This sample essay is designed to explain and evaluate a company’s marketing strategy in a competitive industry. The whole report briefly introduces the company’s background and its product. Through the analysis of the product life cycle and the explanation of why brand is so important especially in a maturity period, this report lists all efforts that have been done by Colorado to build its brand to stay longer in the maturity period. In particular, the report lists the process of targeting market and describes the positioning strategy and results. Pricing process and strategy is also mentioned in this report. While introduce the factor when pricing, the most suitable solution like value pricing has to be adopted to retain customers and defeat competitors. As a part of marketing, distribution channel has to be identified clearly as Colorado has done. In Colorado’s case, it looks simple because it is conducting a direct marketing strategy. Through tracking the promotion mix that are currently using by Colorado, it is suggested that much more efforts such as strategic database and staff training should be done to enhance its IMC plan.
1.0 Introduction
Marketing is extremely important and necessary in today’s business world. For a company in the shoes and apparel retail industry, the threat is not largely from external environment like competitors but from itself. If it cannot conduct marketing as a scientific way, the company may have no possibility to survive in the competition. That is why many selling concept holders disappeared although they do have experience a short honeymoon. Colorado’s marketing practice is attractively because they hold the marketing concept and conduct their own marketing.
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Through the analysis below, it can be seen that brand, target market, positioning, pricing and integrate marketing communications are always the concern gone through its marketing practice. Obviously the company will continue to stick on the way to implementing marketing practice.
2.0 Company Background & Product Analysis
Colorado Group is Australia’s largest specialty footwear retailer as measure by the number of retail stores. It operates over 300 retail outlets across Australia, principally under the names ‘Mathers for Shoes’, ‘Williams the Shoemen’, ‘Colorado Adventurewear’, ‘®Lynx’, ‘®JAG’ and ‘®DKNY’. Of late, the company acquired a new brand called ¡®Diana Ferrai which was one of Australia’s favorite women’s footwear brands. After the introduction of its ¡®Colorado Adventurewear brand in 1993, Colorado has expanded its products into both specialty footwear and apparel categories.
Obviously Colorado’s products should be classified into consumer goods. However, if identifying Colorado’s products in detail, they can be attributed to specialty goods because they are with unique characteristics and brand identification that consumers are willing to pay extra to get the products. While many marketers classified product into three levels that is core product, actual product and augmented product, Kotler (2000) identified that in planning it market offering, the marketer need to take account of five levels of the product including core benefit, basic product, expected product, augmented product and potential product. Core benefit is the most fundamentally level. For Colorado, the core benefit is that customers can enjoy outdoor fun by spreading themselves. At the second level, the marketer must turn the core benefit into a basic product. Colorado’s basic products can be divided into seven product categories: Men’s tops, men’s bottoms, men’s shoes, accessories, women’s tops, women’s bottoms and women’s shoes. At the third level, the marketer has to prepare an expected product to meet customer’s minimum expectation. On the one hand, Colorado has expanded it product categories through a series of acquisitions. On the other hand, the company continuously makes efforts in maintain its product quality. Both efforts enable Colorado to get expected product to satisfy its customers. At the fourth level, Colorado prepares augmented products that exceed customer expectations. For examples, knowing that consumers are becoming more and more aware of protecting environment, Colorado use only recycled package to meet consumer’s expectation. As to warranty, the company promised to guarantee its product to the last. In addition, all Colorado stores are designed to present a natural and outdoors image to stimulate customer’s sense. At the fifth level stands the potential product. Colorado never stops its effort in searching for new ways to satisfy its customers. Colorado has established a strong presence on its web. Although sales volumes remain small, this attempt has proved an important avenue to build relationships with Colorado’s loyal customer base.
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