Introduction
Marketing is a critical component in any company since it is through marketing that the products of a company are popularized to the customers hence creating market for them . However, it is not an activity that is undertaken spontaneously but one that requires prior planning.
Unless marketing is planned, no results can be achieved. This essay will present a marketing plan for a company known as Prospects Clothing Dealers.
The company deals in various types of clothing for children, teenagers and adults. The goals of the marketing campaign include popularizing the brand of the company, securing a considerable market for the company’s brand, understanding the market dynamics and assessing the viability of the product in the market.
Stakeholder Analysis
Customer Analysis
Young people and teenagers have taste for fashion than adults. They are fanatics of different types of clothes and always fancy the latest designs in the market. As a result, the target market will be the young people and teenagers who give clothing the first priority.
A company that deals with clothes and targets the youths will be in a position to achieve high sales since the young people like to look good in new clothes (Winton, 2007). Their tastes and preferences for clothes are totally different from the tastes and preferences of the adults who have little interest for fashion.
In order to reach the market which is comprised of mostly the young people and youths, it will be important to have a general strategy. The general strategy to be used will be to popularize the products of the company through various methods.
For example, through campaigns, the potential customers will be informed of the uniqueness of the company’s products and how they will benefit from buying the products. The products of the company will offer the customers value for their money due to their quality, a benefit the customers will not get from any other company.
Ideally, the general strategy will be to convince the customers that the company’s products are the best. This will be done through other channels such as meeting the customers physically, through mass media adverts and promotions.
One of the significant segments of the customers who will be targeted is college and university students. The population of college and university students is high hence they will form a significant market base. There are thousands of college and university students who will form an important part of the market.
This group of customers is the most stylish and clothing is one of their first priorities. They take pride in showing off to their colleagues through different types of clothing and have varied needs for clothes since they prefer stylish designs that make them unique.
The choice of this segment of the market will be informed by the fact that college and university students are fanatics of fashion and different types of clothing hence it will be easy to market the company’s products to them successfully.
Competitor Analysis
In any field of operation in business, there are usually competitors. It is important for a company to identify its competitors in order to employ the right mechanisms to deal with competition (Ferrel & Hartline, 2010). Prospects Clothing Dealers will have to face a number of competitors in the market both direct an indirect.
There are two direct competitors that the company will have to deal with since they deal in the same products as the company. The two direct competitors will be H&M and C&A companies.
These are reputable companies in the clothing industry hence it will be important to find appropriate methods of dealing with the competition from these companies. Apart from the two direct competitors, there will be one indirect competitor, a company known as MJ markets.
This is a company that exports its products to Europe although it is not physically present in the region Prospects Clothing Dealers intends to carry out marketing campaigns. As a result, the company will act as an indirect competitor since its products are also popular in the market.
H&M Company is a significant competitor among the direct competitors. This is due to the quality of products the company produces. However, it has its strengths and weaknesses.
The first strength of the company is that it has a wide capital base because it has been in business for a considerable duration of time. This makes it a financially strong company as opposed to other smaller and upcoming companies whose financial reserves are not usually very strong.
The second strength of the company is that it has a high number of loyal customers, since it has been in operation for a long period of time and also due to the fact that it produces quality goods hence it has managed to win the loyalty of the customers.
The third strength of the company is that it enjoys a large number of well trained and experienced staff who controls its operations. This enables the company to conduct its business activities in an effective manner. The fourth strength of the company is that it has many external stakeholders who give it solid support.
Apart from the strengths associated with H&M Company, it also has some weaknesses. The first weakness of the company is that it is often associated with unlawful dealings in its operations that put it on the spotlight. For instance, the company was accused of using genetically modified cotton at some point to manufacture clothes.
Negative publicity for the company affects its operations since some customers lose confidence in its operations. The second weakness of the company is internal wrangles that sometimes affect its performance. Due to the high number of employees and external stakeholders, the company often has to deal with internal wrangles.
Company Analysis
The company will be comprised of both internal and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders are individuals who work for the company or are owned by the company. They include the CEO to the company, senior managers and sponsors. All the internal stakeholders play an important role in the running of the company.
One of the most important internal stakeholders is the senior managers. Senior managers play a critical role towards the success of the company. They are charged with coordinating various aspects of the company’s operations and ensuring that everything works as planned.
Senior managers require details on the progress of individual departments and possible challenges faced by the departments in order for them to make the right decisions. The senior managers will have a significant influence on the plan since they are the final decision makers.
They will either cause the plan to succeed or to fail. For instance, if they fail to allocate enough funds for the process its failure will be likely. On the other hand if they support the plan fully it will be a resounding success.
The company has got its strengths and weaknesses just as its competitors have their strengths and weaknesses. The first strength of the company is that its employees are hardworking individuals and people who are ready to achieve good results.
Hard work is the secret to success in any company. The second strength of the company is the willingness of the stakeholders to work together.
It is beneficial for both internal and external stakeholders to agree on most things and work together. The third strength of the company is that the targeted customers are individuals interested in its products hence it will be possible to secure a large market for the products.
Despite the above mentioned strengths, the company nevertheless has some weaknesses. The first weakness of the company is that its capital base is not very strong since it is a new company trying to position itself in the market.
New companies are always faced by financial challenges which at times slow their operations (Kotler & Keller, 2009). The second weakness of the company is that it is not as popular as other established companies hence it will have to work extra hard to popularize its brand.
Community
The community is an important part of the company. These are individuals who are around the company and play an active role in its day to day activities.
The external stakeholders are part of the community which is crucial to the company. They are individuals who are not directly involved in the running of the company but who in one way or the other influence it. External stakeholders include licensing agencies and company regulators.
The licensing agencies are important stakeholders of the company since they can influence it in a number of ways (Peter & Donnelly, 2010). For any company to operate, it must comply with certain regulations that make its operations lawful.
Companies that comply with the regulations are issued with licenses. The licensing agencies are critical since they determine the suitability of a company to conduct business.
They will influence the company in that if they will not be satisfied with its operations, they will deny the company an operating license. The company will therefore be expected to always follow the regulations issued by licensing agencies.
There are some factors that will have a significant influence on the marketing plan. One of the factors is the economic recession that has been affecting most countries in the world.
The effects of the economic recession in any country include lack of financial resources to support many sectors of the economy. This will probably affect the marketing plan in that their will be limited financial resources to carry out most of the crucial aspects of the plan.
Branding and Positioning
The brand of the company is expected to be one of the most attractive brands in the market. The company will design attractive clothes that many other competitors have not been designing.
In order to increase the attractiveness of the clothes, high quality materials will be used. Most of the clothes will be associated with people who have decent personalities due to their class.
One of the most important things to be done on the brand will be to maintain its reputation. A brand that maintains its reputation remains consistent among customers for a long period of time. This implies that it does not depreciate in its value or quality.
It will be the responsibility of the company to continually look for ways of improving the brand in order to ensure that it will maintain its reputation. This will be an important strategy to ensure that the competitors do not take advantage of a depreciating quality of the brand to seize the market.
Marketing Mix
Product
The product of the company will be characterized by qualities that will be different from those of the competitors’ products. The clothes will have additional decorations that will be attractive to the customers. They will also be made of durable materials that will give the customers value for their money.
In addition, customers who purchase in large quantities will get regular discounts from the marked price. The quality of the clothes will also make the customers stand out in public places since they will be designed uniquely.
Some of the highlights that will make the product better than that of the competitors include the prices of the product. It will be a strategy of the company to offer prices lower than the prices of the competitors in order to attract more customers.
In addition, the products will be packaged attractively in a manner that will definitively be attractive to the customers. Majority of the customers will be attracted by well packaged products because this will show that the company respects the dignity of the customers.
Price
The pricing strategy will be based on the cost of production but the prices of the commodity will always be lower than those of products sold by the competitors. This will ensure that the company does not suffer losses by setting prices that will not recover the production cost while being careful not to set prices that will give the competitors undue advantage.
For example most of men’s trousers at H&M Company go at prices between $30 and $40. The company will sell the same trousers at $25.
The same company has the most expensive pair of shoes prized at $60 while the most expensive pair of shoes at Prospects Clothing Dealers will be prized at $40. The relatively cheaper prices will place the company in a better position to attract more customers.
Place
A strategic location for the company will be important in order to ensure that it secures the anticipated market. The company will be located in the capital city of Greece because of the large number of potential customers in the city.
The capital city is also characterized by individuals with higher incomes as compared to those who live outside the capital. The location will therefore increase the chances of the company to make high profits.
The distribution of products to the rest of the regions outside the capital city will be conducted through appointed distributors. The company will assign its vehicles to distributors who will distribute the products to all outlets. Products that will be exported outside the country will be transported by air since it is the fastest means of transport for the products to get to the market in good time.
Promotion
Promotion will be an important activity in order to popularize the brand. Some of the promotional activities that will be carried out will include newspaper advertisements, TV and Radio commercials, bill boards, online marketing and exhibitions. One of the most effective promotional strategies will be the use of TV and radio commercials.
This will be conducted through the main radio and TV channels that have a large audience. The commercials will contain messages describing the uniqueness of the company’s products in order to attract more customers. Since the commercials will be aired repeatedly for a certain period of time, the estimated cost will be $70000 for the entire period the commercials will be on air.
The goals of this promotion will include popularizing the brand, making the company known to the customers, securing market for the company’s products and gaining a competitive advantage over the competitors. The goals will be measured on the basis of customer feedback that will determine their interest in the product.
Marketing Budget & Implementation Calendar
It will be crucial for the company to invest enough money in marketing because successful marketing will result in huge profits for the company. The budget will cover promotions, incentives given to customers and transport costs incurred during marketing.
Justifying Marketing Expenses
The TV and radio commercials will popularize the product hence give rise to more than $ 2 million in sales while the cost of exhibitions will be expected to yield returns of $ 500000 in sales. The promotions will give rise to $ 1 million sales. Customer incentives will entice customers into buying the product and this will yield $ 300000 sales.
Reference List
Ferrel, O & Hartline, M 2010. Marketing Strategy, Cengage Learning, New York.
Kotler, P & Keller, K 2009. Marketing Management, Pearson Prentice Hall, New York.
Peter, P & Donnelly, H 2010. Mareting Management, McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc, New York.
Ranchhold, A 2007. Marketing Strategies:A Contemporary Approach, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Washington.
Winton, R 2007. Develop a Product Marketing Strategy. Web.