Customer For Powershirts example essay topic

Marketing PlanPowershirtsCASE OVERVIEW Powershirts is a potential e-tailing partner for a clothing manufacturer located in Guadalajara, Mexico. The information we were given about Powershirts and the manufacturer is very limited, and we had no direct contact with management. The manufacturer has sold shirts in the Mexican market and has also sold men's slacks in the United States under a label undisclosed to us. They can produce shirts in any color; sleeve length, weight, and can add a logo to their products. While we do not have specifics regarding plant capacity, financial resources, or cost information, we have been told they have sufficient capacity and financial reserves to expand. Our goal has been to consider potential markets Powershirts may enter, and to prepare a general marketing plan, including web site design and content.

WHAT IS THEIR MARKET? Considering the information we have about Powershirts, the markets we have focused on are the advertising specialty market and e-commerce. These markets include many different popular products such as mouse pads, mugs, glasses, hats pens, and basically any product a logo or emblem can be printed or embroidered on. Shirts are also included in this market. Businesses need shirts with logos not only as uniforms, but to advertise for their company or to inspire employee loyalty.

Sports teams, schools, and hospitals also purchase shirts with logos on then and could be potential clients. Also, non-profit organizations purchase shirts with emblems to advertise about their group or their goals. Powershirts' ability to produce quality shirts with embroidery or printing gives them the ability to enter this market. Also, buyers do not have strong brand loyalty in this market but rather focus on the quality of the product and the quality of the customer service. Thus, although there are many competitors in this market, it seems Powershirts may easily enter it. This is also an area that may provide Powershirts profitable e tailing.

Since they operate in Mexico but wish to sell abroad, entering this market could add to their profit. WHO ARE THEIR CUSTOMERS? Their clients will include both business to business as well as business to customers. The B-to-B clients would include any company in the business of ordering customized products. These companies include screen-printers, sporting goods related stores, or award stores. They would act as intermediaries between Powershirts and the final customer, but may cut into some of the profit that Powershirts hopes to make.

The B-to-C customers would include the clients mentioned above: businesses, schools, hospitals, sports teams, and non-profit organizations. These customers could be reached by catalog or by the web site that Powershirts would develop. Individuals searching out this type of product or simply surfing the web would also be potential clients. HOW DO THEY ENTER THIS MARKET? There is one action Powershirts must take to enter this market, which is to attend trade shows related to the ad specialty / clothing market. As students, we have been unable To obtain much of the key information that would available to a business at a show, such as competitors wholesale pricing.

There are many trade shows that Powershirts can attend and an easy way to find out about them. TS Central. com is an excellent source on the web, which allows the user to search for trade shows by their specific industry. It lists trade shows by region and shows many events in Mexico. Also, Powershirts could attend trade shows in the Southwest of the United States. To register for these shows or find out any detailed information, the user must enter a business license and give Business contact information.

There could be many benefits to entering this market through attending trade shows. Powershirts would be able to become familiar with their competitions, and find out their competitor's wholesale pricing. This would let them know if they can profitably compete in the B-to-B market with similar businesses. They would get a better idea of what level of quality is expected in the market and what types of shirts and materials are most common. It would introduce them to many potential buyers and get their name out into the market. They could make important connections and perhaps find a representative to carry their products at trade shows.

Hiring a representative would minimize their cost of traveling to shows, since there are numerous events they may wish to attend. HOW LARGE IS THE MARKET FOR POWERSHIRTS? We feel that the e-commerce and catalog markets in the United States are Powershirts best opportunity to sell their logo shirts. Everyone has the potential to become a customer for Powershirts. Their best opportunity is to sell their products to large companies, such as Intel, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and small local businesses throughout the country. There is also a large market for logo shirts within club sports and individuals who want custom shirts.

The best way for Powershirts to reach these markets is through a web site. We looked on various search engines like Yahoo and Lycos to see how many other companies are currently providing the same business as Powershirts. By typing in logo shirts and custom embroidery shirts into these search engines you can see just how many competitors are out there. Each search we did gave us thousands of hits to competitors's ites. This shows that there is a lot of competition out there but there are also lots of customers that need this type of product. The positives side to this type of market is that most of the customers are not brand loyal.

Many of these companies only purchase logo shirts every couple of years. These same buyers put a great deal of focus on price. They want to pay a reasonable price for a quality product. This is why we feel that Powershirts should focus on providing a high quality product with a reasonable price and excellent customer service. If Powershirts is able to create this type of image they should have no problem getting business and taking business away from their competitors.

BRINGING GOODS INTO THE U.S. MARKET We researched two different ways for Powershirts to ship their shirts into the United States. The first was trans-shipping the shirts into a warehouse located somewhere in Texas. This process is only good if they are going to be bulk shipping to one single location. Since most of Powershirts' orders are custom made to what the buyer wants this bulk shipping of the same goods is not a good idea. The second shipping process we looked at was direct shipping. This is where you ship the goods from Guadalajara manufacturing plant directly to the customers' business.

This process requires Powershirts to have the shirts made to order instead of them being shipped from inventory. For this direct shipping method we checked into both UPS and FedEx. The following is information from FedEx, which offers the best rates. FedEx -- -Shipping from Area code 95118 (San Jose, CA) to zone 15684 (Guadalajara, Mexico) Base Rate Fuel service Total Charge FedEx Ground (1 to 5 days) 72.12 No charge 72.12 FedEx Express (2 days) 178.10 7.12 185.22 FedEx Express Priority 222.35 8.89 231.24 (overnight) These figures are based on a 50-pound order, which will be shipping in a 24 inch long x 16 inch wide x 30 inch high box. The number of shirts per box depends on what type of shirt is being shipped and how much packaging they will use in the box. We estimate that Powershirts will be able to fit 50 to 100 shirts per box.

For the same weight and box size UPS will charge $140.74 for ground shipping. This charge however does not include the insurance the UPS requires for any amount over $100. UPS also charges a fuel charge of 1.25% for ground service. These shipping charges may cause a problem for Powershirts because most of their competition can ship for much less. The reason for this is that the main competition is located in the United States where shipping rates will be cheaper due to the distance. A solution to this problem is for Powershirts to set up a fixed rate shipping charge for their customers.

Many companies already use this typ e of policy when you order items online. Here is a sample of a fixed rate shipping charge: . Up to $50 = $10.00. $51-$100 = $12.00. $101-$200 = $14.00.

$201-$500 = $16.00. $500+ = %3 of total order amount fixed rate shipping charge such as the example will be easier for both Powershirts and more importantly for the customer. This process also allows the customer to know what the shipping cost is and the total cost of their purchase before they order. HOW SHOULD THE PRODUCT BE PRICED? The prices for Powershirts' products are going to vary depending on a few different variables. Each one of these variables can be increased or decreased depending on how the company wants to sell their product.

The first variable is in the stitch count with direct embroidery. Most of the competition has set a standard in how many stitches they will do to produce a logo. If the customer's logo is larger than the standard, then the customer is charged more money. Also, if the customer's logo is detailed, requiring extra stitching to embroider is, an extra charge is added to the price. The next variable is the quantity of goods ordered. The more goods that are ordered the less the price is per item.

Here is an example of a competitor's price: 100% cotton polo. 1-23... $21.99. 24-49...

$21.49. 50+... $20.99 As you can see this pricing strategy provides a benefit to the customer if they purchase more shirts. This also encourages them to purchase more, in turn increasing Powershirts's ales.

The next variable has to do with the set up chargers for different colors in an emblem. The competitors that we researched would allow for the customer to have up to three colors in their logo. Additional colors add a charge of one dollar per color per shirt. They also have a maximum amount of colors that are available. Another variable is what type of shirt is actually being ordered.

The two most popular shirts are t-shirts and polo shirts. These shirts can be made out of many different materials such as all cotton or 60/40 cotton / polyester. All of these different variables can lead to different shirt prices between shirts. The polo shirt is almost double the price of the cotton t-shirt.

The final variable is a length of sleeves and the addition of a pocket. Almost all of the competitors we researched had an additional charge for both of these options. If the customer wants long sleeves they will have to pay an additional $0.50 per shirt, and if they wanted a pocket that will cost another dollar. This additional fee covers the extra material and labor cost that is required to add sleeves and pockets. THE WEB SITE Content Powershirts' web site must have certain key items included.

Their homepage should include information about the management and history of Powershirts. This may make customers feel more comfortable buying from them. Guarantee / return information, detailed product on information, an order form, delivery information, pricing information, order verification, and contact information are all important aspects of their potential site. Powershirts should prioritize posting quality digitized photos of their products, allowing their buyers to view their products. Design From the homepage, there should be links to many of the important content items that Powershirts should include. The most important link will be to online shopping.

Rather than using simple text as links, using pictures or icons will make their site more user friendly. However, Powershirts should be cautious about using very large, complicated pictures. Buyers may not want to wait for complicated or animated graphics to load on their computers. The online shopping area would have thumbnail photos of products, which when clicked on would lead to a larger more detailed image of the shirt. This page also incorporates some of the information that is necessary for ordering. The drop down boxes make it easy to use and the colors are very easy to choose from.

Powershirts should include some sort of shopping cart feature, in case their customers wish to purchase different styles of products. An important feature for Powershirts will be a page that allows the buyer to upload their logo or graphic. A positive factor about this site is that it allows the user to choose what method they would like to use in uploading their image. Powershirts should also give their customers options in addition to uploading digitized images.

Customers could email, fax, or mail their images, depending on how much time the customer has to order their products. While digitized images are faster, if time is not an issue, mail, email, or fax would be just as effective. Security of the site is essential. Customers will not feel comfortable ordering through Powershirts if there is no risk of their information not being safe.

This should be a main concern in designing their web site and order form. ORDER FORM The order form for Powershirts should consist of the following information: quantity, method of payment, size, color, item description, custom embroidery, pricing, and contact information. The order form can be done online, or through the catalog which would contain the order form in the middle. Quantity would contain the amount the customer would like to order.

The method of payment is a section where the customer would choose how they would be paying for their order, credit card, check, or a charge to their account. New accounts would be limited to a C.O.D. option until their credit is approved. The size being ordered would coincide with Powershirts's i zing system. For simplicity's sake, small, medium, and large should coincide with the bust, waist, and length measurements of the individual.

Color selection will be done using a pant one matching system (PMS color chart). This is a system of standardizing colors so there is no confusion between which color is really a blue or a red. Each color is assigned a number that would be entered into the order form when ordering. The item description is a written out description of what the customer is ordering, the item number will be written in the next box. Custom embroidery would contain the personal embroidered design of the customer's choice.

The final section would contain the list of shipping charges and a section to add up the total cost. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION We also found additional information that is useful. The normal lead-time from the point of order to receipt of the product is seven to ten working days. This is only what we could get from the competitors; however, it will be important for Powershirts to have this information to be competitive in an American market.

A customer database would benefit this company to organize their way of doing business. The database should contain all information for the first time customers and repeat customers. If there are future orders it would help in keeping the customers satisfied in that Powershirts would know what they want. If there are several repeat customers, a system of setting up accounts will need to be established. When there is a question of setting up accounts or not, payment terms need to be established to avoid confusion and to allow an incentive for loyal customers. Terms such as 2/10 net 30 or 2/30 net 60 would reward repeat customers and possibly attract new customers.

Before an account is set up. Powershirts needs to link with a bank in Guadalajara to do credit checks. Without a credit check to ensure reliable payment, account would not be a safe way to do business. For all first time customers cash on delivery would be required.

To minimize returns and cost of returned items; possibly sending a sample to the customer before a larger order is taken may prove to be beneficial. A return policy does need to be established so either party involved will cover the cost. CONCLUSION With this information we have shown a potential market for Powershirts. We hope you will invest in Powershirts.

Some sites that we used to obtain this information, and that also provide a good example for Powershirts are as follows: web web web web web web.