This 20 page paper in written in two parts using a UK small to medium sized enterprise (SME)with less than 200 employees; Hotel Chocolat. The first part of the paper examines the communications strategy used by the business. The second part of the paper examines the marketing strategy ad includes a SWOT analysis and consideration of the product mix. The company used as an example is a company that specialises in premium quality chocolate and confectionary using the internet and mail order as the main channels of distribution. The bibliography cites 20 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: TS14_TEhotelchoc.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
small to medium sized business. The second part will then consider the marketing strategy and how this may be developed. The company chosen is a UK company; Hotel Chocolat, formally
known as ChocExpress. This is a small company with less than 200 employees which has grown over the last decade (Hotel Chocolat, 2004). Part 1; Communications Strategy
There are many different from of communication. Communications may be internal or external, they may be bilateral or unilateral and they may be vertical or horizontal and formal or informal.
The most visible communication strategies are the external communications, as these can be seen looking at the literature of the company and the way they communication with the public domain.
Often internal communications strategies are less clear, only hitting the news when there are problems, such as with industrial disputes. As a small company Hotel Chocolat has many advantages, The
barriers that exist in many companies such as employees at different locations. This lends to a less formal structure, where hierarchical barriers are reduced and there is a more open
method of communication. However, as with many small companies that are privately owned, there not a policy that goes as far as an open door policy. However, there have
also been problems. With a small company, as many of the processes are less formalised. For example, communications suffered when a single employee was appointed to a senior position (Management
Today, 2004). The problem was the message that this individual, who has remained nameless, sent to the other staff. The message communicated may have been informal but the message was
one that created negative feeling and as a result the motivation of an entire department was impacted (Management Today, 2004). The individual managed to change the culture of the company