Barbara Corcoran, a shark on the show Shark Tank, said to the owner of DDP Yoga, "I don't like investing in companies that are based on trends." This would be some very useful information to hear if you are thinking of pursuing your innovative ideas. When there is a trend, everybody wants in on the new product, but most likely, the product will turn into a fad. A fad is an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object's qualities; a craze. There have been multiple products that have been popular for a short period of time, but the company will not have the potential to be a long term success in the market. As a potential investor, it is important to truly look at the pros and cons before risking your business status and reputation. If you are going to put money and faith into a company, you want it to be a long term success. The problem with trend products is that once people have it, they won't need it again. Once the trend is over, your business becomes obsolete.
The latest trend is being fit. There are multiple shows on the television such as The Biggest Loser or Extreme Weight Loss. People are starting to care more and more about what they look like, and want to have an athletic, toned body. Instagram and Twitter are filled with people posting what they eat and what they do to exercise. They are role models for other individuals to be like them and to work and achieve their physical desires. Additionally, YouTube provides instructional videos on certain exercises and demonstrations for meal prepping. People doing whatever it takes to be like them. "If they can do it, then I can do it," has been a common saying for this era. People are motivating one another to get up off the couch and start exercising. Fit-bits and other physical activity trackers have dominated the Fitness market, but will this die down?
I own a fit-bit and I absolutely love it. What is the inconvenience? You have to charge it. When I take it off to charge it, sometimes I forget that it is off my wrist completely and I do not really think about it. When I do realize that I have not utilized it for a weeks time, I do not feel like my life has ended. In fact, I feel as thought I could live without it, and perhaps, I could have just saved the money entirely. Soon, other people will start to see that this product is a luxury, and a product developing an even bigger fitness fad.
"New year new me." It is a cliche statement that you hear people say at the start of every new year, and often times the goals they set seem to be forgotten about weeks afterwards. Most of the time, one of those New Years Resolutions list is to lose weight or to get in shape by eating healthy and exercising on a regular basis. According to Dan Diamond, a writer for Forbes Magazine, he states, "University of Scranton research suggests that just 8% of people achieve their New Year's goals." That is a ridiculous number! If 8% of us continue to reach our goals, then who says that products geared toward helping attain those goals will survive? They will fade away just like those New Years resolutions. That product nor that goal will be a top priority for anyone. Because it is such a minute number of individuals who keep up with this fitness mentality, the companies that feed into this trend are performing at the interest of those with component lifestyles. This is considered the practice of choosing goods and services that meet one's diverse needs and interests rather than conforming to a single, traditional lifestyle. Although it is good that companies are starting to address individual issues in people's lives, it becomes especially hard to make money when that diminishes your target market. A target market is a group of people or organizations for which an organization designs, implements, and maintains a marketing mix intended to meet the need of that group, resulting in mutually satisfying exchanges. If your target market is small, your sales will be too.
I've seen so many advertisements on television with the next big fitness tip that is "simple, affordable, and it works!" Wow! Don't they all!? If DDP Yoga was to join earlier, then perhaps they would make decent money while this trend lasts, but eventually the sales will level off. Eventually, it won't be a huge product in the market anymore. DDP Yoga is a business based on a DVD or video sent to customers with a yoga routine that is "not your mama's yoga." It is more masculine that typical yoga and provides a rehabilitation service that helps athletes and even just normal average people fix their daily aches and pains. You may be wondering, what is their competitive advantage? Well, they have differentiated themselves from other treatment services by making this yoga "hardcore." But how much of an advantage really is Diversification?
Because this is in a variety of industries that has been around for a long time, it seems like there would be an easier way to view instructional exercise than on a DVD. Who is going to even have the time to sit down and do a yoga routine? How long is the program anyways? The founder of the company was good at explaining how effective his product can be, but did not describe the level of convenience for his target market. There are services from apps and websites that could potentially have the same effect in a shorter period of time. Think about those commercials saying "Just 14 minutes a day on Bow-flex, and I lost 35 pounds. This could be you." If that person can feel great and lose that amount of weight in a short period of time, then why the hell and I going to go through the hassle of using a DVD to perform a hardcore workout of yoga? Frankly, I believe that DDP Yoga may have a good product, but they are not keeping up with the generation of technology. Additionally, I believe that they introduced this product a little too late.
There are so many other fitness gadgets out there. People will feed into them when they first come out, but this trend did not start yesterday. People have already gotten roped into buying products that they thought would work, but not to their full extent. Obviously people buy a product to look like the fitness model, but when their results are not seen automatically, people often give up and forgot about their goal in the first place.
In order to be a successful company that will be everlasting, Barbara Corcoran wants entrepreneurs to do their research, preferably pure research. Pure research aims to confirm an existing theory or to learn more about a concept or phenomenon and then apply that to the product they want to create. Perhaps if companies like DDP Yoga would research the industries they are getting into, then they would see how long they could be in business based on how long people will want to have the product or have fitness and well-being as a top priority. Researching trends is important before deciding to start a business. This problem could even be evaluated by conducting a survey or questionnaire before you even start to create your product.
I think that Barbara Corcoran has a really good point, and it starts to relate to the Smart Project that we will be working on this semester. Do our own ideas affect issues seen as trends, or are they lasting issues that will be around for quite a long time? How do you think your sales will go 10+ years from now? These are so important to think about. I wish we would have watched this before we got started on the Bugs project. A lot of our ideas were intriguing, but do they all serve a long time purpose? None of us can be too sure about that. We have not put a lot of research into the pain-points yet, nor do we have a crystal ball on what the future holds with our projects. All we can do is hope for the best, but predict, plan and research for the worst possible outcomes in order to avoid obstacles. That should not be seen as pessimistic, for it is realistic- a quality that seems to lack in the mentality of a majority of business men and women.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Week 1
This week we learned the essential components of marketing and why it is important in the business world. Professor Spotts asked us what our first thought is when we hear the word "marketing." I instantly said advertising. As someone who has never taken a marketing class before, that is immediately what I think of. In reality, there is so much more to learn about marketing. According to AMA, the official definition of marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for society.
After reading the chapters in our textbook, I learned key terms that were necessary for success in this class, but I didn't truly apply the marketing terminology until we watched a video clip from Shark Tank about Kalyx Technologies. Kalyx Technologies presented to the sharks their innovation of a new sports bra that had special configuration in which it provided the level of support a woman needs based on their extremity of activity, and also gave a stylish spin with zero pain. The founder of the company discussed how she is a former professional golfer, and has always experienced poor and painful sources of support during her athletic career. Sports bras are huge in the market, and have lots of competition. Nike, Champion, Under Armour, and Adidas are companies that have developed a reputation in the market for high quality products designed for consumers. Additionally, lingerie stores such as PINK and Aerie have jumped onto the bandwagon for providing women with new technologies of sports bras.
Robert Herjavec, a shark on the show Shark Tank, simply said to the founder, "How in the world are you going to compete?" All of these big name brands have already established themselves as functional and reasonably priced, so how is Kalyx going to make people want to buy their product instead of Nike or Under Armour? In other words, Robert wants this company to explain what type of competitive advantage they have over other brands and companies. Competitive advantage is defined as a set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to those of the competition. There are various types of competitive advantage. For instance, cost is something that frequently sets products and companies apart from one another. If a company has a high quality product and a low cost compared to competitors, then they will have the cost competitive advantage. Kalyx Technologies did not mention the prices of their product, especially since they did not even have sales yet, so cost was not what set them apart from other companies. Niche competitive advantage is the advantage achieved by a firm when they seek to target and effectively serve a small segment of the market. Because the sports bra is an existing product on the market, Kalyx Technologies' main goal should be market penetration. They want to make their brand superior to others but they first need to do that by introducing their own name into the market, and then explain why they are different or better than their competitors.
Kalyx Technologies is considered to have a niche competitive advantage because they address an issue seen by multiple women around the country, and target that specific part of the market for their business. This is their competitive advantage, but is it strong enough? According to the elements of value pyramid, Kalyx Technologies would have functional value because it avoids hassles for women utilizing sports bras. Due to the pain and support issues that other sports bras cause on women, it is seen as a problem that they want to address, but is not seen as a catastrophic for most people. Most women believe that the sports bras present in the market now might not be perfect, but they get the job done. Why pay more the reinvent your closet when it isn't life threatening if you do not have a more supportive or painless bra. Personally, I have already spent so much money on sports bras. These are not cheap, and I would really need to be in a lot of pain or have a lot of problems with the ones I own now to switch over to a completely new brand.
Some people may want to address this issue, as Kalyx Technologies does, but it is not a primary concern for most women. It would be seen as a luxury to improve from a bra that already serves its purpose, so many people might not buy the product. There is not a huge need for this product, although it would be convenient. That is why it is ranked so low on the elements of value pyramid.
The best idea for Kalyx Technologies is to start small. Market penetration begins with a smaller scale business to see if consumers see this as a useful product, if it is worthwhile, and if the company will make enough sales to even function as a business. In my opinion, I feel like it is a complete waste of time to come onto Shark Tank to show your product when you have not even sold it or started a small business with the product yet. Kalyx Technologies does have dedication, commitment, and a niche competitive advantage, but honestly I do not think that will be enough for them to compete among Nike, Under Armour, Adidas or even lingerie stores due to their lack of sales and experimentation of having this product out on the market. Without introducing the products to consumers, it is too soon to tell if they will be successful, regardless if they have certain values that their competitors lack.
After reading the chapters in our textbook, I learned key terms that were necessary for success in this class, but I didn't truly apply the marketing terminology until we watched a video clip from Shark Tank about Kalyx Technologies. Kalyx Technologies presented to the sharks their innovation of a new sports bra that had special configuration in which it provided the level of support a woman needs based on their extremity of activity, and also gave a stylish spin with zero pain. The founder of the company discussed how she is a former professional golfer, and has always experienced poor and painful sources of support during her athletic career. Sports bras are huge in the market, and have lots of competition. Nike, Champion, Under Armour, and Adidas are companies that have developed a reputation in the market for high quality products designed for consumers. Additionally, lingerie stores such as PINK and Aerie have jumped onto the bandwagon for providing women with new technologies of sports bras.
Robert Herjavec, a shark on the show Shark Tank, simply said to the founder, "How in the world are you going to compete?" All of these big name brands have already established themselves as functional and reasonably priced, so how is Kalyx going to make people want to buy their product instead of Nike or Under Armour? In other words, Robert wants this company to explain what type of competitive advantage they have over other brands and companies. Competitive advantage is defined as a set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to those of the competition. There are various types of competitive advantage. For instance, cost is something that frequently sets products and companies apart from one another. If a company has a high quality product and a low cost compared to competitors, then they will have the cost competitive advantage. Kalyx Technologies did not mention the prices of their product, especially since they did not even have sales yet, so cost was not what set them apart from other companies. Niche competitive advantage is the advantage achieved by a firm when they seek to target and effectively serve a small segment of the market. Because the sports bra is an existing product on the market, Kalyx Technologies' main goal should be market penetration. They want to make their brand superior to others but they first need to do that by introducing their own name into the market, and then explain why they are different or better than their competitors.
Kalyx Technologies is considered to have a niche competitive advantage because they address an issue seen by multiple women around the country, and target that specific part of the market for their business. This is their competitive advantage, but is it strong enough? According to the elements of value pyramid, Kalyx Technologies would have functional value because it avoids hassles for women utilizing sports bras. Due to the pain and support issues that other sports bras cause on women, it is seen as a problem that they want to address, but is not seen as a catastrophic for most people. Most women believe that the sports bras present in the market now might not be perfect, but they get the job done. Why pay more the reinvent your closet when it isn't life threatening if you do not have a more supportive or painless bra. Personally, I have already spent so much money on sports bras. These are not cheap, and I would really need to be in a lot of pain or have a lot of problems with the ones I own now to switch over to a completely new brand.
Some people may want to address this issue, as Kalyx Technologies does, but it is not a primary concern for most women. It would be seen as a luxury to improve from a bra that already serves its purpose, so many people might not buy the product. There is not a huge need for this product, although it would be convenient. That is why it is ranked so low on the elements of value pyramid.
The best idea for Kalyx Technologies is to start small. Market penetration begins with a smaller scale business to see if consumers see this as a useful product, if it is worthwhile, and if the company will make enough sales to even function as a business. In my opinion, I feel like it is a complete waste of time to come onto Shark Tank to show your product when you have not even sold it or started a small business with the product yet. Kalyx Technologies does have dedication, commitment, and a niche competitive advantage, but honestly I do not think that will be enough for them to compete among Nike, Under Armour, Adidas or even lingerie stores due to their lack of sales and experimentation of having this product out on the market. Without introducing the products to consumers, it is too soon to tell if they will be successful, regardless if they have certain values that their competitors lack.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Introduction
Hello! My name is Mallory Donelan and I am from Mineola, NY. I am eighteen years old, and a second semester freshman at Western New England University. I am a member of the women's softball team here at WNE. I am also in the 5 year Accounting MBA program. After college I hope to go to law school in the hopes of becoming a tax attorney. The honors program has allowed me to challenge myself at WNE and I am happy that I decided to be a part of it. My first class was a Management Course and I learned so much from Dr. Forey, so I am looking forward to another great semester, but this time in Honors Marketing. I will be using this blog for the course to express the ideas and concepts I learn about marketing.
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