Marketing Plan for the Product: GPS-HUD 2.0 - Case Study Example

Marketing Plan for the product In order to reach the target market, it is vital for every company to ensure that it utilizes all the resources with appropriate strategy so that it can develop interest in the customers and induce them into trying the company’s product or service offering. Although the marketing plan mainly revolves around the target market of a company but it is important that the mediums that will be used to reach the customers are selected strategically. It is essential for every existing and new organization to develop a distribution and promotion plan along with alternative marketing strategies; the contingency planning is an important element of the marketing plan as there are various factors that can affect an organization during its operations (Ernst, Wayne and Carsten, 81). Considering the product “GPS-HUD 2.0” that will be launched by the company, its distribution and promotional activities will be decided in accordance with the mission and objectives of the company. The main aim of the product is to effectively meet the car driver’s needs so that they can easily use the technology in their everyday life especially while they are travelling in the car. Since the product is new in the market, it will be initially in the introduction stage; up till now, no other company has been able to launch such innovative product in the market. Since the company is the pioneer one in HALP industry, it is launching the best and realistic solution for the car drivers as they can easily use the product while driving; the main problem that is encountered by majority of the car drivers is the lack of focus while using hands-free device and the product has been designed in a way to provide the best substitute for hands free devices so that they can use it easily and conveniently while driving. Distribution Plan of GPS-HUD 2.0 The distribution strategy is a direction to the company about the distribution platforms that should be used for reaching the customers. There are various options available for the companies so that they can select the distribution plan that will be compatible with the requirements of its business and customers; it should be selected after carefully considering two key elements i.e. where are the customers located and what is the best route for reaching them. Although these two elements are the basic points of consideration but there are some other factors that need to taken into account such as transportation cost, warehousing facilities and order fulfillment process (Ferrell and Michael, 12). For the product “GPS-HUD 2.0”, the best distribution channels are all top-ranked retail shops and car dealers. Since the product can be easily installed in the cars, the company will distribute them to all leading car dealer shops across USA and it will also be available at the retail shops such as automotive parts and accessories stores, automotive repair shops, automotive insurance companies and automotive retail stores. Every car dealer outlet will be given this product along with its installation kit so that the outlet’s experts can easily install the system and provide appropriate guidance to the customers. Since it is designed with the latest technology, it has features that are too advanced for the customers; it is important to educate the customers about using the system so that they don’t have any difficulty while using it. The complete system is automated and the customers just have to understand how to operate it especially the process of starting the system because it will stop functioning as soon as the car’s ignition stops working. In order to measure the effectiveness of its distributors, the company will send its sales teams after every fifteen days to get the reports on the sales made and handle any customer complaints if any of the customers is dissatisfied with the product. The company has developed an intranet order mechanism so that the distributor partners don’t have to contact them directly, the system will automatically generate the ordering process and their requirements will be fulfilled quickly. There will be direct linkage between the inventory present in the distributor’s warehouse and the company’s supplies availability via the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) software that will ensure that the orders are fulfilled on time and with precision. When the inventory level will reach the level of ten units, an order will be immediately set and it will be dispatched to the concerned distributor in five days. The order fulfillment time will always range in between ten to fifteen days as it will vary depending on the area where the order is being sent. Promotion plan of GPS-HUD 2.0 The promotion plan is important for a company as it provides assistance in using the marketing mediums that will allow it to attract the customers and convert them into buyers (Sikdar and Prakash, 160). In today’s competitive market, the promotional plan should comprise of both traditional and online marketing activities so that the company is present on all leading platforms and is able to successfully get the attention of its target market; the best promotional mix uses all relevant promotional tools in a balanced way so that the right customers are accessed via marketing activities (Balaghar, Muhammad and Muhammad, 472). The basic aim of a promotional plan is to get the attention of the customers, provide them a superior quality of information and service, learn about the personalities and needs of the customers and induce the customers for making repeated purchases. The traditional channels that will be used for reaching the customers of GPS-HUD 2.0 are: 1. Above The Line (ATL) activities – There will be promotional advertisements on TV channels such as The Daily Show, CNN, BBC, TBS, TNT, VH1 and MTX; magazines and newspapers such as The Economist, Harvard Business Review, Oracle and etc. The main aim of these ATL activities is to create awareness about the product and educate the customers about its features such as the best substitute for hands-free devices. 2. Below The Line (BTL) activities – BTL activities such as posters display, brochures distribution, billboards and viral marketing will be conducted to reach the customers and provide them first hand information about the products. In order to be easily accessible to the customers, the company’s professionals will be available on the toll-free number 24/7 so that they can help the customers if they have any questions about the product. 3. Direct Marketing – It can be done via two ways i.e. online channels which will comprise of SMS, MMS and e-mails and bulk SMS which is the unique message sent to multiple recipients. Since Internet has grown to become the most popular medium for promotion so following activities will be done by the company: 1. Placement of advertisement banners and interactive ads on most popular search engines such as Yahoo and Google and websites news portals which have focus on r=the innovative technology and news. The company will try to get placement on various search engines so that when the ‘hands-free device’, ‘car accessories’ or ‘safe driving tips’ keywords are typed, the user is given the link to the company’s website. 2. Search marketing strategy will be selected in which the company will have to pay the search engines for their ads to turn up when the customer is searching for a similar keyword on search engine. 3. Viral Marketing will be done via the chat rooms, e-marketing buzz on the technological stuff and technology blogs. The company will start its own blog which will create a linkage to technology sections of the new organizations such as CNBC, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNET, Wall Street Journal and many other technology related websites. 4. Cross promotion will be done with social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn along with tech carrier services such as Vonage and Skype. These efforts will help to attract the customers and reaching the customers will be easy. The marketing efforts of the company will be reviewed monthly as the technological advancements take place on an ongoing basis and new products are introduced quickly as well. The initial source of evaluation for the company will be the difference in the estimated and actual sales of the product. On the website, the customers will be allowed to give their feedback about the product features and the existing customers will be asked to participate in the survey of the computers. However, some of the evaluation tools that will be used to measure the performance are as follows: 1. Carry out customer satisfaction surveys and gather information from customer reviews on various blogs and review the customer feedback by selecting the users from Beta test market both current and potential ones. 2. The evaluation of direct sales and surveys and e-mails designed for follow-up purpose with products recently purchased will give a proper indication about the customer’s satisfaction level and how successful the product is in view of the customers. Alternatives of Marketing Strategies When the marketing strategy for the product was developed, there were two options available to enter the market i.e. either to develop a website and be an online service provider or use traditional distribution channels and support them by online website and other Internet marketing mediums. The company opted for the second option as the product is new in the market and people have less awareness about the features of this unique and innovative product. Although the company will use an online strategy for future expansion so that it can easily reach mass market in other areas of USA and enhance its services to such a wide target market. At this stage, the most viable option is to first create awareness in the market by using traditional mediums of marketing and support it by developing a website and making use of the online marketing mediums effectively. Initially, the sales level will be low but it is expected that the response rate will be faster in this strategy as compared to the complete online strategy. Another reason for opting for this blend of traditional and online strategy is that the product has advanced technical features and the customers need to be provided in-depth information about it so that they are satisfied when they purchase the product. Product Life Cycle of GPS-HUD 2.0 GPS-HUD 2.0 is in the introduction stage of the Product Life Cycle. The company has already done pilot testing and the results have been positive; the target market has given positive response and it is waiting for the launch so that the product can fulfill their requirement of carrying out their everyday tasks while driving the car. Since the product is in introduction stage, the company will have to create awareness about the product and a lot of efforts will be dedicated to its marketing activities. Since the company will be the pioneering one in this product category, so there are huge chances that it will be able to reap high profit margins. Although the sales will be a bit slower but it is expected to enter into the growth stage by next year; since there is huge demand for the product in the market, there are bright chances for the company to reach its breakeven level quickly and start earning good amount of profit. Positioning of GPS-HUD 2.0 Using the strategy of product differentiation, GPS-HUD 2.0 will be positioned as the most versatile, easy to use, best quality and value added substitute for hands-free devices. The product will be placed as the ultimate solution provider for those customers who are looking for a realistic solution for hands-free devices so that they can carry on their everyday activities in the car while driving. It will provide the superb multiple communication features such as information exchange, entertainment and fast communication; it will be positioned as the leading product for communication while driving the car. Works Cited Balaghar, Ali Akbar, Muhammad Majidazar and Muhammad Niromand. “Evaluation of Effectiveness of Sales Promotional Tools on Sales Volume.” Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 11.4 (2012): 470-480. Print. Dahlen, Micael, Fredrick Lange and Terry Smith. Marketing Communications: A Brand Narrative Approach. 1st ed. United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 2010. Print. Ernst, Holger, Wayne D. Hoyer and Carsten Rübsaamen. “Sales, Marketing, and Research-and-Development Cooperation across New Product Development Stages: Implications for Success.” Journal of Marketing 74.5 (2010): 80-92. Print. Ferrell, O.C. and Michael D. Heartline. Marketing Strategy. 5th ed. USA: Cengage Learning. 2008. Print. Sikdar, A. and Prakash Vel. “Getting the customer interested in your innovation: role of distribution and promotion strategies.” Business Strategy Series 11.3 (2010): 158-168. Print. Read More