Segmentation, Target Marketing, and Positioning
Segmentation Variables Used
Under geographical segmentation, seasonal variables are used. This variable is used to show that seasonal products, such as winter gears and in this case winter eagles, are often promoted to geographic segments. Specifically, winter eagles will be marketed and promoted for times leading up to late fall, particularly in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and Canada, as they record harsh weather conditions during winter.
Target Market Description
The target market will be all persons living in places, that condition is unbearable-conditions in these places, reaching -30 degrees. Since the business is a start-up, the best target marketing strategy is micromarketing. Micromarketing is the most effective technique, particularly for small businesses to build, sustain, develop, and grow their brands. In general, the business will be targeting the potential end-users at the very personal and basic levels.
Positioning
Positioning statement: Do you live in a cold environment Do you wear a lot of cloth that you barely walk to make yourself warm? We’ve got the right product for you. W.E. product is built for the coldest places on earth. It has specific qualities to keep you warm. The product will be positioned as a high-quality product meant for people living or traveling in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. The other positioning aspect will be price. Despite being a jacket with a hoodie, and has gloves and scarf attached to, and can last for a couple of years without being ripped apart or ruined, the product will only be sold at around $250. Therefore, the Price – quality approach will be the overall positioning strategy.
Developing and Managing Products and Services
How would you classify your product? Why?
The winter eagle is a convenience, emergence product. It is based on the fact that it is only purchased when the need arises. After that need, the product is not used again until that time comes again.
What benefits will your product provide?
The product will be of high quality that lasts for a couple of years without being ripped apart or ruined. The product will be of extraordinary design-is a jacket with a hoodie, and the extraordinary thing about it that it’s attached with gloves and a scarf.
What is the name of your product? How did you come up with the name?
The name of the product is winter eagles (W.E.). When coming up with the name, it was ensured that the name chosen was not referencing any other popular thing, it would be easier to spell out, ensured that the acronym is not abusive and finally, avoided tying the brand name with other names such as Apparel as people will think is part of those brands. Finally, for ease of publicity, the name chosen had to be connected to the event or season it was intended. That is why winter was picked. Eagle was added because of the way winter eagles look like. They are usually covered all over. In this case, Winter Eagle simply takes its meaning after the winter eagle as it is usually covered all over right from the head to the toes.
How will your brand be packaged and labeled?
The product will be packed in a transparent material along with information (size, gender, color, material) of the product. For instance, a label such as this will be included in the packaging material. NEW MEN HOODIE WINTER JACKET. Condition: 100% brand new! Material: woolen. Package: 1 x Jacket. The product support services offered will only b basic usage. The customer will be assisted or helped whenever necessary with information on how to clean and even put on.
New Product Development
Product Idea
The new product idea came from internal sources where upon seeing the need to provide customers with a product that satisfies their need.
Stages of New Product Development
For your product, identify each stage of new product development:
Idea generation
There was a need for a purposeful, focused endeavor to identify new ways of serving a market better. The markets, in this case, include people who live in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada as these places usually record very low temperatures during winter. Looking for opportunities based on research.
Idea screening
Listed the attributes of the new product considered most important. Standardized checklist and compared ideas. General characteristics such as to continue or not to continue, marketing characteristics such as what consumers would expect, and finally production characteristics such as costs of producing the product. All these are considered about competitors’ products.
Concept development and testing
Apart from design due diligence, patent research, and other legalities involved, this stage involved where the marketing information will work best. For instance, does the targeted consumer need the product, understand the product.
Marketing strategy development
What was considered here was whether the product fits well into the existing product mix and the available finances.
Product development
All attributes identified by the consumer are communicated via the product design, such as hoodie, scarf, and gloves.
Test marketing
Before identifying the target market, test marketing was done where actual consumer behavior was observed. After that, the product was modified to entrench what end users wanted. That is a hoodie, scarf, and gloves.
Commercialization
At this point, there will be a lot of refreshment in advertisement and loading the distribution channel with the product.
Product and Service Decisions
The product with be of uncompromised quality. The extraordinary thing about the winter eagle is that it is attached to gloves and a scarf. It has a great quality that lasts for a couple of years without being ripped apart or ruined. The product will be offered in varied colors, sizes, and designs. Most importantly, it should be able to resist a degree of -30. The product will be packed in a transparent material along with information (size, gender, color, material) of the product. Labels such as the NEW MEN HOODIE WINTER JACKET, 100% brand new! Material: woolen/cotton. Package: 1 x Jacket will be used.
Brand Strategy and Management
The name of the product is winter eagles (W.E). Because the product is a jacket with a hoodie and has gloves and a scarf attached to it. In other words, just like a winter eagle, it is completely covered. The name as well avoids confusion with other competitive products branded as winter gears. The brand logo will be WINTER EAGLE. The slogan or tagline will be “Fly with an eagle in winter” however, this will be static but will be refreshed after every winter season to capture the consumer perception of the day.
Pricing
Pricing Considerations
Internal factors that were considered when setting prices included: the objectives of the company, marketing mix strategy affecting pricing decisions
in terms of company objectives, survival was considered because of the demand declines and heavy competition due to the changing end-user needs and preferences. More so, being a start-up, survival is more important than returns and, thus, low prices were set to enhance demand. The cost of production and cost of promotion were the main drivers of arriving at the price. The distribution channels to be used also affected the price. Since, the product will be distributed in places where the target market is, several shops will be set up which increased the price a little bit. Costs of production as well played a significant role in setting the price.
That is, in the long-term, an organization is likely to fail if it disposes of its products for less than the cost incurred on production. On the same note, the price was at a level where the gross profit margin will be sufficient to foot the fixed costs.
The external factors were competition, the state of the economy, the bargaining power of end-users, and the state of the product market. Most of the competitors are well established and their prices range within $230-300. What the company avoided was setting a lower price than would be associated with the quality of the product. That is, when it comes to consumer goods when the price is too low, most potential usually think is of low quality. That is why WINTER EAGLE was priced in an acceptable range.
The state of the product is that there is no comparable product in the market. Hence, once things pick the price is likely to shift depending on the market response. Certainly, from test marketing, the prices will move up. The state of the economy and the purchasing power of consumers were considered. That is, the targeted market is wealthy and can afford the price offered. Also, the state of the economy in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and Canada is encouraging. That is why there is optimism that once the product demand picks the prices will not fall but shift up.
Price-adjustment Strategies
Discount and Allowance Pricing
During the first times of positioning, the company will use discount and allowance pricing to adjust basic prices. This will serve to reward end users for certain reactions and responses, such as paying early, buying in large quantities, and those who buy the product after winter. The rewards will take the form of seasonal allowances, quantity discounts, and cash discounts.
Segmented pricing
Segmented pricing will only be employed when adjusting the basic prices to cater to the differences in locations, products, and end-users. For instance, depending on the response in Canada, Sydney, and Nova Scotia, the company may reset the price to fit these specific markets. However, it must be underlined that the prices set will not be based on the cost of production but on end-user responses.
Psychological pricing
This pricing mechanism will come in after the company has started receiving feedback about the product. In this case, $250 was set based on internal and external factors. However, if the customers will begin associating the product with a high price, then the company will restructure or reset the price accordingly. For instance, if instead of asking for winter Eagle as a brand, customers will be asking a product that costs $500 when is priced at $250. This will mean that the product is of high quality and needs to be priced higher.
Promotional pricing
The company will employ several promotional pricing strategies. In supermarkets and other stores, the product will be priced low to attract clients to the store. This will benefit both the owner of the supermarket and the producer of winter eagle. Special-event pricing particularly during winter will attract more clients. At a time, the company will offer rebates to end users who purchase the products at a particular time. In the case of increased inventories, the company will always offer discounts to increase sales to reduce the increasing stock.
Retailing and Wholesaling (Place)
Since the company has few own distribution or retailing points, it will use available departmental stores, supermarkets, and specialty stores to enhance. There are many reasons for this move. First, the cost of acquiring structures is expensive, and setting up their structures is equally expensive. When setting up their structures, it means the decision is based on the prevailing market situation, but it must be kept in mind that changes are always occurring in the market.
By the time such structures are finished, consumers will be demanding something different from the one previously intended to offer. Another is the costs associated with market research and promotion. Therefore, working with already established retail chains functions as an added advantage to the company as it will benefit from promotional approaches of those retail centers, as well as other things to do with overhead costs.
Advertising and Public Relations
Developing the Advertising Objectives and Strategy
The advertising objective is to make sure that the promotional message reaches the targeted and intended customers. Besides, the message should be understood by the targeted audience. And finally, the message should stimulate the targeted client to take action, which is to buy the product. In this case, the advertising strategy is to use a low-cost media approach to reach targeted or specific clients.
This is based on the fact that televisions do not cost a lot when especially when running the advert for a specific period. In this case, it will be run twice a day some periods leading up to winter. In some cases, an email system or online adverts will be used to capitalize on internet users, especially young people. In this case, the business is likely to develop an email database where it will be sending coupons to clients or inviting them to special events to take advantage of reduced prices. Coupons will be aimed at allowing customers to save a lot on purchases made in the future.
The Television Commercial
A television commercial to be used will be the following although not limited to these lines as continually using one advert leads to boredom. “ Have you ever been on a honeymoon and suddenly gets interrupted by high tides if you have never, this is bound to happen, and this is the solution, throw in some ice and fly over it with an eagle, it is tough, it is strong and will you warm. Winter Eagle is the best answer to extreme conditions. Always insist on winter eagle, not just winter jacket.” The opting part just serves to draw the attention of onlookers because nearly every person would like to go on a honeymoon. The second part introduces the product, and the final part reminds the customer what the product is.
What role can Public Relations play in communicating the message about your product/service?
Mainly, public relations will be used to generate positive media coverage for the company and the product. Public relations will also be responsible for creating goodwill toward the company from its target market. Therefore, in terms of communicating the message about Winter Eagle, public relations will be used to design messages that resonate well with end-users.
Personal Selling and Sales Promotion
Personal Selling
How can you use personal selling to reach your intended target market?
In this case, point of sale merchandising (POS) will be used. Point of sale merchandising will involve direct contact between the retail trade and sales representatives of the manufacturer of winter eagle. The producer or sales representative will visit the retail stores, supermarkets and encourage them to stock more products from his company. The visit will offer the producer the opportunity to set up a small section in the supermarket to promote his products to visiting clients.
Sales Promotion
How can you use the consumer sales promotion tools to reach your intended target market?
Price Deals
In this case, the consumer price deals that will be used include discounts, coupons, rebates or refunds, and bonus pack deals. This will specifically be used to encourage or endorse trial use of the winter eagle jacket. During this process, the main intention will be to attract new purchasers or to convince current clients to enhance their purchases or purchase in large quantities or speed up their use. As such, the targeted clients will register or show up anytime the product is promoted. Besides, end-users may learn about price deals either through advertising on television, at the point of sale in supermarkets, or departmental stores.
Special Events
Special events such as sports, parties, community work can be used to market or promote the product to end-users. In most cases, events tend to attract an audience that is homogeneous and appreciates the sponsors of the event. Thus, the company will ensure that the product perfectly resonates with not just the event, but the audience as well to make sure that the sales promotion impact is very high. During these events, company employees will be involved, and in so doing they will easily intermingle with potential clients and build support afterward.
Loyalty/Continuity programs
Loyalty programs also called continuity programs will be used to promote the product. In this case, clients will be enrolled on a loyalty program so that as they keep coming for more or as they bring their friends they are given incentives in return. The incentives, in this case, may take the form of reduced prices on their part or get a premium. These programs will be aimed at retaining the consumer.
Direct and Online Marketing
Use of direct marketing to effectively reach your intended market
Direct marketing will be used to locate, get in touch, and make offers to consumers. It will be used to directly reach (existing end-users and prospective clients) on a personal basis (cell phone, catalog, telemarketing, or emails) or a mass-media platform (magazine advertisements and infomercials). The best direct marketing is the emailing system. This marketing approach specifically targets end-users via their Email accounts. Although a time is hard to get emails, they can be obtained from forums or even purchased. This approach is cheap and reaches the end user directly and in the shortest time possible.
Using online marketing to sell your product
Online marketing will be used. In today’s marketing, online or content is the king. It is because most people are using the internet and can only be accessed there. The company will have a website, but it will not solely be used to market the product. The product will in most cases be marketed through different websites and supported links where people click and are directed to the company website.
On the websites, the adverts will always pop up or be located at the top of the websites to increases the chances of being seen by potential clients. The company will also use social networks or brand fan pages such as Facebook. It is based on the fact that most people have been registered on these social sites. The best thing about marketing through social sites is that when people land the product information, they are likely to tell their friends about it and that how the brand name will be promoted.