Marketing Plan for the Walsall Sports Centre - Assignment Example

University of Wolverhampton Walsall Sports Centre Marketing Plan 2008 ________________________________ Reporter/Writer ___________________________________ Organization/Class __________________ Date Written for/Reported to _____________________________ Abstract This is a report on the process of preparing a marketing plan for a sports centre utilizing the SWOT and PESTEL analysis. The SWOT analysis defines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization or business while the PESTEL assess the external environment to determine the external influences. This report is based on the study conducted to produce baseline information for the development of the marketing plan. The study yielded a result that the surrounding competitors do not pose a great threat to the Sports Centre although there seem to be strong barriers to increase its membership base that will bring in improved productivity and profit. The main recommendation of this study is the adoption of a marketing plan and consequently following the 12-month action plan developed within this document. A proposed vision and mission is recommended to be adopted although the university as a whole have a vision and mission of its own. It is seen as essential for the sports centre to have its own which is strictly goal driven and specific to sports. This will aid in the strategic direction and emphasize what the facility aims to achieve. Introduction Advertising and selling have often been confused with the concept marketing which has been the vehicle of increased production and profit. No amount of marketing though, will improve a business significantly unless planned. Leisure and lifestyle industry is not exempt in this desire of businesses to increase profits and productivity. Thus, in order to know what exactly affects ones’ business and how to improve in order to increase profits and productivity, a marketing plan must be developed. A marketing plan provides the direction of a business over a period of time (Horner and Swarbrooke, 2005). Furthermore, it tends to critically analyse a business’ current situation including the macro environment factors that have a direct impact upon the business which will either enhance the opportunities or reduce the threats. The recommendations of these analyses can be used by businesses to improve and increase productivity, profits and promotions (Middleton and Clarke, 2001). This is a report for a project which aimed to produce a marketing plan for the sports centre of the University of Wolverhampton. These sports centres are based on two campuses and neither two use a marketing plan or have even produced one. The marketing plan that will be produced is aimed at increasing productivity and profits. The objectives included a twelve month action plan which consists of key dates from the academic calendar and incorporates a SWOT and PESTEL analysis to identify external factors affecting, and that has the potential to affect the business. The marketing team will carry out research in order to make recommendations for the sport centres, which will be critically analysed relating to literature found for the project. The body of this report presents briefly the background, particularly the social structure, of the community where the business is situated that provided the foundation of the marketing plan. The next sections set up the stages in the preparation of the marketing plan, the methodology employed in the study, a description of the study design, the procedure in data collection, the determination of study sample and the data analysis process. A section is also devoted to findings and a discussion of the results of the study. The Marketing Plan Background: The Social Structure of Walsall In 1643 back in Queen Elizabeth I reign, Walsall was known as ‘Walshale’. The Industrial Revolution changed Walsall from a village of 2,000 people in the 16th century to a town of over 86,000 in approximately 200 years. Over the years Walsall manufactured a range of products including saddles, chains, buckles and plated ware. Walsall underwent modernisation in the 1970’s with a new town centre being built at the expense of some very old but good quality medieval properties. In 1974, Walsall was transferred from the County of Staffordshire to form the Metropolitan County of the West Midlands. As a place to live, it offers the choice of urban and country living at affordable prices and hosts first class culture, shopping and leisure attractions. Walsall has a relatively high population density, 24.4 persons per hectare; this compares with 4.1 persons in the West Midlands and 3.4 persons in England and Wales. The resident population in Walsall according to the 1991 Census was 259,488, this compares with the 2001 Census resident population of 253,499, a loss of 5,989 people (2.3%). The West Midlands saw the population decrease by 0.2%. Walsall experienced population loss through the combination of a number of factors, including increased life expectancy, couples delaying starting a family for longer and an increase in divorce. Additional information can be found in the body of the marketing plan. Research Study: Preparation for the Marketing Plan Hinch and Higham (2004) said that in understanding the nature and process of development, sport and tourism managers can better predict and influence the course of change. In terms of action to be taken, planning is essential. Chadwick (1971) defines planning as a process of human thought and action based upon that thought. The marketing plan reflects not only the action plan for the following year but also represents an approach to marketing that is more than a glorified sales plan or media buying strategy. It presents a detailed form and integrated viewpoint. Parmerlee (2000) advises that the document needs to act as a blueprint to be followed in implementing business tactics and overall strategies for one year. An integral phase in a marketing plan is the planning itself which Holloway and Plant (1992) describes as that which is designed to link organization’s goals and resources to its marketing opportunities. Thus, goals and resources are clearly defined, as well as what opportunities exist to be exploited in order to essentially meet the short-term and long-term objectives. A marketing plan determines what revenue needs to be achieved in the given period, at a certain price and how this is going to be achieved in order to meet operating costs. Since it is only a part of the overall company’s planning it needs to be co-ordinated with the financial plans for the future period, organization plans and other total business activities. These views of experts have led the team to conduct study in the preparation of a marketing plan. To be able to achieve and accomplish the objective and aims of the study that focus on an opportunity to demonstrate that they can work effectively to complete the project for the industry client, as part of a group, the descriptive quantitative form of study is used. The course of the study advance through the determination of the independent definition of the concepts that are involved that include the different aspect of the field of leisure and the benefits offered by the application of the sport centre in the industries and organisation. Two pilot studies were carried out as part of the methodological approach. The responses attained from the first study were re-evaluated due to unsatisfactory results. The information required was not reasonably satisfied. Secondly, the responses to questionnaires fielded via email were poor. Survey research was used in the gathering of primary information supplemented by interview of randomly selected members of the community on their view of the importance and the impact of using the sports centre to the field of leisure. The questionnaire is made up of close-ended questions using simple words and phrases to keep the interest of the respondents without jeopardizing the import of the issues at hand. In choosing the respondents to this study, the simple random sampling approach was used. In data analysis, the collected information were classified, grouped and organized on the basis of established criteria. The organized data were processed using the statistics software, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for accuracy. Results of the study yielded information that 57% of the sample population were not members of the Walsall Sports Centre which implies a rich market for the sports centre services. Of this 57%, 32.7% say they do not have time to go the sports centre while 29.1% say they cannot afford the services of the sports centre, and the other 18.2% say they are not members of the Walsall Sports Centre because they are members of another gym. With these figures, the Sports Centre obviously does not suffer from strong competitive rivalry within the surrounding areas. There appear however, strong barriers that stop a large percentage of potential members from joining the facility which seem difficult to overcome. Conclusions The absence of a marketing plan for the Walsall Sports Centre necessitated the 9-member team to construct a PESTEL and SWOT analysis to critically assess the macro and microenvironment within which the gym currently operates. These are necessary processes for the preparation of the marketing plan. The PESTEL analysis is critical to assess the external environment to determine the external influences such as issues of disposable income, local ethnicity and cultural diversity, lifestyle changes, increasing obesity, increasing levels of car ownership and the growing substitution of attending the gym for a variety of electronic games and aerobics home videos. The SWOT analysis emphasised the gyms strengths yet also addressed issues of weakness and threats whilst outlining possible opportunities. Giving priority to student customers through significant discounts has been acknowledged as the main strength yet the analysis highlighted strong areas of weakness in the company’s marketing activity and promotion. Threats are outlined from the perspective of competition. It is thus, suggested that the Centre approach competitors through the trendy process of differentiation of product which means that it should offer what other gyms do not offer or improve on products that are common between the competitor and the Centre. Products such as wellness and health units; health and beauty facilities; steam rooms, saunas, relaxation classes and less strenuous activities can be improved on. The four P’s of marketing theory - Product, Price, Promotion and Place is represented in this project as follows: The Product in this project is the Walsall Sports Centre that offers a high resource of varied activities successfully catering to a wide market. While highly rated for their modern equipment, there is still room for improvement and this is highlighted in the request for an extension of activities to be offered at the facility. The main suggestions included more aerobics and exercise classes on a more regular basis. It was also believed to be essential to step up the marketing and promotion of this particular activity, as few did not know there were any of these classes. Secondly, dance and yoga is requested; more fun activities that are more casual in nature were also requested. Not everyone wants to compete as they see sport as a way of relaxing and having fun. This is an essential development to the product that the sports centre offer. Employing a variety of activities definitely helps differentiate the product. It has however, also proved an issue that different market groups limit their visitation because they feel uncomfortable exercising in front of other market groups which definitely is something the sports centre should look into. Another significant finding of the research is the issue of access times. Many students found it difficult to get to the gym during lecture times; the facility is not accessible to them also at weekends and holidays due to the sports students’ membership scheme. This is an effect when the product is offered extensively as it results to limited visitation. Price, in this study, remains a strong influencing factor to join the gym amongst the majority of respondents with price seen as average/fair by 59% of respondents. This is highlighted as the facilities’ main strength. Yet it became apparent that with the current pay-as-you-go membership scheme it became more expensive with increasing visitation. If members were to go on a regular basis it would push the cost well above the price of competitors in the local area with Fitness First as an example offering monthly student rates at £28.50 to include free exercise classes alongside gym membership. Promotion continues a main concern for the facility accentuated within the research by respondents to be poor. Visitation could be dramatically increased with the right promotional activities and strategies. One concern acknowledged within this project is the over reliance on word of mouth as a promotional tool and the use of email to promote all the facilities current activities. The last p of marketing theory – Place in this study refers to the convenience of the Centre’s location that is strongly acknowledged throughout this research to be their main strength in their current strategy. With such a high number of potential customers living on campus the need to be more proactive in encouraging membership as convenience and location work strongly in their favour. Although with the increasing number of car owners the current car parking situation does not work in favour of increasing membership especially within the local community. Recommendations The main recommendation of this study lies in the adoption of the marketing plan and consequently following the 12 month action plan developed within this document. It is recommended that the proposed vision and mission be adopted. Although the university as a whole have a vision and mission it is essential for the sports centre to have its own which is strictly goal driven and specific to sports. This will aid in the strategic direction and emphasize what the facility aims to achieve. It was surprising that no budget is allocated to this department because a marketing budget is essential to understand the extent to which marketing and promotional activities can be designed and arranged. This will dictate the frequency and extent of marketing events whether they are to be held monthly or annually. It is essential to emphasize sport as fun. In order to get this message across, the Sports Centre needs to adopt a bigger presence at the freshers fayre. Other recommendations include: Early application discount, Advertise in local newspapers and magazines, Utilise university marketing department, Open days to promote centre, Pursue a quality awards scheme, Adopt a 6/12 month price comparison, Introduction of separate sessions/time slots for different user groups, Provide activities casual in nature emphasising fun. References Chadwick, G. (1971). A Systems View of Planning. Oxford: Pergamon Press Evans, N et al (1999) Strategic Management for Travel and Toursim. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. Hinch, T. and Higham, J. (2004) Sport Tourism Development. Clevedon: Channel View Publications. Hall, C.M and Weiler, B (1992) Special Interest Tourism. Harlow: Longman. Holloway, J and Plant R. (1992) Marketing for tourism. 2nd ed. London: Pitman.  Horner, S and Swarbrooke, J (2005) Leisure Marketing: A Global Perspective: Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. Keynote (2006) Market Forecasts: Lifestyle, Health & Retailing - Health Clubs & Leisure Centres (Keynote Intelligent Data 2006). Middleton, V.T.C and Clarke, J (2001) Marketing in Travel and Tourism, 3rd ed. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. Morgan, M (1996) Marketing for Leisure and Tourism. Hempstead: Prentice Hall Parmerlee, D. (2000) Preparing the Marketing Plan. U.S: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books. WTO (1994) National and regional tourism planning.  Madrid: WTO Tassiopoulos, D. (ed,) (2000) Event Management, A professional and Developmental Approach, Juta Education Ltd: Lansdowne. pp.276-279. Thomson, J.L (2001) Strategic Management, 4th ed., London: Thomson Learning. Tribe, J. (1997) Corporate Strategy for Tourism. London: Thomson. Watt, D.C. (1998) Event Management in Leisure and Tourism, Addison, Wesley: Longman. pp69-71. Appendices Mission To welcome students and community participants to utilise our comprehensive range of facilities and activities in a professional friendly atmosphere Vision To encourage all users who have the desire and ability to strive towards ’excellence’ in their chosen sport Swot Analysis One of the reasons for the completion of the marketing plan is to enable the sports centre marketing staff to produce Gantt charts. These are charts that track the progress of a project by the inclusion of tasks and completion dates. STRENGTHS The Sports Centre marketing department give priority to the student customers. This is reflected well and helped along by the fact that they offer significant discounts to students, particularly concerning membership prices. The Sport Centre offers a range of activities. There is a university marketing department on hand to assist with marketing activities. The centre makes good use of partnerships with community sports establishments such as Walsall Football Club. The centre makes social areas available. WEAKNESSES One of the marketing objectives is to attract more business from the community and wider district. Promoting the Sports centre to date is one of the weaker areas of the company’s marketing activities. There is currently no allocated marketing budget The additional services that many sports centres offer, such as the use of a sauna are only available to the elite sports teams. This could be a factor affecting potential customer’s decision to choose a competing gymnasium, particularly customers from the community, which is a main market segment that the Sport’s Centre is attempting to attract. There is an absence of sales teams. This could give an advantage to competing local establishments such as Fitness First. The Sports Centre does not utilise the university marketing department effectively. OPPORTUNTIES Introduce all facilities to public not just the elite sports teams A clearer brand Promotion techniques within the marketing Offering some attractive deals, that are better then other sports centre in Walsall Prices- Membership offers. - Family discounts/kids sports Offer separate activities to just women/girl students THREATS Major other competitors such as Fitness First- 30 Minutes drive away, and Village Hotel Fitness which is 10 minutes from Walsall town Other Gyms are offering more facilities/ Health and Beauty Spars Better membership plans in other sport centres Lack of parking space for customers as well as students No just women sessions e.g. swimming pool / gym PESTEL Analysis POLITICAL •Core Prices increases will have a downturn for students, the public and the business. •Health and safety acts, vulnerable people acts, disability acts affect the running of the centre. Risk of hiring out extra facilities such as saunas are influenced by health and safety. Higher spending and taxes means less disposable incomes. Ethical issues need to be taken into consideration and dealt with accordingly Improved health and safety in order to improve systems, practices and facilities. Top up fees means less income for students to spend. ECONOMICAL Amounts of disposable income affect popularity of memberships. Competition from local centres, fitness first offers a student rate an influence potential members Rises in council taxes affect public membership. Rise in inflation means rise in membership costs. Low interest rates affect member’s disposable income. SOCIO-CULTURAL Different cultures may be difficult to convince of new promotions and activities. Location may deprive the public from the use of the centre. Loss of resident population of 2.3% can affect popularity and usage. Increasing levels of car ownership lack of car parking space. Increasing obesity levels influences members to the centre. Older generation increasing therefore needs to meet their need and demands. Social class influences on type of members using the gym. Attitudes to work and leisure Lifestyle changes TECHNOLOGICAL Advances of the Internet encourage potential members to stay at home. More advances on gym and technical equipment may attract members. Electronic games i.e. Nintendo Wii substitute exercise. Aerobic videos encourage people to stay at home. Home gym equipment. ENVIRONMENTAL Building work and regeneration of campus influences members to visit. A potential saturation in the market means members seeking best option. Lack of car parking. Environmental protection of the campus. Control of pollution and the environment. LEGAL Consumer protection Legislations Provision of the public. Regulation of working conditions Ethics Exchange rates, inflations and taxes. Read More