Kwiggle Bikes: A Marketing and Cost Breakdown Projection - Business Plan Example

Section/# Kwiggle Bikes: A Marketing Plan and Cost Breakdown Projection Introduction: As a function of engaging sales and promoting profitability, it is absolutely to ensure that a marketing communications plan is developed and is cognizant of the unique benefits, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats of the current business dynamic as well as the way in which a particular product, brand, or service might be understood by the consumer. As such, within this particular analysis, the student will provide a marketing communications plan with respect to Kwiggle GmBh; a recent entrant within the compact bicycle sector. Moreover, the development of this particular marketing communication plan will be engaged with the understanding that it is to extend for me to understand approximately one year; between the months of January 2015 to December. Likewise, the project will have an overall €5 million it will be expected to utilize this in an effective manner as a means of making the product more visible and ultimately engaging with the target demographics/public in question. As a means of outlining the approach that will be conducted, the following summary of discussion helps to indicate the way in which the marketing communication plan will take place. 1. Creating target research groups and developing/understanding brand attributes 2. Determining what the competition is doing and understanding the competitive landscape 3. Defining marketing and pitching the products in different markets a. Social media b. Focused print advertising c. Trade shows and outreach d. Broader print and TV advertising 4. Timeline of marketing engagement 5. Budget breakdown for the project’s individual components 6. Ongoing analysis of success in terms of sales based upon the markets reached (reactive marketing) One of the most common pitfalls that many companies find themselves in is with respect to seeking to begin a marketing communications campaign or strategy without thoroughly considering compliment parts that this necessarily entails. However, due to the overall limited scope of the budget for this particular product and a limited time constraints that are associated with it, it is absolutely necessary to consider each and every compliment parts of the marketing communication strategy prior to engaging. As such, one of the first compliments that will be conducted is with respect to targeted market test group analysis. Ultimately, this particular complement of the marketing communications plan/strategy is a means by which the firm, and by extension the marketing department, can come to a more full and complete understanding of what are the direct is what likely is likely to be interested in. Beyond merely focusing upon a particular individual that sales will be focused upon, the purpose of creating a target research group and filed appropriately is contingent upon the need to understand what other interests the consumer will have and what media they are likely to consume (Ghao, 2014). By analyzing these metrics and engaging with test subjects within different markets, the marketing communication plan can more accurately holding its message and seek to determine which will represent. Likewise, in tandem with this approach, it is also necessary to allocate a certain portion of the marketing budget to perform an analysis of what the competition is doing and how similar products are being marketed. As has been previously indicated, many firms fall short of this; due to the fact that they are solely interested upon marketing their own product or service and do not consider the way in which existing entities have already determined best practices with respect to how this might be engaged. As such, seeking to participate within this exploratory process is an essential complement of seeking to maximize marketing success and reduce the overall amount of money that might be spent otherwise. Examples abound of firms that have utilized best practices within a particular industry as a means of seeking to promote their own self interests and marketing strategies. Accordingly, Kwiggle understand that this approach is an essential complement towards maximizing the overall visibility of the marketing strategy for the target demographics; without wasting large portions of the marketing budget on approaches that would be less than fulfilling (Tolme, 2014). From an analysis of the product, and an understanding of the key target demographic, the marketing strategy for this particular consumer good will is concentric upon for phased approaches. Naturally, further information and detail with respect to what amount of time each of these phases will be provided, as well as the monetary marketing resources that could be utilized within them, will be discussed at greater depth further within the analysis. Additionally, the marketing communication strategy that has been indicated for this particular product launch is one of a funnel approach. Within this final approach, the engagement within a specific demographics starts in a limited context; then it proceeds to a wider population (McMillan, 2014). Not surprisingly, the overall amount of time and the overall amount of money that will be spent within the “final approach” is commensurate with the stage at which the marketing communication plan exists. For instance, less money and less time will be spent on engaging customers within the early phases of the product as compared to later phases of the product. This is ultimately a function of the fact that in overall smaller number of individuals will be targeted by the marketing campaign within the early stages as compared to the latter stages. Accordingly, one of the first stages that will take place in conjunction with seeking to market particular product in question is with respect to the social media phase. Yet, rather than a social media as a being nothing more than a public relations specialist posting status update on Twitter, a team of professionals will be engaged as a function of targeting the social media approach to the geographic/public as most likely to integrate with the given good or service. In this way, seeking to determine which followers should be targeted, what should be related, and how the ultimate utility of product should be represented is all goal the way in which the social media marketing product would be conducted. Whereas it is true that this particular phase will instead throughout the year, the most emphasis will be placed upon the first two months; and the time in which the consumer markets will be engaged with the potential utility that this new entrants to the marketplace might portend (Gulley, 2014). Additionally, it should also be indicated that the social media phase of the marketing communication plan is essential as a means of parking certain press outlets; as a means of encouraging them to pay up on the stories that are being related on social media and represent their viewers or cubic meters and an interesting manner. Likewise, the social media phase provide a level of benefit into matters; firstly, it provides immediate and direct information to the potential consumer and targeted groups in question; separately, it provides an ulterior outlet for media groups to cover an interesting story without requiring further payment for press releases by the company in question (McLaughlin, 2014). This allows the firm to synergize its marketing communications plan and seek to provide the greatest level of outrage with the lowest level of investment. As a social media campaign is still ongoing, it will also be necessary to place a secondary focus upon an additional phase of the marketing communication plan. Ultimately, as a function of the fact that analyzed within the very first phase of preplanning have indicated that individuals interested in the outdoors, exercise, fashion, functionality, mechanics, bicycling, and travel would be those most interested in the product, the firm will need to defend target specific media outlets that will be the most likely to represent these potential consumers. One of the most actionable means by which this can be accomplished is to provide a level of marketing focus upon trade industry meetings, fan clubs, and specific print advertising that is focused on addressing the interests of these specific groups. With regard to engaging with fan clubs and industry meetings that are concentric upon the groups in question, it will be necessary for the marketing plan to train and establish a mobile team of marketing experts and salesman to travel to different locations and pitch the product that is soon to reach the market. Whereas this might seem as something of an old-fashioned approach, the test subjects within the marketing analysis indicates that individuals with a specific focus on the above categories will represent the lion’s share of all consumers within the market. Within such an understanding, the need to develop a highly specialized and trade scheme that can engage with consumers directly and represent the utility and benefit that the product can provide an essential complement of seeking to further sales and garner interest within these specific communities. However, this approach in and of itself is not sufficient towards engaging the largest number of consumers within this specific market. Instead, the majority of individuals interested in travel, fashion, functionality, mechanics, bicycling, and the outdoors do not regularly attend these industry meetings or fan clubs. Instead, they are most likely, according to industry research, to subscribe to a specific catalogue or magazine that features these interests and provide new technology and new products in the form of advertisements leverage between articles. Accordingly, it is absolutely essential for the marketing communication plan to target the specific magazines and periodicals as a function of advertising to the specific demographics they intend to engage with (Winters, 2014). Further effort should be conducted to ensure that overlap does not occur to a measurable degree. What is meant by this has to do with the fact that individuals that are likely subscribers to specific interest-based magazines or catalogues are also likely subscribers to other similar based interests. Accordingly, it is necessary for the firm to develop a marketing communication strategy that will be contingent upon providing a new and fresh way to represent the product in multiple different formats; seeking to ensure that identical representation is not effected within the markets in question. Contingent upon the other phases that have been discussed being completed, the final stage of the marketing communication plan will focus upon traditional media to the extent of widespread print and television advertising. In keeping with the “funnel approach” that was indicated earlier within this analysis, this will serve as the final stage in the marketing communication plan and provide a representation of the product to potential interested consumers that do not fall necessarily within a targeted demographic. Whereas it is true that widespread trends and television advertising can be old as a function of ensuring that it reaches a maximum number of individuals, the most likely situation is one in which individuals outside the target demographic will be reached more so as compared to those within the target demographic. Furthermore, this particular approach illustrates something of a gamble that the firm in question must be willing to take. As has been indicated, market research and analysis with respect to the test group that was indicated within the introductory portion of this analysis illustrate the fact that certain individuals within certain demographics are the most likely consumers of this product. However, there is a great unknown with regard to whether or not individuals outside will likely engage with a product based upon its novelty, function, design, and other salient interest. This in mind, a wider level of advertising will provide for a degree of knowledge concerning the product and potentially interested consumers that all outside the target demographic that it already is. An ancillary benefit that this particular approach might be able to wield has to do with the fact that there will likely be many invitations and clones of the product that is being offered within the consumer market of the next several months and years. Ultimately, these clones will not have the marketing potential or budget that this particular firm has been able to illustrate. Accordingly, it is essentially important that a wide overall coverage of the media has on the overall awareness of the product and its benefits as represented to the consumer. In this way, even when alternative goods might be represented within the market, the name and brand recognition of Kwiggle will be that which is immediately brought to mind when and if the consumer sees the alternatives. Likewise, marketologists indicate that existing need only defines a small percentage of why individuals integrate with a given consumer goods. Ultimately, novelty and the ability to meet the needs of the consumer in a way that other products have not defines a far larger percentage of those individuals that actually decide to purchase items such as the one which is being marketed. With this in mind, it is essentially important to recognize the fact that engaging awareness and underscoring the potential benefits that the product or offer the consumer is as essential as any other complement of the marketing communication plan that has thus far been illustrated. Campaign Timeline and Cost Analysis: It is expected that the target group analysis, which helps to underpin many of the major goals that the marketing communication plan has thus far leveraged will take approximately 1 month to complete and cost around 200,000 Euros to accomplish. The majority of the cost associated with this stage is contingent upon involving interested test subjects and then drawing inference from the recommendations or data that they are able to provide. Immediately following this stage, the company will then seek to utilize the data that will be drawn from these targeted test groups as a means of pitching the product effectively within different markets; seeking to utilize the test groups in order to create slogans, appeals, graphics, and other marketing tools. This particular stage will be constrained to around 3 weeks to one month’s time and will cost around 300,000 Euros. The high cost of this relatively short process has to do with the fact that it will involve a team of marketologists, most likely contracted, alongside contracted graphic artists; as Kwiggle does not have the in house resources to leverage in terms of affecting these goals with current personnel. Similarly, hiring personnel and developing an effective social media approach will be denoted as an expected expense of approximately 500,000 Euros. Likewise, focused print advertising will be allotted a total budget of 2 million Euros; with trade shows and other outreach activities contributing to a total cost of around 500,000 Euros. Finally, broader print advertising and TV advertising, the final stage of the marketing plan, will use the remainder of the 5 million Euro allotment that was previously specified as the total budget allowable for the project and cost approximately 1,500,000 Euros. Ongoing Analysis of Successive Goals: Another component of this particular plan is to ensure that ongoing metrics are analyzed as a function of determining whether the budgeting matrix that has been exhibited above is adequate to deal with the market conditions. Research, prior planning, and market analysis is all but essential complement of seeking to determine whether or not particular marketing plan will be efficient once applied; however, there is no perfect crystal ball to see into the future as a function of understanding how the consumer market might engage with specific forms of marketing – which ones might fail – and which ones might be extraordinarily successful. As a function of this, a fluid marketing plan is the one that is ultimately pitched with respect to this particular project. In essence, a fluid marketing plan will allow project management to determine whether or not a particular focus is achieving its goals and whether or not a pass level of understanding can be leveraged as a function of altering the marketing approach and engaging with the consumer based upon different metrics. Although the timeline for the project is ultimately quite short, it is still possible for market experts to analyze the metrics of whether or not previous levels of market engagement has been successful and whether or not ongoing focus and resources should be directed towards seeking to increase the consumer interest within specific demographics. By engaging in a form of ongoing analysis, the overall marketing budget can effectively be spent in a manner that is most likely to engage the most consumer interest stop whereas it is always relevantly possible that money could be wasted and potential marketing focus could be misdirected, this particular approach is more beneficial as compared to one that sets direct and measurable time frames of performance and expects them to be conducted without any deviance whatsoever. Whereas large multinational corporations can afford the type of loss that a misdirected marketing program might be able to incur, the firm in question is a startup and as such does not possess the resources to be able to afford a misdirected marketing campaign get any of the areas that had previously been specified. From the information that has been presented thus far, it is clear and apparent that a litany of different approaches needs to be leveraged as a function of engaging the most potential consumer interest. Whereas it is true that a certain demographic with specific interests is the most likely to consume the product in question, it should not be understood that this particular demographic represents all those that would potentially be interested in the product. For this very reason, the marketing approach starts with a very narrow focus and expands to those that might tangentially be interested in the product in question. Moreover, the initial cost of engaging with a specific market and specific demographic are inherently lower as compared to those associated with seeking to blanket the media with respect to the product in question and its potential benefits. With this in mind, the marketing approach that has been put forward is predicated upon seeking to engage those that would most likely be interested in the product and secondarily introducing the product consumers that might not understand or appreciate its utility; yet on a function of advertising, they will be encouraged to buy the product and consider utility that it might be able to provide them in their daily lives. Bibliography Gulley, A 2014, Road Warriors, Outside, 39, 6, pp. 104-108, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 21 August 2014. Ghao, D 2014, Cycling special, Outside, 37, 5, pp. 89-101, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 21 August 2014. McMillan, J 2014, ‘Compact Powertrain Boosts Bicycles , Design News, 59, 4, p. 126, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 21 August 2014. McLaughlin, L 2014, KNOW WHEN TO FOLD EM, Time, 169, 8, p. 75, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 21 August 2014. Shulevitz, J 2014, Easy Rider, New Republic, 241, 11, pp. 6-7, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 21 August 2014. Tolme, P 2014, CARRY-ON CRUISERS, Newsweek, 144, 12, pp. 59-60, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 21 August 2014. Winters, J 2014, Origami CYCLE, Mechanical Engineering, 130, 6, pp. 48-49, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 21 August 2014. Read More