Marketing Strategies for Thunderpants: Product, Promotion, and Pricing

This article discusses the marketing strategies used by Thunderpants, an organic clothing company based in New Zealand. It covers product strategy, promotion strategy, and pricing strategy, with recommendations for improvement. The target market is people aged 18-30 who prefer colorful and organic clothes. The company's value proposition is customization and quality. The article recommends introducing new product ranges, using social media for promotions, and implementing customer value-based pricing.

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Contents
Target market and Positioning Statement..............................................................................................2
Mar etin trate recommendationk g s gy s..................................................................................................2
Mar etin Mi trate Prod ctk g x S gy 1: u ....................................................................................................2
Mar etin Mi trate Promotionk g x S gy 2: ...............................................................................................4
Mar etin Mi trate Pricek g x S gy 3: ........................................................................................................5
Conclusions...........................................................................................................................................6
References List......................................................................................................................................7

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Target market and Positioning Statement
Value
Proposition:
Thunderpants is a family owned and operated company based in New
Zealand. The company was started with underwear in 1995 now it
manufactures kids’ clothes, yoga pants, swimwear, leggings, tops and
camis. The company also customizes the products. The customers can add
motifs to the clothes. Customization works as a value proposition for the
company.
Target Market
Profile:
The company produces more than 30,000 pairs of Thunderpants each year.
The company targets people in the age group of 18-30 who prefer to wear
colourful and organic clothes.
Positioning
Statement:
Thunderpants prefers quality over quantity philosophy which is
positioning statement of the company. The company has gained
differentiation in terms of quality which helped the company to gain a
competitive advantage.
Marketing strategy recommendations
Marketing Mix Strategy 1: Product
Anal i o t e compan c rrent prod ct trateys s f h y’s u u s gy
The offering of the Thunderpants includes features and benefits for the customers such as
comfort and the organic cotton stuff. The company also offers customised products as it
customises the products with motif and the colour they want. The company usually targets
the people in the age group of 18-30 who prefer to wear comfortable and organic cotton in
order to avoid irritating stuff by offering the best quality of the products. The company
focuses on the lifestyle and the personality of the target group to modify the products
according to them (Wei, Samiee and Lee, 2014). It helps in attracting customers to produce
products according to their interest. The company focuses more on the quality of the products
which assists in creating customer loyalty. It also has the Global Organic Textile Standard

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(GOTS) to proof the quality. The value proposition is set by the quality standards and
customer satisfaction about the aspects like price and services. The quality variation helps the
company to attract more customers. The lifestyle greatly influences the variation in the
products.
ecommendationR s
Thunderpants can introduce a new range of the products other than the comfort wear such as
casual clothing and formal clothing. The variations in the products help to attract customers.
The customers prefer to choose products where they get various options. The company can
also modify it’s portfolio from time to time to target new segment. It can add products
according to the season and can make variations in the quality and colour (Šerić, Gil-Saura
and Ruiz-Molina, 2014). The company can also introduce sub-brand comprising different
features. It can use innovative techniques in producing products and can use different stuff
other than cotton. In the case of Thunderpants, the actual product is chosen out of the three
levels of a product incorporating. It comprises developing product quality, features, plan,
brand name and packing. When the product is purchased, packaging and utility are add-on.
All of these factors relate to the core customer value. The product’s quality, features, packing
and other qualities combined deliver the core customer value. The levels of the product are
built on each other.
The product development can also be used by Thunderpants for designing, developing and
marketing of new products. The objective behind product development is to increase the
share of the company by satisfying the demand of the consumers. The company should keep
in mind the target market for the product development (Gutierrez-Gutierrez, Barrales-Molina
and Kaynak, 2018). The product development includes the aspects like identification of
design and idea analysis. The individual product decision making can also be used by the
Thunnderpants for the development and marketing of the products. This decision includes
five categories such as product qualities, branding, packing, labelling and product support
services. The product features comprises the assistances offered to the customers such as
quality, design, features and design. The product attributes includes various aspects of the
products like quality, features and design of the product. The second stage of individual
product decisions is branding. Nowadays people focus on buying brand than product (Petty,
2018). The company need to focus on the value proposition that is quality to identify itself as
a worldwide brand. The third stage of the individual product decisions to be followed is

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packaging. It is the most important decision which attracts attention, defines the product and
generates sales. The packaging has an important role in the highly competitive environment.
The company is required to keep in mind environmental considerations for the packing such
as ‘green packaging’. The labelling is the fourth stage which promotes the brand. It represents
what is true and what customers can rely on (Morimura and Sakagawa, 2018). The labelling
defines various things such as who made it, when it was made and how it can be used. It is
also affected by the unit pricing. The final stage is product support services which include
customer service and product support services. It is a part of the product offering. It
contributes to the customer’s overall experience. It can help the company to keep customers
happy after the sale and builds lasting relationships.
Marketing Mix Strategy 2: Promotion
Anal i o t e compan c rrent promotional trateys s f h y’s u s gy
Thunderpants make use of the media strategy and integrated marketing communications
(IMC) for its ads. The IMC is a tool which helps in creating an impression in the minds of the
consumers. Before deciding ads, the company decides its product and the target market. The
company avoids conflict messages in order to attract customers (Keller, 2016). Thunderpants
make use of options for the advertisement like posters and social media which is a paid form
but it never used Facebook for the purpose of the advertising. The remainder is also used by
the company for the promotions and improving awareness. It offers discount up to 50% in
order to attract customers. All these activities seek profits for the company. The public
relations are also an effective way of promotions used by the company. It establishes
strategies for maintaining and building relationships with the customers. It presents company
as socially responsible and conscious towards product quality. The company have contact
number and information about the business on Facebook (Deeter-Schmelz, 2016). The public
relations used by the company helps in shaping the image. It helps in building a brand and
minimizes negative publicity of the company. Thunderpants also make use of personal selling
as it has sponsors on the Facebook which helps to run a business (Cummins, Peltier and
Dixon, 2016). The company also makes use of digital marketing to interact directly with the
target market.
ecommendationR s
The company can make use of new promotional strategies to serve the target market in a
better way. Thunderpants is not well known in the market so it needs to attract a larger group

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of audience. Thunderpants can make use of a social media platform such as Facebook,
Twitter, Google + and more. It is the best way to endorse products of the company (Hudson,
Huang, Roth and Madden, 2016). It is the best way of direct marketing at its best. The social
network can help the company to retain potential customers. The mail order marketing can be
used by the Thunderpants to serve the new target market. The customers can be offered free
products in exchange for the information. These customers represent the target audience
where the company wants to market new products. The customer referral incentive program
is a better option for the company in order to promote products. The discounts and the cash
rewards are some of the incentives which can be used by the company. The promotional
strategy leverage customer base serves as a sales force. Giving away gifts can be a current
promotional move. The business card can be put on the boxes containing gifts. Contacting
customers after the sale is a promotional strategy which reflects the importance of the
customer satisfaction (Kim, Kim and Marshall, 2016). The information can be collected by
the customers regarding their experience. Sharing their experience with the public helps the
company in promotions. It can inspire other customers to purchase the products. This strategy
serves a dual purpose as existing customers think that the company cares and the other one
strives to provide the best products and services. This new promotional strategy can help the
company to target customers in a better way (Luxton, Reid and Mavondo, 2015).
Thunderpants can also make a change in its current promotional strategy to attract the new
target market. The company can implement the new promotional strategies from time to time.
The company can advertise its new range of the products in the magazines and newspapers
monthly, quarter or half yearly basis in order to attract customers. These sources have great
appeal to the customers. Commercials can also be used by the company which defines the
quality and the availability of the products of the company (Ingram, LaForge, Schwepker and
Williams, 2015). These strategies can be helpful to target the customers which are young.
The young generation is attracted towards these promotional tools. The new promotional
strategy discussed can actually appeal to customers to purchase the products. The company
provides amazing comfort and now a day people are ready to pay any amount for the
comfort. The positioning used by the company helps to define and develop an image of the
brand. It gives the opportunity to set apart from competitors. The company should make all
the possible efforts to exceed the expectations of the customers. The new promotional
strategy used by the company sets it apart (LIU and GU, 2016).

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Marketing Mix Strategy 3: Price
Anal i o t e compan c rrent pricin trateys s f h y’s u g s gy
Thunderpants charges good prices for the products offered by it. It never charges a cheap
price for the offerings. The company has limited production so it tries to cover the cost by its
pricing strategy. There are different prices for the different segment of the products. In order
to be an effective pricing method, the company can overview three pricing methods such as
customer value-based pricing, cost-based pricing and the competition based pricing (Cooper,
2016). In the value-based pricing, prices are set primarily on the basis of the consumer’s
perceived value of the products. Here the consumers decide whether the price of the product
is appropriate or not. In the cost-based pricing, the cost of the product is calculated and then a
percentage is added to determine the selling price (Li, Hou, Chen and Li, 2016). The prices
can be maximum as well as minimum as per the demand of the buyers. A seller makes use of
competing products as a benchmark in order to determine price in the competition based
pricing. The company does not consider its own costs or the customers demand in this pricing
strategy.
Recommendations
Thunderpants can apply customer value-based pricing. It will help the company to possess an
item and deliver supreme experiences. The pricing decided by the company should focus on
the customer value (Lee, Verma and Roth, 2015). So, the company is required to use the
perception of the customers as the key to pricing. The price should be determined by the
company before designing and marketing the products. The prices are targeted totally on the
base of the customer’s perception of the value. The customer value-based pricing can also be
divided into good value pricing and value-added pricing.
Conclusions
The marketing mix is effectively used by Thunderpants to promote its brand in the
marketplace. The product, promotion and pricing have an important role in the marketing mix
which is focused by the company in order to gain a competitive advantage. It can help the
company to maximize profits and gain endless promotions. The promotional strategy is used
by the company to attract the new target market. The company is suggested to implement
new promotional strategies from time to time by making use of customer value-based pricing.

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The company is also recommended to develop a new market and make use of IMC to serve
customers in a better way.

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References List
Cooper, R.G., 2016. Agile–Stage-Gate Hybrids: The Next Stage for Product Development
Blending Agile and Stage-Gate methods can provide flexibility, speed, and improved
communication in new-product development. Research-Technology Management, 59(1),
pp.21-29.
Cummins, S., Peltier, J.W. and Dixon, A., 2016. Omni-channel research framework in the
context of personal selling and sales management: A review and research extensions. Journal
of Research in Interactive Marketing, 10(1), pp.2-16.
Deeter-Schmelz, D.R., 2016. Personal Selling and Sales Management Abstracts. Journal of
Personal Selling & Sales Management, 36(2), pp.206-220.
Gutierrez-Gutierrez, L.J., Barrales-Molina, V. and Kaynak, H., 2018. The role of human
resource-related quality management practices in new product development: A dynamic
capability perspective. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, 38(1), pp.43-66.
Hudson, S., Huang, L., Roth, M.S. and Madden, T.J., 2016. The influence of social media
interactions on consumer–brand relationships: A three-country study of brand perceptions
and marketing behaviors. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 33(1), pp.27-41.
Ingram, T.N., LaForge, R.W., Schwepker, C.H. and Williams, M.R., 2015. Overview of
Personal Selling. In Sales Management (pp. 45-66). Routledge.
Keller, K.L., 2016. Unlocking the power of integrated marketing communications: How
integrated is your IMC program?. Journal of Advertising, 45(3), pp.286-301. Keller, K.L.,
2016. Unlocking the power of integrated marketing communications: How integrated is your
IMC program?. Journal of Advertising, 45(3), pp.286-301.
Kim, J., Kim, J.E. and Marshall, R., 2016. Are two arguments always better than one?
Persuasion knowledge moderating the effect of integrated marketing
communications. European Journal of Marketing, 50(7/8), pp.1399-1425.
Lee, M.K., Verma, R. and Roth, A., 2015. Understanding customer value in technology-
enabled services: A numerical taxonomy based on usage and utility. Service Science, 7(3),
pp.227-248.

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Li, B., Hou, P.W., Chen, P. and Li, Q.H., 2016. Pricing strategy and coordination in a dual
channel supply chain with a risk-averse retailer. International Journal of Production
Economics, 178, pp.154-168.
LIU, X. and GU, L., 2016. The Study of Pricing Strategy in Online-offline Channel Based on
the Consumer's Switching Behavior. Journal of Management, 2, p.009.
Luxton, S., Reid, M. and Mavondo, F., 2015. Integrated marketing communication capability
and brand performance. Journal of Advertising, 44(1), pp.37-46.
Morimura, F. and Sakagawa, Y., 2018. Information technology use in retail chains: Impact on
the standardisation of pricing and promotion strategies and performance. Journal of Retailing
and Consumer Services, 45, pp.81-91.
Petty, R.D., 2018. Product Strategy and Antitrust: A Consumer Choice Perspective. Journal
of Consumer Affairs, 52(2), pp.252-285.
Šerić, M., Gil-Saura, I. and Ruiz-Molina, M.E., 2014. How can integrated marketing
communications and advanced technology influence the creation of customer-based brand
equity? Evidence from the hospitality industry. International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 39, pp.144-156.
Wei, Y.S., Samiee, S. and Lee, R.P., 2014. The influence of organic organizational cultures,
market responsiveness, and product strategy on firm performance in an emerging
market. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 42(1), pp.49-70.

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References