Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Buckman Laboratories (Pty) Ltd. (hereafter referred to as Buckman Laboratories) is an international, privately owned, specialty chemical manufacturer. The company's marketing strategy is based on customer intimacy and knowledge sharing and currently segments its markets (pulp and paper, water, leather and mining) by means of customer categorization based on industry potential sales. The Buckman brand is synonymous with the heavy industries (Sasol, ArcelorMittal, Mondi, Sappi, Eskom). For the company to grow and increase its profitability, Buckman Laboratories has to identify and select innovative brand drivers to stay competitive in the heavy industry market segment as well as identify other market segments to compete profitably in. In this study the Logical brand management model was specifically applied in terms of the customer perspective. Brand and cost drivers were identified from the company's and customers' perspective to identify opportunities in the current market segments (pulp and paper, water and leather). Metrics utilized were traditional gap analysis as well as the Opportunity Algorithm from Ulwick. Of importance was the consistent alignment of the model with Buckman Laboratories' strategy. The model includes continuous improvement, on-time delivery, product innovation, knowledge sharing, and providing a holistic product/service offering as brand drivers that will ensure innovative growth of the Buckman Laboratories brand. The conclusion is that the Logical brand management model as developed by Marc Logman may be successfully utilized to identify brand drivers to grow the Buckman Laboratories brand innovatively in future. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Buckman Laboratories (Pty) Ltd. (hereafter referred to as Buckman Laboratories) is an international, privately owned, specialty chemical manufacturer. The company's marketing strategy is based on customer intimacy and knowledge sharing and currently segments its markets (pulp and paper, water, leather and mining) by means of customer categorization based on industry potential sales. The Buckman brand is synonymous with the heavy industries (Sasol, ArcelorMittal, Mondi, Sappi, Eskom). For the company to grow and increase its profitability, Buckman Laboratories has to identify and select innovative brand drivers to stay competitive in the heavy industry market segment as well as identify other market segments to compete profitably in. In this study the Logical brand management model was specifically applied in terms of the customer perspective. Brand and cost drivers were identified from the company's and customers' perspective to identify opportunities in the current market segments (pulp and paper, water and leather). Metrics utilized were traditional gap analysis as well as the Opportunity Algorithm from Ulwick. Of importance was the consistent alignment of the model with Buckman Laboratories' strategy. The model includes continuous improvement, on-time delivery, product innovation, knowledge sharing, and providing a holistic product/service offering as brand drivers that will ensure innovative growth of the Buckman Laboratories brand. The conclusion is that the Logical brand management model as developed by Marc Logman may be successfully utilized to identify brand drivers to grow the Buckman Laboratories brand innovatively in future. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Introduction: With the help of digital marketing, small businesses have been given greateropportunities to compete at a higher level than they previously could, which gives credence tothe term "if a small business can't be found on the internet, it doesn't exist". For small businessesto be competitive and grow, digital marketing is a must.Purpose: The purpose of this work is to investigate how a selection of small businesses utilizedigital marketing with an emphasis on SEM and SEO.Method: The present study is based on the use of qualitative methods to collect data and toprocess it. The qualitative interview approach is used to collect data, and these are conductedwith respondents at a sample of small businesses who have knowledge and insight into thecompany's marketing strategies.Results: The different companies and the respondents who represent them have a largelysimilar view of how digital marketing can be used to create growth. The clearest differencesappear in relation to the companies' financial conditions, where these largely control how muchthey can invest in the various types of marketing alternatives that are available. What is clear,however, is that all the companies work with both SEO and SEM, where it is above all thekeyword analysis that is given great importance to create growth in different ways - eitherthrough pure lead generation or a focus on increased brand awareness.Conclusion: The result in this work is not limited to small businesses. As small businesses ona general level have similar types of constraints, which this work highlighted in terms ofresources - both financial and personnel, insights from the study can highlight examples ofpractical implementations around digital marketing activities that contribute to growth thatother small businesses in other industries can benefit from.

Introduction: With the help of digital marketing, small businesses have been given greater opportunities to compete at a higher level than they previously could, which gives credence to the term "if a small business can't be found on the internet, it doesn't exist". For small businesses to be competitive and grow, digital marketing is a must. Purpose: The purpose of this work is to investigate how a selection of small businesses utilize digital marketing with an emphasis on SEM and SEO. Method: The present study is based on the use of qualitative methods to collect data and to process it. The qualitative interview approach is used to collect data, and these are conducted with respondents at a sample of small businesses who have knowledge and insight into the company's marketing strategies. Results: The different companies and the respondents who represent them have a largely similar view of how digital marketing can be used to create growth. The clearest differences appear in relation to the companies' financial conditions, where these largely control how much they can invest in the various types of marketing alternatives that are available. What is clear, however, is that all the companies work with both SEO and SEM, where it is above all the keyword analysis that is given great importance to create growth in different ways - either through pure lead generation or a focus on increased brand awareness. Conclusion: The result in this work is not limited to small businesses. As small businesses on a general level have similar types of constraints, which this work highlighted in terms of resources - both financial and personnel, insights from the study can highlight examples of practical implementations around digital marketing activities that contribute to growth that other small businesses in other industries can benefit from. Keywords: Digital Marketing, Growth, Brand Growth, SEO, SEM, Relationship Marketing.

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