The Impact of Marketing on the Customers - Case Study Example

Running Head: Marketing Plan A Taste of Class Marketing Plan Vyshnav [Institute Name] Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 2. Situation Analysis a. Market Summary b. SWOT Analysis c. Competition d. Product Offering e. Keys to Success f. Macro environment 3. Marketing Strategy a. Mission Statement b. Financial Objectives c. Core Competencies d. Strategies 4. Financials a. Break Even Analysis b. Sales Forecast & Expense Forecast c. Budget 5. Controls a. Implementation 6. Evaluation of Results 7. Summary 8. Conclusion 9. References & Bibliography 10. Annexure – Tables & Charts Executive Summary The company A Taste of Class had begun by a lady named, Joanne James. She had partnered with another man who had then helped her out in a number of ways to get things done. However, there was a time when her son had also appeared at the restaurant and he had know-how of the customers. The son went on to buy out the restaurant and take matters into his own hands. A Taste of Class had now become his sole property and he had used some techniques to gain a $ 1 million profit in its lifetime. There was a need for some innovative and creative techniques to be implemented for the restaurant to be a success. The report will cover the entire marketing plan that will be required by Mark and how he will go about managing the company so that he can attain his goal. There is a need for Mark to concentrate on the impact of marketing on the customers along with the need to understand which market will be targeted. The marketing plan will also help the owner in understanding which menu items to concentrate on. There are a number of times when a company may feel that a certain product is doing better than the other because it has an effect on the return of the company. However, this may not be true because this product could be the least bought of all of them. The company will need to concentrate on the marketing plan as its main aim and its way of doing business. The marketing plan also covers the budget plan and the strategies that will be adopted by the company for a larger amount of profit as had previously been earned by the owner. Situation Analysis Market Summary The first thing for the company that must be analyzed is the idea of the target market of the company. The company must first concentrate on the kind of customers it caters to and which are the most profitable. It can be seen from the demographic data that there is more of the female population than that of the male. However, the company must not divide in terms of female and male population but rather the kinds of people that may come or require service from the company. There could be teenagers, children, families, old people and even business people. It can be seen that the company must concentrate on the business people because they usually hold big parties and even require some drop offs at meetings. The families can also be catered to for weddings and birthdays and this could allow the company to change its type of service according to the occasion. The company can also fix the pricing of the items because a variable pricing can lose the customer base. A fixed and low cost of the items would increase the sales. Graph 1 The target market must be studied for the kind of tastes that are preferred and what food items are ordered mostly by the customers. The company needs to analyze these factors in order to move on with the company and reap benefits from it. Without analyzing the target market, there is a very less chance of the company doing well. SWOT Analysis The strengths of the company could be the following such as: 1. Extended relationships with the customers 2. Knowledge of the customers tastes over other new competitors 3. A good reputation at the restaurant 4. Ability to change the prices according to the requirement 5. Customer loyalty for the restaurant The weaknesses of the company could be pointers such as: 1. Location of the restaurant 2. Not a fixed menu for all customers 3. Not able to concentrate and market all products equally 4. Ability not to attract new customers but rather just retains the older ones 5. No marketing is done for the products The opportunities that the company may have to take advantage of are: 1. Knowing the tastes of each group of customers 2. Knowing the customer requirements 3. Having a long term relationship with a number of customers The threats to the company could be: 1. The growing number of competitors in the food business 2. Not being a central location 3. No marketing measures being taken Competition A Taste of Class would face a lot of competition from other caterers as well as restaurants that provide the same services and products that the company provides. The potential competitors could also be the companies that would provide the products in the form of frozen food or any other form. Product Offering Looking at the portfolio of the company through the graph it can be seen that it covers a lot of kinds of buffets and dishes. It should try to concentrate on a few major profit-taking buffets such as that of the drop offs and the hot buffet because they are the most popular and profitable. The owner can concentrate on the other dishes as well but this must be the ore competency of the company. Graph 2 Keys to Success The keys to success for the company could be the following: 1. Retain the customers and increase customer loyalty 2. Keep the item values suitable to the customer and the company Macro environment The environmental factors that could affect the company’s profits could be: 1. Location 2. Population 3. Change in population density 4. Change in tastes Marketing Strategy The current position of the restaurant can be studied with the help of understanding the mission statement along with the goals and objectives of the company. The core competencies of the company must also be recognized so that they can be dealt with in the right manner. There are a number of factors that may affect the working of the company. Mission Statement The mission of the company will be to serve the best quality food at the lowest price. The company will also want to satisfy the customers to the fullest and allow them to enjoy their food with their friends and family. The company also offers to bring the food to the customers if they want to do so by simply catering for them. Financial Objectives One of the main goals of the company that have been recognized is that Mark wants to gain a profit of $ 1 million which seems as an almost impossible goal to any reader. However, there is an objective to satisfy customers and allow them to eat the best quality food. Core Competencies The core competent power that the company has is that it has been there for a long time and hence, there is a chance that the owner may know more about the tastes of the people than anyone else. Since he ahs worked with his mother for several years, there is a chance that the owner may exactly which food item is bought by who and this is what must be used for the marketing plan. Strategies The company must concentrate on these core food items and then try to make them taste better with different flavorings. The company can think up of pricing the food items according to the timings of the customers coming in. There could be a business lunch for all the executives that come to the restaurant with different food items of their taste and their needs. There could also be the strategy of the catering service where there could be a portfolio of food item created for each kind of customer and this would allow the customer to make quick decisions about the food items that need to be ordered. The company can also provide different intensity of spices and the intensity of different flavors in the food. The company can create coupons for the different kinds of customers and provide it to them through newspapers. These coupons can be a way of promoting the company’s products and the services that it provides. There could be a variety of coupons that could be published for promoting the company. Financials Break Even Analysis Graph 3 The assumptions for the break even analysis are: 1. Selling price = $ 50 for all products 2. Variable cost per unit = $ 40 3. Fixed cost = $ 11,000 Sales Forecast & Expense Forecast If the following marketing plan is followed then there is a chance that the change in sales will be faster than that of the costs and this would lead to higher profits. The owner may want a minimum profit of $ 1 million but with this marketing plan there is a chance that the company may face a $ 5 million profit as a steady flow and this would lead to a better cash flow for the company. The graph below shows the forecasting of profit and sales for the company from year 2006 to 2011. Graph 4 Budget Table 1 Factor Rationale Employees There is a desperate need for new employees to join the organization so that the catering service can also be taken along. There is a need to pay these employees as well which will be a cost. Training of employees The training of employees also takes a lot of cost as compared to already skilled employees. The company must look for skilled employees but the old employees will be trained in order to use the new system thoroughly and to its benefit. Need for a system There will be a need for an entire network for the company employees to work on the system and update the orders regularly as well as receive online orders, prepare them and then send them to the customers. The table below shows a forecasted overview of how the sales, costs and the advertising fees will be divided in order to reap the profits that have also been predicted. The company may face other smaller costs but they will all be added to the other costs section. Table 2   2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Sales 10,201,319 11,982,414 16,786,699 21,034,629 21,027,030 25,481,121 Less: Cost of goods sold 5,600,997 6,362,616 10,109,117 13,701,319 13,157,653 16,382,714   -------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ------------- GROSS PROFIT 4,600,322 5,619,798 6,677,582 7,333,310 7,869,377 9,098,407 Less: Selling and distribution expenses 843,231 1,022,139 1,457,797 1,851,170 1,766,652 2,371,208   -------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- Profit 3,757,091 4,597,659 5,219,785 5,482,140 6,102,725 6,727,199 Controls Implementation The plan will be implemented over a period of two months where the company will plan out its every move. The schedule below shows how the company will go about implementing the plan and what strategies will be used for the marketing plan to be a success. Implementing the marketing plan will not be the end of the game but rather the beginning where making it a success is the main challenge faced by the company. The first two weeks of the company will be built upon the idea of deciding which food items to keep on the menu and which to keep off the menu. There could be some items that could be added on and off the menu depending upon the days. Keeping the food quality the same, the company can change some of the products of the menu and change them in their taste. The next two weeks will be taken on the website development where the concept of e-business will also be added in. the customers will then be provided with different and unique logins and passwords so that the purchasing and the booking of the goods can be done online as well. The company can provide the customers with an online shopping portal and help them save time and give them convenience. The proceeding three weeks will go into the training of the employees and the changes in job descriptions so as to allow the best of the responsibilities and no redundancies. The company will need to ensure that all the employees be trained in such a manner that the customers will be able to just give the order and the employees can almost instantly provide the food. Evaluation of Results There are a number of approaches that can be used for the marketing plan to be implemented. However, that plan strategy is used which is the most successful and this is why there is a need to understand the strategy thoroughly and precisely for any errors that may occur during the process. The progress and the success of the plan will be measured on the basis of the following factors: 1. Number of customers 2. Food items that were ordered the most 3. The profit of the restaurant 4. The return of previous customers There could be a number of other factors that could influence the progress of the company and they must be studied with care. There is a need to keep a look out for any unnecessary problems that may occur and this must be avoided with the help of employees and other customers. Summary The marketing plan provided a complete idea of what steps must be taken for the company to reach its goal. The company also needs to take care of the future challenges in demographics as well as the weather for the company to continue its successful streak over the years. The company must enforce changes in the food items if there is an observation that the population has shifted from being the highest between the age of 30 and 40 to that of 18 to 25 years. According to Peter Drucker, these changes do occur but they are usually ignored by the companies. The company owner must encourage the sue of entrepreneurship within the company because there is a need for the employees to also look at the innovative side and find better ways of serving the customers unlike what has already been done. There is need to keep pace with the changing world and this is why the company needs to be creative. Conclusion The company must implement the strategy successfully and this would in turn help the company to earn the profits that it is waiting for. The owner however has been recommended to take small steps in the profit maximizing strategy because there is a need to take the whole company along the success unlike just the individual. The owner must work with the company employees and ensure to them that if they face success, there is a great chance that they will continue to work and innovate for the company. the company needs to hold programs for the employees based upon the aspect of entrepreneurship and how it can be helpful in the future. References & Bibliography Wikipedia. Cincinnati, Ohio. Retrieved on December 16, 2006 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati,_Ohio The View. Mission Statement. Retrieved on December 16, 2006 from: http://www.indian-kettles.com/lake_george_restaurant.html SMEToolKit. The Business Plan. Retrived on December 16, 2006 from: http://www.smetoolkit.org/Article.jsp?id=if-mob00003&catid=45&lid=1&locale=1#5 Annexure – Tables & Charts Read More