The Product Positioning Statement

A marketing plan is important when running businesses since it analyzes marketing objectives and aligns them with the marketing strategy in order to meet the marketing goal (Luther, 2001). The products which will be marketed and sold to the market are designer clothing such as ladies dresses, gowns, shoes, handbags, men’s shoes, sports wear and others. The clothing store will target the upper social class population in society. In addition to this, baby boomers are also a target market since they have a high spending power (Market Research Website, 2009). Women will also form the bulk of the target market due to their attraction to designer clothing.

The mission of the business is to be the top clothing store in the state within the next five years and be the top clothing store in the United States within the next decade. The objective of the business is to create wealth among people who own share in the business. Our products are designed through the use of the latest technology and trends in the market, and they will therefore satisfy consumer needs. An aggressive campaign will be used to advertise products in order to create awareness. A research department will predict market trends in the future and this information will be used to design better quality products than those of competitors.

This paper will assess various aspects of the marketing plan including positioning with regards to competition, business strategies, pricing, promotion and product decisions, growing and new market strategies, strategic choices for declining and mature markets, effective implementation and measurement and delivery of market performance. More details on these issues will be discussed below;

Positioning

The product positioning statement will be “For people with rich taste in designer clothing that satisfies personal customized needs through developing high quality clothing unlike other competitors”. The mission of the business is to be the top clothing store in the state within the next five years and be the top clothing store in the United States within the next decade. The objective of the business is to create wealth among people who own share in the business. The combination of aggressive advertising and developing high quality products through market research will ensure the realization of these goals. Unlike many other competitors who do not have accurate information on market trends, the research department will predict these trends and create appropriate products to meet market needs.

The target market, that is the upper social class, knows its product needs due to the availability of market information. Relevant research and use of new technology will bridge the gap between the consumer needs and products offered to the market. This will provide an edge over competitors who have not invested enough on market research and new technology. Periodic evaluation of the marketing plan will ensure that the plan is successful in the long run.

Business Strategies: A Foundation for Marketing Program Decisions

The strategy which will be pursued will be the customer intimacy strategy. Under this strategy, the company focuses on customer service and customer attention (Tracy & Wiersema, 1995). The products which are sold are tailored according to needs of customers. Since these clothing products sold are exclusive and custom made according to buyers, this strategy is consistent with products sold and business objectives. Various aspects of marketing will be implemented using this strategy and these include lifetime value concept, delivery on time, customer relationships and reliability of products. These aspects will ensure that customer loyalty is developed and that customer needs are met. This will be favorable for the clothing store as there will be an increase in numbers of repeat customers and this will achieve consistency in sales levels in the long term.

In order to be successful in implementing the strategy, products should be designed through the use of the latest technology and trends in the market, in order to satisfy consumer needs. A research department will predict market trends in the future and this information will be used to design better quality products than those of competitors. An aggressive campaign will be used to advertise products in order to create awareness. The designing of high quality products and marketing them aggressively will ensure that the marketing objective is achieved.

Product Decisions

The products sold will be designer women’s clothing wear and they will include shoes, handbags and clothing from designers such as Gucci, Burberry, Tod’s, Fendi, Armani, Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada among others. These are well established designers and the target market identifies with them. They will be exclusive products which will attract clients from the higher social classes in society who spend a lot on fashion. The products will have the benefit of prestige, comfort and the ability to be custom made according to needs of clients. Some of these products will feature signatures by individual designers in order to increase their exclusivity. They will be made from precious metals and rare materials such as silver, gold and diamond. Their designs and colors will be determined by individual customers according to their preferences and tastes.

Pricing Decisions

The pricing objectives will be to set up competitive prices which reflect the quality of products developed for consumers. The product prices should also reflect prices consistent with luxurious products which the upper social class can identify with. As earlier discussed, a one-size-fits-all pricing strategy will be used. All similar products will be sold at the same prices irrespective of the market sold. This will be done to ensure that the products retain their prestige as luxury goods. Since they are targeted at the rich, this will be consistent with their purchase power. In order to encourage consumers to purchase these products, trade and quantity discounts will be offered. The trade discount and quantity discount will each be 5% for more than $500 spent on any products.

A pull strategy will be implemented in marketing the clothing wear. This strategy involves delivery of products to consumers after they have requested for them. In this case, most products will only be developed after customers have requested for them. The clothing store will deal in luxury products and most of these are custom-made for consumers. Unless consumers give exact specifications, it will be difficult to create products which meet market needs.

Integrated Promotion Decisions

The objective of the marketing plan is to create awareness of the products and sell them to the target market in order to meet the sales targets. A combination of production of quality products, aggressive marketing and distribution will ensure the achievement of this goal. The sales targets as earlier discussed are $20,000 for the first month and this figure is expected to increase to $48,000 by the end of the year. Cash flow levels are also expected to rise from $5000 in January to $24,000 in December. The overall budget estimates for the opening of the clothing store will be $200,000. The per capita cost of acquisition of customers will vary with markets, but this is expected to be approximately $100 in the first month judging by the advertising costs of $2000 and targeted 20 customers during the first month. However, the figure will increase with growth of the market and clients.

The media plan will be consistent with the marketing strategies. A cost of $2000 will be incurred during the first month. The target audience will be the business executives, top actors, musicians and people in the fashion industry. Other targets include people in the upper social classes. The Internet and mass media will be primarily used in marketing and $1000 and $600 will be the sums used respectively. Internet advertising will primarily revolve around the company website. International media such as CNN will also be included in advertising.

Strategies for New and Growing Markets

In order to expand into new and growing markets, the marketing department will be expected to research and identify markets which have the potential to consume our products. Since we deal in luxury products, developed countries will form the bulk of the market. As part of the expansion plan, the clothing store will expand and open stores throughout America and later venture into Europe and other continents. After identification of these markets, a PEST and SWOT analysis will be carried out to ascertain the market environment in these markets. Other factors such as cultural attributes, political and economic factors will be assessed to ensure that the market is feasible and there are few constraints to trade.

In order to market products in these new markets, competition will be analyzed and competitor strategies evaluated in order to develop unique products which meet market needs. An international marketing strategy will be used in marketing and this will involve use of the Internet, international media such as CNN and other networks which are available in target markets. Strategic partnerships with major players in these markets will also be a key strategy since consumers in these markets identify with these partners.

Strategic Choices for Mature and Declining Markets

When dealing with mature and declining markets, the most important factor to assess is the feasibility of attracting new consumers or retaining the present customers (Miller, 2003). Market research will be carried out in such markets to determine if there are strategies which can be used to stimulate market growth. Factors which cause the market decline will also be evaluated to assess whether they can be reversed. If the market decline is found to be reversible, these factors will be employed to stimulate market growth. However, in cases where the market is stagnant or is declining and this cannot be reversed, then the store will pull out from the market. This will ensure that losses are minimized and costs reduced in order to achieve profitability.

Organizing and Planning for Effective Implementation

In order to fully implement this strategy, both human and capital resources are required. Human resource is important in implementing decisions management makes, and these directly affect the customer. Employees will need to be motivated using financial and non financial means in order to improve their productivity (Fogg, 2000). Since employees directly deal with customers, their motivation levels will affect the relationship which the clothing store has with customers. Involving them in implementing these strategies will ensure that their performance is improved and value added to customer service.

In terms of capital resources, IT will be the major resource incorporated into the store to increase efficiency. IT will be integrated in marketing, research and innovation as well as protection of records and systems which run the store. The store will use machinery which meets the highest standards of quality standards present in the clothing market. Periodic evaluations will be undertaken to establish whether the store meets all its set goals. The marketing strategy will be changed if these evaluations reveal that the store does not meet its set goals.

Measuring and Delivering Marketing Performance

As previously discussed, the marketing plan will be assessed after every four months in order to establish whether it meets its goals. There are various pointers which will be assessed and these will include sales levels, customer feedback, profit levels and others. Sales and profit levels will be measured against the target sales and profits to find out of they are consistent with the targets. If there are any shortfalls according to targets, this will indicate problems in marketing and an evaluation will be done to unearth the problem. Customer feedback will be used regularly since it is the best form of feedback for any product. Customer feedback will be obtained through the internet on the company website.

Direct feedback will also be sourced through suggestion boxes and dialog with employees at the clothing store premises. There will be a change in the marketing plan if it proves to be ineffective. Change will involve changes in the promotion and price strategies as well as the overall product quality. A subsequent research will reveal the inconsistencies between developed products and market needs, which will form the basis of changing the marketing strategies.