Timberland Boots Marketing Plan free essay sample

Timberland Boots I. Executive Summary A. Although competition has been particularly ? erce the past few years, Timberland boots has been able to maintain market share and remain a power player in the industry. In order to continue our success, we must continue to provide consumers with the quality of product they have come to expect from our brand, while continuing to innovate new products to ful? ll their needs. In the next year, we plan to focus on a younger target market, offer more styles, and incorporate more environmentally responsible materials into our products. These recommendations are based on Timberland’s current popularity and market share, with a focus on long-term growth of the brand. II. Mission Statement A. Our mission is to create a quality product for our consumer to allow them to continue to do what they loveenjoy the outdoors. We strive to enhance our products through continued innovation and research, and positively impact communities we serve through a series of outreach programs that focus on preserving the great outdoors and positive self-development. III. Environmental Analysis1 A. Competitive: National competition in the shoe industry is very ? erce. Timberland has consistently been a strong player, with key competitors being L. L. Bean, Columbia, and Wolverine Worldwide. As the competition grows stronger, Timberland continues to be on top by innovating and providing top-quality products at a fair price. B. Economic: The current economic climate has taken a toll on every aspect of business. Although shoes are a pretty basic need, many consumers have strayed from higher-priced brands simply for the fact that they have less money to spend. C. Political: There are currently no political factors in? uencing our business environment. D. Legal/Regulatory: There are currently no legal/regulatory in? uences in our business environment. E. Technological: The constant evolution of technology allows us to continuously improve our products and our communication with consumers. Online sales currently account for a signi? cant portion of our business, whether it be through our own website or online retailers such as Amazon or Zappos 2. Technological dvances in materials used to produce Timberland boots have also contibuted to 1 Timberland Co. (2010). Form 10-K for the ? scal year ended December 31, 2010. Retrieved from http://www. sec. gov/edgar. shtm 2 Blond Boots Have More Fun. Retail Info Systems News. Web. 4 Oct. 2011. . our successbetter technologies in stability, shock absorption, waterproo? ng, and even recycling have allowed us to improve our products to better serve the customer. F. Socio-Cultural: Timberland boots have not only been made famous because of their quality, but also because of social trends3. Timberlands have become a pop culture icon of sortsthe brand has been mentioned in rap lyrics and made popular by celebrities. Also, a growing concern about health in society has created a push for more people to get outside and exerciseany many people have found a new hobby in hiking and other outdoor activities. IV. Market Assessment and Analysis A. SWOT Analysis 1. Strengths of our brand include technology, durability, quality, brand name recognition, customization options, and price. a)Technology: Timberland has a team dedicated to developing new footwear technologies. Over the years, this team has developed technology that is used throughout the brand4, including the Smart Comfort system (which allows the footwear to adjust to the size and shape of the foot while walking), and the Green Rubber compound, which contains recycled rubber. These technologies are part of what makes our brand unique and provides our customers with the quality they have come to expect. 3 4 â€Å"Retail Info Systems News† Timberland Co. , Form 10-K b)Durability and quality: Timberland boots are made to lastwe thoroughly test each product to ensure that our consumer receives a product that will last for years. We also pioneered the waterproof boot, something that our brand is recognized for still today. c)Customization options: by offering the opportunity to fully customize your boot, we allow consumers to get exactly what they want: a highquality boot in the exact color and styling of their choice. While other athletic shoemakers (like Nike) offer this capability, Timberland is one of the only outdoor gear makers that offer the option to customize. d)Name recognition and price: Many consumers know our brand name and the products we offersomeone says â€Å"Timberland,† you immediately think boots. This reputation has been built based on the quality of products we offer, and as a result, we are able to charge a premium for our boots. This higher price communicates the superiority of our product to consumers that may not be familiar with our brand. 2. Weaknesses include dependency on material suppliers, cost of production, the time devoted to each pair of boots, a smaller product line, style, and price. a) Production costs and time: In order to maintain the quality of our product, we need to continue to acquire high quality materials, which cost more, and carefully crafting our product takes more time. While we are willing to compromise in some areas, such as automating the production process, we cannot compromise on the quality of materials without risking damaging the brand’s image. b) Style, smaller product lines, and price: Many of our competitors offer a variety of styles and colors for their products, whereas we offer 8 lines of men’s boots, for a total of 36 items. Offering a fully customizable boot helps combat some of the limitations of our lines, however, a custom boot is more costly to make, and therefore commands a igher price. Although we offer quality products, consumers may not always be willing to pay a higher price for a smaller selection to choose from. 3. Opportunities include incorporating more eco-friendly materials into our boots, style, pricing, and reaching out to a younger target market. a)A growing social concern is the environmental impact of the production of our products. There is a tremendous demand for products to be more environmentally conscious, and we have seen strong sales of our environmentally friendly products. Incorporating more recycled materials into our products can even help boost sales, as research shows that 60% of consumers are more likely to buy products from companies that they know are socially responsible5 . b)Style, pricing, and younger target markets are all a somewhat related opportunity, since more extensive styling at a slightly lower price can help 5  Silverstein, Barry. Timberland: Environmental Heeling. BrandChannel. 11 Jun 2007: n. page. Web. 4 Oct. 2011. . attract younger individuals to our brand. This can be done without diluting brand equity by bringing our howies brand into US markets. . Threats include other brands, dependency on material suppliers, online stores, and a sluggish economy a)Roughly 80% of materials used in the production of Timberland boots are provided by seven different suppliers 6. While we work with these suppliers to keep prices stable and maintain relationships with them, the loss of one supplier or a signi? cant increase in the cost of mate rials would drastically impact the quality and price of the products we offer. b)Other brands have been successful in developing products that compete directly with our boots. Coupled with increased competition is the growing number of online retailers, which offer our products at a discount. Not only are we now competing for market share, but also to ensure that our product is fairly priced in relation to other competitors and in the online marketplace. c)Due to economic uncertainty and volatility, many consumers are focusing on paring back expenses when and where they can. Although footwear is considered a necessity by most standards, the premium paid for a pair of Timberland boots may be considered unreasonable. B. BCG Matrix 6  Timberland Co. , Form 10-K 1. Timberland Boots can be categorized as cash cow in the BCG Matrix. We hold a signi? cant amount of the market, however the number of competitors in a highly saturated market suggest slow growth. Continued innovation within the industry suggests potential, and as a result, the company needs to continue to invest in research to be able to create new materials and technologies to build better boots and diversify product offerings 7. C. Product Life Cycle 1. Timberland Boots are most likely in the maturity stage of the product life cycle. This is evidenced by the intense competition between brands like Timberland, L. L. Bean, and Wolverine (particularly their Patagonia brand, which targets the same outdoor enthusiasts that Timberland does) that highlight the differences between each brandfor example, Timberland’s new focus on high quality, eco-friendly materials. Given this placement on the life cycle curve, Timberland’s main focus needs to be maintaining market share (which is possible, due to the success of their various lines of boots), and generating cash ? ow. V. Target Market A and Market Speci? c Goals, Strategies, Tactics, and Monitoring Procedures A. Adults, ages 20-35. Generally, this type of consumer tends to be very active in the outdoors. These consumers value quality, durable products that they know 7 Timberland: Everyone Should Go to Boot Camp. GPlus. N. p. , 20 Aug 2006. Web. 4 Oct 2011. . will last for years. The target market is predominantly male, but we have begun offering more feminine styles to better suit consumer demand. B. Goals and Objectives for this target market include: 1. Grow female market by 2% annually 2. Increase overall market share by 5% 3. Increase orders of customized boots by 8% annually C. Strategies for this target market include: 1. Product: a)Our â€Å"traditional† bootsrugged, durable footwear, built to be comfortable and stylish, yet still allow the consumer freedom of movement during outside activities (hiking, camping, ? shing, etc. ) b)A new line of athletic shoes geared towards individuals with active lifestyles, but for whom a boot would be impractical. These shoes will offer the same technology that our customers know and love from our boots. 2. Price: We plan to continue our premium pricing strategy. 3. Place: We plan to continue our current distribution strategy. 4. Promotion: Many of Timberland’s consumers are repeat purchasers of our products. As a result of this loyalty, our promotional efforts need to focus on customer retention and new product offerings as well as creating awareness of our new style choices and athletic shoe line. D. Tactical actions for this target market include: 1. Product: Increase diversity of products offered by expanding color choices and styles, with a focus on making our products look more feminine. 2. Place: Timberland products will continue to be distributed at Timberland brand stores, as well as mass retailers such as Cabella’s and Bass Pro Shops, online retailers, and mail-order catalogues. . Promotion: a)Total Budget: $40 million dollars (1)20% ($8 million): Offer ? rst-time creators of custom boots free shipping on their order; returning customers can receive 5% off their custom order (2)50% ($20 million): Launch a series of customer-facing ads to promote awareness of new athletic shoe line and remind consumers of the features and bene? ts of the classic Timberland boots. $2 millio n will be spent on point-of purchase displays and product packaging, $3 million will be spent on sponsoring a marathon to promote the new shoes, and $15 million ill be spent on a national advertising campaign, including television, radio, print, social media, and online ads. (3)30% ($12 million): Will be focused on creating and maintaining a customer loyalty program, offering purchase incentives for repeat buyers. E. Monitoring Procedures will be carried out by individual project teams, each responsible for monitoring the success of the company in achieving the above goals. Each team will be responsible for determining what changes may need to be made to the plan, product, or strategy to further its success. The basic guidelines for monitoring each of the goals are as follows: 1. Track online coupon code redemption rates for customized orders, and gather consumer information at the point of sale via credit card swipes. This will help ensure that we are reaching the proper market with our advertising strategies. 2. Comparison of each month’s sales ? gures to the prior two months, with monthly reports given to the marketing team. Based on these ? gures, evaluate on a quarterly basis whether or not our market share is truly growing 3. Track applications to customer loyalty program and most popular incentives offered. VI. Target Market B and Market Speci? c Goals, Strategies, Tactics, and Monitoring Procedures A. Youth and Young Adults, ages 12-20. This target market will tend to be active youth that need fashionable and sporty shoes and clothing. The focus for this target market will be in colder environments, mostly the northeast coast of the United States, as the children will need warm, rugged gear for the winter season. B. Goals and Objectives for this market include: 1. Increase nationwide distribution of youth products by 2% quarterly 2. Increase sales of youth products by 10% annually C. Strategies for this market include: 1. Product: The products offered for this target market will be similar to products offered for the 20-35 market. . Price: Initially, our youth products will be offered at a slight discount to comparable footwear. 3. Place: Distribution for this target market will be similar to the strategy used for the 20-35 target market, with offerings in family oriented or discount stores. 4. Promotion: Since this target market is a newer focus for us, our promotional efforts wi ll be focused on creating awareness of the product line and giving parents who may not be familiar with our products a reason to trust us. D. Tactical Actions for this market include: 1. Place: In addition to the distribution channels used for the 20-35 market, we plan to offer our line of footwear in stores that provide footwear for the entire family, such as Shoe Carnival and Famous Footwear, and select Target stores nationwide. These stores will be added to our distribution channels a few at a time. 2. Promotion: the promotional breakdown for our youth products will be similar to the tactics used with our 20-35 market. Of the $50 million dollar budget, 50% will be allocated towards advertising on the national level; 5% for increased advertising in the Northeastern United States; 10% for point-of- urchase displays and packaging; 35% for public relations events held at schools and shopping malls throughout the country. E. Monitoring Procedures will be conducted in the same manner as the 20-35 target market. Guidelines for the monitoring process are as follows: 1. Quarterly reviews of sales ? gures for stores added to distribution channels. 2. Track online orders, an d gather consumer information at the point of sale via credit card swipes. This will help ensure that we are reaching the proper market with our advertising strategies.