The contribution of marketing to the growth of the Greek footwear and clothing business”. The aim of this dissertation is to highlight the importance and contribution of marketing to the development of Greek clothing and footwear companies through its tools and practices.
Introduction
Literature Review
Marketing advancement
- Marketing orientations
Marketing orientations have been developed to cope with the changes of the rapidly changing business environment. The business should offer products and services that improve the growth of well-being, and the protection of the environment, instead of focusing on profit and sales.
Marketing process
A fashion industry is quite profitable because clothing meets the necessary needs, but also the expression and self-esteem that people need, so we can understand how it varies. Develop a valuable marketing program for customers by using the marketing mix tools: We will analyze the marketing mix tools in more detail in a later chapter.
Business and market analysis
- SWOT analysis
- PEST analysis
- Porter’s five forces analysis
- Boston matrix analysis
Strengths: This factor is influenced by the resources, the quality of the resources of the business and the capabilities it has. The strategic and marketing plan of the business is structured, changed and adapted to the conditions and fluctuations of the external environment.
Marketing research
Moreover, the most popular methods to approach the object of study that social sciences use are survey, observation and experiment (Armstrong, Kotler, 2018). In the case of shoes and clothing in Greece, marketing research and knowing the needs of the customer, competitors and the wider market, is an integral part of the success and growth of the business.
Marketing strategy
It is useful strategy because a company focuses on customer needs narrowly and the products and services are more customer oriented. A company must differentiate its products and services and communicate the perceived value to customers and the benefits that will be achieved.
Marketing mix
- Product
- Product levels
- Brand building
- The Services’ individuals
- Price
- Pricing strategies
- Price adjustments
- Distribution
- Distribution systems
- Promotion
- Advertising
- Advertising media
- Personal selling
- Sales promotion
- Public relations (PR)
- Direct marketing
- Digital marketing
- Online marketing
- Social media marketing
The first level is the essence of products and services, the purpose of existence and the needs they satisfy. Brand support: A business can make big decisions about their products and more specifically about their production and launch moves. At this point, we should mention the most essential features of services for the reason that it plays an important role in the products and marketing success.
In addition, the price factor is directly correlated with consumer behavior and the way they predict the value of the products and services. Many parameters are estimated for a design of an effective pricing tactic such as the business objectives, the type of products and services, the competition, and the changes of the internal and external business environment along with the consumers' needs and demands. The most common tactic they use is the pricing method based on cost, the competition and the perceived value (Keller, Kotler, 2006).
The latest trends in technology and the rise of e-commerce are helping a business to sell individually more than ever before. The sales promotion is an incredibly effective tool to enable the consumers to buy progress and the demand for products and services.
Conclusions
So, as we see social media networks are of great importance for footwear and clothing businesses. It is necessary for social media networks to be integrated with other promotional tools and with the entire marketing strategy implemented by a business. An engaging content can be widely spread by users within specific social media and anywhere on the Internet, which enhances certain types of advertising in the main marketing strategy.
In addition, the analysis tools provided by social networks help identify user behavior and ultimately support companies in creating more effective ads and monitoring results. Furthermore, changes or corrective actions are easier to implement than the conventional advertising media. Most companies use the digital marketing tools in a higher class instead of the conventional tools.
Internet advertising and social media marketing are extremely popular practices today among businesses to communicate and connect with consumers. It seems that they are following the international trend of marketing tools and practices, more specifically its digital tools.
Footwear and clothing industry
Footwear and clothing in Greece
The Great Recession, the explosion of e-commerce and shifts in consumer needs have caused the fashion market to transform. These results reveal that the fashion market is attractive to Greek consumers instead of the country's economic situation. The most famous sports fashion companies in Greece for 2020 related to the ICAP survey are Adidas Hellas S.A, Cosmos sports S.A and Intersport S.A with more than 80 commercial stores in Greece and e-commerce operations.
These economic factors positively affected consumer confidence and the turnover of retail fashion businesses. The expansion of technology and social media has a significant impact on retail and wholesale fashion in Greece. In 2020 e-commerce revenues estimated at 7 billion euros and 40% of Greek consumers will buy online according to article by Malliara on Capital.gr (2020).
More than ten thousand companies in Greece use e-commerce and some of them have exclusive use. These changes in the Greek market require an effective marketing strategy to communicate activities, products and services to consumers.
Methodology of research
Collection of data method
Questionnaire type and structure
We also examine the extent to which companies adjust their marketing strategy in relation to the products' life cycle. Furthermore, we investigate to what extent the companies consider marketing as a valuable tool to differentiate their products and services, as well as how valuable a communication tool is to more effectively show the unique product characteristics. In addition, we examine the impact that has on business growth as well as the availability of products and services.
In the sixth part, we investigate which promotional mix tools Greek companies use the most, such as advertising, direct and digital marketing, etc. Furthermore, we investigate which advertising tools are more effective for them based on three parameters: coverage, costs, results. In the last part of the questionnaire we examine the overall functioning of marketing, and the impact it has, in different sectors of Greek business.
Furthermore, we examine to what extent marketing as an industry contributes to the growth of Greek clothing and footwear businesses as well as the importance for them. Finally, we ask the respondents to what extent they believe that their marketing strategy has room for improvement.
The sample
We investigate what pricing strategies and adjustments are used by Greek companies, what are the main objectives of their implementation and how useful are the pricing strategies used by these companies. In the fifth section, we investigate which distribution channels are used by Greek companies and how useful they are in different sectors of operation. In addition, we investigate which digital marketing tools are most used by Greek companies, such as social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) and more.
In addition, we examine daily the promotional mix tools in which sectors of the businesses have a positive impact. These sectors are communicating with consumers, increasing sales, dealing with competition, differentiation of products and services and more. Finally, in section six, we ask the respondents which promotional mix tools they use the most, the conventional or the digital.
More specifically, we ask respondents to consider the extent to which the marketing practices implemented in their business have a positive impact on sales, revenue, increased competitiveness, etc. the main Greek businesses that responded to the survey were small at around 63%.
Results of research: Analysis
Descriptive statistics and interpretation
- Business’s infographics
- Analysis of business environment and market
- Marketing mix: Product
- Marketing mix: Price
- Marketing mix: Distribution channels
- Marketing mix: Promotion
- Marketing operation: Total valuation
Graph 5.10 shows the number of Greek companies that have a separate marketing department. Graph 5.15 below shows some of the key sectors affected by market analysis for Greek companies. In graph 5.18, we asked Greek companies to what extent they adapt their marketing strategies and practices related to the life cycle of their products.
Chart 5.26 shows the areas and grades that distribution channels have helped Greek businesses. Greek businesses, as it seems, from graph 5.26, benefit from the distribution channels they adopt. In graph 5.27 from below, the grade that distribution channels contribute to the growth of Greek businesses is presented.
Graph 5.28 below illustrates the impact that distribution channels have on the availability of products and services offered by Greek companies. Graph 5.32 shows the contribution of marketing mix tools to several sectors of Greek companies. Graph 5.34 shows from below the areas in which marketing operations have a positive impact on Greek companies.
Graph 5.35 shows the score that Greek businesses have considered that marketing has a contribution to their growth.
Conclusions
Retrieved June 16, 2020, from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/. Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/. Retrieved March 8, 2020, from: https://www-statista-com.proxy.eap.gr/statistics/1080089/poland-reasons-for-buying-fashion-products/.
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Retrieved June 7, 2020, from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne five-things-everyone-should-know-about-public-relations/. Distribution of Global Advertising Expenditure by Medium 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2020, from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/269333/distribution-of-global-advertising-expenditure/. USING THE BOSTON MATRIX IN IDENTIFYING THE STAGE OF THE COMPANY'S LIFE CYCLE. To what extent do you think marketing has contributed to the growth of your business?
