Boden Marketing Plan for Two Male Segments

This assignment focuses on developing a comprehensive marketing plan for Boden, targeting two distinct male customer segments: younger adults and older male adults. The plan utilizes various analytical tools like PESTLE, value chain analysis, perceptual mapping, and the 4Ps of marketing (product, price, place, promotion). It delves into segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies specific to each segment, outlining a differentiated marketing mix to effectively reach and engage them.

Marketing Plan

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Background Information........................................................................................................1
Environmental appraisal analysis...........................................................................................1
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
TASK 2 .........................................................................................................................................11
Identification of two target markets appropriate for the company.......................................11
Conclusion............................................................................................................................22
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................23
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................25
Differentiate Marketing Mix for two targeted market..........................................................25
Conclusion............................................................................................................................31
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................32
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................33

Index of Tables
Table 1: Comparative analysis of Boden and Debenhams 2017.....................................................7
Table 2: Business canvas model......................................................................................................7
Table 3: Target markets and customer profile...............................................................................14
Table 4: 3 years budget for marketing of coats, blazer and jackets...............................................20
Table 5: 3 years budget for marketing of sports shoes..................................................................22
Table 6: Comparative analysis of differentiated marketing mix...................................................32
Illustration Index
Illustration 1: PESTLE Analysis .....................................................................................................4
Illustration 2: Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning .................................................................11
Illustration 3: Young Adults Positioning.......................................................................................14
Illustration 4: Older Male Adults Positioning ...............................................................................17
Illustration 5: Positioning ..............................................................................................................18
Illustration 6: Perceptual Mapping.................................................................................................19
Illustration 7: 3 year budget plan for coats, blazer and jackets......................................................21
Illustration 8: 3 year budget plan for sports shoes........................................................................22
Illustration 9: Marketing Mix 4Ps .................................................................................................26
Illustration 10: Product Life Cycle for coats, blazers and jackets.................................................27
Illustration 11: Product Life Cycle of Sports shoes.......................................................................30

INTRODUCTION
A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Proper marketing strategy is
the foundation of a well-written marketing plan. While a marketing plan contains a list of
actions, without a sound strategic foundation, it is of little use to a business (Havlícek,
Thalassinos and Berezkinova, 2013). In accordance with this context, this assignment will help
in formulating effective marketing plan for Boden, a British clothing retailer. The organisation
has reported a 9% increase in sales to £308.3 million in lifestyle products of both men and
women wear. In order to accomplish set goals and desired targets, management aims to recreate
a marketing plan that aid in efficient growth and development of the organisation.
Further, environmental appraisal will be made in this report in order to analyse both the
internal and external environment of Boden with the help of value chain model and PESTLE
analysis. Moreover, segmentation, targeting and positioning will be made in this assignment in
order to identify two new target markets of the organisation. Further, differentiated marketing
mix strategy will be applied in this report to so that marketing plan of organisation can be
formulate effectively and efficiently.
TASK 1
Background Information
Boden is a British clothing organisation who specialises in selling clothing products through
either online or by catalogue. It was developed by Johnnie Boden in 1991 by launching
menswear products and introduced womenswear in 1992. Kate Barton who then became the
chief designer introduced Childrenswear range Mini Boden in 1996. The website developed in
1999. The company begins its expansion in 2002 by selling their products and services online in
America.
Environmental appraisal analysis
Internal Environmental Analysis
The environmental appraisal will be analysed with the help of SWOT analysis, Porter Five Force
model, Value chain model and PESTLE analysis which is provided below:
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
1

 The strength of Boden is the management able to provide effective quality of apparels to
their target customers. This helps in increasing the brand value and customer satisfaction
adequately (Baines, Fill and Page, 2013).
 The management believes in using advance technology and information systems. They
spent large sum of money to upgrade their website and robust their existing technologies.
Weakness
 Despite of having high technologies and systems, the management has employed
more than required employees in the organisation. This adds cost to the management
and thus, Boden unable to earn adequate amount of profits.
 The marketing strategies used by the management of Boden are not precise. They
focus on limited areas and use less tools for promotion of its goods and services.
 The management having issues regarding lack of skilled and competent workforce
(Shank and Lyberger, 2014).
Opportunities
 The organisation has opportunity to identify new business areas where they can
increase their productivity and profitability.
 By customising the products and services of the organisations, the management can
increase its market share and growth.
Threats
 The rapid increase in technological development increases the cost to the
organisations. Heavy investment requires initiating high technology thus,
declining the revenue of Boden.
 Increase in competition is another threat the troubles the management of Boden.
Strength
 The organisation provides effective
quality of apparels for both men and
women.
 It uses high level of technology and
high recognition of products. This aid
in growth and development of the
Opportunities
 The organisation has opportunity to
identify new business areas where they can
increase their productivity and profitability
 Customisation of Products and services.
2

company
Weakness
 It has manual working through which
cost has been increased.
 Its have weak promotional program.
 Lack of skilled workforce in the
organisation.
Threats
 Technological developments
 High level of competition in industry.
Porter Five Force Model
The Porter Five Force model will aid in identifying the competitive forces that impacts on
growth and development of Boden. The details of the model with respect to the organisation is
provided below: Competition in the industry (High): From the analysis, it was identified that there are
several competitors which are surrounded by the organisation. The retail industries in
United Kingdom are blooming day by day (Kotler and et.al., 2016). With the rise in
globalisation and policies of government, new organisations are establishing their
business in the country. The current competitors of Boden are Tesco, Aldi, Debenhams
and Marks and Spencer. These competitors are impacting and influencing the growth and
development of the organisation. The threat of competition in the industry is high for the
Boden due to rigid policies and more foreign direct investment in United Kingdom since
last decade (Sakas, Vlachos and Nasiopoulos, 2014). Potential of New Entrants Into an Industry (High): Since the inception of new
globalisation and liberalisation policies in the country, the new entrants and organisations
are establishing their stores and offices in United Kingdom. This impact on the growth
and development of Boden. The threat of potential of new entrants into an industry is
high as new organisations are emerging that specialises in the retail sector. Further, due to
increase in online activities, majority of the organisation embarked online services (Mintz
and Currim, 2013). Power of Suppliers (Low): This force addresses how easily suppliers can drive up the
price of goods and services. Boden procures raw materials from various suppliers. Thus,
3

the company has no threat of supplier power. The threat of supplier power is low for
Boden. The management has been partnered with various suppliers thus, they have no or
little threat of supplier power. Power of Customer (High): This specifically deals with the ability customers have to
drive prices down (Hollensen, 2015). Boden has threat to customers due to increase in
substitution and new retail markets. Thus, management needs to formulate strategies to
prevent this threat. The threat of consumer power is high due to increase in competition
and substitutes.
 Threat of substitution (Moderate): Competitor substitutions that can be used in place of
a company's products or services pose a threat (Baines, Fill and Page, 2013). There are
various substitution available in current market economy of the country. Thus, Boden
faces the threat of substitution.
External Environment Analysis
You need to add for details and add more references.
External environment is consisted of outside environment which is surrounded by the
organisation (Cress, 2015). External environment influences the functionality and production
activity of Boden. In order to analyse external analysis, PESTLE model will be used. The model
4
Illustration 1: PESTLE Analysis
(Source: PESTLE Analysis, 2017)

is helps in analysing political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors
that impacts on the performance of Boden and which are described below: Political Environment: These factors determine the extent to which a government may
influence the economy or a certain industry (Kotler and et.al., 2016). Boden is an
emerging retail market enterprise, incorporated in United Kingdom. The government of
the country aims to reduce the corporation tax from 30% to 28% that assist Boden to
increase their profits in the future. Moreover, due to increase in trends of retail markets in
the country, government plans to increase foreign direct investment strategy in the
country. This will increase the competition in the country and Boden has to face
tremendous competition (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 2013). Further, there are various
policies which are yet to be implemented by the government. These policies directly and
indirectly impact on the productivity and profitability of Boden. Economic Environment: These factors are determinants of an economy’s performance
that directly impacts a company and have resonating long term effects (Kozlenkova,
Samaha and Palmatier, 2014). The whole UK economic is facing recession and very
sensitive to changes in interest rates. Due to rigid policies and low purchasing power of
consumers Boden faced downwards in their sales and profits. Further, due to increase in
competition, ample amount of substitution available for consumers to purchase. This
negatively influences the sales and profits of the organisation. The management spending
lots of money in order to promote their products and also innovating various incentive
and discount schemes that leads to loss of the organisation. Thus, economic environment
influences the productivity and profitability of Boden in multiple way. Social Environment: Social environment consists of social factors such consumer taste
and preferences and societal needs and expectations. Consumers needs are dynamic in
nature. Due to increase in globalisation, consumers now demand for branded and high
quality of products and services (Hunt, 2014). The management of Boden, working
diligently in order to meet the needs and expectations of consumers. It is very important
for the organisation to fulfil the desires of customer in order to sustain in competitive
economy of United Kingdom. It will not only aid in eliminating competitive pressure, but
also provide benchmark for future success.
5

 Technological Environment: Internet shopping is the main trend for the retailing industry
which directly influence the sales approach. Majority of customers purchased goods from
Boden through its website and mobile application (Killian and McManus, 2015). Thus, it
is very essential for the information and technological department of Boden to frequently
update their websites and applications so that consumer can purchase goods and services
effectively and efficiently. In today's world, continuous modification and innovation in
the field of technology leads to improvement in quality of goods and services
(Peck and et.al., 2013). Management of organisation has effectively invested in
innovative technologies that aid in reducing the cost and increase the profitability of
organisation. Legal Environment: These factors have both external and internal sides. There are certain
laws that affect the business environment in a certain country while there are certain
policies that companies maintain for themselves (Cress, 2015). Governmental policies
and laws directly and indirectly impacts on the performance of Boden. Acts and
legislation such as Data Protection Act and Consumer health and safety act of United
Kingdom, influences the management in multiple ways. It is mandatory for organisation
to conduct their business activities on the basis of laws and regulation amended by the
parliament of United Kingdom. Boden provides various schemes to customers to
facilitate with these policies and regulation. Thus, it implies that legislation environment
impacts on business activities of the company (Armstrong and et.al., 2015). Further, there
are many cases in which organisation fails to comply with laws and which leads to
penalties and punishment. Thus, it is very essential for Boden to work according to law
for prosperous growth and effective development.
 Environmental Factors: With increased pressure on companies to address environmental
issues and to adopt ways of operations which what would benefit society. Boden is
determined to reduce the carbon emission generated in the environment by 50% (Di Vita
and et.al., 2013). By utilising non-conventional source of energies such as solar energy in
their organisation, management will able to accomplish their desired target. Further,
Boden aims to reduce the wastage by innovating methods and tactics which aid in
accomplishing their aim (Mintz and Currim, 2013). With the help of effective inventory
control and management, organisation will reduce the amount of waste in efficient way.
6

Table 1: Comparative analysis of Boden and Debenhams 2017
Type Boden Debenhams Plc
Sector Retail Clothing Retail Clothing
Profits £245 million £2,341.7 million
Employees 2000 (approx) 28000 (approx)
Customers 1451452 1.1 million
As Debenhams Plc is large scale organisations and a strong competitor of Boden, its sales and
revenue figures are more as compared to Boden.
After analyzing the internal and external environment of Boden the business canvas model of
Boden formulated below. Business Model Canvas is a simple graphical template describing nine
essential components: Customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships
(such as self-service or personal assistance), revenue streams, resources, activities, partnerships,
and costs.
Table 2: Business canvas model
Key Partners
Suppliers
Raw Material
providers
Dealers
Logistics
Key Activities
Producing and
manufacturing
apparels for all
segments of
customers
Value
Propositions
Online shopping
facilities to the
customers
(Finch, 2016).
Customer
Relationships
24 hour services
are provided to
the customer.
Same day
delivery facility.
Customer
Segments
Young Adults of
age between 18
to 40 years upper
class.
Older males of
age 50 and above
category upper
class and
medium class
Key Resources
Physical
resources
Human
Channels
Digital
marketing.
Television
7

Resource
Information and
technological
resource
commercials.
Newspaper
promotions
Cost Structure
Raw Materials Cost: £5000
Salaries to Employees: £200000
Online Charges: £25000
Revenue Streams
From sponsoring in several events.
Endorsing.
Conclusion
From the above task, it can be understood that environmental analysis is very important
in order to create a marketing plan. The internal environment was scanned with the help of value
chain model and it was identified that the internal position of Boden is effective. The external
environment was analysed with the help of PESTLE model. It was identified that political and
social environment broadly influenced the performance of the organisation.
8

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Armstrong, G. and et.al., 2015. Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.
Babin, B.J. and Zikmund, W.G., 2015. Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning.
Baines, P., Fill, C. and Page, K., 2013. Essentials of marketing. Oxford University Press.
Chaffey, D., Smith, P.R. and Smith, P.R., 2013. eMarketing eXcellence: Planning and
optimizing your digital marketing. Routledge.
Cress, C.J., 2015. Handbook of geriatric care management. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Czinkota, M.R. and Ronkainen, I.A., 2013. International marketing. Cengage Learning.
Di Vita, G. and et.al., 2013. The Role of Innovation and Organization in Small Size Wineries:
The Case of Malvasia delle Lipari PDO Wine1. Calitatea. 14(137). p.107.
Eagleman, A.N., 2013. Acceptance, motivations, and usage of social media as a marketing
communications tool amongst employees of sport national governing bodies. Sport
Management Review. 16(4). pp.488-497.
Finch, B., 2016. How to write a business plan. Kogan Page Publishers.
Hollensen, S., 2015. Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education.
Hunt, S.D., 2014. Marketing theory: foundations, controversy, strategy, and resource-advantage
theory. Routledge.
Killian, G. and McManus, K., 2015. A marketing communications approach for the digital era:
Managerial guidelines for social media integration. Business Horizons. 58(5). pp.539-549.
Kotler, P. and et.al., 2016. Marketing management. Pearson Education Ltd..
Kozlenkova, I.V., Samaha, S.A. and Palmatier, R.W., 2014. Resource-based theory in
marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 42(1). pp.1-21.
Miller, E.J. and Rice, A.K. eds., 2013. Systems of organization: The control of task and sentient
boundaries. Routledge.
Mintz, O. and Currim, I.S., 2013. What drives managerial use of marketing and financial metrics
and does metric use affect performance of marketing-mix activities?. Journal of
Marketing. 77(2). pp.17-40
Peck, H., Christopher, M., Clark, M. and Payne, A., 2013. Relationship marketing. Taylor &
Francis.
9

PESTLE Analysis. 2017. [Online]. Available through:<https://myassignmenthelp.com/free-
samples/pestle-analysis-for-cadbury> [Accessed on 23rd October 2017].
Sakas, D., Vlachos, D. and Nasiopoulos, D., 2014. Modelling strategic management for the
development of competitive advantage, based on technology. Journal of Systems and
Information Technology. 16(3). pp.187-209.
Schmarzo. B., 2012. Michael Porter’s Value Chain Analysis Definition. [Online]. Available
through:<https://infocus.emc.com/william_schmarzo/big-data-mba-course-101a-unit-iii/>
[Accessed on 23rd October 2017].
Shank, M.D. and Lyberger, M.R., 2014. Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge.
Zikmund, W.G. and et.al., 2014. Marketing research. Cengage Learning Australia.
10

TASK 2
Identification of two target markets appropriate for the company
Boden as clothing retailer trade their goods and services with multiple customers. The two male
target markets appropriate for the organisation can be identified with the help of segmentation,
targeting and positioning model (O'Cass and Heirati, 2015). It will help in analysing the
customers preferences and on the basis of which organisation will be acquired with an idea about
customers. The segmentation, targeting and positioning is provided below:
Segmentation
Through segmentation, management of Boden can identify niches with specific needs, mature
markets to find new customers, deliver more focused and effective marketing messages. There
are many different ways to segment Boden target markets, which are as follows: Demographic: From the demographic analysis, management can identify the customers’
age, gender, income, education, etc. The aim of Boden is to identify two new male target
markets and with the help of segmentation, management will able to identify the target
markets easily and effectively. With an increase in globalisation, natives of United
Kingdom changing their taste and preferences rapidly. The customer segmented for
Boden is young men of age between 20-40 years and old men of age 60 and above. The
11
Illustration 2: Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning
(Source: Chiayul, 2016)

company wishes to launch products for both these segments in order to improve their
productivity and profitability. Geographic: The climatic conditions of United Kingdom mostly remain cold (Pour,
Nazari and Emami, 2013).. Thus, coats and blazer for young males will be appropriate
and sport shoes for older males will be suitable. This will benefits the organisation as
customers always desired for something new and unique. The lifestyle of customers will
be affect by purchasing those products and their attraction towards Boden products will
be increase simultaneously. The market of Boden usually covers all the segments of
customers but fails to provide products for old age male people and teenagers or young
adults. Lifestyle: The natives and residents of United Kingdom love to travel a lot. Many
employees after retirement like to spend their time either traveling or doing physical
activities so that their body remains fit and fine (Proctor, 2014). Thus, comfortable sport
shoes will assist aged males of the country to improve their lifestyle. Further, launching
new segments of coats and blazers attracts young generation of United Kingdom
adequately. Thus, it is recommended to the management of Boden to innovate new
marketing tactics that covers these segments. Boden needs to apply growth strategy in
order to meet the needs of the targeted customers (Eagleman, 2013). Benefits: The products will benefits the customer adequately by improving their
satisfaction. From the analysis of the environment, it was identified that citizens of
United Kingdom tends to purchase those products, which are of high quality and unique.
Thus, in order to increase customer satisfaction, it is recommended to the management of
Boden to consider about launching new and unique products. It is very essential for the
organisation to increase customer satisfaction by delivering them quality products and
services. In order to do that, management first needs to describe the benefits of their
specific goods, which will be offers to targeted customers (Sakas, Vlachos and
Nasiopoulos, 2014).
 Psychographic Analysis: In order to investigate about their taste and preferences,
management can use psychographic analysis (Havlícek, Thalassinos and Berezkinova,
2013). It refers to personality and emotions based on behaviours linked with purchase
choice of customers. Customers purchase products based on their purchasing behaviour.
12

In order to determine particular behaviour, management requires examining the market of
United Kingdom effectively. This will help in acquisition of knowledge and information
about customer behaviours and preferences. The analysis includes various methods such
as interviews, surveys, customer data, etc. After acquiring the knowledge and information
about customer purchase behaviour, organisation can segment its products (O'Cass and
Heirati, 2015).
To sustain in the competitive environment, it is recommend to the management of Boden covers
these segmented customers. More investment and marketing activities must be implement by the
organisation so that it can increase their sales. After gaining the purchase behaviour of
customers, organisation must classify the products on the basis of belief and values of customers
(Zikmund and et.al., 2014).
United Kingdom is now the diverse country and people of different religion and beliefs resides in
the country. It is the responsibility of the management to bifurcate the products for teens males
and older males in effective and efficient ways, on the basis of their religion and beliefs. After
analysing beliefs of targeted customers, the next step is to analyse the life cycle of customers
(Finch, 2016). Life cycle is chronological benchmarking of people who lives at different stages.
Boden wants to target two new main targets markets thus, management must be precise about the
age of group of both the targets. This will help in acquiring the knowledge about different age
groups people living in United Kingdom. Thus, management will be easily able to increase their
sales and profitability.
Thus, it implies that segmentation plays a crucial role in determining and identifying the
target markets for organisation. As a marketing consultant, it is recommended to the
management of organisation to develop their marketing strategy in effective manner, that will
help in growth and development of Boden.
Marketing Target
It is the second step in the process of segmentation, targeting and positioning. In this step the
segmented customers are targeted on the basis of critical evaluation of different customers group.
In market targeting, organisation first needs to identifies how the segmented customers served by
the other companies. It is the crucial step, as new marketing plan and strategy will be based on it
13

(Shank and Lyberger, 2014). After analysing the substitutions, organisation then needs to
identify the number of segmented customers. In case of Boden, management wants to target two
groups of male segments, which young males of age between 20-40 years and older people of
age 60 and above. This needs to be very precise as the management aims to increase their sales
and market share by offering products and services to the segmented groups. Profile of each
target markets and justification shown below in the table:
Table 3: Target markets and customer profile
Target Market Products Justification
Young Males (20-40 years)
Category: Upper Class
Coats, Blazers and Jackets Coats, blazers, and jackets are
currently in trend and prefer
mostly by young adults.
Older Males (60 years and
above)
Category: Upper Class and
middle class
Sport shoes Majority of older people of
Britain loves to travel. Thus,
comfortable sports shoes will
help them efficiently.
Illustration 3: Young Adults Positioning
SMART Objectives to justify the target markets
14

 50% increase of online searches
 45% rise of awareness
 40% increased social media engagement
 30% increase of sales revenue in coats and shoes segments
 15% customer conversion rate
 Specific: The management of Boden sets specific targets by targeting young adults and
older males of United Kingdom. It will help them to provide path to accomplish their
desired targets and goals efficiently. Measurable: The aim of Boden to deliver specific products to the target markets. The
young adults are of age between 18-40 years and older males of age 50 and above. The
products are specifically designed for them. By increasing the productivity by 20%, the
management can attain goals and objectives. Achievable: The aim of management is to offer the products to the segmented customers.
By increasing the marketing activities and promotion by 15% they can achieve their
desired results.
15
50.00%
45.00%
40.00%
30.00%
15.00%
Marketing Objectives
increase of online searches
rise of awareness
increased social media
engagement
increase of sales revenue in
coats and shoes segments
customer conversion rate

 Realistic: The management of Boden sets realistic goals. By doing work diligently they
can achieve their desired outputs.
 Time bound: The time is set for 3 years and the marketing plan has been prepared
accordingly.
The criteria size of the market must be large enough to justify segmenting. It will help the
management to position their products and services according to the needs and expectations of
segmented customers. This step is very important and play a vital role in determining size of
target markets. Management must measure the difference exist between segments. This will help
the organisation to acquire knowledge and information about the different choice of products for
different customers (Bowie and et.al., 2016). As a marketing consultant, it is being advised to the
management of Boden to critically investigate the segmented customers and particular products
in order to formulate the marketing plan. After analysing the difference, management must plan
and estimate the budget which will be require for marketing and promotion for specific products
for targeted segments of customers (Havlícek, Thalassinos and Berezkinova, 2013).
Management must design their marketing plan in a way, so that its products and services can be
easily accessible to the segmented customers. Thus, targeting will help the management of
Boden to determine the needs and expectation of desired customers in effective and efficient
ways. Organisation must formulate effective strategies that will help in growth and development
of business (Babin and Zikmund, 2015). It is the responsibility of marketing management to
derive precise strategies and focus on segmented customers’ needs and expectations, so that
Boden can be developed. It will not only assist in increasing profitability, but also eradicate the
competition. As it mainly deals in online trading, management must implement marketing
strategies according to the marketing plan so that goods and services can be delivered to the
targeted customers. Further, customers will be benefited after purchasing those products
(Havlícek, Thalassinos and Berezkinova, 2013).
16

Illustration 4: Older Male Adults Positioning
As it will increase customer satisfaction and also aid in retention of customers. In order to
sustain in the competitive environment in United Kingdom, Boden needs to follow the marketing
plan that will prospers its success and also guaranteed its future growth and development. Thus,
it implies that targeting is very essential while formulating marketing plan. This will help the
organisation to identify the segmented customers desires and on the basis of it, they can design
their products effectively and efficiently (Zikmund and et.al., 2014). Further, targeting
segmented customers aid the management to increase their focus and techniques to increase their
sales and productivity. If organisation knows what their customers’ needs are, then it will
become easy for them to innovate their products and services (Pour, Nazari and Emami, 2013).
The last step is to identify the strength and weaknesses of company. In order to increase sales
and production, management of Boden works diligently and sincerely that will aid in
accomplishing their desired goals and targets. It is the responsibility of management to analyse
their current strengths and weaknesses. It will the organisation to provide with better information
about their structure and functions. Boden needs to develop its market reputation and goodwill in
order to attract and retain the segmented customers (Kozlenkova, Samaha and Palmatier, 2014).
Albeit, management invested in new technologies that will help in improving the product quality
and efficiency.
17

Positioning
Product positioning is the last element of segmentation, targeting and positioning model. In this
organisation aims to position their products on the basis of segmented customers’ needs and
necessities. For retail organisation, it is very crucial to position their different goods according to
their usage and demands. Boden as clothing retailer must classified the products accordingly so
that customers finds it easy to purchase. Positioning is classified into four factors which are
product, promotion, price and distribution (Eagleman, 2013). Product positioning: Under product positioning products are further classified into
premium, basic, durable category. Management requires to carefully identify the targeted
customers desires and then position their products effectively and efficiently. It requires
diligent efforts from the management team of the organisation in order to allocate right
product for right customers (Di Vita and et.al., 2013). From this context, it can be
understood that product positioning is very crucial for the company. Promotion: It is further divided into prestige, fun and powerful concept. Organisation
needs to carefully make decision about the promotion of product. For example, Coats and
Blazers are prestigious clothing products (Miller and Rice, 2013). Thus, promotion must
be done according to the characteristics of goods. It is the responsibility of marketing
18
Illustration 5: Positioning
(Source: Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning, 2017)

management to develop promotional positioning of products effectively, which will help
the organisation to deliver their products and services to the targeted consumers. Price: Price is classified into three factors which are premium, moderate and low. Price
of products are set according to their quantity and quality of the goods. Top management
of Boden must be accountable to set their price according to the features of products they
are offering to the segmented customers (Chaffey, Smith and Smith, 2013). The price of
products and services enables the customer in determining its worth. Thus, it implies that
price positioning plays an important part in positioning strategy.
 Distribution: Distribution of products to the targeted customer is determined under
product distribution positioning. It is the decision which is meant to be taken by the
management of Boden to identify the channel of distribution of products and services. It
can be intensive, selective and exclusive. Each channel consists of its unique concept and
characteristic that will help organisation to increase their sales and profits.
Illustration 6: Perceptual Mapping
19

The above figure represents the perceptual mapping of Boden. From the above figure, it can be
understood that the range of products and services delivered by the organisation is different from
its competitors. In this manner, the management of Boden will able to gain competitive
advantage. The products designed for targeted customers are of appropriate style and basically
designed for fashion. As compared to other organisations like UCB, GAP, etc, management of
Boden will provide clothing which will be of timeless fashion and of unique design (Zikmund
and et.al., 2014).
Thus, from the above points it can be understood that positioning is the crucial elements in the
marketing plan. As the targeted customers are young adults or teenagers and older male people,
then it is the responsibility of organisation to allocate the products on the basis of segmented
customers. This will lead to growth and prosperity of Boden effectively and efficiently. Thus, it
implies that positioning is very important while formulating marketing plan (Eagleman, 2013).
As a marketing consultant, it is being advised to the management of Boden to implement the
product positioning strategy in effective way, so that it will become easy for organisation to
allocate the particular product according to specific needs.
From the above segmentation, targeting and positioning model, it can be understood that
Boden identifies young adults and older males as new targets for their products and services. The
segmentation helps in segregating the customers on the basis of their needs, behaviour and
expectations. Targeting assist in finding the most attractive market for segmented customers and
positioning helps in allocating products according to customers’ needs and expectations. Thus,
this model helps in formulating marketing plan and provides benchmark for marketing mix of the
following products and services (O'Cass and Heirati, 2015).
3 years budget for marketing of coats, blazer and jackets
Table 4: 3 years budget for marketing of coats, blazer and jackets
Activities Budget
Year I Year II Year III
Marketing Promotion 3000 3000 1500
Marketing Agency 1500 1500 1500
Radio Advertising 1500 1500 1500
20

Television Advertising 4500 4500 1000
Print Advertising 2000 2000 2000
Online Advertising 1000 1000 1000
Social Media 500 500 500
Events 4000 4000 4000
Celebrity Endorsements 10000 10000 15000
Publications 1000 1000 1000
Brochures and Catalogues 1000 1000 1000
Total £60000
The budget plan has been made for marketing of coats, jackets and blazers for three years. From
the above image it can be understood that for two years, the budget will be fixed for all activities
and in third year the budget will increase for celebrity endorsing and reduced in television
21
Illustration 7: 3 year budget plan for coats, blazer and jackets

marketing. From the analysis of market conditions of United Kingdom, it was identified that
young people are more attracted by advertising products through celebrity. The budget for
celebrity endorsing is more comparatively.
3 years budget for marketing of sports shoes
Table 5: 3 years budget for marketing of sports shoes
Activities Budget in £
Year I Year II Year III
Marketing Promotion 1000 1000 1000
Marketing Agency 1000 1000 1000
Radio Advertising 500 500 500
Television Advertising 1000 1000 1000
Print Advertising 1500 1500 1500
Online Advertising 500 500 500
Events 1000 1000 1000
Celebrity Endorsements 3000 3000 3000
Publications 250 250 250
Brochures and Catalogues 250 250 250
Total £30,000.00
22

The above budget plan made for marketing of sports shoes for older male of United Kingdom.
From the above chart, it can be understood that the aggregate budget will be fixed at £30,000.
For three years, the budget will be allocated for each activity accordingly. As older people uses
less online resources, thus there is no online marketing of shoes for older male. Rest the budget
will remain same for three years for each activity. That is £10,000 per year.
Marketing Objectives
The management of Boden desire to accomplish high sales and profits by targeting segmented
customers. In accordance with this context, the marketing objectives are shown below:
 Short term: The short term objectives for Boden is to deliver the segmented products to
the targeted customers. In one year, the management want to increase their customer base
by 10%.
 Medium Term: The medium term goals for the organisation is to increase the profitability
of the organisation and raise it to 15% by two years.
 Long Term: The long term objectives of the organisation is to increase the market share
by 56% in three years. The marketing plan will aid in accomplishing the desired goals
and objectives.
23
Illustration 8: 3 year budget plan for sports shoes

Conclusion
The segmentation targeting and positioning of Boden aid in development of marketing
plan. It was identified that the segmented customers are young teen males and older males. The
product determined was coats and blazers for teenagers and sports shoes for older male. Thus, it
helps in development of marketing-mix effectively and efficiently.
24

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Armstrong, G. and et.al., 2015. Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.
Babin, B.J. and Zikmund, W.G., 2015. Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning.
Bowie, D. and et.al., 2016. Hospitality marketing. Taylor & Francis.
Chaffey, D., Smith, P.R. and Smith, P.R., 2013. eMarketing eXcellence: Planning and
optimizing your digital marketing. Routledge.
Di Vita, G. and et.al., 2013. The Role of Innovation and Organization in Small Size Wineries:
The Case of Malvasia delle Lipari PDO Wine1. Calitatea. 14(137). p.107.
Eagleman, A.N., 2013. Acceptance, motivations, and usage of social media as a marketing
communications tool amongst employees of sport national governing bodies. Sport
Management Review. 16(4). pp.488-497.
Finch, B., 2016. How to write a business plan. Kogan Page Publishers.
Havlícek, K., Thalassinos, E. and Berezkinova, L., 2013. Innovation Management and
Controlling in SMEs. European Research Studies. 16(4). p.57.
Kozlenkova, I.V., Samaha, S.A. and Palmatier, R.W., 2014. Resource-based theory in
marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 42(1). pp.1-21.
O'Cass, A. and Heirati, N., 2015. Mastering the complementarity between marketing mix and
customer-focused capabilities to enhance new product performance. Journal of Business &
Industrial Marketing. 30(1). pp.60-71.
Pour, B.S., Nazari, K. and Emami, M., 2013. The effect of marketing mix in attracting
customers: Case study of Saderat Bank in Kermanshah Province. African Journal of
Business Management, 7(34), p.3272.
Sakas, D., Vlachos, D. and Nasiopoulos, D., 2014. Modelling strategic management for the
development of competitive advantage, based on technology. Journal of Systems and
Information Technology. 16(3). pp.187-209.
Zikmund, W.G. and et.al., 2014. Marketing research. Cengage Learning Australia.
Chiayul, 2016. Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning. [Online]. Available
through:<https://mpk732t22016clusterb.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/netflix-segmentation-
targeting-positioning/> [Accessed on 23rd October 2017].
25

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. 2017. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.consumerpsychologist.com/cb_Segmentation.html> [Accessed on
23rd October 2017].
26

TASK 3
Differentiate Marketing Mix for two targeted market
The marketing mix is one of the most famous model in marketing (Peck and et.al., 2013). It is a
tactical or operational part of a marketing plan. It consists of 7P’s that assist in describing the
marketing plan of Boden. The 4P’s include Price, Place, Product, Promotion, (Czinkota and
Ronkainen, 2013). In accordance with this context, the marketing mix of the two “Male” targeted
market i.e. coats and blazer for young adults and comfortable sport shoes for older men are
described below:
Illustration 9: Marketing Mix 4Ps
(Source: Purely Branded, 2017)
Marketing Mix for coats, blazers, and jackets for young adults
Product: Product positioning is defined as the customer’s perception of a product in comparison
with the competition. In order to sustain in competitive environment, it is essential for an
organisation to develop its product strategy efficiently. In order to target youth in United
Kingdom, specific products is required to be launch by the management of Boden (O'Cass and
Heirati, 2015). For young adult males, coats, jackets, and blazers must be appropriate in order to
attract them.
27

 Core Products: In order to target young adults of United Kingdom, the core products
will be jackets, blazer, and coats. These products will assist in attracting the young males
of the country adequately. Further, with unique design and quality, the launch of these
products will benefited the organisation efficiently.
 Actual Product: This is about translating the list of core product benefits into a product
that people will buy. Many organisation provides coats, jackets, and blazer. It is
recommend to the management of Boden to design the products efficiently so that
customer attraction can be increase adequately. Augmented Product: There are several non-tangible benefits, which are associated with
the products offered by the Boden. The coats and jackets purchased by targeted customer
will be benefited by the extended warranty services will be given to the customers. This
means customers can replace the damage product with new one efficiently.
Product Life cycle
The product life cycle is shown below:
Illustration 10: Product Life Cycle for
coats, blazers and jackets
 Introduction Stage: In this stage, management of Boden, needs to invest more in
promotion of the product by using several source of advertisements. The price will be
low of coats and blazers so that market share can be increase. Distribution of product will
be based on targeted customers only.
 Growth Stage: The quality of product will be maintained and additional benefits will be
provided to customers such as discounts and rebates. The price will increase slightly and
distribution channels will also increase. The investment in promotional activities will be
reduced.
28

 Maturity Stage: At this stage, the strong growth in sales begins to diminishes. It will be
recommends to the management of Boden to enhance the features of coats and jackets in
order to prevent diminishing growth rate. Price will decrease due to competition and
promotion will be subtly increase. Decline Stage: In declining sales, it will be recommended to the management of Boden
to add new features to the products and provides several benefits in order to retain
customer attraction. Further, reducing cost could possibly assist the organisation.
Management needs to invest adequately in order to promote these products.
Price: Company’s goal in terms of price is to reduce costs through improving manufacturing and
efficiency, and most importantly the marketer needs to increase the perceived value of the
benefits of its products and services to the buyer or consumer. The management of Boden
working diligently in order to make products affordable to the young men without compromising
with their quality. It is very important for the management to cope up with the price strategy, as
it will lead to the growth and development of the firm effectively and efficiently (Hunt, 2014). It
is recommended to management of Boden that the price for coats and blazers should be low for
first year and high for two years. With high price, company can initiate some incentive schemes
and discount offers to attract young males for increasing the sales. This is because coupled with
products and services customers would be sold the perception of success, achievement, prestige,
and social class associated with.
Place: Place is where Boden products would be offered and the importance of this specific
element of marketing mix is greater for retail business compared to many other businesses.
Accordingly, substantial financial investments are going to be made by the company in order to
set up Boden department stores in busy and modern shopping centres and other places visited by
the company target customer segment. Place is also known as channel, distribution, or
intermediary. Place is very essential element of marketing mix and management of Boden
advised to develop specific place strategy in order to offer products for the targeted customers.
Albeit most of the transaction are made online, but physical store is also important. It is
recommended to the management to establish stores which are easily accessible for the targeted
customers. Many of the youths residing in United Kingdom prefer online mode of shopping, it is
being advised to the management of Boden to improve the user interface of its official website
29

and mobile applications, so that users can easily purchase what they desire (Mintz and Currim,
2013).
Promotion: This refers to all the activities undertaken to make the product or service known to
the user and trade. This include all sorts of marketing tactics such as advertisement, internet
promotion, etc (Pour, Nazari and Emami, 2013). To promote the specific products to the
particulars segmented customers, the marketing management of Boden needs to focus on some
unique and interactive ways to increase the attraction of young males. It is being advised to
marketing management of the company to increase their television commercials and mobile
marketing so that the targeted customers can be attracted. The promotion budget will be fixed at
£30000. Not only segmented consumers, but other customers will also be attracted towards
purchasing the particular products if the promotion has been done in effective and efficient way.
Marketing Mix for sport shoes for older males
Product: For older males, comfortable sports shoes must be suitable. The product must deliver a
minimum level of performance; otherwise even the best work on the other elements of the
marketing mix won't do any good (Umeze and Ohen, 2015). Thus, it implies that in order to
increase the profits and sales of the organisation, product positioning strategy plays a vital role.
These products will not only promote growth of the organisation, but also aid in raising their
reputation. Specific product strategy helps in eradicating the competition and assist in gaining
competitive advantage. There are various products for different consumers which are produced
and distributed by Boden. From this, it implies that product strategy in marketing mix is very
essential for any organisation. This will help in determining the needs and expectation of
customers and also guaranteed the future success of company (Mintz and Currim, 2013).
In order to target aged and older males in United Kingdom, specific products is required to be
launch by the management of Boden. For older males sports shoes must be appropriate in order
to attract them.
 Core Products: In order to target older males of United Kingdom, the core products will
be sports shoes. The sports shoes will aid in providing comfort to aged males of the
country adequately. Further, with unique design and quality, the launch of these products
will benefited the organisation efficiently.
 Actual Product: This is about translating the list of core product benefits into a product
that people will buy. Many organisation provides sports shoes. It is recommend to the
30

management of Boden to design the products efficiently so that customer attraction can
be increase adequately. Augmented Product: There are several non-tangible benefits, which are associated with
the products offered by the Boden. The sports shoes purchased by targeted customer will
be benefited by the extended warranty services will be given to the customers. This
means customers can replace the damage product with new one efficiently.
Product Lifecycle
The product life cycle is shown below:
Illustration 11: Product Life Cycle of
Sports shoes
 Introduction Stage: In this stage, management of Boden, needs to invest more in
promotion of the product by using several source of advertisements. The price will be
low for sports shoes so that market share can be increase. Distribution of product will be
based on targeted customers only.
 Growth Stage: The quality of product will be maintained and additional benefits will be
provided to customers such as discounts and rebates. The price will increase slightly and
distribution channels will also increase. The investment in promotional activities will be
reduced.
 Maturity Stage: At this stage, the strong growth in sales begins to diminishes. It will be
recommends to the management of Boden to enhance the features of sports shoes in order
to prevent diminishing growth rate. Price will decrease due to competition and promotion
will be subtly increase. Decline Stage: In declining sales, it will be recommended to the management of Boden
to add new features to the products and provides several benefits in order to retain
31

customer attraction. Further, reducing cost could possibly assist the organisation.
Management needs to invest adequately in order to promote these products.
Price: For sports shoes, the pricing strategy must be consistent and affordable. The pricing of
each category of sports shoes must be set according to their features and quality (Armstrong and
et.al., 2015). It is recommended to the management of Boden to set the price for the segmented
and targeted customer in effective way, that aid in increasing the profitability and productivity of
organisation. The price of sports shoes are set according to their quality and design. Premium
quality of shoes are allocated with high price and normal or average quality of shoes are
allocated with low price. Various incentives and discount offers will be provided on premium
quality shoes in order to retain customers (Samad, Samad and Aftab, 2016).
Place: For older people, they prefer to check quality of product before purchasing. It is
recommended to the management of organisation to build stores in area which are easily
accessible for them. This will not only lead to growth and development of business, but also
promote the organisational products and services effectively and efficiently. Thus, as a marketing
consultant of Boden, it is duly advised to management of organisation in order to improve their
sales and market share (Mogaji, 2016).
Promotion: Direct marketing will help the management of Boden to promote sports shoes
efficiently. The older people of United Kingdom are less bothered by the digital technology, thus
direct marketing will be beneficial for the organisation. Further, using television commercials
and mobile marketing will also be profitable for the organisation. The overall budget can be set
to £20000. From this context, it can be understood that promotion is very important for
organisation and it is the responsibility of marketing manager to make precise investment in
particular promotion platform that will aid in development and increases the sales of products
produced by Boden. Too much expense on promotion might result in loss and deficit.
Table 6: Comparative analysis of differentiated marketing mix
Elements Marketing mix for young
adults
Marketing mix for older males
Product Coats, jackets and blazers Sport Shoes
Price At affordable and moderate Premium quality: High Price
32

price Moderate Quality: Low Price
Place Online Offline
Promotion Through social media, online
marketing, mobile marketing
and television commercials.
The promotion budget will be
fixed at £60000 for three
years.
Mobile marketing and
television commercials. The
overall budget can be set to
£30000 for three years.
Conclusion
In the above task, marketing mix of the segmented products and targeted customers
produced effectively and efficiently. The marketing-mix aids in determining the marketing plan
of Boden. It was identified the market position of the organisation can be improved if the
management will work on the formulated plan.
33

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ammarit, N. and Fernando, M.S.C.L., 2017. Factors Influencing Bangkokian Adults’ Decision-
Making in Choosing an English Language School. International Research E-Journal on
Business and Economics, 2(2).
Czinkota, M.R. and Ronkainen, I.A., 2013. International marketing. Cengage Learning.
Hunt, S.D., 2014. Marketing theory: foundations, controversy, strategy, and resource-advantage
theory. Routledge.
Miller, E.J. and Rice, A.K. eds., 2013. Systems of organization: The control of task and sentient
boundaries. Routledge.
Purely Branded. 2017. [Online]. Available
through:<http://www.purelybranded.com/insights/the-four-ps-of-marketing/>
Mintz, O. and Currim, I.S., 2013. What drives managerial use of marketing and financial metrics
and does metric use affect performance of marketing-mix activities?. Journal of
Marketing. 77(2). pp.17-40.
Mogaji, E., 2016. Marketing strategies of United Kingdom universities during clearing and
adjustment. International Journal of Educational Management, 30(4), pp.493-504.
O'Cass, A. and Heirati, N., 2015. Mastering the complementarity between marketing mix and
customer-focused capabilities to enhance new product performance. Journal of Business &
Industrial Marketing. 30(1). pp.60-71.
Peck, H., Christopher, M., Clark, M. and Payne, A., 2013. Relationship marketing. Taylor &
Francis.
Samad, N., Samad, N. and Aftab, N., 2016. Re-examining obesity prevention strategy: Is social
marketing still a relevant option?. The Marketing Review, 16(3), pp.322-341.
Umeze, G.E. and Ohen, S.B., 2015. Marketing Mix Strategies and Entrepreneurial Competence:
Evidence from Micro Restaurants in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria.
In 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy (No. 211928). International
Association of Agricultural Economists.
34