Terms of Reference
Overview: This is a business plan for Blue Sky that sells sports clothing.
Corporation: The business organization is small and growing against key competitors in the market.
The Business: The business specializes in selling of all seasons sports clothing for people aged between 24 and 45 years.
The Business Plan: The company executives are well-skilled marketers and business managers. The management has decided to use integrated marketing communication as the marketing tool to communicate brand messages and develop good customer relations.
Financial Analysis: The design of the current business plan is to grow the company from a smallholder firm to a formal company run by business expertise that will provide and work on professionally prepared financial statements. The current financial statement could remain confidential.
Monitoring and Evaluation: The management has a hierarchy of specialized personnel with defined reporting relationships. The staff provide check and balances with revolving responsibilities.
Executive Summary
This business plan is to growth Blue Sky’s financial performance based on developing strong brand loyalty with the customers. The underlying tool toward achieving the stated objective is an integrated marketing communication. Integrated marketing communication relies on the use of multiple channels to communicate brand messages to target market segments characterized by demographic, economic, political, legal, and technological factors. Each of the elements has implications on the implementation of the Blue Sky business plan and financial performance. The links between good customer relationships, brand messages, and integrated marketing communication remain integral in the implementation of the business plan. In writing and implementing the business plan, the business mission relevant to the current business projects company growth roadmap. An analysis of the internal and external environment exposes factors the company will consider to integrate into the business plan to ensure successful implementation and financial growth. Also, an analysis of the market characteristics, and a SWOT analysis, and the core strategy provides a strong basis for effective competition on the broader market. The core competitors in the market against Blue Sky include The rivals with strong brands include L.L. Bean, REI, Timberland, Bass Pro Shops, Cabello’s, and Patagonia, have typical product offerings.
Business Mission
This is a five-year business plan to grow the “Blue Sky” clothing company financial performance, market share, and position by developing strong brand loyalty for its products based on communicating brand messages using integrated marketing communication (IMC) as the communicating tool.
Strategy
Toward achieving the mission statement, the Blue Sky Clothing Company’s plan focuses on value addition by integrating the benefits of different communication channels to influence positive consumer behaviour and customer loyalty. It is a plan to establish a valuable relationship between the customer and the brand, achieved by communicating brand messages to influence positive customer attitude (Govoni 2004; Kliatchko 2008, p.29; Duncan 2002, p.23).
The proposed communication plan includes sales and promotions, public relations and publicity, advertising, events, customer experiences, direct marketing, personal selling, interactive marketing, and word of mouth. Interaction options include social media websites such as Facebook to provide customer-centric communication and information products between Blue Sky Clothing and the customer, display adverts, search ads, interstitial, the internet, mobile marketing, and sponsorship programs (Comelissen & Lock 2000, p. 34; Eagle & Kitchen 2000, p.34; Zeithaml, V A Parasuraman & Malhotra 2000, p.43).
Current Position
The current financial results indicate gross earnings of 250,000 pounds, with a net profit of 120, 000 pounds. The gross sales have shown an increasing trend, with the profits rising as operating costs remain comparatively low. Sale figures and trends show an increase with an upward trend, showing a net increase in demand for the products. The market share has shown a slight improvement (4%) against the projected growth of 8%. Different reasons, such as brand awareness the need to integrate IMC into the communication strategy. On the other hand, customer satisfaction is high; on a scale of 1 to five, the average score is 4. There is also a high frequency of repeat customers (75%) with new customers inspired to buy by old customers.
IMC and the Business Plan
Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is a tool that could enable Blue Sky Clothing company to directly communicate brand messages to influence positive consumer behaviour and create strong brand attachments, brand engagements, and brand loyalty (Shimp 2000, p.34; Zeff & Aronson 2001, p.34). Brand loyalty is “the extent of the faithfulness of consumers to a particular brand, expressed through their repeat purchases, irrespective of the marketing pressure generated by the competing brands”. The underlying element of brand loyalty is the consumer attitude and behavioural inclination toward a brand irrespective of external and internal forces trying to change the inclination. Brand loyalty and brand equity strongly correlated each other where brand loyalty viewed as providing meaning to brand equity as a core brand equity elements define brand equity (Belch & Belch 2003, p.23; Caemmerer 2009, p.38).
IMC and the Brand
In this case, “brand identity is a combination of factors: Name, logo, symbols, design, packaging, product or service performance, and image or associations in the consumer’s mind” and the “key marketing elements of focus include distribution decisions, prices, product, promotion, and advertisements” (Keller 2009, p.3). According to Keller (2009, p.34), the elements mentioned above will be appropriately integrated into the company’s marketing programs achieves the synergy for enhanced company performance, and for customers to develop a strong link with Blue Sky Clothing brands (Cornelissen & Lock 2000, p.45; Duncan 2002, p.4; Caywood & Ewing 1991, p.34). To develop a strong brand identity, the business proposal is designed to draw on “efforts of brand strategists in (1) developing, evaluating, and maintaining the brand identity/identities, and (2) communicating the brand identity/identities to all individuals and groups (internal and external to the firms) responsible for the firm’s marketing communication” (Kitchen & Schultz 2009, p.34). Brand identity is crucial in establishing the right relationship between the customer and the brand with emotional attachments. The strategy contributes synergy to attain brand identity and equity to influence a positive attitude toward the brand (Dewhist & Davis 2005, p.34).
External Marketing Audit
The external market is awash with different clothing brands, mainly the L.L. Bean, REI, Timberland, Bass Pro Shops, Cabello’s, and Patagonia. An audit of the environment reveals communication to be the key component that has enabled the business organizations to grow by acting on available market information to provide products that suit consumer needs. An analysis of the external environment will provide adequate information in decision-making to enable the company executives to position the organization at a competitive edge with rivals.
Macro-Environment
Demographics
The prevailing macro-environment is critical in decision-making on a brand awareness campaign because it enables the marketing manager to design appropriate marketing and communication strategies to achieve the desired product and brand loyalty. The characteristics of the macro-environment are external factors to Blue Sky Clothing’s internal environment. The proposal will analyze the macro-environment and effective communication strategies appropriate for each environment. The proposed study will conduct a detailed audit of the demographic distribution of the market, the communication and brand awareness strategies appropriate for each population type. In context, the population growth, population mix in age, household patterns including the preferred methods of communicating with each household type and size, and culture and geographic shift.
Economic Environment
The problem with the current environment is that the business started as a small fashion company, and the pioneers did not provide clothing that factors the prevailing economic environment. The economic environment defines the household income levels, saving trends, income-generating activities, availability of hire purchase options, availability of home loans, and credit availability options. Each income groups associate with different products and the category of messages and products to offer the economically segmented market to establish profitable customer relations. Also, the basis of capturing each of the segmentation of the market based on the economic environment included identifying the needs each appropriate for each segment and the appropriate clothing product with an associated value that meets customer satisfaction base on income levels. The plan aims to communicate messages about different brands suiting different income levels because competitors in the business sell high tech fabricated apparel making the brands on offer unique.
Natural environment
The conservation of the environment is mandatory when conducting any business or communicating brand messages to the target audience. The current techniques proposed for use in the business plan include sales promotions, public relations and publicity, advertising, events, customer experiences, direct marketing, personal selling, interactive marketing, and the word of mouth as mentioned elsewhere in this paper. Also, there is no empirical evidence to suggest the product offerings or the communication methods have the potential to cause any hazards to the people who are the target market.
Technological environment
Technology forms the most appropriate tool to use to reach a wide audience in the market. Interactions options best suited to this business plan include social media websites such as Facebook to provide customer-centric communication and information products between Blue Sky Clothing and the customer. Other forms of communication are already mentioned above. The business plan projection indicates it to be a complaint because messages communicated to the customer will be professionally formulated to comply with legal, political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, and environmental factors. Also, using IMC underlies the need to communicate messages to the consumer by exploiting the synergy of combining different communication components where the strength of one component offsets weaknesses inherent in the other channel.
Legal Environment
The legal environment is appropriate for the business.
The Market
Consumers aged between 24 and 45 years constitute the market environment for Blue Sky’s target market. The consumer characteristics include the inner desire and need for mountain climbing, horse riding, and figure skating with their families. The consumer characteristics include financially stable families with well-educated households (BlueSky 2013, p.1). The households have stable income levels, which qualify a strong market. The consumers are price sensitive. Also, a survey shows that most of the people in the bracket are not brand sensitive, have not developed a strong brand relationship with competitors, are status-oriented, associate with high-quality products, and have a tendency to live in northern New England, the South, California, and the Northwest (Yang, Peterson & Cai 2003,p.23).
Competition
The competitors include firms that sell similar outdoor sporting suits mentioned in this paper. An analysis and strategies to counter competition will undergo regular reviews.
Internal Market Audit
Operating results
An assessment of the operating costs of the company, excluding income tax expenses, and interest will provide company financial performance after each financial period based on the current business plan.
Strategic Issues Analysis
A ratio analysis based on the ability Blue Sky to meet its short term and long term financial obligations based on debt-to-asset ratio, gross profit margins, net and operating profit margins will be done annually to assess the financial performance. A gap analysis showing performance gaps and strategies to bridge the gaps will form one of the reviews. Elements to consider include embryonic, sales growth, shakeouts, and maturity levels.
Marketing Mix effectiveness
The marketing mix at every step involves the use of IMC strategy to communicate brand messages directly with the customers. The marketing mix provides the basis for effective pricing aimed at different market segments, promotional techniques, place, and product.
Marketing Structures and Systems
Ana analysis of the market structure shows Blue Sky to operate in an oligopolistic market. While there is limited competition, the strategic plan factors the likely response of other firms in the production of sports apparel. Core elements reviewed in the current system include distribution channels, buyer behaviour, promotional channels, marketing infrastructure, and geographic location of potential customers to redesign the marketing strategy.
Internal Analysis
The company comprises a well-trained and skilled management team, with well-experienced personnel to carry out business tasks.
SWOT Analysis
The business plan includes assessing Blue Sky’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The strengths include offering new sports clothes for women and men between the age of 24 and 45. Blue Sky uses different communication channels with interactive, customized messages to communicate brand messages. Also, the Blue sky provides cheaper sports clothes designed for different sporting events and weather changes. On the other hand, the opportunities available include use of the internet to communicate brand messages, and the use of different media to communicate brand messages to create strong brand engagement. Also, the company can use government grants that are available for an emerging business.
The weaknesses include the clothes have a short life span compared with the rivals; the dealer network has not expanded sufficiently with a low market share, some segments have little customer trust, the marketing environment is highly innovative and competitive.
The threats include new companies strategizing to make entry into the market because of attractive benefits, including high sales turnover and high profits. On the other hand, the big market players continually revise their marketing strategies thought heavy investments in innovations and product diversification.
Marketing Objectives
- To create an interactive customer-driven marketing environment using different communication channels.
- The objectives include reaching the target market with customized messages to create brand awareness, loyalty, and brand equity.
- To increase sales and improve the financial performance of the company using different distribution channels.
Strategic thrust
In theory, the basis for the right strategy is on an analysis of the existing markets shows potential for Blue Sky sports products. Also, there is the possibility of expanding into new markets because the IMC marketing strategy provides reach to a wide audience. The concept of penetrating new and existing markets to acquire the threshold projected draws on heavily relying on the core elements of integrated marketing communication mentioned elsewhere to take product information to the target markets (Yangs, Jun & Peterson 2004, p.34). IMC is a customer-centric strategy that emphasizes communication as the central component to use in persuading customers, ultimately influence consumer behaviour, and brand loyalty. Here, communication is a circular process used to create iterative brand value in the customer’s perceptions. Sky Blue creates brand value in terms of brand equity, sales, and profits (Yang & Jun 2002, p.34).
Strategic Objectives
In theory, this includes where the firm intends to be in a year and subsequent years when the communication strategy has been operational. The company intends to gain the upper hand against the competitor by using different communication channels to reach the target market and establish a strong brand presence, loyalty, and equity. Also, the strategic goals are to create a wide market share, to increase the company’s sales, profitability, and performance in terms of product turn over and customer loyalty.
Core strategy
Target Market
The target market includes men and women aged between 24-45 years. Customized messages for each market address specialized market needs with unique characteristics, and behaviour to develop and grow the market (Westbrook & Oliver 1991, p.3). The strategy for increasing the current market share includes aggressive marketing on multiple communication channels, creating different sports clothes with different uses, using every distribution network conceivable, and establishing a strategic partnership with new and interested stakeholders (Wu 2003, p.34).
Competitor Targets
Blue Sky enjoys a significant market share and has registered a steady growth over the years. The company has experienced business rivalry from competing firms offering similar products. In theory and practice, understanding competitors remains a critical tool in designing and redesigning strategy. understating the rivals includes an analysis of what they are doing, reputation and brand loyalty, their product strategy, the competitors marketing strategy, the supply chain and infrastructure, and their strengths and weaknesses provide the basis for decision making. The main rivals with strong brands include L.L. Bean, REI, Timberland, Bass Pro Shops, Cabello’s, and Patagonia, which have a common product offering strategy. In practice, competitors have strengths and weakness that spans technology and brand loyalty. The weaknesses include offering athletic clothes titled IX for women who climb the ragged Mountains. Bean, REI, Timberland, Bass Pro Shops offer clothes for skiers and hikers, at high costs, while Cabello and Patagonia specialize in selling fleece clothing. The gap for gender-sensitive sports clothing and the poor communication strategies and advertising mechanisms the firms employ provides Blue Sky with a ready market for its products.
Competitive Advantage
Sky Blue provides unique apparel that suits people of different ages with unique sporting needs that have competitively positioned the business organization in the market (BlueSky 2013, p1).
Decisions on the Marketing Mix
Product
Blue Sky’s” product offers to include high-quality apparel suited for outdoor use and include baseball caps, fleece vests and jackets, and cotton T-shirts. Each product has the company logo (BlueSky 2013, p1). The most popular colours include names such as sunrise pink, sunset red, river rock grey cactus green, and desert rise (BlueSky 2013, p1). Each customer may select a logo representing personal likes in sports, for example, rock climbing (Westbrook 1987,p.5; Weber 2009, p.56). A slogan added to match the log, such as “Get over it” creates a strong brand image. The company started with ten new logs, later abandoned, and new logos developed to address changing consumer behaviour (Wallen & Fraenkel 2001, p.56). Another approach the “company intends to communicate brand messages and create brand loyalty is to “expand its product line with new lightweight luggage offerings, which include two sizes of tote bags, a daypack, and two sizes of duffel bags” (BlueSky 2013, p1). The “items come in trendy with a choice of logos and slogans and basic colors” ((BlueSky 2013, p1). The overall brand logo is the Blue Sky logo printed in every product.
Place
The line of distribution includes regional and local shops, the internet as a platform to communicate messages to create strong value propositions, improved sales volumes, customer-driven brand loyalty, brand equity, and brand engagement via the marketing channels already mentioned (Duncan & Moriarty 1998, p.4; Belch & Belch 2003, p.34; Caemmerer 2009, p.55; Vogt & Knapman 2008, p.56). Besides, “national sporting goods and apparel chains provide the distribution channels” (BlueSky 2013, p.1). Opportunities “for higher sales arise because of weather changes and climatic conditions, which dictate the sales turnover at specialized T-shirts and baseball caps during warm weather and more fleece vests and jackets shops” (BlueSky 2013, p1). Blue Sky “seeks plans to expand its retail distribution speciality shops in the country in the next five years and create a strong brand loyalty” (BlueSky 2013, p1).
Price
The Company provides right quality products at lower prices to ensure cost leadership compared with competitors, differentiates products by providing different attires targeting different income groups and tastes, and investing in focused attention at the needs for all-weather clothing for people interested in outdoor sports (Shimp 2000, p.4).
Promotion
The underlying concept is to create brand engagement, strong brand loyalty, and brand equity using different communication channels to reach the customer. Studies demonstrate that IMC to significant impacts on consumer behaviour and brand loyalty, making organizations to regard the concept positively as giving them an edge against rivals (Kitchen and Schulfz, 2001, p.34). Here, IMC consists of different promotional tools and campaigns, which play significant roles in marketing Blue Sky brands. The trend is to create a drastic growth in brand awareness using IMC as a marketing function for Blue Sky, making the company apportion a significant share of the marketing budget into IMC activities (Kitchen & Schultz 2009, p.19).
Budget
The marketing budget specifically focuses on the tools used for integrated marketing communication for product promotions.
Organization and Implementation
The company has a marketing team under the direction and leadership of a skilled marketing manager, with each person playing a specific role. The roles alternate each time the department convenes progress meetings to ensure fair distributions of responsibilities. The manager is responsible for reporting and compilation of reports.
Control
Control is a concerted effort to ensure checks and balances and equal distribution of responsibilities to each person involved in the market. A weekly presentation of the progress reports shows the milestones achieved against objectives. The report is the basis for evaluating progress, identifying points of failure, and corrective actions. In each meeting, the marketing team classifies business goals, sets timings, assigns tasks and responsibilities, evaluates outcomes against objectives, redesigns and sets criteria for success, and monitors progress. The balanced scorecard based on key performance indicators includes market share analysis, benchmarking, brand awareness, market research, quality control, financial results, competitor performance, profitability, customer acquired retention, and service levels.
Personal Reflection
Writing a business plan is not a simple task. That is because coming up with an appropriate title and applying the concepts learnt in class is quite challenging. It required that I apply the theoretical concepts into real-life practice. I encountered many challenges when writing this business plan, despite the immense benefits I gained. The crucial element I discovered is that theory and practice merge in practice. I learnt the crucial importance of applying the concepts and knowledge acquired from books to write the business plan. I needed to write a good business plan based on a comprehensive analysis and understanding of the need for Blues Sky to grow. An assessment revealed that despite the organization being relatively new, and steadily increasing financial performance, products sales, and the high frequency of repeat customers. I realized the need for an integrated marketing communication strategy being core in the business plan. Because of competition, rival firms were a threat to the growth of Blue Sky because the firms invest in innovation and design similar product offerings to beat Blue Sky. The solution was to develop a focused and strong brand image, brand equity, and brand loyalty using integrated marketing communication as a tool. The challenge was to integrate the integrated marketing communication concept into Blue Sky’s marketing strategy to create brand loyalty.
The approach was challenging to show the relationship between IMC and the business mission. The mission is a five-year plan to grow the company based on an IMC strategy to achieve brand loyalty. This crucial component underlies company financial growth, market share, and strong brand loyalty. Developing the mission statement required that I had to understand and explain the role of integrated marketing communication in the current business plan and connect the brand with IMC. One of the requirements of the business plan was to identify a comprehensive external market audit detailing the competitors in the market based on factors that included a thorough analysis of the macro-environment. The macro-environment constituted the demographic distribution of the target market, the legal and political environment that consists of the consumer protection laws, competition regulations, Government attitude to the business, the economic environment, and advertising standards. I learnt that social factors, including income distribution, attitude to leisure, living conditions demographics, and education, health and welfare, and lifestyle changes. Also, government spending on research, technological factors that include the internet, discoveries, energy use, and costs were some of the technological factors I realized influenced the current business plan. Other elements included understanding the legal environment to design messages that comply with the legal requirements. The market is a key component to establish the business plan, an internal and external market audit, marketing structure and systems, and a SWOT analysis provided the ground for a strong business plan. Additional factors included studied in the business plan could make it perfect if well implemented to achieve strong brand loyalty and customer relationships.
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