Marketing Plan for Pretty Girl Company - Case Study Example

Marketing Plan (Pretty Girl Company) Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Introduction Pretty Girl Company is a company that intends to produce and market different wears for young girls in the market. The wears will be girl-child oriented and should be modern in such away that they can be expected to the stands of the modern-urban girl-child. The purpose of the company is to ensure that cost-effective and most affordable clothing for the girl-child are produced and at the same time ensure variety of choices for the customer in the market. The purpose of this marketing plan document is to show how the firm is geared towards invading the retail market in particular the one on girl-child wears. The document will be divided into two major parts namely: the process and the product parts. The process part of this document intends to show in detail the processes that the company will apply to ensure that a good product service is created, communicated, delivered and creates values through exchange with the customer for the business. The product part of the document will show the product strategy and how the product will create value for the target market by looking at such aspects as positioning, branding, service and package. Part 1: Process From the marketing concept, the firm recognizes that finding away to understand and serve the unfulfilled customer desires is very paramount in knowing what kind of product should be created. With this mind therefore, it becomes very necessary to come up with a sequence of all the events that will be committed from the beginning to delivering the final product to the market for sale (Ziethmal and Bitner 2003). This plan recognizes that an effective marketing process must identify the ways to create an effective product, communicate with the producer, deliver the product to the market and cause value exchange between the customer and the firm. It is with this regard that this marketing plan is purposed to tackle four main aspects that comprise the product process and which include production creation, communicating with the producer, delivering the product and exchanging the offer with the customer. Product creation The market analysis approach will be used to determine the existing gap between what the market wants and what is being offered currently and this is in respect to young girls clothing. This is basically important in exploring the available market opportunities that can be demonstrated in the form of unfulfilled needs among the customers. The reason of doing the market analysis also is to establish what are the preferred models and fashions among young girls in particular who are living in urban areas. For instance, the analysis is expected to explore the available market opportunities for such wears for girls as tops, skirts and dresses, trousers and exercising pants, jackets, tights, socks, nightwears, footwears and swimwears as well as school wear. This is to ensure that the company is fully aware of the kind of clothing that the market is prefers most and if there is need to develop and launch new fashions for the young girls. This is especially important in helping the firm in making an informed decision on which product to put more emphasis on and if there is need to stock its stores with new fashions (Craik 2007). Considering the company trends will also be critical at this point in ensuring that it does not bring into the market what is not relevant and that cannot add any value into the business and the customer. Good situational analysis will also help avoid a situation where a lot of spending is done to bring into the market the products which their need no longer exist (Craik 2007). Communicating with the producer Communication with the producer is an aspect of market plan that cannot be isolated. This is because it’s the way through which the company communicates with the producer will determine the final product that will be produced for the market. Effective communication is therefore paramount in this case is the ultimate goal of this market plan as the company’s performance in satisfying the customer needs will greatly depend on information flows from the market through the company and the supplier. Most important to note however, is that the information communicated to the producer of various fashions depends on the effort made by the company to collect as much information as possible (Blythe 2001). Market research in particular will be very instrumental in getting information that will be communicated to the producer. In communicating with the producer, the company will apply different strategies including the through correspondence through the company website and through the company supply chain. This will ensure constant flow of information between the company and the producer with regard to quality, fashions, sizes and colors that will fit into the needs of young girls. Through communication, the producer will also be allowed the opportunity to what the market prefer and how he can help the company position itself in the market in terms price, quality and fashion (Perreault and McCarthy 2004). Delivery of the product After the market gap has been established and the appropriate market to be offered identified, the next and important step is to deliver the product to the market. In the case of ‘Pretty Girl’ Company, the product to be delivered will include clothing fashions for young modern urban girls. The marketing decisions will entail deciding on which means the products will be delivered to the customer. The distribution decisions will include the distribution channels that will be used, the market coverage, specific channel players, inventory management procedures, transportation and reverse logistics. To ensure that the process of distribution is made easier, one distribution will be established which will be in charge of developing the company brand and image. Already established company retail stores will be used for distribution and can also play the role of visit areas for the customers (Perreault and McCarthy 2004). Delivery of the product to the market will be done in relation to the product predetermined marketing positioning strategy. Since quality is of significant value in this case, pricing will be done in such away to reflect the same. Once the company introduces the new wears, the prices will be charged above the standard-priced children wears. This is to reflect high quality levels of the company product. Provision of price ranges could also be used to meet the needs of those customers that will want affordable but attractive products. Considering charging low price margins and giving discounts at the introduction could also be used to introduce the new wears into the market (Blythe 2001). Promotional part of the market plan entail making decisions on various aspects of doing marketing communication about the product with the aim of generating good customer response. Marketing promotional decisions include promotional strategy advertising, sales promotions and public relations as well as publicity. In the case of Pretty Girl Company, the intended decisions with regard to promotional activities include building a brand of new clothing for young girls and this can be done by promoting the products locally and by talking direct to the customers and also using the company website to reach the wider market. Research will however be used to validate the promotional assumptions (Perreault and McCarthy 2004). This is especially important in ensuring that the product requested for by the customer is delivered on time without any delays so as to ensure the customer of the company’s reliability. Offer exchange More often than not, the customer always expects value from the product he buys from the company or the producer. However, customer expectations do vary and it’s recognized that while there are those who may be interested in price or even quality there are those who may be interested in such things as fashion without paying much consideration on the price and the quality. It is with this regard that range of prices will be used in order to offer the customer various options to choose between what they want in terms of quality and price (Hoyer and MacInnis 2001. On the other hand, as the company seeks to create value for the customer’s money, the issue that will be taken care of is the value the company will also get. What this means is that despite selling the company opting to target the young girls market, pricing, quality and fashion will be given priority in trying to create value both for the customer and the company. Price margins will be charged slightly higher than the standard prices in the market in order to reflect quality and also offer value for the company in terms of profits margins (Ziethmal & Bitner 2003). Part 2: Product strategy The product strategy according to Hoyer and MacInnis (2001) defines the ultimate vision of the product and further explains where the product is headed into. This is incorporated in the value the product will have to the company and customer. Just like the company has got its own vision, the product strategy also has its own and clearly talks of its destination. From the wider perspective product strategy can be looked at from positioning, branding, service and packaging. Product positioning Product positioning is a technique that is used to present a new product to the target market in the best way possible. Positioning entails creating a message that can reach the target market and that can cause some positive reaction like pricing, value and quality. Positioning can also be symbolized through displays and packaging. In the case of Pretty Girl Company for instance, high quality of clothing for young children will be used for positioning and at very affordable prices. This will entice the parents to buy new designs for their daughters. The retail store will also be used as a feature for brand build-up (Spencer & Schechner 2006). Branding Branding is an important part of the product strategy. According to Spencer & Schechner (2006), branding is the idea or the image about a given product or company that the customer can connect with and it can be in form of a name, logo, slogan or even design. Branding becomes into being when the idea or the image is being marketed so as to reach as many people as possible. Branding is especially important in recognition when the company is operating among several competitors that offer similar products or services (Brown 2006). In the case of Pretty Girl Company, branding will based on reputation and standards. The company hopes that it will live to its promise of delivering quality at affordable prices. This will help the customers know the company as one that can keep its word and that can be trusted. On the same line, setting own standards in price and quality will be key branding feature for the company (Brown 2006). Service Service like is the case of positioning and branding, is important in product strategy. This is because it is used as a measure to determine whether the new products introduced do real offer good service to the customer. The expectation of Pretty Girl Company is that its new range of clothing for young girls will be fit into their needs and can be made available for various functions like picnics, sporting, swimming and school as well as other social functions like birthdays and weddings. The essence of incorporating a service into the product strategy will be to ensure that our new attires for young girls who live in modern urban areas get exciting, quality and superior experience. Packaging Packaging plays a very significant role in marketing and in particular, product strategy. Many customers charge products from what they see physically and more so what is on the cover of the product. Packaging is one concrete way to communicate about a product and expression of its positioning in the business (Brown 2006). With this consideration, we plan to have the new range of products packaged in different boxes which clearly show the nature, quality and product packed in their so as to help our customers make informed choices on what products they want. Product packaging will also be used to show our uniqueness in style and fashion in relation to clothing for young girls. Reference Blythe, J 2001, Essentials of Marketing, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall Brown, J 2006, ‘High Street Analysis - Hit or miss’, Drapers Record, 14 October 2006, [online], accessed on 23 August 2008 from Global Factiva Database, http://factiva.com Craik, L 2007, ‘French Invasion’, The Evening Standard, 21 May 2007, [online], accessed on 23 August 2008 from Global Factiva Database, http://factiva.com Hoyer, W and MacInnis, D 2001, Consumer Behaviour, 2nd Edition, USA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Perreault, W and McCarthy, E 2004, Essentials of Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach, New York, Irwin McGraw Hill. Spencer, J & Schechner, S 2006, ‘Fashion: The custom craze’, The Wall Street Journal, 22 December 2006, [online], accessed on 23 August 2008 from Global Factiva Database, http://factiva.com Ziethmal, K & Bitner, H 2003, Services Marketing: integrating customer focus across the firm, New York, McGraw Hill. Read More