Question

Context: Muskogee County Choppers, till recently was a small ‘custom’ motorcycle/chopper production unit, designing and manufacturing custom motorcycles and trikes for a small regional market, mainly Oklahoma and Arkansas. The firm has seen an infusion of capital from a group of rich ‘angel investors’ who had a love for motorcycling. The firm is ‘small’ and even after innovation, capital infusion and growth will in no way match the major players like Harley, Honda, Kawasaki etc. Further, ‘trikes’ unlike motorcycles may be considered a ‘niche’ rather than mass market product.

With this infusion of capital, MCC is now a LLC (Limited Liability Company) and plans to make a foray into major markets, at least catering to Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas , Oklahoma, and New Mexico, starting with a ‘trike’ to compete with the Polaris Spyder or CANAM-Ryker. The MCC Trike is similar, with two front wheels and one rear wheel. It is 500cc, in contrast with other trikes that are normally with higher capacity engines (900 cc +). The Canam Ryker and Polaris Spyder are also like the MCC trike, in that they have two front and one rear wheel, unlike Harley trikes etc that have one front wheel and two rear wheels.

MCC is a new company and even with an infusion of capital from angel investors cannot compete with the financial strength of companies like Harley and Honda.

Develop the 'Contents Page' of a structured approach for MCC’s marketing plan focusing on: (a) Promotional or Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy  (b) Marketing strategy . The junior executives would later follow this structure to develop the details of the plan. . Junior executives would use this as a 'guide' or a sort of rubric to develop the actual content.

Answer 1

Contents page

- Executive summary : what this firm's marketing strategy is and how it plans to implement it

- Unique selling proposition (USP) : What is our USP - The only small reverse trike (2 front wheels, 1 rear wheel) with lower engine capacity 500cc on the market right now making us a clear front runner in this product and with no direct competition at the moment. This can give us a monopoly on the small, reverse (tadpole), low-capacity trikes.

- Target customers : Older population or users with mobility or balance issues, starter bike for new/young bike/trike enthusiasts

The reverse or tadpole trike is known to be more stable under braking making it more attractive to users who will likely prioritise safety over speed. As our trike has a lower engine capacity as well, this can mean senior/elderly population that wants mobility and stability are likely to prefer this product.

Additionally, there could be people with medical issues that restrict mobility, and who will prefer a lower engine capacity as their primary purpose is transportation in a stable vehicle.

Due to the lower engine capacity it can also attract customers who want to try out a bike/trike but are currently not up to a fully powered engine bike/trike.

- Pricing strategy : As the target customer base can consist of price-sensitive customers, it is best to follow a cost-oriented pricing that does not put the product out of range for the target base. We want to position our product as the first choice for a reverse trike with lower capacity and so costing will need to be on par/lower than our closest competitors.

- Offers : Free trials to be arranged at all points of sale, marketing venues, malls etc. to enable as many people to try it as possible. Offer free helmet and gloves with the first 100 purchases. Discount for seniors above a certain age?

- Marketing materials : Company website, print brochures to be placed in hospitals, senior centres, youth centres, supermarkets, catalogues to be distributed to all vehicle sales centres that include bikes/trikes, social media sites

- Advertising : Television, shows that are geared to target customer base, event marketing at malls, automotive sales centres, google ads based on keyword searches, social media searches,  

- Partnerships : Vehicle rental agencies that could offer our trikes out as rentals, driving school/teaching academies that can suggest alternatives to prospective students as an intermediary option before acquiring a license for bigger bikes/cars.

- Additional strategies : Referral options that reduce price for the newcomer and offer a benefit (free washing/maintenance) for the referrer. Retention strategy to keep older customers in the fold - newsletters, freebies such as free gloves or custom paint work etc offered in contests, customer loyalty programmes that allow customers to trade in an older bike for a new one at a reduced cost to them. Offer bundles of trikes with gear and warranty and maintenance for 1/2/3 years so that customers can purchase all at once at a reduced cost.

- Budget and finances : Cost of promotional material, website and social media development and maintenance cost, ongoing customer engagement costs, costs incurred in reaching out to prospective customers/partners. The expectation is that these costs can be recouped over a period of one year with anticipated sales of around 100,000 trikes.