Marketing Audit of Everlast Boxing Boots- myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theMarketing Audit of Everlast Boxing Boots for Customers. Answer: Introduction The success of every business depends upon the effective marketing strategies adopted by the company in the operating market. This report is about the market audit of the famous sports accessories provider company Everlast Worldwide. The company is providing boxing boots for the customers who are athletes and spend their most of the time in gym for improving their performance. The name of the product is boxing boots which is the combination of innovation and technology to provide comfort to the feet of athletes. This kind of product creates an effective business opportunity for the company Everlast Worldwide. The company started its boxing brand since 1970 and now the company is the leading manufacturer, licensor and marketer of the fitness equipment in the world. Company Everlast is the brand of choice of new generations of professional athletes. This report analyzes the various factors of marketing while offering boxing boots to the customers. Along with this, report analyzes the p otential customers and competitors in the market and understands the marketing mix strategy of the company (Everlast Worldwide, Inc, 2017). Customers analysis Target customers Everlast is providing innovative boxing boots for those people who want to perform during their boxing matches and gym also. Most of the customers of Everlasts products are mainly athletics. The company is the master of segmentation and the segmentation of the company mainly targets athletes including both men and women from the age of 15 to 35. The target market of the company is active people who want to purchase high quality of sporting products especially footwear. The company focuses on providing premium customer experience by the product innovation, elevated retail presence and brand leadership in the market (Lam and Harker, 2015). Company targets on these customers by the agreement between Everlast and colleges athletic team and various athletic teams for the product sponsorship and effective promotion to the members of those teams. Although others are likely to buy the products, company focuses on the athletes more than any other group of individuals. Main target market for t he boxing boots is youth who need to spend their most of the time in gym and have to perform well. By the above discussed strategy, company is able to reach a large number of athletes (Gruca Rego, 2009). Segmentation Market segmentation is the strategy that includes the dividing a wide target market into the smaller groups of consumers who have similar requirements and needs. After dividing the customers into smaller groups, company starts identifying the needs and desires of the consumers and implementing strategies by using social media channels. In case of Everlast boxing boots, company is targeting the customers who are looking to stay fit and stay in shape. So, initially the company was targeting younger athletes at the college level. But, the company has expanded its area and the target markets men and women having the age of 15 to 35. Because of this fact, the product is more expensive as compared to some competitors. Now, target customers for boxing boots are those who have higher incomes and more financially stable. Along with this, Everlast sells its products to wholesalers who are financially stable (Hill, Jones Schilling, 2014). The company has divided the market based on some segmen tation and those are as follows: Demographic- For the boxing boots, main target customers are athletes including both men and women. In current time, both men and women are interested in athletics. So, company targets the customers having the age of 15 to 35. These types of customers need comfortable footwear which is helpful in creating performance formula for comfort, speed and durability. The shoes have the combination of quality and lightweight material which allows the boxers to have optimal training and competitive performance which would be helpful in attracting the potential customers. Geographic- It is observed that Everlast targets its customers by using the distribution strategy. This strategy is used for the product boxing boots in every retail store within some geographical area. Retail stores are effective as the company knows that people will only purchase the quality sporting products from the stores. Everlast that sells only sorts related products needs retail stores to reach the target customers. Psychographic- It is observed that there is the growing demand for sporting and fitness goods as people are trying to keep themselves fit. For the athletes, it is important to stay active and perform well during their matches. So, they purchase comfortable boots for this purpose. Company is using this perception of the customers and is providing such product to meet their needs and demands (Joshi, 2009). Customers behavior towards product In the process of purchasing the product boxing boots, customers use both subjective as well as objective criteria to make right decision. Being big sporting product providers, company must consider the consumers objectives while buying boxing boots. Everlast has to match with the competitors in various aspects to satisfy the needs and demands of the customers. Consumers look on some factors and characteristics while purchasing the boots such as affordable and reasonable prices, comfortable material and correct fitting size. Athletes always seek to find extra edge against the competitors so, it is important for Everlast provide high quality boots to the customers that would be helpful for them to compete at the high level as well as making the boots comfortable I(Leeflang, 2011). The company needs to supply the boots to the athletes who want to enhance their performance and comfort and save their money. Company gives discounts to various organizations by the sponsorship and contracts while providing boxing boots for the sale. When the customers are trying to buy the right boots then they have their subjective needs and desires. They are seeking for the style in the boots and want newest design in the market. So, Everlast has to develop attractive designs in the boots for meeting the subjective needs of the customers (Makanyeza, 2015). Athletes are always looking for the best styles and designs to wear. So, it is important for the Everlast to come out with new designs of boots regularly (Drummond, Ensor Ashford, 2012). Competitors analysis The footwear industry has very high level of competition and threat. This is observed by the fact that there are few companies that have high market share in this industry and there is low switching cost and loyalty among the customers. Along with this, the footwear industry is mature and popular industry. So, for the company Everlast, major competitors are Adidas, Nike, Reebok and UnderArmour. Market share and competitive advantage There are few companies who have control on the industry with the large market share and strong brand awareness. It is observed that these companies offer similar types of products along with equal high quality. So, they are competing for the same customers having same needs and interest. Sometimes, the differentiating factors of the purchasing decision are brand, prices and other deciding factors. Everlast has competitive advantage in the footwear industry as it provides shoes and boots for the all the sports. Customers are always loyal for the brand which they are using. Sometimes they start using a particular brand and become loyal for that. Everlast is taking advantage of this situation of market. Athletes always want high quality product and for Everlast, this is the chance to achieve competitive advantage in the industry. these aspects creates high competition in the industry as customers always have option to switch the brands with no loss to them (Preble Hoffman, 2009). Issues in industry It is observed that footwear industry is struggling and most of customers do not want to spend money on these kinds of products. Further, there is the risk in the industry that the popular product might be going out of style after sometime. The boxing products will decline its popularity and sales after the launch of new products. along with this, strong competition in the industry is also a big issue for Everlast as there are many established companies that are giving tough competition to the company. Ansoff matrix This framework provides strategic framework for which covers all the strategic options available to the firm in order to grow and expand. For the Everlast boxing boots, marketing growth areas are as follows: Market penetration- Objective of the Everlast Company is to increase relationship marketing with the customers and segmenting them to maximize their purchasing experience and satisfaction level. Market development- Strategy is to increase Everlasts presence in the new markets by providing innovative sporting and boxing boots. Product extension- Objective is to focus on the relationship marketing which can have significant impact in the market. By providing that product to the customers that can fulfill the psychological and physical needs, company y can maintain strong relationship with the customers. Diversification- Company has adopted diversification by real strategic growth by providing innovative boxing boots. There is the high risk exist where the product and market is unknown and new then high quality research is important for the growth and success. Product analysis Product can be described as anything that can be offered by the companies to market for the acquisition, attention, consumption or use to satisfy the needs of the potential customers. The product may be physical object, service, idea, organization, place or person. Company Everlast Worldwide is the leading manufacturer, marketer and licensor of the boxing and fitness equipments (Rassenfosse, Jensen and Webster, 2011). Now, the company has introduced a range of new boxing shoes. The boxing shoes provided by the company are designed with the combination of quality and lightweight material which allows the boxers to have optimal training and competitive performance. The shoes are basically made with the Michelin technical sole, microfiber, open weave mesh and suede which are helpful in creating performance formula for comfort, speed and durability. According to the company Everlast, objective of the company by designing these types of boots is to provide the versatile shoes that can be used by people of all the boxing levels (Seshadri, 2009). The construction of the shoes allows athletes to maintain highest degree of quality while performing in the gym also. The product boxing boots is the combination of innovation and technology which have allowed the company to work in synergy for creating high performing shoes (Everlast, 2017). Branding For the purpose of branding, the page of the company should be different. In case of Everlast boxing boots, objective of the company by branding is to make the customers remember the product and wish to come back for purchasing again. Boxing boots have various colors for the choice of the customers. Every boot has logo of the company i.e. Everlast including white color on it. Banners are not so big but they are easily falling into eye banners saying about the origin and guarantee of the products. On the official page of the company, there are more banners displaying about the prices of the products that are minimal and attracting. Along with this, in the official page of the company there are some lines about the discounts, free gifts, upcoming sales etc along with the different filters of model, size and color. It is highly easy in use efficient and fast (Marcer, 2012). Packaging Company Everlast is focused on the eco-friendly packaging of the boxing boots. it is well known that customers are now very conscious for the environment and if the company is not active towards the protection of environment, then there are less chances of the sale of the products. So, for the packaging process, company is not using plastic bags as it harms the environment. Company packs the boxing boots in the standard packaging box where the brand name of the company is described (Dentchev, 2009). Product life cycle In the product life cycle process, there are basically four stages of a product. For the boxing boots provided by Company Everlast i.e. introduction stage, growth stage, maturity stage and decline stage. Introduction stage- When Everlast has new boxing shoes to launch, it has to do lots of advertisements by the commercial posters at the magazines and stores. The price of the shoes can be quite expensive and the company has to do this to get its money. The reason is that the company knows that many customers want these boxing boots. In the introduction stage, company has to put some extra efforts for making the customers aware about the product (Lymbersky, 2009). Growth stage- Under this stage, the product gets recognition and growth in terms of sales as more and more customers purchase the product. The price of the boxing boots usually rises up but despite of the expensive products, customers are still satisfied. In such condition, they will still pay for that product and company will get more and more money income. Maturity stage- When Everlasts boxing boots stay out for a while, then they usually stay in the shelves for the sometime. The reason is that customers are still interested in them and still want to purchase them for the boxing purpose. But, there will not be as much sales of the product as it was first time when they were launched. But those boots are still being purchased. Decline stage- This is the last stage of the product as any other or new product will replace these boxing boots. After launching of the new boots, these boots will not really purchased anymore by the customers. The price will go to low and try to get some money for them but the customers will not be so interested (Baker, 2014). Price analysis Elasticity of demand Everlast follows common pricing strategy for its product boxing boots. The core objective of the company is to survive and grow in the market and for this manner, company follows maximum market skimming strategy. When Everlast launches any new product in the market, it sets a high price for the product. Company starts such products with the high prices and then slowly drops the prices over the time. Company has perception that whenever it launches the product, there would have sufficient number of buyers for the particular product. So, the company keeps the prices high so that it is able to control the demand, communicate with the buyers with high price and earn more profit (Miguel Villas-Boas, 2015). Pricing strategy Everlast usually follows skimming price strategy but when the company launches new boxing boots or accessory, it follows penetrating prices. Company sets low prices for the product to attract the customers. These prices are known as the introductory prices of the product. After this, when the product becomes more popular then the prices are raised to the normal level. Companies basically set the prices to stay competitive in the market. Everlast comes up with the destroyer strategy and set very low prices of the products. Company assumes that competitors cannot match the pricing level and this strategy is helpful for Everlast to achieve major market share (Schnaars, 2010). Place analysis Everlast reaches to its target customers by the retail and exclusive stores and online media platforms. Everlast is the customer oriented company and the company makes sure that the product is easily available to the customers. Place may be considered as the exact location of the product where customers can buy the product easily. For the boxing boots, company has tried to maximize the distribution channels for increasing the sales. Current channels to buy For improving the sales, there are two approaches adopted by the company. Company sometimes sells the product directly to the customers by the retail stores or it uses distributors for the home delivery. While selling the product directly, company has established retail stores in various parts of UK in order to bring something unique in the market. It is helpful to achieve high market share also. Online and other options Company has its presence on the online and other social media platforms. Company has its official site where the customers can find out the product and all the relevant and important information. Further, company also has its presence on the social media platforms such as FaceBook, Google plus and many other media platforms. In current time, customers are active on social media and they use online platforms to compare the products from the other competitors. So, it is crucial for the company to have its effective presence on the social media platforms (Farahmand, 2011). Promotional alysis Everlast is able to sell its products because of the successful promotion of the product boxing boots. The company uses all the five elements of the promotional mix to sell its new products as much as possible. The company hires the sales employees at the retail stores which are a form of personal selling. Along with this, the company advertises its products by the many different ways including billboards, television, internet, sponsorship, and magazines. The company has large advertising presence on the television as most of the customers can be targeted by the innovative advertisements (Tllinen and Karjaluoto, 2011). There are various campaigns designed by the company to impact on the large number of viewers including athletes from different backgrounds. Further, company Everlast is using public relations to promote the brand and maintain a strong image of the company among the customers. By maintaining strong public relations, company is able to have great brand recognition as the thoughtful and responsible company. The company has many future plans and it has made various press releases to keep the investors update and make the public relations strong (Glowik Smyczek, 2011). Conclusion This report is basically marketing audit of the famous company Everlast Worldwide. From the above analysis, it is observed that there is the strong competition in the footwear industry as there are some companies that have high market share. Further, it is analyzed that the company focuses on providing premium customer experience by the product innovation, elevated retail presence and brand leadership in the market. Along with this, objective of the company by designing these types of boots is to provide the versatile shoes that can be used by people of all the boxing levels. So, company has effective promotional platforms i.e. online media, traditional marketing, print advertisements, and public relations to enhance the sale of boxing boots. References Baker, M. J., (2014), Marketing strategy and management, Palgrave Macmillan Dentchev, N., (2009), Corporate Social Performance as a Business Strategy: Journal of Business Ethics, 55(4), pg. 397 412 Drummond, G., Ensor, J. 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