Organic Green Case

1. Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

This study is based on the case study of Organic Green, a restaurant chain with six specialist restaurants located in different areas of the city. Some restaurants are located at the city centre and provide 'top-end' dining, while some provide venues for parties and family get-togethers in suburban locations. Still others are located around government offices providing snacks and lunches to the employees of these offices and their visitors.

1.2 Approach of the Study

As mentioned in the case study, there has been some slowdown in the business as indicated by the decrease in sales in some of the restaurants in the group. This study is focused on performing a preliminary marketing analysis of the group's business. However, the development of a comprehensive marketing plan is not aimed in this study.

Marketing analysis comprises the complete analysis of the external environment including the nature of the industry, the analysis of competitors and other stakeholders as well as the internal analysis of the firm. Analytical tools such as SWOT analysis, Porter's Five Forces, competitive analysis and industry analysis are used in marketing analysis. Similarly, marketing plans deal with the development of marketing strategies as well as the development of the marketing mix which help in generating increased sales and gaining competitive advantage in the (Aguinis et al., 2005)

However, due to the scope of the study, and the information about the company provided in the case study, this report specifically deals with the development of the marketing strategies based on Porter's generic strategies as well as the decisions related to the marketing mix of Organic Green. Through Porter's generic strategies, the general strategies for marketing can be pin-pointed. Similarly, the discussion of the marketing mix based on the marketing literature has also been performed in this study.

Thus, this report provides a general overview of the concept of marketing focusing on the methods of market segmentation and positioning, as well as the development of the marketing strategies and the marketing mix for the case organisation.

2. The Concept of Marketing

Marketing is the set of activities that organisations perform to develop, manufacture and distribute their products and services. The marketing function involves the whole organisation in the planning and execution of sales, starting from the development of the idea of the product to the distribution to the final customers (Keith, 1960).The main aim of marketing is to generate sales by tailoring the production and distribution of products and services to fit the needs and demands of the customers.

The basic activities comprising marketing are promotions and advertising, public relations and sales. It engages in introducing a product in the market and promoting the product or service in such a way so as to generate sales by satisfying customer needs.

Customer focus is the main element of marketing. The development of products and services that satisfies the demands of the customers is the major function of marketing activities. The creation of value for the firm, the customers as well as other stakeholders is the essence of marketing (Gronroos, 2006).

2.1 Role of marketing in business

Marketing plays a very important role in business organisations. It synchronises all the activities of an organisation towards the development of products and services that best serve the customers' needs and creates the mechanism to generate sales by attracting the customer's to buy the organisation's products and services.

Based on the case of Organic Green, the case organisation for this study, the following roles of marketing in business organisations have been discussed:

i. Promoting product awareness among consumers

The most important role of marketing is to generate awareness of the products and services an organisation offers to the market. Through various promotional activities and advertisements, marketing makes the public aware of the offered products and services (Achrol & Kotler, 1999).

At Organic Green, the role of marketing is to make the public aware of the different food products it offers through its chain. The headquarters publish advertisements for the entire chain while the individual restaurants promote their specific products. Thus, through marketing activities, Organic Green generates awareness of its restaurants and food products to its customers.

ii. Building company reputation

Another role of marketing in business is to build the reputation of the company in the market. The creation