Integrated Marketing Communication - Fitness Firm - Case Study Example

Running header: IMC Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: IMC BUSINESS PLAN FOR A FITNESS FIRM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this report is to analyze the results of an Integrated marketing Communication for a fitness business (IMC). The findings will show whether the fitness business which we seek to establish will have much chances of growth and development. This is based on the application of effective marketing communication mix elements. INTRODUCTION 1. PURPOSE The purpose of the preparation of the report is to analyze the development and growth of a fitness business to be established. This is following the putting in place of several measures to see to it that the development and growth of the firm is achieved. Due to the recent changes in job classification and the ways of life of people, there has been an increase in the demand for the fitness services (Belch and Belch, 2001). Foods consumed together with the ways of life have led to an increase in the number of reported obesity cases and poor health and fitness conditions for the people. This is the main reason underlying the establishment of our fitness firm. This is in a bid to deal with the emerging conditions. We believe that this is a timely venture and due to the more rampart increase in the health conditions such as overweight individuals and unfitness standards, this will lead to a subsequent increase in the returns for our firm. This will be very useful for the development of the business venture. A plan that we are seeking to establish is the marketing communications planning which will show the strategic roles of several disciplines of communication. Some of the disciplines the firm intends to put to use include among others advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, public selling and public relations (Belch and Belch, 2005). The firms seeks to adopt them in order to have consistency in the levels of sales and returns, clarity in all the business aspects and maximum communications impact to the customers and the prospective market of the company. We believe that by putting in place all the required measures in the I.M.C. Our business will be able to well cope in the competition industry SCOPE Some of the marketing strategies we intend to use to see to it that product development is successful include direct marketing, internet marketing, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity. We will also focus one the development of these strategies because they will increase customer awareness of the existence of our business venture. METHOD APPLICATION AND DISCUSSION So as to set effective advertising goals of a firm, they must meet a certain set criteria. This involves meeting the following characteristics; a. They must be attainable b. They must be time bound c. They must be well defined d. There must be an existing benchmark measure e. There must be a well defined target market f. They must be specific in nature One of the methods we intend to use is internet marketing. Internet marketing has been on the rise in the recent pat. Many different factors can be attributed to this. Some of them include the development of the new era technology. New era technology has seen the shift of focus of the marketers from the earlier methods and marketing styles to the internet marketing. Many changes in the communication in the communication technology of the recent market have seen to it the development of the advertising. The internet in the recent days has come up to be a strength attribute to the improvement of advertising. The company will focus on the advancement of its internet based adverts. The internet has also emerged as framework which has different roles associated to it. Some of them include the presence of research modules for business related topics, answers to the business questions and an effective advertising module. The company seeks to make full use of the internet functions. This is due to the fact that the internet has emerged to be one of the best communication mediums between the company and the customers. This has led to an emergence and development of interactions between the companies and the customers. Through this, we will be able to well communicate and pass information about ourselves to the customers. This makes the internet to be one of our best advertising methods. It will also enable the selling of our business and our services to the rest of the world. This is due to the advantage of the internet having a global reach and connectivity. Through this the knowledge of our business and the services we offer will be passed to the rest of the world. Advertising on a global platform will lead to development of the business venture. This is also due to the fact that the audience on the global advertising platform will be very many and hence it is an effective medium. Development of the internet has also come up to be one of the most persuasive advertising medium. We believe that such a medium will be effective for our firm to develop an online presence. The possible customers of our services will also be persuaded of our presence in the market and for the possible consumers to seek the consumption of our services. The customers can also get educated and informed of the uniqueness we possess from our competitors. They will hence seek the services we provide. The internet will also give us a platform to display some of the equipment we have and some of the other services we offer. A good display of the pictures of our services will lead to an attractiveness being created. Through the putting in place of all these measures, we have an assurance that we will be able to build and develop and also maintain a good customer relationship which we are sure will be very beneficial for the success of our firm. We will also seek to develop our strategies of customer service and support and because we believe that it is one of the foundation stones in the creation of customer and brand loyalty for the services we are offering. Over the recent past, there has also been a trend that internet based firms have an advantage and an upper hand in the market and in the competition arena. This is due to the fact that many beneficial attributes can be linked to the use of the internet as an advertising channel. The many benefits will be key reasons for the development of our firm in the consumer base. The internet will be therefore the key advertising base for our firm. Another strategy we seek to put into full use is sales promotion. Many firms have benefited from the use of sales promotion. We also believe that it will be very beneficial if used in our firm. One of the benefits attributed to sales promotion is that it is one of the most useful methods in product introduction and development in the firm into the market. The fact that we are introducing our firm into the market means that, the use of sales promotion will be very useful for our business. Sales promotion is unarguably one of the best processes in increasing the levels of the sales and increasing the number of customers seeking our fitness services. We also believe that it will be an important strategy in combating the stiff competition present in the fitness industry. During the sales promotion however, there are some set objectives which we will be seeking to achieve. Some of them include the distribution of our brand and the knowledge of the existence of our firm. We are also aware of its essence in the development of brand attributes of our services and our venture. Through it also, the brand attributes will also be distributed effectively to the customers and the market at large. We also seek and try our best to achieve and develop brand loyalty. Sales promotion is one of the most crucial measures to achieve this. Our services will however not be a one time service but rather a repetitive program. We are aware of the essence of this in the spreading of brand and service benefits to the customers. Through effective follow up procedures, we are assured of gaining the trust of our customers and hence increased returns for our venture. Some of the strategies we will use to induce the customers to our services will include the use of fitness contests whereby they winners will have an award given to them. We will also seek to sponsor events where there is customer involvement e.g. football tournaments. An offer of price offs will also be given to the first registered customers. In order also for us to boost the industry at large to our services will include the use of a trade show so as to showcase the services we offer to the customers. The use of the recent sales promotion techniques we believe will have an advantage compared to the other traditional methods. Some of them include traits such as new promotions techniques are useful in the development of both the long term and the short term promotional strategies and tactics compared to the traditional methods which were just short term oriented. Another method we seek to develop is public relations. We seek to develop public relations with many different parties ranging from the general public, the employees, the customers, the suppliers, the stock holders all of whom are parties with vested interest in the business. So as to effectively manage the public relations of our fitness business, some factors need to be put in place first. They include determination and the evaluation of the public, the identification of policies and procedures and the development and execution of the program at hand. It is essential to focus much on the improvement of public relations in the firm because of several factors which include; 1. The building of market place excitement even before the media advertising breaks 2. To provide value added customer services 3. To build the bonds between the brand and the customer 4. To create the news about the product where they are not existent. All these are some of the advantages of the putting in place good public relations on a product. The public relations plans should however be evaluated to see and check whether they meet the set objectives. Some of the objectives include a. The proper use of research b. If the company’s business situation has been well reflected in the plan. c. If the recent editorial coverage have been included in the plan. d. If the set objectives are specific and measurable. e. If the plan clearly states what the public relations activity will be and what benefit the company will get from its use f. If the product strengths and weaknesses are well understood by the public relations people Some of the tools we intend to use when carrying out the public relations program include among others; press releases, press conferences, exclusives, interviews, community involvement and the internet. All the above stated will ensure that our firm is able to well market and build its public relations. There are some promotional publications which will however be produced and distributed to the customers. They include the inserts, booklets about the company, leaflets, pamphlets, brochures, bulletin boards, posters and annual reports among others. In each of them, we intend to include the details, contacts and the location of our fitness services. We will also put to display some of the services which we offer. We know that the adoption of public relations will have far reaching benefits to our firm and this is the main reason why we intend to put it into use. Some of the benefits include among others; that it is cost effective to the organization, it poses the trait of credibility and selectivity in its audience, and it also assists in the building of the business image to the possible customers. We also seek to use the media platform advertising strategy. The media in this case is categorized into different classes which includes among others the print media- this is made up of publications such as newspapers, the magazines, brochures and direct mail among others. We seek to fully take up the print media advertising technique (Hackley, 2010). Through this, we will print the details, contacts and some information about our fitness firm. This is due to the fact that the print media has coverage of possible customers to our firm. In order to have a good media plan, several aspects must be considered which include a. The analysis of the market- through this we will be able to know such factors such as the media coverage of the selected media, the reach of the media and the frequency of the media to transmit the required information. Through the analysis of this information, we will be able to well select the most preferred vehicle which has the best media coverage and reach. b. We should also consider the media objectives of the selected media. This is in a bid to know whether the selected media has similar goals as the fitness firm. This will enable us to develop a good decision when it comes to the selection of the media. c. Once a good media platform has been identified, implement the media strategy. Through this, there is an assurance of good selling which will hence result to good and high business returns. There are however several considerations which need to be made when going through the media planning criteria. They include; a. The market mix b. The target market coverage c. The geographic coverage of the selected media d. The reach versus the frequency of the media platform e. Creative aspects and mood f. The flexibility of the media channel. g. The cost and the budget considerations There are however several factors that need to be considered when determining the frequency. They include; a. The complexity of the message to be relayed. We seek at designing a message which will be easy to understand by the customers and which is not complex in nature b. The uniqueness of the message- the message we will hand over to the media will be as unique as possible from those of the competitors. c. The image versus the product sell- we seek at both developing the image of our company as well as the services we offer. This will in turn attract many customers to our premises. d. Advertising units- we will seek the services of as many advertising units as possible. This will help us in increasing the number of audience to the adverts. This will also lead to an increase in the number of customers seeking our services. Some of the media platform we will use is the television. This is due to the advantage characteristics it possesses. They include that it has a mass coverage in its reach. Its reach is also very high. It also ensures that there is an impact of sound sight and motion of the displayed content. The television has also come up to be an eye catching and an attention getting advertising medium. Another medium we can use is the outbound telemarketing. Another medium we seek to use is theradio .this is due to its unique capabilities. Some of the unique traits it possesses are that it has a local coverage, it is cheap compared to the other mediums, it is more flexible and it has well segmented audiences. As earlier stated, we will also seek to involve the newspaper advertising platform. This is due to its special traits such as quality reproduction, high information content and the fact that they have multiple readers. They are also of low costs and can be used as good medium for the insertion of coupons containing information about the firm. One of the media we also seek to use is the outdoor advertising medium. This is due to its trait of wide coverage, high frequency, geographical flexibility, creativity, awareness creation and demonstrative capabilities. Some of the other outdoor advertising media we will also use are the billboards, banners and flyers. We will also use the placements as good advertising media. This is because they have high exposure, high frequency, media support, high recalling capabilities, economical and viewer acceptance. We also seek the services of personal selling advertising technique. This is because through it we will be able to locate the prospective customers to our business. This is due to its interactive nature. Through it we will also be able to identify the needs of the customers and the description of the services they want from our firm. This will enable us also to know how to satisfy the emerging needs of the customers (Duncan, 2002). Personal selling will also greatly be of benefit to us due to its demonstrative trait. We will be able to demonstrate some of the services we offer to the customers. Personal selling also gives room for the business to follow up on the new market. To see to it that this is a successful process, we must have employees who possess some traits which include; a. A internal sense of urgency b. An ego drive where they will combine both competitiveness and self esteem c. Assertiveness whereby they will be firm with their decisions and activities d. Risk takers e. Possess high degrees of self esteem f. Skeptic g. Creative and sociable Personal selling can also be boosted by the use of celebrities to market for the firm. This can be done through a number of ways e.g. endorsements where the celebrity agrees to use his name or image in the promotion of the product or service. In our firm, we are seeking the work of celebrities to be seen in our weight lifting department of our firm. This will be useful by attracting prospective customers and the fans of the celebrities to our firm’s premises. We are also seeking the celebrities to give testimonials whereby they will attest to the value and quality of services we are offering to our customers. This will also help in raising the number of visitors coming to the premises of our firm. Another means we can use is the placement medium where the services of our fitness center are placed in a show from where they are seen by the audience to the show. They can also be in movies. This also raises the customer levels and numbers. Personal selling will have many benefits to the firm. Some of them include the fact that it is a two way interaction with prospect. This will enable interaction between the selling agent and the prospective customer. This will enable him to well understand the customer needs. Another benefit of the use of the personal selling is that the message will be tailored to the recipient. Any queries arising from the customer will be addressed instantly without any delays to that effect. Another notable benefit of personal selling is that the prospect isn’t likely to be distracted. This is as a result of the existence of a direct and face to face contact between the selling personnel and the prospective business customers. The seller in this case is also involved in the customer creation decision. This is because he plays a key role such as proper product description and persuasion of the prospective business customer. Personal selling can also be used as an effective tool for research on information relating to business growth and survival. This enables the firm to come up with a framework that well addresses all the issues raised during the personal selling procedure. We also seek to employ the services of direct marketing strategies. They include the creation of an enterprise website through which the prospective and current customers can reach and contact us. We will also put in place a message service where customers can send in their views, complaints and complements (Jakacki, 2001). Others include the internet sales, emails, online display ads and promotional ads. The reason underlying our need to use as many advertising media as possible is the fact that the shortfalls of one will be complemented by the others. Through this a balance will be attained between all the strategies we seek to use and the reach will be improved. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS We also seek to develop the organizational culture to high standards. Through this, we will have a vision and a mission. They should be however attainable and realistic. This is because the setting of unattainable goals will be demoralizing to the related and the concerned parties to the organization. There will also be equilibrium between the 4 Ps of marketing which are product price promotion and place. The products and services we offer will be of very high qualities and the standards will be maintained at very high levels. We will also put in place the best available infrastructure to see to it that this is possible. To also have good quality output, we will also seek the services of well trained, skilled and motivated employees. This is in order to get the best out of them and for them to offer the services to the best of their effort. The pricing of our services will be of reasonable levels. We will seek to balance the price levels to an optimum where it will be beneficial to us and reasonable to the clients. This is due to the witnessed factor that very high prices of commodities and services discourage the consumers from seeking the services of a particular firm so as to further encourage the customers, discounts and price cuts will be given for repetitive visits. A price plan and framework should be clearly prepared to show the different services offered and the different prices for the different services. Promotion strategies will be put in place and at the best of standards. The promotion and advertising strategies we will use will include among others direct marketing, internet marketing, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity. We will also seek to make full use of the ever growing social media network. This has gained much acceptance from people especially in the young and working age. This is very helpful due to the fact that the customers can with ease comment on the products of a firm, share the link to the website of the company and create content as to the existing commodities (Duncan and Duncan, 2005). The comments and views expressed are very essential for product development and for product differentiation. The creation of appealing content can be much to the advantage of the firm. This is a very effective promotion strategy for the services of the firm. The company can also put to use the Search Engine Optimization Medium (S.E.O.) and the Search Engine Marketing (S.E.M). Through this, the internet users will have referrals to the website of the company by searching for content relating to fitness e.g. body weight. This will increase the number of visitors to the website of the firm. They will hence be able to see some of the services the firm is offering. Through this, more customers to the firm will be created. Place will be well considered by locating our business in an easily accessible, beautiful and a well secure location. This is in order to create a relaxation feeling during the fitness exercise and procedure. Ample parking should also be put in place for the customers. CONCLUSION In conclusion the firm will be assured of growth and development if the above stated advertising mediums are put to use. The use of the above will increase the customer base of the firm and brand loyalty to the services offered by the firm. This will be very beneficial to the firm due to the fact that the returns will be increased and hence the attainment of profits and the profit levels will be increased. REFERENCES 1. Top of Form Belch G &, Belch, A2001, Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective, Boston, Mass, Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Belch G, Belch, M & Belch, G, E1995, Introduction to advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective, Chicago: Irwin. Hackley, E2010, Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications approach, Los Angeles, SAGE. Duncan, T2002, IMC: Using advertising and promotion to build brands, Boston: McGraw-Hill. Jakacki, B2001, IMC: An integrated marketing communications exercise, Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Pub. Duncan, T&, Duncan, T2005, Principles of advertising & IMC, Chicago, IL: McGraw- Hill/Irwin. Read More