Research Case Study Report

18

Research Case Study Report

MARKETING

Table of contents

Introduction 3

Analyse the market for a service of product………………….…………………...... 3-7

Importance of creativity and initiative ………..…………………….………………...7-8

Critically assess and evaluate the Marketing Plan………………..………………..8

Analysis of TOMS marketing plan………………………………………….…….….9-10

Financial, social and political issue………………………………………...... 10-11

Commercial awareness of product/service provision……………………….…….….12

Market trends and analyses ……………………………………………………...... 12-15

4P Analysis………………………………………………………………………...…15-16

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….17

References……………………………………………………………………...…18

Introduction

TOMS

TOMS Shoes is a Social Enterprise founded in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie. After a time travelling in Buenos Aires, Argentina; he notices a big number of children growing up and living barefoot in the street, so he decided to take action creating this enterprise with the goal of donating a pair of shoes for each pair bought through their company.

Even though that the company started as a simple idea of helping the kids all over the world, the project evolved into a powerful business model that helps address need and advance health, education and economic opportunity and their communities around the world (TOMS – About TOMS).

Analyse the market for a service of product;

Now days TOMS is a company that help people all over the world on different aspects and levels:

Ø  Shoes for Tomorrow: Since 2006, for any purchases of Shoes, TOMS Shoes helps that the population of countries with mayor scarce resources to have shoes on their feet. Helping the growing of quality life, health, education and economics.

Ø  The Gift of Sight: Since 2011, for any purchases of Eyewear, TOMS Eyewear helps restore the sight of over 400.000 people in need, providing medical treatment, eyes surgery or prescription glasses. Creating jobs in the health area for the local population.

Ø  Clean Water: Since 2014, for any purchases of Coffee, TOMS Roasted Co. helps provide clean water over 6 countries. By creating sustainable water systems, TOMS help to improved health, economic productivity, job creation and education.

Ø  Safer Birth: Since 2015, for any purchases of Bag, TOMS Bag Collection has help over 25.000 mothers around the world, training attends and distributing birth kits with items that help them at the childbirth. Improving the health of this woman and child.

Ø  Stop Bulling: Since 2015, for any purchases of School Bag, TOMS High Road Pack, helps training school staff and counsellors to help prevent and solve instances of bullying. Affecting on the education and social behaviour of school kids.

On the Figure 1.1 you can observe an example of the items that could be purchases on the website and that make you a part of the change that this company wants to do on the world, with their mission of One for One. TOMS clearly follow a Sustainability Development, affecting several countries on an economic, sociocultural and Environment Aspect.

Figure 1.1: Items of TOMS

TOMS demonstrate to be an enterprise focus on their values, which are improving life through business, taking care of the social and environment impact that their products and operations had. They know and accomplish what the market and costumers look up in their organization: Products made with sustainable and vegan materials, TOMS take this task very seriously managing and overseeing that the suppliers proven a statement that the materials incorporated on their products are upheld to corporate responsibility standards of the company.

When TOMS start, there weren’t too many companies like them, but they are proud of serve as a leader in this area and encourage other like-minded companies to follow a similar path. Following the standards of a Social Enterprise, as it says in TOMS – Social Enterprise:

Ø  Provide income opportunities for people living in developing countries.

Ø  Have a double bottom line and reinvest income from sales into the business of improving.

Ø  Can be expanded or replicated to included additional products of communities.

TOMS are basically focus into two markets, the one that their products are helping and the one who purchasing those products are helping through their business plan “One for One”.

Now days TOMS work over 70 countries around the world and with more than 90 Giving Partners, helping over 70 million people across the six continents, as you can observe on Figure 1.2.

Ø  Thanks to TOMS over 2 million children around the world have been medicated against disses like hookworm, Podoconiosis, Jiggers or Tetanus and given shoes by Giving Partners.

Ø  There has been a 42% increase in maternal health and childbirth procedures.

Ø  Increases in Student Enrolment around the world, thanks to shoes giving as they are often required for school attendance.

Ø  More than 700 jobs created thanks to the Giving Shoe project.

Ø  Over 20 social enterprises founded with start-up funds by TOMS.

Ø  100% of sustainable sourced coffee.

Figure 1.2: Where TOMS and Giving, Partners give.

Source: TOMS – Giving Report, 2013, pages. 14-15

The market that TOMS reaches to purchase their products is a market focus on helping the community, it can be being part of the TOMS company as an internship or volunteer, or through people that just want to buy ones of their products not only because of the quality of it but for the meaning of helping someone around the world in undeveloped conditions.

When Mycoskie started the company on 2006, he thought that although he had an innovative idea with a excellent value, the market will not be prepared for his product because of the strong competition that it had. TOMS should compete against big brands like Nike, Adidas, Rebook and others, so when he launches the first brunch of shoes to sell online with this additional value, by the end of the day they had sold 22000 pairs of shoes overcoming the 250 pair that they had on store, starting the mass production and growing of TOMS as is known days.

To increase their market TOMS have done an emotional marketing strategy, creating an effective advertising campaign that engaged 3.5 million people in one day (Marketing Week – 2016). TOMS created an annual event called “One Day Without Shoes” (ODWS), an initiative that awareness the public the problem they are fighting. Using Social Media, such as Instagram, they spread the campaign and for any person that uploads a picture barefoot with the hashtag #WithoutShoes, TOMS also donate a pair of Shoes to Child in Need. An idea made to generate awareness to the costumers and generate engagement and connections with them.

Finally, even that TOMS is a Social Enterprises focusing in doing good, for some economics and members of the International Development community, a business-like TOMS is a problem to society more than a solution. They said that a company like TOMS is made to make western consumers feel good more than helping the community, basically by the fact that TOMS isn’t designed to build economies of developing countries. They didn’t ask for what is most needed by the villagers or an expert opinion, and usually western charities affects local business creating an entirely unsustainable aid-based economy, doing unintentionally more harm than good. (Co. exist - 2012).

Creativity and initiatives undertaken to develop a competitive social enterprise, are important aspects of building social responsibility in a commercial organization. This helps a company like TOMS utilize resources to not only create business utility and value but also ensure social value (Gil Estallo, M. D. A, Finer de-la Fuente, F, & Griful-Miquela, C, 2007). This provides long term growth and better social development for a society through a commercial organization.

Importance of creativity and initiative to develop a competitive social enterprise

It is important for a corporate firm like TOMS to participate in social development and creative initiatives can help the firm achieve its social goals without diverting from its corporate goals (Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R., 2003). Corporate social responsibility is a concept that indicates that a business or a corporate firm is required to be responsible and act responsibly towards the society.

It is extremely essential for present day firms to ensure that they adopt CSR in their endeavours to make society sustainable. Welfare strategies form important aspects of creating long term sustainability in the society and so the usage of an appropriate level of creativity and out of the box thinking is essential in forming a competitive social enterprise. This can help benefit the society in the long run in an effective manner (Berkhout, T, 2005).

Critically assess and evaluate the Marketing Plan;

American Traveler Blake Mycoskie has started this organization to assist the children in need in Argentina. The company dedicated to the policy of one to one. For every pair of shoes purchased online from TOMS there will be one free pair given for the sake of the children in need. The founder of the company is highly influenced by the ill effects of the soil transmitted diseases to the poor children like Mossy Foot.

The prevention for the disease to avoid the contact with contaminated soil using shoes. The customers of TOMS shoes will get a unique opportunity to serve the community. With every stylish and good looking aesthetic shoe the person purchases, he will also get a free pair to provide to the poor which will add up to the moral satisfaction of the purchaser.

TOMS in his continuous attempt to cater the needs of the organization has worked out to create a vast collection of the shoes, there are number of simple, comfy, trendy and stylish eyewear as well as shoes prepared by the company. Also, the company has developed in the course of time good relationship with consumers and by listening to their needs and interests developed a large collection of the styles and the textures for number of shoes and other costumes. TOMS will meet the customer product requirements as well will provide them an opportunity for social service (Marquis, 2014).

Analysis of TOMS marketing plan:

Positive points:

The core products of TOMS are only the shoes and the eyewear. The company is very much committed to these limited product and instead of breadth, organization is more focused on the depth. It is highly committed to make a number of products within these two categories. Hence it provided more opportunity for the company to explore in-depth collection of the styles and the features for its core product stream. Hence any customer who need such product will purchase the same without hesitation. There is good brand recognition and appreciation for the company. One to one is highly recognized world- wide and there is good social media foot hold as well for the company (Puia, 2012).

Weaknesses or negative points:

There are claims that the quality and the protection of the shoes is ineffective. There are also opinions that the false positivity is being sold by the organization. There is also customer opinion that rather than purchasing the shoes from TOMS, it might be more impactive to serve directly to a charitable organization for a social cause.

Scope for improvement of the marketing plan of the company:

At present comparatively speaking the product range of the company are quite affordable. The company is catering the needs of the young people however there is ample opportunity to cover the older audience as well with its product range. Also, the marketing of the products is not very popular in the global scenario, the company has good opportunity to expand its market to the international marketing arena as well. It is a good opportunity for the organization to increase its product range and similar social responsibility initiatives can be implemented for the sake of meeting its social mission.

Threats to the marketing plan of the company:

There are some remarks that the organization functionality is biased with religious commitments (Gillespie, 2012). There are also disadvantages for the company that its presence in Television is limited and there is need for the organization to expand further in its advertising channels to improve its marketability. There are several competitors to TOMS like Converse, Birkenstock, Rocket Dog, Vans and UGGs. All of them are equally good in the collection of the styles and the textures like TOMS.

However, the TOMS do not use the advertisement channels like its competitors, mostly it depends on the word of mouth and hence it can be a threat for the company on long run. Outreach to customers is needed for survival and advertising can be mandatory requirement for TOMS.

Other implications:

TOMS marketing plan is unconventional and is totally different from the existing trends of other shoes in the market. The company is quite committed for the philanthropic mission and every customer will be provided with a quality shoe as well will provide a mission of social responsibility. Every customer will receive a culture and lifestyle along with the purchase of TOM’s shoes. The strategy is quite creative and totally untraditional.

Financial, social and political issue which may impact on marketing plan;

Financial

TOMS is committed to produce at least one third of its production in the region where the products are given. This means improvement not only by the donations, but by the stimulation of the local industry, creating jobs and ensuring more everlasting benefits. The downside of this and a possible financial impact on marketing is the dependency of good partners and their financial health. Most the targets of the company are people in developing countries, and those are more volatile and vulnerable to changes of government and financial crisis, and the partners stationed in these countries could be greatly affected by this. Should a partner cannot deliver or a product or a service due to financial problems or do it poorly, it is the name of TOMS which will be tarnished, damaging the brand. And it is much easier to damage a brand than to build or to fix one.

Social

A possible social issue that could impact the marketing plan is derived from an economic problem. Why a person would buy a shoe if he could just wait for a truck of TOMS loaded with them to get one for free? What damage could bring to a local producer (which are not a TOMS partner) when trucks and more trucks (that do not come all the time) show up to compete with? The local populace would be forever dependant of the donations of TOMS, and should they not occur the local business would not be able to correspond with the demand, affecting TOMS in the process. That and the admonishment of TOMS brand by local producers could affect negatively the marketing plan. Director of PovertyCure and a person who has deep knowledge in poverty, Michael Matheson Miller says “When you give away something free, you’re giving away a band aid. You’re not addressing deeper causes [of poverty] and you may be inhibiting long-term solutions”. The one-for-one model is not so simple and could bring more harm than good in the long term.