Answer questions in Marketing case
Tom’s
The Tom’s Shoes case describes their market strategy focus on social responsibility and the power of word-of-mouth marketing with consumers to help those in need for something basic, like shoes. The case discussion illustrates marketing strategies aren’t always about just making a profit. We saw that Zappos was focused on customer experience, Tom’s Shoes is focused on making a difference in the world.
Please read/watch the following and think through the guiding questions below and post your responses in the discussion forum.
• Watch this case video from your textbook site (click the link below to open the video):
Click here for the Tom’s Shoes video case study (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
• Read this byline from Blake Mycoskie featured in Entrepreneur Magazine in September 2011 “How I Did It: The TOMS Story (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.”
• Visit the Tom’s Shoes website, and examine what customers are saying about them across social media outlets.
www.toms.com (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Guiding questions
1. Define the elements of Tom’s Shoes’ marketing strategy. Do you believe new product lines should be added to the company’s portfolio?
2. Define the elements of the marketing mix.
3. Conduct a SWOT analysis of the current market situation for the Tom’s Shoes. Where do you think the company will go from here—what’s next?
Post your responses to the guiding questions on the next page in the Discussion Forum, as noted in Step 1.
Solution Preview
Elements of Tom’s Shoes’ marketing strategy
According to Naeini, Dutt, Angus, Mardirossian and Bonfanti (2015), the central elements of the marketing strategy chronicles around the idea of “one for one.” Through that concept, Tom’s one free pair of shoes to a poor kid for every pair the company sells. By so doing, tom’s shoes has perfectly incorporated charity into its marketing strategy which has worked just well for the company.
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