Marketing Management
- Situation assessment
The company ECCO Shoes had to devise the most effective online strategy to convey the new minted category platform ‘The Comfort to Express your Style.” The shoe brand was perceived differently in the various regions of the world. In Japan, ECCO shoes were considered highly fashionable whereas in the regions of Western Europe the shoes were considered less fashionable and were even called granny shoes. It was a challenge for the company to resolve such an inconsistency in the brand image in the various regions of the world. The decision had to be taken within the next 2 months. The decision had to be taken by Mette Scherrebeck-Hansen who was the junior project manager, interactive marketing at ECCO Shoes Limited company. She had to take into consideration the new market research for 2009 Summer/Spring Online Campaign.
- SWOT matrix
- PEST Analysis
Political Factors: The political factors affecting ECCO shoes are the government rules and regulations and the local laws in the countries where the company operates. The company is bound to pay the required taxes as per the laws.
Economic Factors: The economic factors include the economic situation of the countries of operations such as the GDP growth rate, currency fluctuations, the level of unemployment, the rate of inflation and the level of infrastructural development. ECCO shoes are affected by the ongoing global economic crisis that has considerably affected the costs of the business and its expense on heavy promotions.
Socio-cultural Factors: The socio-cultural factors include the cultural and social beliefs of the people and their perceptions about the brand. The brand has a low brand image in the region of Western Europe, while in the country of Japan, ECCO shoes are considered a stylish brand.
Technological Factors: The technological factors include the level of technological development and technical know how. For ECCO shoes design innovation was one of the strengths and it was one of the earliest companies to use CAD technology for designing shoes.
- Identify the “overall problem statement”
The problem statement is to devise a suitable online marketing campaign strategy strategy to convey the new minted category platform ‘The Comfort to Express Your Style.” The earlier marketing strategy for “Most comfortable shoes on earth” was perceived differently be different groups of customers all over the world. In Japan, ECCO shoes were considered highly fashionable whereas in the regions of Western Europe the shoes were considered less fashionable and were even called granny shoes. It was a challenge for the company to resolve such an inconsistency in the brand image in the various regions of the world.
- Consider your marketing “tool kit” – what possible theories might you need to draw on? Will you use one, or multiple ones?
- Market Segmentation
Market segmentation is defined as the process of dividing the market into meaningful, relatively similar and identifiable market segments . The market segmentation for ECCO shoes can be done on the basis of the various factors such as demographics, geographic, psychographic and behavioral factors.
Demographics
Demographic segmentation may be done on the basis of demographic factors such as age, sex, income, and education . The demographic segmentation for ECCO shoes includes full time students and young singles under the age of 30 years that have middle to higher education level and medium to high income.
Psychographic
The psychographic segmentation is done on the basis of personality or lifestyle . The psychohraphic segmentation of ECCO shoes includes the individuals that love to attend night parties, sports events, use electronics, computers and technology and use the internet.
Behavioral
The behavioral segmentation of ECCO shoes shall include customers that are looking for style and comfort in the same shoe.
- Brainstorm alternatives
The alternatives for ECCO brand for its new marketing campaign include:
- Social Media Marketing Strategy on Twitter and Facebook: The company ECCO can create the company profiles on the leading social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
- SEO Strategy: ECCO can invest in search engine optimization efforts in order to optimize the brand on the leading search engines such as Google and Yahoo for specific keywords.
- Website Marketing Strategy: ECCO can create its own website for the customers that showcases the company products and services so as to convince the customers to buy its products.
- Evaluate alternatives
On the basis of the evaluation of the various alternatives in the earlier section, the following alternatives have been selected:
- Social Media Marketing Strategy: The strategy shall allow the brand to increase its awareness and connect emotionally with customers all over the world to influence their buying decisions. The strategy is low cost and effective strategy.
- Outline the execution of your recommendations
The strategies shall be executed by:
- Budget
- Evaluation/ control
- The evaluation and control of the strategies shall include:
- Level of user engagement in the form of comments
References
Gitman, L., & McDaniel, C. (2007). The Future of Business: The Essentials (3rd ed.). OH: Cengage Learning.
Lamb, C., Hair, J., & McDaniel, C. (2008). Essentials of Marketing. Mason: Cengage Learning.
Strydom, J. (2005). Introduction to Marketing. Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd.
