Marketing management ability to develop and maintain successful transaction with its target customers, market and public are affected by these competitive forces. This competitive marketing environment offers both opportunities and threats where this affects the company’s behaviour as a company. One opportunity could be the innovation of their services. All SME’s want change in order to grow. Growth being the ability to cope with change, is determined by new sales. In order for these new sales to be generated, marketing activity such as innovation can take place.

These two companies are innovative. Their management data systems are computerised to support customers in providing an efficient service such that the customers are able to get what they want, when they want it. b) Analyse the internal and external marketing problems and develop solutions for overcoming such problems Analysis of internal and external problems for Ludlow Thompson Regarding Ludlow Thompson, some of the internal problems faced by this company are that of training purposes, communication barriers and pre-judgment of their clients.

“Two major factors of marketing are the recruitment of new customers and the retention and expansion of relationships with existing customers. ” (www. wikipedia. org) Training staff is essential for any company, as this will affect both the recruitment of customers and also the expansion of customers. Training staff impacts greatly, not only on the performance of the individual but also on the performance of the company as a whole. If staff are not trained customers will not be satisfied with the level of service the company provides. As a result customers will seek a better quality of service elsewhere.

Ensuring staff are well trained is a simple and effective way to overcome this problem. Communication barriers were a problem that was encountered by the group when we visited Ludlow Thompson estate agent. The barrier was between the estate agent dealing with our situation and the landlord. The estate agent was informed that we were looking for a 3 bedroom flat with double beds; however on arrival we found it was in fact to be a 3 bedroom flat with two double beds and a single bed. The estate agent was very apologetic and promised to have the situation sorted out as soon as possible.

A way to overcome this problem would be for the estate agent to make sure they are attentive to detail and to double check with customers that they have the right information. Prejudging two members of our group is considered to be another internal problem of Ludlow Thompson. It seems to be that the way someone presents him or her self, impact greatly on the level of service received. When two members of our group came in dressed casually, there was reluctance from the estate agents to take on the case and the group members were kept waiting for a very long time.

However, on observing someone else who was formally dressed, it was apparent that this had an effect on the service received. Overcoming this problem may seem hard as it is not a reflection on the company but on the individual. Some of the external problems faced with Ludlow Thompson are that of their competitors, environment, and customers. For any company to prosper it should know its environment, its customers and who their competitors are. More funds have to be available to do all this because in an SME estate agent, there are limited resources to put the company on the map like other estate agents.

Competitition is vital for companies because in analysing the competition they are able to see what their competitors are doing right and they can also see what they are doing wrong. Competition allows them to stay focused and sets a high level of quality for them to exceed- something that they would not be able to do if there was no competition. Competition also allows them to meet the demands of the market. Analysis of internal and external problems for Douglas and Gordon Internal problems include the lack of specialised expertise which can place small firms at a disadvantage.

This is evident, in a situation where a client does not get the right information or if a client is not satisfied with the way he or she was served. Simply put, they will not return to the company. As with Ludlow Thompson, external problems are that of competition, since competitors are a threat, the company needs to know who their competitors in order to perform better than them. It is important to know the performance of individual businesses to identify the financial strengths and weaknesses of competitors in terms of profitability, efficiency and employee performance.

Douglas and Gordon as a company should be consistent in terms of quality of service provided and most of all if the company knows its market well, it will run effectively and grow. c) Apply relevant and appropriate marketing techniques to your chosen firms contexts In professional usage, the term marketing has a meaning which recognises that it is namely customer centred. For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four “Ps” must reflect the wants and desires of the consumers in the target market.

The four “Ps” of the marketing mix are product, pricing, promotion and placement. Product is the actual goods/service that is being provided. Pricing refers to the process of setting a price for the product, however this does not have to be monetary, it can be what is exhanged for the product or service. Promotion is the methods that are used to promote and advertise the product. Placement which refers to how the product gets to the cutomer. The fourth ‘P’ is also called place because it refers to the means by which a product is sold.

Where the product is a service, there is an extended marketing mix, known as the 7 ‘Ps’. This includes the standard 4 ‘Ps’ and another 3 ‘Ps’. These are: people, process and physical evidence. People refers to the person/persons coming into contact with the customers. Process includes the process involved in providing the service and the behaviour of the people. Unlike a good, a service cannot be experienced before delivery, so physical eveidence is how a person experiences this. Ludlow Thompson incorporates the 7 ‘Ps’ in their processes.