Three Year Marketing Plan for Defra Robes - Case Study Example

Marketing Management Three Year Marketing Plan for Defre Robes Executive Summary This three year plan for the marketing of the products of this company has been designed by the chief executive officer and also the founder in order to be able to secure more finances for uplifting the company and to pass information about the company's current status and future direction tom its employees. Though this company was started this year, it has experienced a greater demand for its products than previously anticipated and research has indicated that the target market is increasing with sports minded individual consumers and retailers in sports wear likely to purchase more products that what Defre robes currently offers (Gibbon 2002). Defre Robes is also intending to extend it product line and probably add new lines as well. Additionally, the firm plans to venture in online opportunities by creating ecommerce tool. The market has been very receptive of the products offered. High quality products, designer and party robes for pets coming in trendy colours, with logos and slogans that portray outdoor enthusiasm (Hiebing & Cooper 2003). Company Description Defre Robes was established this year by Defredor Ashira, who is a young and ambitious entrepreneur. Ashira has a degree in fashion and Design from as reputable university; he has also worked in a designer firm for two years where at a time which he did his post graduate diploma in marketing. This company is a reflection of Ashira's Love for outdoor activities and especially those that involves pets and show-offs (Westwood 2006). The company's original cotton robes for pets to play in are superb and convenient in games, hiking, and other games (Kotler 2003) Defre robes are currently stored in several retail stores across the United Kingdom; they include areas like Camden, Warwick, Hampstead, and London. The company also intends to increase to other place like Whitley bay and Hungerford before the end of this year. The products have unique slogans, well coordinated colours and of greater quality. The firm is also dedicated to conserving the environment through the support of environmental programs. This marketing plan will outline Defre's plan to introduce newer products, increase distribution and venture into new markets and give back to the society as well (Hiebing & Cooper 2003). Business Overview Defer robes target individual who appreciate their pets and also like outdoor activities. Sportswear retailers will also form the second majority clients. This is in view of the fact that people are increasingly devoting some time to take care of their pets and going with them out for outdoor activities like hiking, normal walks, touring recreation sites their pets. It's been found that well dressed pets are attractive to carry around or even take them for a walk (Okwiya 2009). The company intends to blend these attires by opening a sports centre for the pets' outdoor activities and games. The pricing of the prices is relatively fair with a simple robe for a pet (smaller size) going for $40 dollars and the most expensive one is barely $ 80. The firm is still very young and most of the dales are done directly while the rest are stored in retailer stores and few distributors. The firm also realizes that technology is increasing and that online services will be more convenient. And as such, the firm also intends to open online services in future and eventually start recreation activates for pets. The firm has another compound near Warwick where it can set up a place the people can go to relax and have good time with their pets (Gibbon 2002) There are few competitors who manufacture pets cloths in London an major teems in UK but this will be overcome by Defre's strategy which includes direct selling to the clients and organizing events like fashion shows, exhibitions and plays for pets (Okwiya 2009). Mission and Goals The corporate mission for Defre Robes is to be the leading producer and supplier of personalized robes for pets to their customers and especially those who love outdoors. The company wants to inspire people to take good care of their pets and to go for outdoor activities more often. In a period of three years, Defre intends to achieve a lot of financial and non-financial goals among other things. People aged 18 to 35 are likely to love their pets and also the very elderly ones above 55 years (Gibbon 2002). The product to be launched is the designer and sports robes for pets. There are several pets designed for the common pets like dogs and cats. Other types of pets are also put into consideration like the monkeys. Tourism in UK has increased and as such even the local people are increasingly touring local sites and would like to carry (Kotler 2003) Financial Goals include; 1. Gaining a revenue of more than 50% each year 2. acquiring Finances to expand production capacity, increase their distribution and to be able to introduce new products and services as well 3. to be able to donate some money each year to the environmental conservation programs (Gibbon 2002) Non-Financial Goals include; 1. Introduction of new products especially customized designs, logo, and colour 2. Expand to new market in areas outside London and Warwick 3. establish a successful online marketing while maintaining a strong bond with retailers (Gibbon 2002) 4. Plat an integral part in the conservation of the environment as a way of giving back to the community Key Competencies Defre robes will capitalize on its core competencies to deal with competition from those firms which produce clothing for pets. In order to attain a sustainable competitive advantage, Defre Robes will provide high quality products which will be customized as well. Already, the firm is developing very strong key competency areas in 1). Providing high quality customized robes (sports and designer robes) which are recognizable among clients; 2). Encouraging specialization among customers who buy these products; 3) established a reputable name among clients as a reliable supplier, delivering the specified products on time. Defre intends to optimize on these factors by use of marketing efforts that enhance the volume of products offered plus the distribution (Kotler 2003). Establishing good rapport with clients, distributors and suppliers, the firm will be able to create a sustainable competitive advantage over other manufacturers. It will ensure that no other company can offer with conviction to their customers what is supplied at Defre Robes (Gibbon 2002). Situation Analysis The market situation for Defre Robes presents a lot of potential and overwhelming opportunity which need to be exploited. Thought there are a number of challenges that the firm believes can be successfully overcome. For this reason, a SWOT analysis was conducted by the marketers of Defre Robes. The SWOT analysis is just a tip of what will happen once the firm is established. In a period of one year, Blue Sky has established some inspiring strengths and anticipates even more opportunities. Its committed management, dedicated workers, and increasing number of loyal clients and good financial planning outputs the company in a better position of growing very big(Gibbon 2002). Nonetheless, as Defre anticipates increase of its product line and spread to fresh market, the firm will have to protect against myopia and quality slippages Strengths 1. The dedicated workers and management understand the requirements of the customers and product 2. currently the firm has very little debt but enjoys a lot of potential for expansion 3. the products from Defre robes are receiving overwhelming acceptance in the community and several market places 4. For maximum quality control, Defre Robes deals with few Suppliers Weaknesses 1. the founder of the business can loose focus the mission and scope of t he business 2. very few clients across the country know about the products offered by Defre 3. since the firms has just begun, its financial flow is limited 4. the firm relies on few supplies and this can greatly limit production when these few suppliers go out of market Opportunities 1. Defre Robes is slowly establishing loyal customers who are likely to frequent their stores for the new products 2. the market demands are so dynamic that they need to be filed with new products like the invention of Defre , customized, designer and special function robes 3. Defre Has an chance to expand to other unexploited market in the UK 4. the firm can increase its client base, sales, and acquire effect transactions online Threats 1. customers may get tired of the notion maintained by the firm for long 2. other companies dealing in clothing for pets may launch a similar product 3. sale of clothing for pets has over the years not been very consistent 4. The relationship between customers and the company may deteriorate because of a feeling of internal competition on especially the planned internet marketing. The Target Market The target market fro Defre is the active clients between the ages of 18 to 45 who like outdoor activities and value their pets going for a walk, taking a pet to places they can play. They are in most cases not very good at what they will do but they enjoy at the end of the day. People in this age group are very active; they could be married, single, and supporting families. With an average income of $ 60,000 to about $120,000 per year; the income could be good but due to financial problems like th4e recession, people are every conscious with pricing and consistently seek to quality in these targets. Due to age, these clients are very active and outdoor for their pets are very suitable (Gibbon 2002). The Marketing Mix Basically the marketing mix will involve the concept of the 4 P's (i.e. Price, Promotion, Place and product). The Product- Defre offers high quality robes fro pets specially designed fro outdoor activities. For instanced in case of playing basket ball, or talking a walk. The firm has established the best colour coordination (grey, cactus green, jungle green, and river rock). The robes bear a slogan chosen by the client and the firm's logo. Over the year to come, Defer robes intend to expand business by introducing another production likely. This will see the customer's selves the loge they like fro their pets based May be based on the type of sport the clients like of the massage he/she wasn't to convey to the rest (Kyle 2009) Place- this is basically related to selling of the product, the product has to arrive at the correct place in time. Currently, Defre does its dealings with marketing stores. Several specialty salts are found almost everywhere across the country. Currently the products of this firm have not gone on national level or even international. Its products are not stored by other stores apart from the ones in contract with Defre Robes. The changes in seasons and climatic conditions are great determinants of the way people engaged in the outside activities and also on how often they go out on vacation or play (Kyle 2009). Defre plans to increase supply over the next three years to retail specialty stores all over the nation. Concentrating on the regions that are attractive to tourists like the Warwick areas. In order to reach a wider base of customers, the firm intends to ensure that it opens and runs an online marketing program that will offer customized products. Eventually the firm will be able to establish internet kiosk at the critical store outlets to allow customers to place orders for their products specifying all the details plus making sure that the firm keeps the close relationship with retailers (Kyle 2009). Promotion- communication with the clients is done in several ways, since the company is still young, direct mailing has been central in the communication processes. However, the company has placed some information on the internet and it's currently planning to launch its website that will comprehensively cover all the details about the company. Promotion, advertising and marketing are more less the same thing and the firm has utilized direct mailing, phone, flyers, posters and ads in the news papers to differentiate its product from that of the other firms. These strategies have proved to build relationships and to establish confidence in the new products that are bout to be launched. Currently, public relationships and sales promotions constitute the bulk of Defre's marketing strategy (Gibbon 2002). The Price- just as identified earlier, the firm is very sensitive to competition in its approach to setting up prices. Defre Robes is not basically concerned about making the firm very expensive or look luxurious neither is it trying to achieve objective of offsetting low prices by making large volumes of sales. Rather value pricing is the method used here. This type of strategy has allowed people to access very comfortable robes all designed according to what they want (Changchien & Lin 2005). The Budget The firm is expected to enjoy increased sales for year it begun and this year. The following table shows last year this year and the projected three years for which this marketing plan is to run (Changchien & Lin 2005) The Timeline for expansion and introduction of new lines will be according to the following table. The process of implementing every activity will be closely monitored and assessed for determination of its performance (Gibbon 2002) Task Year 2010 Year 2011 Year 2012 New Stores opened 12 20 35 Customized products 6 logos/ 12 slogans 6logos/15 slogans 5logos/ 13 slogans Defre Robes anticipates to proceed with its operations into the future, with no intentions whatsoever for quitting the market. Rather, the firm looks forward to enhancing its presence in the market. Presently there are no plans for mergers or acquiring public stock offering (Changchien & Lin 2005). Communication Plan Several means will be used to communicate both internally and externally. Internal information will be conveyed by use of Data sheets, sales guides, business seminars, and presentations. On the other hand, External communication will be effected via press releases, customer case studies and product announcements (Changchien & Lin 2005). Monitoring and Evaluating Results In order to gauge whether the marketing efforts are fruitful, the established goals like trade shows will be evaluated under success merits. For instance if there is no benefit from the trade show, then the firm will change tactic and focus on conferences while it tries to improve the manner of presentation. Progress reports will also be analyzed used and published and copies made to the CEO, workers. Each marketing effort will be evaluated singly (McDonalds 2007). Up to Date Marketing Outcome Summary Defre has is far been able to penetrate about 1% of the market segmentation having opened several stores over the past one year. The launch of this new product will enable it to get a wider audience and inspire hope for future as this is expected to translate into sales as already indicated (McDonalds 2007). Nonetheless, the firm has been experiencing problems in attaining overall sale growth target References Changchien S.W & Lin M (2005). Design and Implementation of. A Case-Based Reasoning System for Marketing Plans. Expert Systems. With Applications, Vol.28' Issue 1 pp 42 - 54 Gibbon P (2002). At the Cutting Edge. Financing UK Clothing Retailers. Sourcing Patterns. Competition and Change Vol 6, Issue 3.pp 290 - 310 Hiebing R.G & Cooper S.W. (2003).The Successful Marketing Plan. McGraw-Hill Professional. Kotler P. (2003). Marketing Management. Prentice Hall Kyle B (2009). Developing a Marketing Plan Outline and Writing the Plan. Websitemarketingplan.Com retrieved on 31st July 2009 from http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/marketing_management/5steps.htm McDonalds (2007).Marketing Plans. Butterworth-Heinemann Okwiya R (2009). How to Write a Successful Marketing Plan. Business and Finance. Associated Content. Retrieved on 31srt July 2009 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1966798/how_to_write_a_successful_marketing.html'cat=35Rose OKwiya Westwood J. (2006). How to Write a Marketing Plan. Kogan Page.' Read More