商务策略研究—论沃尔玛的营销策略.doc

Abstract
The sales revenue of Wal-Mart is the No.1 in many retail supermarkets in the World. It’s difficult to use several decades to develop from a small grocery store to today's Fortune Global 500. But Wal-Mart has done it. The key of success of Wal-Mart is the marketing strategy. This dissertation introduces the Wal-Mart’s history and the enterprise culture firstly, and then explains the concept of marketing strategy. Then I am discussing the marketing strategy of Wal-Mart. Here, I divided into four parts discussing: product strategy, price strategy, promotion strategy and service strategy. The last part is concluded the experience of Wal-Mart – suitable marketing strategies can help the enterprise success.
Key words: Wal-Mart; marketing; marketing strategy
中文摘要
在当今世界众多大型零售企业中，沃尔玛公司的销售额一直稳居第一。能够用短短的几十年把一家不起眼的杂货店发展成为世界五百强之首是不容易的，但是沃尔玛做到了这一点。沃尔玛的成功之处在于它的市场营销策略。本文先介绍沃尔玛的创立、发展及其长期形成的企业文化，接着阐释营销策略的基本概念，再着重地分析沃尔玛的营销策略。在这里，本文分为四部分进行阐述：产品策略、价格策略、促销策略和服务策略。最后一部分是对沃尔玛的总结——只有制定适合的营销策略才能有助于企业迈向成功。
关键词：沃尔玛超市；营销；营销策略

1. Introduction
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was founded by American retail legend Sam Walton in Arkansas in 1962. For over forty years, Wal-Mart serves more than 176 million customers per week. It is the world’s largest private employer and retailer with over 2 million associates worldwide and more than 7,800 stores in 16 countries.
Wal-Mart came to China in 1996. The first Supercenter and SAM'S CLUB were opened in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province and the headquarter of global purchasing center was set up in 2002. Today, there are 146 units in 89 cities, including 138 Supercenters, 3 SAM’S CLUBS and 2 Neighborhood Markets. At the same time, Wal-Mart purchases 35% Equity and 102 stores of Trust-Mart. Wal-Mart employs over 70,000 associates in China.
Wal-Mart insists on the purpose of “Saving Money” and always does that. The cultures of Wal-Mart win the agreement of customers and their staffs. They treat their customers as the god and give them “Smiling Service”. Also their staffs’ opinions are respected, because they believed their staffs could give some advices which are good for their company. And they call their staffs as “partner”.
The most important reason why Wal-Mart has so great success is their successful marketing strategies. The price strategy help Wal-Mart winning a lot of customers whom pursuit the goods with excellent quality and reasonable price, talent strategy help Wal-Mart collecting many talent, competitive strategy help Wal-Mart earning the opportunities to learned and found the management problem and innovative strategy help Wal-Mart to keep in advance.
In China, because of the special characteristic, the American mode of operation is not suitable for China. It would be failure if they copy the American mode, so they should combine the characteristic to make some suitable strategies. At last, Localization strategies make Wal-Mart success in China. They purchase locally over 95% of merchandise in China. They employed nearly 20,000 suppliers and operated the company in Chinese mode. In 2009 Supplier Satisfaction Survey published by Business Information of Shanghai, Wal-Mart ranked first across several supplier satisfaction indexes.
2. The History of Wal-Mart
2.1 The history of Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (branded as Wal-Mart) is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large, discount department stores. It is the world's largest public corporation by revenue, according to the 2008 Fortune Global 500 (Staff Writer, 2008).
Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, began his career in retailing in 1940. Since that time, he began loving sells and learned how to make good sales. He received great successful at the beginning of his career and have a far exceeding expectations. He opened his first grocery store which called "Walton's Five and Dime" in 1945. He utilized his talent of management and innovation to operate his first grocery store, he achieved great success. High sales volume proved Sam’s management was suitable for his store.
On July 2, 1962, Sam opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store. In order to tell customers their principle, they brushed “Every Day Low Prices” and “Satisfaction Guaranteed” these two slogans on the wall. Within five years, the company expanded to 24 stores across Arkansas and reached $12.6 million in sales.
On October 31, 1969, Sam built up the company called Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., but the biggest problem was Sam hasn’t enough money to expand the company. The only way to solve this problem was began trading stock as a publicly and done it at last on October 1, 1970. Then, it listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Wal-Mart kept on growing rapidly in the 1980s. In 1987, its 25th anniversary, there were 1,198 stores with sales of $15.9 billion and 200,000 associates. Also Wal-Mart marked the completion of the company's satellite network that was the largest private satellite network in 1987. The satellite network not only helped the office to know clear the track inventory and sales but also communicate conveniently between their stores.
The first Wal-Mart Supermarket opened in Washington, Missouri in 1988. Through the speedy development and expansion, Wal-Mart began to open stores abroad. In 1995, Wal-Mart was entering South America with stores in Argentina and Brazil; and Europe in 1999, buying Asda in the UK for $10 billion, opened retail operations in China in 1996 with the opening of a Supercenter and SAM’S CLUB in Shenzhen.
In 1998, Wal-Mart introduced the "Neighborhood Market" concept with three stores in Arkansas. By 2005, estimates indicate that the company controlled about 20% of the retail grocery and consumables business.
In 2002, it was listed for the first time as America's largest corporation on the Fortune 500 list. It has remained there every year, except for 2006. In 2009 Supplier Satisfaction Survey published by Business Information of Shanghai, Wal-Mart ranked first across several supplier satisfaction indexes.
Until today, Wal-Mart’s fiscal increased very fast. The total net sales increased by 7.2% and 8.6% in fiscal 2009 and fiscal 2008 when compared to the previous fiscal year.(Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, 2009) Those increases resulted from their global expansion programs, comparable store sales increases and acquisitions.
2.2 The culture of Wal-Mart
Every associate's opinion is respected. Managers are considered "servant leaders" who help new associates realize their potential through training, praise and constructive feedback(赵海风,2003). An "open door" management philosophy encourages associates to raise questions and concerns in an open atmosphere.
Staff is not called employee, but is called “partner” by jargon of Wal-Mart. This jargon was used in year 1973(赵凡禹, 2003). Wal-Mart group attributed his company's success to the unity of all the staff and their persevering hard work.
Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB associates share an exceptional commitment to customer satisfaction. At the start of each day, store associates gather for the Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB cheer and review sales from the previous day, as well as discuss their daily goals. "The Sundown Rule" requires a continual sense of urgency, with questions asked in the morning answered before the end of the day. The string of successful tracks from the status of the company it never complacent. Gradually improved, and constantly strive for excellence is the secret of success of Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart always insists on the principle --“Save people money, so they can live better”. They always take it into action. They treat the customer as the god. Everything is possible done to make shopping at Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB a friendly, pleasant experience. The "Ten-Foot Attitude" means that associates are to greet each person they see. The "Satisfaction Guaranteed" refund and exchange policy allows customers to be fully confident of Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB's merchandise and service(王孝明,2004). Because Wal-Mart considers the problems that stand on the customers’ position, they knew what their customers want Everything they do was thinking about the customers.
3. The Basic Concept of Marketing Strategy
3.1 The basic concept of marketing management
3.1.1 The concept of market
Under modern market economy, the enterprises should organize production base on market demand. The so-called market is formed by a group of economical entities which means both commodity exchange and transaction. The nature relationship of buying and selling is reflected by the amount, extent and the transaction regulations between buyers and sellers. Market can be known as the sum of demand of real buyers and possible buyers. (Armstrong, Gary & Philip Kotler, 2005: 10)So the size of market is decided by the number of people who have the need and have the resources which can raise others’ interest and can be exchanged. It can be seen from the definition that market has three main factors: the people who have some need, the ability and the desire to buy to satisfy the demand. The formula is:
Market = population + purchase ability + the purchase desire(郭国庆, 2005: 12-13)
3.1.2 The concept of marketing
With the purpose of satisfy human’s demand and desire, a series of the market activity and the process transform potential exchange to real exchange, that’s the definition of marketing. (Kotler, Philip, 2005: 5) The activities of marketing include the research of marketing, the prediction of market demand, and the development of new product, price, distribution, delivery, advisement, public relations, personal selling, sales promotion, after-sales service and so on. Consequently, sale and promotion are just the part of the marketing activity, but not the most important part. Zhang Ruimin, the CEO of Haier, pointed out: “Promotion is just a means, but marketing is the real strategy.” There are two central concepts of marketing: exchange and transaction; relation and relationship marketing. The definition of exchange is something that by offering one thing as return, therefore, has another wanted thing from other people. So the fact of deal is a process of exchange. Relation means that the smart market-controller used to build up unsuspecting and win-win relationship with their customers, distributors and dealers in order to deal successfully. Relationship marketing means that the company builds up relationship not only with their customers, distributors, dealers, but supplies, even competitors. According to this relationship, they corporate and live their words to realize the purpose.
3.2 Marketing Strategy
After classifying the targeted customers and fixing the general competing marketing strategies, the enterprise should come out with detailed Marketing Mix. The Marketing Mix, called marketing strategy, is defined as a series of controllable and strategic marketing tool to stimulate the response the enterprises expect in targeted market. (Kotler, Philip &Gary Armstrong, 2001: 61)It is a Combination of marketing elements used in the sale of a particular product. There are four elements (4Ps): Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
Product is the most crucial element. Product means all the goods and services meeting people are certain needs in the market, including tangible and intangible forms, goods, services guarantee and ideas(王方华, 2003: 153-154). Any marketing campaign begins with defining the products the companies supply to the target market, and then pricing, distribution and promotion. Therefore, products strategy is the foundation of the Marketing Mix. However, the more product groups aren’t necessarily good. The more products the companies produce, the more cost they need. It takes adequate capital, productivity, technology, administration talents and high level operation management. Otherwise, the economic benefits will decline. Considering the real condition and goals, enterprises should make the right product groups base on market research, anticipation, and principles to increase sales and profit. Product strategies can be classified into 5 strategies: Limited product professionals’ strategy, Product Series professional strategy, marketing professional strategy, professional strategy of special products, and more comprehensive model strategy.
Price is the monetary value of commodity. In the Commodity economy, only with the price for any goods or services can the suppliers and the demanders purchase(王方华, 2003: 173-175). In fact, whether the purchase can be done depends on the price. Therefore, the price is critical in a deal. The price is the most sensitive to the changes in the market and the most dynamic one. Several pricing strategies are set for companies: Psychological pricing strategy, product groups pricing strategies, discount strategy, geographic pricing strategies.
Place is one of the main components of the enterprise marketing mix strategies. Place represents the ways in which the product is transferred from manufacturers to users or consumers. The link connecting manufacture and consumption can be divided into wholesaler and retailer, with different traits and function in marketing(王方华, 2003: 195-200). The division of direct placing system and indirect placing system no longer meets the emerging needs. The developing productivity lead to the extend ion of the scale and range of commodity exchange and circulation. Some groups have been formed into systems and they are direct placing system, vertical, horizon and multi-placing system.
Promotion means, according to the promoting needs, the proper choices and overall match for ads, promotion, public relation the company adopts. (郭国庆, 2005: 346)
3.3 The development of Marketing
With the development of marketing theory, the appearance of 6Ps, 10Ps and 11Ps are the expansion of 4Ps marketing strategy, but the core still is 4Ps. Every marketing manager has always considered marketing activities base on 4Ps since 40 years ago. In 1990, American scholar Lauterborn first proposed the use of 4Cs to replace the traditional 4Ps, which provides new ideas for marketing strategy. In comparison with market demand of 4Ps, 4Cs pay more attention to consumer demand, and market-oriented 4Ps compared, 4Cs made great progress in the concept and development. 4Rs, which is competition-oriented, generalize a new concept of marketing in philosophical level (J.G. Riley &Samuelson W.Optimal, 1981:381-392) It enhances marketing activities of enterprises to both macroeconomic and social perspective; it proposes enterprises, customers and other related should build a community of career and destiny, establish, consolidate and develop a long-term relationship; it also stresses the relationship management is not a market transaction. The 4Vs proposed in late 20th century aims at fostering and constructing specific channels of core competitive ability of enterprises, therefore, is the new starting point of modern marketing strategies.
4. The Marketin