Ariel Macrae

MBA 606
September 14, 2020

bigtruck® Marketing Audit

PEST

o Political: What regulations are currently affecting our operations, and which of those
might change?
 Importing from our suppliers has become more difficult and expensive due to regulations
and tariffs, as well as the effect of Covid on international manufacturing and shipping. This
could change soon as everything has been shifting rapidly in this landscape.

o Economic: What ability do consumers have to spend money, and how are they spending
it?
 Because our price point is relatively low in the consumer goods space our products have
remained affordable despite the current economic instability

o Social: What major shifts are occurring in the way people interact with businesses and
each other?
 Social media is providing more ways to stay in touch with customer’s needs and wants as
well as allowing businesses to convert people into brand advocates more easily. I have also
noticed an increase in customer service interactions through social media.

o Technical: Which technologies and available resources exist that could support our
efforts?
 We are constantly trying to learn about new resources available to get in front of our existing
audience and to reach potential new customers. I am currently looking into expanding affiliate
marketing, adding/updating to new facebook/Instagram storefronts, using shopify integrations
to grow loyalty and referral programs and better track customer sales flows to increase
conversions. The constantly shifting technology brings a lot of new opportunities but also
means we have a lot to keep up with.

3Cs

o Customer: What do we know about our customers’ demographics and wants/desires?

 About 12% of our online customers are repeat, with the majority coming from California,
Nevada and Colorado (all states where we have a large presence). They are between the ages
of 25-44, with women outweighing men. We have noticed a high level women as household
purchasers buying for themselves, their spouse or significant other, and children. Our
demographics also indicate that most come from middle income backgrounds with expendable
resources for accessory items like our hats. Because of our location in the outdoor mecca of
Tahoe and the themed focus for many of the hat collections, we attempt to market to people
who participate in activities like skiing, climbing, biking, yoga and generally appreciate the
outdoors/nature.

o Competition: Who is our competition, and what do we know about them?

  Some major direct competitors nationally are Coal Headwear, Pistil, Sunday Afternoons –
Coal is larger but mainly snow focused
 locally We The Trees and Tahoe Heartbeat (both formed after bigtruck’s initial success) and
Desolation Supply
 white label hats from larger outdoor brands like Patagonia, Kavu, Outdoor Research, etc.

o Company: What are our capabilities, ambitions and culture?

 While the culture of the business is outwardly focused on the “FUNFIRST” ethos, we have
faced challenges with changing administration, staff turnover because of financial issues,
inventory overages, location changes and machines being out of order. The company appears
to be recovering from some of these challenges leftover from the previous GM’s misdirection
but are still in a state of uncertainty. Despite Covid, this year has tracked positively for growth
as we begin to address and overcome many of these problems.

SWOT analysis

o What are our organizational Strengths?

 Strong brand advocates
 Great local recognition
 In-store experience is rated highly and new location sees a lot more foot traffic
 Positive response to cause-marketing efforts
 Strong sales of children and baby hats, building potential long-term customers

o What Weaknesses do we have that we could improve to be more competitive?

 Issues with production speed
 Frequent sewing machine breakdowns
 Production space and team are too small
 Financial planning had been lacking in the past leaving the company with high inventory of
some hats

o Are there Opportunities in the market or in our organization for growth and expansion? 
 Potential brand collaborations with other recognized industry brands and organizations who
align well and could expand bigtruck’s reach
 Online customization option is unique, but needs to be implemented better with new options
added more frequently
 Introduction of masks has been met positively and there is potential to add other product
lines other than hats

o What internal and external Threats should we be aware of?

 Hats are sourced from external manufacturers which can result in shortages or issues with
quality
 Other companies who have the ability to produce the hats in house could potentially become
threatening competition