Sport Marketing Plan

Adult Energy

A marketing strategy is the planning that every business requires to undertake to give it direction in maneuvering the marketplace. The market strategy that the business develops depends on whether it seeks to penetrate a new market or in an existing market (Gaur, 2006). The strategy also outlines whether the business requires developing innovative products for the existing customers. Adult Energy is a fairly new product in Oklahoma and in the states in its environs namely Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Texas. This means that the appropriate strategy for Adult Energy is one that addresses the dynamics of a new market.

Traditional marketing strategies

In penetrating these new markets Adult Energy is at a privileged position because its products target a strong and growing market. Penetrating this market will require Adult Energy to attract customers of the competing sport nutrition products and to employ more intensive efforts to distribute and promote the product more aggressively. Entering these new markets requires intelligent ways of ensuring that the positioning of the product has an edge over competitors. This may be achieved through leveraging aspects such pricing, products, place and promotion. For instance, Adult Energy will leverage its penetration strategy in a way that shows the superiority in terms of performance of the product in comparison with rival products. As the product consolidates its penetration in the market, it is also important to also consider increasing sales to new customers through a market expansion strategy.

In its market expansion, Adult Energy shall transform non-customers into customers and increasing the consumption rate of its products by the existing customers (Bang, 2008). A general primary demand for sports nutrition already exists but the market is not fully aware of the specific product for working adults. This means that Adult Energy will invest in increasing demand for its brand products to attract non users and ensure that users increase their uptake. It involves marketing to convince customers that are not willing and capable of engaging marketers.

Adult energy will require employing tactics such as developing more affordable packages for group purchase and promote them amongst group customers such as employees of learning institutions that own exercise facilities. This will allow Adult Energy to sell its products in bulk and to customers that would be unlikely to afford the product individually (Ovcina, 2010). Adult Energy may also manufacture products with customized value and sizes that suit or match the different working adult’s disposable income levels. It will also launch awareness campaigns targeting the different customers with information about the products that they can afford as part of the market expansion strategy. Another important aspect of the marketing strategy is developing a solid understanding of the existing customer base. This is because this understanding is necessary for product development.

Product development is a very important aspect because it entails providing new innovative products that meet more specific customer preferences. It is important for Adult energy to invest in an ongoing study of customers’ preferences and needs as they significantly influence the introduction of new products. This knowledge is also important in establishing limits for the magnitude of investment and the period to allocate for the product to gain popularity among customers. Product development is particularly important in sport nutrition because of the expanding competition from substitute products that are within the and without the sport nutrition market. Adult Energy will require securing customers’ confidence in their ingredients for the success of its product development strategy. These products may be product line extensions of the existing core products and new products that the working adults require for fitness. One of the products may for example include development of electronic online software where one can purchase a code and generate user specific exercise regimens for working mothers to assist them to effectively lose the weight they gain during pregnancy. Diversification is also a very important aspect of the marketing strategy that will entail marketing new sport products for working adults in new markets as a way of increasing the market share.

Adult Energy requires discern the right time to venture into product diversification. This is because diversification is involves high risk because a new market and new products have no prior evidence of success or experience. It is important to only diversify when the existing market shows signs of decline or when there are environmental factors that are unfavorable to growth in the existing market. The environmental changes may arise from new regulations, unmanageable competition, economic factors, and new technology, political or social factors that may compel the company to explore other new markets (Berry & BendaPudi, 2003). For instance, Adult energy may find it useful to develop a product for persons that work in physically intensive occupations such as engineers or those working in the construction industry. They still fall in the category of working adults but they may not require extra fitness because their work is nevertheless physically engaging. However, they would be open to energy drinks that are suitable for persons that exert certain amounts of physical energy in their daily routines.

Brand Management

Businesses require well recognized brand names because continued success and growth of the business depends on the brand’s ability to provide ongoing opportunities. The purpose of a strong brand is to provide a consistent message to the customer about the product because this is what creates loyalty. The brand also sets it apart from rival companies’ products and satisfies customers’ expectations. It should also communicate the value of the product about important aspects such as pricing and quality (Rust, Zeithami, & Lemon, 2004). The value of the brand is very important to a business because it is defined by the customers’ individual preferences. The value of the brand is guaranteed when it is built for the specific segment. For Adult Energy to succeed in fulfilling the purpose of its brand, it is important that its market segments differentiate its products and not the other way round because brands are made for the customers and not customers serving the brands (Rust, Zeithami, & Lemon, 2004).

Positioning the brand is very important because it is what determines whether or not customers resonate with how the products serves or benefits them. The position of a brand requires having the customer at the center of attention. It is important to realize that a brand is different form a product. Adult Energy must focus on launching a differentiated brand which carries a sustainable value that is difficult to imitate by business rivals. The position of its brand must be tailored to allow adults to feel energetic at all times. This sells because it resonates with people’s desire to remain energetic because it creates a strong emotional bond with customers. Attending to customers emotions in a way that propagates a connectedness of the brand with their self-concept is particularly important for ensuring brand loyalty (Hwang & Kandampully, 2012). In positioning, Adult Energy requires to ensure that its brand targets a target market, and offers relevant benefits and it is distinct from competitors (Lhotáková & Olšanová, 2013).

Relationship Marketing
Relationship marketing is premised on the idea that it is more efficient and cost effective for a company to retain the existing customers than to seek new ones. In this kind of marketing the business seeks to establish long term continuous interactions with the customers. It entails different forms of interactions to strengthen customer loyalty. The business may offer pricing enticements or engage in social interactions through regular communication such as customer soliciting customer feedback on products and services and referring to customer by their names during those encounters. It may also involve the development of customer focused solutions for their specific problems through loyalty programs (Karadeniz, 2010).

One to one marketing is an important aspect of relationship marketing. It is tailored to address the customer’s specific needs and match them with relevant products and services. To accomplish this role it is important that Adult energy sets up a database that captures the customers unique profile with the information that is necessary in keeping touch with the customer at a detailed level (Krell, 2005)..

It is very important for Adult Energy to device a way of standing out in its marketing strategy amongst thousands of media marketing messages bombarding customers on a daily basis. There are several ways in which it can do this is by ensuring that its advertisements are emotionally appealing to the customers. For instance the advertising campaigns will appeal to the customer’s need for health which saves money that would otherwise be spent on healthcare costs. Another way of doing this is by ensuring that Adult energy targets the right market segments by choosing the appropriate media platforms. It would also pay to use guerilla marketing that entails sponsoring events, viral advertising through messages that are simple and catchy at the same time (Walker, 2009). Adult Energy can also explore advertising in non-traditional platforms such as through online games and ambient advertising (Abdul-Razzaq, Ozanne, & Fortin, 2009).

Tribal Marketing

Adult Energy requires to also employing tribal marketing as part of its marketing strategy. This involves targeting products and services to consumer groups that share similar passions and emotions. This approach places emphasis on binding these groups of people together as a community. It is important for Adult Energy to explore this strategy by ensuring that its services accomplish the goal of strengthening links and membership to particular groups of people such as people that belong to a particular profession such as skaters. Adult energy may develop product with a differentiated band such as ‘Stunt’ Energy because the word stunt is in the skaters’ vocabulary and thus the product mat=y unite all skaters during competitions. This may also develop skaters’ stickiness to other Adult Energy products (Cova, 2009).

Conclusion

Indeed, marketing Adult Energy products requires a comprehensive marketing strategy that also factors in probable occurrences in the future of the product. It is important for the company to erect an appropriate strategy for the traditional marketing strategies and to have a well laid out plan for brand management. The actual marketing of its products also has to incorporate aspects of relationship marketing for greater brand loyalty as well as tribal marketing which also helps to hold people with common passions and emotions together. It also strengthens their loyalty to the brand as well as creates stickiness for the other products in the business.

References

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Cova, B. (2009). Tribal marketing: A Latin Deconstruction of a Northern Construction. Critical Marketing Stream, 1-13.

Gaur, S. (2006, March). Marketing and Sustainability-Emerging Opportunities for Profitable Growth. IIMB Management Review, 18, 69-84.

Hwang, J., & Kandampully, J. (2012). The Role of Emotional aspects in Younger Consumer Brand. Journal of Product & Brand Mangement, 21(2), 98-108.

Karadeniz, M. (2010). The Realationship Marketing Approach and Strategies in Retailing Management to Constitute Customer and Brand Loyalty. Journal of Naval Science and Engineering, 6(1), 15-26.

Krell, E. (2005, January). The 6 Most Overlooked Customer Touch Points. Retrieved January 30, 2014, from CRM: http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Editorial/Magazine-Features/The-6-Most-Overlooked-Customer-Touch-Points-43348.aspx

Lhotáková, M., & Olšanová, K. (2013). The Role of Positioning in Strategic Brand Management- Case of Home Appliance Market. Global Journal of Commerce & Mangement Perspective, 2(1), 71-81.

Ovcina, D. (2010). The Dynamics of Market Entry and expansion Strategy in emerging Markets: The Case of Wal-Mart in Latin America. Sheffield Business School, 1-24.

Rust, R. T., Zeithami, V. A., & Lemon, K. N. (2004). Customer Centered Barnd Management. Harvard Business Review, 1-10.

Walker, J. (2009). How to Cut Through Marketing Clutter. Retrieved January 30, 2014, from Marketing Made Simple : http://www.marketing-made-simple.com/articles/promotional-clutter.htm#.UuqbS9KSyCA