Developing and Managing Products chapter 11

Being that Steve Madden is a shoe store they cannot vastly change their products.  The products they make are shoes and these shoes are in no way going to provide anymore functions than to wear then and express your fashions.  About 7 years ago Steve Madden added a new product line by introducing a Men and Kids shoe line.  These lines started with a few shoe choices but now there are almost as many styles for men and children as there are kids.  This adds a new target range not only woman will come in the store and of the woman who come they can shop for husbands and children and friends all in the same store.  A few years ago Steve Madden also launched a bedding line.  With there bedroom in a bag sets which are mainly offered online and in select stores like Marshall's they can get costumers to buy more things that are needed, while getting stylish shoes you can get a Steve madden stylish room as well.   Since this is originally a fashion forward shoe company they make additions and revisions to the existing product line.  They must always keep up with the trends so they have to adjust their products accordingly.  New trends means new styles and new seasons means new colors.  Products that have done well have reappeared in different seasons.  Also classic shoes like a classic pump is kept.  They release the same exact style every season but they may release pinks and purples in the summer and brown and red in the winter.  They may also take that same shoe and  make it with different materials like suede, faux snake skin, leather, or glitter.  This is all to attract different types of costumers and make the same good selling product seem a bit different.  The styles of the shoes generally stay similar like the product life cycle chart 11.3 MKTG 4,  Styles come in start to fade then come back once again.

chapter 21: costumer relationship management

My company sales this year have been the best they have ever been because this year they have worked efficiently on  managing their costumer relationship.  Steve Madden stores two different types of information.  They collect personal information like Name, email address, credit card number and items you buy and store the frequency of you purchases.  This shows them how many individual loyal costumers they have it also allows them to send emails telling the costumer of new promotions and events.  This makes the costumer aware of the company more often and its likely that they will come back to purchase products even if they had not originally planned to.   The second type of information the company stores is aggregate information which monitors how many people log onto the site everyday and how frequent people visit the stores.  This year they have made a larger acceptance that their buyers are more frequently young women from the ages of 16-28.  They understand that this age group of women enjoy a funkier type of shoe.  The lines every year often have higher 4.5 -5 inch platform based heals.  They have found that this age group enjoys buying these higher heals in comparison to older women who seem to purchase something a bit more sophisticated.  They do have another line called "Steven by Steve Madden" which have pricier more sophisticated shoes for the slightly older working woman.  This year off customer relationship management Steve Madden has been able to increase its sales by knowing its largest target market well.  Woman of a younger age group tend to love social networking sites.  Facebook, twitter, and blogger are something that the company have found very useful.  Launching a Blog said to be written by Steve Madden him self was launched 2 years ago.  Although this blog is also about things other than the company and the product lines it has brought alot of buzz around the company name. Facebook and twitter like buttons on the web site have made Steve Madden look that much cooler to young woman who spend alot of time on the computer.  And in this day an age where your phone can do just about everything a computer can do in the palm of your hand, even shopping the company knew that a mobile site would be the best thing.  The Mobile site launched this year has been the best thing for young women because most of them own either an iphone, blackberry, or andriod they can do a little shopping from anywhere.  The launch of the Steve Madden music site is also something that young woman love and they feel comfortable with.  The company has understood that "coolness" and convenience   will increase their sales and will further the message of buying Steve Madden shoes. One last thing i found on the site that i have never noticed before is a chat pop up to chat online with Steve Madden representatives to see what shoes and styles are right for you, and to ask any questions.

chapter 16: Intergrated Marketing Communication

Advertisements for Steve Madden are limited to more traditional clothing advertisements.  Newspapers, magazines, and the occasional bus stop ad are where you would find a shoe advertisement from them.  The company seems to be very concerned with their image and the way the public relates with them.  Each store has a layed back "chill" atmosphere.  It sets the mood for the type of costumer they get, young woman.  You will always walk into a store and hear the latest pop music.  This is because they understand that their market of young "trendy" woman that like these things.  They even have a music web page where they feature new artist and costumers can post blog comments about their favorite music and artist.  They also as I've mentioned before have parties with DJ's and a bartender in the original soho store for costumers to come and enjoy them selves.  Buy one get one half off and 30% off sales are given every 3 months at the end of the seasons these sales encourage costumers to buy because woman often walk out of the store with more than one pair of shoes.  Why not buy more with a sale like that.  Steve Madden has more of a mass communication process through ads and blogs.  The web has really boosted this years sales.  Facebook's like button has increased the website traffic.  The Launch of the new site has also had online sales booming with the connection to networking sites like facebook and twitter.  All your friends on all your networking sites can see you've liked or bought a pair of shoes from Steve Madden.  Steve Maddens blog is Steve Madden personally blogging about new shoes new music and events that he just loves.  He also responds to comments left by the consumer.  This give a more personal feel to the costumer.  They serve consumer products on a personal level at the store with the hip talkative employees that make you feel cool and welcolme. 

chapter 10: Product concepts

Steve Madden Offers shopping products.  Shoes are not a necessity they are a want of costumers.  They offer a few product lines of shoes from mens, woman, and childrens shoes and a product mix from shoes, to accessories, apparel, and bedding.  There are many products in each product line because a this trendy company offers many different styles of shoes.  Flat shoes, boots, heels, and super high heels.  Every season the styles and colors change for the shoes that they sell and the older styles go on sale.  The Brand name for the company is Steve Madden and their brand mark is the name in the circle.  The name is in the Brand Mark so that it is always clear what company the brand mark is talking about.   You can never get confused with what company makes the shoe or posted the ad because the name is always on it.  

Sales promotion continued

I'd also like to add that Steve Madden has promotions with other discount stores.  You can find your Steve Madden shoes at any Marshalls, T.J Maxx, and Filenes Basement.  These stores often offer last seasons shoes or some of the new season shoes that havent been sold as much as others in the original Steve Madden store.