[INSERT YOUR BUSINESS LOGO]
[GANO SUPER HATS LIMITED]
[Main Business Address]
ACN: [ACN]
[Gano Super Hats Limited]
Marketing Plan
Prepared (Student Name): [Date prepared]
Business name: Gano Super Hats Limited
Business location: New York, United States
Products/services: The business sells a brand of caps known as Gano. The firm expects an annual demand of 30,000 caps annually, though the demand is projected to increase as the business grows.
Vision statement
Goals/objectives
Target market
The company is targeting men in the society especially the youths and teenagers who have a special taste for the product. The targeted people will buy the product because it has unique designs and it has a variety of colours. The product can fit all groups of people ranging from the young to the old men.
Marketing strategy
The company plans to penetrate the market by locating the outlets near significant shopping centres such as shopping malls and supermarkets. The product shall be sold at a lower price than that of competitors in order to attract customers. An intensified advertising shall be carried out through the media especially through the television. Billboards shall be constructed in major states such as New York and Washington and on major highways. Customers who purchase three or more hats shall be given a free hat.
The company will adopt a cost-leadership marketing strategy. This strategy will be applied in the pricing strategy where the company will use penetrative pricing. The strategy is adopted based on the need for the company to establish a niche for itself in the market (Murphy 89). It is essential to highlight that the affordability of the company’s hats will be communicated to the consumers. The marketing activities to be undertaken by the company are tabulated below:
SWOT Analysis
Advertising & sales
Advertising and promotional strategy
Market Position
A hat is an attire that is used by men to cover their heads from the hot sun. The use of the hat for protecting the head makes it a basic product for men around the world. There are different types of hats sold in the world, and this makes it to be a competitive product. Gano is one of the brands of hats that the company will specialize in selling because of its unique features. It is not an expensive product; therefore, the market for the product will be a competitive market where the price of the caps will be similar to the price of competitor’s caps.
Unique Selling Position
The cap has a material that is neither light nor heavy; this makes it comfortable in any weather. This feature of the cap is different from the products in the market which are either light or heavy, making them fit for certain weather only. This uniqueness of Gano will make it sell in both hot and cold weather, unlike other products in the market that sell for a season only. The front part of the hat is designed in a way that it shields a person from the hot sun. The back part has different designs such that a customer has to select the design that fits his head. The business and its branches will be located near significant shopping centers so that customers can be reached. These shopping centers include; shopping malls, supermarkets and boutiques that sell clothes. These locations help the customer to buy the hats while they shop other products comfortably. Competitors mainly sell their products on roads, and this is viewed as destruction of pedestrians who use the roads. The business will make more sales than competitors because the location gives the business a competitive advantage over its rivals.
Anticipated demand
Demand for Gano is expected to be high because the customers are mostly men from all age groups. During National Day, for example, people love putting on new attire, and a cap is one of the attires that men love. Men like wearing a cap on a daily basis to prevent their heads from the hot sun rays or to keep warm during cold weather. Apart from these two reasons, a man usually purchases a cup for his girlfriend so that they can look alike especially when they are going out (Palmer 50). On average, therefore, a customer is expected to purchase three caps in a year.
Pricing Strategy
The pricing strategy to be used will be penetration pricing; this is where the product will be sold at a lower price than that charged by competitors for their products. Penetration pricing will help the company to gather a larger market share, and sell a larger volume of sales than the competitors.
Value to Customer
A cap is viewed as a basic need for men because they use it to protect their heads from the hot sun rays and to keep warm during cold weather. Teenagers and the youth use caps as a luxury good when they purchase various designs and colours of caps.
Growth Potential
Caps are worn in school games by teams that play games such as golf especially in winter when the temperature in the atmosphere is almost zero. International teams such as football teams also wear uniforms which includes caps. The firm will advertise the product and persuade schools and teams to use Gano hats as their uniform. Ladies also put on hats on several occasions. Advertisement of the product to these people will be intense, and if it succeeds then, sales are forecasted to rise at five percent in the first two years, and ten percent from the third year onwards.
Customer Demographics
Hats are mainly worn by the males in the society ranging from children, teenagers, youth and the old. These groups wear the hats on a daily basis in all types of weather. Women also wear hats on rare occasions as opposed to men who wear the hats more often. The youth and teenagers mostly wear hats depending on the fashion in the market and tastes of their peers. These two groups also purchase different colours of hats that match the different clothes that they wear on a daily basis. The youth also wears different hats on different occasions so as to look elegant. Children and old men wear caps for the purpose of protecting their heads from the hot sun and to keep warm during winter. Teenagers and youth, therefore, purchase more hats than children and old men.
Key Customers
Teenagers and youth are the major customers of hats because of their taste for fashion and different colors. The business will target these groups by advertising in the media especially the television, showing different colors of the product, as well as different designs. The advertisement will be done by a young person so as to attract the attention of the young people. Bill boards will be set up in significant towns in the country, and they will show a picture of different people on a line wearing different designs of the caps. The people on the billboard will represent all the groups of people that wear caps, that is children, teenagers, youth and old men. There will be an online market where customers can buy the caps online, and delivery will be made free by the firm's team of sales people.
Customer Management
The firm will employ different measure to create customer loyalty for its products. One of the methods to be used will be promotion of sales. Delivery of goods to customers who purchase the product online will be free so as to encourage them to purchase the company's products only.
Competitors
The brand’s competitors have very high ratings due to the fact that they’ve been in business for a very long time. The cap line is in its early stages and hence faces adverse challenges from the already established companies. This business will work on diversifying the types of caps available in the market, an aspect not taken into practice by competitors. Plus there are no companies that specialize in this area of production in the state.
Competitor details
- New Era Ltd: This Company was established in the 1920’s. It produces on-field caps that are popular among in the baseball league, in universities and colleges. The National Football League has it as its official on-field cap provider since 2012. It had profits amounting to $ 343.7 million in the year 2007. The company enjoys a substantially large market share of 57%, with branches in such countries as Poland and employs over 50,000 workers across its branches. Its classic style and unique design are strengths that set it apart from the rest of the competition.
- Crown cap began the manufacturing of textile head wear for the Western Canadian Farm trade in 1934. This was due to the absence of finely crafted head wear and accessories. Their presence in the market for this amount of time has grown their market share in Canada to 17%. The use of these hats is widespread especially in the cold season.
- The Bailey Hat Company has operated in the hat manufacturing business since 1922. It specializes in the production of the hats famously known as cowboy hats. They have an estimated market share of about 8%. The hats have a wide surface area which proves useful in times of rain and extreme sunny conditions for example in Texas USA, the hats are widely used as people spend most times outdoors, with extreme temperatures. They are also worn by Hollywood actors hence giving them a competitive edge in the market.
- Capas Headwear company has operated in the hat business for not less than 25 years now, they have a strong market share of about 10%. They have a variety of hats and hence will be one of our biggest competitors as they have diversified their products. The company has a staff of over 40000 employees and a turnover of $6 million a year. Their unique set of hats gives them an edge in the market.
- F & M Hat Company began in 1912. With a staff of over 20000 employees the company has an average sales turnover of about $ 8 million a year. The market share stands at 20%. The consumers are satisfied with the quality craftsmanship, exceptional service and product innovation. They have operated in the market for a very long time and hence they have honed unique skills as pertains this market.
Market Research
We used a questionnaire to conduct our market research across our target markets. The response rate was 75% in this market survey conducted by the company. The questionnaire is attached in the appendix.
Market Targets
The product is mainly meant for the male teenagers and young adults. With the growing population, demand for fashion related products is increasing. A minimum 3000 units are the target for every month each selling at $ 12, which is competitively affordable in comparison to our competitors.
Environmental/ Industry analysis
Founded for the purpose of manufacturing textiles, the company has grown to be a known brand in the region as a producer of high end fashion apparel.
The area in question has experienced population growth over the last four years. This indicates an increase in the labour force. There are a few long term employees who are government and a few private companies thus this creates a pool of labourers for the company as it grows. Competition for labour is low. The political atmosphere is calm with no events in the foreseeable future that poses a risk to the company. This in turn ensures economic stability.
Demand for the cap may vary depending on the current fashion trend hence a need to diversify available ones. Competition especially in the advertising industry is very strong especially internationally. This is due to the popularity of other brands present in the market. The market size is substantial, as the target market makes up the majority of the population.
People have accessorized their hats with earphones and Bluetooth ear piece for their mobile devices while others use them to hold cans of beverage mostly seen in football games.
The Gano will be the must have cap. Influence from age mates, price factor and fashion trends will be major external factors that are set to affect my consumers.
Social media strategy
Our social media strategy will be based around converting likes/follows/views into actual sales. This strategy will also be reinforced by a need to create brand awareness of the hats. The company will hire a professional social media account manager to administrate the online activities of the company. The company will have accounts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube where the social media campaigns will be advanced. It is essential to highlight that these campaigns will be aligned with other marketing strategies to avoid sub-optimality.
Sales strategy
The company’s sales strategy will be based on customer satisfaction and relationship. The company will not only focus on achieving high sales but on ensuring that the products deliver value to the customers. This will be established through continued market research.
Summary
Gano is a family owned fashion brand –name apparel. The company makes and markets branded casual sportswear, jeans, T-shirts, casual sportswear for women teens and under the Gano brand. The brand launched a new line of caps that it seeks popularize in the market. The marketing plan discussed outlines how this new product will be marketed and sold in different markets.
Works Cited
Murphy, P. E. Ethical marketing. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.
Palmer, A. Introduction to marketing: Theory and practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Appendix
Appendix 1: Market Research Questionnaire
