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Option 1: Low-cost t-shirt company
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Instructor’s Name
Course Name and Number
Assignment Due Date
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Option 1: Low-cost t-shirt company
Section 1
Introduction
I have chosen option 1 (low-cost t-short company). My proposed name is 'Smart T-shits
Inc.' since the significant client target is the millennials, people of all economic, social, and
political classes. We seek to leverage the best business practices in the process of designing,
making, distributing, and sale of various t-shirts in the United States of America. We also deal in
printing, distribution of top-notch t-shirts to multiple clients as per their request. We have
ventured into the industry knowing that there is an aggressive level of market competition. Our
niche market strategy (based in the United States of America) aims to create a conducive
environment for us to gain a unique competitive advantage within the required time frame. We
rely on online platforms and wallets as the best strategy to reach out to as many clients as
possible and also to maximize revenue and profit-making without incurring substantial
production costs.
Branding and brand differentiation is an art and a science that is a detailed process to
enable our venture to meet the set goals and objectives (Hitt et al., 2016). We are committed to
leveraging the best strategies to propel us towards the attraction and retention of a massive client
base in the United States of America. We appreciate the fact that high customer satisfaction rates
are essential for us to grow and attain the best standards dominated by various and welladvanced players. We have integrated the best strategies to achieve a unique clothing brand
among other players in the industry. We know that building a solid brand is an unparalleled key
to attaining the best success (Hitt et al., 2016). We are premised that robust differentiation is a
must requirement to build a powerful and compelling clothing brand.
Section 2
The core objective of our company is to attain a high level of customer satisfaction. We
cannot realize this without embracing an outstanding sales and marketing strategy. The price,
product, place, and promotion are the key elements effectively fostered to promote our unique
brand value. 4 Ps are necessary for us to address the stiff market competition. Customer
profiling, conducting customer satisfaction surveys, and the use of artificial intelligence (the
concept of big data analytics) form the concrete foundation for a top-ranking marketing strategy.
The product refers to well-designed, distributed, and marketed t-shirts to millennials in
the United States of America. The uniqueness of our products is aimed at satisfying customers.
Concerning this, there will be a prudent use of e-commerce, effective use of social media
platforms in sharing the value of our company to clients in the United States of America. Our
products are cost-effective, high quality, and designed based on the needs of the clients. In
sharing our message to the potential clients, we are guided by what our clients want, the feature,
so the low-cost t-shirts meeting the needs of the consumers, the customer experience about our
products, and how consumers use our t-shirts, such as during the social events. Smart T-shirts
Inc. will also be anchored on the market penetration pricing strategy. We are aware that pricing
is an art and science-based on the prevailing market data and carrying out careful calculations
before resorting to the right price (Almalki, 2018). In this case, the price is about money and the
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time and effort towards customer satisfaction. The designed t-shirts will be priced low now that
we are new in the highly competitive industry. Our pricing is slightly below that of the
competitors, thus, low-cost t-shirts.
Our place is the internet where the clients will identify the suitable t-shirts, make orders,
pay for them, and our high raking team of distributors will ensure that the products reach them
within the right time. Marketing will be done through various digital platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter, search engine optimization techniques, and mainstream media, among other
critical online avenues (Kitchen & Burgmann, 2015). Our place of t-shirt distribution is guided
by the venue of the target customers placing their orders, the technological devices used by our
clients in accessing the online stores, and the culture of social media engagement. Notably,
promotion is another vital marketing aspect (Kitchen & Burgmann, 2015. The customers will be
informed of our products' nature and quality through public relations strategies, direct marketing,
social media marketing, mail marketing, and sales promotions, among others. Indeed today's
marketing environment has changed significantly; thus, the rationale for resorting to diversified
communication platforms. In summary, the following are the relevant marketing strategies to be
used in sharing the message of our company to potential clients: extensive use of the social
media platforms, creating of video tutorials on the quality of our t-shirts, use of our website to
blog our the t-shirts, embracing the concept of search engine optimization techniques, leveraging
of the influencers, building a great lead magnet, use of Facebook ads, continuous of LinkedIn,
creating an affiliate program, and use of email-marketing sequences (Kitchen & Burgmann,
2015.
Section Three (SWOT analysis)
The clothing industry is very competitive and highly diversified. The industry is
associated with the design, production, and distribution of low-cost t-shirts in the United States
of America and other world regions. Below are the company strengths, opportunities,
weaknesses, and threats.
Strengths
Niche market strategy is one of the strengths of
our company. We ride on the loyal customer
base of the millennials who have an appetite
for design products. We enjoy the industry's
advanced proprietary knowledge, which places
us on a higher rank in the industry. Readily
availability of raw materials, the talented
workforce, a diversified employee, and the
trade connections make us well suited in the
industry.
Weaknesses
We are a new company in the industry
dominated by various players. We don't have
enough reputation, and this is a disadvantage
on our side. We are a new company without a
massive customer base, and this is another
weakness that we should work on to address
the industry challenges and other dark forces.
Even though the materials are readily
available, a costly labor force is a great
challenge on our side. We are entirely focused
on dealing with the company's weaknesses to
meet the set goals and objectives, establish our
brand, and continue remaining relevant.
Opportunities
Threats
We have access to inexpensive but high-quality There is aggressive industry competition in the
fabric that can be used for the production of
clothing industry. There are well-established t-
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high-quality t-shirts. We seek to bring a highly
skilled workforce onboard in meeting our set
goals and objectives.
Notably, there is an opportunity for continued
expansion of the online sale of t-shirts, chances
of developing more stores in the United States,
continuous development of the proprietary
products, and development of the wholesale
distribution relationships.
shirt designer brands that make it hard for us to
enter the industry. Many clients are
accustomed to specific brands; thus, it is a
challenge to us. The clothing industry is
crippling due to the ravaging economic effects
of the Covid-19 pandemic. There are trade
barriers caused by the government regulations,
such as the minimum wage. We don't have a
well-established supply chain network, which
is likely to derail our practical product
distribution efforts.
The above SWOT analysis table is instrumental for the development of reliable
marketing strategies. Our company will be able to move beyond the culture of using word-ofmouth referrals but resort to using the best marketing techniques such as search engine
optimization techniques. By identifying the characteristics that make us attractive to the
marketplace, we develop the best social media, email marketing, and industry influences to reach
out to potential clients. Understanding the weaknesses is essential as it paves the way for
strengthening the company message to address the stiff market competition. The company's
defects will be itemized for us to position ourselves during the marketing campaign activity. We
are committed to making strategic decisions as one way of differentiating a low-cost Smart Tshirts Inc. The strategic choices are relevant to the products and the business goals (Kitchen &
Burgmann, 2015). Strategic decision-making is meant to help us be the most relevant and
attractive clothing brand in the United States of America and the surrounding regions. Strategic
decision-making will increase customer loyalty and help us grow from the bottom line. Our
hybrid pricing strategy aims to attract a vast clientele base (Kitchen & Burgmann, 2015). We are
after varying the price of clothing products from those offered by our competitors. In the process
of doing this, we are careful to operate within the price margins.
The opportunities above are vital since they indicate that we have a promising future in
the highly competitive industry. The opportunities lay the foundation for planning an effective
marketing strategy for the company. For example, we will focus on the key areas we intend to
improve to realize the business goals. By clear identification of the threats, Smart T-shirts Inc.
will scale the use of social media marketing platforms and other online avenues to increase
profit-making and displace our competitors. Our sales and marketing strategy reflects the niche
market. Our messages will be explicitly tailored towards the identifiable clients in the United
States. The branding is guided by the sales and marketing team's expertise, who knows that
millennials such as the college, university, and students in other institutions of higher learning
want. We are also focused on delivering a unique point of purchase for our clients. We want to
give our clients a reliable online platform where they can place orders, pay for them, and deliver
the products within not more than 48 hours. We are entirely focused on using the brand mascots
as one powerful strategy of brand differentiation. Other branding strategies include but are not
limited to heritage and provenance, an unbeatable level of innovation, product and service
convenience, and the use of a compelling story to tell clients about our brand's uniqueness. Line,
extension, brand extension, and continuous research and development programs are the master
key to realizing an indomitable clothing brand. Corporate/family branding is one of bran
differentiation strategies explicitly aimed at reaching out to an extensive customer segment.
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References
Almalki, A. (2018). Uber Pricing Strategies and Marketing Communications. Darden Business
Publishing. University Virginia.
Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D. & Hoskisson, R.E. (2016). Strategic Management Concepts and Cases
(12th Ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage. ISBN: 9781305502147.
Kitchen, P., & Burgmann, I. (2015). Integrated marketing communications: Making it work at a
strategic level. Journal of Business Strategy. 36: 34–39. DOI: 10.1108/JBS-05-20140052
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