Marketing Mix Analysis
The selected product is the Black Edition. It is a suitcase, which is produced by the company Bluesmart. The main reason of selecting this product is that it is really innovative. Thus, it is the first smart suitcase. The item contains many unusual characteristics, which differentiate it from other similar bags. The market does need this product because suitcases have not been modernized for decades. Today, people try to add some technology into most of goods including their homes or health care. Therefore, it seems logical that developers have updated suitcases too.
Target Market
The target market of Bluesmart’s product is business travelers with middle and high income, who frequently have business trips for two-three days by airplane. These people prefer saving time and money. Therefore, they do not want to pay additional fees for registering their luggage or overweight. Besides, the target customers of Bluesmart do not want to have problems due to losing their suitcase and forgetting it somewhere. Their goal is to have a comfortable journey without any concerns. In addition, they are ready to pay additional money for reliable materials and pleasant design. These individuals realize that they could find a cheaper suitcase of similar quality but they choose the product of Bluesmart. The reason is that they want to enjoy the specific technology incorporated into the Black Edition.
The weight of the suitcase is 4.3 kg, which means that a traveler can take about four kilograms of personal belongings. This aspect allows suggesting that the product is more for males than for females. The reason is that women tend to bring more baggage. In addition, men are usually more interested in technology than females. Besides, the suitcase is available only in black color. It does not have any variations in design, which also makes it more a male product. As for age, it is determined for the people between 35 and 65. The customers of this group can afford to purchase the suitcase for $600. They have a wiser attitude towards managing resources. In addition, they are able to understand all the product’s benefits. Younger people have fewer negative experiences with their luggage, so they cannot realize the importance of a battery charger, digital scale or location tracker. Only the individuals who have experienced the loss of baggage or paid some fees for a too heavy suitcase will agree to pay more. However, young people could purchase the Black edition for looking fashionable.
Product Description
The Black Edition is a suitcase produced by Bluesmart (see Appendix). It is made of the Class A material and has the dimensions 22" x 14" x 9". Therefore, travelers can use it as a hand luggage in all famous airlines (Bluesmart, n.d.). The weight of the suitcase is 4.3 kg. However, the most interesting fact about the product is its specific characteristics. The functions of Bluesmart’s suitcases differ from the bags of other brands and make it innovative. Thus, the product has a location tracker, so customers can determine where their suitcases are just using their phones and without paying any additional fees or charges. Another valuable benefit is a battery charger. It allows travelers to charge their gadgets up to six times during a journey. The suitcase also has a digital scale, so it is possible to check the weight of its luggage from a mobile phone. It is an important function for the people travelling only with their hand luggage. The reason is that they do not need to worry about paying some fees in case of a too heavy suitcase. Besides, the product contains a remote lock, which means that customers can manage it through application. Moreover, the bag locks itself if it is not near its owner. Finally, the suitcase has smooth wheels, so people can transport it easily and quietly.
Pricing
The price of the Black Edition is $599. The shipping is free. Customers can also purchase an older version of the suitcase, which costs $449. The difference between two products is that the Black Edition has improved the body and materials (Bluesmart, n.d.). However, the company uses the same technology for both products. To use all the benefits of the bag, individuals need to download an application. The minimal technical characteristics of mobile phones are iOS 8.0 or Android 4.4. The product has a two-year warranty. Besides, customers are allowed to return it within one hundred day of purchase without any explanations.
Place (Distribution)
Customers can purchase the product on the company’s website bluesmart.com or from one of retailers. Thus, the producer has retailers in sixteen countries, such as the US, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Spain, Italy, France, China, Australia, Mexico, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway (Bluesmart, n.d.). The United States, Germany, and the UK have the greatest number of Bluesmart’s retailers. Therefore, the customers from these countries have a better access to the product than the individuals from other fourteen countries. Clients can find the list of retailers on the company’s official website. Moreover, Bluesmart provides some links to the sites of all their retailers. Therefore, it is easy to find the necessary information about the product and purchase it. Some of retailers offer to buy the suitcase either online or in their stores. The advantage of retailers over Bluesmart’s website is that they offer some discounts.
Another important detail about selling and distributing of the product is that the company offers shipping across the world. It has the retailers in most of continents including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It means that the company covers most of its target market. The analysis of its retailers also demonstrates that the organization prefers working with customers from developed countries. It is quite reasonable because the price of the suitcase could be too high for the people from developing countries. However, such popularity of the product caused some financial problems for the company. Thus, the organization did not expect that it would receive pre-orders from 109 various countries (Vivion, 2014). Shipping to far countries is expensive and difficult. Thus, the company faced the financial losses. However, the availability of the product for customers from all over the world is beneficial in a long-term perspective. It helps to build an international community even in far countries.
Promotion
The major promotional tactics of Bluesmart for their product are an attractive video for receiving pre-orders on Indiegogo, referrals and outlets for the target audience in specific media. All these tactics allowed to collect about two million dollars through crowdfunding on Indiegogo and raise about half a million dollars in pre-orders from the company’s website (Moynihan, 2015). The secret of this success is a video advertisement posted on the site. The video has had about 280,000 views during the campaign, which proves its effectiveness (Vivion, 2014). It lasts 3 minutes and 29 seconds and offers a traveler’s attitude to the product (the advertisement is available in the article of Nick Vivion, 2014). The viewers of the advertisement can see different scenes from an airport, which visualize the bag’s benefits. Besides, the ad has short interviews with the product’s developers, who explain how and why they created the first smart suitcase. Although the advertisement contains many details about the item, it does not look boring. The video is funny, fascinating and light. It also includes the images of people, who could purchase the product. They are the men aged about 30 or a little older. Moreover, the main character does not look as a businessman or a person of some serious profession. He has a funny experience and wants to look smart. However, the advertisement is well-produced, so its viewers can see that the company offers the qualitative product. The last factor is particularly important for raising money through crowdfunding. People pre-ordering products have no guarantees that they will receive something from the producer in the end.
As for media outlets, Bluesmart has decided to focus on tech and travel blogs because their target market reviews these kinds of media. Besides, the company promotes the bag in social media including Facebook. Referrals are also effective because they encourage customers to share the information about the product with other people. In particular, each person referred receives $20 discount for pre-ordering the unit and the customer, who made a referral, gets $20 refund. Therefore, clients are able to return all their money spent on the suitcase. It is a great motivation for people because the product costs hundreds of dollars. Individuals can deal with financial losses without significant efforts.
Summary
To sum up, the product from Bluesmart is the first smart suitcase. It contains a range of important functions, which could be particularly interesting for business travelers, who often have short trips by airplane. The price of the Black Edition is about $600, so it is not affordable for all travelers. However, the company’ retailers offer some discounts as well as provide free shopping. Customers can purchase the product either on the organization’s website or from retailers. Nowadays, the firm has the retailers in sixteen countries. Bluesmart uses a video on a crowdfunding platform, offers rewards for making referrals, and posts media outlets in tech and travelling blogs. The most effective advertisement was a video. It helped the company to attract customers from more than one hundred countries. This video was funny and light. However, it helped to explain the main advantages of the product and persuade viewers that they needed this suitcase. Overall, the product is really innovative and can be interesting for the people, who value comfort, reliability, and wise use of time and money. The marketing of the suitcase was effective. The reason is that the company has raised more pre-orders than it expected.
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