To implement the positioning strategy and achieve its objectives, marketing managers must develop a distinct marketing mix – popularly termed the 4P’s – product, price, place and promotion. Topshop have mixed these elements together in order to meet the needs of their target market.
Product
When a customer buys a product, they are buying a particular bundle of benefits that they perceive as satisfying their own particular wants and needs. The Topshop brand’s perceived benefits to the customer may be obtaining the latest fashionable product in order to satisfy a need to - look good, be trendy or to ‘fit in’.
Some of the product decisions made by Topshop include:
- Variety of Products – which Topshop have recently increased – their product range now includes underwear, swimwear, bags, shoes, jewelry, accessories and the most recent addition ‘pop make-up’ as the target market wish to ‘accessorize’.
- Sizes – These range from 6-16 again to suit the needs of the target market
- Own Label Branding - ……………………………..
Price
‘Price is the one element of the marketing mix that produces revenue – the others produce costs’ (Kotler page 470)
Price therefore requires careful attention from the marketing manager, it needs to be reflected in the communications undertaken by the organization and should be sensitive to the expectations of the target market and the positioning strategy. It should also be remembered that price is an important contributor to perceived value.
Topshop’s pricing strategy takes into account the disposable income of their target market. Products are not overpriced so as to be unaffordable and yet are not priced too low???? And so avoid being perceived as low value or low quality products.
Quite a significant percentage of Topshop’s target market are students, they are offered a 10% student discount. It is often thought that discounts undermine the value perceptions of the offerings, but this strategy has worked well for Topshop. It has enabled precision targeting of customers who may be more price-sensitive without harming the remaining customers who are willing to pay full price.
Topshop make use of store cards enabling customers to purchase on credit. To encourage the opening of a store card customers receive a 10% discount on their purchase. The ultimate benefit of such a facility is increased sales – however there are others, which will be discussed later.
Place
Retailers are accustomed to saying that the three keys to success are ‘location, location, location.’
The Arcadia Group have strategically placed their hundreds of outlets across the UK
“There is hardly a high street or shopping center across the land that isn’t host to one or more of Arcadias celebrated brands.”
In retailing the product or service on sale cannot be divorced from the actual store itself – what the image is, the nature of the total shopping experience and so on. Topshop have gone to great lengths to create an in-store atmosphere, which will attract the target market.
- Interiors of branches have a modern ‘trendy’ feel – they are bright, spacious and uncluttered.
- The majority of staff are in the same age range as the target market and are dressed in the latest Topshop lines.
- Music played in-store is the latest chart music, televisions placed above till points and in changing rooms are tuned to those music channels that have a youth audience e.g. MTV and Chart Hits.
- In- store events during busy periods such as entry into a draw for tickets to see the latest artists and bands. Some stores even have live performances from up and coming bands – although these strategies are usually employed in larger stores as they are time consuming and costly.
Promotion
Covers all the means used to communicate with the target market. Each retailer must use promotional tools that support and reinforce its image positioning - Topshop make use of the following promotional tools:
Targeting Advertising:
As Topshop’s target market purchase trend setting magazines these are used to promote the brand. Magazines such as Just Seventeen, Sugar….. published on a weekly and monthly are rarely without a page or two devoted to the latest Topshop lines. Quite often the features will use some fashion ions of the youth market such as Victoria Beckham or Kylie Minogue. They capitalize on these trend setting stars by encouraging readers to ‘Create Posh’s Look’ by purchasing Topshop products.
Internet:
Topshop’s website provides information and promotional material on all Topshop products. The new range of ‘Pop Make-Up’ is again promoted using pop icons. By purchasing certain color ranges customers can – ‘be a pop princes – think Kylie, Sophie Ellis Bexter or Suga-babes’ or ‘be a golden girl – think Britney, Jenifer Lopez and Gizelle’.
Sponsorship:
Topshops sponsor events such as:
- Graduate Fashion Week
- New generation Award
- Designers at Boutique
These events support rising stars of the fashion scene and are known for launching the careers of the Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. Sponsoring these events enables Topshop to be seen as innovative in the fashion world – helping to build a credible brand name and reputation within its market.
When a company such as Topshop has achieved a certain level of success by focusing on their market and building a strong brand image and market share – they will engage in marketing activities in order to maintain it. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or Relationship Marketing involves developing stronger bonds with customers by managing detailed information and ‘touchpoints’ with the aim of maximizing customer loyalty.
CRM is becoming the central focus of marketing. Marketing managers are realizing that it pays of to invest in quality, customer service and creating satisfied, loyal customers who will:
- Buy more as the company increase new products
- Talk favorably about the company
- Pay less attention to competing brands
- Be less sensitive to price
Topshop are attempting to build long term profitable relationships with customers through the use of:
Store Cards:
Not only have they resulted in increased sales, store cards are providing Topshop with other benefits:
- The card acts as a permanent reminder of the company and its products
- The collection of valuable customer data at the application stage - such as e-mail address, age group, credit analysis etc.
- Enables analysis of demand and customer behavior
Having built a clearer picture of their target market Topshop manage more effective promotional activities such as direct mail campaigns both by post and e-mail. They can also mange these so called ‘touchpoints’ by offering cardholder benefits, e.g. VIP invites to the fashions shows mentioned, use of a style advisor service and other discounts for regular use of the store card. These marketing strategies enable Topshop to build stronger bonds with satisfied, loyal customers.
E-Zine/Newsletter:
This is a relatively new service that customers can sign up for when applying for their Topshop store card. Unlike unsolicited e-mails (spam) customers choose or ‘opt-in’ to receive the newsletter, which ensures they ‘stay a step of the trends’. It provides information on fashions and trends, the newest Topshop lines, sale bargains and exclusive offers. The E-zine opens a constant channel of communication and can build trust, loyalty and credibility between customers and the Topshop brand.
Customer Satisfaction:
The key to customer retention is customer satisfaction. Topshop have made it easy for customers to provide comments and feedback, as they have dedicated a web page for the purpose.
Competition in Market
Topshop are operating in an increasingly competitive environment and therefore understanding customers is no longer enough. Topshop must identify its competitors and pay keen attention to them if it is to maintain its market share and stay abreast of the competition.
Many companies design and operate systems for gathering continuous intelligence about competitors. However carrying out a SWOT analysis is a simple but structured approach a company could take to ensure awareness of the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats in its external environment. It can be useful for pooling ideas and can highlighting major gaps in knowledge.
