Abstract
This paper provides a comprehensive marketing plan and sales strategy for a company that intends to engage in the production and sale of mixed fruit juice in Waldorf, Maryland. The choice of the location is appropriate in terms of weather and population density. With a population of more than 60,000 people, Waldorf will provide the necessary customer base for the company’s products. Even though there are other players in the market, the company will gain a competitive advantage through product differentiation and effective promotion and marketing strategies. The company’s website, mailing list, and social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter will be used to create brand awareness and engage customers and other prospects. These channels are preferred due to their capacity to reach a large number of individuals at a go.
Company’s Target Market
The target market for this company is children and adults of any age, household incomes of up to $90,000 annually, residents of Waldorf, Maryland. This company focuses on the sale of mixed fruit juice in Waldorf, Maryland, and its environments. Waldorf has a high population growth rate, which makes it a suitable target area for this product. For example, in 2000, the region had a population of 22,312 people, but in 2010, the population had grown to 67,752 people. As such, the population increased by 203.7% between 2000 and 2010 (CensuViewe, 2010). The household income in Waldorf, Maryland was $84,919 in 2013. As such, the venture targets middle-income earners. In terms of age group, the company will target both the young and old population. This is attributable to the fact that the median resident age in Waldorf is 35.6 years. Such an age factor is based on the fact that the mixed fruit juice is suitable for any age group. In addition, people of any gender can take mixed fruit juice and, hence, the company focuses on selling to both females and males in Waldorf, Maryland, and its environments. In 2013, Waldorf had 31,171 males and 36,581 females.
Company’s Market Competition
Competition has become a common factor for consideration whenever thinking of the launch of any business nowadays because it determines the strategies that any enterprise will adopt to attain a competitive advantage over its competitors (Abrams, 2003; Argote & Ingram, 2000). In the case of the non-alcoholic drinks, this company is likely to face stiff competition within the market due to the growing demand for such beverages. The company will compete with other companies selling related beverages in terms of space in retail outlets, as well as consumer acceptance.
More specifically, the company will face direct and indirect competition from alternative beverage industries. There are a number of juice and smoothie companies in Waldorf, Maryland, which will offer competition to this brand. Some of the competitors include Tropical Smoothie Café, Orange Julius, and Tropicana Products Inc.
In spite of this, the company has a competitive advantage based on a number of factors as highlighted below. For example, it will ensure that its operations are based on a low budget by first using online stores and social media platforms to sell its products to the target customers. Such an approach will be significant in that the company will gain a competitive advantage in terms of pricing.
This company will provide low-priced quality products made from fresh fruits. Effective customer relationship will ensure that their concerns are addressed satisfactorily to build and maintain trust among customers. With respect to the current market situation, there are other market players who have been in business for a long time. For example, Tropical Juice Inc. and Tropicana are established, juice producers. Such players have a large capital base and market experience, which leaves only a small percentage of the market share for new entrants. For this reason, there is a need for the company to adopt effective market entry strategies to survive the stiff competition from the market leaders.
Product differentiation is an important competitive strategy (Abrams, 2003; Cellini & Lambertini, 2002). For this reason, this company will focus on the product differentiation approach to gain a competitive advantage. The market leaders, in this case, focus entirely on the production of orange juice. As such, offering various mixed fruit juice will provide an alternative to the fruit juices sold by most of the market leaders in Waldorf, Maryland.
Company’s Message
The message that a company conveys to its customers regarding its services and products is very important in influencing their purchasing behaviors (David & David, 2014). For this reason, it is important to ensure that the message to be conveyed aligns with the needs and demands for a given product or service among the target customers. In the case of this company, the motivation of the target market will be influenced by the functions, finances, and the feelings of the customers with respect to the features of the mixed fruit juice offered to them.
- Functions: quenches thirst.
- Finances: quench your thirst at pocket-friendly prices.
- Feelings: leaves you thirst-free and feeling cool.
- Future: you will want to drink more.
Each of the messages above is important in motivating the target market to purchase. As such, the company will convey its messages to consumers through the business name, slogan, keywords in marketing material, product design, company logo, packaging, as well as décor among other aspects of the company.
- Name: Thirst Quencher Juicy Enterprises.
- Slogan: fruit juice that quenches your thirst.
- Keywords in marketing material: mixed fruit juice, quench thirst, fresh fruits.
The Marketing Vehicles to Use to Build the Company’s Brand
The success in the conveyance of the intended message to the customers to build the company’s brand will be achieved through the adoption of suitable marketing vehicles. Several market vehicles can be used in the creation of the company’s brand. Examples of such marketing vehicles include websites, Search Engine Optimization, email newsletters, blogs, social media, and other online advertising platforms. In this case, the company will use a website, email newsletters, and social media sites to attract and engage customers and prospects.
First, the company will have a business website that will help in the promotion of its product. The primary goal of having a company website is to add credibility to the business such that people can have all the information about the company’s brand before they can make any purchasing decision. In addition, the website will increase the credibility of the business in that it will serve as a source of trust among the customers.
Secondly, there will be weekly and monthly email newsletters for the purpose of connecting with customers and other prospects. Such newsletters will contain all the necessary information about the company’s product and the reasons it outshines other brands in the market. Customers who visit the company’s website will be requested to subscribe to the newsletters to get promotional information and other offers through their emails.
Third, the company’s social media pages will be available to enhance the creation of a large customer base. Some of the most influential social media platforms to consider are LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. The choice of such social media platforms is based on the fact that they have a large following, which is suitable for attracting a large number of customers. With the advancement of information technology, many people all over the world have turned to online platforms where they can access information about various products and services before deciding on what to buy (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). The implication of such a trend is that companies can make use of technology in the form of social media platforms to gather and create a pool of potential customers (Divol, Edelman, & Sarrazin, 2012). An example of a company that uses social media platforms to engage its customers is Coca-Cola, as evident in the case of the ‘Share a Coke’ campaign.
The combination of the three approaches will ensure that the company creates a remarkably large customer base for the purpose of spreading awareness about the available products and other related information (Vorhies & Morgan, 2005). In the end, the company will be in a position to achieve its objective of creating a strong brand in the market.
Marketing Budget
A marketing budget is important for any business as it outlines the expenses of a company over a given period. The table below provides an overview of the proposed budget.
References
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