Ch. 7 Business Marketing

Michael Kors has worked it's tail off to become as successful as they are. There success didn't come easy or fast. MK took years become the global powerhouse it is. One of the main strategies that helped moved MK along was it's strategic alliance. MK built partnerships with big name stores like Macy's, Nordstrom and the like. These partnerships opened many doors for Michael Kors, because it allowed more consumers to see the available products without having to go to an actual MK store. There were many shoppers where Michael Kors was an unsought product. Michael Kors was definitely an unsought product to me. All of the moves they have made thus far has given great results. Hopefully, this trend will continue.

Ch. 11 Developing and Managing Products

A large part of Michael Kors' current success is due to innovation. By definition (in the marketing world), is a product perceived as new by a potential adopter. As I mentioned in prior posts Michael Kors originally had a target market consisting of the wealthy (social lites, actresses, singers etc). However, he eventually saw there was a need/want and/or demand for his product (handbags) in a different market. So he took his product, added a twist to the brand name, slightly altered some of the the stitching and released it to the new target market. It was a work in progress in regards to winning over the consumers who were loyal to the number one brand (at the time) Coach in that market.  Everyone knew he was a designer for the wealthy and now he designed for the working class-chic-sophisticated-everyday-modern fashionista. This line was called the "Lifestyle Brand". You could carry these handbags, clutches etc etc not just to exclusive parties but to work and school as well. Success for this line of handbags wasn't an instant hit but they kept at it and have surpassed the giant Coach in this market. Im not sure how long it will be before some other company enters the market but I'm going to continue to be a loyal MK customer.

Ch. 8 Segmenting and Targeting Markets

The market that Michael Kors operates in is a lucrative market. If you can build a likable and valuable brand, you can be very successful. I feel this to be true because in the fashion accessories industry there are millions of people who want and/or need handbags, purses, bookbags, clutches or wallets. Those who want these items are also willing to spend the necessary money on the things they deem are valuable and worthy of their hard earned money. Michael Kors identified his market and capitalized on the wants/needs of consumers and the demands they expressed for these products.

When you want to focus on a specific part of a market to pursue market segmentation comes not play. MK took the fashion market and broke it up so he could concentrate on a particular a field. He figured out that there was an opportunity to increase his market share by creating a more affordable line. he approached this opportunity with demographic segmentation.

His repositioning of the now "lifestyle" brand is what catapulted the MK brand into the dominate
position it currently holds. Innovation was also a part of the process as he took his line and changed some things (style, fabric, price, target market,marketing etc) and named it a "lifestyle" brand for the everyday working, chic sophisticated adult. This change worked well as we can see and the brand has been able to attract more shares of the market and shed light on their available other products.

Ch.15 Marketing Communications

The promotional mix is such an important tool to utilize when trying to build and maintain a company. This mix includes things like advertising, public relations, sales promotion, personal selling and social media. As I stated in a previous post MK did lots and lots of promotion for his brand to get it to its' current status. He used advertising via newspapers, magazines and more importantly by having famous actors, actresses, singers etc wear his products and just mention the brand when doing interviews. He also was a judge on a popular television show called "Project Runway". These avenues were explored to bring awareness to his brand.

To maintain his current status MK (along with most companies) turned to social media to stay relevant. They created a Twitter page when Twitter exploded on the scene. They have 2.81 million followers. They also have a Facebook page which currently has 16.25 million followers and a Instagram page with 4.1 million followers. With social media companies can now reach out and almost "touch" consumers. It has opened an almost direct line of communication where companies can now see and hear responses and feedback from consumers about their products. With the amount of followers MK has, they receive enough information to know when a handbag isn't doing well in the market or which handbags are doing extremely well. As long as social media has a strong hold on everyone, this channel will be one that Michael Kors consistently uses to stay ahead of the game.

Ch.10 Product Concepts

The MK brand has been on the rise for several years. It has worked its way up beating out its top competitor Coach recently. This win over Coach showed that the Michael Kors brand and its brand name now held significant value with it's consumers. With their steady climb, Michael Kors is working overtime to now become a global brand. By opening stores worldwide and establishing partnerships I'm confident they will claim that victory as well.

Michael Kors products serve a personal want and to some it might be a personal need. Their product mix includes accessories(glasses, sunglasses, watches), handbags, footwear and even clothing. There are 3 product lines: Michael Kors which is the runway collection, Michael which is the "lifestyle brand" and Kors with is the high-end collection. The handbag line has about 7 different types of available handbags: cross body, clutches, shoulder bags, totes, satchels and even backpacks. In addition each type of bag has it's own variety to choose from. An example is the Tote bag, within this line you could buy the Jet Set, Marina, Dillian, Izzy, Hamilton, Bedford, Fulton, Eliza etc etc. MK offers many different styles to choose from and they are all great in my opinion! :-)

Ch. 17 Personal Selling and Sales Mgmt

Due to Michael Kors being in the fashion industry and the business of selling to consumers, it is extremely important to know what it takes to sell and how to navigate/manage the selling process to best suit their company's need/purpose. MK uses elements from the traditional personal selling strategy to succeed: selling products(in regards to this blog we will focus on handbags), their sales staff spends large amounts of time with customers giving details and advice about the product(handbags). In addition, their proposals and presentations are based on pricing and product features.

Michael Kors has also applied some of the most common Customer Relationship Management(CRM) applications to not only sell their products but to expand their customer base. They took the time to actually get to "know" their customers and what the market wanted. This allowed MK to create a great campaign management application to showcase their "lifestyle brand" line. By doing so, they were able to retain loyal customers. Being able to keep customers meant they could then introduce them to other MK products. Since this was successful, they also needed to increase their distribution changing their status to a dual distribution (direct and retail marketing channels) company. Creating and continuously maintaining great customer relationships and sales management will ensure that MK stays around for years to come.

Ch.16 Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Advertising is such a huge part of building and maintaining a successful company if the industry you are in deals with selling and customers. There are various routes that can be taken to advertise available products. Michael Kors uses things like print advertising, celebrity endorsements and more recently social media. You don't really see too many Michael Kors commercials on tv but anywhere you go you are liable to pass a billboard or ad on the side of a bus/bus stop, inside the train and especially in various magazines. The owner Michael Kors even gained national exposure for his brand by being a judge on the reality TV show Project runway. 

Advertising has changed in many ways from the old days. Yes companies still use commercials and magazines, but now with the addition of social media enabling immediate direct contact with people it is so much easier for companies to reach out to the consumers. With these new technological advances Michael Kors took total advantage of social media. They created Facebook and Instagram accounts which has over 20 million followers combined.  During February 2014 Michael Kors ran a contest on instagram and gave away products to a select numbers of followers. These advertising avenues and sales promotions allowed Michael Kors to surpass their biggest competitors Coach.