Marketing Proposal - LA Fitness Gym - Essay Example

Running Head: MARKETING PROPOSAL Marketing Proposal Introduction At LA fitness gym, individuals can achieve their fitness goals with the assistance of the skilled and motivated instructors. It has eighty gyms all over the UK and has multiple health club locations (LA Fitness 2011, pp.1). Some of the locations in which LA fitness gym is located in the UK include Manchester, North, South and West London, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Leicestershire and London. However, for the individuals to attain their fitness goals, it is also essential for them to maintain their fitness diet. This is the reason why we have proposed a business idea of introducing a chain of restaurants in LA fitness gyms across United Kingdom. The name which has been proposed for the restaurant is LA Cuisine, and the restaurant would provide healthy food that contains would supplement required for a healthy diet. Moreover, a variety of meals would be available in the menu to suite all type of workouts and individuals. The four main offerings which will be made are mentioned below. 1. Protein booster - ideal for body builders 2. Slim fast meal –ideal for people who want to lose weight 3. High crab meal - ideal for people who do endurance training 4. Low low meals - ideal for people who want to acquire a lean body and muscle definition Moreover, advice will also be provided to the customers in order to counsel them with regards to the best meal that would suit their workout. This would enable them to attain the workout results quickly and breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served. SWOT Analysis With regards to the business, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that have been identified are mentioned below. Strengths Locations of LA Fitness Gym There are eighty gyms all over the UK and has multiple health club locations. Some of the locations in which LA fitness gym is located in the UK include Manchester, North, South and West London, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Warwickshire, Buckingham. Therefore, LA Cusine will not have to look for locations. Goodwill Since LA fitness gyms have already developed goodwill all over the UK, people are aware of it and they trust the services. Therefore, they will not hesitate in availing services offered by LA Cuisine. Market Research LA fitness gyms already know their customers well and since LA Cuisine is offering food for the people who have joined the gym, they will not have to spend huge amounts of money in conducting market research with regards to the customers (Meyerson & Scarborough 2007, pp. 55). Lower Advertising Costs Since customers are already aware of LA fitness gym, LA Cuisine will not have to spend heavy amounts on advertising. Weakness Association with LA Fitness Gym Since LA Cuisine would be associated with LA fitness gym, anything bad that happens will also have a negative impact on the goodwill and the reputation of LA Cuisine. Opportunities Increase Locations LA Cuisine can open restaurant in locations other than those at LA fitness gyms as well. In this way, they can expand their pool of customers and increase market share (Dunbar & McDonald 2004, pp. 200). Threats Competition The United Kingdom covers quite a large area and so the population is also large. Therefore, there are many people who go to gyms for fitness purposes because of which there are lots of gyms in the UK that gives the people a variety of choice due to which the competition for LA Cuisine is intense. Credit Crunch Lack of availability of funds or loans results in credit crunch due to which LA Cuisine can get adversely affected. The availability of capital plays a very important role in the development of any business because without money no research expenses can be covered. In the world today, the needs of the customers keep on changing and they always want the best and for this, it is essential for businesses to keep on coming up with something new in order to attract the new customers and also to retain the current customers. Moreover, funds would help LA Cuisine to expand and provide more and better services to the customers; therefore the credit crunch is not good for the business in the UK (Brady, et.al. 2009, pp. 150). Unemployment With the increase of unemployment, people will opt for saving money rather than spending it on recreational activities provided by the gyms. Therefore, this factor existing in the UK will also have a negative effect on LA Cuisine. Marketing Mix For every company to market its products and services, it is essential for it to have a strong marketing mix because without the presence of a marketing mix, it is not possible for the company to attain success. It is not very easy to sell commodities to the customers especially in the world today since the customers have become savvier and are intelligent today because of which they prefer value pricing. LA Cuisine is a service business and likeability of the food offered can only be measured by the satisfaction level of the customers. LA Cuisine should therefore gain the loyalty of the customers and develop goodwill in order to make profits. LA Cuisine should adopt a proper marketing plan and develop a competitive edge over the other competitors and plan proper strategies to pull the customers, as this will affect the business in a positive manner (Barker 2008, pp. 150). However, it is also essential to control and monitor these policies for the business to stay on the top of the market in the UK. The needs and the wants of diverse customers in every segment or at least the target market should be recognized and met. Moreover, the four P’s have to be worked out well, in case these considerations are not taken care of; the customers may switch to competitors and this would negatively affect LA Cuisine. Product Although LA Cuisine is a service business but the decisions of the customers also depend on the goodwill of LA fitness gym and LA Cuisine. Moreover, the factors such as quality of services, safety, style, interior and comfort provided to the customers is also important. The products that will be offered to the customers are mentioned below. 1. Protein booster - ideal for body builders 2. Slim fast meal –ideal for people who want to lose weight 3. High crab meal - ideal for people who do endurance training 4. Low low meals - ideal for people who want to acquire a lean body and muscle definition Besides this, it would also be a good idea to provide advice to the customers in order to counsel them with reference to meal that would suit their workout. This would enable them to attain the workout results quickly and breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served. Price Pricing decision must be based on the target market and it is always wise to opt for value pricing so that the customers are happy and satisfied with the services they are getting with the price they have paid (Armstrong & Kotler 2005, pp. 100). The prices charged by competitors should be kept in mind by LA Cuisine before setting prices and the profit margin needed by the business should also be considered. In case these considerations are not taken care of, the customers may switch to competitors. Place The location of LA Cuisine is important and it should be easily reachable for the customers in terms of the distance. However, this is dependent on the locations of LA fitness gym. Therefore, LA Cuisine can start off by offering services in gyms which have a higher demand after which they should spread their operations to other branches (Johnson, et.al. 2008, pp. 80). Promotion People want information on their finger tips in the shortest duration. The use of Internet is very common and it is must for LA Cuisine sto provide their information on the Internet for which the development of website marketing would be a good idea. Online campaigns should be run and various deals should be offered to the customers to encourage them to avail the services of the business. If proper promotion is not done, the others will gain a better market share. Statistics and Graphs It has been predicted by the analysts that restaurant industry will grow despite of the recession. It has been highlighted by UK Restaurants Market Development Report that value of the restaurant industry increase to £5449 million and growth in restaurant market will increase by 1% (Eat Out 2009, pp.1). The figure shows that UK has the top restaurants in the world. Conclusion LA Cuisine must keep in mind the needs and the wants of the target market according to which the benefits should be provided to them. Moreover, it is always wise to conduct market research in order to fulfill the demands of the customers well and it can also help LA Cuisine position their brand in the market (Meyerson & Scarborough 2007, pp. 55). To succeed, a differentiated targeting strategy should be developed and a separate marketing mix should be developed for different segments while keeping in mind the following points as well. 1. To provide superior value to the customers. 2. The impact of the services offered by the LA fitness gym on the goodwill that LA Cuisine will develop in the market. 3. The location of the gyms. 4. To make available the resources needed to serve the target market. References Armstrong, G. & Kotler.P. (2005). Principles of Marketing. 11th Edn. Prentice Hall, pp. 100. Barker,C. (2008). Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. 3rd Edn. Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 150. Brady, M., Goodman, M., Hansen, T., Keller, K. & Kotler, P. (2009). Marketing management. Prentice Hall, pp.150. Dunbar, I. & McDonald, M. (2004). Market Segmentation: How to do it, how to profit from it. Butterworth-Heinemann, pp. 200. Eat Out. (2009). Restaurant Industry Will Return To Growth In 2010. Pp.1. December 10th, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.eatoutmagazine.co.uk/online_article/Restaurant-industry-will-return-to-growth-in-2010/6241 Johnson,G. & Scholes, K. & Whittington, R. (2008). Exploring Corporate strategy, 8th Ed. FT Prentice Hall, pp. 80. LA Fitness. (2011). LA fitness locations. Pp. 1. December 10th, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.lafitness.co.uk/gyms/ LA Fitness. (2011). Why choose LA fitness? Pp. 1. December 10th, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.lafitness.co.uk/la-fitness-journey/ Meyerson, M & Scarborough, M.E. (2007). Mastering Online Marketing, 1st Edn Entrepreneur Press, pp. 55. Read More