anjalicutek
Anjali Khurana
Marketing Strategy of General Electric : The General Electric Company, or GE (NYSE: GE), is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in the State of New York.[5] The Company operates through five segments: Energy Infrastructure, Technology Infrastructure, NBC Universal (NBCU), Capital Finance and Consumer & Industrial.[6] In 2010, Forbes ranked GE as the world's second largest company, based on a formula that compared the total sales, profits, assets, and market value of several multinational companies.[7] The company has 304,000 employees around the world
So in come Strategic Business Units (SBU's). A large corporation may have many SBU's, which essentially operate under the same strategic umbrella, but are distinctive and individual. A loose example would refer to Microsoft, with SBU's for operating systems, business software, consumer software and mobile and Internet technologies.
Growth/share are replaced by competitive position and market attractiveness. The point is that successful SBU's will go and do well in attractive markets because they add value that customers will pay for. So weak companies do badly for the opposite reasons. To help break down decision-making further, you then consider a number of sub-criteria:
For market attractiveness:
* Size of market.
* Market rate of growth.
* The nature of competition and its diversity.
* Profit margin.
* Impact of technology, the law, and energy efficiency.
* Environmental impact.
...and for competitive position:
* Market share.
* Management profile.
* R & D.
* Quality of products and services.
* Branding and promotions success.
* Place (or distribution).
* Efficiency.
* Cost reduction.
At this stage the marketing manager adapts the list above to the needs of his strategy. The GE matrix has 5 steps:
* One - Identify your products, brands, experiences, solutions, or SBU's.
* Two - Answer the question, What makes this market so attractive?
* Three - Decide on the factors that position the business on the GE matrix.
* Four - Determine the best ways to measure attractiveness and business position.
* Five - Finally rank each SBU as either low, medium or high for business strength, and low, medium and high in relation to market attractiveness.
Now follow the usual words of caution that go with all boxes, models and matrices. Yes the GE matrix is superior to the Boston Matrix since it uses several dimensions, as opposed to BCG's two. However, problems or limitations include:
* There is no research to prove that there is a relationship between market attractiveness and business position.
* The interrelationships between SBU's, products, brands, experiences or solutions is not taken into account.
* This approach does require extensive data gathering.
* Scoring is personal and subjective.
* There is no hard and fast rule on how to weight elements.
* The GE matrix offers a broad strategy and does not indicate how best to implement it.
For many consumers, General Electric means one of three things: major appliances, lightbulbs and the company that David Letterman used to skewer every chance he got when he worked for its subsidiary NBC. Yet despite its renown, its ubiquitous "We bring good things to life" tag and its decades-old brand equity, GE Appliances (GEA) has been looking for a little help in making the sale to consumers through co-branding and co-marketing agreements with other known brands, including Culligan, Calphalon and Lenox.
GEA shipped its first co-branded product late last summer when it introduced its Water by Culligan Profile Performance refrigerator. Part of GFA's new Profile Performance line, the fridge is targeted toward professional adults ages 30-45 with household incomes ranging from $50,000 to $150,000; it offers a built-in Culligan water filtration system. The product bears both the GE and Culligan logos and a TV spot, running now,, plays up the Water by Culligan connection. "We're pitching the quality of life and the convenience," said Bruce Albertson, GEA vp of marketing. "The partnership between GE Appliances and Culligan is a natural blending of each company's consumer strengths."
The co-branded refrigerator may seem, at first, to be at odds with Ge's own fledgling SmartWater line of home filtration and softening products, but the strategy, Albertson said, is complementary. Consumers who aren't in the market for a refrigerator can buy SmartWater point-of-entry systems. The Water by Culligan product is viewed as simply another option, even offering filtered ice cubes. "We wanted to go with a value-added name and brand you can trust in water filtration," Albertson said. "The most broadly known name in water is Culligan."
GEA began aggressively seeking out partners that were No. 1 or No. 2 brands in their respective categories more than a year ago as part of a strategy to develop products that would deliver higher margins to the company and greater benefits to consumers. GEA also wants to make inroads in the high-end appliance segment, which has experienced double-digit growth in the past couple of years, aided by strong economic conditions; namely low interest rates, which have fueled new home sales and renewed interest in home remodeling.
"When we began to explore the possibility of a partnership, we conducted research and learned that when the two names were combined, consumer awareness skyrocketed," said Ron Rosati, Culligan's group president for point-of-use and retail markets.
GEA has also entered into co-marketing and technology-sharing initiatives with high-profile brands that will help it aggressively boost market share (it's now No. 2 behind Whirlpool), and to offer unique, value-added products that also fetch higher margins.
While appliance companies regularly do tie-ins, such as offering product samples of, say, Tide or Cascade with the purchase of a washing machine or dishwasher, few, if any, have embarked on full-fledged co-marketing initiatives like GEA has.
GEA approached Calphalon, the well-known marketer of high-end cookware, in April 1997 about doing a value-added promotion with its Profile Performance electric range. The range features an oval-shaped bridge burner that enables more cooking flexibility and distributes heat more evenly. The first promo of the co-marketing relationship ran October/November 1997 and offered a free Calphalon oval roast pan and 11-inch square griddle with every range purchase via mail-in certificate. Calphalon's demographic, highly educated adults 40-55 with average annual incomes of more than $80,000, fit nicely with GEA's Profile Performance line.
The alliance helped Calphalon in several ways. "We are kind of a niche out there at the very high-end and, because we have very limited distribution, there are a lot of consumers not familiar with the brand," said Ray Hykoski, marketing manager at Calphalon. The partnership helped Calphalon get into the hands of consumers who might not have considered it before, and helps serve as a springboard for people who may be afraid to invest in high-end cookware. Calphalon also gets the names of consumers who purchase the range and expects to enter them into its database for follow-up "thank you" cards with its 800-number and Web site. It also plans to approach these purchasers with future targeted mailings. The successful promo, which has helped GEA rev range sales, has begun again, and is running currently through March. Hykoski said he expects a similar promo using a different Calphalon piece to be extended into GEA's ultra high-end Monogram line in 1999.
The co-marketing alliance may also lead the two partners to jointly develop new cookware and cooking technologies. A co-branded GE/Calphalon range? Not outside the realm of possibility, according to Hykoski.
GEA's co-marketing arrangement with Lenox is a value-added promo with a technology-sharing component. GEA and Lenox engineers worked together to develop a new feature for GE SureClean dishwashers that helps maintain the quality of stemware and chin
So in come Strategic Business Units (SBU's). A large corporation may have many SBU's, which essentially operate under the same strategic umbrella, but are distinctive and individual. A loose example would refer to Microsoft, with SBU's for operating systems, business software, consumer software and mobile and Internet technologies.
Growth/share are replaced by competitive position and market attractiveness. The point is that successful SBU's will go and do well in attractive markets because they add value that customers will pay for. So weak companies do badly for the opposite reasons. To help break down decision-making further, you then consider a number of sub-criteria:
For market attractiveness:
* Size of market.
* Market rate of growth.
* The nature of competition and its diversity.
* Profit margin.
* Impact of technology, the law, and energy efficiency.
* Environmental impact.
...and for competitive position:
* Market share.
* Management profile.
* R & D.
* Quality of products and services.
* Branding and promotions success.
* Place (or distribution).
* Efficiency.
* Cost reduction.
At this stage the marketing manager adapts the list above to the needs of his strategy. The GE matrix has 5 steps:
* One - Identify your products, brands, experiences, solutions, or SBU's.
* Two - Answer the question, What makes this market so attractive?
* Three - Decide on the factors that position the business on the GE matrix.
* Four - Determine the best ways to measure attractiveness and business position.
* Five - Finally rank each SBU as either low, medium or high for business strength, and low, medium and high in relation to market attractiveness.
Now follow the usual words of caution that go with all boxes, models and matrices. Yes the GE matrix is superior to the Boston Matrix since it uses several dimensions, as opposed to BCG's two. However, problems or limitations include:
* There is no research to prove that there is a relationship between market attractiveness and business position.
* The interrelationships between SBU's, products, brands, experiences or solutions is not taken into account.
* This approach does require extensive data gathering.
* Scoring is personal and subjective.
* There is no hard and fast rule on how to weight elements.
* The GE matrix offers a broad strategy and does not indicate how best to implement it.
For many consumers, General Electric means one of three things: major appliances, lightbulbs and the company that David Letterman used to skewer every chance he got when he worked for its subsidiary NBC. Yet despite its renown, its ubiquitous "We bring good things to life" tag and its decades-old brand equity, GE Appliances (GEA) has been looking for a little help in making the sale to consumers through co-branding and co-marketing agreements with other known brands, including Culligan, Calphalon and Lenox.
GEA shipped its first co-branded product late last summer when it introduced its Water by Culligan Profile Performance refrigerator. Part of GFA's new Profile Performance line, the fridge is targeted toward professional adults ages 30-45 with household incomes ranging from $50,000 to $150,000; it offers a built-in Culligan water filtration system. The product bears both the GE and Culligan logos and a TV spot, running now,, plays up the Water by Culligan connection. "We're pitching the quality of life and the convenience," said Bruce Albertson, GEA vp of marketing. "The partnership between GE Appliances and Culligan is a natural blending of each company's consumer strengths."
The co-branded refrigerator may seem, at first, to be at odds with Ge's own fledgling SmartWater line of home filtration and softening products, but the strategy, Albertson said, is complementary. Consumers who aren't in the market for a refrigerator can buy SmartWater point-of-entry systems. The Water by Culligan product is viewed as simply another option, even offering filtered ice cubes. "We wanted to go with a value-added name and brand you can trust in water filtration," Albertson said. "The most broadly known name in water is Culligan."
GEA began aggressively seeking out partners that were No. 1 or No. 2 brands in their respective categories more than a year ago as part of a strategy to develop products that would deliver higher margins to the company and greater benefits to consumers. GEA also wants to make inroads in the high-end appliance segment, which has experienced double-digit growth in the past couple of years, aided by strong economic conditions; namely low interest rates, which have fueled new home sales and renewed interest in home remodeling.
"When we began to explore the possibility of a partnership, we conducted research and learned that when the two names were combined, consumer awareness skyrocketed," said Ron Rosati, Culligan's group president for point-of-use and retail markets.
GEA has also entered into co-marketing and technology-sharing initiatives with high-profile brands that will help it aggressively boost market share (it's now No. 2 behind Whirlpool), and to offer unique, value-added products that also fetch higher margins.
While appliance companies regularly do tie-ins, such as offering product samples of, say, Tide or Cascade with the purchase of a washing machine or dishwasher, few, if any, have embarked on full-fledged co-marketing initiatives like GEA has.
GEA approached Calphalon, the well-known marketer of high-end cookware, in April 1997 about doing a value-added promotion with its Profile Performance electric range. The range features an oval-shaped bridge burner that enables more cooking flexibility and distributes heat more evenly. The first promo of the co-marketing relationship ran October/November 1997 and offered a free Calphalon oval roast pan and 11-inch square griddle with every range purchase via mail-in certificate. Calphalon's demographic, highly educated adults 40-55 with average annual incomes of more than $80,000, fit nicely with GEA's Profile Performance line.
The alliance helped Calphalon in several ways. "We are kind of a niche out there at the very high-end and, because we have very limited distribution, there are a lot of consumers not familiar with the brand," said Ray Hykoski, marketing manager at Calphalon. The partnership helped Calphalon get into the hands of consumers who might not have considered it before, and helps serve as a springboard for people who may be afraid to invest in high-end cookware. Calphalon also gets the names of consumers who purchase the range and expects to enter them into its database for follow-up "thank you" cards with its 800-number and Web site. It also plans to approach these purchasers with future targeted mailings. The successful promo, which has helped GEA rev range sales, has begun again, and is running currently through March. Hykoski said he expects a similar promo using a different Calphalon piece to be extended into GEA's ultra high-end Monogram line in 1999.
The co-marketing alliance may also lead the two partners to jointly develop new cookware and cooking technologies. A co-branded GE/Calphalon range? Not outside the realm of possibility, according to Hykoski.
GEA's co-marketing arrangement with Lenox is a value-added promo with a technology-sharing component. GEA and Lenox engineers worked together to develop a new feature for GE SureClean dishwashers that helps maintain the quality of stemware and chin
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