Simulation Performance & Individual Strategic Digital Marketing Plan Assignment Sample

Introduction

Sneakers Inc. is a company developing sneakers for women and men possessing medium product quality. Their company has faced several issues including consumer shift because of product quality and pricing strategy. Other than that, technological advancements have also been a major reason for the financial downturn. The report will utilise various tools and models for completing digital marketing audits so digital marketing strategies can be developed in further sections.

Internal & External Digital Marketing Audit

A digital marketing audit can be described as a thorough investigation of the digital marketing activities undertaken by any organisation. It would be highly beneficial for Sneakers Inc. to identify the loopholes and digital gaps to examine where they are lagging in comparison with other organisations (Kupec, 2017). Digital marketing audit plays a crucial role in today’s technological world as it helps in examining the strategic position of the organisation so they can improvise their digital marketing activities as per market competitiveness. Based on the information offered, it has been found that Sneakers Inc. is sold to other individuals as they were facing several issues after the crisis. For external digital marketing audit, various tools and techniques will be used:

PESTLE Analysis

Political: The pandemic was responsible for the economic downturn at Sneakers Inc and they have sold their company to new owners due to various issues. It can be found that adopting technologies is essential but along with that it is must to follow all the political rules and regulations regarding technological adoption (Gerstner, 2020). For example, Sneakers Inc needs to look after the privacy and security issues as various hackers are stealing the confidential information of the organisations. Other than that, the taxation rates are also increased due to various rules imposed after the pandemic.

Economic: Economies of the country and organisations are going through bad times due to the pandemic. It can be observed that Sneakers Inc. has also faced financial loss during the crisis (Talwar et. al. 2021). Other than that, the economic downturn is also responsible for bringing change in purchasing power of consumers. Looking at this, they must implement some digital marketing activities to attract consumers to their products.

Social: Due to the pandemic, various political laws have been changed and financial loss can be observed that have affected the consumer buying decisions as well. As they were following the social distancing norms, consumers have adopted the online shopping patterns that allow them to place orders online and their product will be delivered to their doorsteps (Valaskova et. al. 2021). It has forced many organisations and retailers to adopt online shopping behaviours so they can operate in a tough competitive era. Other than that, personalisation trends among consumers are increasing rapidly that needs to be adopted by the organisation. The company must bring changes in its digital marketing strategies as per the social demands of consumers.

Technological: It can be observed that the world is surrounded by technologies and it is changing the behaviour of consumers as well. During the pandemic, there can be seen an increase in online shopping allowing consumers to order while seating at home (Guthrie et. al. 2021). Further, many of the organisations are adopting various digital channels for promotions and advertising their products. These channels help in differentiating their products from other substitutes and convince consumers to buy them. In today’s competitive environment advertising plays a crucial role as it helps in standing out of the crowd.

Figure 1: E-commerce sales growth in the UK.

(Source: Cappola, 2021)

The above data clearly illustrates the e-commerce sales growth in the UK and this growth is responsible for affecting retail sales (Cappola, 2021). It is estimated that it will increase year by year and this makes it essential for Sneakers Inc. to implement strong digital marketing activities to stay competitive.

Legal: Various legal laws related to employment law, environmental laws, and privacy laws need to be implemented so no violations can be made. As per Swartz et. al. (2019) it can be seen that implementing such technologies makes it mandatory for the companies to follow privacy laws so the private information of employees, organisations, and customers are not leaked.

Environmental: Luxury goods and products are the major contributor to environmental pollution and these concerns are increasing rapidly making it mandatory for organisations to follow them essentially. They can also utilise various emerging technologies like solar panels, reuse, and recycling machines, and other sources to reduce their environmental footprint (Henni et. al. 2017). Further, they can utilise advertising channels to promote their sustainability initiatives so they can attract more environmentally friendly consumers.

Porter’s five forces

Bargaining power of buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is always strong as there are various products and substitutes available in the market offering better choices to consumers. As per the case study, it can be seen that Sneakers Inc. offers products at a reasonable price and the product quality is neither good nor bad that is forcing the consumer to switch to products that are of lower price or good quality. It can justify that they are facing strong force from the buyers to bring changes. Other than that, digital adoption and changes from retail to online shopping are also forcing the company to adopt technologies to limit the bargaining power of buyers (Moorhouse et. al. 2018). It can be said that the company must bring changes as per consumer demands and market trends.

Bargaining power of suppliers: The Company manages a strong and healthy relationship with its suppliers that helps them in keeping the bargaining power of suppliers weak (Bruijl, 2018). Other than that, the majority of suppliers are available in the market that can offer them raw materials at a good price.    

The threat of substitutes: Various substitutes and products are available in the market that can be used at the place of products offered by Sneakers Inc. Other than sneakers, girls can buy ballerinas, sandals, heels and many more, whereas; males can go for slippers, shoes, sandals, formal boots, and many more. It can be observed that with the variety of options available to consumers they can switch to other products easily (Bartunek, 2020). Further, the economic downturn is also forcing consumers to switch to products of lower price affecting the sales and revenue of Sneakers Inc.

The threat of new entrants: This factor imposes weak to moderate force on the organisation because entering the market and developing a brand reputation similar to Sneakers Inc is not easily achievable. Other than that, it requires huge capital to reach the market position of the company. The new entrants can affect the sales and revenue to a low extent but implementing strategies and innovation would help the company in limiting the force. 

Competitive rivalry: It imposes a strong force on the organisation as varieties of options and companies are available in the market offering similar products at different prices. Other than that, technological development is also responsible for increasing the market competitiveness as many of the organisation is allowing the consumer to buy products online, some companies are offering personalisation, and many more. For instance, Adidas and Nike are offering good quality products to consumers that can affect the customer base of Sneakers Inc (Araujo et. al. 2018). Other than these two brands, many retailers are there in the market offering a similar product at a lower price attracting middle-income consumers. The organisation must adopt digital technologies and bring product innovation to reduce the competitive force in the market.

SWOT analysis for internal audit

As per the above external and internal digital marketing audit, it can be observed that there is a necessity to adopt the changing digital marketing trends to cope with the technologically enhanced world. Other than that, they are losing their customer base due to confusing pricing strategies and product quality. Using the digital marketing strategy, they can make it clearer and gain consumers’ trust and loyalty. Various technological changes have been observed that are affecting the market growth of the company and it is mandatory to bring changes accordingly (Bouncken et. al. 2021). Utilising various digital channels, they can also improve their advertising and promotion techniques. The market segmentation of the company is also confused and it is must target an adequate segment of consumers using digital marketing strategies adequately.

Organisational Strategy and Marketing Objectives

Due to the financial downturn the company has faced they have sold the companies to other owners and they are focusing on developing strategies to resolve the current issues the company is facing. There can be seen consumer shift due to the confusing pricing strategy and product quality.

Organisational strategy: The primary strategy of the organisation was to offer something for everyone at a reasonable price. Until the economic crisis, the company was doing great but after the pandemic, they have observed consumer shift because of the product quality and confusing pricing strategy. Looking at this, they are currently aiming at targeting a particular segment of consumers and attracting them with the help of digital technologies.

Mission: The major mission of the company is to implement digital marketing activities to attract customers. In today’s digital era, the company aims at utilising various digital marketing channels to advertise and promote their products and services so they can hold their potential consumer base.

SMART digital marketing objectives

Competitive strategy

The competitive strategy of Sneakers Inc. is “To utilise various digital marketing channels for advertising and promoting their products and services and target the segmented customer adequately”.

Specific marketing objectives

• To develop social media website for advertising and promotion of products to the targeted customers.
• To implement customer feedback and review strategies for bringing product innovation as per their demands.
• To attract consumers using the digital marketing strategies like personalisation.

Digital Marketing Strategy & Analytics

The external and internal digital marketing audit has clearly explained that there is a need to adopt various technologies and digital channels to improve sales and revenue. Other than that, market competitiveness is increasing that requires proper advertising and promotion strategies so the company can stand out from the crowd. Further, the company has seen consumers shift because of its pricing strategy and product quality. Looking at this, various strategies are implemented to bring changes accordingly.

STP analysis

Segmentation: The market segmentation of the company aims at selling products to males and females at a reasonable price. The company offers products neither of good quality nor bad that is primarily responsible for analysing consumer shift. As per the demographic segmentation, Sneakers Inc. needs to segment consumers between the age group of 10-45. They develop products for both men and women belonging to middle-income families. Based on the geographic segmentation they can segment consumers from every region and meet their demands by delivering products online (Lopatin et. al. 2019). Further, they must segment customers based on their product use. For example, they can segment consumers as per sneakers for a party, sneakers for work, and many more.

Targeting: The Company must target consumers, in-between age group of 10-25 years, as they are most concerned about the trending clothes and footwear. Other than that, they can target college-going students so they can follow fashion trends effectively. For targeting consumers more adequately they can utilise the buyer’s persona model for marketing and target adequately (Sukma et. al. 2019). It is beneficial to develop personalised messages based on the information collected about the consumers.

Positioning: Sneaker needs to explain the unique value of their products to attract consumers. It can be observed that the company is selling products at a reasonable price that could be beneficial for medium-income families to grab products that are of good quality. It offers products that are easy to afford and is beneficial during the economic crisis. Further, using the business persona model they can bring personalisation into its product to meet the customer requirements and attract them adequately (Athanasopoulo et. al. 2018). The company can take advantage of social networking sites and various digital channels to advertise and promote their products. It is beneficial for standing out of the crowd and holds the potential customer base.

Ansoff matrix

Ansoff matrix is used by the companies to focus on growth strategies that could benefit the organisation’s growth and success. It is being covered in four quadrants including market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification (Loredana, 2017). Market penetration is all about increasing the product sales of an existing product into an existing market. Market development aims at expanding the business into the unexplored market using the developed product. Product development means developing new products into existing markets and diversification is about developing new products into new markets.

Figure 2: Ansoff Matrix.

(Source: Ansoff Matrix, 2021)

Sneakers Inc. requires implementing product development, market penetration, and market development strategy as per the issues identified. Looking at the issue of a consumer shift towards products of good quality or lower price, Sneakers Inc. needs to bring product development and market penetration. Product development can be adopted by analysing the emerging customer demands using digital marketing channels for bringing product innovation (Prasetyo and Rahman, 2018). They must target consumers belonging to middle-income families and develop products as per their demands. Other than that, using various digital advertising channels like social networking sites and e-mail marketing they can attract their existing customers.

Moving ahead, market development is beneficial for the organisation to deal with the financial crisis they have faced after the pandemic. Using the online website, they can sell products and services to different markets worldwide (Yu, 2019). It could be achieved again by advertising the products on social networking paid advertisements to target the segmented customers from different market segments.

Digital marketing activities

Social media networking: It can be observed that every individual has a social media account and use it on daily basis. It is the best mode of digital marketing channels to target teenagers and seek their attention. Sneakers Inc. can publish and promote its products on various social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and many more (Voorveld, et. al.  2018). Using personalisation and previous search history Sneakers can also advertise their products on the feed of consumers. In the technological era, products can be promoted using paid advertising techniques and they will be advertised on customer feed as per their recent search history. Further, they can also take advantage of social media influencers to advertise and promote their products as it helps in improvising the trust and loyalty among customers regarding the product quality.

Figure 3: Increased social media usage.

(Source: Ritcher, 2019)

E-mail marketing: With the help of the business persona model, Sneakers Inc. can send personalised emails to their consumers to seek their attention. In this, they can offer personalised products, offers, discounts, and coupons as per their purchase with Sneakers Inc. Either they can send a notification to their consumers about new product launches as per their previous purchase or send them the survey link to submit their feedback about the previous purchase (Hudák et. al. 2017). Based on the feedback collected they can bring improvements effectively.

Publish new content on online website: It is mandatory to update the content on the online website to keep customers aware of new product launches and offers (Wang et. al. 2019). Utilising content writing they can advertise the product.

Measurements, Review and Recommendations

Gantt chart

Recommendations

• It has been recommended that Sneakers Inc. could utilise AI-enabled chatbots and on-screen feedback technology to collect customer reviews about their purchase and demands so the company can bring improvements.
• It is must to advertise and promote products on social networking sites as every individual uses social media on regular basis and it is very essential for seeking consumer attention. Other than that, they can use social media as a selling platform as well with technological advancements.
• Further, it has been suggested that they must promote product offers and discounts on their online website with the help of personalisation to attract more and more consumers.

References

Books and Journals

Araujo, D., Caldwell, H. and DeFanti, M., (2018). Nike’s Utilization of Brand Strategy to Increase Global Competitiveness. In Competition Forum (Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 109-115). American Society for Competitiveness.

Athanasopoulo, A., de Reuver, M., Kosman, R. and Roelfsema, M., (2018). Understanding business model innovation: Recommendations for future business model tooling by an action research. In R&D Management Conference Proceedings, Milano, Italy.

Bartunek, J.M., (2020). Accomplishing impact by performing our theories: It can be done, though not easily. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 56(1), pp.11-31.

Bouncken, R.B., Kraus, S. and Roig-Tierno, N., (2021). Knowledge-and innovation-based business models for future growth: Digitalized business models and portfolio considerations. Review of Managerial Science, 15(1), pp.1-14.

Bruijl, G.H.T., (2018). The relevance of Porter’s five forces in today’s innovative and changing business environment. Available at SSRN 3192207.

Chen, Y.J., Dai, T., Korpeoglu, C.G., Körpeoğlu, E., Sahin, O., Tang, C.S. and Xiao, S., (2020). OM Forum—Innovative online platforms: Research opportunities. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 22(3), pp.430-445.

Gerstner, E., (2020). Face/off:” DeepFake” face swaps and privacy laws. Def. Counsel J., 87, p.1.

Guthrie, C., Fosso-Wamba, S. and Arnaud, J.B., (2021). Online consumer resilience during a pandemic: An exploratory study of e-commerce behavior before, during and after a COVID-19 lockdown. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 61, p.102570.

Henni, O., Belarbi, M., Haddouche, K. and Belarbi, E.H., (2017). Design and implementation of a low-cost characterization system for photovoltaic solar panels. International Journal of Renewable Energy Research (IJRER), 7(4), pp.1586-1594.

Hudák, M., Kianičková, E. and Madleňák, R., (2017). The importance of e-mail marketing in e-commerce. Procedia engineering, 192, pp.342-347.

Kupec, V., (2017). Digital possibilities of internal audit. Acta VŠFS-ekonomické studie a analýzy, 11(1), pp.28-44.

Lopatin, V.A., Mukhin, K.Y., Seryshev, R.V., Trifonov, P.V. and Smirnov, V.V., (2019). Increasing the level of STP in information processing. International Journal of Engineering and Technology Innovation, 8(7), pp.583-588.

Loredana, E.M., (2017). The use of Ansoff matrix in the field of business. Annals-Economy Series, 2, pp.141-149.

Moorhouse, N., tom Dieck, M.C. and Jung, T., (2018). Technological innovations transforming the consumer retail experience: A review of literature. Augmented reality and virtual reality, pp.133-143.

Pantano, E. and Vannucci, V., (2019). Who is innovating? An exploratory research of digital technologies diffusion in retail industry. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 49, pp.297-304.

Prasetyo, P.E. and Rahman, Y.A., (2018). Effectiveness of new product development on mat creative industry. KnE Social Sciences, pp.633-653.

Sukma, D., Lubis, P.H. and Utami, S., (2019). Analysis of Marketing Strategy of Minyeuk Pret Using STP, Ansoff Matrix, and Marketing Mix.

Swartz, P., Da Veiga, A. and Martins, N., (2019, March). A conceptual privacy governance framework. In 2019 Conference on Information Communications Technology and Society (ICTAS) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Talwar, M., Talwar, S., Kaur, P., Tripathy, N. and Dhir, A., (2021). Has financial attitude impacted the trading activity of retail investors during the COVID-19 pandemic?. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, p.102341.

Valaskova, K., Durana, P. and Adamko, P., (2021). Changes in consumers’ purchase patterns as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mathematics, 9(15), p.1788.

Voorveld, H.A., Van Noort, G., Muntinga, D.G. and Bronner, F., (2018). Engagement with social media and social media advertising: The differentiating role of platform type. Journal of advertising, 47(1), pp.38-54.

Wang, W.L., Malthouse, E.C., Calder, B. and Uzunoglu, E., (2019). B2B content marketing for professional services: In-person versus digital contacts. Industrial marketing management, 81, pp.160-168.

Yu, V.D., (2019). The analysis of methods for developing the marketing strategies.

Online

Ansoff Matrix. (2021). [Online]. Accessed through: <https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/strategy/ansoff-matrix/>

Cappola. D. (2021). E-commerce sales growth in the UK. [Online]. Accessed through: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/282162/e-commerce-annual-sales-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/>

Ritcher. F. (2019). Increased social media usage. [Online]. Accessed through: <https://www.statista.com/chart/4823/teenagers-favorite-social-networks/>

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