Unit 9: Marketing Strategy

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A2 Unit 9 - Marketing Strategy

Introduction

During this investigation I will be discussing ways to market a business of my choice and make an overall judgement as to which marketing strategies would work well for my business. The business I have chosen to focus on is called Fabulous Frostings which is a small family run bakery which will be situated in the quiet seaside resort of Sutton-on-Sea.

My Business

Fabulous Frostings will be a family run bakery with all produce sold being baked on site. Products will range from a selection of pastries and cakes sold individually to scones and bread buns being sold in packs of six. By selling day to day necessitates such as bread, the bakery will be more practical than just a luxury one off of a cupcake every now and then. Fabulous Frostings will also be able to make larger cakes to order for special occasions such as Birthdays, Christenings and Weddings.

The business will be run by myself and my sister whom both have a keen interest in baking and icing. My retired mother will also be a volunteer, helping us to learn more about baking in large quantities as she has a long history of working in large bakeries and delicatessens. My sister and I will own an equal share in the business with profits and investments being shared 50/50. The image of our business will be very important with my mother helping us to produce cakes to a high standard concentrating particularly on how pretty the cakes are.

As previously mentioned, the business will be located in Sutton-on-Sea, this is a small town on the East Coast of Lincolnshire with an average population of 4268, this will alter slightly due to the seasons with tourists entering the resort in the summer and leaving in the winter. A very high percentage of residents of Sutton-on-Sea are retired or elderly people only working part-time, this is also true for the visitors to the resort in the summer. Sutton-on-Sea is generally known as a peaceful and serene seaside town keeping many of the traditional features one associates with places such as Brighton and Blackpool, it is this reputation which attracts an older demographic. Visitors and residents prefer the quiet atmosphere in comparison with the loud and busy environments found in neighbouring towns of Skegness and Mablethorpe.

Other businesses similar to Fabulous Frostings within the area include Gray and Goodliffe and Pocklingtons bakery. Gray and Goodliffe would definitely be the businesses main competitor with them producing in Trusthorpe, only 1.5 miles away from Sutton, and selling in outlets in Alford, 6.6 miles away, and Mablethorpe, 2.5 miles away. All of these can be seen on the map below with Sutton-on-Sea circled in red, Pocklingtons labelled as A and the three bakeries owned by Gray and Goodliffe labelled as B, F and G. The other label, C, is a farmhouse bakery which supplies to small shops in Louth.

The map below shows a closer view of Sutton-on-Sea with A and B representing Gray and Goodliffe’s Bakery in Trusthorpe and outlet in Mablethorpe. This, teamed with the map above, clearly shows that within roughly a 2.5 mile radius from Sutton-on-Sea this is the only competition.

Business Mission

“To make fabulous cakes for all occasions and to please our customers through quality and a smile

This business mission will appear on all promotional documents such as newspaper advertisements, business cards and the company website. The mission is not set out using SMART guidelines as it is simply a statement which describes the owners’ general wishes for the business. The mission also outlines the overall feel and almost personality of the business for potential customers.


Business Objectives

An objective is a target that a business sets itself. The target may be short term, for example 6-12 months, or long term, such as 5 years. It is important that the targets are regularly reviewed; this helps the business to measure its progress.

I have chosen to use the SMART approach when setting targets for my business. SMART stands for:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Time related

After each of my business objectives I will assess whether they reach the SMART criteria and the reasons for this.

“To break even within the first twelve months”


“To have made, in profit, all start up costs within the first eighteen months”


“To give back to the local community”

“To have put down a deposit to buy a premises within the first four years”


Marketing Objectives

In order to achieve my business objectives I must be able to market both the business and its products effectively. In order to remain focused on how best to market products businesses set marketing objectives, which similarly to business objectives, they will aim to achieve in a certain amount of time.  Marketing objectives are solely concerned with products, sales and marketing activities.

Marketing objectives are usually fairly short term objectives as the aim to meet the longer term business objectives. This is necessary as if a marketing objective is not succeeding the business will not spend to much time and money in pursuing it, instead, a different objective can be set and a new strategy put in place to reach the eventual goal of the business objective.

In a larger business marketing objectives may be different for each department as the whole business works together in different ways to reach the business objectives. However, in my business the marketing objectives will apply to all members of staff as Fabulous Frostings is only small. By setting marketing objectives, I aim to provide motivation for my sister and I along with any other staff which we may employ in the future; the objectives will provide a common goal and help maintain focus.

Again with the Marketing objectives, I have chosen to use the SMART approach and will asses whether they reach the criteria below. I will also explain how each of the marketing objectives relates back to achieving the business objectives which I set earlier.

“To advertise effectively through the use of flyers and local newspaper adverts”

This marketing objective aims to achieve all of the business objectives with the exception of “to give back to the local community.” The other business objectives all clearly link to profits and turnover, by setting this marketing objective to advertise efficiently the business will build a larger customer base and in turn make more profits.

“To gain loyal customers in our intended market segment through promotions such as loyalty vouchers”

The marketing objective above will work towards meeting all the business objectives which I set. By gaining loyal customers the business will turn a grater profit and be more likely to be able to meet business objectives such as putting “down a deposit to buy a premises”. This one will also help to achieve the business objective “to give back to the local community”, as if local customers return to the shop often they will receive discounts, this quite clearly demonstrates benefiting the local community over any other customers.


“To provide cakes for local coffee mornings at a reduced charge”

By introducing this marketing objective, I was focusing specifically on the business objective “to give back to the local community”. By providing cakes at a reduced charge the business will be able to thank the local community for their custom whilst maintaining a positive image in the area. The objectives do have a slight link to profits though, if the business builds a good reputation it will hopefully also build a strong customer base which will in turn give higher turnover and profits.


“To improve on sales by 10% per month”

By setting this marketing objective, I was aiming in particular to meet the business objectives “to break even within the first twelve months” and “to have made, in profit, all start up costs within the first eighteen months”. By increasing sales at a rate of 10% each month, the objectives will be more attainable, especially as there is a difference in time of six months between when they must be met. This marketing objective could also work towards the final business objective “to have put down a deposit to buy a premises within the first four years”, however, it is unlikely that sales would continue to increase at 10% per month for this long, as at 48 months a business of this size would usually have come to the end of the growth stage without implementing new strategies.

Market Segmentation

As part of identifying who will use my business, I will attempt to use market segmentation to divide the market according to characteristics of different customers. This is necessary as it will show me who in particular I will be focusing my marketing strategies at. By gaining a better understanding of my target market I will be able to tailor promotions and other marketing strategies to their wants and needs, hopefully with the outcome of attracting more customers.

By using market segmentation I aim to enhance the profits which my business could make, by learning about my target market I will be able to judge how much disposable income they have and consequently how sensitive to pricing they will be. After acquiring this information I will be able to set the correct pricing strategies to draw more customers to my business.

Another specific reason for using market segmentation is to learn exactly what my potential customers will want. This will mean that Fabulous Frostings is able to tailor products to match exactly what consumers desire, this will generate greater customer loyalty and higher profits.

Age

I predict that the age groups using my business are people in their 30s and those above retirement age. This is due people over the age of 65 having more spare time on their hands to walk down to specific shops such as butchers and bakeries rather than doing all of the shopping at Tesco’s. Certain people in their 30s may also want to take care over their shopping due to new trends regarding using small local businesses, especially food shops.

Gender

I think that it will be mostly women who use my business as they are traditionally the gender group which will do the food shopping. Women also stereotypically take more care over the food they eat and will be more likely to want to use specialist shops.

Socio-Economic Group

The socio economic groups which I will be targeting are the groups between C1 and A. This prediction is based on the income of the family unit rather than the individual person’s job as most people I am targeting will actually be unemployed, although this will be through choice and the ability to live from either a pension or a husband’s wage alone. Therefore the pensioners, or stay at home mums, will actually still be living a comfortable lifestyle and will have enough money to spend in small bakeries. This is in comparison to the stereotypical view of the unemployed, on benefits and shopping at ASDA.

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Lifestyle Group

There are two main lifestyle groups which will use my business, these will be stay at home mums with interests centred mainly around their family and providing a perfect home life for their husband and children. The second will be pensioners interested in activities such as gardening, walking and crafts. The pensioners will like to use the business as they will be pleased that they now have the time to shop for luxuries such as handmade cakes, and the mothers will like to use my shop to treat their family.

Geographical Group

The main geographical group which ...

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