Marketing Summary of BBQfun - Case Study Example

Name Institution Date BBQfun Introduction BBQfun is a well-known firm in Australia which started its operations in 2009 under the current CEO Pat Mifsud. It offers a broad range of outdoor living products both locally and imported goods, particularly to the growing need for outdoor lifestyle products. Prior disappointing sales as a result of changes in technology, retail environment, and consumer buying behaviors, the company is implementing marketing strategies to reach new market segments. The company has its operations in two areas, that is, Brisbane and Gold Coast. The company is seeking marketing opportunities that will help to expand BBQ fun to increase its revenue. Marketing Summary The outdoor lifestyle products market is dominated by low-quality providers; therefore, BBQfun sees its high-quality product range, moderate pricing, as well as excellent customer service as a key offering to gain a larger customer base. The primary market need for the customers is quality and unique outdoor lifestyle products that meet the home need of the target market. BBQ fun uses data from various sources such as ABS statistical to analyze its potential customer's information to understand how they can communicate with them. Most of BBQ fun customers are in Southeast Queensland area which has a high population growth of 5% per year. There is an increase in new homes and renovated homes growing from a base of 50,000 per year (Australia Bureau of Statistics). The area has a low unemployment rate of approximately 4.7%. BBQ fun may target immediate geographical market in Brisbane, which has a population of 2 million people. Brisbane demographic is composed of people between the age of 20 and 50. The majority are educated with a minimum of a university degree. Young professionals work in the central business districts and have an average household income of $70,000. Customers Need Customers want a wide selection of outdoor lifestyle items. The also need stores that can be easily accessed with minimum inconvenience. Great customer service is also crucial because people rely on them to help them sort through choices (Hunt 87). The customer needs the outdoor lifestyle products to be competitively prices compared to their competitors. Product quality guarantee and flexible payment are also important so that the customers can easily manage payment plan. Market Trends and Development Currently, the market end for outdoor lifestyle retails business is headed to informed and sophisticated customers. The customers are looking for high-quality products as they have learned to appreciate quality differences. The customers also want unique outdoor lifestyle product that is unique to stand out from low-quality items. People also want a larger selection of outdoor lifestyle items. Competitors Performance BBQ Fun faces stiff competition both locally and nationally from Yard, Outdoorz, All independent and BBQs R Us. The Yard products are Australian, has a limited selection of products that are highly priced but of good quality. BBQ's R Us has a wide range of imported outdoor lifestyle products that are low priced. Outdoorz has large operation thus providing a mass market for the products at good value prices. All independents stores are individually owned offering few imports, and the average item price is $250. They have a significant market share of 48%, and annual growth rate of 8%. Potential New Markets BBQfun wants to venture into new market segments that they had not previously penetrated. Market segmentation is dividing a large market into a small segment with similar needs and demand characteristics (Goyat 51). This helps a business in matching expectations of consumers in a particular target market. According to BBQfun market plan, the potential new market comprises three major segments including new builds, renovation, and replacement. The New build market segment refers to those customers who want to buy completely new outdoor suits. This market is price sensitive, however, prefer high quality. This customer segment mainly lives in suburbs and health conscious. The company should focus on providing a large selection of products such as a three-year guarantee to this segment to attract more customers. Renovations market segment needs high-quality items and unique products since they are more concerned with quality rather than price. On the other hand, replacement market segment is those considering replacing non-functional products. They are price sensitive; thus, the company should focus on low price products. Therefore, in order BBQfun to meet the needs of all the three market segments, it will position itself as a unique outdoor lifestyle product supplier that offers a wide range of quality products at affordable price. The company will use marketing mix that meets the needs of customers like price, distribution, advertising and promotion. Market Analysis The market of outdoor lifestyle products will bee analyzed to identify the need for marketing activities. BBQfun will analyze market information as well as sales and performance information. BBQfun marketing plans indicate that the three market segments are growing; however BBQfun will use different marketing concepts to meet their different needs. New builds and renovation market segments value the quality of products and services rather than price. BBQfun will meet the market customers by proving a three-year guarantee on products purchased. However, replacement market segment is price sensitive, and BBQfun will introduce a repayment period which will allow customers to pay for a product on a long-term repayment plan. Market trends also indicate that customers are now looking for quality and unique products with a wide selection. BBQfun offers quality, fashionable and unique outdoor lifestyle products that will meet the needs of target markets. Competitors like BBQ RUs and Outdoor offer low-quality products, there BBQfuns high quality and fashionable products that set it apart from others. Although the Yard and Independent stores offer good quality products, they do not offer a wide range of products from which a customer can choose from; therefore, BBQfuns wide selection offers the company a competitive edge over its competitors. Also, a majority of customers have indicated that they would buy products online and had no problem paying for delivery charges. Therefore, BBQfun has opportunities to expand its business by introducing an online platform that allows the customer to make purchases without coming physically to the shop. This will help BBQfun to increase its market share of outdoor lifestyle services. Online business will allow them to reach more customers allow the country without establishing physical shops, which is relatively expensive. The company also has the opportunity to expand to the three market segment. However, BBQfun may start manufacturing its products. BBQfun has operated in the area for enough time and has a clear picture of customers needs; thus, they are in a better position to create unique and high-quality products to meet customer needs. Public relation campaigns can be used to raise awareness of the products offered in all the three market segments (Shaw 34). The BBQfun staff will also undergo training to offer high-quality services to customers, which may, in turn, lead to recommendations. These strategies will result in an increase in the company market share in outdoor lifestyle products retailing. BBQfun marketing mix will consider market mixes such as products, distribution and promotional to meet the needs of target markets. The company's products will be distributed through physical retail stores as well as through online. BBQfun will offer a wide range of quality outdoor lifestyle products such as BBQs, outdoor furniture, and BBQ accessories will help to position the company as premier outdoor lifestyle retailing. BBQfun will engage in various promotion activities such as online and telephone advertising will be considered because they are a faster way of raising awareness. New Marketing Opportunities Impact How Marketing Opportunities with be applied in the organization Own Brands BBQfun has a huge opportunity with its brands in outdoor lifestyle products. Over the years, the company's marketing share has continued to grow, and customers are now focusing on unique and high-quality products. The market trends indicated that target customers are more likely to purchase high-quality Australian made product as compared to imported items. Market share growth increase lies on the introducing high quality and unique products to meet their customers compared to its competitors who focus on low quality imported products. Furthermore, an own brand is an effective marketing tool as it will reduce marketing expenses both offline and online media featuring the company's own-brand products (David 71). E-commerce Due to advancement in technology, particularly the Internet many businesses are using e-commerce to reach a larger market base (Armstrong 132). BBQfun website design will incorporate user interface to defining features, functionality, as well as concept. The website will feature company products offered by the company to ensure that customers are visiting the site get meaningful information to distinct the products from BBQfun competitors. The website will highlight distinct features of the so that they can make informed buying decisions. The website will also be linked to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Social media network will be used to advertise BBQfun products where the customers can give feedback. This will help keep the company informed of changing customer needs. E-commerce is a successful way of marketing because it is faster and can reach huge masses. Customers can also make purchases through Facebook and Twitters, and this is an effective marketing tool particularly to the young professionals who spend most of their time online. Also, they can also give a referral to friend's online, thus increasing sales. Works Cited Armstrong Gary, Adam Stewart, Denize, Sara and Kotler Phillip. Principles of Marketing, 5th Edition, Sydney, Pearson/Prentice Hall. 2012. Print Australian Bureau of Statistics. Basic community profile: Brisbane ABS, Census of Population and Housing, 2011. David, Morris. "The Strategy of Own Brands", European Journal of Marketing, 13:2 (2006), 59 – 78. Goyat, Sulekha."The basis of market segmentation: a critical review of literature European ", Journal of Business and Management, 3:9(2011), 45-56. Hunt, Shelby. Marketing Theory, M.E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY, 2010. Print Shaw, Eric. "Marketing strategy: From the origin of the concept to the development of a conceptual framework", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 4:1 (2012), 30 – 55. Read More