Soft Paper revised

Marketing Concepts
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Abstract
Soft Paper Company is a manufacturing company that manufactures and distributes paper-based products in hygiene and sanitation. The company’s portfolio ranges from tissue papers, paper napkins, kitchen towels, wipes, Hankies to facial tissues. The company strives to adhere to quality and promote consumers’ interests by ensuring that its customers get value for their money. The products are made from both recycled paper and virgin pulp using the latest paper technology. Soft paper is cognizant of the fact that to create effective brand awareness; proper marketing efforts needs to be undertaken. This calls for an elaborate marketing plan that identifies potential customers both at home and abroad and crafting effective brand messages through the right media channels. The company’s mission, vision and core values are important corporate identification elements that will aid in its marketing efforts. Product and promotion are critical components of a marketing mix that will help Soft Paper achieve better results. The company’s marketing department is crucial in coordinating the roles of sales and Advertising & public relations department. This paper discusses a range of marketing concepts that are critical to the success of a modern business that seeks to satisfy both local and a foreign market.
Marketing Concepts
Mission
Soft Paper’s mission is to manufacture and distribute quality paper-based products that meet the expectations of all its consumers.

The company’s manufacturing and distribution activities adhere to all standards required while being conscious of environmental concerns. This is ensured through the adoption of the latest technology in paper manufacturing, following environmental regulations, and recycling waste papers that would otherwise pollute the environment.
Vision
The company’s vision is to become the world leader in paper manufacturing with a strong focus on hygiene and sanitation products.
Core Values
The company’s values reflect the organization’s culture and are the driving force that guides morality, discipline and the general behavior within and outside the company. Soft Paper’s core values are integrity, transparency, quality, accountability, and innovation. The company’s heritage is based on honesty and integrity with a commitment to offer quality products through being innovative while serving clients with care and transparency. Soft Paper believes in being accountable to all stakeholders. These values meet the expectation of consumers, investors, stakeholders and company employees.
As an entrepreneurial manager, my values are aligned with the company’s values through my actions and the general behavior. As a manager, I must act in a manner that reflects the corporate culture while adhering to the company’s ethical standards. As a person who values high integrity, I am expected to adhere to honesty and truth at all times through action and words. If I promise a client to do something, it must be done according to agreed terms or deadlines. When dealing with all stakeholders, I should be always open and promote an open environment where all stakeholders will feel that transparency is upheld or prevalent within and outside the company. All the dealings should always be open to scrutiny. This will be achieved through answering questions raised by any stakeholder satisfactorily and involving the relevant person in all business undertakings. During problem-solving, all ideas will be open to discussion. A long-term and sustainable solution requires an honest approach to issues where details are brought to the table and discussed openly without any favor, undue influence, biases or prejudice. The strategy is important in business management, and as an entrepreneurial manager, strategy planning is the norm. My strategies will center on the promotion of innovation and promotion of quality. Innovation is being open to new ideas, improvement, technological changes and anticipations of changes in manufacturing or marketing trends. Customers want quality services that will solve their problems whenever they spend their monies on any product. This means that innovation and quality considerations should always be embedded in any strategic planning process. Quality is paramount in attracting and maintaining business clients and customers.
Two important elements of a marketing plan that are essential to entrepreneurial success are product and promotion. The concept of the product is essential in identifying the appropriate product for the specific market identified. The product, for example, a tissue paper or a paper napkin, must be something that is desired by the consumers and meet their specific need and preferences. Products are identified with the characteristics of the target market in mind. Various target market has different characteristics such as varying demographics, income levels or geographic distribution. Facial tissues can be targeted at middle-income earners in an urban similar to a tissue made from virgin pulp. A tissue made from recycled fibers can be targeted at low-income earners in both urban and rural areas. Products need to adhere to quality standards and create value for consumers. As a person who promotes innovation, I support products that are made with customer’s needs in mind. The product has to satisfy the needs and preferences of the consumers. What is promised on the product’s label should be the case regarding what it does, quality and ingredients used so that transparency, integrity, and accountability can be measured.
Promotion is another essential element of a marketing plan. The consumer ought to be appropriately identified and informed of the product, its price and the place it will be available. Technology advancement has opened the promotional space. Several mediums are available for businesses to promote their products. Some of these media include television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and internet advertising. Audience or users analysis is key in determining which medium to use. Promotional messages are supposed to be specific and purposeful. Ethics is important in a promotion, and the message should adhere to the core values of integrity, transparency, and accountability. A promotional message that promises what the product will not offer amounts to a breach of ethical codes.
The concept of product and promotion align the organization’s values with my values through strict adherence to the organization’s established ethical codes. I value truth and honesty and this is what the company’s products and promotional strategy promises to adhere to. The products have to do what it promises in terms of quality, and ensure that the ingredients used are correct. The promotional strategy on the other hand has to strictly observe the values of honesty and truth irrespective of the medium used. The messages used in any promotional campaigns should be truthful and consistent with the company’s code of ethics which reflect my ethical values.
Marketing department plays an important role in coordinating the distinct function of sales and Advertising & public relations department. The department helps sales department improve sales by creating awareness of the product or service. The marketing department is vital in updating sales tools with relevant information that will make them efficient. These tools include presentations, proposals, white papers, datasheet among others. The marketing department can help sales by providing a demo of a product from a marketing perspective with the aim of generating a sale or getting new clients. References or testimonials are important in selling a product. The marketing department can help sales with the introduction of references and testimonials. The marketing department can also create awareness of the products achievements thus improving its consumption. The marketing department can coordinate the functions of an advertising and public relations department by developing content, identifying the target market to reach with a message or the medium to use in conveying the message. This is done because the marketing department has relevant data concerning consumers in all market segments. The marketing department also can help in public relations campaigns by providing information on the relevant target consumers, issue or product to be focused on(“Special issue on international marketing, strategic orientations and business success”, 2010).
Culture affects domestic and foreign marketing strategies in different ways. Values vary across different geographic regions. The Americans are more individualistic than foreign countries such as most countries in Asia and Africa. These values determine what the society accepts and rejects. Individualized advertisements will be more suitable for the American consumers as compared with foreign consumers whom will respond to group advertising. Language as a symbol of cultural influence determines how an advertisement message is crafted. In a domestic market, the advertising or marketing campaigns will be effective since the marketer understand both the local language other cultural symbols deeply. In foreign countries, advertisers or marketers need to struggle to understand the cultural symbols to effectively craft a better message. Thought processes vary in different cultures. In a domestic market, the marketers can easily understand the thought processes of local consumers as compared to foreign consumers. The marketing efforts in a foreign market can be affected by other factors such as prevailing economic and political situations. When the economy is unstable, the consumers may not adequately respond to an advert. Political instability will disturb economic activities and affects the demand and supply of goods and services. This will also impact marketing efforts.
Soft Paper Company needs to maintain a strict code of ethics to maintain clients. When the company employees act ethically, they will foster a culture of integrity that will be reflected in all business dealings and marketing efforts. The company needs to maintain sustainable marketing efforts that adequately respond to target market demands or characteristics. Other best practices include planning and coordination of marketing efforts with other departments, good customer service, and adequate market research.
Some of the marketing trends that can affect Soft Paper’s marketing efforts include the increased use of social media and the need to become more environmentally conscious. Social media is becoming a major marketing platform for most businesses (Manrai, 2016). Proper identification of social media mechanics and trend s will enable Soft Paper to identify the right target consumers to reach using which social media platform and how to craft messages specific to this platform. Environmental sustainability is an issue that should be reflected in any marketing campaigns. The public or consumers will respond better to marketing efforts that recognize the need to protect the environment.
References
Manrai, A. (2016). New Emerging Business Models, Frameworks, and Trends in Global
Marketing. Journal Of Global Marketing, 29(4), 171-173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08911762.2016.1220799Special issue on international marketing, strategic orientations and business success.(2010). International Marketing Review, 27(5). http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/imr.2010.03627eaa.002