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L.L. Bean
In 1911, an avid outdoorsman named Leon Leonwood Bean returned
from a hunting trip with cold, damp feet. Leon created the idea to stich
leather uppers to rubber workmen boots creating a comfortable, functional
boot. After working with a local cobbler, the famous boots known as Maine
Hunting Shoe or Bean Boots were created. The first L.L. Bean mailer was sent
to out-of-state sportsmen and was four pages long, receiving one hundred
orders. Leon Leonwood Bean changed outdoor footwear forever and began
one of the most successful family-run businesses in the country on the idea
of a boot that kept hunters feet dry. One hundred and four years later, the
company L.L. Bean is best known for its high quality, 100% satisfaction
promise and customer service.
In order for L.L. Bean to grow into such a successful company, their
marketing plan must have been established with four strategies. First, they
must have customer excellence, meaning that they attract loyal customers
and maintain outstanding customer service. L.L. Bean has an outstanding
base of loyal customers and they have developed this relationship through
the companys core values. L.L. Bean has a very distinct definition of a
customer and how they should be treated. Next, the company has to
maintain operational excellence. Leon Leonwood Bean set these operations
in the Maine factory, but without L.L.Beans current president Chris
McCormick maintaining these operations, the company would not still reach
this excellence. With regards to product quality, ergonomics and health and

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safety programs, L.L.Bean has been named as a leader in the manufacturing
industry. Product excellence has been maintained since L.L. Beans beginning
and continues to hold strong with the help of the Golden Rule and their
company objectives. L.L. Bean also displays locational excellence both
physically and online. This is very important for the company to succeed and
has worked to L.L. Beans favor due to their few factories and large online
presence. The company is a leader in the direct marketing industry. Reaching
many people through catalogs. According to LLBean.com, L.L.Bean produced
over 50 separate catalog titles that were distributed to customers in all 50
US states and over 170 countries in 2014. Over 10.5 million customer
contacts were received from these catalogs, with over 130,000 contacts
received on a single day.
The first step in the marketing plan is the planning phase. This involves
defining the mission and objectives for the company. Although the company
has been present for over one hundred years, the companys core values
have been the same since the beginning. Leon Leonwood Bean set these
standards for his company and structured one of the most successful
companies present today. L.L Beans Golden Rule is, Sell good merchandise
at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings and they will
always come back for more. L.L. Bean understood the value of his
customers and along with the Golden Rule; he set the 100% satisfaction
guarantee that has been present since the first pair of Hunting Boots in
1912. Customers can return anything purchased from the company at

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anytime. L.L Bean did not want customers to be anything short of satisfied
with their purchases from L.L. Bean and he promised that any problems that
interfere with the satisfaction would be addressed and fixed. L.Ls philosophy
concerning the value of a customer has remained constant. The following
definition of a customer sets the guidelines for how the company treats and
interacts with them. L.L.s definition is:
A customer is the most important person ever in this company in
person or by mail.
A customer is not dependent on us, we are dependent on him.
A customer is not an interruption of our work, he is the purpose of it.
We are not doing a favor by serving him, he is doing us a favor by
giving us the opportunity to do so.
A customer is not someone to argue or match wits with. Nobody ever
won an argument with a customer.
A customer is a person who brings us his wants. It is our job to handle
them profitably to him and to ourselves. (LLBean.com)
This definition sets the standards and guidelines that all L.L. Bean employees
have and will abide by in past, present and future. L.L. Bean set the bar high
for all competition and is recognized in the business world for their
dedication to the customer.
As a value-based company, Leon recognized stakeholders as everyone
who had a vested interest in the company. This includes customers,
employees, stockholders, vendors, communities and the natural

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environment. This stakeholder concept derives the meaning of success
depending on how well the company is meeting the standards and objectives
of its stakeholders. Once again showing how L.L. Bean works to meet the
standards and needs of their customers. This concept forms a very loyal
bond between the company and its stakeholders.
The next step in the planning phase involves performing a situational
(SWOT) analysis to assess the firm both internally and externally. There are
many different strengths that L.L. Bean holds over competitors. L.L. Bean
began global expansion in 199 and there are stores are located in the United
States, Japan, China, and soon in Canada. According to LL bean website,
There are 30 stores located in the United States, 20 in Japan and 62 in China.
The company is planning on opening a retail outlet in Canada and to expand
its sales in the country. The company is a leader in the direct marketing
industry, sending catalogs to over 170 countries. After launching their
website in 1995, Internet orders surpassed catalog orders for the first time in
2009. L.L. Bean is a very well established outdoor brand that is distinguished
from competitors due to their quality. After over one hundred years, they
have grown the trust of many customers. Their Maine Hunting Boots are
made by hand, to this day and are one of the companys most popular items.
The lifetime guarantee on all of the companys products puts them at a
distinct advantage over competitors. In 2011, the company went public with
their free shipping for anyone and everyone. No coupons, codes, or
limitations. L.L. Bean is one of the only companies to offer this and puts them

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ahead of their competitors. It is also important that the company participates
in internal manufacturing because they do not have many channel members
and are always aware of their product and its quality.
Like every other company, along with strengths come weaknesses.
Because they are distinctly an outdoor brand, it can be difficult for L.L. Bean
to find new target markets. Their products are mostly based on the colder
climates, making the spring and summer months a downfall. Since they
target middle-aged men and women with careers, they are able to charge a
higher price for this better quality, but the products are a bit too expensive
for younger potential customers. Although L.L. Bean reaches their customers
in ways other than through retail stores, this is a major weakness for L.L.
Bean. If the company increased their locational presence in the United States
and in other countries, they would have the potential to increase sales and
become even more successful. Internal manufacturing is both a strength and
weakness for the company because it is harder and more expensive for them
to reach and send their goods overseas.
Assessing L.L. Beans external opportunities provides several ways for
the company to grow. The company can continue their global expansion and
continue to enter new countries in Asia and Europe. They can also continue
their growth in Japan and China. They are already beginning to extend their
roots into Canada, which can provide to be very beneficial. The company has
the potential to be a famous worldwide brand. There has recently been an
increase in sales among a younger segment of college students. These

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students, especially in the New England region have a growing interest in L.L.
Bean and specifically their boots. The company has an opportunity to begin
targeting this younger segment and developing a loyal customer group at a
younger age. In Japan, L.L. Bean bags are becoming popular with mothers.
Due to the bags durability and size, they are convenient for mothers to use
as baby bags. If the company capitalizes on this opportunity, it can advertise
their bags in new ways and draw more mothers in for this reason.
L.L. Bean faces several threats due to hard competition among other
outdoor apparel brands. Their two largest competitors are North Face and
Columbia. These companies have lower costs due to the fact that they are
not as involved and worried about their product quality. Due to the fact that
L.L. Bean relies on workers to make their boots specifically by hand, they
have to adjust to the increases in labor costs and are not using the new, upto-date technology that their competitors use. Every winter, L.L. Beans
boots go on backorder because the workers can only make one boot at a
time. The company cannot stay up-to date with the technology that their
competitors are using because their boots are handmade by craftsmen
themselves. Causing them to fall behind in production and technology.
The implementation phase is the most important and crucial step in
the marketing plan. The company must first segment the market and choose
who the most beneficial target group is. The company must then use the four
Ps to further assess the companys strategies and marketing mix. L.L. Bean
segments the market based on geographic location, specifically looking at

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the North East, United States. L.L. Bean looks at demographics such as age
and social class and then examines consumers hobbies, interests and
values.
Their chosen target market includes active outdoorsmen that need
quality products for such outdoor activities. They focus on men and women
from the ages of 35 to 54 and specifically the middle and upper class group
of consumers that have more money to spend on quality materials. L.L. Bean
focuses in on those adventure seekers that need quality materials that they
can count on to last a lifetime. The company also specifically targets New
Englanders due to the climate and due to the fact that their factory where
most products are made is in Maine.
The advertisement that was featured on the L.L. Beans 100th
anniversary catalog displays an active outdoors family that we can assume is
on a lake in Maine fishing. The family is featured in flannels and what seems
to be heavy-duty clothing. The wife is shown in outdoor clothing instead of
the typical stay-at-home look. This is important because it tells us that the
company is also targeting women.
L.L. Bean recently released a new line called LL Bean Signature, which
aims to target a younger group of consumers. The line focuses on a more
modern and updated style than their typical outdoor, heavy-duty apparel.
The company takes pride in positioning themselves as a very high
quality brand that values their customers. As Omar explained, they have a
very strict guideline as to who is a customer and how they should be treated.

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LL Beans president said the following in a statement; "Superior customer
service has always been and always will be the cornerstone of our brand and
heritage and an attribute that differentiates us from the rest of the pack. It
goes back to L.L.'s Golden Rule of treating customers like human beings."
This quote shows that the company wants to be known as the number one
brand in the industry for customer service. This is an attribute that sets them
apart from their competitors and gives them a distinct competitive
advantage. They also have positioned themselves as a mainly outdoor
brand, working to make quality products that will last a lifetime even when
worn on a daily basis. All of their catalogues display pictures of the outdoors
and people enjoying adventurous activities on their front cover.
The marketing mix involves the 4 Ps: product, price, promotion and
place, for all of the companys products. L.L. Bean produces high quality
outdoor apparel, footwear and equipment. Their new line features a more
modern and updated style and works to increase their product variations and
styles. The companys first product was their Maine Hunting Boots, now
known as bean or duck boots. These boots are handmade to this day and
every year around winter, become backordered for months due to their high
demand and inability to make more than one boot at a time. Each boot is
stitched to perfection and if it is produced flawed, the boot is begun again.
Each boot is checked by up to 6 to 7 people before the process is complete.
No matter how old or torn, L.L. Bean promises to perform maintenance at
any time to bring them back to their original quality.

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L.L. Bean evaluates and sets their price based on the 5 Cs of pricing.
The first C, company objectives are to sell a high quality product at a
reasonable profit. Due to the high quality of L.L. Beans products, the price is
more expensive than some competitors. However, because the customer is
willing to pay more for better quality and there is a lifetime guarantee on
their products, L.L. Bean is able to sell their products at a higher price
The boots are all handmade with quality materials and apparel is usually a
heavy- duty or lined product that are not cheap to produce. L.L. Bean is in a
monopolistic competition with competitors due to the differentiation of the
product itself, however, many times the products are very similar. The
channel members are few because L.L. Bean does not sell to retailers and
only sell from the company itself.

UNEDITED

Promotion

Advertising and Public Promotion

LL bean does not spend so much energy on traditional advertising especially
TV commercial. Often time they present online. This is video of their new bag
for kids and it is posted online. They more concern about Public Promotion.

Sales Promotion

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Their main Sales promotions are coupon, rebates, and ll bean card. this card
is credit card and provide bonus coupon or reward by using this card for
purchasing and other benefits.

Direct Marketing
As other firm, LL beans has e-mail service to inform their news according to
customers interest. Same as catalog. Different kind of catalog that match
different segments.

Online marketing
as I mention, LL bean more likely to use online to reach customers, so their
website is made for giving better idea of their product. this is web page of us
ll bean and web page of japanese ll bean. Languages are different but they
using same color and structure so it shows same image of this company.
Japanese LL bean also promoting a free shipping service. Social media used
to attract and interact with customers 4Es are - excited for promotion ,
educate them, experience and engage the customers.

Place
As mentioned in SWT analysis part, their facilities are in Brunswick and
Marine. Their stores in US are 30. Japan has about 20 stores and There are
about 60 stores in China. LL bean try to increase number of store in Canada

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now. the number of physical places are few for known brand, but They are
sending catalogs and available for online shopping for 160 countries.

Performance
Because L.L Bean is a family owned business, we couldnt find their financial
statements, but we were able to find some of these facts.
In 2014, L.Ls annual net sales were $1.61 billion.
The company has been around for over 100 years.
L.L Bean is a world wide expansion.
Their catalogs are sent to over 170 countries from all over the world.
L.L bean is a leader in the direct marketing industry.
L.L bean is constantly looking for new ways to grow.
They will continue to have a strong presence in the outdoor industry.