Marketing Plan for Chic Nails, Inc - Essay Example

Marketing Plan for Chic Nails, Inc. A. Executive summary Chic Nails, Inc. is Italy’s newest manufacturing and distribution company for nail care products. It’s a start up company, with the head office and main branch located in Esposizione Universale Roma (EUR) Rome, Italy. However, it sources out its products from affiliate factory in Xiamen, China, which supplies raw material and prepares final product for the company. Chic Nails is being run under sole proprietorship. Its flagship product is the Mood Swings collection, which is actually a clear shade of nail polish that changes colors with a person’s moods. This nail polish is temperature-sensitive and has chemical components that react with heat and cold, resulting to identified colors: black means tense; gray means nervous; amber means mixed emotions; green means envious; blue-green means somewhat relaxed; blue means at ease; dark blue means very happy; white means frustrated; bronze means restless; pink means uncertain; yellow means imaginative; orange means optimistic; red means angry & purple means clarity. Chic Nails, Inc. distributes its products through its main branch and through varied retail outlets within Rome and Italy. It targets to penetrate international market within two years from date of commercial launch in Italy. B. Current marketing situation 1. Market description Rome’s population is predominantly female, majority of which belongs to the 40 to 64 and 25 to 39 age brackets (Population Demographics in Rome GA. 2008). These women are Chic Nail Inc.’s target population, including the younger ones belonging to the 13 to 18 age bracket. The following are the characteristics of the target market: Girls/ women who are fashionable Those who are in middle school/ college, and those who are already working. They have to dress up everyday and look good for their daily activities They have the purchasing power. Those who are still in school are still being supported by their parents, and those within the income earning bracket have the ability to buy things for themselves. 2. Product review Chic Nails, Inc. is a start up company that manufactures and distributes nail care products. It offers the standard line of nail polish hues, offering a total of 85 different colors in the market. However, its flagship product is the Mood Swings Collection, a nail polish type that is actually clear in color, but changes alongside with the owner’s moods. This is done thru the incorporation of certain chemicals into the lacquer, which makes it sensitive to the temperature of the person wearing it. There is a particular color assignment to every “mood”, which in turn, corresponds to a temperature degree, usually signifying a change in the owner’s moods. The Mood Swings collection is a relatively new product of its kind. Due to the new mix in the chemical components of the product, the production cost is also relatively much higher than the standard collection, thus making it also priced higher than the rest of the competitors in the market. This style collection may be initially introduced to start up a fad. The ingenuity of this product will definitely create interest in the target market. It would be interesting for the target market to find out how each other feels just by looking at the changing colors of each other’ nails. The Mood Swings collection would be most accurate during the first two days of wearing it. However, due to the changing weather conditions and the usual wear and tear process for this kind of product, the accuracy in determining one mood will definitely decline as the days go by. It is highly recommended to change nail polish after a maximum of 6 days. 3. Competitive review The Mood Swings collection definitely has no direct competitor. Other color-changing nail polish products are only limited to two changes per color. Del Sol brand offers the Color Change Nail Polish, a collection of different colors that change when one steps under the sun, or better put, under warmer weather conditions (Del Sol 2008). This is sold in the US. Another competitor is the Solar Active - Blaze Nail Lacquer, which also offers a product that changes color when put under the sun. Just like Del Sol, Blaze offers a wide variety of colors that has a counterpart hue when exposed to the Ultraviolet rays of the sun (Solar Active 2008). These products are sold in the US and are also available online. 4. Distribution review Nail Care products are popular items that could be found anywhere in Italy, in Europe and in the rest of the world. Distribution of these products would not really be of much concern, since these are highly present in department stores, boutiques, salons and even in convenience stores. This kind of product is easy to sell and there are many distribution channels for this kind of product in the market. C. SWOT Analysis 1. Strengths Chic Nail, Inc.’s strength lies on the fact that it is the only manufacturer and distributor of this kind of product. The introduction of this product line to the market sets a trend in nail care and fashion. Being the only one of its kind, Chic Nails, Inc. has no direct competitor and has the complete attention of its target market. The Mood Swings collection stands out among all nail care products, being the only one of its kind. The product is incomparable and is superior among all other nail care products in the country, and even in the international market. It has strong brand recall and is relatively new, and therefore, provides excitement to the market. 2. Weaknesses Since the Mood Swings Collection is not considered a conventional product yet, it might be hard for it to find a position in the mainstream market. As a start up product, it may be considered as exotic merchandise in the sense that the concept of a nail polish product line that is sensitive to the owner’s moods might be strange during the introductory period. This may create difficulty for the brand to establish its position. Careful planning of its media and commercial launch must be made to keep this from happening. Another weakness would be the product’s inability to compete head on with the current brands in the market. Since the owner essentially could not control the colors that this nail polish produces, the Mood Swings collection may not be the brand of choice of those who are color-conscious and wishes to have a definite and constant color on their nails to match their outfits and not their moods. Lastly, the Mood Swings collection is relatively much more expensive to produce due to the chemicals that are associated with the color-changing characteristic. It is therefore priced a bit higher than the rest of the competitors. This might not be a good thing for the introductory product. 3. Opportunities The main opportunity for Chic Nails, Inc. and Mood Swings collection is that there is no other same product in the market. The nail care segment/ industry has yet to introduce a product line that is unique. Mood Swings collection is more than meets the eye. It might seem to be just a basic colorless nail polish, but would eventually change depending on the “owner’s mood”. 4. Threats The existence of conventional nail polish products may prove to be a threat to Chic Nails. This is because the older, more establish brands already occupy a very huge market share which might prove to be difficult for this introductory brand to penetrate. Moreover, the existing brands not only cater to individuals but to a larger market scale as well – salons big and small alike. The concept of a clear nail polish that changes with every mood might prove to be ineffective for this market segment because this defeats the purpose of having to visit the salon for nail care. D. Company objectives Chic Nails Inc. main objective is to be able to introduce this new and exciting product to Rome, Italy. With this introduction, it aims to establish a steady throng of followers who are satisfied with their flagship product, the Mood Swings Collection. It aims to start a fad among the target market, which is the female segment, 13 to 45 years of age, who are interested to venture out and try this new product. Chic Nails, Inc. aims to further launch this new product line within two years after the commercial launch. It plans to distribute in Europe and eventually, in the United States. E. Marketing strategy 1. Positioning The Mood Swings Collection will be a product line that is slightly higher in price than most of its competitors. But in spite of this, it will position itself as an affordable nail care product line that could easily be acquired by everyone, regardless of their income bracket. This particular product line will aim to showcase fashion and transparency, not only in terms of color but more importantly, in showing ones emotions. The Mood Swings collection will be a statement in itself, meaning it would be a representation of the owner’s moods. It will not only represent a fashion statement or an embodiment of a fad, but more importantly, it will characterize the owner’s emotions and will be also be some sort of a communication tool since the nail color reflects the mood, and even more, the personality of the one wearing it. 2. Product strategy Chic Nails Inc. would offer the standard nail polish product line – the basic collection which offers traditional nail care products such as nail polish, cleaners, among others. However, the focus would really be on the Mood Swings collection, an introductory product line and the first of its kind in the market. The Mood Swings Collection is actually just a clear shade of nail polish that changes colors with a person’s moods. This nail polish is temperature-sensitive and has chemical components that react with heat and cold, and the owner’s body temperature, resulting to various colors: black means tense; gray means nervous; amber means mixed emotions; green means envious; blue-green means somewhat relaxed; blue means at ease; dark blue means very happy; white means frustrated; bronze means restless; pink means uncertain; yellow means imaginative; orange means optimistic; red means angry & purple means clarity. 3. Pricing strategy The Mood Swing Collection has been studied and researched to come up with the right blend of chemicals and components that would best deliver the desired colors. Chic Nails, Inc. has created partnerships with a manufacturer in China, to be able to create a strong brand and a good product line. The best raw material resources come from this region. The long process to come up with the final product specifications and the production costs would make the product priced higher than most of its competitors. 4. Distribution strategy Chic Nails Inc. will have its boutique located in Rome Italy, where it would showcase the various product lines, most especially of course, the Mood Swings Collection. It will also source for dealers and retailers to sell the product in their stores. Product would initially be available in Rome and in Italy. It will also be available online via Chic Nail Inc.’s official website. 5. Marketing communications strategy a. Internet Marketing Internet Marketing has become popular because Internet access is becoming more widely available and used. Well over one-third of consumers who have Internet access at home report to using the Internet to make purchases. Moreover, statistics show that internet users increase at a rapid rate that in five years’ time, it is predicted that 80% of United Kingdom’s population will have a computer with Internet access at home. (What is Internet marketing 2004). Since Chic Nail’s target market are working women who, most likely have internet access either at the office or at home, it chooses to primarily utilize internet marketing to promote its products. Chic Nails, Inc. shall create a website that contains pertinent details regarding the company’s profile and its products. It would contain the company’s mission-vision and a statement of what the company wishes to achieve market-wise. Online shopping would be available through tie-ups with affiliate credit card companies. Tie ups with shipment companies shall also be made to ensure that Chic Nails, Inc. would reach various places in UK and in other countries. The website shall be launched simultaneously with the main branch’s opening. Advertising in the listings on the Internet can provide a website with a number of viewers. As such, Chic Nails, Inc. shall do Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by subscribing to the most popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo, among others. Chic Nails Inc. shall subscribe to advertising services such as Google AdWords, in which Chic Nails Inc.’s website would appear immediately following key word searches from Internet browsers. This would prove to be cost-effective since Search Engines charge a company only whenever a person actually accesses its website. Further, this would guarantee that the advertising effort would reach the targeted market because one can limit its ad to appear only to people searching in a particular city, state or region. Chic Nails Inc. would also do Online Banner Advertising, as this is an effective way to promote brand awareness. Online Banner Advertising allows a company to flash its brand name and other details to browsers upon prompting through specified keywords. Although this does not guarantee sales leads, it nonetheless promotes the Chic Nails Inc. brand through its repeated appearance on the screen, consequently leading to brand awareness and recall. To save on cost, Chic Nails Inc. would employ a “cost per lead” or “cost per acquisition” strategy to ensure that it only pays for quality viewers or for browsers who actually expresses interest by logging in Chic Nails Inc.’s website. Chic Nails Inc. would secure numerous key words to maximize the opportunity to flash its banners to Internet browsers. Chic Nails Inc. will also initiate a tie up with affiliate magazines, particularly Elle Magazine’s web site, to reach this publication’s already captured audience. Since Elle targets the same market, it would be easier to create a client base among those already subscribed to Elle Magazine. Chic Nails Inc. shall arrange to create a sub page or hyperlink in Elle Magazine’s web page, create a link therein which automatically directs browsers to Chic Nails Inc.’s official website upon clicking. b. Merchandising and Promotional Materials Chic Nails Inc. shall further convey its message to its target market through using posters, leaflets and mini billboards as its media. These materials shall carry the company’s brand message and shall feature teasers of the product line that Chic Nails Inc. carries. Mini billboards shall be displayed at areas where high foot traffic is present. And since Chic Nails Inc.’s target market includes working women, these mini billboards and posters shall be displayed at bus stops in main avenues, where a lot of working women pass by on their way to work and on their way home. Promotional materials would also be displayed in highly crowded places waterloos, subway stations among others. Design and production of these materials would constitute majority of the overall advertising and promotional budget. A bigger portion of this allocation shall be used for the services of a good layout artist and photography team to ensure that the company’s key message is delivered right through Chic Nails Inc.’s target market. These strategies were made in close reference to Chic Nails Inc.’s marketing mix. Pricing-wise, subscribing to relatively low-cost advertising consequently leads to competitive pricing of Chic Nails Inc.’s product line up. Promotions-wise, utilizing Internet marketing provides Chic Nails Inc. with the opportunity to touch base with its target market and interact with them on a more personal level. As a whole, Internet Marketing would definitely play a big role in showcasing Chic Nails Inc.’s product line up in the market since Chic Nails Inc. has only one branch to physically carry and showcase its merchandise. 6. Action plan Chic Nails Inc. will launch in January 2009, simultaneously through the media mentioned above. For the first three months, concentration would be on marketing in the main branch in Rome and through its website. The company would also start offering dealership to top retailers in the region. Distribution to majority of Rome should be done by the end of the first quarter. Hereunder is the Profit and Loss Statement for the first year of operations. Works Cited Population Demographics in Rome GA. November 25, 2008. http://www.movoto.com/neighborhood/ga/rome/30165.htm. Del Sol. November 25, 2008. http://www.delsol.com/store/Women___Nail_Polish?Args=&page_number=1 Solar Active. November 25, 2008. http://www.solaractiveintl.com/blaze.htm What is Internet Marketing. November 25, 2008. http://www.winontheweb.co.za/Websitebasics/InternetMarketing/tabid/2037/Default.aspx Read More