Mayfair Sports Fitness Center Marketing Strategy - Assignment Example

Contents Contents 1 Executive summary 3 Introduction 4 Marketing strategy 4 Human resources strategy 8 Conclusion 13 References: 14 Running header: venture start up marketing and HR strategies. Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: Mayfair sports fitness center Marketing strategy and human resources strategy Executive summary The following report has ben prepared by ‘new Start up’ consultancy services limited on behalf of Mayfair sports fitness center which is a new venture operating in Mayfair. The venture intends to be offering sports fitness services to sportsmen throughout the region. In addition, the venture will also deal with selling of various sports equipments to the market in a bid to boost its profitability. the report presents its initial marketing strategy which will enable it achieve its marketing objectives as well as its human resources strategy aimed at helping it achieve its overall goals and objectives. The marketing strategy describes its products offering, the pricing and promotion strategy as well as the distribution strategy it will adopt. The venture intends to adopt a premium pricing strategy for its products and employ a mixture of promotional techniques including events sponsoring as well as media campaigns as part of its promotional strategy. In addition, the report outlines the distribution channels to be used by the firm in marketing its products. These include use of distributors, opening of branches as well as the use of major outlet stores located in various places. The report also describes the human resources strategy that the venture intends to employ in its bid to achieve its objectives. The components of the human resources strategy described include recruitment and selection, employee development, employee relations, employee benefits as well as performance measures to be implemented. Introduction In order for any organisation to achieve its objectives, it needs to have put in place sound strategies which will give it direction in its bid to achieve its vision and objectives. Some of the most important strategies that an organisation needs to put in place before it starts operation includes the marketing strategy as well as the human resources strategy (Geoffrey, 2010). Marketing strategy is the process which allows the firm focus its limited resources on the greatest opportunities in a bid to increase sales while achieving sustainable competitive advantage. As such, the strategy incorporates the firms marketing goals, policies and action sequences into cohesive whole. On the other hand, the human resources strategy is aimed at developing the skills, attitudes and behaviors that assist workers meet the firm’s objectives (Alfred, 2007). This report is aimed at outlaying the marketing and HR strategy of Mayfair sports fitness center that will help in achievement of the ventures objectives. Marketing strategy Introduction The following is the marketing strategy that outlines the ventures game plan to achieve its marketing objectives. It should be noted that the marketing strategy may be changed with time as the venture continues to grow and has established itself as a reliable place for sports fitness services. Products The venture intends to offer a wide variety of sports fitness services as well as a wide range of sports equipments. It is hoped that by combining the sports fitness services with sports equipment business, the venture will be providing a one stop center for sports people and hence offer a chance for increased sales to Mayfair sports fitness center (Michael, 2008). This is because sportsmen coming for fitness services will be expected to be purchasing our sports equipments as need arises. On the other hand customers coming to purchase sporting equipment will realize a good place where they can get quality sports fitness services cheaply. a) Services The services to be offered will include fitness testing and exercise prescription which will be intended to ensure that customers achieve the flexibility they desire, muscular strength as well as the right body composition. The venture will also offer educational classes on how customers (sports men) can use their metabolic results, the principles of strength training and nutrition necessary for peak performance. Biofeedback services to be offered by the venture will include breathing techniques and progressive relaxation techniques. There will also be a civilian fitness program to be offered to people who are not necessarily sports people. b) Sporting equipment Mayfair sports fitness center will also offer a wide variety of high quality sporting equipments in addition to offering sports fitness services (Stephen, 2005). Consequently, the ventures sporting equipments menu will include all the sporting equipments. The sports equipment to be offered by the company will include track running shoes, jerseys, base layers and shorts among other sporting equipments for a variety of sports such as base ball, track and field events, soccer, tennis, basket ball as well as cricket. The venture will also sell game equipment for outdoor activities including tennis, golf, cycling, wrestling, aquatic activities auto racing as well as athletic activities for both men and women. In addition, all the equipments sold by the venture will have a taste for the youth since they form the greater composition of sports men and women. Pricing strategy Mayfair sports fitness center intends to offer high quality products and services and hence target customers who embrace product intimacy (Graham and John, 2008). This will in turn help the venture to pursue a premium pricing model by setting relatively higher prices than its competitors due to the fact that people associate high prices with high quality. The higher pricing will therefore push the perceived product value. After the consumers have established product intimacy, they will associate Mayfair sports fitness center with the high quality products and hence they will be willing to pay whatever the quoted price will be provided it has our trade mark (label). It is also worth noting that Mayfair sports fitness center will use the vertical integrated pricing strategy in which the venture will take the ownership of the customers at differing channel levels. The venture will also engage in multifarious channel level operations in a bid to control costs and thus influence pricing function. Promotion Apart from offering to the market products that will be of high quality which will lead to high level of customer loyalty, the venture also intends to use promotional and communication strategies that are superb (Orville, 2003). Mayfair sports fitness center intends to contract some of the professional as well as celebrity sports men in a bid to draw considerable attention to its products and services. Some of the sports men the venture will seek to sign include football stars including Renaldo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldhino; basketballers will include lane Armstrong as well as Lebron James and the golf superstar Tiger woods. It is expected that this will create a relatively high level of Mayfair sports fitness center products awareness. The venture also intends to sponsor a number of regional and local sporting events during which our products will be aggressively advertised (Isobel, 2008). In so doing, it is expected that the venture’s awareness (public image) will be greatly boosted. Apart from the above marketing efforts, Mayfair sports fitness center also intends to undertake a very aggressive mass media campaign for its products and services. This is intended to reach millions of people who may not participate in the media events. Distribution Mayfair sports fitness center realizes that the distribution strategy adopted by the firm will either give it a competitive edge in the market or make it lag behind the winners in the market. The more efficient the distribution strategy adopted, the more sales are realized and hence more profitability (Franklin, 2005). Delivering the right products at the right time and in the right place will not only enhance utility but will also enhance customer satisfaction as well as customer loyalty. Mayfair sports fitness center will distribute its products and offer its services on level basis. The venture will appoint distributors to sell its high priced premium products while the low priced products will be sold by mega retail stores. In addition, the venture will open many branches all over the region which will help in marketing its sports fitness services in addition to serving as points of sale for its sports equipments. Human resources strategy Introduction The new Mayfair sports fitness center realizes that without staff, it’s impossible to achieve anything. This human resources strategy sets out how the company will ensure that its staff are productive, valued and rewarded in a bid to ensure that our vision and objectives are realized both presently and in future. Context This strategy is more concerned on internal arrangement and is designed to ensure that Mayfair sports fitness center has the right people in the right place and at the right time and as such, it is of paramount importance in helping the new venture achieve its objectives (Peter, 2005). Implication for the human resources strategy - The strategy implies the need to recruit as well as retain high quality personnel in the area of sports so as to meet the current and future needs of the venture. - The need to have highly motivated performing staff who will continuously seek to improve the services offered to our customers. - The need to encourage and advance equality of opportunity in employment through elimination of discrimination. -The need to provide a good working environment that enables the venture to meet its objectives. Vision and aims of the strategy The vision of this HR strategy is maintaining a stable, well motivated, skilled and high performing staff, who will work in a safe and non discriminatory environment and whose efforts will be recognized and rewarded accordingly. The aims of the strategy designed to achieve the vision include; a) Recruitment and selection- the venture will aim to recruit and retain highly skilled staff to meet the present and future needs using methods which promote equality of opportunity and enhance a good public image for the venture. b) Employee development- the venture will have highly skilled staff that will continuously learn in order to respond appropriately to customer needs and requirements. c) Employee relations- good employee relations in turn enhance good public image and performance. The venture will therefore maintain an excellent as well as conflict free employer-employee relations climate which will enable the ventures objectives as well as customers requirements to be met on a timely basis. d) Employee benefits- the venture will ensure that staff are rewarded appropriately and ensure attractive and cost effective benefits in a bid to motivate staff in meeting the venture’s objectives. e) Employee performance and motivation- the venture will maintain a highly motivated and performing staff who will continuously seek to improve customer service and hence satisfaction. Recruitment and selection In a bid to achieve the ventures aim for recruitment and selection, the venture will maintain staff turnover at its minimum and ensure that its recruitment practices attract highly skilled staff (Stephen, 2010). In addition, the venture will only employ highly qualified and experienced people. Employee development In a bid to achieve its employee development aims, the venture will maintain staff that exceed the city’s learning skill targets as well as qualification levels for sports centers generally. The venture will also encourage the staff to continually develop their skills. Employee relations The venture will always endeavor to minimize the number of employment disputes and maintain staff who feel consulted and involved in the venture’s work. Equal opportunities The venture will always endeavor to become an equal opportunity employer. Employee performance and motivation The venture will maintain staff who know and understand its objectives and who continually improve service and achieve their work targets (Linda, 2009). In addition, the venture will have staff who see themselves as well motivated. Performance measures Objective Responsibility Measure Milestone Maintain annual staff turnover at minimum Venture’s management team Annual turnover Should be within 20 percent best performing companies in the city. Ensure recruitment practice attract highly skilled and experienced workers Human resources department -Fraction of job seekers satisfied with our recruitment practices -number of job seekers that were obviously unsuitable for consideration -less than 20% Employ only qualified and highly experienced people Venture management team Number of staff employed that meet the minimum qualification and experience criteria -100% Maintain staff who continuously develop their skills Venture management team Number of staff undertaking off-the job training yearly Minimize the number of employer-worker related disputes Venture management team -number of industrial actions taken by staff -number of formal grievances taken out by staff 0 every year. Maintain a fair and consistent reward scheme in the venture Human resources department Employ an accepted bias free reward system Maintain an equal opportunity policy Venture management team Fraction of ethnic minority, female employees and disabled in each grade Continually improve service and achieve work targets Venture management team Number of service targets met annually. Maintain staff who see themselves as well motivated Venture management team Percentage of workers in the annual employee survey describing themselves as well motivated Key activities The following activities will help the venture achieve its objectives; -Maintain a dedicated HR department to develop, monitor and promote HR related policies and practices. -Maintain an internal recruitment code of practice which complies with relevant legislation as well as accepted best practice. -maintaining a training and development plan for workers that reflects the venture’s needs. -development and maintenance of staffing policies as well as procedures which meet necessary legislation, support the venture’s objectives and reflect best practice (Laura and Tony, 2003). -carrying out annual staff surveys on consultation and involvement -maintenance of a range of family friendly employment practices -Undertaking of yearly performance appraisal for all staff. -establish and maintain an equal opportunity policy according to the relevant legislations. Resources The following resources will help in the implementation of the strategy -Management team – the venture’s management team will establish a staff matters review board to continually review existing staff policies and achievement and help in developing new policies when required (John, 2007). -Human resources department- the department will provide professional advice and expertise on matters relating to human resources. -Departmental heads- they will identify staffing budgets at departmental levels. Associated risks The following are the major risks in the achievement of the strategy; a) Lack of money to fund the necessary programs b) Risk associated with changes in the regional job market resulting in the venture’s compensation packages becoming uncompetitive (George, 2009). c) Changes in employment laws that may call for additional financing to meet d) Regional and national worker-employee disputes that may impact on the venture’s internal arrangements. Conclusion The above strategies if strictly followed will ensure that the venture achieves its objectives and will become one of the most successful ventures. However, the achievement of the strategies are subject to availability of funds that will be used to set the various targets outlined running. If followed, the strategies will ensure that the venture realizes maximum sales as well as customer satisfaction while maintaining a highly motivated work force. References: Geoffrey, G2010, Business management: Fresh perspectives, Business forum, vol.34, no.14, pp. 44-51. Alfred, K2007, creating valuable business strategies, International marketing journal, vol.23, no.12, pp.125-129. Michael, D2008, Marketing strategy, Macmillan, Melbourne. Stephen, P2005, Marketing strategy: Customers and competition, Wiesbaden, Steiner. Graham, J& John, A2008, Marketing strategy and competitive positioning, Hurst and company, London. Orville, C2003, Marketing strategy: A decision focused approach, Chicago University press, Chicago. Franklin, B2005, International marketing strategy, Goodyear publishing company, California Isobel, D2008, The manager’s guide to competitive marketing strategies, New York, Oxford University Press. Peter, B2005, Human resources strategy, formulation, implementation and impact, Contemporary Human Resource Managemen journal, vol.25, no.3 pp. 227-249. Stephen, M2010, Linking human resources strategy and practice, International human resources journal, vol.7, no.4, pp.65-75. Linda, H2009, Aligning human resources and business strategy, New York, Oxford University Press. Laura, B& Tony, G2003, Value based human resources strategy: developing your consultancy role, Indiana University press, Bloomington. John, H2007, Human resources management, New York, Sterling publishers private limited. George, B2009, Managing human resources, oxford, Clarendon press. Read More