Marketing plan for a flatbed transportation startup in South Florida

Marketing Plan for a (flatbed) transportation start up company in South Florida

Marketing plan for South Beach Transport Inc.

South Beach Transport is a start-up company in South Florida, looking to launch operations as a flatbed transportation organization. The initial success estimations of the company are based on the fact that the firm is the single provider of flatbed services in the region. Nonetheless, despite the major advantage created by this opportunity, the organization must still implement carefully developed strategies which ensure its long-term stability.

The current project sets out to create the marketing plan for the launch of the South Beach Transport services and approaches critical issues such as the analysis of the market, the assessment of the company, the development of the marketing strategy, the financials involved and the control systems required.

Situation Analysis

The situation analysis integrates a multitude of tools and efforts through which the internal and external environments of the company are assessed (Business Dictionary). The scope of the situation analysis is that of raising awareness of all external and internal factors which might be impacting the operations, performances and results of the economic agent. Ultimately, the situation analysis supports an efficient and effective process of decision making (Burnstein, 2010).

The situation analysis is as such a combination of data collected on a multitude of features relevant to the organization. In the current case of the South Beach Transport, the features of interest integrated in the situation analysis include the characteristics of the market, the SWOT analysis, the competition, the product offering, the key success factors and the critical issues.

2.1 Market Summary

South Beach Transport Inc. would provide its services within a dynamic and challenging market. Customer demands change dramatically and they expect high quality services. In order for the startup company to ensure that it provides its services to the adequate market, it must first identify the categories of consumers which would reveal most interest in the flatbed transportation services. These are revealed in section 3.4. Target markets.

a) Market Demographics

The consumers in South Florida are similar to all consumers across the United States. They reveal high expectations from the economic agents and they continually forward new demands. This situation creates additional pressures for the economic agents who continually encounter additional challenges, but the situation also stimulates competition and supports the development of the industry (Glader, 2006).

From a demographical standpoint, South California reveals among the highest levels of cultural diversity within the United States. It is generally difficult to construct the picture of the South Florida consumers, as patterns rarely exist. The consumers are independent and their purchase behaviors are based on a series of elements, including their cultural backgrounds, income levels, educational attainment levels and so on.

When the last survey was conducted in 2005, the metropolis was characterized by the following:

A total population of 5,334,685 people

The majority of the inhabitants of South Florida belonged to the upper class

52 per cent of the inhabitants were females and 48 per cent were males

The median age of the South Florida inhabitant was off 38.6 years, almost two years above the 36.9 median age at the level of the United States (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011)

24 per cent of the population was below the age of 18 and 15 per cent of the population was above the age of 65

The total number of households was of 2,338,450 and the total number of families residing in the area was of 1,326,391 (Island and Resort).

Overall, the consumers in South Florida are older than those in the rest of the country, and they are highly culturally diverse. Most of them come from Latin America, but also from the northern regions of the U.S., as well as Europe. Virtually, people from all over the world live in South Florida. Their political views are mostly democratic and they are generally well educated. 82 per cent of the population has graduated from high school and 28 per cent has a bachelor degree or higher (Island and Resort).

b) Market Needs

The transportation market in South Florida presents South Beach Transport with the tremendous opportunity of offering a service which is yet not provided by the industry. In other words, there are, up to this point, no flatbed transportation service providers in the immediate area which would be served by the company. Still, this market situation does not guarantee the company would succeed, but it has to simultaneously meet several additional needs. First of all, it has to provide high quality services; then, it has to be familiar with the area so that it operates in efficient conditions and ensures quick delivery. Third, it has to be available to pick up the items to be transported at the mentioned location and the driver has to provide direct contact with the parties involved.

c) Market Trends

The transportation industry is one of the most developed industries at an international level. It is characterized by numerous trends, such as the increase in the demand for its services due to the forces of globalization and market liberalization, which allow more commodities to transcend boundaries. Then, the technological advancements have also led to an increase in the demand for transportation services and the most relevant example in this sense is represented by the emergence of electronic commerce, which requires additional logistics services.

One expected trend was that of a slowdown in the need for transportation services, as a result of the internationalized economic crisis. The outcome has however not materialized, as the results of transportation agencies continue to increase. One important trend in the industry is represented by the sustained efforts to operate in a manner which is more environmentally responsible (Big Trend).

d) Market Growth

The market for transportation services has been registering sustained growths, even in spite of the internationalized economic crisis. The growth has been supported by sustained changes in the micro and macro environments, and the future is also expected to generate additional growths in the demand for transportation services.

2.2 SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis is one of the most useful and comprehensive marketing tools which supports the assessment of the elements that generate positive and negative implications within both the internal as well as the external environments. At an internal level, emphasis is placed on strengths and weaknesses, whereas at the external level, emphasis is placed on the threats and opportunities.

Internal strengths

The company possesses sufficient resources to launch operations

South Beach Transport would be offering a product which is unique in the market

Internal weaknesses

It is a startup company, possessing limited expertise in the field

It has not created a reputation yet, and it would be difficult for South Beach Transport to gain the trust of consumers

The flatbed trucks limit the array of items which can be transported by South Beach

Cost to launch operations might run above the initial estimates.

External opportunities

The demand for flatbed transportation services in South Florida is currently under served

The demand for general transportation services is increasing

External threats

The need to continually reduce carbon emissions and engage in other operations which support environmental responsibility

The multitude of costs incurred in the support of environmental responsibility

The demand for flatbed transportation services is mostly characteristics to industry players, but the community in South Florida is formed from numerous retirees and residents and the industrial activity is decreased comparative to other regions in the United States.

2.3 Competition

The South Florida market for transportation services is an emerging market, in which services are provided by both large size as well as small size organizations. The large size entities have managed to create economies of scale and they compete through the advantages of efficiencies, including management and marketing efficiencies. The smaller size firms -- category in which South Beach Transport would be included -- compete on niche segments, by serving specific customer needs and specific customer markets. According to Truck Flix, there are 52 trucking companies in Florida, offering transportation services by various means.

2.4 Product Offering

The product to be offered by South Beach Transport is represented by trucking by flatbed trucks; the back of these trucks is flat and has no sides. The flatbed trucks carry heavy loads primarily, and items which are resistant to changing weather conditions. They would for instance carry vehicles and large equipments, rather than foods items. These flatbed trucks can even carry other trucks.

It is a transportation service which allows the company and its customers to easily load the merchandise onto the deck of the truck. The company promises quick and safe delivery of the items transported. The protection of the transported items is ensured by the drivers, who use belts to hold the loads. In case this is necessary, drivers can also cover the items to protect them against the weather (Don Santos, 2009).

2.5 Keys to Success

Currently, South Beach Transport relies heavily on the advantage that it is the single firm in the area to provide flatbed trucking services. Nonetheless, the market and the industry are highly dynamic, and it is possible for competition in the specific sector to intensify in the future. In such a context then, it is important for the managerial team at South Beach Transport to construct their success on features other than the nature of the service provided. Some of the more notable key success factors include the quality of the products, the ability to create customer trust and loyalty, the ability to create operational efficiency and keep costs at a level as low as possible.

2.6 Critical Issues

South Beach Transport would be faced with a multitude of challenges, all of which have to be faced in order to create company success. At a more specific level, there are two critical issues, both depending on the quality of the managerial model. The first critical issue revolves around the need to efficiently manage the teams, to deliver high quality services and to ensure operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and organizational results. On the other hand, the second critical issue is represented by the need to promote the company; to position it within the industry so that the potential clients become aware of its existence; to raise demand for its services. This second critical issue would be completed with the aid of a complex marketing strategy.

3. Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy represents a way of conducting operations, a business model even, through which the economic agent attains its financial objectives through the satisfaction of the needs and wants of the customer base (Quick MBA, 2010). Similar to the situation analysis, the marketing strategy is composed from a wide array of elements, each with its own relevance for the company, the market, the customers and so on. In the case of South Beach Transport, emphasis is placed on the mission, the marketing objective, the financial objectives, the target markets, the positioning of the firm, the marketing strategies, the marketing program and the marketing research.

3.1 Mission

South Beach Transport hopes to become the preferred transportation company for people and firms in need of flatbed transportation. In attaining this objective, we will focus on the full satisfaction of the needs and wants of our customers, on the creation of a favorable environment for our people and on the provision of responsibility and support of our community.

3.2 Marketing Objective

At a general level, the marketing objective is that of raising consumer awareness of the company and generating demand for its services. At a more specific level, the marketing program would be constructed in a manner to attract customers and generate sustainable revenues. These sustainable revenues would support the company in reaching its growth objective, namely the growth of its fleet from an initial of five trucks to a future fleet size of 50 trucks. The company has set out to attain this objective in five years.

3.3 Financial Objectives

South Beach Transport aims to increase the size of its capitals by 10 per cent for each of the first five years of operations. After this period, the financial goals would be reevaluated. If the company will have reached a comfortable size and the growth process is halted, the size of the capital would stabilize. If on the other hand, more growth is desired, the size of the capital would also increase.

In terms of the financial results, these would also be expected to increase by an annual 10 per cent. The company's managerial team wishes to cap the costs so that they do not increase in the same rhythm as the results, yet this would be rather difficult to attain throughout the organization's expansion period. In time however, stability would be attained and the organization would come to register more stable profits.

3.4 Target Markets

South Beach Transport targets those specific customer segments which reveal transportation needs that have to be served quickly and efficiently. Also, the targeted consumer markets transport merchandise which is resistant, rather than sensitive.

In this order of ideas, the following consumer sectors are identified as the cores of the target market:

Construction companies

Landscaping companies

Farming agencies

Hope Depot and other such distribution centers

Retailers of heavy equipments

Any other vendors of items which can be transported with the flatbeds -- namely those large size items that are resistant to weather conditions (Van Loo and Koppejan, 2008).

3.5 Positioning

Throughout the positioning strategy, emphasis would be placed on the provision of information regarding the company and the services, as well as the high quality of the services. These items would however occupy a restricted share in the overall positioning strategy, which would be created around the promotion of South Beach Transport as the only local flatbed company in South Florida. Additionally, focus would fall on the company's ability to deliver overnight within a 500-mile radius.

3.6 Strategies

The marketing strategy to be implemented by South Beach Transport is one of leadership and product differentiation. This strategic combination of approaches is based on the fact that South Beach Transport would be a leader in local flatbed transportation services, and it would differentiate itself from other companies with the aid of the unique service delivered (Chaston, 1999).

3.7 Marketing Program

a) Product

The product is represented by the transportation services provided by the South Beach Transport company with the aid of its flatbed trucks. The product characteristics include the speed of delivery and efficiency of loading. The service would be retailed under the company's brand name and would reveal high levels of quality and customer support.

b) Price

The pricing strategy to be used would be a variable pricing strategy, in which the retail price of the service is created in accordance with the costs incurred in its delivery. This ensures the company with a balanced profit, based on the costs incurred. It also makes the price to consumer highly sensitive to any change in commodities, fuel and other costs encountered by the transport firm.

c) Distribution

The transport service would be provided for both short as well as long distances. The focus would traditionally fall on long distances, but the company is also providing local transportation services.

d) Promotion

The promotional program would revolve around the creation of advertisements which capture the essence of the service offered by South Beach Transport, as well as the benefits which the service would be offering to the customers. The advertisements would be featured in both the general media, as well as in the specialized media. Some examples include street banners, television commercials or advertisements in construction periodicals.

3.8 Marketing Research

South Beach Transport is likely to succeed upon its penetration of the market and this is due to the combination of the proper managerial model (including the marketing program), but also the fact it would be the sole provider of flatbed transportation services. In time however, the competition within this specific sector could easily intensify, to raise new challenges for South Beach. Such a possibility points out to the need and importance of marketing research. The company would continually assess the market to identify new customer needs and serve them, but would also assess the competition and adjust its strategies to make them more competitive.