Marketing
Payless ShoeSource
Re : In order to revamp the corporate image of Payless ShoeSource by expanding the designer collection to increase company sales through lesser cost
Recommendations:
Short term (immediately to one month)
- The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) should meet immediately with the marketing group in order to come up with a strategy to make Payless ShoeSource a world-renowned brand of trendy and hip shoes for a reasonable price.
- The CEO must assess the current performance of the company in terms of marketing strategy and sales report of other shoe companies in order to improve the performance of Payless.
- The CEO must order the marketing division to update the style of the shoes being sold by Payless and to highlight on increase in the trends and customer groups, including male, female, teens and kids, and categories such as formal wear, casual wear and sports and athletic wear.
Medium term (one month to two months)
- Create new methods and means to attract new customers and maintain the existing clientele by giving discount cards for the returning customers.
- Impose an aggressive marketing campaign through print advertisement and multi-media advertisement
- Assess the current performance of the executive members and staff in order to improve the overall performance of the company in terms of coordination and organizational decisions of the executives.
Long term (two months to four months)
- The executives must continuously aim to make the right decisions for the benefit of the company.
Control and feedback
- Conduct month-end meetings and require submission of reports by knowing all the suggestion and feedback of the employees.
Contingency plan
- In case of financial issues, the company must be able to have a back-up plan by conducting some fundraising projects and to reinforce the marketing strategy through advertisement using the internet.
Introduction
Executive Summary
Payless ShoeSource was founded in Topeka, Kansas and rapidly grew to become one of the successful companies that sell shoes in a self-service environment. After five decades, it became the biggest shoe retailer located in the western hemisphere by opening 4,500 stores in fifty states within the U.S.A. The company initially targeted those families who have limited budget. The brand was known for its mission of democratizing fashion by reaching the masses, by showcasing hip, trendy, but affordable shoes in the market. In order to boost the sales of the company, there is a need to revamp the corporate image of Payless ShoeSource by expanding the designer collection to increase company sales through lesser cost.
Recommendations/Implementation
Short term (immediately to one month)
After hiring of a new CEO, the company can expand the brand portfolio by informing the marketing division to conduct a market analysis of the overall shoe industry in order to make an assessment of the current standing of PaylessShoe Source.
The CEO must able to involve the department heads to take the necessary actions to achieve the objective of fun and fashionable shoes at a fraction of the cost.
Assessing other competitors in the shoe industry to enable the company will apply effective methods to improve the quality of the products and in keeping with the latest shoe designs.
Including all programs in a membership has caused reduction in revenue. So, the fees of new specialized programs should be in addition to membership fees to increase the income.
The price of the shoes must be reasonable in the sense that they are not very cheap, but not too expensive to make the price more competitive in the market.
Medium term (one to month to three months)
Conducting regular sale events to sell some of the unsold shoes since the style of shoes varies every season.
The company should be able determine its niche in terms of shoe line, by identifying the unique features and characteristics of its products in order to attract potential customers, on the basis of gender, age bracket and lifestyle.
Identify and enumerate the functions of each departments and the duties and responsibilities of the support staff by determining the cost for each position to include their basic salaries, benefits, training expenses and other allowances.
Long term (three months to six months)
For the executives to avoid conflict of interests and promoting self-interest in order to ensure the continued success of the company.
Control and Feedback
Conduct an internal survey within the organization by giving out questionnaires that will identify at least four challenges that were encountered by the employees and how to overcome these challenges.
For the executives to conduct month-end meetings with the marketing consultants, in order to assess the progress of each marketing events and promotional activities. The finance and accounting department should submit expense reports every month to guarantee proper spending.
It is important to get the feedback from the employees and customers through survey questionnaires to evaluate the shopping experience in stores. The survey questions should be posted in the company website.
Contingency plan
In the event that the recommendations are inadequate and not realistic, there should be alternative options provided by the executives. The financial issues can be resolved by generating additional income for the company through charity events as part of the fundraising projects.
Promotional events should be conducted more often to ensure that the company is able to reach out to the masses and maintain the number of existing clients for their support.
