Marketing of Lifestyle Electronics - Essay Example

Marketing Plan of the of the Contents Company and Product Background 3 SWOT Analysis 3 Marketing Objectives 4 Marketing goals and Marketing Mix 5 Implementation 6 References 8 Company and Product Background The name of the start up company is Lifestyle Electronics. It is a retail company selling everyday and lifestyle electronic products. The products will come from big and respectable brands known across the globe. The major products can be categorized as follows: Consumer electronics- It will include products such as, televisions, washing machines, personal computers, digital cameras, air conditioners, refrigerators, room heaters and kitchen chimneys. Lifestyle consumer electronics- Lifestyle electronics include light and more sophisticated items such as, mobile phones, DVD players, MP3 players, video games, massage chairs and other massage equipments, Ipad accessories and other fashion electronics items. The company will also sell music CDs and DVDs with the objective of creating a niche market leadership in this category. The major marketability of these products is through wide product assortments, thereby serving a huge base of customers. During the initial phase, Lifestyle Electronics will enter the foreign country through joint venture with a local brand (Belu & Cărăgin, 2008). Another major market advantage rests in the selection of foreign nation. The country selected is Indonesia, a fast-emerging nation with a growing youth population as well as rising income levels. SWOT Analysis Strengths The major strength of Lifestyle Electronics lies in its wide product assortments. The company will source products from big and known brands across United States, which will hugely boost its overall awareness and initial profitability. Most consumer electronics companies are from US and this provides a competitive advantage to the company. Joint venture with a local brand will give an edge over other independent electronics chains, as local consumers will have more trust and faith on the joint venture organization. Weaknesses Being a start-up company, the major weakness will be to establish rapport and build long-term relationship with companies in the foreign market. Consumer electronics is an already established and saturated market and thus, Lifestyle Electronics will have to continuously innovate, in terms of its services as well as communication, in order to gain a competitive edge. Lack of proper market research will also be a challenge for the start-up in order to track the desired customer base. No market reputation or market presence in the foreign market is also a weakness. The cash flow will be hugely unreliable during the early stages of business establishments. Entering into a new market can also make staffs and employees vulnerable to leaves and sickness. Opportunity Indonesia is considered as a fast-emerging market. However, not many consumer electronics companies have penetrated into this region. Therefore, chances of successful establishments are high. Initial talks with the local council have been positive and the local government will provide full support. Threats During the initial phase, lack of a proper and established logistics channel will delay supply of products, which might create issues. The region is fast-filling with other consumer electronics companies, who are establishing either in the form of franchisee business or joint ventures (Williams & Cutis, 2012). Other threats are from local manufacturers of consumer electronics as well as duplicate brands selling in the region. Marketing Objectives The major marketing objective of Lifestyle Electronics will be to improve its brand awareness and establish itself in the foreign market. Since the company is new in the market, it will need capital for extensive market research as well as surviving, until the company reaches threshold in terms of profit. The company will also need to tie-up with various local governmental agencies in order to gain local market understanding (Haberberg & Rieple, 2008). Since product procurement and establishment in the foreign market can be prolonged, Lifestyle Electronics is deliberately pursuing a steady strategy. The overall marketing objective of Lifestyle Electronics includes increasing the profits and revenue to a minimum of 15 percent, every year. The major marketing objectives of the firm depend on market segmentation and target customers. Target Customers Lifestyle Electronics’ target customers will be very broad and categorized as per the various products offered by the company. Major consumer electronics will be targeted at families and married couples within the age group of 26-45 years. Lifestyle consumer electronics such as, iPods, videogames and cameras, will be directed at young consumers of the age group 15-18 years, including teenagers, college goers and young professionals. Different marketing and communication strategy will be established for these varying market segments. Market Segmentation The start-up is to plan a wide-ranging geographical expansion for the fulfilment of its marketing objective. The objective is to increase the number of retail shops for penetration and growth. This international expansion will focus on major markets in Indonesia. Since joint venture is the major method employed by Lifestyle Electronics for establishing new business, nearly all new outlets will be established in joint venture format (Bradley, 2002). Market segmentation for Lifestyle Electronics is based on various critical factors. Marketing goals and Marketing Mix The overall marketing goal of the start-up is rapid growth, in terms of revenues and sales and increase in brand value. This can be achieved through proper marketing mix and communications strategy. The marketing mix strategy includes: Product The major products offered by Lifestyle Electronics cover consumer electronics and lifestyle electronics. Consumer electronics are high-priced items aimed at families and working professionals and lifestyle electronics include items of interest such as, music. The major competitive advantage is that Lifestyle Electronics distributes certified branded items. In order to improve the overall sales in this business, Lifestyle Electronics is focussing on various service activities such as, providing faster and better services, enhancing guest experiences, regular feedback system, enhance two-way communication as well as regular research on changing preferences of customers. Place/Distribution The start-up is focusing on established markets with significant potential for growth. During the initial year, the company will launch by establishing one major outlet, partnering with the local company. However, the start-up plans to increase this number by five in next two years. Also, the venture will be established in major market areas of Indonesia such as, Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya. The stock replenishment cycle will be just-in-time, based on current demand and market conditions. Price Products from Lifestyle Electronics are high quality and speciality items. They are better than other similar products, in terms of function, design, style and durability. As a result, product prices are a little on the higher side and the overall value and service of products are reflected in this premium pricing. Nonetheless, the company is also sensitive to any price elasticity and will definitely revert according to changing consumer demand. Promotion Since it is a foreign market, the initial promotion will consist of outdoor advertising and television advertising through popular local channels. The promotion will also include use of online social media such as, Facebook, Twitter and other popular social media sites. Implementation In order to implement the marketing mix strategy, the company will focus its efforts on exclusive needs as well as specifications of its various customer segments. Each segment will be headed by a separate division manager, who will monitor the market trend, changing perceptions and popular demands of that particular segment (Pettigrew, Whittington & Thomas, 2006). The promotional activities will be implemented by hiring a local advertising agency for outdoor and media promotions. For social media promotion and research, Lifestyle Electronics will hire social media managers. Distribution management will be implemented by strategic alliance with local logistics management as products will be exported. In order to evaluate and control the marketing plan, comparison of the overall financial expenditure with goals of the marketing plan will be included. References Belu, M & Cărăgin, A.R. (2008). Strategies of Entering New Markets. The Romanian Economic Journal, 11(27), 83-98. Bradley, F. (2002). International marketing strategy. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Haberberg, A. & Rieple, A. (2008). Strategic Management. Oxford University Press: New York. Pettigrew, A. M., Whittington, R. & Thomas, H. (2006). Handbook of strategy and management. California: SAGE. Williams, J. & Cutis, T. (2012). Marketing management in practice. London: Routledge. Read More