Fashion Brand of Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy - Case Study Example

Multichannel Marketing Strategy for a Fashion Brand

Background

Marketing can be defined as the transfer of information which is aimed at the generation of an exchange of value from a particular company to its customers thus leading to the creation of higher returns for both the company and its shareholders. A successful marketing plan is an essential aspect of a business that seeks to increase its revenues and market position. Therefore, it should incorporate all the core competencies of the firm. The core competencies should be aligned with the tastes and preferences of its customers to ensure the success of the organization thus the management of any business should perform an evaluation on its environment of activities to help it determine the best avenues to pursue. A successful marketing plan is characterized by a mix of pricing strategies, product differentiation, effective promotion strategies and tactics, and market segmentation. The perfect marketing mix helps the business to reach the selected segment group since it helps the management of the company to choose a marketing channel which is appropriate for the firm. The multichannel marketing is a coordinated program which is orchestrated across the digital and traditional media channels with the aim of acquiring and retaining prospective customers, increase the brand’s image. It is also involved in the conditioning of the market and thus ultimately engage the society in the decision-making processes of the business (Weinberg, B., Parise, S. and Guinan, P. 2007). Multichannel marketing is a marketing strategy which provides the prospective customers of a particular firm the opportunity to choose their preferred response action from the combination of indirect and direct communication channels which the company utilizes to interact with the customer. These channels may be either retail stores, direct mail, mail order catalogs, email, mobile or websites among other numerous communication channels. Fashion is a huge industry which is characterized by a high level of competition which requires the companies in the industry to differentiate themselves.

Preliminary Review of the Literature

The fashion industry is a highly differentiated industry that requires the companies involved in it to ensure that they customize their processes according to the tastes and preferences of the customer by making sure that they are aligned with the needs of the client. The uncovering of the needs of the customer helps in the creation of a clear and well-defined framework that is driven towards the optimization of the business outcomes. The application of analysis in the processes of the firm helps in the integration both customer and competitor suggestions to improve performance. This study helps in the development of allegiance models and value propositions through the application of simple actions that possess the ability to actuate the brand of the business to greater heights. The data collected from this analysis helps in the formulation of strategies and plans that help the business to track its brand image thus ultimately making it possible to predict the trends of the customers over an extended period of time (Schoenbachler, D. and Gordon, G. 2002). An effective multichannel marketing strategy is as a result of the efforts of an effective and efficient multichannel customer management which can be described as the framework, distribution and evaluation of various channels with the aim of enhancing the value of the client. An effective multichannel customer management is driven towards ensuring that the brand of the business is identifiable, making its connection between the customers to be tangible or emotional thus resulting in the development of a long-term relationship between the customer and the products of the business (Huang, R., Lee, S., Kim, H. and Evans, L. 2015). The marketing strategies employed by any business are geared towards cultivating stable and long-term relationships with the firm and its customers thus enhancing the brand’s image through referrals, cross-sell and up-sell activities, and loyalty. The marketing strategies revolve around the strength and success of the production cycle of the brand by ensuring that they evolve continuously thus ultimately meeting and fulfilling the needs of the prospective customers while remaining focused on the objectives and goals of the business. The evaluation of the companies’ processes helps in the identification and reinforcement of the core competencies of the firm thus enabling the company to address both the internal and external vulnerabilities and threats effectively by exploiting and leveraging the available opportunities in the market (Rangaswamy, A. and Van Bruggen, G. 2005). The analysis of the business environment helps in the determination of how the company should conduct its activities to edge out its competitors since the data acquired indicates what benefits are associated with the brand of the firm. The analysis of the business environment also equips the business with information about the processes, brand image and core competencies of its rivals thus providing the business the opportunity to step in and fill in where the competitor seems to be lacking. The analysis of the business environment also helps the company to determine whether its customers are aware of its brand and its position in the market thus making it possible to come up with effective marketing strategies and tactics that help in the expansion of the market share of the business. The analysis of the business environment is an essential tool that helps the company to determine the potential opportunities that are available for the firm and the vulnerabilities that threaten to reduce the profitability and the market share of the business. The outcomes of this evaluation into the business environment of the business helps the business to determine if the efforts it currently employs are worthwhile and if they are directly linked to the goals and objectives of the company (Beckmann, J. and Paul, M. 2016). The management of the business can determine whether to extend its brand into new markets or product lines depending on the results of the investigation into the business environment that the firm is currently situated. The use of a differentiation strategy will help the company to be uniquely placed in the marketplace since its products will be identifiable in a market that is crowded with similar products. The perfect multichannel marketing strategy addresses all the preferences and tastes of the prospective customers through the utilization of communication channels that are appropriate. The management of marketing communication is an important and strategic function which is driven towards the delivery of coordinated promotional messages through multiple channels such as radio, social media, television, print media, direct mail and personalized sales (Anna Rickman, T. and Cosenza, R. 2007). The management of the business strongly emphasizes the strategic importance of multichannel marketing communications since the ability of a particular brand is to remain vivid in the minds of the firm’s customers does not only rely on the experiences of the products of the business but also on the long-term effects of strategic communication. The establishment of marketing models that are serve as predictive guides is essential in the building and management of the relationships with consumers and customers. These marketing have a direct bearing on marketing communications since they are instrumental in the identification of the relationships, messages and the communication channels that are compatible with the preferences of the prospective customers (Nicholson, M., Clarke, I. and Blakemore, M. 2002).

Research Question and Objectives

Is multichannel marketing a potential source of competitive advantage, if so then which channels should the firm employ?

The purpose of the research is to evaluate and determine which multichannel marketing communication avenues are most productive since the success of a business relies immensely on the ability of the firm actually to persuade the market to purchase products or services from a particular organization rather than from another organization. The research will help in the determination of the appropriate and most suitable communication channels that the business should seek to invest heavily in thus ultimately enhancing the ability of the businesses to make sales. The use of innovative and differentiated strategies that are anchored in the comprehensive understanding of consumer patterns, preferences, behavior, spending, age, income, education and other essential demographics coupled with aggressive communication of the businesses’ message will significantly contribute to the growth and success of the firm. The research will help in the determination and choosing of communication channels which are aligned with the core competencies, goals and objectives of the organization, and the tastes and preferences of the potential customers. The research will also seek to analyze the market trends thus ultimately selecting the appropriate and most suitable communication channels.

Methodology and Research Methods

The business will carry out its research by utilizing qualitative data collection methods since the research is focused on the determination of which variables need to be manipulated or leveraged to generate results which are quantifiable. The focus of the research is on the responses of the customers, competitors, shareholders, collaborators and partners, and other relevant stakeholders. The study will investigate the tastes and preferences of the potential and existing customers to determine their satisfaction level thus helping the management of the business to formulate business and marketing plans that are effective. The application of the qualitative collection methods will be aimed at gauging which communication channels appeal to the relevant stakeholders since the attractiveness of a communication channel differs from one individual to another. The measurement of the different opinions can be statistically determined through the application of analysis and evaluation techniques thus effectively manipulating and measuring the responses, behaviors and preferences in order to provide the management of the business with the desired outcome: the appropriate and suitable communication channels to be adopted by the firm with a view to enhancing its brand’s image. The collection of an adequate sample for this case study is driven by the nature of the environment in which the business conducts its activities thus requiring the data collection method to be applied to qualitative. The evaluation of variables such as opinions are derived from the need to develop explanations of social phenomena thus the application of qualitative research methods is most appropriate for this investigation into which communication channels are most appropriate or suitable for the enhancement of the goals and objectives of the business while still considering the tastes and preferences of the prospective customers. The research will be concerned with the how, what and why of the differences between the selected social groups. The study will seek to answer the questions why certain channels are expected to increase the brand image of the fashion company, how the company will utilize the communication channels, and what is the reason behind the channel choices. The investigation will be concerned with the attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and the effects of individual events on the social groups chosen as the sample of the study. The data collection approach in qualitative involves; thus the researchers will be expected to exhibit high levels of professionalism and the direct participation of the parties that are directly participating in the enhancement of the brand image of the business to guarantee and provide data which is accurate, reliable, and viable for interpretation. The researchers will conduct extensive interviews with the customers and other relevant parties to collect data which provides the management of the business with a deeper insight into the communication channels and the trends on the market. The use of the qualitative data collection method will help in the collection of detailed and rich data thus making it easy to determine which channels are most suitable for adoption in the pursuit of increasing the brand image of the business. This research approach will require the direct interaction with the prospective customers on a one-on-one level or in a group setting. The data will be collected through focus groups, individual or group interviews, observations and action research to generate valid and reliable data that is free from bias or influence thus leading to the identification of the most appropriate communication channels. The use of qualitative data collection methods helps in the formation of a thorough understanding of the cultural differences and disparities that exist within the market. The use of one-on-one interactions and interactions through the utilization of the web, mail and phone methodologies will provide the business with timely and relevant market survey data thus making easier to understand the customers of the firm.

The company will conduct a stakeholder research with the aim of measuring their perceptions and requirements to identify the available opportunities for brand improvement. The research is driven into the investigation of the firm’s staff knowledge, satisfaction, talents, experiences, expectations, and abilities actually to identify and determine what levels of employee engagement to employ to enhance customer loyalty. The business will also conduct an investigation on its suppliers, partners and competitors using different survey methodologies to identify competitor benchmarks, consumer satisfaction and added value expectations. The analysis of this data will help in the identification of what flaw exist thus proving the management of the business to fix them; this will assist in the selection of the best multichannel marketing strategies that create an advantage and attract new consumers to the firm. The company will apply a multi-mode data collection approach through the utilization of social media, postal, phone and face-to-face research surveys since these forms of data collection offer the stakeholders flexibility and the choice of the preferred method of participation. These data collection vessels ensure that the quality of data collected is of the highest possible since they support an increased response rate, more accurate and robust information, and a rich survey experience since the respondents have been given the choice to choose their most preferred mode of interaction. These data collection channels provide the business with information faster since the interactions are direct thus leading to the collection of data which can be tracked and monitored. The business will be able to determine which communication channels enhance both the companies’ brand image and competitive advantage over its rivals in the same industry since the data is current, reliable and valid.

Data Gathering Activity.

Details of Sample

Method of Data Analysis

Which Research Objective This Data Informs

Focus Groups

Customers, the Employees of the Business and Shareholders

Ranking

Preferences

Suggestions

Responses

Satisfaction

One-on-one Interviews

Relevant Stakeholders(Internal and External)

Ranking

Preferences

Recommendations

Suggestions

Ideas

Observations

Competitors, Suppliers and Partners.

Ranking

Nominal comparison

Deviation

Correlation

Benchmarks in the market

Opportunities

Threats

Legislation

Action Research

Different Market Segments

Ranking

Nominal comparison

Correlation

Deviation

Behaviors

Preferences

Opinions

Perceptions

Spending patterns

Income levels

Loyalty

Ethical Considerations

The formulation of multichannel marketing strategies is riddled with several ethical considerations that can be attributed to the evaluation of marketing events, public relations, and the assessment of sales and promotions. The ethical considerations are mainly as a result of the activities and processes of the collaborators, suppliers, and partners who are involved in the development, editing and transmission of the customer value proposition message. The lack of corporate responsibility of a particular communication medium is an ethical consideration to be included in the decision-making process on the appropriate communication channel to use when marketing the products of business in the fashion industry. The choice on which communication channel to use may lead to ethical concerns since the messages transmitted through these communication channels may be misinterpreted since different people have different perceptions. The communication channels may rise ethical considerations since some communication channels are tailor made to reach or target a specific demographic therefore if the message is received by the unintended parties then it may be a source of conflict. Messages broadcasted on each communication channel are intended for a particular segment of the market, individuals from different market segments may view the messages as a violation of ethical standards.

Barriers and Special Considerations

There are several special considerations and barriers inhibit the selection of the most suitable multichannel strategies that enhance the brand image and the competitive edge of business in the fashion industry such as cultural barriers, competition issues and the management of conflicting communication channels. These obstacles if not well managed can lead to the failure of the business since they possess the ability to influence the direction in which the company will take towards achieving its set goals and objectives.