Primary customers are the architects, engineers and other professionals who hold construction projects. Some of them are regular clients. Secondary customers are the vendors who usually retail them to household customers. High-end construction tiles with unique and elegant designs are the major products of the firm. As most of them are imported while local produced uses rare materials, they are relatively expensive and compatible for first class buildings or hotels. The firm, as much as possible, orders hard-to-find imports in order to justify its price as competitors could not announce price wars. The foreign contacts exclusively provide the firm right to redistribute their products in the US. To admit, the firm is not using cost leadership strategy rather gain its profit from being highly differentiated and parallel to customers demand. As a result, it can bargain break-even price with justifiable mark-up from the value-centered positioning. Consultation and reservation contracts are also conducted for regular customers deepening customization and serve as back-up for premium price. Due to heavy competition that oftentimes lead to wide-variety of product substitution, the firm augment its unique products by using different kinds of media like commercials, billboards and print advertisements.
The marketing strategies will be evaluated based on their adherence to support the inherent competitive advantage attributable to the firm. Selling the hand-made ceramic tile is more appropriate to the attainment of the firm’s goal of unique service. It can provide the firm rare core competencies as to maintain differentiation strategy profitable. Glass tile is on demand for cozy apartments and mansions due to their artistic value which is a more suitable product line than mass-produced porcelain floor tile. To be able to intensify market information and research, additional employees should be added to the labor force. They will be tasked to operate database for the firm and use the internet to identify new trends in construction design for possible importation. To be able to identify the target market for unusual mosaics, the firm should have ample information and contact to interior designers of luxury houses/ hotels/ restaurants or working but meticulous hub/ apartment owners.
Operating and rental costs should be increased in order for additional employees and technological installations to take effect. The 70 vendors can maximize profitability if the firm can locate them in strategic areas as to prevent predation. There should also be written contract to guard the firm’s relations to its forward suppliers. This contract can state the nature of competition that should be ethical. The mark-up is justified by freight, warehouse and other transaction costs. It is uniform to different vendors that usually deal with household customers. However, discounts should be given to bulk buyers in the case of contractors since their demand is crucial to the firm’s primary market maintenance. Being friendly and professional is hard to emulate when dealing with different types of customers. To prevent opportunistic buyers that can adversely affect mark-up, close door negotiations are given to repeat and bulk buying customers. Vendors are dealt with friendly relations. As difficult-to-handle customers are those who have no plan to repeat their purchase, the firm lightly deals with them especially when they start in their non-friendly and opportunistic approach.
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