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.