MBT shall create a brand preference through emphasizing its therapeutic benefits, an advantage that Shape-Ups do not have. For one, MBT shoes are equipped Masai Sensor. MBT had to convinced potential customers that the MBT shoes were the best solution to meet their desire for a physical fitness shoes. The continued advertising to more effectively communicate the features and benefits can actually convince consumers to purchase and prefer MBT shoes than any other rocker sole shoes provider in the footwear market. Thereby, not only MBT should introduce MBT shoes but also provide the people the mindset of acquisition based on the functionality and benefits of the product.
Marketing Objectives and GoalsMBT shall set objectives aggressively to sell the diverse MBT shoes to achieve objectives set for one year in the global market. These objectives include:
Ø Acquire 8-10% of the market share in the world athletic shoes market by Q4 of 2012
Ø Achieve 500,000 - 1 million units sales in one year by Q4 of 2012
Ø Achieve 3-5% share based on sales by Q4 of 2012
ProductAthletic footwear industry has products that is often standardised, less technical and often requires less servicing. Nonetheless, a purchase of an MBT shoes requires post-service of educating the consumer on how to properly use the MBT shoes to reap the maximum benefits. While the athletic shoes are attributed for flexibility and absorbability of impact, fitness shoes like MBT shoes is based more on technology aside from design and aesthetics. Only a few athletic companies are offering rocker sole shoes and the rest are imitations. The original design of MBT shoes is not basic but unique in the sense that it is the only rocker sole shoes that make use of Masai Sensor.
Nevertheless, MBT shoes, while it grows to be a trusted brand, are faced with competition on fewer “me-too” footwear products. This could be one disadvantage of the first-mover strategy wherein it is being imitated by the competition, capturing market share typically intended for MBT shoes, for instance. Essentially, the athletic footwear that MBT is offering has a broad market appeal. However, the products should also possess distinguishing features that will set it apart from other competing products, and that is the technology itself. In this way, MBT shoes can achieve the advantage of share of preference.
PricePrice competition in the athletic footwear industry is relatively non-existent which means that firms are competing with respect to price by launching at several different price levels in order to reach different areas of the market. Because MBT shoes will not compete at all market levels, and considering the genuineness of MBT shoes, MBT shoes are sold at a premium. Nevertheless, people who are in dire need of a pair of rocker sole shoes are willing to pay the price. Prices of MBT shoes start at £120 and up. Using a skimming pricing strategy, MBT sells MBT shoes at a higher introductory price to gain higher profits in the profits.
Although MBT was able to reimburse the cost of investment, the higher prices might lead to the lost connection with the consumers. For instance, the pricing strategy bounces back adversarially since fake discounted MBT shoes are now flooding online stores. Thereby, there is an ongoing price war between original MBT shoes and fake MBT shoes and that earnings of the former will continue to be volatile.
PlaceDistribution channels of MBT shoes will be a combination of distributors and retailers. MBT should start its line of retail stores which will house their brands and distributors for selling the brands in geographically-scattered areas. At the retail level, reseller stores should be utilised to penetrate a larger audience in different cities and regions worldwide. Basically, such mixed distribution channeling strategy can enable MBT to hold a tremendous control over the MBT shoes brand. Not just the brand, the company would be also able to control retail prices, inventory levels and post-sale service.
Viardot (2004, p. 196) noted that for products that are neither entirely standard nor truly non-standardised but rather in between these two categories, a marketing channel should be selected depending upon the technical complexity of the product and the need for customer service depending upon the distributor’s ability. As such, the Internet is an important distribution channel for MBT.
MBT shoes can also expand and improve its distribution capabilities by opening its own retail stores in key cities around the world especially in up-market, quality shopping venues like that of high streets. MBT, nevertheless, is currently providing experts on retail floor to address the needs of the people in real-time.
PromotionAwareness of the existence of the MBT shoes would be made possible by excessive advertisements on TV, in magazines and on the Internet. The growing public awareness could lead to sales as MBT shoes advertisements tapped on the interest of the people. In particular, MBT could arrange demonstrations and target messages to innovators and early adopters to create interest in the rocker sole shoes. Through this, people can be made not only of the product itself but also of all the features and benefits of the MBT shoes to its user.
Marketing ProgrammeBecause MBT shoes has a presence already in Europe, Canada and Australia, the US market would be an appropriate market to penetrate. As Ansoff puts it, some companies, which aimed at a single market with a single product, decided to concentrate on the targeted market with the current product. These companies put a lot of effort to gain more market share out of the market thus becoming the major player of the market and thus are able to withstand any new competitors. Ansoff called it the strategy of market penetration (Ansoff and McDonnell, 1990). The advertising plan in the US market is as follows:
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