Marketing Plan

Marketing Plan

Introduction

In this assignment, the marketing plan for Burberry has been discussed which aims at covering the long-term plan for five years. The marketing plan explore the current market trends of UK fashion apparel, the customer and competitor analysis and the study of macro environmental forces which supports and enables the industry. Further, the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies for Burberry are discussed. Moreover, the marketing plan and the implementation process are illustrated. Lastly, the control and feedback mechanism for strategy effectiveness measurement is described in detail.

Burberry is one of the iconic brands of Britain and considered as part of UK's heritage. Burberry is 156 years old; trench coats are the famous outwear apparel during the World War I by British soldiers, and for years after that they became part of British culture and an iconic symbol. Burberry has a rich heritage of famous individuals wearing the trench coats (http://www.burberryplc.com). Sir Ernest Shackleton wore during his Antarctic expedition, and many movie legends wore them on the awards and events. Burberry was born with a single product and then entered into diversification.

Analysis

Analyzing the current situation

Market trends

The UK fashion apparel in the industry is undergoing radical shifts resulting from the internationalization process, changing consumer demands, and changes in the strategic plans of fashion apparel companies. The UK fashion apparel industry is considered to be one of the most competitive sectors and has experienced immense growth in its region. The industry is aiming at competitive prices and superior quality, for which the competitors are making strategic plans.

The employment rate however is not much in this sector as the producers aim at low cost manufacturer at offshore locations and the import has been rising due to this. The capability of manufacturing in UK lies ahead, but the youth has to show interest and bring revival towards the production at local levels (Jones, 2000, p.182).

Customer analysis

The customers search for apparel brands from different aspects. Understanding the needs and preferences of the customer is very important to devise the marketing plan. The apparel industry has always designed products which are centred towards the customer requirements. To really understand the customer a good marketer must look from their perspectives, what value customer wants (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008, p.58).

The focus has always been generating the sales but, the apparel industry demands more than that, it is more than selling clothes. Burberry has always kept its customers as the focal point to make decisions. The customer survey and researches are conducted to keep aware about the changing needs and patterns of customers.

The customers of Burberry make the purchase from this iconic brand because they want themselves to be associated with them. The customers not only buy clothes; instead they purchase a social status in the society. The customer feeling of self-esteem and self-actualization is attached with Burberry. The Burberry products are considered to be one of the luxury goods. The data base and the use of technology provide Burberry with information from the customer which gives them the opportunity ...