Introduction
Huddesfill (“the company”) is a UK based company engaged in the business of producing full range of sport shoes, such as basketball, soccer, badminton and tennis etc. , which is the third largest market player in UK. The aim of this proposal is to identify the suitable marketing strategies for the business growth of Huddesfill in UK.
Objective
Being the third largest sport shoes producer in UK, Huddesfill’s market share in UK was about 8% in 2005, so that, the objective of the marketing strategies is to increase the company’s market share in UK by 10% in order to catch up the market leader – Cantermony, which market share in UK was about 15% in 2005.
Target Audiences
The target audiences of Huddesfill can be divided into segments according to lifestyle and user status. Lifestyle segmentation is based upon the characteristics of psychological, so that, the target audiences of this segment are the people who are interested in sport. For the user status segmentation, the target audiences included non-users, ex-users, potential users, first-time users and regular users of Huddesfill’s products.
Marketing Strategies
To Be Used Marketing strategy indicating the specific target markets and the types of competitive advantages that are to be developed and exploited (Dibb wt al. , 2001, p. 656). It is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.
It provides a framework to meet organization needs and customer wants in an integrative and innovative way. Growth strategies – the Ansoff matrix will be used by Huddesfill since the objective is to increase their market share. The linkages between both products and markets were provided by the Ansoff matrix and it allows the company to consider ways to grow the business via existing and/or new products, in existing and/or new markets.
The matrix consist four strategies: Market Penetration, Product Development, Market Development and Diversification. Within the aforesaid four strategies, market penetration (existing markets, existing products) will be used by Huddesfill in the short run since it is the least risky way for a company to grow. In addition, product development (existing markets, new products) will be a crucial business development strategy for the company to stay competitive in the long run.
Market Penetration
Market penetration strategy is used to increase sales of existing products in existing markets. This strategy focus on persuading existing customers to use more of Huddesfill’s products and it can be achieved by gaining competitor’s customers (part of their market share) and/or attracting non-user to buy the company’s products. Under this strategy, Huddesfill will used to demonstrate a high level of competitive force since the company will need to be price-competitive, promotionally competitive and execute a hard-hitting advertising campaign.
Product Development
Product development is an alternative growth strategy for Huddesfill. The company with a market for its current products might engage in a strategy of developing new products catering to the same market. Under this strategy, Huddesfill not only can gain new customers for their products if it creates new products for the existing market, but also attract existing customers in existing markets to new products. This strategy plays an important role in attracting new customers, developing new markets and providing new opportunities, but the level of investment required is the main problem of product development. As a growth objective, the greatest strain on resources will be provided by this strategy.
In order to provide confidence in the marketplace, Huddesfill need to make use of their brand name and the heart of success of this strategy will rely on the good quality product together with high service levels and compatible promotionally and pricing strategy.
Marketing Mix To Be Used
The marketing mix providing the basis for an organization to develop its marketing strategies in order to enable them to meet customer needs and wants, be highly competitive and allow an organization to differentiate their products and position themselves successfully against competitive equivalents. Within the many marketing mix, only price, product and promotion will be focused under the marketing strategies of Huddesfill.
Price
The customer expectations to price is cost, it means that how much the products will cost them. They do not just want products to be cheap or reasonably priced; they expect a certain level of value for money. Hence, the products of the company need to have a certain level of quality. Price wars are commonplace since customers are response to price strategy. Under the keen competition, price cutting can be used to increase demand, improve market share and beat off the competition.
Huddesfill can decide to be price leaders instead of price followers via make use of cost cutting, special offers and reward cards to gain market share.
Product
Product is a tangible item purchased by customers to meet their needs and wants, however, customers actually purchasing the benefits that the product has an offer since the purchase of benefits is critical to the customer experience. So that, the product is the core marketing mix of Huddesfill. At the maturity stage of the product life cycle, the sales growth will slows or levels off, Huddesfill need to do more to defend their products via product modification.
It is an approach to change and/or enhance product characteristics and it can be accomplished by quality improvement, feature improvement, or style improvement. In tradition, the characteristics of sport shoes just emphasis on their function, however, in the ever changing business environment today, it is not enough to fulfill customers’ expectations. The company need to highlight the differentiation of their products between other sport shoes producers via deeply understand and create value to customers.
To differentiate Huddesfill’s products, the company not only needs to maintain a certain level of quality of their products, but also need to enhance their products characteristics in the aspects of physical and psychological. It can be achieved via provide more different style, different size and different colour of sport shoes for customers to choose for purchasing and make Huddesfill’s sport shoes more fashionable. Then, both the physical characteristics and psychological characteristics of their products can be enhanced.
Since the products of the company obtained the unique psychological characteristics, it can differentiate their products, then, a unique selling proposition can be obtained. With the unique selling proposition which make others competitors difficult to copy, a sustainable competitive advantage will be created.
Promotion
The promotional mix is used by an organization to promote itself, its product to external stakeholders. Advertising is one of the key and most persuasive promotional mixes, which enabling mass communication and building awareness on a large scale.
The most common methods of advertising include television advertising, print media advertising, MTR station and billboard advertising since it can convey different messages and for promoting different products so as to achieve the aim to maximize exposure to the right target audiences. Being one of the largest UK based sport shoes producers, Huddesfill can make use of their brand name for promotion and can create a state of or a perception in the mind of the target audiences that Huddesfill’s products represent a passion for sport via television advertising, MTR station and billboard advertising
In addition, the company can stimulate their sales via sales promotions to customer, wholesaler and retailers including price reductions, coupons/money-off vouchers, discount off next purchase, loyalty rewards and discount on bulk orders etc.
Conclusion
Under the keen competition and in the complex and challenging business environment today, the competition strategy not for price war, but for relationship marketing. The notion of relationship marketing is to build strong relationship with the existing customers and stakeholders in order to retain them, so that, Huddesfill needs to concentrates its efforts on the relationship marketing since the long-term customer may initiate higher margin-supplemental and free word of mouth promotion and referrals. Despite relationship marketing, both the internal and external factors will affect their business, especially the frequent changing needs of the customers and the external environmental change that it needs to consider for their marketing planning and strategies in the future.
In addition, the heart of success or failure of a business not only identifying and satisfying customer’s needs and wants, but also need to have the innovation and keep improving the products. For Huddesfill, to convert their weaknesses to strengths and to convert their threats to opportunities and to maintain the competitive advantage, then, they can increase their market share and it is the only way to survive and to avoid squeezed out by the market under the keen competition.
