Action-Marketing Plan for Summit Sportswear - Essay Example

? The action-marketing plan for summit sportswear Marketing a product in a saturated market is not an easy venture. The marketers should therefore come up with an effective plan that would ensure the products’ good performance. To begin with, the marketers should ensure that they define their market to have a deeper understanding of exactly what their target market is. Summit sports should therefore consider concentrating on people aged between 25 to 54 years and they should adopt differentiation strategies to ensure they retain the consumers in that particular age group (Shankar, Carpenter and Farley 67-71). A sales plan will be prudent since it helps in organizing and thinking through ones’ sales strategy. Its writing should be in a way that makes sense to the marketer. It should include the sales goals, which should be specific and measurable. The goal bases on the nature of product and breaks it down into manageable parts. For example, sell 50 units to end-users in 30 days and sell 100 units to local independent retailers in six months. Through this, the management will be able to know the projection of profits they would be able to make at a certain time (Ellis, Fitchet, Higgins, Jack, Lim, Saren and Tadajewski 25-26). The company should ensure it has sales activities, which would help the management develop a plan that makes sales. The sales can be direct-to-consumer through a website or via craft shows. In addition, the sales may include activities like developing a sell sheet, to send to independent retail stores (McLeish 45). This will enable the company realize more sales with more strategic sale plans in place since the management will know what to undertake at different times of economic downturns. With the growth use of the social site in UAE, the marketers should consider marketing the product on the website. Through this, they will be able to get quick feedbacks from the customers and as a result create a good relationship with the customers to interact more often. This may also lead into tailor making the product and differentiating it further from what the competitors provide. Thus, it becomes a better competitive age for summit sports above their competitors. The company’s supply should conform to quantity demanded of Summit Sportswear target market. Inconveniences arise to its customers if the number of distribution channels is too few, while too many distribution channels may increase its operating cost. There should therefore be a retail store with easy access and more convenient to the consumer (Ulph 98). The company should seek to adopt e-commerce fully at the stage of webpage promotion of products and services. This increases the chances of online sales and marketing at large. Summit sportswear should also seek to franchise its distribution channels, not only to increase its incomes, but also to minimize its operating cost and unify its operation mode to enhance its brand identity. In coming up with the retail prices, the company should research its competitors' prices and manufacturer suggested prices to determine product pricing. Once the product has moved from the wholesale, the retailers should decide on what type of retail prices to set. They can determine price by using three pricing models: cost-based pricing, competition-based pricing or customer-based pricing. Cost-based pricing sets the retailer’s price based on product and operating costs. Competition-based pricing uses local competitors' prices to decide on retail charges. Customer-based pricing sets retail prices based on how much the products is in demand (Ellis, Fitchet, Higgins, Jack, Lim, Saren and Tadajewski 180). In determining retail prices and the willingness of the customers to buy, the managers should review the manufacturer suggested retail price as a starting point. This would give managers an idea of the value of the product from the manufacturer's perspective. The organization should set prices close to his competitors (Synder 98). Charging too much or too little for the product hurts the business as it may lead to loss of customers who may view it as expensive. Very low pricing makes the quality of the product questionable, while charging too much is likely to drive customers to the organization’s competitors. Prices reflect the image of a company. Higher prices may work for consumers in need of luxurious goods. At the same time, low prices are good on slow-moving goods (Synder 102). The sales managers should start by selling directly to end-users. Managers are thus confident that there is demand for the company’s products, and allow customers’ contact for product and packaging feedback before they hit the bigger leagues (McLeish 50). The management of retail outlets may be a challenge that the marketing of summit sportswear may face. The retailers, should be prepared and bring a product sell sheet, photos, product samples and a succinct introductory letter to explain what is in it for them, highlighting the company’s product profit margin, features and benefits, and proven sales record(McLeish 67). The managers; therefore, should ensure that they get the correct buyer because one of your biggest challenges would be finding the right buyer within a large organization. If the organization is experiencing roadblocks, the management should consider hiring a distributor or manufacturer's representative, who already has established relationships in the industry. The company should comply with the distribution laws, by properly registering the sportswear, and having the license to move their products into the UAE. This will further determine the trade relations among the distributor’s country of origin and the country he is going to trade in. If the company complies with the laws, it would promote better trade relations between them and the company it is trading in and it would ease the trading activities of the organization (Ulph 23-24). The intermediaries’ rewards are different from others. To begin with, the merchant wholesalers get compensation by the margin between the price they pay and the price they receive for the goods they carry. The agent intermediaries get rewards through commissions, while manufacturer’s agents have a fixed price. Manufacturer’s agents work for several manufacturers, carrying noncompetitive, complementary merchandise in an exclusive territory, and concentrate only on the selling function. By paying both agents through commissions would enable smooth flow of goods in the market and improve the relationship between the company and the intermediaries (Ellis, Fitchet, Higgins, Jack, Lim, Saren and Tadajewski 125-127). The use of E-Hubs helps in bringing potential buyers and sellers together for an exchange. Like a broker, the e-hub should receive commissions from one or both parties. Some hubs focus on broad product categories of frequently purchased goods and services that are not industry specific, such as office supplies, airline tickets, or janitorial supplies, and add value by giving buyers in a range of industries access to a virtual catalog of offerings from an array of suppliers. This would help in ensuring that there is a good relation between the company and distributors (Ulph 45-47). Other hubs are more industry-specific, bringing buyers and sellers together within a single product category. They create value by enabling one-stop shopping by purchasers. For example, they allow plastics processors to issue a single purchase order for hundreds of plastics products sourced from a diverse set of suppliers (McLeish 45). Because the products they offer tend to be specialized, industry-specific hubs often work with established merchant wholesalers and distributors in their industry to ensure product availability and reliable delivery. Retailers sell goods and services directly to final consumers for their personal, non-business use. Their compensation would be the margin between what they pay for the merchandise and the prices they charge their customers. Through this, the organization would be able to have their products effectively marketed in the stores that are accessible to the prospective client (Ellis, Fitchet, Higgins, Jack, Lim, Saren and Tadajewski 243). In conclusion, if the summit sportswear company addresses it channel of distribution and ensuring that all the products meet the standard of their target market it would for sure sell. The management should also ensure there is good online marketing of products taking advantage of the high number of social media users who are at 7.4million per month in the UAE (Fifield 67). By the company investing more in retail outlets, they will be able to increase the market share and this would enable their products exposure to the public due to accessibility of the retail stores. The organization should uphold a good relationship with the intermediaries, to help in movement of their goods. They should consider complying with the trade nation’s laws for smooth operation. Works cited Fifield, Paul. Marketing Strategy. Toronto: Routledge, 2012. Print McLeish, Barry J. Successful Marketing Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations: Winning in the Age of the Elusive Donor. Chicago: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print Ellis, Nick., Fitchett, James., Higgins, Mathew., Jack, Gack., Lim, Ming., Saren, Michael., Tadajewski, Mark. Marketing: A Critical Textbook. New Jersey: SAGE, 2010. Print Snyder, Theda C. Women rainmakers' best marketing tips. New York: American Bar Association, 2010. Print Ulph, Christopher. Marketing Strategies Used By Intel To Create A Sustainable Market Position: An Investigation to Analyse the Marketing Strategies Used by Intel by Examining Strategic Marketing Issues and Also the Options Facing the Organisation in Building a Sustainable C. New York: GRIN Verlag, 2011. Print Shankar, Vankater., Carpenter, Gregory., Farley, James. Handbook of Marketing Strategy. New York: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012. Print Read More