Enhancing the Marketing Plan - Essay Example

? Enhancing the Marketing Plan Introduction An effective marketing plan is essential for any organization to sustain in the competitive business environment. It is significant for every organization to plan the marketing strategy and implement it in efficient manner so that it can increase the sales and help the organization to make a strong position in the respective industry. The paper is focused on analyzing the marketing plan of an athletic footwear and apparel company named Geno's Sports Apparel. Besides, the paper will also describe the competitors of Geno's Sports Apparel, major differentiating factors and intention of the company to become a leader in the ‘athletic footwear and apparel’ market. Further, the macro environmental factors will also be considered in the paper to understand the significant trend which can impact on the business of the company. Company’s Competitor Geno's Sports Apparel deals in athletic footwear and apparel products and seeks to achieve higher sales and good brand reputation. The athletic footwear and apparel industry is considered as highly competitive as there are several big players in the market where Geno’s Sports Apparel operates. The major competitor of Geno’s Sports Apparel in terms of athletic footwear products is Finish Line which operates in the similar marketing segment. Besides Finish Line, Geno’s Sports Apparel also faces a direct competition from other athletic goods providing organizations such as Payless ShoeSource, Dick’s Sporting Goods among others. The major strengths of Finish Line, one of the biggest competitors is the ability to understand the preferences of customers and act accordingly. Thus, the company offers coupons and discounts to the customers to increase sales. Finish line is much concerned about promoting latest products to the customers. The major weakness of Finish Line has been the number of retail outlets. The number of stores of Finish Line is less which creates difficulty for the company to distribute products effectively. Besides, providing newest products can also cost more and are inefficient in this business environment as many customers can concentrate on saving money and purchasing inexpensive products due to economic downturn (Sweeney, 2009). The other competitors named Payless ShoeSource have good geographic location which provides the company a competitive advantage. Its business is expanded in almost 50 counties within the international market. Payless ShoeSource has great financial strength which helps to spread the business globally. Besides, the sales in women’s shoe category are strong and the company has also strong position in the market of the USA. The major weakness of Payless ShoeSource is higher fixed cost which led to lower profit margin. Furthermore, the company experienced huge amount of loss due to surplus inventory. The business of Payless ShoeSource is highly reliant on third party producers which make the company much vulnerable to survive in the competitive market (Cullin, 2007). Differentiation of Products Differentiation is necessary in order to improve the business and develop a unique brand identity. The main differentiation of Geno’s Sports Apparel with respect to the other competitors is the innovative marketing strategy. Geno’s Sports Apparel will provide tailored retailing programs and develop exclusive store atmosphere which replicates a distinct retailing style than other rivals. The effective enactment of this strategy helps the company to increase the customer base and preserve brand reliability. Geno’s Sports Apparel can also differentiates the brand from closest competitor Finish Line through providing customers with ranges of athletic attires which are designed according to their requirement. The company needs to offer focused collection of sports equipments to the customers which is the other differentiating factor (Sweeney, 2009). Through the advanced marketing communication strategies, such as implementing good customer service model, Geno’s Sports Apparel can successfully communicate with the customers and satisfy their requirements. As a part of differentiating the products, Geno’s Sports Apparel needs to invest more on the development of website and retail stores. It can help to make a good presence in the web and also generate a pleasant shopping experience for customers. In order to increase the brand reputation, Geno’s Sports Apparel can develop more attractive merchandise exhibition comprising new demonstration of the footwear and apparel collections. The company will trade the products through online shopping due to changes in purchasing pattern of people. The differentiation will allow Geno’s Sports Apparel to develop the stock collections and to invest in the marketing creativities which can strengthen the business performance due to providing unique and highly convincing offerings. Geno’s Sports Apparel will compete with its closest competitor Finish Line through its specialty outlets, athletic good outlets, superstores, departmental supplies, discount stocks, traditional shoe outlets, and bulk merchandisers. The major differentiating factors of Geno’s Sports Apparel in market will be cost, quality, variety, brand reputation, location of outlets, promotion and good customer service. Differentiation of products determines the success in the athletic footwear and apparel industry. Through implementing effective marketing strategy, Geno’s Sports Apparel can successfully differentiated itself by providing customers with a convenient shopping experience with ranges of products (Sweeney, 2009). Intention to Become Leader/Follower Geno’s Sports Apparel seeks to become a leader rather than follower in the athletic footwear and apparel industry. The company is incessantly increasing the business in the global market. Geno’s Sports Apparel needs to develop strategies to fuel the progress of its business in other nations such as Europe, UK, and Asia. To become a market leader, Geno’s Sports Apparel should utilize growth strategies and take advantage of every opportunity in the international market. By using every modern ways to convince and reach to the potential customers for instance e-commerce media for progression of business, Geno’s Sports Apparel can strengthen the web presence for better customer satisfaction and to make them experience an enjoyable shopping. In order to become a leader in the retail sector, Geno’s Sports Apparel should appeal, develop and maintain the talented employees. The company will try to develop a customer oriented culture in their organization to increase the sales (Sweeney, 2009). Geno’s Sports Apparel is quite optimistic to create a strong base in the athletic footwear and apparel industry. As a part of becoming leader in the industry, Geno’s Sports Apparel desires to become a supreme merchandiser among other athletic brands. Thus, the company provides the customers with ranges of footwear products and develops strong marketing strategies so that it can motivate maximum customers to the outlets. Geno’s Sports Apparel also provides robust customer service by generating an exciting and a reliable shopping atmosphere and making it simple for the customers to shop (Sweeney, 2009). Macro Environmental Issues The market of global athletic footwear and apparel industry was almost 278.4 billion USD in the year 2007 and the USA is recognized as the dominant market in this sector (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, n.d.). Economic Issues: The USA has capitalist economic system which is equipped with rich natural resources, well industrialized arrangement and high efficiency. It is the biggest economy in the world and is also one of the biggest exporters of goods. The major trends in economy of the USA are the economic recessions in late 2000s, commodity boom, housing bubble and subprime mortgage crisis among others which is significant for Geno’s Sports Apparel to contend in the business environment (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, n.d.). Social Issues: The social trend can impact on the sales of Geno’s Sports Apparel. The lifestyle of people is comparatively higher than other developing economies. The attitudes of people are changing continuously and majority of customers prefer branded products. The products of Geno’s Sports Apparel comes with good design and focus on the people who are related with sport activities. Technological Issues: The USA is considered as technologically highly advanced country in every sector including from agriculture to retail. In terms of consumer products, the citizens of the USA have high preference of using internet shopping and technological products. Thus, there is an opportunity for Geno’s Sports Apparel to increase its presence in the e-commerce and also invest more in research and development for incorporating technology in the apparel and footwear products (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, n.d.). Legal Issue: The USA has numerous regulations in conducting business. The laws and regulations are enacted for securing a fair competition in the market. In order to perform business, Geno’s Sports Apparel needs to abide by every laws and regulations of the government. Most Significant Trend The most significant trend in the athletic footwear and apparel industry is globalization. Globalization can lead to creation of new strategies in order to expand the reach in the international market. Due to globalization several retailers are quickly transitioning their businesses into international operations. As the competition in the athletic footwear and apparel industry is becoming more aggressive, organizations’ businesses longer are enduring in national boundary. Therefore, Geno’s Sports Apparel needs to continuously renovate its strategy in order to understand the global market and benefit of any prospect in the international market. There are several reasons for Geno’s Sports Apparel and other competitors to globalize their business. As the domestic markets of western economies are becoming slow and flooded with numerous providers, there are increased prospects in the emerging markets for Geno’s Sports Apparel. Thus, in order to maintain a secure position and become a leader in the athletic footwear and apparel market, Geno’s Sports Apparel needs to gradually move towards the emerging economies (Sweeney, 2009). Conclusion Geno’s Sports Apparel is operating its business in extreme competitive environment where the company needs to be very cautious about macro environmental aspects. As economies become more intense and competitors come out with innovative strategies and products, it will put much pressure on the profitability of Geno’s Sports Apparel. The marketing plans of Geno’s Sports Apparel require more investment and close attention. Also, trends of customers are changing. Therefore, in order to maintain its position in the athletic footwear and apparel market, Geno’s Sports Apparel needs to respond rapidly with the altering customers’ needs and requirements. References Cullin, C. (2007). Payless ShoeSource: A Financial Analysis of the Company. Retrieved from http://www.lagrange.edu/resources/pdf/citations/2007/accounting/accounting%20-%20cullins.pdf COMSATS Institute of Information Technology. (n.d). PEST Analysis of USA. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CE8QFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmba13c.files.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fpest-analysis-usa1.doc&ei=thPiTqzrA8jqrAen2pH2AQ&usg=AFQjCNHWSLrYvoqGTGeTW2Mh2I4fy-CXmQ&sig2=IE6Ia5N06-tkuBcjgmilyg Sweeney, R. A. (2009). A Strategic Analysis of Foot Locker, Inc. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1091&context=honors Read More