Questionnaire Results - Marketing Strategy

Business Aims

The aims of my business will be the principles by which it is run. The aims of my business are what I want to achieve in the long run, they are defined and general statements of intent. A successful business normally has a clear vision of what they hope to achieve and how to plan for the future. Therefore everything I do must be designed to achieve my aims. My main primary aims are:

Achieve profit

Achieving profit is my business main aim. Like most businesses, excluding non-profit organisations, profit is what holds the business together and ultimately keeps it afloat. It is easy for me to say my business is going to achieve profit, but how do I actualise my aim? It is important, in order for me to achieve profit, for my business to be successful.

Survival

Surviving as a business depends almost entirely on the level of profit achieved. In order for my business to survive, the amount of revenue received must be greater than the costs I have to pay.

Growth

Growth is linked with the success of my business. If my business is successful I will have more disposable capital to invest in more computers, other premises in different towns, etc.

My secondary aims are there to help my business to achieve its primary aims. My secondary aims include:

Maximise Sale

In order to achieve profit it is important to sell the most possible to my customers in order to achieve profit which will enable me to survive and grow.

Provide good quality service

Giving a good quality service will give my business a good image. It is important to have a good image. To achieve this aim it may be a good idea to train my staff effectively.

The main difference between my primary and my secondary aims are that primary aims will be the main focus of my business; they are what I want to achieve most; e.g. to achieve profit. The secondary aims and those which will help my business achieve the primary aims, in a similar way that objectives help to achieve aims. For example the secondary aim to ‘maximise sales’ will help achieve the primary aim to achieve profit. I have also set secondary aims which will give my business a good image e.g. Provide a good quality service. This will also help to achieve primary aims such as survival and growth. Including profit, aims and objectives are a key way of measuring the success of a business, if my business has reached its aims and objectives it will be seen as successful, which is why it is important to set realistic aims.

It is necessary to carry out a new marketing campaign in order to meet these aims; to service, grow and achieve profit. If I do no marketing, my business is likely to die, I have a successful enough internet side of my business but I need to market the café side more. This will give me a steady income and will give my business general stability, considering the market growth of internet use is phenomenal within the home, and less and less internet cafés are used. In other words, if I increase the success of one side of my business it should allow some laxity in the success of the internet side, though it is also my aim to increase the popularity of the internet side.

Marketing Aims

Gaining Market Share

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Marketing Aims

Gaining Market Share

My businesses main marketing aim is to increase its market share. Market share is the percentage of the marketing which is ‘held’ by my business, on the internet side, within my area, I hold almost 100% of the market as I have no competition, therefore I have dominance over the market. Although I have no major competition on the internet side of my business, I aim to increase the popularity (thereby the market share) of the café side of it. This will enable me to receive higher revenue, not only from my internet customers but also from people who want a relaxing atmosphere to drink and eat. From my market research I discovered that 68% of the current population of Honiton and the surrounding areas have internet access within their homes, and only 34% of the population said they may use my business from time to time. This is why it is important for me to increase the popularity of my café. From my market research I have highlighted the need for a modern café within my town suitable for both men and women and all social classes and incomes. This will enable me to meet my generic aims (Survival, profit etc). On the product life cycle, internet cafés are at maturity and I anticipate they will soon begin to die. This is because of the competition I have with home internet providers; they are minimizing their prices to encourage more people to use the internet. Due to this it is important to increase the popularity of my Café side of the business, therefore allowing me to survive, possibly grow and achieve more profit. These are my three main aims.

Repositioning product mix

It is my aim to revert my product life cycle by increasing the revenue received by the café side of my business. This will mainly and most importantly allow me to survive which is an important generic aim. It will also make growth possible to pursue, as it isn’t possible with solely the internet side. Finally it will allow me to produce higher profit which will lead me to fulfil most other objectives which need cash injection. From my market research I found that my café would be popular within the younger generation and should therefore be forthcoming to that market, by having a modern interior, relaxing atmosphere and good quality healthy snacks.

Develop Product Mix

Another marketing objective I have to achieve is to develop a good product mix. There are four main types of products:

Stars – If my business were a star it would have a high market share and good opportunities for growth. I may reach this point when my business is well established. At this point I will also have a lot of exciting opportunities for growth.
Cash Cows – If my business were a Cash Cow I would have a high market share yet little opportunity for growth. I will also reach this point after becoming well established within the community. However, my marketing will not be growing and my opportunities will be limited.
Dogs – If my business were a Dog I would have low market share and low opportunities for growth. My marketing presence would be weak and it would take a lot of hard work to get noticed. I will not enjoy the economies of scale and I will find it difficult to achieve profit.
Problem Children – If my business were a Problem Child, I would have a low market share and high opportunities for growth. At this point I would not be generating much revenue because I have a low market share, but there are high market growths so there is potential there.

With reflection on the knowledge I have gained about the products/services I am offering, my internet side of the business is a Star (High market share but no room for growth) and my café side of the business is a problem child (Low market share but potential to grow), which my market research proves. I aim to convert my café from a problem child into a cash cow, which will be possible according to the market research I carried out. It highlighted the fact that 65% of people would use my café if it met their needs better than that of other businesses. If achieved this will increase the revenue received from customers, and should help me to grow. In relation to my business aims; it will allow me to survive because it will create higher revenue, which will support my Star, which may turn into a Dog. It will also allow me to receive profit because, as I have said, it will cancel out any short comings produced by my internet side of the business. Finally, it will allow me to pursue growth. This is important if I want to remain a major player in the market. I should aim to open at least one other internet café in the next 5 years, in an area similar to Honiton.

Perceptual mapping

For a marketing strategy to work effectively a business’s marketing mix should convey the right image. This image is created by three groups; the business, the customers and the competition. The businesses image is determined by the interaction between these groups. The customer’s perceptions are based on the business and its competition, and they are the final interpreters. A perception map is the instrument I will use to illustrate the customers perception of my business.

This shows that within my current position, my main competition is Shauls, Bubble Bee’s and Rosey’s. Within my new position, my main competition will be Honiton News Agent and A. Dimond and Co. Summerfield is also an important competition to consider. Businesses within Section A. are of high quality and have low price, which is where all businesses want to be. Section B. is where a lot of businesses are because they can offer high prices for high quality service/product. Section C. has both low quality products and low prices. Finally section D. has low quality products and high prices.

The above diagram shows a clear trend. The higher the reliability and speed the higher the price is; equally, the lower the reliability and speed the lower the price is. The diagram also shows the level of threat posed to my business by competitors. BT Internet and Tiscali are shown to pose the biggest risk. However, even though BT Internet has better reliability and speed than my business my prices are lower giving me a competitive advantage over them, similarly Tiscali have lower prices than me but my business has higher reliability and speed.

Competitors Profile

The aim of my competitor profile is to give an in-depth description of the competitor’s background, finances, products, markets, facilities, personnel and strategies.

Background: - Shauls is a relatively successful bakery operating within the southwest of England. The particular branch I am concentrating on in my investigation is the Honiton bakery. The bakery is in prime position on the main High street, benefiting from both loyal customers and passing trade. This business has been around since the year 1900’s and with reference to their product life cycle, a mature business. They have created a loyal customer base, which will be difficult to penetrate.

Product: - Shauls bakery is both a bakery and a coffee shop combined. They offer a service which facilitates for customers to sit and eat their food in relative comfort with toilets available. They offer a range of products including: Soft drinks, coffee, tea, juice, cakes, pastries, pasties, sandwiches, mini pizzas, fresh bread and more. Over their century of trading they have developed an extensive product mix which fulfils their consumer’s needs. A particular aspect which makes Shauls popular is that they are constantly making available new food for their customers. They ensure they keep their product mix relatively diverse allowing for all types of people to eat within their walls. Their vegetarian options are vaster than that or their initial competitors’ which allows them to take free rain of that particular market. The brand ‘shauls’ is very well known, particularly in the southwest. Their food is trusted and is ‘safe’, meaning customers do not feel they are taking on the risk of not liking the food. They are loyal and tend to trust the company implicitly, particularly the older generation.

Marketing: - Shauls have inadvertently developed a keen and loyal customer base within the older generation, due to the fact they have been trading for so long, because of this, they target their products towards the older generation, particularly OAP’s, giving them a special discount. Though finding out Shauls’ exact market share would be difficult, considering their have no website or corporate website, it is common knowledge they are a popular bakery and coffee shop. Within the bakery market, they have a well known brand, which is rare for such a small scale business operating within a few local areas. As I’ve indicated already, Shauls’ customer base mainly consists of older people. Despite this however, because of their prime location within local towns, and focusing on Honiton in particular, they do benefit a lot from passing trade, all people from young to old, from single people taking away food to families enjoying the comfortable atmosphere that they provide. From this initial introduction to Shauls, many original passing trade customers become loyal to a certain extent. They will go there a) because it is convenient, but b) because they can trust in their food, which gives them an extremely big competitive edge over other businesses in their market. Because of their word-of-mouth advertising and the sheer popularity for their business, Shauls use defensive promotional activities to maintain their market share, and keep their customer loyalty. They do this by offering quality food at competitive prices in particular. They also have signs outside the shop encouraging customers into the business. They rely heavily on customer coming into the bakery, enjoying their experience and immediately become loyal customers. Shauls benefit from all products being produced within the store, which therefore allowing them to ensure good quality food. Also they do not diversify. They are both in the secondary and tertiary sexton meaning their make and distribute their goods within the same area of the business. One of Shauls problems within the public eye is that their prices are high. This may be due to the increased quality of the food provided, which loyal customers appreciate, for new customers it may be a problem. The business has saturated their market, over the long period of time they have been trading their have reach maturity and therefore, as I have highlighted previously, they use defensive marketing campaigns which will maintain their market. Because of this Shauls have produced a cash cow, a business which has little opportunity to grow, and yet creates a high level of revenue.

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