Abstract
Toms’ entry into the market as an excellent global wear giant is due to its rich managerial options of assimilating multiple modes of marketing that offer readily flexible responses to the dynamic supply chain required in its distribution systems. The firm’s integration of business modes necessitates a systems approach or a process of execution and of knowledge and skill on the logistics and supply chain, advertising, consumer interactions, and infrastructure considerations. The company’s rich economic base is attributable to its frugality in business infrastructure, equipment, and effective use of information technologies. Toms’ mission, as it evolves from a central infrastructural component to a universal entity is its focus on processes or systems that aims to give it a competitively more sustainable edge in the midst of a transient market.
Company Information considerations
Description of the organization’s information culture (attitudes towards information, information sharing, information load, information politics, information norms)
Toms Store is a profit-oriented company founded by Texas entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie in 2006. The company deals mainly in its shoe wear manufacture industry, makes, markets, and sells different shoe sizes and designs within and outside America (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). Toms’ success in the shoe market is because of its many lucrative and insightful business infrastructure. The business as Belch and Belch (2012) note also has an air of human touch extending its philanthropic ideals to the needy individuals in the society. For example, a pair of shoes sold to a customer by the company translates into another pair given to an underprivileged juvenile. Moreover, in each case a pair of eyewear is sold out, a given percentage of the profit usually goes to support individuals with eyesight problems in different parts of the world.
Definition of the primary audience and whether there are potential secondary users
Toms refers to its business model as “One for One” a concept that seeks to nurture the company’s promise to its customers. Toms’ success has been attributed to its focus on a solid supply chain, which has given its management a competitive advantage over other companies in the shoe wear and eyewear retail industry. Toms’ logistics structure is among the impetus that impacts positively on its supply chain (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). Their logistics system focuses on visibility through enhanced information sharing within the management structure and between Toms’ stores in various regions and their suppliers. While numerous logistical functions take credit for its market viability, the focus has always been put on the firm’s recently adopted “One for One supply strategy that is consumer-friendly.
Understandable demographics of the audience (age, sex, location if regional)
Toms’ business approach is directed to all demographics, the company manufactures, markets, and sells shoe and eyewear that meets the expectation of all consumers including both genders in different locations and regions of the world. Toms identifies with different groups of audiences and demographics with a heavy presence and unrelenting appeal to consumers of all ages and sexes (Belch & Belch, 2012). The company has a strong market presence in many countries of the world and one of its main selling points is its inclination to freebees. The regions that frequently receive the company’s freebees include America, Argentina, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Rwanda, Haiti, and many others in the developing world.
Psychographics (metrics, like behaviors or psychological aspects of consumers)
Toms’ business approach of “One for One” is a market strategy that is seen by observers as a decision that will positively affect the company’s growth, especially with respect to its distribution scope, both the regional and the global corporate identity. The company’s vast knowledge and the adoption of distribution systems is an impressive identity factor, while strategically championing an eco-friendly, pocket-friendly business model (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). Toms continues to grow and is currently venturing beyond the traditional production of shoes alone. As the company seeks to beckon a much larger audience, the company has since ventured into eyewear, underwear, and apparel as its major product lines.
Primary users of the product or service
Toms attracts consumers of their products from all diversities. For Toms shoe wear and eyewear products, the most domineering consumers are women and the youth from the United Kingdom, the United States, and several parts of the world. However, it is common knowledge that America’s share of the company’s product or services outnumbers all other people of the world (Belch & Belch, 2012). Women and the youth’s market score still loom large and the overseas market for, on the other hand, remain at a relatively high value (Kariv, 2013). The prospects of overseas consumerism of the company’s wear in recent years have swollen exponentially from 2.4 million to 2.7 million of sold items between 2012 and 2013.
Company strategic positioning for consumers and against present and future competitors
Accordingly, the ensuing Toms’ network debut in the hi-tech systems such as the digital revolution continues to expand its market outreach which beckons other market niches which were previously not fully exploited (Hill, 2012). In the succeeding years, Toms market strategy expects a new turn focusing primarily on managerial practices and dealing on promotional activities to take their competitors head-on (Belch & Belch, 2012). Currently, Toms’ sustainability program that emphasizes a robust market infrastructure fully equipped with logistics, technologies, and other futuristic initiatives are all impetus for keeping their present and future competitors at bay.
Infrastructure considerations
Internet business model describes best Toms’ success secrets. Toms is both a factual and an online marketplace that renders footwear, underwear, and eye wears. Engrossed in an impressive customer satisfaction mechanism, Toms offers a very impressive online auction service that endears it to various households (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). The company stores a robust inventory and ships merchandise to various parts of the world as well as keeping online stores. Toms presents a digital marketplace where buyers and sellers meet to do business. The computer interface helps in displaying and searching for various products. The company sets the prices and the platform for the transaction. Toms’ online business infrastructure, according to Hill (2012), helps the firm in generating revenue from the commission and fees charged to the clients who use the site to do business. The scale of the commission seems somewhat complex, though the catch price is great.
Over the years, Toms has made many changes to come to its present status. Toms has always been focusing on improving the buyer’s experience while helping shoppers to find the items quickly and efficiently through nurturing the most modern networking services. The most effective evolution of this change is their venture in the PayPal service that created the global financial infrastructure to create a safe and global real-time payment solution. Belch and Belch (2012) opine that the internet has been another area of great business opportunity for Toms, as this guarantees many customers to everywhere to make free unlimited, superior quality voice calls through the innovative peer-to-peer software. Moreover, the search results system implemented lately across many Toms countries continuing to expand Toms outreach across the globe (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). The algorithm particularly continues to evolve to improve customer search results while directing buyers to the items they desire. E-business has become increasingly popular within the short time it has been in existence. This is because of the convenience and affordable prices it guarantees its customers. With a computer interface, more means of browsing by both sellers and buyers offer a wider variety of items online. To increase online sales, maintain a robust business identity with global output, and remain relevant in the changing business environment, many businesses opt to stay with Toms to increase their sales.
Toms’ supply chain activities, product distribution, Marketing considerations -sales & consumer interactions. Types of advertising being considered.
Supply chain
Toms comes into the global wear market with the managerial options of assimilating multiple modes that offer readily flexible responses to the dynamic supply chain required in the distribution systems and global management (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012.). Toms’ integration of modes necessitates a systems approach or a process of execution and a given degree of knowledge and skill on the logistics and supply chain, equipment, information, and infrastructure (Hill, 2012). Toms’ mission, as it evolves from a central infrastructural component to a universal focus on the processes or systems aims to have a relatively more sustainable factor and applicability in as far as global supply chain management is concerned (Kariv, 2013). Today, Toms’ global network spills to over 65 cities and is active in more than 30 countries across the globe. With tons of their products shipped weekly, Toms believes that their comprehensive network and unswerving services make them ideal body wear participants in the global economy.
Product distribution
Innovative business mindsets that the exiting business opportunities seek enable businesses to reach out to their customers successfully through a new concept of the communication channel (Boone, 2012). Today, social media marketing trends shape the scope of business and define their limits by delivering great opportunities for business growth (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). Modern-day marketing is highly interactive, and whereas businesses go digital in the marketing concept, they have the capacity to reach out to an expansive consumer niche (Boone, 2012). Social media marketing, for example, consists of web browser advantages with mobile device interfacing that makes it possible to offer continuous access to business products and services to the prospective customers regardless of place and time (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). These developments in the concept of contemporary marketing bring forth effective competitiveness that makes businesses suffice as robust and dynamic with the capacity to shape and grow the economy in stature.
Marketing considerations
The world over, marketing professionals constantly adjust their business strategy and tact to exceptionally reach out to the ever-changing customer demands. With the contemporary competitive markets, Murphy and Laczniak (2012) opine that mobility in the concept of marketing is rapidly becoming an option in business. At their behest, contemporary markets continue to evolve as apparatus for allocating resources and a hub investing in communities. Well-organized competitive markets have the capacity to maximize consumer welfare to raise economic growth and cumulatively increase the total welfare of the regions under which they operate (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). With the development in marketing trends, Toms has had the capacity to thrive and provide what the consumers want and in the process, the firm aims at delivering the best to outdo their competitors.
Sales & consumer interactions
The company capitalizes on its vitality of communication ambiance to extend advocacy for much of its product lines. On focusing its business might on corporate social responsibility, the company seeks to nurture an ideal business culture that continues to rest in double-digit business growth. Initially, part of this model was more of a non-profit venture otherwise known as “Friends of Toms” (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). This business motif recruited volunteers in many parts of the world to help in the distribution of the company’s products in different countries of the world. Finally, this business venture made it possible to bring the company’s products right up to the doorsteps of many prospective consumers. Notwithstanding, Toms’ managerial foresight is expected to push its competitive agenda forward in the years to come.
Types of advertising considered
Evidently, the success of Toms’ business infrastructure emanates from the stylish product design, quality, and coziness of the wear the firm deals in. In fact, many marketing observers attribute the success of Toms’ business ambiance to the firm’s efficacious marketing campaign. From a humble beginning, Toms’ advertising approach has been exclusively eccentric. The company’s advertising department has no official advertising mechanism with very little consideration for traditional advertising. The firm as Murphy and Laczniak (2012) observe does not feature in many commercial adverts. Instead, Toms focus on advancing greater media appeal by advancing their philanthropy and generating blogs posts, viral videos, through the internet Virtually, the company’s advertising model is not to create a company, but to create a community in the mindset of the consumers. Despite the company’s unconventional advertising mediums, it continues to gain a massive following across the globe.
How a website is designed to meet the company’s objectives and strategy
Efficacy metrics would be essential in measuring the performance of Toms IT system through computational gauging of the elements of e-business such as availability and speed. Effectiveness IT metrics, according to Murphy and Laczniak (2012), would be instrumental in measuring the impact of IT on Toms’ business processes as well as activities rendered by the business with the aim of achieving customer satisfaction. Accordingly, with website business management, sell-through increase, and conversion rates among other factors. Regardless of what is assessed, how it is assessed, and whether this is done for the sake of effectiveness or efficiency of the business, there have to be baseline values that the system seeks to attain otherwise known as benchmarks. Benchmarking is a continuous process that is instrumental in measuring system results by comparing those business results to the optimal system performance generally (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). The aim is to help in identifying the steps and procedures necessary in improving system performance.
There are three different types of online auctions available for use by Toms. These consist of absolute auctions, minimum bid auctions as well as reserve auctions. In the absolute auction, the highest bidder takes the product (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). In the minimum bid category, the seller posts the minimum amount they will accept giving buyers some assurance that they will be able to purchase the product at or above the stipulated price. Reserve auction, on the other hand, offers the least risk to the seller, since they reserve the capacity to accept bids. In the event that the buyer falls below the threshold of the reserve price, the seller may choose to drop the bid and withdraw from the agreement. Many companies including Toms use absolute auctions due to their impressive business opportunities (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). This particular model of auction attracts the most bidders since it offers buyers the best chance to get good deals on real products, services, and estate investments. With an absolute auction, Toms finds it is essential to have a robust bidding strategy that gives them a competitive edge.
Supporting Internet communication activities such as social network and relationship building with the consumer
With its enriched internet communication background, Toms has several business ventures that add value to its business acumens, such as online payment methods and communication systems. Toms has had a great opportunity to adapt their business in response to the changing e-business marketplace conditions (Murphy & Laczniak, 2012). Toms collaborates with PayPal to enable businesses or individuals with an email to receive and send payments online. Payment services rendered by PayPal help Toms in building on the existing financial infrastructure of the bank accounts and credit cards that uses the world’s most advanced proprietary fraud prevention system to make the customers have confidence in their system. Online payment services make it possible for businesses and consumers to do business over the internet by exchanging money electronically. Customers benefit from varieties of payment modes available ranging from Visa, American Express, and MasterCard, the broad collection of acceptable online payment methods ensures the smooth slow of business making it possible for customers to access their services everywhere, anytime.
In most of the firm’s dealings, the web has been instrumental in passing vital information about Toms’ product lines to various groups across society. Facebook, tweeter, email, skype, google, and other sites are extensively in use by the firm in expediting its digital marketing outreach. The firm, according to Murphy and Laczniak (2012), stores a robust inventory and ships body wear merchandise to various parts of the world while keeping online stores for online buyers. In this way, the firm presents a digital marketplace where buyers and sellers meet to do online business. The internet interface assists in displaying the search engines for various products offered by the company. Within these digital channels, the firm sets the prices and the platform to transact their items. Toms’ online business infrastructure further helps the company in generating revenue from the commission and fees charged to the clients who use the sites to do business online. The scale of the commission within these internet activities seems somewhat complex though the catch price is great by every definition.
Company physical and internet integrated strategy issues both current and future
Perhaps Toms is among the few firms that have a robust increase in their market share owing to its physical and internet infrastructure. According to the firm’s data, this suggests that Toms’ biggest online retailer continues to exceed its ascendancy to build inroads into the future. Toms’ share of online footwear shopping rose by 2.4% in the first four months of the 2014 financial year. Currently, it cashes in almost 50 points of every dollar spent on the internet footwear venture. In the unfolding events, eyewear and underwear separately bring another impressive percent into its market share. Despite the hard economic times, the firm’s online buying market continues to put it ahead of its domestic and foreign competitors.
With an increased competitive inclination to capitalize on integrated systems for financial management, Cammer and Carrington (2014) observe that the capacity to implement technology systems is of great concern to Toms currently. As systems continue to evolve towards the Administrative Information Services (AIS) interface, a recurring concern associated with failed applicability has been that of poor change management which the firm seeks to address in the coming months. As the drift scales towards internet technology, Toms is determines to increase its competitive pressures by investing in (AIS) to guarantee internet integrated solutions in its financial management and administrative systems.
References
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Kariv, D. (2013). Female entrepreneurship and the new venture creation: An international overview. New York: Routledge.
Murphy, P., & Laczniak, E. (2012). Ethics in marketing: International cases and perspectives. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.