Eco Shack built
Abstract
The whole concept of the Eco Shack is built around environmental conservation and reuse of
building materials that reduces the cost of building materials. The regulatory authorities in a bid
to encourage environment conservation waived licensing fees for structures that shared these
concepts and which also were of a smaller defined size. These green structures included the Eco
Shack.
Introduction
Eco Shack is a prefabricated housing unit that has been manufactured purposefully as a structure
that can be moved from one location to another. All its construction aspects have been
considered and manufactured in a way that they can be easily be brought down, packed,
transported and later reassembled in a different location with little or no damage on the various
sections and mobile units. The Eco Shack standard unit includes a pine timber framing, standard
woolen insulation, an eco-friendly ply cladding, steel roofing, phone and data connections,
woolen carpets, sensor lights, alarm and other basic housing provisions. It costs between
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NZ$35,000 and NZ$40,000. It has a floor area of 3.6 * 2.4 meters and an extra deck measuring
0.9 * 2.4 meters. Several other firms like the Portable Rooms and the Cabin Fever also offer
similar kinds of accommodations and housing units but they are not that kind of off-the-grid
living status. The other type of Eco Shack’s product is the Urban Eco Shack that has several
advantages against the other products in the market.
Promotional strategy is one of the functions of marketing that includes informing, persuading or
even influencing the client’s decisions. Its major aim is to promote and also develop a certain
product’s primary demand. Different organizations have various promotional strategies. Some
apply these strategies to grow in their own different market segments while others apply them to
reach few but particular markets. Most targets of promotional strategies are to provide the basic
information that is necessary about the product in the market and also to differentiate it in order
to improve its sales, its position or value in its overall market. (Blythe 2008)
Market Communication and Segmentation strategy
To convey the basic information on the existence of the Eco Shack, the company must come up
and develop a marketing communication system or strategy that will practically involve making
major decisions which will establish who the customer really is, how they can be contacted and
the exact message to be conveyed or what kind of information should be conveyed. (Smith &
Taylor 2004) For instance, Eco Shack will target a variety of different and distinct groups that
will depend on the messages and tastes of each potential customer. (Lemon & Mark 2006) This
process is known as market segmentation and it involves dividing the market into several groups
which are practically very distinct and different from each other. (McDonald & Dunbar 1995)
Segmentation theory includes the classification of the entire market for a specific service or
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product. It involves classification into several segments or groups. It allows the market to
achieve the best in all the segments and increases the response of the product or even the service
being offered in the market which results into higher earnings. (Yankelovich 1964)
In one of the messages, Eco Shack would target different clients in various categories of
employment positions but mostly the working class with such messages referring to good living,
affordable housing, spacious rooms, portable living quarters, economical and above all Eco
friendly. While in other messages it would target different age groups or other distinct groups
involving the general public. (Kotler & Armstrong 2010)
The significance of market segmentation is that it improves the efficiency in marketing
activities by narrowing the market towards a designated but defined segment in a certain way
that is very consistent with the general characteristics of the segment. (Kotler & Armstrong
2010) Market segmentation leads directly to product differentiation from other segments while it
tangibly or intangibly differentiates it from the other rival products and also their competitors.
(Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman & Hansen 2012) Eco Shack has comparative advantages from
its competitors. The foundation of the Urban Eco Shack is made of steel which makes more
durable and also stronger than the average products from competitors. It costs a little more than
its rivals but has extra features like weatherproofing materials and also superior choice of its
building materials which are also eco-friendly. These factors will appeal to different classes of
clients. There those who are interested in quality regardless of how much it costs where as others
are interested in protecting the environment and they purchase products on the sole basis of
environment protection. (Dickson & Ginter 1987)
Product Branding and Market Penetration Strategy
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In most markets the largest brand suffers the lowest penetration; instead of 48 % it can be as low
as 20%. (Mc Phee 1963) The DJ variation in such cases is very limited and the buying prices
vary between 2.8 to 2.3. In other words the large and also the small brands differ greatly on how
people make their purchases and not how they are loyal or like the product. In theory, however
the big and the small brands differ in terms of loyalty of their customers. The concept of Mc
Phee (1963) holds that the functionally substitutable brands or products cannot be separated in a
blind service or product test. The DJ concept also holds other differentiated competitors like in
this instance the Portable rooms and the Cabin fever. To market the Eco Shack products, the
management of Eco shack has to consider all the products in the market. The difference in price
cannot be a disadvantage on the contrary; it can provide the strength on which the company’s
products can gain an upper hand in the market. It requires the skills of an experienced marketer
to launch a new product in the market successful. It matters very little how large the brands is in
the market or how small the brand is in the market what matters is its position and customers
buying habits.
The Urban Eco Shack does not need a permit from the area’s local authority as it fits in the 10sq
rule policy that allows the sizes of such structures to operate without the hassle of obtaining
licences. This is an added advantage as clients who are pressed on urgencies can use the Urban
Eco Shack as emergency options or alternative when such need arises.
Eco Shack also targets the rental market where instead of selling the units, they could charge a
certain fee which can be payable monthly or annually. They are the only ones who currently
have that offer among its option. Eco Shack can utilize that opportunity to advertize for cheaper
and affordable ways of gaining accommodation as the monthly charges would certainly sound
much cheaper than renting or even leasing the units for several months.
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Product Positioning
Positioning involves the brand development as the images or representations of the company’s
products and services. The combination of several required elements of marketing mix is needed
to achieve the desired strategy. Positioning explains specific uniqueness of the products or
services in the market and indicates its advantages against its perceived rival products in the
same industry. Branding is used as a tool to position a specific product by designing its general
packaging and also the writing styles that very distinct and profoundly different from its
competitor. For communication to be very effective, the client must form a rough picture
mentally on his perception of the service or product which will eventually influence the price he
is willingly or at least ready to pay for it. Brand equity occurs where customers are willing to pay
much more for a product because of its position. Airline industries have branded their services
like the royal class, deluxe class, business class or Economy depending on the airline grading
policies. These branded classes attract different charges. (Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman &
Hansen 2012)
Consumer Behavior and Product Differentiation
Competitive brands have polygamous customers who shop on the basis of impulse. Heavy
buyers who are loyal to a particular product are very few and rare. It’s probably more
economical to target the occasional buyers who may make a repeat purchase. These clients can
be nurtured and form part of the loyal customers for particular products. (Ehrenberg &Goodhardt
2002)
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Different measures can be used to gauge the effectiveness of brand loyalty. These can be
attitudinal from research records which stem from consumers tastes or brand preference or
deeper brand commitment. Brand users score higher by certain definitions compared to non users
The small brand users equally score lower than the large brand users, a concept known as the
Double jeopardy phenomenon. Loyalty measures have their sources from behavioral habits.
These can be measured through the process of repeat purchase tabulation where records are
maintained about the frequency of customers repeat purchase habits. The Share of Category
Requirement reflects the behavior or habit of a client of one brand constantly buys other brands
as well. Repeat buying is the only measure of loyalty. However this analysis can be very
different depending on the duration of time. An ardent loyal customer of a fmcg can be 100%
loyal for one week and almost 0% in the next one year. The fluctuations are very high.
Eco Shacks should concentrate on its marketing strategies and also follow up on the repeat
purchases. When different or several measures of brands are compared, the variation are related
with a correlation of between 0.8 to 0.9 or at time even higher. There SCRs also vary the same
way. The usage rates between brand users also vary among the competitive brands. (Mc Phee
1963)
Eco Shack would definitely brand itself as the most affordable portable living structures that are
Eco friendly, weatherproof, durable and also superior to the others in the market. It can also
target the occasional buyers by offering certain modes of payments, especially the working class.
The development of product advertising message takes place after the product has being
successfully position and the potential customers and their needs have been identified i.e. the
requirements of the target group. A distinctive, creative and well branded advertising generates
impressive results that ensure successfully marketing and promotional strategy. To make the
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product more appealing to the customers or the target group then the adverts designers should be
constantly referring to the customers to tailor according to their needs and tastes.
Eco Shack will definitely require some kind of advertising, and it’s important that whether
yellow pages or bill boards are used, the most critical and basic requirement is the strategic
thinking and the references behind the advertising and the actual needs of the targeted audience.
Informative advertising is a concept that builds and creates the initial primary demand for the
product or service during the introductory phase or process of the life cycle of the product.
Persuasive advertising is useful in the later stages of the product to improve or increase its
competitiveness among its competitors. Other forms of advertising that can be used are
comparative advertising and reminder oriented. For instance the adverts housing are often
comparable due to the nature of their industry. The efficiency of the product positioning is very
critical to the success of the promotional strategy. (Sharp, Wright & Goodhardt 2002)
Sales Promotion Strategies
Sales promotion involves other forms of increasing sales other than advertising, personal
selling or public relations through one time or occasional selling. Initially sales promotion was a
supplement to a company’s sales efforts or advertising process, but it has become part of the
promotional mix for most firms. Eco Shacks can adopt several strategies to promote its products
through sales promotion. These can be achieved by promoting several products and selling them
on discounts either by giving cash discounts or trade discounts. Salesmen can also promote the
company products by giving out company fliers and also advertising on large posters and other
digital media.
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Airline flights involve the promotion of a service industry offering transportation services by
air. These will attract the use of both advertising and personal selling strategies. The level of
sales promotion, public relations efforts and the expenditures have to be determine before
embarking on any particular strategy. Carbonated soft drinks are low priced products that need
more advertising in their promotional strategies. Higher priced or valued commodities or service
industries need more personal selling. (Wood 2003)
Most advertisement just publicizes the particular brands and instead of adding value to the
product they instead present irrelevant information and briefly mention the product without
leaving any subconscious memory trace on the mind of potential customers. Persuasively
claiming that a particular product brand X is much better than the rest will not cause a split-
loyalty experience switch to product X instead several other brands will also continue to be good
enough. (Ehrenberg &Goodhardt 2002)
Habits are mostly difficult to break but they are not impossible. It has been noted that most sales
come from past customers who have prior knowledge of the brand and could buy the brand at
any time without any reference or doubt. Price cuts cannot sway these habits but when successful
new brands are launched in the market some customers develop new habits for the brands. (Mc
Phee 1963)
Pulling and Pushing Strategies
The choice of a particular promotional mix is directly related to the selection of the promotional
strategy the company will adopt to promote its products or service. There are two strategies
available to the marketer. i.e. pushing strategy or the pulling strategy. The pushing strategy is a
concept that’s sales oriented. The product or service is marketed by the wholesalers and the
retailers in the marketing process or channels. These particular products like the carbonated
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drinks are often marketed by the sales personnel who carry them during their promotional
activities and their benefits or advantages explained to the targeted audience. They offer certain
discounts and promotional items like T-shirts, bags, caps and other gifts that are attractive to
customers to increase their sales. Examples are the branded Pepsi T-shirts and their caps which
are usually trendy and well designed to attract potential consumers. www.pepsistuff.com Airline
flights will promote certain and particular destination at discounted rates to attract more
customers and promote free tickets for regular travelers once in awhile.
A pulling strategy constantly generates the consumer general demand for its services or
products majorly through advertising, sales promotion or through marketing appeals. The
ultimate aim or goal of the advertisement is literally to create a demand for the product or service
among the valued or potential clients who will gradually be attracted by the services or the
products. Marketers believe that a strong demand created will ultimately pull the item, product or
service by compelling the marketing forces or intermediaries to include it or accommodate it
through the marketing channels. For instance, Eco Shack can announce or donate charitable
items an organized event and publicly promote the salient features of its products or even
sponsor a particular sporting activity that promotes protection of the environment by using Eco-
friendly building materials such as those of Eco Shack. In most cases the strategies are combined
depending on the type of product or service being promoted. The Pulling strategy applies mostly
for consumer services or products while the other industrial products utilize the pushing strategy.
Recommendations
These features should form the basis for its production differentiation in the market. The
segmented market will attract different aspects of differentiated market. The environmental
conservationist will be drawn by the green nature of Eco Shacks products while the superior
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quality and standard materials used like the steel foundation will attract the clients whose
ambition is to acquire quality items the price notwithstanding. The market for prefabricated
housing is still not exploited fully and there is a large market that is waiting to be tapped. Eco
Shack needs to advertize its products effectively in the market also adopt other aggressive
marketing strategies to improve the sale of its products.
Eco Shack needs to improve its activities by expanding its businesses and also increasing its
earnings in the market by segmenting the market and satisfying the needs of each segment
independently. (McDonald & Dunbar 1998) To achieve these operations, it can create a mutual
way of communicating between its own customers and its sales and marketing department to
ensure that the right product is always available to the customer at the right time and when it’s
needed. Product positioning involves the real development of particular brands that form the
image of the company in the minds of the customers. The combination of all the marketing mix
can achieve the required target of attracting the much needed customer numbers. Positioning
explains the difference and uniqueness of the company Eco Shack’s accommodation structures in
the market in the market place and also its advantages against the products available in the
market. Branding on the other hand can be used to create a sense of superiority in the products of
Eco Shack. The unit can be branded in particular colors and design that can be associated with
Eco Shack. The company’s idea of using recycled materials to encourage the efficient use of
resources can also attract some clients.
Conclusion
To conclude, the only strategy that Eco Shack’s competitors have is the cost savings that the
customers stand to gain by purchasing their rival’s products which are less expensive. Eco shack
has to advertise and restrategize its marketing skills in order to improve its sales. The superior
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building materials and the strong steel foundation that the Eco Shack structures have incorporate
in their foundations should be used as a marketing strength to achieve maximum market
differentiation for their products.
References
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