choose a product

existing or make a new one

market the product in urban and rural area

media sources
the add spent
is the adv successful or no
who is the target audience
make a print ad
make a strategy to market in the urban market

Developing a marketing plan or strategy to introduce a new technical product can be

painless, and seems confusing only when we lose site of objectives.

Start by writing an outline of your marketing strategy. Then begin by gathering required
information for each section in your outline. As you gather your market information, you
may see critical gaps. Find a way to fill the gaps (e.g. telemarketing). Then polish the
information with helpful tables, charts and graphs. You can even use the outline to
organize your marketing presentation!

Developing a Product Marketing Strategy is one of the most challenging and exciting
aspects of product marketing and launching a new product. The marketing professional
should begin by writing a working outline of his market plan to help organize the study,
gather information, and organize the presentation.

I created this outline to develop marketing strategies:

What are my short term objectives or goals.

Corporate Mission Statement.

Manufacturing objectives.
Product Development objectives.
Marketing objectives.

Customers

How many customers I have?

What are they buying?
Do they have any emotional attachment to my product ?
What is the size of market I am in?
What is my customer's price point and other economics?
Exactly what my customers need?
Are my customers currently satisfied with my product?

Market Segmentation
now in market segmentation the market in divided into groups. Process of defining and
sub-dividing a large homogenous market into clearly identifiable segments having similar
needs, wants, or demand characteristics. Its objective is to design a marketing mix that
precisely matches the expectations of customers in the targeted segment. Few firms are
big enough to supply the needs of an entire market, it is must to breakdown the total
demand into segments and choose the one or few the firms is best equipped to handle.
The four basic market segmentation-strategies are based on
(a) behavioral
(b) demographic,
(c) psychographic,
(d) geographical differences.

(e) Competitors

What are they doing now?

Where do competitors advertise, and how often?
What is their sales pitch?
How do competitors price?
How do they distribute?
How do competitors position themselves?
How do competitors react to threats?
How do successful competitors differ from the lesser?
What are their market shares?

(f) Compare compitors to your organization in terms of your:

Strengths
(g) Brand Image
(h) Reasonable quality at low or reasonable price
(i) Diversity with ranges in running, training, court, basketball, football and Outdoor
(j) Footwear for the entire family
(k) Financialy Strong
(l) Conveniently accessible outlets in various parts of the country
(m)Targetting all income segments
(n) Provide training for managers and employees
Nationwide retail network
 Weaknesses
1. No continuity of leadership
2. In 2001, 5% decrease in net saless
3. No proper planning regarding Advertisement
4. No variety in Fashionable shoes

1.
Opportunities
E-Commerce
2. Acquired, Partnership with small players
3. Entring new segments of Markets
4. Capturing Market where no other potential competitor exists
5. Innovative Products
6. New mediums for advertisements

Threats

1. Customer Dissatisfaction
2. Price wars with competitors
3. Competitors
4. Political Instability
5. Economic Threat
Changing in consumer prefernces

Product Position
With the evolving market and changing market dynamics Paragon was being given a
tough time by its local competitors and other footwear being imported from China.
Paragon management feared that they would not be able to survive because they could
not compete with the low cost Chinese products, hence they embarked on a plan to enter
the premium segment of the market to be able to survive, because they felt competition
from Chinese products there would be much less.

However, in my opinion, the company made a mistake by going after the premium
segment as well, without realizing the fact that their image would be hurt and could get
diluted because they were moving into a domain for which their activities were not
aligned. Other than the activities too we have to consider the Brand image that Paragon
had developed over the past 35 years, and this image was by no means that of a brand
which could boast about having premium footwear products, in fact Paragon was just
meeting the basic functional needs of its middle class customers. Therefore their strategy
does not seem to be at all well cut out, as from most of their activities it appears that once
they were challenged they resorted to a fire fighting approach and tried their hand at
almost all possible arrangements, without gauging the fit of the activities to their strategy.
It may be concluded that Paragon’s management made the fatal error of just enjoying
their successes whilst the market was not mature, but when the competitors kicked in and
the market approached maturity, they were left in the lurch because of not having made
clear trade offs in terms of image, activities & internal coordination and then had to pay
the price. Their current predicament has been analyzed in detail using a strategy
framework below.

If Possible, Do Market Testing

Show product and promotional concepts to customers.

Double check.

Make Strategy Decisions

Decide on new revenue growth and profits.

Decide on new product development.
Decide on price.
Decide on sales force, distribution, service.
Decide on customer psychological factors, not features and benefits.
Decide on product promotion.

A popular way to remember the function of marketing is the "four p's of marketing",
which are product (you must have a "new product development process"), place
(distribution or where you will sell your product), promotion and price. A good
definition of marketing will provide a more detailed definition of the standard
marketing function, and the four p's of marketing.

I added psychological sales factors as a fifth p of marketing; because, your marketing

strategy must list the relevant sales psychology factors, and state how these factors
will be addressed. Sales psychology is arguably the most important part of a
marketing strategy. Yet, customer psychology is seldom mentioned in marketing
strategies.

Write an Action Plan

Pert chart on product development.

Calendar of planned media.
Budget

Implement Your Plan

 Hold routine meetings to review progress on sales leads. Provide a lead tracking
system. Nothing is status-quo. Revisit your plan and update.

Rural Marketing in India

Rural market can not be ignored because the vast population of about 63 crores
residing in the rural segment is getting richer gradually with marked awareness
thanks to the growing media reach, mobile phone users and manpower exodus to
urban jobs. Every year about two million people are being added to the rural
segments. They are more intelligent and aware in quicker time possible. The
shortcoming in rural population is the requisite income level in every household.
Therefore the primary strategy would be to categorize different segments and chose
the target groups for marketing. Even today the nature of rural market is fit for
mass marketing only. However, the income generation is going up because of the
guaranteed job schemes, minimum wages. There is growing recognition of the
income strength of rural people by distribution of credit and debit cards to the
farmers, growing and better lifestyle. Growing connections to rural areas through
better infrastructures and other facilities are making rural populace worthy of
attention. Hindustan Lever is the first organized company to infiltrate in to villages
to market their products. Later on others like LG, Dabur, Britannia, Godrej have
also made headway to this direction. For big companies with adequate finances it is
strategic to design products with rural emphasis that must include low prices
products that can satisfy rural urge. A product in soap category must sustain the
basic image of preserving the health power of villages, Strength of farmers. For
rural women the product must contain the basic urge of promoting beauty and
softness among women who always aspire for. After the products are designed the
awareness about these products and availability must go to the consumers through
the media available readily there. Another important strategy in the beginning is to
introduce a product that is traditionally acceptable by villages because Indian rural
population is still governed by the traditional behaviors pattern. Any attempt to
disregard it may through the product to the dustbin.

Thus the fundamental rules that will lay the foundation for a suitable strategy are
the market segmentation to categorize affordability, availability of products in the
distribution channel, awareness generation through affordable media, acceptability
of the product in the rural setting and spread of better lifestyle through proper
education.

Microsolar Brain
, Aug 2

FOR decades, it was a price tag that drew instant jokes, sarcastic comments and
sometimes even arguments over consumer rights, but ending it all, Paragon India has
withdrawn its famous 95 paise pricing.

Now Paragon chappals, shoes and other footwear are priced sans the 95 paise. Paragon
prices still stop at `9' (such as Rs 499), but the two decimal points in the price that made
you feel like sheepishly asking the five paise back, are gone.

"I have seen it almost throughout my stint with Paragon," a manager of a Paragon
showroom, who has put in around 40 years with the company, said.

He remembers that Paragon sales people would also be curious about the 95 paise tag
when they joined the company. They would be later taught at training sessions that it was
a strategy to begin sales talk with buyers curious about price like Rs 299.95.

"It would automatically create interest in the product. And from there salesmen can start
their talk," he said. The Paragon price also had a psychological impact on the prospective
buyers as it fell short of an amount that might have looked like a high price.

Also, the price tag was devised to communicate to customers that Paragon values even
their five paise. "We used to religiously return the five paise in those days when the coin
was available," he said.

There is also an unconfirmed theory that Paragon, then headquartered in Kolkata, came
up with a price of Rs 124.95 to avoid an entry tax, which was levied on products priced at
Rs 125 and above.

Paragon India officials said the company had decided to do away with the most
distinctive pricing in the country because the five paise coins have now gone out of
circulation.

"Returning the five paise to customers was becoming an issue. There are people who
would insist on getting it back," they said.

But the company did try to keep the price going by trying out various things. "We used to
offer customers candies, or told them that for every five paise they did not take back, we
would put another five paise and donate the amount to Missionaries of Charity. But we
realised later that no such thing was working," they said.

he paragon india is making a serious effort to rejig its performance. this includes launch
of paragon's overseas brands and revamp of retail formats, among others. after a
consistent bad 2001, spurts of labour unrest and a change of guard, the company has lined
up a series of initiatives to bring the customer back into the stores. they are: importing
high-end brands from paragon's international stable, launching a slew of locally designed
footwear, revamping retail structure and a high-decible ad campaign. within a few weeks,
paragon india plans to bring in weinbrenner, a global paragon brand and wipe n' go, shoes
that will need no polishing at all, for the executive literally on the run. and, a part of
corrective action will be clearer positioning. the company is reorganising retail efforts.
twenty flagship stores will be demarcated in the metros as high-end ones, stocking
international brands and imported products. next will be 80 city stores located in
metros/semi-metros. about 770 family stores will be chalked out for medium and small
towns. and, 190 bazar stores will serve as clearance ones. this exercise will be carried out
within existing retail network. also, this year, the company will focus on the up-market
stores. about 16 new flagship stores will come up in the four main metros. "paragon has
set in motion a 360 degree revamp operation driven by a strategy of focussed marketing
and segmentation. it is designed to impact the customer in every income group through
both innovative product development as well as fine-tuned distribution," fernando garcia,
md, told the times of india. last week, the company kicked off a campaign to launch new
designs every week. it launched chiara, a paragon international best-seller; power
international, a high-end imported brand; and tino, a paragon international design for
men. the therapeutic dr hawai and the handmade stitch top are being designed locally and
bubblegummers is an international children's brand. with the year 2001 not being one that
paragon india would particularly want to remember, the efforts are definitely much
needed.

Read more: Paragon’s strategy to boost sales - The Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Paragons-strategy-to-boost-
sales/articleshow/3203141.cms#ixzz111XHn8I8