Fun Mobile, Marketing Plan Example

We first begin with an introduction to the Fun Mobile Company. FunMobile is a company in the designer phone industry that allows users to fully customize their mobile phone through applications, screen-savers, backgrounds, and printing their own phone cases. The company offers various packages for companies and individuals, ranging from $15 to $150 per mobile phone. Users can create an online account and through the app provided by the company, order applications, software, services, and accessories. While the company is new on the market, it is extremely popular among people aged 15-40 who have a smart phone and would like to stand out from the crowd. This marketing analysis will present the current position of FunMobile, and the most effective way to execute a marketing strategy for the future of the company.

Fun Mobile is likely to have intra-competitors within the designer phone industry in which they operate. Major industry rivals include Otter Box, Zazzle, and Skin It. These are considered to be intra-competitors because they to provide similar products and services to the consumer smart phone market. However, these intra-competitors carry a weakness that gives Fun Mobile an advantage in the market. First off, Otter Box is very classical and conservative. They make uniquely designed smart phone cases. However, the smart phone cases they produce are not geared towards design, but rather geared to protection. Skin It offers smart phone cases geared for design, but not so much to protection. Zazzle offers custom cases as well, but do not carry much sensuality. What all of these competitors have in common is the weakness they share when being compared to Fun Mobile. The advantage that Fun Mobile has over these competitors is that they not only provide designer and protection cases, but they also allow for customization within the smart phone software. This strategy in making their service marketable gives Fun Mobile the competitive advantage over their closest competitors. Such a strategy will make Fun Mobile a leader in the designer phone industry. (Llopis, 2014)

Some legal issues that Fun Mobile might possibly run into involve the customization of the smart phone software. However, this is very unlikely to cause any real trouble because the process of “jail breaking” smart phones remains legal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). (Heath, 2013)A technological challenge that Fun Mobile might have is also present in the customization of the smart phone software. This is because smart phone companies are continuously updated their operating systems. Fun Mobile will have to hire the smartest software developers and computer scientists in order to keep up to date with the new operating systems present in smart phones. There do not seem to be any social issues that pose a challenge for Fun Mobile, but there may be economic issues. This all depends on the status of the economy on the macro-economic level. If the economy falls into a recession as it did in 2008, then consumers may not be as willing to spend. This would mean Fun Mobile would lose out on sales revenue. Unfortunately, Fun Mobile has little control on the effects of the economy. In such a scenario where the economy declines, the best plan of action for Fun Mobile to do is to lower their prices. This would promote more customers and may also be stimulating for the economy. A marketing research tool used in this marketing strategy involving the economy is the paradox thrift. The paradox thrift dictates that if everybody saved their money during times of recession, then demand for products and services would decline. If the demand for products and services declined, then economic growth would stall. This would result in all kinds of additional economic problems such as jobs cuts, rises in unemployment, business failing to achieve sales revenue goals, and many other macroeconomic factors. Fun Mobile can use this macro-economic theory as a backup plan should there ever be a decline in the economy. (Heath, 2013) (Kolter)

In order to have an effective marketing strategy, Fun Mobile will have to create a plan of action. The first step that they must take is the ploy of a promotion campaign to get their name brand out to the public. The promotion and campaign of this new product brand, FunMobile, is essential in launching. The positioning statement or slogan is “Your own Kind of Phone Design”. This new product slogan name represents the customization component of this new service. (McKee, 2013)Here is a basic time table of how to execute this new product brand and marketing strategy:

• Campaign of a personal phone customization.
• Promote product by first engaging in promotional events where shopping is predominant such as malls to distribute preliminary samples of the service.
• Release the new service to the general public.
• Continue to advertise in commercials and media.
• Analyze sales revenue of the product after the first four quarters to determine if it should be continued.

A five year expansion plan for Fun Mobile should include future profitability and growth in market share. The expansion plans should be executed in the graph as follows.

After the five year expansion plan, Fun Mobile should be a publically traded company with many investors both public and private. (Friedman, 2006)

Fun Mobile must be able to market their products and services with use of social media outlets. The two primary social media outlets that Fun Mobile will engage their marketing strategy in are Facebook and Instagram. Facebook is the most popular social media outlet in the world, so it is only logical from a marketing standpoint that Fun Mobile promotes their brand through this outlet. The second social media outlet that Fun Mobile will engage in, Instagram is based on primarily photos. If Fun Mobile creates an Instagram page, then they can generate more followers. Fun Mobile can then post pictures of samples of their products which these followers will see and any other followers they are connected with. (McKee, 2013)

Two very important performance standards that Fun Mobile must us are in output units and sales transactions on a quarterly basis. Two monitory methods they must use are in industry trends, and consumer behavior within the market. Two Financial controls they must use are the minimization of fixed costs, along with a desirable return on cost of goods sold that is still affordable for most consumers. (Llopis, 2014)

The potential for Fun Mobile’s overall performance is still unknown, but it is also limitless. The marketing strategy in place addresses every sector of business and marketing. Fun Mobile should integrate marketing communications such as advertisements through social media, commercial television, magazine ads, and billboard signs. These integrations of communications create a solid line of communication between the company and their consumers. It also strengthens advertisements. (Friedman, 2006)

References

Friedman, H. H. (2006). Market Segmentation and Targeting. Retrieved from Brooklyn CUNY: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/economic/friedman/mmmarketsegmentation.htm

Heath, A. (2013, January 29). Unlocking A New iPhone Is Now Illegal, But Jailbreaking Is Still Safe — What It All Means For You. Retrieved from Cult of Mac: http://www.cultofmac.com/213144/unlocking-a-new-iphone-is-now-illegal-but-jailbreaking-is-still-safe-what-it-all-means-for-you/

Kolter. (n.d.). Global Marketing Environmental Factors. Retrieved April 11, 2015, from Study Lecture: http://www.studylecturenotes.com/sites/default/files/field/image/global%20marketing%20environment.jpg

Llopis, G. (2014, March 10). 6 Brand Strategies Most CMOs Fail To Execute. Retrieved from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/03/10/6-brand-strategies-that-most-cmos-fail-to-execute/

McKee, S. (2013, April 30). Marketing Secret: Think Form, not Just Function. Retrieved April 1, 2015, from Bloomberg Business: http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-04-30/marketing-secret-think-form-not-just-function