Elliot Company Essay Example for Free

Elliot confederacy EssayThe Elliot conjunction was established in the early 1950s and has been a profitable salutation card society. It had always been a pioneer in developing creative means to attract its indicate group, in spite of which the groups grocery store share has been limited to merely 4% in the industry. Industry leader Hallmark has the lions share of ab aside 41%, American Greetings about 30%, followed by over 300 companies, including Elliot connection that account for the remaining share.Technological advancements in the telephone industry and the advent of the internet have pushed well-nigh greeting card companies against a wall, with flat sales, diminishing margins and a threat of decimation. The way forward is to find out means of generating sales by entering newer food markets and the fellowship has identified two markets that remain unexplored for Elliot CompanyAmerican Hispanic marketOverseas English speaking marketProblem StatementElliot Company h ad never ventured into unchartered territories, and finds both these markets intricate. The American Hispanic market is unique and has different sensitivities than the dominant bloodless and black market that Elliot Company has been catering to. Meeting the needs of the oversea market is even to a greater extent complicated as the company would need to study several cultures and meet their single needs. trade the harvest-home to both these unique markets is the challenge that Elliot Company faces, for which a solution is required. The company cannot enter both the markets at once, and hence an ideal market should be identified that would suit the interests of the company.There are about 30 million Hispanics in America, who predominantly come from Mexico, Cuba and other Spanish dominated countries. The interesting facts about this nation areThe Hispanic race has the highest growing population in the country with almost 40% of population growth between the years 1985 to 2010, co ming from this community.The Hispanic population can be broadly dual-lane into three groups, the inherent Spanish people who speak and follow Spanish culture alone the assimilated Spanish, who cannot be distinguished from the Americans and the Accultured Spanish, who are about 57% of the Hispanic population. (Arjona, Shah, Tinivelli Weiss, 1998)The Hispanic community prefer significant specify of their culture in the marketing process, even if the communicating occurred in English.Price conscious audience that chooses hurt over valueJust like the Hispanic community, the overseas market has different sensitivities that make it an evenly tough opportunity to expand into. Also, there are certain problems the company faces when entering these markets, which are listed below. creative activity of multiple cultures in each countrySemantic barriers that can prevent communication as pass judgmentCultural perceptions about greeting cards, as customers in some countries prefer customize d and hand written communication to pre-printed cards.Huge cost of research development, product and distribution.List of Critical factorsThe management if Elliot Company is apprehensive with both the solutions provided by the consultants, as each of them has their own concerns, which are listed above. A study shows that more than eighty percentage of greeting cards customers, the world over are women. Hence, whichever strategy adopted by Elliot Company, would need to hind end the women predominantly. Which group of women, overseas women or Hispanic American women, can be targeted easily is one sarcastic factor of success.While venturing into foreign markets like UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand would be good option for the penetration of the company into newer markets, it would expose the company to the competition of each market. While Canada is a market that Elliot Company should find undemanding to understand with its proximity to the American culture, each of the oth er markets is complex in their own ways. Hallmark has already made preparations to launch Spanish greeting cards by including several Spanglish messages (The Washington Times, 2002), and would aggressively market its brand when compared to Elliot Company. Hence, which market is less competitive and can easily be penetrated becomes the second critical factor.The terzetto critical factor is the consumers buying behavior in both these markets. Hispanic customers have a buying behavior that is strongly influenced by culture and cultural cues, which include importance for family, formality and status. (Haegele, 2000 in Lynn Brandon, Judith C. Forney, 2002) The above three factors can contribute greatly to the success of Elliot greeting cards in this target group, the company can focus the marketing strategy on how to express emotions to its family, how to upkeep formalities and physical exertion greeting cards as a status symbol for greeting someone. On the contrary, some of the overse as markets are less liberal and more demanding. The culture of Australia and New Zealand is strongly influenced from the English, and the English culture finds it more appropriate to send a personalized letter than a pre-designed and pre-printed greeting card. The success of the company is bloodsucking on how well it breaks this cultural barrier.Recommended SolutionIn spite of the advantages of a larger market that the company can cater to when it reaches out to the overseas market, it is recommended that Elliot Company focus on reaching out to the Hispanic American community, by offering customized greeting cards.JustificationThe biggest factor that justifies the above recommendation is the huge costs involved in establishing a brand and a business overseas, in multiple markets. To reach out to the overseas English market also would require significant investments in research about respective cultures, making the cost of research irrelevant for the decision making process for eith er decisions.A terzetto of the Hispanic community would identify themselves with the rest of the Americans, and no special campaigns need to be done for them. However, the accultured Hispanics and the native Spanish speakers prefer a brand that they can identify with their ethnic group, to a business that seems real un-ethnic. (Dyer Ross, 2000) Elliot Company should reach to the Hispanic community with a brand that they can identify with, design greeting cards based on their preferences and deliver the same as per their needs. Mere translations from the exhaustive designs that Elliot owns might not be as helpful, as designing cards that meet the needs of the Hispanic customers.ReferencesLuis D. Arjona, Rajesh Shah, Alejandro Tinivelli Adam Weiss (1998) Marketing to the Hispanic Consumer, daybook Title The McKinsey Quarterly. Volume 1. Issue 3. Publication Year 1998. Page Number 106+Lynn Brandon, Judith C. Forney (2002), Influences on Female Purchase Motivations and Product Sati sfaction a Comparison of Casual and Formal Lifestyles and Anglo and Hispanic heathenishity, Journal Title Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences. Volume 94. Issue 1. Publication Year 2002. Page Number 54+Linda M. Dyer, Christopher A. Ross (2000), Ethnic Enterprises and Their Clientele, Journal Title Journal of Small Business Management. Volume 38. Issue 2, Page Number 48Spanglish Speakers Mix Home Languages Popular Trend Seen as Obstacle. Newspaper Title The Washington Times. Publication go steady November 21, 2002. Page Number A01