Objectives
An objective is where the business wants to go in the future, its goals. It is a statement of purpose. Business organisations are established for the purpose of achieving specific objectives and it is against these objectives that the success or failure of the organisation can be judged. In order to be successful, objectives should always be quantifiable, measurable and time specific, e.g., ‘we aim to increase profits by 6% by February 2009’. This is needed to bring about a consistent approach and ensure that all people within a workforce are all heading in the same direction.
When a sole trader sets up they may have some unstated aims or objectives, for example to survive for the first year, despite it being unstated, it is still a business objective. Other businesses, plc’s or larger more established businesses may wish to state exactly what they are aiming to do, such as Amazon, the Internet CD and bookseller, who wants to “make history and have fun”, this is not a monetary aim but it is still an objective for the business.
SMART business objectives
All businesses need to set objectives for themselves or for the products or services they are launching. What does your company, product or service hope to achieve? Setting objectives are important. it focuses the company on specific aims over a period of time and can motivate staff to meet the objectives set.
A simple acronym used to set objectives is called SMART objectives, SMART stands for:
Specific – Objectives should specify what they want to achieve.
Measurable – You should be able to measure whether you are meeting the objectives.
Achievable - Are the objectives you set, achievable and attainable?
Realistic – Can you realistically achieve the objectives with the resources you have?
Time – When do you want to achieve the set objectives?
This tells me that SunCity should always set objectives that are ‘specific’, ‘measurable’, ‘achievable’, ‘realistic’, and have a time goal.
Marketing Objectives
Objectives of a business are obtained through the planning and co-ordination of its functional activities. Each functional area of a business will have its own set of objectives which for marketing, are usually based on sales. Specific targets are usually set so that performance can be measured, targets also serve to motivate individuals in the organisation.
An example of marketing objectives,
If you own a speciality store and your objective is to broaden your target market to include homeowners in a new development in your neighbourhood, your promotional plans might include giving discount coupons and "welcome wagon" gift packages of sample-sized goods to the realtors selling the properties to give to the new homeowners. You might also use a direct-mail campaign targeting the zip code of the new development, and host an annual Open House celebration to welcome the neighbourhood newcomers.
Marketing objectives in any particular year would typically include some or all of the following:
* Sales revenue
* Unit sales
* Profit
* Market share
* Rate of growth
* Market penetration
* Quality assurance
Also, different types of business have different business objectives, for example a businesses in the private sector are different as a private business who’s main objective is to make a profit will want to make as much money as possible, whereas a company in the public sector, their main objective will to provide a good service, all their profit would be reinvested back into the business to maintain a good service. Most of these will get money from the government etc aswell as they are to benefit the public rather than private consumers.
Budgets
A budget is a financial or quantitative statement relating to the use of resources to achieve specific objectives or targets of the business for the coming financial year, It would include a summary of intended expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them, in other words it is a financial plan or forecast of income and expenditure. A budget will often break down the revenue and expenditure sections into many detailed categories. The business will decide how much money will go to the personnel department in January, how much will be spent on research and development in June, etc. Budgets are forecasts - they attempt to consider what the future might bring. Managers must think carefully when making budgets or their predictions will be unrealistic and meaningless.
This research tells me that suncity should be aware of their budget and should be allocating different amounts to different areas of their business,
(e.g., 20% to promotion, !7% to HR, etc) depending on the usinesses priorities.
The purpose of a budget
Budgeting mainly takes place in order to help maximise performance in relation to objectives. Budgetind helps many parts of the business in many ways, e.g., budgets help to control income and expenditure, for example planning a budget according to the amount of income you will have, this will ensure you do not spend or intend to spend more than you can actually afford. Budgeting also helps to set clear targets and ensures resources are used in the most efficient way by letting everybody in the company know that they have only have a certain amount of money to spend and will only be given resources that are absolutely necessary ti saves money and can also make things more efficient on the whole. Budgeting also allows delegation without loss of control, ie responsibility for spending money can be placed in the hands of front line managers who are in a better position to know how to spend it. Thus freeing senior management to do other things. It may speed up decision making and aid middle management motivation, if given freedom to act within the budget, as well as provide a sense of achievement if targeted figures actually met. and finally budgets can help provide overall direction, co-ordination and control. As organisations grow, control and co-ordination become much more difficult. Budgets help to ensure everyone is working towards a common goal.
on the other hand however, there are some bad points relating to budgets. Budgeting is a good way to motivate workers as they have a clear goal to achieve, however overspending and unattainment of the goals set can lead to demotivation of workers and this can be very bad for the business as demotivated workers means a less efficient workforce. In some volatile markets where income can severly vvary from month to month and there is no common trend to follow it can be very difficult to set realistic budgets and business may in fact be in a position where the amount of money delegated to each department to spend is actually more money than the income can allow, causing problems and conflict between managers and employees, and departments.
There are many different types of budget also, these include zero budgeting, sales budgeting, historic budgeting, and production budgeting. The type of budget a business chooses is also very important. The most common type of budget a company chooses is often zero budgeting, this is where all departments budgets are seto to zero, and demands each department when setting their budget to justify every penny they ask for. This is favoured by business as it stops budgets ‘creeping up’ each year. The disadvantages of this method are:
- great amounts of time are spent justifying each penny , this time could perhaps be used more effectively elsewhere.
- Some managers try and justify for more money so thay end up with more than is necessary, taking money away from other departments.
The advantages are:
- it helps to identify the departments which are no longer in need of a large budget, this can release funds elsewhere in the organisation.
- This method can work well in cutting the cost base of an organisation. This is very helpful in times of recession etc.
This section of my secondary research shows me that SunCity should have a budget, and should be budgeting according to one of the budgeting methods mentioned above. SunCity should be fully aware of their budget and what money goes where.
Marketing budget
A marketing budget will detail the costs involved in implementing promotion and advertising methods set. Businesses need to estimate how much it will cost for each ad to run in magazines, newsletters, online, etc.; what your market research costs will be; how much it will cost to attend trade shows as a vendor; what the printing charges will be for brochures, flyers, business cards, etc.
This shows me that SunCity should think about their methods of promotion and after working out how much their promotion will cost, provide an adequate budget for this protion.
Market Research
Businesses need information – information about customer wants, market demand, competition, distribution channels etc. This information needs to be updated regularly because businesses operate in a dynamic environment. Central to any successful marketing strategy is an understanding of your customers and their needs, market research allows this information to be gathered, it also includes processing and interpreting the information which will, in turn be the basis of decisions for products and services made available by a business.
Research can also be qualitative and quantitative, quantitative means that some of the information is numerical and can be easily analysed by putting into graphs, whereas qualitative takes much longer to interpret and analyse as, for example a question on a customer questionnaire could be an open question and could have millions of different answers which all have to be processed individually and analysed separately.
This section tells me that SunCity should be carrying out regular market research, on both existing customers and potential customers to find out what they want and finding out about current trends etc.
Purpose of market research
Market research is very important to a business, customers are the most important things to a business regardless of what it is they do or sell or offer, with out knowing certain things about the customers, businesses will not be successful.
Market research allows the following things to the company:
* Gain a more detailed understanding of consumers’ needs.
* Reduce the risk of product/business failure.
* Forecast future trends
Each of these three things are very important to a business and market research allows them to find things out which will benefit them greatly.
This section tells me that SunCity should be carrying out regular market research, on both existing customers and potential customers to find out what they want and finding out about current and future trends etc.
Primary research
Primary market research offers the benefit of direct contact, through a survey or interview, with certain markets and/or customer groups. This type of research can be tailored to meet the needs of an organization and provide specific and detailed information. However, this method is time-consuming and expensive.
The main techniques used for primary research consist of:
- Questionnaires- these can be given to customers, potential customers, staff etc. they will contain mainly closed questions so that they are easily analysed and processed quickly, they are good at finding the numbers of people who do a certain thing, or what people think by asking questions with answers that include “agree, disagree, strongly agree/disagree” etc.
- Interviews – these take a long time, you, and the interviewee have to have time available to take the interview. Results take a long time to analyse and the interview may be recorded on Dictaphone followed by a transcript etc.
- Observation - observation is when you basically watch people and watch how they will react to certain products or offers to see how successful, this is good if people are reluctant to do interviews or questionnaires etc, they don’t take too long to complete in comparison to interviews or questionnaires.
Sampling – along with the business choosing which market research they wish to participate in, they have to choose how to collect the information. Choosing the people for market research is called sampling, correct sampling provides an un-biased, effective way of finding the opinions of the majority of the population.
stratified sampling – a particular group of people are chosen, a random sample of people are chosen from inside that group.
Convenience sampling – with very quick estimation and a very low budget convenience sampling includes sampling from a convenient nearby area.
Random sampling- absolutely anybody of any age or gender.
Quota sampling- a particular number of people in a certain sector.
Cluster sampling- a form of random sampling but from a certain area.
- Consumer panels- this is where panels of consumers are invited to try new products, and give their opinions etc, this can be more difficult as certain numbers of consumers need to be found, and they will all have to make it to the same place giving up their own time, it can sometimes be difficult to find willing consumers.
Secondary research
Most organizations rely on secondary market research, which is collecting and analyzing existing published data that has been prepared by a third-party such as technical reports, newspaper articles or press releases, among others. The good thing about secondary research is that it is very cheap and easily accessible, and it is the only way to examine large scale trends without excessive time, money, and resources. However there are many disadvantages regarding secondary research for example, the lack of consistency of perspective, the fact any biases or anomalies cannot be checked, and of course The concern over whether any data can be totally separated from the context of its collection.
There are many techniques used for secondary research these include:
- Government’s statistics such as annual abstract of statistics, employment gazette and central offices of statistics.
- bank of England quarterly review and agents reports;
- European Union reports; IMF reports and CBI reports.
- Newspapers and specialist magazines
- Company annual reports
- Data previously collected by market research businesses.
This tells me that SunCity should be regularly looking on the internet and researching other sources to find out about current trends, changes in legislation, and negative and positive media exposure about things related to their business, e.g. sunbeds.
Segmentation
Market segmentation is the process in marketing of dividing a into distinct subsets (segments) that behave in the same way or have similar needs. Because each segment is fairly in their needs and , they are likely to respond similarly to a given . That is, they are likely to have similar feelings and ideas about a comprised of a given or , sold at a given , in a certain way and in a certain way.
The overall intent of segmentation is to identify groups of similar customers and potential customers; to prioritize the groups to address; to understand their behaviour; and to respond with appropriate marketing strategies that satisfy the different preferences of each chosen segment. Revenues are therefore improved.
Improved segmentation can lead to significantly improved . With the right segmentation, advertising results can be improved and customer satisfaction can be increased.
There are many different types of market segmentation, these include:
Geographic segmentation
Geographic segmentation tries to divide markets into different geographical units: these units include:
* regions
* Countries
* city/town size
* Population density
* Climate.
Geographic segmentation is an important process - particularly for multi-national and global businesses and brands. Many such companies have regional and national marketing programmes which alter their products, advertising and promotion to meet the individual needs of geographic units.
Demographic Segmentation
Demographic segmentation consists of dividing the market into groups based on variables such as:
age- segmenting according to how old people are, e.g. 0-10 years, 30-50 years etc, e.g. young children are not oing to be interested in purchasing shaving products or false teeth.
gender- segmenting depending on whether people are male or female, you wouldn’t try and market a new womens clothing range to a.
family size, and family type, e.g. if they have children, no children, professionals with kids, young urban professionals without children etc. families with kids will be buying more in bulk than yuppies or dinkys so advertising a 24 pack of coca cola would not be as appealing to families with only two members as aposed to families with many children.
income, this is how much people earn and is related to socio-economic segmentation. If targeting the product at people with lower incomes, they will be more conscious of the price so businesses will need to be aware of that etc.
occupation, again, segmenting according to the type of job you do, related to socio- economic segmentation. For example a tree surgeon would not be as interested in buying a pair of high heeled shoes compared with a smart professional businesswoman.
education, segmenting according to how qualified you are, whether you have GCSE’s A levels, or a Degree etc. a business wouldn’t try and sell an A leven revision guide to someone who already has a degree, or someone who hasn’t even got GCSEs for example.
religion, segmenting according to religion, for example trying to market a Christian bible to a muslim is a bit silly, they would have no interest in buying it, they would try and appeal to Christians.
Race, this is where segmenting is according to race, for example trying to market a new brown foundation make-up product to someone woth white skin would be pointless, it would not appeal.
Nationality, this is where people are put into groups depending on where they come from, you wouldn’t try to sell a Canadian flag to an American as they would not buy it no matter what advertisement youy do.
demographic segmentation variables are amongst the most popular bases for segmenting customer groups, this is partly because customer wants are closely linked to variables such as income and age. Also, for practical reasons, there is often much more data available to help with the demographic segmentation process.
Socio-economic segmentation
This involves segmenting the people up into groups according to the income of the head of the household, they are represented by the letters A-E, they are as follows:
- chairmen and chif executives of large businesses, barristers, judges.
- Headteachers, solicitors, accountants, doctors.
C1- Skilled workers-supervisors, junior managers, teachers.
C2- skilled manual workers- plumbers, electricians.
- semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers- road sweepers, refuse collectors, window cleaners.
- State pensioners, casual workers, students
SunCity should be segmenting the market in a way relevant to their business, e.g. locality, in order to attract their most suited customers and focus promotion on that particular audience to save money and attract more customers.
Marketing mix
The marketing mix is the name given to the 4/5 things that make up a successful business, place or location, price, product, promotion, and sometimes packaging, depending on the relevance. The marketing mix is used as a guide to the four things that are important to a business and what is important to keep in a good balance, for example if a company has an amazing product but the price is silly, or the promotion is bad, it will not sell, all four of these elements need to be carefully considered for the company to be a success.
In order for your business to sell its products and services as successfully as possible, you need to look at what products you are selling in detail to ensure they will be attractive and needed; the price to ensure it is not too cheap or too expensive; where you are best distributing your product; and finally, how you can create interest and awareness for your products. All these elements need to be targeted at the right people at the right time.
Product- a product can be anything, it can be a physical product, like a microwave, it can be a service like an ironing service, it can be pretty much anything basically, the product is the item that is going to be sold to the consumer. By analysing the market and its requirements, you will be able to change the product or develop the product in order to match the requirements of the people you are aiming at.
You also need to remember that your customer's needs are likely to change and therefore your products should constantly change to reflect each market change, if you ignore these changes your products will no longer be needed or desired by your target customers.
Suncity should have a wide product/service range and their products should be desired and up to date. For example selling magazines from last year is not likely to be successful.
Promotion - To make customers aware that products exist, there are a number of methods companies may choose to use, they include:
- Media Advertising (television, magazines, Internet, radio)
- Personal selling (involving a sales person)
- Non-personal communication (persuasion advertising- competitions, free samples.
- Other promotional types include public relation exercises and free publicity.
Promotion needs to be carefully planned, and it is normal for a business to decide on a new promotional plan each year. There should be one main objective to the promotion campaign and that particular emphasis should be projected during a certain time to a certain market segment.
Using establishes who are the best market segments to aim your promotion towards. The message of the campaign must be focused towards the and it must relate to the promotional objectives. the promotion should be planned to be released at a certain time, when and where the optimum impact is likely to be.
It is important that the promotional methods chosen, suit the product. The following factors need to be taken into account when choosing a promotional method: nature of product, what stage the product is at in its life cycle and what funds are available.
These different types of promotion can be split into two main categories: above the line and below the line promotion.
Above-the-line promotion- is that which is paid for directly. It includes spending on TV, radio, poster and press advertising and on other paid-for media such as the Internet.
Below-the-line promotion- refers to those methods of promoting a product that do not use direct advertising. These include public relations, such as getting stars to endorse products, or news and magazine stories featuring the product. They also involve packaging and point-of-sale material.
SunCity should be promoting their products/ services using both above and below the line promotion and using methods relative to their business.
Place- the place is very important to a business, if it is not situated iin the right place, it will not be successful, it is where the product is sold, it refers to how you will sell your products to your customers. Depending on what it is you are selling will directly influence how you distribute it, and it affects mainly those businesses that are in production. If for example you own a small shop or offer a service to your local community then you are at the end of the distribution chain and will supply a variety of products directly to the customer, however, if you are a producer, the method of distribution is extremely important as it could affect how their product is received and how it sells.
SunCity should be located in a location which will attract passing trade and not close to competitors.
Price- the price of a product is how much a consumer will have to pay to obtain the particular product or service. When setting a price on a range for your products, you need to ensure that you can recoup any overheads, compete with rival companies and charge a price your customers are willing to pay. A pricing strategy is very important as it helps to make a profit, it helps to be better than the competition. To do this you need to fine tune your pricing policy and you could achieve this in a number of ways:
Premium pricing
Use a high price where there is a uniqueness about the product or service. This approach is used where a substantial competitive advantage exists. Such high prices are normally charged for luxuries such as extra special holidays, cruises, suites at reputable hotels such as the savoy etc.
Economy pricing
This is a no frills low price, the cost of marketing and manufacture are ketp to a minimum allowing cheaper prices for consumers. Supermarkets often have economy brands for everyday products such as soup, bread, beans etc.
Psychological pricing
This approach is used when the market wants the consumer to respond on an emotional, rather than rational basis. For example from a consumers point of view, emotionally, 99p is good value, and £1.00 is too expensiev, despite only being 1p difference in the price it has crossed the 3figure barrier and is immediately more expensiveto the consumer.
Optional product pricing
Companies will attempt to increase the amount the customers spent once they start to buy. Optional extras increase the overall price of the product or service. For example airlines charge extra for optional extras such ad inflight meals, window seating etc.
Promotional pricing
Pricing to promote a product is a very common application. There are many examples of promotional pricing including approaches such as BOGOF.
Geographical pricing
Geographical pricing is evident where there are variations in price in different parts of the world, for example rarity value, or where shipping costs increase price.
Value pricing
This approach is used when external factors such as recession or increased competition force companies to provide ‘value’ products and services to retain sales e.g. value meals at mcdonalds.
Loss Leader Pricing
This involves lowering prices on a number of key products in order to attract a customer to purchase the products. Customers obviously like a bargain and like may be attracted to buy this item even if they had never considered purchasing this item before. Price reductions could be used to entice customers to look at your other products, and any profit lost might well be made up should the customer be persuaded to shop around and purchase other produces not reduced in price.
Penetration Pricing
This type of pricing is used for products identified as being in the "introductory" stage of the product life cycle to enable the product to get a foothold in the market. Prices are artificially reduced to attract the largest possible audience. It is often used to prevent or discourage competitors from capturing the market and used for products that are mass-produced.
Price Skimming
Where Penetration Pricing keeps the pricing below the real market price, price skimming raises the price artificially to enable it to quickly recoup costs and for immediate profit. This type of pricing structure works very well for products that are in demand or where there are few competitors - electronic equipment for example. Caution has to be used when employing this strategy as competitors may well take advantage of these high prices and enter the market quickly with a realistic price thus stealing the market. Again this type of pricing strategy might be used when the product is in its growth stage in the product life cycle as demand is high and sales are high.
Differential Pricing
This involves allowing the same product to be priced differently; this can be justified when the product is sold in areas with differing economic climates, when sold through differing distribution channels, to appeal to a different market segment. For example, you could choose to charge a wholesaler less for buying in bulk than for an individual who only bought on single card.
Suncity should be pricing their products according to their target market and by using one of the methods mentioned above, the most beneficial one for their business.
Product lifecycle
A product lifecycle shows how the record of a products sales fluctuates over time, a product lifecycle allows a company to chart the progress of a product and then make changes to other parts of the marketing mix according to the pattern of sales. The diagram below is a typical product lifecycle for a product, it has four stages.
Source: http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/
Introduction and development- the product is developed and launched onto the market. Sales usually begin slowly as customers are naturally cautious about anything which is new. Any buys at this point will be impulse or trial buys so an appropriate pricing strategy needs to be applied. The pricing strategy most likely to be applied to a product at this stage of the lifecycle, would be promotional pricing, this allows special offers to be applied, BOGOF etc. currently the iphone is in the introduction stage, not everyboy is aware of it, what it does etc, it has just been brought onto the market, in a few months it will be in the growth stage.
Growth- sales begin to pick up as customer interest grows. Sometimes the growth period can be sudden and without warning, resulting in the business losing orders if it has not built up its stock accordingly. The pricing can be put upto a competitive price as it is now becoming fully established and more and more people will want to buy this product. In a few months the iphone which is a newly released product will be in its growth stage the product will have been fully established, promoted and people whil know the ins and outs of the product, it will appeal to amny people and more and more people will be buting the product.
Maturity- sales flatten off as the product becomes well established and more competitors join the market, this could call for competitive pricing again. Frequently the market becomes saturated. Products such as the original ipod have just passed the maturity stage of the lifecycle, it has been introduced, it caught on, people bought it, then everyone who was going to buy the product has bought it, therefore the product needs no more advertisement.
Decline- the business experiences a gradual decrease in sales and must decide whether to extend the products life, perhaps by developing new selling points or relaunching the product, or to let it die and take it off the market. The original ipod nano went into the decline stage of the lifecycle a few months ago, many people bought it at the beginning, then many products from other manufacturers were becoming competition, the product was reinvented, it went from being an average sized mp3 player to a tiny colour mp4 player, making it an already well established piece of electronics but it has be re-released even better.
The Boston Matrix
Boston matrix helps with the analysis of a product lifecycle, it consists of cash cows, problem child’s, stars, and dogs. The model can be used to analyse a company’s product portfolio.
The boston matrix classifies products into four simple categorys,
- Stars- products in markets experiencing high growth rates with a high or increasing share of the market. Or with potential for high revenue
- Cash cows- companies with a high market share, low growth markets(in the maturity stage of the product lifecycle, compamnies with low cost support, high cash revenue and positive cash flows.
- Dogs- products in a low growth market, have low or declining market share (in the decline stage of the product lifecycle), companies associated with a negative cash flow, or who may require large sums of money to support.
- Problem Child- products having a low market share in a high growth market, need money spent to develop them, may produce negative cash flow, or may not have potential for the future.
Implications
Stars-
- Huge potential.
- May have been expensive to develop.
- Worth spending money to promote.
- Consider the extent of their product life cycle in decision making.
Cash Cows-
- Cheap to promote.
- Generate large amounts of cash
- Costs of developing and promoting have largely gone.
- Need to monitor their performance- long term.
- At the maturity stage of the Product lifecycle?
Dogs-
- Are they worth persevering with?
- How much are they costing?
- Could they be revived in some way?
- How much would it cost to continue to support products?
- How much would it cost to remove them from the market?
Question mark-
- What are the chances of these products securing a hold in the market?
- How much will it cost to promote them to a stronger position?
- Is it worth is?
Boston matrix helps with the analysis of a product lifecycle.
This diagram is relating to different types of car and their positions.
Source: http://www.smartdraw.com/encyclopedia/images/bcgMatrix.gif
How businesses review their objectives
SMART mentioned previously in this section of my coursework, is how businesses review their objectives, they would tick off the ones they have achieved, and alter the other ones so they relate to SMART, the businesses objectives must be, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and have a time limit. If the companies objectives meet these requirements then they are good objectives, however if they do not, they will need to be changed, or altered so they meet each of these requirements.
Business objective reviews are very important because if businesses do not review their objectives, they will not have anything to aspire to, no goals to achieve, and staff will not be motivated, it is also important to do it regularly, as the market and the competition changes regularly.
This tells me that SunCity should be reviewing their objectives regularly keeping them SMART and keeping in mind current trends and competition.
Managers interview
I wanted to find out some information which only the manager of a business would know, for this reason I arranged an interview with one of the managers and owners of Sun City, I asked her some questions about various stages of the marketing mix, her opinions on some of the recent things in the media about sunbeds, and their budgets and aims. The questions I asked were mainly open questions as this enables me to get the full extent of a managers opinions and knowledge of specific areas of the business.
Question, I asked.
Managers Response
Analysis and recommendations.
Why do you think a lot of people do not use the sun-bed?
I think people don’t use the sunbeds because of the health risks, people in the media and places say that it is bad, therefore people automatically assume its all bad and no good comes of it.
The manager is very ware of the reason why people do not use sunbeds, she says that it is because of the health risks, she does not however mention anything to do with actually fixing the problem, perhaps if she were to tell people of the benefits of sunbeds they would use them.
Have you advertised the benefits of sunbeds at all?
No, it is upto people to make their own judgement on sunbeds and whether they are good or bad. I don’t wish to influence their decision.
The manager has made no attempt to make people aware of the benefits of sunbeds, it showed up on my customer questionnaire that the majority of people didn’t even know there were any benefits of using sunbeds. This shows a poor knowledge of their target audience and poor advertising techniques, if the manages does not encourage people to use sunbeds, then they wont. Their decisions are not necessarily based on the advertisement, if they are going to use a sunbed then they will, if they are not, they wont regardless of the price etc, merely putting up factual information to encourage customers would be a very good idea especially because of the negative connotations associated with using sunbeds and your health. There is a link off their website with the benefits of their particular sunbeds, but that is not in my opinion adequate advertisement.
What are the main objectives of your business?
To make a success of our business and continually advertise well and promote the sunbeds at Sun City and Sun City on the whole, we still do not have a huge customer base however within a year we think we could have a customer base of at least 500, bearing in mind how small our salon is, I’d say this is pretty good. We mainly try to stick to SMART objectives when setting goals as this assures they are achievable and realistic.
This was a good response to the question, the manager is clearly aware of the SMART technique, I would say the objective is specific, as it is directly related to the customer base, Measurable, as the number of customers is quantitative and therefore can be measured, I cannot say whether this is acheiveble as I am not aware of the current number of Sun City customers, however I would imagine it is achievable as the manager says that is what they try to ensure by using SMART. It appears to be realistic, and she has stated a time limit on it therefore it has a time, going by this method of judging, I would say this is very good.
What type of market research does the company conduct and how often?
Every month surveys get sent out to random members, they get processed by either me or my husband when they are brought into the salon completed and we take into account of what they say. We also keep up to date on what is said about sunbeds and the health risks in the news and in papers etc, we also regularly check prices of other salons in kettering and surrounding areas to ensure we are cheapest.
I think that the response to this question is very good and that the amount of research Sun City does will be very beneficial to their business, finding out what the customers think and want is very important and finding out what they thing every month is good, although perhaps too often and could be wasting time and money. Keeping upto date on current news regarding their products is very good also, their advertisements could be based on what is said etc.
Do you feel price has an affect on the amount of people who use the sun-bed?
Oh yes definitely, many people feel although they are getting what they want, they are paying with the fact it is damaging their skin, if the price is too high they will not pay to use sunbeds, however Sun City offers a course so they pay one price and it works out really cheap compared to other salons in the area.
The manager clearly understands how people feel towards sunbeds, even though I did not specifically mean this, she mentioned health anyway, this shows a good understanding into the way in which customers see the damage to their skin. She also realises that price really does matter, in a place like kettering, people do not have unlimited money to spend therefore people are conscious about the price. It is also very good that Sun City offers a course price as it means using the sunbeds is easy, no hassle if you don’t have much money, you’ve already payed and you can drop in anytime. However the fact people are really aware of the damage to their skin means that Sun City really do need to advertise the benefits or people will eventually turn away.
What type of pricing strategies/methods do you use?
Our main pricing strategy is price skimming, we try to keep our prices really low, a few people have told us our prices are unrealistically low, we feel that if we can make a profit and keep our running costs low, while attracting more customers then our prices are fine. We also use a lot of special deals such as our 60 minute treatment which works out at just 43p a minute, it is much cheaper than any other salon in the area.
i asked the managers specifically about any pricing strategies or methods Sun City uses, I do not think she understood what I was asking as she did not mention anything about actual strategies of methods such as psychological pricing etc but she does understand what it takes to beat off the competition and keep prices low. Sun Citys outlook on pricing is a very good one in my opinion, as long as they can manage to increase customer base and make a profit then they are succeeding as a business. People think their prices are unrealistically, this can sometimes lead people to think there will be a catch and what they pay for isn’t actually exactly what they will get, this can be a bit bad, although overall there is nothing wrong with undercutting the competition. It is a very successful strategy in many cases.
Do you offer any discounts or special offers?
As I said previously yes. we offer courses, these are our main special offers, it is also cheaper to use the sunbed during the week, as aposed to weekends if no appointment has been made. We also offer discounted spray tans etc with vouchers on leaflets like 10% off etc.
I asked this question mainly to find out what sort of monetary promotion they had to offer, the response was good, I have already talked about the courses in a previous question, I think this is a good idea, I also think the idea of having cheaper prices in the week is good because it will encourage people to come in during the week, the companies slowest time as people are at work etc. it is clever as it means people come in the week so picking up business then, but it also means that people don’t go then in at the weekends which can sometimes get very busy for Sun City so it works out well both ways. The promotions on vouchers/leaflets are a good idea as it means people will pick up a leaflet because it has an offer on it, but when they pick up the leaflet they get to find out all the information on Sun City aswell as Sun City gaining a potential customer, the customer benefits from a discount.
What can you say about the popularity of the sun-bed products?
The sunbed products are not that popular, it is mainly the hair styling products that sell the most, however we do not lose money on them so to speak, they all get sold but slowly. People don’t usually use products while they are on the sunbeds, but we have to sell them, to give them an option. I think it means more effort for them beforehand and if they are in a rush and a product is not necessary, then they will not bother.
This response was not great, it is not a good thing that the sunbed products do not sell, despite it not actually being a problem at the moment, with sunbed products not selling, this means that people are doing even more damage to their skin by not wearing any protection. I think a good way to overcome this problem would be to advertise the health benefits of the sunbeds but state that sunscreen is still the only way to protect against skin disease. Perhaps the staff could ask if any sunscreen would be necessary before each person uses the sunbed, this would not only make the company appear to be looking out for peoples health but may encourage people to buy their products.
Do you think it is because of the reputation of the products, people will use sunbeds?
Oh no definitely not, the majority of people don’t even use products and the few that do don’t buy the really expensive ones with the best reputation, normal oils sold at morrisons etc do the job just as well which I think the majority of people have cottoned onto, however obviously if you don’t have any, and you need some they come in and buy it just before they use the sunbed. Everybody to their own really, if you find one that works and it just so happens to be really expensive and a recognised brand then chances are they will buy that particular product again and again regardless of price. But no I think people use sunbeds to use sunbeds, not because of the products.
This is a good response, as the manager has understood that it is not the products which encourage people to use the sunbeds, it is good to see this as it means that the managers will have control of their stocks etc so they will know not to buy a million cases of sunscreen if they are trying to promote their sunbeds as it will not work. They also understand that if people need something and it is sold at their salon they chances are regardless of the price, they will buy it. I would however suggest that the staff try and encourage people to use sunscreen when using the sunbeds as it could lead to skin damage.
In your opinion, are your prices competitive?
Yes very, we guarantee our course prices are the cheapest you will find in kettering, and most likely surrounding areas aswell. Our prices on the whole are very cheap too for sunbeds. For hairdressing they are average for kettering as we have trained and qualified hairstylists. And for nails prices vary, but our prices overall I would say are very good.
It is good that the salon can guarantee the prices are the cheapest in kettering this means that they will have done their research and they understand the current prices around. It is also good that they make a conscious effort to keep prices as low as possible, however sincity use trained qualified hairdressers which some salons do not so they have to pay more to employ staff so will have to charge more to cover costs. It is good however that their prices are average and they are not charging people more than other salons.
Who do you feel are your main competitors?
Well for sunbeds I would say sun & slim on market square would be one of our main competitors, they do not compare with course prices, and not variety either, they are a gym and a tanning salon so people would use their tanning facilities because they are convenient when they have come out of or are going into the gym. They are also based quite close to us so that poses a threat too.
It is very good that Sun City can recognise their competitors and specify why, it shows good market research and a good knowledge of the surrounding areas. It is not good however that they are situated so close to Sun City and offer a gym aswell, this cannot be helped as Sun City does not have a gym, nor the means to purchase a gym, but as the manager has said, prices do not compare so Sun City is benefiting in that way.
Do you feel where you are situated is beneficial to your business?
Yes I would say so, we are in the middle of kettering town so we attract a lot of passing trade. We are off a little side street so we could be in a better location if we weren’t so hidden but we place billboards etc so people do know where we are. Where we are situated makes us in a convenient place so yes I would say it is definitely a benefit to have such a good location.
Sun City is placed off a side road of the main street in kettering town, this is a good location as is it in the town centre so easily reachable by all. The managers have realised that being off a side road means they are hidden from most passing trade, however it is very good that they have put up billboards and posters advertising their whereabouts, I think this is all they could do other than moving to benefit them regarding their location.
Do you think tanning in a bottle or ‘fake tan’ is a competitor with the sunbed industry?
Ummm, I wouldn’t necessarily say so no, but they do attract a lot of customers, but they are never permanent, I think that is what people love about the sunbeds, every few minutes under a sunbed is equivalent to an hour in the sun, it lasts much longer, and there is no risk of the orange colour you sometimes get from fake tan and looks completely natural. Also it works out so much more expensive for fake tans, the only thing which is turning people is the constant health warnings against sunbeds, it makes people think twice.
the manager of Sun City has said that fake tan does not pose a major threat to the sunbed industry or to them themselves they can also pinpoint why sunbeds are better than fake tan, e.g. orange colour, price, how realistic. This is obviously good for them, it is also good that the manager realises that the constant health warnings given by most experts etc are making people think twice about using sunbeds however the manager has not said anything about the a solution to the problem.
How do you budget for everything your company, do you use any specific methods or anything?
To be honest we don’t really budget for different things, our company is so small that we don’t need to, we generally just decide at the beginning of each month what needs to be don’t where and what it will cost, once that is done we make sure we have a bit of cash left over as a contingency fund in case of any emergencies or anything unexpected.
So you don’t budget in any specific way, no forecasts or predictions, just what needs to be done?
Other than the fact the manager has a contingency fund I can see nothing else promising about the budgeting of this company, they are obviously doing well to have survived and to ensure they have enough money each month to support their business however they are not budgeting, they have no forecasts no predictions and no idea what they will have to spend for anytime over a month away, this is very worrying I would suggest seriously considering budgeting.
Pretty much yes, were so small we just spend what we need to out of our revenue.
Have you or do you intend to do anything about the problem of health warnings?
Up until now we have not done anything to counteract what is being said about sunbeds etc. we have special sunbeds which you can adjust the setting etc so making them safer than regular sunbeds. There is also information about some benefits that sunbeds have for people through a link on out homepage. We feel this is adequate information as it is all we have.
Personally I feel that the managers are being a bit naïve with regards to health warnings, they have told me what they have done to give people informqtion on the benefits and through a link on their homepage does not appear to be a very good place for the only piece of information to be located. It would be much better if this information was pronted off and made into posters and placed in and/or around the salon to promote the benefits so people can make up their own mind about the situation.
How do you promote yourself in store?
In-store, we don’t really do too much, people come in for a specific reason, either to use the sunbeds or nail bar etc, they know what they want. But we do have posters up with special offers and deals to encourage them to use our other services.
It is good that the managers recognise that people come in for a specific treatment etc and that they do not come in to look around, therefore they can afford to solely advertise using a few posters to advertise each service they provide. It is good as they can racognise that the people coming in generally are returning customers and already know what services Sun City provide. It means thet do not waste money on uneccessary in-store promotion.
How do you promote yourself out of store?
Out of store we have posters, leaflets in shops with special offers on, billboards etc. We also have a website which we regularly update with deals and discounts. It obviously has our address aswell and comes up on a lot of Northamptonshire searches on google etc, for example if you search ‘tanning salon in kettering uk’ Sun City comes up, as with many other related searches.
Sun City uses several above the line promotional methods they are all good and worth spending money on as it means more promotion, more customers, more profit etc. it is good that Sun City uses different types of media for example they use posters, and leaflets, plus using the internet which is most likely to appeal to a different target audience to the posters and leaflets. Sun City has recognised that they should put their address and other relavent information on their promotional resources so people know of their whereabouts and what services they provide.
Would you say these advertisements are successful?
Obviously any advertisement would be more successful than not having an advertisement at all, but yes especially the billboard because without it, many people would just walk past our salon, I also think the leaflets and flyers we put in stores for people to take are effective, we often get people coming into Sun City with them as they have special discounts on, so they encourage people to come to Sun City and use our facilities.
It is good than the advertisements are being noticed by potential customers for example the leaflets which people bring with them to the store shows that they are reasonably successful. It is also good that the manages has specified which one is most important, which is the billboard which I would agree with as it is the method of promotion which would potentially bring the most customers into the salon given its side road location.
Do you think you would benefit from increasing promotion?
Realistically, the more promotion, the better, but if it means increasing the money we spend on promotion then no, we already do what we feel best for Sun City, we have a website and we do many discounts and special offers, we feel this brings enough customers to make us successful without spending unnecessary amounts of money.
Obviously the more promotion the better, however it does not appear that Sun City are reviewing their promotion at all, for example the only piece of information thye have which at all counteracts the health risk warnings given by the government etc is off a small link on their homepage, you then have to find it on the other webpage. This is very bad as it could potentially bring lots of customers into Sun City salon if it was printed on the leaflets or the billboards or posters, or even the web adress would be good. Other than that Sun City feel they are promoting enough and only they can know whether their protion is being truly successful because only they know how many customers they have and how many are due to their promotional methods. Their promotion does look good though and minus ethe benefits of sunbeds, it appears they include all relevant information which is good.
Who do you target your promotion at?
We don’t really target it at anyone in specific, we make the billboards big and clear with not too much text, and the leaflets are all colourful and bold, so I suppose people who are attracted to these things, apart from that we don’t do much else to target people in specific.
this is a very worrying answer, companies should all target a specific groulp of people, not specifying could mean that eventually customers will go elsewhere to businesses who are targeting them specifically, for example, for people who generally pop to the dsalon on their lunchbreaks, say a salon does special lunchtime deals, Sun City could potentially lose all customers of that type. Sun City should review who they are speficially aiming towards and target them.
From your experience in-store, what socio-economic group do you feel the majority of your customers fall into, or who do you target most?
Whats a socio-economic group?
This alone is a very bad thing, the fact that a manager of a business does not know what a socio-economic group is shows a lack of knowledge and research into the target audience of Sun City.
(explains what a socio-economic group is)
Um I would say most people are young but I couldn’t put them into a specific group, we get a range of people coming into Sun City and we don’t really target any type specifically.
This is a very bad thing. For a business not to target a specific group of people could potentially be a very bad thing as explained in a previous question. It is also quite worrying that the manager of a business doesn’t know what type of people visit her salon despite carrying out regular market reaearch.
What was the reason as to why you introduced hair dressing and nail therapy to your range of services?
We decided that we had a lot of unused space in the ‘lobby’ of Sun City and it was a bit of a waste, so we thought we may as well make use out of it, we decided a nail bar would be good as we carried out extensive research to see what people wanted and we found out that people who use sunbeds would enjoy nail therapy services, later on we decided to hire a hair stylist and open a hairdressing section.
I think that extending Sun City’s rang of services was a clever idea, it is obviously earning them more money. It was a good idea to get established in the town before they carried out any major changes and from what the manager has said, Sun City carried out the services which people want therefore it was a good decision, it also means that people who come in to use the hairdressers and nail abr etc will be more likely to use the sunbeds because it would bemore convenient.
How did you carry out your market research for this?
We put leaflets on the coffee table where the magazines are, which people filled in whilst waiting for the sunbeds or a spray tan, the majority of people said they would use the services if Sun City provided them.
this is a very positive answer, it is good oto see Sun City is using research appropriately and that they genuinely do care what their customers feel what would be best. I feel than Sun Citys’ decision to extend their services was a wise decision as it appears to be what people wanted and its making them extra profit each month.
Do you include any questions on what customers and potential customers think about the health warnings of sunbeds?
Not really no, we tend to market research what people think would be a good idea for us, if we need to improve anything, how satisfactory our service, products etc are. We don’t generally ask people what they think about the health risks, if they didn’t already know it would just be putting them off and we do not know how much people already know or what they have been told.
As I have discussed in my problem, I feel than Sun Citys main problem is the media exposure on the negative impact of sunbeds, the risks, the warnings etc, I think that it is a very bad idea to exclude questions about one of their main problems in order not to perhaps discourage people from using sunbeds. The majority of people who watch the news or read newspapers will already be aware of the damage the sun can do and the claims that sunbeds damage your skin, if Sun City do not include questions to find out what people perhaps know and let people know about the benefits as well as the facts that most of the claims are simply just claims and no evidence has been proven yet.
Potential customer’s questionnaire
1. What is your gender?
• male • female
2. What age range do you fall into?
• 10 - 15 • 15 -18 • 19 - 25 • 25 - 30 • 30 - 40 • 40 – 60
3. Are you aware of the services offered by Sun City?
• yes • no
4. Have you seen advertisements for Sun City?
• yes • no
(if yes) where have you seen them advertised?
5. Did you find the advertisement effective?
• yes • no
(if no) where do you recommend to advertise?
6. What is your yearly income? (optional) (thousands)
• 15 - 20 • 20 - 25 • 25 - 30 • 30 - 40 • 40 - 50 • 50 - 60 • 60 and above
7. Do you use a sun-bed?
• Yes • No
8. (if yes) how often?
• once a week • more than once a week • once a fort night • once a month • other
9. (if no) why don’t you use one? (can tick more than one)
• bad media • expensive • don’t have the money for them • I’m too busy • don’t need one • use alternatives • other
10. Do you know where Sun City salon is?
• Yes • No • didn’t know it existed • I know of it but don’t know where
11. Would you be interested in receiving information on special offers from Sun City?
• yes • no
12. Do you currently visit a beauty salon?
• yes • no
13. (if yes) why? (can tick more than one)
• hair dressing • nail therapy • sun-beds • spray tan • purchase products
14. (if no) why? (can tick more than one)
• expensive • don’t have the money for them • I’m too busy • don’t need them • other
15. What recommendations would you make in order to attract more people to use the Sun-beds at Sun City?
Potential Customer Questionnaire analysis
In order to find out some information on what average people in the area think of Sun City I carried out a potential customer questionnaire, this included regular people, male and female in Kettering town who do not visit the salon. I made the majority of the questions closed questions, this makes it eatier to put into graphs and analyse appropriately.
I did my potential customer questionnaires on 30 potential customers. I stood in the middle of kettering town, approximately 200 metres away from Sun City and asked a range of people their opinions on Sun City etc. the following is an analysis of my questionnaire results.
1) What is your gender?
Male=15
Female=15
I did not intentionally do my questionnaire on equal amounts of male and female customers, however this is the way it has happened, this is good as it will give me a range if different opinions, equal from men and women and this will ensure unbiased results making them more accurate of the whole population. 15 men and 15 women were asked.
2) What age range do you fall into?
10-15 = 3
15-18 = 6
19-25 = 6
25-30 = 5
30-40 = 5
40-60 = 5
As you can see from the graph, there was a reasonably equal amount of people from each category. With ages 10-15 having the smallest percentage at just 10%, you could say this may give inaccurate results, however it is not legal for under 16’s to use sunbeds in the uk anyway. They may be aware of the other services Sun City offer at the salon, so this is still beneficial as it will enable an accurate opinion of all age groups. 20% of people aged 19-25 were asked, 19% aged 15-18, 17% of people aged 25-30, 30-40, and 40-60, and 10% being between 10-15. the age groups are evenly spread with only a 10% gap between the highest and lowest amount, the opinions should be accurate and reliable going on age group.
3) Are you aware of the services offered by Sun City?
Yes = 12
No = 18
According to my graph, 60% of potential customers in Kettering town are not aware of the full range of services Sun City offer its customers. This is a simple yes or no question therefore there are only two potential answers, these have came out pretty equally however it is bad that the minority know of the services provided at Sun City. It is good that 40% of people are not aware of the full range of services Sun City offers, as this is not too far from 50%. This is bad overall because it means Sun City do not advertise as effectively as they might have hoped. 40% of people said they were not aware of Sun City, these are the people who are not going to visit Sun City despite how many special offer they advertise etc. the implications to Sun City if people not knowing about the services they offer is a smaller customer base than necessary, more people going elsewhere, and eventually the other salons in the area could potentially overtake Sun City in everything they do.
4) Have you seen advertisements for Sun City?
Yes = 23
No = 7
77% of the potential customers I have asked, said yes they have seen advertisements around. This may include the internet, posters, leaflets, or any other type of promotion by Sun City. This questionnaire was only carried out in Kettering town, approximately 100ms away from where I was standing was a small billboard for Sun City. I believe that if 77% of people have seen advertisements for Sun City It will include mainly the billboard as this is one of the main advertisements in Kettering town. This would be a reasonably cheap way to advertise as they only need one and it could attract much passing custom. For the 23% of people who have not seen any advertisement for Sun City, this may imply that Sun City may need to advertise more, perhaps in more places, or in different ways.
(if yes) where have you seen advertisements for Sun City? (tick all that apply)
Billboard near Sun City = 20
Leaflets = 7
Internet = 4
Other(please specify)
This question was asked to define which of Sun City’s advertisements was most affective, from my graph I can see that 64% of people that had seen an advertisement had seen the billboard just up the street from Sun City, this is good as it means the majority if people will see the advertisement and Sun City will benefit from passing trade. Only 13% of people however saw the advertisements on the internet, this means perhaps Sun City need to rethink where they are spending money on advertisement.
5) Did you find the advertisement effective?
Yes = 22
No = 1
n/a = 7
(if no) where do you recommend to advertise?
TV
The information from the graph shows that 96% of people that have ssen an advertisement for Sun City thought it was effective, this is very good as it means that only one person who saw an advertisement thought it ineffective. Unfortunately I don’t know which advertisement this was, however with 96% of people saying yes, its good I wouldn’t say there is much to worry about. The person who thinks the advertisement he/she saw was ineffective also recommended that advertising on the television would be a good idea.
6) What is your yearly income? (optional) (thousands)
15-20 = 6
20-25 = 4
25-30 = 5
30-40 = 7
40-50 = 3
50-60 =2
60+ = 3
Everybody that was given the questionnaire answered the question above despite the fact it was optional, this is good as it means I can get a true representation of the people potentially using sun-city. From my results the most people earn between £30,000-40,000, however close behind with the second most people earning 15,000-20,000 there is a big difference. 7% of people earn 50,000-60,000 however 10% earn £60,000, this perhaps shows that my results in this section are inaccurate, as these make no sense, just from looking at them, but also they do not match the statistics of peoples earnings in the Northamptonshire area, especially not directly in kettering.
7) Do you use a sun-bed?
Yes= 16
No= 14
According to my questionnaire 52% of people I asked use a sunbed, this is good news for Sun City and other tanning salons in kettering, although I only asked 30 people in kettering, according to my results 52% use sunbeds and only 48% don’t. there are 51,063 people in kettering according to a census taken in 2001. if this information is accurate and Sun City advertise well, then a potential market of approximately 25,000 people could be visiting their salon.
8) (if yes) how often?
Once week+= 2
Once week=5
Once 2 weeks=4
Once month=4
Less=1
n/a= 14
This graph shows, of the people who use sunbeds, how regularly they use them. With the most amount of people using the sunbeds once a week, this means that despite health warnings about sunbeds etc people are still content to visit sunbeds for tanning. 13% of the people visit sunbeds more than once a week. This is also good for Sun City as it means the potential customers could be visiting their store at least once a week, and if they are in their more than once a week, maybe they will bemore inclined to take advantage of the other services Sun City offer. 25% of the people I asked said they use sunbeds once every two weeks, this is still no a regular basis, so they will still be visiting the store regularly, and for the people who use sunbeds regularly there is an offer done by Sun City of discounted prices if acertain amount of minutes is bought in a block. For the people who only use sunbeds once amonth, 25% or less than once a month, 6% this is not good new as it means people may be reluctant to use sunbeds for reasoins such as the potential health risks.
9) (if no) why don’t you use one? (can tick more than one)
Bad media(bad for you) = 4
Expensive=2
Don’t have money for them(disposable income)=2
Too busy=3
Don’t need one=1
Use alternatives=2
Other=0
This question was asked to find out why people do not, or do not like using sunbeds, my results show that 30% nearly a third of the people i asked who do not use sunbeds, do not use sunbeds because of bad media, because they are allegedly not good for you. 21% say they are too bust, however for a 5 minute sunbed it takes that, 5 minutes, there is no excuse not to just pop in, this may not be the only reason. 14% said that they use alternatives, there are things such as tinted moisturizer, fake tan etc, the yare too expensive, or they do not have enough disposable income, which does not means they think it is too expensive, just that they may not have enough money for luxurys such as tanning. 7% said they didn’t need a sunbed, maybe their skin is naturally tanned, they go on regular holidays, ot maybe they think their skin is perfect the way it is.
10) Do you know where Sun City salon is?
Yes)=23
No)= 4
Didn’t know it existed)= 2
I know of it but not where)= 1
From asking this question I hoped to find out if people in kettering town knew where Sun City is, and from my results, it appears that 77% of people in kettering town know where Sun City is, this is good as it means Sun City are marketing the whereabouts of their salon well. 13% had no idea where Sun City was, they chose not to opt for telling us if they knew what it is or what it does but just said straight up, ‘no’, 7% said they didn’t know Sun City existed, this is not good for Sun City because it means people will not visit the store and may be going elsewhere for the same things Sun City perhaps provide at a lower cost, so because they do not know about Sun City, both business and consumer are losing out. 3% of the people I asked said they know of Sun City but nt where it is, this shows that the whereabouts of Sun City is not a real issue, the people who know of Sun City, mainly know where it is. The services and the main salon should be more of a priority than the whereabouts.
11) Would you be interested in receiving information on special offers from Sun City?
Yes)= 16
No)=14
This question was asked to find out if people would be interested in receiving information on Sun City’s special offers, I did not however specify how they would receive them therefore this was not a great question to ask, I did however find that 53% of the people I asked would like to receive information on the offers from Sun City, this is good as it shows that people obviously think a lot of Sun City and would therefore visit them and like to know more about them. For the 47% of people ho however said no, this is not good as it means these people perhaps are not interested in Sun City. It5 could however suggest that they are not interested in reveicing information through specific mediums e.g., mail, or email etc.
12) Do you currently visit a beauty salon?
Yes= 28
No=2
The data I have received regarding how many people visit a beauty salon is quite positive, and good for Sun City, it shows that 93% of the people I asked said that they do vosit beauty salons, this was a straight forward yes or no question but with the vast majority of the people saying they do visit beauty salons, this gives Sun City a larger potential market. 7% of people however say they do not visit beauty salons for one reason or another.
13) (if yes) why? (can tick more than one)
Hair=25
Nails=7
Sunbeds= 16
Spray tan=3
Purchase products= 13
other=17
I asked people why they visit beauty salons, and unsurprisingly 30% of the people I asked said they go for their hair, 9% go for nails, 16% go to purchase products, 4%for a spray tan, and 20% go for sunbeds, this means that collectively Sun City could appeal to 79% of the people I asked because Sun City offers all those services. 21% of the people said other, this is not a specific answer however, Sun City may provide the service they have implied with ‘other’. Excluding other, the main reason to visit salons is hair, followed shortly after by sunbeds, this is good as it means that Sun Citys main focus, sunbeds, is also one of the publics priorities.
14) (if no) why? (can tick more than one)
Expensive=1
Don’t have disposable income =0
Too busy= 2
Don’t need them=1
Other=1
I asked qhestion 14 so I could find out why the people that don’t visit beauty salons, don’t visit beauty salons, I specified that they could choose more than one answer and from this question I got het information that 20% of people don’t need them, this may be due to many things such as they are a hairdresser themselves or have a mobile hairdresser, they do their own nails, don’t need a tan etc, 20% however think they are too expensive for what they are, this is a bad sign as it means that some people will not visit them due to cost, the same a 20% who have a disposale income, for example they don’t earn enough money to be able financially to visit them. 40% said they are too bust, there is nothing really to be done about this, and the other 20% said other, and did not specify.
15) What recommendations would you make in order to attract more people to use the Sun-beds at Sun City?
Leave customer feedback on desk for people to look through.
Posters advertising benefits of subeds.
Customer Questionnaire
1. What is your gender?
male female
2. What age group do you fall into?
10 - 15 15 -18 19 - 25 25 - 30 30 - 40 40 - 60
3. How did you find out about Sun City?
word of mouth saw the shop website advertisements in or around town billboard in car park
4. (if website or advertisements) have you taken advantage of the “offer vouchers”
yes no didn’t see any
5. Did you find the advertisement effective?
yes no
6. (if no) why not?
wrong place not eyecatching not enough information too complicated too basic.
7. What is your yearly income (optional) (thousands)
15 - 20 20 - 25 25 - 30 30 - 40 40 - 50 50 - 60 60 and above
8. Do you feel Sun City is expensive compared to other salons in Kettering?
yes no, it is roughly the same no, it is cheaper unsure
9. Would you be interested in receiving promotional offers for Sun City?
yes no
10. Do you use sun-beds?
yes no
11. (if no) why not? (can tick more than one box)
hassle media has effected your decision too expensive waste of money no money for them
12. (If no) why do you go to Sun City?
hairdressing nail therapy spray tan
13. Do you use the sun-beds in store?
yes no
14. (if yes) why? (Can tick more than one)
good service value for money convinient
15.What do you think to the price you paid for sunbeds?
expensive value for money fair
16. Do the dangers of sunbeds put you off using them?
yes no slightly
17. If yes, do you know about the benefits of using Sun City’s sunbeds are?
yes no didnt know there were any benefits.
18. What other services have you used in-store?
nails hairdressing spray tan
19. Do you feel Sun City is based in a popular area?
yes no
20. (if ticked no) please state why
off a side street other tanning shops too close by too far away from other shops.
21. Do you get the desired effect from sun-beds? (only if used)
yes no
22. Do you use products when using the sunbed?
yes no
23. (if yes) do you think the more recognised the brand, the better it is for use on a sunbed?
yes no
24. What do you think of the customer service you receive at Sun City?
high standard average standard poor standard unacceptable
25. Are all staff friendly in-store?
yes no
26. Would you recommend Sun City to other people, friends and family?
yes no if they asked
Customer questionnaire analysis
I printed my questionnaire 50 times and put it on the desk at Sun City, when people were waiting to use sunbeds or for their hair cut they were asked to fill out qa questionnaire, 50 people filled in my questionnaire.
1. What is your gender?
Male = 20
Female = 30
This question was asked with the aim of getting around 50% male and 50% female answers so the questionnaires had a range of opinions, however the results show that there are more females which visit Sun City than males, 60% of people were female and 40% were male. This could be the case or alternatively, it could just be that females are more inclined to answer questionnaires than men.
2. What age group do you fall into?
10 – 15 = 3
15 -18 = 12
19 - 25 = 15
25 - 30 =9
30 - 40 = 6
40 – 60 = 4
From my graph you can see that the majority of people who visit Sun City are between the ages of 19-25, 32% appear to be between those ages. 24% are between 15-18 years old, 18% between 25-30, 12% between 30-40, 8% between 40-60, and only 6% of people visiting Sun City are between the ages of 10-15. this means that the main people who visit Sun City are younger rather than older, but not too young, e.g. 10-15.
3. How did you find out about Sun City?
word of mouth = 17
saw the shop = 5
website = 5
advertisements in or around town = 15
billboard in car park = 8
34% of people who visit Sun City are hearing about Sun City via word of mouth, this may suggest that Sun City is popular and people are recommending it. 30% of people found out about it from advertisements in or around the town this is good as it meant the advertising of Sun City is being successful in attracting people to the salon, 16% saw the billboard in the car park just at the back of Sun City, seeing as this was only placed on the wall so people knew what the building was and as it is their own buiding so has no cost other that the board itself, this is good. only 10% of people found out by their website, this is not so good, however with such common things for example salons and hairdressers, people would not usually tend to use the internet to find out about things like this, however 10% of people is still a signifigantly large amount. and 10% actually saw the shop to find out about it, these people perhaps had no intention of visiting a salon, and they just popped in as one of the offers attracted them, or they were walking back to their car and noticed the shop so took down the number, this shows the placement of the shop is good as well as the advertisement.
4. (if website or advertisements in or around town) have you taken advantage of the “offer vouchers”?
Yes = 7
no = 7
didn’t see any = 6
On Sun City’s website and on their posters or other advertisements there are offer ‘vouchers’ stating the offers available for Sun City. This question was asked to see if people take advantage of these offers, 35% of people took advantage of the offers which is good as it means the offers are perhaps enticing potential customers to visit Sun City as apposed to other salons. 35% didn’t take advantage of the offers, but saw them, this was not necessarily because they choose to pay full price, which may be assumed, but that the offers did not apply to the service or treatment they required, therefore there were no offers available for them to use, and 30% of people didn’t see any offers, this my be because they saw a leaflet or a small poster, which didn’t have the offers written on them, however if they were visiting the salon anyway, there are generally offers in-store as well on the advertisements, so the customers would not lose out.
5. Did you find the advertisement effective?
Yes = 22
No = 6
This question was asked in order to find out of people thought the advertisements were effective so Sun City could be made aware if people think they are spending their marketing budget well. 79% of people asked said yes the advertisements were affective, this is very good as it is the vast majority which think they are good, however 21% of people said no, this is not good for Sun City and perhaps they ought take into consideration what is said in the next question when making more advertisements, although regardless of whether the customers thought the advertisements were affective, they are customers anyway and they visit the salon so they were not put off by the advertisements, so they are deterring people away from the salon.
6. (if no) why not?
wrong place =
not eyecatching = 1
not enough information = 1
too complicated = 2
too basic. = 2
I asked this question to find out from people who said they did not think the advertisements were effective, why they thought this, 33% of the people asked said the advertisements were too complicated, this included things such as the layout, the font, the size, and the amount and detail of the information , 33% said they were too basic this included the above minus the amount of information, 17% said they were not eye-catching enough, this may be due to size, colour, font etc and 17% said they did not contain enough information. Also, although ‘wrong place’ was given as an option to tick, nobody ticked it, this indicates that the advertisements were in the correct place, this is good. The answers do not really have a clear conclusion seeing as 33% of people said too complicated and 33% said too basic, they contradict each other. The results may be due to people being pedantic as they are already customers, or may have other meanings, either way there is no direct evidence to conclude what the problem with the advertisements are.
7. What is your yearly income (optional) (thousands)
15 – 20 = 9
20 – 25 = 8
25 – 30 = 11
30 – 40 = 11
40 – 50 = 6
50 – 60 = 3
60 and above = 2
This question was asked with an intention to find out the general customers annual wage, and compare it with the prices of Sun City, for example if the annual wage is generally under £15,000 then it would indicate that the prices of Sun City are cheaper in comparison to other salons and vice versa with over £60,000. The answers we got showed that the majority of Sun City’s customers earn between £25-£30,000 a year, this indicates that the prices are average,which is good as it attracts both high earning, and low earning customers, as shown by the graph.
8. Do you feel Sun City is expensive compared to other salons in Kettering?
Yes = 4
No, it is roughly the same = 17
No, it is cheaper = 21
Unsure = 8
The response I got from this question was very good, it says that the majority of people, 42% of customers believe that Sun City is cheaper than other salons in kettering, this is good as undercutting the other salons around, normally means that Sun City will get more customers. 34% said it is roughly the same, this is also good as it means that people think the salons prices are reasonable, if the prices are average compared to other salons, then why visit elsewhere instead. 16% were unsure whether the prices were more expensive or cheaper, this may be because they have only ever been to Sun City, and don’t know the average price in kettering. Unfortunately 8% of Sun City’s customers think that Sun City is expensive compared to other salons in kettering, this is not good, because to be expensive is normally bad and customers would go elsewhere.
9. Would you be interested in receiving promotional offers for Sun City?
Yes = 45
No = 5
90% of the people asked said yes they would be interested in receiving information on offers, or vouchers etc for Sun City. This is a very good sign as it could indicate that these are the customers who visit Sun City a lot and are regulars, the more regular customers Sun City has, the better for business. On the other hand however 10% of the people asked said no they would not be interested in receiving offers from Sun City, this may indicate they do not go there very often or don’t intend to go there again. Alternatively it could just mean they do not want ‘junk mail’ etc. overall the response to this question was very good as the vas majority would like to receive offers.
10. Do you use sun-beds?
Yes = 34
No = 16
68% of the people who answered the questionnaire use sun-beds, this is over half and is very good as Sun City’s main attraction is their low priced sun-beds. The people who do use the sunbeds however have yet to specify why the use sunbeds, and also whether they use the sunbeds at Sun City or elsewhere. 32% of the people however said they do not use sunbeds, this is not so good for Sun City, however as they are already customers it means that they visit Sun City to use one or more of their other services offered.
11. (if no) why not? (tick as appropriate)
Too busy = 5
media has effected your decision(health risks) = 12
too expensive = 4
no disposable income = 3
don’t need/want one = 4
Of the people who answered no to the previous question, ‘do you use sunbeds?’, 43% of those do not use sunbeds because of the health risks attatched to them, this is a bad thing and they perhaps didn’t know of the benefits sunbeds can actually have, as well ad the risks to health. 18% of people are too busy to use sunbeds, they perhaps have a fulltime job, and/or children which do not allow much free time. 14% of people don’t need or want a sunbed, this is their own descision and Sun City does not play a part in making descisions for customers. 11% of the people claim to have no disposable income for sunbeds, however as they are customers already they spend their mopey elsewhere in the salon on other products and/or services, so this is not too much of an issue, and 14% of customers think sunbeds are expensive for what they are in general, not necessarily that Sun City’s sunbeds are expensive.
12. (If no to Q10) why do you go to Sun City?(tick as appropriate)
Hairdressing = 6
Nail therapy = 8
Spray tan = 5
Of the people who visit Sun City but do not use their sunbeds, 42% of people visit the salon for nail therapy, this includes manicures, false nails, painting, and just general nail care, 32% of people go to the salon for hairdressing, and 26% visit the salon for spray tans, even though the ydo not go to the salon to use the sunbeds, they still leave with a tan, as tanning is Sun City’s main attraction, it is good that the people who do not use sunbeds still feel the need for a tan.
13. Do you use the sun-beds in store?
Yes = 30
No = 4
N/A = 16
60% of the customers of Sun City claim to use the sunbeds in-store, this is a good thing as it means that only 8% of people who use sunbeds in general do not use the sunbeds instore, this is a relatively low number of people in comparison to the 52% of customers who do use the sunbeds. Those 8% of customers are perhaps the 8% of customers who think Sun Citys sunbeds are more expensive to use than other sunbeds in kettering, this would make sense. 32% of people were excluded from this question because thye do not use sunbeds.
14. (if yes) why? (tick as appropriate)
Good service = 18
Value for money = 29
Convenient = 5
The people who do use sunbeds at Sun City answered this question, and the response I got was, 55% of the sunbed customers believe Sun City’s sunbeds are good value for money, this equals to 29/30 people. 35% of the customers who use the sunbeds in the salon think it is good service at Sun City, this equals to 18/30 people. And 10% of customers, 5/30 visit Sun City because it is convenient for them. This shows that in peoples minds, value for money is the most important reason to visit a salon, and even if it is less onvenient for them, they would still visit a salon if it was good value for money, good service is next important and whether it is convenient is least important thing to customers. Overall the response to this question was very good and shows which people regard as a reason to visit Sun City.
15. What do you think to the price you paid for sunbeds at Sun City compared to other salons?
Expensive = 1
Inexpensive = 25
Fair = 4
The response to this question was very good, it shows that the customers are very satisfied with the prices, as 84% of the customers questioned said they think the prices for sunbeds at Sun City are inexpensive compared to other salons. 13% of people thought the prices were fair, which is also good as if the prices are average but the customer service etc is exceptional then Sun City will come out on top of other salons. 3% of people thought the prices for sunbeds at Sun City were expensive in comparison to other salons, although this is the case, 3% is equal to 1 person of the 30 I asked, so in reality the problem is not so bad. Sun City also provides special offers and price plans for example an offer on this summer stated, ‘60 minutes, lay down or stand up, only £34.95’ this works out at 58p a minute, and Sun City also guarantees that on a course of 60 minutes etc they will beat any salons in kettering by at least 5%. This is the most lilely reason for 84% of people saying the sunbeds are inexpensive.
16. Do the dangers of sunbeds put you off using them?
Yes = 16
No = 14
Makes me think twice but no = 20
Only 28% of the customers questioned said that the health risks attatched to sunbeds do not worry them at all and would not put them off, that means that the vast majority of 72% of people are worried about the health risks of sunbeds, this is a very very bad thing for all sunbed operators, with the health risks, legitimate or non legitimate, worrying customers and scaring away potential customers. On the other hand though, 40% of people say yes the health risks do worry them but not enough to put them off using them, this is good for Sun City.
17. If yes, do you know about the benefits of using Sun City’s sunbeds?
Yes = 3
No = 2
Didnt know there were any benefits of using sunbeds. = 45
The people who answered yes to the previous question were asked if they knew of the benefits of Sun Citys sunbeds, 90% of the people I asked said they didn’t know there were and benefits of anysunbeds, this shows that Sun City are not doing aswell in their marketing as they could be. Only 6% of people know of the benefits and they still would not use sunbeds because they obviously believe the risks outweigh the benefits. 4% of people just didn’t know of the benefits of using Sun City’s sunbeds, perhaps they knew there were benefits but just didn’t know which ones apply to Sun City’s sunbeds. Overall the responsse to the question means that Sun City’s marketing could be better if the benefits wre marketed better.
18. What other services have you used in-store?
Nails = 18
Hairdressing = 7
Spray tan = 5
Just Sunbeds = 4
I asked this question to find out what people use the most other than the sunbeds, the results showed me that 52% of customers use the nail facilities/services as-well as sunbeds, this is good as it shows that the extra facilities which were added to attract more customers si working. It may be the case that they come to use the nail services and use the sunbeds because it is convenient, it may also be the case that they come to use the sunbeds and use the nail facilities because it is convenient, either way it is very good for Sun City and the salons revenue, however extra research would be required to find out if this is actually the case. 21% of people use the hairdressing services, this is good as hairdressing is the cheapest of the services to run as it does not involve using expensive processes and products, so maximises revenue, also 15% use spray tans, this shows that Sun City’s main attraction, the tanning is being used by the sunbeds and the spray tans. 12% of people however only use the sunbeds, this is not so good as it means they may be going elsewhere for the same services Sun City provides, perhaps offers or deals would entice the customers to stay at Sun City for the facilities.
19. Do you feel Sun City is based in a popular area?
Yes = 29
No =21
This question is related to the ‘place’ part of the marketing mix, it was asked to see what customers thought of the location of Sun City’s salon in kettering town, the results were reasonable, 58% of people thought Sun City was based in a popular area, this is because it is in kettering town etc, however 42% of people think it is not based in a a popular area, this is not good for Sun City as if Sun City is in a bad location it will not attract passing custom etc, overall the location is very important and if it has been placed in a bad location there is more of a chance the business will fail. The results show that the majority do think Sun City is in a successful location, this is good.
20. (if ticked no) please state why
Off a side street = 18
Other tanning shops too close by = 12
Too far away from other shops = 1
The main reason the customers who think Sun City is not in a popular location, think this is because it is off a side street, 58% of people think that this is the case, this is a valid response as it would make sense that because the salon is based off a side street of kettering town, people would not be able to see it from walking down the highstreet, therefore would not have as much of a chance of noticing it and going inside. Sun City however have placed a small billboard on the main highstreet indicating where the salon is so this is not a problem for Sun City. 39% of people however think that Sun City is based in an unpopular area because there are other tanning shops too close by, this is a valid point however there is only one other tanning shop in the town centre and it is not in the main part of the town centre, there is also another tanning shop however it is on montagu street, and Sun City has signifigantly lower prices than either of the other salons around so this shouldnt be a problem. Finally 3% of people think that Sun City is too far away from other shops however, Sun City is a 10 second walk from the main town center, therefore this is not a problem.
21. Do you get the desired effect from sun-beds? (only if used)
Yes = 21
No = 5
Sometimes = 8
61% of people find sunbeds satisfactory and find that they give them the required results, this question was related to all sunbeds, not specifically the ones used at Sun City, 15% of people who use sunbeds however said that they do not get the required results from sunbeds, which I can only assume to be brown, there may be many reasons for that, perhaps they do not use products whilst they are on the sunbed. 16% of people who use sunbeds however said that they sometimes get the required result from sunbeds, maybe they use a variety of different products, or they vary between stand up and laydown sunbeds as sme are stronger than others. Only further research could tell me why.
22. Do you use products when using the sunbed?
Yes = 21
No = 13
62% of people said that yes they do use products on the sunbeds, this correlates with the amount of people who said yes they get the required result from sunbeds every time, there is perhaps a link between whether you use products on the sunbed, and whether you get the tan you require, overall 62% of people who use sunbeds do use products, this gives Sun City a potential market of 62% of customers to sell their products to, this is good as it is quite signifigant amount. 38% of people however do not use sproducts whilst on the sunbed, e.g. sun lotion or oil, this is not good as using products whilst on sunbeds protects your skin, moreso than when you don’t use products, it also means that Sun City have less of a potential market to sell products to.
23. (if yes) do you think the more recognised the brand, the better it is for use on a sunbed?
Yes = 14
Not necessarily = 7
There are certain things that come with a, higher price, a better reputation, and a more recognised brand, these things include actually having more of an ability to do whatever it is you aspire to achieve from the product, more effectively, quicker and safer. This applies to tanning products as-well, for example, Sun City only sell expensive well recognised brands because they have a better reputation, I asked customers if they thought that the more recognised the brand the better quality it would be, only 67% of people think that this is the case, therefore this means that Sun City are less likely to sell more of their products as 37% of people would be satisfied with an unrecognised brand if the price etc was cheaper.
24. What do you think of the customer service you receive at Sun City?
high standard = 7
average standard = 39
poor standard = 4
unacceptable = 0
Overall the response to this question was reasonable, 78% of the customers at Sun City said they receive average service when they come to the salon, this is not particularly good but it is not bad either, according to a previous question, 35% of people regard customer service one of the main reasons to go to a salon and with only 14% of people thinking there is a high standard of customer service, this is a bad thing, however only 8% of people thought they received a poor standard of customer service, so this is good. Overall people were satisfied with the level of service at Sun City and combined with all the other good points customers have pointed out through this essay e.g. the prices and convenience, given these reasons the 8% of poor service shouldn’t be a problem.
25. Are all staff friendly in-store?
Yes = 45
No = 5
This question is related to the question above, 90% of people said that all staff in-store are friendly, this correlates with the information stating that 8% of people received a poor standard of customer service, with 10% of customers saying all staff are not friendly, this does not suggest that the staff are unfriendly, perhaps just one member of staff is, or was not friendly towards the customers on one or more than one occasion. Although this is not a good thing, with such a small percentage of people saying that all staff are not friendly and only 8% of people receiving poor customer service, this should not be a major problem, however it should not be ignored.
26. Would you recommend Sun City to other people, friends and family?
Yes = 36
No = 6
If they asked = 8
This question was juts asked to find out if people really thought a lot of Sun City, the majority, 72% of people said yes, this is a good indication of the success, only 12% of people said no. although a no is not good, it should not affect Sun City as they have other methods of promotion than word of mouth.
Conclusions.
Objectives
My initial plan was to find out what the objectives of Sun City are and whether or not they are realistic and how they help Sun City stay on track. I believe I have done this successfully, from my managers interview I found out that Sun Citys’ current objective is to achieve a customer base of 500 people within a year. The manager also said that the company sticks to SMART objectives, this is a very good thing as it means the objectives are carefully analysed and researched before they are set. They will always be Specific, Measured, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed. I believe this is a good initial objective as it appears to be all of these, the manager also stated that ‘to make a success of our business and continually advertise well and promote the sunbeds at Sun City and Sun City on the whole’ is an objective, this is not such a good objective, they have nothing specific to aim for and there is no sense of time. I understand that this may just be a general aim for the business, as will be of all businesses, to be successful however it does not appear to be a SMART objective.
Budgets
Regarding budgets my initial plan was to assess how Sun City was managing their budgets, sticking to them and what methods they used to help them. I wanted to find out about forecasting and controlling money in and money out. I asked the manager about it in my managers interview, I discovered that Sun City doesn’t actually budget, they don’t forecast of predict, all Sun City do is spend where they have to and keep a contingency fund. Because Sun City are an ltd, if anything serious were to happen financially, Sun City has limited liability which means that the owners of Sun City have their personal belongings separate from the company unlike in partnerships and sole traders.Without budgeting if something unexpected were to happen and there was not enough money in the contingency fund, Sun City would be in a lot of trouble, they would have no idea when they could get themselves out of debt because they would have no record of how much they have to spend and how much revenue they get each month. Without budgeting there can be many problems, serious problems for example paying staff, taxes, paying suppliers, VAT etc, were anything to go wrong.
Market research
With regards to market research I intended to find out the extent of which market research takes place at Sun City, I found out that Sun City does regular, monthly market research and that they do not include any questions to their customers or potential customers regarding their knowledge of negative media exposure, health risks and warnings about using sunbeds. I think this is a very bad thing to do. As I have discovered from my research, my customer questionnaire and my potential customer questionnaire, 40% of people in the potential customer questionnaire said the warnings given make them think twice, 33% of people said that the negative media exposure has put them off of using sunbeds altogether, and the minority of 28% of potential customers have said that negative media exposure does not put them off. This is a very bad response as it means that the eventuality of the current situation regarding sunbeds is that more and more warnings are going to be given out, the government is always trying to discourage people from using sunbeds and more and more customers will resort to other methods such as spray tanning or, tan in a bottle, this will dramatically affect Sun Citys profits.
It is however good that Sun City carries out market research when considering adding something new or changing something, as they have mentioned handing out questionnaires to customers when deciding whether or not it would be beneficial to extend their services and include hairdressing and nail therapy. The customers gave a positive response to the questionnaire and said that they would “use the services if they were provided”, Sun City did extend their range of services and it was successful. Looking back in hindsight I feel it would have been beneficial if I were to ask Sun City customers if they have actually ever participated in any market research for Sun City. This could help me in my investigation, and it could also give me an indication of whether Sun City managers have lied about any of the questions I have asked them, therefore giving me inaccurate unreliable information.
Market segmentation
In the beginning I aimed to find out who the managers at Sun City felt were their main type of customer, how they segmented the market and how they aimed their products specifically to them. What I discovered was in fact very different to what I expected, I found out that Sun City does not really segment their market, they don’t target their products to anyone in particular and the manager didn’t know what ‘socio-economic segmentation’ was, this is very worrying as a business could potentially be a success or a failure based on who their target market are and how they specifically target them. The managers at Sun City didn’t really feel they had a target market or a particular type of customer that visited Sun City and could find no way to segment them. From my research of their customers however I discovered even from the first few questions of my questionnaire there was a specific type of person who visitit Sun City the most. 74% of the customers were between the ages of 15-30 this is already enough information to be able to target their market. It is also clear that the majority of people, 60% of customers were female as apposed to the 40% male. The customers could also be segmented into how much they earn, it is apparent that people who earn over £40,000 do not generally visit Sun City so targeting the promotion at people who earn over £40,000 would not be very successful, however 20% of people earn between £25,000 and £30,000, this information could be used to segment the market according to income.
I feel it is very bad that Sun City do not segment or target specific parts of the market and could lead to very bad things such as loss of profit, and customers. Although it dos not appear to be affecting them at the moment in the future it could potentially be very bad for them.
The marketing mix
The marketing mix consists of the 4p’s, price, place, promotion and product. i intended to find out about the marketing mix specifically relating to Sun City, I have discovered the range of products, the prices, the location of the business and how promotion affects Sun City. I also intend to relate my findings to the problem.
Product
As I stated in my objectives, the product is the most important thing when it comes to a business, without a good procudt your company is unlikely to succeed. I set out to find out what people thought of the products and services Sun City offers, what the managers think of their range of products, and the reason as to why they expanded their range of services and if it was successful. From my customer questionnaire I discovered that people are on the whole very pleased with the range of services offered and it was worth while them expanding. The manager of Sun City also feels it was a good idea to expand and offer hairdressing and nail therapy aswell as sunbeds and tanning. Also the range of actual products Sun City sell is very good and consists of many well known and not so well known brands and varied prices, so appealing to everyone.
From my customer questionnaire I also discovered that the majority of people that visit Sun City salon visit to use the sunbeds, this shows that at the moment the negative media exposure is not affecting Sun City as badly as it potentially could. I also discovered that the majority of people, 72%, the negative media exposure and health risks are a big put off when it comes to using sunbeds. This shows that although Sun City are not feeling the effects of the negative exposure making people think twice, in a few years or even months when more and more negative exposure happens, more and more people will be deterred as new facts are discovered.
Price
With regards to pricing at Sun City I discovered what the customers think, and the response was very good, using the results from my customer questionnaire, I found out that 84% of current customers thought that the prices at Sun City were inexpensive, 13% thought the prices were fair and only 3% of customers thought that the prices were expensive, this is very good as it meand that 97% of the customers are satisfied when it comes to the prices at Sun City, however there may be implications with the fact that people think the prices are inexpensive, this may include things like implying bad service or bad results, inexpensive things are not normally of good quality or at least that’s what the implications could be from people saying the prices are inexpensive. However I have also discovered from my customer research that customers feel the service at Sun City is average to good, 90% of people said all staff in store were friendly, 78% of people thought the service they received was average and 14% said it was good, this is good as it means that despite the low rices perhaps implying bad service etc, the service is good and the prices are low, very good for the business.
Tha manager of Sun City said in the managers interview that regardless of the prices, people will pay no amount of money to damage themselves or their skin, this is a very good point therefore anyone who said that the health risks and warnings issued by the government and the media are a very serious issue with regards to Sun City.
Place
For my place objective I set out to find out what people thought of the location of Sun City and how successful they were because of their location. I looked at the shops around it and where exactly Sun City was situated, from what I found out, Sun City is in an ideal location as it is in the centre of the town centre making is easy for people to get to however is off a side street. The fact Sun City is off of the side street is not an issue as it places billboards around to direct people to the salon. There is a downside to the location of Sun City, this is that there is a tanning salon no more than a few 100 meters away from the store, it offers sunbeds like Sun City which poses a threat to Sun City. The manager of Sun City however says that although yes they feel sun and slim are a competitor, Sun City will end up on top because it keeps its prices much lower than sun and slim, the only disadvantage we have is that sun and slim has a gym so people would not be willing to walk across town, they would stay at sun and slim for the convenience. Overall I would say Sun City have a good location and are successful partly because of their location.
Promotion
The promotion of Sun City was the main thing I intended to look at, I wanted to look at the different types of promotion Sun City uses, how much they promote Sun City and how then counteract the negative media exposure about sunbeds. I discovered that Sun City does absolutely nothing to counteract the negative media exposure. If there was nothing to come back with then it would be understandable because lying to the public is illegal in some cases, however there is evidence to say that using sunbeds actually has benefits. Sun City has a small link on their homepage to the page where the benefits are stated however they do not have it anywhere else, the link or any information. From my customer and potential customer questionnaire, I discovered that the vast majority of people in general think twice about using sunbeds and nearly all people are aware of the negative effects of using sunbeds, whether there is evidence or not. However only 6% of people know about the benefits of using sunbeds, which means that 94% of people do not know of the benefits of using sunbed, or sunbeds at Sun City in particular. 90% of people not only didn’t know of the benefits of sunbeds but didn’t know there were any benefits of using sunbeds at all. This shows very verybad advertising and promotion of Sun City. It is good that Sun City advertise themselves by using different types of promotion, for example billboards, posters, leaflets etc however if people only know about the warnings and the dangers of using sunbeds the implications could be very bad for Sun City.
Recommendations
Objectives
Sun Citys current objective is to ‘achieve a customer base of 500 people within a year’ as I have stated I think this is a very good objective to have as it is SMART. Sun Citys other objective that they have set for themselves is ‘to make a success of our business and continually advertise well and promote the sunbed at Sun City and Sun City on the whole’ this however is a bad objective, it is not SMART and is unlikely to be successful. I would recommend only setting objectives which are SMART, if they are not they will be unlikely rto succeed which will be very de-motivational to the staff and could potentially have very bad implications for the business itself. I would recommend changing this objective to something measurable, like amount of customers, amount of profit, or revenue etc as promotion cannot be measured on its own. I would possibly change Sun Citys objectives to something such as ‘Sun City aims to spend (specific amount) on promotional resources and aims to get a profit of (specific amount) in a year.’ This would be a suggestion for an objective because it follows the SMART objective ides, it is specific, to promotion and profit, measureable, as in the amount of profit attained, achievable as Sun City would fill in the sections to make it achievable in a year or however long they choose, it is realistic as Sun City will decide this, and it is timed as there is time period of a year included in the objective. If Sun City made all their objectives follow the SMART objective rule then they should be put in a better position overall.
Budgets
In my objectives, I set out to find out to what extent Sun City budgets, to my complete surprise I discovered that Sun City does not budget; they spend what they need to when they need to, and have a small contingency fund for emergencies. This was very shocking as without a budget a business is likely to be in a bad position regarding their finances. I would seriously recommend Sun City records all their spendings and all their income, this can put them in a much better financial position. It will also allow Sun City to set their own objectives and measure them against their income and expenditure to allow them to be SMART. Budgets are also good because as Sun City is a growing organisation, as businesses grow, control and co-ordination become much more difficult. Budgets help to ensure everyone is working towards a common goal. I would definitely recommend budgeting. At the moment, it does not appear to be a problem for Sun City as the manager seemed very calm when talking about their budgets, I would however recommend recording properly all incomings and outgoings, as this will allow Sun City to forecast and predict their finances for coming months and years. Especially as Sun City is a small business which is growing, having a forecast of finances will help them plan for the future.
Market research
I discovered that Sun City carry out regular market research to both their existing customers and potential customers, I think this is good but I also found out that they do not include any questions regarding peoples knowledge on sunbeds and the benefits etc. as I have previously stated I think this is a very bad idea, I would suggest Sun City first finds out how much people actually know on sunbeds, perhaps using a short questionnaire people fill out after they have used Sun Citys services. This would be agood as once Sun City know what their customers think about sunbeds and why some do not use them they can act appropriately. I discovered that 94% of people don’t know of the benefits of sunbeds and only of the dangers and warnings about them therefore I would recommend Sun City carry out regular market research to the potential customers in the areas to find out how extensive their knowledge of health and sunbeds goes and if Sun City find out that it is the risks that are putting people off using sunbeds altogether they should do what is necessary to let people know about the benefits and that using sunbeds is not all bad.
Market segmentation
What I discovered about Sun City and their view on market segmentation was worrying, I found out that Sun City did not use promotion to advertise specifically to any target market as they do not segment their market, the manager didn’t know what a socio economic group was and neither could she specifiy what type of people visit Sun City most iften, I discovered that the most common people that visit Sun City are females between the ages of 15-30 who earn a mid-range salary, I did not include a question on socio-economic groups in my customer or my potential customer questionnaire, this was because I felt people would not fully understand the question and I would not get accurate results.
From my results I would recommend that Sun City, when they next carry out market research, include questions so Sun City can find out an appropriate way to segment their market and use it to their advantage when promoting Sun City and Sun Citys sunbeds.
The marketing mix
Product
Whan I researched Sun Citys ‘product’ which includes Sun Citys services, I found out that people are generally very happy with the range of services and products Sun City offers them, this includes the customers and the managers. The managers also feel that their range of products is good and that extending their services was the right decision for them as it is bringing in more revenue. I found no negative infoamrtion on the products at Sun City, they provide a range of products, including hair products, and sun tanning products. One negative thing I did finf on the products are the sunbeds, I found out that people were thinking twice about using them because of the health risks, this is not directly related to the product, however I can onlt suggest more advertisement and promotion of the benefits of using sunbeds.
Price
As I have previously stated, my initial plan to find out about process at Sun City were to find out what pricing methods Sun City uses and to find out what their customers thought of the prices at Sun City. My results proved to be good however the manager at Sun City said they do not have a particular method of pricing, for example she said Sun City price things the way they see fit. I would however suggest that seeing as the salon is already well established it is still growing in the market, I would therefore suggest using a pricing strategy such as loss leader pricing, this will allow Sun City to keep their prices really low attracting more and more new customers because the price is so low. The manager of Sun City also said however that no matter how low the monetary price is, people will pay no amount of money to damage their skin if they are against it. If the customers are against sunbeds etc they will not use them no matter how low the price, to overcome this I would recommend promoting the benefits of sunbeds and Sun City.
Place
From finding out what people thought of the location of Sun City, I have come to the conclusion that Sun City is in a relatively good location as it is in the town centre and is close to all the shops. This is good as it attracts lots of potential customers. The only downside however is that Sun City is on a small side street so is not visible from the main high street. In order to make Sun Citys location more favourable I would recommend extensive advertising, bold print and bright colours to attract customers using the billboard. I would also recommend putting small maps on all of the leaflets so Sun City do not lose potential customers because they could not find the salon. Overall I would say that Sun City is in a good location and the obvious answer to their problem would be to move, however this is not a possibility and is an unattainable goal.
Promotion
As I have previously discussed in this coursework, Sun Citys main problem is that people are being deterred from using sunbeds by the negative media exposure, risks and warnings. Their main problem regarding this is that they do not advertise to counteract this negative media exposure. What I would recommend is to use mainly above the line promotion to reach a wider target market such as general leaflets in stores, billboards etc, and perhaps some below the line promotional methods such ad tarheting their existing customers by sending discounts, BOGOF’s etc in the post for them to use. I would seriously recommend however that Sun City state the benefits of sunbeds everywhere they possibly can, on leaflets, billboards, in store, on posters etc. this will allow people to make their own decision on sunbeds then without having a biased view that the only information then have on sunbeds is negative.
Sun City should also put the link to the bupa website, , so people are aware that in fact the majority of things said about sunbeds have no real proof. This in all will attract more customers, and stop existing customers being deterred.
Evaluation
The problem I was looking at regarding Sun City was ‘the impact of negative publicity in the media on the use of sunbeds.’ I discovered that there was quite a significant problem and that the majoprity of people think twice before using sunbeds because of the negative publicity. I have researched using questionnaires and interviews, I came to the conclusion that it was one of Sun Citys main problems and in order for them to fix it, Sun City need to sort out their budgets and market segmentation etc to allow sufficient funding and resources to promote sunbeds at Sun City and counteract the negative exposure with positive things, benefits etc.
Overall, the information that I researched was sufficient to analyse Sun Citys position and to make suggestions on how to potentially solve, if not better the problem. I think the most effective information was the customer questionnaire as it allowed me to get an insight to what customers thought of Sun City etc. ths managers interview was good and beneficial to me as I found ot information I would not know otherwise however the answers I received were slightly vague. Thay were detailed enough to give me a rough idea where Sun City stands e.g. regarding budgetng, promotion, products pricing etc however there were no specific details regarding finances or exact numbers of their current customers base so I am currently unable to set objectives for Sun City to aim for as I have nothing to measure.
If I was going to do my investigation again I would ask questions which would give me more detailed answers regarding the managers interview, so I could conclude more thoroughly and therefore give more detailed specific recommendations. I do however feel than the suggestions I have made would benefit Sun City in solving their problem of negative media exposure about sunbeds.
