Type of Business – Internet Based Business

The target market, its needs and wants are an integral part of the marketing plan and a business will only succeed if customers like the product or service. Through a market survey the company would identify potential customers, their needs and expectations along with the price the customers would be willing to pay. The market the company is targeting is in the age group which is in high school, college or just starting work.

The company  would evaluates it target market through a market survey to evaluate its market potential , level of quality and service expected . The company also would study the competition in terms of their offer, strengths and weakness . The culmination of these two studies would help the company devise how best to communicate with the customer and take appropriate marketing mix decisions. The profile of the customer would have to be developed in terms of

• The buyer profile -Who , where located , spending level
• Why will the customer buy,
• What will motivate the customer to buy
• What particular benefits are they looking for
• How do they judge value for money
• And most importantly how many are willing to order jeans online.

The internet is home to multiple companies selling apparel and textiles online. The value added experience of giving the customers to customize their purchases to their size or design has been in existence for many years now.

The advantage of selling on the net is that the company is “global” in its customer base and has the choice of catering to customers from around the world without a brick and motor existence. The company needs to establish both the expressed and latent needs of the customer and meet them to become a formidable player on the internet.

The company realizes that the customer does not have a tangible experience with the product until delivery and hence would need to draw up a strategy which would compensate for this gas. The company would need to do some pilot marketing in terms of showcasing samples in select stores and sending out mailers of its various designs and options especially at college campus. The company would also need to monitor the changing fashion trends and compensate for short product lifecycles with speedy deliveries.

The company has developed a survey which is a combination of subjective and objective criteria which varies from Yes/No answers to using point scales. As the survey will be posted through a weblink sent out in emails and as pop ups on popular sites such as Amazon and e bay the survey is restricted to 20 questions. The survey ranges from Demographics to Factual Questions to Attitude and Open ended questions. The company is also planning to offer the customers who fill the survey completely a discount on ordering custom made jeans from the company and additional discount on providing a referral that completes the survey as well. The questionnaire which would be administered is as listed below.

Thank you for your time.

The company then needs to incorporate this into its marketing plan and determine the optimum marketing mix so as to be profitable and maintain growth in the future. Thereafter the company would need to maintain a customer database and use that to create promotional mailers and contests to promote its product. The company would also need to administer a customer satisfaction survey to get feedback from the customer about the product, the results of which can be used as a reference to other customers and on the website to promote the utility and goodwill associated with the product by other customers.

Based on feedback from the target market the company can consider additions to its product portfolio to meet the changing fashion trends and needs of customers. The company could also tie up with a t shirt company for combination deals to its customers. The general perception is that custom made jeans are expensive , the company would dispel the notion by generating a large volume of customers and hence sales and compensate for the economies of scale got in manufacturing mass made jeans.

References

1. “Apparel’s On-line makeover, “Forrester Research Inc., May 1999.
2. “Clothing that fits- Concept of the Future? Body scanners could make it profitable enough to be practical,” The Kanasas City Star, 05/30/1999.
3. “Levi Strauss begins First On-Line Sales Effort,” Advertising Age , November 23, 1998