Maximize the number

Applying market research the company adjusted Its product lines and selections and advertising strategy to be one f the top furniture retailers in the U. S.

(Moon, 2004, p. 7, Para. 6). Things which Listings KEA Trot Its competitors Include: ten concept AT sell-service In wanly customers select their products and, take them home, and assemble own their own; playrooms for children, and Swedish cafes (Moon, 2004, p. L, Para 1 . ).

Kike’s plans for U. S. Expansion from the early sass through 2013 require the company to find ways to appeal to a broader market.

Problem With Kike’s focus on cost efficiency, it seems they may be putting their longevity in the furniture business in Jeopardy. Although cost-efficiency is a part of the company’s marketing strategy and can be attributed to some of its success, if KEA is seen as a company with low costs, self-service, and lack of overall quality, this could Jeopardize their brand in the long-run.

It is common for KEA to redesign products multiple times for cost-efficiency purposes or “to maximize the number of products that could be squeezed onto a shipping pallet”, even after it ends up in the stores (Moon, 2004, p. , Para. 5. ). This has the potential of creating more of a burden on the consumer ho has to assemble the product, according to the article. With this approach, it seems the company is focused more on cost-efficiency rather than what is best for the consumer.

In my opinion, when you lose focus of what is best for the consumer, you lose in the long-run. Without the customer there is no business and I believe the company is opening itself up to long-term risks if this is not addressed. There simply has to be some balance between focusing on reducing costs and thinking about what is best for the consumer.

Analysis/Recommendations In today’s business world, organizations need be creative in order to stay ahead of the competition and many use cross-functional sales teams, allowing an organization to utilize the diverse skills and knowledge from different departments to maximize results. Cross functional sales teams have grown in popularity and typically apply when a high-priced product is being sold and when knowledge from different departments is needed to help develop a highly marketable product and drive sales.

Depending on the needs of the consumer, the sales team may be made up of people room sales, product development, engineering, customer service, finance, human resources, marketing, etc.

(Donnelly & Peter, p. 146). Cross-functional sales teams are growing in popularity because companies over time have figured out that taking experts in various departments can create a team that is focused on a well-rounded company with a standard goal in mind. Not only can this help with problem solving, but many times with such a team in place, issues can be addressed and solid plans can be developed before leaving the think tank.

The cross-functional team helps to end one standard message to the clients as well and helps to focus clients rather than to confuse them (Donnelly & Peter, p.

146). Utilizing a cross-functional sales team is something KEA did well. It seems they had a team oriented environment and involved different departments to make decisions about products as it related to investigating consumer trends and determining price. When developing new products the company had an established council to oversee the process. This council included senior managers who established priorities for the new product input (Moon, 2004, p. , Para.

2. ) The company also involved the cross-functional team to survey and benchmark the competition to establish a price 30-50% below competitor prices. This process also involved identifying market opportunities that could be filled. In my opinion, the company did a great Job of using cross-functional teams Trot product-development to managing ten sales Ana Illustration process. KEA established great relationships with their suppliers to get the best pricing, determine the best ways package their products to ease shipping costs to the stores, ND transportation ease for the consumer.

This process relates to the transactional and logistical functions for distribution.

The transactional function focuses on the buying and selling of products to consumers to maximize profitability. KEA maximized profitability by focusing on low prices, and having their suppliers bid for certain opportunities when designing new products. The logistical function relates to when goods are received, stored, sorted, and transported to the consumer (Donnelly & Peter, p. 155).

KEA also considered how goods were packaged to make it easier for hipping to stores and transporting of goods by the consumer to their homes. KEA seemed to have this down to a science.

The information we didn’t have about Kike’s methods of distribution related to the facility function which relates to post-purchase service (Donnelly & Peter, p. 155). This is an important aspect of success for a company and if KEA doesn’t have something in place already, I would suggest having a process which includes a service aspect to their customer service.

For example, they could have maintenance tech check-in with the customer to ensure the product s assembled correctly or to provide service when needed. This creates the opportunity for repeat business where consumers feel they are being taken care of. Recommendations To address some of the problems or opportunities facing ‘KEA, I believe the company should focus more on the closing and follow-up involved in the sales process and not so much on cost-efficiency.

Although being mindful of costs is very important for the success of a business, without happy customers, there are no costs or business to be concerned about. KEA might consider implementing a service team to follow-up tit consumers to ask a variety of marketing questions to determine the customer experience and use the information gathered to improve customer satisfaction, and provide some aspect of service as it relates to product assembly.

The company should develop a strategy around customer satisfaction to ensure they don’t lose in the long-run and that they are able to maintain longevity in the furniture business. Many companies such as Ford and General Motors failed because they lost sight of the customer.

These companies were focused on production and not as much on alluding consumer relationships or the post-purchase aspect of sales. Not taking care of customers will get any business, large or small into trouble sooner or later as we have seen in the automotive industry.

KEA can continue to have success; it Just has to be more mindful of the customer in order to continue to reap the benefits of its success. References (Examples of Correct PAP Format) Moon, Younger. (2004, September 14).

KEA Invades America. : Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Donnelly, J and Peter, J. (2013) A Preface to Marketing Management (Thirteenth Edition). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.