Issues’ Analysis of New Balance Marketing Strategy
The primary goal of this section is to determine the potential issues a company might face during the production and while delivering Men’s 611 running shoes to the target market. In this instance, issues’ analysis defines the potential threats and difficulties a corporation might while introducing a new product to the competitive marketing environment (Govindarajan, 2009). In turn, the risky decisions also have to be highlighted, as they are requirements during the process due to the necessity to increase the market share and boost the revenues.
Firstly, one of the issues is related to the company’s budgeting and operations costs. It remains apparent that the production costs are high due to the location of the plants in the USA and the UK (Yang, 2015). This matter will be the core definer of the company’s success and pricing policies as the costs help calculate the enterprise’s income. Consequently, New Balance has to design a new strategy to maintain quality on a high level and lower the costs for its products. Otherwise, the increase in costs might be considered as a driver for the price of Men’s 611 running shoes.
Another issue is a severe competition in the market, which can be defined by a high level of substitute products. It remains evident that Nike and Adidas are the leaders in the market and have a widely recognized brand identity in the world (Kozar & Hiller, 2013). In this case, New Balance’s Men’s 611 running shoes might not be able to handle the completion, as the company’s success is dependent on the development of the unique proposal to differentiate the product from the competitors (Raynor & Mumtaz, 2013). It could be said that New Balance should decide rapidly on the development of the approaches to increase brand identity and sufficient marketing of the exceptional product features.
Furthermore, the current condition of the competition might affect the determination and the selection of the relevant pricing strategy. In this instance, New Balance has to choose a suitable price for Men’s 611 running shoes. Furthermore, the company has to develop a balance between the affordability, income, and competitiveness of a new product.
Additionally, the issues related to the changes in income of the target audience and political restrictions also can be considered as the potential issue concerning the introduction of New Balance’s Men’s 611 running shoes. It remains apparent that the influence of the world economy can highly affect the functioning of the organization and its areas of operations (Bradley, 2005). The critical decisions related to this matter simply the monitoring of the demand and regular market analysis. Additionally, the ability of the target audience to afford the product has also to be monitored. In turn, New Balance has to decide what instrument to use to adjust prices: minimization of the production costs or profits.
Furthermore, the constant and unpredictable changes in the lifestyle and living can be considered as an issue, as it might affect the demand concerning New Balance’s Men’s 611 running shoes. In this case, the company has to determine the relevant tactics for the market research to maintain the track of the changes. Alternatively, other features, which can take place in the future, are the rapid changes in the technological environment, modifications of design, and constant growth of e-Commerce.
In this case, the critical decisions are the ability to alter the focus to the product development while determining whether the additional investment is needed for the design and innovation. Additionally, the company has to be able to define relevant channels for the distribution of New Balance’s Men’s 611 running shoes and decide whether the additional alterations of the product are needed.
New Balance Marketing Strategy: Goals and Objectives
The goals and objectives are designed based on the issues’ analysis, as the strategy has to minimize the risks in decision-making. In turn, it has to propose relevant approaches to avoid the negative consequences. Lastly, the efficient measurement system is introduced to determine the ability of the company to reach the organizational goals.
- Minimizing the production costs of New Balance’s Men’s 611 running shoes while maintaining the quality of the products at a high level within three years.
- Increasing the brand awareness and identity with the assistance of the advertising campaigns of New Balance’s Men’s 611 running shoes, which can be measured with the help of the higher percentage of the market share in the sports shoe industry within three years after the product’s introduction.
- Accumulating the customer’s satisfaction by constantly maintaining the quality of the products (can be measured with the customer’s satisfaction inquiry every month) at least by 1 % every two month.
- Continuous adjusting the price based on the evaluation of the consumer’s demand and income (can be evaluated by the increase in demand by 3% every month).
- Introducing the necessity of the regular market analysis including politics, consumer behavior, and actions of the competitors within the first month of the introduction of New Balance’s Men’s 611 running shoes to the market (measured by the changes in the trends and presence of the weekly reports).
- Evaluating alternative distribution channels while considering the focus on e-Commerce as a possibility within two months before the start of the distribution (measured by the selection of the most cost-effective distribution channel for New Balance’s Men’s 611 running shoes.
- Constant assessing the appropriateness and relevance of the selected design of New Balance’s Men’s 611 running shoes (the positive response will be portrayed by the increase of the customer’s satisfaction measured by the survey mentioned above every month).
- Increasing the popularity of the marketing channels such as social networks and website by 20% within one year (evaluation will be based on the visits of the website and number of followers in the social networks).
New Balance Shoes: Marketing Strategy Statements
New Balance Target Market: Definition
As was mentioned earlier, New Balance’s target market consists of two segments including professional and amateur athletes. In this case, the approximate starting targeting age is 16 years old due to the shoe sizes and expensiveness of the brand. In turn, the new product line focuses on the men’s segment solely. As for the psychographic terms, both types of athletes prioritize the comfortability of the shoes for doing a selected sport as it affects the results (Vonhof, 2011). In turn, professional athletes tend to focus on orthopedics and pay attention to the ability of the shoes to comply with the core health principles (Vonhof, 2011). It could be said that the target market is rather vast, as the selected audiences represent a significant share of the world population.
As for the key behaviors, the selected customer groups tend to focus on brand recognition, as brand awareness increases the possibility of the purchase (Pride & Ferrell, 2008). In turn, sales and promotions also drive consumer’s demand in a positive direction (Pride & Ferrell, 2008). It could be said that the selected consumer groups tend to prefer recognized brands such as Nike and Adidas, as they have well-established images at national and international levels. In turn, these brands are vehemently associated with the product quality, and the role of this association cannot be underestimated, as it defines the consumer’s behavior in this segment. Lastly, the sportswear industry experiences growth, as more and more people prefer sport as their leisure activity (Euromonitor international, 2015).
Despite an extended target market, the company has to introduce in its new product line in the United States at first to monitor the market recognition. Nonetheless, the estimated target market consists of approximately 20 million (Euromonitor international, 2015). However, it will rise due to the positive trends in the market.
New Balance Marketing Strategy Statements
New Balance Value Statement
Based on the information provided above, the value statement implies ‘New Balance prioritizes its customer’s choice and decision-making while making the customers the center of the operations. In turn, the company bases its value on the ability to comply with the customer’s need by highlighting customer satisfaction, price adjustment, and increasing the availability of the products everywhere.’ In this case, the customers will adopt the strategic initiative as they are viewed as a center of the relationships while receiving a vast variety of benefits concerning quality, eco-friendliness, new solutions, and the possibility to participate in the process.
New Balance Proposition Statement
In turn, the 4P’s analysis and the development of a new product line contribute to the creation of the relevant propositional statement. The product’s proposition statement can be formulated as ‘New Balance tends to deliver ecologically-friendly high-quality products while prioritizing the customer’s satisfaction in terms of pricing, convenience, design, and availability’.
New Balance Accessibility Statement
It could be said that the availability and accessibility of the product’s description are vital for the boost of the brand’s recognition and the growth in demand in New Balance’s Men’s 611 running shoes. In this case, the accessibility statement can be formulated as ‘New Balance aims at providing all the required information on the website, stores, and social networks to assure the customer’s understanding of the best features of a new product line. The information has to provide the benefits of the product while making it accessible for every user online and the customers in the physical stores while aimed at the increasing awareness of the products among customers.’
New Balance Communication Statement
Due to the high occupation of the market by the sportswear giants, New Balance has to utilize social networks and content marketing to attract attention and deliver a message. In this case, the communication statement can be formulated as ‘New Balance focuses on the delivery of the right message to its potential customers via highly popular social networks while providing promotional discounts online and at physical locations. Alternatively, New Balance tends to establish contacts with the partners and retailers to assure the delivery of the message with the assistance of the stores’ personnel, as the distribution of the relevant information to encourage purchase should be a primary goal of the company.’
New Balance Marketing Strategy: Conclusion
The analysis of New Balance’s marketing plan, focusing on the Men’s 611 case, highlights the brand’s ability to strategically address market challenges and capitalize on opportunities. By identifying the specific needs of male athletes and leveraging digital channels and influencer partnerships, New Balance effectively reached its target audience. The success of the Men’s 611 campaign showcases the brand’s commitment to innovation and customer-centricity. However, to maintain its competitive edge, New Balance must continually adapt its distribution strategy to meet changing consumer preferences and ensure seamless availability of its products. By doing so, the brand can further solidify its position in the market and sustain growth in the highly competitive athletic footwear industry.
New Balance Target Audience Overview
Despite the fact that New Balance products are designed for different age groups, audience analysis has divided the brand’s consumers into the following categories:
References
Bradley, F. (2005). International marketing strategy. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education Limited. Web.
Euromonitor international: Apparel and footwear. (2015). Web.
Govindarajan, M. (2009). Marketing: Managerial foundations. New Delhi, India: VIKAS Publishing House PVT Ltd. Web.
Kozar, J., & Hiller, C. (2013). Socially and environmentally responsible apparel consumption: knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Social responsibility journal, 9(2), 315-324. Web.
Pride, W., & Ferrell, O. (2008). Marketing. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Web.
Raynor, M., & Mumtaz, A. (2013). The three rules: How exceptional companies think. London, UK: A Penguin Random House Company. Web.
Vonhof, J. (2011). Fixing your feet: Prevention and treatments for athletes. Birmingham, AL: Wilderness Press. Web.
Yang, T. (2015). Localization of New Balance brand marketing strategy for Chinese markets. New York, NY: MacMillan. Web.