Marketing of C and J Clark International Ltd - Business Plan Example

Topic: Marketing Plan By Insert Presented to Location Due EXECUTIVE SUMMARY C. and J. Clark International Ltd a shoe manufacturing company considering to entering new markets notably New Zealand should have a well laid marketing strategy. This marketing strategy provides an insight on how the company will carry out its business activities notably marketing to effectively have a significant market share in the New Zealand shoe industry. This marketing plan provides the background of the company both in the past and the present and this form the basis of crafting the plan. The industry situational analysis is provided in regard to New Zealand shoe industry. This is important because it provides an insight on the viability of the identified market. Company analysis is also provided in the plan; this shows the capability and the company. This marketing plan also provides the marketing strategy which basically gives guidelines on how the company plans to attain their set marketing goals and objectives. Finally the plan provides a strategy implementation and the strategy control for its implementation. INTRODUCTION C. and J. Clark International Ltd is an international shoe manufacturing company which engages mainly in the manufacturing and distribution of footwear for all the gender. The key major product is the production of shoes in which it has expanded into the various markets globally. C. and J. Clark International Ltd Company is one of the notable rapidly expanding multinational private companies in UK. The company has about 1000 stores located in more than 160 countries globally. Since its advent in 1825 the company has expanded its operations globally to becoming on of the company with a recognized global shoe brand. The company has expanded its operations mainly in Europe, Far East and United States (Coade, p. 25). The Past From its inception as a wool stapling and tanning business, the company has expanded to being a multinational company. After becoming a full partner business it has continued to introduce various lines of shoes and acquiring other related business and companies as it continue to expand. In the past the company marketing strategy has been launching various types of shoes, notably is in 1965 when the company launched its first Clark Wallabee model (Doole, p. 26). By 1978 the company having acquired several shoe manufacturing companies in UK went internationally acquiring Hanover Shoe manufacturing company and retail business in United States. Other countries in which the company has entered are across Europe and Far East. With all these developments the company greatly considered restructuring and transforming itself (Westwood, p. 36). The company achieved this in the past by focusing on introducing design oriented shoe brands, manufacturing oriented as well a being consumer driven. Present The company has been able to manufacture shoes for different purposes comprising of office work, sports, wedding, party, holidays, and schools among others. In present the company is selling its shoes under different brands comprising of Clarks, Bostonian, privo, Indigo and Gore Tex Inc Company. The company is now engaging in home delivery, e-commerce and collection from the store (Hill, p. 29). In UK and Ireland only, the company operates with around 550 stores and its headquarters is located in Somerset UK. Future C. and J. Clark International focuses in the future to be a leader by sales compared with its major competitors. The company considers expanding further into the global markets by forming joint ventures with existing companies located in the new markets (Paley, p. 85). The company also prospects to transform its marketing strategies of selling its shoe products by the means of network distributors and this will provide a platform for the company to continue expanding (Onkvisit, p. 102). The company has expanding into the newly expanded markets taking advantage of the growing working-class consumers (Doole, p. 38). The company prospects to provide for the expansion of the company stores both in the new and the existing share markets. C. and J. Clark International Company consider expanding on the Eastern Europe and Asia for growth where they project to outsource their production (Westwood, p. 28). There are notable aspects that need to be analyzed in order for the company to make proper decisions for the expansion into these new markets, the analysis is as follows. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS As stated earlier C. and J. Clark International Ltd Company is an expanding multi-national company. This company considers entering new markets in New Zealand. This identified market is considered a great opportunity in the efforts of this company in expanding into international markets. The situational analysis provides description in regard to the scope and nature of this underlying market (Coade, p. 26). The following is the situational analysis of New Zealand footwear and shoe market. Political Situation Stability in various countries varies thus companies venturing in new markets needs to study and any considered market for entry. New Zealand is notably one of the Far East countries which have enjoyed political stability (Longenecker, p. 229). This country is governed democratically thus attracting more investors in the various sectors of the economy. Clark’s international needs to examine the political situation to avoid any damage attributed to such instabilities (Drummond, p. 56). The host country taxation system needs to be examined; this gives Clark’s international an insight to anticipate the expected profitability and coming up with a suitable price strategy. Importing laws are also essential given that the company outsources the shoe manufacturing. New Zealand importing laws are incorporated with GATT thus favoring trading (Tielmann, p. 82). Economic Situation Economic growth in New Zealand is considered moderate and characterized with boom and recession. Therefore Clark’s international needs execute careful manipulations so as to enter this market confidently (Doole, p. 68). There is a general decrease in the market potential but the market is higher as compared to other sectors of the economy. Socio-Cultural Situation New Zealand has an increasing population growth rate thus leading to the expansion of the shoe and footwear sector. Most of the people in the country put on the shoes in various occasions. The country does not have a rigid culture where in some cases the population does not accept imported products (Hill, p. 125). Therefore there is no notable social view that may affect Clark’s shoes in this industry (Drummond, p. 156). Technological Situation It is notable that the level of technology in increasing in most countries including New Zealand. Internet awareness and its usage are increasing thus bringing the aspect of online marketing in the new markets. New Zealand to a greater extent embraced the use of E-Technology (Coade, p. 120). These include online bidding, blogging, billings and complaints which have became a common trend in the country. Competition situation There are a large number of shoe manufacturing companies in the world. In New Zealand this market is notably competitive and there are a number of competing companies. Therefore Clark’s shoes are expected to face competition as they enter into this market (Doole, p. 108). The key major companies include River Road Footwear, Hotline Shoe Diffusion Pty Limited, Mi Woollies Limited, Accent Group Ltd, and Wet Shoes 1999 Ltd among others. Environmental Situation The issue of the global warming and pollution has become an area of concern in regard to the pollution in most of the production industries. It is important for Clarks Company to ensure that the demands of the international environmental approvals have been met before entering into any of the underlying markets (Doole, p. 96). Sales Situation Shoes and footwear industry is among the profitable sectors in New Zealand economy where the market is increasing (Tielmann, p. 136). The population continues to buy new trends and designs and this attributes to it having increasing sales. SWOT ANALYSIS This analysis is basically important in determining the ability of the company in regard to this consideration. The analysis further provides the possible challenges that the company is likely to face. Also the analysis is provides an insight on the competitive advantage that the company ought to gain. Strengths The key major strength of Clark’s international company is the innovativeness in its shoe designs as compared with those of the competitors. The company has variety of shoes for all the genders suiting specific functions and places. Another one is the brand awareness where Clark’s international company is known for cool and essential shoe designs and brands (Westwood, p. 82). This is further complemented with the quality of the shoes and the effective pricing strategy as an entrant into the New Zealand market. Opportunities Clark’s international company has its shoe products increasing demand as well as the expansion into the new markets. With the introduction of the new technology and internet the company will be able to attract more customers (Reading, p. 88). The company has continued to come up with new shoe designs which are customer oriented and this enhances further penetration into the new markets (Coade, p. 146). The company consideration of acquiring related businesses and partnership is useful in reducing marketing costs. Weaknesses The brand of Clarks Company shoes does not have a strong reputation in New Zealand in terms of compatibility with the corporate world. Its newness in this market is disadvantaged due to the poor marketing strategy which has impacted negatively towards conscious consumers (Onkvisit, p. 166). Threats The key major threat in regard to this is the increased competition with other shoe manufacturing companies. Shoe designing has been taken to another level and at the same time more companies are entering into the market (Longenecker, p. 229). This makes it more difficult to patent specific shoe designs in the market. The company is likely to face downward pricing pressure attributed to the underlying competition and competing companies undercut the prices of shoe brands (Westwood, p. 66). It is also difficult to enter the New Zealand market because off the less hype in regard to shoe designs since it is widely known. MARKETING OBJECTIVES The key objective as a new entrant in the market is to have an aggressive marketing for the first and the second year. The marketing objective of the first year is to increase the shoes market share in New Zealand. The unit sales should be increased tremendously so as to consolidate the market share. For the subsequent year is to further increase the share based on the sales (Doole, p. 162). The brand name of Clark’s international should be extended to consolidate the position in the market. This can be achieved through quality enhancement, value-added on the customer side and innovation. It is also important to measure awareness and customer response so as to make the necessary adjustments for effective marketing campaign (Westwood, p. 119). Target market The company has to identify the target market segment to differentiate their shoe brands with other competing companies. The company should target the primary customers is mainly the middle-upper income and the young generation. This target group mainly engages in various activities and aggressive marketing on this market segment will boost the sales. Business targets is also essential for the purpose of partnership, this shall involves partnership with the related businesses (Westwood, p. 142). Secondary business targets are also identified to ensure that all the customers in the various specific segments are well accommodated (Dodsworth, p. 68). Positioning To enhance positioning in the market the company adopts product differentiation, value-added and convenience to the customers. The company should focus on the convenience of the customer needs and this promotes the positioning of the Clark’s international company in the market. MARKETING MIX STRATEGY This section describes how the various aspects of the company products can be marketed in the market taking into consideration the industry analysis and its products. Product This entails the physical shoes that Clark’s international company offers to the market segments. The product decisions are crucial in product marketing; these include appearance, warranty of the product and packaging. The product is important when it comes to marketing on the part of the consumers’ preference (Drummond, p. 103). Clark’s international company market the product to change and to communicate to the customers to convince them to buy. The company provides shoe products comfort, durability and style and this differentiates the shoe of this company with other competitors. Price Pricing is one of the core pillars in marketing a product in any company. Clark’s international company entering into the new market makes pricing decisions taking into account profit margins. The company price strategy is mainly based on the response of the competitors. The pricing comprises list price, discounts and financing (Westwood, p. 168). Taking into consideration pricing, the company pricing strategy is based on the brand value in which the price is set based on the psychology of the customers. Suitability of the target customers is also another factor where in this case the class of the target customers and it is necessary to match them. Promotion Promotion in regard to this company entering into the new market entails communicating and selling to the potential customers. In carrying out this Clark’s international company takes into consideration the costs in proportion to the product price and the performance of the break-even analysis, all these are essential in making promotion decisions. Clark’s international company considers the value of the underlying customers in a segment so as to determine if the additional customers are worth the cost of acquiring them. The promotion decisions adopted by Clark’s international company entail use of media, public relations and advertising. Place The place decisions are important in entering into new markets and are mainly associated with the channels of distribution. These channels are important in ensuring that the company product reaches the target customers. Clark’s international company has to establish distribution systems which perform transactional and logistical functions which facilitate the movement of shoe products to the target consumers. Clark’s international company distribution decisions entail market coverage, channel selection and all other services that facilitate delivery of the goods (Drummond, p. 226). The company should use the advent of the new technologies to incorporate the aspect of online marketing and distribution of its products. MARKETING RESEARCH Clark’s international company will ask for feedback on the features of the company. It is important to take into account these features so as to incorporate them in the design. With the advent of the technology and internet the users are allowed to provide their suitable design and the company will incorporate in the design (Onkvisit, p. 288). Implementation This marketing plan in order to be fully implemented the company needs to demonstrate and present the product to the consumers. This will promote synergy and convince the customers to buy its products. The company should develop deep relationships with the different segments so as to keep in touch with the existing and prospecting customers. Control To ensure that the planned strategy is implemented and controlled, the marketing teams need to meet regularly to present any available information and the marketing efforts. The proposals needs to be cross examined and the suitable proposal adopted that is likely to meet the requirements of the newly acquired market. REFERENCES Charles Hill, Gareth R. Jones. Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach. New York: Cengage Learning, 2009. Coade, Neil. Managing International Business. Hampshire : Cengage Learning EMEA, 1997. Dodsworth, Ellen. " Marketing Academic Libraries: A Necessary Plan." Academic Resources Information Centre (1999): 320-322 . Graeme Drummond, John Ensor, Ruth Ashford. Strategic Marketing. New York: Routledge, 2012. Isobel Doole, Robin Lowe. International Marketing Strategy: Analysis, Development and Implementation. Hampshire : Cengage Learning EMEA, 2008. Justin Gooderl Longenecker, Carlos W. Moore, Leslie E. Palich, J. William Petty. Small Business Management: An Entrepreneurial Emphasis. 2006: Cengage Learning, London. Paley, Norton. Managers Guide to Competitive Marketing Strategies: Third Edition. London: Thorogood Publishing, 2006. Reading, Clive. Strategic Business Planning: A Dynamic System For Improving Performance & Competitive Advantage. New York: Kogan Page Publishers, 2004. Sak Onkvisit, John J. Shaw. International Marketing: Analysis and Strategy. London: John J. Shaw, Routledge. "The marketing planning process: Behavioral problems compared to analytical techniques in explaining marketing plan credibility." Journal of Business Research (2001): 167–178. Tielmann, Viktor. Market Entry Strategies: International Marketing Management. Berlin: GRIN Verlag, 2010. Westwood, John. The Marketing Plan: A Step by Step Guide. London: Kogan Page Publishers, 2002. Read More