy-for-innovation/
2
Table of Contents
Case Introduction
Wawa started as an iron
foundry and made its way through the competitive market into the dairy line. It
sold fresh milk with the aim to provide fresh, purified and with home delivery
aspects. It continued with the times and adopted pasteurization. Wawa started
convenience stores and after that, it entered the gasoline line. The times
demanded Wawa to adopt new product lines and it started quick service
restaurants at the gasoline stations along with the small convenience stores.
Wawa adopted Blue Ocean Strategy and changed the gasoline stations to quick
service restaurants which offered convenience stores and gasoline services. Wawa
became the 34th biggest company in America and it competed with the
bigger brands like McDonald’s (Olenick, Kim & Mauborane, 2018).
Current Situation
Wawa is at the top of its
success with 720+ outlets and within them, more than 450 outlets offer gasoline
too along with food and convenience items which are considered to be most risky
but have high potential of growth. Wawa has sandwiches, coffee, gasoline,
chips, its own farmed milk, cheese, juice and some other products like these.
Wawa has achieved the maturity stage of business lifecycle and to avid the
decline stage, it needs new strategies which would cope with the future
requirements and keep the company at the top for at least next 5 years. Wawa
adopted Blue Ocean Strategy and it coped with the risks of this business sector
("50 Years & Counting: Look Back on Wawa Memories & Milestones |
Wawa", 2019).
This report will devise
marketing strategies for Wawa which can be adopted to cope with the competition
for next 5 years.
Marketing Strategies
The marketing strategies
for Wawa are devised using ‘Ansoff’s Product-Market Expansion Grid’ (Gurcalylar
& Aksoy, 2018).
Figure 1:
Ansoff's Grid
Recommendation 1: Product
Development
First recommendation is
the product development. This means that the new product line is added in the
same market developed by Wawa. The recommended product is ‘Consumer
Electronics’.
Logic for Recommendation
The logic for this
recommendation is that Wawa has already satisfied customers in its vicinity.
They trust the name Wawa. With the new competitors emerging like Dunkin Donuts
and Chipotle, Wawa will be again in new oceans ("How Wawa Became the
Beloved $10 Billion King of Convenience Stores", 2019). Wawa has always
adopted the strategy to shift away from the competition except for competing
with the competitors. Therefore, this strategy is recommended.
Ethical Objectives
The ethical objectives
associated with recommendation are:
·
Improve customer satisfaction.
·
Provide the customers with best quality
consumer electronic products in cheap prices i.e. the core strategy of Wawa.
·
Improve the customers’ trust.
Competitors
The main competitors are
Petra Industries, Teledynamics etc. ("Top Electronics Suppliers and
Manufacturers in the USA and Globally", 2019)
Complementary
Products/Alternative Products
The complementary
products will remain the same i.e. gasoline, food and convenience items. The
consumer electronics like mobile phones and other small gadgets will be made
available on the quick service stores.
Pricing
The pricing will be as
per the company’s strategies i.e. cheap for best quality.
Competitive Edge
Wawa wouldn’t have to
open new stores for these products. The existing stores will be used for the
purpose. It will strengthen the company’s market edge i.e. cheaper diversified
products under one roof.
Impacts on Stakeholders
The stakeholders involved
are employees, customers and top management. Employees at Wawa work with full
immersion to give best customer services. So bringing in new products will
encourage employees to work outside the box. The customers trust Wawa. So they
would prefer Wawa for their electronic needs. Top Management will make profits
and sustain in the market.
Validity
The electronics industry
is developing day by day and new technologies will never let it die. No matter
how much the competition, people will go everywhere to try new technologies.
Therefore, the recommendation is valid for next 50 years or so.
Recommendation 2: Market
Development
The next recommendation
is market development i.e. open new branches in different locations and cities
i.e. Denver and San Antonio.
Logic for Recommendation
Wawa has grown
exponentially from its conception till now. It has many branches in Delaware,
Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington DC. It’s
time for Wawa to use its trust gained with customers and the quality services
provided to them to start a new era. The solution is to open outlets in new
cities. Wawa has already made its name in the industry and it has requisite
publicity. Opening new stores in new cities will open new business
opportunities and expand the business. Competitors will know that Wawa is in
the game. San Antonio, Texas and Denver, Colorado are suggested for new outlets
because these cities are the ones with big business opportunities (Pain, Van
Hamme, Vincigeurra & David, 2016).
Internal and External Factors
Wawa has great revenues
and therefore it can open and invest in new outlets in the cities which offer
bigger business opportunities. Although there is a distance between headquarter
and the proposed cities yet company can manage it by the great sales and
profits offered by these cities. The great cities come with great competition
too. But Wawa’s name and trust along with its expertise in industry can tackle
the competition.
Complementary/Alternative
Products
The complementary
products will remain the same offered by Wawa. The alternative products can be
from the suggested ones in first recommendation i.e. consumer electronics.
Pricing
Wawa is known for its
cheaper products with high quality. It also offers extra privileges like no
surcharge on ATM use. This will be the core pricing strategy in the new
proposed stores.
Impacts on Stakeholders
The stakeholders are the
same. The employees would be motivated with business expansion and the profits
will motivate the top management. The customers will feel comfortable with the
new branches as their favorite chain expands and nourishes its name because
buying from famous brands is the trend these days.
Validity
The opening of new stores
accounts for infinite business opportunities. There are many cities in USA and
then it can be enhanced to worldwide.
Recommendation 3:
Integrative Development (Merger)
The third recommendation
is the merger. Wawa should merge with some other well-known brand to enhance
its publicity and clientage. The merger can be with ‘One Potato Two Potato
(OPTP)’.
Logic for Recommendation
The businesses now run
with the acquisition of expertise from every sector. For example, some of the
services offered by some other company are added in the product line by merging
with the company. This markets both of the companies and both of the companies
benefit from this. OPTP sells burgers and fries. Wawa can merge with OPTP and
allow them to sell their fries not burgers in its outlets. This will be
beneficial for both of the companies as both are well-known in USA.
Internal and External
Factors
Merger reduces the
competition between the companies by eliminating the concept of competition
because it provides a space for both of the companies where the sale of
products of one company automatically benefits the other one. So, this
recommendation will reduce competition. Company can invest resources in other
fields when they get free from competition.
Pricing
The pricing will be as
per the standards of both of the companies. Campaigns and promotions can be used
to enhance the sales by giving discounts if products from both of the brands
are purchased.
Impacts on Stakeholders
The customers would be
increased for both of the companies. Profits will be increased for both.
Employees will learn more in cross-cultural environment.
Validity
The solution will be
valid for more than 5 years or as per the contract with the merger.
Conclusion
Wawa has grown very much
but with the passage of times, new competitors and problems came. Wawa adopted
Blue Ocean Strategy to tackle the challenges and made its way to one of the top
companies in USA. There will be a decline after some time because new problems
and competitors will arise. Therefore, some recommendations are made for Wawa
like enhancing the product line i.e. consumer electronics; opening new outlets
in different cities i.e. San Antonio and Denver; and merging with some other
well-known company to get the collateral benefits of publicity and sales. Using
these strategies, Wawa can cope with the competition, market and the problems
for more than 10 years in future.
References
Olenick, M., Kim, W.,
& Mauborane, R. (2018). Gaga for Wawa. INSEAD.
50 Years & Counting:
Look Back on Wawa Memories & Milestones | Wawa. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.wawa.com/about/wawa-history
Gurcaylilar-Yenidogan,
T., & Aksoy, S. (2018). Applying Ansoff’S Growth Strategy Matrix To
Innovation Classification. International Journal of Innovation Management, 22(04),
1850039.
How Wawa Became the
Beloved $10 Billion King of Convenience Stores. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/magazine/201806/maria-aspan/wawa-convenience-store-pennsylvania.html
Top Electronics Suppliers
and Manufacturers in the USA and Globally. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/top-suppliers/electronics-suppliers-manufacturers
Pain, K., Van Hamme, G.,
Vinciguerra, S., & David, Q. (2016). Global networks, cities and economic
performance: Observations from an analysis of cities in Europe and the
USA. Urban Studies, 53(6), 1137-1161.
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