Business Strategy Plan for Parrot Toys - Example

Running Head: Business Strategy Plan Name Lecturer Date Industry Overview The educational toys and programs industry in Australia consist of companies involved in manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing of toys and games. The main products in the industry include infants, girls and boys toys; educational toys, board games, and puzzles. However, video game products such as games, consoles and accessories are not included in this industry. Australian toy industry is among the first in the world to engage in emerging technology (Lisosky, 2001). Whilst the major players in the industry merge in order to increase and penetrate the global market, the high growth and development potential in educational toys continue to allow emergence of new globally-focuses ventures. As of today in Australia, educational focus is to build emotional intelligence, resilience and positive self esteem in children. Thus, the industry ensures the products are revolutionary, innovative and designed for the radical educational practices, to enable children identify, understand, and be able to manage their feelings comfortably and a fun way. What’s more, Langer (2004) observes that the Australia educational toy market is relatively unscathed, even during the global financial crisis. Moreover, the anticipated digitalization of the industry in the future provides platforms for emergence of more business enterprises. Lisosky (2001), points that the sales of toy industry in Australia increases every year. This due to the fact that educational toys are considered as one the most needed household expenses. In addition, households in Australia are said to employ varying strategies to ensure they do not cut back on educational toy purchases. However, one of the major challenges in the educational toy industry in Australia is cheaper imports. Since the beginning of market liberalization in Australia, imported educational toys especially from Asian markets such as Japan flowed in the country. Considering that these products benefits from lower production costs available in their home countries, they cost much cheaper in Australia than local products. However, statistics have proven that local brands are most favored by Australians giving local producers a key competitive advantage. Parrots Toys intends to pursue the rising market which is projected to inject the industry growth across the nation. This company proliferates with the aim of offering best choice of in the category. The steady Australian economy acts as major external driving force for establishing of Parrots Toys. Even as the rest of the developed nations of the world battled uncontrolled government debts and the collapse of the financial markets, Australia experienced unparalleled resources boom which was coupled with favorable record commodity has seen the country at its best terms of trade in 100 years (Obstfeld et al, 2009). Low government debt as well as a solid banking system and highly valued Australian dollar create a conducive environment for Parrot Toys Company to start, thrive and survive in the marketplace. Mission statement The mission of Parrot Toys is to produce superior and choice of products for the large clientele ranging from households to wholesalers. By taking advantage of new toys technology, new products and innovations Parrot toys are value added and quality products. The product aims to make a debut and stance as the largest children educational toys in Australia as it continues to expand into global markets. Parrot Toys success of operations is centered on the five basics of a customer experience- Price, Place, Product, People and Promotion. Products goals will be supported by applying the best standards of corporate philosophy ethics, highest social economic policies, as well as business transactions. Basically, Parrots Toys ultimate intends to grow profitable within educational toys industry and to offer exceptional returns to all stakeholders. SMART Objectives The ultimate goal of Parrot toys is to make sure customers’ needs and expectations are attend to through toys that are quality and educational. Profitability objective: To attain a 50% returns on capital employed by years 2017. Market share objective: To achieve 25% of the market of educational toys in Australia within a period of seven years. Survival objectives: To survive the current global recession through several strategic measures. Objectives for growth: To increase the business capacity from $200000 to 500000 by 2014 through better services and more stock. Objectives for branding: To make parrot toys the educational toys of choice in Australia by 2015. Product overview In Australia are very large producers of educational toys. Educational toys are used to engage children in their development process. Parrot toys will help in reading and improving the understanding of language. There will be as many diverse types of parrot toys as possible. Some will be wooden while others plastic and still others made of fabric. They shall differ in shape, color, purpose and so on. Presently the company is planning to market the toys around the country mostly in schools and in households. Parrot toys will help in the development of the child’s mind as well as those students using English as the second language (Langer, 2004). Many scientists have attested to the effectiveness of toys in teaching children. Through the process of simulation, children get to create models of their dreams and later come to realize them, a feature that is much considered in making parrot toys. Guyton (2011) says that play is the way of developing these models of learning. Educational toys in this accord are an important tool for teaching students who do not have English as their first language. One reason to this is that using toys induces the child-play mind making the child become much interested in training its mind. This play will in the same way induce a person’s mind to become much more disposed to begin receiving the child-like training. This way, things like language training become very easy and a person becomes more acquainted with the training. Using such toys for students who have just come to Australia can enhance their learning skills. The reason to this is because they get to learn the language freely and at any time. A toy can be carried anywhere a person goes because it is portable. It can teach a person at any time provided free time is gotten. It can also be used in a non-pressured way to impart a certain form of knowledge of different things. Finally, Parrot toys will be of great durability such that a person buying one will be assured of their endurance to use them for almost an entire school lifetime. They will also be light to facilitate convenience if one has to move around with the toys. Anything durable attracts people avoid much spending on the same thing as they progress (Goi, 2009). This will dispel any fears of wear and tear since it will be like a person’s companion at all time helping him/her to practice language to the best. This enduring nature will be the first thing to consider in the making of parrot toys in order to make an impression as they enter the market. Value and positioning analysis There is a plan to add extra value on the parrot toys in Australia and later as well as across the world so that competition may be maintained. It will include things like boosting the value perception by consumers through product promotions, campaigns as well as training to realize awareness on the different uses of toys and more so educational ones. The package together with the packaging will also contribute in adding value mostly on prospective markets. The products will be branded to ensure their easy identification as well as the company manufacturing them as Reed (2006) observes. Apart identity, branding will appease the impulse buyers and make create a competitive advantage to similar products in the market. Creation of awareness and quality control will be ensured throughout the supply chain in terms of handling, display and storage to make sure that the best products reach the consumers. Market analysis Introduction The target market for the parrot toys shall have two divisions, namely, the local and international markets. The local one shall be composed of wholesalers as well as retailers. In easing and boosting the efficiency in the supply chain, there shall be distribution points that will be erected throughout the country. Others will include learning institutions like elementary schools and colleges. A distribution chain will be established to enhance the distribution of goods as well as direct distributions to other places. The distribution points will be equipped with different types of parrot toys to expand market for different varieties and meeting the different preferences of the buyers. Some of the other factors included in this area are bright, colors, cool colors and so on. There is a tendency of different people being attracted by the various colors (Larsen, 2010). Some are attracted to bright colors and others are attracted to the cool colors. The company will be committed to ensure that constant research is done on which colors attract customers most. This will enable a production of the colors attracting a greater multitude than others. Moreover, other factors like portability and shapes will be considered as aspects that influence the market of the parrot toys. Since this project is an invention and an upgrade of the use of toys, it will need extra effort to convince the customers of the usefulness of toys in learning. The first important thing will be to identify the various populations comprised of people with English as Second Language. This will be realized through campaigns, through the media, posters, websites and social networks as well as introducing competitive prices for different varieties of parrot toys (Banham, 2010). In order to reach the international market and boost export earning, the company shall target various regional market blocks. These include Asia, Europe, and the US. This company is not the first of its nature, that is, in making toys, but, it will add a different dimension into the industry. Feasibility studies will be conducted to establish the quantity, marketability, legal and institutional frameworks prevailing in the region as well as the pricing for the parrot toys. Notably expansion into the international market shall be a long term goal to be effected after establishment and domination in the Australian market. Target market analysis The target market will be very much based on the purchase power and the demographic variable (Thomas, 2007). The first marketing phase will aim at increasing the frequency of purchase especially to the infrequent customers to win them into increasing their purchase levels. Founded on these classifications, the market plan will be targeted on one group of individuals, namely students. Classification will be made according to their various groups, for example, primary level, secondary level or the tertiary or college level of education. These groups in school may be people who have the advantage of strengthening their communication skills. They therefore have a substantial qualitative and quantitative connection with the parrot toys, and winning their confidence can create a big market base because of their power of influence. To get hold of this market part, the market plan will involve extensive use of social networks to reach a wider audience. The manufacturing market is composed of the industries make toys in large quantities. The market segment makes toys for children mostly as play things. They keep their toys constantly supplied in the market to meet the demands as well as needs. The company will ensure a constant supply of parrot toys to give them a competitive advantage to other toys and increase the market for parrot toys across Australia. Consumer overview It has been observed that young children are mostly attracted to colors that are warm and bright (Thomas, 2007). These keep on changing as the child matures. Those for elementary school prefer medium cool colors like green, blue or green blues. Those for high school especially adolescents like gray, navy burgundy dark green and even dark turquoise. As they mature more, they come to like the colors of nature, trees as well as comfort. Light yellow for liveliness, energy, happiness, et cetera. From then the colors are followed by colors like blue representing relaxation and calmness, red standing for love and romance, purple for relaxing, calm, laughter, and so on (Daggett et al, 2008). These preferences are very important in the manufacturing of the toys having in mind the young people in various ages and places of learning. From this observation, it is clear that colors will determine the price and the preference of parrot toys. The consumers being explained the need of these products especially in schools will readily accept the proposition. If the toys are incorporated into the school systems where marked campaigns will target, they will have a higher chance of being bought by the mentioned clients. Moreover, it is out of experience that it has been observed that such a plan is deemed to operate effectively. Pricing overview Since there are no mechanisms for controlling toy prices at all levels in Australia, it is necessary that constant researches be made to know the pricing. The pricing will enable a planning at the production level, assessing the market profitability, understanding the market price variables and relationship between price and consumption. The introduction of the parrot toys to the market will change the market share of the existing products in the market. In the introduction stage the sales will be low since the business is still unknown. Through promotional activities the clients starts getting aware of the product. This awareness is realized through intensive advertising through the media, billboards among other forms. This will make the business to grow hence attain growth stage. This will go through until it reaches maturity. Competitor analysis Parrot toys will be faced with competition from the already established toy companies within and outside Australia. Some of the countries which pose the challenge are China, the United States, Japan, among others (European Union, 2008). In these challenges it will be important in the first place to locate the best strategies for overcoming local competition. The other companies in Australia make their toys for the basic educational program for children. Although this competition will make the parrot toys to have no place in the market, it will be important look for ways of dethroning them. The other competition will emanate from the foreign countries like China, Japan, and so on. These countries have introduced cheap brands of toys in the market. The toys are a known challenge and the companies that deal with toys face the same challenges. To deal with this competition, the will be a team that will address this difficulty together with inventing ingenious ways of making people aware (Bergen & Peteraf, 2002).). One way will be to address the advantage of using parrot toys as a way of imparting knowledge. Another thing will be to focus on the intended markets such as schools and learning institutions in general. Other technologies like computer games may pose challenges to the toys. The world has many games installed in computers and play stations. These will pose a challenge to the consumers in accepting the new toys in the market. It will be necessary to consider how to merge the two forms of “play” and create a synergistic model that is prone to the challenges of these other models. Since Parrot toys will be educational in nature, they face a challenge from language schools which have their own means of educating students on language. However, the promotions team will target the forming of partnerships with the language schools by providing the toys to all language schools to make them be part of the retailers. Having them as retailers will ensure that the students who are not familiar with products in the Australian market get aware of these products. In short all the barriers will call for careful interaction with the market by ensuring the aforementioned precedents of durability, attractiveness, accessibility and portability are highly considered before any move into the market (Bergen & Peteraf, 2002). Marketing Strategy Marketing objectives I. To have a command in the toy market in Australia The parrot toy company through the effective sales aims at having a hand in the market. It will be realized through the use of promotional techniques, observation of market trends, and swiftness to air the products. II. To ensure the a good quality production The parrot toys’ company plans to have the toys of the highest quality such that their arrival in the market will be highly competitive. It will ensure that the products are constantly supplied to ensure a stable and profitable market. Positioning in the market This refers to the creation of an environment in the toy market in Australia. The products will be branded and campaigns for promotion conducted. The products will be attractively branded and the quality reflected. This will ensure that consumers are aware of the product superiority compared to the other toy brands. Uniqueness will be one of the highest things in positioning of the brands in the market, making the products easily recognizable. Promotion strategy The products will be promoted through advertisements that will be aired in the potential markets. The most potential markets include schools and homes. The advertisements will be aired through the available media such as newspapers, radios, televisions and social media. There will be events organized to air the shows on products to allow people have the knowledge of the products. This will ensure that the mentioned brand names and their uniqueness are differentiated from the existing companies. ESTIMATE OF THE PROMOTIONAL BUDGET FOR THE FIRST YEAR. Activity Year 1 ( in $ ) Creative production 3,000 Public relations 2,000 Advertising and promotion 45,000 Logistics and support services 4,000 Miscellaneous 3,000 Total 57,000 Previous researches on toys in Australia have indicted lack of a clear mechanism to monitor prices at different levels (HAL, 2011). It is, therefore, important to conduct constant researches on pricing to aid in planning for production level, assessing the market profitability, understanding the market price variables and relationship between price and consumption (Hill & Jones, 2009). A research conducted in 2011 indicated fluctuation of prices across the year, fetching as much as 100 dollars during the off season and average of 25 dollars during the season. Prices about 60 cents compelled the consumers to purchase substitute products. Infrequent buyers were also noted to be more price sensitive than frequent buyers as illustrated below: Distribution plans The products will be both distributed directly and indirectly. Directly, they will be sold to supermarkets, wholesale shops and institutions. The institutions will be reached through forming of partnerships with the institutions and selling to them the products. Utilizing both means will ensure maximum profit and reaching of wide number of people. Conclusion With the above product ready and having the various dimensions catered for, product will be ready for market and it will be able to meet the needs of the students with various challenges. It is not easy to say that everything will be taken care of in the market plan but the company remains open to the various challenges that are unforeseen. The team for these unprecedented challenges will be swift to address such challenges where necessary. But with the employed ingenuity of the creative business, it is possible to predict a future success of the company among the leading giants. References Dagget, W.R., Cobble, J.E., & Gertel, J.G (2008). Color in an optimum learning environment, International Center for Leadership in Education. Guyton, G. (2011). Using toys to support infant-toddler learning and development. The National Association of Young Children. Lisosky, J. M. (2001). For all kids' sakes: comparing children's television policy-making in Australia, Canada and the United States. Media, Culture & Society, 23(6), 821-842. Langer, B. (2004). The Business of Branded Enchantment Ambivalence and Disjuncture in the Global Children’s Culture Industry. Journal of Consumer Culture, 4(2), 251-277. Obstfeld, M., Rogoff, K. S., Rogoff, K. S., & Rogoff, K. S. (2009). Global imbalances and the financial crisis: products of common causes. Centre for Economic Policy Research. Banham, H. C. (2010). External environmental analysis for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Journal of Business & Economics Research (JBER), 8(10). Bergen, M., & Peteraf, M. A. (2002). Competitor identification and competitor analysis: a broad‐based managerial approach. Managerial and decision Economics, 23(4‐5), 157-169. Thomas, J,W. (2007). Market segmentation. Decision Analyst Larsen, N. (2010). Market Segmantation- A framework for determining the right target customers. Goi, C. L. (2009). A review of marketing mix: 4Ps or more?. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 1(1), P2. Read More