NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY, HANOI

BTEC HND IN BUSINESS (MARKETING)

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

NAME OF STUDENT
REGISTRATION NO.
UNIT TITLE Unit 1: Marketing
ASSIGNMENT TITLE OTTER INTERNATIONAL SDN BHD (OTTER)
ASSIGNMENT NO 1 of 2 (Individual Report)
NAME OF ASSESSOR
SUBMISSION DEADLINE April 12 (Monday), 2010

I, __________________________ hereby confirm that this assignment is my own work and not

copied or plagiarized from any source. I have referenced the sources from which information is

obtained by me for this assignment.

________________________________

_________________________

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Student: Pham Do Hoan
 Signature

Date

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-----FOR OFFICIAL USE

ASSIGNMENT GRADE

Common Skills Grade

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Student: Pham Do Hoan
 A B C D E F G

Unit Outcomes

Evidence for
Assessor’s Internal
Outcome the Feedback
decision Verification
criteria

Compare

alternative
a
definitions of

marketing
Identify the
Investigat
main
e the b
characteristics

concept of a marketing

oriented
Explain the
and
various
process of
elements of the c

marketing marketing

concept
Identify and

assess the
(1)
benefits and
d
costs of a

marketing

approach

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Student: Pham Do Hoan
 Evidence for
Assessor’s Internal
Outcome the Feedback
decision Verification
criteria
Identify and

explain macro

and micro

environmental
a
factors which

influence
Explore
marketing
the decisions
Propose
concepts
segmentation

of criteria to be

used for two b

segmentat
products in
ion,
different

targeting markets
Outline the
and factors which

positionin influence the

c
choice of
g
targeting

strategy
Explain how
(2)
buyer behaviour

affects

marketing d

activities in two

different buying

situations

Merit grades awarded M1 M2 M3

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Student: Pham Do Hoan
 Evidence for
Assessor’s Internal
Outcome the Feedback
decision Verification
criteria

Distinction grades awarded D1 D2 D3

Assignment

( ) Well-structured; Reference is done properly / should be done (if any)

Overall, you’ve

Areas for improvement:

ASSESSOR SIGNATURE DATE / /

NAME:.........................................................................

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Student: Pham Do Hoan
 Evidence for
Assessor’s Internal
Outcome the Feedback
decision Verification
criteria

(Oral feedback was also provided)

STUDENT SIGNATURE DATE / /

NAME :..............................................................................
FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

VERIFIED YES NO

DATE : ...........................................................

VERIFIED BY : ...........................................................

NAME : ...........................................................

COMMON SKILLS & COMPETENCIES ASSESSED (indicated by X)

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A. MANAGING & DEVELOPING SELF
1. Managing own roles & responsibilities
2. Manage own time in achieving objectives
3. Undertakes personal and career development
4. Transfer skills gained to new/changing situations & contexts
B. WORKING WITH & RELATING TO OTHERS
5. Treat others beliefs and opinions with respect
6. Relate & interact effectively with individuals & groups
7. Work effectively as a team member
C. COMMUNICATING
8. Receive and respond to a variety of information
9. Present information in a variety of visual forms
10. Communicate in writing
11. Participate in oral & no-verbal communication
Table of Contents
Evidence for the criteria.........................................................................3
Student: Pham Do Hoan
D. MANAGING TASKS & SOLVING PROBLEMS
12. Use information sources X
X 13. Deal with a combination of routine & non-routine tasks
14. Identify & solve routine & non-routine problems
E. APPLYING NUMERACY
X 15. Applying numerical skills and techniques
F. APPLYING TECHNOLOGY
16. Use a range of technological equipment and systems
X G. APPLYING DESIGN AND CREATIVITY
17. Applying a range of skills and techniques to develop a
X variety of ideas in the creation of new / modified products,
18. Use a range of thought processes
services or situations X
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 B. WORKING WITH & RELATING TO OTHERS .........................7
E. APPLYING NUMERACY................................................................7
F. APPLYING TECHNOLOGY...........................................................7
C. COMMUNICATING.........................................................................7
G. APPLYING DESIGN AND CREATIVITY....................................7

Table of Contents............................................................7

I. The basic concept of marketing:

1. Marketing and its role to contemporary business practices:

According to Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller, marketing can be defined as

“an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and

delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationship in ways that

benefit the organization and its stakeholders”, or as “a societal process by which

individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering, and

freely exchanging products and services of value with others” (Kotler and Keller,

Marketing Management,13th edition, 2009).

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 From these important definitions, marketing can be defined as the process of

interesting potential customers and clients in your products and/or services. This process

includes many periods which an organization has to work on not only to satisfy their

customers’ needs and wants but also to make profit for them. That means customers

satisfaction can achieved when the company find out customers’ needs and meet these

effectively.

There are many competitors in the market nowadays, so marketing plays an

important role in any company. If the company do great market, they can sell their

product, have potential and loyalty customers, gain market share and especially making

profit.

1. Main characteristics of a market orientated organization

A marketing orientated company like OTTER has two main characteristics:

• A commitment to meeting the needs of customers more successfully than

the completion.

• A structure and processes of operation which are designed to achieve this

aim. It is not sufficient that the company employs a marketing manager or has a market

research department. All the company’s activities must be co-ordinate around the needs

of the customers when making decisions about what to produce and, subsequently, how

and where the product or service is to be made available.

(BPP, Mandatory unit 1 – Marketing, First edition, 2004, p.12)

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 2. Elements of marketing concept that can be adopted by OTTER

International Sdn Bhd

There are several marketing concepts as introduced by many writers. Among

them, the following core concepts can be adopted by OTTER International Sdn. Bhd. to

provide marketing guidance and practices to the company’s marketers. These concepts

consist of needs and wants theory, segmentation theory, value and satisfaction theory,

marketing channels, and last but not least, the marketing environment theory.

3.1. Needs and Wants:

“Needs are the basic human requirements and it becomes wants when they are

directed to specific objects that might satisfy the need” (Kotler and Keller, Marketing

Management, 13th edition, 2009). For example, people need air, food, water, clothing

and shelter to survive, these are the basic requirements. A consumer may need to wear a

t-shirt and she wants that the t-shirt is made of good materials such as cotton or silk.

In Vietnam, many people have been using wood products. They need these

products for their daily life and they want their goods to be good-looking and well-

maintained. But OTTER should know that many consumers do not understand exactly

what they want from a product, so they need to be marketed or they may not willing to

buy OTTER products. It is not enough to simply give customers what they want;

companies have to help customers get to know what they want.

3.2. Segmentation:

Not all customers share the same needs and wants about a product or service.

Therefore, companies like OTTER have to divide their customers into segments with

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different approaches and business goals. The segmentation can be done through

identifying and profiling distinct groups of buyers who might require varying products

based on their preferences, social class and behavioral differences.

3.3. Value and Satisfaction

The offering is successful when it delivers value and satisfaction to the targeted

buyers. Value is a central marketing concept; it is a combination of quality, service and

price. The buyers will choose to buy products which they perceive to deliver the most

value. They all want value increases with quality and service while the price is decreased.

Satisfaction of consumers also an important concept, it shows the person’s judgments of a

product’s performance. If the performance is not good, the customers are dissatisfied and

disappointed. In contrast, if it matches buyers’ expectations, the customers are satisfied.

3.4. Marketing channels:

There are three kinds of marketing channels: communication, distribution and

service. Communication channels are used to deliver and received messages from target

buyers such as newspaper, magazines, TV, telephone, posters, CDs and the Internet, etc.

Beyond these, we can advertise by many ways. Distribution channels are used to

display, sell, or deliver the physical product or services to the buyer or user. Service

channels are also used to carry out transactions with potential buyers. These often

include warehouses, transportation or banks to make a best mix of communication,

distribution and service channels to their offering.

3.5. Marketing environment:

The marketing environment consists of the task environment and the broad

environment. The task environment includes the actors engaged in producing,

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distributing and promoting the offering. These are the company, suppliers, distributors,

dealers, and the target customers. The broad environments consist of six components:

demographic environment, economic environment, physical environment, technological

environment, political-legal environment and social-cultural environment. Marketers

must pay close attention to the trends and developments in these environments and make

adjustment to their marketing strategies.

3. Benefits and costs of using marketing model in OTTER

International Sdn. Bhd.

4.1. Costs

When using marketing model to approach their customers, OTTER certainly has

to confront with costs for advertising and sales campaigns to sell their products. First of

all, OTTER has to invest on regular marketing research in Vietnam‘s cities and provinces

where they target to sell their products. They also have to spend money on developing

products initial. Next, they should build after-sale services such as warranty and customer

care. They also need to construct a fascinating and convincing advertisement to attract

customers’ attention, as well as establish long-term relationship with customers, suppliers

and distributors. The whole process aims to create customers’ retention and requires the

organization to spend a large sum of money and creation to reach the success on the

market.

4.2. Benefits

Although OTTER has engaged with many costs when using marketing approach

model, this approach should still be recommended because it brings a lot of benefits to

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the organization. Through advertisements, their products can be widely introduced to

many potential buyers. The profit they gain from selling products can be far higher than

the advertising costs. In addition, they will be able to have a group of loyalty customers

who return to buy their products again and again if their sales and after sales services

are as good as their marketing activities. These returning customers will no doubt

recommend OTTER products to their friends and families, which means the company

step by step gains its good reputation within the market.

II. Marketing implementation in OTTER International Sdn. Bhd:

1. Macro and micro environmental factor for OTTER

International Sdn. Bhd. marketing decision

1.1. Macro factor:

Macro environment is defined through PEST analysis with four factors: political

factors, economic factors, socio-cultural factors and technological factors.

Vietnamese political environment has been considered good for foreign investors

and companies. The Vietnamese government encourages foreign investment through

many trade and business policies including registration, taxation, personnel etc. Thanks to

the country’s sole party remaining, the political certainty is great. In order to stay in the

market, OTTER has to obey Vietnamese laws in any activity. Their marketing decision

must be made to suit the political policies and not violate any law.

Vietnam has attractive economic factors for investment such as the promising and

constantly developing market. However, the inflation rate has been significantly high in

recent years. The dropping value of local currency (VND) may lead to the reduction of

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sales volume of the manufacturer in the near future, although it is increasing at the

present. On another hand, the standard of Vietnamese people’s life is increasing day by

day and OTTER will not have to worry if they have a good overall business strategy.

The social-culture in Vietnam has changed. Nowadays, the customers want to be

considered important. OTTER has to show buyers the values they can offer if they want

to sell OTTER Wood Stain and Wood Care Finish. In addition, they also need to identify

which class they will aim to present their products.

Technology is always the problem that customers often care about because of

their health and their wood products. OTTER should show clearly the information about

their products by advertising or on the packaging.

1.2. Micro environmental factor

Micro environmental factor consist of customers, employees, suppliers, media and

competitor.

No organization can do their business without customers. If organization cannot

meet the customers’ needs, wants and provide value to their customers, they have already

failed in business strategy. OTTER has known about the demands of Vietnamese buyers

about wood products and they have intended to introduce their wood care products

(OTTER Wood Stain and Wood Care Finish) in Vietnam.

Employing correctly staff and keep them motivated is very important part of

the strategic planning process of an organization. People who work for OTTER in

Vietnam will have important role because they will directly take part in advertising,

making and introducing “OTTER” brand products (OTTER Wood Stain and Wood Care

Finish) to the market

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 OTTER needs raw material to make their produce and it is critical to choose the

suitable suppliers in Vietnam. Because it is expensive to import raw materials from the

mother country, it will become harder to sell the products at high price.

Media also plays an important role in business of any organization because an

organization has good or bad quality products can be shown off to customers. After that,

the organization can become better or bankrupt depend on news from media. Therefore,

OTTER must have a wise strategy to create good image with media and customers.

The wood care market in Vietnam is not so big and Vietnamese consumers often

hire local carpenters to fix or renew their wood products. OTTER wood care products

will create a new trend in Vietnam wood care market or it cannot stand on the market, all

depends on its business strategy.

2. Segmentation for OTTER Gel Wood Stain and Wood Care Finish

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 2.1. Segmentation based on geography

“OTTER” brand products are very potential to sell in Vietnam because of popular

use of wood items among Vietnamese people. In order to achieve successful business,

OTTER needs to establish a suitable segmentation strategy. The weather in Vietnam

varies in three main regions depending on different geographical conditions. Gel Wood

Stain should be developed in the south of Vietnam where the humidity is not too high to

damage the wood quality. In the center and the north of Vietnam where the humidity is

over 90 percent for some months of the year, the Wood Care Finish product will be

preferred because it has a wider range of products with specific functions.

This method has both benefits and limitations. While the “OTTER” brand

products can be introduce to every area of Vietnam, it costs quite a lot to build

distribution system for so many areas.

2.2. Segmentation based on pricing and purposes of using:

The OTTER management stated that their product price is affordable for its

quality. And the “OTTER” brand products are sold internationally, which means the

average price may not be affordable for all classes in Vietnamese society, at the very

first impression. Therefore, the company should first approach the customers in the

middle class upward. These customers may buy the “OTTER” brand products for their

own houses, or select OTTER for their office maintenance. One of important market

segment is the manufacturers of wood products, such as wood workshops in many area

of Vietnam.

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 The benefit of this method is that the company will be able to attract a stable

number of customers quickly. However, there will be a lot of challenge when they try to

expand the business to the less developed community such as people in rural area.

3. Factors for the choice of targeting strategies for OTTER

International Sdn. Bhd.:

The choice of targeting strategies for OTTER can be influence by the following

factors: The segment’s overall attractiveness, the company’s objectives and resources, the

potential buyers, the target audiences, positioning of the product, differentiated marketing

strategy, and concentrated marketing (niche marketing).

The potential buyers can be determined through proper market research and

market segmentation. The target audiences include the internal and external environment.

Internal environment includes the mission, vision, values and objectives of the firm;

whereas; external factors are the social, cultural, economic, global, demographic, natural,

task, technological, political and legal environment.

After developing an appropriate segmentation and target strategy; positioning

strategy can be worked out effectively. Positioning enables the firm to create a positive

image, gain competitive advantage and place the brand in the customers mind to enhance

their goodwill and become the most preferred brand. Positioning can be in the form of

product, price, promotion, service, distribution channel, image, people, advertising,

publicity, public relation or selling differentiation.

Depend on the limited of company resources, OTTER should use concentrate

marketing first. It means that OTTER will concentrate focus on only one of few niche

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market segments in Vietnamese market and try to capture as large a market share as

possible. Especially this is the first time OTTER enters Vietnam market, so they should

gain market share in small market instead of taking an adventure in get market share in

larger market. Furthermore, OTTER can get better position in small market because they

can concentrate on their sale strategy, serving, promotion product and customize price to

the needs of customers. Hence, it can have loyalty customers and gain maximum market

share in small market.

However, when OTTER get succeed in gaining maximum market share in its

small segment, they should use differentiated marketing strategy to expand their business

in larger market with several market segments and OTTER has to provide some strategy

for each market. Differentiated marketing strategy will help OTTER improve its position

in the segments which it focuses on and certainly the rest of Vietnamese market. OTTER

will obtain more total sales and profits in the long term and make it become a strong and

profitable business.

4. Affect of buyer behavior to OTTER marketing activity

4.1 Business to consumers:

In this case, my uncle (Mr. C) wants to buy wood care product with affordable

price for his old wooden furniture. In order to make his furniture look natural and resist

mildew, mold and insects. OTTER has to apply some marketing strategy to sell Ultra

Timber Protector to Mr. C. Firstly; it has to do a market research before starting business

in Vietnam market to identify needs of customers. After that, the wood care product

should be advertising by various channels or persuade the supermarket to carry it,

OTTER also need to hold some events in supermarket with beautiful promotion girl to

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attract customers and it has chance to show how wood care product work. If OTTER

wants MR. C choose its product, it must have stand out among other brands and

substitutes. It just can do by the quality and price of OTTER product. For example, there

is a few Chinese products with low both quality and price to compete with OTTER’s

products. So OTTER should promote Ultra Timber Protector’s high quality with raw

materials originated from USA or Germany and offer with an affordable price.

Besides, Vietnamese customers often do not complain to the producer about

quality and they are just complaining to wholesalers or retailers which delegates for

OTTER INTERNATIONAL SDN BHD. Therefore, OTTER should have well-control

with customers’s feedback and complain to improve themselves.

4.2 Business to business

There are some large wooden furniture manufactures in Vietnam and I will

choose Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation (TTFC) as the example. Truong Thanh

Furniture Corporation is one of Vietnam’s largest wooden furniture manufacturers. Its

main products are Indoor Furniture, Outdoor Furniture, Floorings, and Particle Board

mainly for export market in EU, US, Australia, and Japan… The weather in Vietnam is

not a good condition for wooden furniture because the moisture is often high, and this

factor make mold, mildew, and insects develop and damage wooden products. Especially

most of profit of TTFC is from export its product, so the maintenance of wooden product

is very important. There are some wood care products in Vietnam market but the price is

too high or the quality is low.

Because of these reasons above, TTFC wants to take business with trusted wood

care producer. This is a good opportunity for OTTER International Sdn Bhd to expand its

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market share in Vietnam market, and it should do some marketing strategies to take the

belief from TTFC.

First of all, OTTER needs send sample of no commercial value to TTFC. This

period is very important to market the product to partner, it will help TTFC can have

chance to use OTTER product and see not only the quality but also the affordable price.

Secondly, OTTER should advertise their wood care products widely by different

channel like newspaper, internet, TV, etc. They also need to show their reputation in

different country such as Malaysia and Singapore through advertising. All these things

will make their product well-known and it helps to confirm strongly about product’s

quality in compete with the others.

Finally, OTTER needs to take care of its business buyer by sending technicians

and professionals usually to check on the quality of its product when OTTER make the

deal with TTFC. It will satisfy TTFC by the professional business of OTTER.

III. Conclusion:

A business cannot rely on just one marketing approach, but must develop a whole

spectrum of marketing strategies, operating simultaneously, in order to survive and

flourish in a competitive world.

1. Trends in Marketing practices:

OTTER should pay attention to the updated trends in marketing practices internationally

as well as domestically in Vietnam. Ten remarkable marketing trends include:

• The paramount transparency and trust,

• Less interruption, more enhancement and value-add,

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 • Speaking of value,

• ”Show it, don't tell it” practice,

• Critical engagement of social media, particularly the online social

community,

• Peace-of-mind messages prevail,

• Relationships rule,

• Online video and mobile marketing are hot,

• Focus, focus, focus!

• Integrated marketing trumps stand-alone tactics.

2. Forming an effective marketing approach

OTTER already owns great products that they can make good profit from. In

order to gain success in Vietnam market with these products, they should be armed with

effective marketing approach.

First of all, they must determine the target market to sell their products at the right

people. This process helps the company to save a lot of money and efforts.

Next, OTTER has to verify their selected approaches. It is unwise to choose

several approaches from a wide range of methods and stick to them. OTTER should also

set a goal to reach many target audiences. For OTTER products, differentiated marketing

strategy and concentrated marketing strategy are suitable. Differentiated marketing

strategy enables OTTER to develop different products and/or services to suit the need of

varying groups which increases their marketing and operational expenditures.

Meanwhile, concentrated marketing is a “focused” approach to target only one particular

segment and create a niche market of that particular segment. In other words instead of

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targeting a small share of a large group, the company aims at a large share of a small

group. OTTER can promote products which are friendly to environment, contain bio-

chemical agents instead of 100% chemical that may harm users, do not cause irritation,

are safe for children, and are delivered in recycled packaging. Users who are nature

protectors will be willing to loyal to OTTER products even at higher price compared with

similar providers.

It is also necessary to pay close attention to added values and after-sale services,

in order to keep track of how the marketing performance is. Supervising the process will

allow OTTER to define the methods and approaches that work best for their business or

decide to stop using them timely if they do not perform well.

In conclusion, OTTER products are potential to become a commercial success in

Vietnam, as long as the company is able to design an effective marketing strategy based

on studying the market environment and the local consumers. Vietnam has both

similarity and difference from the other markets that OTTER products have been

marketed.

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 V. Reference

1. Mandatory unit 1, Marketing, EDEXCEL HND Business, 2004

2. Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller, 2009. Marketing Management.13th edition.

3. Market and product orientation, retrieved from

http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/theory/theory--market-product-orientation--211.php

9 April, 2010

4. Micro Environmental Factors, retrieved from

http://www.learnmarketing.net/microenvironment.htm 9 April, 2010

5. Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation

http://truongthanh.com/en/ 25 May,2010

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