Target Market
The identification of a target market is important before the launch of a new product. When launching the “cyclone” brand, the target market constitutes a group of people who will be interested in buying the product (Hiam 2). Identifying the target market for the “cyclone” brand is not an easy thing, especially because the product contains many features which appeal to different market segments.
However, in identifying the right target market for the “cyclone” product, several factors ought to be considered. First, it would be crucial to identify the demographical characteristics of the target population. The demographical characteristics would include information such as the population’s age bracket, income levels, educational background, gender and such like factors.
Secondly, it will be crucial to identify the geographical location of the intended customer group. The geographical location of a market would determine the demand for a given product. For instance, it would be useless selling jackets in a geographical location with a desert-like climate. In the same manner, certain geographical locations are known to demand certain goods and services more than others.
For instance, the Puma shoe company has been known to perform well in Latin American and European countries when compared to the rest of the world (Hiam 19). Lastly, in identifying the right target market for “cyclone”, the psychographic characteristics of the population have to be considered.
These psychographic elements will include the personality and behavioral traits of the target population group. The collective interests of the population group will also be included in this analysis. Comprehensively, these elements will have to be analyzed to establish how they complement the sale of “cyclone” products.
Product Positioning
Positioning a brand in the market is a critical component for market success. Its importance cannot be underestimated because brand positioning is more than the product’s sales. In fact, product positioning is a promise to the customers to explain how the product fulfills their needs (through the elements it guarantees them) (Hiam 23).
To establish an effective brand position strategy for Cyclone, it would be crucial to determine the core values of the brand. For instance, it will be crucial to establish if the brand thrives because of excellent quality or good pricing. Once these values are determined, pursuing the same values in the market will amount to a good brand positioning strategy.
IMC Campaign
In coming up with the best IMC plan for “cyclone”, several factors need to be considered. First, a thorough promotion opportunity analysis should be done to establish the competitive analysis, opportunity analysis, target market analysis and customer analysis of the brand. From this point, corporate strategies should be formulated.
The corporate strategies include corporate image strategies, brand development strategies, brand positioning strategies, distribution strategies, business-to-business strategies, public relations strategies, and evaluation strategies. The last process of developing an IMC campaign will be to identify an integrated market communications strategy plan.
This plan includes coming up with a set of objectives for the IMC plan and a budget to achieve the intended objectives of the IMC plan. The first objective will be centered on consumer needs and requirements while the second objective will be centered on determining the product’s distribution channel. The last objective of the plan will be centered on determining the right business-to-business strategy (Hiam 53).
Price Determination
Determining the right price for the “cyclone” product depends on several strategies. For instance, the distribution channel of the product is bound to determine the overall price of the product because longer distribution channels are bound to command high prices and short distribution channels amount to low prices. However, the “cyclone” brand will be produced with a high-end market in mind.
To keep the prices affordable for a wider consumer group, a shorter distribution channel will be chosen. Also, the price of the “cyclone” product will be determined by the cost of production and the price of substitute and complementary products in the market. Obviously, the price of the product cannot be sold less than the opportunity cost and therefore, the product will be priced higher than the product cost.
This cost will be compounded with the product’s distribution cost, to come up with a reasonable mark-up price for the product. The price of substitute and complementary products will also determine the price of the “cyclone” product. If the price of substitute products will be low, the price of cyclone will also have to be comparatively low.
The same is also true if the price of the substitute product is high because if the price of the substitute product is high, it will be easy to sell the product at a reasonably high price since there will be minimal price competition (Hiam 23).
CRM System
Designing an effective CRM system will have to be done with the customers in mind. This strategy is crucial because customer feedback will be important in developing future product improvement strategies. The provision of customer service through the CRM system will also be done with a keen emphasis on the medium for service offing.
Customer development will be achieved if the CRM is designed to have a feedback mechanism where customers can communicate with the company and inform them of any areas where customer development can be improved. The internet can be an effective tool in ensuring the goals of the above strategies are realized (Hiam 2).
Works Cited
Hiam, Alexander. Marketing for Dummies. New York: For Dummies, 2009. Print.