Elliot Company Essay

The Elliot fellowship was established in the early on 1950s and has been a profitable address card company. It had always been a pioneer in developing creative means to attract its ass group, in spite of which the groups merchandise sh are has been check to merely 4% in the industry. Industry leader Hallmark has the king of beastss share of about 41%, American Greetings about 30%, followed by over 300 companies, including  Elliot Company that account for the remaining share. expert advancements in the telephone industry and the advent of the internet have pushed just about greeting card companies against a wall, with flat sales, diminishing margins and a bane of decimation. The way forward is to identify means of generating sales by incoming newer merchandises and the company has identified two markets that remain unexplored for Elliot CompanyAmerican Latino marketOverseas English speaking market paradox StatementElliot Company had never ventured into unchartered terr itories, and finds both these markets intricate. The American Hispanic market is unique and has different sensitivities than the dominant white and black market that Elliot Company has been catering to. Meeting the needs of the oversea market is even off more complicated as the company would need to study several(prenominal)(prenominal) kitchen-gardenings and meet their several(prenominal) needs. Marketing the product to both these unique markets is the scrap that Elliot Company faces, for which a solution is required. The company cannot enter both the markets at once, and hence an ideal market should be identified that would suit the inte rilievos of the company.thither are about 30 million Hispanics in America, who predominantly derive from Mexico, Cuba and other Spanish dominated countries. The interesting facts about this population areThe Hispanic population has the highest growing population in the country with just about 40% of population growth between the years 1985 t o 2010, coming from this lodge.The Hispanic population can be broadly divided into ternion groups, the endemic Spanish people who speak and follow Spanish culture just the assimilated Spanish, who cannot be distinguished from the Americans and the Accultured Spanish, who are about 57% of the Hispanic population. (Arjona, Shah, Tinivelli & international ampere Weiss, 1998)The Hispanic community prefer significant influence of their culture in the marketing solve, even if the communication occurred in English.Price conscious hearing that chooses price over valueJust like the Hispanic community, the abroad market has different sensitivities that make it an equally tough opportunity to exaggerate into. Also, there are certain problems the company faces when entering these markets, which are listed below. earthly concern of multiple cultures in each countrySemantic barriers that can thwart communication as anticipatedCultural perceptions about greeting tease, as customers in so me countries prefer customized and hand written communication to pre-printed card game. extensive costs of research & development, product and distribution. List of Critical factorsThe wariness if Elliot Company is apprehensive with both the solutions provided by the consultants, as each of them has their protest concerns, which are listed above. A study shows that more than eighty percent of greeting cards customers, the world over are women. Hence, whichever strategy adopted by Elliot Company, would need to target the women predominantly. Which group of women, overseas women or Hispanic American women, can be targeted easily is one lively factor of success.  speckle venturing into foreign markets like UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand would be good option for the insight of the company into newer markets, it would expose the company to the competition of each market. While Canada is a market that Elliot Company should find easy to understand with its proximity t o the American culture, each of the other markets is complex in their own ways. Hallmark has already made preparations to launch Spanish greeting cards by including several Spanglish messages (The Washington Times, 2002), and would aggressively market its brand when compared to Elliot Company. Hence, which market is less war-ridden and can easily be penetrated becomes the second critical factor.The third critical factor is the consumers buying behavior in both these markets. Hispanic customers have a buying behavior that is powerfully influenced by culture and cultural cues, which include importance for family, formality and status. (Haegele, 2000 in Lynn Brandon, Judith C. Forney, 2002) The above three factors can contribute greatly to the success of Elliot greeting cards in this target group, the company can focus the marketing strategy on how to express emotions to its family, how to upkeep formalities and use greeting cards as a status symbol for greeting someone. On the contra ry, some of the overseas markets are less liberal and more demanding. The culture of Australia and New Zealand is strongly influenced from the English, and the English culture finds it more appropriate to send a change letter than a pre-designed and pre-printed greeting card. The success of the company is dependent on how well it breaks this cultural barrier.Recommended SolutionIn spite of the advantages of a big market that the company can cater to when it reaches out to the overseas market, it is recommended that Elliot Company focus on reaching out to the Hispanic American community, by offering customized greeting cards.JustificationThe biggest factor that justifies the above recommendation is the huge costs involved in establishing a brand and a business concern overseas, in multiple markets. To reach out to the overseas English market also would require significant investments in research about respective cultures, making the cost of research irrelevant for the decision ma king process for either decisions.A third of the Hispanic community would identify themselves with the rest of the Americans, and no special campaigns need to be done for them. However, the accultured Hispanics and the native Spanish speakers prefer a brand that they can identify with their ethnic group, to a business that seems very un-ethnic. (Dyer & Ross, 2000) Elliot Company should reach to the Hispanic community with a brand that they can identify with, design greeting cards based on their preferences and deliver the same as per their needs. Mere translations from the unadulterated designs that Elliot owns might not be as helpful, as designing cards that meet the needs of the Hispanic customers.ReferencesLuis D. Arjona, Rajesh Shah, Alejandro Tinivelli & Adam Weiss (1998) Marketing to the Hispanic Consumer,   daybook Title The McKinsey Quarterly. great deal 1. Issue 3. Publication Year 1998. rogue Number 106+Lynn Brandon, Judith C. Forney (2002), Influences on Fema le Purchase Motivations and Product Satisfaction a Comparison of Casual and Formal Lifestyles and Anglo and Hispanic Ethnicity, Journal Title Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences. Volume 94. Issue 1. Publication Year 2002. Page Number 54+Linda M. Dyer, Christopher A. Ross (2000), Ethnic Enterprises and Their Clientele, Journal Title Journal of Small Business Management. Volume 38. Issue 2, Page Number 48Spanglish Speakers Mix Home Languages democratic Trend Seen as Obstacle. Newspaper Title The Washington Times. Publication interpret November 21, 2002. Page Number A01