According to Amy Shuh in the case Cole Parker: Cole and Parker: Socks That Start Business, Jeff had taken a trip to Colombia where he was humbled by the generosity expressed by the people in the region, and upon his return, he entered into a partnership with Diana to form Cole and Parker. Using one for many business models, they established a socks business where the profits of each socks was loaned out to young entrepreneurs through Kiva and upon payment of the loan, it was reinvested for the purposes of funding other micro-loans. However, during their initial stages they were challenged by Dragons’ Den producer to pitch their business model; hence, they required a quickly assess their SWOT, target market, the message being sent to consumers, how different their products were and to come up with a marketing plan.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis approach is the optimal strategy when it comes to the use of Standard and Poor’s Net Advantage database in the analysis of main opportunities and threats for Cole and Parker on the basis if the industry evaluation. A SWOT analysis is an approach that is used to assess the external environment forces and the internal environment forces that may actually impact the firm’s ability to earn precedes. According to this case, the firm had just found its way into the market and therefore it had a great opportunity associated with promotion and advertisement in order to make itself known to the target market. Jeff and Diana had established their company using the one-for-many business model and, therefore, using a good marketing strategy, they would not only be able to establish their brand among the consumers but also advocate for the one-for-many business model. In fact, their added advantage lied on the fact that they were directly giving back to the community at a time when many Americans would have opted to purchase from a firm with favourable corporate social responsibility strategy. However, the firm faced a number of threats with the main threat being the many competing firms that had already established themselves in the market. In that, the firm will have to be concerned with the factors that will affect their price margin like the pricing of their goods and the competitors pricing as these two factors will greatly affect their success in the market.
The firm also has a number of strengths with the first one being the design of their products considering that their socks have been made distinct through the use of colours. As compared to its competitors, Cole and Parker business has an upper hand in the market because the trend of men going for colourful socks as an accessory is becoming common. Additionally, the firm’s strength lies in the fact that it will act as a one-step solution for men looking for flashy socks and this can be included into their brand name. Finally, the one-to-many business model is strength in itself considering that it will help, to not only establish sales, but also to establish a movement that people will associate with. However, there are internal weaknesses associated with Cole and Parker firm like the limited publicity associated with it. The management needs to expand their market efforts to include other channels apart from online platforms and word of mouth in order to increase awareness among the public.
Target Market
Establishing a target market is one of the challenges that new businesses face when entering the market considering that a firm cannot target everyone in the market with its goods. Concentrating on a specific group of people is important because it ensures that the meagre resources are well utilised and customer profiles are created. Segmenting the market demographically is very important for the success of the business as it aligns potential customers in terms of their age, social class, and gender among many others. Considering that Cole and Parker firm have branded their products to be flashy and attractive, it is just fair that they target individuals aged twenty to forty years. This age bracket comprises of a group of people who can identify well with the idea of one-to-many business model as they are in the course of establishing lives for themselves. Psychographically, the firm should target young people who value accessories and are common figures on social media. In terms of attitude, the firm can look for celebrities like Christiano Ronald being seen with their socks on, as this will work by attracting his fans among other admirers.
Value Proposition
Value proposition refers to the aspect that a firm wants to be identified with by its customers in the market and to make it different from the other similar business. Cole and Parker want its consumers to recognise it and differentiate it from other businesses using the slogan “socks that start business” especially considering the fact that today’s economy is on recovery and consumers will be more than willing to give back to the economy (Kotler, 2000). Using the slogan will help to place the firm both in the present and in the future as it not only promotes sustainable development, but are also inspires customers to consider investing in future.
Differentiation from Competitors
The target market will act as a differential factor for the firm from its competitors as it will mainly target people aged twenty to forty years who frequent the social media. Additionally, the pricing of their products will be such that this group of people can afford, which will also act as a differentiating factor from other competing business in the market. The design of the firm's product is also very different from that of its competitors considering that the socks are of various colours and flashy.
Marketing Plan
A marketing plan is an effective tool that is used to attain the firm’s objective and meet clients’ satisfaction and is mainly described as placement, pricing, promotion, and placement. In terms or pricing, Cole and Parker firm will sell their socks at an affordable price, as it will value from a low of ten dollars to a high of twenty-five dollars. This pricing will be affordable as compared to those of other businesses in the industry because Cole and Parker socks will be of high quality and highly differentiated. Therefore, the pricing will act as the strategy of market penetration by targeting new customers and attracting those of other rival firms, as described in the product–market expansion grid (Kotler, 2000). The slogan “socks that start businesses” will be used for promotional purposes, as it will form the identity of the firm in addition to the use of social media to create awareness. In order to save cost, the firm will avail its products at supermarkets among other shopping centres, as this will ensure a large number of people have access to them.
In conclusion, Cole and Parker firm was through a partnership between Diana and Jeff, after Jeff had travelled back from Colombia where he was impressed by the generosity of the locals; hence, giving birth to the idea of one-to-many business strategy by selling socks. The strength of the business lies in it branding considering that the socks being produced have been branded uniquely from its competitors using colours. However, the firm will have to establish itself in the market where competing firms have taken a larger share, but its corporate social strategy, if used well, will help to position the firm uniquely in the market.
Reference
Kotler .P. (2000). Marketing Management: Millennium Edition. Boston: Prentice Hall PTR.
