Environmental Analysis in Marketing

Joe Vitullo

Pheven Tesema

Jake Tipka

Dan Trio

Megan Thelen

Marketing Plan 9A: Environmental Analysis

Analyzing Markets

How can the market be described in terms of product, customer need, and geography?

The market in terms of product is luggage/suitcases for the traveling person.

•  According to euromonitor.com, sales of baggage in the past few years has experienced slow single digit growth. While this is not a rapid growth, there is growth. The demand for a suitcase can vary based on the situation. New travelers may need to purchase suitcases, people may need to replace broken or worn down suitcases. Our product provides for those needs of customers, as well as those who want a GPS enabled suitcase.
• The market in terms of geography would be looked at internationally. People from every country travel and would be in need of a suitcase. Specifically, some of the countries with high amounts of travelers are the United States and Canada, Hong Kong and also a large amount in Europe. (traveller.com)

What general demographics, characteristics, needs, behavior, and preferences pertain to this product and category in this market? How are these changing?

• General Demographics: Our product is hoping to reach anyone and everyone that has a need for a protective GPS oriented suitcase. Frequent flyers may get more use out of our product due to spending more time on planes, which calls for a higher risk of something happening or getting lost. People above the age of 30 are traveling more at their own leisure, as well as taking more trips per year, averaging more than three (Groups Today, 2016)
• Needs: With the increase since 2014 of individuals choosing air travel, the need for a suitcase that protects their belonging while in flight, or with their checked luggage that goes beneath the plane is higher than ever (Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2015). In 2015, CNN released an article about baggage handlers stealing from suitcases, they were caught on camera. That is not always the case though that people are lucky enough where the perpetrator is caught on camera. Many times, Transportation Security Administration(TSA) gets stuck with paying the passenger for the stolen item. Between 2010, and 2015 TSA paid over three million dollars to passengers for claims of lost/stolen items. The market is changing in the fact that people need higher protection while traveling. A customer should feel comfortable enough to get on the plane and know that nothing will happen to their bag (USA Today, 2015).
• Behavior: The behaviors of those who would be wanting to purchase our product are those who are sick and fed up with having to deal with luggage issues. When one is traveling the last thing you want to have to worry about is your luggage getting from point A to point B. Our product could lower the amount of individuals with lost luggage due to them being able to know where their belongings are at every moment they have their app open.
• Preferences: Passengers would be able to have options to choose from the beginning with Case-Tracker. People want options, and most importantly they want to have a sense of belonging. They want to know what is theirs and what is not. With the options to customize their luggage, they would have that option of personalization. Individuals also prefer to have to do the very least when it comes to an issue. For the Case-Tracker, if the passenger is unsure where it is, all they need to do is open their app, and they will be able to see the specific location. This saves not only time for the passenger, but it also in the end saves claims from being filed for TSA.

What is the market share of your product and what sources can you use to monitor share? How is your share changing compared with the share of each competitor?

• Market share is a key measure of competitiveness. However, our firm is wary of making decisions based on how they will affect our own market share, or that of competitors.
• Unit market share measures the percentage of units sold by our company compared to total units sold in the market, while revenue market share measures the revenue of a company compared to total revenue in the market.

• Unit market share: The units sold by our company as a percentage of total market sales, measured in the same units.

• Unit market share (%) = 100 * Unit sales(150) / Total Market Unit Sales(1,000)

• Total Unit market share (%) = 15%

• Market share is not a perfect proxy of market dominance, as the influences of customers, suppliers, competitors in related industries, and government regulations must be taken into account when assessing market dominance (none of which are considered in the measurement of market share).
• Case-Tracker has a current market share that represents a lessened value when compared to our top 3 main competitors because the overall durations which our product offering has been present in the market is shorter and therefore has time to increase as our products and company acquires a stronger customer base or builds lasting rapport with existing customers who spread business to future clients.

How can you use your marketing plan to make the most of opportunities and to minimize threats stemming from the market’s characteristics and your market share?

• The key sections in our market plan is the SWOT Analysis. In the analysis the primary opportunities and threats are outlined. The evidence gathered shows the customers needs, and which is quality affordability, and design. From this information we can make our product design, packaging, and cost appropriate to fit the market. Additionally, we have studied what our competitors lack, which is a balance of quality and cost. Therefore, we should make these two aspects a priority when launching the Case-Tracker.  
• A threat in the market stem from our competitors. There are other “smart suitcases” who have developed a similar product, but with more amenities. It is important we take time to continuously study the growth of their market, to evaluate ways to improve our product.  
• Another component of our marketing analysis is the Macro Environmental Analysis of the Case-Tracker. In our market research we analyzed the demand of our product, the demographics of the market, and growth. Based on our research we found that travelers and luggage sales have increased. Additionally, we found the market’s adaptability to a new tech gadget such as the Case-Tracker was high. Millennials are a good target market, and open opportunities for the Case-Tracker. It’s important our advertisement appeals to them and their needs of It was also found airport luggage security has increased might minimize the need for a gadget like the Case-Tracker. This is threat to our market, as it could result in the depreciation of sales. However, it could also be an opportunity for a potential sponsorship. As airports are trying to increase their airport security, Case-Tracker could partner with an airlines carrier to promote the use of the Case-Tracker.

Understanding Consumers and Business Customers

What customer needs can your offering profitably satisfy?

• The needs that our product can satisfy with creating profitably is putting minds at ease. We are hoping to achieve this by having our product connected with an app they can carry on their smartphone, and a GPS connection chip in the luggage piece of their choosing. Another area that will create profitability is simplicity of our items. One can have the whole exciting package, or choose to have a simple piece of luggage that will have a location attachment at all times. Carrying good customer service with our business will also grow Case-Tracker’s popularity. It is a goal to satisfy all the needs of the customer, and we can only achieve this if we continue to have good customer service.

How do customers perceive the value of competing offerings relative to yours?

• There are multiple things that customers think about when they perceive the value of different products. The first and most obvious one is price. When a potential customer looks at a new product, one of the first things they will see is the price tag. Other competitors in the same market as Case-Tracker include Raden and Bluesmart, and they charge significantly more for a similar product. In this sense, customers will perceive our competitors as having less value than Case-Tracker.
•  Another way that customers perceive value is quality. For a product like Case-Tracker, that means the quality of materials and craftsmanship. Case-Tracker only builds suitcases with the best quality of material and excellent craftsmanship. Our competitors do not use as nice of materials, and do not build their products as well. Customers recognize this and they perceive our products as having better quality.
• One more way that customers see quality is the durability of the suitcases. When a customer buys a product like a suitcase, they expect it to last for a long time. Whether or not that will happen depends on the quality of the suitcase. As mentioned earlier, Case-Tracker is built from the best materials, which means it will last the longest, and customers appreciate the value of longevity.

Who are the customers in each market, what are their buying patterns, and what influences their needs and behavior?

• Customers: The customers are travelers of all ages. This could be anyone from a child travelling with their family to a senior citizen travelling. This market can extend to a wide variety of people internationally.
• Buying patterns: According to Forbes (2016), we are now at a time where a majority of people prefer to buy products online. This purchasing behavior can be reflected by selling our brand on our company website. This would keep up with the buying patterns of most people, and allows them to have our product shipped directly to their door.
• Influences: Their needs and behavior are based on the previous condition of their suitcase, or if they currently do not own one. It is also influenced if they are willing to upgrade their suitcase to one that has GPS tracking capabilities.

For business customers, who is involved in the buying decision and what does each person need to know during the buying process?