Market Analysis: Encana Corporation

 Market Analysis: Encana Corporation

 The report examines the customer persona in detail of the Encana. It gives information on how a target customer persona is determined and the importance of having a target persona. It examines an overarching strategy that Encana creates value for the customers by producing products that helps support their needs. Through the feedbacks gotten from the customers, Encana can improve on the products. Identification of the target persona helps the Encana to communicate the right information to the right group of people. It also examines a strategy with mix recommendations, utilizing all the 7ps by incorporating all the seven elements because they focus on the target audience requirement.  Encana had its headquarters in Canada but has opted to move to U.s and change its name to Ovintiv in search of better market opportunities.  Encana should ensure that it finds in the target audience and produces goods that meet their demands to expand its target market.

1. Introduction

Encana is a natural gas company that was based in Canada with its headquarters in Calgary. Its primary focus for the longest time has been to come up with a portfolio of diverse resources in producing natural gas, oil, and production of natural gas liquid. In its operation, it also plays a significant role in the marketing of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (EnCana Annual Information Form, 2004). It operates in Canada, the United States of America, and Market optimization. In Canada, the primary operations are exploration to get a new market for their product. It also entails the development and production of natural gas and oils within Canada.  The united states of America Operation deal with the exploring, developing, and production of the product within the United States of American. In the third, the Marketing Optimization segment, it mainly concerned with the third parties that purchase organization products (EnCana Annual Information Form, 2004). It also entails proving operational flexibility for transportation of the products, the product types, and the delivery points of the products. Its current focus is on ensuring that it pursues its fundamental objective of sustaining its balance sheet strength in general (EnCana, 2020). It does this by adopting a disciplined allocation strategy by making many investments in the restricted number of core assets. It also does this by ensuring that there is a sufficient return for all its shareholders by the sustainable dividend given (Kotler,2016). Finally, it also achieves this objective by investing in high margin liquid that is very useful in facilitating the aspect of cashflows.  Recently the company has announced of changings name to Ovintiv and moving its headquarters to the united states of America. The main objective of this change is to have greater access to foreign capital. By having its headquarters in the United States, it is an opening door for better marketing opportunities (CSIMarket 2019). It will be ab le to access new and a large foreign market which will lead to its growth. The decision to move its headquarters to the United States is also crucial in ensuring that they meet the regulatory requirement as they have always responded in the previous years. The environmental protection laws require that Encana remove and remedy the effects caused by the production of its products.  Encana ensures that it fulfills this requirement by the introduction of an environmental health and safety management system that ensures that it complies with all the environmental policies.  The main objective of the paper is to give determine and come up with the appropriate marketing products that are appropriate for the customer persona. It will also elaborate on different strategies and tactics that Encana should consider while selecting a given target market. The strategy will be based on the market mixed recommendation, where all the 7ps are utilized.  The main focus of the strategy to be used is based on what the customer requires.

2. Target Market Persona

An organization must communicate the right information to the right people. It is only possible for an organization to do this by having a targeted persona. For Encana to achieve this, it should be able to locate its targeted group values (Schäfer,2016).  it can be done using two methods the traditional method and the creating value for the customer method. Encana used the Creating value for customer method to which involves the customer using the products that support their needs. Through the customers, experiences with the products are what the organization gets as feedback. Since Encana is involved production of natural gas, its sales its products to the Royal Dutch Shell Group (Pruitt,2010). After they have used the gas, they give feedback to Encana about natural gas. Depending on any complaints they receive like the gas having a lot of strong odor, Encana uses this feedback to modify a product. Encana will produce a new product to meet the needs of the Royal Dutch Shell group of having an odor-free natural gas. Through the process of providing products that suit the needs of the customer is what creates the value between the customer and the organization.

A compelling persona is developed by observing and analyzing the feedbacks of the customer. Through understanding the value that emerges through the interaction, it helps support the evolution of the target persona. It is identified as the target persona because it individually accounts for Encana consolidated revenue. Unlike the third parties and other customers, it is consistent in the purchase of natural gas and liquids.  Therefore, the Royal Dutch Shell group is the customer persona for Encana.

3. Market mix analysis and recommendation

The mixed market analysis is a strategy that provides flexibility for the targeted market. It entails the 7ps, which are mainly concerned with what the market persona requires.  The 7PS are Products, promotion, price, personnel, place, physical facilities, and process management (Jain,2013).  All these elements are essential, and change or lack of one of them can lead to a different marketing mix.

1. Products

Products that Encana provides should be able to satisfy the needs of its customers. The products should be free of any environmental harm and harm to the consumer. Products produced in Encana are natural oil, gas and natural gas liquid. With the primary persona being the commercial customers who purchase and distribute is products to others, it is critical to ensure the product meets their requirements.   Encana produces products that are affordable to its commercial customers to ensure that it increases its sales and loyalty. While creating this product, some ethical considerations should be fulfilled. First, the products should not cause any environmental harm to the people around the organization. Encana ensures that it fulfills this by making sure it cleans its wastes products before releasing them to the environment. Secondly, the products should be unique to avoid cases f similarity of product s. Encana ensures that its products are unique from its competitors through the branding of its products. Lastly is also an ethical concern that the products reach the customer’s required standards. Encana ensures that the natural oil, gas, and gas-liquid meet the quality and quantity as required by the market persona.   It is essential that when producing products, they meet all the environmental requirements. The products should not cause physical harm to the consumers or the environment. Following all the environmental requirements for the manufacturing of the products and producing products that meet the target persona requirement acts as a good strategy for marketing Encana products.

1. Promotion

Encana must ensure that the products that they produce meet the target persona requirement, and this is done through promotion. The promotion process refers to how the information is passed to the targeted persona (Anitsal,2012). The correct information must be an end to the correct group of people. Communication is very important in promoting products.  Encana can use any of the eight methods of communication to ensure that their target persona is aware of their products.  It can also utilize all the eight modes of communication for clarity about their products. The eight steps ensure that the information about a product gets to the targeted persona.

1. Identification of the target audience

The target audience for Encana products was identified as the Royal Dutch   Shell group

1. Determine objectives
2. Balancing the commodity portfolio. It entails ensuring that in the production of its product, there is a balance.
3. Having a disciplined capital allocation strategy that ensures that capital is allocated to the most important project. A disciplined capital allocation strategy ensures that the capital is allocated as plans to ensure all activities are fully fulfilled.
4. It is maintaining portfolio flexibility. By maintaining flexibility in the portfolio, it helps Encana be able to adapt to changes in the environment.
5. It is maximizing profitability. It is achieved by ensuring that there is a reduction in the cost of production of gas, natural oil, and natural gas liquid. By ensuring that there is operational efficiency, profitability is also maximized.

• Designing communication

1. What to say

It is important that Encana provides information to the Royal Dutch Shell Group in a manner that is unique from its competitor.

Encana should also be clear on what they want to pass through to the customers.

1. How to say it

The marketer should come up with creative strategies that ensure that the information is clearly passed to the persona (LIU,2015). The marketer can achieve this by using a transformational appeal that ensures that a person is confident while talking. Communication in the right way helps build confidence in the customer.

The information must be said correctly to give assuring to the customer about the products being promoted,

1. Who to say it to

It is important to locate the right audience. By taking to the leaders in the organizations who are key decision-makers is essential. When information is passed to the wrong people, no impact is felt in the growth of an organization. Information should reach the target audience in the right manner and in the appropriate manner to help promote Encana Products.

1. select the channel of communication

The channel of communication can be personal or non-personal. A sales representative of Royal Dutch Shell Group can be called directly or non-personal, where the persona is invited to invents that talk about Encana products.

Encana should use social media to promote its products to the customer. For Encana to expand its market globally, it is important to use modern social media sites to n market its products. Social media helps the organization to reach a larger population in a faster and cheaper means

1. Establish a budget

One of the major objectives of Encana is to maintain a disciplined capital allocation strategy. It also sticks to the set budget that is allocated to each department.

1. Decide on media mix

It is achieved by ensuring that the right communication channels are used to pass Encana data to the target persona. It can use social media, which a norm in all organizations, to ensure it reaches more customers.

• Measure results

Encana can measure the results of its communication directly through feedback given on social media. The results can also be measured directly by an increase in sales.

• Manage integrated marketing communication

Encana achieves this by ensuring that communication with the persona is frequent.

Price

EnCana should sell its products at a reasonable price. It does this by regularly checking to ensure that the prices of their products are not too high nor too low.   Depending on the market and amount of labor involved in the production of products the price is determined (Charlesworth,2014).  Therefore, Encana should aim at producing a good that increases efficiency. For Encana to determine the prices of a given product that is new in an organization, several steps should be followed. The first step is to select the main objective set by the organization concerning its products. The main objective of Encana is to maintain a balanced and flexible objective of all its products. The second step is to require the manager to require the demand can of the product. It entails the marketer doing research and giving the approximate number of customers that require a given product and at what quantity. The third step is to determinizing the price of a product (Arif,2016). The price is set to ensure that the organization makes a profit from selling a given product by the cost insured is covered. The fourth step is reviewing the competitor’s price.  EnCana always checks to ensure that they are not selling their products to high from their competitor nor too low.  If the competitor has sold a product at a very low-price, Encana lowers its price and given an added benefit to the customers to maintain loyalty and still make a profit. The firth step is perceived value pricing (Kotler,2016). It entails the customer, acknowledging that a given price is reasonable because of the value a given product adds to them. However, in most cases, the organization sets a price because of the value they feel the product gives to the customer. The final step is revealing the price. After all the factors in different steps are put into consideration, Encana gets to set the price of their products. The price is said to marketable acceptable, and that is what attracts more customers to but their products. It is, therefore, important that Encana set prices that are acceptable to the market, which leads to them making a profit and not oppressing the customers.

Place

Encana sales in products to third parties using contracts. The contracts can be long term or short term depending on the customer’s demand (Khan,2014). It sells its product by sending a salesperson who agrees on terms of the contract for delivering the products to an organization. It is also done through an online process where the customer gets to order for products online and pays the required amount depending on the pricing of a product, and the product is delivered to them. Encana also sells its products through distributors. Organizations like Royal Shall Dutch group buy products like natural gas and liquids and then redistribute the products to smaller retailers.

One of the significant strategies that Encana should adopt in selling its products is the push strategy. The strategy entails the sales representatives being highly in contact with the consumers of the products (Yasanallah,2012). Encana should embrace this strategy to ensure that the target person remains royal to their product and to increase their sales. It is important that the r product is sold at the right place and by the right people. The main objective of this strategy is to ensure that the organization creates awareness to their customers about the value of their products.

Personnel

It is important that an organization incorporates and values its employees. The personnel attitude toward to customer is very key in maintaining the loyalty of customers. The attitude of the personnel is only changed by motivating them and giving them incentives.  Encana can adopt the strategy of ensuring a positive attitude of its employees by providing good wages and a good working environment. Communication is also a key ingredient in ensuring that there is positive personnel working in an organization. The personnel should feel free to raise any grievance or any suggestions to the management. With open communication in an organization, the attitude of the employees improves.  Having efficient personnel in an organization starts with selecting the right people for the job. With the right people working with an organization that has a positive attitude towards their work, it translates into better customer experience. Better customer experiences increase loyalty, which results in more profits.

Physical facilities

It refers to the tangible and the non-tangible assets that a marketer uses to form an interaction between the organization and the customers (Yasanallah,2012).  IT is a strategy that makes it easy for a customer to identify a product offered by an organization easily. The elements that the marketer uses include logos and brand name of the organization. Encana brand its products using the name Encana Corp to show energy. The brand makes the customer easily identify with the product.   It is important for Encana even after changing its name, and it uses a brand that the customer can easily identify with to ensure loyalty. Each company should have something either tangible or intangible that is unique to them that enables the customers to identify it easily.

Process management

It refers to processes and systems that are involved in delivering a product to the customer. It is an important strategy in the mix marketing. Through the different processes that are followed, the organization is able the provide the required service to the customer.  Encana using the market maximization opportunity after the third-party purchase of product transportation commitments follows. The product type is identified, then the delivery point, and finally, customer diversification.  Through the process of purchase and delivery of the gas to the persona, communication is enhanced. Through the process of management of a product due to the good communication of salesperson with the customer, it helps create loyalty.

Conclusion

Encana is produced by natural gas and oil.  It has recently relocated its headquarters to U. s. Its previous headquarters were in Canada, and because it saw new opportunities to market, its products opted to have it headquarter in U.s.  Because of the competitive nature of other organizations and its objective to grow, Encana has to identify its target persona. It does by observing different data about its customers and deciding on one that has unique features that will lead to its growth. It used the value creation method to identify its persona where it produces products that meet its customers. Through the mix strategies that utilize all the 7ps, Encana has a completive advantage over the rest of the oil companies.  It is therefore recommended that Encana identifies its target persona and use the mixed market approach. When Encana is able to define its target market and use the market mix approach to support the needs of the customers, it is able to increase its profits.  Through this strategy, the correct information is conveyed to the customers in the correct manner.

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