Sophia's Resturant

Section: Marketing Essays

Comfortable at its current location for the past twelve years, the surrounding area has become home to other retail chains and department stores, increasing the competition in the sports shoe and apparel market. Stores such as Foot Locker and Wal-Mart are clambering to catch up with their rivals who have been in the business for a while and carry immense selections. Sue's reputation as a nationally ranked runner had always been sufficient to promote Runners World, a familiar and stable fixture in the community. More recently, she has become painfully aware that her reputation alone won't be enough to sustain her current market. Determined to re-establish the store as the source for her runner's needs, Sue begins the daunting task of analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to her business. Conclusions Based on our analysis of Sue's current marketing strategy and the questions we have raised regarding Runner's World's future, we strongly urge Sue to continue to specialize in running shoes, but to add other high-end brands other than Nike and avoid the trendy and/or low-end brands such as Skechers (MENTION OTHER BRANDS & RESEARCH THEIR PRICES), which would only confuse her customers.

We have several recommendations for Sue to consider in order to continue the growth of her company and attract a new market. Sue needs to establish a web site (example: www.runnersworld.com) to further serve the needs of her existing customers as well as attract new customers. Her focus should be on all aspects of running —instructional videos, classes and running clubs. While Sue's customers are browsing, promotional videos explaining product superiority should playing on large screen televisions set up in strategic places throughout the store. To make sure customer service is at its best, Sue can re-train her current employees to be familiar with all the new products and services offered by Runner's World and put her employees on a salary/commission program as incentive to promote sales. In addition, Runner's World could sponsor local high school track meets and 5K runs for charity. Finally, Sue should set up a customer suggestion box and hold weekly strategy meetings with her employees to gain perspective on how effective her strategy is, and also make sure she is meeting the needs of her customers. Words: 892

Words: 378