Marketing Report
Introduction
In today’s business world, the value and importance of customers is not something that should be set aside by companies. Marketing plans and strategies would be incomplete without paying much consideration to the customers. Customers will and should always be a part of the agenda in any marketing plan of any company. Because of the implications for profitability and growth, customer retention is potentially one of the most powerful weapons that companies can employ in their fight to gain a strategic advantage and survive in today's ever increasing competitive environment (Lindenmann, 1999). It can be argued that consumers all over the world vary and that these differences may lead to different consumer behaviour. Since the consumer behaviour (See Appendix) is being bounded by the culture and traditional values of nations the differences of consumer behaviour are vastly increasing. Consumer behaviour has been defined as the "acquisition, consumption and disposition of products, services, time and the concepts by decision making units" (Jacoby 1998).
In any food product business, consumer behaviour involves the purchase process, but it is concerned with the product use process as well. Therefore, consumer behaviour in some general sense concerns not only phenomena that are directly related to but also phenomena that might be characterised as post marketing in the sense that marketing's influence on and involvement in consumers' use of products is nonexistent, more indirect, and/or less intense than its influence and involvement in product purchase.
This paper discuss about the possible marketing research approach to be used in Nutrition Month. This celebration is a good opportunity for cereal manufacturers to create a new range of products to overcome the problems in labelling. The creation of another range of healthy food products will be considered. This paper will discuss the issues regarding the debate on food nutrition and labelling and the negative press generated about cereal products. This will also tackle theoretical concepts about consumer attitudes and behaviours and how these behaviours affect the success of cereal manufacturers.
The Situation
Before the start of nutrition month, cereal manufacturers and healthy food manufacturers are being criticised for their new approach to nutrition labelling which it is claimed is making products look healthier than they are. Actually, a significant funding was provided by the food industry to promote the scheme in opposition to the traffic light labelling scheme put forward by the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau (HFWB). Cereals are specifically criticised as it was categorised by HFWB as red products and deemed junk food by the traffic light labelling scheme. Basically, these actions of HFWB directly affect the overall business of Cereal manufacturers particularly the consumer attitude towards the product.
On the other hand, when it comes to the buying preferences of consumers of cereal products, a major new business study reveals that what keeps the consumer buying a particular brand has less to do with pricing and manufacturing or merchandising than with how well the company treats its customers. Tendency of the consumers is to buy or purchase goods and services which are healthy. Consumers are more likely to know all the information of the products before they would consume it. Thus, the decision process as one of the elements of consumer behaviour is influenced by the information available to the consumer and the way in which the consumer processes that information. The decision process is also influenced by the consumer's beliefs, attitudes, and intentions as well as many other individual characteristics. Two stages in the decision process are particularly relevant to this study: search that is whether the consumer seeks label information when selecting products and alternative evaluation, that is, whether or not the consumer uses label information in considering product alternatives.
Whether consumers will search for and use label information will be influenced by both characteristics of the product and of the buyer. Product characteristics include the extent to which the product's probable performance can be assessed by visual inspection and its complexity, that is, the number of decisions the consumer is required to make about it. Consumer characteristics include experience with purchasing the product, and the kinds of criteria the consumer uses in judging the product. The evaluative criteria are shaped by the consumer's beliefs, attitudes, and perception of risk in the purchase. Through the emerging problem in labelling and opportunity brought by the Nutrition Month, it is then very vital to open a new kind of venture aside from cereals. With the advertisement and product promotion provided in Nutrition Month and for the launching of a new range of healthy products, there would be a possibility that the popularity and goodness of product to consumers could influence the decision making of the consumer in buying the products. In the area of sensation and perception and attention, most works are confined primarily to visual or auditory processes. The attention of the consumer may have the tendency influence the decision-making process.
Marketing of New Range of Products
To make-up some adjustments regarding the misleading labelling scheme of HFWB and the opportunity brought by the Nutrition Month, the cereal or the healthy food manufacturer intends to offer a new range of products (i.e. packed and bottled fruit products) aimed to health conscious consumers. These packed and bottled fruit products offer the customers the best possible solution as it:
Even though the technology used to create this product is also new, we expect that others will be able to substantially reproduce our patented results within a month. To remain on the leading edge of this product, we will need to devote approximately 10% of revenues toward research and development.
Market Segmentation
The market can be segmented into three target populations:
- Individuals: people that wanted healthy food products by themselves.
- Families: a group of people, either friends or a group of nuclear relatives seeking for healthy food products.
- Take out/Supermarket Shoppers: people that prefer to eat and drink healthy food products in their home or at a different location.
The target customers are health conscious individuals between the ages of 3 and 80. Age is not the most defined demographic of this customer base; all age groups enjoy health diet especially adults. The most defined characteristic of the target market is income. In consideration to nutrition month, these healthy food products might be successful in both rural and urban areas.
Combining several key demographic factors, it arrives at a profile of the primary customer as follows:
- Sophisticated families who are looking for healthy diet.
- Young professionals who are maintaining their body figures and conscious to their health.
- Shoppers who patronise healthy food products.
Positioning
In accordance to the celebration of Nutrition Month, this healthy food manufacturer will position itself as a reasonably priced, upscale, healthy food manufacturing company. Consumers who appreciate healthy food will recognise the value and unique offerings of packed and bottled fruit products. Patrons will be single as well as families, ages 3-80.
Healthy food manufacturer’s positioning will leverage their competitive edge:
- Product. The product will have the freshest fruit ingredients. The product will also be developed to enhance presentation, everything will be aesthetically pleasing.
- Processing. Processing of fruit products will be the priority. All employees will ensure that the customers are having the most healthy fruit products experience. All employees in food processing will go through an extensive training program and only experienced people will be hired.
By offering a superior product, coupled with superior service and opportunity brought by the Nutrition Month, healthy food manufacturer will excel relative to the competition.
Marketing Mix
Part of a marketing strategy to counter the possible backlash from consumers is the utilisation of the marketing mix of the new range of products. A healthy food manufacturer's marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to product, pricing, place and promotion.
- Product. As discussed, the new product to be set up in market in order to avoid backlash of customers due to HFWB labelling scheme are packed and bottled food products. Actually, obsessive customer attention is the mantra. Healthy food manufacturer’s philosophy is that whatever needs to be done to make the health conscious customer happy must occur, even at the expense of short-term profits. In the long term, this investment will pay off with a fiercely loyal customer base who is extremely vocal to their friends with referrals.
- Pricing. Healthy food manufacturer's pricing scheme is that the product cost is 45% of the total retail price.
- Place/Distribution. Healthy food manufacturer's healthy food products will be distributed through convenient stores and supermarkets where customers can avail these products.
- Promotion and advertising. Although, the Nutrition Month is a great opportunity to have a great market, it is still very important to consider the advertising concepts. The most successful advertising will be banner ads, and TV ads with information regarding healthy benefits of food products. In the given case, the strategy in launching and promoting the products might be able to attract the attention of the consumer like their strategy in buying it with a lower price than other competitors. Because of the strategic pricing of the product the consumer might be able to decide in availing the product rather than buying other products. Because of these, consumer behaviour are affected especially their loyalty to the brand. And because of the commercial advertisements seen in the television, the consumer will clearly have in mind the efficacy of the product as said by its endorser.
Conclusion
For more than four decades, advertising and marketing researchers have been intrigued by the symbolic properties of products (Umiker-Sebeok, 1987). During that period, it has become increasingly clear that the consumption of any product is richly embroidered by the symbolism of the practices, rituals, and texts surrounding it and, further, that the connotation and meanings associated with products are crucial to understanding their exchange value in the marketplace and the way the consumer behaves and perceived the products and services (Hirschman, Scott and Wells, 1998).
In the case presented, consumers play an important role for the company to create a strategic technique in launching the new products. And that the behaviour of the consumers has a significant role in making the product lasts and recognised. In general, consumer behaviour varies from time to time and the only thing that the company can do is to provide strategic ways in making the consumer buy or purchase the products may it be new or old products.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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