Once the marketing plan for my product is in place, the next
step is putting my plan into action. “Implementation
is the process that turns a marketing plan into action assignments and ensures
that these assignments are executed in a way that accomplishes the plan's
objectives. Implementation activities may involve detailed job assignments,
activity descriptions, time lines, budgets, and lots of communication” (28). If
carried out correctly, a good marketing plan will become a successful business.
The next step following implementation is to evaluate if your plan was
effective. “Evaluation entails gauging the extent
to which marketing objectives have been achieved during the specified time
period. Four common reasons for failing to achieve a marketing objective are
unrealistic marketing objectives, inappropriate marketing strategies in the
plan, poor implementation, and changes in the environment after the objective
was specified and the strategy was implemented” (28). Using evaluation
you can decide whether your plan is successful or if you need to make changes
to your plan.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Price
I believe that using a multichannel distribution will be
successful for my company. The textbook describes both of my distribution
channels as good markets for my product. “Online
shopping accounted for more than $200 billion in sales in 2012, with sales
expected to reach $327 billion by 2016.13 Interactive shopping tools and live
chats substitute for the in-store interactions with salespeople and product
trials that customers traditionally use to make purchase decisions. Shoppers
can look at a much wider variety of products online because physical space
restrictions do not exist. While shopping, customers can take their time
deciding what to buy” (269). By selling my product on multi channels I will
be able to sell more product allowing me to keep my price at a steady rate. “Retailing's ultimate goal is to sell products to
consumers, and the right price is critical to ensure sales” (269). The price
I would like to sell my product for is $8. I believe this price is reasonable
for the quality and quantity of my product. “Price is also a
key element in a retail store's positioning strategy. Higher prices often
indicate a level of quality and help reinforce the prestigious image of
retailers, as they do for Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus” (269). Even
though my product is affordable it is still high enough to represent a higher
quality product.
Distribution
The distribution of my product is a selective distribution. “Selective distribution, is achieved by screening dealers
and retailers to eliminate all but a few in any single area. Because only a few
are chosen, the consumer must seek out the product” (250). My Product
belongs on supermarket shelves but not in every supermarket. My customers do
not shop at average grocery stores. My target market customers shop in
specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Sprouts. These stores
will carry my chocolates. I saw a similar product at Trader Joes for the holidays,
the offer a “Chocolate Passport” which has several small chocolate bars from
different countries for $9.99. This would not affect my sales because my
product is unique but it shows that there is a market for this type of product
at stores such as these for around the same price I will be selling at. Another
channel I will use is an online store for anyone who doesn’t have access to my product. “Because channel preferences change throughout the
different stages of the shopping cycle, many companies have begun employing
multichannel marketing strategies, whereby customers are offered information,
goods, services, and/or support through one or more synchronized channels.
Recent studies have found that customers who use multiple channels when
shopping are more engaged and spend more than those who do not” (254).
Promotion
“Promotion includes advertising,
public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. Promotion's role in
the marketing mix is to bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target
markets by informing, educating, persuading, and reminding them of the benefits
of an organization or a product” (28). For my target market the best
channels for advertising would be online ads, Pandora (music app) ads and Facebook
ads. Facebook is mostly used by middle aged people so my target market would
see the ads there and Pandora is used by both groups of my target market. These
channels would be effective to get information about my product to consumers.
Product
Your product is
your company. What you choose to sell is the start of your brand and your
market.“The product includes not only the physical
unit but also its package, warranty, after-sale service, brand name, company
image, value, and many other factors. A Godiva chocolate has many product
elements: the chocolate itself, a fancy gold wrapper, a customer satisfaction guarantee,
and the prestige of the Godiva brand name. We buy things not only for what they
do (benefits) but also for what they mean to us (status, quality, or reputation)”
(27). My product, Aramata Premium Chocolates, will be made from high
quality, ethically sourced chocolate from Peru and Tanzania and the best spices
possible. Quality and ethicality are the most important things to me. The finely
crafted chocolate bars which are infused with berries and spices will then be wrapped
in foil and paper. The chocolates come six in a package (three of each flavor) and
are placed in a brown environmentally friendly cardboard Kraft box with a clear
recycled plastic lid and finally wrapped in a pretty ribbon. The nice looking packaging
will convey a message of quality and will be appealing to the target market.
Target Market Strategy
The target market of your product is important because you need to identify your market to decipher how to sell your product.“Marketing strategy involves the activities of selecting and describing
one or more target markets and developing and maintaining a marketing mix that
will produce mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets” (26). The market for my product is quite limited to
only two very specific groups. This is due to product and packaging design as
well as the place I will be selling the product. “The
target market strategy identifies the market segment or segments on which to
focus. This process begins with a market opportunity analysis (MOA)—the
description and estimation of the size and sales potential of market segments
that are of interest to the firm and the assessment of key competitors in these
market segments. After the firm describes the market segments, it may target
one or more of them” (26). The target market for my product are trendy
and environmentally conscious millennials and middle aged women.
Situation or SWOT Analysis
Knowing your market environment is key to a successful business.“Marketers must understand the current and potential
environment in which the product or service will be marketed. A situation
analysis is sometimes referred to as a SWOT analysis—that is, the firm should
identify its internal strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and also examine
external opportunities (O) and threats (T)” (22). Analyzing your market
environment can be split up into groups to make it more organized. “When examining internal strengths and weaknesses, the
marketing manager should focus on organizational resources such as production
costs, marketing skills, financial resources, company or brand image, employee
capabilities, and available technology”(22) For my company, it is
important to source my ingredients ethically and environmentally safely. I realize
that this will cost more than cutting corners and buying products that are
essentially harvested by slave labor. Strengths of this will be that I have a
quality product that is also morally sound and weaknesses of this could be that
it will be more expensive to manufacture my product. “When
examining external opportunities and threats, marketing managers must analyze
aspects of the marketing environment. This process is called environmental
scanning—the collection and interpretation of information about forces, events,
and relationships in the external environment that may affect the future of the
organization or the implementation of the marketing plan” (22). Opportunities
for my company in this market include current chocolate trends which support my
aromatic flavors and some threats include a smaller target market due to exotic
flavors and the price range.
Objectives
The textbook goes over some basic steps
and tips for developing a successful objective. For example, on page 26 the book lists
some important rules to writing a good objective. “Managers
should develop objectives that have a chance of being met. For example, it may
be unrealistic for start-up firms or new products to command dominant market
share, given other competitors in the marketplace”(26). Making sure your
goals are attainable is important to the survival of the company. Another important
rule is making sure you write an actual goal. “Managers
need to be able to quantitatively measure whether or not an objective has been
met…a specific number should be stated.” (26) Also make sure the goal has
a deadline. You need to be on a time limit. The objective of Aramata Premium
Chocolates is gain widespread popularity among chocolate consumers and to
earn at $30 million in the first year.
Buisness Mission Statement
One could argue that the mission statement is the most
important part of a marketing plan becase it is the basis of your company.in
the textbook a mission statement is described as such,
“The foundation of any marketing plan is
the firm's mission statement, which answers the question “What business are we
in?” The way a firm defines its business mission profoundly affects the firm's
long-run resource allocation, profitability, and survival. The mission
statement is based on a careful analysis of benefits sought by present and
potential customers and an analysis of existing and anticipated environmental
conditions. The firm's mission statement establishes boundaries for all
subsequent decisions, objectives, and strategies” (21). The textbook
also gives instruction on how to create a strong mission statement that will
hold up and support your business. “A mission
statement should focus on the market or markets the organization is attempting
to serve rather than on the good or service offered. Otherwise, a new
technology may quickly make the good or service obsolete and the mission statement
irrelevant to company functions” (21). After reading through the section
of the textbook on the business mission statement, I was able to come up with
my own mission statement for my own marketing plan.
The mission of Aramata Premium Chocolates is to create, manufacture
and deliver quality chocolate to our customers while using superior chocolate
and spices, sourced ethically and environmentally soundly.
Week 7 EOC: Final Project Sales Pitch
Spices and aromatics in chocolates are a new trend which
exposes many people to high end flavor profiles. Many high end chocolatiers are
incorporating exotic and unusual spices into their confections. Aramatacha
Chocolates will simply be another medium through which these profiles are
delivered to adventurous consumers who are excited to be a part of current
trends. The chocolate bar will come in six pieces and feature both dark and milk
chocolate which, of course, will be fair trade chocolate. Three pieces will be
a milk chocolate bar infused with rose water, orange zest and dried cranberry
pieces. Rose water is a lovely floral flavor that will most likely be new to
our customers. It will be accented by the citrus flavors of the orange zest and
the tartness of the cranberry pieces. The other three pieces will be a dark
chocolate bar with cardamom, dried blackberry pieces and orange zest. The cardamom
is the star of this flavor with its warm, spicy and herbal flavor. The cardamom
will be enhanced by the sweet blackberry pieces and the tangy orange zest will
really bring the whole thing together. It is important that the quality of
chocolate is excellent as well as the quality of spices. All ingredients will
have to be sourced with fair trade companies as well. I want my product to be
ethical as well as delicious. The bars will be larger than most specialty bars
because I want customers to feel like they are getting their money’s worth. I
feel that a fair and ideal price for the product would be $8. The overall price
can be adjusted if sourcing fair trade ingredients turns out to be more
expensive than originally anticipated. Essentially, I want to bring high
profile flavors to people who will be willing to pay a little more than average
specialty bars for a better quality product. Flavor and ethicality are my top
priorities.
Week 5 EOC: This Is What Has My Interest
There are three articles I have
posted on my twitter account that particularly hold my interest. Since my focus
is mostly directed towards costume design, I am always interested to learn
about the costumes for film or stage productions or how these designs affect society.
The first article I chose to
elaborate on is an article from Paste Magazine. The article features designs
from the recently released video game Dishonored 2. The game designers wanted
the characters and surroundings to look as realistic as possible while till achieving
the edgy and mysterious aesthetic of the Dishonored world. The creators of the
game felt so strongly about the quality of the game that they chose to hire renowned
fashion designer Maya Hansen to work on the character and costume design for
two of the main female leads. Hansen found it very interesting to be able to
play a part in designing the entire characters from their personality and sense
of style to the types of fabrics they would wear.
The second article I found
interesting was an article from Vogue about the effect of the 1996 movie Space
Jam on the fashion industry. The article explains that due to the popularity of
Space Jam (the highest grossing basketball film of all time) Nike was able to
attract new customers with the release of their Space Jam inspired shoe, the
Hare Jordans. These shoes were the first
pair of Nike shoes released without the Nike logo on it. Instead, the Hare
Jordans featured the Jumpman insignia.
The third article I wanted to
feature is an article about the new Star Trek line from ThinkGeek and Her
Universe fashion company. The line features skirts, dresses, blouses and
jackets inspired by the Star Trek franchise which is celebrating its 50th
anniversary this year. The line is officially licensed by CBS Consumer Products
and uses many elements from the show including color schemes and even a fur
coat inspired by the Tribbles, an animal from one of the more well known
classic episodes.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Week 3 EOC: Demographics
I was born in 1994, at the end of the millennial generation.
Millennials or generation Y are people who were born between 1979 and 1994. According
to Marketing 9th edition Millennials
spend more time surfing the Web and on social media than they do watching
television. They also are the generation with the most knowledge of how to use modern
technology. Although millennials use the internet as a primary source of media
they still use and value traditional media such as listening to radio, watching
television or reading newspapers. Most Millennials expect brands to be on
social media. “Two-thirds say a brand being on social media shows it cares
about their generation, and fifty-six percent think social media sites are a
great way to find out what's new with brands they like”. For younger Millennials, there is a market for
online shopping. “Millennials who shop online for apparel rely mainly on price.
They also look for positive brand reviews. They typically visit their primary
apparel web site forty-two times a year and make seven purchases a year”. As a Millennial,
I generally agree with what this textbook has observed about my generation. Often,
I use online shopping as a way to view products before I go to the store to buy
them, kind of like a catalog. I usually read online reviews before purchasing a
product online or going to a restaurant. I also enjoy following brands and
companies I like on social media websites so I can read news about the company
or see their products without going to the store. I am generally pretty
technologically savvy and if I don’t know how to do something I usually can
figure it out or look it up on google. I would say the book’s description of
Millennials as a demographic group is quite accurate.
Lamb, Hair, Mcdaniel, Principles of Marketing 9th Edition
Lamb, Hair, Mcdaniel, Principles of Marketing 9th Edition
Week 3 EOC: Making Money For Good
“I want you
to know that I still haven’t quite recovered from that experience of domestic
violence. I am trying, but my core trust… a sweet innocence has died”,
expresses Jody R. Weiss in her open letter explaining the motives behind her
business. Jody Weiss is the founder of Peacekeeper Cause-metics, a “for
benefit” makeup company. The company strives to aid those who have suffered
from physical or emotional domestic violence. As a survivor of emotional abuse,
Jody uses her “righteous anger” to fuel her goals. Peacekeeper donates all of
their proceeds before tax to various charities which help women and children
escape toxic and unhealthy domestic situations or that help them cope with the
effects of being abused. Jody’s overall goal is simple “Jody envisioned through
this company, women and men learning deep respect for each other. She envisioned no more patriarchy and no more
matriarchy, but humanity finally emerging as truly equal”. She wants to use her
company to create a healthy and peaceful environment where everyone is treated
and valued equally. Jody tries to surround herself with positive energy as she
describes in her letter “as a peace activist and a student of what real love
looks like, I would rather find and hold the compassion for those wounded
people and move on and be with men and women who lift me up”. In addition to
donation the profits to charity, Jody wants to ensure that her employees are
treated well. Her ideals and standards include using slavery-free labor, paying
all employees fair living wages and using cruelty free products. Jody’s mission
is clearly powerful and compelling as her company has raised $ 56,584.00.
http://iamapeacekeeper.com/
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