Marketing Communications Mix

To start off, the Marketing Communications Mix is a mix of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing.

A main way that Guess advertises is through their website. The website accurately represents the type of clothing they are selling; sexy, fashionable, and high quality. The models on the website are mainly "flawless" and portray the young and sexy look that Guess is going for. Guess also advertises in magazines geared toward their target market of teens and young women. This way the readers (the target market) will be exposed to Guess merchandise and their logo. Below is a link to a review of Guess' website.
http://www.bsu.edu/web/babusch/buschp2d2.htm

Sales promotion for Guess Inc. consists of the employees in the Guess stores spreading the word about the promotion to the customers, coupons or fliers in the shopping bag after a purchase, a "Whats New" section on the website, a section on the website that allows viewers to lend their email to sales promotions, and coupons or advertisements in magazines.

Personal selling for Guess is the face-to-face attempt to sell merchandise between the sales force to the customer. So for example, a Guess store employee may try to sell a given product to a customer in the store and make it appealing to their needs. This way the customer gets a great amount of personal attention.

Public Relations- Guess Inc tends to put their company in bad positions in order to increase product awareness and sales. Below is a link to a controversial issue that Guess created for themselves by disrespecting the Indian god. This made many people, especially Hindu's disgusted at their ethics.
http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=2731

The only type of Direct Marketing that Guess uses is direct email.

I think that Guess Inc uses price skimming . They charge the highest prices for their clothes/accessories to the people that can afford it and are into having the newest and most fashionable things. Then after a little bit, Guess lowers their prices to capture the rest of the market. However, the prices don't ever become real low because Guess' positioning is higher prices for high quality and trendier clothes/accessories.
I think two things that would be beneficial in regards to effective pricing would be Psychological Pricing and lowering prices for toddler clothing. Since Guess has high prices, psychological pricing would benefit them in my opinion. Since they are already high priced, someone may be more likely pay 49.99 rather than 50.00. Of course Guess has to maintain its high prices, but I think 46.50 is too expensive for infant clothing. Another thing that would be beneficial would be lower prices for infant clothing. At the link below, a infant outfit is 46.50. Just because an adult pays more for higher quality clothing and to looks well put together, doesn't mean that they are very likely to pay 46.50 for an outfit that their child may out grow in a month or so. http://shop.nordstrom.com/SR?KeyWord=guess&searchorigin=KeywordSearch


Guess has selective distribution. They sell their merchandise through their own Guess outlets, but also in retail and department stores like Lord and Taylor, Nordstrom, and Macy's. The link below shows Guess merchandise in Macy's and Lord and Taylor. When thinking about where they are going to sell their clothing/accessories, they have to keep in mind the positioning of the potential department store and the quality of products they sell. For example, Guess wouldn't choose Wal-mart as their distributor since Wal-mart doesn't sell expensive clothing and they are focused on being very affordable. The last link on the page goes into depth with the history of Guess and the steps taken to get the company where it is now. It touches on distribution as well. "At the end of 2002, Guess operated a total of 249 stores in the United States and Canada, consisting of 171 full-price retail stores, 11 kids stores and 67 factory outlet stores."

http://www1.macys.com/search/index.ognc?SearchTarget=*&Keyword=guess&KEYWORD_GO_BUTTON.x=0&KEYWORD_GO_BUTTON.y=0&KEYWORD_GO_BUTTON=KEYWORD_GO_BUTTON

http://www.lordandtaylor.com/eng/search/EntireSite-guess

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Guess-Inc-Company-History.html

3 Target Markets

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_51/b4014079.htm

Found on this website are descriptions of the Guess consumer. Christopher Palmeri provides descriptions of the consumer. "The Guess girl is edgy, sexy, confident," he says. "And she loves to be looked at." Guess has had females like Paris Hilton model for them. She is within the range of the target market that they are trying to sell to.
Three target markets of Guess seem to be teenage girls, young college women (or just out of college) in their 20's and women in their early 30's. Demographically, these three markets can look very different and the same. They can be of various nationalities, races, religions, family sizes, ages, and from different locations. Generally their income is similar; upper-middle class and up. Consumers in the same demographic groups can be very different psychographically. Psychographics are based on social class, lifestyles, and personality characteristics. The psychographics of the Guess target markets may be that they are middle to upper class, they have very social lifestyles, are adventurous, sexy, and stylish. Woman in their 20's or 30's may also be different from teenagers psychographically because they may have full time jobs, or be working moms. Behavioral segmentation focuses on the different benefits that the consumer seeks from the product and uses. So for example, the teenager consumer from Guess may be looking for a boost in their status and popularity. While the woman in her 30's may be looking to remain stylish and young. The teenagers may buy from Guess frequently, while a woman in her 20's or 30's may buy more regularly and be more loyal because she may have a full time job.

http://www.rather-be-shopping.com/guess-coupons.htm
A review of the G for Guess website is provided at this website. The reviewer breifly says that their clothing is quite hip and fashionable with a target market of 18-28 year olds.

Dealing with the Environmen

Lucky for GUESS, they do not depend on certain weather to attract customers. Sure a blizzard may not bring as many people as a warm spring day would, but the business doesn't depend on certain seasons. Something Guess relies on very much is the stability of the economy. Guess is lucky because their logo is so well known that it enables them to expand and prosper even during economic slowdowns. So it seems the connection is that a strong brand equity equals some comfort during recessions for the company. Another external factor in the environment are the distribution channels. Guess has retail and wholesale networks established in each of the main regions that they operate.
By being flexible and leaving options open, Guess adapts more rapidly to any changes in the distribution environment in any given region. Competitors are an external factor for Guess. Companies like The Gap and Polo Ralph Lauren have greater financial resources than Guess. Guess combats this by striving to have more a well known brand image and a better quality of design.
Internally, Guess holds the relationships with their employees high. The relationship is something that Guess can control and it is something that benefits them. If employees are nice and skilled at what they do, this will attract customers.
Another important internal factor are the people who are high up on the management team. Two people in particular; Maurice and Paul Marciano. They are both founders and majority owners. If for some reason they decided not work at Guess anymore, it could have negative affects of the sales of Guess merchandise. This is because they both drive the company and oversee that the company is successful. If someone new came in, they may not be able to properly handle all of the responsibilities!

Positioning

Let's define positioning. Positioning is the place the product holds to its target market relative to its competitors. I would say some of Guess' competitors are Bebe, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and definitely others. The target market in my opinion would be teens to the late twenties. Obviously some buyers exceed the target market range. I included the link to a website I found interesting. It discusses how Guess wasn't always positioned so well. Their clothing did not always hold such a high place to its target market relative to its competitors a few years back. Now although Guess clothing may be a bit pricier to the target market compared to its competitors, they are growing faster than ever. So it is evident that the customers understand that they are paying more for quality. They are making more money from their products and still attracting many customers. This keeps Guess' positioning up high. The customers keep coming back because at Guess they can find fits and washes in denim that they can't get from there competitors; again putting them ahead. Guess has grown drastically and continues to do so because their revenue is increasing and they are surpassing their competitors with quality.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_51/b4014079.htm

What's Your Core Competency?

A huge core competency for Guess is definitely their products/brand equity. Guess sells all different kinds of clothing and accessories for men, women and children. Branching out makes their products more well known. Their products are also very well kn0wn because of the many logos attached to it. Some examples are " GUESS, GUESS Jeans, Baby GUESS, GUESS by MARCIANO" etc. This had made the brand/logo of Guess one of the most recognizable in the U.S.!

The Guess Mission Statement

At GUESS, we are committed to being a worldwide leader in the fashion industry. We will deliver products and services of uncompromising quality and integrity consistent with our brand and our image.

We are committed to listening and responding to the needs of our customers, associates and business partners and honor their individual value.

We are dedicated to personal and professional enrichment through an environment of open communication, creativity, teamwork, trust and respect. We continue to give back to the community, support humanity and protect the environment as part of our responsibility.

We remain committed to an entrepreneurial spirit that fuels the growth of our Company and achieves increased shareholder value.

Through principled leadership we will embrace diversity, cultivate strength, pride and passion to align our personal life and our professional life.

http://www.guessinc.com/help.asp

There are several reasons why I believe the mission statement reflects Guess very well. Their fashion is definitely more on the high quality end, but to many like myself some extra money for something that will last a while is worth it. Not only does the fashion contribute to the higher quality feel but the atmosphere of the store does as well. The Guess staff have always been friendly to me which coincides with the third sentence of the statement. The fifth sentence definitely gives Guess an advantage over some other clothing companies lacking in the area of social responsibility. People want to see companies going green and Guess is going green! You will just have to wait until I tell you how!

Hi !

Hi,
My name is Stephanie. This "Guess What's Up With Guess" blog is for my Marketing class at Cedar Crest College. Hope you all enjoy!