Competition

To complement your prior analysis, this week’s interviews should focus on the competition, with the interviewees being those with insights on the below questions. Your insights and plans in this competition chapter should also be informed by your primary research and secondary research. The competition chapter of the business plan to be authored this week should address:

• Who are your major competitors? Why do you consider them to be competitors?
• Are they direct competitors or indirect competitors (have something similar but not directly competitive)?
• What is their history? Did they discover the same problem? Have they built/do they offer the same type of solution as yours?
• What are your competitive strengths and weaknesses? How do you compare?
• How are they pricing their offering? How are they going to market-direct, channels, etc.? What is their marketing pitch and strategy?
• How can you overcome their advantages? 
• Are any of them likely acquirers? If so, how can you tailor your solution to better position yourself for this outcome?

For this competition chapter, a 2-3 page single-spaced length is appropriate. Tables, graphics, and related visual tools to efficiently communicate key information is encouraged.

Be sure to support your analysis and decisions with research and references. References may be included in APA format.

Running Head: MARKETING OPPORTUNITY 1

MARKETING OPPORTUNITY 5

Marketing Opportunity

Name

Institution

Date

Specific target market

Based on the solution that already been presented, I would say that the target market, in this case, is stakeholders of the National Football League (NFL); they will be the people who will mainly be targeted since they are the ones who will directly benefit from the solutions that had earlier been represented (Abeza et al

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, 2019). The number of buyers that exist in this target market involves at least three groups of people; the first group will be the ones who like or enjoy watching the games played in the NFL. The second group are the people who will be directly participating in games that will be played in the field, and the last group will be the people who have put their investments into the football league they can be referred to as sponsors of the league in general.

Specific Customers

In this case, the specific customers will be football fans who like going to watch the stadium’s matches. The people who play those matches will also be part of the customers who will benefit from the solutions presented. Fans will be regarded as customers since they will be the ones who will enjoy the services of watching matches from the HD screen that will be placed outside the stadium. In case they may be able to make it to the stadium, they may just decide to down the application that will allow them to live stream the matches that are being played at any particular point of time. These two groups of customers are the ones who the solution will benefit the most since they were the ones who were directly affected by the problem, which earlier presented itself in this industry.

Current market state

The current market is filled with many opportunities since many gaps have not been filled to make sure the lovers of sports are fully satisfied through the use of the current technology. Technology has not been fully utilized to ensure that their services properly entertain people. The solutions that I had presented will help address the problems the current networks have failed to address. It will also assist in making sure that the level of customer experience becomes top-notch so that the fans will be able to develop a mutual relationship with their favorite players (Funk et al., 2016). The market is highly fragmented since there is a lot of confusion, especially during matches where no effort has been made to ensure that fans are catered for in the best way possible.

We can see from the market that there is a lot of congestion of cars in the parking area because there is no proper procedures that have been put in place to make sure that the issue is adequately addressed. Everybody in the market wants a chance to see the matches in place, but they end up not being able to do so, which results in a lot of ticket price hiking. The market needs a solution that will help address the problems that have presented themselves; players don’t even have the opportunity to showcase their real talent at an early age since they are not taken very seriously. Only the professional players have the advantage of being taken seriously, especially by the broadcast networks that are currently available in the market. This particular market will greatly benefit from my solution since it will help in addressing all the problems that this market is currently facing, hence the customers in this market can end up being satisfied by the type of services offered in this industry.

Market addressing the problem

To address the problem the TBSB identified the opportunity that were developed as a result of the gaps created, it has been able to come up with an app that would enable the right type of content to be created so that the young adults would be in a position to become legends who are extraordinary in their own right athletic-wise. The app created by TBSB main goal will be to ensure that interaction between the family, friends, football players, and fans has increased. They have also gone further to make sure that they provide the football fans with opportunities of viewing what goes on behind-the-scene, in addition they have done regular team updates and conducted interviews to show to the fans which has been a way to satisfy their desire of knowing what other things their favorite players likes to engage on after they have finished playing in the field (Kingsnorth, 2019).

To ensure that fans are satisfied, TBSB decided to promote an element of fan favoritism. The people who will be able to use the application developed by the network company will have the opportunity to customize the app’s themes and background to their own individual liking. The teams will administer weekly and daily mega –raffles, hence they will have the chance of winning a different kinds of prices and by doing so it will assist in making sure the app built is well promoted and also liked by the users. Football fans will have the opportunity of getting the most accurate information about the player stats, scores, and any other information that is relevant to the teams, this will be done by ensuring that there is no discrepancies in the kind of information got or even given out (Morgan et al., 2019). The information was cross-checked through a browsing software since there is always a risk of miscalculation of data in the low-level division.

Customers do spend money on some of the problems I had highlighted before, this is seen in the case where customers buy tickets that are being resold even though at that particular time they are being charged very high prices. People who had taken the time to buy a lot of tickets to brokering them when they were all sold out were the ones who were paid by the customers. They charged high prices on the resale because they know at that time they are on-demand, and people will pay any amount of money to be able to get a chance of viewing the match that would be taking place at that point in time.

Customers having a sufficient budget

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In this case, the customer can be perceived as capable of having a sufficient budget and are in a great position of purchasing some of the products that we would develop due to the solution we have recommended. The reason for saying so is that the customers could enjoy some of the services offered in the market, which were more or less the same as those solutions we had come up with. This means that purchasing power was relatively good, and because of their love for the game, they would to anything to ensure they are fully satisfied. Even if we take a look at the extent which they go of buying tickets that were being resold just showed how much the kind of extent they would to ensure they don’t miss any game, without having any doubts, I can confidently say that the customers are well-off in terms of product purchasing in the market.

References

Abeza, G., O’Reilly, N., & Seguin, B. (2019). Social media in relationship marketing: The perspective of professional sport managers in the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL. Communication & Sport, 7(1), 80-109.

Funk, D., Funk, D. C., Alexandris, K., &McDonald, H. (2016). Sport consumer behaviour: Marketing strategies. Routledge.

Kingsnorth, S. (2019). Digital marketing strategy: an integrated approach to online marketing. Kogan Page Publishers.

Morgan, N. A., Whitler, K. A., Feng, H., & Chari, S. (2019). Research in marketing strategy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(1), 4-29.

TBSB Network: The Next Way to Enjoy Sports

In an era where social media and entertainment technology rule, it is important for industries to integrate with the times. Whether it be fashion, music, or in this case—sports—people nowadays prefer to have their daily dose of action best served hot! Technology has enabled industries to do so. Through the latest news updates and broadcasting dimensions, the sports industry in particular has broadened the access that audience members have to their favorite teams, players, and sport. Just as technology evolves with the times, I feel it is important for industries to do the same.

High performing sports are part of America’s past time. Whether one grew up playing recreationally or was graced an opportunity to perform at an upper level, sports has had some impact on the lives of millions. Considering where this admiration for any particular sport came from, it is expected to have happened at an early age. According to the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission, the Athletic Footwear Association, an USA Today Survey, and Michigan State in 2013, roughly 35 million kids sign up each season to participate in a sport. While kiddie soccer may not be the most interesting of segments, this data does raise the question as to why high-performing athletes are not broadcasted at earlier stages in their sports careers. Considerably, that [college] would be the phase where professional athletes are segmented from the amateurs. Should they not be broadcasted as well?

Next level entertainment is under way. TBSB Network offers viewing opportunities for lovers of D1-D3 sports, particularly American football. The NCAA is a billion-dollar industry, enabling ordinary young adults to become extraordinary legends in their own athletic right. People from all over the world tune in to watch the NCAA championship and March Madness, but these events are not nearly enough of a fix for football [and basketball] lovers. TBSB sees opportunity in this industry decay, and thus, an app that fixates the right material was created.

From physical distance for family & friends, to time zone dilemmas, it was hard for people to catch my latest tackle if they were not one of the 81,500 fans in the stands. (Mind you, tickets would resell for thousands of dollars and parking was nearly impossible!). The people who were always front row at my little league games where it all started were now lucky if they could catch a glimpse of a play during the years where my football performance mattered the most.

Growing up around and befriending other athletes like myself, it was great to see my friends achieving the very dreams we shared as kids. Some of my best friends are pursuing their careers at the next level, and though I know they are well performing athletes, it would have been great to be able to see them play virtually. The delay was always that our games would occur at the same time. My time on the road when traveling to games was extensive, and I & others like myself would have been extremely amused to see our peers play-by-play. All because we play the sport, does not mean we do not like to see others play it as well.

There are other networks in this industry that highlight college sports and players, but let’s acknowledge what they lack. To begin, their “highlights” are not nearly enough of what actually goes on off screen. Similar to the NFL, D1-D3 athletes train immensely. Many of us come from humble beginnings and inspirational upbringings that make our story more unique. Unless it is draft season, these stories are not brought to light. This disables the possibility for fans to build more interpersonal connections with their favorite player, and for college players alike to lack the chance to show our personal, normal side.

Another disadvantage that these other networks have is that they tend to only show powerful plays. Overtime occurrences, major game-changing plays, and other “newsworthy” events are what is typically shown after a college football-filled Saturday—and only on Saturdays. However, replays of entire games, as well as other segments relating to the teams and their players, are not portrayed. This creates a massive delay in information for college football lovers, as well as an untapped market that can potential attract billions.

Contrary to broadcasts from ESPN, TBSB offers the latest in college interviews, team updates, games, and any & all other behind-the-scene opportunities. Again, the objective of the app is to maintain a high-level interaction between fans, friends, family, and football players. The TBSB Network would specialize in these interpersonal connections with news updates, live streaming opportunities, and message board features. Through these application features, user connectivity is promoted and practiced.

Fan favoritism is also an element that TBSB plans to promote. During my time at Clemson, there were endless fans, automobiles, and businesses painted our school colors: orange and purple. Inspired by this, users of the application will be able to customize their background/theme to their liking! Daily raffles and weekly mega-raffles will be administered by these teams, giving users a chance to win various prizes and promoting use of the app.

D2 and D3 schools often rely on individual data updates for scores, player stats, and other team information. With D1 and NFL teams, their information is fact-checked and regulated for the most accurate updates. TBSB understands how lower-level divisions may be at risk for data miscalculation, and therefore, information ca only be updated by those with authority over the games [head coaches, referees, and league administrators]. For extra assurance, information will be cross-checked via browsing software with other sources of data [i.e. Twitter, blogs] so that if any potential discrepancies are identified, they can be flagged and investigated.

The audience range for this particular application is massive. Alma-maters & alumni, family & friends, scouts, agents, and many more! Football fans do not fall under the same category of age, race, or ability. TBSB understands that and aims to make the app accessible for all users. From clear & concise new user tutorials, to friendly virus-free add-ons, TBSB Network members can control and customize their usage to their liking!

Most importantly, the application will be interactive, even when inactive. Considering that fan favoritism factor, the app will “flash” with different colors [of course to the user’s liking if enabled] that will signify a new sports update on one’s favorite team or player. This feature differentiates from ESPN and other sports networks, with their single [and boring] color. The flash feature will attract usage & further exemplify the fast happening news that TBSB is able to provide!

With these features and several more underway, the TBSB is forecasted to be a great success to the sports industry and technology market. The creative approach to intuitive navigation and robust features will grasp the user’s attention, and the love and passion that we all share for football will lock them in as TBSB member for life!