Bus in Its Social Setting

Why Starbucks has been so concerned with social responsibility           

            Starbucks has been with a strong concern on social responsibility because of the following reasons; firstly, it is the fear of the negative impact to the company if it is not socially responsible. This has made it to get engaged in responsible business practices since the start of the operations. Due to their significant growth in the past two decades, Starbucks have spent a substantial amount of time defending their image incessantly. According to the ranking of Starbucks, the company serves over 60 million customers per week and has estimated revenues of about $ 16.4 billion in a year (Ferrell & John, 2016). With this level of growth, the company is much concerned with social responsibility in order to maintain its position in the world market. Starbucks provides a variety of products to their customers and it is known of introducing new products in the market for example Verismo 580 brewer in 2012 which allows customers to brew a cup while at home (Ferrell & John, 2016). The company is putting all these efforts in order to remain competitive by serving many customers.

Whether Starbucks is unique in providing benefits to the employees

            I can strongly agree that Starbucks is generally unique in providing benefits to the workers. Howard Schultz as the director of Starbucks always considered good working environment as the first priority. He strongly believes companies should start by valuing their workers. When forming the company, he decided to include many opportunities that his father did not have (Ferrell & John, 2016). One of the opportunities includes health care programs within the industry. To maintain a strong business, Howard developed a shared vision amongst employees and a favorable environment that allows active contribution of all members. He admits personal interaction in his company centers as a way of recognizing vitality of his workers. In 2008, the company closed 10% of its stores so as to continue providing its employees with health insurance and this shows how the company values its workers. Additionally, as a way to improve the health of its employees, the company established a program for its employees known as “thrive wellness” (Ferrell & John, 2016). The program is aimed to assist employees in incorporating wellness. The resources offered include weight loss, smoking cessation, and other forms of exercise. Above all, the company provides education program that allows its employees to continue with education in order to achieve what they desire. The company does this in order to alleviate the rising education costs. All these advantages explain how Starbucks treats its employees uniquely.

Whether Starbucks has rapidly grown because of its ethical and social responsibility or because it offers products wanted by the customers

            Generally, Starbucks’ growth is significantly rapid and this is not only because of the products and the environment it offers to the customers but also due to its ethical and social responsible activities. Starbucks does its business in an ethical manner through community, environment, sourcing, wellness and diversity. Some of the ethical practices include provision of health benefits to all its employees and this helps them towards the mission of the company. The company also launched a planet website to update customers with all initiatives within the company. The website gives the opportunity customers to learn things such as the nutrition data being offered and other concerns that may develop related to the products (Ferrell & John, 2016).

References

Ferrell. O. C, & John. F. (2016). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making & Cases.

Wk9 Discussion Point –Mkt Mgt

Analyze the trends that you observed with each company. To what could you attribute the increases or decreases in each company?

            Using Google Trend, I looked at different laptop companies which include Dell, Asus, and Lenovo. All the three brands are produced with various lines of products; however, Dell in some lines is popular with superior and most diverse products. Dell has put in place several new products and designs such as windows 10 which gives all the features known in the popular operating systems including great improvements (Broida, 2016). It also has best warranties and paying return shipping on even its cheap products. Asus has also come up with two new panels designed to deliver lightning fast. Lenovo has also come up with new innovation of Yoga Book which joins a touch screen tablet with a keyboard for simplicity (Broida, 2016). The three mentioned brands are all introducing new things in the market to sustain competition.

What recommendations would you give to the brand managers of your favorite brand to increase the trend line for the future?

            To increase the trend line for the brand, managers should first of all make it a habit to bring new things in the market always different and challenging to their competitors. Managers should keep aware of the changing world and advancing society hence to produce what is in line with the state of the society (Lancaster, 2010). Managers should also understand the existing global economic trends in order to increase their opportunities of growth globally. Managers must also know what the customers need at a particular time by listening to their views and producing based on such views. Managers should adopt a strategic employer approach and this involves how the company engages and retains talent in order not to lose a talent in the company (Lancaster, 2010).

References

Broida, R. (2016). Laptops of Their Class. Money, 45(7), 18.

Lancaster, Geoffrey. (2010). Essentials of marketing management.

Coca-Cola’s approach to preserving the environment

Coca-Cola, a company that is well renowned and globally accepted, is a company whose products are consumed across the world. Various trends have brought about the awareness of the harm that human activities are causing to the environment and the need to conserve it. As a result, most companies have taken up measures to be part of the solution and have adopted various ways to ensure that their methods of operation cause little, if any, harm to the environment. One of the various methods that Coca-Cola employs to advertise to the public that the products it manufactures are environment friendly is through its product packaging.

            The company’s sustainability report mentioned of how it is focused on preserving the environment by ensuring that the company products are packaged in recyclable bottles. The company’s goal is to come up with thoughtful and sustainable ways of packaging their products so as to reduce the negative impact that waste has on the environment (Coca-Cola, 2012). Using recyclable packaging ensures that they can be reused and therefore reduce the amount of waste. Due to the size of the company, the use of recyclable packaging will have a significant reduction in the amount of waste on a global scale since Coca-Cola operates in various parts of the world, selling millions of products every day.

            The company also advertises its commitment to conserving the environment by showing its commitment to recycling by encouraging them to participate in its recycling programs. The company has various channels located in different countries where the company operates (Coca-Cola, 2012). These channels are responsible for collecting used packaging products form coca-cola which are then recycled. In doing so, the company is able to demonstrate to the public its commitment to conserving the environment and preserving its resources through recycling.

Reference

Coca-Cola, (2012) “Sustainable packaging” retrieved from, http://www.coca-            colacompany.com/sustainabilityreport/world/sustainable-packaging.html#section-  managing-packaging-to-manage-risk

Synopsis

Marketing has become very dynamic making it a key strategy of any organization in order to become more successful. It has shifted its target to demographic as a more basic level specifically to people in order to optimize ROI (Oaxaca, 2016).  Demographic segmentation has diversified due to the main understanding of decision motives and to an extent the various actions of all the potential customers as they are able to influence the organization strategy. Gender has played a key role for the longest time due to how both sexes think and react to certain things. Social media has been widely used by women than men which is evident enough due the different platform usage such as women are addicted to Instagram and Facebook while men will resolve to forum based social media platforms such as Reddit. It is notable to say men search products while women search brands (Oaxaca, 2016).

Age has also affected marketing by a way of older and new generation.  The older generation in America is considered to invest more time checking their emails while the younger generation prefers shopping online, social media and researching about products information. A baby boomer would rather seek a lively adult community that would appreciate a newsletter (Oaxaca, 2016). Income levels have shaped how a business can target the people within various range of wide cost. It is important as it avoids pushing away of a customer by ensuring there is something for every income level. Locations whether by regions, countries or even rural and urban centers affects marketing. This is because the demand for goods and services differs due to differential taste and preference as well as living lifestyles that require an understanding of the market (Oaxaca, 2016). Digital marketing ensures a strong initial point due to the amalgamation of information of all the consumers.

Reference

Oaxaca C. (2016). Thinking about demographics when building your marketing strategy. Retrieved from http://canonball.com/thinking-demographics-building-marketing-strategy/

Summary of the content

            It presents a universal brand identity process that brings about all successful brand identity no matter the complexity of the project. The process itself requires a combination of design excellence, strategic thinking, investigation, and project management skills (Wheeler, 2013). The process starts by conducting research followed by clarifying strategy where vision, goals, strategies and goals are clarified. It continues by designing brand identity, creating touch points and managing assets. To achieve lasting goals of a brand identity project, an astute project management is necessary. Under project management, the following are necessary; team protocol, team commitment, benchmarks and schedule, decision making protocol and communication protocol. It is also important to understand the person who manages the project and the project management best practices (Wheeler, 2013). Collaboration is also important in the process for great outcomes. Good decision making is also a determinant for good out comes in the brand identity process.

Critical thinking

            Brand identity process refers to a process of creating a representation for the company’s reputation through conveyance of values, strengths, purpose, attributes and passions. Brand identity demonstrates the visual devices used to give symbol to the company. Brand identity may not only refer to a logo as some think but it include the following components; mission and vision statements, name, tagline creation, standard guide, and corporate identity (Alihodzic, 2013). One can design a brand identity using the following steps; to begin with, one needs to draw up a brand strategy with a set of values and agreeable by the client. One is also required to work with brief that is to create design concepts after thorough briefing on the brand. One is also required to do research which will help one to understand features of the brand, its function, history and ethos behind it.         The other step is gauging the expectations of the client to help one know what exactly they like (Alihodzic, 2013). One has also to check on the competition based on typefaces, colors and visual styles. This can help one to create something unique from that of the rivals. It is also important to design a brand identity basing on what the client knows regarding the product to avoid exaggerated visuals. Finally, one has to spot what is special about the product such that it is identifiable by the client.

            A strong brand identity is extremely an important factor in the success of the business. Firstly, it creates a bigger identity beyond what the business actually is. This is because it presents the bigger picture of what the business will be in future. It helps the company to build its reputation helping it to stand out from the competitors. Visual brand identity is what attracts the eyes of the customer therefore to attract many customers to your organization; the brand identity must be stronger and more attractive (Alihodzic, 2013). In addition to attracting customers, brand identity also give a sense of belonging to a company since it explains what the company is all about. It also builds loyalty and trust due to values being conveyed about the business hence building a long term dealing with the customers. It conveys stability especially to those who see it by giving them a feeling that the business is stable. Finally it also makes the business memorable; it helps the customers keep in mind of who you are.

References

Wheeler, A. (2013). Designing brand identity: An essential guide for the whole branding team.

Alihodzic, V. (2013). Brand identity factors: Developing a successful Islamic brand. Hamburg: Anchor Academic Pub.

International Logistics - Lean Thinking For an Online Grocery Market

            Abstract

            The development and implementation of the lean system over the recent years has proved to generate positive effects on the manufacturing sectors both in medium and small sized enterprises. Lean production system transformation necessitates the utilization of both gradual and radical transformation.  This mainly involves the reorganization of the system’s purpose, the general system as well as the general culture of an organization. Numerous variables are associated with the impacting of lean implementation. Through the practices of lean implementation, it is thus clear that its application into the online grocery market may be affected by various factors. Lean implementation can be termed as a continuous and a systematic effort and therefore it is crucial to establish and understand the associated smooth transition barriers. Based on recent literature there is a growing need of application of lean production to the online grocery market in the aim of developing operational productivity and efficiency.  This paper will, therefore, present an evaluation of the possible lean implementation barriers that are bound to affect its effectiveness in the online grocery market. 

Keywords: Implementation, Lean Manufacturing, Online grocery Market, Barriers.

            Introduction

Lean manufacturing is also referred as lean production which is described as a systematic approach for the eradication of wastes within the system of manufacturing. In addition lean manufacturing accounts for the created wastes through overload and the wastes that are generated via workload unevenness (Vallespir, & Bordeaux, 2010). Deals with Online grocery markets mainly the selling of food and a grocery is mainly a seller of bulk foods. Online grocery market basically offers foods that are non-perishable which are packed in bottle, cans as well as boxes.

            More increasingly, problems in the present international competition have encouraged numerous manufacturing sectors in adopting fresh manufacturing approaches with the aim of enhancing competitiveness and efficiency (Bilgin, & Danis, 2016).  For this rationale, lean implementation is presently becoming widely adopted and accepted suitable practices for manufacturing across several industries and nations.  The main goal of lean implementation is to generate a smooth role as well as a system that is of high quality which can generate without the creation of wastes and the finished products must, therefore, be characterized by high quality as demanded by the consumers.  However, in real life many industries and especially the online grocery market are not fully capable of transforming themselves into lean production organizations.

            Lean production is supposed to be implemented holistically and inclusively with regard to both content and scope.  Numerous researchers hold the argument that instead of basically manufacturing, addressing technical issues the evolution from being outdated to lean surrounding necessitates cultural transformation in the industry’s radical revolution in the strategy structure as well as the organization’s culture.  This, therefore, demonstrates that a more concise and clear understanding are necessary for ensuring that effective lean implementation and transformation is achieved (Wilson, 2010).

Thus, this paper is aimed at examining the potential barriers that may hinder implementation of lean production in the online grocery market. This is mainly because the failure of establishing the potential barriers may lead to negative effects as well as non-beneficial effort.  This paper will not be complete without commencing of why lean implementation fails in the online grocery market (Wilson, 2010). Next, the paper will present a summary of the literature as well as solutions that may assist in overcoming the lean implementation hindrances. A general summary of the barriers and the suitable solutions will be the final analysis of the paper.

            Literature Review

            Lean production is a strategy of manufacturing that is objected at attaining smooth flow of production through the elimination of wastes production.  In addition, the strategy also aims at developing manufacturing activities values (Bilgin, & Danis, 2016).  The online grocery market can generate a lot of wastes as its production mainly involves food.  As pointed out by several researchers any industry is necessitated to utilize lean manufacturing because ignoring the strategy would result in huge wastes creation. This, therefore, implies that the industry may not be successful in the present international competitive market which requires lower production costs, quick delivery as well as high quality.  This point is reinforced by a large percentage of the general analysis that has been conducted lately. This study illustrates that lean implementation policies can help in creating high performing industries by decreasing the production costs.

            Transforming from outdated system of production to the adoption of lean implementation cannot be an easy task as it requires strategy, knowledge as well as capital (Wilson, 2010).  This change necessitates much attention in impacting on both involves individuals as well as processes.  Despite the growing benefits awareness documentation that is achieved from lean implementation, in real sense very few companies achieve success (Wilson, 2010).  This is related to the fact that numerous issues and challenges are reported to be the key players of the lack of success of lean production strategy implementation.

            The major barrier to lean production success in the online grocery market is objective and actual concept misunderstanding. According to the suggestion made by Bilgin, & Danis, (2016) the rationale behind the misunderstandings cultural distinctions which are developed while interpreting the components of the lean strategy.  This type of misunderstanding may result in major problems in the implementation of the strategy which generally includes lean techniques and tool fragmentary adoption, lean tools misapplication and the incapability of developing a lean structure and culture that can provide the necessary support for lean production implementation in the online grocery market.

Another main barrier to the implantation of lean production success in the online grocery industry is the presence of inadequate resources (Myerson, 2012). These resources may involve finances, expertise, knowledge as well as the time required to ensure that success is achieved.  This issue, therefore, becomes the center of the implementation failure particularly if the lean manufacturing in the online grocery industry is based on medium or small businesses.  Such business is faced with resources and finances trains and therefore the implementation may not be successful. In addition, the business may not have adequate and expertise knowledge as this may tend to be expensive (Myerson, 2012).

            According to the study conducted by (Wilson, 2010), small business is less successful in most cases in the implementation of lean production in comparisons to well-developed large corporations. This is mainly because inadequacy of resources and funds hinders the business from training, recruiting and improving the potential employees in their organizations. This, therefore, implies that the organizations cannot implement innovations due to shortages.  In other words, the online grocery market inefficiency with the implementation of lean strategy may be hindered by shortages of resources as well as finances. The implementation of lean production into the online grocery market requires support from developed partner’s which tends to be costly for the business.

            The online grocery market has now been established in the global industry. In short, the market is faced with high competition as well as cultural differences (Myerson, 2012). Cultural differences are another barrier to the success of lean production implementation.  Based on the surrounding of any market the cultural distinctions are bound to affect the success of the strategy.  Due to the fact that lean strategy necessitates fresh knowledge application and cultural transformation, it is important to handle the implementation in a suitable way.  Concepts awareness, as well as the transformation of attention, is essential for effective lean system transition (Myerson, 2012).

            Another barrier to the successful lean strategy implementation into the online grocery market is the lack of support from organization’s top management. This, therefore, results in a lack of concise communication as well as lean production implementation deficiency of concentration. Management role and leadership are essential to the implementation of lean (Vallespir, & Bordeaux, 2010). Even though the initiative of a corporation for the implementation of lean is supposed be generated from all levels of management active top management corporation is necessary to increase the implementation success. Motivation loss, support decline, low focus, low commitment as well as inadequate follow-up from the top management may result in the failure of lean strategy implementation (Vallespir, & Bordeaux, 2010).

            Lean manufacturing is presently a wide implemented and debated strategy in various organizations across all grounds (Wilson, 2010).  The essential concept of lean strategy is the provision of high-quality product and at the same period ensuring that the production of the product is not linked to the high cost of both the manufacture as well as the market.  Most industries in the world today are passing via a location where there is a great need to provide responses to consumers changing needs.  In order for the industries to sustain their position in the general market, most of the involved corporations have presently begun to implement lean concepts.

            Lean production concept utilizes various techniques as well as tools for achieving success. Tools and techniques choices are identified based on the organization’s market situation (Bilgin, & Danis, 2016).   Several actors are therefore linked to the success of the lean approach.  Lean approach success does not necessitate the organization to apply all of its concepts in the process of production but the strategy transformation must take place.  Those companies that follow lean approach are viewed as flexible and they hold greater market segments because they are able to overcome the production barriers. In additional lean approach generates cultural and operational surrounding that is very conducive for business because they ensure that the generation of wastes during operations is reduced (Bilgin, & Danis, 2016).

Lean strategy implementation was established for the purpose of maximizing the utilization of resources via minimizing wastes generation and also as a responsive strategy to the high competitive environment (Eaton, 2013).  Due the recent global business changes, most organizations are necessitated to existence market complexity as well as challenges.  Whether a corporation is a manufacturing one or service based market survival highly requires systematic capabilities. This, therefore, implies that strategies that are bound to add value to the business are necessary for achieving success. Therefore lean strategy implementation in the online grocery market is a core capability for the industry’s market to be sustainable (Eaton, 2013).

            Recommendation and Conclusion

            Open top management is required in the online grocery market to ensure that the implementation is successful. These will additional help in identifying issues as well as providing solutions in the early stages (Myerson, 2012).  The top management is additionally required to ensure that there is no involvement of project conflicts since every project is characterized by different approaches which may hinder the success of lean production strategy.  Communication throughout the organization should be effected.  In order for the lean strategy to be effective in the online grocery market which is associated with high demand and competition effective communication is necessary (Lee, 2016). The top management is required to understand the entire surrounding lean concept because if the lack of concepts understanding is present in the top management this implies that the junior individuals are bound to experience various issues.  Training should be done to everyone in the organization to ensure that concepts understanding are evenly distributed.

            The online grocery market operation requires attention and commitment and so does the lean strategy. Without a full commitment to its implementation, the strategy may prove to be unsuccessful. Ineffective teams while implementing lean strategy may lead to the failure of lean strategy. For an efficient lean strategy transition in the online grocery market, a capable team with a capable leader is necessary for influencing changes.  The major objective of these teams is to ensure that they inspire motorization for the development of change as well as ensuring that lean strategy translation procedure is well accepted (Myerson, 2012).

            Online grocery industry can ensure that adequate training is provided to the company of effective communication.  Effective communication is significant in ensuring that misunderstanding does not occur which affects the running of lean strategy (Lee, 2016).  The implementation of lean basically involves the following dimensions effectiveness, developed understanding of lean methodology and thinking as well as behavioral experience. The online grocery market can also change the attitude of employees in order to achieve success.  The success of lean approach needs attitudes and perceptions changes.  The lean system needs all the employees to voluntary capabilities in order to solve issues adequately.

            Conclusion

            The implementation of a lean approach system is difficult since it requires attention, commitment, expertise knowledge as well as resources.  These challenges are very strong in affecting the failure of the lean approach strategy.  For any transformation in organizations to take success and hold the barriers and the hindrances forces must be established and understood properly.  The failure of evaluating the readiness of the online grocery market and person readiness for transformation may result in the organization administration to waste important effort and time.

            Given the evaluation of lean strategy literature, it shows that the barriers to lean approach implementation are effective in weakening the success of its implementation. The literature identified various barriers to the effectiveness of lean approach implementation in the online grocery market.  The barriers identified barriers involve inadequate communication and employees training, employee’s perception, ineffective supervision teams, lack of adequate management support and challenges in acquiring lean approach concepts knowledge. Since the lean implementation is basically an organized effort it is, therefore, significant to establish as well as understand the hindrances to a successful transition.  This means that not every corporation will achieve success in the first implementation of the approach. However essential factors for the effectiveness of lean strategy implementation are management support, strong teaming as well operational communication.  In order to overcome the challenges that are posed by the implementation of the lean strategy, attention is required to effect on both the involved individuals as well as the processes.  Through developing barriers understanding to the implementation of the lean strategy is helpful in eradicating the effects of the probable barriers.

            References

Bilgin, M. H., & Danis, H. (2016). Entrepreneurship, business and economics. S.l.: Springer.

Eaton, M. (2013). The lean practitioner's handbook. London: Kogan Page.

            Lee, I. (2016). Encyclopedia of e-commerce development, implementation, and management. Hershey: Business Science Reference.

            Myerson, P. (2012). Lean supply chain and logistics management. New York: McGraw Hill Professional.

            Vallespir, B., APMS <2009, Bordeaux>, & International Federation for Information Processing. (2010). Advances in production management systems: New challenges, new approaches ; IFIP WG 5.7 international conference ; revised selected papers. Berlin: Springer.

Wilson, L. (2010). How to implement lean manufacturing. New York: McGraw-Hill.

L’Oreal: Global Brand, Local Knowledge

L’Oreal used high-level strategies in order to ensure the expansion of market in globally.  First, the company concentrated on local consumers by establishing geocosmetics. It concentrated much on providing quality products as well as services to the local customers by moving on global level and bringing innovation locally (Henderson & Johnson, 2012).  Secondly, the company used the strategy of brand diversity to ensure that all consumers get access to the product from different channels.  It   imposed a brand policy which authorized the sales of products only on designated channels. Third, the company   used the strategy of marketing by expanding its products such as Redken and Kiehl’s in global level.  In 1996, the company introduced a new product known as as Maybelline in the market and the product was a targeted to young consumer (Henderson & Johnson, 2012).  It   applied technology as well expertise in marketing the brands and it enjoyed the results since the product increased the market share in U.S.

The company conducted a   comprehensive research on beauty fashion and established a research institution in Chicago and China.  The aim was to gain an   insight for Chinese structure and behavior   and more important to gain knowledge which could help the regional teams   in product production for local people. Local researchers gained a useful knowledge and designed hair products for Chinese consumers.   The company wanted to increase the GDP in order to integrate in the world. In brand diversity strategy, the company produced a brand called Garnier which was distributed in emerging markets such as Pakistan and India where it opened   a retail infrastructure (Henderson & Johnson, 2012).  The company also produced premium brands such as masstige brand and Lancome with affordable price.  The brands circulated all over the world and increased the total sales.  In marketing operation, the company started brand advertisement and opened headquarters for Maybelline product in New York.  In advertising method, the company defined the Maybelline product as the ‘urban flair’ and the purchasing power of buyers increased in a high rate (Henderson & Johnson, 2012). 

In Market Expansion matrix, the company employed some important strategies to ensure that the business operated smoothly in global level.  First, the company used diversification strategy as it entered in the market with a new product.  In this scenario, there was a different kind of a demand and this forced the company to introduce new products in order to meet the demand of all consumers (Henderson & Johnson, 2012).  Secondly, the company employed a strategic method of market penetration.  With this strategy, the company established new products with affordable prices and sold them in the existing markets through advertisement.   For example, the company produced many products and it increased its sales as well as market share (Henderson & Johnson, 2012). Last, the company   used the market development strategy   by giving customers access to new product and developed Masstige products.  The company focused on criteria like sex and social class and for example it produced Genifique which was based on young people.

 There are various ways in the company accomplished its slogan which is known as "think global but act local"(Henderson & Johnson, 2012).  Its vision was to cater for all consumers in global level in terms of aging population, ethnic groups and in emerging market.  Therefore, the company used various methods to ensure that all consumers access the product and   ensure they have successfully changed the world as they say that “We are in transition” (Henderson & Johnson, 2012).   The company formed association with celebrities who promoted the production in global level to all genders and ethnicity.  For example, Sarah Jessica was selected to promote the Garnier Nutrisse to young adults. In 2009, Kate Moss was selected to promote Laurent Beaute fragrance and through various spokes models, 23 million products were being sold in annual basis.  In addition, the company sponsored the Cannes Film Festival where it displayed actors with makeup.  Moreover, the company was a major sponsor of fetsival’s dinner where it launched makeup.   The company also ensured there were business operations in global level through working together with film producers.  In addition, its reputation was all over the world   as it was a print media advertiser where it implemented digital advertising   through print, billboards among other methods as it noticed that “beauty is all about imagery (Henderson & Johnson, 2012)”.

 If I were the Senior VP of Marketing, I would use the following moving forward initiatives in order to reach “the next billion customers (Henderson & Johnson, 2012)”. First,   I would create strong relationship with economic development agencies. This will act as a source of information based on essentials required in expanding business globally.  In addition, it is a strategic way of creating a market entry and learning more about entry rules, target market and taxes.  Second, I would ensure that before entering in global level, local customers are provided with quality services and they can access the product at any time and in any place locally (Henderson & Johnson, 2012).  I understand that in order to success globally, I must first succeed locally by ensuring that there is a quality customer care so that I can retain them.  The last initiative and it is very important is distributing channels. As a senior manager, I would ensure that the company is bale to fill orders and they can reach on the destination on time.    Thus, I would ensure that there are effective supply- chains which are reliable (Henderson & Johnson, 2012). 

Reference

Henderson M. R & Johnson Ryan (2012). L’Oreal: Global Brand, Local Knowledge

Marketing Management

            Section One

Social media tools are used by business marketers in the generation of buzz. Typical campaign through social media tools is thus considered to be efficient when the generated buzz creates trust through building relationships with the products as well as the involved services and the organization. The most significant social media tools campaign elements based on their influence include content and the identification of medium of social networking (Scott, 2013).

This implies that the intended message should be clear and interesting thus it should not be fully corporate because this will expose selfishness, not demean and not reveal any negative message. This means that the delivered message should be transparent and with full honesty in order to build trust and better relationships with the targeted individuals.  Additionally, the message should, therefore, be succinct and concise in order to permit the audiences to intervene either actively or passively.  Social interacting apparatuses selection does matter based on the targeted market.  Wider audiences and useability should thus be utilized while selecting the best tools to utilize (Scott, 2013). The highest ROI measure tools can be the use of conversation rate as well as customer satisfaction.  The general satisfaction of a consumer is the essential section of social networks marketing.   The corporation’s LinkedIn page and Facebook insights are two ways that can be utilized in the evaluation of social media effectiveness.  ROI is the basic function of the goals of any business.  This, therefore, shows that goals should be clearly set before the campaign. Two performance indicators that can be utilized in measuring the success of social networks success is a satisfaction of both the consumers and the employees.  This, therefore, helps in indicating the direction of the objectives of the campaign (Scott, 2013).

Two modes in which social media can be used in increasing sales volume and create business promotion is through community exposure to social buttons and generation micro messages (Scott, 2013).  The more developed the social impressions the more awareness and likes are likely to be achieved. This can thus be achieved through the social buttons embedding within the social networks in the corporation’s site.  Micro-messages creation helps in gaining individuals attention more quickly as overloaded information tends to attract fewer people due to the amount of patience that is required (Scott, 2013). The information should be developed directly with interesting content. Several businesses that are using these strategies include Nascar as well as urban outfitters.

Section Two

The business should stay updated in order to understand the market trends and be able to stay at a more competitive advantage.  A retail business requires the business contacts and addresses to be updated regularly in ensuring that the audiences are able to view every detail that is posted. This helps in increasing community action as well as development (Kahn, Kay, Slotegraaf & Uban, 2013).

In addition, the social platforms should be highly maintained and objected. This, therefore, involves understanding the type of audiences as well as the actual networks that are best for them.  Interaction with the audiences should be highly valued as relationship management helps in measuring satisfactions as well as the changing demands of the entire market (Kahn, Kay, Slotegraaf & Uban, 2013).  This should start with the creation of presence and then awareness development.  Samples of businesses include Herschel supply and David’s Tea.

            References

            Kahn, K. B., Kay, S. E., Slotegraaf, R., Uban, S., & Product Development & Management Association. (2013). The PDMA handbook of new product development. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Scott, D. M. (2013). The new rules of marketing & PR: How to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, and viral marketing to reach buyers directly.

Colloquy marketing plan

The Colloquy Grog Shop has planned to build a brand for the company with a sole aim of creating an experience for the customers. The shop believes that branding is something that is worth investing for. This is because it reflects the entire company and creates the image to customers and how they think about the company (Lai, Mo, Lau, Gu & Hao,2016). Brand building is part of the Colloquy Grog Shop’s marketing strategy whereby the company has planned to develop the awareness of the brand via a steady, month to month increase of new customers. The official name is the Colloquy Grog Shop, the logo is just an image of pairs of singles who are conversing, and the slogan is “My partner my joy”. The brand extension is comprised of guidance and counseling.

The branding strategy of the company is consisted of the elements:

Name: Colloquy Grog Shop

Logo:

Slogan: My partner my joy

Brand extension: the company offers additional services such as guidance and counseling.

Marketing Strategy

Colloquy Grog Shop will use a marketing strategy that is based on communicating the shop’s values to the target segments. A number of methods shall be incorporated to achieve the strategy in the most efficient way. The first method will require the shop to place the advertisements at strategic points. Some of the strategic points where the advertisements shall be placed will be the Willamette Weekly, the liberal arts magazines and all the entertainment sites of Poland. These points will be the best sites of meeting the customers since their demographics consists of readers that are similar to those of Colloquy Grog Shop (Lai, Mo, Lau, Gu & Hao,2016). The other method of the marketing strategy will be through the establishment of strategic relationships between Colloquy Grog Shop and other companies that serve similar customer demographics. Some of them shall include the Multnomah Athletic Club since it treats professionals and a mixed up target market. This method of strategic relationships will actually result to mutual benefits to both companies after which visibility shall be developed for each other (Lai, Mo, Lau, Gu & Hao,2016).

Lastly, the company will also embrace the use of grassroots which is a method that offers coupons for the first time customers. Customers who shall invite their friends shall also be rewarded with discounted services with an aim of increasing the number of customers on monthly basis. It is with no doubt that all the strategies discussed concerning the marketing of the Colloquy Grog Shopwill have a positive effect on the achievement of the marketing objectives of the company. Some of them include the development of the shop’s brand through awareness, reducing the marketing expenses achieving the quo status of the company and making the core importance of establishing a structured conversation system for the customers. Through the method of grassroots awareness, the number of sales is estimated to increase by 15% and this will result to the achievement of the financial objectives of the company. Through the strategic relationships, the shop will gain market stability through the reduction of variable costs and a double digit increment of the revenue of the company.

Positioning statement

The Colloguy Grog Shop will do everything t takes to position itself as a bar or a coffee house that is innovative, efficient and best providers of effective conversation system where singles can meet. The resultant benefits of the Colloguy Grog Shop will be the leveraging their competitive edge. The positioning structured by the Colloguy Grog Shop shall place it far much ahead of the competitors who include the local bars, the coffee cafes and community seminars in a number of ways. First, Colloguy Grog Shop has a distinguish service considering the fact that the focus of its business model is beyond the brackets of how the competitors think. The business model concentrates on developing value for the customer who is beyond just offering drinks and other tangible services (McDonald, 2007). Soft drinks are just a source of income of the shop but the Colloguy Grog Shop has further planned to develop albeit inherently and effective social setting that helps and encourages people who are like minded to meet. The system is also competitive because of the unique approach it has used to connect singles together. The structured conversation system that has been further detailed in the section of product and services of the marketing plan has been a new idea in the market. Competitors may have a similar model but this one for the Colloguy Grog Shop is just unique and effective than all the other structures (McDonald, 2007). In addition, concentrating on the various needs of the customers beyond just serving them with drinks is the distinguishing factor that shall place the Colloguy Grog Shop at a competitive edge.

The competitive position of the Colloguy Grog Shop is mapped with reference to the structure of the conversational system of the Colloguy Grog Shop against the same structure of the adjacent competitors. 

                                                Tasty drinks

Colloguy Grog Shop

Less customer experience      

                                                                                  More customer experience

Competitors like clubs and cafes

Less tasty drinks

The choice of the target market for the Colloguy Grog Shop was done through the evaluation of the behavior of the targeted demographics. To start with, the targeted customers are people who are in need of a thoughtful conversation that can add value to social life (Sorger, 2012). In order to satisfy the need for a thoughtful conversation, professionals were found to fall under this category of needs. The other characteristic of customer behavior that was addressed was the need for companion. People who need to mingle were estimated to range from 25 to 45 years which is a large group compared to others. The Colloguy Grog Shop has also considered the need of pleasure after work and therefore the target captured the customers who earn a salary of over $40, 000 which is connected to the fact that majority of this group are professionals (McDonald, 2007). The various elements of marketing such as the branding, marketing strategy and positioning correlate with the needs of the target through two major ways.

First, the entire structure of the business model has targeted the singles. In this regard, the logo contains an image of pairs of people conversing while dining in a cafe. The slogan portrays the experience of meeting a partner and therefore reflecting the target market of singles. The pricing for the services as explained in the marketing mix shows that the target market is that of professionals (Luther, 2001). The business brand name of Colloguy Grog Shop suggests that the kinds of drinks offered in the shop are not just ordinary drinks since grog represents a variety of drinks including alcoholic, coffee and other brews. The methods of marketing that were proposed are in the same alignment with the strategic points where the customers can be found. For instance, most people between the age of 25 and 45 years are readers. This implies that the target market would be best reached through written publications such as magazines and journals (Luther, 2001).

Mission

The Colloguy Grog Shop has designed a strong mission that was drawn from a number of shop’s objectives and goals. The mission of the shop is to provide a third place neighborhood coffee/bar shop where single people can have a chance to meet. The existence of the Colloguy Grog Shop is based on attracting and maintaining customers through the adherence to the maxims of the marketing plan. In addition, the Colloguy Grog Shop has purposed to provide services that surpass the expectations of its customers. The resultant outcome of the mission statement will therefore be the satisfaction of customer.

The mission statement for the Colloguy Grog Shop reflects the nature of the company as a prestigious place where singles can meet. The structured system of conversation provides an atmosphere that brings down inhibitions and in return builds confidence for single persons to come and meet other singles. The system captures the market target for singles who range from 25 to 45 years.

References

Lai, C. Y., Mo, P. H., Lau, J. F., Gu, J., & Hao, C. (2016). Association of Situational and Environmental Factors With Last Episode of Unprotected Anal Intercourse Among MSM in Hong Kong: A Case-Crossover Analysis. AIDS Education & Prevention, 28(1), 26-42.

Top of Form

McDonald, M. (2007). Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them. Burlington: Elsevier.

Bottom of Form

Top of Form

Sorger, S. (2012). Marketing planning: Where strategy meets action. Boston: Pearson.

Bottom of Form

Top of Form

Top of Form

Luther, W. M. (2001). The marketing plan: How to prepare and implement it. New York: AMACOM.

Bottom of Form

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MARKETING WITHOUT ADVERTISING

McDonald’s have always been on the forefront in using the digitized means of marketing which entails not many costs in adverts. There objectives and plans are known to put customer needs efforts at its best. The good thing about them is that customers always have a variety of products to choose from when they have a look at the menu. There is no doubt that they place considerable emphasis on the development of what exactly the customers want, also the packaging, looks, and desirability (Percy & Larry, 56). They have actually come up with new products over the last few years and this is shaped by what the clients wants achieved through understanding and engaging customers. Another notable thing is how they have managed to keep good customer services apart from their prices being always at fair rates. As a matter of fact, as you walk in their staff are ready to serve you quickly hence no time wastage. Trust McDonalds to keep their products purposely in great depth and product width narrow and I have come to know that this depends on the place and customer desire. For instance, in China whereby all their products is accompanied by veges, since, almost everybody in china is vegetarian (Percy & Larry, 56).

The places always have much consideration on the location and reliability which is shaped by the access channels. The outlets are well equipped and it is always welcoming in such a way that even a first timer would not have any problems in terms of accessing and the top notch kind staffs available are definitely classy and knowledgeable about what they have. Most of the McDonald’s outlets are situated in well catered position for clients to use less time to access that quality service (Percy & Larry, 57). The ambience and hygienic atmosphere is another uniqueness which is tailored made for comfort needs. Whenever you enter any outlets there is always that feeling of being happy and of course the satisfaction is somehow guaranteed. The key word is value position in regards to customer desire, catering of children needs also is well set for them to play after taking some few bites of whatever they are taking. Air hockey for children is one of the uniqueness in addition to the available internet. Pricing approaches is very much vital to each and every business since it is through how they will portray will be able to bring revenue. Again, the prices of most products offered by McDonald’s outlets seem to be very familiar with each client. However, accompanies such as drinks and beverages are available at discounted price thus bringing meaning to the bundled offers. Happy meal, family meals are there to increase the overall sales of the products (Kaser &Ken, 61). Through promotion undertakings utilized at McDonalds aids in better communication to the target customers in a better way.

With the different moderate changes which have been taking place has made McDonald’s gradually grow especially in over sea markets like India. And due to the lower cost, they have successfully courtesy of the distinctive features when it comes to marketing management. It is essential for any business to consider it for the business to operate in a responsible way, and passing of benefits to the customers. However, McDonald ought to fully adopt franchise chain as it is inevitable if expansion is needed and also adding health products and featured services. Lastly, is the need to have a proper and personalized position towards the setting market.

Reference

Percy, Larry. Strategic Advertising Management. Place of publication not identified: Oxford Univ Press, 2016. Print.

Top of Form

Kaser, Ken. Advertising & Sales Promotion. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.

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Supply Chain Management

Introduction

Supply chain management is the movement of products and services from the source to the consumer, for this process to be carried out effectively, the supply chain manager needs to understand his local area of supply thus being able to reach each and every corner effectively. This is a principle area which determines the flow of the market of goods from the company to the clients, thus the company depends on this department since it determines the way goods are distributed to clients. This paper will analyse the effectiveness of the flows in supply chain management, hence recommending necessary improvements.

The Coca-Cola Company is a soft drink company which is situated in Nilai, a state of Negeri Sembilan, in Malaysia. The company produces different brands of soft drinks and water. The company is well known by the Malaysians and its brand is the market leader in soft drinks production in Malaysia. This success has been attributed to high quality supply chain management and good communication skills (Hirschey, Bentzen, 2016). Coca-cola is an iconic brand which is able to attract the attention of the consumers due to the shape of the Coca-Cola bottles, and its nutritional contents. This has made it easy for the company to be able to market its products all over Malaysia and its neighbouring countries at ease without any problems at all. The company’s products are therefore able to reach most people simply because the company has partnered with different companies in order to increase the supply of its products all over Malaysia and Asia in general. The company also sponsors different sporting activities which is also a way of marketing its products all over Asia (Jacoby, 2010). Moreover, the Coca-Cola Company supplies its products to the market in less than 48 hours.

Supply Chain Flows

The Coca-Cola Company is currently using the new technology in order to boost the market of its products. Goods and products can be bought by the clients over the internet through placing orders on the products that one needs. After the client has placed the order, the company processes it and delivers the goods to the clients (Gurnani, Mehrotra, & Ray, 2012). Moreover, the company has also adapted social media marketing, which is one of the best way of marketing goods to many people within the shortest time possible. In addition, the company offers promotions which are used to reward loyal customers and to also communicate and attract new customers. Through promotions, the company increases its sales and also increases the number of customers (Brockhaus, 2013). The company recently invested in a 20 million Euros automatic storage system to ensure their products are stored safely.

Recommendations

The company should be able work according to the Resources Based View theory (RBV), in such a way that it should look at the disadvantages of other companies in order to beat them. This will really help in reducing the costs of using new strategies by the company and thus being able to remain as the market leader (Gurnani, Mehrotra, & Ray, 2012). Moreover, the company should use its resources effectively to beat other companies without having to invest on very expensive projects. Similarly, the company should be able to provide more than it is expected of it by its consumers. This will really boost the sale of the product because the company will be operating in a very unique and distinct way. There will therefore be no room for competition from other companies since the company will be doing exceptionally well (Brockhaus, 2013). Producing high quality and very unique products will help the company to set a gap between it and its competitors.

Quality (q) against Demand (d) Curve

                      200                                                        

Quality          150       

     (q)            

                       100

                        5

                                          250              500                  750              1000

                                                                  Demand

                                                                                       (d)

            Manufacturing high quality products helps in increasing the demands of the products, since increase in quality is directly proportional to an increase in demand. This therefore means that the company will increase its sales thus realizing huge profits from low investments. Moreover, the company will create a huge gap between it and its competitors in the competitive market.

            The company should also come up with new technics that should however boost its performance without having to pump in money. This can only be done through coming up with employee projects (Gurnani, Mehrotra, & Ray, 2012). Employees from different departments should be grouped into teams and be given projects where they should be able to look at carefully. This move will enable the company to be able to get new strategies that would otherwise save its implementation and investment costs (Brockhaus, 2013). This approach will not only enable the company to save costs, but it will also enable the employees to work hard and improve the performance of the company.

The Make Process

            The coca-cola company plans its financial year at the end of every year, this is to make sure that the company is able to reach its goals. Moreover, the company comes up with new manufacturing strategies due to the stiff competition and the changing trends in the market. After each and every year, the company adopts a new strategy and drops an old strategy which has not been effective. Moreover, the company rates itself according to the way it has been performing and thus making changes where necessary. The demand of the products is therefore calculated annually and thus giving the correct number of consumers using the Coca-cola products. It consequently increases the number of production in order to cater for the ever increasing demands of its products. This is a move which is carried out in order to ensure that the supply does not exceed demand or, the demand does not exceed the production. Ensuring consistency in the production of goods and products by the company (Jacoby, 2010).

            In case of a drop in the number of consumers, the company comes up with new strategies which are supposed to help it to attract new customers (Jacoby, 2010). These strategies may include, outsourcing, outsourcing really helps particularly in attracting customers particularly in areas where coca-cola products are new. Through partnering with other companies, the company boosts its sales in such areas and thus being able to win the market in such areas. On the other hand, the company budgets for new marketing trends which may emerge in the course of the year and thus being able to avoid any obstacles that the trend might pose (Gurnani, Mehrotra, & Ray, 2012).

After getting the number of clients that the company has, the company goes on to predict the number of customers that it is likely to attract and thus being to regulate the production of goods and services (Jacoby, 2010). The time frame within which the company aims to attract a given number of consumers is also calculated thus coming up with a correct figure. This figures therefore make it easy for the company to be able to plan for the materials needed in the production of the beverages.

The coca-cola company should be able to come up with strategies that can reflect its outcome. This is so because, the company can be able to avoid losses simply because it will have known and planned for the possible outcomes of using such strategies. According to the Strategic choice theory, this can really help in avoiding negative outcomes that the company might be likely to face, such as political and social conflicts (Gurnani, Mehrotra, & Ray, 2012). In addition, all the challenges that the company had been faced with should also be analysed carefully and thus knowing the measures that should be put in place in order to avoid the recurrence of such problems. This move will see the company reaching its goals, and it will beat its competitors.

Supply Chain Forecasting

Qualitative Forecasting

This method is basically subjective, it depends on the judgement of human beings (Jacoby, 2010). It is usually suitable particularly when there is little or no historical information, or when specialists have market astuteness which is likely to affect the forecast. This methods may also be used to forecast the demands of a new industry for a set period of time. Mostly small and new companies may be able to use this methods since they are only applicable when the historical background of the company is not known (Brockhaus, 2013).

Time Series Forecasting

            These methods rely on the historical background of a company in order to be able to make a forecast (Sehgal, 2009). They therefore make assumptions based on the historical activities encountered in the company, thus predicting the future outcomes. They work under the principle, history indicates the future demands. They are appropriate particularly when the main demand array is not variable from a year to another year (Gurnani, Mehrotra, & Ray, 2012). These methods are also advantageous since they are the easiest to implement and they can also operate as a better preliminary point for a request forecast.

Casual Forecasting

            These models make assumptions that demand estimate is majorly linked with specific aspects in the surroundings. These factors include the following: the interest degrees, and the condition of the economy in a country (Brockhaus, 2013). Therefore, this model finds the relationship between demand and the surrounding factors and, use the approximations of what the surrounding aspects will be, in order to predict the future demands. For instance, the valuing of products is mainly related with its demand. This methods can therefore enable companies to be able to determine the effect of price elevations on demand.

Simulation Forecasting

These models emulate the selections of the consumers which gives rise to demand thus arriving at a forecast (Sehgal, 2009). Simulation, enables the company to use both causal methods and time series in order to answer the following question; What will be the effect of a price elevation? What will be the effect of an opponent starting a store next to another one? This method is usually used by Airlines in order to understand if their businesses are at stake (Gurnani, Mehrotra, & Ray, 2012). This method is very effective and should therefore be used by large companies which are not facing competition (Jacoby, 2010).

I recommend Coca-cola to use casual forecasting method since it provides the company with ways through which it can be able to set prices and its goals (Gurnani, Mehrotra, & Ray, 2012). This method is very effective since it uses the environmental situations in order to forecast, thus it will really help coca-cola in order to boost its performance and realize profits without any problems at all (Sehgal, 2009). Moreover, due to the change in the state of the economy, this method will help the company to be able to regulate the profits that it will be making (Brockhaus, 2013).

Conclusion

            Supply chain management determines the flow products from the manufacturer to the retailer. This method is therefore responsible for determining the effectiveness of the production of goods and services in a company. Coca-cola is a leading brand in beverage, and it has been able reach a wider market due to the effectiveness of its supply chain management. The company operates in different parts of the Asia with its main offices in Malaysia, it has been able to be consistent in the production of high quality beverages all over the world. It holds annual strategic planning at the end of every year in order to control the production and supply of its products in the market. Moreover, the strategic planning aims at enabling the company to be able to win new markets, and to cope with the ever changing markets and the technology. Thus, the company operates freely and at ease because of the plans that it puts in place each and every year. Casual forecasting is the best method for the coca-cola company as it will enable the company to avoid any losses through predicting the future economic trends, and thus the future if the company will be guaranteed.

References

Gurnani, H., Mehrotra, A., & Ray, S. (2012). Supply chain disruptions: Theory and practice of managing risk. London: Springer-Verlag London Limited.

Brockhaus, S. (2013). Analyzing the effect of sustainability on Supply Chain Relationships. Lohmar: Eul.

Zanjirani, F. R., Rezapour, S., & Kardar, L. (2012). Supply chain sustainability and raw material management: Concepts and processes. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

Snyder, L. V., & Shen, Z.-J. M. (2011). Fundamentals of supply chain theory. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

Boyer, K. K., & Verma, R. (2010). Operations & supply chain management for the 21st century. Mason, Ohio: South-Western/Cengage Learning.

In Kamath, N., & In Saurav, S. (2016). Handbook of research on strategic supply chain management in the retail industry. Hershey: Business Science Reference.

Jacoby, D. (2010). Guide To Supply Chain Management. London: Profile.

Hirschey, M., & Bentzen, E. (2016). Managerial economics.

Morlidge, S., & Player, S. (2010). Future ready: How to master business forecasting. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Benton, W. C. (2014). Supply chain focused manufacturing planning and control. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Tayur, S., Ganeshan, R., & Magazine, M. (2009). Quantitative models for supply chain management. New York: Springer Science.

Wu, T., & Blackhurst, J. (2009). Managing supply chain risk and vulnerability: Tools and methods for supply chain decision makers. London: Springer.

Camerinelli, E., & UniCredit Group. (2009). Measuring the value of supply chain: Linking financial performance and supply chain decisions. Farnham: Gower.

Sehgal, V. (2009). Enterprise supply chain management: Integrating best-in-class processes. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Marketing plan for Colloquy Grog Shop

Executive summary

Colloquy Grog Shop is a very prestigious and distinct local coffee bar that provides an a third place where singles can convene and get a chance to have a reflecting conversation while taking coffee. It is typically a bar that offers a unique service of offering a person-meet environment. The business is situated in the United States and serves most of the states. The structured system of conversation provides an atmosphere that brings down inhibitions and in return builds confidence for single persons to come and meet other singles. The target group for the Colloquy Grog Shop is adults ranging from 25 to 45 years and also provides counsels to the cognitive and social problems for this group. The Colloquy Grog Shop has not lasted long since it begun and therefore; marketing is essential and critical to the success of this business and for the purpose of long-term profitability. The business has gathered enough information considering all the dimensions of its market and this allows the business to know the various common attributes of the loyal and majority of its loyal customers. In this regard, the business has prepared a marketing plan that will help the managers understand who they are serving, the environment of the business marketing, the specific needs of the customers and how to better the services for effecting marketing of the Colloquy Grog Shop.

The 5C’s

To expound the details of the Colloquy Grog Shop, an analysis using the 5 Cs would best position the company into its correct category.

Company: the company name is Colloquy Grog Shop and deals with providing a person-meet environment for single persons. The company offers complementariness such as coffee and counsels to the customers.

Collaborators: the company works independently whoever it is aiming to work closely with George’s club among other clubs and social communities.

Customers: the customers for this shop are professionals and business people and all the interested singles that are looking for partners or want to find people they can work with in businesses. On this note, the customer needs catered fore is convectional conversations that are constructive and fruitful.

Competitors: the potential competitors include local clubs community social meetings and local cafes.

Climate: the macro-environmental factors for the Colloquy Grog Shop include microeconomic issues like interest rates, inflation rates and the business cycle. Technological development for the shop is still under development.

Situational analysis

There has been a great task ahead of organizing and facilitating new friendships creation to fit the market needs. In addition, the company is opting to offer changing menus for various drinks in addition to coffee that is currently offered. These include the microbrews, menu of tapas so that the benefits of the customers such as selection accessibility and customer service are improved (Lai, Mo, Lau, Gu & Hao, 2016). Considering also the marketing trends that are headed to more sophistication, the company is also expected to develop more sophisticated strategies that will ensure that the food quality, the quality of the conversations and accessibility of single persons is reached seamlessly. In addition, growth of the market is another essential factor that shall be addressed in the marketing plan (Lai, Mo, Lau, Gu & Hao, 2016). This is because the net expansion has recently been slow compared to the target and the marketing goals the have been keyed in the strategic plan of the company. In order to comprehensively understand the situation of the Colloquy Grog Shop Company, an analysis of the strengths, weakness threats and opportunities that surround the business would be best analyzed in a SWOT analysis (Lai, Mo, Lau, Gu & Hao, 2016).

Strengths

• The shop has a very strong relationship that exists with the third party vendors.
• The company also has an excellent staff that has been trained to attend to the customers.
• The system of the structural conversation is also a stronghold of this company (Fong & Rashad, 2015).

Weaknesses

• The brand equity for the Colloquy Grog Shop is indeed limited
• There exist some struggles of raising consistent topics for conversations
• The marketing budget for the shop is also limited and this slows down the awareness process of the company

Opportunities

• The Colloquy Grog Shop has a large market target of reaching those people who are not aware with the business and its services
• The increasing sales that result familiarity of the business as customers enjoy the benefits of the structured conversation system
• The shop has also the potential capabilities of lowering the service prices in promotions and other efficiency gains ((Fong & Rashad, 2015).

 Threats

• There exists a stiff competition from taverns
• Competitions from the social events for singles as well as community meetings
• The economic fluctuations at national and global level will significantly affect the financial stability of the company.

Competition

The competition comes from different sources with the main ones being coffee shops and bars. Some have provided better services and environments that are more favorable in meeting people than Colloquy Grog Shop. However, most of the coffee shops usually lack the organized and structured activities that may bring singles together. There are various social events whose sole aim is bringing singles together (McDonald, 2007).

Marketing strategy

The marketing strategy for Colloquy Grog Shop will be purely based on communication of the business values to the targeted segments through a variety of methods. First, advertisements will be the forefront strategy majorly through the Willamette Weekly as well as the magazines of art of all the entertainment companies. The marketing strategy will also establish strategic relationships with other companies the serve similar demographics of customer service (McDonald, 2007). The Multnomah athletic clubs a one of the prime examples that would be best in establishing a mutual relationship for the purpose of developing visual transparency in marketing strategies. The Colloquy Grog Shop will also embrace the form using grassroots as the mode of advertisement whereby the first time customers shall be given coupons. The coupons will be an economic incentive and a welcome to the Colloquy Grog Shop (McDonald, 2007).

Marketing objectives, mission and vision

The objectives of the company include developing the brand awareness to boost the number of customers and stabilizing the income profits and costs by increasing the number of sales minimizing marketing expenses. Among the financial objectives, the company is aiming at reducing the variable costs to reach the profitability within the first one year of marketing strategy implementation. This will assist to double the growth rate for the future operations of the business.

The target market

The demographics of the singles would be further specified depending on the professional and the status. In this case, the target will focus more on people who earn an income of over $40000 which is believe that most people in this category are professionals. The next criteria would be professionals because the core aim of the Colloquy Grog Shop is to promote a thoughtful conversation which would be hardly achieved by non-professionals. In addition, the most professionals are able to appreciate the need for a thoughtful conversation. The target market is people between 25 and 45 which constitute the largest number of singles who are looking for companion.

Marketing mix

The marketing prices of the Colloquy Grog Shop are comprised of the 4ps which include place, pricing promotion and customer service.

Pricing: the pricing will follow the competitive pricing strategy which will offer slightly higher than the prices of competitors (Sorger, 2012).

Place: the Colloquy Grog Shop’s retail place will be the distribution zone for all products and services

Promotion: promotions will be done through advertising through Willamette weekly and grassroots systems.

Customer service: the philosophy of the Colloquy Grog Shop will be to do whatever it takes to impress the customer to strengthen long-term profitability (Sorger, 2012).

Financials

This section of the marketing plan will break down the analysis off financial flowage for the marketing activities for the Colloquy Grog Shop. It will address the sales forecasts, expense forecast and how the two link to the broader plan of the marketing strategy. In summary, the breakdown analysis shows that the company will require 30, 500 dollars to for the transition of the break-even points (Sorger, 2012). In the sales forecast section of the plan, the first three months will be invested in hiring a marketing personnel, grand opening and in setting up physical locations for the marketing strategies. The expense forecast will budget the marketing expenses such that they remain steady throughout the year (Sorger, 2012).

Implementation and evaluation

The implementation of the marketing plan will be guided by a list of milestones that mark the progress of the plan at different intervals. The plan will monitor the strategic promotions and the grassroots promotion with their progress timed and analyzed (Westwood, 2013). The budgeting for the advertisements will be allocated to enable the two modes of marketing which is roughly estimated to be $18, 800. The implementation will also fund the direct marketing, the online web marketing design and development which is estimated to be $20, 400. The achievements will be upheld while more efforts shall be allocated in bringing up the marketing fails (Westwood, 2013). Control of the marketing activities will be guided by the marketing plan. In order to ensure that the improvement of the marketing sector for the Colloquy Grog Shop is ongoing, the shop will use the customer’s feedback and the statistical analysis methods to evaluate the move (Westwood, 2013).

Contingency planning

There are several impending difficulties that must be addressed for consistency of marketing improvement for thee Colloquy Grog Shop. Among them, the company is at the risk of liquidating equipment in its efforts to cover liabilities, lack of independency in supporting itself on continuous basis and lower consumption of alcohol that the plan has forecasted. The company shall have to address these difficulties beforehand (Luther, 2001).

References

Lai, C. Y., Mo, P. H., Lau, J. F., Gu, J., & Hao, C. (2016). Association of Situational and Environmental Factors With Last Episode of Unprotected Anal Intercourse Among MSM in Hong Kong: A Case-Crossover Analysis. AIDS Education & Prevention, 28(1), 26-42.

Fong Mun, Y., & Rashad, Y. (2015). The Comparison between NGO Marketing and Conventional Marketing Practices from SWOT Analysis, Marketing Mix, and Performance Evaluation Perspectives. International Journal Of Management, Accounting & Economics, 2(9), 1075-1087.

Top of Form

McDonald, M. (2007). Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them. Burlington: Elsevier.

Bottom of Form

Top of Form

Sorger, S. (2012). Marketing planning: Where strategy meets action. Boston: Pearson.

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Top of Form

Westwood, J. (2013). How to write a marketing plan. London: Kogan Page.

Luther, W. M. (2001). The marketing plan: How to prepare and implement it. New York: AMACOM.

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