Blog Post 6: Why Consumers Choose Maverik over Competition

What Makes Maverik Different?

Throughout Marketing class, I have learned that there are many factors that go into consumers head when they purchase a product after evaluating competition. Like I stated in my last post, Maverik Lacrosse lies within the Monopolistic Competition competitive market, so they must differentiate their products as best they can. 

Young Maverik's Target Segment

When Maverik first began as a company in 2005, they needed to establish a target segment so that they could begin focusing their advertising effort towards that segment. When establishing a target segment, their is a specific list of universal criteria that most companies (like Maverik) take. They are as follows:

Market Size- the size is an important factor when deciding if the market is worth going after.

Expected Growth- Although the market may look small now, their may be projected growth in the future, or it is growing significantly.

Competitive Position- is there going to be a lot of competition, or is there a lot now? less competition= less competitive, more attractive the segment

Cost of Reaching the Segment- a segment that is inaccessible to a firm’s marketing actions should not be pursued, like if it was too expensive.

Compatibility with the organization’s objectives and resources- don’t go for it if it doesn't fit the image your company is trying to create and maintain. 

After reviewing this criteria, it makes sense that Maverik chose to target new lacrosse players at first since both the popularity of lacrosse, and the amount of kids starting to play was beginning to grow. Also, at this time, there wasn't much competition compared to other industries, so it was a pretty safe bet to focus on this target segment.

High Learning Vs. Low Learning Products at Maverik 

Since Maverik started as a fresh, new company at a time where lacrosse was just starting to gain popularity, the founders at Maverik needed to find the perfect balance of low learning and high learning products. 

High Learning Product- significant customer education is required, long introductory period

Low learning products- little knowledge is needed and the benefits of of purchase are readily understood.

At first, when Maverik introduced their first line of products, there was a bit of a learning curve since everything was so new and unfamiliar, but the products themselves were low learning. With sports products, athletes usually read up or test out many products that they end up purchasing so that they can compete to the best of their ability, and this is no different in the lacrosse world. Because of this, some new products with new technology, long introductory periods occur, giving it a high learning product qualities. On the other hand, right when you put a pair of gloves on or hold a brand new lacrosse haft at the store, you can feel the benefits right away, which allows the product to have many low learning qualities. 

Blog Post 5: Maverik's Competitive Market and Price Strategy

Types of Competitive Markets

Like many other sellers in the market, Maverik's price is constrained by the type of market in which it competes in. Formally, the different competitive market is divided into four different divisions. Before I go into which competitive market Maverik is in, I will explain each market segment and explain the different price constraints firms in each market must abide by.

Pure Competition

Many sellers who follow the market price for identical, commodity products. Products within this competitive market are usually very similar. Also, the market sets the price for each product, so the objective of each seller's advertising is to inform consumers what they are selling

Monopolistic Competition

Many sellers who compete on non price factors. Within this competitive market, advertising's main focus is to differentiate each own firm's products from it's competitors, and the price range is usually within a small window, depending on the quality of each product.

Oligopoly

Few sellers who are sensitive to each other's prices. In this competitive market, companies attempt to avoid price competition because it can lead to disastrous price wars that result in a loss of money for all players within, and prices usually vary depending on the industry.

Pure Monopoly

One seller that sets the price for a unique product. Within this competitive market, there is no price competition and there is little to no advertising since there aren't any other unique products to compete against

So which competitive market is Maverik a part of?

After reading the description of each, it is quite easy to tell that Maverik Lacrosse is within the monopolistic competition market. Within Maverik's Market, there are numerous other players who create products who have the same use. For all the products within this competitive market, advertising must be focused on what makes your product stand out from the competition. Most recently, Maverik released a new line of Apollo Lacrosse shafts. 

As you can see from the commercial above, Maverik's focus of this advertisement is to differentiate their product from other competitors by showing the benefits of the product. This product is advertised as the lightest, yet strongest shaft on the market, and I believe this commercial (through LacrosseMonkey.com) does a great job of highlighting all the benefits that comes along with purchasing this shaft, instead of the competitions. 

Maverik's Price Strategy

Since Maverik's price for each of it's product is constrained by it's competitive market of monopolistic competition, they must create prices that justify the purchase of their products in comparison to the competition. Keeping this in mind, many top of the line products that just come out usually have prices that are very similar to each other. For example, Maverik's new Apollo shaft has a retail price of $119.99, which is just about what you will find from some of the company's main competitors like Warrior and STX's recently released shafts. Since there isn't a huge price differentiation, most advertising goes towards concrete reasons such as weight, durability, and feel for buying one product instead of the other.