401 Games Company Case Study: Marketing Plan - Paper Example

Introduction

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Organizations need a clear market plan that analyzes the environment in which they operate, investigates the potential customers, and provides the segmentation of the potential clients and bases on research to recommend various marketing strategies. The plan can be used in developing strategies for the product or organizational brands which will direct the marketing mix. This paper will focus on conducting a case study analysis of 401 Games which is a company in Toronto`s biggest retailer for card games, board games and collectibles (Dolansky, 2015).

SWOT AnalysisThis section will focus on conducting the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats underlying the operations of 401 Games. The analysis will evaluate the internal environment strengths and weaknesses as well as the external environment opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis serves as the research on the dynamics of the market and hence can help the business in future planning regarding the marketing strategies. Furthermore, the analysis helps the company to evaluate their potential in competing with other actors in the industry for the maker available market.

Strengths401 Games company has various strengths that enable it to stay in the market since its inception in 1992. For instance, the business is concerned with building confidence among the consumers through the expert employees at the various sections. The company trained the staff on the various games availability and how they are played. This promotes the staff to be a source of competitive advantage because of the increased expertise and capacity to handle consumer needs (Dolansky, 2015). Furthermore, the company offers the lowest prices as a strategy to attract more customers to its store. The company engages in price reduction strategies to cater for consumers who used online platforms to search for other businesses which offered lower prices. Moreover, 401 Games offer a range of game products which made it flexible in the market in case one brand fails to sell. The company deals in three product which includes, board games, collectibles, and card games.

Weaknesses401 Games has various flaws that make the business unable to compete fairly in the limited scope of the market in Toronto. For instance, the company operates in only one geographical region. This reduces its economies of scale. 401 Games business should, therefore, focus on expanding its stores to other parts. Furthermore, despite the company having a website, and social networking accounts such as Facebook and Twitter, the business is unable to utilize the avenues to boost the sale. The company boasts of the word-of-mouth through interactions, yet the avenues are conducive for customer engagement and creating awareness through word of mouth. Therefore, the company lacks a proper utilization of the marketing mix.

OpportunitiesBased on the number of years the company has been in operations, it has the potential to affect confidence and therefore strike retailing deals with suppliers and manufacturers for the games. When this is done the company can get the products at a reduced process and sell them at the regular market prices thereby generating a wider profit margin. Moreover, the company can use its experienced staff to enhance customer satisfaction through utilizing social media. Social media will enable the consumer to interact with the company directly and probably get convinced to purchase products.

ThreatsThe constantly fluctuating market prices for products poses a threat to the business as it cannot foretell the future and make proper plans. This also affects the marketing mix since the business cannot address the fluctuating prices of the commodities. On the other hand, the company constantly faces new entrants to the market hence reducing the product market due to increased competition. Additionally, the prevailing major competitors in the industry have utilized all aspects to promote their market presence as opposed to 401 Games for instance, 1,000,000 Comix which utilizes both physical presence and online marketing. This makes the company have increased sales as compared to 401 Games.

Target Market401 Games company deals in varied products. Therefore, the companys target market is the Toronto residents of all ages. This is because the firm is based in Toronto and has no any other store away from Toronto. In the other hand, the various games are differentiated to accommodate different ages. However, the company should put more emphasis on the teens and individuals in their twenties. Therefore, the company`s appropriate market segmentation strategy is the demographic segmentation based on aspects such as region, income, and age. On the other hand, the demographic segmentation is simple and has a wider scope. Therefore, the company should utilize the demographic segmentation to find their right target market population for their products. Demographic segmentation bases on variables such as gender, age, the size of the family, income, race, and religion. Besides, the demographic segmentation is suitable for the business because the game market has different products with different prices. For instance, the company deals in products such as board games and card games which have different prices. Furthermore, different retailers offer different prices.

Implementation Strategy based on 4 PsThe company should focus on differentiation as a strategy to gain competitive advantage. The 4Ps including price, products, place and promotion are focused on enhancing the market mix of the company marketing strategy. Therefore, the 4P`s promote the way the company distributes the products and service in the market. This enables the company to characterize the marketing options with regard to the 4P`s

ProductThe 401 Games company deals with products such as the board games, collectibles, and card games. However, because the company is a retailing business, the company engages in differentiating the product to suit the needs of the consumer. A careful analysis of the consumer enables the company to differentiate the product into smaller quantities and features desired by the consumer. Therefore the consumer is at the center of their marketing strategy. Product differentiation helps the business to have increased competitive advantage in the market.

PriceFurthermore, the 401 Game engages in activities that involve price differentiation. The company set its price that is different from a competitor. The strategy of focusing on price reduction while emphasizing on the quality of the product helps the company to get more sales. Therefore, the consumer is comfortable in buying products from 401 Games because of the guaranteed value and lower cost compared to the competitor. On the other hand, the company shifts its prices to match that of their competitor such as Meeplemart.

PromotionThe promotion in the company needs to focus on achieving interest awareness, action, and desire from the consumer. Therefore, the company needs to focus on differentiating their promotion strategies so that they are unique from the competitors and in turn realize improved sales. For instance, the company can concentrate on utilizing advertising, public relations, special promotions, and direct emails. Furthermore, the company has to realize the proliferation of internet influence in the marketing industry. Therefore, 401 has to embrace social media advertising as a means to interface with the clients and improve sales. Social media enhance the word of mouth campaigns which is the core strategy used by the business to create awareness. Furthermore, social media enhances customer satisfaction due to customer reviews which can make the company improve on the products.

PlacePlace relates to the channel that facilitates the products to reach the consumer. The company is located in Toronto. Therefore, the main consumers are the residents of Toronto. The company makes its sales from their stores which limit their scope in the market. Therefore, it is important that the company works towards expanding its market base to other regions or consumers. For instance, the company can engage in field sales or telesales. Internet marketing, for example, makes the presence of the company felt in other regions. On the other hand, the company can expand its physical presence in other towns. This will also improve the companies economies of scale thereby make it compete favorably in the industry.

A marketing strategy is committed to assisting the company to improve the sales of the games as its products and attaining a competitive advantage over the prevailing competitors. The marketing strategy involves all the short-term, medium-term and long-term processes that the business participates in as a method for marketing its products. 401 Games company needs to implement the marketing mix model as a marketing strategy. The model enables all aspect of the marketing to be addressed and therefore promise more outcomes. The marketing mix model combines all the marketing goals into a single comprehensive plan. The model enables the company to address the needs from the consumer and can be utilized for both short-term and long-term benefits in the company. Besides, the company should base on research on every aspect of the market mix for it to have more realistic information. The information will enable the company to make appropriate decision to be made in influencing the sales of the company.

Recommendations

401 Games has the potential to enter into deals with suppliers and manufacturers so that they get products at a reduced price. On the other hand, the many can also sub-retail the products to another retailer thereby increasing their profit margin while boosting sales. This is because the company has the capacity based on the trust from manufacturers they have been transacting with since its inception. Besides, the company should expand its operation to other regions so that they increase their economies of scale. This is because in expanding to other areas, the company expands its market base hence boosting their market presence.

Moreover, the company should focus on demographic market segmentation which is an efficient strategy to study and analyses their target market. This is because the demographic market segmentation provides variable that can be adequately considered to get the dynamics of the market in the industry. For instance, the study of the age and the consumption of a certain game makes the company make appropriate priorities concerning which products to stock.

Moreover, the company should focus on adopting the marketing mix strategy which as the fundamental objective of maximizing sales through a thorough analysis of price, place, promotion, and product. This can be enhanced through differentiation strategies which make the products unique and in unique qualities. Furthermore, differentiation helps the company to be more proactive to consumer needs which directly boosts sales. The company should focus on utilizing the information technology in promoting its product. Even though the company exists in Toronto market, the company can expand its presence in the market to other regions by utilizing information technology avenues such as the website and social media. Through the avenues, the consumers can interact with the company and possibly make purchases or do reviews that will help the company make amendments to their marketing strategies.

Finally, the company should focus on entering into new markets through mergers and acquisitions. This is because the mergers and acquisitions enable the company to familiarize with the new environment before fully entering the market. On the other hand, mergers and acquisitions reduce the risks of entering into new markets. Mergers and acquisitions al...