Beyond differentiating its healthy drinks Boost gain service differentiation through their convenient, quick and easy access stores. The service is not only good quality but is personalised as they call your name when your order is ready and have promotions such as ‘what’s your name game?’ (Boost n.d.) which offers a free boost if your name is chosen for that day. Boost also have their vibe club membership which gives loyal boost customers there 11th Boost free, and a free Boost on their birthday, this is to make consumers feel special and make them realize they are special to the company.
Boost staff are vibrant, like-minded, energetic and enthusiastic, this is a part of their people differentiation with all being trained not only to make amazing healthy drinks but help portray the Boost lifestyle. This creates a memorable customer experience and makes a customer excited about purchasing a Boost juice (Boost n.d.). Each employee is dressed in a trendy uniform to generate a young, down to earth lifestyle that appeals to there target market. Boost’s strong competitive advantage is also through image differentiation as each part of the Boost brand is colourful and bright and is recognised through its florescent colours. The boost cup- Bright Green, The Store- Bright green, yellow and orange and the drinks also follow this pattern. The image is also represented through the Iconic large Boost character ‘Barry’ who is fun, happy and energetic which portrays the Boosts brand personality perfectly (Boost n.d.).
Question (2)
Outline and discuss the macro-environment forces that could potentially impact on the success of the Boost business moving forward?
The macroenvironment consist of six large societal forces, demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural (Adam et al. 2011). Each of these components play a part in shaping opportunities and posing threats to companies, Boost Juice being a major success can still be open to these potential impacts which can affected it moving forward.
The economic environment involves factors that affect the buying and spending patterns of customers, as these trends change it can have a large impact on the purchasing economy (Adam et al. 2011). Consumers spending freely have to be fuelled by income growth, and smoothies and fresh juices aren’t seen as a necessity to many but more of a luxury good, this can result in consumers not buying the product if they cant afford it or don’t have some sort of disposable income. If Australia hit another economic crisis in the near future it will make many people buy less and steer away existing and potential customers from buying Boost juice as for some it can be back to a thrift lifestyle.
Adam et al (2011) states that the natural environment illustrates three trends, increasing pollution levels, shortages of raw supplies, and more government involvement in natural resource management. Boost pride themselves on only using fresh fruit and if there is a scarcity of one of their main ingredients it could majorly affect their products. In 2011 Queensland suffered floods that wiped out Australia’s major Banana crops, making the source of one of their main ingredients limited and very expensive to get (The Sydney Morning Herald 2011). Founder of Boost Juice Janine Allis stated that they use ‘over 6 million bananas every year’ (Boost n.d.) if a decline in there raw materials occurs again in the future it could cause a serious threat to the quality of their products and put a stand to there increasing success.
The cultural environment includes institutions and other forces that affect a society’s values, behaviour, preferences and perceptions (Adam et al. 2011). The attitudes of our society have changed over time and will continue to change in the future Janine Allis explained that ‘we have more diabetes, more heart disease and people are becoming more educated about the role food has to play in wellness’ (Adam et al. 2009). Customers of Boost believe health is an important part of their life therefore behaves by buying healthy drinks and energizers. Although if this attitude and preference to eating healthy and caring about their well-being changes in the future Boost will feel the consequences, as they will loose their main target market.
The political environment comprises of laws, and groups that impact marketing actions. This aspect of the macroenvironment has under gone three changes including an increase in legislations regulating businesses, government enforcement, and greater importance on ethics and social responsibilities (Adam et al. 2011). Boost states “We know that the environment is vitally important to our future, so here at Boost we are working to try and minimise our impact on our planet” (Boost n.d.). The Boost foam cup is a well known part of how they deliver their drinks which is there preferred material for quality, sealing and strength. However many local councils are already requiring them to use paper cups in store due to the impacts it has on their local area (Boost- the facts n.d.). Styrofoam cups if broken down irresponsibly or not disposed over properly can be hurtful to the environment through releasing chemicals. Some areas overseas are required to stop their use of Styrofoam materials as they are environmentally unfriendly and can only use paper. If this regulation moves to areas where Boost juices are located they will have to re assess there packaging which could affect the quality of their juices and their budget as the prices can increase.
References
Adam, S. Armstrong, G. Denize, S. Kotler, 2011 Principles of Marketing, 5th edn, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest. NSW
Adam, S. Armstrong, G. Denize, S. Kotler, 2009 Principles of Marketing, 4th edn, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest. NSW
Baines, P. Fill, C.& Page, K. 2011 Marketing 2nd edn Oxford University Press
Boost Juice Bars Viewed 31 March 2012 http://www.boostjuice.com.au
Boost- The facts on our cups viewed 1 April 2012 http://www.boostjuice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Boost-Environment-Stuff.pdf
The Sydney Morning Herald Food prices set to spike in wake of floods January 11, 2011 Viewed on 31 March 2012, viewed from
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hmichelle (student)
