MKTG1170 Assignment: Ksubi's Customer-Centric Approach and Strategy

This report addresses the declining market share of the fashion brand Ksubi, offering a strategic plan for improvement. It begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of customer-centric approaches in the fashion industry and then provides key recommendations to enhance Ksubi's market position. The report details the research undertaken, encompassing both primary and secondary sources to understand customer behavior and market trends. It then delves into the Segmenting, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) strategy, outlining the target customer segment, target strategies, and a positioning statement focused on customer demands. The report also examines the market mix, including product, price, place, and promotion strategies, with a focus on creating a new sub-brand and improving customer service. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and recommendations, emphasizing the importance of a customer-focused approach for Ksubi's future success.

A Future with Customer Centric Approach
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Recommendations............................................................................................................................3
Research undertaken........................................................................................................................4
Segmenting, Targeting, Positioning (STP)......................................................................................6
Market Mix......................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Reference list.................................................................................................................................10
Appendices....................................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
With the availability of Internet it is highly common that people prefer a smooth and hassle-free
buy in the fashion industry also. The perfect designs and size chart are available in the portal
with a measurement recommendation. There are limited people who prefer to buy apparels and
fashion searching the actual product. The window-shopping meets all the needs of the buyers and
thus buyers prefer it. Ksubi was founded in 1999, by Gareth Moody, George Garrow and Dan
Single. It is headquartered in Sydney and has its premium stores in Europe, North America and
Australia. The company is not much old in the industry though the market share of the company
is reluctantly decreasing (Ksubi, 2019). This report states the ideas of how the current position of
the company can be improved. It also states the type of customers the industry should focus on,
the positioning of the company and the sub brands it should focus on. Extensive research has
been done, both primary and secondary research, to understand the current position, customers’
mentality, and the points-of-improvements to handle the situation.
Recommendations
According to the research undertaken, the company Ksubi lacks in positioning the correct
combination of the quality and service. Both the factors needs to be taken care of along with a
strong technological aid to suit the customer preferences. Today, each customer would rely on a
better quality and service which can be obtained within a click. Internet provides all the solutions
and thus the companies are more prone in presenting themselves on the internet.
The quality of the product should be improved with designer specifics. The colour, material,
comfort factors should be monitored while issuing a particular product. Delighted customers are
result of good products and service. The options for the customers should be open in order to
make the products more reliable and cosy.
The internal and external teamwork should be excellent to meet the customer demands.
Interactions between the customer and the company official should be circulated within
departments to get improved results. The software employed would be customer friendly and the
data collected from the customers should include all the relevant information to produce a
particular product. The internal management framework should be restructured with respect to
operations, marketing and supply chain.
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Quality will not be compromised and the marketing strategies will be changed with a new sub-
brand. The brand would have a clear and crisp message regarding what is provided to the
customers.
The purchase options and delivery options should be distinct for each customer and would offer
specific offers and discounts for using those. The offers would help the brand regain its lost
picture in the marketplace. The customer service executives would monitor the demands of the
customers relating to product quality, delivery, purchase and enquiries. The training in the
sectors is utmost necessary as the customers should be satisfied talking to the executives and get
relevant solutions to their queries. This is good for the future of the company as they can boost
the customer base and recommendations on behalf of the product and customer specific approach
(Fitzgerald and Fitzgerald, 2019).
Research undertaken
The market research team has undertaken primary and secondary research both. The secondary
research has also been employed to find out the mentality of the customers living in Australia
and the current trends for fashion (Craik, 2015). Though it is an obvious fact that the fashion
changes with time and preferences vary accordingly. Therefore, the company needs to cope up
with the pace and trend and come up with customer expectations along with innovation to attract
the current market (Liu et al., 2017).
The research was primarily conducted using secondary sources like journals to compare the
discussion. In order to do so, the study consists the use of journals from various countries in the
fashion industry. To provide a good study, the study consists of 2 journals which discusses the
consumer needs and expectations from the brands. The emphasis was on newer collections and
designs, seasonal wears, better quality, luxury clothing, better online presence, and fittings.
Again, qualitative approach has also been followed to know the current position of the company
and how things can be improved (Koch, et al., 2017).
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The secondary sources include numerous journal articles but the most preferable for the
company are as follows:
Title of journal: From market driven to market driving
Here the authors had researched on 25 different pioneering companies and their radical business
innovation. According to the authors the market driving brands which are new in the industry
take a leap with respect of customer value with a help of unique business system. Market
strategies are always entail high risk and returns and the plan, if works, can bring a revolution in
the company (Kumar et al., 2000). There are many companies in the market that focuses on
different consumers in regard to their fashion. In the age group of 18-24, there are many
shopaholics who prefer out of the box fashion statements. Sometimes, these fashions are not
accepted by the society and hence fail to attract new consumer. The market driven company once
follows the market and then goes to different area to expand their business. This usually occurs
because once the company attracts target market, they open new options for the consumers to
retain them. It is essential for the consumers to explore new areas to adapt new changes in
fashion.
Title of journal: Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: domain definition,
fundamental issues and foundational premises
In this article the authors have emphasised on the issues that strategic marketing generally faces.
Strategic marketing develops with environmental factors such as the behaviour of the company
in the marketplace, interactions with the internal and external stakeholders, delivery of products,
value for customers, and the general management responsibilities within the company and their
monitoring (Varadarajan, 2010). In addition to this, the organisation requires to develop new
strategies in order to retain the consumers. Consumers are an integral part of the business and
hence to retain them, it is essential to launch loyalty benefits for the consumers to retain them. In
accordance to this, the consumers are to attract new consumers through flash sales or
promotional events. There are various mediums for the organisation to enhance their business
operations.
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Segmenting, Targeting, Positioning (STP) of the company
Based on the research (primary and secondary), it is evident that the company needs to focus on
some key factors to improve the current situation. Strategies needs to be implemented in order to
take hold of the market. Segmenting, targeting and positioning are the three basic places that the
company needs to improve.
Selected Target Segment: The target segment means which exact customers the company needs
to focus on to get a better result. Again, the factors which imply the growth of the company are
also things to be considered as well. The company should employ better designers and market
the clothes online. The customers are from the age group of 20-50 and they have sense on the
current trends from internet and social media. Similarly the company should also gather data
from the researches of the customer and daily surfing. The company should employ a proactive
marketing and research team which can outperform the requirements of the company (Ohmae,
2016). The online presence and delivery and purchase options should be reviewed, redeveloped
and monitored daily. Customer executives are a must in the whole process with a better software
to answer the issues of the customers.
If the above criteria are met then the company can be focussed on a particular segment of people
and can serve better. The company can improve on a particular segment and satisfy the segment.
If the number of satisfies customers are on-board then the company can gain more customers
with the help of all the loyal customers. The base customers segment should be strong and
satisfied which means giving them preferences and benefits at times (Schlegelmilch, 2016).
Target Strategies: The key customers are of the age 20-50 who are internet savvy and have
preference for quality. Thus the design, colour and quality of the customers should be customers
own choice. For example there is a designer dress online. The customer choosing for the
particular dress would get a number of options regarding which colour to select, which quality to
select and measurements options for a perfect fit. In this way the customers can choose their own
cloth material in which they are comfortable, measurements would look after for their comfort
and body-fit, and the perfect colour blend to suit the skin tone (Andaleeb, 2016).
The research team should see to the factors that the customers are taken care of and the kind of
searches they normally do. On the search basis they would be provided options to select their
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preferable designers and the designer clothes as well (Festa et al., 2016). The search criteria
should also be monitored and kept in the database for future use.
The customer service managers should reconfirm the delivery option and purchase options and
provide for a suitable solution which would build more customer value. Again, the software
should be user friendly and the customers who visits the stores should get the same treatment as
the online purchasers (Andaleeb and Hasan, 2016).
Positioning Statement: The positioning statement would be “Your demand at your doorsteps”.
The statement is more customer centric which emphasises the value that the customer is ultimate.
It boosts the realisation in the customer minds that they come first for the company. Again, as the
research has found out delivery and purchase options are often a headache to many. To improve
this fact the company has selected the line (Lovelock and Patterson, 2015).
Again, the customer demands vary according to changing trends daily. Their demands are
therefore changing every time they shop. But the unique thing is whatever they demand in the
particular material the company provides it to satisfy the customers (Zia and Kumar, 2016).
Along with best designers and their work they also get the current trends to satisfy their demands
and the material, colour or comfort is their choice to make.
Hence, the primary strategy of Ksubi is to target the age group of 20-50. The next thing that the
company has to do is retain the consumers. This can be achieved when Ksubi launches their
loyalty card benefits. The benefits of this card are point collection for every purchase which
eventually leads to free purchases. However, to attract new consumers, the organisation has to
work on their promotions and marketing. Upon implementing this strategy, the possibility of
boosting the sales is higher than before.
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Market Mix of the Organisation
Figure 1: 4Ps of marketing
(Source: Wirtz and Lovelock, 2017)
Product: The new sub brand can be created which focus on the customer demands. The
statement “Your demand at your doorsteps” signifies that the demand are fully met. In order to
meet the demands of the customers the proper software should be implemented which is user
friendly and that can provide the customer as many optimal options that any particular product
can offer. For example if there is a designer yellow pashmina dress with wine red flowers on the
upper part of the dress material, the customer can choose for the particular red or yellow shade
that suits his or her skin tone. The material options would also be available to choose from. The
measurements corner, again, would ask for the measurements which would give the dress a
perfect fit for the customer (Baker, 2016). This would be available for both online and offline
customers. The executives in the stores would detail each customer regarding the cloth fittings
and the colour tone. This way the customer can chose his or her own product specifying the fit
and the complementing the seasonal requirements as well.
Price: The price will vary from one material to another. The economic conditions of the
demography is quite well and many can afford with the price fluctuations. The delivery options
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would again, entail a certain delivery charge which may be waived off if paid immediately.
Credit card payments and online payments would gift the customer special discounts through
which they also may earn loyalty points for future shopping.
Place: Both online and offline services are available for the customers. Customers are always
delighted to get their demands at their preferred places at a decent price at the prompted place for
delivery. Thus, the supply chain and logistics should have a solid customer centric software
which detects the places as soon the customer demands (Fan, et al., 2015). Just-in-time and six
sigma approaches would be considered for a better operations and all other approaches that can
improve the whole process.
Promotion: Platform such as media and social media would be used to promote the sub-brand.
Campaigns would be done in particular malls and marketplaces where the target customers are
huge in number (Wongleedee, 2015). The advertisements would cast personalities who are
influential at the same time fall under the same age category of the target market.
Conclusion
The company Ksubi is suffering to meet the customer criteria as they do not have enough
avenues for innovation. The above mentioned approaches, if applied, can bring the company
better results as the approaches are customer centric and in accordance to their relevance. Better
service along with quality of products is the key to capture the market and Ksubi can gain more
customer base if they can provide both.
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References
Andaleeb, S.S. and Hasan, K. eds., 2016. Strategic marketing management in Asia: case studies
and lessons across industries. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Andaleeb, S.S., 2016. Market segmentation, targeting, and positioning. In Strategic marketing
management in Asia: case studies and lessons across industries (pp. 179-207). Emerald Group
Publishing Limited.
Baker, M.J., 2016. What is marketing? In the Marketing Book (pp. 25-42). Routledge.
Craik, J., 2015. Challenges for Australian fashion. Journal of Fashion Marketing and
Management, 19(1), pp.56-68.
Fan, S., Lau, R.Y. and Zhao, J.L., 2015. Demystifying big data analytics for business intelligence
through the lens of marketing mix. Big Data Research, 2(1), pp.28-32.
Festa, G., Cuomo, M.T., Metallo, G. and Festa, A., 2016. The (r) evolution of wine marketing
mix: From the 4Ps to the 4Es. Journal of Business Research, 69(5), pp.1550-1555.
Fitzgerald, B. and Fitzgerald, B. (2019). Ksubi returns to retail with global flagship. [online]
FashionNetwork.com. Available at: https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Ksubi-returns-to-retail-
with-global-flagship,846425.html [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
Koch, S., Pettigrew, S., Minto, C., Slevin, T., Strickland, M., Lin, C. and Jalleh, G., 2017. Trends
in sun‐protection behaviour in Australian adults 2007–2012. Australasian Journal of
Dermatology, 58(2), pp.111-116.
Ksubi. (2019). Ksubi Global. [online] Available at: https://www.ksubi.com/global [Accessed 15
Apr. 2019].
Kumar, N., Scheer, L. and Kotler, P., 2000. From market driven to market driving. European
management journal, 18(2), pp.129-142.
Liu, Y., Li, K.J., Chen, H. and Balachander, S., 2017. The effects of products’ aesthetic design
on demand and marketing-mix effectiveness: The role of segment prototypicality and brand
consistency. Journal of Marketing, 81(1), pp.83-102.
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Lovelock, C. and Patterson, P., 2015. Services marketing. Pearson Australia.
Ohmae, K., 2016. Marketing strategy for value exploration. Marketing For Competitiveness:
Asia To The World-In The Age Of Digital Consumers, p.175.
Schlegelmilch, B.B., 2016. Segmenting Targeting and Positioning in Global Markets. In Global
Marketing Strategy (pp. 63-82). Springer, Cham.
Varadarajan, R., 2010. Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: domain, definition,
fundamental issues and foundational premises. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,
38(2), pp.119-140.
Wirtz, J. and Lovelock, C., 2017. Positioning Services in Competitive Markets. World Scientific.
Wongleedee, K., 2015. Marketing mix and purchasing behavior for community products at
traditional markets. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197, pp.2080-2085.
Zia, M. and Kumar, N.S., 2016. A Three-Dimensional Vertical Differentiation Model:
Implications for Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. Targeting and Positioning (April 3,
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