Executive Summary
This marketing plan is based on a company “Wilkinson Sword” who produce razors and other shaving products for men and women across Europe. The company wanted to do a marketing plan for the shaving products by hiring new and young people and making them the ambassodors of the company. These recruits will then, do the marketing of the products in the desired areas, following the marketing and corporate objectives of the plan. Furthermore, the company is a UK based company and has been in the shaving product industry for a long time. To increase their sales, they need a marketing plan and new people will do it for them. In order to do this, first the strategy was formed, that how to do marketing, what factors to be considered in it. These included PESTEL analysis, which reflected how the environmental and other factors can influence Wilkinson, and what measures to be taken to manage them. Then, SWOT analysis for the company was done, which gave and insight about Wilkinson’s strengths, opportunities, threats, and weaknesses. This analysis was done to make sure of all these factors before going into the market and presenting the shaving range. After these analysis, it was discussed, that how to apply this plan to be successful. For this, recommendations are made on analyzing the 7 Ps of the marketing mix, ansoff matrix technique is used as alternative, and based on the marketing objectives, the results are discussed about applying these factors. Marketing is influenced by these factors, and assumptions are made if the company follows the steps, its marketing plan can be successful with it. Then, the budgeting of this marketing plan is discussed. Wilkinson Sword had £5M budget for their marketing plan process and other activities. It is allocated wisely in the plan and with respect to that, sales forecasting has been done. It gives an overview of the steps to be followed, in order to achieve the maximum sales results. At the end, academic skills are discussed which have been increased by this method, and what turns out to be the factors which can lead towards successful employability. Hence, Wilkinson Sword have a huge product range which can be influenced if they try to follow to 7 Ps strategy to market their products in the market.
Phase one: Goal Setting
Mission Statement:
Wilkinson Sword is a brand, which is owned by Edgewell Personal Care. The type of products in Wilkinson Sword are razors and other type of personal care products. Its origin is from London and they serve the customers of Europe. “We will succeed through focus, indepth innovation and agility, providing our customers and consumers with the best possible solution” is the mission statement of the company. Wilkinson Sword focuses on the best possible outcome to provide their customers and consumers, with innovation, swiftness and focus. As Wilkinson Sword is a brand of Edgewell Personal Care, they are also aiming to the same mission statement. They focus on providing the best shaving products with efficiency, quality, rapid customer response and marketing of the brand.
Scope of operations:
Wilkinson Sword have redesigned their razor systems, with introducing more range of razors in the market. Their range of product lies in the market of household utilities, where they have a vast range of products. Back in the 19th century, Wilkinson Sword produced guns, military weapons, typewriters, scissors and motorcycles. Which however, is not in their product line now. Now they are focusing on the production of razors and other personal care products to serve the market efficiently. For this purpose, marketing of a product is essential. Every department in a company needs to run in a creative manner, in order to achieve their desired goal/objective. Department connectivitiy is a key factor to this regard. Wilkinson Sword has intended in providing a detailed budget plan to achieve the marketing plan they desire.
Product/Service:
They operate within the range of razor which include a 5-razor blade (Hydro 5), 3-razor blade (Hydro 3), 4-razor blade (Quattro), other products like women shaving products, and batteries. They also have products which are made for only one country like Tech 3 sensitive which is available only in US, Tech 2 beauty; for women of US.
Primary customer/market:
Their main customers are all the residents who use shaving products as a household item. Household stores, grocery shops, medical stores are the market they place their product. Further more, in order to achieve their desired requirements of marketing plan, markets are selected to implement the products. A Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer approach is set upon the company.
Geographical regions:
This market includes all men and women who use razors or other products, as a household item across Europe. London being the headquarter of the brand, they serve across
Corporate Vision:
Depending on the scenario shown above, Wilkinson Sword is now aiming towards increasing the range of shaving products and creating a marketing strategy, where they will hire new and young people. Then, they will make these young people become the promoters of the company, who will promote/market their products.
Corporate Objective:
Wilkinson Sword is targeting to increase their overall profit 10% at the end of the year, in order to improve their market share upto 5%, within the countries of Europe. Wilkinson Sword needs to have marketing plan where they will achieve the results by changing the dynamics and hiring new and energetic youm people to be the brand ambassadors. In order to achieve, the desired annual profit, marketing plan needs to be formed, which will help them increase their market share. Hiring new people and putting them the brand awareness program, can he helpful in achieving the objective in discussion. However, every company tends to have a goal to maximize profit. Some go for in house development approach, while some go for marketing techniques.
Marketing Objective:
The purpose to market the product/brand is to, introduce the concept of shaving products and how they can be helpful. In the past, the amount of marketing done for the product line was not enough, because they have a long list of product to offer. With the modern world, company has a lot to offer their customers, which needs to be done by marketing. Here, the objective of Wilkinson Sword lies only in how to market their products using new people. For that purpose, I will use a PESTLE analysis, which will discuss the political, social, economical factors in study. SWOT analysis will be done where the strength, weakness, opportunities, threats of the company will be discussed. Based on that, strategies will be made on how to achieve the purpose of plan and to make further improvements in the company. After the analysis is done, strategies can be formed to elaborate, what and how it will be achieved and what processes to go through. Description of 4-Ps and 7-Ps will be discussed in the strategic phase. How and in what context they can be effective to make a marketing plan successful.
Phase two: Situation Review
A pestel analysis is a multi factor approach to assess the important forces in order to understand the strategic orientation of a company more easily (Slack, 2015)
. It also helps in making informed and careful decisions about activities of the organization. PESTLE analysis include six factors: Politicial, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental. As a way to structure environmental factors, PESTLE is used to help a company analyze how external environmental factors effect an industry (Slack, 2015)
. It also gives an overview of the Micro environmental factors that influence a company in decision making. The external factors also helps a company, to focus on long term goals and to choose a sustained business innovation and investment strategies.
Political factors include all aspects, how and to what level government take part in the role of economy. It can include: government policies, political stability/instability in overseas markets, foreign trade and tax policies, labour and environmental laws, and trade restrictions (Mohammad, 2015)
. These factors when linked to Wilkinson Sword products, will have impacts when a product is to be imported to another country where political implications are not good. The company will face have negative impacts due to this reason. While, positive impacts can enhance the marketing of the company, and also other factors like cheap labour, easy government policies etc (Mohammad, 2015).
Economic factors have a certain influence on how an organization is doing business and how profitable is a company. These factors can include: economic growth, rate of interest and exchange, inflation/deflation and so on. These factors are further divided into macro and micro-economical factors. Macro-economical factors include the management demand in any economy. When this happens, government uses interest rate control, taxation and expenditure policies as ways to control these factors (Bahadir, Bharadwaj and Srivastava, 2015).
While, micro-economic factors depend upon the way people spend their income, which in result have a huge influence on B2C organizations. Economically, Wilkinson Sword will be influenced when they have to introduce their product gloabally and will face deflation or inflation. This will get positive or negative impact on the marketing strategy of brand. This can also impact if there is higher tax rate in a country on shaving products, the brand will be affected because of bad economic. Referring to B2C approach, it makes a huge impact when you get to know that the B2C market of shaving products is not well running (Bahadir, Bharadwaj and Srivastava, 2015)
Social factors, also known as socio-cultural factors, involve the norms and attitudes of a population. These factors can include: age distribution, population growth, health factors, career attitudes and so on (Bahadir, Bharadwaj and Srivastava, 2015). These factors are of main interest as they effect directly on how marketing companies understand customers and influence them. Social factors included in our plan have a large impact because when a person is introduced to shaving products, they need to know about the product to use it. It is a complex product. Age, region, social and cultural implications are imposed on Wilkinson Sword to sort the problem out.
Technological factors include the innovative approaches in the technology, that affects the operation of the industry and the market positively or negatively (Hanssens et.al, 2014). It is enhanced by research, automation and the awareness in technological factors that a market must have. Technology is changing rapidly, and it can be affected by introducing new ways to place a brand, new communication ways and new ways of distribution (Hanssens et.al, 2014). For example, Wilkinson Sword razors are introduced in a small country of Europe, where people are not aware of the innovation in shaving razors. The brand will not be able to progress there, and will ultimately have an impact on the marketing plan and strategy which is going to be put forward for that plan. Moreover, people who are going to be hired to market shaving products don’t know about the technology of shaving products of Wilkinson Sword.
Environmental factors have arised not more than the last fifteen years. These factors became important, due to lack of population targets, raw materials, businesses running on ethics and sustainability (Hanssens et.al, 2014)
. Basically, environmental factors are influenced because of the surrounding environment. Certain type of businesses e.g. farming, agriculture and tourism are mostly affected by it. Global climate change, weather, geographical location, etc are the factors included in it. Category of Wilkinson Sword’s shaving products does not really get affected by environmental factors, but can have an impact if there is no agenda on target population for marketing, environmental conditions to hire new people are bad.
Legal factors include advertising standards, consumer rights and laws, product labelling, health and safety of people/products. Legal factors tell a company what is right and wrong in order to do a successful trade legally. This issue needs to be in deep consideration, because every country have their onw rules and regulations. Companies cater the internal laws which are within the country to be maintained, and external laws which a country imposes on them. Legal implications on Wilkinson Sword maybe to, formulate a marketing strategy which does not obstruct a legal issue in a country. Racial advertising of celebrities in shaving products, explicit content, billboard designs, and other factors can have a huge legal offense on marketing plan of Wilkinson Sword.
SWOT analysis is the most common technique used by business bodies, it is also used by non profit organizations and in some cases by indiviuals for their personal assessment. It is used to measure the products, projects and initiatives taken by the company. SWOT is comprised of the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats. A company make a detailed method to resolve the problem they would face in future (Deeley, 2014). Here, Wilkinson Sword is making a marketing plan for their shaving products and will hire young people to make the marketing of their shaving products. So, SWOT analysis will be done based on the marketing plan which is to be implied for it.
| STRENGTHS | WEAKNESSES |
| (Competitive edge of a company) | (What to be improved & avoided) |
| OPPORTUNITIES | THREATS |
| (Trends/factors leading to success) | (What can threaten company’s success) |
Strengths for an organization are the resources and factors that help in achieving a perfect outcome. It can be the competitive advantage a company posses, regarding other competitors (Deeley, 2014). The type of market is a company in and what does a company does better than others. Here, Wilkinson Sword have the advantage that they are very old in the market and people know about the product. The company don’t need to image their brand, so this will help them when an individual goes to a customer and tells them, I am from Wilkinson Sword. Another factor is, Wilkinson Sword has a wide range of shaving razors, so for a marketing initiative, the company market a wide range of razors which in return will make a good impact on the customers.
Weakness is what a company is not good at. Areas where a company does not have a competitive edge and areas which need to be improved (Bohari, Hin and Fuad, 2017). Every company focuses on the options which can be added to improve the deficit. Wilkinson in this regard does not have what it takes to be a good marketing company. That’s why they are going to hire new people to market their product. Having a good brand is not all. Making a good marketing plan and following it is what makes a brand stand tall. Shaving products are one of the products which are used everyday and Wilkinson Sword needs to be good at the marketing of the product to achieve the level.
Opportunities for a company are the factors where they can do more things. Strengths help a company, make opportunities for themselves. Wilkinson Sword have a big opportunity to go global and market their shaving range to the areas, where they have no product placed. As told before, Wilkinson Sword have 5-razor, 4-razor and 3-razor blades which gives them the marketing edge and opportunity to make a marketing approach to increase their revenue. Their products are their opportunity to make them a successful brand.
Threats of a company are the internal and external factors that influence the overall base of the company. Referring to threats, they can be economical, legal, social which can impact a brand (Li, et.al, 2016). It can also be internal threats where an employee leaks out the secrets of a company to a competitor. As, Wilkinson Sword is located all across Europe, they need to eliminate the taxing procedures, legal issues, analyze the economy of a certain country before putting the brand there and making a marketing method. Labour cost can also be a threat. Like hiring new employees for marketing, and they demand a high wage can also influence the product they are going to sell.
To better analyze about how the customers/general public feel about Wilkinson Sword, I have made a questionnaire, which will help in getting feedback and making a desired plan according to the feedback given. In this task, cost, quality, design, what people think about the shaving range of Wilkinson Sword, and how much they have interacted with the brand’s product line. By conducting this survey, it will the people hired for the marketing of the shaving range products, to better analyze the market and make improvements according to the marketing plan set forth.
Another survey program, which will be implemented by the advocates, is the focus group technique (Khan, 2014). It involves a set of purchasers grouping to experience a particular initiative. Each member of the group shares their experiences, flaws and other responses which they came across by answering the questions which the interviewer gives them. Wilkinson Sword marketers will going to be making a set of customers who use shaving products daily and asking them questions about the shaving products they use and how the feel about it. Customers will also share their experiences regarding the shaving products. This group will include men and women both, as Wilkinson Sword have products both for men and women. This group will help the marketer make strong attributes, when going to implement the strategy to marketing of their brand.
Phase three: Strategy Formulation
Based on the description portayed above, regarding SWOT and PESTEL analysis made on Wilkinson Sword’s line of shaving products, strategy is formulated, which will help in making the task more easier and effective. The hiring process of young men and women will train them, how to implement the strategies in the market and make the plan for the shaving range to better understand the company, what we have to do.
For this purpose, the 7 Ps of the marketing mix is implemented. 7 Ps are a set of marketing tactics, which a company aquires to satisfy their target customers (Bull, et.al, 2016). They vary across internal and external environment. Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Processes, and Physical evidence make up 7 Ps of a marketing mix.
Product comprises of what a company is selling i.e., their advantages, benefits, and features that a customer can get by purchasing your product/service. When a company wants to have marketing process, they keep in mind about the features, a customer needs or wants. It can be in terms of styling, quality, accessories, and repairs linked with the product. For more efficient way, research and development is informed if a company needs to develop new products (Bull, et.al, 2016). Already, Wilkinson Sword’s range of shaving product is enough which can give a go to marketing plan of the brand. Improvments can be done in design, packaging, and quality of the razors before the marketing process is initiated. Price, is the pricing strategy made for the product/service and the way it will affect the customers. In this part, company makes assumptions on the competitors’ market price and how much the customer is willing to pay for the product. Payment methods, profit margins, and other linked costs are measured. Wilkinson Sword can offer a low price as compared to competitors and give away seasonal and annual discounts to further help the marketing plan. This help the customers atleast look at the product, even if they are not willing to buy it, which in return will help in marketing of the shaving products.
Promotion includes the the activities a company makes to make a customer aware about the product/service, which include advertising, sales techniques, direct marketing, and promotional activities (Bridgstock, 2009). These tactics can he helpful for Wilkinson Sword, as their prime focus is on marketing, and promotion can be a good option. Making billboards about the razors with celebrity endorsement, pitching discount sales on weekends, and putting up free shaving units at public places (malls, parks etc.). If a customer is buying five razors a time, one razor can be given to the customer for free to increase the level of satisfaction for the customers.
Place is the positioning technique, where a company places its product and service to be easily seen, distributed, and sold (Bridgstock, 2009). It is important for a company to make sure, customers can easily access your product in the market. If there is a mall in the center of a city, Wilkinson Sword’s razors needs to be there, because more customers will visit there and see the whole range of razors there. Making small posters for the place, on which razors are displayed can be effective, in placing and marketing process.
People are the staff of the company, including the owner itself. Training the employees, recruiting the right people can make a change (Cottrell, 2015). Creating excellent customer service, creates a positive experience for the customers and helps in marketing the brand (Cottrell, 2015). In return, customers can be referrals for your company, by telling others to buy your product. As, Wilkinson are aiming in hiring new and young people for the marketing plan, they can be successful by training them and providing them all the factors that help them become the person who can satisfy the customer easily when in market.
Processes include the steps or stages involved in the delivering the product to the customer. After buying, the service given to the customer is integral in this context (Cottrell, 2015). Customer should be given a complete knowledge about where and when the razor (he/she is buying) was made, what is the origin of the razor and quality of the razors. In order to satisfy the customer, post-purchase services should be maintained. This is also included in the marketing plan of the shaving product range.
Physical evidence includes what physical interactions a customer faces, when interacting with your product/service. It can be the packaging process, design, and environment from where he/she is buying (Belvedere, 2014). Wilkinson’s razors needs to plan a creative packaging method to create their razors distinctive from others. Making attracting colors, making sleek and firm design of razors is a major part. When your explaining about using razors to the customer, you need to ensure it safe and healthy. An effective marketing plan is made by the 7 Ps discussed. Now, when new recruits will market the shaving products, they need to implement these points before going into the market, for an effective analytical approach. This is the basic strategy formed for the purpose of the marketing plan.
Another strategic part of the marketing plan is, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). It is a process, which creates a combined and seamless experience of customers to interact with the brands (Belvedere, 2014). In this process, all the aspects of marketing communication are interlinked i.e. sales promotion, advertisement, direct selling, and public relations. Their methods and tactics are also alligned to work as one unit to achieve the desired outcome. Basically, this process ensures all the marketing strategies are linked, in terms of communication, to give customer the best. Wilkinson Sword’s objective here is to make a successful marketing plan for their shaving products, by hiring new and young people. Before implementing, they need to make the new employees, aware about the marketing strategies, and that they want them to be the brand advocates to impose it to the customers. If a communication gap is left behind, the reason for its implementing is finished. The strategy can be formed to differentiate the shaving products, from its competitors. It can help with clear instructions, that why the company is forcing to sell. Diffrenciation can be in terms of quality of razor blades used in it, cost effective razors, and innovation in shaving products. This also needs to be completely communicated to the sales team, which will be set forth to make the marketing process in order.
Making television advertisements, banner ads on social media, billboard designs, advertisments on public spots, and on newspapers about the flagship razors, can be effective. This will involve a detailed process of interacting indirectly with customers to fill the communication gap, before the shaving products are placed in the market. Wilkinson’s razors have been in the market for a long time. But, no effective marketing has been done to let the customers know about it. Letting customers know that an old shaving range of razors are now back in the market can bring change. This will also fill the gap, which was from a long time ago.
Next, persuading customers to behave about a certain thing. Getting Wilkinson’s name on the jersey of any team of Manchester United, can help a customer look into any product of Wilkinson. It will make the marketing strategy strong, and make the overall strategy stand tall.
Further plans to take up the marketing objective will include Ansoff matrix approach. It will help to justify and explain the basic condition of the market and products of Wilkinson Sword. Ansoff matrix explain, existing market and existing products will result in market penentration, Wilkinson Sword needs to make a strategy where they are already in the shaving products market, and also have old products there. This can be London, as it is the headquarter of the brand. Then, existing market and new products, result in new product development. Instead of launching new products in new markets and failing there, Wilkinson can instead launch new razors into the market they already exist in. New products, existing products can result in new market development. This involves a risk management process. Wilkinson can aim on creating new markets when going global. They are doing this presently, as they are going to new markets in Europe, and developing new markets. The most important stage is where a company develops new products and new markets. This results in diversification of market and product/brand both. Making new products and markets, will help Wilkinson become globally strong because, each country accepts different kind of products.
The marketing strategy of Wilkinson can additionly be improved by adding Ansoff Matrix in it. The objective of marketing discussed in this context have been detailed above which will help the Wilkinson in improving their marketing plan, about the shaving product range. New recruits should also be advised to follow the above told strategies to make an effective strategic plan.
Following the detailed plan discussed, Wilkinson Sword’s product can be successful in market within the next year and letting the new recruits follow the strategies told can make a strong strategy. Wilkinson Sword needs to make a strategy to hire the individuals they desire, set the criteria before hiring, make proper renumerations to make the hiring process successful. SWOT analysis done previously, will have the company when and how to make the adjustments they need before going into the market. It will decrease the affect of failure, as proper assumptions and forecasting is done before launching the campaign. A proper plan should be made in accordance with the environment discussed before, so that the risks are eliminated when starting the campaign, and introducing the shaving products in a new region or country.
Phase four: Resourse Allocation and Monitoring
After all the plans and techniques have been discussed, now comes the part where the budgeting and forecasting is done for Wilkinson Sword Inc. It is mandatory to be ready and plan the financial side of the marketing process. Here, balance sheet till the month of april is discussed. Which shows that, Wilkinson Sword has a budget of $5M, from which they can start up their business. Assets, land, inventories, and other equiptments are the assets of the company for the purpose to make a business stand up. Liabilities include the short and long term debts taken by the company, taxes, the capital stock, stockholders’ equity share, salaries and wages of employees, and the amount which is to be paid to the persons in relation with the selling and purchasing of items. All the description can be found in the balance sheet listed below.
After that, a complete income statement is formed, which tells about the expenses, profits, areas of revenue, areas of expenses to be bear by the company and interests company have to pay. It tells about the profit and loss of the company. Travel costs, salaries, debts, amortization applied, insurance, interests, training programs expenses, rent expenses, and others are descripted in the income statement made below. It also tells about how Wilkinson Sword will manage a £5M budget for it, and the company will manage it, both in costs and sales they achieve.
Sales forecasting is also done for the purpose to follow the objectives and procedures, to make it a successful marketing plan. As the company is going to be new in some countries and regions, they have to follow a sales projection, to be able to achieve what they want. In context to that, the graph of Wilkinson Sword’s sales forecast tells that, the market share is to remain constant, and at the first year, company’s operating income will be at loss. As, every company comes from a scratch at first and with time, they grow. Operating income tells what income is earned before the taxes being applied. At first, they need to achieve a break even point, in order to make it a revenue for the company. More sales, more profit, this makes it very simple that at the start, company won’t get any good sales. But, annual sales projection tells that, the sales will increase, as the operating income increases. Market share remains constant, which can be a benefit if this happens. At the third year, operating income will match the market share, which can be controllable, because at that year, Wilkinson will be earning good in the market. And in the next year, sales will increase more and the operating income will also increase. This gives an overview, about how to manage and follow the marketing plan which, is in discussion.
Now, keeping all of these projections and forecasting in mind, the implementation of the marketing plan for shaving products of Wilkinson Sword, will be to make an initial hiring process of indiviuals. The young people will be hired and they will be the marketers of the shaving range products of the company. Once this is done, then comes the stage where they are trained about the products and markets. Complete knowledge about the products will be given to them. Before going into the market, techniques discussed before (SWOT & PESTEL) will be given to them, which will help them in segmenting the market. This will ultimately result in good marketing of the razors, and will increase the sales. Product, price, people, and placement of the shaving products will be discussed with the new people, in be better able to train them. Sales forecasting will be able to help the company, measure what is achieved now, and what will be achieved in the future. Daily assessment sessions can be arranged by the company for the marketers. Creating focus groups and filling of questionnaires will make a better picture of what a market wants from Wilkinson, and how to deliver them.
| Wilkinson Sword Inc. | |||
| Balance Sheet | |||
| as of April 31, 2018 | |||
| April | April | ||
| Assets | 2018 | Liabilities & Stockholders’ Equity | 2018 |
| Current Assets: | Current Liabilities: | ||
| Cash & cash equivalents | £780,000 | Accounts payable | £485,000 |
| Account receivables | £450,000 | Short term debt | £345,000 |
| Inventories | £495,000 | Wages and salaries payable | £65,000 |
| Total Current Assets | £1,725,000 | Income tax payable | – |
| Property & Equipment | £1,700,000 | Total Current Liabilities | £895,000 |
| Building | £1,200,000 | Long term debt | £2,956,000 |
| Land | £375,000 | Other long term liabilities | £691,000 |
| Total Assets | £5,000,000 | Total Liabilities | £4,542,000 |
| Stockholders’ Equity: | |||
| Capital Stock | £350,000 | ||
| Retained Earning | £108,000 | ||
| Total Stockholders’ Equity | £458,000 | ||
| Total Liabilities & Stockholders’ Equity | £5,000,000 | ||
| Income Statement | ||||||
| Wilkinson Sword Inc. | ||||||
| as of April, 2018 | ||||||
| Revenue | ||||||
| Gross Sales | £4,000,000 | |||||
| Less: Sales Returns and Allowances | £150,000 | |||||
| Net Sales | £3,850,000 | |||||
| Cost of Goods Sold | ||||||
| Beginning Inventory | £495,000 | |||||
| Add: | Purchases | £50,000 | ||||
| Freight-in | £12,000 | |||||
| Direct Labor | £80,000 | |||||
| Indirect Expenses | £14,500 | |||||
| Inventory Available | £651,500 | |||||
| Less: Ending Inventory | £250,000 | |||||
| Cost of Goods Sold | £401,500 | |||||
| Gross Profit (Loss) | £3,448,500 | |||||
| Expenses | ||||||
| Advertising | £1,750,000 | |||||
| Amortization | £542,000 | |||||
| Bad Debts | £65,000 | |||||
| Bank Charges | £895,200 | |||||
| Charitable Contributions | £52,000 | |||||
| Commissions | £96,000 | |||||
| Contract Labor | £41,000 | |||||
| Depreciation | ||||||
| Dues and Subscriptions | ||||||
| Employee Benefit Programs | £12,000 | |||||
| Insurance | £85,000 | |||||
| Interest | £2,300 | |||||
| Legal and Professional Fees | £10,000 | |||||
| Licenses and Fees | £18,000 | |||||
| Miscellaneous | £2,000 | |||||
| Office Expense | £87,000 | |||||
| Payroll Taxes | £1,200 | |||||
| Postage | ||||||
| Rent | £18,000 | |||||
| Repairs and Maintenance | £1,500 | |||||
| Supplies | £1,000 | |||||
| Telephone | £500 | |||||
| Travel | £200 | |||||
| Utilities | £700 | |||||
| Vehicle Expenses | £1,200 | |||||
| Wages | £1,800 | |||||
| Total Expenses | £3,683,600 | |||||
| Net Operating Income | -£235,100 | |||||
| Other Income | ||||||
| Gain (Loss) on Sale of Assets | £1,800,000 | |||||
| Interest Income | £230,000 | |||||
| Total Other Income | £2,030,000 | |||||
| Net Income (Loss) | £1,794,900 | |||||
Sales Forcast for Wilkinson Sword Inc.
Critical Reflection on Academic skills and Employability
Two of the main issues of employees today, are looking for skilled employees and training them (Belvedere, 2014). The difference between skills required by the employees and the one they alreadt have, is mostly known as skills gap. This is of real concern to the hiring managers and owners looking to hire proficient employees. Employers prefer to hire people who are already competent and ready to work. The employers still are willing to provide the specific type of training to eliminate the gap. Academic skills required by some of the jobs are low, employee needs to be academically strong to produce high results. Theortically, new hires have the ability to learn, listen, and read the instructions and eventually implement them. Employees need to be able to respond quickly in terms of, oral and writing information.
After this study, academically, a lot of knowledge has been gained. The ability to write, read, gather knowledge, thinking creatively, problem solving approach, and ability to make a quality decision has been improved diversly (Belvedere, 2014). Detailed knowledge was gained, on how to gather information about the topic in discussion. Information gathering about the management skills and how to implement them in the real world effectively, how to make a decision in the most bizzare scenarios.
Practical implementation of real market has improved self confidence, honesty, motivation to work in corporate companies, and social skills have improved. It has helped me how to write a detailed study in future about any topic. A detailed reflection has been gained that, how companies perform, how they do marketing, how they manage the financial conditions, and how they hire new employees for the benefit of their organization.
The skills I have developed in doing this study has helped in getting a good job, with all the training I have gained during the process. It has helped a lot in making decisions about the industry, in which I want to enter. It will also help in getting employed, as I have gained knowledge about the market and how to get hired. What abilities should I have, what things to take in consideration. An important pat of academic skills gained is the self assessment. It refers to the making of judgments about one’s own learning process. It helps in deep learning.
It helps in monitoring their own performance, which gives them confidence and opportunity in learing a certain thing. It also helps in social and affective competencies, which improves motivation, interpersonal skills, and adaptability of an employee. These factors have largly increased and learned in this study. Being able to self access, I have gained and improved professional skills, which in long term is an advantage for me. Appropriate feedback is also important part of learning, which have gained in huge amount in this study, it has enabled in the development of valid self assessment.
These factors can be a huge influence on employability, because when you can judge youself, that where you stand, is the point where you can be successful (Belvedere, 2014). It also makes an individual stand out, and make creative decisions. Employability can include attributes, knowledge, behavior, and attitudes development. I have learned about this in the study, and can influence directly. Therefore, Wilkinson Sword’s marketing plan has increased my motivation towards market and make me realize my self as a professional individual. after the completion of the project, and study, it will help me getting a good job because of these attributes I have acquired.
References
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Bull, J.W., Jobstvogt, N., Böhnke-Henrichs, A., Mascarenhas, A., Sitas, N., Baulcomb, C., Lambini, C.K., Rawlins, M., Baral, H., Zähringer, J. and Carter-Silk, E., 2016. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats: A SWOT analysis of the ecosystem services framework. Ecosystem services, 17, pp.99-111.
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Huang, R. and Sarigöllü, E., 2014. How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the marketing mix. In Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors (pp. 113-132). Springer, New York, NY.
Khan, M.T., 2014. The concept of’marketing mix’and its elements (a conceptual review paper). International journal of information, business and management, 6(2), p.95.
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Mohammad, H.I., 2015. 7PS marketing mix and retail bank customer satisfaction in northeast Nigeria. British journal of marketing studies, 3(3), pp.71-88.
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Song, J., Sun, Y. and Jin, L., 2017. PESTEL analysis of the development of the waste-to-energy incineration industry in China. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 80, pp.276-289.
Appendices
| QUESTIONS | Strongly
Agree (1) |
Agree (2) | Neutral (3) | Disagree (4) | Strongly Disagree (5) |
| 1. Using shaving products is a daily part of my life. | |||||
| 2. I have used Wilkinson Sword’s razors in the past six months. | |||||
| 3. Design and Quality of the razor is important for me. | |||||
| 4. Most likely, I will recommend Wilkinson Sword’s shaving products to others. | |||||
| 5. Before buying, it is important for me to see the product in media (print, nonprint). | |||||
| 6. Wilkinson Sword’s razors are expensive than others. |
