Introduction: Marketing Planning
Marketing is the process used by organization in developing and implementing a plan to pinpoint, anticipate and fulfill customer demands. The plan should ensure the firm makes sufficient profits. Marketing research and marketing mix are the two elements of marketing planning used to identify and anticipate customer needs as well as meet their requirements. In marketing planning, one deals with gathering, recording and analyzing information about the clients, the product, the market and the competition in the market (Miskelly, 2013, P. 65). The findings of this process help the management in making important firm decisions. Having an adequate marketing planning strategy helps the business to outdo its competitors and achieve its goals and objectives.
- Marketing Audit
- Changing perspective in marketing planning
Marketing planning involves designing activities related to marketing objectives and has the capability of changing the marketing environment. The process includes issues such as product lines, distribution channels, marketing communications, and product pricing (Cohen, 2006, P. 54). The view in the marketing planning changed in five stages from the production concept to the societal marketing concept. The production concept focused on the achievement of high production efficiency, minimal cost of production and low product price. It had little to do with the product quality. The second stage is the product concept that focuses on the product quality and its ability to satisfy the customer. The firm should put into consideration the product quality, performance and innovative features. The sales concept focuses on the company's strategy to sell by the use of advertisement and product promotions.
The marketing concept entails the establishment of strategies that keep the business ahead of its competitors. It involves the firm's aspiration to achieve its objectives and, therefore, calls for the firm to be effective in creating, delivering and communicating customer values that place it in a better position than its competitors. Lastly, the evolution view ends at the societal marketing concept (Cohen, 2006, P. 78). The theory emphasizes that the company has a duty to determine the needs and interests of its target group through market research in order to deliver more effectively and efficiently than its competitors.
- Balancing strategic intent and strategic reality
Strategic intent is a vision that defines the anticipated leadership position for an organization and forms the goal of assessing its success. Strategic intent is stable over time, sets goals that require individual efforts and commitment as well as capturing the essence of winning. Strategic intent takes an active management initiative focusing on the firm’s attention from the top to the bottom on the winning mentality (McDonald, 2011, P. 76). A strategic intent team comprises of employees who have the same vision of success and being the best in the business to beat their competitors. It focuses on the goal and leaves the means of achieving those goals flexible. It does not define what the firm should do but defines what the firm is to achieve. It, therefore, incorporates stretch targets that force companies to adapt to innovation and redesign their plans/ strategies in order to achieve their objectives.
As a competitive and goal-oriented firm, Adidas has a strategic intent in all its departments. Adidas employees are aware of the departmental objectives that align to the firm's goal. In the financial, operational and human resource departments, the strategic purpose helps in achieving the envisioned departmental and firm goal. Focusing on the Adidas’ goal and employing adequate strategies help the firm acquire competitive advantage. Given the competition in the industry, Adidas has to use efficient alternatives that increase its revenues and ensure customer satisfaction (Gilligan, 2009, P. 45). Adidas considers outsourcing or establishing captive shared service centers. It locates these services in resource-rich and low-cost regions in order to reduce its operating cost. It should focus on reducing its operation cost and capital expenditure by providing the flexibility to scale based on business needs.
- Technique used for organizational auditing and external factors analysis
PESTLE analysis
Political
The company has its own policies that protect human health and the environment as well protecting the rights of its employees by observing the UAE’s labor laws. The political state in the country is stable thus providing an ample thriving environment for the business and new product brand.
Economic factors
The companies have a strong economic position that is made better by the tax policy in the UAE. There are no sales tax and VAT thus making the business have a high success rate.
Social factors
The product has no social barrier in terms of age, religion, class, race or lifestyle. The product is, therefore, accepted across the board to all sportspersons.
Technological factors
The Company introduces modern technologies in its new products thus producing unique products that meet the consumer needs. In the new shoe, it in cooperates modern technologies to produce a product that meets the environmental condition in the Middle East region.
Environmental factors
The raw material used for the production of football boots comes from animal skin. Therefore, the possibility of destroying the environment is low since animals reproduce fast than the green environment such as trees. However, the working conditions for the business are poor posing a health hazard for the workers.
Legal factors
The legal framework demands the company to observe the law in its activities. These include avoiding false advertisement; comply with the environmental and employment laws that need equal employment opportunities.
SWOT analysis
Strengths
The company sponsors many sports events and sports team; therefore, it will develop its products in such events. The achievement of this sponsorship deal that enhance its market competition is through its strong management team that is always in the forefront of organizing and collaborating with the public and private sectors in the preparation of sporting events. Given the company's reputation and brand recognition, a new shoe product will receive a high acceptance in the country. Additionally, the company has a diversified variety of sports products offered in the area and, therefore, they will be used together with the new product. Finally, a strong international dominance in the soccer industry puts the product and the company in a strategic position that will improve its products.
Weaknesses
The product has a high price because of its quality, and, therefore, it might not meet the projected initial sales. The decision to make direct sales in order to develop a new product might cause conflicts with the existing retail shops. The company faces a weakness since it operates from third party manufacturers thus reducing it profits.
Opportunities
The new shoe product can be marketed by involving some of its established collaborations with football teams such as with Chelsea Football Club. Since the shoe is designed for sports, the firm can decide to expand its use to other sports and countries in a strategy planned to increase the product's popularity and establish it as a new regional brand (Amis and Cornwell, 2005, P. 56). Collaboration with other retail stores in within the country and the region is another opportunity that a business can utilize to realize its objectives. Finally, increase in female participation in sports including soccer is a new niche that the company can explore.
Threats
The company faces stiff competition from established companies such as Nike and Puma. Another threat comes from the counterfeit company that produces low quality products with the Adidas company logo, therefore, creating a bad reputation for the firm. The increased prices of low material and production costs also possess a serious threat since it reduces its profit margin.
Porter’s five forces
Barriers to entry- low
The firm is an established brand that will be less affected by new entrances. The sportswear industry has a high entrance demand in terms of capital thus making it difficult for new firms to enter the market. Despite there being a free market, survival in the industry is difficult due to the stiff completion from leading brands such as Nike, puma and Fila. Some of the barriers include the high initial investment and fixed costs and restricted access to raw material and production technology by the business.
Bargaining power of suppliers-low
The firm has many suppliers that have little differentiation thus making the supplier’s bargaining power non-existent. Raw materials for the new product are cotton, rubber and leather and they are plentiful in the market. The necessary labor is equivalently available thus paralyzing the bargaining power of the suppliers.
Bargaining power of buyers- high
The number of consumers in the sportswear industry is high in relation to the sportswear companies. Therefore, the company has to produce its product such that they meet customer requirements. It means that customers have a high bargaining power in determining the quality of the product produced.
Threats of substitute- low
The propensity to substitute is low because the close substitutes would include boots, sandals and barefoot. These substitutes cannot promise the best performance in the field.
Rivalry from existing competitors- high
Sportswear industry comprises of established companies like Nike, Puma and Reebok that provide high quality products competing with the company’s new shoe product.
- Organizational capability for planning its future marketing activity
- Barriers to marketing planning
- main barriers to marketing planning
- Cultural barriers: culture comprises of beliefs, morals, values, attitudes, knowledge and other habits shared by people. Organizational culture impedes marketing planning when managers and the workforce teach a doubt in the planning or on the necessity for change (Gilligan and Wilson, 2009, P. 103).
- Behavioral barriers: the workforce influences the marketing plan if it is reluctant in the adoption of aggressive, innovative and risky marketing strategies. These behaviors originate from an unsupportive management.
- Environmental barriers: the external business environment may place restrictions and limitations in the way the business and the environment interact or by controlling the company conduct.
- Systems and procedures: lack of data and information or inappropriate systems such as lack of market study makes the marketing team depend on speculation in order to determine the best marketing approach.
- Cognitive barriers: lack of skills and experience result in incompetence that leads to unsuccessful marketing strategy. Lack of skill hinders the marketing team from carrying out market research that would allow it to establish customer needs.
- Lack of resources: resources such as time, money and people hinder marketing planning in that the company cannot sustain the campaign (Jain, 2000, P. 134). Lack of resources forces the marketing team to focus on low cost alternatives that yield value for money.
- How to overcome the barriers
- Ensure the business workforce has adequate and necessary skills to conduct a business study. The external conditions that comprise of the legal, political, technological and economic factors should be flexible to allow swift interaction between the business and the environment (McDonald and Adrian, 2011, P. 52).
- Overcoming cultural barriers depend on the marketing team’s ability to respect the culture of the target group by eliminating stereotypes, gender and racial discrimination associated with the target market.
- Overcoming behavioral barriers require the team to employ ethical standards that emphasize on the support of the management to the marketing team.
- Cognitive barriers require the team to have the necessary skills in conducting marketing research and designing a marketing plan (McDonald and Adrian, 2011, P. 56).
- Systems and procedures necessary in the implementation of the marketing plan are necessary.
- Change management: the management ideology might be wrong necessitating a change in the management in order to refresh the firms strategies and give the employees a new challenge.
- The company should provide the marketing team with the necessary resources.
- Marketing planning
- The importance of marketing planning in the strategic planning process
The marketing planning in strategic planning process is important because it leads to the growth and success of the Adidas Company. The marketing planning involves collecting information in a systematic manner and integrating the data into comprehensive analysis to establish the Adidas’ long-term marketing goals (Miskelly, 2013, P. N.P). Marketing planning enables the company to invest its funds and resources towards its projected goals and reduces time and cost wastage. It gives the marketing team an in-depth understanding of the target group enabling it to base its long-term goals on the findings.
Marketing planning is important in determining the success or failure of the Adidas Company because it projects the resource usage and the expected returns. It means that, therefore, the firm uses the framework as a reference for its budgeting and course of action (Gilligan and Wilson, 2009, P. 87). Marketing planning helps the management to identify the future of the business by forming the foundation of the business goals and objectives. It helps in the removal of unproductive initiatives and promotes a focus on productive factors.
Conclusion
The Adidas company new sportswear soccer shoe has a great chance of being successful in the business. Given the resources of the business and its establishment in the sportswear industry makes it have a greater chance of succeeding in selling its new product. The company embraces innovation and technological advancement and other strategies that help it stay ahead of its competitors. The new product pricing, promotion and availability in the market ensures that it customers can access it easily. The external business environment and various sources of barriers have been addressed to achieve the success of the new product in a new market.
References List
Amis, John, and T B. Cornwell, 2005. Global Sport Sponsorship. New York, NY: Berg. Print.
Cohen, William A. 2006. The Marketing Plan. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons. Print.
Gilligan, Colin, and R M. S. 2009. Wilson. Strategic Marketing Planning. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Print.
Jain, Subhash C. 2000. Marketing Planning & Strategy. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Pub. Print.
McDonald, Malcolm, and Adrian Payne, 2011. Marketing Planning for Services. London: Routledge. Print.
Miskelly, Matthew, 2013. Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Strategies: Volume 3. N.P. Print.
