As a new business owner, he is feeling the financial and managerial pressures that come along with retail ownership. Dude Taylor works alongside Adam as his assistant manager and bike repair technician.Although Adam has an 80% rental rate during the peak summer months, he is feeling the stress of a low profit margin with no business during the winter months. Adam has recently found out that his rent will be increasing, and has the option to move to a number of new, more expense, and larger locations. Golden Dreams Bike Rental and Repair Store is in need of more staff as well as a new marketing strategy to increase revenue and net margins. Problem What marketing four piece strategy should the organization use to attract more customers, in order to achieve profitability by December 31, 2014.
Facts and AssumptionsWhistler has many exciting summer mountain bike festivals, including Crackdown, Townie Ride and the Weekend Endure ( 3 stage race in the Whistler Mountain bike park) There are over km of well maintained cross-country bike trails in the valley around Whistler. There are 3 major lifts, including the Whistler and Blackjack Gondola's. Riders have access to more than 45 trails that the trails are ranked 17% beginner, 23% intermediate and 60% expert for mountain biking More tourists are seeing Whistler Mountain as a summer sporting destination than a winter one. Research 79% of whistler workers live in whistlerWhistler attracts around 2 million visitors annually. In 2008/09, approximately 81 5,000 visitors came to Whistler in the winter; 1.
3 million came in the summer The average number of visitors in the resort per day in winter 2008/09 was 12,638 2009 Summer average number of visitors in the resort per day was 12,550 Census age profile suggests largest demographic consists of ages 20-40 Whistler has an average growth rate of 3% Resort Capacity: 35,000 overnight visitors (1 50 hotels, condos, chalets, pensions and bed ; breakfast facilities offering more than 8000 bedrooms.There are also 230 hostel beds ND 118 campsites Target Market Geographic Segmentation With a number of clientele coming in from around the world already, our geographic segmentation in regards to a new marketing plan will consist of the Squamish- Elliott Regional District, Greater Vancouver, and The Fraser Valley. Demographic Segmentation The demographic segmentation will target males and females alike between the ages of 10 and 50 years old from all income classes. Riders of all skill levels Although this can be a dangerous sport, we know children who grow up in this environment are likely to continue riding at Whistler Bike Park.
Cryptographic Segmentation Our consumer cryptographic personality is moderately active, enjoys the outdoors and nature. Behavioral Segmentation The target for behavioral market would be the extreme biking enthusiast. The current bike inventory is medium to high quality compared to the competition. Although we want to acquire all income classes, consumers would range from the low-middle class.
Competitive Analysis The main competition in the Whistler mountain bike industry comes from Summit Sport, a larger more convenient location. Long established business Located steps from the bike parkLarge, higher quality inventory Diversified over winter rentals Early and late season rental discounts Strengths Adam has extensive knowledge and passion for biking. Adam is a world renowned Olympian with an established name in the industry. Dude Taylor is an extremely valued employee to the business and onsite repairman. 100 Sq Feet of unused space. Current inventory of bikes rents at 80% during peak months.
Strong local client base Weaknesses Lack of brand recognition and experience owning a business Long business hours, needs more staff. Small inventory of bikes, 50% are for kids.Seasonal business; no offering for winter sports. Over-dependent on local client base.
Upcoming rent increase. Only rents and repairs bikes (small customer base) Wasted space in current location Opportunities Diversify product offerings (sales, gear rental, tours and winter sports) Whistler Bike festivals and events. Limited competition. (increase market share) New marketing plan (social media and website) Decrease in Canadian dollar Purchase latest bikes (electric) Offer pop-up repair tent on mountain or trails. Shuttle service, on mountain bike return.
** promotional offers** Threats Weather and Natural disasters.New competition. Outdated inventory. Increase in Canadian dollar.
Economy hardship on families. Locals already own equipment. Higher cost of vacation to Whistler. Alternatives Move to a new location Advantages: More room for inventory Higher traffic area/Prime location Can include a full service repair Disadvantages: Cost and Expenses of moving. Higher rent Loss of existing consumer market New Product Offerings New loyal customer base Increase awareness for bike rentals Product offering for all seasons Disadvantages Cost to purchase and maintain new gear Need more employees.Might not attract bikers.
New Advertising Strategy Larger demographic More vacationer business Offer promotion/outline services Cost Might not reach target audience No guarantee people will respond to advertising. Solution Adam Craig, should change his focus on marketing from local free papers to a larger target audience. Currently he spends $5000. 00 per year on this form of advertising and we do not believe the effectiveness is there. Alternative free marketing solutions would provide the same if not a more effective approach to his goals.
Golden Dreams Bike Rental and Repair can use this to reach a much larger geographical rear, to acquire vacationer business, and lifelong customer value. Plan Implementation Over the term of the next 3 months, we will conduct and measure increase in business from the following plan implementation. We will start off in the month of October by scrapping the current $5,000. 00 annual newspaper advertising and implementing an active online approach.
We will focus on Social Media, Backbone, Twitter, and Mainstream. Promotions will be offered to like and share our Backbone page and Customer to Customer contests will help engage customers.A main focus in Whistler is environmental awareness. We will create a Company Responsibility Report to highlight our awareness and commitment to a clean and sustainable Whistler Community.
When a customer engages the business by liking or becoming a Backbone community member, this gives you, the business owner, permission to engage the potential client. A message thanking them and providing them with any information they require, will go a long way to ensure you are their first contact when they plan a trip. As well as social media we will create a company web page, to streamline the process of booking and reserving gear and bikes online.This small change will provide convenience to the customer, creating value, and a positive reputation. These options are quite cost efficient to implement and will allow for funds to be utilized towards sponsorship of events. Given the experiences of Adam Craig as a professional athlete and Olympian, we believe using the remaining funds of our marketing budget should be used towards a sponsorship.
Advertising during a festival such as the Townie Ride, or Crackdown can be beneficial for his business and create a recognizable brand for his company logo.We will measure the progress f the above at the year end on December 31, 2014. By year end we are positive we will see an increase in inquiries, and begin booking bikes earlier in the season. Through our active implementation we will continuously reach out out to prospect clients and consistently send out limited time offers.
