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Course of studies
Current work aimed to conduct the market research for premium surgical power systems market segment in China. Qualitative and quantitative primary and secondary researches were completed in order to set the right strategical direction for service, weight the opportunities in the market, set the right models and methods for service. Research results are describing the demand on service, mechanics of the business and the benchmark of the segment. Customer's profile, sales channels, service portfolio and 5 Ps for the service of surgical power systems were completed.
Due to OMEN by HP's status as a fairly new gaming brand, this paper focuses on evaluating the company's definition of their target segments, as well as actions regarding current trends. In addition, it aims at identifying further opportunities in the German gaming market concerning untargeted segments and emerging trends.
Research relies on books and scientific publications, as well as websites, newspaper articles and forum discussions. HP's target segments are examined using behavioural and profile based segmentation variables; the results of this re-segmentation are summarized graphically. An analysis of major trends includes a SWOT analysis for each trend in order to identify the course of their development.
Research has shown that families and silver gamers will become increasingly important in the future. Additionally, further studies should be conducted concerning HP's target segments and mobile gaming. HP performs quite strong in terms of identifying the overall needs of its target segments, as well as regarding technological trends. The company should, however, increase its efforts concerning trends that go beyond technology, such as eSports.
Die vorliegende Arbeit hat das Ziel, den Best Practice Austausch im Marketing durch eine dialog-optimierte Plattform zu verbessern. Dazu wurde die definierte Plattform umstrukturiert, um eine gezieltere Nutzung gewährleisten zu können. Außerdem wurde eine Handlungsempfehlung zur Förderung des Austauschs auf lange Sicht abgegeben.
Im theoretischen Abschnitt der Arbeit wurde die Verbindung von Wissensmanagement und Best Practice beleuchtet und ihre Auswirkung auf die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit eines Unternehmens illustriert. Darüber hinaus wurde die Rolle der internen Kommunikation in einer allgemeinen Community of Practices thematisiert. Daraufhin wurden die Funktionen von Web 2.0 erläutert, die in Unternehmen den Austausch von Informationen, Erfahrungen und Wissen unterstützen.
Zur Ermittlung des aktuellen Ist-Zustands von Best Practice Austausch auf einer Plattform, wurden im praktischen Abschnitt dieser Arbeit drei qualitative explorative empirische Forschungsmethoden angewendet: Datenanalyse anhand eines Reportings der aktuell genutzten Plattform, Experteninterview mit Mitarbeitern vom Marketing (aus der Zentrale und international) sowie der technischen Abteilung Business Process und eine Fallstudienanalyse über Austausch auf einer internen Plattform. Die Umstrukturierung und die Handlungsempfehlung basieren auf diesen gewonnenen Daten.
Schlussfolgernd kann behauptet werden, dass eine Plattform den Best Practice Austausch nur unterstützen und nicht antreiben kann, wenn die interne Kommunikationskultur den Austausch und die Zusammenarbeit nicht fördert. Außerdem spielt Wissensmanagement dabei eine wichtige Rolle, damit Mitarbeiter die festgelegte Plattform effizient nutzen können. Anreiz und Belohnungssysteme zum Austausch vervollständigen diese Maßnahmen.
Beherrscht man die Suchmaschinen, so beherrscht man auch den Online-Markt.
Wie man im Allgemeinen Suchmaschinen-Optimierung betreibt, beschreiben bereits viele verlässliche und fundierte Quellen. Eine oft ungeklärte Fragestellung bleibt jedoch: Wie betreibt man Suchmaschinen-Optimierung für einen Online-Shop, der international und mehrsprachig vertreten ist? In dieser Thesis möchte ich auf die Besonderheiten eingehen, die man bei einer erfolgreichen und langfristigen Suchmaschinen-Optimierung im internationalen Kontext beachten sollte. Als Hauptquelle möchte ich hierbei die offiziellen Angaben seitens Google und einiger Experten vorstellen und analysieren.
Ein Problem welches beispielsweise entsteht, wenn mehrere URLs zu gleichen Inhalten führen, ist der sog. Duplicate Content. Ein weiteres Problemfeld der Online-Anbieter liegt bei der Keyword-Kannibalisierung. Gemeint ist jene Situation, dass verschiedene Produkte eines Online-Shops mit weiteren ähnlichen Produkten desselben Anbieters (beispielsweise ein USB-Stick in verschiedenen Farb- und Kapazitäts-Ausführungen) bei Suchmaschinen untereinander konkurrieren.
Diese Thesis geht zum einen hauptsächlich darauf ein, wie man Duplicate Content und Keyword-Kannibalisierung bei internationalen und gleich- sowie mehrsprachigen Online-Shops und Webseiten vermeidet. Ein weiterer Kernpunkt dieser Thesis ist es, ein Domainkonzept und eine Content-Strategie zu entwickeln, die für einen Erfolg von internationalen Webauftritten unabdingbar sind. Ziel dieser Thesis ist es SEO-Maßnahmen zu erarbeiten, die das Ranking aller internationalen Ableger eines internationalen Online-Shops gleichermaßen, zeitgleich und langfristig verbessert.
Gegenstand der hier vorliegenden Bachelorarbeit ist das geschlechterspezifische Konsumentenverhalten von Männern und Frauen beim Automobilkauf. Die beiden Gruppen unterscheiden sich in ihrem Kaufentscheidungsverhalten grundlegend voneinander und müssen so beim Kaufprozess mithilfe von Gender-Marketing differenziert angesprochen werden. Es gilt daher, die jeweiligen Zielgruppen zu verstehen um entsprechende Kommunikationsformen zu wählen. Im Zuge dieser Arbeit wurde eine empirische Studie in Form einer Umfrage durchgeführt um die geschlechterspezifische Werbewirkung von Automobilanzeigen herauszufinden. Obwohl von Automobilherstellern bereits erfolgreiche Schritte unternommen werden um sowohl Männer als auch Frauen als Neuwagenkäufer anzusprechen, konnte festgestellt werden, dass Frauen in der Automobilbranche noch immer deutlich unterrepräsentiert sind. Die Automobilhersteller müssen das Potenzial der Frau als Autokäuferin für sich entdecken. Dabei ist es essenziell, dass Frauen nicht als eine homogene Gruppe betrachtet werden, sondern differenziert und klischeefrei als kaufkräftige und interessante Käufergruppe wahrgenommen werden. Durch den Wandel des Frauenbildes und die Angleichung der Geschlechter, aber auch durch zukünftige Innovationen im Bereich autonomes Fahren und Vernetzung im Auto, ergeben sich Felder für zukünftige Forschungen.
A Successful introduction of E-learning for Bosch Car Service and Auto Crew Workshops Worldwide.
(2016)
The purpose of this study is to determine how to introduce E-learning successfully for Bosch soft franchise workshops to maintain quality in services and a high level of customer satisfaction. The study focuses on two research question A) Should Bosch continue to invest in producing elearning course for workshops. B) How to increase workshop’s participation for e-learning. Regional Concept Managers from 14 countries evaluated the existing e-learning courses to define exclusively “E-learnings” pro and cons as per their marketplace to see if investing in elearning is beneficial. Secondly, the emphasis was placed on Regional Managers to brainstorm on what are the new strategies can be used to motivate the workshop to take part in e-learning. Broadly speaking, learning is an expensive and time-consuming activity that can be a disadvantage when it comes to teaching people. Bosch was one of the pioneer company after Daimler that uses e-learning platform to train their workshops- Bosch car Service and Auto Crew. The vision for e-learning was very innovative and useful for the workshops to teach the structured way of showing all the works that carried out in a workshop. However, low participation from the workshop in e-learning courses has been a challenge.
The first part of the thesis provides a theoretical understanding of the Automotive Aftermarket. It also gives detail introduction and usage of “E-learning” in 21st century. The second part explains the workshop concepts “Bosch Car Service” and “Auto Crew.” It also provides an overview of “how e-learning course is produced and used for workshops” and the final part consists of an “Empirical Research” that includes the findings from Expert Interview and survey with Regional Managers. The findings from empirical part reveal that E-learning courses are useful for the workshop. Therefore, Bosch should continue to invest in producing E-learning Courses. However, study shows the different areas that need improvement, therefore findings from the empirical research need to be considered by the Headquarter as well as the Regional Organization to successfully introduce “E-learning” for the workshops.
Ziel dieser Bachelor Arbeit ist es, die Erreichung theoretischer Ziele der Kommunikationspolitik von Nonprofit-Organisationen empirisch auf Social Media Kanälen zu überprüfen. Dazu werden Social Media Marketing Modelle vorgestellt, anhand der Besonderheiten der Nonprofit-Organisationen bewertet und anschließend empirisch erforscht. Im empirischen Teil wird zum einen die Fallstudienanalyse anhand der Facebook Auftritte der Nonprofit-Organisationen durchgeführt und zum anderen die Inhaltsanalyse anhand der Kampagnenvideos auf YouTube. Abgerundet wird der empirische Teil mit einer Umfrage unter Nonprofit-Organisationen zu ihrem Social Media Auftritt. Abschließend werden anhand des Vergleichs der empirischen und theoretischen Erkenntnisse Handlungsempfehlungen ausgesprochen, die Nonprofit-Organisationen annehmen können. Die Bachelorarbeit ist für Studierende geeignet, die Interesse an Nonprofit-Organisationen oder Social Media haben.
Diese Bachelor-Thesis wurde in Kooperation mit dem folienproduzierenden Unternehmen SÜDPACK Verpackungen GmbH & Co. KG in Ochsenhausen, Deutschland, angefertigt. Das Ziel des Unternehmens ist die Stärkung der internationalen Präsenz und deshalb ist es notwendig, ein internationales Marketingkonzept zu entwickeln. Die Forschungsfrage, die diese Bachelor Thesis leitet, ist: „welche länderindividuellen Marketingaktivitäten werden bei SÜDPACK durchgeführt und wie kann hieraus ein international integriertes Marketingkonzept entwickelt werden?“ Um eine internationale Marketingstrategie auszuarbeiten, basieren die theoretischen Grundlagen der Thesis unter anderem auf den Ausführungen der Autoren Bruhn (2014) und Schipanski (2012). Des Weiteren werden die besonderen Eigenschaften des Industriegütermarketings und der Einfluss von Kulturen berücksichtigt. Zudem beinhalten die Thesis die Analyse der internen Strukturen der Marketingabteilung und die Zusammenarbeit mit den ausländischen Niederlassungen, um Einblicke in die aktuellen Marketingaktivitäten im In- und Ausland zu erhalten und die Wünsche und Erwartungen für die Zukunft zu erfahren. Basierend auf den theoretischen Grundlagen und den praktischen Einblicke wird ein Konzept entworfen, welches die Ansätze der differenzierten Standardisierung und der “glokalen” Marketingorientierung enthält, da die Produkte teilweise kulturgebunden sind und die Marketingabteilung in der Zentrale in Ochsenhausen ist. Die theoretischen Prinzipien können bei SÜDPACK durch die Einführung einer Kommunikations- und Marketingplattform, Marketingplänen und Richtlinien, umgesetzt werden. Ein internationaler Marketingmanager sollte für die Einführung und Durchführung des Konzeptes verantwortlich sein.
The research is the basis for a recommendation for an advantageous positioning of the research sponsor in its business line corporate banking on the issue; the business of sustainability with corporate clients. Simultaneously it gives an impression about the positioning of the research sponsor’s competitors in this business. The research is structured in three research questions; “How do ING WB and its competitors differentiate in their positioning, what are the needs of the clients a corporate bank is serving and how far are the actions of ING WB and of its competitors in consistence with what they are communicating?” The research questions are composed based on a positioning model. The outcome of the research questions provides data needed to formulate the recommendation for ING WB’s positioning. The research is comprised of a comparative analysis based on a desk research and secondary data analysis. The study revealed that the positioning of banks differ slightly from each other. Therefore a good positioning, which can be achieved by taking the outcome of the three research questions into consideration, is advantageous to be able to stand out in a competitive business.
Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt Herausforderungen im modernen Investitionsgütermarkt auf. Diese werden am Beispiel der KARL STORZ Industrial Group dargestellt, welche Endoskope für industrielle Anwendungen herstellt. Dabei nimmt die applikationsbezogene Vermarktung von Industrieendoskopen eine zentrale Rolle ein. In diesem Kontext wird die zunehmende Bedeutung von industriellen Dienstleistungen und insbesondere von Produktlösungen erläutert. Weiterhin wird der Zusammenhang von Produktlösungen mit modernen Ansätzen im Verkauf analysiert, was den großen Stellenwert von Kunden- und Anwendungswissen erkennen lässt. Dieses Wissen wird durch die Erarbeitung einer Methodik für das Anwendungsgebiet Fahrzeugtechnik und Verkehr systematisch generiert, was gleichzeitig die Basis für ein applikationsbezogenes Produktmarketing und der Generierung von weiterem Kunden- und Anwendungswissen darstellt.
Die Bearbeitung der genannten Thematiken wird auf der Grundlage der Auswertung aktueller Fachliteratur diskutiert. Weiterhin wurden zentrale Erkenntnisse anhand von Vertriebsmitarbeiterinterviews und einer Online-Kundenumfrage gewonnen.
This thesis investigates what measures a third-party logistics (3PL) provider has to take in order to be able to acquire contracts in foreign countries for further growth of its business. This study is being carried out on behalf of a German medium-sized 3PL provider whose strategic objective is to acquire especially those contracts which have not been outsourced to other 3PL providers by the customer before. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to replace another 3PL provider owing to a customer’s high switching costs. A general global marketing process is being applied for investigation. This process is adapted to the specific case of a 3PL provider by results of expert interviews conducted with different employees at the headquarters as well as two foreign subsidiaries of the company. Based on this process, the author derives general recommendations for the company. The conclusion of this thesis is threefold. First, general recommendations including early market entry, preparation through intense market research and the creation of a competitive advantage are given. Second, a plan of action is proposed on what measures have to be taken when participating in a foreign tender. Finally, a decision tree on how foreign tenders can be evaluated with respect to the company’s strategic objective is suggested.
Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit befasst sich mit dem Thema „Der Einfluss von Corporate Social Responsibility auf das Markenimage im Zwiespalt mit Profit und Moral“. Der Autor hat das Thema zum einen aufgrund der gestiegenen Relevanz von gesellschaftlicher Verantwortung seitens der Unternehmen und zum anderen aus persönlichem Interesse an Corporate Social Responsibility und Marken gewählt. Marken haben einen großen Einfluss auf die Menschen und auch Unternehmen, da sie Emotionen wiederspiegeln und eine Beziehung zu den Kunden herstellen können, die unter Umständen wiederum eine gewisse Loyalität gegenüber einer Marke entwickeln.
Die Bachelor-Thesis besteht im ersten Teil aus den theoretischen und historischen Grundlagen von Corporate Social Responsibility. Außerdem werden Richtlinien genannt, die eine nachhaltige und verantwortungsvolle Vorgehensweise seitens der Unternehmen sicherstellen sollen. Auch die Motive, die für CSR sprechen, werden vorgestellt. Der erste Teil soll dem Leser ein Basiswissen über Corporate Social Responsibility vermitteln und die Hinführung zu dem zweiten Teil der Thesis vereinfachen. Der Hauptteil beinhaltet die Auswirkung von Corporate Social Responsibility auf Marken und die Handlungsfelder von CSR. Abschließend wird eine Fallstudie auf Basis der theoretischen Grundlagen zeigen, wie ein Unternehmen Corporate Social Responsibility in seine Geschäftsstrategie integriert und erfolgreich umgesetzt hat. Als Praxisbeispiel dient hierbei die Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG mit ihrer Marke Ritter Sport.
Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit untersucht die Forschungsfrage „Wie sieht eine passende Vermarktungsstrategie für die Marke IDEAL Health aus?“
Zunächst wurde im Theorieteil die Luftreinigungsbranche analysiert und die Marke IDEAL Health charakterisiert. Daraufhin wurden Experteninterviews und eine Umfrage zur Kundenzufriedenheit durchgeführt. Deren Analyse ergab unter anderem, dass der Markt für Luftreiniger wächst, doch ein Großteil der Bevölkerung im Unwissen über Möglichkeiten zur Luftreinigung ist. Diese und weitere Erkenntnisse wurden in Handlungsempfehlungen für die Firma Krug & Priester eingebunden, wobei verschiedene Werbekonzepte und auch das Risikomanagement thematisiert wurden. Insgesamt wird eine differenzierte Vermarktungsstrategie für Krug & Priester dargestellt, um das Bewusstsein der Menschen zu wecken und die Marke IDEAL Health weiterhin erfolgreich in der Luftreinigungsbranche zu etablieren.
Die Abteilung Warranty Handling der MAN Truck & Bus AG strebt eine qualitativ höherwertigere Antragsbearbeitung im Rahmen der Gewährleistungsabwicklung an. Darauf aufbauend gerät das Thema der Kundenzufriedenheit zu einer zentralen Zielgröße für diese Abteilung. Dieses Ziel lässt sich in mehrstufigen Absatzsystemen erschwert steuern, da die Nutzfahrzeughersteller nur selten in direktem Kundenkontakt stehen. Die persönliche Kundeninteraktion findet vermehrt in der Werkstatt statt, insbesondere im Falle von Gewährleistungsreparaturen. In diesem Zusammenhang bestätigt die Wissenschaft, dass von einem positiven Effekt der Händlerzufriedenheit auf die Kundenzufriedenheit ausgegangen werden kann. Die vorliegende Arbeit gibt im ersten Teil einen Überblick über die theoretischen Grundlagen von händler- und kundenzufriedenheitsrelevanten Kriterien im Kundendienst und B2B Geschäftsbeziehungen. Hierbei werden die Strukturen und Beziehungen der Wirtschaftsakteure Hersteller-Händler-Kunde in der Nutzfahrzeugbranche näher betrachtet.
Der zweite Teil beschreibt die praktische Gewährleistungsantragsprüfung der MAN Truck & Bus AG und widmet sich den kundenzufriedenheitsrelevanten Zielen. Anschließend wurden – in Zusammenarbeit mit den nationalen Importeuren – zufriedenheitsrelevante Kriterien der Gewährleistungsabwicklung identifiziert. Aufbauend darauf wurde eine empirische Studie mit 169 Händlern durchgeführt, um mögliche Schwachstellen aufzudecken und diese zu optimieren. Die Umsetzung der Erkenntnisse und Empfehlungen sollen im ersten Schritt die Händlerzufriedenheit positiv beeinflussen und sich somit positiv auf die Zufriedenheit der Kunden auswirken.
Maßnahme einer Social Media Marketing Strategie des Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseums Vogtsbauernhof
(2016)
Nowadays, in times of saturated markets, there may be observed an intensified competition among companies, while at the same time needs and demand of the customers are increasing as well. To counteract this growth of competition, companies need to continuously implement new and innovative strategies, if they don’t want to lose any market share among their market competitors. Under such conditions, innovated business modules and new market technologies have to be developed through the usage of Digitalization and the Internet and, especially the usage of Social Media; creating a new Touchpoint to deal with the customers, where companies can better get to know their requirements, enabling them better to serve the market and satisfy customer needs. Keeping this in mind, many large international companies already recognized the importance of Social Media within their business model, but until now they don’t have any real strategic plan yet in place to backup, utilize and exploit the situation over longer periods of time. The Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof, also recognized this important aspect and is already using Social Media, but until now, without any Strategic Plan or Model too. Beyond this the objective of this Bachelor Thesis is to create a complete a Strategic Model as well as some further strategic actions for the Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof, to adapt to changing market conditions and not to fall behind the competition but to excel above them. To achieve this objective, a Company and Competitor Analysis has to be carried out as an answer, if such a strategic implementation in Social Media might be useful for the business model of the Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof or not. Verifying this analysis, some Strategic Models from the literature will be presented, and applied as a combination at the business model of the company. As a different point of view, an empirical study will be used to apply the created Strategic Model in a suited way into practice. Due to this application, as well as due to some further Strategic Actions, there will be improved some already existing Social Media channels. Furthermore there will be established one completely new Social Media channel. To prove the success of the Strategic Model and its additional actions, a second empirical study and some Monitoring tools will be used as a measurement at the end of the Thesis. The results of the Company Analysis could be interpreted as first evidence, that a general strategic implementation of Social Media for the business model of the Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof might be useful. Additionally both methods of measuring results and performance show a partial success of the implemented Strategic Model which could be interpreted as a competitive advantage at least in the short run. This Thesis is especially written for the Online Marketing department of the Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof, but it doesn’t mean that for any other person, which isn’t part of the company, it might be completely useless. The Thesis is also directed to all the people, which already had recognized that classical Marketing methods won’t work any longer, and because of this, are looking for some digital alternatives. Because of this the results might be used as an inspiration or as a special kind of guide to establish a strategic presentation within Social Media.
The continuous growth of e-commerce combined with new developments in mobile technology make it vital for sporting goods retailers to look for strategies to increase their online competitiveness. Dynamic pricing is a powerful strategy to increase revenue and at the same time ensure price competitiveness. With this in mind, the aim of this thesis is to explore revenue maximization in e-commerce sporting goods retail through dynamic pricing of product inventories. To do so, a multi-method approach was performed using three parts, namely a literature review on e-commerce sporting goods retail and various dynamic pricing strategies, an analysis of empirical sales data, and an interview segment amongst experts from e-commerce sporting goods retail.
The research in this thesis has produced two key findings. In theory, inventory and demand-based dynamic pricing is the optimal choice for revenue maximization of product inventories in e-commerce sporting goods retail. In practice, inventory and demand-based dynamic pricing can only be used for revenue maximization of clearance inventories. The reason for this is because the multichannel pricing strategies used by sporting goods retailers prohibit inventory and demand-based pricing of all product inventories in e-commerce.
Future research should seek to combine multichannel pricing strategies with dynamic pricing, and doing so would enable e-commerce sporting goods retailers to exploit the full potential of revenue maximization through dynamic pricing of product inventories.
The marketing strategies concerning the establishment of a brand originally come from the business sector. Because of the differences between non-profit organizations (NPOs) and companies they are not equally applicable to the non-profit sector. This thesis examines the applicability of these strategies and also looks at their possibilities of adaptation to fit the characteristics of the NPOs. Apart from that it shows the operationalisation by means of the communication. In the practical part of the thesis the findings are applied to the example of the Spanish NPO Iniciativa Internacional Jóven. Starting with the organization’s mission and vision it is explained how the organization’s purpose, values and principles, and the view of the future evolve during the phase of foundation and which requirements have to be met. Subsequently the development of marketing objectives is shown. The following chapter of the marketing strategy is divided into four parts: segmentation and target groups, differentiation, brand identity and image and lastly positioning. Concerning the segmentation and target group this task is more complicated for NPOs because NPOs have to pay attention to the three different target groups of the users, volunteers and donors. However, the definition of target groups can support the efficient use of resources because of the focus on narrowly defined groups of persons. With regard to the differentiation the competitive advantages are examined. Those result from the combination of core competencies and their respective contribution to the value for the target groups. That way NPOs can discover where to focus their resources and an additional connection to the target groups can be established. The brand identity corresponds to the self-image of an organization. By investigating this self-image in a structured way and elaborating an extensive and at the same time consistent brand identity the basis for a favourable brand image can be created. The brand image is equivalent to the brand perception on the side of the stakeholders. The link between the brand identity and image is the positioning. Within the positioning strategy the various characteristics of the identity are transformed into a few positioning features, depending on their relevance for the target groups and the prevailing market conditions. The marketing strategy lays the foundation for the strategy of communication. Within the scope of this strategy those communication instruments are selected which best contribute to the achievement of the communication goals, which for their part allow the marketing objective achievement. In addition the communication message can be developed so that it can be perceived, remembered and associated with the organization the best way possible. The application of the findings leads to the impetus to two communication campaigns for the non-profit organization Iniciativa Internacional Jóven.
In Deutschland werden im Durchschnitt täglich 121 Liter Trinkwasser pro Person verbraucht, dabei fallen jedes Jahr mehr als 700 Liter Regen pro Quadratmeter an. Der Großteil des Regenwassers fließt jedoch ungenutzt in die Kanalisation. Durch das steigende Bewusstsein für Klima- und Umweltschutz führt der Trend heutzutage mehr denn je zum schonenden Umgang mit Ressourcen. Doch gilt dies auch für die Nutzung von Regenwasser? Im Rahmen einer Marktanalyse zur Regenwassernutzung in Deutschland werden in dieser Arbeit Umfeldbedingungen sowie die Attraktivität des Marktes untersucht, um dadurch Chancen und Risiken sowie das Potential der Regenwassernutzungsbranche abzuleiten. Dabei wird insbesondere auf das Forschungsziel eines komparativen Konkurrenzvorteils unter Berücksichtigung des steigenden Online-Handels und daraus resultierender Preistransparenz eingegangen. Der Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit liegt auf einem mittelständischen Unternehmen der Umwelttechnikbranche, das sich in einigen Bereichen der Regenwasserbewirtschaftung als Marktführer behaupten kann. Um die Konkurrenz der Firma besser verstehen zu können, werden die Wettstreiter bestimmt und auf verschiedenen Ebenen wissenschaftlich untersucht. Durch eine umfassende Analyse des Vertriebes der Mall GmbH können grundlegende Maßnahmen für eine Marketingstrategie geschaffen werden. Im Rahmen einer Befragung, bei der Kunden und Interessenten zu Themen wie Kaufentscheidung und Kaufabwicklung befragt werden, können Wünsche, Bedürfnisse, Nutzung und der Grad der Zufriedenheit der Kunden eruiert werden. Aus der Analyse werden abschließend Handlungsempfehlungen für Marketing und Vertrieb der Mall GmbH abgeleitet. Dabei wird insbesondere auf eine Neupositionierung der Regenspeicher sowie auf eine Preisanpassung, die auf strengem Preiswettbewerb, Preistransparenz und Kundenzufriedenheit basiert, eingegangen. Des Weiteren wird durch die Prognose zum steigenden Online-Handel im Industriegüterbereich ein eigenständiger Webshop empfohlen. Die Abwicklung des Kaufprozesses sollte aufgrund des indirekten Vertriebs über den Baustoffhandel erfolgen.
The present paper deals with the development of a marketing concept for the repositioning of the water brand Wittmannsthaler towards the young and modern Black Forest. The question of which communication activities are suitable for the orientation of Wittmannsthaler towards the young and modern Black Forest is researched. The purpose of the repositioning is to achieve an emotional communication that is more attractive for customers and consumers. It tries to improve the market position as well as to expand sales territories, using low budget marketing measures. Since the young and modern Black Forest has previously not been defined in literature, it is necessary to develop a suitable definition. This definition is developed by analysing selected expert interviews. Extensive research has revealed relevant elements of the young and modern Black Forest to act upon. These areas, as well as the definition, are the bases of the marketing concept elaborated in this paper. Further, they contribute the main content of the concept. The paper concludes that the young and modern Black Forest presents a variety of possibilities for the brand Wittmannsthaler to reposition itself. The product channel and the distribution channel can be expanded. The communication activity of the brand will become more attractive for the company’s target group. Targeted customer loyalty measures will be included in the future marketing concept in order to increase customer loyalty. The marketing concept is designed in a way that all communication tools and customer loyalty programs can be combined. By doing so, time for implementation can be reduced.
The importance of internationalization to achieve a competitive advantage in the business world has increased greatly in recent years. Especially in the fashion industry, where competition has increased tremendously and globalization plays a more important role, it is essential to find new ways in order to be unique. To succeed in internationalization in the fashion industry, companies must have a basic knowledge of their markets and follow clear strategies. The purpose of this thesis is to answer the question why fashion companies nowadays need to create a competitive advantage and expand their market internationally. In addition, it will also address the challenges that an American brand can face in the European fashion industry. The company chosen for this research is Shoshanna LLC, a contemporary American women’s wear brand based in New York City.
With regard to methodology, a multi-‐purpose approach has been conducted. The conclusions have been reached with theoretical knowledge, personal experience, a survey and interviews with experts in this industry. The conclusions of this thesis will give Shoshanna LLC a better understanding of internationalization processes in the fashion industry and the strategies required. It will also answer the question of how the chosen strategies can be a guideline for the company.
The present study was conducted in the International Purchasing Department at the Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG which is the headquarters of the international grocery retail discounter Lidl. The subject was defined by the author in cooperation with Mr. Robert Maier, executive manager for non-food and brand, and Ms. Silvia Carazo Soto, manager for the product range development in the Lidl non-food sector. The present study has two major purposes: Firstly, to investigate how customers perceive the non-food products and sector at Lidl and secondly, to identify what characteristics they value and would like to see improved in the Lidl stores.
The goal of this present study is to determine various proposals to optimize the non-food sector of Lidl stores in order to increase customer satisfaction and sales. Data and information material for this research were gathered through the author’s mentors, colleagues, meetings, an empirical survey, internal company presentations, the company homepage, the university’s EBSCO online research database, various business press as well as scientific publications.
In the first part, a theoretical background on the subject as well as company insights into the non-food division is provided. These show that the spending power of consumers has increased, consumers are becoming progressively demanding and that Lidl is faced by strong competitors on the food retail market.
The thesis then presents the empirical study conducted by the author from 30 November 2015 until 12 December 2015. Three hundred customers in ten different Lidl stores in four German federal states were interviewed face-to-face. The survey included fifteen questions regarding the customer’s shopping behavior at Lidl, the customer’s satisfaction with regards to a non-food purchase as well as customer expectations, experience and improvement proposals of the non-food sector.
The survey results show that 77% of all participants had bought non-food products at Lidl during the six months before the survey date. Of all these participants, 75% were either very satisfied or satisfied with their non-food purchase. Furthermore, it was concluded that Lidl lives from its price-performance ratio and promotion via the Lidl leaflet in-store or distributed to home. Inferential, the survey results suggest that the product presentation and the store atmosphere need to be optimized as well as the product availability. Moreover, the results indicated that customers think that up-to-date Lidl leaflets, information boards, product brochures and a mirror need to be available at the non-food sector.
In conclusion, on the basis of the results of this research, the author recommends optimizing the non-food sector in the Lidl stores by means of five different proposals. First of all, to improve the customer experience in a Lidl store by providing a “five senses experience” and secondly to optimize in-store promotion by integrating speed-bumps and optimizing the creation and presentation of product posters, banners and product paper models. Thirdly, the author recommends introducing a digital terminal as an operation tool to order and purchase non-food products that are sold out or not available in a Lidl store with the possibility to choose a home or store delivery, to search products on the Lidl homepage and to watch non-food product videos. Furthermore, the terminal includes a built-in shelf to collect paper product brochures. Fourthly, in order to optimize the product presentation of non-food products, two proposals for a sample product presentation are made. Primarily by means of a non-food module which is attachable to a non-food table in order to present a sample either on a coat hanger or a built-in shelf or by means of a hallstand with an integrated mirror. In addition, the author presents the option of a digital mirror. The fifth proposal is a category management LED lighting module installed above the non-food tables to facilitate the customer orientation in the non-food sector. In addition, the author presents three further proposals including executing customer satisfaction survey periodically, optimizing employee training and improving the Online Shop.
In conclusion, the thesis argues that Lidl is prepared to optimize the non-food sector in the interest of increasing customer satisfaction, attracting new customers, staying competitive and trendy and increasing sales. The author recommends focusing on providing an optimized customer experience in the Lidl stores, thereby primarily focusing on the most important sense, sight. For this, an optimized sample product presentation is primarily of highest interest followed by a better in-store promotion. The present thesis hopes to offer the Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG useful ideas on how to optimize the non-food sector and thus contribute to Lidl’s company success.
The topic of the thesis is ‘‘Identification of success patterns of the most successful SAP SFSF VARs as a base to recruit new high-potential partners. A way to achieve time to revenue efficiency for new partners joining the SAP ecosystem.’’. The whole approach is based on SAP SE, an international company providing enterprise application software with a focus on cloud solutions. The objective of the thesis is to help SAP SE to expand their cloud partner ecosystem and achieve time to revenue efficiency for new partners joining SAP ecosystem. The research question explores what are the success patterns of SAP TOP 20 SuccessFactors (SFSF) value-added resellers (VARs). The aim is to use the insights as a template to recruit new partners who show high potential for future success in reselling SAP SFSF (cloud) solutions. Currently, SAP is facing a challenge to recruit partners who are successful as VARs for cloud solutions in the small and medium size enterprises (SME) market. So far, SAP focused on increasing its market coverage by continuously expanding its Ecosystem, while the quality of the recruited partners was neglected. As a result, SAP invested a lot of resources in terms of time and money trying to onboard partners who could not deliver the expected impact. Recruiting partners who have the right patterns will decrease the resources that SAP spends on onboarding and training process while at the same time the partners will generate the revenue faster. However, SAP needs to have a clear view what a high-potential partner looks like. Therefore, it could be said, that the topic of the thesis is crucial for SAP further channel development and expansion, invested resources and indirect revenue. In order to answer the research question, the whole study is divided into seven chapters. The theoretical framework provides a general idea about the importance of partners for reselling cloud services to SMEs and what are the factors and practices that make partners successful. The empirical research explores the common success patterns of the Top 20 most successful SAP SuccessFactors value-added resellers. The author came to the conclusion that in order to be achieved time to revenue efficiency, the company should recruit only those partners who are representing the following set of success patterns: international presence, quality webpage, human capital management as a core line of business, strong digital and event marketing.
This study explores the attitudes and perceptions of consumers of the baby boomer generation (age 50-62) concerning contents on the social media channels of Facebook and YouTube. Ten in-depth interviews are conducted in which representatives of the target group perform tasks on the two platforms such as gathering information about a firm or comparing advertisements. The main finding of the empirical research conducted is a set of preferences and attitudes about social media contents classified in following categories: 1) company profiles on Facebook 2) company channels on YouTube 3) sponsored posts on Facebook 4) sponsored search results on YouTube and 5) navigation on the two platforms. The obtained results significantly complement existing research on firm-supplied contents on social media for several reasons. Firstly, baby boomers represent a highly valuable target group as they possess immense consumption power and demonstrate high willingness to try new products and services, as well. Moreover, they increasingly join social networks, first of all Facebook,and they browse other social media channels, but they have been mostly neglected in research about social media in Germany. Secondly, this study links inbound marketing via social media to small and medium-sized enterprises. For the latter, this holds substantial benefits to facilitate being found by consumers on social media platforms in order to compete against larger firms. Therefore, implications for small business managers and marketing representatives are given. Thirdly, the study focuses on the attitudes and perceptions of consumers in order to replenish data on consumer behavior on Facebook and YouTube obtained by the algorithms of the platform providers. Therefore, it complements extensive existing studies focusing on analyzing the latter. Furthermore, the distinct advertising and targeting functions of Facebook and YouTube have been considered in the creation of the interview in pursuance of pertinent practically oriented results.
The following bachelor thesis was written in cooperation with the company GF Automotive AG located in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. It is a worldwide recognized development and serial production partner of the automotive industry. The thesis covers the topic ‘The potential of gaining competitive advantage through Green Marketing’. The purpose of this thesis is to research if sustainability within the automotive supply industry is of high importance and can be used to gain competitive advantage. The thesis offers possible measures to implement successful practices that were detected in the conducted benchmark. It points out that green marketing in the B2B business can support companies to differentiate and it illustrates how marketing communication of the company GF Automotive AG can be adapted in order to succeed and remain leader in the highly competitive automotive supply market
The present paper identifies appropriate communication strategies to support the implementation of Cross Selling (CS) in the sales organization illustrated on the example of Robert Bosch GmbH. Therefore the focus is on the analysis of internally applied communication media in order to determine strong and weak points. In the first instance, an extensive literature research with respect to CS is conducted and a theoretical framework of effective communication provided. Subsequently, an empirical study is being carried out. Surveys are sent worldwide to the CS Coordinators at Bosch in order to analyse currently applied communication media and identify possible communication gaps. Furthermore, an expert interview with CS project leader Paulo Ferreira is conducted in order to gain additional insights into the CS field within Bosch. In the process, it results that the CS project team already makes an adequate use of communication means; but nevertheless there is still potential for improvement with respect to certain communication activities. The results indicate that the most effective communication techniques are based on face-to-face interaction with a high degree of social presence and information richness. By the application of theoretical foundations combined with knowledge obtained through primary research, a recommended course of action is issued on how to further optimize the communication within the central CS project team. On this basis, the recommendation is given to develop an internal integrated marketing communication program which takes a number of additional measures into consideration. In addition, limitations of this study as well as future perspectives are being discussed.
The neuromerchandising group GmbH & Co KG, creates holistic experiences for
customers at the point of sale by leveraging the latest findings of research in
neuroscience and evolutionary biology. In order to find an appropriate research tool
to analyze customers` attitudes at the POS three survey methods are tested,
evaluated, and compared against each other at the example of an attitude survey for
the MyMuesli GmbH. A traditional attitude survey method is less reliable due to
issues with bias compared to the other two methods. Possible reasons for bias are
explained in this work. The projective technique survey, which uses indirect
questions, is rather ambiguous and long, and the third method, which uses a card
game for the responses, is inappropriate for detailed statistical analysis. A
combination of the methods is recommended and suggestions for improvement are
made throughout this work.
The e-Commerce market is continuously gaining importance, leading to a fast market development and to equally rapid transition in business models. This thesis analyses the impact of the e-Commerce sector on stationary trade, based on a case study of an internationally established retailer with focus on the Swiss market. The paper builds up on the explanation of the term e-Commerce and the e-Commerce sector, then evaluates the effects of e-Commerce on stationary trade. Based on this information, a case study will be analysed using specific key performance indicators. The aim is to clarify whether the e-Commerce sector is a threat for stationary trade and to elaborate recommendations for retailers. Therefore, innovative concepts of retail stores are mentioned and applied to the case study, in order to give concrete recommendations for further development of multi channel strategies. It can be concluded that although e-Commerce is a growing business model, stationary trade is indispensable. Both sectors should be understood as complementary concepts. Consequently, strategies for implementing multi-channel schemes should be implemented in order to stay competitive and satisfy customer needs.