The Iconic Company Background and Success

Discuss about the Iconic Wows Fashionistas and Investors.

The Iconic (designed in the selected website as THE ICONIC) is an Australian sports retailer and online fashion based in Sydney ( The Iconic, 2018). After being launched in 2011, the Iconic has been deemed to be the leading sportswear and fashion termini. From the time when it was launched, the brand has turned out to be the biggest Australian online fashion retailer stocking over 50,000 items and 700 brands, including Camilla and Marc, Lorna Jane, and Australian labels Sass & Bide (Mitchell, 2016). Some of the global brands stocked by the Iconic include Calvin Klein, Levi’s, Adidas, and Nike (The Australian, 2012).

The Iconic Company is doing quite pretty well when it comes to online marketing by use of various social media platforms. Its homepage, for instance, does attractively well and keeps things very simple. After landing on their site, one will see two major selections just above the fold (Shop Women and Shop Men). That shows that this homepage is mainly concerned with directing the visitors to the option of the site that they prefer or fits them. Everything on this site is all about assisting the client search for what they are looking for, displaying the Company’s products in the best probable light and attracting the customer in the best way possible. Moreover, The Iconic Company is marketing itself quite well online (Cleanthous, 2014). For instance, they are doing Dynamic Remarketing whereby they are advertising products they have posted on their website in other social media platforms such as Google’s Display Network, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube ( The Iconic, 2018). This online marketing strategy has been proved useful to the Iconic since they are advertising the product that a potential customer has shown interest in when he or she goes to the website.

Virgillito, (2018) argues that market segmentation is among the ancient marketing tricks recorded in the books. With the consumer preferences and populations are becoming broader, as well as the competitive choices emerging more obtainable, market segmentation has turned out to be a crucial aspect of any company or marketing plan. In actual fact, businesses launch their commodities keeping in mind the market segmentation (Fryrear, 2016). Young people, individuals at the age of the majority, sports people among others compose some of the key customers targeted by the Iconic Company. As discussed before, the Iconic targets both local Australian customers as well as the international ones. With this diversity, customer segmentation is clearly vital since the company will be able to divide its customers into say three major groups which replicate similarity amongst customers in every segment. They can, for instance, be segmented in terms of their geographic locations, their demographic variables (like age, income, nationality, and gender), and behavioral segmentation that is in terms of their preference, choices, usage, behavior, and decision making.

Online Marketing Strategies of The Iconic

The Iconic targets customers in diverse geographic areas that is, both locally and internationally. Thus geographic market segmentation will be an effective approach since customers in different parts of the world have different wants, needs, tastes, and preferences, as well as cultural features which can be specifically targeted (Trivikram, 2016). Local and international customers use various social media platforms which are more convenient for them. The commonly used platforms by the Iconic include Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, Collecto, and YouTube (Cleanthous, 2014). The Iconic has always aimed at increasing its visibility in the local market segment. They have focused on the use of Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to augment influence in their little corner of the globe. The Company is renowned for its capability to engage their local customers online by use of frequent posts, FB check-ins, events, as well as ads. For international customers, these social media platforms are also applicable but the Company can consider introducing others such as WeChat and Vkontakte which are being used by competitors.

The demographic market segment contains a group of customers clustered based on their age, gender, income, education among other attributes (Devaualt, 2018). The information the Iconic Inc. needs is readily available in this market segment. They can pull census data to decide where, how, and who they want to market their products to. They can, for instance, market their brands to different genders, income levels, and age groups. Customers in the demographic market segment can make use of various social media platforms depending on their unique attribute. Some of these media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter may not be favorable to the customers under the age of the majority for palpable reasons (Simon, 2014). The Company might, therefore, connect with them through platforms such as Snapchats which are more suitable for the young people. Social media sites such as Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn and others might require some costly electronic gadgets like smartphones for them to operate and hence might not be appropriate for some customers who are low-income earners but willing to buy the Company’s products. These people are thus be left with few options of platforms such as Google+, FB, WeChat, QQ, and Tumblr which can be supported by inexpensive devices.       

The behavioral market segment is mainly based on the behavior of population and the manner the population responds to, know or use a product (Bhasin, 2018). The Iconic Inc. targets customers with different behavioral patterns and some of their grouping patterns are a lifestyle, desired benefits, usage, as well as decision-making. Some customers tend to be classier and prefer social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn which tear them away from the commoners and offer more elegant themes. This group of people tends to make their decision to buy or not based on where the company is advertising its products because they view them to be of high quality and more satisfying.

Market Segmentation by The Iconic

Customers in different market segment access digital information in various digital communication platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn in various formats such as pictures, written contents, clips, ads, and videos. Social media facilitates the creation and sharing of important marketing information through text posts, digital photos, as well as data collected from online interactions (Bashar, 2013). Social media has completely changed the way the Iconic communicates with their customers in different market segments since they operate in a dialogic transmission system. The Company is also able to send personalized messages to customers by use of Emails.

As discussed before, the main social media platforms used by Iconic include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, and YouTube ( The Iconic, 2018). These different platforms have different effect on the Company’s revenue, engagement, brand awareness, and sales. Through Facebook, for instance, the Iconic Company is able to do various things effectively. Through their FB page, the Company can publicize their brand, contact details, business name and briefly describe the commodities. In addition, Facebook allows Iconic to shares pictures and videos from their business. This is has been a powerful technique of communicating to both existing and potential customers, letting them to view their product without necessary having to visit their premises in Sydney. Twitter is also an invaluable marketing tool. The Iconic Company has been able to create a cohesive image online as well as facilitating a robust customer support. In addition Twitter allows this firm to network and also get feedback from their customers.  Pinterest, on the other hand, has enabled the Iconic to increase their brand authority. The Company places itself on Pinterest, as an authority in sports and online fashion retailer industry by crafting various Pinterest boards which offer imperative information to their followers whiles at the same time publicizing their products in fun ways. Google+ mainly helps the firm in starting or joining a community or a team or clients where they share information regularly.

The firm also enables the Company to search for already established Communities and start engaging them.  The Iconic Company uses YouTube to intermingle, share and make content through online communities and individuals. YouTube has allowed the company to promote its commodities, precise its brand’s ‘personality’, observe customers’ feedback, offer consumer service and aid its clienteles spread the word about their products. From these descriptions it is evident that the order of priority: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and then Google Plus can be an effective prioritization since the Iconic will comprehend the most useful and effective social media platform to use.

Customer Segments for The Iconic

All social media platforms will work for all market segments described before. These market segments are composed of people who apart from their segmentation attributes have different access and usage preferences of these media platforms. Besides, these sites are accessible to every customer regardless of his or her gender, geographic location, behaviors, and or any other unique attribute they may have. Therefore, the Iconic Company should not be so much apprehensive about which social medial platform to use to reach a certain market segment since they can work for all of them.

Conclusion

From this report, it is evident that the Iconic Company has embraced digital marketing strategies which have built a rapport with new prospects and converted them into repeat, loyal clients. This firm has affirmed the fact that marketing is not a one-day event neither is it a one-step process. It is a must for the business to implemented well-planned procedures towards attracting and maintaining customers, thanks to the digital marketing alias the Customer Value Journey. The Iconic Inc. has created a digital marketing program which has driven more leads to business from various social media platforms, email marketing, and search engines. These prospective purchasers have been converted into sales hence supplementing proceeds in the Iconic Company.

References

The Iconic, 2018. The Iconic. [Online] Available at: https://www.theiconic.com.au/[Accessed 14 5 2018].

Bashar, A., 2013. EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A MARKETING TOOL: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY. JOURNAL OF MARKETING & RETAIL MANAGEMENT, p. 1/9.

Bhasin, H., 2018. Behavioral Segmentation. [Online] Available at: https://www.marketing91.com/behavioral-segmentation/[Accessed 14 5 2018].

Cleanthous, A., 2014. A review of THE ICONIC’s online marketing strategy. [Online] Available at: https://www.webprofits.com.au/blog/the-iconic/[Accessed 14 5 2018].

Devaualt, G., 2018. Market Segmentation for Target Market Research. [Online] Available at: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/market-segmentation-for-target-market-research-2296840[Accessed 14 5 2018].

Fryrear, A., 2016. Why Translating Your Market Segmentation to Personas Make Both More Useful. [Online] Available at: https://www.sailthru.com/marketing-blog/written-why-translating-your-market-segmentation-to-personas-make-both-more-useful/[Accessed 14 5 2018].

Mitchell, S., 2016. Rocket Internet’s The Iconic eyes maiden profit. [Online] Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/rocket-internets-the-iconic-eyes-maiden-profit-20160301-gn75k1.html[Accessed 14 5 2018].

Simon, E. W., 2014. Is social media good or bad for young people?. [Online] Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2014/06/social-media-youth/[Accessed 14 5 2018].

The Australian, 2012. Iconic wows fashionistas and investors. [Online] Available at: https://myaccount.news.com.au/sites/theaustralian/subscribe.html?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a&mode=premium&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fbusiness%2Fcompanies%2Ficonic-wows-fashionistas-and-investors%2Fnews-story%2F72ce991277632f8eb7f88be18042[Accessed 14 5 2018].

Trivikram, S., 2016. Customer Needs, Wants, and Demands & Strategic Decision Making. [Online] Available at: https://myventurepad.com/customer-needs-wants-demands-strategic-decision-making/[Accessed 14 5 2018].

Virgillito, D., 2018. What is Market Segmentation? Learn How to Segment Your Customers. [Online] Available at: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/market-segmentation [Accessed 14 5 2018].