Case study:

In order to direct decision-making, a relatively young cosmetics company, which sells a range of organic and eco-friendly beauty products, decides to investigate the impact of their marketing strategy. As the company is only five years old, there has been significant investment in advertising and marketing their brand. In order to assess the impact that their marketing initiatives have had, they have implemented a four-month survey-research project in order to determine how their customers heard about their brand. Each customer was asked to complete a five-minute survey upon making an online order. The results were analysed, and it was determined that the customers heard about the company through the following means:

17% through word of mouth.

20% through organic online search.

11% through print advertising.

46% Google Ads (online advertisements in Facebook, Google searches, etc.).

6% radio advertising.

These results were compared to the amount of money spent on their three means of advertising: Google Ads, magazine print advertisements, and radio advertising. Furthermore, the researchers compared their marketing approach to that of other cosmetics and holistic-living companies.

As the money spent on print advertising accounts for nearly 40% of their marketing spend, and radio advertising for 15%, the return on investment is very low, and thus a new strategy is needed. After interpreting all the data, the researchers suggest that the company should vastly reduce spending on print and radio advertising, and increase their investment in online advertising, including Google Ads and Facebook advertising. Furthermore, with a shift in focus towards digital marketing, the company might need to re-structure their marketing department, and consider employing a digital marketing manager.

Having read the case study, write a paragraph of 500 words in which you address the following:

Based on the case study, suggest possible business areas that demand further attention or investigation in order to gain maximum insight into the ways the company can reach its sales targets while minimising their marketing spending.

Given the research findings, briefly discuss any new questions that may have arisen.

Briefly discuss two ways in which the company should monitor the impact of the recommendations. Your answer should explicitly state the specific business areas that might need to be monitored, and outline ways in which they can be monitored.