Basketball Market - Research Proposal Example

Chairman of the Board, Andrew’s Basketball Association Marcus Walt, Sales Manager, ABA March 26, Basketball Market Research INTRODUCTION As the sales manager of Andrew’s Basketball Association (ABA), I have been assigned the responsibility to decide whether to invest in the Chinese basketball market or the US market in order to make more profit. Being a graduate in Sales and Marketing, I have worked as a salesman for different organizations for the past 8 years. I have performed outstandingly well in different areas, including sports, and I have vast experience with the NBA sports. As the salesman, I will engage in an in-depth analysis of the American market and the Chinese Market and consider different factors in an effort to determine that is more viable for Andrew’s Basketball Association. This will be conducted through a detailed review of both markets, with information being acquired from both secondary sources and personal experience, not that I have worked in the sports industry as a salesman for quite some time. Following this analysis, I will make recommendations outlining the conditions on which I will base my decision, which I hope the ABA board will accept. DESCRIPTION OF THE CASE STUDY Andrew’s Basketball Association is one of the major basketball leagues in the world and has many fans watching the involved games where they have the ability to enjoy the entertainment while others watch it for the thrill it offers the fans out of its competitive nature. The members of these association’s teams are famous and world travelled. The information got from my analysis will include the number of teams that this league has for better understanding. Moreover, it is important to understand that the association wishes to focus on one of two major markets, including the United States and China. Because marketing or rather investing in two markets is expensive, it is important to understand the best market to venture. The research offers data of both the markets separately; it offers information on the various trends in the market and identifies the customers’ purchasing power among other important factors to consider prior to making the decision. ANALYSIS OF THE CLIENT’S PROBLEM/SITUATION AND CHOICES For ABA, an understanding that I have come to develop is that the US market is highly competitive, which makes it less viable. Competition occurs both internally and externally in that, internally, organizers do not appear to agree on what players to choose while, externally, it is not clear what states to explore because the market is flooded with basketball associations. As a salesman who has explored many areas across the United States, I have also come to note that the US association currently operation has adopted the tendency of focusing on only certain ethnic groups, especially the African American community (Entine, 2008), in their efforts to look for players. On the other hand, large companies from the United States have taken note of this and have now shifted their focus to the Chinese market (Beyer, 2011). Companies such as Adidas and Nike have recently come to invest heavily in China, which makes the Chinese market the better option (Backaler, 2014). Another reason to focus on the Chinese market is the fact that China, as opposed to the United States, does not have a long history of basketball. As such, the best talent has not yet been exploited, which further makes it extremely viable for ABA. It will be the best option, therefore, to rush for the rising talent before the market is flooded with American associations, just as the US market has been. Finally, from my personal experience, Yao Ming has left a culture of continued love for the sport, which ABA should be looking to exploit. AUDIENCE ANALYSIS OF CLIENT In the United States, ABA has been focused on the general population in an effort to obtain new talent. As such, it does not stand many new opportunities in the United States, considering that, as has been mentioned above, the most popular associations, including the NBA, has held the tendency to seek talent only from certain ethnic groups. As such, the ABA type of popularity might be viable locally, which gives ABA an even better reason to look in venturing into the Chinese market in an effort to capture a new and larger audience, hence more profits. With regard to the Chinese market, it currently has more than 300 million basketball fans (Marketing China, 2013). This means that the Chinese fans are the same number of the United States population. If everyone in the United States loved basketball, I would still recommend that ABA moves to the Chinese market. The reason is that, with the rising popularity of the sport in China, the audience would still have immense growth potential, compared to zero growth potential that we see in the US. Having made these considerations, it is mi sincere hope that the ABA board will be convinced to take the Chinese option. WORK PLAN WITH SCHEDULE I know that the board understands that making a detailed analysis of a market based on secondary data and personal experience, with little primary data, is no easy task. Furthermore, I am making the analysis as the only salesman involved. In this regard, this will not be an easy task, but I truly appreciate the trust that the board has placed in me and, for that reason, I am truly thankful. At this point, I am looking to finish this analysis in the shortest time possible, which will be six months or less. Having been entrusted with this task, I am now asking the board to continue holding that trust in me to complete the task in six months, during which I and my team will embark on the task and come up with new and detailed strategies to penetrate the Chinese market and make ABA the biggest association in China. The following activities will be conducted in the next six months or less. Task Time Period (Days) Marketing Research 60 Talent Analysis 60 Recruitment Workshops 60 QUALIFICATIONS It is my understanding that ABA, in addition to finding more profits in a new and more viable market, is targeting highly qualified players, just as it has been in the United States. Just as with the NBA, ABA looks to sign the best players in both rural and urban China in an effort to become global competitors with associations in the US, including the NBA. It is understandable that the NBA has the highest qualifications in the world and, as such, remains the most competitive, but it started somewhere (Xing, 2008). This is why ABA should be willing to invest in China, where the best talent has not yet been exploited. As such, we look to find the best talent and help them grow. For those already playing, who need less training, the minimum qualifications will be as follows: The player to be selected must dominate in at least 40 percent of selection games The player to be selected must dominate in at least 60 percent of his team games The player to be selected must have made 250 field goals in the past 75 games The player to be selected must have made at least 50 free throws in the last 50 games RESOURCES REQUIRED This task requires a cross-functional team, which, as I would recommend, should consist of members selected because they understand the best needs of the association. The team will consist of two members of each of the following department: sales and marketing, finance, and human resources. I will be the team leader. Financial resources required will require traveling costs and allowances for the team members, which will be presented to the board in a detailed budget in the next one week. CLOSING I am glad to submit this proposal to the board of ABA and it is my sincere hope that the board will follow my recommendations, which have been informed by not only the deep literature search I have been involved in but also my vast professional experience in the sport. I leave the board with my best regards! References Backaler, J. (2014). China Goes West: Everything You Need to Know About Chinese Companies Going Global. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Beyer, M. (2011, Oct 01). Re-Thinking the Game Plan: With China’s sports industry in flux, foreign companies have more investment opportunities in the sector. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from China Business Review: http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/re-thinking-the-game-plan/ Entine, J. (2008). Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports And Why Were Afraid To Talk About It. New York: Public Affairs. Marketing China. (2013, July 01). New beginning for the Chinese Basketball. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from Marketing to China: http://marketingtochina.com/new-beginning-for-the-chinese-basketball/ Xing, X. (2008). Sport Fanship Meaning and Structure Across Two National Cultures: Toward a Sport Consumption Culture Theory. ProQuest. Read More