Then, a second objective of the marketing plan is to identify the customers which would purchase the new product or services. In this case, it would be represented by all those who wish to practice rugby but have no place to learn it. Another objective of the marketing plan is to help the management of the organization decide on numerous product related issues, such as the launching of the product or service, its placement onto the market, decisions related to the price of the service or the promotion strategies used to familiarize the customers with the new service. All these represent decisions which must be made prior to the actual launching of the product or service. The marketing team's job does not end with the placement onto the market; it continues with the development of new sales strategies which attract customers' interest and support the organization in reaching its final goals.

4. Differentiation and Positioning

The success of the rugby training school in the Denver Metropolitan Area would be given by the features which differentiate the services from the other services offered by the competition, highly increased in a region with a long tradition in rugby. In this order of ideas, the fact which differentiates the new training school from other rugby facilities in Denver is that they offer training services. Unlike the Denver Barbarians and the Denver Highlanders, which are focused on teams and competitions and only offer training to youth as to support the community, the new rugby school would be based on offering training.

The services offered by the new rugby training school will be placed onto the market based on the benefits they offer. As such, the company will emphasize on the chance they offer beginners to learn rugby, the high technological endowments within the facility and the skills and commitment of the coaches.

5. Marketing Strategy

The actual marketing strategy is based on identifying the target market and making several decisions in regard to product, service in this case, price, promotion and distribution strategy.

5.1 Target Market

The market segment targeted by the new rugby training school will be formed from all those individuals who desire to become accustomed with rugby. However the clients will be organized based on several criteria, the initial selections poses no restrictions, other than being a beginner. The criteria by which the audience will be divided into groups include gender, age and previous expertise with rugby, if any.

5.2 Product

The product/service decisions include a wide array of features which must be clearly established prior to the actual launch of the service. In the case of services, these features could include brand name, functionality, quality or safety. The product/service decisions for the training service would basically revolve around the following:

The service will be provided under the brand name of the mother organization, with reference to the name given to the Denver rugby training school

The functionality, or purpose, of the service is to train rugby to beginners

The services will be offered by skilled coaches and will meet high quality standards

The safety of the participants will be cherished at all times and protected by adequate equipments and the continuous presence of a medical doctor

5.3 Price

The pricing strategy implemented by the new rugby training school will be a penetration strategy, in which they will offer lower prices in order to attract as many customers as possible. These will be offered as promotional pricings and once the school has created a stable market, it will implement a variable pricing strategy. This means that the retail price will be directly dependent on the costs of delivering the service and it will increase or decrease, as the costs do.

5.4 Promotion

The promotional strategy implemented by the rugby training school will be a pull strategy, meaning that the school will advertise their product in order to attract...

The advertising campaign will be developed by the company's marketing team and will be centred on the benefits offered by the training school. It will be aired on all available media channels and will include television and internet advertisements, radio announcements, street banners and fliers. In addition, special meetings will be organized within schools to present the service to children, teachers and parents. Other promotional decisions will refer to offering a lower price for the first 50 subscribers, subsidized equipments and even free of charge training to endowed children whose parents do have financial means to pay for their children's rugby training.
5.5 Place

Since it's a service, the rugby training will have limited interaction with distribution channels. The actual trainings will take place at the facility purchased or rented by the training school. Also, for the future, and if there is a demand for it, it is possible for the training school to delegate coaches to educational facilities to train students of all ages.

6. Implementation and Control

In order to ensure a successful launch of the rugby training school, the company must implement their strategies based on the following eight steps:

Identify the need for a rugby training school in Denver and its future clients

Allocate the necessary financial and non-financial resources and develop a budget

Identify a suitable location, preferably in a highly populated area and with easy access to it

Release job advertisements to hire the required staff, including rugby coaches

Develop an attractive advertising campaign to attract clients

Place the rugby training service onto the market by emphasizing on its benefits and the features which differentiate it from the services offered by the competition

Enlist rugby beginner and divide them into groups (male, female, children between 6 and 12, adolescents between 13 and 17, young adults between 18 and 45 and so on)

Commence the actual rugby training

But the job is not finished once the product is launched. The school will have to constantly look for new way to attract customers, develop their services and increase their quality in order to satisfy as many needs as possible.

7. Conclusions

The new rugby training school will be opened in the Denver Metropolitan Area, an America region recognized for their interest in rugby, proved by the numerous national successes registered by teams such as the Denver Barbarians or the Denver Highlanders. However competition from these rugby clubs poses a threat, the launch of the training school is expected to be a success as it differentiates itself from other rugby clubs in that it offers training services, whereas other clubs only offer memberships.

References

Denver City Search, Sport Clubs and Gyms, 2008, http://denver.citysearch.com/yellowpages/results/Denver_CO/page15.html?gcats=200&cats=374,last accessed on February 15, 2008

Black Ice Women's Rugby, 2008, http://www.blackicerugby.com/intro.html, last accessed on February 15, 2008

Denver Barbarians RFC, 2008, http://www.denverbarbarians.comlast accessed on February 15, 2008

Denver Highlanders Rugby Football Club, 2008, http://www.denverhighlanders.org, last accessed on February 15, 2008

Harlequin Rugby, 2008, http://www.harlequins.org, last accessed on February 15, 2008

The Marketing Mix (the 4 P's of Marketing), Net MBA, Business Knowledge Center, 2008, http://www.netmba.com/marketing/mix/,last accessed on February 15, 2008

Denver City Search, Sport Clubs and Gyms, 2008

Black Ice Women's Rugby, Recruiting, 2008

Denver Barbarians RFC, 2008

Denver Highlanders Rugby Football Club, 2008

Harlequin Rugby, 2008

The Marketing Mix (the 4 P's of Marketing), Net MBA, Business Knowledge Center, 2008