Communication has been an integral part of the marketing strategies of most of the organizations. The marketing mix and the marketing communication mix elements help an organization in formulating strategies to get success in the competitive market (Baker 2014). Marketing strategies take into accounts the various elements of marketing like product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical environment and the various micro as well as macro-environmental factors for getting an insight into the overall competitive market. The report takes into consideration the marketing communication strategies of a fitness center named Pure Gym for its expansion strategies.
Pure Gym can take the marketing orientation approach by taking into consideration the components of marketing mix and the marketing communication mix. The components of marketing mix are product, price, place and promotion (Khan 2014). The components of marketing communication mix are advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling and direct marketing. The components of marketing mix shall help the company in analyzing about the services they are providing, the cost of the fitness service for the customers, the distribution of the centers across UK for the benefit of the customers and the communication of the values of the service to the customers that Pure Gym is providing for years. The components of the marketing communication mix shall help Pure Gym in understanding about the ways through which the customers can be communicated about the values of the services of the gym so that brand awareness is created in the minds of the customers.
Market environment analysis
The analysis of the market environment is very crucial for an organization as it helps to understand the internal as well as external environment of the organization (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). Internal environment is the existing environment within the organization that takes into accounts its strengths and weaknesses (Rice 2013). External environment is the one that exists outside the organization and consists of uncontrollable factors. The opportunities as well as the threats of an organization are considered as external factors for market analysis (Li et al. 2014). It helps to understand the external forces that can impact the success of the firm. The PESTLE analysis that consists of six important factors namely political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental help to understand the external environment of the organization (Boraty?ska 2016).
Pure Gym needs to make a market environment analysis before setting any marketing strategy as it can give the company an economic overview about the present fitness market and where it is heading in the future. It may also give a projection about the fitness industry within any particular region and the degree of competitiveness that the industry has.
Two macro environmental factors that can have immense impact on the marketing decisions of the company are the demographic factors and the social and cultural factors. Social and cultural dimensions of the macro environment include the customs, values and lifestyles of the customers in the area where the firm will be working (Armstrong 2015). It defines the ability of the organization to obtain different resources, manufacturing of the goods and creation of services and operate in the society. Any changes in the beliefs of the customers have impacts on their purchasing behavior (Hsu 2014). Demographics on the other hand, take into account the changes in population in the cities and suburbs as the demand for a product or service changes accordingly (Mullin, Hardy and Sutton 2014).
The demographic factors may help Pure Gym in assessing the changes in the population of particular areas of UK where it will be setting up new centers and formulate marketing strategies accordingly. This would create new opportunities for them to attract more customers. Socio-cultural factors help in understanding the beliefs and behaviors of the customers towards fitness and it can plan their marketing communication strategies on that basis which can be a good opportunity for the companies. These two factors can create opportunities for Pure Gym where it is trying to establish new fitness centers.
Two micro environmental factors that Pure Gym should monitor on a regular basis are the customers of the gym and the competitors within the industry. Customers form the most important part of any business whether it is for business-to-business or business-to-customer (Reim, Parida and Örtqvist 2015). The plan of Pure Gym should be such that it can retain customers and create new customers in the new areas where it will be setting up the centers through meeting of their needs and wants. The service of Pure Gym should be excellent in the midst of intense competition in the UK fitness market. Marketing campaigns should be made based on the types of the customers. The customers in the fitness industry can be divided into business customers and city customers. The other factor is the competition in the fitness industry that Pure Gym needs to access. The presence of many competitors in any industry defines the huge demand of the product or service in that industry. Pure Gym should be able to understand the number of competitors in the fitness industry in UK and regularly keep watch on their strategies to attract customers.
Two internal environmental factors that act as the strengths for Pure Gym are the finance and budgeting and the product development of the instruments of fitness. The Gym has introduced new instruments for fitness which most of the fitness centers are lacking. This has been the most advantageous factor for them in terms of competition. It has planned to introduce more advanced instruments for the fitness centers in the new areas. Product development helps in attracting more new customers and increases the customer base for a particular organization (Peppers and Rogers 2016). Finance and budgeting is another significant factor for the proper functioning for a business (Dudin et al. 2015). Budgeting depends on the area where the fitness center is located and the instruments that are being bought for the center. Pure Gym has become very popular all over UK because of its services and huge investment has been the primary reason for this success. The company has been able to reduce the overhead costs to keep increasing the profit margins. The expansion strategy of Pure Gym is because of this increased revenue and profit.
Market segmentation
Market segmentation is an important strategy for effective marketing plan. It helps to understand the needs and desires of the customers in a particular region (Serrat 2017). The segmentation of the entire market and the derived target market form the basis of determining any marketing mix for any company. This strategy is important as in most of the cases; the buyers of a particular product or service are not homogeneous. Every individual customer has specific needs, behaviors and preferences and it becomes difficult for the companies to cater for the individual characteristics of the customers. The companies face difficulties in increasing the prices of products for the entire market which segmentation helps.
The variations in price are always based on the segments of a market. Pure Gym will be able to attract more customers and effectively utilize the marketing mix through proper market segmentation strategies that will help to understand the preferences of the customers towards fitness. Market segmentation may also help Pure Gym to create sustainable customer relationships throughout the phases of the customer life cycle. Attracting additional customer groups can be another advantage which Pure Gym can enjoy through the segmentation strategy.
7Ps of marketing
The present marketing mix of Pure Gym has been discussed below.
Pure Gym is having flexible hours for the customers of all ages including, men, women and youths. The gym is having no long term commitment for the customers. It is having variations in the memberships including Black Card and White Card. The service is excellent and is having personal trainers for everyone. The facilities are very simple and customers do not have any problems in the fitness centers. There are separate locker rooms for everyone. The overall service of Pure Gym is very good.
The cost of membership on monthly basis is very low compared to the service it is providing than that of the competitors. It does not take any start up fees for membership of Black Card. The center has made huge investment and bought many new and advanced types of equipment for its existing centers.
Pure Gym is located in 177 areas presently and helps customers to access them without any inconvenience. The centers are located in the cities as well as in the suburbs of UK to attract more customers. It is planning to expand and increase its reach for the customers and create new customer base.
Pure Gym has been utilizing the marketing communication mix very efficiently over the years to attract more customers. It has promoted its brand through radio and television advertising. The local radio stations give free memberships to those who win different competitions. It uses the social media as an important platform for promotion of its services.
The people of Pure Gym include the director, the human resources at the front desk and the trainers who are working relentlessly to make the customers happy and satisfied with their service. The trainers give special attention to the new comers at the fitness centers and the front desk officials help them in making the registration processes easier.
The processes that are being followed in all the fitness centers of Pure Gym are very good and customers are also very satisfied with them. They do not have to take much pain about the registration fees and the other processes that are followed like monthly subscription is done through online.
The physical environment inside the fitness centers is very nice and people helping each other in any discrepancies. The centers are very clean and the equipments are regularly maintained to keep them well.
Product/Service
Based on the new target market, new equipments will be introduced in the new centers so that more youths and the children can be attracted. The new generation always wants new and advanced equipment for their fitness and this can be a good opportunity to attract them. Lot of membership cards will be distributed to the children at a relatively low cost than the current price. Pure Gym will be providing free visit pass for the first five customers who will get their names registered.
The price of the new memberships will be reduced to attract more young customers in the fitness centers. Various other facilities will be provided along with waiving of the prices like children below 15 will be provided free yoga classes twice in a week. Member referral programs will also be there where the customers who will refer others will get monetary benefits from Pure Gym.
New centers will be set up in many areas of UK so that the young generation gets motivated to go to the fitness centers and avail them with ease. The centers will be set up in the cities more than that of the suburbs. The six centers will be set up in the areas where there are no fitness centers all around so that lot of people can access their service.
Pure Gym will be planning to utilize the 360 degree marketing strategies for the promotional activities. It will increase ads in the different social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram where most of the users are the young generation. Free leaflets will be distributed stating that discounts will be provided to customers in the age bracket of 13 to 25. Television and radio ads will also be there. It can also invest in a new website to attract the attention of the customers.
More trainers will be inducted in the fitness centers as most of the young people and children will be the new comers. The registration fees will also be reduced for them. Yoga trainers will be appointed for the youths in the new centers.
The process should be such that the parents of the children do not have to face any difficulties regarding the registration. There should be facilities of offline registration apart from the online registration system as many parents are not so much accustomed with the social media.
More advanced and new equipment will be introduced in the new centers for the youths. There can be facilities of music systems for them. The physical environment includes innovative ways through which a youth can be attracted in Pure Gym.
The revised marketing mix of Pure Gym gives an indication that it is trying to attract the youths through its new services and value proposition. New systems of registration have been introduced and the parents are given more flexibility and liberty to take their children to the fitness centers. Pure Gym also has the option to make a survey of the exit members in the future. It has planned to utilize the social media more than before and waive the prices of the new comers in the new centers.
Conclusion
The report has inferred the importance of marketing communication for the success of an organization. The internal as well as external environmental analysis helps a company in formulating strategies accordingly. The components of marketing mix and the marketing communication mix help an organization to attract customers and create customer base. Market segmentation helps in identifying the target market very well so that a company is able to promote its products efficiently. The importance of the various elements of marketing has been discussed in the report.
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