IKEA Marketing Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

IKEA Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example A look into the present situation of IKEA is included in this plan along with other pertinent information that would help in deciding how to further develop the IKEA business, e.g., situation, product, competition and SWOT analyses along with the look into IKEA’s mission and vision and its financials. The analyses made in this plan showed that IKEA is indeed a strong brand to contend with and is capable of expanding and growing further. It offers products that consumers patronize and gives value to those products. Further expansion can be made and better plans for marketing the products of IKEA is currently being handled mainly through the use of technological advancement such as the use of the internet, phone applications and social networking. With all its achievements and with the goals it intends to achieve in the future, it can be surmised that IKEA has indeed achieved its aim of being a leader in its industry. Mission and Vision Statements IKEA started in Sweden and was founded on the concept that more people would afford well-designed and highly functional home furnishings at low prices. Kamprad is its founder and control the company through INGKA Foundation which has its headquarters in The Netherlands. The foundation owns INGKA Holding B.V., the company which owns IKEA. This organizational structure is the reason IKEA is not listed in the stock exchange (Tengblad, 2004). It is the vision of IKEA to offer many people a better living through affordable solutions. This is done through the company’s offering of a wide array of high quality and well designed products for home. More people are able to afford these home furnishings due to its low prices. It is the mission of IKEA to provide its consumers a wide array of home furnishings that are functional, well-designed, durable, high quality and low priced in order that more people can afford them (IKEA USA, 1999-2011). The company goes beyond just offering furniture. Instead, they offer custo mers comfort and better homes and lives. IKEA is cognizant of how home environment affects the well-being. This is it offers the kinds of furnishings that would enable individuals to have an attractive, practical and comfortable home without the need to spend a fortune. IKEA is a good example of an organization that managed to line up its values both in and out. Value proposition creates use in a company’s product as offered to its consumers (Bovet & Martha, 2000). It is what customers consider as an advantage when purchasing a product (Best, 1997). It is taken to be a bundle of value delivered to the consumers by the company (Sheehy, Bracey & Frazier, 1996). Value proposition includes such intangibles as image, brand and equity along with price, selection and service. This is going beyond just the product, i.e., it is not what the buyer is purchasing but what he thinks he is buying. The value proposition determines the duties of stakeholders as well as the offer to the organ ization (Webster, 1994). It serves as a selling proposition to potential buyers or the reason why buyers should patronize a company’s product instead of buying from its competitor. IKEA’s value proposition that serves as an attraction to buyers is its offer of affordable, functional and distinctly designed furnishings. This value is well communicated and implemented consistently. To allow the company to lower the price, buyers are the ones who