Marketing Plan of Locatable Lifebuoy - Case Study Example

Running head: MARKETING PLAN OF LOCATABLE LIFEBUOY Marketing Plan Of Locatable Lifebuoy [ writer’s name] [ institution’s name] Table Of Contents Executive Summary This essay focuses on the marketing of the Locatable Lifebuoy a product recently developed by Working Platforms Australia. This new Product aims to safe the lives of surfers and swimmers who come to the beach. For this essay a marketing plan has been developed which focuses on launching the Locatable Lifebuoy. A marketing plan provides businesses with direction and focuses on attracting and retaining customers. Based on the objectives, the marketing strategy includes segmentation of the market, selection of the target market and analysis of the marketing mix. A situational analysis was undertaken of both the internal and external environment. From the situational analysis a number of opportunities and threats were identified. There is opportunity for working platforms to target lifesaving organizations and the Government who have a high level of education and income. On the other hand current threats include another similar product which locates swimmers extremely fast. Three objectives were extrapolated from the SWOT analysis; however this report focuses specifically on launching the Locatable Lifebuoy. The objectives are to successfully introduce the locatable lifebuoy in the Australian market. To save the lives of people who come on the beaches by marketing the locatable lifebuoy. To make sure that the marketing plan successfully convinces the people that the locatable lifebuoy promotes safety. A combine target approach was used as the combined strategy is beneficial because of the sheer diversity of the Australian market which is comprised of a plethora of nations and unique cultures. The variation resulted from varying levels of competition, historic import restrictions and independent pricing mechanisms. Their target market consists of important customer of theirs will be marine manufacturing company, the fact that lifebuoy’s at times may not be able to save or locate people as easily as this locatable one can. Thus the main segment will be the life saving organizations and government organizations which are responsible for the saving on lives on beaches of Australia. The extended marketing mix was used to construct the marketing strategy that is product, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence and process. It was recommended that working platforms use a communication mix of "Sponsorship" and "Public relations". However it was also found out that in order to carryout such a marketing plan a huge marketing budget will be required. strategies to reach objectives, the most sensible approach to budgeting promotion expenditures is the task method - basing the budget on the job to be done Since Working platforms is a fairly new company that is expanding they can base on their advertising/marketing budget on the future results instead of their past performance. Marketing Plan of Locatable Lifebuoy 1. Introduction Working Platforms Australia is a premium marine manufacturing company, it has a good reputation in the market regarding it’s products quality, safety, comfort, design and reliability. Recently it has developed a large variety of marine equipments and a production process which has earned Working Platforms a reputation in the market which can manufacture premium products at a reasonable price as compared to Australian and International competitors. There latest product is the locatable lifebuoy. It’s inventors are Peter Loader and Simon Lodge, both are from Cronulla. Peter has a job in the hospitality industry; however his hobbies also consist of sailing. Simon has an electrical engineer degree and works in the some field; however he also has experience in IT. However he also helps out with in Surf Lifesaving by driving the Rescue Vessels on the beach. The above mentioned product sends real time location information to the organizations which are in charge of rescue so that they can swiftly and accurately trace the needy person as soon as the lifebuoy is set up. This product helps in saving both the time and money of the government and live saving organization , apart from this life saving organizations can accurately locate the individual in need and , thus more lives will be saved. The Lifebuoy contains an EPIRB PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) and a wireless network locator card. This allows the signal to be broadcast locally to coast guards (on the 800Mhz band) as well as using the Satellite network (on both 406Mhz and 121.5Mhz) (New Inventors , 2010). This report shall focus on the marketing plan of the above mentioned product. 2. Situation Analysis Before introducing and marketing a new product in the market is important to first do a situation analysis (Aaker& Joachimsthaler, 2000). Since the locatable lifebuoy is a new product and innovative product in the field it’s sales may be quite high. The fact that it has no competitors makes it’s market entry even more easy. However it will have to design a strong marketing plan with a lot of information so that people know that it is reliable product. As it is a lifesaving product a lot of surfers and a lot of marine manufacturing company may take interest in it. The fact that there are a lot of sharks at time on the Sydney beaches it makes a very valuable product , as specially parents worry about their teenage children when they go out to surf . 2.1 Internal factors 2.1.1 Company’s Objective and Mission Locatable Lifebuoy was invented to save lives. The fact that the entire marketing strategies shall be based on this concept further supports the objective of inventing the Locatable Lifebuoy. Another important use of the Locatable Lifebuoy is that it saves time and money; this is another point which may be highlighted in the marketing strategy. However as this was the secondary purpose of inventing the Locatable Lifebuoy, thus it will also remain secondary in the marketing strategy. So it can be said both the primary and secondary objective of the Locatable Lifebuoy will be supported in it’s marketing. 2.1.2 Organizational Structure It is always important for every organization to select a prefect organizational structure. The structure will help it in fulfilling it’s function The organizational structure is quite simple, two Cronulla engineers, Peter loader and Simon Lodge they market their inventions under the name of Working Platforms Australia. They have basically used a structure, which is a blend of function, and product structures. This merges both the product and the function do that it can result in a well-organized organizational structure. This is an extremely simple kind of structure as it may even have just two members like working platforms does. The company’s organizational function will help it in fulfilling it’s mission and objectives. 2.1.3 Past Since this is a completely new product it has no past marketing history. This will be the first time it is marketed in the Australian market. Since the company has no past marketing experience it will be marketing only in Australia. As products with no marketing history should only be introduced first in it’s place of origin (Hoyer& MacInnis, 2001). The only little marketing history working platform has is the interview on ACB new inventors and a few articles sin different magazines and newspapers. 2.1.4 The Product The above mentioned product sends real time location information to the organizations which are in charge of rescue so that they can swiftly and accurately trace the needy person as soon as the lifebuoy is set up. It would need to use this product spread to attract the Australian market. The fact that the Locatable Lifebuoy is an innovative product makes it something quite unpredictable. As new and better products are developed, they are launched in the marketplace and their fate is determined by votes of consumers through their purchase or rejection of the products (Assael, 1992). Introduction of new and novel products in the market is a costly practice, currently innovative products prices are so high that it affects their success rate. Therefore it is essential to carry out research regarding the consumers who would want to adopt the product. 2.2 External factors 2.2.1Pest Analysis Political Australia’s government has always promoted new and innovative methods of surf life saving . It even provides regular funds for this purpose. Thus, this product can easily get a lot of investment and publicity from the government as well. Economical Sydney is Australia's financial, commercial, shipping, and industrial capital the fact that Sydney’s economy is quite strong may give them a chance of gaining a high investment (Sydney, 2008). The Working Platforms Australia need a capital of 100,000 is still needed in which the minimum investment is 20,000. However they already have an investment of $100,000. It can be said that they are quite economically strong (Life Saving Locatable Lifebuoy, 2010). Social From a social point of view, this product will be extremely successful in the market as Australia’s youth loves surfing. It is a social activity for them. They even have surfing competitions, thus this product will give them a chance to surf without worrying if the lifebuoy will reach to them on time or not. Technology Sydney is a city in which technology is highly appreciated. They have the most up to date technology in almost every field of work. Thus this locatable life also may stand chance in Sydney’s market. It is extremely innovative and thus if it is analyzed according to the most up to date technology then it can be said that the most recent technology is used. This can be seen by the fact that the Lifebuoy contains an EPIRB PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) and a wireless network locator card. This allows the signal to be broadcast locally to coast guards (on the 800Mhz band) as well as using the Satellite network (on both 406Mhz and 121.5Mhz (The New Inventors, 2010). 2.3 SWOT Strengths It is something new and innovative in the market and thus investors and buyers both may be interested in this kind of product (Baker, 2000). It will save money and lives. The Lifebuoy contains an EPIRB PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) and a wireless network locator card. This allows the signal to be broadcast locally to coast guards (on the 800Mhz band) as well as using the Satellite network (on both 406Mhz and 121.5Mhz) (The New Inventors ,2010). Weakness It is after all only a mechanical gadget if stops working in the water in the middle of a huge social event like the surfing competition it may result in a lot of lost lives. Apart from this it may even tarnish the reputation of the country . Opportunities There is no reliable life saving technology like this one present in the market. As mentioned before they have opportunities to gain a lot of investments from the government as well. Threats Their greatest threat is their only competitors which are beacon units that are designed for use in remote beach locations and can be activated by members of the public. Built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) and radio technology provide vital information to surf lifesavers (Between the Flags, 2007). As for every day it may give a wrong location by mistake and in this case the lives of many surfers and swimmers will be endangered. 3 Marketing Objectives To successfully introduce the locatable lifebuoy in the Australian market. To save the lives of people who come on the beaches by marketing the locatable lifebuoy. To make sure that the marketing plan successfully convinces the people that the locatable lifebuoy promotes safety. 4. The Marketing Strategy 4.1 Market Segmentation First and the most important customer of theirs will be marine manufacturing company, the fact that lifebuoy’s at times may not be able to save or locate people as easily as this locatable one can. Thus the main segment will be the life saving organizations and government organizations which are responsible for the saving on lives on beaches of Australia. 4.1.1Combined Target Market Approach The broad product market in this case is the life saving products in Australia . Working platform would need to adopt the "combiner" strategy (Quester, 2004) in order to reach a bigger target market and increase sales. In addition, using the combined strategy is beneficial because of the sheer diversity of the Australian market which is comprised of a plethora of nations and unique cultures. The variation resulted from varying levels of competition, historic import restrictions and independent pricing mechanisms . (Radler, 2000). This strategy would concentrate on analyzing the current market and developing a new product or marketing mix that would increase the market share (Brooks & Weatherston, 1997). It is important that Locatable Lifebuoy have a single brand image all across Australia because Locatable Lifebuoy would have to follow several longer term strategies and initiatives for positioning itself through the creation of several brand images. Furthermore, a brand with multiple concepts is difficult to manage (Chisnall 1997) and thus it would make it difficult for the target market to identify with Locatable Lifebuoy’s fundamental image that it wants to project which would result in an ensuing effect of creating brand confusion. 4.2 Product Strategies The above mentioned product sends real time location information to the organizations which are in charge of rescue so that they can swiftly and accurately trace the needy person as soon as the lifebuoy is set up. It would need to use this product spread to attract the Australian market. The Working platform needs to pull in the younger generation and increase the size of its market share. As younger generation if they make the younger generation realize that this product will help them be safe in the water , then the government and other lifesaving organizations will automatically start to place orders for it. Working platforms should start a life saving service in Australia which would help the youth segment understand how important this product is for their safety . This would help Locatable lifebuoy to increase its "brand recognition" and then become a "brand of preference"(Ellwood, 2002) which at present is at a point of contention for. Since Locatable lifebuoy has to work hard to make it’s presence and establish a reputation within market , it should aggressively market Locatable lifebuoy as a requirement for safety within the surfing segment, in order to create the recognition and preference required to increase sales. 4.3 Pricing Strategies The price of the Lifebuoy is a highly competitive price, the Lifebuoy for one person is for$99 and the large one is for $107. Working platforms should not be concentrating on profitability it should pay more attention to it’s sales targets. This focus would give them a clearer picture of which model is not selling whereas if profitability is the focus then their distributors can sell a higher number of Locatable life buoys and achieve the required targets. Secondly of Working platforms should use penetration pricing or the Aggressive Marketing Strategy. This will help them to capture the largest market share in the life saving market (Davies, 1998). Lastly the setting up of the a manufacturing unit would not only protects Working platforms from currency fluctuations but would also give it an edge over its competitors due to the fact that its will be based on a ) principle of reducing inventory, costs and increasing profit. 4.4 Promotional Strategies A high advertising budget will have to be used (Blythe, 2001). Most of the spending is on sponsorship of athletes and surf events. They will have to be very careful with their product quality and their support for surfing culture. They will have to sponsor most of the famous surfers and riders all over the world. They will have to organize the most famous surfing events in the world. As this will communicate the image of an authentic company, they don't want to be seen as a giant of life saving equipment but more as the brand of the surf culture. Thus they will have to use communication mix of "Sponsorship" and "Public relations”. They will also have to appear in more shows like ABC’S new inventors. Promotion Promotion would by far play the most important role in the positioning of Locatable lifebuoys. Working platforms would need to communicate the message that Locatable lifebuoys is a brand that symbolizes sustainable development and brands which are infused with the latest cutting edge technology. Working platforms would need to create an image that it is environment friendly and the technology used in its lifebuoys is the best which ensures safety coupled with reduction in costs and high residual values. It is not only the promotion of the products but also the company that needs to be packaged as a brand that ensures safety and quality (Gabriel & Lang, 1995). Working platforms needs to use a marketing communication mix of "Sponsorship" and "Public relations". Sponsorship would give Working platforms an opportunity to make its name synonymous with protecting the swimmers and surfers as well as increase awareness about Working platforms this will make consumers realize that its does not have a cold and cautiously introverted image. Furthermore, public relations would be a more effective tool because it utilizes both advertising and publicity programs. The onus would be on publicity because when a company wants to convey a new idea, publicity is more effective than advertising as it projects added credibility compared to straight line advertising (Fill, 2002). 4.5 Place The marketing mix has to have a well balanced formula for it to be successful (Hoffman&Novak 1996). Working platforms has to develop a strong network of distributors so that the products can reach the desired target market. The present distributor network of working platforms is not centralized. This may affect the market share in a negative way in different cities and states in Australia (Kapferer, 1997). Working platforms has to develop a strong network of distributors so that the products can reach the desired target market. This centralized network would help Working platforms to effectively increase customer delight and improve after sale customer satisfaction by providing standardized Customer Relationship Management(CRM) services all across Australia . Finally, working platforms should try and develop distributors who are familiar with its target consumer and segment. 4.6 The Supply Chain Strategy The distribution strategy of Working platform’s locatable lifebuoy will have to be specific. They will have to focus their distribution on specialist retailers and specially to the government for ensuring safety of the people who come to the beaches. They should not break into the mass market in order to keep the integrity of their products (Booms& Bitner, 1981). In order to ensure timely delivery they should only take limited orders. This not only improves their distribution but will also help in maintaining their quality. Channel of distribution includes all institutions which perform all activities used to move a product from production to the consumer (Brassington & Pettitt, 2000). According to Summers (2003) The "traditional channels are being challenged by the Internet, which is rapidly becoming an important alternative channel to many market segments. The before mentioned growth and development help companies to entering foreign markets easily." Considering the variety of traditional channels of distribution versus the Internet, Working platform plans to use the Internet while penetrating their product into Australia . The most important advantage of the Internet is that new products can be marketed and the barriers to entry are less as costs of marketing through the internet is less. 5. Implementation and Control 5.1 Action Plans . They will have to do a lot formal market research. They will have to build strong relationships with their core retailers and trust that they have enough collective intellect with their sales people to make the correct choices. Working platforms marketing strategy should be based on the authenticity of their product. Their success will be based on the desire of the teenagers all over the world to identify with a safe surf culture (McKnight etal, 2001). Working platform’s marketing strategy will include sponsoring surfing competition and giving life demonstration on TV. Working Platforms Australia will also have to appear on more shows like ABC’s show in which they first appeared. There are two easy and fast ways to gain global exposure. The first way is through advertising channels such as televisions, magazines, radio broadcasts, and through product placements (McMartin, 1995). The second way is through advertising in product promotions and direct mailing. As a recommendation, during the beginning years of global presence by Working platforms, at least 70% of the marketing budget should be allocated towards the channels mentioned above. This will quickly create a public awareness of the Locatable Lifebuoy’s brand name and at the same time, increase consumer knowledge over Working platforms business. The remaining 30% or so in the marketing budget should then be allocated across sponsorships like the surfing competition (public relations), and in experience marketing programs. Experience marketing programs enable potential customers to experience by actually using it in real life (Van, 2002) though these programs are relatively expensive to facilitate, experience marketing programs are a sure way to receive direct feedback on personal experiences from surfers. Through the feedback, Working platforms will then be able to pin point key deficiencies in their product line and thus improve upon their weaknesses. 5.2 Timeline Activity Mail info about Locatable Lifebuoy to customers               Time Dec – Mar 2010 Responsibility PR assistant  Target advertising Target advertising Dec –Jun 2010 Market communication person          Appearance on TV Shows                   June 2010 Product Manager Press release June 2010 PR assistant Sponsorship of surfing events July 2010 Product Manager Life saving service workshop August 2010 Product Manager 5.2.2 Milestones                                                                                                           Target advertising                                                                                                    Mail info about Locatable Lifebuoy Sponsorship of surfing events Life saving service workshop Appearance on TV Shows         Press release                                   5.3 Marketing Budget 5.3.1Sales Forecast Nearly 300,000 will be sold during the initial stage of introduction. Upon that the sales will grow at a rate more than 50% . 5.3.2 Budget In the light of Working platforms continuing focus on planning marketing strategies to reach objectives, the most sensible approach to budgeting promotion expenditures is the task method - basing the budget on the job to be done (Perreault & McCarthy, 2006). Since Working platforms is a fairly new company that is expanding they can base on their advertising/marketing budget on our future results instead of their past performance. Activity Cost ($) % of Total Cost Target advertising          1,500,000 30% Mail info about Product 750,000 15% Sponsorship 500,000 10% life saving service workshop 500,000 10% Appearance on TV Shows 1,500,000 30% Press release          250,000 5% TOTAL          5,000,000 100% 5.4 Control Phase The Marketing Control Phase is an important aspect of the marketing process in that it is the method of evaluating your marketing plan. It allows adjustments to be made in the plan so success can be achieved. Skipping the Control Phase would be neglecting the entire marketing plan that had been developed for the new service. (Kerin et al, 2006). The goal is to have the quantified goals and measured quantified results match. It is extremely rare for this to occur since there are so many factors that can influence the outcome of a marketing plan (Lamb etal, 2000). This is why the comparison of the quantified goals and the measured quantified results is so important. Using the comparison will allow for the identification of any deviations from the established goals as well as the assisting in the determination of the deviations cause. After identifying the deviation(s) and the cause(s), a course of action can be developed to correct the deviations. The quantified goal serves as the benchmark to measure the level of success or lack thereof. The measured results consist of the data collected through various means and were analyzed to produce the actual performance of the marketing plan. This data can come from sales, customer satisfaction, and Return on Investment (ROI), to name just a few (Stanton etal, 2000). The data that will be used by Working platform for determining the success of the marketing plan will come from a sales analysis, a customer satisfaction analysis, and a profitability analysis. Using the data from the three data points will allow Working platform to determine if they have met the established quantified goals. The sales analysis date will determine if the services being offered are wanted by the consumer. There is an option in this analysis to analyze consumer demographics to determine if the services should be offered in all locations or if the services should be offered in specific locations (Summer, 2003). The frequency of the individual consumer's use of the service will also be measured to establish the level of repeat customers. The customer satisfaction analysis will be less quantitative as it will be dependent on the customers' willingness to respond to a satisfaction survey. Comparing the number of responses to the number of individual customers will allow for a more realistic data set. It will be important to collect specific data on why the customer was satisfied or dissatisfied with the services (McColl &Keil, 1999). The profitability analysis will allow Working platform to determine if they were correct in their estimate of sales compared to the cost of the service. The data will show the comparison of the advertising costs of reaching the consumer with the service with the number of services being purchased. Once the data has been collected and analyzed, Working platform can then make any necessary adjustments to the marketing plan to reach the established goals. The adjustments can range anywhere from increased advertisement to removing additional services. The determination on what course of action to take cannot be made until there is data to compare. 6. Conclusion When something innovative and new is introduced in the market it’s marketing plan and budget has to follow a carefully designed strategy. The segmentation always has to be identified as such products usually need a lot of research. After completely analyzing the market situation and product, it can be said that the Locatable Lifebuoy will be a successful product in the Australian market. The fact that Australia is country where people love to go to the beaches, as they enjoy swimming and surfing makes this product a perfect product for Australia. The Swot and Pest analysis carried out in above essay shows that the locatable lifebuoy has a good strong market. It’s strengths over power it’s weaknesses. The fact it may be a help in social events proves to be something extremely positive. Surfers in the competitions will defiantly serve as a good opportunity to market the locatable lifebuoy. The timing regarding the entire marketing plan is important. Exactly when a single activity takes place will hold great importance to Working Platforms. Taking the correct action at the incorrect time can at times be nearly as terrible as taking the incorrect action at the correct time. There fore the company will have to follow the time line given the above essay. Working Platforms will also have to employ a lot of good judgment, understanding, and market research. This will help the company to analyze the entire market from different angles. However, as it is a new product and the above designed marketing plan can only ensure it’s success. It has to be sure to have a strong budget so it can sponsor events as well as handle other kinds of advertising and promotional strategies mentioned above. 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