Answer

Introduction

            Marketing a business can sometimes be challenging especially when it seems that a firm has reached its maximum capacity. More so, firms explore various techniques of expansion and often feel that they have covered the biggest portion of a market and hence unable to grow more. The company named in the case study named Fly Buys (New Zealand) has a market share of approximately 71 percent and growing further seems out of reach. Yet, proper marketing could not only help the firm to sustain its customer base but also to expand further. Faced with the challenge, the firm could employ promotion and advertising to grow.

Main

            Fly Buy may come across as quite popular among users because of its high penetration in New Zealand. In fact, its 71 percent penetration rate is among the highest among loyalty programs globally. Yet, the remaining 21 percent evidences that the firm has its work cut out. This is because there is potential to expand and perhaps attract even more clients to become active users of Fly Buys’ products and services. It is proposed that the firm considers promotion and advertising option to help it grow. This includes a promotional mix, which signifies the utilization of various advertising as well as communication techniques in a coordinated manner to effectively market the firm and its offerings (O’Guinn et al, 2011). Worth noting, is that the promotional and advertising option presents Fly Buys with different methods to help it grow including sales promotion, advertising, personal selling, as well as public relations. Indeed, Fly Buys is strategically placed to successfully explore the option of promotion and advertising because it has already identified the target market, which comprises New Zealand households that do not use the firm’s services. In all likelihood, the company will need to carry out a market research to look into the best advertising and promotional technique to help it grow. In essence, the firm must look to come up with the most effective combination of marketing materials to increase its client base and grow further. As an example, Fly Buys might realize that stay-at-home New Zealanders are yet to take into its services and explore such mechanisms as television advertisements at particular hours of the day does the trick in reaching them. Worth noting, is that promotion and advertising option is often impended by budget limitations. However, Fly Buys come across as an established firm and should overcome this challenge with relative ease. More so, Fly Buys occupies approximately 71 percent of the market share, which underlines its status as a leader (Solomon et al, 2014). This means that Fly Buys could use the advertisement and promotion option effectively by targeting the identified market via messages during prime viewing hours and other techniques.

            As well, Fly Buys may use the promotional mix as an option through coordinating advertising campaigns as well as promotional deals with their loyalty programs. Fly Buys could use advertising for several ends including persuading and reminding the target market about its products and services. This is in consideration of the fact New Zealanders including the potential clients have already heard about Fly Buys, but are yet to become clients. Advertising to inform, as a technique, should therefore be least of concerns for Fly Buy and the firm should seek to use advertisement to persuade and remind the target market. Reminder advertising, in particular, could help the firm grow because Fly Buy has already matured in the market place. Indeed, its products and services have been around for some time and reminder advertising could do just fine by reminding the target market about the advantages of becoming clients. This could come in the form of such simple messages as do not use any other card, which could be used together with institutional advertising to remind the target market that the firm is a leader in the country and choosing it has many benefits. Worth noting, is that the option of advertising presents the firm with numerous ways to reach the target market and increase its client base. Indeed, the firm is presented with such advertising mediums as television, which is widely considered the primary or leading medium for audiences in New Zealand and around the globe. It is often expensive, but Fly Buy has a sizeable client base already in existence and should be able to overcome budget constraints with ease. Nevertheless, advertising via television presents Fly Buy with the ability to reach the target market in an appealing way because of the visual nature and sound. In fact, Fly Buys could use existing clients in television advertisement to implore those that are yet to become clients to do so. The advertisement should be national because Fly Buy operates nationally and thus the best method would involve national television channel (s) in New Zealand.

            As well, print ads ability is presented when the firm chooses promotional and advertisement option to grow. This may involve advertisements in magazines as well newspapers carrying Fly Buys’ messages to the existing and target clients. The firm should not assume that all New Zealanders are conversant with its products and services, and print advertisements come across as effective due to their visual quality. In fact, firm’s messages can be run in various types of publications all of which indicate the likelihood of reaching more target clients to help the firm grow even further. Marketers have been known to prefer print advertisements because of their perceived ability to take the firm’s message home. For instance, print advertisements not only mean that various publications can be used to reach more potential clients, but also that they can store the message for future use. In essence, the message is sustained in the market relatively longer and thus likely to contact as many potential clients as possible. Radio is also a channel the firm may look to use under the promotional and advertisement option to help it grow (Papatla, 2002). This technique may lack the visual appeal that comes with television and print advertisement, but nonetheless it is an effective channel to help the firm grow. To ensure effectiveness in reaching the potential clients, Fly Buys can look to mix it up and ensure its advertisement and promotional messages do not come across as flat and boring. The aim of using promotion and advertisement option is to pick the interest of New Zealanders yet to start using Fly Buys’ products and services. As such, the firm could look to use modern trends in promotion and advertisement including the use celebrity endorsements. Often, famous faces in a society are used to deliver the company’s message and perhaps appeal to the target client including youths, adults, and stay-at-home New Zealanders. This may include paying top-dollar sums in hiring celebrities acting as representatives for the various products and services on offer. Yet, it is crucial that the firm chooses its celebrity representative carefully because the aim is to make the relationship as believable as possible to increase sales and thus help the firm to grow.

            The promotion and advertisement option also presents Fly Buy with the chance to utilize sponsorship technique to help grow in New Zealand market. In fact, sponsorship represents one of the most renowned techniques to help a firm buy into sporting activities as well as events. This could range from Fly Buy supporting college sports teams in New Zealand through sponsoring sports attire worn by a team. In fact, this could help a firm to develop its brand name and be viewed as undertaking its social responsibilities (Shimp, 2008). In turn, this could make Fly Buy famous among potential targets leading to more purchases of its products and services, which is crucial to growth aspirations. Sponsorship could be accompanied by sales promotion activities leading to sale of products and sales (Cummins & Mullin, 2010). In fact, Fly Buy could look to give potential clients a short-term incentive to ensure that they get a taste of products and services on offer. Often, sales promotions are time-based programs requiring consumer participation via various means including immediate purchase. In fact, the goal is strategic because it means that Fly Buy would be looking to motivate potential clients to buy into their offerings and thus switch from rivals in New Zealand market. This means increasing the market share and thus sales, which is crucial to firm’s growth aspirations. A sales promotion channel that could help Fly Buys to grow in New Zealand involves sampling, which may involve handing out samples of products to the target market to attract them. Worth noting, is that this sales promotion channel could prove a game-changer because Fly Buy has up to 2.5 million cardholders underlining the potential to reach even more people in New Zealand (Solomon et al, 2014). Its client base is relatively huge and the use simple techniques such as sampling could positively influence the market leading to increased sales as well as growth. Personal selling under the promotional and advertising option could also help the firm to grow. This often involves using personal sales presentation to influence potential clients to buy products as well as services on offer. Up to 71 percent of New Zealanders are active Fly Buys users, which indicate that identifying the rest 21 percent should be relatively straightforward. This could be targeted using personal selling to influence sales leading to growth.

Conclusion

            Many techniques are employed by marketers in their efforts to grow by attracting more clients. Indeed, increasing firm’s client base is widely considered the first step to its growth. Nevertheless, promotional and advertising option seems suited to help Fly Buy grow in New Zealand even further. The messages and involved in advertising and promotion campaign ought to be consistent as well as repeated often to develop a clear image in the mind of both existing as well as potential clients. In all likelihood, the option will lead to influencing clients to try new products and switch from rival companies all of which is crucial to firm’s growth.