Academic Level: Undegraduate
Instructions: I've already completed the proposal and the outline for this final paper. The final paper needs to be conducted on the product and market place from the proposal and outline that I have attached.
Your task for the final project is to plan a realistic market launch, from introduction through stabilization of operations. "Launch" applies to the target market where you want to sell your product. You are to select a product (not a service), real or imagined, that will be launched in a country other than the United States. Your product may be produced in the U.S., in your target market, or elsewhere.
You will submit your final project in this module. By now, you have already obtained approval for your proposal (submitted in Module 3) and have completed the project outline (submitted in Module 5). The final project will consist of your business plan and an Excel spreadsheet of anticipated cash flows (expenses and income) with the resulting bottom line (profit or loss) for each year.
For the final project, you are responsible for presenting your analysis and conclusions on the following:
•The rationale for choosing your product..
•The rationale for choosing your target market..
•The rationale for choosing the country where your product will be made, including a brief background of the industry in the market, as well as competitors..
•The strategy you will employ to launch your product; items to include should include entry decisions and intended mode of entry..
•The organizational structure you selected to support the launch..
•Sales, marketing, logistics, cultural, and political aspects..
•Financial management considerations for the launch, including foreign currencies, tariffs, and overall foreign market exchange considerations..
This paper will give you the opportunity to integrate all aspects of this course into a real-world scenario. Please be as realistic as possible. Show that you understand how to apply the concepts of this course in a practical project.
While your instructor is more interested in your initiative, and the quality and realism of your analysis and conclusions versus the length of the paper, it is expected that the paper follow the aforementioned requirements.
Things to Remember!
•Your paper should be 6 to 8 pages in length (not including title and reference pages)..
•Your paper should be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins, in-text citations and references for all sources following proper APA formatting..
M5A1: Final Project Outline
Hexoskin Smart Shirt and Market Targeting in the UK
Introduction
1. The role of targeting marketing in the sales of the product.
2. Montreal Hexoskin Company is a multinational organization that sells sports products.
3. Founded in 1982, the company is UK's leading sports-goods retailer.
4. Currently operates approximately 600 stores.
5. Sports Direct plans to launch smart shirt product in its UK market.
Rationale for Selecting the Product
1. Smart shirts can be consumed by both sports and non-sports consumers (Nowak, 2016).
2. There is a growing demand for smart shirts.
Rationale for choosing the Target Market
1. The UK market has more sports persons and sports consumers than Canada.
2. In UK, there is a wide demographic group of sports persons, ranging from children to adults.
Rationale for choosing the country where the product will be made
1. The product will be made in Canada because there are low production costs.
2. The labor costs are low in Canada.
3. Raw materials are easily accessible compared to UK.
Strategies for Product Launch
1. Product testing (Meyers, 2010).
2. Provision of free trials to target market.
3. Gaining of consumer feedback.
Organizational Structure for the Product launch
1. The organization will use a functional structure.
2. Each portion is organized into a set of functions.
3. The marketing function will lead the product launch.
Sales and Marketing Aspects
1. Various marketing strategies will be used.
2. The product will be promoted via social media, print, and broadcast (Blythe, 2008).
3. The product will also be distributed throughout the company's store outlets next to sports grounds, supermarkets, and schools. This is because effective distribution strategies are required (Sanfelice, 2014).
Financial Management Considerations
1. A detailed budget will be developed.
2. Important aspects of the product will be prioritized.
3. This will ensure that costs are saved.
Market targeting is a vital process that can guarantee success and profitability of a product if well executed (Blythe, 2008). Under this concept, a marketer has to offer products that can meet the needs of a particular market segment that may be targeted based on demographic, cultural, behavioral, or even social status (Meyers, 2010). In this marketing approach, an organization or a potential seller of a product must ensure that there are similarities between the expectations of the consumers and the features of the product (Sanfelice, 2014). A product targeted at a particular market must reflect essential marketing variables such as the consumer consumption characteristics, price sensitiveness, and consumer decision making factors (Bongaerts & Krämer, 2014). I'm looking to launch and market the Hexoskin Smart Shirt in the UK. The product is a wearable smart device with special capabilities to detect heart activity, respiration process, and sleep. It is a product of Montreal Hexoskin Company that is located in Canada (Nowak, 2016).
Based on its features, the product will be launched and sold to the sports people in the UK. The country has many professional sports athletes as compared to Canada where it is manufactured. With the launch, sports athletes that work and live in the UK will find it easier to buy a product that will facilitate planning of their sports activities. The features of the Hexoskin smart chart can allow an athlete to monitor various health problems and plan for physical activities. The shirt will come as an important element in the life of an athlete due to its ability to monitor and keep vital health data. Also the fact that the smart shirt may be purchased by non-athletes, the primary reason for its launch in the UK is because of the existence of the required target market.