Week 8 EOC: The Adventure

My Fellow Adventurer,

Allow me to tell you another tale of excitement and debauchery as I look back on my past exploits.

As my trusty companion Passepartout and I set out towards the shores of Yokohama, the long journey forced us to camp out along the lush, tropical forests of the Philippines. Late at night, a local, indigenous tribe who introduced themselves as the Adobo clan invited us to spend the night at their camping grounds. They sure knew how to party, as we were greeted with voluptuous women who spoke in nothing but sexually suggestive nut puns, while a sweet and succulent scent filled the air. After engaging in hours of drink and fornication, the tribe fell in a deep slumber. Seeking to find the source of this delectable scent, my companion and I followed the scent, which led us to the chieftain’s quarters, and to our delight, we found a large pot filled with a mysterious, gooey marinade. We couldn’t resist walking away, so we set to acquire a portion of this succulent marinade, but to our surprise, the chieftain awakened to find us in his quarters. We were tied up and ordered to be thrown into a local volcano, but thanks to the craftiness of my companion, we managed to break free of the rope as we surfed back to the hot-air balloon to continue the next part of our journey........or at least that’s how I remember it. Honestly, I was still buzzed from the drinks.

In the spirit of my exploits, I have spent these recent years trying to replicate the salivating marinade I encountered on that very night. After years of experimenting, I believe I have done the unthinkable of replicating that very same marinade. In the spirit of the noble tribe and the voluptuous peanut-pun speaking women, I present to you the Adobo-marinated cracker nuts. But fellow adventurers beware, the scintillating recipe of sweets and spices can be a bit overwhelming at first, but do not be afraid. Share them with your fellow companions and keep them away from indigenous tribes. But most importantly, enjoy.

Your trusted confidant,

Phileas Fogg

Implementation Evaluation Control

“The consumer arrives at attitudes toward different brands through some evaluation procedure (Marketing Pg. 153).”

Understanding that the consumer’s approach towards purchasing a product varies from person to person is a lesson I needed to learn. While some rely on a lot of logical thinking and product comparisons, others do little to no thinking by acquiring products simply by impulse. Implementing a plan that will keep our brand afloat regardless of consumer reaction towards our product is instrumental. While I will stress to push a solid advertising campaign towards my brand of Adobo cracker nuts, it is imperative that we learn to adjust to the market and what consumer wants and needs from us. To accommodate for the instances where consumers experience dissatisfaction with our product, I will provide a hotline where customers can speak with a representative to voice their displeasure or even offer advice as to how we can make our product better. I will also construct focus groups, which will take the data we accumulate about the consumer and adjust our advertising campaign accordingly to raise the customer value of our product.

“The mental process through which an individual passes from first hearing about an innovation to final adoption (Marketing Pg. 154).”

Lastly, it’s important to know the adoption process of the consumer. By understanding the five stages of adopting a new product, we can better tailor our message and get through to the consumer much more effectively. With that being said, I am also instituting a warranty program, which states that if anytime the customer is not satisfied with our product or if the product does not live the standards it adheres to, the consumer will get a full refund. Hopefully this tactic will drive more potential consumers to move from the evaluation period to the trial period. I am relying on the Adobo cracker nuts to drive our customers to transfer over to the adoption section of the process.

Price

“The company can offer greater customer value either by charging lower prices than competitors, or by offering more benefits to justify higher prices (Marketing Pg. 53).”

“And customers are interested in more than just the price; they are interested in the total costs of obtaining, using, and disposing of a product (Marketing Pg. 54).”

Finding a balance by assessing the prices of our competitors and assessing the true value of our products can be difficult.  As stated in the book, the price should be a reflection of what the customer thinks is a good value. Planters has the advantage of brand recognition, so they can afford to bring their prices for the sake of offering a little more incentive to its consumers. For a 10 oz. container of nuts, Planters charges within the $5-$7 range. To compete with this, lesser known brands can either lower their prices by offering consumers a cheaper alternative that is made with roughly the same ingredients, or they may charge higher to compensate for their smaller fan base.

“Once the company has chosen a desired position, it must take strong steps to deliver and communicate that position to target consumers (Marketing Pg. 53).”

Since I believe my product to be of high quality coupled with a fresh new set of bar flavors, I am not ready to drop the price of my 10 oz. package below the price of Planters. However, I understand that until I establish some sort of brand recognition first, consumers will not be inclined to purchase my product quite yet. To start off, I plan to keep my price at $6 for a 12 oz. package, but in order to communicate the value of my consumers, I will advertise that you get more bang for your buck because we offer a little more to snack on as well as a premium flavor that regular consumers would spend a little extra to obtain. If that doesn’t work, I will adjust my plan accordingly and either lower or raise the prices based on the reception of my advertising campaign.

Promotion

“Just like manufacturing businesses, good service firms use marketing to position themselves strongly in chosen target markets...(Marketing Pg. 223).”

“These and other service firms establish their positions through traditional marketing mix activities. However, because services differ from tangible products, they often require additional marketing approaches...(Marketing Pg. 223).”

Next step is the promotional aspect of this marketing process. As I stated earlier, the target audience is vast, with potential to grow in the international markets thanks to our foreign flavors. My brand of Adobo cracker nuts will be featured in several commercials that will be featured online and television as part of my advertising campaign. In terms of content for my commercials, I feel that the best way to conquer the challenge of reaching a diversified market of consumers is by tapping into humor that appeals to wide demographic. Skits that involve relatable everyday situations will be featured and my product will be at the center of it all. I have also come to the conclusion that a considerable amount of emphasis should be placed on the packaging. In response to creating brand awareness, the packaging must differentiate us from the rest of our competitors.

Distribution

“Marketing intermediaries help the company to promote, sell, and distribute its products to final buyers. They include resellers, physical distribution firms, marketing services agencies, and financial intermediaries (Marketing Pg. 68)."

I will need to budget in order to hire the proper distribution firms which will consult with for assistance into how best get my product around to where it needs to. It is crucial that I develop a stable relationship with my partnered suppliers, in hopes that we develop a solid system to implement in the manufacturing of our snacked goods. I understand that developing a solid business lies in not only the relationship with my consumers, but the relationship of my suppliers as well. I will remain in active in assuring that all their needs are met in exchange for high-quality goods and services in return.

“The marketing concept states that to be successful, a company must provide greater customer value and satisfaction than its competitors do. Thus, marketers must do more than simply adapt to the needs of target consumers. They also must gain strategic advantage by positioning their offerings strongly against competitors’ offerings in the minds of consumers (Marketing Pg. 68).”

Continuing to keep one eye on the competition is another factor to consider. Any marketing strategies that they may implement must be countered on our end. Distribution tactics from our competitors such as new packaging or a new advertising campaign must be considered a threat and accounted for. The idea is that with solid packaging and a great advertising campaign, consumers will see us as a viable alternative to bigger name brands that provides greater customer value.

Product

“Product is a key element in the overall market offering. Marketing-mix planning begins with building an offering that brings value to target customers. This offering becomes the basis upon which the company builds profitable customer relationships...(Marketing Pg. 208).”

“When developing products, marketers first must identify the core customer value that consumers seek from the product. They must then design the actual product and find ways to augment it in order to create this customer value and the most satisfying customer experience (Marketing Pg. 210).”

There is one particular snack within my brand that I feel would be the most successful in penetrating this broad bar-snacking market. Just as all my products deal with foreign-inspired flavor options, this one in particular taps into a fast-growing Asian market as well a bar snacking demographic that is ready for an alternative snack at the bar. The product is inspired by a classic marinade that hails from the Philippines called Adobo. The sweet and slightly spicy barbeque marinade is coated into our cracker peanuts and placed in an easy to open package that is ready for snacking in any bar. At an affordable rate, the seasoning for these peanuts can be easily manufactured thanks to our relationships with several of our suppliers and can also be shipped fast to our prospective buyers. Suppliers I am affiliated in have given me the assurance that all ingredients used in the development are of the highest quality.

As I mentioned during my marketing strategy, I wanted to implement products that had zero-trans fat and no cholesterol. That being the case, we plan to advertise this by labeling these facts on our packaging. We hope these bodes well in establishing better relationships with our female demographics by promoting ourselves as a brand that cares about women seeking healthier lifestyles.