Walgreens Marketing Plan

Executive Summary

Walgreens is considered a leader in the drugstore arena and currently venturing in the area of healthcare with their wellness centers. Strategically located close to populated areas in a 5 mile radius they are a store of convenience. Not afraid of change this company has moved forward aiming to improve their status financially and socially. They have ventured in areas not normally associated with drugstores by securing a stake in Alliance or AmeriscourceBergen to basically guarantee them an upper hand over their completion and provide discount pharmaceutical prices. Although their current quarter results were profitable, they did not achieve their benchmark. This paper in fulfilling the requirements for the Marketing Plan looks at providing a new strategic focus for Walgreens. As VP of Marketing I will produce this report to provide the situational analysis of the current internal and customer environments; and of the external environment. Also provided will be a SWOT analysis, SWOT matrix and competitive advantages along with a strategic focus. The analysis of Walgreens potential customers, their market segmentation, their current product strategies that support their strategic focus help to understand why they are leaders in their field. Finally I will share how I envision the implementation of this project should proceed.

Situational Analysis

Internal Environment

For the past 101 years Walgreens has always aimed to make the customer experience the best one could encounter. "Our goal is to create an experience unmatched in this industry by focusing on 'Well.'" (Johnsen, 2012). By providing food, health and beauty they aim to make "Well" for the customer and patient an experience that will have them always returning. The ultimate goal focused on becoming the first choice for health and daily living to their customers, (Johnsen, 2012).

Walgreens aims to implement their marketing goals and objective by:

* "Delivering a complete "Well Experience" by transforming the customer experience across all of the company's touch points, channels and formats;

* Transforming the role community pharmacy plays in health care by offering unparalleled access to innovative, high quality and affordable health-and-wellness services; and

* Creating an unprecedented and efficient global platform through its strategic partnership with Alliance Boots GmbH," (Wilson, 2013).

Wagner and Orvis (2013) who are Walgreens employees share the company previously used a seven- by -10 strategy. They were able to predict the volume for any potential new location in various categories within 3 percent. It worked very well for them until new competitors came onboard. They faced competition from the internet as it was possible to buy online items they offer in the store. They faced competition from companies that deliver prescriptions by mail and also from the grocery stores that now had in-store pharmacies. They also seemed to understand that with the bad economy and the changes in healthcare reform change in strategy was necessary.

Research allowed them to realize that to stand out from among their competitors like CVS, Rite Aid, Target, Kmart and Walmart they needed to be an experience provider. This they did by first making structural changes to free up the leaders' time and better support them. Second, they had to change decision rights so that the right approvals were happening in the right places. Next to emphasize employee engagement and customer satisfaction their incentive program had to be revamped. Lastly, it was necessary to put in place coaching, support networks, and a new performance management model as a means of changing long-established mind-sets and norms.

To assist with this change Walgreens created two new positions, Community leader who help mentor less-experienced store managers and vice president for markets allowing corporate level leadership to be closer to the customer. This helped to create accountability at the local level and allow stores to make decisions that are unique to their locale (Wagner, 2013).

All of these changes line up with their mission statement as they do believe in their creed:

 "We believe in the goods we merchandise, in ourselves and in our ability to render satisfaction.

 We believe that honest goods can be sold to honest people by honest methods.

 We believe in working, not waiting; in laughing, not weeping; in boosting, not knocking; and in the pleasure of selling our products.

 We believe that we can get what we go after, and that we are not down and out until we have lost faith in ourselves.

 We believe in today and the work we are doing, in tomorrow and the work we hope to do, and in the sure reward the future holds.

 We believe in courtesy, in kindness, in generosity, in cheer, in friendship, and in honest competition.

 Walgreens is still working to do things this way even in the Internet age," (Walgreens creed).

With the new changes only been in place for a year Walgreens feels their financial outlook is one of the best from the past ten years. Their drugstores have doubled in size and revenue is up over $3,000 per store. Emphasizing an atmosphere of friendliness they are attracting and keeping their customers.

Over the past year Walgreens has had many changes. Employee morale was an all-time low when Jeff Rein was forced to retried and replaced by Greg Wasson. His approach was not leaving a good experience in the employees. Thousand were even laid off because of poor management decisions.

Customer Environment

Walgreens customers are anyone who walks through their doors. They are committed to having a relationship with their customers. They launched a wellness walk in New York in an effort to raise awareness of how easy and beneficial a healthful activity can be. It also provided a means to educate and engage customers to help them stay well and live well, (Walgreens well life, 2011). Another unique point is that customer could walk and log in their steps to earn weekly coupons. The purpose of the coupons is to create an ongoing relationship with the customer and help them stretch their dollars.

Walgreens has always found a way to listen to the customers'