Britax hugs chest pads with safecell technology

New Product Launch Marketing Plan

New Product Launch Marketing Plan, Part III

Complete the final phase of your New Product Launch Marketing plan

Marketing Plan:

Complete the final phase of your New Product Launch Marketing plan.

Using the sample Marketing Plan in Marketing and Management (pp. 60-65) 571, consider your product launch to date, reflect on additional learning, and refine to create a Marketing Plan for your new product. Your plan should be no more than 3,500 words. Be sure to include the following:

· Executive summary - DONE

· Situational analysis - DONE

· Market growth potential and competitive analysis - DONE

· Segmentation, target market, and positioning - DONE

· Pricing and distribution strategies - DONE

· Marketing communication plan - DONE

· Financial information(including forecasting demand, break-even,

· sales, promotional budget, and marketing expense)

· Intended marketing objectives for Y1, Y2, and Y3 – My part (need only marketing objectives)

· Implementation milestones – Classmate Part

· Evaluation and control metrics and methodology to measure - Classmate Part performance

· Contingency planning - Classmate Part

IMPORTANT NOTES: The New Product Launch Marketing Plan is a group effort and we have worked on it so far. This is the last piece of it and my part (Intended marketing objectives for Y1, Y2, and Y3) needs to be only maybe 400 – 500 words maximum. We will also create a Pitch In power point presentation for the entire project and other info provided is great appreciated.

Britax is an undisputed leader in child transportation safety. The company’s reputation for unparalleled safety testing and innovation positively impacts consumer brand preference and equity. As part of a differentiation strategy, the company researched gaps in the mobile safety segment. It found that 75 percent of car seats are installed improperly, which directly impacts the product’s efficacy during a crash (Gordon, 2013). The company is in the process of launching the patented SafeInstall Car Seat system in the child safety market.

Target Market

“The target market includes consumers a company wants to sell its products and services to, and to whom it directs its marketing efforts” (Investopedia, 2014). No company can satisfy the needs and wants of all people. Therefore, companies create a target market profile that describes characteristics and buying behaviors of their target consumers. To define their target market, companies may look at geographic, demographic, and psychographic characteristics of consumers as well as behavioral considerations (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Britax operates in several countries such as U.S., Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The company is the market leader in Britain and Germany with a 40% share of total sales, has 60% of the market share in Australia and 13% of the market share in U.S. (Foxwell, 2010).

Target Consumers

Britax’s target consumers are parents willing to pay a premium price for their children’s safety, quality and comfort, which are the main benefits the company’s products offer. These are discerning parents with medium to high level incomes, who value the research and product ratings by consumer reports and other institutions. Britax products are very easy to install and use. They come in different styles to better fit the lifestyles of their consumers. The company also offers continuous support for their consumers and helps them choose the appropriate product for their children and helps install them properly. Another group of consumers targeted by Britax are the medical community and parents with children with special needs. The company offers products that provide safe travel and are adaptable for children with special needs (Britax, 2014).

Product Life Cycle

Britax will manage the product life cycle (PLC) using valuable resources to accomplish each life cycle, and to make sure the company grows as a result. A PLC is the stages of existence that a new product goes through. There are four stages to the life cycle. They are introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.

In the introduction stage Britax will focus on the numerous safety features of the Marathon 70. It contains a shield from vehicle intrusion, comfort for a child’s neck and body giving it a secure fit, and impact protection to manage force and minimize injuries.

Britax will obtain promotional expenditures to meet competition, educate the market, and continue to produce new models and products in this industry. Introducing a new a product at the proper time is crucial to achieving a desired level of profit.

The growth stage is marked by increasing sales, attracting more opportunities in the market, introducing new product features, and expanding distribution. Britax will improve quality by adding new features such as the HUGS Chest Pads with Safe-Cell Technology. The chest Pads provide protection in two ways:

1. The HUGS Chest Pads are affixed to the seat shell, which ensures that the harness is properly positioned on your child.

2. During a crash, the SafeCells on the back side of the chest pads assist in reducing forward movement (Britax, 2014).

The Marathon 70 also includes an easy cover matching, comfort pads, a two buckle position, and a harness around your child to resist forward movement in a crash.

In the maturity stage, Britax will use social media pages like Facebook to engage more customers and the community. Social media websites help build a thriving engagement strategy for the businesses. The company can receive feedback for a better understanding of customer interests, and give innovative responses. Britax will take these responses and improve quality.

In the decline stage the company will develop a SWOT analysis. This will insure the company can address any customer’s needs, achieve objectives, and determine the need of Britax products from a survey base. The appropriate strategy depends on the industry and competition. Britax has attempted to maximize profits and revenues entering each life-cycle of the product.

Tactical plans for the Four P’s at each stage

Tactical plans for the four P’s of product, price, place and promotion will face many challenges depending on the life-cycle phase. Britax has developed a unique marketing mix strategy for each phase of product life-cycle. The introduction stage has a strategic plan to reveal any potential threats for the company as well as strengths. The growth stage will focus on items that generate profits, on public relations, and on advertising management to evaluate advertising success. Maturity anticipates transition to deal with changes and resources. The decline stage plan will determine revenue reduction, cut production, focus on marketing efforts, and examine target audience needs and wants. It is also important to measure success of the strategic development against sale goals and evaluate sales performance.

Product Mix

The SafeInstall Car Seat is the latest product in Britax’s existing line of car seats, infant carriers and strollers. As Britax expands growth through the new marketing strategy, various components of the product mix must be evaluated. Ultimately, Britax will determine if growth in market share and revenue will be positively impacted by the addition of new product lines, new items or variance in the existing offerings (Kotler and Keller, 2012).

Britax currently offers a compact product mix width, focusing on car safety transportation for children and coordinating strollers. The company manufactures eight different types of seats, such as the Marathon, Boulevard and Advocate, which make up the product mix length (Britax, 2014). The product depth is comprised of the varying fabrics and patterns available in each type of seat, which can impact purchasing behaviors specifically the higher income brackets. Finally, consistency in the product mix allows Britax to utilize the same distribution channels, research and production practices, and positively impacting variable costs. A product line analysis demonstrated a gap in the length of the product line, and the SafeInstall car seat system will be introduced to meet the consumer’s need.

Features and Benefits

Value-added features can significantly influence consumer purchase patterns, and will be used to differentiate the SafeInstall system from the competition. The key feature of the new product is its innovative design, which eliminates the risk of improper installation. This safety feature will impact the car seat’s crash test ratings by improving product efficacy. Additional features and benefits include:

· Consumer-friendly design to decrease frustration during the installation process

· Increased safety features including “True Side Impact Protection”, which reduces front and side-impact forces during accidents

· SafeCell technology, which causes seat base compression during a crash to counteract forward movement by providing a lower center of gravity (Britax, 2014)

· Steel safety bar integration to provide a stronger seat to car connection point

· Comfort-enhancing memory foam seats

Differentiators

After completing a market profile, Britax identified several key differentiators that distinguish the SafeInstall car seat and Britax brand from the competition. The safety features, including SafeInstall technologies, “True Side Impact Protection” and SafeCell compression provide customer value and are unique to the brand. The marketing strategy will focus heavily on the features that differentiate this product from similar offerings from competitors such as Chicco, Evenflo and Graco.

Packaging and Warranties

Product packaging is an important piece of product marketing. Britax will package the SafeInstall seat in corrugated cardboard boxes in retail locations. The box will feature a picture of the seat, a seat cover fabric swatch, enlarged photos highlighting the safety features and a bullet list of product features. The packaging will be environmentally-conscious, close to the actual seat size and composed of recycled materials. The background will be white and fonts will be either black or blue. Marketing research has shown that blue fonts denote security, an important product feature (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Finally, the packaging will include an overview of the limited one-year warranty, which protects the seat from defects in materials or workmanship for up to one year from product purchase (Britax, 2014).

Positioning Statement

Britax is an international company that has been producing car seats for the last 70 years. The company is launching a new safety product known as SafeInstall Car Seat which will enhance child safety and is user-friendly. The SafeInstall system will work together with the side impact protection system already installed in all seats. The “Click ‘n safe” feature notifies parents when the child is well seated. It will minimize child forward movement in case of an accident. The product also comes with chest pads to provide maximum protection.

New Strategy

Britax main competitors are Graco, Evenflo and Chicco as well as other lesser known brands. The company has differentiated its product by providing SafeInstall system. This product cannot be found in the local and global market.

· Britax offers instructional videos to explain installation.

· To enhance child car seats, Britax has partnered with car manufactures to improve car seat designs.

· Unlike its competitors, Britax involves customers and child safety advocates to ensure proper installation, as well as gain new concepts to enhance children safety.

· Net Promoter survey scores show Britax customers are satisfied with the seats.

· Britax ensures thorough testing of products and has set up five Britax testing facilities in various countries around the world.

Conclusion

Britax is well prepared for the launch of its new car seats, and is poised to maintain its leadership status in child car safety. The marketing segmentation and strategy are thorough and well researched. With the launch of this new product the company will gain market share, new revenue, and a new sophisticated group of consumers. The product will inevitable go through the life cycle of a product, but the company has prepared for each stage, and will maximize revenue and customer support.

References

Gordon, S. (2013, July 11). High-tech child car seats: innovation for safer rides. Edmunds. Retrieved from www.edmunds.com

Investopedia (2014). Definition of “Target Market”. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/target-market.asp

Britax (2014). About Us .Retrieved from http://www.britaxusa.com/about-us

Foxwell, M. (2010). Britax Poised to Pick Preferred Bidder. Retrieved from http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-1708362/Britax-poised-to-pick-preferred-bidder.html

Britax. (2014). HUGS Chest Pads with Safe-Cell Technology. Retrieved from http://www.britaxusa.com/learning-center/360-degree-protection/hugs-chest-pads-with-safecell-technology

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2012). Marketing management. Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.