MKT800 Background Report

What is the current customer demographic?

 Young adults
o High school to late 20s
 Hobby/interest/recreational
 Local for younger demographic
 Professional will travel here
 Midland is the primary location
 St. clair location has a lot of walk-ins
 Students and families
 Was said that post high school a lot of their students move on because of school of they
simply grow out of the sport
 Note: mentioned that they would like to redirect their focus a bit more towards the young
adults

Could you name your Top 3 or 5 competitors?

Toronto Muay Thai and Kickboxing - Pricing more expensive but offer 12 oz, 14 oz and 16 oz
gloves free
 Not as specialized in muay thai
Siam N1 - Prices a little more expensive but offer personalized training
-       Owner brought muay thai to Canada
-       Personal training is a premium
Krudar (Don mills)- A little more expensive Offers a gym
 Not as focused or specialized on Muay Thai

Competition is very local

 Will be providing a competitor map to conduct more research

What is your current marketing strategy?

-       Facebook campaigns
o   Discounted 5 classes for $17
o   8 miles radius
o   email and phone number
-  no email database
-       Pay per click
-       Google searches
-       Referral program
o   Get a month free if you bring in a friend
o   Store credit
o   3 month you get a 1 month
-       January promotion
o   1 yr membership discounted rate of about 20%
-       3 month plus 1 month free promotion – quarterly
-       3, 6, 1 yr memberships
o   equipment promotion with 3 and 6 month
- gloves and shin guards
 ·      $50
-       new members would get the 3 month plus 1
-       current members who are renewing would get a gift package

Note: they are looking to get away from discounted membership offers to GWP

How do you typically acquire new customers? (ex. Referrals, word of mouth etc.)
Word of mouth

What rewards program do you offer?

They are actually phasing their reward program out

What is the cost in retaining existing customers?

 Recurring memberships get gifts
o Cost is about $50

Which membership packages sell the most 1 month, 3 month, 1 year?

 The 3 and 6 month memberships are the top sellers
 Currently have about 500 members at the Midland location and approx 119 at the st.clair
location
 Tenure is around 5 years

What would you say your 3 year plan is?

-       Build that presence again within the Muay Thai community
-       Compete
-       Build a team
-       Build a stronger community
o   To relieve stress
o   Feel like they have a place
-       Open more locations
-       Meeting the demand of their customers
o   Lacking man power and the experienced trainers
 Tried using their junior members to teach classes and they noticed
a decrease in retention.
-       Resources due to finances and natural progression
-       Quality is top in Canada
o   Match quality with pricing
 Would like to be able to increase prices

Other Notes:
It was mentioned several times that their website needs to be updated. They currently lack a
consistent brand between their two locations. I don't think they promote themselves well enough
or their accolades
Other notes:
 I believe what they would like to get out of this assignment is to focus more on the young
adults market and less on the children programs which would mean finding a strategy
that targets the right customers (i.e. young adults, students etc.)
 o To do this I think they need to ramp up their online presence which includes
revamping their website
 Could add the ability to schedule your classes online
 Perhaps they could promote some kind of open house? They could have
a demonstration by the trainers.
 Will need to promote it to the right demographic considering they are
looking to focus more on young adults
 They don’t have a marketing budget per se, they kind of just think of offers and
tactics they want to try and launch these one off programs
 Build more awareness of muay thai
 Also mentioned that at some point would like to start a blog
 Midland location gets a lot more walk-ins and free trials than their St.Clair
location
 This could be due to the fact that there are a lot more competitors in the
neighbourhood

Better understand the competitive landscape and propose a marketing strategy that
would put Southside more in line with the industry in terms of brand and awareness,
focusing on brand management and/or promotion. These strategies would also address
how Southside could acquire more young adult and student members with the hope that
it would result in more homegrown trainers for the gym.

Additional Questions:
 Year end sales figures over the past 5 years
o This will help us understand the growth of the business
 Membership growth other the past 5 years and the prices you were charging at
the time
o This will help us see how their pricing strategy has changed over the years and
see whether it has impacted their year end sales
MARKETING BACKGROUND REPORT
GUIDELINES
 Due date: Monday October 15th, 6:10pm.  Please bring a hard copy to class and submit
soft copy via D2L.
 Purpose:
o To provide an overview of the market,company and product/service
o Provides an opportunity to ensure everyone understands what has been
discussed so far, and how it interacts with other information you have gathered
o Please note that this document will be reviewed and critiqued by the
instructor/GA but given a grade; there is only a penalty on the final report if this
Background report is not submitted (i.e. 25% per day including weekends)
 Refer to Section 1 in The Marketing Management workbook for components
 Length approximately 8 - 10 pages
 Use estimates where necessary – get feedback and confirmation (i.e. real numbers)
when you meet with company
 Send report to company in advance of your meeting
 A well-written, prepared report will elicit a serious response!
 This Background Report will then be included in your final report in summary format
(intro/background); the full Background Report will be included as an exhibit
 Key topics:
COMPANY – size, products, sales etc. - John
PRODUCT/SERVICE – the actual focus of the project/ plan, sales, product offerings etc. - John

TARGET AUDIENCE – who buys, demographics, psychographics, trends- Gurjeet

MARKET – size, trends, competition, geographic etc. - Andre

PRICE – price company sells product at, main competitors’ price, information may be displayed
in a table - Jen

PROMOTION – advertising and other promotional activity, budget, past experience, competitive
spending if relevant

It was mentioned several times that their website needs to be updated. They currently lack a
consistent brand between their two locations. I don't think they promote themselves well enough
or their accolades
Other notes:
 I believe what they would like to get out of this assignment is to focus more on the young
adults market and less on the children programs which would mean finding a strategy
that targets the right customers (i.e. young adults, students etc.)
o To do this I think they need to ramp up their online presence which includes
revamping their website

Facebook campaigns
o   Discounted 5 classes for $17
o   8 miles radius
o   email and phone number
-  no email database
-       Pay per click
-       Google searches
-       Referral program
o   Get a month free if you bring in a friend
o   Store credit
o   3 month you get a 1 month
-       January promotion
o   1 yr membership discounted rate of about 20%
-       3 month plus 1 month free promotion – quarterly
-       3, 6, 1 yr memberships
o   equipment promotion with 3 and 6 month
- gloves and shin guards
·      $50
-       new members would get the 3 month plus 1
-       current members who are renewing would get a gift package

Note: they are looking to get away from discounted membership offers to GWP

Southside Muay Thai currently employs a limited range of advertising and

promotional tactics, most of which rely heavily on digital marketing and word-of-
mouth marketing. They operate a few social media platforms - Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and their website, where they communicate
information about the company such as pricing rates, ongoing specials, class
schedules, and general news regarding the boxing industry. They have done an
effective job of encouraging consumer engagement especially through their
Facebook and Instagram platforms, thus strengthening their brand image and
online presence. Some of the tactics they used to accomplish this include soliciting
customer feedback, real-time interactions through direct messaging, and sharing
photos of everyday customers at their establishments. Providing both visuals and
content, as well as simple calls to action, their online platforms are primed and
ready for exposure to a larger audience. Additionally, their word-of-mouth
marketing strategies are effective in acquiring new customers around the area.
They have implemented a referral program where customers are incentivized with
one month of free classes when they sign up another friend.

Although they do not have a marketing budget, they have previously allocated
some funds towards paid promotions, such as Facebook direct marketing ads and
Google search campaigns. Strategies that they are lacking, which could really
enhance their marketing communication mix if implemented, include offline
advertising (i.e. radio and transit ads), and an email database to keep track of their
customers. Additionally, Southside Muay Thai should consider revamping their
website, as it is the one place where people interact with the company the most.
Focusing on better branding and a more modern layout will aid in attracting their
new desired target market of young adults.

PLACE/DISTRIBUTION – where sold, channels used, coverage etc - Aman

PROBLEMS/OPPORTUNITIES – 3 OR 4 at most - to be completed all together

EXHIBITS

Johns notes Please note I did not have access to the net therefore it isn’t in question format.

- High school,
- Late
- Recreational
- Culture
- Corporate outside the area
- Even across the board
- 50/50
- Females and male
- Families/students

Facebook
-PPC campaigns
-Ad words
-Strategy
-Campaign 5 classes for $17 dollars
-Facebook environment
-Instagram
-Loyalty Program
-Annual promotion
-Three month plus one month free
-September
-One year membership – discounted rate – 20 percent off
-Bring in a friend, get a month free
-Phasing out the rewards program
-Gloves, handwraps, shinguards a big part of your revenue
-Margins on memberships/personal training/apparel
-Building stage/competition
-Build a presence
-Larger team
-A community
-Biggest challenge – meeting the demand of your members – extra people
-Lack of resources -maintaining
-competitive advantage – consistency
-Lifetime value –
-Promotion that improves lifetime value
-Email base
-Quality top in Muay Thai
-Match quality with pricing – Premium pricing
-Business first gym
-Authenticity
-Marketing budget - $500,000
-$1,000 month
-3, 6 months memberships – Consistent – January core of their members, a lot stay, average
lifespan is five years
- Over 500 members, St Clair 119
-Family – Italian, Portuguese
- Juniors do most of the classes, do not do pre-authorized payments
- Plan towards St Clair location a handful everyday at midland
-One free trial in St.Clair
-Three people clicked on their facebook ad at St Clair
-Wolf – more Muay Thai-gyms in their area
-Siam number one, Shark Muay Thai
-Ryerson
-Class story –
-Write a blog
-Have a code
-POP in the shipping package

Promotion

Past Experience

Medium and Budget Justification Measurement Method

Allocation
Radio
Millenial-centric radio
stations (i.e. Kiss 925, Flow
935); Fitness and health
podcasts
Budget = $
Social Media
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Google Ads
Traditional Media
Newspaper
Fitness and Health Magazines
Subway

Press
Online publications and blogs
i.e. BlogTO, Narcity, Fitness
Blogs