Principles and Strategies of Marketing - Essay Example

Marketing Plan Name Course Lecture Date Assessment 1 Introduction Bounce Fitness is a fitness centre with four fitness centres. The head office is based in Cairns Queensland. The other centres are located in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. The board of directors also have an intention of opening a new centre in Perth Western Australia. The centre was established in 2001 by the founder Margaret House as just a single aerobic studio. After operating for almost two years the membership to centre increase and this called for the expansion of the small leased centre and thus a new facility was brought up on the land that had been purchased by the organisation. In the year 2004 the second centre was established in a leased property in Brisbane and then in Sydney and Melbourne in the two subsequent years. The centre is also geared towards a healthy lifestyle for all people in the community (Healthy People 2010). The fitness centre mission statement states that the centres aim to serve the community with comprehensive, quality, unique as well as distinctive health services and programs. The employee team at the fitness centre will expand their preventive services and at the same time improving the participant's quality of life through fitness and health services and this will be done through the application of state of art practices and equipment. Bounce Fitness is entirely committed to the role of premier providers of wellness integrated services. Through the development of an employee culture as well as the creative use and acquisition of resources, the programs will be developed and implemented so as to be appealing to all members. 1.1 Swot Analysis The external and internal environment scan is an essential part of the planning process. Environmental factors that are internal to an organisation can be classified as the weaknesses and strengths, and those factors that are external are classified as the threats and opportunities. The analysis offers information that is essential in matching the capabilities and resources to the competitive environment in which it operates in. The organisation needs to focus more on the maximization of opportunities and strengths and at the same time minimize the threats and weaknesses (Armstrong & Kotler 2004). It is also essential to promote and recognize awareness in the whole organisations in the aim of ensuring everyone working in the organisation strives towards the similar goals. 1.1.1 Strengths One of the major strength of Bounce Fitness is that it has intensively trained staff. The staffs are well equipped with the skills that are required in offering quality services to the clients. Another major strength is that the fitness centre makes use of well researched and detailed health wellness program that this has been a major focus for the fitness centre. This makes them stand out from the other fitness centres making it the preferred choice of fitness centre for most people of all ages. The fitness centre also makes use of a result-oriented approach in relation to attracting and maintaining customers for the centre (Bally Total Fitness 2004). 1.1.2 Weaknesses Despite the strengths, the fitness centre also has number weaknesses with the first one being the high costs involved in customizing personal service. Another weakness is that the centre also lacks the ability to work on high volume business model. The centre is also not able to cater for the high costs involved in attracting large corporate clients. 1.1.3 Opportunities The fitness centre can also make use of some opportunities that are in the market. They need to take up the opportunity of participation in the growing market. With time, people are becoming more health consciousness and thus the need for fitness centres. Bounce fitness needs to take up this opportunity and expand their fitness centres and the services offered to their clients (Healthy People 2010). Bounce Fitness also need to take up the opportunity of the large increase in clients that follows with the receipt of Bounce Fitness program by a single company and lastly they need to take up the opportunity of the ability to leverage future quantitative analysis that supports the contention that long term. 1.1.4 Threats Bounce Fitness also faces some threats such as the lack of immunity to an economic downturn. The Economic downturn is likely to affect the company a great deal. Bounce Fitness also faces potential competition from other fitness centres that have been around for many years. Based on these people may prefer the already established fitness centres as opposed to Bounce fitness centre. At the same time, the society is relay changing, and individuals have been to take more responsibility for their health maintenance and thus with time the fitness centre will not be of great importance to people. 1.2 Suggested marketing strategies In most instances, the success and failure of a company are in a way related to the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the marketing strategies that have been adopted by an organisation. Therefore, it would be crucial for an organisation to choose marketing strategies that are fit the products and services being offered by an organisation. One of the major marketing strategies that Bounce Fitness offer reduced or free rate trial period. While some fitness centres gear their marketing strategies to the customers, who come in an impulse, a sign their membership for a period and then eventually stops showing up. To show and attract new member’s Bounce fitness needs to offer reduced and a free trial period for the members. Thus, Bouncy fitness needs to ensure that the members have a lasting experience to make them willing to pay for full price membership for them to keep coming. The notion of the selection of this strategy was that it is bound to attract a great number of people to the fitness centre. People tend to be pleased by small discounts that are offered y companies and they even take the time to evaluate and use company services for the first time (Armstrong & Kotler 2004). During the trial period, Bounce fitness ought to ensure that the customers get the best experience to enable them to use the facilities in future and recommend them to others. Another strategy is to offer a referral program. Referral programs are essential, and they offer more than just generating business since they ensure that friends bring friends to the facilities. Friends who usually work out together have a high probability of sticking with the program, thus guaranteeing the business for the coming years. Bounce fitness also needs to hype their referral programs and offer discounts to people who come in groups. The centre should have a sense of community. A great number of companies that have a wide client base have attained it through referrals from their earlier clients. People tend to believe more in a service or product when it is recommended to them by close friends and relatives. Thus, the selection of this strategy since it is more likely to attract a greater number of people to the fitness centre as compared to all the other strategies (Armstrong & Kotler 2004). Another strategy is the implementation of a loyalty program. Fitness clubs that wants to retention and attract new customers but does not have much to spend on their marketing budget can make use of the loyalty programs. Customers need to be offered with perks for the long term membership. Bounce Fitness can offer coupons, snacks, tee shirts and something extra that the fitness centre offers. The fitness centre can also brand the fitness clothing, and this will act as a way of marketing themselves to the general public. Customers likes getting rewards from time to time, no matter how small the rewards and treats maybe they are more likely to make the regulars feel special and they may even come along with more friends during their next visit. Another marketing strategy is organising occasional events at the fitness centre, and the centre can also invite local radio and television stations to cover the event. This will make the centre more know o a greater number of people, and they may even enrol after the events. Through the events, people can be able to social with individuals from different areas, races and age. Based on how busy people have become such as get away would be effective. Through the events, people can be taught the importance of healthy living through exercise and thus they may enrol at a later date for the fitness and wellness program (Healthy People 2010). Lastly, the centre can come up with a cool website. Currently, we are in the internet age and companies are moving towards it so as to remain in business. The centre can make a website that is lively; with pictures and videos of the activities that take place at the facility. The website should also be leveraged with other social media sites such as Twitter, Whatsup and Facebook. The centre can also offer discounts through Facebook and tweets so as to entice members to like their posts and follow their tweets and this can be used as a good media of showing what is trending in the centre on a daily basis. The main reason behind the choosing of this kind of media to communicate to the target audience is the ease at which people can access the internet. The internet is currently in every home and office and with time a great number of people have phones that are internet-enabled. This means that they can be able to access the internet on the go. When this is leveraged with other social media sites, the target market will be reached effectively and in great numbers (Armstrong & Kotler 2004). 1.3 Marketing objectives The first marketing objective is to increase the awareness of the centre Increase the membership in the centre and this can be done by focusing on the old people between 1.4 Strategy alignment The above-outlined strategies are in a way aligned with the overall strategy of the company of attracting new membership in coming years. The strategies that have been recommended above are in line with the goals and mission of Bounce fitness centre. This is developing lasting experience in the mind of the customers. Additionally the wellness program has been well adapted to increase membership in the centre and in creating a strong and closer relationship with the members. Through the strategies, Bounce fitness will be able to develop personal relationships and customised services for each of their members thus making them feel connected to the fitness centre (Joshi 2005). Conclusion and recommendations In conclusion, Bounce Fitness has been able to apply its business model effectively and thus its expansion. They also need to apply the business model for them to expand to other areas in Australia in the future. They also need to add their targets groups so ensure that all people in the society are targeted for example, the low and medium income earners, the young and the old and they can also cater for the disabled. This would be an added advantage since most facilities have no facilities to cater for the disabled people in the society, and they tend to focus more on one major group of people. By focusing on the various groups, the disadvantages and costs of one focus group will be overshadowed by areas that perform effectively. The above-stated strategies ought to be implemented in marketing the case study initiative. By adopting the various strategies, the costs of some of the strategies will be overshadowed by the benefits of offers. Thus in the long run the strategies are bound to receive the intended success. Bounce Fitness also need to take note of the strategies that are being used by their main competitors in the market this will ensure that they adopt strategies that keeps them ahead of their competitors at all times. For example, they can offer differentiated services from their competitors and also offer some value added services to their members. This will make a great number of their customers to be loyal to them at all times. Assessment 2 Suggested marketing strategies One of the major marketing strategies that Bounce Fitness offer reduced or free rate trial period. While many fitness centres gear their marketing strategies to the customers, who come in an impulse, a sign their membership for a period and then eventually stops showing up. The other strategy is a referral program. Referral programs are essential, and they offer more than just generating business since they ensure that friends bring friends to the facilities. Friends who usually work out together have a high probability of sticking with the program, thus guaranteeing the business for the coming years. Bounce fitness can also make use of a loyalty program. Fitness clubs that wants to retention and attract new customers but does not have much to spend on their marketing budget can make use of the loyalty programs. Customers need to be offered with perks for the long term membership. Another marketing strategy is organising occasional events at the fitness centre, and the centre can also invite local radio and television stations to cover the event. This will make the centre more know o a greater number of people, and they may even enrol after the events. Lastly, the centre can come up with a cool website. Currently, we are in the internet age and companies are moving towards it so as to remain in business. The centre can make a website that is lively; with pictures and videos of the activities that take place at the facility. The website should also be leveraged with other social media sites such as Twitter, Whatsup and Facebook. Marketing tactics In addition to the fitness services that are offered in the fitness centre, it would also be advantageous other services to the people for instance they can also opt to offer a health and nutrition course to its members (Healthy People 2010). Bounce Fitness can also add on to customer intimacy to offer superior value and developing lasting and close relationships with the community they are operating in. This relationship will ensure that the fitness centre is well aware of the needs of the members and also tailor their services to meet the various needs. Bounce Fitness can also ensure that they penetrate the market more by promoting new memberships for the residents for example they can also offer membership to the old but low-income residents and their families. This will eventually create another category of customers for the centre. Stakeholder’s feedback Based on the feedback received from the manager the marketing strategies and tactics adopted in ensuring that the initiative of the case study was achieved. All the suggested strategies and tactics were to be applied concurrently for better results to be achieved. This would ensure that if one of the strategies and tactics failed the consumers would receive adequate and accurate information from the other strategies and tactics. Great emphasis was also laid on the use of the internet since we are in the internet age. People tend to spend a considerable amount of their time on the internet. This was seen as being the most useful marketing tactics as it would attract a great number of people in the fitness centre. Marketing Plan Bounce Fitness was first established in 2001 in Cairns, Queensland. The business model has been received well, and this has resulted in its expansion in other areas such as Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Marketing have been proved to be essential for the maintenance of growth and market penetration. Besides to the fitness facilities that the centre offers to corporations, their main activity entails the creation as well as the implementation of wellness programs. This marketing plan is a means through which Bounce fitness can refocus its identity and differentiate itself from its competitors in the market. This will involve aspects such as refocusing activities, rebranding as well as redeveloping of the marketing materials in the coming year. Careful examination as well as follow up over the years will measure if the marketing direction is achieving the desired goals and if not the necessary measures will be undertaken to ensure that goals are achieved for example by removing the obstacles. Business goals Achieve additional revenue Register new members between the age of 50 years and 70 years Strategic goals Achieve a greater market share as compared to other fitness facilities in their operation areas that are in Queensland, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Open up centres in other locations Improve the customer satisfaction levels Situational analysis Market Summary Bounce Fitness has good knowledge regarding the market and know much about the common attributes of the loyal and prized customers. This kind of information is essential in that it will be used to understand better the specific needs of the target group and the best manner in which Bounce fitness can communicate to them. Market demographics The profiles of Bounce Fitness clients entail the following demographic, geographic and behavioural aspects: Geographic The target group entails the people living in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney The old people in the areas between the age of 50-70 years The aged living within a 20 min drive radius Demographic 45% females and 55% men People who have retired and thus have a disposable income A great percentage of them are married the others are widowed Behavioural Are well aware of benefits of exercising in their daily lives Engages in daily exercise activities around their homes Can utilize the benefits offered by the fitness centre Market needs Bounce Fitness is offering their clients with health care cost management programs for the aged people who are willing to improve their way of life, Bounce Fitness, therefore, seeks to accomplish the following advantages to their customers. The first one is the customization of customer services. Bounce Fitness will provide the aged with fully customized solutions. The second advantage is related to convenience. Clients will not be required to use services that they deem are not convenient for them. Bounce Fitness has recognised these and tries to make their services as convenient as possible for their target market. The other market need is the application of result oriented strategy. Bounce Fitness will need to make an improvement to its bottom line with the aim of maintaining and attracting customers. Even as Bounce Fitness strives to address the needs of their clients, they need to offer great value to other groups such as the corporate clients so as to increase their market share. Market Trends Over the years, there have been major trends that are cropping up in relation to fitness centres. The major one is the increased usage of fitness facilities. Working out and exercising has become a major activity in the daily lives of Australians over the years. There were widespread reports on impending health crisis such as obesity among many Australians. This was related to the unhealthy diets, poor food choices and inactivity. Over the years, people have realised the importance of exercising and the percentage of people who exercise daily in many times in a week have increased gradually. Swot analysis Strengths well trained staff detailed and well-researched wellness program result oriented approach in maintaining and attracting customers Weaknesses high cost due to customised services inability to work on a high volume business model costs associated with attracting corporate clients Opportunities growing market Threats Poor immunity to economic downturn Competition from well-established fitness centres Change in people behaviour where people have become more health-conscious Competitors Bounce Fitness has three major competitors in the industry. The first are the school facilities and the community fitness programs since they seem to be more appealing to the lower income earners and students who are in search of affordability and accessibility of fitness facilities. The second competitor is the forever Fit Gym, and this mainly targets people who are dedicated and motivated to work out for either five to seven days in one week. The last competitor is Better Bodies, and this fitness centres focuses more on casual fitness seekers. This group of people do not exercise with a high level of intensity by they also requires the recognition and status. Target Audience The target audience for this marketing plan are adults between 50 and 70 years. This group is composed of the largest cluster of individuals who are in need of addressing health concerns and at the same time they have sufficient disposable income to enrol in membership programs in the fitness centre a great emphasis should also be made to female clients since they are easy to attract and maintain. Positioning With time bounce fitness will strive to position themselves as the most effective wellness centre, and number one of the program developed. This will be greatly supported by the increase in the number of people who are willing to engage in their programs to make improvements to their livelihood and to live healthier lifestyles. Marketing mix The bounce fitness marketing mix is composed of distribution, pricing, promotional and advertising as well as customer service. The pricing of services at bounce fitness are comparable to other high-end fitness centres in their areas of operations (Hooley, Piercy & Nicoulaud 2008). An individual opting to utilise the service at the centre will pay a good amount for the service for example they can pay between $100 and $150 this pricing reflect the services and equipment at the centre. In relation to advertising and promotion, the company website and other printed materials will be essential in making the company known. The distribution aspects of the marketing mix will occur in Bounce Fitness work site and their facilities. In relation to customer service, the company plans to operate on the notion of delivering quality customer service if the business succeeds. Financials This section will provide a financial overview of bounce fitness and how they relate to the various marketing activities. Bounce Fitness will address the sales forecast, break-even analysis, expense forecast and how they related to the marketing strategy Break-even analysis The diagram below shows that the breakeven point of Bounce Fitness is $16,667. Sales forecast The chart below shows the sales forecast for three months, and it demonstrates that the aged are expected to enrol in high numbers for the wellness programs. Expense Forecast The expense forecast will be used as the major tool for ensuring that the department on target and also offer indicators when corrections or modifications are essential for the maintenance and implementation of the marketing plan (Hooley, Piercy & Nicoulaud 2008). The marketing expenses are expected to be high during the first month; the expense will reduce to some extent during the second month and rise during the last month. Monthly expense budget The total marketing budget is expected to be $20,000, and this will be distributed among the various medium of communication as in the website development, advertising, direct marketing as well as in the public relations. Controls The main purpose of this marketing plan is to act as a guide for bounce fitness. The following areas will be monitored in the organisation so as to gauge the overall performance Revenue both annually and monthly Expenses: annually and monthly Customer satisfaction The effectiveness of the wellness program for each individual Implementation The milestones identified the main marketing plans, and each of them ought to be accomplished on time and based on the budget. Program Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department Advertising 04/7/2015 04/10/15 $ 12,000 General Manager Marketing PR 04/7/2015 04/10/15 $4,000 Marketing Direct Marketing 04/7/2015 04/10/15 $0 Marketing Website 04/7/2015 04/10/15 $4,000 Marketing Marketing organisation The general manager will share the responsibility of the marketing activities with the centres managers. Contingency planning This entails the planning for any uncertainties as well as risks that may occur in the business. Worst case risks Reaching a point where pieces of equipment could be liquidated to cover for liabilities Determination that the business is not able to support itself Risks and Difficulties issues in creating a sufficient client base economic downturns References Armstrong, G & Kotler, P 2004, Principles of Marketing. Pearson Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Bally Total Fitness n.d, Bally Total Fitness, viewed 5 July 2015, . Healthy People 2010, Nutrition and Overweight, viewed 5 July 2015, . Hooley, G, Piercy, N & Nicoulaud, B 2008, Marketing strategy and competitive positioning, Prentice Hall, London. Joshi, R 2005, International Marketing, Oxford University Press, New York. Read More