Hike Business Plan: Marketing Strategy and Competitive Analysis Report

This report outlines a business plan for Hike, a new shoe company, emphasizing modern business practices and marketing strategies. It covers the role of marketing, the business's vision, mission, and objectives, along with operational, legal, and staffing plans. A detailed marketing strategy, including social media plans and the 7Ps of marketing, is presented. Furthermore, the report includes a competition analysis to understand the market landscape. The business aims to provide fashionable shoes at reasonable prices, targeting a wide customer base through effective marketing and competitive pricing. The plan highlights the importance of innovation, customer engagement, and adapting to current market trends for long-term success. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and recommendations for the business.

Starting a Business
and Fundamentals of
Marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Role of marketing in Modern business......................................................................................3
New Business Idea......................................................................................................................3
Vision, Mission and objectives of the business......................................................................4
Operational plans........................................................................................................................4
Legal Plans..................................................................................................................................5
Staffing plans..............................................................................................................................5
Business Plan for Hike................................................................................................................5
Social media plan...................................................................................................................5
Marketing Strategy.................................................................................................................6
Competition Analysis..................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
A modern business is a business which adopt the latest and updated technology, which
helps the businesses in achieving competitive advantage in this competitive era (Klein, 2019).
This improves the efficiency of the business units. It helps in increasing satisfaction and
involvement of employees. Design new products will helps in attaining the focus of new and
existing customers. With this the company can acquire a large customers bases and by increase
in the production of company, soon they will achieve the economies of scale. The employees
also feels motived to put all their efforts and produce productive output for the organisation. This
presentation is based on New Business idea related to shoes named Hike. It is small and medium
enterprise business, this is why the business unit has limited operational activities along with
small staff, for performing the operational activities of the business. With the growth in fashion
industry, the perception of the customers towards shoes is changing. By keeping it in mind the
business is focused on providing shoes of latest fashion at reasonable price.
MAIN BODY
Role of marketing in Modern business
The strategic tools and techniques used by the business unit in order to perform certain
operational of the organisation. This is required for the promotion and to create a positive image
in the mind of customers toward the company and for the products and services offered by them.
Modern marketing helps in improving customers experience. The business need marketing for
it's promotion no matter either it is large organisation or small or medium enterprise. The market
is dynamic modern marketing helps in adapting the marketing trend easily. The organisations
performs marketing so that their innovations can reach out to the customers and the companies
can get competitive advantage. The product designed as per the requirement of the customers
increases the satisfaction level of the customers. Hence, marketing boosts the demand of the
companies product and services and increased customers engagement.
New Business Idea
Today's era is an competitive era, numerous substitute products are available for the
single products that's why businesses needs to be creative and innovative for their long term
stability and to stand out among it's competitors. This report is prepared for a new business idea
generate on shoe brand named Hike. The company is having limited staff as it is small and

medium enterprise business. The operational activities performed within the organisation are also
not wide. The idea behind starting a shoe business is that with the change in the trends and
fashion, their buying pattern is also changing. So, with the help of modern business techniques
and following the current market trend, company aims to provide high quality trending shoes to
customers at reasonable price.
Vision, Mission and objectives of the business
For smooth functioning and for defining the role and responsibilities of workforce
working within the organisation Hike has predetermined certain mission, vision and objectives of
the businesses (Ashraf & et. al., 2018).
Vision – Vision refers to the position or goal that the company wants to achieve in the long run.
The vision of the company is to capture the largest part of the market capitalization along
with it they want to build a strong positive image in the mind of the customers for their
product among the customers.
Mission – The path or the destination through which the vision of the company can be achieved
is termed as Mission. The mission of the company is to increase the sales of the company by
using different tools and techniques. Also, to keep the price of their shoes lower then it's
competitors to acquire large customer base.
Objectives – The combined statement of mission and vision of the company is commonly
termed as objective of the business, with they want to achieve in the specified time frame.
The company will also focus on the innovation and creativity to achieve customers base and
to get competitive advantage.
Operational plans
Operational plans refers to the written document which states all the operations or
activities are going to perform by the business in order to reach it's goals during the specified
period of time (Almeida & Santos, 2018). Hike makes strategic planning and pre decide the
activities or the budget undertaken by the company in order to perform the operation's of the
businesses smoothly. The other planning performed by Hike is tactical planning to divide all the
plans of the businesses into smaller goals, this helps in improving the performance of the work.
This increases the efficiency and effectiveness in the work.

Legal Plans
Legal plans means that all the plans of the businesses are made by keeping all the legal
prospect in the mind (Carney, 2019). Hike has kept all the rules, regulation and norms prior
before making the business plan. As the legal plan affects the working and image of the
company. Disobeying in laws can even results in shut down of the business permanently.
Starting from deciding the name of the business to set up the business, all the activities were
performed by the management of the business.
Staffing plans
Staffing planning refers to the process of deciding how many employees are required in
the business units in order to perform the operations of the businesses (Hopp & et. al., 2018).
Hike has fully evaluated the positions required in the business for performing the operations of
the business. Initially, Hike has hired the team of professionals in human resource department.
Now the human resource department are engaged in hiring the best candidate for the vacant
positions, who works in a flow to achieve the goals of the organisation.
Business Plan for Hike
The business plan made by Hike in order to achieve the it's goals along with enhancing
the brand image of the business by increasing the customer base is mentioned below -
Social media plan
The use of social media marketing for customers engagement is the best solution in
today's era (Salem, & Salem, 2021). Now the large customer base in available online on the
social media platforms. Targeting customers though these platforms will results in reaching to
large customer base. The marketing on social media platforms is cost effective. Hike plans to
made the full effective use of social media platforms. The company has prepared a short
approaching video of the shoes before launching it, this make the customers feels more attracted
towards the shoes. Even tough they prepare well contact poster of the product and post it on
different social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, twitter, etc. They will
continuously post updates, information and important announcement on social media platforms
to remain in touch with the customers. As the company is engaged in manufacturing the stylish
and most trending shoes for the youth and the availability of youth on the social media platforms
is at top. Showing repeated advertisement to the customers makes the customer engage in the

product and finally end up with purchase. Apart form this to revel the customer the discount
offer are also flash on there social media platforms to makes the customer feel wanted. The
company also collects the data base of the customers, which helps in pitching the target
customers.
Marketing Strategy
For approaching the customers in an effective manner, Hike needs to approach their
customers by preparing the effective marketing strategies with the help of 7Ps (Ndofirepi,
Farinloye & Mogaji,2020). This will helps the business unit in fulling their goals. The 7Ps of the
company are mentioned below -
 Price - Price determines the value at which the company should sell it's products to the
customers. Hike has aimed to provide the stylish and trending shoes at reasonable prices.
The company wants to engage the large base of customers which will help them in
reaching the economics of scale. They automatically the cost incurred in producing per
pair of shoes will be reduced.
 Place – The company open it's outlet at the posh area where large number of people visits
daily. The customers will visit that area and the chances of customers to visit the outlet of
Hike will also increase. The company will also start selling it's product to other retailers
also, so that they can showcase their shoes to the customers and engagement of the
customers towards the product will increase.
 Product - The product which is manufactured by the company which they want to
deliver to the customers are termed as the product. The company is involved in
manufacturing the comfortable, fashionable, stylish and trending products for the
customers at affordable prices. So that the customer looks fashionable and comfortable
by expanding the nominal amount.
 Promotion – The company is using social media platforms for promoting it's product and
brand. The company has prepared it's own website, through social media marketing they
are generating traffic on their websites. Apart form this the company provides discount
offer for increasing sales of the company.
 People – The people are the one who represent the company in the form of workforce of
the organisation. Hike believes in hiring candidates will with good values rather than

their degrees. Skills and values of the employees are given priority over their degrees. As
the company believes that skills can be developed by values comes form within.
 Process – The process for ordering the product of the company is very simple. Either the
customers can visit their stores and purchase products or they can make online
purchasing thorough their websites. For building the trust of the customers on the online
purchase, the company is providing cash on delivery option along with free home
delivery.
 Physical Evidence – The company has the modern infrastructure along with large space
where shoes are displaced. For packing the products they use their own labelled box and
carrying bag. The packaging of the product is made attracted so that the customers starts
showing interest towards the product, just by seeing it's packaging.
Competition Analysis
Before the establishment of the business it is necessary for the companies to analysis their
customers deeply (Arora, Srivastava, & Bansal,2020). As the sale, profit and revenue of the
company is totally dependent on the actions of the competitors. As increasing in competition
numerous substituent of each products are available in the market. The companies should have
something unique within their product in order to acquire the position in the market. Hike has
properly evaluate it's customers can analysed that the fashionable and comfortable shoes at
reasonable prices are not available in the market. Their are large medium and low income level
customer available in the market. So the company found that by providing the fashionable shoes
at reassemble price to those customers, a large customer base can be acquired. The company
hired the team of expertise people who have knowledge of preparing fashionable shoes. With the
help of that team the company starts manufacturing the product. The company has targeted to
acquire the large customer base so they have different price range of product also. They had
prepared some products which targets the higher income group. The premium quality material is
used for manufacturing the products for the high income level, but the company has not
compromised in the design offered to both segments of people. The design and comfort of both
the price range products are same. The only difference is use of material.

CONCLUSION
From the above report it is clear that the modern business improves the efficiency of the
business as it uses the latest technology. The new business of shoes has being started for which
business plan has been made. This helps in pre deciding the work that an organisation has to
perform. Apart form this legal, operational and staffing planning is done for performing the work
of the organisation smoothly. For promoting the brand of the company social media marketing is
used. Moreover, with the help of marketing strategy using 7Ps model the company has analysed
the customers. Lastly, the company has made competitive analysis of the company in order to
add know about the product of it's competitors.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Klein, P. A. (2019). Analysing Modern Business Cycles: Essays Honoring Geoffrey H. Moore.
Routledge.
Ashraf, M. M., Razzaque, M. A., Liaw, S. T., Ray, P. K., & Hasan, M. R. (2018). Social business
as an entrepreneurship model in emerging economy: Systematic review and case
study. Management Decision.
Almeida, F., & Santos, J. D. (2018). 3 Operational Plan.
Carney, A. O. (2019). Adult guardianship and other financial planning mechanisms for people
with cognitive impairment in Australia. T. Carney,'Adult Guardianship and Other Financial
Planning Mechanisms for People with Cognitive Impairment in Australia'in L. Ho and R. Lee
(Eds.),'Special Needs Financial Planning: A Comparative Perspective', CUP, 3-29.
Hopp, C., Greene, F. J., Honig, B., Karlsson, T., & Samuelsson, M. (2018). Revisiting the
influence of institutional forces on the written business plan: a replication study. Management
Review Quarterly, 68(4), 361-398.
Salem, S. F., & Salem, S. O. (2021). Effects of social media marketing and selected marketing
constructs on stages of brand loyalty. Global Business Review, 22(3), 650-673.
Ndofirepi, E., Farinloye, T., & Mogaji, E. (2020). Marketing mix in a heterogenous higher
education market: A case of Africa. In Understanding the higher education market in Africa (pp.
241-262). Routledge.
Arora, A., Srivastava, A., & Bansal, S. (2020). Business competitive analysis using promoted
post detection on social media. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 54, 101941.