MARKETING PLAN Jarno Reinikainen - Theseus
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Jarno Reinikainen MARKETING PLAN For a blue light glasses distributor Thesis CENTRIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES Degree Programme May 2021
ABSTRACT Centria University Date Author of Applied Sciences May 2021 Jarno Reinikainen Degree programme Bachelor of Business Administration Name of thesis Marketing plan for a blue light glasses distributor Centria supervisor Pages Annika Sandström 26 The aim of this thesis was to create a streamlined marketing plan, a target market review and identify the most suitable social media platform for a blue light glasses distributor. Blue light can cause eyestrain, dry eye and sleep issues with some people. The blue light glasses or blue light blocking glasses might be the solution for this problem. Blue light glasses are eyeglasses which have crafted lenses to block or filter the blue light to the eyes. A big portion of earth’s population cannot avoid digital screens. Screen time per average digital screen user has been rising. The Covid19 pandemic has directed consumers even more towards online shop- ping, streaming services and to digital screens. Marketing techniques such as the SWOT analysis and marketing mix were presented in this thesis in order to give tools for sales growth. Theoretical framework focuses on marketing mix, market segments and PESTEL analysis. The findings advocate that the blue light glasses distributor should use Instagram as its social media site for its shop feature and young, hip client base. Key words Blue light glasses, BLG, marketing, market segmentation, marketing mix, SWOT, social media, target market
ABSTRACT
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Covid19 and BLG...........................................................................................................................2
2 DEFINITION OF MARKETING CONCEPTS ...............................................................................3
2.1 Business-to-consumer ....................................................................................................................4
2.2 Marketing mix ................................................................................................................................4
2.2.1 Additional 3P’s ......................................................................................................................7
2.3 SWOT ..............................................................................................................................................7
3 MARKET SEGMENTATION .........................................................................................................10
3.1 Demographic .................................................................................................................................10
3.2 Psychographic ...............................................................................................................................10
3.3 Geographic ....................................................................................................................................11
3.4 Behavioural ...................................................................................................................................11
4 PESTLE ANALYSIS .........................................................................................................................13
4.1 Political ..........................................................................................................................................13
4.2 Economic .......................................................................................................................................13
4.3 Social..............................................................................................................................................14
4.4 Technological ................................................................................................................................14
4.5 Legal ..............................................................................................................................................14
4.6 Environmental ..............................................................................................................................15
5 SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND USERS ..............................................................................16
5.1 Facebook .......................................................................................................................................17
5.2 Instagram ......................................................................................................................................17
5.3 Pinterest ........................................................................................................................................18
6 THE SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR BLGD ..................................................................19
6.1 Concrete recommendations .........................................................................................................19
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................ 9
APPENDICES
FIGURES
FIGURE 1. SWOT .................................................................................................................................... 9
PICTURES
PICTURE 1. Example of blue light glasses……………………………………………………………..1
TABLES
TABLE 1. Children and teens electronics use before and during Covid19 ............................................ 2
TABLE 2. Global social networks ranked by number of users 2021. .................................................... 16
TABLE 3. Age of internet users. ............................................................................................................ 17
TABLE 4. Minutes per day on app or site. ............................................................................................. 181 1 INTRODUCTION The aim of the thesis was to give an insight of marketing processes for a blue light glasses distributor (BLGD from now on). The commissioner of the thesis wanted to stay anonymous. The BLGD does not have a corner store and is not planning in opening one amidst Covid19. BLGD does not manufacture the BLG. They bulk order from overseas and resell them. Logos, colours, materials and other aspects of the product are chosen by BLGD. This thesis also gives understanding on some marketing analyses that can be helpful for BLGD. Mar- ket segmentation is covered to see how to utilize marketing funds and to direct the marketing towards the correct place. The thesis includes some social media network analysis to find a suitable platform for BLGD. The BLG are eyeglasses with crafted lenses which block or filter the blue light to the eye. The BLG is a fast growing industry. The market was valued at 41500 Billion US dollars in 2021. It is estimated to reach 56700 Billion US dollars by 2025. That is an unbelievable growth of circa 36%. (RNM 2021.) The growth is understandable for many get tired eyes watching screens and are willing to try an easy solution. The glasses also come in all shapes and sizes just as regular eye- or sunglasses, so there is a pair for everyone as seen in PICTURE 1. PICTURE 1. Example of glasses.
2 There is some competition on the Finnish market and most of the competition are other online shops. None of them have yet taken control of the market. A big Finnish eyeglass franchise, Silmäasema pro- motes their own BLG product called BlueControl. They say it helps to prevent the effects of blue light induced symptoms such as, redness in eyes, dry-eyes, blurry vision, headaches and insomnia. (Silmäasema.) 1.1 Covid19 and BLG The Covid19 pandemic has had a shocking effect on everything around the globe. It has also increased the usage of digital screens and blue light consumption amongst everyday device users. Statistics also show that older generations’ social media and screen time has been growing. TABLE 1. Children and teens electronics use before and during covid19 (Johnson, 2021) Especially children and teens have had an immense growth in consumption. In TABLE 1. we can see children and teens from the United States who spent more than four hours daily using electronics de- vices before and during the coronavirus pandemic according to parents as of June 2020, by age group. This is one of the reasons why BLG market is growing at a fast pace.
3 2 DEFINITION OF MARKETING CONCEPTS Marketing is the basis in getting visibility for a product or a service to a consumer. It is key in offering the customers variable products. No one want’s something they are unaware of. Customer must know of the product before buying it. Marketing consists of variable tools which companies and organisa- tions utilize. Just as J. Westwood said: “Successful marketing involves having the right product availa- ble in the right place at the right time and making sure that the customer is aware of the product”. (Westwood 2002, 7.) The importance of marketing cannot be overstated. Everywhere we go there are advertisements. The trick lies in which advertisement or market campaign gets the customers attention. There are different tools and methods for marketers to utilize. A company naturally wants to get a cer- tain amount of visibility and of course customers through successful marketing.
4 2.1 Business-to-consumer Business-to-consumer (B2C from now on) differs from Business-to-business (B2B from now on) in many ways. B2C is selling a product or service straight to a customer. There is no middleman in be- tween the customer and the business. B2C market is considered emotionally driven and large scale whilst B2B marketing is more rational with a smaller market. This is a generalisation and of course sometimes there is overlap. Digital world has changed the B2C connection. There are five categories in online B2C relations as Will Kenton describes in his post on Investopedia. The first category is direct sellers. The most common model is of course when people buy goods straight from an online seller or retailer. They can be smaller sections from a bigger entity. Secondly the online intermediaries who are the middleman that don’t actually own anything. They might provide a service where you can do your business and book a flight or buy something. The third section is advertising-based B2C. This can be any media site that gets large volumes of traf- fic which they can then promote someone else’s adverts with their own original content. The fourth category is community-based. These are sites that provide a platform for likeminded people or communities to help marketers promote directly to the end customer. The last piece of the puzzle is fee-based. As the name tells, it works on “fee for content” principal. A customer pays to see or use the provided service. There are many different types of fee-based websites and one example of this is a free registration at the beginning, but the content is might be very limited. If the customer wants to see more of the content they have to pay for it. (Kenton 2021.) 2.2 Marketing mix The marketing mix is a popular marketing tool which includes four P’s. It works as a structure for dis- secting the key components of marketing: Product, price, place, promotion. “Think of this process as a
5
big recipe. Into it go all the ingredients that cause customers to buy your product or service over some-
body else’s. The name the package, where you sell it, your warranty – all are part of your recipe for
success”. (Grede 2005, 30-31)
Product
Promot
ion 4Ps Price
Place
TABLE 2.
The four marketing variables or the 4P’s consist of product, price, place and promotion as mentioned
earlier. More in detail as follows. (Blythe 2012, 11-12, 154-157):
• Product being the tangible or intangible item for the customer. It can be a service, experience,
idea or a physical product. A product should meet the customers’ expectations. How is it
branded and how does a customer experience it.
• The second P is Price. A highly important factor in a customers’ buying process. Valuation is a
hard assignment for a business. A business does not want overprice a product because custom-
ers have a habit of checking the price early in the purchase process, thus trying to find a
cheaper product with similar positive benefits. Demand and supply affect different price ranges
in different times.6
• The third P is Place which refers to a physical location, the main point being that the customer
is able to find it easily, it can also refer to a website. Is it viable to attend fairs and other events
that gather people to see your product.
• The fourth P stands for Promotion. Advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales pro-
motion, all communication tools to bring forth the businesses message. It should be targeted to
specific group of customers. When is the correct time to promote your goods? And what do
competitors do? For BLGD, these are important aspects to consider.7
2.2.1 Additional 3P’s
In the early 1980’s three additional P’s were introduced to the original marketing mix by Booms and
Bitner. (Baalbaki 2015.) This was because the original 4P’s suit best for manufacturing and marketing
of physical products. The additional 3P’s reinforced the framework to suit the service industry as well.
The 3P’s include people, process and physical evidence.
• People. This is the human factor. Most services rely on people to perform them. Customer ser-
vice as a main example. If BLGD starts with an online shop, this is not maybe as relevant as
the original 4P’s.
• Process. Mechanisms and procedures by which a service is provided. In a restaurant this can be
seen as the quality of service provided. Upscale restaurant versus a fast-food joint.
• Physical Evidence. In a restaurant this can be the furniture, atmosphere or the waiters. BLGD
has a tangible product, so the way it feels and works is of the upmost importance. The BLG
lose their appeal if the material is not sturdy enough. (Blythe 2012, 12)
In this thesis, the BLGD’s product is tangible so the original 4P framework gives good guidelines in
what to focus on. The author suggests that BLGD practices using the marketing mix. Questions that
can be asked are:
Does the product meet the customers’ needs? (Product).
Can the customers find the product easily? (Place).
Is the product priced correctly to suit the market? (Price).
Is promotion targeted correctly so that customers see BLGD’s ads? (Promotion).
2.3 SWOT
SWOT is a marketing tool created by Albert Humphrey and his team. It helps companies to make strat-
egies, decisions and learn. It also allows to recognize problems or difficulties. It is a very useful tool8 for really analysing the company. The SWOT-letters stand for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is usually visualized as a square as seen in FIGURE 1. The SWOT analysis can be used in many different cases and is extremely helpful for a company to use. The FIGURE 1. explained for BLGD. Strengths: What does the company do well? It can also be many things such as internal resources, bril- liant staff, and intellectual property. Qualities that separate you from your competitors. Weaknesses: Things that other companies do better. Things that need improvement or limitations on resources. Opportunities: Possible trends to take advantage of. It may be a quick change in demand of your prod- uct or for example, few competitors. Threats: New competitors with powerful investors, negative media focus. Strengths and opportunities are helpful in order for a company to reach set goal. Harmful and negative attributes for achieving set goal are weaknesses and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal fac- tors in the company that can be utilized and/or improved. Opportunities and threats are external fac- tors, these are attributes of the environment. If we use the SWOT analysis for BLGD, the strengths as seen are great company values, motivated workforce and up-to-date product. Weaknesses are big com- petitors who are already in the market and slow shipping of product due to Covid19. Opportunities in- clude growth from local market to global market, a “new” and exciting product. Threats are competi- tors and their visibility in social media.
9
Supports achieving goals Harmful for achieving goals
Within the company
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
External forces
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
FIGURE 1. SWOT (adapted from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm).
Strengths and opportunities together create an atmosphere which supports achieving goals. Weak-
nesses and threats combined are harmful for achieving goals. Both strengths and weaknesses come
within the company. Opportunities and threats are external forces which we have little control over.10 3 MARKET SEGMENTATION Market segmentation is an important part of the marketing process. Even if the product is good and the price is cut-throat, but if a company doesn’t have enough customers, they don’t have a business. One of the key determinants of successful marketing is market segmentation. Matching the customers’ wants and needs is fundamental as well as the supplying organization’s ability to satisfy them. (McDonald M., Christopher M., Bass M. 2003, 41-42). The four basic market segmentations are de- mographic, psychographic, geographic and behavioural. The author will give good examples in the fol- lowing: 3.1 Demographic The first segmentation is demographic. It focuses more on trackable non-character features such as: • Age • Ethnicity • Gender • Income • Level of education • Religion • Profession The demographic segmentation gives vast amount of information to a Company. If a company is tar- geting future customers based on income, your marketing budget is not used poorly and can focus on the segment which earns more. The BLGD can for example target luxury glasses to higher educated customers. 3.2 Psychographic
11 Psychographic segmentation is about psychological traits that effect spending habits. It gives company information on who their customer is, what their hobbies are and what kind of values does the cus- tomer keep in high regard. It is about seeing the customer as a being instead of numbers and figures. The customers are defined by their: • Beliefs/Opinions • Hobbies • Lifestyle • Life goals • Personality traits • Values The psychographic segment can be harder to identify than the demographical segment, but if done cor- rectly the target group will feel like the campaign is specifically made for them. The BLGD could try and direct a marketing campaign for active gamers. It would resonate with the hobbies and lifestyle features in the segment. The BLGD can target for example gamers. 3.3 Geographic Geographic segmentation is one of the easiest to identify. You can do this by: • City • Country • Region • Postal code • Climate With the geographical segmentation a company can for example target a group of people in a certain area. A good example of geographical segmentation is a car company that advertises four-wheel drive cars to rough and rural areas. BLG are product that is worn usually indoors. The author suggests to try a targeted ad for people in stormy weather areas. While being inside people tend to start using or watching screen devices, it might boost sales figures. 3.4 Behavioural
12 The most effective segmentations for e-commerce is the behavioural segmentation. A lot of the data can be collected by a company’s own website. Customers in this segment are grouped by: • Browsing habits • Spending habits • Previous product ratings • Brand loyalty • Purchasing habits A company can track if a customer is visiting their website for the first time or the fifth time. By moni- toring this, a personalized message can be sent to the customer. Market segmentation is an effective way to truly maximize your marketing funds’ profitability. Some of the segments are more difficult to implement and some are useless if not implemented properly. An example for this can be a laundry detergent company which uses geographic segmentation to promote their laundry detergent even though everyone, from rural areas to big cities need laundry detergent. (https://www.yieldify.com/blog/types-of-market-segmentation/#psychographic).
13 4 PESTLE ANALYSIS One effective tool used in marketing is the PESTEL or PESTLE analysis. It is a tool usually used when entering a new market or starting a new business. The PESTLE analysis gives information on the external marketing environment. Often the SWOT analysis is then used to analyse the results’ threats and weaknesses. It gives a more in depth result which a company can use for their advantage and for developing company procedures. The PESTLE analysis shortly described for BLGD. The PESTLE analysis stands for: 4.1 Political The political factor is for understanding how the government affects the business or industry. Some of these factors include: • Labour law • Political stability • Environmental law • Tax law • Trade restrictions • Government budgets 4.2 Economic The economic factors understandably have a momentous impact on profitability and how business is done in an organisation. Some of these aspects are: • Exchange rates • Economic growth • Interest rates • Inflation • Price fluctuations • Spending habits These aspects can be dissected into macro- and micro-economic factors.
14 4.3 Social Some of the social factors include: • Age distribution • Population growth • Trends • Per capita income • Family sizes • Lifestyle attitudes • Career attitudes These factors give important information on the local workforce. 4.4 Technological The technological factors affecting a business: • Level of innovation • Automation • R&D activity • Technological awereness • Technological change Technological factors can be implemented in new ways for example how to communicate with target markets or new ways of producing goods and services. 4.5 Legal Some of the legal factors include: • Health and safety • Consumer rights • Product safety • Antitrust laws • Education laws • Data laws
15
Global trading can make this complex, for every country and even some regions have their own laws.
This requires the company to hire skilled lawyers on every country they want to conduct business in.
4.6 Environmental
The environmental factors include:
• Green products
• Weather
• Natural disasters
• Recycling
• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• Renewable energy
Carbon footprint has been a global issue only for the past 15-20 years. Is it better to order in bulk? Is it
better to fly the cargo than to ship it? These are some of the factors BLGD should also take into ac-
count.
https://pestleanalysis.com/pestle-analysis-explained-with-examples/16 5 SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND USERS Social media gathers hundreds of millions of eye pair’s everyday around the world. Users can be somewhat categorized by their age and which social media applications or platforms they use. Hobbies and lifestyles also have a huge role in user geographic. For the BLGD this data is important. The au- thor wanted to get some comparison data on social media platform usage globally. TABLE 2. (H.Tankovska. 2021.) In TABLE 2. We can see the global top 12 social networks ranked by numbers of users. Facebook owns four of the top five social networks. Snapchat holds the 12th position, almost tied with Telegram.
17
5.1 Facebook
Facebook has the largest user amount. Facebook is made to contact old friends or to make new ones. It
is a solid platform which BLGD should also be in on. Solely for the purpose that it is free, they can in-
teract in certain groups with likeminded enthusiasts, and promote their goods. With low to no cost you
can build a good platform on which to communicate with your audience. Growth takes time on Face-
book, but it is a good decision to be on the biggest social media platform.
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Ages 19-29 Ages 30-49 Ages 50-65 Ages 65+
Facebook Instagram Pinterest
TABLE 3. (Khoros, 2021)
The TABLE 3. demonstrates the age of internet users who use Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Fa-
cebook is on a global scale the most popular in every age group. Facebook has an appeal even for the
ages 65+ category.
5.2 Instagram
Facebook owns Instagram, but they have distinct differences on their platforms. Instagram relies on
videos or photos as a conversation tool. It is one of the fastest growing platforms within young audi-
ence. The visual aspect of Instagram is appealing and that is one of the reasons why the platform
works well for visual products.18
It is one of the fastest growing social media platforms. The giveaway is that Instagram has the smallest
amount of users in the ages 65+ category. As seen in TABLE 4. Instagram users tend to spend more
time on Instagram than Pinterest or Facebook.
Minutes per day on app or site
(Pinterest data is per visit on app)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Facebook Instagram Pinterest
TABLE 4. (Khoros, 2021).
5.3 Pinterest
Pinterest is a visual search engine which has made shopping online through social media a piece of
cake. Pinterest users stay for a long time once they open the app or go to the site. 14.2 minutes per
visit, as TABLE 4. shows us. Pinterest was added to the list for it is a social media online shopping
platform.19 6 THE SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR BLGD Social media presence is a must. The author advocates BLGD to create a profile to Instagram, Face- book and Pinterest. Especially Instagram due to its’ users high commitment. The author’s opinion is that the BLGD has a trendy product, which can get visibility in many channels and platforms if done correctly. To ease the selling and marketing process, BLGD would need scien- tific studies on the effects of the BLG. If given good results the marketing side is a breeze. The diffi- cult obstacle is to identify and be seen in the crowd amongst other competitors. It is clear that the three best suited target market groups are enthusiast gamers, office workers and stu- dents due to the high amounts of blue light to their eyeballs. Covid19 has shut down schools and quar- antined many, so laptop is the only way to get studies ahead. By no means does this exclude other tar- get markets. The reason being that screen times are rising and BLG can be directed also for a wider range of customers. Nevertheless the author advocates the use of demographic and psychographic mar- ket segmentations to get marketing even more focused. The author wants to remind the BLGD that the SWOT analysis is a useful tool when analysing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. With the SWOT analysis the company can measure almost anything influenced by internal and external factors. Pinterest was mentioned also because they started the online shopping platform in social media. Users spend on average 14.2minutes on the application when signing in. 6.1 Concrete recommendations The growing consumption of electronics devices promises a bright future for BLGD. The most suitable platform for BLGD is Instagram. It is well known for its visual outlook and Insta- gram is the best platform for clothes and accessories. Instagram also has a shop feature which is a per- fect way to promote and sell BLG. The author also advises BLGD to create an account to Instagram in the company’s name. Start posting pictures of the BLG start following similar accounts and social me- dia influencers.
20 Social media influencer collaborations are usually made to maximize one’s visibility. This is usually done by doing a deal with the influencer, but it might be too costly for a new company so the author suggests BLGD to send free merchandise to influencers and hoping they wear it while taking a picture or making a video. Recognition does not come easy, but with hard work, penetration to the market can be done. Also, contacting Finnish gamers on Twitch, which is the world’s leading live streaming platform for gamers can be hugely beneficial and also broaden BLGD awareness in the gamer community.
21 REFERENCES Blythe, J. 2012. Essentials of Marketing. 5th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Groucutt, J. 2005. Foundation of Marketing. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Grede, Robert 2005. Naked Marketing. The Bare Essentials. Marguette university Press. Westwood, J. 2002. the Marketing Plan A Step-by-Step Guide. Third edition. London. Kogan Page Limited. McDonald M., Christopher M., Bass M. 2003. Market segmentation. In: Marketin. Palgrave, London. W.Kenton. 2021. Business-to-Consumer (B2C). Available at: https://www.in- vestopedia.com/terms/b/btoc.asp Accessed 13.3.2021 S.Thomas. 2020. 4 Types of Market Segmentation With Real World Examples. Available at: https://www.yieldify.com/blog/types-of-market-segmentation/#psychographic Accessed 13.3.2021. Mind Tools content team. SWOT analysis, how to develop a strategy for success. Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.h Accessed 21.3.2021. T. Bush. 2019. PESTLE analysis explained (with examples). Available at: https://pestleanaly- sis.com/pestle-analysis-explained-with-examples/ Accessed 14.4.2021. H.Tankovska. 2021. Global social networks ranked by number of users 2021. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/ Ac- cessed 16.4.2021. Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttö. 2020. Available at: http://www.stat.fi/til/sutivi/2020/sutivi_2020_2020-11-10_tie_001_fi.html Accessed 1.5.2021 2021. The 2021 Social Media Demographics Guide. Available at: https://khoros.com/resources/social- media-demographics-guide Accessed 3.5.2021 Y. Baalbaki. 2015. History of Marketing Mix from the 4P’s to the 7P’s. Available at: https://lib- guides.centria.fi/c.php?g=677248&p=4825665 Accessed 29.5.2021 RNM. 2021 Blue Light Blocking Glasses Market Segmentation by Types, Application, Manufacturers 2021-2026. Available at: https://www.mccourier.com/blue-light-blocking-glasses-market-segmenta- tion-by-types-application-manufacturers-2021-2026/ Accessed 30.5.2021 Sininen valo. Available at: https://www.silmaasema.fi/artikkeli/sininen-valo.html Accessed 30.5.2021
22 J. Johnson. 2021. Children and teens from the United States who spent more than four hours daily us- ing electronics devices before and during the coronavirus pandemic according to parents as of June 2020, by age group. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1189204/us-teens-children- screen-time-daily-coronavirus-before-during/ Accessed 30.5.2021
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