Surfside: Marketing and Hot Tub
Critical Issues
In order to remain competitive in the market and increase hot tube sales, Surfside Leisurescapes must address the following. Failure to respond to these critical issues will decrease sales and weaken the quality of the employee workforce. * Seasonality – 78% of hot tub sales occur from April 1st to September 30th. In order to remain profitable overall, sales need to increase during the winter months. * Hydrotherapy – A potential value added service to recommend the therapeutic benefits of hot tubs. Surfside will need to penetrate into this market to increase market share. * No marketing plan - Increased competition – 12 new competitors have entered the market; 3 being direct. A lack of promotional strategy and no target demographic will result in a decreased market share (exhibit 1).
Situation Analysis
Surfside Leisurescapes market size is decreasing. This is caused by new entrants entering the market as threat of new entrants is high (exhibit 2). The old grass roots marketing strategy has not been sufficient to deal with the new competition. Seasonality is a large issue, 78% of sales occur during the “on” season (exhibit 4). This issue is compounded because of the difficulty to retain quality salesmen during the “off season”.
An unusually cold climate has also negatively affected sales. As a result, potential customers may have bought substitutes such as large jetted bath tubs that aren’t susceptible to climate (exhibit 2).
Hydrotherapy is a critical opportunity. This is a new market segment that Surfside has not yet explored. 30% of Newmarket’s population consists of retirees over the age of 55 (City of Toronto, 2005). This represents a major opportunity to target a new demographic. Hydrotherapy can aid high blood pressure, and arthritis, a common concern amongst this age group (Natural Healers, 2006).
A further critical issue is Surfside’s lack of marketing experience. Because surfside has had limited competition in the past,
In order to remain competitive in the market and increase hot tube sales, Surfside Leisurescapes must address the following. Failure to respond to these critical issues will decrease sales and weaken the quality of the employee workforce. * Seasonality – 78% of hot tub sales occur from April 1st to September 30th. In order to remain profitable overall, sales need to increase during the winter months. * Hydrotherapy – A potential value added service to recommend the therapeutic benefits of hot tubs. Surfside will need to penetrate into this market to increase market share. * No marketing plan - Increased competition – 12 new competitors have entered the market; 3 being direct. A lack of promotional strategy and no target demographic will result in a decreased market share (exhibit 1).
Situation Analysis
Surfside Leisurescapes market size is decreasing. This is caused by new entrants entering the market as threat of new entrants is high (exhibit 2). The old grass roots marketing strategy has not been sufficient to deal with the new competition. Seasonality is a large issue, 78% of sales occur during the “on” season (exhibit 4). This issue is compounded because of the difficulty to retain quality salesmen during the “off season”.
An unusually cold climate has also negatively affected sales. As a result, potential customers may have bought substitutes such as large jetted bath tubs that aren’t susceptible to climate (exhibit 2).
Hydrotherapy is a critical opportunity. This is a new market segment that Surfside has not yet explored. 30% of Newmarket’s population consists of retirees over the age of 55 (City of Toronto, 2005). This represents a major opportunity to target a new demographic. Hydrotherapy can aid high blood pressure, and arthritis, a common concern amongst this age group (Natural Healers, 2006).
A further critical issue is Surfside’s lack of marketing experience. Because surfside has had limited competition in the past,
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